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

[iboneofsword]

First time beach [1]

[ Shirou's head hurt. Actually, a lot of things hurt, but the pounding in his head was far more prominent than whatever minor wounds he for some reason had.

Eventually, though, he manages to stand himself up to analyze his surroundings. Shirou could say with confidence that this... wasn't Fuyuki. Sure, Fuyuki had a beach (not that Shirou had ever gone to it, though he had gone to the pier occasionally), but the overall surroundings felt... different.

It felt even more different when he suddenly had the barrel of a shotgun pointed at him. His initial reaction was to try and calm the aggressor down... however to no avail. His second solution was to defend himself.

Unfortunately, to no avail. He tried to use projection only to feel an evident lack of magic circuits, which were similar to nerves, and therefore a rather surreal experience. It was like trying to move an extra limb that you know is there, only to realize that for some reason it isn't.

So, while it definitely wasn't what Shirou considered the manly thing to do, he was without a weapon and facing down a shotgun, so one could now see the red-haired teen running away as fast as he could on the beach. ]

H-hey...! Can't we just talk this out...!?

This definitely isn't Fuyuki... [2]

[ Shirou didn't believe the information he was given until he actually did see a monster. After that heart-stopping moment, Shirou was now staring at the pamphlets with a little more faith.

Shirou was rubbing the back of his head, clearly bewildered. He's been here a few hours now and he's seen a few others in similar states to his own being given the same information, but he hasn't been too keen to ask them anything. Unfortunately, he has yet to spot someone recognizable such as Rin or Saber.

At first he was worried. Rin told him that in order to keep Saber in this world, they'd both have to provide magical energy for her. With him here, he wasn't exactly sure how he'd do that... but judging by the variety of the people he's seen, as well as the information he's managed to glean, time doesn't appear to matter as much here.

So, he figures that he can liken this to the Throne of Heroes. If he can get out, it probably won't matter how much time has passed... at least he hopes.

Another thing that bothered him was the evident lack in his magical abilities. Sure, he was already a complete amateur and nothing compared to Rin, and in the end there was only a single magecraft allowed to him... but still, he would feel more at ease here if he could project his weapons into existence again.

It also made things a little harder when he wondered what he would do for money here. He had always been good at fixing appliances, but he had always used his tracing magecraft in order to get a full blueprint of whatever he was fixing. Well, it's not like he wouldn't be able to fix things anymore... it would just be a lot harder. ]

Changes [3] (Gargoyle)

[ Scales. Shirou was growing scales.

To be honest, if you looked closely, they looked more like miniature steel blades covering his skin. They certainly didn't shine like other Gargoyle scales, and while they weren't actually any different, Shirou at first thought that they were actually made of steel.

Unfortunately not, though, which he discovered after a brief session of testing his own durability day of testing.

Steel is my body...

From what he could tell, Gargoyles were also known for being able to breathe fire. That, of course, would be useful since he still couldn't use his magic.

...and fire is my blood...

All of those were unimportant, however. Shirou still didn't have a solution to the most important and impending problem: he was getting hungry. ]

Guh... g-gah...!

[ ...Really hungry.

Being someone who wants to be a Hero of Justice... he certainly couldn't kill and eat someone.

What... what if he found someone evil? He had heard about poachers before— ]

No...!

1

[pendulumentertainment]

[Yuya was watching from afar, because, in all honesty he didn't want to get shot. But he also didn't want to leave some person alone to get shot.

The man with the gun was gruff, definitely old, yet he couldn't tell how old exactly. But old enough that even if Yuya tried to scare him off, there's a very good chance it wouldn't work... He'd have to try another way.]

Hey! [He never said it was a smart way.] Hey gun... man, over here! Look, I'm a spooooooky monster!

[iboneofsword]

Crap...!

[ The man was clearly startled by Yuya's sudden appearance, which actually wasn't good! See, now the barrel of that shotgun was aimed at Yuya, a 14 year old boy, instead of Shirou.

Of course, it was fairly easy to notice Yuya's changes, but those were quite literally all secondary as of this moment. ]

Kid, watch out...!

[ Despite Shirou's inability to project a single sword right now, it seemed that his body was still able to move the way he wanted it to. ]

Damn you...!

[ Shoving Yuya to the side rather roughly (sorry, but Shirou has higher priorities than being gentle right now), Shirou took advantage of the man's surprise and grabbed the front of the shotgun with his palm and aimed it down towards the ground— ]

BLAM

[ The shotgun went off, and Shirou wasn't exactly holding the weapon in the best way possible. To be precise, his palm was right up against the front of the barrel, so when the shotgun went off, a hole was made in Shirou's hand. ]

A-Agh... Gah...!

[ Well, not the first time he's had a nasty hole in his arm... or, well, in this case it's his hand.

With his free hand, Shirou grabbed the shotgun (with a little more brains, this time around) and yanked it away from the man. Shirou had been training his body since he was a kid, after all, so he was physically stronger than most people.

While the shotgun was now in Shirou's possession, he wasn't exactly holding it like he was about to use it, and even if he was, he wouldn't anyway. This, however, now put him in a scuffle with the man while his hand dripped with blood. ]

[pendulumentertainment]

[When he saw the red dripping from the other boys hand, it was like everything changed for a second.

He was back in the arena, the smell of iron and blood in the air, and instead of that red haired boy, there was a body of a faceless brown haired man. Blood pooling from his mouth and on to the ground.

Yuya couldn't pull his eyes away, couldn't stop the chanting from ringing ears as if they were bells.

'Zarc! Zarc! Zarc!'

He felt like laughing, what else was he supposed to do, he may have just killed someone-

And then as quickly as it changed, the scenery snapped back to reality. His eyes wide with a mix of emotions. But most prominent one was fear.

The man, on the other hand, did not give up, he mumbled something about 'monsters' and then tried to wrestle the gun away from Shirou. Or at least he tried to, but Yuya called out to the boy.]

Watch out!

[And then he may have swung a few times at the man, aiming to scratch the man with his claws and chase him off.]

[iboneofsword]

[ Yuya's claws, which Shirou hadn't noticed until now, were rather effective and managed to cause the man to stumble backward. ]

Hah...!

[ Now without a man trying to wrestle the damn thing away from him, Shirou gripped the shotgun by the barrel and swung it, well, like a sword. Although it was really just a club at this point.

His attack struck the man square in the side of the head, and the man collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Shirou gasped for breath... seemingly unaware of the rather serious wound on his hand as he tossed the weapon a good distance away. ]

Hah... are you okay? [ He says, turning to face Yuya. His hand is still bleeding quite a bit, and it's staining the sand now. ]

[pendulumentertainment]

Y-yeah. [That's a lie.] Are you?

[Yuya deflects, because physically he's fine. Mentally is a different story.]

We should leave, y-your hand needs to be looked at.

[iboneofsword]

[ Shirou knew his hand was in bad shape. It hurt like hell, after all. Still, it was like he had only just noticed it. ]

This is nothing, I'm fine. [ Sure he is. If it weren't for the obvious severity of the wound, Shirou's words might have actually been believable. ]

More importantly, what were you thinking!? I mean, thanks for the help, but you could have died!

[ Shirou is showing genuine concern, though he is starting to raise an eyebrow as he notices that Yuya has a few non-human features. ]

Also... what's going on with your skin and hands?

[ He says this while ripping off his left sleeve and starts to wrap it around his hand. It's the best he can do to stop the bleeding right now, as his pockets are unfortunately empty.

Since Yuya did just risk his life for him, Shirou isn't too wary of him despite the monstrous features. Another reason being that the kid seemed you could find his picture next to the word "anxiety" in the dictionary.

Either way, Shirou is incredibly calm in front of Yuya. Maybe the skin and claws were some kind of bizarre magecraft that Shirou didn't know about (not that he knew a lot anyways, being the amateur that he is). ]

[pendulumentertainment]

It's nothing, don't worry about it.

[Immediately Yuya avoids eye contact. Hugging himself in a vain attempt to comfort himself. Not that it works. It seems the boy is avoiding talking about his skin issue... and the claws.]

I just didn't want you to get shot, not that I helped all that much...

[iboneofsword]

[ Not exactly the best answer Shirou could have gotten, but just looking at Yuya was enough to send the message that the subject should be dropped for now. ]

Well, if you say so. By the way, what's your name? And do you know where "here" is?

[pendulumentertainment]

[Yuya looks at the boy, and then away. His eyes darting between the new face and the sand beneath their feet before he gives an answer.]

Ryslig. Your on Ryslig Peninsula...

[iboneofsword]

Ryslig?

[ Shirou had obviously never heard of such a place before. Either way, Japan didn't exactly have many noticeable peninsulas... much less any named "Ryslig".

Now that he thought about it, his memories were foggy... he wasn't sure where they cut off specifically, but he remembered some of the events after the Holy Grail War... ]

Um, do you know how I might have gotten here? Also if you've seen anyone else?

[ Specifically, it would be nice if a certain black-haired demon girl dressed in red were also here.

He then took notice of the unconscious man who had just been chasing him. Still unconscious, and a nasty bump on his head (courtesy of Shirou), but he would wake up eventually. ]

We should probably leave... I'm sure he'll be fine [ He says, eyeing the unconscious body. ]

[pendulumentertainment]

[Yuya nods, but his face remains a grimace from the previous question. He walks, but it's not long until he answers the boys question... Although he's mumbling, so much so that only the last bit is heard.]

... Dumb god...

[He's very clearly upset.]

[iboneofsword]

[ Shirou raised an eyebrow. He didn't hear what Yuya said but his expression said a lot of things. ]

God...? Well, if you're not comfortable we can save it for later.

[ As they walk, he extends his hand (the one that isn't injured). ]

I'm Shirou, Shirou Emiya. You?

[pendulumentertainment]

[He straightened out, almost as if he were startled by Shirou's sudden ask. But mostly it was the fact Shirou heard him. Now he'd have to explain... Which he should have done previously, to be honest.]

You're here because the 'fog god' took you here. Just like everyone else...

[Yuya stares at the ground with something akin to anger, yet it doesn't suit him, there's an underlying feeling of sadness.]

... Names Yuya. Yuya Sakaki.

[iboneofsword]

[ The Fog God? There was a lot to unpack with that, but Yuya was clearly uncomfortable. Shirou would have to get the information elsewhere, but for now... ]

Well, Yuya, It's nice to meet you.

[ Shirou's expression is... complicated. He doesn't have nearly enough information, but he's fine for now. He'd have to figure things out as he went along. ]

[pendulumentertainment]

Um, same here. Shirou...

[Is he being selfish by not explaining? He feels like he may be being selfish- he just really doesn't want to talk about it...]

I'm not so sure if the town around here is the best place to go to. They can uh, be pretty mean to new people.

[iboneofsword]

Hmph, so long as they aren't shooting on sight I can handle them... is what I'd like to say, but something's off.

[ This of course being the fact that for whatever reason he couldn't use his magic. Of course, he could bring the shotgun he was just chased with, but he didn't feel comfortable using a firearm. ]

If the town is no good, then do you have any suggestions?

[pendulumentertainment]

Um... [Yuya goes quiet, he hasn't really explored all of Ryslig and only knows a total of two places. But one was definitely better than the other...]

Bavan is a nicer city, they're more tolerant to monsters- oh.

[Crap, he was trying to avoid saying that.]

[iboneofsword]

[ Shirou froze. He had understood right away that he shouldn't push Yuya for information he's uncomfortable with, but... ]

Monsters? What do you mean...?

[ He had a bad feeling. He was already ignoring Yuya's appearance, but what Yuya just said... it wasn't something he could brush off. He might have to apologize later, but this question has to be asked. ]

1. clearly, the solution is kick.

[divinereaper]

[ A chase scene? On a calm beach? Naoto didn't know if the Cauldron had just tossed him into a cartoon world or if this was the world's sick way of torturing everyone who came here? Deciding not to entertain the thought, he just let the chase get close to him, and at the last moment-- ]

Hah--!

[ A brutal, unforgiving roundhouse kick to the attacker's stomach, and he was down for the count. Naoto cringed at the amount of strength he showed, wondering if the weight of his metal leg was a factor of how knocked out the man was. He decided that that small fact wasn't worth worrying over right now, and looked over to the victim-- a teenager just like him. ]

Hey, you alright? You weren't shot at, right?

another solution would be sword, but not an option rn :(

[iboneofsword]

[ Shirou heard the commotion behind him and turned around to see his pursuer knocked out by a boy around his own age.

It was a little embarrassing to have to be saved like this... but he really didn't have any way of fighting back without dying with a shotgun pointed so close at him. ]

Ah, thanks... no I'm fine.

[ It was then that he noticed that the person who saved him seemed to lack an arm. ]

More importantly, are you okay? Sorry you had to save me like this... normally I'd be able to handle myself, but...

[ Shirou holds his hand out in front of him and moves his fingers a bit.

...still nothing. He tried to project a sword, namely Bakuya, but it just wasn't happening. ]

I think I'm in a bit of a slump...

[divinereaper]

That's great to hear. Just in time too, huh.

[ Naoto sighed in relief; at least the other teen was okay. Shotguns tend to be scary for anyone. But when asked if he was alright, he just blinked. ]

Me? I'm fine. And it's fine; it really looked like you needed it. These people don't listen to anything you say sometimes.

[ Naoto watched him try to summon his sword, wondering what he was trying to accomplish when absolutely nothing happened. He happened to catch the almost whisper, raising an eyebrow. ]

But what? No weapon or something?

[iboneofsword]

[ Shirou considered telling Naoto what he was doing, but even if he wasn't an official mage recognized by the Mages Association, he couldn't exactly just let people know about his magecraft.

Hell, his magecraft couldn't even be revealed to other Clock Tower mages. All of his abilities came from his Reality Marble, and those were the highest ranking taboo for mages. If the Association were to find out about the existence of his Reality Marble, he'd probably be slapped with a Sealing Designation faster than he could blink. At least, that's what he's heard from Tohsaka. ]

Uh... yeah, let's just say that.

[ It's not like he wanted to sound ungrateful to the person who helped him out. Things would be different if he were a mage, at least. He could just say that his magic is projection and nothing else. ]

I guess I better introduce myself. Shirou Emiya, you?

[divinereaper]

Whatever floats your boat.

[ Naoto wasn't about to pry into Shirou's business, but that reply usually meant he was hiding something. He only shrugged his shoulders and decided to move on. ]

Naoto Kurogane. Nice to meet you, Shirou. Let's get to the nearest town so we don't get ourselves into more trouble.

[iboneofsword]

Sounds good to me. Speaking of which, do you know where we actually are? Fuyuki did have a port, but this place is way too different.

[ Not that Naoto would know what kind of place "Fuyuki" was. ]

Also... sorry if this is a rough topic, but what happened to your arm?

[ Shirou mostly feels a little... ashamed that someone lacking a limb had to save him. ]