TEST DRIVE ; no. 1

[powergamer]

TEST DRIVE MEME

So first of all, welcome to Dyspros' very first test drive meme! We're happy that you're interested in the game, and we hope that you have some fun playing with the setting, regardless of whether you decide to join or not.

As a general reminder, we recommend that you look over the game information before jumping in. In addition, if you decide you're ready to join, you're welcome to put in a reserve, and applications will open on May 4th at 12:01 AM (EST). Finally, if you have any questions or concerns, please send us a message!

So now, without further ado, let's get to playing:

A ; NEW RECRUIT

Well then, welcome to the guild, Initiate! After some thought (or maybe the choice was obvious), you've finally settled on a guild, and you're ready to get started. You're welcome to check out your accommodations and see what kind of people you'll be living with for the foreseeable future. This is your home now, so hopefully you get alone with them. If not, then you can just spend all of your time sharpening your skills!

Whether you're just claiming your bed or you're jumping right into the thick of things to practice or sign up for a mission, a new recruit is unlikely to go unnoticed.

B ; MISSION TIME

It's your first mission, which is pretty exciting, right? You have all these pictures in your head of going off to fight a dragon, to come home with great riches and valor...

Too bad those missions are for the higher ups.

No, it's the middle of the night, and you're out guarding the small fields just outside of town from wild animals. Right now you're standing by the cucumbers, which are considered especially important to guard, for some reason. You have to fight off sleepiness somehow, so maybe an animal will come out for you to scare off, or maybe you'll just end up chatting with whoever is stuck doing this with you.

Or you know, if you're a dick, you'll steal the vegetables for yourself.

C ; STORM THE CASTLE

Okay, the missions for initiates are pretty lame, and you're ready for some real fighting. You can go alone, or you can go with some other people, but it's off to Castle Dyspros! You'll find a variety of creatures to fight, and the power of teamwork will help you make progress through the castle!

Or you'll die. There's that too. Good thing it's fairly inconsequential, if weird!

Either way, have fun fighting to your heart's content!

D ; PICK YOUR OWN

Just like it says, if none of the others appeal to you, feel free to make up your own prompt!

Comments

[assiduous]

[ but punishers technically have lower defense than paladins... they're equally attack oriented classes, but in terms of being able to impede their opponent and think tactically, a punisher has the upper hand.

mako, however, is not saying that he'd like to try and fight a berserker without slashing the ligaments in the back of their knees first ]

What, you don't think so? [ a rustling off in the shrubbery to the left, and mako stoops to pry a small stone out of the dirt, letting it roll around in his palm as he watches to see if it needs lobbed at any racoon-cats or something. ]

[lucena]

[Does Dio look like someone who can fly a ship, though? He has golden dinner plates on his torso, think about this for a second.

It also means very much, and his life is now over. Once he's done being disappointed he'll switch over to deep pity, because flying is really great and everyone should be able to do it.

God at least this guy knows what a bird is.]

You're missing out! What do you do?

[People who don't spend most of their time in the air... have hobbies, right? They do stuff.]

[lucena]

[Being as he is a person who habitually disturbs other people's absorbing activities, Dio is almost prepared for this kind of situation. Almost. He manages to get his hand in front of his face in time to deflect it, but still gets whacked in the palm with the edge. There's an ow! and he vanishes back up to his own bunk.

For about three seconds, before he's back again. She doesn't have anything else to throw at him, so!!]

So you are alive down there. I was getting worried.

[soarloser]

[He still doesn't know what a pilot is. What is a captain in the sky? Is this a riddle? He will have to figure it out and get back to him one day.

But fine, he will accept this change of conversation. Even though it's surprisingly difficult. He's a lot of things after all.]

I travel. [on boat and caravans like real people do.] I'm on leave from the army.

[On leave, on probation. Same thing. Still better than saying he's acting as a spy during political upheaval.]

[soarloser]

[Good, miscommunication avoided. He was getting better at this related to people thing every day.

But a stage could be outside! Then you could have fireworks and food stalls and it's so much more accessible to the masses! Oh well, it's not his right to judge how this city is designed.]

Do you not like dancing? You're very good at it.

[lucena]

[Would you like him to get technical about proper flying ships and how they work? Because he can do that. He will draw diagrams in the dirt and everything.

This answer is kinda boring... He looks disappointed again, but more bored and less devastated this time. Why did it have to be armies...]

I bet that takes a while.

[Traveling. On the ground.]

[soarloser]

[He would probably find it really interesting is the funny thing. It flies like birds. Flying is cool.

Mahmut notices the reaction but he finds it hardly surprising. This guy is obviously not the military type. If this guy knew he used to be a Pasha he wouldn't react like this. But it's not like he is going to brag about something he got demoted from. As if he was the type to brag at all.]

This trip is not about how quickly I can move.

[He has to learn ~lessons~.]

1/2

[stopsinging]

I don't like it.

[TO THE POINT]

2/3 cry

[stopsinging]

I never had to dance for strangers before and that idiot who dresses in drag tells me to do it or I'll starve and it's too bothersome when I have to practice with the others -- !! [huff HUFF]

[lucena]

[Give him a call - that's a thing that lets you talk without being next to someone - when you want Vanships 101 then.

"Not the military type," true enough, but he's seen enough of that kind of thing. The joke is he totally would react in the exact same way even if he knew what Pashwhat was. He lifts his hands in that fun little camera square again and frames this uptight child.]

Is it for fun?

[He feels you, man. This one time he became a prisoner of war for fun, it was great.]

3/3

[stopsinging]

[he's chosen mahmut to tell all these feelings too cry...]

All of it is just annoying! [but he just -- sighs, and rubs his head] But thanks, you're the first person here to say so.

[soarloser]

[Are you going to make fun of him every single thread? Classic ageism here. Bronze ageism.

This is a lot more awkward than he ever wanted. Back home every city he went to knew about his rise and fall in government. There are plays about it. It's weird to have to actually explain it to someone.]

No. [He is distinctly embarrassed...] It is a mission to better myself. I am still too immature.

[beat]

[ Well, a Berserker's lost ability to control probably would likely affect them keeping up their defense... meh, upper hand by comparison is more like it.

...Fuck you Jocko, an existence relative to sports strategies is generally outside his comfort zone. There's only one way to be sure. ]

Actually, I'm thinking speculation gets us nowhere. For all we know, five eons ago Punishers and Berserkers got into a huge fight over who would win in a fight, and the Wicked Witch of the West cursed both classes into never disagreeing again. Maybe they're like buddy-buddy TJ and Amal, and it's destiny's mutilated idea of a shitty joke for no one to ever witness a black magic versus swingin' axe throwdown ever again. Now let's approach this scenario logically.

[ He eyes the bush before turning to Mako again, cocking his chin slightly upward. ] Four words, man: Live Action Role Play. Test and run trial. Acid trip without acid. [ Because, really. Do you even LARP? ]

[lucena]

[Plays, for real? In the presence of a superstar...

Dio blinks. Too immature? Maybe that's because he's, like, twelve. Right? In any case, being as he is a person who spends a lot of time traveling because he damn well feels like it, and can only associate bettering oneself with memories of his sister he'd like to forget -- this is awkward.

He zooms in with his hand camera, which is definitely not awkward.]

You can be mature and have fun.

[lucena]

[Yep let's talk about something else!! Like this old man, so old. If they're going to make old man jokes, he can dig that. It's also as far from getting emotional about fireflies as possible, which is a plus. The last thing he wants to do is lose his cool in front of some basically-a-stranger.]

That's too bad. Was it such a smart idea to take a mission after your bedtime?

[soarloser]

[His GREAT friends use his stories for material. It's hard knowing a traveling actors trope.

Fun? Mature and fun? No, that's impossible. There is only protection of Greater Turkiye. No fun allowed! Professional stick in the mud right here.]

This isn't about fun!

[It's actually a bit of a shriek. Look at him continue to embarrass himself.]

[soarloser]

[... Well, he sure wasn't expecting that.

Mahmut is good on the listening attentively part of a story but he really doesn't know what to do afterwards. The answer is obviously blunt encouragement.]

If you didn't like it you wouldn't have joined the performer's guild though. You shouldn't doubt your skill and enjoy it.

[lucena]

[He has emotions besides 'annoyed'--! Dio actually startles, but other than a jolt he doesn't do anything but blink a few times and stare at him. Oh no, now his new friend hates him...

Honestly, something about this very strong anti-fun, pro-armystuff attitude puts him off. Hasn't he dealt with enough overzealous warrior types by now? It's bothering him; enough that he makes a point to sound less flippant, for once:]

Purpose and process aren't that widely separated. Plenty of things aren't about fun!

[For example

flying a sweet ship.]

[peacekeeping]

[ Louise shakes her head. Honestly, she didn't mind the silence, but paired with the boredom? She was beginning to feel restless. Her mind was heading to darker places, and her body felt cravings now that it wasn't distracted.

She smooths her hands over her uniform. ]

Should we go venturing? I don't think we're going to find anything this way. [ She's good at making this mission seem a lot more important than it really is... ]

D

[beat]

[ Dude, don't even go there; his haircut is perfect. Maybe "blond and beautiful" should be bedazzled on his shirt, kind of like how biffles wear those "I'm with Stupid!" tees, only his real best friend in this equation is Dave's golden locks.

Anyway he notices this other dude calling out to him (who's got the weird haircut now, huh) and approaches, speaking first. ]

So. What makes you think I'm interested in what you're selling.

omgggg

[peacekeeping]

No. [ The seriousness in which she states it almost sounds defensive, but it's because she's a bit secretly preoccupied with proving herself around people like him. ]

This mission... [ She pauses to survey the cucumbers. ] It's a test of patience, right?

[stopsinging]

[the reason he joined the performer's guild = too dumb to do anything else.]

It's not the first time I've had to dance without liking it, so -- I'm used to it. [looks Mahmut up and down though] But enough about me, what about you? Here to join or watch?

[tsunderekun]

[How dare you put that in your tag.

And it's not a game you man-child! Stop making terrible assumptions!]

You don't need to know who I'm hiding from!

[It's not that he doesn't trust you, Yogi. But he's sure that you'll go into scolding mode if he says the authorities are after him. He doesn't want to be told off right now.]

And I don't care what you do. You can't hide here though!

[tsunderekun]

[Wow, he heard that little bit. Why does she look so excited.

Are you some kind of weirdo?]

I'm not a criminal since I didn't do anything wrong.

[Yet. Not counting stealing and pickpocketing, but he actually hasn't done that so....]

Anyway... why are you hiding here?

[enrage]

[It always puts Guts on edge to hear that voice coming from behind him. He's learned to trust Serpico, but the various times the two of them have crossed swords won't let him not be a little bit wary: he'll let him watch his back, and that's much more than most people get, but he's getting a few glances just in case.]

Excited? [He's barely even breaking a sweat. In fact, he's going to casually bisect one of those things with too many legs and shove the tip of the Dragonslayer into the ground. Time for a monotony break.] We fight worse before noon most days. This is a joke.