TEST DRIVE

[calloperators]

> Hello, you have reached the 1-800-HOTLINE Test Drive. We are currently unable to take your call. Whilst we put you on hold, feel free to play around for a while...

***

Waking up
Where the hell were you last night? Maybe waking up in an unfamiliar bed with a blacked-out memory isn't so unusual for you, but that buzzing in your head is. The phone beside you rings with a 7:00 AM wake-up call, and a message left behind:

Go downstairs, to the lobby. Meet the others. Don't get attached, and don't mention this call.

The AC is busted and in this hot summer, you probably won't want to stay in your room forever.

What's new, Pussycat?
Of course, there's much more around here than just the motel. Stepping out and hitting the town will give you plenty to do. There's stores aplenty, but that's nothing to say of the good residents of the stores; your friendly neighborhood bodega cats. They're content to laze around the aisles, though the more playful sorts may swat at your wayward accessories as you pass by.

Don't mind that they seem to disappear - and reappear - with a blink. That's just something cats can do.

Hungry?
Of course you are! There's plenty of places to eat here, but why go to some no-name joint when you can go to McDonalds? They've got burgers, they've got fries, they've got McPizza, and they even have a playplace! ...Though you're probably too old for the ball pit.

Regardless of what you order, if you even order, the cashier presses a small toy into the palm of your hand. Don't you feel a pair of tiny eyes on you?

McMurder
For fuck's sake, someone only went and killed a guy in the McDonald's parking lot. Maybe his head is smashed in under that chicken mask, or maybe you'll want to check? You could do the right thing and work out who did this, or you could make off with his baseball bat. The choice is yours.


Night life
What good's a city that goes to sleep? When the sun goes down, the lights go up. The city becomes aglow with every colour of the neon rainbow, with bowling alleys, nightclubs, karaoke bars, arcades and soon-to-be-extinct roller discos competing for your attention until the sun comes up. You're here, there's no curfew, it's time to make the most of it.

Wildcard
Have something else in mind? Go wild, and party like it's 1989.

Comments

Ray Stantz | The Real Ghostbusters

[ghoststanning]

Waking Up

[Ok so waking up in a room he has no recollection of falling asleep in. And... heck he has a strange gap in his memory too. And that mysterious phone call, honestly this whole thing was really strange to him.

But! Ray was far from someone to camp out in his room wondering what happened to him the previous night, especially if there were apparently "others" here too.

Most likely he will approach your character first, clearly confused but not worried about this situation.]

Hey! Did you get that strange phone call too?

[Yeah he's just... ignoring that detail that he's not supposed to tell anyone about the call entirely.]

McMurder.

[So.

This isn't the first time Ray's seen a dead body. You can't have a job that revolves around ghosts and not see a few dead people in your time.

Still seeing a guy with his face smashed in wasn't really his idea of a good time, especially when he just wanted to get some ice cream from McDonalds (And the machine is broken AGAIN.)

Ray gingerly crouches down besides the body, actually looking pretty uncomfortable for once.]

Should we tell the police about this? ... Are there police here, actually?

[This is fine.]

Night Life

[Of course Ray wants to check out the night life here. There seems to be so many fun attractions here that he couldn't resist the idea of checking everything out for himself.

He was honestly planning on just idly checking out most building until he eventually runs across a karaoke bar and his eyes light up.]

There's karaoke here?! I've always wanted to try that out, come on, let's see what it's like!

[Ray is just... gonna drag your character into the karaoke bar with him, regardless of if you actually know him or not.]

karaoke

[neverstudied]

People are dying, Ray.

[Still, it's good to see him look so cheerful, especially after the McDonald's Corpse Incident. And Venkman has never been one to deny himself the chance to sing in front of a captive audience. He lets Ray take him by the arm and pull him inside.]

[ghoststanning]

[Ray frowns slightly at that.]

Aww c'mon Pete, it's not like people are dying right now. Besides, I think some karaoke could help us relax after that incident!

[Besides Ray would... really like to get that image of that smashed in corpse out of his mind as fast as possible.

Anyway they soon end up getting a room (and probably a few drinks, let's be real). Ray begins to look through the song options in amusement.]

So you wanna flip a coin to see who goes first or do you want to sing something together?

[neverstudied]

No one's dyin' right now that we know of.

[But Ray's right. Or at least, he's got the right idea. Venkman takes a long sip of his beer before answering.]

I'll go first. I need to be a bit drunker to hear you sing.

[He's teasing, of course.]

[ghoststanning]

[Well fine! Ray's going to tease you back in that case.]

And you want me to suffer by having to listen to you sing while I'm sober?

[He takes a sip of his own beer as he lets Venkman get control of the karaoke machine.]

[neverstudied]

Excuse you, I have the voice of an angel. Perfect pitch and everything.

[He sticks his tongue out at Ray before turning back to the machine.]

Lemme see... No, no... Got it! Hey, remember when I sang this to Spengs and tried to get him to dance with me and he got all freaked out?

[He got freaked out because he was holding a beaker of dangerous chemicals and Venkman nearly made him drop it, but. Details.

As for the song itself...]

Night Life [cw: smoking?, alcohol]

[teiaiexecutive]

Get your damn hands off me, you- [Tonegawa tries to tug back to break the bond of this handhold, but his efforts bear no fruit against the death grip of Ray's enthusiasm.]

[He can't help but feel the coarse callouses in Stantz's hand scraping against the skin of his own palm. This, and the plain beige jumpsuit both tell Tonegawa all he needs to know about this man: a common laborer. In fact, judging by the stench of motor oil emanating from him (so much so that Tonegawa can make it out through the tobacco odor that went hand-in-hand with entertainment districts such as these), Tonegawa could even hazard a guess that he was specifically an auto mechanic.]

[And that made his friendliness all the more bizarre. Tonegawa has never driven a day in his life, relying on public transport or one of his subordinates chauffeuring him where he needed. He's had no reason to enlist the services of, or even interact with, a car repair man. Unless this was a debtor to the company? But that would make even less sense. No one in their right mind would be so carefree around Tonegawa, period. Much less someone owing money to Teiai-]

[...he was so deep in thought attempting to identify this stranger, that he had stopped putting up any resistance, realizing it all too late as they were both already inside the establishment. Great. He eyes the bar, far more invested in the prospect of blacking out than in making a fool of himself, or suffering the foolishness of this stranger.]

[ghoststanning]

[Oh! Ray lets go of Tonegawa at that, both slightly in shock at being yelled at like that and remembering that he needs self control.]

Oh, sorry, I guess I got a little excited!

[It doesn't take long for Ray to bounce back from the shock, however, as he smiles at the man. Maybe he was just a little shocked too!]

Still don't you think it would be fun to check it out! Of course all the buildings here look great; I'm kind of curious to see if there's any new games at the arcade too! Or the roller disco...

[You better stop him because he's just going to start listing all the places he wants to check out in this district.]

[teiaiexecutive]

[Tonegawa clicks his tongue impatiently hearing Ray rattle off about the different venues, simply relieved he had yet to mention bowling. He had more than enough of being dragged into office bowling parties for one lifetime, and would honestly rather die than have to wear any shoes the alley provided.]

[He was never good with faces, but he hoped the more he stared intently at Ray's, the more he might remember who he was and why it is he would try cajoling him into karaoke... though, speaking of that- if Tonegawa wants to ask questions pertaining to his business, a private karaoke room with just the two of them... just might be the safest bet he has available.]

Never mind. We're already here and I'm in no mood for further gallivanting around at this hour... I'll make it worth your while, at least, and pay for our own personal room. [Although Tonegawa is definitely going to hold this expense over Ray's head later on.]

...I apologize for my rudeness, as well, mister...? [He says, intentionally trailing off in the hopes Ray will complete the sentence for him.]

[ghoststanning]

[Luckily, Ray doesn't seem really bothered by the staring. Soak in this boy.]

Aww, I wouldn't do that to you. It would be rude to let a stranger pay for a room for me, especially if they're not going to participate in the karaoke.

Dr. Ray Stantz! You can just call me Ray. [He offers his hand to shake, but he will let Tonegawa decide if he wants to accept it or not.]

[cw: smoking]

[teiaiexecutive]

[His eyes widen. First of all, he wouldn't expect the common trash of society to refuse his offer to pay in their stead. But then he's struck by a bigger surprise:]

...doctor?

[Tonegawa panics at Ray's extended hand, and makes a startled grab at his wrist, leading him into the karaoke room. Quickly shooing out the vendor occupying it and getting on his hands and knees to check under the seats, he assures the two of them were completely alone in the soundproof room.]

[He stands tall, taking out a Peace brand pack of cigarettes from inside his suitjacket, pulling a cigarette out with his lips and flicking his lighter on in the same fluid motion, breathing it in deeply to calm his nerves. Tonegawa glances over at the display video of pop song lyrics scrolling over beach waves with a forboding sense of dread.]

...doctor of what, exactly.

Night Life

[forgottwin]

Hey, hey! Hands off the merchandise.

[He's just kind of swatting at Ray until released.]

Careful, this outfit's worth more than your total net worth.

[Probably not, strictly speaking, unless one accounts for ego in the pricing.]

[ghoststanning]

[Ray quickly lets go, at least!]

I don't know, we get some pretty big paychecks during some busts...

[Judging by his tone, that's honestly not a brag at all; Ray is just wondering how expensive this man's outfit is if it surpasses some of their fees for busts that sometimes get into the 100k's]

I think it would be neat to check out some of these buildings at least! I've never been able to go to a karaoke bar back at home!

night life

[ichimacchan]

[ why is this redhead dragging Ichimatsu into a karaoke bar SEND HELP ]

Let me go!

[ He struggles to escape but alas, it is no use and he ends up being forcibly dragged into the bar anyways because this is his life now. ]

[ghoststanning]

[Ray let's go quickly.]

Sorry about that, I just thought it would be fun to do. Besides karaoke it's nearly as fun alone.

[ichimacchan]

[ oh good he let go

As soon as Ichi's free, he shoves his hands into his pockets and looks away. ]

...Can't sing.

[ Actually, it's more like he really doesn't want to sing. ]

[ghoststanning]

[Ray frowns slightly, putting his hands in his pockets.]

You sure? Karaoke is more than just being able to sing good, it's about having fun with others!

waking up

[rainblower]

[Strange phone call? Of course, but Pyro's not gonna rat. People who call them on the phone usually have important instructions for them and they usually get to do fun stuff after! Like Ms. Pauling! She always lets them set fire to ■■■■■■ and watch them ♤■■■□□¿¿¿₩₩₩■■

...Hm. Medic told Pyro that they shouldn't talk to strangers, that sometimes people don't like it when they talk to them. So, Pyro decides to gauge Ray's behavior by...uh...staring at him. The sound of heavy, asbestos-plagued wheezing can be heard through the mask.

After spending a few seconds too long staring at the man, Pyro decides that he seems trustworthy. Ok! They shake their head.]

Nuh-uh.

[ghoststanning]

[Ray stares blankly back, unsure how to respond to this sudden staring.]

Huh, that's weird! I wonder why I got it in that case...

[He gently eyes Pyro, not out of judgement, but out of pure curiosity.]

You don't mind me asking why you're wearing a gas mask? I don't want to find out too late that they're pumping this building full of poison gas.

[rainblower]

[They shake their head at Ray's question--at least, as far as they know. They then hum a little, trying to think of the best way to explain.]

Wrrmmk wrth frr. Hrlpms mmprptct mm.

[They...also don't like people looking at them, so that's an added benefit of having protection like this. The mere suggestion of taking off their mask sends them into a panic.

...Speaking of gas, they need access to fire, like, soon. They get nervous if they don't have access to something that can set things ablaze.]

Yuu wrdnmn't hhmrv mm llrghmmtr, mmrhph?

[ghoststanning]

[Oh, ok. Ray is gonna take a moment to try processing this.][A huge bummer.]

A lighter? No I don't have one of those, unfortunately.

night life

[malpractices]

Hahaha, I am SO EXCITED!

[Who's this unfortunately proportioned man and where is he taking Medic? Who knows. It all happens very fast — one minute he was poking around this pastel nightmare, and the next minute he's being touched by a stranger who's by no means threatening yet still manages to drag around a decently built, rather imposing looking guy like Medic by his arm. It's all very strange.]

I cannot wait to try it. I'm sure it will be delicious. [Because they're clearly thinking about the same thing, right.]

[ghoststanning]

Delicious?

[Ray's grin faulters slightly, more confused than anything.]

We could stop by for some dinner first! I'm not hungry myself but it's not fun to do karaoke on an empty stomach!

[malpractices]

You mean it isn't food?

[Now Medic's frowning, still good natured enough to pass for friendly but clearly confused.]

That's a shame. What reason would you have to trip over yourself to get to it if it isn't food? [He means "you" in the general sense, Ray, not "you" as the punchline to a fat joke. Too bad it ends up sounding like one anyway.] Is it a game?

[ghoststanning]

[Ray's frown deepens.]

Kinda! You sing along to songs you love, usually have a few drinks, it's a good time.