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

[beat]

[ He's actually half-serious and half-joking, though somewhere in his subconscious he might be considering the logistics of his proposition. A pseudo-fight could totally test his knightly mobility, and what better time to do it than the middle of the night when no one's watching? ]

Yeah, I call Berserker. [ He juts a thumb in one direction. ] So. Mighty Mako. Should you accept this modest proposal and come out victorious, I hereby promise to let you sleep on duty. Do some soul-searching. Meditate all your chakras. Also, impromptu bathroom breaks for a month.

Now go stand over there.

1/3

[assiduous]

[ ( ・◇・)？ ]

[assiduous]

[ ... he's completely serious, jfc. ]

done.

[assiduous]

[ mako's fingers close around the stone, then, with a deft flick of his wrist, sends it flying into the shrubs with almost surprising speed and precision. it disturbs something to say the least, because the thing in question squawks indignantly and scampers out the other side in a dark blur, away from the two and the garden. ]

... Alright.

[ hands slipping into his pockets, he stops leaning on the wall and — after nudging his dumb bag of stolen books against the wall with his foot — leisurely picks his way over to the indicated position. ]

[beat]

[ As Mako makes his way over to the distant spot, Dave turns in his direction, feet kicking the dirt on the ground. ]

So, rules. [ Uncertainty levels rising as he bends his knees kind of like a goalie getting ready to catch a ball; hands on his knees after he rubs them a few times. ] First one to K'O the other wins night job privileges. First one to get K'Oed by the other eats dust. Or worse. Your pick, yo.

[ He'll give Mako a moment to warm up, then it's countdown time. ]

[assiduous]

[ mako looks at dave appraisingly, hands still in his pockets with a completely unironic air of detached but uncaring compliance, before sighing again, and shuffing his fingers through his hair. ]

Just so long as nothing gets smashed, alright? I still wanna get paid when this is over.

[ it's clear he just thinks he's humoring dave, but don't you forget he's here to work.

that isn't to say he won't play along, though. mako's warm up consists of cracking each individual knuckle, then, palms out and fingers laced together, his shoulders, arms swinging up over his head with practiced ease and audible pops. the usefulness of such a technique is debatable, but damn if it doesn't feel nice.

it also hopefully looks kind of intimidating, an considering how bored mako looks... ]

[beat]

[ He B L I N K S, twisting his mouth in the slightest. He hasn't actually seen Mako fight, let alone engage in what he's been told an 'Acid trip without acid'— how much of a threat was LARPing suppose to even pose? ]

Mental pinky promise. [ But he pushes those thoughts away, and shuffling his sheet; Dave begins to count, eyes strictly on Mako. ]

Three.

[ THE CRACKED KNUCKLES OF SPORTY MEN! ]

Two...

[ THE DARK OF THE VEGETABLE GARDEN! ]

...One.

[ SHIT'S ABOUT TO BE UNLEASHED—

With a scrape of his shoe against the ground, he charges. ]

[assiduous]

[ mako waits until almost just before the last second and —

... dodges to dave's left, letting his weight bounce on the balls of his feet, just like a boxer, hands up in front of him in a lazy guard position. ]

[beat]

[ ...Apparently the slowness gained from being in this world doesn't fade off so easily. When Mako dodges his charge, Dave feels himself fall forward, but at least he's quick enough to catch himself. He's got no time to think, so he does whatever he can to land a hit on Mako, and that means twisting left to throw a punch with his right arm. ]

[assiduous]

[ mako dodges again, ducking just out of the way in the last second, then feinting with a quick left cross, aiming to miss. ]

[beat]

[ He's not quite sure if he's trying really hard to capture the role of the Berserker, or he's just missing his sword(s), horribly.

Either way, as his right arm goes down in a miss, Dave does his best to utilize his remaining body parts by bending to his right side slightly, and swinging his left leg in an effort to trip Mako. ]

[assiduous]

[ it almost works — dave's foot catches mako behind the ankle, sweeping his foot forward and making him tip backwards precariously...

only for him to do some kind of rolling backbend instead, fingers splayed wide in the dirt.

missed again, and this time when mako rights himself, the jerk might even be smirking.

ACTUALLY, NO, HE IS SMIRKING. FOR REAL. WHAT A JERK. ]

1/3

[beat]

[ You've got to be fucking kidding. ]

2/3

[beat]

[ Was that... a smirk? A menacing, belittling smirk? Who died and made this jerk king of the jerks? Oh, wait. That's right — no one. This asshole was probably born like that.

And here Dave thought he was insufferable. 5 inches taller, strangely reminiscent of some other lean figure he was always capable of losing to... ]

done.

[beat]

[ Christ, all this horrible nostalgia's actually getting to him. He's got approximately half a second, so he does whatever Jackie Chan — the great martial artist (and first guy that came to mind) — would do.

He yells as loud as he can manage, jaw dropping in a Spartan-like fashion. He charges yet again, but before Mako can dodge for the millionth time, he opens his arms wide, latching onto both sides of His Jerkiness at the last moment.

And, using his cranium, he butts him hard. ]

1/3

[assiduous]

[ omf what the shit ]

2/3

[assiduous]

[ what the hell are you trying to do ki—

ow ]

done.

[assiduous]

[ you clocked him right in the mouth, dave, thanks. he needs his face to stay pretty for girls to like him. so, in the interest of preventing any further headbutts or face shots, mako makes the decision to end this.

he twists in dave's scrawny 12 year old arms with a swear, using his longer reach to simultaneously pop one of dave's feet off the ground and, continuing with the momentum of his turn, sling dave towards the ground in a shoulder throw, fingers bunched in the white and red jersey.

he's beginning to taste blood in his mouth from that headbutt, so it's fair, right? ]

[beat]

[ AS FAIR AS HIS CURRENT FACE, WITH ALL THE GODDAMN DIRT AND BRUISES ON IT (his forehead's got this nasty welt).

But, at this moment in time, there's just... a shitload of groaning. And moaning. And aching. And quaking — as Dave slowly props his elbows up, pushing his back just barely off the ground. ]

Fuc...k...

[ He finds it's always easier to speak, rather than deal with the shitty angsty thoughts running through his head at any given time, or suffering from this impending pain from being launched furiously at the ground. ]

...You.

Fuckin'...

[ He attempts to toss his head at the night sky; fuck you, Mufasa, fuck you Scarface. He never wanted to be this cub. ]

SHIT!

[ What eventually started as a yell dwindles down to a repetition of even more groans. Goddammit. ]

[assiduous]

[ mako takes a second, ignoring the first part of dave's outburst to wipe the blood off his mouth and spit the rest off to the side, fingers lingering over the split. this'll be fun to explain to his girlfriend. ( ._.) "yeah babe, i agreed to fight a twelve year old and then he headbutted me so i threw his ass in the dirt."

not your best plan mako, not your best plan.

at least he feels kinda sorry. a bit. look, he's even leaning over to offer dave a hand. ]

Sorry man, forgot you weren't in pads. Wanna try and walk it off?

1/3

[beat]

[ His eyes are closed and he's back to sprawling fully against the ground before he feels the presence of Mako leaning over him. And at that, Dave pops one eye open and bends his neck to stare blankly at the jock through his tousled shades.

First you insult his stature, then you outright imply you thought he was on his period? God, he'd call you out on it... but he's not in the mood.

So he doesn't answer Mako; instead Dave slaps his hand away and uses his own strength to prop himself to a point where he's sitting up — maybe that pain was a bit of an exaggeration... ]

2/3

[beat]

[ ...With his feet spread out in front of him, he stares idly into space, not making a sound. ]

done.

[beat]

[ And then with one quick gesture, he flips Mako the bird. ]

[assiduous]

[ ... ]

C'mon, there are worse ways to lose a one-on-one. [ here's his hand again, you baby, get off the ground. he'll get you some ice if you want it that bad. ]

[beat]

[ Does he look like a b*tch?

He doesn't need ice, he's just a little shaken by this whole event. And slowly dawning is the slight realization with how pathetic he's been acting... so it's about time he finally speaks. ]

...Yeah. [ A grunt as he glances at Mako's hand for a moment, before taking it. ] Hate to be that guy who'll have to tell Berserkers everywhere they friggin' suck.

[ Haha, well... ]

Against a Punisher, anyway.