TEST DRIVE : MAY 2016 EDITIOIN

[rysligmods]

TEST DRIVE

Welcome to Ryslig's test drive meme! If you're considering apping here, this is where you can try your characters out in the game's setting. A few things to note:

• You can only app ONE character per round so choose wisely.
• We now have a Quick Game Facts that simplifies the basic information about the game. Good if you want to see what the game is at a glance!
• Ryslig's FAQ is located here, so please take a look if you have questions.


• The Reserve date is MAY 20ST 12:01AM EST.
• There is an Enable Me / App this Plz to see what some people are offering or would love to play.
• Test drive meme threads can be used for your roleplay sample!
• Players with characters already in the game can earn up to a maximum of 6 coins by replying to potential character threads! You cannot use this to go over the bonus 20 coins per month total, but you can use it to reach that coin total. Same rules as normal bonuses apply.

Sample scenarios:

SCENARIO ONE: So you've just arrived, and already SOME the natives are trying to get on your good side. Offers of food, shelter and other luxuries in return for hoping you don't eat them. They even have some helpful pamphlets to share with you. "How To Deal With Changes", "Alternatives to Human Flesh", "What to Expect When You're Expecting (to turn into a monster)" are all great pamphlets. There's even some detailing certain monsters, and the changes they go through. Some of these seem to have been passed down from one monster to the next.

Among these however, are some... not so helpful ones. "Bunnyipyips And You", "Axe Thief Axehounds," and "So you're becoming a Fur Bearing Trout" among others. Sometimes they have marks on them from previous people who had them saying they are lies, or pointing out good "jokes."

Then there's the people who aren't happy to see you at all. Glares and silent, judging stares if you're lucky. Torches and pitchforks attempting to drive you out of the town if you're not. You may need a friend to help you.

SCENARIO TWO: You've become hopelessly lost in Lager Woods. Paths don't seem to lead where you remember them leading, and you feel as if you're going around in circles. Childlike giggling can be heard from no direction in particular. Suddenly, you stumble upon another character, who seems to be just as lost as you! Perhaps you can find a way out together. Or maybe they want you for lunch...

SCENARIO THREE: The time has come and you've found yourself becoming a monster. Is the change instant, or gradual? Are you familiar enough with monsters to know what's happening, or is it a complete shock? NOTE: Feel free to pick any monster type for this prompt, but note that you may not get the same one in game.

SCENARIO FOUR: The claws, the fangs, the pangs of hunger - horrible as they all are, it's manageable given enough time and perseverance. Local monster hunters, though, not so much.

Maybe it started with a few wayward glances on the outskirts of town, critical stares and disapproving whispers, or just the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever it was, deserved or entirely unprovoked, you're being hunted: a handful of aggressive, well-armed humans doggedly chase your trail throughout city streets and out into the open, and if you're not careful (if you don't find help soon) you might wind up as the next trophy kill claim on one of those hunter's walls.

Comments

Laurent ¤ The Captive Prince

[redoublement]

Scenario One: Arrival

[ He refused to allow himself to be afraid. That he was confused was understandable; much of this place that he'd experienced since waking up- first, washed upon the beach covered in small cuts in bruises- and next, in a hospital of flesh; was more than enough to be disorienting. Had he been a man more prone to panic, he certainly might have.

Instead, he'd taken stock. Not only what he had on his person, but what he could use in his surroundings. Next, his focus was on gathering information. The locals had proved to be less than hospitable; some even openly hostile, but that didn't mean for a moment that Laurent was going to give up. That he was the soon to be King of Vere didn't matter to these people- no one had even heard of it. The circlet around his elegant forehead still rested there, though now seemed like a piece of costumery. Well; at least the gold and sapphires had value. They could be sold, or bartered with.

He was thankful for that.

Now he sat upon a bench- looking as though he belonged there, despite the strangeness of his dress compared to the locals. The fine brocaded silks he wore, the golden lacings along the front, right up his throat. Even his shoulders, down the arms of his midnight blue outfit had tight gold lacing. Clipped to his shoulders was a fine cloak, with a golden starburst emblazoned upon it. Everything about him spoke of a princely air.

He had one leg crossed over the other, his elbow resting upon the arm of the bench, arm up and hand curled delicately. His blue eyes cool and almost passively bored looking as he watched people pass him, his other hand resting on his ankle.

If he was startled by the monsters who passed him, he did not allow himself to show it. ]

You, with the grotesque accoutrements- [ The hand on his ankle rose, wrist flicking delicately in gesture to draw attention his way. ] Perhaps you would be half-so-useful as to tell me where I am.

Scenario Three: Ch-ch-ch-changes!

[ The pain had started in the morning.

Laurent had ignored it; for all the good it did him. The skin of his back felt stretched, and ill fitting. It had been hard to breath doing even the slightest actions, and beneath the fine silks of his clothes, his skin itched.

Everyone had told him in depth that he ought to expect this, and yet now that it had begun it was unlike anything he'd expected. Laurent's tightly wound control was fraying with every hour that passed, no relief to be found from the unfocused aches running through him. He walked, aimless and misguided through the fog of pain- before the awful feeling of splitting sent him to his knees. He cried out, the pain of his feet incredible- the pressure of his boots agonizing as his feet changed. He fell to his back, reaching ineffectively, trying to wrench his boots off, to no avail. Screaming, his talons burst free as the leather gave, claws pushing out from the twisted remains of his former feet. The itching beneath his skin reached crescendo- feathers pushing out, barbed quills trapped beneath silk, splitting through seams.

Laurent could only lay there, panting, and wait for it to pass. ]

IV. Hunted

[ Guns they had called them. Guns were new.

Hobbled, one wing dragging behind, flecked full of holes from shot gun pellets. Furious, Laurent dragged the massive grey and blue dappled appendage behind him, trailing blood. The other flapping for purchase to speed his progress as his talons scraped against the cobblestone, pulled him forcibly along. Tactical retreat- he needed higher ground. Needed to regroup, needed to reconsider his options, but most of all he needed to get one of those guns. And then they could see how they liked it, to be littered with holes.

He ducked down an alleyway, scanning his surroundings, making sure he had not mistakenly forced himself into a dead end- before scrambling along. Determination furrowed his brow, his eyes ablaze with furious indignation. Keep moving; it was all that mattered. He would lose them eventually- or he would get the jump on them. Tear them to shreds with his bare hands, if he had to. ]

IV

[goldcuffed]

[Guns are certainly new. Damen doesn't think he likes guns, namely because they are being used on Laurent. He can taste the scent of his blood in the air, though he caught up to Laurent too slow, the other has already started off into the woods. He doesn't know Damen is following, his thickly powerful serpent's tail propelling him over the cobblestones, whisper silent.

He follows the trail of blood quickly, deftly maneuvering himself around obstacles, only rage in his head, because someone has dared to hurt Laurent.

The one at the back of the hunting party dies first. He gets out a scream of terror as Damen comes up behind him, sinks claws into his sides, and coils his massive tail around him, crushing the very breath from his body. His gun clatters on the cobbles.]

[redoublement]

[ He hadn't known that Damen had found him, he hadn't even thought that Damen would realize to look for him. Time had lost meaning after he had been shot. He did not know how long he'd been running for, did not know how long he'd been hunted. With alarming realization, he understood suddenly that he was flagging. His energy to flee seeping out of him with the blood he spent upon the pavement. He steeled himself, wrenching his injured wing up, trying to at least fold it against his back- it twitching, flopping feebly, pain lancing through it and down his spine- but not enough to bow him.

If he was to die, he would not do so running.

He spun, flaring out his good wing to face down the three remaining men, his teeth bared. ]

Come. [ He demanded- and then crouched, launching himself into the air. He could not fly- but his bones were light, his jump greater than these feeble men. His talons outstretched, his good wing thrown open. He landed on one, talons digging into his face- clawing through skin, ripping shreds of it away and leaving the man screaming; blind and flailing wildly- his gun fumbled. This time, Laurent was prepared, and when he swung wildly for the bird-creature, Laurent launched off, the spray of fire embedding uselessly into the alley wall.

The second man swung his shotgun at Laurent, the proximity too close to his other fellow to fire. Laurent ducked, and dodged- lunging again to knock the man off his feet. The third seemed to have no qualms with shooting his fellow, as he took aim at Laurent and the other where they struggled. ]

[goldcuffed]

[The third doesn't last long. He pointed his gun at Laurent, and he will die for that. Laurent can fight, he knows it, and so he tries not to worry too much as he looms behind the third man and takes him by the jaw, twisting his head neatly with a loud crack. His strength has only increased since his changes, and maybe later he will feel badly for how easily death comes at his hands.

His powerful tail knocks the body of the third man away, and he calls out,] Laurent! [The first man, still blinded and flailing, is who he heads toward next, in case the cur picks up any courage with his impending death. He lashes out, knocks him strongly into a wall, where his head hits with a sickening crack. It's down to Laurent and the second man, and Damen doesn't want to risk hurting Laurent trying to insert himself.]

[redoublement]

[ He closes his talons around the man's throat, and bares down. His other foot scratches away ribbons of skin, his wings flapping to keep himself out of the other's grip. Blood sprays through the alley- his own, and the dying man who chokes, and gutters beneath him. He hears Damen, but his focus remains upon killing the insolent cretin beneath him. Only once the man stops twitching, stops fighting with him does Laurent let go.

He drops, harder than he means to, to the concrete. Wings falling slack, his injured one trembling terribly. With the completion of the fight, Laurent felt a wave of exhaustion and dizziness roll over him. He sagged, leaning heavily against the nearest wall, barely keeping to his feet. ]

Damianos. You're late, as usual.

[goldcuffed]

[As soon as the last hunter is dead, Damen is slithering to Laurent's side, trying to catch him at the waist and ease his descent to the concrete. His claws are bloody but his hands are gentle on his fiance, and he is strong, steady, ready to support Laurent's weight easily, even with the addition of his wings.]

I'm always late? [Charcy comes to mind. But there is so much that they are past, and he doesn't bring it up to hurt, just to banter.] Here. Lean on me, I have you. [Despite being half a snake, his tail is as thick as a tree trunk, and sturdy with muscle.] We need to get those wounds wrapped.

[redoublement]

[ With Damen's arms around him, Laurent gave up upon his efforts at standing. He was lighter now than he had ever been with his hollow bones, and for a man of Damen's stature, of his added strength, he did not worry in the least about whether or not Damen would be able to support him. So he leaned. ]

I'm all right. [ He murmured, though he was dizzy with blood loss, sagging more heavily against the other than he meant to. ]

[goldcuffed]

They hurt you with those weapons. [Damen gathers him into his arms easily and finds a spot of soft grass, a little yard, to gently lower him down, curling his tail around him for Laurent to rest against. When he looks at the extent of his wounds, he feels another fresh wave of anger; his beautiful wing shot full of small holes. If they weren't all dead already, they would suffer. He can feel the fangs in his mouth dripping venom even still.

It's a simple matter to unpin his chiton and let it drop. There is little exposed that needs to be covered, these days, save for his bare chest - from the waist down, he is undulating, smooth scales in red and white and gold. He tears strips from the fabric for bandaging.] Are you hurt anywhere else?

[redoublement]

[ He was grateful for the other's bulk in moments like these; when they afforded him something to lean against, folding himself over the other's coils and allowing a soft, shuddering breath to fall from his lips. He closed his eyes, and for a minute that was all. He gave in to allowing the other to fuss, if only for a moment. ]

No, I used my wing to block from the worst of their fire- which, as you can see... [ Had not, necessarily, been his wisest decision. ]

[goldcuffed]

[Damen has found that he enjoys the warm, slight weight of Laurent draped across the coils of his tail, one pleasant sensation in an unpleasant place. His new body forms a barrier between Laurent and the rest of the world, for now, as he tears the fabric of his chiton into strips.

The damage is worrying, but Laurent is right, his wing took the worst of it. Damen bends over slightly to press a gentle kiss to his temple before he starts to wrap the worst of the bullet wounds.] I'm sorry, that I did not catch up sooner. I'm going to wrap these to slow the bleeding, and then we'll get you to a physician.

[redoublement]

You could not have known. [ He murmured it softly, one of his hands stroking a part of Damen's tail, a shuddering breath leaving him as he stretched his wing, to allow the other better access to the damage. ]

How did you know? How did you find me? [ He let himself lean against the other's bulk, body tense as the other began to wind the fabric around his bloodied limb. ]

[goldcuffed]

I should have been with you. [This is a dangerous world for two kings without armies or countries, who suffer monstrous changes and appetites. He should have been with Laurent, or at least close by. Laurent is all he has here, and that could have been taken away from him today.

The muscle of his tail shifts a little under Laurent's hands, just a little flex that speaks of enjoying the touch. Damen focuses on wrapping his wing in strips of white cotton. The projectiles were not large, so perhaps he will heal quickly.]

I... It is difficult to explain. [His brow creases.] I could taste your scent in the air. And the scent of blood. Then, well. They were not exactly quiet hunters.

[redoublement]

You cannot hope to be with me every hour of every day. There was no predicting this. They came from nowhere, badgering me once I made to leave the library. [ He huffed out a breath of annoyance. It had escalated, from there.

He continued to stroke his fingers softly over the other's scales, a soothing motion for them both. It gave Laurent something else to focus on, other than the ache in his wing as Damen bandaged the wounds. There were small pieces of buckshot still embedded in amongst his feathers, but these would have to be removed somewhere more sterile. ]

Should I worry about the fact you can taste my scents? That you know the smell and flavour of my blood? [ He teased, drawing a soft circle over a particularly enticing pattern on the other's scales. ]

One

[andeatit]

[Laurent isn't the first noble to come to Ryslig, though the most recent Light has met had adjusted rather well rather quickly. At first glance, nobility does seem to be the air he gives off, though it could have just been wealth.

Whatever the case, his speech and dress is dangerous. The former would likely prompt anger, and anger was so closely related to violence, and the latter would likely make him a target for thieves. Money was a good commodity, but adaptation was an even better one.

Sighing, Light stops. His own accouterments consist only of four blue and black wings as the rest were hidden beneath his clothing, and he's only a month into his own changes.]

I can, and I will, but I'd also like to suggest you be more careful. Ryslig isn't a safe enough place that such insults will be taken lightly.

[redoublement]

[ Laurent gave a curling smile to the other's warning, ans even this came across not as thankful- but arrogant; the air of a man who knew well of the dangers around him, and chose to ignore them. Disregarded as something unimportant.

Let them think he an ignorant fool to the dangers. Let them underestimate him. ]

Thank you for the advice. I will keep that in mind. [ He spoke in a smooth, honeyed tone, like a sweet tasting poison. Something deadly and dangerous lingering if one took care to detect it.

He gestured gently with a slender, gold encircled wrist, implying that the other should go on. That Laurent was waiting. ]

Ryslig, you said? I have not heard of it.

[andeatit]

[Indeed, someone used to power that didn't realize they no longer had it. No matter what skills the man had possessed before, they were now on a human level, and monsters were hardly calm enough to listen to an argument as to why he shouldn't be eaten. The ability to adjust is horrible important. Will this man manage or will he continue to act as if he's sitting in the garden of his mansion at home?

First impressions could only be had based on the outward actions of both parties. There was a reason they had to be adjusted as you learned more about a person. It was very easily to fool someone on a first impression alone, intentionally or no.

Either way, Light's manners aren't such that would allow him to speak as harshly as his mind thinks. However, he seems neither impressed nor worried about any tone Laurent may adopt. Then again, he never was one who planned to taste poison.

Admittedly, few planned on it.]

Hm, no, you wouldn't have. In your own world, it didn't exist. Have you been given any pamphlets? The locals have gotten good at passing them out, but there are a lot of new arrivals with every group. It's possible they missed you.

3

[neversurrender]

[The fog is always a particularly bad time to be a monster, especially those undergoing the change for the first time. You can be told over and over what will happen, how much it will hurt, but it never quite feels real until it happens. Until your body is aching in places you never had before and you're growing extra limbs and appendages.

Steve's changes on this night are fortunately not so painful. His enhanced senses are kicking in and he's smelling things he never would have picked up before, not at this distance. He's seeing clearer in the darkness than he ever had before. It's a little overwhelming, but it's also proving to be useful this night as he wanders the streets searching for new monsters dealing with their transformations.

He smells the man long before he sees him, and hears his screams from a few blocks away. Whatever his changes are, they are painful and take time to complete. By the time Steve reaches the man his changes are nearly complete and he's laying on the ground.

Steve approaches quickly, crouching down near the man. His wings fan out behind him casting large shadows on the ground.]

It's going to be okay. Do you think you can move yet? It's not safe to stay out here.

[goldcuffed]

[Damen was reluctant to part from Laurent after the fog rolled in, but they both had their respective jobs to go to in order to support themselves (and isn't that an odd worry for two kings). He's on his way back to their small house, having suffered thus far little worse than a change in his eyes and some itching skin, when he hears the scream.

Immediately, his heart pounds in his chest. Laurent, he knows that voice, and if Laurent is that loud, something is very, very wrong.

The scene he stumbles onto as he quickly turns the corner, at a dead run, is a man crouched down by Laurent's prone form on the ground. Laurent's agonized scream. Damen doesn't think - he reacts. He barrels into the stranger, tries to haul him bodily up and away from Laurent's vulnerable form.] What have you done to him?!

[redoublement]

[ Through the fog of agony, the world returned in fractured pieces. His feet felt as though they were on fire even still, his legs making brutal cracks of noise as his joints adjusted, and bent. He was dizzy, sightless through it for too long, the agony of it too great.

Slowly, slowly, pieces slotted themselves together, his awareness of the world returning. Dimly he realized Damen was nearby, throwing a stranger to the ground. Laurent reaches out towards them, mumbled the other's name as his bloodied, taloned feet flexes for the first time, one shaking itself gently, an effort to shed the ribbons of leather still clinging to his mangled legs. ]

Damen- Damen, stop. [ Breathless, dizzy with pain and bloodloss both, his voice sounded feeble even to his own ears. He closed his eyes, lay his head back down and let himself breath. ]

[neversurrender]

[If he hadn't been so focused on the man laying before him he would have noticed another presence coming their way. He would have been more prepared for the attack. But as he wasn't he can only grunt in surprise as a solid body crashes into him, pulling him away from the man in need of help.

He wraps his clawed hands around the wrist of the hand holding onto him, his grip tightening. He's startled and confused by the man's words. What had he done?]

He's in pain from his changes. I heard screaming so I came to help. It's not safe to be out in the streets alone while so vulnerable. There are mobs. [He bites the words out, hoping it'll be enough to get the man to let go of him. Behind the other man the blond man is stirring.]

We need to get him somewhere safe.

[goldcuffed]

[There are hands around his wrist, and Damen's expression is very much 'do you want to lose that hand?' Once he's pulled him a few feet from Laurent, he jerks his hand back and puts his body between this stranger and his lover. There is a lot of Damen to put between them. Dark eyes narrow, especially to hear him call Laurent vulnerable.] You came to help. [He sounds skeptical of this, but after a moment of dark eyes flickering between the stranger and Laurent, he determines Laurent more important.

Now he's the one who kneels beside him, hands under his arms to maneuver him into a more comfortable position leaning against his own body.] It's alright, Laurent, I'm here. [He murmurs, his touches tender and careful.]

I can take him to a physician from here.

[redoublement]

[ Everything below his waist felt too tender; as though his raw nerves were exposed. Even the brush of his pants against the newly scaled feet seemed too much. An overstimulation too close to pain. He pushed at the concrete once, as if this would push the pain itself away- but it only left him gasping, head falling back against Damen where the other had shifted him, his legs going still. There was a new, backwards bend to his legs, the digitigrade appendages held curled towards his body. ]

I don't think I can stand. [ He grimaced to make the admission, but his feet were gone- and in their place too-tender blackish blue talons and stalks of leg that looked too skinny to bare even his slight weight. ]

arrival bc i fucking can ok

[dedikated]

[ This place makes her bristle. From the second Kate woke up, soaked and sore, to having to brush off the natives of this place bombarding her with flyers. Her long, bright pink hair is still soaked and dripping down her back as she stalks across the streets, practically snarling at any person stupid enough to engage her in conversation. She shouldn't be here, not now of all times, when Carl just sent a text that sounds too panicked with all his question marks and Marc hasn't said a peep in hours. She should be there, at The Agency, helping them Instead of storming through streets and being attacked by flyers on creatures that sound like they come from awful fairy tales.

Someone speaks at her, voice calm and elegant, and she turns for a second, because... ]

Excuse me? [ What are you calling grotesque exactly her piercings are fucking awesome. ]

[redoublement]

[ Laurent did not even look slightly perturbed by how she rounded on him, something aggressive in her tone. Instead, he merely rose an eyebrow, rubbing the index finger and thumb of one hand together as he watched her. ]

I had been speaking to the man with horns behind you, but I suppose, so long as you are not so clueless as you look, that you will do as poor substitution.

[dedikated]

[ gee, thanks. That definitely does not improve Kate's countenance, her eyes narrowing at this strange, calm person talking to her. She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth and folds her arms. Clueless was a bit much, but she was a complete stranger to this place. And she needs to get back, dammit. ]

Frankly, I don't care where we are. I just care about leaving.