TEST DRIVE MEME: SEPTEMBER

[ryslighelpers]

TDM: SEPTEMBER

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

Edith Cushing | Crimson Peak

[themanuscript]

Scenario 1

[Did she pass out? Did she die? The salty, ocean air is the first thing that she notices when her eyes flutter open, and she immediately knows that she isn't where she's meant to be. She coughs violently, tasting sand in her mouth, and the pain that suddenly hits her makes her gasp in agony. It isn't just the scratches and scrapes on her skin - it's everything. It's her leg, which may be broken, and her back after being thrown from a balcony. It was a small miracle that she was alive at all. The fact that she was able to move at all was nothing short of impressive, but Edith had been determined to survive. An andrenaline rush had taken her over, aiding her.

She remembers Thomas. She remembers Lucille, brandishing a weapon while running after her in the fog. The woman's howls and screams of rage will be difficult to forget.]

Where am I? [Her voice is cracked. She grabs at a fallen branch - it makes for a perfect walking cane, and she uses it for support as she tries to pick herself up. To say she's struggling would be an understatement. Long, golden hair clings to her face, soaked with water and tinged with blood. Her nightgown is also coated with blood.]

Alan?! [She calls -- her voice is louder now. There's fear in her voice, but there's also determination.]

Alan, are you there? [Please let him be there.]

Scenario Two

[The townsfolk, so far, have been nothing but kind and sweet. She's looking much better than she did on the beach -- her leg is bandaged up, and someone was kind enough to give her a cane to walk with. But their kindness makes her uncomfortable -- she's uncomfortable taking food and drinks from strangers, and will only do so if they eat it too. They're too friendly, she thinks. Something feels terribly wrong. She doesn't know what it is, yet, but the unease is there. It turns her stomach upside down.

She's outside, and a group of locals are surrounding her. One of them gives her some fruit, which she accepts. But when someone offers her tea, her chest tightens and she pushes it away immediately, her thoughts returning to Allerdale Hall. Lucille. Thomas. The cup clatters on the saucer, but the liquid doesn't spill out. Thankfully.]

I'm... I apologise. [She looks at the local; the elderly woman continues to smile, seemingly unphased.]

I don't drink tea. I can't. But your hospitality is appreciated.

1

[cartoongiraffe]

[The tall woman on the shore next to Edith, glances over at her and does a double-take, because that certainly is blood.]

Hush, hush and get down.

[She points to a distant moving figure in the fog.]

How badly are you hurt? Your leg and where else?

[She reaches out to steady Edith, though she winces at the thought of blood on her dress. She's upset enough not to compare this to her mine-sweeping trip to Vietnam.]

[themanuscript]

[Edith hears a voice, and she turns her head to face the stranger. The woman points towards something up ahead, and Edith’s gaze follows her finger. The figure in the fog continues to move – it’s movements remind her of a wild animal on the hunt, and Edith’s eyes widen in horror. Her throat feels a little tighter. Dryer. She thinks of Lucille again, and she feels herself grow cold with fear. She doesn’t understand what this madness is, but she needs to remain on high alert. She has to remain strong, for herself and this stranger beside her.
She does as she’s told, lowering herself down again despite the pain in her leg. She’s exhausted, but she has to soldier on. She can’t let her injuries hinder her.]

My back. But… I’ll be all right. [Edith lets the woman steady her, but her eyes are still on the fog. On the figure.]

I was on my way to the doctor. [And then… this happened.]

[cartoongiraffe]

Some of them were shooting.

[She lets herself be used as a rest though she gently pushes forward. Even bending down Tahani is tall and her soaked dress doesn't cover her shoulders or calves.]

It'll be alright, there's...there's fog. We can make it to the trees if you can...move?

[themanuscript]

[Her head is pounding; her thoughts feel unclear and messy, but she has to persevere. She has to, until she can get herself to that doctor. She looks over her shoulder, trying to look for Alan, but she sees no one else. No one but the other woman, and the figure obscured by fog.]

I can. But you mustn't let me slow you, if...

[If danger approaches, and she stumbles. Even as she says it, she's beginning to move forward. Andrenaline aids her, once again, but she only has so much energy left. She must move now, for herself and for the woman.]

[cartoongiraffe]

Nonsense.

[Her tone's sharper than normal. She tries to be an effective support while moving.]

Look, they're moving away. If you get to the trees where you can hide I could find...someone to help you.

Who's Alan, by the way?

YES, MORE VICTORIANS! also number one

[puddlesoverdios]

[ Erina has grown more accustom to time on the Peninsula. She misses her son still, of course, but Jonathan's presence soothes that wound. Erina has taken to walking down the beach in the daylight hours before she would transform in the evenings into some sort of strange mix of mongoose and woman.

She mused on the subject until she heard the particular wail of a particular horrified, confused human woman who had no idea what would become of her. And so, Erina joestar hurried her way towards the voice that called for an "Alan."

As she came down the coastline, there the other confused, injured blonde woman was.]

Oh, good gracious!

THE MORE, THE MERRIER!

[themanuscript]

[Edith struggles, but she manages to pick herself up from the sand. Saltwater laps at her ankles and bites at her wounds, and she feels so bewildered. Alan had been right beside her; they had supported each other as they stumbled out of the gates, met by a group of people who would take them both to safety.

They were going to go to the hospital. Edith was bracing herself for questioning by police, and she knew she’d have to relive those horrible moments again and again.

But now she’s somewhere else, and she feels alone. Powerless. There’s no safety here. There’s only the unknown. She hears someone speak and turns to face a blonde woman moving towards her. Taking a deep breath, she moves forward, clutching onto the branch for dear life. She feels such relief – it’s good to see another person.]

Please don’t concern yourself with me... I worry more about my friend. I can’t find him.

[puddlesoverdios]

[ Erina clicks her tongue softly in reply. ] That certainly shall not do, miss. I can safely say I've seen no one down the beach as I've walked. But that does not mean he's not somewhere else in the peninsula, we will simply need to leave a post out and see if anyone else has seen him.

[ She frowns softly as she takes in the state of Edith's clothes and how weak the other young woman seems to be. They seem to be of a similar age.]

Come along, lean on me. We'll get you somewhere dry and safe, clean up and get you into clean clothes. Perhaps we can get the blood out of your nightdress. My name is Erina Joestar. What is yours?

[themanuscript]

[She shakes her head softly, and glances at the other woman - confusion flickers in her eyes. She doesn't understand how she could have been separated from him, nor does she understand how she arrived on a beach. But she was determined to poke around and find out, despite her injuries.]

Yes, I must do that immediately. I dread to think that he's still out there... [She glances over her shoulder, in the hopes that she might see her dear friend following after them. She sees nothing.]

Thank you... I'm sorry to trouble you, but I do appreciate the help. My name is Edith. Edith...

[Sharpe. She can't bring herself to say it. Instead, she trails off, and leans on the woman for support.]

2

[dr_feistus]

Are these folks bothering you, my dear?

[the stranger who approaches is an older man, dressed nicely though not expensively, a cane much like her own in his hand.]

[themanuscript]

[Edith looks at the older gentleman and smiles. Her expression is polite, but she can’t hide her exhaustion. There are shadows under her eyes, and her dark gaze is dull. She’s barely slept at all, despite being tired. Every time she drifts off, she sees a figure running through the fog, screaming and wailing. She hears the sound of a metal spoon scraping against ceramic, and sees the ghost of someone she’d loved once, his hand reaching out for hers.]

Oh. Not at all, sir. They’ve been very kind to me, actually. Although… they say the most peculiar things.

[Disturbing things. Grotesque things. She's even received a pamphlet. But there's no way that any of it could be true. Right?]

[dr_feistus]

That they do, indeed. I'm wondering if whoever wrote them was in their ... right mind.

[he offers a hand - and she may notice he looks a bit sleepless, himself. sickly, even, in the right light. his face is just that slight bit too gaunt, and there are definitely shadows beneath his eyes, as well. his hand feels a bit like he's wearing gloves just a touch too big, instead of none at all. there's a sort of physical lacking to him - but his eyes are bright and sharp, a testament to the resiliance of the mind piloting the slow wreck of a man]

Dr. Paul Feistus, at your service, young lady.