TDM

[ryslighelpers]

TEST DRIVE MEME: JANUARY

Welcome to the Ryslig Test Drive Meme! Below are a few prompts to get you started, but you may make up any prompt you desire! Please take a look at the navigation page for rules, setting information, and links to reserves and apps. Have fun!

SCENARIO ONE

You wake up on the beach thoroughly drenched, with your mouth full of sand. The salt water is making all the cuts and scrapes on your skin sting and the sand isn't helping. The air is slightly humid, ruining any feeling of refreshment you might have gotten from your dip in the ocean.

There are lights in the distance, but the unfriendly scent of gunpowder fills the air. If you're lucky, you're alone. If not - you might find yourself staring up into a pair of monstrous eyes or down the barrel of a local's shotgun.

SCENARIO TWO

So you've just arrived, and already some of the natives are trying to get on your good side with 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 on the more informative end of the scale. 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 readers saying they're lies, or pointing out good "jokes."

Then there are 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 THREE

"Seek us out," the voice whispers in your head, and before you have time to question it you've found yourself in someplace entirely alien.

Maybe it's the Fog God's ghostly town of Dyster, where exultant followers dance around bonfires and sing their praises to the skies above. Maybe it's the Fourth God's arcade, with small robots wheeling about amidst the lights and colors of old pinball machines.

Only one thing is certain: you are not alone, in this sacred place.

SCENARIO FOUR

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? Feel free to pick any monster type for this prompt, but note that you may not get the same one in game.

Comments

Reika Rikudou | Fate/Apocrypha

[leaveittomother]

[[There probably will be spoilers in the replies, if you're sensitive to that.]]

A. Arrival

[The sting of salt getting into in the old wounds on her stomach and arm is what wakes up Reika out of her daze. There's new scrapes, apparently, yet it's the one on her belly that gets her attention the most. Her short dress clings to her body as she gets to her knees.

Was this one of those dreams again? A glance at her surroundings told her 'no'. This wasn't London. Even the stink wasn't the same as that hell... Ah. That was a pain. Maybe it was just an illusion by one of those enemy magi. Reika didn't know what they could do, after all. It was possible and yet--]

What a pain.

[It's said with little emotion as she stands up. There was no reason to get upset, after all. What was the point in getting angry over things you couldn't possibly change? Reika was going to leave it at that when she looked down at her hand.

There was only three Command Seals on her hand. The third had been erased, leaving only faint lines as if someone had rubbed it out. Reika suddenly swallows. Her expression of vague annoyance doesn't change but that makes her look up and down the length of the beach.

If she had been alone when she showed up here then that was it. She probably made some miscalculation but she wasn't. Even if Jack had been injured... Reika forces herself to move along the beach.]

Jack! Jack, can you hear me?

[Why wasn't the Command Seals responding? Could she have only use one to bring her Servant to her? Jack hadn't said anything like that. Oh, this surely was a pain. She really had to find Jack before those magi did.]

B. Network

[Hello, network. There's currently an anonymous posting that simply reads:]

I'm looking into mysterious deaths, not related to all this monster business. That is, has anyone been found with a missing heart lately?

C. The Fog God's Domain

[One might say this is a kind of hell. People throwing themselves around a bonfire with joy. An empty, desolate town.

Reika watches all of this with a wry smile. She's heard about the conflict between the gods. It was this spat that separated her from her child, after all. Both had to be destroyed but she didn't hate either. That was futile. The exuberance of the worshipers was just as futile.

Yet, maybe that's why she was brought here. Fog never held any terror to her, even with all of it's dangers. Those dwelling here never really experience the terrible choking mist that would poison anyone who breathed it in nor the one who stalked in it. No, Reika Rikudou never could fear the Fog God.

Instead she stands in front of the bonfires and close her eyes.]

Maybe if it were quieter it would be peaceful here. I could think of worse places...

D. Wildcard

[Throw an idea at me and we'll work something out.]

Daniel "Danny" Dickens | Angels of Death

[doctorize]

ONE: Arrival

[So, you know, usually the first thing someone does upon waking up on the beach with a mouth full of sand is get upset (which, he is) and demand answers to the nearest person or gesticulate angrily to the sky as to how they got there, but--]

Who the hell just dumps people into the ocean, or leave washed up on the beach like that--do you have any idea the kind of damage salt water or, god forbid, grains of sand, can do to one's eyes? If I have to deal with being blinded on top of everything else to do with this fucked up wake up call, they may as well have just killed me instead...

[... That sure is an interesting set of priorities the new guy has here.]

TWO: Network

My name is Doctor Daniel Dickens: yes, I've read the cute little pamphlets that have been provided, yes I'm still human at the moment, and no, I can't say that I'm looking forward to potentially craving human flesh in the next few weeks or so and find it absolutely disgusting, so on and so forth. I'm sure you've already heard similar remarks from newcomers before, so I'll spare you on hearing them again.

I am curious though about something regarding the supposed changes we're expected to go through here. If you'll care to indulge me for a moment, that is.

My question is, how many of you have a new set of peepers now in comparison to what you had before? Do they do anything special, or is it just an aesthetic change in appearance? Do you prefer these new eyes, or wish you still had your previous pair to see with instead?

THREE: Wildcard

[ooc: throw an idea or something at me that you wanna play with and we'll make it happen]

Komasan | Youkai Watch

[monge]

Two

[No matter what, no matter how, Komasan always seems to find his way into the city. ...Which he is totally okay with in this case, because Bavan is a lot less scarier than Vandare is somehow. Probably because there's a whole lot less guns in his face. Which is good, because this is definitely not his face and he doesn't want to break something that doesn't belong to him. So there's definitely an awkward looking young man parading his way through the city, walking around like his legs are almost too tall for him. Because they are. Komasan grew twice his original size just by becoming human, and people are already telling him he's going to change again. Okay, cool.

Not that he really minds the pamphlets, though, they're a great distraction from all the Too Much™ that's going on around him, and he'd much rather look at the pretty pictures than worry his head off.]

Moonggeee~ [His eyes sparkle as he reads the little descriptions, never questioning any of it for a second. The people here are actually aware of their youkai, truly amazing.] I never met a furry fish before, I-I kinda wannna pet one now, zura...

[But where can he find such a majestic creature? Probably not the city, and he can't go back to that ocean he came from... Hm.

Asking seems to be the way to go, so he throws his pamphlet in the air and begins to yell for anyone who might listen. He can do that now that people are going to see him 24/7. Why not abuse it?]

Heellloooo~?? I'd like to meet the fish in the pictures, please, zuraaaa~!!

Four (Slime)

[Have you ever just...melted? That was the highlight of Komasan's morning, and he can't say it's an experience he'd recommend. He probably shouldn't have gone out in the fog, but there's so many cute little shops around here, it's hard to forget that you're about to transform into a horrible monster.

..."Horrible" might be an overstatement, though. The whole ~suddenly becoming a green puddle of goo~ is definitely...alarming, sure, but the creature that reforms from that goo is anything but scary. Komasan finds himself back in a shape similar to his original form, albeit much simpler and a whole lot squishier. It's as if he'd become a giant gummy puppy, complete with colorful candy coloring.

His legs are stout and simple enough to form, but they push down and glop into the pavement with every step he takes over to the nearest shop window. ...Which isn't as easy as it once was, now that he's back to his original size.]

Ah!

[If being smaller bothers him, he sure isn't showing it, though. In fact, he seems pretty pleased, squishing his cheeks in his barely formed paws.]

This is more like it, zura.

[.....that's it. That's all he has to say on the matter before he starts strolling along again, as if nothing happened.]

Leon Kuwata | Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

[camelopards]

[Know what, why not! Let's see what we can come up with!]

A. Arrival

'Nngh, sweet jeez, my head...'

That had to have been the worst sleep Leon had ever gotten. The stifling air had this unbearable sweaty reek, everything around him felt all wet and gritty, and there was this loud roaring in his ears, probably from some piece-of-shit generator or someth-

'Wait. Is this...sand?'

Then a wave spilled over him, and everything within him screamed as an intense stinging seized his entire body. He let out a sharp "YEOWW!" as he was finally jarred into wakefulness, and it turned into choking coughs as he realized there was sand in his mouth, too. When his fit was over, he lay gasping on the ground, shrimped over on his side with his eyes in a wide-open glare.

Oh. Now everything made sense. Sort of.

He slowly heaved himself into a sitting position (he was damp everywhere, he just noticed, which just made him feel grosser), and his eyes shifted around rapidly as he took in his surroundings. It was dark out, but there was a big full moon in the sky, so there was plenty of light to see by. To his left, the beach stretched far away until it met these tall cliffs in the distance. To his right, the sea crashed away at the land, sending more sheets of water spilling up towards him - and it was here he realized that he was dangerously close to the tide, so he quickly scrambled to his feet (fuck, fuck, every movement was sheer pain) and staggered out of reach. Aside from sand, cliffs, and water, he didn't see or hear anything, not even the sound of seagulls crying or anything like that. It seemed he was alone.

"Damn," he sighed to himself. "First that stupid bear's nonsense, now this?" This joke had long stopped being funny, and whoever was behind it was just dicking around now. This didn't even make sense in the context of earlier, how could one go from being trapped in some Battle Royale knockoff to being stranded on a beach in tropical Hell-Knows-Where?

He suddenly froze. There was a new noise, faint but still audible from somewhere behind him. It was human - a woman, it sounded like - calling for someone. Leon whirled around in its direction, his spirits feeling a sudden jolt of new energy - someone else in the same boat!

"Yo, hey!" he shouted as loud as he could, though it felt like a million little razors were wrecking his throat as he did so. "Can you hear me? Hellooo!" He began to pace slowly down the beach, raising his voice again now and then. At the same time, he instinctively raised a hand to his hair, running his fingers through it - god, he hoped the ocean hadn't messed it up too much, he still needed to look presentable. So it was that he made his way towards the voice until, in the distance, he could see a woman with long, darkish-looking hair - presumably the voice's owner.

Two

[linettisetgo]

But why go looking for the fish in the pictures, when you could meet a living legend right here?

[Gina doesn't know anything about the fish in the pictures because she's declined every pamphlet she's been offered except for the one about werewolves. She looks over at the awkward young man and offers him a winning, magnetic smile. Nay, a smile that almost transcend's description. You're in luck, awkward little man.]

Hi... Gina Linetti. Tell me about your famous fish.

[monge]

[This isn't a fish. Komasan takes a step back, one that's a little too wide, but again...legs.

That smile is way too winning, something he's never seen before, and for whatever reason his first thought is this woman is going to eat me. There was probably a zura in there somewhere, too.

BUT...she did say she was a legendary human. ...Actually, no, scratch that, he's not sure if that helps. There are totally legendary youkai that eat people all the time, too. Someone please help him.]

I-It's a fish...w-with fur, zura...

[His voice shrinks into a whisper.]

I'm gonna pet it, z-zura...

[leaveittomother]

That child shouldn't be far, her heart said. They were right together until she had been thrown to the sea. That in itself was odd. They hadn't been in a sea-side town. Unless if one of the Servants had something that could transport them--no. No, there wasn't time to think of that at the moment.

Reika heard a voice that made her turn. Her hand was in her pocket, tightening into a fist just in case, then relaxing slightly. Moving in the sand with boots on wasn't exactly the best thing. She saw the other figure (young man, teenager?) in the distance. Tugging at her coat she took a more easy stance the usual vague smile on her face.

"Hey!" As she approached she could see that his own clothes were wet. Another person trapped here? He wasn't from that town; his style was more suited to a city not some backwater in Romania. "I can hear you! I only arrived here a few minutes ago."

Network. As in yelling on voice.

[zackthekiller]

[That voice. That name. That damn word... ]

>> KILLERANGEL has posted an AUDIO MESSAGE. If you wish to listen, type LISTEN02.

[When Danny enters the command, he'll hear a bitterly growling voice coming from his laptop's speakers. The sound's somewhat distorted, as if someone was trying to record the television with a smartphone, but the voice should be very damn familiar.]

Welcome to Hell, asshole. How the fuck are you still alive?

[doctorize]

[... You know what, Danny's honestly not sure what he expected here, but in the end, he shouldn't be surprised that it would be Zack attached to this username. Still...]

I could ask you the same thing, you know. Shouldn't you be rotting in a dumpster somewhere?

Network

[leaveittomother]

One has to wonder if the eyes change completely or if it's just a surface change. How would someone even know?

[linettisetgo]

[Awww. This awkward little man is treating her with the awe to which she is obviously entitled and she is loving it. But yeah, she could totally eat you but in a metaphorical sense.

Gina draws herself up and leans over to pluck the pamphlet out of his hand and giving it a quick once over. Her eyes light up What is this thing and where can they find it?]

Alright... let's take a look at your fish with fur; oh my god, we have to pet it right now.

[zackthekiller]

[Fun fact: Zack didn't pick this username! The laptops sometimes assign them to people.]

Shut the hell up, I've been doing just fine here without hearing your crappy nickname for eyeballs ever again.

[doctorize]

You say that as if I actually wanted to end up here in the same hellhole as you.

[which, he didn't. in case that wasn't obvious.]

[doctorize]

That's what I'd like to find out! It sounds like a fascinating change in physiology to document, don't you think?

[monge]

[Komasan can only blink a few times when the pamphlet is snatched away from his grip so easily. T-That's fine, sharing is a good thing...

Can... Is he even allowed to say no to a legendary human anyway? It'd probably be best not to anger her, lest he get ate. Komasan does his best to give a very determined nod, but his timidness still shows in the way his eyes seem to shake.]

Right!

[He pauses.]

...I have no idea where it is, zura!

[zackthekiller]

I hate it too. You can go yell at the Fog God about that, not me.

[camelopards]

[Oh boy, gonna have to give Reika's wiki entry a skim, aren't I? ^^' That didn't even cross my mind! Ah well, I hope I do okay with this:]

He was just far enough within earshot to hear that, and if he'd been feeling any distrust that he couldn't notice, it was perfectly at ease now. He jogged the rest of the way over, halting a few paces away.

"You washed up too, eh?" he called back. "Well, it's always good, having someone who can relate! So, uh, who you callin' for?"

And ahh, dammit, now he was feeling even more self-conscious. Whoever she was, this lady was quite beautiful, with her serene smile and flowing locks, and he had to admit that her outfit, especially in its current state, was...something as well. He hoped he wasn't coming across as a pervert or anything, especially not since she appeared to be older - he didn't mind the thought of being with more mature women, but they could be a bit intimidating, even to natural charmers like himself.

"Oh, and the name's Kuwata," he added quickly, "Leon Kuwata! Japan's star baseball player, maybe you've heard of me."

two

[hauntpadour]

[Oh dear lord, how do people keep getting these pamphlets. Who keeps handing them out. Egon needs to have a word with them.]

[He frowns way, way down at the young man and shakes his head very disapprovingly.]

There is no furry fish. That publication is rife with misinformation.

Here, this should be much more useful.

[Here, have one of these massive books he's holding thrust into your hands.]

[monge]

.....zura?

[See, pamphlets are easy because they have short little blurbs and cute pictures. Great for entertaining his short attention span just long enough to get the job done. Bam, furry fish, all he needed.

Books? Books are hard. Books are words upon words upon words and Komasan can already feel himself getting dizzy just at the thought of it alone. Still, he doesn't like to be rude...]

Ah... I mean, t-thank you, zura...

[This might become a coaster.]

But I, ah, don't think people would lie about fish, zura.

Lessa | Dragonriders of Pern

[betweened]

[A. Pamphlet Shmanphlet | Unchanged]

[Lessa, sharp-witted as she is, has settled into gathering as much information as possible as quick as possible. If she's going to survive here then she needs to know what she's working with and, given time, what she can use to her advantage. The helpfulness of the locals is appreciated, and the knowledge that 'I might just eat you if you don't' can get her access to most things is indispensable. Would she actually? That's not the point. The point is that saying it gets results.

These pamphlets, though... She almost might eat the man who gave them to her, because so far they're a load of herdbeast dung.]

This [she pronounces with an air of deep distaste to anyone who is within earshot] is not a dragon!

[B. Mob Song | Werewolf]

[There are still humans who actively take it upon themselves to fight back against the monsters in their midst. They rove in small gangs, particularly at night, in the name of keeping the streets 'safe'. Anyone passing by a particular alley in Bavan will hear shouting mixed with sharp, booming barks.

Lit by by the light of torches (torches, how quaint) is a hulking black beast with burning gold eyes and a long, sloping, fanged snout. Its back is hunched, its forearms are disturbingly long, its ears are laid flat back and really the only indicator that it is in any way human is the tattered remains of a white shirt and a tan skirt that probably used to sweep the ground but is now more knee-length.

It's a full moon, and Lessa is fucking pissed. She spots a fellow monster and lifts her head on its long, maned neck.]

You! Help me drive them off!

[It isn't spoken like a request.]

[C. Network | Kelpie]

this is impossible to bear
my hair has become some kind of limp and smelly plant
it snaps and will not behave when i attempt to braid it
if i leave it loose it tangles and drags on the ground
cutting it only makes it grow back twice as stubborn
must i salt my own scalp to tame this scourge

[leaveittomother]

It does. Compared to some of the other changes it seems a mundane thing to focus on, though.

[leaveittomother]

[That wouldn't be a bad idea. She's, uh, something.]

She gives a light laugh at that. It was almost charming. She rubs the back of her neck. "That's right. I don't think we're alone, either."

There were others, she knew that much. Footsteps on a beach might fade but fresh prints were a clue that activity was present. Reika was, well, used to such looks and as long as it was just looking she wasn't going to worry about it too much. She shakes her head. "Unfortunately I'm not one for sports."

Reika did have a few boyfriends that were but she never paid much attention. Then she stopped. "I'm Rikudou Reika. Jack... Jack is my child. She was with me then I must have blacked out or something."

[linettisetgo]

Leave it to me, just let me work my magic and---uggghhh, no!

[She flashes him another winning smile and reaches into her pocket before realizing that she doesn't have her phone and cant search local social media for #furbearingtrout. Why? Why does the universe have it in for them? What did they ever do?]

Alright, help me out here. Can you get on twitter right now?

[monge]

[............Oh dear god, what is a twitter? Komasan's lucky he can even get on his feet, how is he supposed to get on something he doesn't even know?! What if it's too big?!

Why do they even need to get on anything anyway?! ...To see the fish? To see the fish from a higher perspective?? Okay, that makes sense, he can work with that...]

I can get on a chair, zura...

[And thankfully, they're in a city, so that means...ah! Restaurants with outdoor tables! Without even beginning to think that he should maybe explain his bizarre thought process, Komasan bolts off in a rather wobbly fashion.]

B

[peaceamongworlds]

[What the fuck is this, an angry mob? He glances over at the very indignant werewolf and rolls his eyes before turning back to the mob in question.]

What? Alright, sure. I'll---[He takes a pull from his flask and sticks it back in his pocket before wiggling his fingers in an halfheartedly ominous 'spirit fingers' motion without moving from where he's leaned against the wall.] Heeeyyy... Stay back or I'll---I don't know; I'll fuck you up. oooOOOoooOoh... Real scary goatbat.