graveyardsmash | JANUARY/FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE

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test drive

JANUARY/FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE

TDM: JANUARY/FEBRUARY

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's most definitely not gonna be Molly, and he doesn't look offended at the implication. Instead, he saves that for the sarcastic suggestion.]

No, you shut the fuck up and stay hidden while I take care of it. Come on, Scout... I can't stop gods from fucking with you, but dumbasses that think they can take our camp is another story. I ain't gonna let them hurt [you] -- us.

[A roll of their eyes, and they scoff.]

I’m not gonna let you get yourself killed like a dumbass.

[They know that Molly can fight - they’ve seen him fight plenty of times but that seems irrelevant in a place like this. They’ve been stripped of their magic, and they know Molly doesn’t rely on his nearly as much as they do on theirs, but still. They’re weaker, here, and they don’t know what the people who might wish to harm them are capable of.]

Look, why don’t we just...Find someone who can help us?

[Getting in with someone who’s more established could help them - knowledge is power, after all.]

[Molly steps away again with a sigh and a wrinkle of his nose, letting his back rest against the opposite wall of the alley.]

...Yeah, that'll go real fucking great. Someone might let you in easily enough, but not when you've got me at your heels. And like I said, I don't -- fucking trust them. Human or monster. It might...be best you try to sweettalk your way to someone's bed for the night while I keep an eye out for someplace we'll be better off.

[Scout was attractive enough, and as much as a brat they were, Molly's confident in their persuasive ability even from the little bit he's seen. Not a plan that makes him feel good on any level, but...they'd be safe at least, right?]

[There’s a pause as Scout just... Stares at Molly. They don’t understand what he means, for a moment, too flabbergasted to be offended. There’s a lot to unpack here. Just...seduce someone to find a place to stay? He can’t-]

You can’t be serious.

[A beat, as they stare at him.]

I’m not- I’m not doing that.

[ughhhh he shouldn't be relieved... He offers a shrug instead as he stares down the alley to the mouth, keeping an eye for people slowing down in for than just a moment's curiosity as they pass.]

Just saying it's one of the safer options for you right now. We don't have fucking money, Scout.

Okay, but we can get money.

[Their gaze follows Molly’s, but they don’t know what he’s looking for. Something that Scout doesn’t notice, something that doesn’t register as a threat to them. Though now that they have to run off of instinct, not programming, would they even be able to see a threat coming?]

Just...Trust me, okay? We can work this out.

[mmm, the T word. It makes him want to cooperate even less, instinctively rebelling against the notion of trusting someone else rather than relying on himself alone. But...it was Scout, and they'd been the closest thing to a friend he'd let himself have in a long time. He had their back, they had his. That was how it worked in the time they'd had together. The only difference now was that Scout was choosing to protect him, instead of doing it out of obligation.]

Whatever. That shit's your territory, not mine, so... I'll follow your lead, I guess.

[His acquiescence is a relief, and Scout sags just a little bit. They look a little less stiff, and they bob their head.]

Maybe I’ll even find someone you can punch. Best of both worlds, yeah?

[They smooth their hair out, brushing it out of their face even though it just ends up falling back into place. They make a face, briefly annoyed. They know why they look the way they do - they’ve dabbled with magic enough to settle on a human enough appearance, which seems to be what they’ve ended up as. Somehow, having hair in their face when they actually need to use their eyes to sense what’s around them is annoying.]

[Once satisfied with the privacy of their current surroundings and confident enough he can look back at Scout without breaking something, he returns his gaze to them and huffs out a single, soft laugh.]

Here...

[He still has the thin strip of leather he was using as a hairtie in his hand, and he steps forward again to slip his fingers through their hair and fix it out of the way. It even looks nice, not that Scout will be able to tell immediately.]

You know I'll punch anyone the fuck out to help. [Or not help. Whatever.]

Don’t laugh at me.

[That’s rude. They stay still while Molly fusses with their hair, looking up at him. Because they’re curious about what he’s doing! Not because they think he’s handsome or that they’re glad they’re with him and not, like, Remus or Abigail. Not that there’s anything wrong with Remis or Abigail! (Though what would happen to a vampire in a place like this?) Their relationship is just...different.]

But thanks. And I’ll try to make sure you only punch people who won’t eat you.

[That only makes him want to laugh more? But things aren't quite nice enough even with this moment to make him as carefree as he'd need to be. Instead, he settles into a tired smile, finishes tying the strip off, and tips his head to examine his work. Nice. Good thing he was bullied into playing dress-up with Monarch whenever it came time to prep her for a date. He does damn good work!

But he's done now, and he steps back with his arms folded across his chest.]

Hey, I'll punch a -- whatever the fuck. I dunno, the specifics require actually reading the fucking papers they keep shoving at us. Remember that gnoll pack lord? They definitely coulda eaten me if I gave 'em the chance.

I’ll read the papers.

[They hold their hand out, raising an eyebrow. Give.]

And, yes, I remember the gnoll lord and how it took a fireball to the face. [Molly is very lucky Scout is precise with the magic and aimed just behind said gnoll lord.] But there aren’t any fireballs here, so we have to be careful.

[Sure, sure... He grabs hold of the stack of pamphlets jammed carelessly under his belt and offers them out.]

Go to town, fucking nerd.

[This commentary is slander, though...]

Uh-huh. And who the fuck kept the whole fucking pack off you so you had the space to spell without getting caught the fuck up in your own effects? You cut the brawl short, is all.

[Reading is so slow now, this is bullshit.

They’re going to let the nerd comment slide.]

I saved your life. It wouldn’t kill you to be appreciative!

[They’re not seriously mad about it. Probably.]

[Well, duh. Because they are a nerd. He's only speaking the truth, such as -- ]

Yeah? Before me, you didn't even fucking have one. Say we're even.

No.

[They refuse.]

I’m sure I would have had a life without your interference.

[Ah... They think so, huh?

...Well, they'd know more than he would, wouldn't they? Fuck does he know about robots? He hadn't even know what it was he'd been stealing all that time ago, really. Hm.]

Uh, so... Anything you can use to get on somethin's good side?

[They have no idea, honestly. They're just pissy and annoyed - more at this situation than at Molly - but that means they're taking it out on the man.

They squint at the pamphlets, frowning a bit.]

Not really. Not unless there's people really sympathetic to the soon-to-be-monsters.

Yeah, my hopes ain't high.

[If he weren't so pessimistic, he might float the idea of the veteran monsters helping out newbies, but that wouldn't do much to better their own odds, he thinks, so there's no point for them to stick their necks out. More monsters means more distrust and fewer resources to go around. Best to let the idiots that couldn't hack the lifestyle fall to the wayside before they became a real problem.

He's already planning how to rig up a makeshift bed in the treetops for them while he keeps guard.]

Mine neither, but you never know. Maybe some of the older monsters will take pity on us.

[That's what they have Scout for! They wave the pamphlets at Molly, as if that'll illustrate their point.]

I mean, someone went through the trouble of making these. There has to be someone with a bleeding heart out there.

[He rolls his eyes but manages to not voice any further dissent for now. It was better for him to try and remember what his sister had all done to appeal to people when they spent their days on the streets to try and get information or odd jobs, while he'd stuck to more unseen tactics.

From the little bit he can come up with, he isn't...good at any of that. This does not come as a surprise... Scout would be able to pull it off, just like Molly's certain he could pull off roughing it, but while they were together...?

Well. He doesn't want to leave them alone, with how they're dealing with a new body and a flood of feelings on top of getting the hang of being sentient at all. Until he knows Scout will for sure be better off without him, he...he can be selfish and enjoy their company a little longer.]

So should we get me roughed up and say I was protecting you from local assholes, or what? What's our play?

[Don’t roll your eyes at them! They don’t say anything about it, for now, looking thoughtful. That would be a good way to garner some sympathy for sure - and if Scout knows anything about humans, it’s that they’re malicious and quick to judge. It would be a believable ruse.

They clap their hands together.]

Should I punch you in the face?

[They sound...really excited about that.]

[The idea alone would have made him laugh, but the eagerness reminds him of one of the first signs of more than an obedient hunk of metal he got to see in Scout. Determined as they were to accompany him and be on his side in a fight, their clear anger in drawing him in the dirt, stabbed repeatedly, had been an interesting, charming spark.

It's no less charming now, and he grins after ruffling their hair with a bit of fondness.]

Gonna take way fucking more than that, sweetheart, but sure, give it a go.

[He holds his arms out, inviting. Punch him!!!! It sounds fun.]

[Scout has never thrown a punch in their life, but they’ve seen Molly throw plenty. They paid attention to his form out of curiosity. Nothing deeper than that!

They curl their hand into a fist, reeling back and popping him right in the cheek. There’s, admittedly, not a lot of force behind it, but they did their best!]

[Sure, sure. Absolutely nothing deeper than that. Molly's weirdly proud anyway, taking note of how Scout isn't making the sort of common beginner mistakes he would have expected from a vain sorcerer like them. Still...weak.]

Fuckin' adorable.

[Gross, he's being sincere instead of just teasing. The attempt really was very cute... Anyway, his turn!

Molly ducks a little and moves forward to brace his shoulder against Scout's stomach and swiftly lift them up off their feet and over his shoulder. Pat-pat against the back of their thigh.]

Ha! Look at that. You're so much fucking lighter, now...

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