etcelsior | SLAY BELLS RING

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test drive

SLAY BELLS RING

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: HAVE FUN ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

01.The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city.

Although even Florida can get chilly during the winter, they won't let that spoil the fun. It's not beach weather, but it's time for a palm tree decorating contest to bring everyone into the holiday spirit! Note that isn't technically Christmas decorating. Pick a theme, any theme, from holidays to puppies to capitalism and have at. The natives will judge and vote for their favorite- so really, there's nothing wrong with a little pandering. The winner will get both the honor of having defeated their rivals, and a free lifetime supply of Italian frozen ice and hot dogs from the sponsoring local stand.

Those who just aren't interested in competing might be called in to judge another competition down the beach: a youth sand-sculpting contest! Only one team can walk away with the grand prize of a laser tag package, but can you bring yourself to be harsh on those wide, hopeful eyes?

Speaking of that Italian ice, there are some free samples being offered to tempt you into competing for the prize. And, shocking to no experienced imPort, someone has meddled with it just a bit. Each of the three flavors will have a different effect and, fates help us, they can be stacked, though the effects only last about an hour. Strawberry with fill you with team spirit, encouraging you to decorate a tree in a group or spontaneously form a new rock group. Even those that usually Only Work Alone will want to form a team. Lemon will spike your competitive nature. You're not just going to win, you are going to wave the severed heads of your competitors before their weeping mothers-, er, that is, win by a lot. Finally, lime flavor with up your silliness factor. Everything's fun and happy at the Holiday season, right? Why not pull a prank or two while you're here, or just enjoy a nice knock-knock joke with friends. Hopefully you didn't get that lemon-lime mix and now must pull the most epic prank ever or show that you are the single happiest person on this or any other world. That could get complicated.

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, with large numbers of citizens waiting to be awed by your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Synthetic wonder! Whatever you might be, those words have meaning here. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices or recently published PLoS papers. The imPort craze remains high here, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

With Christmas coming, the producers behind a guerilla new reality show are hard at work getting new footage—starring you! Areas of the city with the most foot traffic have been absolutely blanketed in mistletoe. If you happen to pass beneath a sprig, you might find a small camera crew jumping out of nowhere, urging you to give the person next to you a smooch—and thanks to the strange radio waves coming out of the unit on the executive producer's wrist, you'll feel a little compelled to do so!

...except the compulsion isn't that strong, so those who don't kiss on the first meet can easily break out of it. Your next choice: give the camera crew a piece of your mind, or ask the would-be kissee out for coffee? They are pretty cute...

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began reappearing again, just those few years prior. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while a handful of others had swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale. Everything from the classic bank heist to brutal bloodbaths can happen around the corner. You have to keep your eyes open and your mind sharp when you live in Maurtia Falls, and hostility against imPorts can spike. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping...

The downtown mall is tilting the balance solidly toward welcoming to imPorts with a Winter Welcome Festival. All the storefronts and many temporary kiosks occupied by local vendors are holding special sales, and newly arrived imPorts are given a coupon book to make the most of them. The food court has some free goodies for participants to mix and mingle.

Unfortunately, a local rogue with the alias of Klone Kringle is here to spoil the fun. After a small boom echoes throughout the mall, everything dissolves into chaos as dozens of copies of a man dressed in a polyester Santa Claus costume begin looting the retailers! The guns they wield that shoot snow and ice might not be lethal, but they can certainly slow you down (and give you a cold). Will you be the hero and help take down Kringle(s), or will you seize the opportunity to do some theft of your own?

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's always some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement.

Although Nonah sees milder winters than some imPort cities, it's strangely snowy today, with icicles hanging everywhere. They definitely weren't there this morning, and no storm has passed through, so what gives? A downtown disturbance makes it clear: a would-be supervillain calling himself THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN has attacked. Is he some kind of mutant, a scientifically modified human, or is there just a lot of arctic-tech stuffed into his snowsuit? Whatever its source, he's spraying ice and snow far and wide from his hands, turning the area into a winter wonderland and absolutely ruining sales for local businesses that depend on foot traffic! Also, some citizens have been frozen in blocks of ice. That's bad.

Come, heroes, and defeat this icy menace! That, or build a really cool snowman. It's your call.

05. Jeopardy, Nevada by all rights shouldn't exist. A glowing neon city smack in the middle of the desert, the only reason it's still here is that the central nuclear power plant has tapped half a mile down into a subterranean lake for its water supply. So though the desert around it may be barren, the occupants of this small city are happily self sufficient. Those weird figures you see out of the corner of your eyes? Don't worry too much. Probably just weird radiation after effects. Jeopardy has a lot of those.

Saturnalia is just around the corner and Jeopardy is in full festive swing! The seven-day marathon of festivities includes a parade, with a ((cw: arachnophobia)) very special float from the Web Mistress's church; a day long city-wide paintball game; an attempt to break the world record for largest bingo game with everyone playing in dead silence; and a feast!

Usually the feast focuses on the symbolic ritual sacrifice of a giant chocolate Santa Claus, but this year is a little different. In an effort to display their gratitude for imPorts keeping their city from being ground zero of the apocalypse, they are making an entirely different set of effigies: you! Instead of one Big Chocolate Santa there are over a hundred 1/6th scale chocolate humans, each lovingly recreated in the visage of their favourite imports. Whether or not that loving visage is accurate may be up for debate, but... Hey, want to eat a chocolate rendition of your own head? Now you can!

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He had to let go of Wei Ying's arm, but it was a worthy sacrifice, as it meant he could loop it around the man instead, steadying him against his shoulder as he pushed healing energy into him.

A warmth spread inside him at the words, an almost guilty pleasure that would have felt a lot more guilty had he been sober. Instead, he just made a low noise - "Mmn." - and continued with his work.

Unfortunately, he couldn't concentrate quite as well as he would otherwise, so after a few minutes his hand dropped and he looked down at Wei Ying, waiting to see if he was any better.

His wounds all but closed with the extra bit of energy. Wei Ying hums quietly, not pulling away even when Lan Zhan stops. He's used to leaning against people- or, he was. And Wangji hasn't pulled away or shoved him away yet so...

But there are the clear signs of an ease of pain. He's more relaxed. Less horribly pale. He seems less exhausted, too.

Eventually his eyes reopen and he smiles at Lan Zhan. Almost just like he had before...back in the Cloud Recesses. "Thank you," he tells his friend again.

He doesn't quite smile. It's still too painful to see Wei Ying, there's still too much grief in the years in between, so he can't bring himself to smile. But his expression does soften, even if it weirdly half-lidded and even if he might be swaying a little bit.

"Mmn," he replies. He lets Wei Yin lean against him for another moment, and then he pushes him slowly off him, only to grab his wrist and start dragging him to the door.

"Out."

Wei Ying doesn't expect a smile. The softening of Lan Zhan's expression is enough.

...And then he's being dragged again, but this time he tugs back, biting back a laugh. "Lan Zhan! I took our boots off! Are you really willing to go out barefooted?"

As much as his friend worries him while drunk...there's just something so endearing about how he acts too.

Lan Zhan froze, frowning, and then stared down at his feet.

A beat. Two. Three.

He let go of Wei Wuxian's hand abruptly and stalked back to where their boots were, stumbling a little as he grabbed them off the floor. He tossed one set at Wei Ying - unhelpfully, they were white instead of black. And then he tried putting the black ones on himself.

Wei Ying gives up and laughs, bending over to clutch at his sides.

He does manage to catch...one of the white boots though. And wanders back to Lan Zhan's side with it, also stopping to pick up the other before flopping on the floor at Lan Zhan's feet.

"Here," he offers with an amused shake of his head and holds the white boots up before reaching to rescue his own. "You still can't hold your liquor," he quips.

He narrowed his eyes at the offered boots, but finally relinquished his prize back to Wei Ying to take his own boots back.

He pulled them on, the movement still smooth mostly out of muscle memory, and then he stood up. He waited patiently until Wei Ying was done, and then took hold of his wrist again to drag him towards the door.

It wasn't nine yet. They had a few hours. And Wei Ying was healed better than before. So he had to prove to Wei Ying that he wasn't going anywhere. That he was here, now, for better or worse, and would take what came.

He would share every consequence.

So he needed chickens.

With the lessening of pain and exhaustion, fairly good humor has been restored. The grief is still there, toying with the edges of his mind. But Wei Ying is generally pretty good at ignoring the deeper issues when around other people.

So he waits patiently for Lan Zhan to decide which boots to put on. He ends up with his rightful boots eventually, and puts them on before getting tugged back to his feet and off to the door. This time he doesn't put up a fuss, this not being a battle worth fighting. Lan Zhan wants to take him...somewhere, and so that's where they're going.

One breath. Two.

Then he pushes himself to move just a bit faster and reaches out to pat Lan Zhan's hand in reassurance. "Lan Zhan. I'm here."

It’s a dangerous action. While sober, Lan Zhan would absolutely confine himself to the wrist, but while drunk all he sees is an opportunity. He snatches Wei Ying’s hand into his own and then proceeds to use that to drag the man along instead.

He doesn’t reply to the words, though there’s the briefest subtle flash of something almost like irritation in his expression. Then pain. Then resolution.

16 years. 16 years and then he was snatched away mere moments after finding him again. He couldn’t even ask where Wei Ying had been this whole time.

But it didn’t matter. Because he was here now, despite everything.

He snatched Bichen from the wall as he pulled Wei Ying from the room, leading him to the elevator. It had taken him a few minutes to come to terms with the device before, but now he pressed the button and waited (more or less) patiently until the elevator arrived.

When it did, however, there were three very attractive women inside. Lan Zhan levelled what could only be called a glare at them, and - still holding Wei Ying’s hand - pointed at them with the hilt of his sword, still sheathed.

“Out.”

Lan Zhan never fails to surprise him when drunk. Usually it's Wei Ying doing the dragging.

But he hadn't meant to hurt the other man, yet somehow he had. So he bites his tongue and follows at Lan Zhan's side, not arguing over his hand being taken (though he does find it odd for Hanguang-Jun to do this).

The button Lan Zhan pushes gets an odd look, and he almost asks when doors open with a clang, sending him back a quick two steps and behind his friend. But then he peeks back over Lan Zhan's shoulder and blinks at the beautiful women before stepping sheepishly back out from cover to smile at them.

"Please forgive my friend..." But that small room has him a little wary.

“Out,” he repeated sternly, while the women looked at them completely aghast an confused. After a few seconds, however, they seemed to decide that getting out was the best idea, even as one of them snapped a couple covert photos of the two men with her phone.

The elevator finally vacated, Lan Zhan stepped into it.

He looked at the buttons, half lidded and frowning, clearly trying to remember what exactly he was supposed to do now and—

Well. Just pressed every button from their number down.

One of them would work.

The pictures being taken go right over Wei Ying's head, he just steps out of their way and tries to tug Lan Zhan with him, even just one step...

And then he's tugged into that tiiiiiny room, and the hand Lan Zhan holds is tense (along with the rest of him) as he warily looks around.

...And the room moves. He draws in a sharp breath and presses himself against a wall, not seeing the clear signs that his friend...doesn't...quite...know what will make the room work how he wants it.

The doors close, the elevator rumbles to life, and Lan Zhan is standing still and solemn as a very drunk statue, his grip on Wei Ying’s hand just as firm as it was before.

The doors open. He doesn’t move. The floor looks exactly like the last one they were on, but with new numbers. He says nothing, does nothing, and then the doors close again.

The next stop has a couple people waiting to get into the elevator, but once again Lan Wangji blocks their entrance with his sheathed sword, and they decide not to make a fight of it.

Five stops later, they reach the lobby, and with a small grunt Lan Zhan pulls him out into the glitzy room. There are plenty of people and a good deal of them turn their heads to openly watch the two men, which just makes Lan Zhan’s mood even more sour as he stumbles towards the front doors and back out onto the now dark streets.

Nope.

Holding on.

No moving.

When Lan Zhan finally drags him out of that room of death, Wei Ying is very much not steady on his feet.

He doesn't even really notice all the people staring at them, he's just going to make a beeline for outside where he will plop himself down on the nearest convenient surface that isn't moving and let himself shake for a moment or two.

Or three, unless Lan Zhan picks him up and carries him again.

If he was sober, Wangji would be a lot more concerned about this turn of events, but as it is, he’s mostly just mildly confused. He stands, swaying a little, watching Wei Ying shake where he sits.

It was those women, he thinks. He wonders if he should go and make sure they leave Wei Ying alone next time.

But thankfully his drunk thought process does not retain information that long, and soon he is swaying a little as he looks around.

It looks like there’s some kind of fair or market on - Christmas themed, with tons of little electric lights, though Lan Zhan has no idea to its meaning. There are also foods available. He looks to the booths, looks at Wei Ying, looks to the booths, and then back to Wei Ying.

A moment of silence later, and then he’s stumbling off toward where he can buy provisions.

The first one sells cotton candy, whatever that is...

Wei Ying lets himself feel miserable right up until Lan Zhan stumbles off again. But then he's up, hurrying after his friend. "Lan Zhan!" The don't leave me behind is implied in the somewhat frantic tone.

He scurries right up to his friend and latches onto his shoulder to lean on him a little. A source of familiarity, even if his friend is so very drunk still. And someone has to keep the Lan out of too much trouble, might as well be Wei Wuxian.

He forces himself to breath with more care until his heart-rate settles and the shakes smooth out, and takes the chance to really look around now.

"Where are we going?" He doesn't expect an answer, but he'll still ask it. And he'll use various names for Lan Zhan until he gets a reaction.

The sound of his name does get him to stop, and he turns to stare at Wei Ying until the man has taken his place on his shoulder again, and then starts up once more on his quest.

"Provisions." Is his only answer to the question, and it's not even a very good one, because it's not really accurate, but it's the closest answer he has. He stops in front of the Cotton Candy, stares at it for a second, and then says "No" with such solemnity and condemnation that the stall owner blinks rapidly at him.

Lan Zhan continues, the riot of colour and light seemingly not dissuading him as they pass through the stalls.

He stops in front of one selling Tacos. He does not know what a Taco is. He looks at Wei Ying. He looks at the tacos.

He points to the food on offer, and asks:

"Is it good?"

Much better. Wei Ying smiles at him and follows right beside him.

He rolls his eyes with a bit of a huff. "Why now?"

And each vender Lan Zhan shoots down earns them an apologetic grimace. He squints at the sign proclaiming Tacos for sale, whatever a taco is... but peering down at what is displayed, and the question, has him shrug.

"I don't actually know everything, Hanguang-Jun. But we can try it and find out. Want to?"

Lan Zhan is clearly not finding what he's looking for, and Wei Ying's mild reception to the concept of tacos does not endear him to the concept.

"No," He says firmly, once he decides that they clearly aren't good enough for this endeavour. Why does no one sell chicken, here? He'd even consider buying a rabbit, for Wei Ying, as much as he'd hate to do so. He knows the other man likes rabbit meat, and that's good enough.

Finally, he catches the sent of something spicy, and turns his head.

He moves again, making sure Wei Ying sticks close, until he finally finds something suitable.

The sign proclaims that it sells CHICKEN WINGS in loud red neon, with a chicken dancing next to it.

The man in the stall is calling out for someone to come get their order, and Lan Zhan abruptly grabs it and holds the basket of spicy chicken wings out to Wei Ying.

"Is it good?" he demands at the same time that the man behind the booth goes: "Hey! That's not your order!"

He raises a hand to order some then falls silent with a bewildered blink at Lan Zhan's abrupt change of mind and turn away. His hand drops away and he shrugs helplessly at the latest vender before following.

Wei Ying is mystified as he sticks close to his friend though. But there's a rather yummy scent in the air that he thiiiinks might be where they're heading? And sure enough, a moment later there's a basket of chicken shoved at him, a question from Lan Zhan and a complaint from another that has him a little cross-eyed as he hurriedly makes sure nothing spills.

"Yes," he smiles at his friend, though it's a little bewildered. "But this is someone else's food, Lan Zhan. Let's order our food, okay?"

Lan Zhan considers this threw narrowed eyes for a couple of seconds before turning back to the man and putting the basket back on the counter.

"Two chickens," he demands, which leaves the bewildered host even more confused.

"Uh, buddy, we don't have whole chickens, we just got the chicken wings--"

"Two chickens," Lan Zhan repeats, and the man kind of gives a helpless look at Wei Wuxian.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you two chicken's worth. Just hold on a sec."

Wei Ying beams at Lan Zhan agreeing to give the poor vender back the stolen basket. Being drunk is Very Hard for Lan Zhan! Being even a little reasonable in this state is an accomplishment and deserves acknowledgement.

But. He gives the vender another sheepish smile at the helpless look he was given. And he nods in encouragement. "Thank you. We're really hungry...?" He supposes? Glancing at his companion a little furtively.

Anyway. He shifts to lean against Lan Zhan, arms folding as they wait.

Wei Wuxian beaming happily at him is almost enough to distract Lan Zhan from nearly everything else - save for the fact that he’s too inebriated to fully enjoy it. At the very least, then man’s proximity seems to mollify him, and he contents himself to wait, closing his eyes and standing like a very tall tree, waving slightly in a non-existent wind.

He’s almost content, for a moment. If his brain could actually think it through, he would be.

Then the man announces that the wings are ready and Lan Zhan’s eyes snap open - half way - and he takes the two offered baskets. They aren’t what he wanted. Not really. But they’ll have to do.

He shoves them into Wei Ying’s arms and says very seriously: “All for you.”

Lan Zhan allowing himself to wait is enough, and Wuxian stays close to make sure the other man doesn't fall over.

...What.

Wei Ying blinks down at the baskets he can only hold steady by clutching to himself, then uncertainly up at Lan Zhan. He almost protests, that he can't possibly eat it all. But...hasn't he hurt Wangji enough already? He doesn't quite understand it, but he's pretty sure he has. "Th-...thank you." What else could he possibly say?

"Mm. Lan Zhan. Let's go back to the inn though, alright? It'll be time to sleep soon." And get his friend away from quite so many strange looks... He aims for a cheerful smile, hoping to convince the other man to as suggested.

Lan Zhan doesn’t look particularly convinced, his gaze still half lidded as he watches Wei Ying silently for a beat too long.

But it’s hard to think or focus and indeed he is getting tired, so after a few seconds he just nods.

It isn’t enough - it couldn’t be - but he will have to figure it out again later. At least Wei Ying seemed to want to stay with him, for now. So he let himself be led, this time, without complaint.

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please let me know if I ever need to change anything, I know he is getting handsy lol

XD I'm good so long as it makes sense IC, which it does because it's these two <3

Just saying, I am always happy to rewrite/edit😂

XD Me too btw

😘

WWX DOES NOT LIKE THIS MODE OF TRANSIT lol

rip Wei Ying

XD

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