rubimemes | TEST DRIVE MEME 001

Entry tags:

!test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME 001

⚰︎ ⍢ ⌲ ⍚ TEST DRIVE MEME:

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, waxplay, character death, and references to children in proximity to sexual situations.

✧ ✧ ✧

Welcome to RUBILYKSKOYE — a dark, horror-smut game where player choices will drive a mod-run storyline about the world and its NPCs. For the first round, this test drive serves as characters' arrival into game.

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.

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

AWAKENING IN PAJAK WOOD

The chirping of partridges in the treetops rouses you. Light barely filters through the canopy, just enough to suggest warmth of the sun. By the time it reaches the forest floor, the daylight has taken on a sickly green tinge. You lie amongst the mosses and ferns, the 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.

Fortunately, you seem to be alone. The birdsong continues 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. Amongst gnarled oaks and moss, you see nothing around. No sign of civilization or sentient life. Movement flickers at the corner of your eye, but it's just a curious animal — brave squirrels or lizards who have come to see what stirs in their home.

Then, like the rippling of the horizon at noontime, the ash-gray soil around you undulates. Sea, not earth. Something else has come to greet you — their grey bodies blended in so easily with the floor, but as you stagger to your feet, you see them. Thousands of spiders roll like waves underfoot. They crawl towards you from the darker edge of the forest.

attack

Individuals who attack the spiders will find the small spiders are easy to kill, but the pheromones released by their corpses draw larger spiders in their place. 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 will attempt to use their webbing to handicap 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.

FAQ: DEATH RULES

hunt

Any aspiring monster-hunters enterprising enough to try to follow the spiders to their nest will move eastward. This way, the forest grows darker and darker — though the sun never grows warm red-gold with sunset.

In the void, the birdsong is replaced by the click of mandibles and the skitter of many legs, but soon it is impossible to see. Even with the brightest magical light does not reach further than a few inches. The air grows heavy and thick, 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. Soon, you cannot move at all.

Turn back while you still can — collapsing out here is dangerous. The void can play tricks on your senses. You may find yourself reliving unhappy memories or hallucinating your worst nightmares.

SETTING: THE VOID

But flee the spiders westward and you will discover that the wood is well-populated with the survival resources that someone might seek — berries bushes and trees bearing stone fruits; sticks and dry leaves to aid in the building of a fire; rocks big enough to fashion into crude weapons; small animals that can be hunted or caught; hike long enough, and you might just find the freshwater stream that runs north-to-south, populated by both poisonous toads and delicious crawdads.

What's more, you may run into others with stories just like yours. Some may have already formed clumsy nudist hiking parties, others may still be naked and confused and processing how they have no memory of how they got here. They all stagger vaguely, as you do, with only the sun for a waymarker — and even that won't last long.

Now is a good time to overcome any hang-ups you have about modesty, as it's going to be a long hike. If you sneak a good look at your new companions, you may four varietals of marks on their bodies. Maybe someone will even point out that you have one, too.

FAQ: CURSE MARKS

EVERY DAY LIKE THE ONE BEFORE

Hike far enough — or long enough that the sun does go down — and signs of life come into view. The glow of fires and lights, the smooth curve of a stone wall. A town sits at the edge of this wood, a reward to the survivors.

The fifty-foot wall of beige stone protecting the town's perimeter has only a single entrance — an iron gate positioned on the southern edge. When you arrive, the gate is already open, welcoming people into town from the winding dirt road. Attentive eyes may note that the road itself bears the mark of many wagon wheels and horse hoofs, but not cars.

guards

The guards grant entry to anyone who attempts a conversation with them. However, if your character is more likely to attempt to sneak in, overcome the guards, or attack them, please reach out HERE.

Inside the wall lies a quaint, historic town with a population around five thousand. The streets are cobbled, and their signs are 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 bank — 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.

No matter what time you pass through the gate, the streets are full of people. The climate of the bustle befits a night market or a busy friday downtown — plenty of people to ogle at your exposed body. But despite any efforts on your part to hide or make excuses, the locals don't seem offended by your nakedness. Even families with children don't gawk or look twice. In fact, the further into town you go, the more you may notice that 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! If anything, they seem to be under the impression that you're naked to participate in the evening's events with the rest of them.

Those still determined to find proper clothing will find that modern clothing stores aren't a thing here. The closest this town has is a tailor's shop, which is closed for religious observance, and a stand in the central marketplace selling scarves and blankets.

Fortunately, the people of the town are very generous! The locals will gladly share what they have with those who ask politely — but those items are as revealing as what they're wearing. You might get a mesh bodysuit or drape outfit. Remember not to be ungracious! it's only appropriate for the occasion.

steal clothing

Anyone unwilling to ask nicely for help could break into someone's house or yard to steal some of their clean laundry. Notably, inside their homes, the people of the town also appear to own some more modest apparel. Be sure to alert us HERE if your character pursues this option.

SETTING: CRIME

And what is the occasion? The locals are excited and flattered by any interest in their ordinary weekly prayer: the folks dancing and selling their wares are all offering their energies to give thanks and ask for their god's patronage! The abstractions are all familiar — fertility, harvest, peace. Smalltalk makes them eager to chat and draw you into those festivities — including some ceremonial wax-dripping on the exposed parts of your body!

Anyone who chats at length with the townspeople will gather that the locals feel it's better for the newcomers to dive into the deep-end because, since you'll be settling in here, they expect you'll want to participate down the line. They seem to be under the impression that the new arrivals are a boon from their god.

In addition, many of the locals' choice of clothes reveal the same four types of marks on their bodies as the folx who were wandering out in the wood!

ROOM AND BOARD

Once you're tired out, the locals will help you find a place to stay. The boarding house is several stories tall and spacious, accessible through an embellished iron garden gate and obscured by hanging plants, trees, and vines.

Beyond the overgrown yard is a bright red door, which opens into a spacious cottage.

The house has clearly been empty for some time — dust has gathered on various furnishings — bedding, sofas, curtains, wooden tables. According to the locals, it has remained empty since its last occupant passed away, and that's all they'll say about that!

Each floor of the house has a shared sitting room, but only the first floor has a kitchen — large enough to support feeding the entire household. Here, a few of the townspeople will help out — they stock the kitchen and help make dinner for the new arrivals.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She doesn't stop. She keeps going and that ought to prompt him to follow suit, or risk getting left behind. It's easier to cut the emotion out of it. Forward momentum - that's the trick now, she thinks.

"The enemy gets over the wall," she says, without much emotion at all. "Dixon betrays us."

There's no one more solid than Bossie when there's an enemy right in front of them.

But there isn't right now. There's just this truth that Leah has dropped on his shoulders and he crumples, tries to follow her and stumbles.

No, no no no nononono...

"How? How?"

It doesn't work. That much is clear immediately. He stumbles, and she thinks back again to Turner's body laid out on the cot. Bossie sobbing, and Pope's low-burning rage. All the signs she didn't see under the cloud of her own grief.

She stills, turning back to him. Then she exhales and puts a hand on the back of his neck, squeezing.

"It doesn't matter now. We keep fighting."

He doesn't cry because they're in the woods and exposed and he can bottle that shit up if he has to. But he looks at her and he can barely move for a moment.

"Did he suffer? Did you see it-? I'm going to kill that fucker."

Silently, she cups the back of his head. Rubbing her fingers against his skull to try and sooth him, bring him back to focused. She needs him focused, now.

"I need you here," she says simply. "Can you be here for me, David?"

She's a liar now, Leah thinks distantly. This has made her a liar.

He nods, swallowing, and he makes himself meet her eyes.

"I got you. I won't let you down, Leah." Nothing is going to happen to her. Nothing while he is here.

He reaches out and squeezes her shoulder. "C'mon. I'm good, I promise."

She nods, accepting it because she has to. If the others are here, she'll bring them back. If the others are here, she'll figure out another lie. Or perhaps tell them the truth, depending. Maybe, if Turner were here, it would be easier for Bossie to carry what has to come next. But if Pope is here, hiding in the dark -

Ah, Leah realizes silently. She'll have to kill him again, won't she?

"With me," she agrees. "We're going to find supplies, and we're going to survive."

He smiles for her, his eyes still young and earnest, the smile a mimic of the one he learned from Carver, confident and easy.

"We're okay." Even without Pope they'll be okay.

They walk a while and then he laughs. "I hope they caught Austin. Just so we can razz him about that birthmark on his ass."

Despite herself - despite everything she, too, has learned to carry - that gets a faint smile as she glances back at him, her expression softening a little. He looks so young, then. "Don't tease him."

She's smiling, though.

"Maybe a little," she amends. "If we're feeling merciful."

"Have you seen it though? It's like God's own handprint," he laughs, still watching their horizons, still acutely aware of everything around them.

Nothing's going to touch them. And if it tries it's got to go through him to get to her.

"I haven't," she admits. "God's own handprint, really?"

"It's actually about this big," holding his thumb and forefinger apart. "But the joke is, you see it you slap it. Then bam, he's got a handprint on his ass."

It's the crude sort of humor that Leah accepts without really understanding - she, certainly, would not enjoy being slapped on the ass if she had a birthmark there. But she smiles, because Bossie's calmed down and she likes the way the tension's bled out from him, from the moment. And because she'd rather think about that than finding Austin's body.

"Ah," she allows. "I will take your word for it. Who came up with that one?"

He knows she'll never join in on the joke. But he can imagine Austin's face if she did and it makes him grin.

More important he doesn't want her to feel left out of an in joke. Shaw has always been one of them, female or not, commander or not. He never wants that to change. So at least now she knows the punchline.

"You get you guesses."

"Hmm."

She gives him a coy look, a faint smile on her face. It's strange how easy it feels to slip back into this role. The back and forth. The game of it. She's seen Bossie die. She found Austin dead on the ground, knew he'd been gutted and knew just the same that she hadn't been able to prevent it. And then she puts those thoughts away, because here, and now, she has Bossie at her side.

The rest will fall in place. She won't let this man die. He's her responsibility now.

"One of my troublemakers," she muses. "Wells, or Turner. Am I close?"

"Oh man the story gets so much better when I get to tell you it was Mancea on accident." He grins at her, eager to see her reaction.

"Oh, I see."

Her smile is a touch warmer. It's easy to slip into something distant, cut all emotion but anger away. Anger is useful and she strives, above all, to be a useful thing. But there is still room in her for this - this side of humanity they can only express in the quiet moments. When they aren't fighting to exist.

"Do tell."

"We were all bathing and Mancea thought the mark was a bug on his ass. So he smacks him, thinking he's helping out, you know?" He chuckles. "So after Mancea went away we all slapped that bug too. Austin thinks it's funny."

If he didn't, Bossie wouldn't do it. Some of the others might, they like pushing the line, but Bossie wants a joke to be funny on both sides.

That gets another fond huff out of her. She can see how these things build, the little moments that become more. A sign that they are still, despite everything, human.

And now all her boys are dead. Each and every one of them lying dead on the ground but not Bossie.

Not him.

"He would," she says fondly. Austin's easy going like that. Outside of combat, at least. "I like that story."

"Got a million of em but I feel like you probably know most of them," he chuckles.

The stories are what keep his head together when things are quiet, when he's alone.

"Hey-" a hand up instinctively to signal a stop.

"You see that?" A building up ahead.

She stills when he signals, narrowing her eyes. And she does see: a rise, a building. Civilization.

Good.

"With me," she says softly. "We don't move until we know what we're dealing with."

"You want me to go ahead?" That's his usual role: first to check things out. He has his club at the ready but he's aware of her earlier orders. Behave.

She considers that. Bossie's skilled as a breacher, just like Carver, and he's quiet when he puts his mind to it. She nods slowly. "Signal me before you move."

No mistakes. They have to be careful about this.

He goes on ahead, naked and armed only with a stick. Willing to do this just because she asked, to keep her safe.

The house is empty as far as his scans can tell but he still stops and signals her before he breaks in.

She follows behind him, keeping watch with her makeshift spear. They need weapons. They need to survive. And so she hangs back, on high alert, until he hears the signal and she's at his side. Caution, she signs, and meets his eyes to make sure he understands. She doesn't see any tripwires - or indeed, any signs of life - but that doesn't mean anything. The moment they lose focus is the moment something will go wrong.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject