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Ryslig Helpers ([personal profile] ryslighelpers) wrote in [community profile] graveyardsmash2022-03-12 09:40 am
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TDM: MARCH/APRIL

TDM: MARCH/APRIL

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.


soundsurfing: (Now I've never been the one)

[personal profile] soundsurfing 2022-03-22 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[Aw, look at that. Beat's pleased the guy seems to be nice, just having a bad moment, and honestly, who wouldn't. He just got dropped into a new world and now he's looking at pamphlets that talk about monsters. Scratching his hind foot behind his ear briefly, he gets into a crouching position, tail flicking aggressively, before making the jump from the puzzled man - who instantly takes off running now that he's free - to the newcomer.

Don't panic as the squirrel lands on you, Takumi, and scrambles up to a shoulder to sit there, peering intelligently down at the pamphlet, tiny front paws curled comfortably into his chest and toes gripping clothes to remain steady.

And speaking into his ear.]


Info, yo. Helpful fer what to expect but don't take it all seriously. Mosta this stuff's been checked by actual monsters but sometimes humans sneak some weird shit in, like furry trouts an' hay-stealin' dogs.
ashibumi: (13)

[personal profile] ashibumi 2022-03-22 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately, Takumi very much does panic, because a squirrel is launching itself at his face. He's been in the woods long enough to know that squirrels can be pretty aggressive and he doesn't want one anywhere near any part of him. There's a hard flinch and a strangled sort of gurgling noise as he moves to defend himself, but the squirrel is... not attacking? It's climbing him like a tree, and--

It's talking.]


You-- You can talk? That was you?

[He's not entirely unfamiliar with shapeshifters. Corrin's army has two of them, and Corrin is somewhat of a shapeshifter themselves. Even so, those forms were... big. Horse-sized, at least.]
soundsurfing: (To play it safe)

[personal profile] soundsurfing 2022-03-23 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Huh? Course it was me, yo, who else would it be?

[If a squirrel can look puzzled, Beat definitely does, beady little eyes squinting at the future monster before blinking, tail curling around his feet to keep them cozy and warm.]

Oh, right, sorry. Yeah, s'me. I'm onna the monsters the papers talk 'bout. Names Beat. Welcome to Ryslig!

[He sounds cheerful enough, as if the newcomer isn't in a weird version of hell. Fluffing his tail up a little, he points down at the pamphlet in the guys hand.]

Gonna be you too someday.
ashibumi: (5)

[personal profile] ashibumi 2022-03-23 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Those five words are all it takes to shake Takumi out of his stupor, letting him recognize his new reality outside of a talking squirrel. Everything comes crashing down all at once, and he shakes his head sharply to clear it, eyes angling down at the pamphlet and the... bird... person on the cover.]

What are you talking about? I'm not a shapeshifter! I'm just--

[But his argument loses steam pretty quickly. With everything he's been faced with in the past... however many hours it's been since he dragged himself out of that hole, it's becoming harder and harder to claim that this is a dream, and harder and harder to pinpoint himself being in any recognizable location on his home continent.

Initially, he'd suspected a place based on looks alone, but all of this traffic and all of these bright lights seem to have proven him wrong.]


... this isn't Nohr, is it.
soundsurfing: (You say it's all a blur)

[personal profile] soundsurfing 2022-03-24 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[Beat will wait, quietly, as the man seems to be thinking some things through. To the question, he shakes his head, scrambling to hang off the man before dropping to the ground, shifting himself to normal afterwards. At least he's clothed.]

Nah, yo. Dunno what Nohr is, whether it jus' a place in yer world or Heaven or Hell, but I'm pretty sure it ain't it. It's Ryslig. A peninsula. Sorry to be the one to burst yer cherry here, butchu in another world entirely.

[He takes the pamphlet from the guy, claws careful to not scratch, and opens it up a little.]

These peeps [He nods to the humans hurrying past, not out of fear but simply because they have lives to live. Nevermind there's a bipedal squirrel boy. Theyv'e seen him before.] they live here an' you an' I are peeps that have been pulled in from ... not here. Yer Nohr or wherever, fer example. These little booklets is jus' them tryin' to help newcomers out by givin' info.
ashibumi: (6)

[personal profile] ashibumi 2022-03-24 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[Holy shit. It just gets weirder the longer this goes. At least he's clothed indeed. He will never understand how shapeshifting works.]

No, I'm not-- Nohr is another country. I'm from Hoshido.

[Is he maybe seeing if that name rings a bell? Possibly.

The news that they're being pulled into an entirely different world makes him pause again, though, eyes flicking down to the pamphlets again. Dread is settling in his stomach, and he vaguely feels sick.]


So, we're just... stuck here? There's not a way out?
soundsurfing: (A self-inflicted murder)

[personal profile] soundsurfing 2022-03-24 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[The blank smile Beat gives is an indication that no, that name doesn't ring a bell. Sounds Japanese so maybe?]

Cool, I'm from Shibuya, yo.

[Tail twitching lightly, Beat combs through the fur of his leg with one foot, frowning a bit to the question.]

We're... tryin'. Ain't found a way out yet, an' some have been here fer a while, but it don't mean we ain't still looking.... C'mon, yo, here.

[Beat will spot a small bench they can sit on, gesturing for the guy to follow him, so they're not standing in the flow of people trying to go about their lives.]

I'm sorry, yo. This place ain't fun in the least, and it's the last thing you wanna get dropped into ...
ashibumi: (24)

[personal profile] ashibumi 2022-03-24 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[And the blank stare that Takumi gives is an equal indication that he doesn't recognize that name, either. It sounds Hoshidan, though... But he knows every town in Hoshido.

Still, he follows Beat to the bench. Getting out of traffic is a good idea regardless of where they go. Ugh, the bench isn't comfortable though. Like riding in a carriage.]


Okay. So we're stuck. No way out, for now. We're turning into... shapeshifters. [It's hesitant - he still doesn't know the actual name.] Is there anything else?
soundsurfing: (I'll rise again)

[personal profile] soundsurfing 2022-03-24 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Mmm.... a lot, yo.

[Curling his tail around him, Beat thoughtfully picks at twigs and little rocks that have become entangled. Grooming as he watches the city go by, thinking.]

First, we ain't all shapeshifters. I am, yo. Ima Pooka, which is my species, an' even then the shape I took is jus' my travel form. Let's me get 'round faster, easier. Nah, we all jus' Monsters.

[He taps a claw on the pamphlets.] This bird lady is a Harpy species. ... You gonna end up a Monster too, some species of one...
ashibumi: (2)

[personal profile] ashibumi 2022-03-24 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[Though it's a far different kind of tail, the grooming makes him think oddly of the kitsune they ran into. That's all he ever seemed to do. Maybe it's just something that happens with big, bushy tails.

Takumi realizes he's staring, though, and quickly moves to look down at the pamphlets again, just in time for Beat to tap on the top one.]


And is there any way of knowing what that's going to be?

[This is all hard to believe and a hell of a lot to take in, but he feels like he's doing passably well, at least.]