rubimemes | TEST DRIVE MEME 001

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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.

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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

[ Until now, Hanseok hasn't been worth the effort. Vincenzo has met a lot of evil men so while the descriptor certainly applies, it can hardly make the same kind of impact it would on someone more innocent. That said, with the blood present on his hands, Vincenzo isn't above wishing the worse kinds of things on his enemies. ]

I don't plan on dying here.

[ His body seems relaxed but in reality, he's tense. Hanseok isn't without a temper. ]

I'm in the woods, not an enemy camp. Why wouldn't I assume I'll make it out?

You're in the presence of an enemy.

[ No 'camp'. One's all he needs.

—God, and it has been too long since he's killed with his own hands, hasn't it? It was so fun, beating the councilman to death in that ice rink, smearing blood everywhere, getting it on everyone's clothes, soaking in their looks of shock and fear. Blessed rain after a fifteen-year dry spell. There's not going to be an audience here, of course, and no fiberglass hockey stick to brandish: only his bare hands, or the branch, or maybe he can bash his head in with some kind of rock. He doesn't even have to worry about disposing of the body. The man's in the Italian mafia. The authorities will assume it was longstanding bad blood.

One good thing to come from all of this. ]

I don't forget who my enemies are.

[ There's no fear. Mere minutes before, Hanseok laughed at Vincenzo's build, and it was obviously because of his smaller size. It's fair to assume he'd have the advantage of being bigger and stronger. All of the chairman's past victims were overcome with brute force. There's nothing to suggest he used any skill aside from that afforded by his size and workout regime. That alone would be enough if Vincenzo didn't have his own skills. ]

Are you sure you want to make your move here? You'll lose, and they'll be nobody around to help you.

[ Hanseok huffs through his nose, watches him disbelievingly. Arrogant motherfucker. His mafia skills are all contingent upon hiring people, orchestrating things, intricate maneuvers in the context of longstanding establishments—none of which have followed them here. It's just him, and Vincenzo, and the branch he's wielding, though he's honestly of the mind to just toss it to the side. More efficient to use his hands.

Hanseok's heart beats faster in his chest. Anticipation. ]

How long can you hold your breath? One minute? Two?

[ Vincenzo wishes he had clothing for a variety of reasons, but it feels especially naked to be unable to roll up his sleeves. Presentation is so important to impressions. ]

For someone who was raised with money and privilege, you're uncivilized.

[ Ironically, a blind rage would be most useful. Hanseok isn't as much of an idiot as Vincenzo claims so if he's unable to think due to anger, all the better. ]

I'm sure your father had a lot of reasons to be ashamed of you.

[ Now Vincenzo is clearly just trying to provoke him. He wants him to make a move. He clearly doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, never had the displeasure of knowing the man; judging by the way he wields such an incredibly obvious statement, he doesn't seem to realize how little his father's opinions mattered to Hanseok by the time he was old enough to have any sense. No shit he was ashamed of him, he sent him to live out the rest of his life in a foreign country. ]

He wasn't as smart as me.

[ And it cost him his life in the end. Hanseok takes a step forward, eye contact unwavering. ]

Interesting you'd say that. Having been put up for adoption and all.

[ He hopes for a reaction, hopes it's visceral. It's the first time he's given any indication that he knows, and there couldn't be a more fitting time to use it. If Vincenzo's going to die and the whole match is going to come to a stop in the next few minutes, Hanseok should at least get to see the look on his face first. ]

[ It isn't that adoption is such a leap of logic. They know of his Italian origins, but his appearance is obviously Asian. Being of mixed race or having parents that moved from Asia to Italy isn't impossible, but it's not that adoption is so out of the question that it would be impossible to guess. The problem is that Hanseok finds the information notable.

Notable information because it's new.

New because they're looking into him. If they'd found that much about his past, it's not difficult to deduce where the paper trail would inevitably lead: his mother.

The anger twists his features as he's the first to take the next step. Some things have been off-limits, but if they intend to push this button, then there'll be no holds barred. ]

If you're so determined to put your nose where it doesn't belong, you will lose it!

[ Vincenzo reacts; Hanseok grins wide and unbarred with clear enjoyment, eyes bright. Now he's starting to have fun. That hit a nerve, brought out feeling; Cassano's reaction is as irresistible to him as he imagines traces of blood in the water are to a shark. ]

Bite me, then, you mafia bastard. Finish what you started.

[ He says it with obvious anticipation, excitement, even: Show me what you're really capable of. They had come so close before the authorities intervened. Would he have done it? Would he really have pulled the trigger? God, he hopes so. It'd be a disappointment if he was bluffing. What a thrill that had been, even when he'd thought himself about to die.

Now, however, he's the one with the evident advantage. There are no weapons, no allies to call upon for help. Just the two of them. ]

[ Fire flashes in his eyes. The desire to land a blow and wipe the smirk off that smug face is so strong that it nearly defeats logic.

Nearly. The sight of that stick is enough to bring Vincenzo back to himself. He isn't so successful because he relies on or is defeated by emotion. Hanseok will fall to his feet and regret ever eyeing that side of Vincenzo's life, but he needs to swing the stick so that he can be disarmed.

The laugh is mocking. ]

That wasn't a bad move. It's probably the best I've seen you make, but in the end, you're still not worth the effort.

[ Hanseok will hate that. Hopefully enough to strike. ]

If I feel the need to kill something, I'll find some insects that are more worth my time.

[ Vincenzo holds up the opportunity to feel; he yanks it away a moment later, refuses to engage, like he's teasing a dog with a piece of food—like you're not supposed to do, because it inevitably ends with getting bitten when the animal decides it's had enough, as Hanseok very nearly has.

Try to fucking kill me already, he wants to scream, doubly so given the look of sheer passion that flitted across Cassano's dark eyes for the split second before he was so brusquely dismissed. Impatience twists in his stomach; frustration burns in his veins at the sheer audacity required to laugh at him. Like he's some kind of joke, not a real enemy.

He knows what he's doing; it's all deliberate. ]

That won't be enough to satisfy you. You're always going to wonder what it might have been like to kill me. You might as well die trying.

You're confusing the two of us.

[ Back in control. It's thinner than it had been before the mention of his adoption, but Vincenzo isn't going to be so easily baited. Hanseo is bigger, stronger, and armed. If he loses his wits for even a moment, the smaller lawyer will end up as another victim.

He refuses. ]

You're an annoying fly. I can leave here now, and my only worry is that you'll continue your annoying buzz.

[ The smile widens. ]

I notice you're not attacking me. Are you worried that the trees will witness your loss?

[ He huffs, audible. ]

Afraid to make the first move? You keep talking about leaving, leaving, but you haven't gone anywhere yet, Consigliere.

[ And that's what he's been hoping for—a heel-turn, so he can get him on the back of the skull and knock him forward. It'll be easy from there. Truth be told, that's about all the branch in his hand is good for; he really should have taken the time to sharpen it to a point earlier. Vincenzo would already be bleeding all over the forest floor like a gutted deer if that were the case. ]

Maybe you're afraid to turn your back to me because you know I'll kill you the moment you run. You could always back away, though, I guess.

That's an interesting choice.

[ Then they both acknowledge that Hanseok is waiting for the chance to swing his stick. ]

You're hoping to act the coward and attack me from behind, but you're mocking the fact that I'm too smart to give you an easy shot. Again, I'm impressed. I thought you would have assumed your bigger size meant you could win in a fight. Congratulations for realizing how wrong you'd be.

[ It ceases to be worth the small advantage it would give him, if it's making Vincenzo think he's less able to take him down. So with one swift motion Hanseok throws the branch to the side, out of both of their reaches, and holds up his hands, making a show of how empty they are with a deliberately provocative grin. ]

There. Man-on-man. I was planning on choking you to death anyway. I want the last thing you see to be my face.

[ Beautiful. Skill can only compensate for so much. With size and a weapon on his side, Hanseok would've likely won. Playing to his pride really had been Vincenzo's only chance. That doesn't mean victory is guaranteed, but Vincenzo's confidence suggests he believes the win to be his.

And certainly, they can fight now, but his eyes narrow in interest. Hanseok is known for his temper and explosive moments so why is he trying to make Vincenzo throw the first punch? ]

And being the gentleman, you're offering me the first strike?

[ In English: ] After you.

[ It won't matter who struck first in the end, will it? All he has to do is get a hold of his wrists, get him onto the ground. Then it'll be a question of strength and nothing else, and it'll be impossible for him to emerge the victor, to free himself. Vincenzo undoubtedly has some sort of mafia trick up his sleeve, but he's at a physical disadvantage that can't be overcome with wits alone if he manages to wrap his hands around his throat or even just get most of his weight on top of him. That's all he has to do.

God, it's exciting. It's been too long since he's killed someone. Weeks. He forgot how good it feels to do it yourself. ]

[ His episodes of rage are likely manic so it'll likely be different to use pain to stop the raging bull.

Step one was successful. Step 2 requires that Vincenzo be near a weapon if a tackle is successful. Their train of thought isn't so different: if the smaller man goes down, the disadvantage would be too difficult to overcome by sheer force of will.

He takes a step back. Then another. With a step to the side, there should be a rock within reach if he falls. ]

I'm happy enough here.

[ Vincenzo steps back; Hanseok steps forward, keeping the small amount of distance between them static. It's clearly not fear, or cowardice, or an attempt to de-escalate: he's trying to get him to strike first, and he wants to move the battlefield into position here, on this patch of ground, though there doesn't seem to be much difference in elevation.

Hanseok's eyes skim the damp earth, not without observing the presence of a stone half-emerging from the leaf litter. This guy. He'd had similar thoughts about bashing his brain in with a rock himself, but it's just annoying, seeing them rehashed a second time by someone else. ]

What, you plan on hitting me to death with a rock? [ He scoffs. ] Good luck.

[ And—because he's decided he's had enough fucking around—he swings at his jaw when Vincenzo blinks, hand clenched into a hard fist. ]

[ Rocks are just as hard and unyielding even if they're not a surprise. It's also not his first place but his backup. Vincenzo has studied martial arts long enough to put his faith in skill, but he'd be a fool to be so careless when fighting a psychopath.

With a duck and a dodge toward the rock, Vincenzo keeps himself close enough to the weapon to allow for a step forward and swing at Hanseok's jaw. Smaller or not, he isn't weak. ]

[ Vincenzo dodges with fluid grace both surprising and unsurprising: of course he has some sort of training. He catches him on the corner of the jaw a half-second later, a hard hit that Hanseok partly but not fully escapes from. Fuck, his stupid knuckles are bony. It might even bruise. Already this is pissing him off. ]

You have hands like a woman, consigliere!

[ He strikes out again, with more force, this time, like that's the deciding factor as to whether or not it'll hit—while taking a hard step forward into his space, still mindful of the presence of the half-buried stone. There are bound to be plenty more behind him, but Vincenzo hasn't had time to catalog where those ones are, and he won't be able to find one in the frantic struggle that starts when someone's fighting for air. Choking the life out of him is probably going to involve getting him on the ground, and it needs to happen where that complicating factor is out of reach. ]

[ The insult doesn't even register; his roles in life came with no small amount of cruel words so Hanseok's mean nothing to him. They're in a dance with a fatal outcome so he can't allow his attention to wander even for a moment. Vincenzo plans to keep on the move but with the rock always in reach.

It isn't a bad plan, but the problem lies in the terrain: he's used to fighting in cities. Concrete and forest floors aren't comparable, and though he manages to just barely dodge the next punch, it causes him to step into a thick collection of foliage. When Vincenzo tries to step away, his leg gives out instead, his ankle still in place. Thankfully, he's able to bend in a way to keep the leg from twisting, but already, he's falling. ]

Che due palle!

[ Just as Hanseok sometimes falls into English, Vincenzo exclaims his surprise in Italian as his body hits the ground. ]

[ There it is: the moment he's been waiting to seize. He couldn't have arranged this better had it been deliberate. Vincenzo goes down and Hanseok goes after him, heart racing in his chest. Here it is, finally, and he's able to do it himself instead of having Choi Myunghee hire someone to take care of it. He finally gets to kill that mafia bastard.

Hanseok delivers a hard punch to the jaw as soon as he comes to crouch over him, damp pine needles and twigs sticking into his bare knees as they press down into the forest floor on either side of his narrow hips. He grabs the man's shoulder as Vincenzo fumbles and leans forward, moving all of his weight to that arm, doing his damndest to pin him like a dead butterfly to the moss and dead leaves as the other hand comes to rest over his throat—lightly, without pressure, dragging out the moment.

Savoring it. ]

Look me in the eyes. I want to remember this for a while.

[ Annoyance, anger, fear; Vincenzo is as human as the next man, and the cycle of emotions quickly rush through his body. The landing is far from soft, and then, there's a harder, bigger body atop his. Hanseok is smart to pin the hand closest to the rock. It leaves Vincenzo with one free hand, and he's sure it'll stay that way since one will be needed to strangle him, but there's nothing beneficial nearby.

The punch is painful but just a preview of what's to come.

Vincenzo, for all of his murder and experience, still managed to have a youthful, bright gaze, but those eyes are wide now.

Think. Think. He can probably gather a handful of smaller rocks and sticks and hope for a lucky cut when they're pushed into Hanseok's eyes.

The stare narrows. His eyes calm and regain some confidence he doesn't feel. If he is to die here, it won't be begging. To the side, his hand searches for the most hopeful pile of... anything.

The swallow is certainly felt by the hand against his throat. ]

I'm sure I'll see more impressive devils if you succeed. I don't need to see another one here.

[ Even now, when it's already clear he's won, Vincenzo is trying to get under his skin. But regardless of his bravado, Hanseok doesn't miss the brief widening of his eyes, the obvious fear: of him, like a rabbit in the last moments before a hawk opens its talons. It's intoxicating, a raw thrill that shoots through him like lightning, right along with the gratification of feeling the man's throat move under his palm.

He's dimly aware of the rush of warmth to his crotch, the fact that he's getting hard off this. How could he not, with the man he despises entirely vulnerable beneath him, waiting for him to snuff out his life like a cheap match? He has beautiful eyes, in the moment before they narrow in a resentful half-squint.

Vincenzo fumbles in the pine needles at his side for anything he can use; Hanseok laughs. And then he moves his weight forward, bears down on his throat and squeezes with one hand at the same time he pushes downwards, careful not to use enough force to break his neck. He has a specific death in mind for him.

In English: ]

I win.

[ Luck, fate, destiny; there are a lot of words with roughly the same definition. In reality, it feels like something worked to assure Vincenzo was out of his comfort zone and shoved into this battle. His training was reduced to nothing the moment he was thrust into the hills with a bigger enemy.

It would be infuriating if he wasn't about to die.

Finding nothing to use as a weapon and missing the arousal between Hanseok's legs, Vincenzo decides on a more direct approach and aims for a punch. The worry is that his opponent is, for all of his namecalling, stout enough to endure the blow even with Vincenzo's target being that smug face.

He doesn't want to die out here, in the woods, where his body will likely be undiscovered unless Hanseok plans to drop it off as a 'gift'. ]

TEST DRIVE MEME 001

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cw strangulation/murderous ideation

cw mentions of murder/past strangulation, etc

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cw strangulation/murder attempt from here on out!!

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