graveyardsmash | Test drive meme: November

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Test drive meme: November

TEST DRIVE MEME: NOVEMBER

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.

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[Ah, the battle to see which one can be more perceptive and figure out the other person in less amount of time. Juno probably would've found the juxtaposition of career choices to be ironic if he actually knew more about Yang.

...But her question strikes him off balance, and he blinks, his fur puffing up in discomfort ever so slightly.]

What? No, what the hell? I'm a goddamn wereraccoon. I don't normally look like this, just--

[He stops himself, a slightly frustrated expression on his face. He can only guess what exactly she'll "work with", here.]

Whatever, what the hell did you call me over for, anyways?

Taako's pretty used to that face- it's a fairly standard face when talking to him by just about anyone. It's not gonna make him any less behind his words, so yeah, he can hang. Besides, the best kind of people to find in an unknown space are people willing to go with his bullshit in a way that lets him do what he wants, so as far as he's concerned this guy is a real catch.

He peers around at the pamphlets the other man is holding to see if they're any different than the ones he has, but it seems to be fruitless. He just shrugs, prepared for some other response when Ed drops the nugget of knowledge he cares about, his grin going wide again. "You cook at home, huh? Professionally, or just for funsies?" This is the sort of thing he's interested in hearing about, but if he hasn't been to a lot of restaurants, he's dubious about how that came about. "You only ever eat your own stuff?"

[He snickers, a toothy grin towards Merle that seems to relax the atmosphere.]

Oh great, that's your main priority. Hey guys, all our problems are solved, Merle can keep his spell slots he usually uses to dick down on plants to continue not healing us! We can get sooooo many more truth zones out of this one.

[And just as quickly as Taako's on his bullshit, he's off it, gesturing to the street around them.]

Okay then, you pick. Where's a place that won't immediately throw you in a bowl and try to serve you back to me as the house salad?

["Wereraccoon?" Oh boy. Purgatory is one seriously weird place. Yang, extremely expressive as always, tilts her head like a confused puppy in her puzzlement...and then extends a hand to Juno anyway. The bizarre has never kept her down for long.]

I did just get here, you know. Tell me about this place! Help me up with your big, strong raccoon paws!

[Oh Boy. Oh Jeez. Oh God. Okay, he can't just leave a person lying on the ground, so he (very reluctantly) extends a hand to help Yang up. The back of his hands are covered in a fine, black fur, and his claws look wickedly sharp.]

Well, uh, in a nutshell, welcome to monster hell. [Sarcastic wave of his free hand.]

You're in Ryslig, on some unknown planet like Earth in some unknown time period where everything is old as shit. Everyone who washes up here gets turned into a monster, yadda yadda, you can probably learn more from the pamphlets they all give out to new people.

[He tries to tug his hand away from Yang. He kind of looks like he wants to die.]

[It doesn't take much to get the scrawny woman to her feet, and once upright she sets about to brushing the sand from her orange sweater. As soon as Juno says "monster Hell," though...]

So I did end up in hell?

[...Yang instantly goes from excited to sullen without any stages in between (which gives Juno a chance to reclaim his hand). Go directly to ~~jail~~ the latest volatile mood swing, do not pass go, do not collect $200. She's suddenly so morose she even kicks at the sand. All traces of the optimism from mere seconds ago? Zip, zilch, nada.]

Welllll this sucks.

Edited 2018-11-18 06:43 (UTC)

[That was. Sudden? Juno can't tell if she's being serious or just being overdramatic. His ears are already pressed back against his head in a combination of irritation and just...discomfort.]

Oh, c'mon, I was joking. We're not literally in hell. [A pause.] At least...uh, I don't think so? I mean, if we're talking about hell, I'm pretty sure my personal hell would a lot more people I'd recognize.

[He tilts his head towards the side, crossing his arms with an air of inquisitiveness. The detective instinct is stepping in.] You think about going to hell often, then?

[Oh, she's being serious. As serious as she's capable of, anyway--this mood might disappear any second and be replaced by another, but she does feel her emotions as they come on.]

I was just stabbed to death, so what do you think? My angel said I probably wouldn't make it into heaven, but this place is a little lacking in fire and brimstone, you know? I'm just saying, if this is eternal damnation it feels a bit spare.

Edited 2018-11-18 07:05 (UTC)

[Right now, Bill Cipher resembles a preteen boy with arms that are far too long, stretched like taffy and hanging at ninety degree angles. A two-dimensional top hat bobs above his head as he walks.

When he sees Yang, he beams.]

Now who's this?

[The next time she blinks, she'll find that Bill right in front of her, closing the distance with an unnatural speed. He leans forward, peering.]

Looks like the Fog decided to bring in a new toy!

( That's okay...he weighs next to nothing anymore, anyway. )

Eight months...I can't imagine being here for that long. ( It's probably easier when you're a noncommittal, nymph-creature. Wight doesn't have nearly as many the attachments that he used to, but the one major one -- his sister -- makes his mind ache the way his body can't anymore.

Eventually he breaks the lean, standing straight again. He may not be able to feel anything anymore, but his brain still acknowledges that it was certainly a nice gesture that makes him feel more calm than he was before. How long that feeling of calm will last...who knows. ) Um, thank you. For being as nice as you've been...e-especially when you didn't have to be.

( Wight is a patient person. He's grown accustomed to hardships and internalizing the burdens of them. There's a lot that he can't be that open about, even knowing the freedom this kind of world can potentially bring. ) I think I can make it here...but I don't -- it will be hard.

Oh. Jesus Christ.

[That sort of changes things!!!! Is it just him, or is she kind of weird? She's definitely kind of weird.]

Well, this place does have a tendency to bring people back to life, so...there's that. [He pinches the bridge of his nose, which just looks silly, given that he's in were form right now.] No one can die here for long--at least, not the monsters. So maybe it is someone's special kind of hell.

[Such compliments! There are a few things she does need, but she will always present them as wants for fear of showing weakness.

Luckily, or unluckily for Finnick, Lucrezia has been known to spill a secret or two when she's overconfident.]

I'm sure you can.

[She agrees with a chuckle, then taps at her lips with a finger, considering.]

I always thought it was ladylike to keep one's secrets close. Don't you agree?

Okay, that's enough to startle her. Lucrezia pulls her hand back in toward herself and looks offended.

"I beg your pardon?" Who and what the blazing lightning are you?

“Oh, yes. Pacts with demons, absorbing foreign abilities or even significant changes in life choices could all potentially lead to hue changes in the iris or sclera; typically of a yellow, red, or monochromatic variety.”

[Funny how evil enjoyed its own color pallet at times. Villains seemed to be pretty susceptible to that stuff.]

“On a personal note, a... coworker of mine has a peculiar case of heterochromia, as for my boss, he can have as many eyes or limbs as he chooses.”

[..Though he isn’t really sure about why this is useful to his pitch. Does that answer your question, Danny?]

"Careful!" he says sharply, wincing at the chaos.

"Wait, you haven't begun to change? You'd know what I was talking about then." He gives the man a long once-over.

"Half...orc..? I suppose. We've had an elf before so why not?" He seems to be saying this to himself. Rude.

[For a minute he thinks of butcher shops, was she saying she had a heart attack while cutting liver?

Then-]

Ow. Are you sure?

[But she seems so intent on getting help he finds himself reaching down, finally. His hand doesn't feel at all like a human's, though there's some kind of opposable thumb. It's lean and black and scaly and the fingernails are actual claws, filed down.]

[His head gives a little nod, that soft smile remaining on his lips. It is a little easier, admittedly. Not that he didn't lose anything, but... it was more a part of himself, than anything else.

His hand releases, drifting back to his side and staying open, in case the boy wanted to take his hand once more.]

You're welcome to it, any time~ We've all been there, your first day here. It gets easier at first, but it is hard, for sure.

[There's a soft hum, a memory striking his head.]

Try to find Hestia's Place, in Bavan, if you don't mind cities. She runs a hostel that's free for young arrivals, and you can get your bearings without worrying about not having shelter over your head.

( Hestia's Place, huh? That literally sounds like a place taken right from his own home world. Maybe there's something meaningful to that. )

Alright. Thank you...I haven't lived in one place for a long time, but, but I don't mind cities for a short stay. ( It may end up a long stay...if there's no need to run here, is there a point to keeping up the now non-existent chase? ) But...I'm sure that only lasts for so long.

I guess it'd be smart to ask: how do you find work here? Is there money? Do you...barter? Or bounty? ( It's not like he's in the market for food, or even clothes, but those aren't the only important necessities in society. Mostly he just wonders if his particular skill set will be of use here, especially since he washed up on shore sans rifle. )

[Nanao isn't exactly one to be thanked for his endless teasing and meddling so he takes little offence to the tone. He's about to start joking to the hunters about how he's put the bag over the man's head because the ailment is 'ugly' when suddenly Flug is saying he's a doctor now. Well, that was an... interesting turn. Not that Nanao minded. He keeps his pleasant smile as a hunter turns on him.]

"Yes, because there's only one kind of illness in the entire world," Nanao says with a light laugh. "I'd be happy to take you back to my office and show you my credentials, my friend. But if you're actually searching for 'one of them' are you really going to take the time to backtrack?"

[Nanao finds himself with a gamble to go to and he assesses both the man he's trying to help and the people he's facing. They don't looke nearly as educated as himself or Flug. He wonders if high school biology can do the trick...]

"Of course... you could take it off and catch it yourself. I'm sure you would all collectively like excess sebums forming aggregated and aggravated papules on your skin like my poor patient here."

[It's a combination of baffling them with his bullshit and stunning them with his brilliance. Nanao prays they take him up on none of their offers or he's going to have to start swinging. Of all the times to lose his magic...]

[It very well might be, the old owner is long gone, however. His smile grows.]

The girl who runs it, Korra, is quite compassionate. She'll let you stay for free until you find some stable work, then charge a small amount.

[At the second question, he simply blinks. Hmm. That was a tough one. You're asking a non-human with very little experience in this area.]

Uh- I mean... there's money, yes. I just sortof, found my work, and even that barely feels like it. I guess you just ask around. Other monsters like to hire each other, since it's slightly less risky~

[That's... helpful, right?]

( Dang...it's hard to get a lay of the land and how this all works with something that vague. There's a hiring system, some kind of "risk." Doesn't sound so far off from back home, but there monsters are a majority here, even if some may be more like Fran than nightmarish -- he did imply some others are more unsightly. )

What do you do for work, then? I want to know what type of work there is to do around here... ( Maybe this will be easier if he uses his own world as a sort of example. ) Where I come from, there are civilian jobs, like inn keeping and running bars. The military too...but also underground work, like item and weapon trading. Couriers, um...hunters? Bounty hunters.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is whether or not I'd have to be something more norm, normal like be a farmer or, uhm, something a little seedier. ( Basically: how slice-of-life does he have to be to earn some coin around here. ) There was a lot of freelancing and scavenging back home. I don't know how different it might be in this place.

[Oh wight... Wight, of all the things to bring up. He was with you right up until the hunting part, at which point his brows furrow, lips curling in disgust. To him, at least, that has a very different meaning.]

Better to stay away from that kind of work... This land has a few more surprises in store that make it difficult, but I wouldn't recommend it either way...

[Alright, shhh, take a breath. His voice shifts to something a little calmer.]

I work as part of an expedition team. Mostly exploring, mapping, and checking out new locations, as well as re-checking old ones to see if anything has changed.

There are a few... mmm, odd jobs around. But a lot is very 'civilian', as you called it. Bartenders, doctors, shopkeepers and all that sort of stuff. You could probably set up your own thing fairly easily...

[Those slitted eyes had narrowed a bit, focusing on the arrival for a moment to judge his reaction.]

You defeated ancient aliens, yet this is impossible to you.

[ She gives him a small, lopsided but sympathetic smile. ]

But, yes...It is no prank, though it is not nearly as bad as it looks? There are worse fates.

[ And she looks away from him then, implication not completely clear but hopefully understood. ]

I have an the beginnings of a solid archive of information on this place and the changes that take place, if you're interested.

( Don't worry -- he's been hunted for years now, he'd much rather stay away from that kind of profession. )

No, no -- trust me I'd...like to avoid doing that at all possible. ( Wight leaves out the part where he's killed both monsters and men out of necessity before, but killing for sport or money when it could be obtained elsewhere...let's save that for when things are way more "eat or be eaten." He has morals, after all. ) I've never been a proper civilian before, but I think it's preferable to a lot of other alternatives. Some of my closer acquaintances are civilians and they're...very helpful.

It's hard to know what to expect from a place that's so different. And if I have to concede to being here...I have to understand how people survive. ( For as bad off as he is mentally, and for as guilty as he feels all the time, Wight still is very much not okay with giving up and dying. )

[The once-nymph has an understandably poor view of anyone who captures or kills for cash. Small population, high price, it's not a great mix, really. Still, he nods, settling back down fairly quickly after that.]

Trust me, I can understand that fairly well... Thankfully, there are plenty of generous monsters around who have done quite well, and just want to support the new arrivals.

[On that note... actually.]

Of course, you're always welcome to stop by my place. A VERY large treehouse in the middle of the peninsula, a couple hours walk south of Bavan... You- Uh, you have a map right?

[Let him juuuust... mark on the map where it is, yes, good. Now there's no excuse.]

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Test drive meme: November

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No problem! We all have other lives after all ^^

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