graveyardsmash | 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

In that case, I got even more doubts. Ya said the elements, right?

[ Majima put up a hand and allowed a few licks of flame to rise up over the backs of his fingers. The crackling and heat of the flame, at least, seemed real enough. ]

But there're monsters other'n me who can use magic. My body's right here.

That's about all I know about the spirit world. Not really my thing. But yeah, what about them?

[ The theatrics are lost, but she feels the heat well enough, no matter where you are, fire's still the same. ]

Woah-... Fire bending? [ She pauses, taking a second to catch onto the other part of that. ] What do you mean, monsters?

You got any old stories back home about critters that ain't like normal people or animals?

[ He had frankly no idea if mermaids or dragons even existed where she came from, but hey. It was worth a shot. ]

Like a half-lady, half-fish, or dragons, anything like that?

We had spirits? They were the weirdest thing you might come across.

[ She shrugs, perhaps a bit amused by the idea. ]

Oh- We had dragons though! They were the original firebenders, you know. But they were just normal creatures. No stranger than the lion turtles or sea serpents.

In that case, I ain't really sure how to explain it. Monsters are things that ain't supposed to exist; they're mostly in stories to scare little kids into behavin'. Sometimes they're kinda human, sometimes they're just a bunch of animals stuck together.

[ Lion turtles... ]

For instance, a werewolf's a person that can turn into a wolf. They're pretty well-known monsters where I'm from.

That still sounds a lot like spirits to me, or that was what we had. Stories of spirits who would carry away kids who didn't behave or reward you if you did.

[ The statement makes her scoff, blowing her bangs out the way again. ]

Just... a wolf? Who'd believe that?

Or do you mean like a wolfgoose or more like a leaping chip-wolf?

[ Who even has 'normal' wolves? ]

Yeah, what a crock. Who ever thought of a dude turnin' into a big dog?

[ There was a note of dry humor to his delivery, but really, being a big furry canine wasn't so bad. Except for that one part with the eating people. ]

Chipwolf? What's that, a wolf with big puffy cheeks?

[ And now there was nothing dry about it, that sounded kind of hilarious to Majima. The fearsome wolfmonk, hoarder of nuts and seeds. ]

Seriously, though. The closest thing to a spirit when we're talkin' monsters, would be... a shade, I guess? They can walk through things, they're kinda like ghosts.

Yeah, not even very scary, is it? Why not something intimidating like a boar-q-pine?

[ The longer this conversation goes, the stranger it's going to get. Dry or not, it sounds silly to her. Not like there's one of those monsters standing right in front of her. Nope. ]

It's a smallish furry creature that leaps around trees and howls to scare away birds.

But I think I get what you mean. You some sort of... monster expert around here?

Nah. Ya just get to know more about 'em when ya are one.

[ Sometimes

way more than you ever wanted to know, really. ]

So your animals are mashups? Huh. Pretty wild.

When you are one?

[ What an ominous way to explain. She's not quite sure what he means. ]

I guess? Never really thought about it too much. There's a bear! Just, by itself. That was neat.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE

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hey, should we wrap for march stuff?

Yeah, sounds good! (though what a cliffhanger!)