graveyardsmash | TDM: JANUARY/FEBRUARY

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 in a dark ditch, the sky cloudy overhead. Dirt cakes into your cuts and scrapes. The air is clammy and damp, and it smells like rain.

You’re in a grave. And when you sit up to inspect the tombstone marking your spot, it has your name on it. Maybe the graves next to you have the names of familiar friends, family, acquaintances. Not all of them are open like yours are. RIP.

There’s a light dancing in the distance, and you hear the jingle-jangle of heavy keys, or worse still, the gravekeeper’s massive pitchfork or shovel. If you're lucky, you can sneak out beyond his notice, and get out alone. If not - you might find yourself on the wrong end of a shovel’s swing, or worse yet, tripping headfirst in front of a pair of monstrous eyes.

SCENARIO TWO

You've stumbled your way out of the graveyard, and you're promptly besieged by the overwhelming sights and sounds of the city. Cars honk at you to get out of the street, and strangers try not to look in your direction for too long. They see your dirty clothes and scraped faces, and pretend to busy themselves with something else. Rarely, a look of pity is cast your way.

But some people try to reach out. Enterprising citizens and those that hope to curry favor with the newcomers pass out new clothes and bundles of food, asking if you have a place to stay the night, wondering about the details of the world you came from. Some are even handing out pamphlets which vary in how helpful they are--"What To Expect When You're Expecting (To Turn Into A Monster)", "Wolpertinger: Fact or Fiction?", "100% ACCURATE MONSTER QUIZ ASSESSMENT: GUARANTEED TO PREDICT YOUR MONSTER!", and "Ryslig Law In A Nutshell".

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? Does it fit you, or does it feel incongruous with your nature? 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

[Spike hears Lusamine before he sees her, and responds before he even thinks about it.]

Well excuse me, m'am, for not being more acquainted with the idea of people falling apart into—

[It's only this far into his retort that Spike looks up and properly perceives the woman speaking to him, and he immediately grows pale. Wide eyed and slack jawed, he finishes his thought in a much lower voice.]

—para— parasites...

[Spike blinks, squints, rubs his eyes; but no, he's not seeing things, this woman simply is... bug-like. He can't hardly deal with it— he's seeing aliens. There's aliens?? What other explanation could there be? Spike mutters, still not really answering Lusamine's question—]

Jeez, what was in that drink?

[Lusamine is unbothered by his staring, offering him a patient smile not unlike the one she'd given the parasite.]

Ah... I see now. You've only just arrived, haven't you? [And he truly looks like he's been through the wringer already. She glances around for a moment, soon gesturing to a nearby bench with a motion of her hand. The nails of that hand are long and sharp, gleaming gold.] Why don't you sit down for a moment?

Oh, so this is normal.

[Great! Great. Well, despite being a monster, Lusamine is still a pretty woman offering him some kind of kindness, and Spike simply cannot refuse. Also, he's less drunk than he was before, so the pain he's in is becoming more and more apparent. He nods Lusamine's way before starting to shuffle toward the bench, looking over his shoulder to ask—]

Don't suppose you could give me the rundown, maybe?

By this world's standards, yes. Although, I suppose the parasites are not always so eager to personally welcome our new arrivals... [She had not been aware of their presence at all until a couple of months after her own arrival, after all.] Perhaps there is something particularly special about you, hm?

[This much is said with a disarming little laugh.]

I would be glad to. But first... Why don't you tell me how you got these injuries?

[Spike looks down at himself, contemplating, and decides that actually it's probably fair to ask. That does not mean he gives a real answer, though.]

I ah, fell out a window.

[Not entirely untrue.]

I'll be fine.

[There is literally a bullet still lodged in his shoulder.]

Gracious... Is that right? And how did that happen?

[The antennae on her head twitch and sway as she looks him over, studying his injuries a bit closer.]

Regardless, you are correct to say that you will be fine. The fog protects us... In time, I think you'll find that your wounds will begin to heal themselves. [She offers a sympathetic smile.] However... it certainly wouldn't hurt to visit a clinic and get them looked at sooner. They look quite painful...

The fog— you mean, the atmosphere?

[That kind of makes sense— a planet with a particularly rich atmosphere could maybe help people heal faster, but it certainly isn't one he's heard of before.]

What— planet are we on right now?

Ah... No, not precisely. The fog is simply a weather phenomenon that occurs periodically... But, in this world, it has unique qualities. Miraculous qualities, really...

[His second question gives her pause. The way she blinks at him suggests right away that she doesn't know and perhaps had never even given it thought before this moment.]

Hmm. Truthfully, I'm not certain it has a name... However, I've been told that the continent is called Skamd... And where we are now—the peninsula—is Ryslig.

[Spike gives a chuff of laughter, shaking his head—]

Every planet in the solar system has a na—

[He stops himself, brows furrowing in confusion.]

Rys— Ryslig. What is that, Dutch?

[He starts to slow down more and more as impossible things start to become more understandable in his head. They couldn't be true, and yet— there are no such aliens as this on Mars or Earth.]

We're... we're not... Anywhere near Mars right now, are we?

[Then it is Lusamine's turn to furrow her own brow in confusion.]

Dutch...?

[As she watches reality begin to dawn on him, her expression softens.]

Perhaps I wasn't clear... This is not just another planet, but another world... New arrivals are generally taken in from dimensions beyond this one, as I was.

[Spike just starts nodding, looking down at the ground and biting his lip for just a moment.]

Ah.

Okay, yeah.

[He must be dreaming. That must be it. That, or dead.

Or a pre-death dream? That must be what it is.]

Right. So, what's the—

[He spins his finger in a circle as if to gesture at... everything around him. His face still looks kind of hollow, but he's a little tired of yelling in surprise at this point.]

What's the deal?

Well... [Where to begin?] The deal, I suppose... is simply that you are here now. For whatever reason, there is a force in this place that removes us from our own worlds and deposits us here, which... does come with a few—side effects, shall we say. For instance... I was as human as you are when I first arrived, but now I am what is called a Faerie.

[She punctuates that with a demonstrative flutter of her wings and a radiant smile, as if recalling the transformation fondly.]

You are bound to transform as well... But you needn't worry about that now. It tends to take time. For now, you should focus simply on getting yourself settled.

Huh. Is that right? A faerie.

[Spike simply stares at her for a few moments, looking her up and down, before biting the inside of his cheek and wincing. Yeah, that's pain. He's not exactly dreaming. or maybe he is dreaming, and is simply feeling the pain? Hm. Confusing.

But whatever he's seeing is in front of him, dream or not.]

I'm. Gonna turn into the same thing you are?

[Of course, he's still operating on her being some kind of alien regardless— that's all he can make sense of, for now.]

Perhaps. Although, if you do, the physical traits may manifest in you quite differently... Or you may transform into an entirely different being. The only true rule seems to be that those who are brought in from beyond this world never stay the same creature that they were before. Rather, they become "monsters".

[She watches him carefully, exuding an air of saintly patience as she gauges his reaction.]

That is another unfortunate misnomer.

TDM: JANUARY/FEBRUARY

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