doingtheuglycry | CAN CRY: FIRST TEST DRIVE

CAN CRY: INITIAL TDM
Welcome one and all to the very first test drive meme for Can Cry! If you're unfamiliar with the game, then you can check out the interest check, FAQ, world & setting info page and the powers and abilities page to get up to speed! Since the game is still very much under construction, this is just an initial test drive for people to dip their toes into the water and see which characters they'd like to consider for the game. In order to not spoil the opening of the game for players, the TDM is not canon to Can Cry and will take place in a slightly wonky little AU just over to the left. Characters have awoken in Purgatory after their deaths and been conscripted as Executors by Rei, the sole other Executor in Purgatory. The population of dangerous spirits has gotten out of control and she needs some allies to help her keep things under control. Characters on the TDM will have access to all of their starter powers as outlined on the powers page as well as two unique abiliites to play around with as you please. Some prompts and location details have been provided below for you to play around with but please feel free to go hog wild and have fun!
LIMBO
Limbo is the Executor's main base of operations as it is the top level of Purgatory and the one most populated by non-violent spirits. Distorted by the cognition of all the human souls here, Limbo has taken on the form of a hazy, dream-like recollection of a town. It's full of winding paths that go up, down and all around and the geometries of the town and its surroundings don't always make much sense. Stairs might lead loop back around on themselves or a door to the outside might end up leading right back indoors. It's a bit of a headache, so it's usually best not to think about it too hard. The town is mostly functional, mostly thanks to all the human souls here. Players are free to invent any additions to the town that they would like for their threads, but here are some to get you started: ⚝ Conbini: A seemingly normal Japanese convenience store, full of the sort of fare you'd expect from a cheap 24-7 convenience store. There's only four aisles and everything's a bit clustered together, but it's not overly claustrophobic. Things start getting a bit weird when you try and go to the back of the store, though – no matter how long you look, there is always just one more aisle for you to browse and the further back you go, the stranger and more abstract the items on the shelf will look. If you walk too far or turn around you will suddenly find yourself back at the first aisle in the blink of an eye as if you were rubberbanded back there. ⚝ Hotel: A so-called luxury hotel that towers over the rest of the buildings in the area. Even if you don't have a reservation, all you have to do is approach the desk and the Spectre there will apparently recognize you and hand over a key to one of the rooms. Except... you can't quite read the number? It seems to fluctuate whenever you try. Not that it matters, because the key will open any of the hundreds of doors in the building, though no one door will ever open onto the same room twice. The layout of each room is subtly off in a number of ways, with the dimensions of the room not seeming quite right no matter how you try to work it out. The decor is luxurious through and the extravagant room service is free, so it's a nice place to relax. Be warned, though – if you misplace your key, you'll find yourself lost in the mazelike halls until you eventually stumble out into the reception with no way of knowing how you got there. ⚝ Bathhouse: An enormous Grecio-Roman styled bathhouse for you to relax in after a hard day's work of dealing with Revenants. There don't seem to be any workers here that you can see, so feel free to let yourself in and make yourself at home. Interestingly, even without anyone around, you'll find the water is always adjusted to a temperature and a fragrance that's most appealing to you and drinks, towels and anything else you need will appear within reach by the side of the baths whenever it occurs to you that you might need it. When in doubt: Just get weird with it!
QUESTS
Since it's up to Executors to maintain order in Purgatory, this also means they need to resolve any issues that crop up for the Spectres occupying it. You can come up with any sort of quest you like, but here are some ideas to get you started: ⚝ A lost child will request your help in reuniting with their mother. It's a bit of a struggle for them to communicate with you as they are a freshly-awakened Spectre and it's also not entirely clear if their mother is, in fact, in Purgatory with them. Eventually, careful questioning of the child Spectre and some of the other Spectres around Limbo will lead you to a bookshop where mother and child will be reunited. Happy end! ⚝ Two Spectres are causing a ruckus in town with a screaming-in-each-other's-face tier argument. Calming them both down is going to be a task all on its own, but if you manage to, it turns out the first Spectre is missing a precious object and has accused the other of stealing it. The second Spectre insists the precious object never existed in the first place. Uh... good luck with this. ⚝ A uncommunicative and kind of creepy Spectre is accused by others in the town of being a Revenant in disguise after some of their neighbors disappear in the night. Investigate and uncover the truth! Feel free to NPC Spectres as you need for this TDM!
THE UNDERSIDE OF LIMBO
Though it's the most peaceful level of Purgatory, Limbo is not without its dangers. Directly below Limbo is what's known as the Underside, a darkness cast by the city above where Revenants and malicious spirits linger. It appears as a dark, mirror-reversed version of Limbo, though the geography is much more twisted and confusing. If left unchecked, Revenents from the Underside would attack the town and consume any number of Spectres. It's up to the Executors to head down there and see to them! This is a general prompt for combat-oriented testing, to allow characters to experiment with their new powers as Executors! Because of that, and because combat will function slightly differently in-game, this section is pretty loosey goosey. Like previous posts, you are free to invent locations and NPC Revenants to make things more fun and exciting! Because Revenants will function in a unique way in-game, players are encouraged to invent their own Revenants to fight for this TDM. If you would like some ideas for what sort of Revenants to battle, you can check out this video to see what sort of enemies exist in the original game, but beware that it does contain spoilers for Crystar.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of course you can reason with kids. They're still people, just young people who aren't world-weary yet. Perhaps you just haven't the patience, hm?

Well, who knows. You may be right. All the same, I'm glad for his sake and mine that you're the one he's latched onto, not me.

[There's no line at the coffee shop, which is how you know this place ain't real. Archer steps forward to talk to the barista-slash-cashier, but once he opens his mouth, he seems to realize something and looks back.]

Is he hungry? Or thirsty for anything?

Just some water should suffice. [...Oh! This place had eats!] And a cookie? [The kid perks up at the word.] Two cookies. Three, if you want one for yourself.

[He laughs a little.]

I'm not sure I'm much for sweets, but... it can't hurt to have a spare at the ready. Three chocolate chip cookies, then, a glass of water, and...

[He spends a moment appraising Ardyn.]

Tea? No, perhaps coffee.

[You probably can't get wine at a coffee shop, even in nonsense purgatory.]

[You can't if you're a COWARD!
But he also is not terribly aware himself what specifically he likes.]

I'm not picky. Coffee is probably fine? [Coffee feels like it rings some kind of extremely distant bell, muffled by snow or something. Maybe. Hhhhard to say.] Yes, let's go with that.

One coffee and a green tea, please. And...

[As the barista gets their order ready, Archer also asks about their hypothetical distressed woman, gesturing back to the sad little boy in Ardyn's arms. This particular Spectre's been around for a while and is, therefore, less vague than others. She remarks that she did see a pretty harried-looking lady pressing her face desperately to the storefront glass before running off somewhere.

Also, here are their drinks and cookies, milk and sugar are over there. Archer hands the water to the kid and the coffee to Ardyn.]

That might have been our woman.

[While chatting it up, Ardyn's finally put the kid down so he can run about on his own spectral feet, only to end up back at Ardyn's side ready for that cookie please!!! But water, also good, as he seems to drink it down readily. Ardyn nods his thanks, cradling the coffee in both hands.]

She could be running all over town in search. I imagine she'll have to stop at some point, but...at least we're going in the right direction.

[Archer nods and finally looks down at the little one to address him directly.]

Your mama... no.

[He rubs his chin a moment, then changes tack.]

What are some of your favorite things to do with your mama? [To Ardyn, without looking away from the kid:] She could be looking in places he'd go, yeah?

I wonder how it is they became separated in the first place...

[The child screws up his face as he chews on the cookie, clearly in thought. He at least swallows before he answers.] Read.

Oh? Did she read to you a lot?

[The kiddo nods eagerly.]

Hm...not much to go on, all things considered, given the spotty memory of one so new to this place, but it's a start all the same.

Yeah. So we should look for a bookstore or library in the area.

[Watching the kid, though, his mission-mode resolve softens.]

Though I guess it won't hurt to let him eat and rest some before we continue the search. Not only do we not know how they were separated, we don't know how long.

[And hungry, tired kids are even less manageable than baseline.]

It could be that they arrived together and got separated. [Though he frowns as he says it, warming hands on his drink.]

I don't know which would be worse, arriving at the same time or at different times. [Given the implications of either one.]

Forgive the morbid thought. I do appreciate the help, in any case, despite the inherent difficulty of the task.

CAN CRY: FIRST TEST DRIVE

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