TEST DRIVE MEME 002

[rubimods]

⚰︎ ⍢ ⌲ ⍚ TEST DRIVE MEME:

Welcome to RUBILYKSKOYE — a dark, horror-smut game where player choices will drive a mod-run storyline about the world and its NPCs. This test drive meme provides a medley of prompts evoking the game's general tone.

THESE THREADS CAN BE GAME CANON if both players are accepted into the game and agree to it. However, if players who'd prefer to start fresh are welcome to reuse these prompts in their own personal logs upon acceptance into the communities. Note: the universal test drive arrival prompt will not be repeated on the coming event log, but players are welcome to reuse the prompt.

CONTENT WARNINGS for this game include: monsters, body horror, dub-con, non-con, religion, blood/violence, and marking/branding, loss of autonomy/self, and mental influences. This log additionally has warnings for: nudity, spiders, character death, and references to children in proximity to sexual situations.

If you have QUESTIONS about the test drive prompts, please ask HERE. Questions about the game itself or the general setting should be directed to the FAQ.

FAQ ✧ SETTING ✧ CALENDAR ✧ RESERVES ✧ APPLICATIONS

IN THE WOODS SOMEWHERE

The chirping of partridges in the treetops rouses you. Light barely filters through the canopy, just enough to suggest daylight. By the time it reaches the forest floor, the light has taken on a sickly green. You lie amongst the frost-covered mosses and ferns, the frozen soil cold and just a little damp on your bare skin.

Wherever you were before this moment, whatever you were doing or wearing, when you awaken in this forest, you find yourself naked and helpless as the day you were born. As you sit up and get your bearings, aside from a brief wave of disoriented nausea, you seem to be no worse for wear than you last remember.

You seem to be alone. The gnarled oaks and moss suggest no sign of civilization or sentient life. Just flickers of movement from curious squirrels or brave lizards emerging from a temporary retreat from the wintry weather. With your feet under you, and you'll find the wood is filled with berry bushes and nut trees, though much of the fruit has been picked clean. The freshwater stream that runs north-south, populated by both poisonous toads and delicious crawdads, is running actively again as the weather warms back up from the recent snowstorm.

As you explore, you may run into others with stories just like yours. Some may have already formed clumsy nudist groups, others may still be processing their confusion, with no memory of how they got here. Now is a good time to overcome any hang-ups you have about modesty; it's going to be a long hike, and the weather isn't quite amenable to your lack of.

Turn your back to the darker, shadowy parts of the forest and eventually the glow of manmade lights and the curve of a dirt road may come into view. At the edge of the wood, you'll find a town surrounded by a fifty-foot wall of beige stone. The only entrance is an iron gate positioned on the southern edge. When you arrive, the gate is already open, welcoming people inside.

This quaint, historic town of five-thousand has cobbled street and signs lit by gas lamp. Wooden shutters protect otherwise open-air windows on the buildings, which are all under three stories with gabled roofs. A number of businesses hug the main street — a clockmaker, a cobbler, a grocer — while residential homes sprawl outwards towards the wall. At the far end of the main street, visible about a mile to the north now that the trees and the enormous wall is out of the way, sits a castle with three towers.

When you enter, the streets are full of people, but despite any efforts on your part to hide or make excuses, they don't seem offended by your nakedness. Even families with children don't gawk or look twice. Those determined to find proper clothing regardless will find that modern clothing stores aren't available — the closest this town has is a tailor's shop and a stand in the central marketplace selling scarves and blankets.

breaking and entering

If you intend to have your character break into someone's house or yard to steal some of their clean laundry, please review the info about game laws on the FAQ and give the mods a heads up HERE.

SETTING: CRIME

Fortunately, the people of the town are very generous! Anyone who ask the locals will be directed to the boarding house for both clothes and a place to stay. Accessible through an embellished iron garden gate and obscured by hanging plants, trees, and vines, beyond an overgrown yard in the residential sprawl of the town is a bright-red door, which opens to a spacious cottage of several stories. Parts of the house still bear the dust of disuse, gathered on various furnishings — bedding, sofas, curtains, wooden tables. However, it's already full of people! Anyone who's already appeared in the village just as you did today lives here. Once inside, you may notice patchwork repairs have been made, and some scorch marks still linger from a recent fire, and some furniture is still lying around in splinters.

Tonight, a few of the townspeople will help out with the new arrivals. They stock the kitchen and prepare a communal dinner of parsnips, pheasant, and squash. During dinner, they (and those outsiders who've already begun to settle) sit down at the enormous wooden dining room table and help orient the newcomers and answer their questions.

finding roommates

Don't spend too much time in the dining room going for seconds, though. You'll want to claim a bedroom quickly because each one only has two full-size beds, and there aren't enough spaces for everyone. The last people upstairs will need to double up to squeeze in. Roommates will not be mod-assigned; players should coordinate directly with one another to determine their living arrangements.

Get a good night's rest. By the light of day, locals will help get the new arrivals set up on the coal stove with breakfast. You may notice they're dressed in a way you would almost call normal — at least, in a manner befitting 19th century Eastern Europe. As you find your way around town to get your bearings, folks are eager to help you find a place to apply your skills so you can contribute to your new home.

writer's block?

If you're struggling to pick a way to engage the prompts, try: naked hiking, acquiring clothing or other inventory items, asking questions at dinner/orientation, or staking your claim on a bedroom!

OFFERINGS FOR ULANTI

The festival starts in the middle of the night, when the sun and the children are safely tucked into bed. The streets come alive with dancing locals, their faces painted red and purple and black and yellow. They all wear revealing clothing that, to your sensibilities, may seem sexually suggestive. Some individuals openly expose their breasts and nipples, while some others may incidentally reveal when they turn around to tend to their errands that their dress is backless — entirely! market stands and kind neighbors will gladly provide clothing befitting the occasion to anyone who asks.

Notably, the locals' choice of clothes reveal a mark on their bodies. An astute person will notice that there are four varieties — and a very astute (thirsty) person might notice that their fellow woodsfolk also have one of these somewhere on their body.

FAQ: CURSE MARKS

In addition to dancing and the lighting of any number of candles, you may stumble upon fighting rings inspired by Terry Silver's basement club, where the locals brawl until they're bloody and unable to move. Elsewhere, amongst the performance of a number of erotic dancers, you might come upon a face you recognize — naked and collared and caged, tongue pressed to the bars to taste anyone who'll stop and give them a little attention.

Temporary night market food stands offer various forms of alcoholic beverages and sweet and savory street food in suggestive shapes — sausages, popsicles, flowering cupcakes. many of them represent hedonistic indulgences and displays of wealth that the town usually does not seem to possess. This bounty, they attribute to the Duchess' patronage — and much of it is dosed with herbs and additives that enhance the sexual appetites and aggression in any who consume them.

Another kind of temporary stand has been erected — while new arrivals may at first mistake these for some kind of bathroom, it becomes apparent upon entry that they are partitioned stalls with gloryholes drilled between them. Some stalls are closed with an anonymous stranger waiting inside for someone to push a part of themselves through the hole to be lavished with mystery touches; others are fully unoccupied, should your character wish to lock themselves in and wait on the small wooden stool for a partner to offer themselves.

Anyone native to Rubilykskoye will take the time to answer questions about the festival of Ulanti, which functions as a way to purge their bad energy ("zadza") and sate their inner beasts ("duchozweirz"). They encourage characters to join the festivities — which range from staged sexual performances to sadism and masochism designed to feed the desire for violence. all appetites are welcome here, and there are only two rules: (1) stay away from the unmarked, which refers to the locals' prepubescent children; (2) hold nothing back.

writer's block?

If you're struggling to pick a way to engage the prompts, try entering the fighting rings, watching or joining a live sex performance, or eating some aphro food (deliberately or otherwise)!

the fathomless dark of pajak wood

At the outer edges of the forest, shadows grow long and the air grows thick. Though the sun never grows warm red-gold with sunset, the wood darkens. Birdsong is replaced by the click of mandibles and the skitter of many legs. Anyone who ventures out this way will soon find it difficult to see before them, even in the middle of the day — eventually, even the brightest magical light source or darkvision cannot stretch further than a few inches.

In the void, the air feels heavy, as if it were not air at all but some more solid mass. Almost like liquid-smoke, it presses down upon you. Slowing your movements. Characters who push too far into the void may stop being able to move at all, and find themselves given over to insanity if they collapse, unable to draw themselves out. This is just one of many dangers.

Monsters thrive this far out. Huge, blood-red spiders the size of hunting dogs drop from the treetops. In addition to their venomous bite, which contains a fast-acting paralytic, these creatures are clever: they attempt to use their webbing to entangle any trespassers, binding limbs together or to trees. If you're unfortunate to become fully cocooned, you don't have long before this forest will be the last thing you see.

In addition to the spiders, you may come across the sharp-toothed furred yetis that emerged during the snowstorm, still looking for a meal. Each one hunts alone, a fifteen-foot-tall shambling creature that drips black ooze and super-chills the air around it until your skin feels tight and icy. If it gets the drop on you, you're likely to be its dinner. It has emerged from a long summer hibernation to enjoy the colder weather, and it's starving.

FAQ: DEATH RULES

Those who seem lucky enough not to run afoul of the monsters here are in for a worse fate. The void can play tricks on your senses. As madness sets in and you lose all sense of direction, you may also lose control of your body — what is that steers your hands to turn against your friends? Why does it sound like your own voice whispering?

In the fog, you may also hear the voices of those familiar to you — people you know from the town, or people whom you know with almost perfect certainty aren't here. these figments may recreate unhappy memories or force trespassers to hallucinate their worst nightmares. Nothing is as it seems in the void, and when you swing at these figments, desperate to silence them, it might not be a figment at all, but a friend in the flesh trying to help you. By the time you see their true face, it could be too late to stop yourself.

writer's block?

If you're struggling to pick a way to engage the prompts, try fighting a monster, hallucinating your worst nightmares, and/or attacking a friend or stranger!

HIDING INSIDE EACH OF US

Uh oh spaghetti-os.

The marks worn by all residents of Rubilykskoye aren't just cool body art, as it turns out. The town is full of rumors, whispered in shadows and over candles of a starving creature hiding in the dark corners of your chest. Feed your inner beast, they say, before it finds a way to feed itself.

FAQ: MONSTER CURSES & TIMELINES

Alas, its emergence is inevitable — sooner or later, the horrible things that happen here pile up and make someone repulsed by the idea of human contact. Someone holds themselves back, bites their tongue, or simply does not believe the stories. Today, for one reason or another, that creature is coming out. Someone hasn't been keeping it sated.

Symptoms escalate over weeks, from monstrous irritability to full-blown body horror transformation, where people physically shed their human forms and evolve into the monsters this place made them. Once a person becomes something more (or less) than human there's only one way to go back — sate the beast.

someone else transforms

The baker, Nile Yoren, is a likable, middle-aged woman who can fill any request — wheat, rye, even nut breads. She boasts that her sourdough starter belonged to her grandmother. Today, when you enter her shop — to help out or to get a muffin or a bag of rolls — something is off. Her smiling face isn't behind the counter.

Around the back wall, you hear the crackling of the oven. But when you call, she doesn't come out. You have to go back and look for her. What you find is not just the oven crackling, but nile herself — twisted into an incandescent monster of human flame, the flickers of dark orange light like a face howling in agony amidst the yellows and reds and whites. Before you can scramble away, the creature lunges at you. Defend yourself or flee, or her inner beast will be feeding itself on you.

(There are other monsters lurking in every townsperson — feel free to invent your own npc monsters and scenarios!)

you waited too long

At first, as you hide yourself from your darker impulses, a subtle itch develops under your skin. An irritability that makes you snap at the person who bumps into you on the stairs because all those fleeting emotions that you've been repressing bubble to the surface. Every dark thought you've had about being here, all the fears of never getting home, of being surrounded by ticking time bombs, the anxiety of wondering who you might hurt or what relationships you might betray by doing what you have to do. The anger. Oh, the anger.

Maybe you shut yourself in your room or run into the woods to hide away, but there's only so much you can do to deny the itch that grows into hunger like a spark catching and growing to wildfire. Someone comes to check on you. That knock on the door or crunch of leaves in the wood that fills you with dread at what you might do and hope that you will be sated.

As claws and fangs and scales and spines and fur grow and your body transforms with a sickening crunch of bones and peeling of skin, so do your appetites. If you won't sate them, you'll lose yourself to your beastly impulses sooner or later, mauling friends and taking your fill. Is it better or worse if only your claws get inside of them?

RULES: CONTENT WARNINGS

Comments

[dion]

[ Dion looks a little surprised at the answer, the way Ankari is so sure of himself. But he's fully surprised at the continuation.

He studies the elf prince's face for a moment. It would be an ironic thing to lie about, wouldn't it? But no. Dion believes what he hears. ]

Then I shall have to make sure not to lie to you.

[ He's only slightly teasing, but Dion isn't a liar to begin with. There are things he cannot say for various reasons, but he is not prone to lying unless he has no choice. ]

While we're sharing things, then. Where I come from, a handful of people are granted power by Eikons, powerful creatures with abilities that are hard to believe even when you've seen them.

[ A wry smile plays on his lips. ]

Considering the…expectations…of this city, this word may give an impression that I'm not sure I wish to give, but they call us Dominants. Eikons…we can summon them into the world, but they must use our bodies to do so.

My Eikon is Bahamut, king of dragons. So you see, I know what it is to become a monster.

[ He means that so deeply, but there are things he could scarce tell a friend, let alone someone he's only just met. ]

I would much rather do so on my own terms.

[bloomandwither]

Y, y-you are welcome to lie to me, sire. Lies are a comfort, after all. Truth is what is frightful. [by the logic of his world truth and terror are the same word, the very same thing at their core idea. When he's afraid of what he's told, he can assess that is is truthful. When he is lied to, the lack of terror is therefore pleasant. Truth is harsh, lies are kind.

So, yes, his eyes are wide at the further confession of what Dion is, what he can control. Despite that telltale sign of fear, Ankari isn't pulling away, he's too curious to flee in fear. Too foolishly intrigued,]

Which... is why I don't doubt what you tell me. That is a terrifying power you hold. Such responsibility I can hardly comprehend.

[dion]

[ Dion thinks of correcting it, that title, but decides not to bother. ]

I suppose the truth is quite frightening at times, isn't it.

[ He thinks of the truth of his own world, the horrors that were always there where no one knew them. It would have been easier to live a life unaware, wouldn't it? ]

The Eikon's power is terrifying.

[ His voice is soft when he says it, eyes cast down at the table again. ]

Bahamut has more power than I could even have imagined despite being his Dominant for most of my life. It was an honour when I first gained his favour. I was revered for it, for something that I was chosen for, an accident of birth or blood or fate. I still do not know why me, though Bahamut has chosen from my father's bloodline for generations. Why me, though? I've often wondered.

[ There are still those who have chosen to trust him, people who address him now as Your Radiance. He doesn't deserve any of that, if he ever did.

He puts that out of his mind as best he can. ]

I do not wish to lose myself, not to the king of dragons and not to a curse.

[ Is there another monster to worry about now, he wonders? Or would it only be as it was before, Bahamut's rage and Dion's lack of control or memory of what had come? Though if he's honest — and he is — it was his rage, too, his despair. He cannot allow such a thing ever again. ]

I'm not too keen on the options for keeping the curse of this place at bay, but…needs must, I suppose.

[ He's always been dutiful, and is it not his duty to keep people safe from him in this situation? Ugh, what a nightmare. ]

I think I would prefer sex to violence, all things considered. Violence gets out of control too easily. I have no desire to hurt anyone without due cause.

[bloomandwither]

[Listening is a skill Ankari is good at, in part due to his ability to parse truth from lies better than normal. He would guess princes of other lands and persuasions have their own pressures, their own expectations of their royal houses. This all though is more than he could imagine baring even with great strength and integrity. Even the best of elven princes would likely crumble if they needed to control not only themselves, but a great other power.

The most Ankari deals with is resentment and the echo of terrifying power, but his god is distant. Long left from the world. Only traces of her remain now, unfathomably powerful though they may be to mortals, Ankari has never reckoned with a living dragon. None alive have.

He can only echo the other prince in turn,]

Needs must... Yes, that is a good way to put it. [as for what Dion would admit he prefers, Ankari holds back what would certainly be a cartoonish gulp, just nodding and holding his breath a bit too long]

And- that is a fair preference. Perhaps even the noble one to have, in such a circumstance we've been- [don't say thrust] -...placed in.

[dion]

I don't know that it's noble.

[ He offers a small smile at that, though. ]

In some ways, perhaps it is selfish, choosing pleasure instead of battle. But how does one go about this sort of…indulgence…without feeling like it's coercive? If none of us have a choice, then there are questions of consent that I'm not sure how to address.

[ Dion has spent his life grappling with his own bodily autonomy; he would never take anyone else's away from them. ]

Did you discover what happens to those who do become monsters? Besides the obvious. Are they stuck like that forever, or is it reversible?

[ He has a feeling he knows the answer, and it's not a nice one. ]

[bloomandwither]

[Ankari has know very little autonomy over his own body in his lifetime. He had a complicated relationship with his parents, who largely resented his existence and saw him as little more than a pawn to push about in their game of a rule. He's been controlled all his life. His choice has never been worth much.

So, forgive the soft scoff from him, Dion. He's not really used to people giving a damn over consent or coercion... it's somewhat outrageous to him, somewhat impressive,]

I do not believe we have the luxury of such... concerns for morality. This realm seems to encourage acts of passion, not of care. [is he being too judgemental? Maybe.] I would like to be proven wrong, of course. Caring for one another's comfort is the ideal state of things. I am... from a cruel place, I think.

[He was literally spirited away from his own arranged wedding to an invading force's leader. There was no choice to come here and none to stay there, so he's skeptical, to say the least,]

I have never known magic that can be undone. My presumption is if you become a monster, you stay one... until you can be slain. [he's not been fully briefed on how revival works just yet, that will be interesting to learn of]

[dion]

You may be right, but I…still wouldn't want to push it on anyone. I can do my best not to let any monsters harm anyone else, if it comes to that. Otherwise…

[ Well, he's still not going to force anyone! That's not his thing. He could never live with himself. ]

I can scarce imagine how anyone actually goes about it. This isn't something we would talk much about in Sanbreque. It's not a secret, exactly, but…well, there are norms about modesty and all of that.

[ There are probably a few whispers or rumours about Dion's tastes, too, but he's long since gotten over that. It's not a secret that he likes men. He doesn't wish it to be a secret. ]

The world I come from is also cruel, though I had it much better than many for most of my life. Though it was different after my father married. Things have got steadily worse since then. But we are not kind people, even if we allege that we are.

[ He thinks about how different his life would have been if he were not chosen by Bahamut, considering the contempt his step-mother has for him as it is. She probably isn't the only one, but almost no one would say such to Dion's face. ]

That is what I feared you would say. I wonder if I can use one monster to fight another, or if that would be worse still.

[ The dragon inside him is also a cruel master; he is well aware of that now. He has no idea how much control he maintains, and no idea how the Eikon even exists in this place at all. Perhaps because they are the same, bound together until it saps all of Dion's life away. He thought himself resigned to that fate, but now…well, who knows. ]

I do not wish to see you become a monster, Ankari. Whatever I can do to prevent that, I shall do my best.

[ It's not much of a come on, and he doesn't even mean it as one. They've only just met. He's still not sure what Ankari is. But if he already came from a bad place, why make his life even harder here? Dion has that hero instinct, whether he sees it that way or not. The darker parts of him…he just has to make sure they are well under control here. ]

[bloomandwither]

I would have to agree. Though my world is cruel, I have no stomach for that myself... [Ankari is definitely not down with forced sexuality nor violence, is concerned with how casually both seem to be regarded by the locals. If anything makes monsters out of men, it would be those two things, would it?

Less seriously, a graceless hiccup of a noise catches in his throat at Dion's offer-]

I-I, I would not want... to see the same of you, Dion. You seem to be most... upstanding. A fine and graceful man. Erm... [what does he even say-? It isn't like Ankari is going to proposition him here and now, but... the idea doesn't strike him as too awful. Which is strange, because he's spend a lifetime pushing away anything like an advance and flirtation has always been at his expense, never genuine.

Dion makes him a bit fearful and skittish, which contrary to how most might flee, that gives Ankari more faith in him. Fear response is something he is used to signifying truth, after all.]

I'll keep you in mind, should I need such help. [""help"", yes, that's a fine enough word for it. He should make it clear he's not against the idea, shouldn't he? Not now, but... if needed,] And you can keep me in mind, I trust.

[dion]

Nor do I. I have seen too much cruelty. I do not wish to see more.

[ He means it, though he is well aware that he is not innocent in this. He was not cruel on purpose, but things got…out of hand. He would do almost anything to avoid that loss of control again, which in a place like this apparently means hopping into bed with strangers?

He chuckles just a little at Ankari's response. He doesn't mean to make the elf prince nervous, of course. ]

I will. Though again, I would not ask anything of you that you did not wish to do.

[ He's quiet for a moment drinking his drink and thinking about the apparent horrors of this place. But he's also curious and he can't just never ask, so… ]

Forgive me, but…I have never seen anyone who looks like you. Do all the people of your world look the same?

This is the least rude way he can ask this question, but he knows it's still not very proper to ask.

sorry for delay, was fighting for my life to get my app done

[bloomandwither]

No apology needed, I am quite the odd one out. I am a Stilmyst elf. My people look similar to me, though I would say we have as much variety as humans do. You have a brighter complexion than the humans I have briefly known. [but just as handsome, he almost adds, before swallowing the flirtation. Don't push your luck, he thinks. Dion has been very polite towards him. Perhaps that is born of curiosity, which is fine by Ankari, he's never been much of a fascination back home. He'll accept the attention while it lasts.]

.... that might have been presumptuous of me, once more. Are you considered a human?

no worries, i'm not fussed about tag speed ever

[dion]

I've never heard of a Stilmyst elf.

[ He says like a confession, as if he might be a touch embarrassed. In truth, he's never heard of elves at all.

But he can't help smiling at Ankari's question. ]

Yes, I am human. Some people would see me as something more. Some would likely see me as just a monster. I question who has the right of it.

[bloomandwither]

You're not alone. I haven't met any here yet who are familiar with my people. Some have heard of elves, but only as fantasy creatures.

[which is somewhat intriguing to Ankari, it makes him very curious about how the idea of his kind could reach to places they do not exist outside of imagination. Some influence of their old gods, he presumes.]

We might all be monsters now, so perhaps you can say you've found yourself in similar company.

[dion]

How awkward to be thought of as a fantasy creature. I have never heard of elves at all, so I'll not do you the discourtesy of treating you as an oddity.

[ Or at least he'll do his best, though he can't help being curious. He'll try to learn about Ankari's people in time.

He huffs a small laugh. ]

I suppose that is so, though I hope neither of us finds out what it is to be subjected to this curse.

[bloomandwither]

Awkward is a fine word for it, but I take no offense. You have been perfectly courteous, indeed.

[More than Ankari feels he might be worth. He's an oddity even among elves, so to be treated with care rather than dismay is nice enough. So long as Dion does not treat him pitifully then he can handle being the odd man out.]

I will hope that, too.