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

[Nana sees that Chara appears to be struggling a bit, but she isn't going to tell them that they should try to be nicer. Instead she kneels down so that she's not towering over both them and the lost child, trying to offer a placating smile.]

I think they're just confused and scared. Have you tried asking them what they do remember about their mom? Like what kind of things she might like, or things she might be doing right now?

[Nana receives, in exchange, a cold look. In spite of Chara very obviously not being equipped to handle this situation in any way or shape or form, they still see fit to pin her with an accusatory glower.]

Why not attempt to do so yourself, given that you're so knowledgeable about what one should do next?

[She doesn't even wilt at that one as she continues attempting to give off "mom friend" energy here.]

Alright. [She turns to the child, and repeats the question.] Do you know what your mom likes? Maybe the three of us can find her if we go to one of the stores that has something she likes there.

[... Yes, "three of us", because she's still including you in this, Chara.]

Three of us?

[Chara's tone is icy; evidently, they take umbrage with that classification.]

I fail to see why this task ought to include all three of us, miss.

Well, you were the one that reached out to them first, weren't you? So you should be getting rewarded for your work as well once we find their mother.

I'm hardly seeking a reward for baseline decency.

[Their hostility might seem rather unprompted, but something about the notion of it seems to get under their skin. It's not as if they're decent to begin with, are they? Far from it. They've no illusions about that.]

Well, good thing that's not what you're getting rewarded for by helping us with this then, right?

[Apparently Nana has a different idea of what exactly she meant by a reward here, but instead of explaining herself in regards to that, she turns her attention to the lost child.]

So, have you remembered anything about your mother that might help us find her?

[The child hems and haws and doesn't really have an answer beyond the indistinct - "big, tall, long hair, pretty dress."]

Thus far, I've been unable to ascertain whether their mother is down here withthem or not. [Chara's commentary is, perhaps, marginally more helpful than the child's answers.]

[Maybe, but Nana is going to smile and nod politely at the child all the same.]

Good, good, that's a start! Why don't we start walking around and see if we spot her, and while we do, we'll try to help you remember anything else that will help find her, okay?

[She holds a hand out to the child in a kind offer to hold their hand so that they don't get separated, and while she doesn't quite offer the same for Chara--she's gotten the hint that they probably wouldn't appreciate it--she does turn to them with a smile.]

Are you ready to go as well?

[Chara eyes her coldly, their expression flat.]

[They're not, really, but the expectation is apparent, and if they walk away now, well...they don't leave things unfinished. Not as a rule. Don't they? They don't believe they do. It feels wrong.]

[Hence, with a loud sigh:]

I suppose we may as well get this over with.

[The child takes her hand. Chara, not so much.]

CAN CRY: FIRST TEST DRIVE

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