graveyardsmash | TDM: MAY/JUNE

Entry tags:

test drive

TDM: MAY/JUNE

TDM: MAY/JUNE

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.

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[Rosso hears "help me" and his instincts kick in; the first thing he does is look around for some sense of danger, since he's new around here himself, and when that doesn't yield a response... well, he looks up at the person with sort of a blank expression. His tone of voice can only be described as exasperated, something he tries to curb but can't exactly do so given the situation.]

I'm new around here, so I can't exactly offer much.

[that tone probably means something. daeshim either doesn't know what, or he doesn't care, and one is just as likely as the other.

but he does understand that a new person can probably only be of so much help to another new person. hm. he looks down at the quiz in his hand, half-crumpled, before holding it up to show him.]

You mean you can't predict my monster?

[all of that's still confusing. or maybe he's just in denial.]

Fine. Then you should at least hold my hand.

[Rosso has a whole moment about this, complete with sputtering and his cheeks turning red — nevermind the confusion behind predicting monsters, he doesn't know what this is about either, but—!]

Why would I hold your hand?! You're not some little kid! We just met half a minute ago!!

[A simple "no, thanks" would've sufficed, but every emotion Rosso has typically comes out as shouting.]

[it's fine, daeshim will wait. he's incredibly patient when he wants to be. his expression never falters, the same straight line of a mouth with eyes that don't look nearly as hard.]

Why wouldn't you? You have two!

[HOLD HIS HAND, COWARD. wait.]

If we're both new, it's simply wiser to stick together.

[...ah. Logic. That appeals to Rosso somewhat, although now he's looking down at his two hands as if in some heated internal debate with himself on if he takes this stranger up on the offer.

On one hand... sticking together. This is someone who asked him to help, and that's sort of his entire job. On the other hand... he's flustered a bit easily. Uhh...

Rosso sucks it up and holds out a burn-scarred hand.]

Fine! But don't go dragging me off anywhere — we operate as a unit now.

[once again, he waits. he's not picky about the hand - left or right, either will do. he does tilt his head at the scars however, and maybe takes rosso's hand with a little more care because of it.]

I don't know anywhere here to drag you to. [though...he probably just should've said that he wouldn't do it in the first place. daeshim laces their fingers together and nods.] We're a team, through good times and bad, until death do us part. I once heard that somewhere!

[and liked it. fae love a good contract.]

I'm Daeshim.

Wh— where I come from, "'til death do us part" is used in marriage vows.

[This guy... he strikes Rosso as someone who maybe isn't used to human society. That, or he comes from a place that's completely different from Elrios, which is probable based on what he's seen and heard so far. This place definitely isn't anywhere near home.]

Rosso. Nice to meet you. [He punctuates his sentence with a little sigh, casting his gaze skyward.] Let's start looking for... ugh, someone who can help us, I guess.

I see!

[daeshim's eyes widen at this particular bit of information. he's clearly intrigued.]

Marriage is a human concept, I didn't know it came with such a deal attached!

[except...well, humans can lie. when he thinks of it that way, it might not be so hard to break. he will certainly take his with rosso more seriously.]

Can, or will?

[he glances around them. daeshim isn't oblivious to the dirty looks that have been cast his way, though he hasn't gone very far on his own.]

[Definitely not human. Rosso nods, because he gets it, being half-demon himself. He doesn't look like it now, though, since he can't use any of his magic to switch forms. Though, to be fair, Rosso was born into human society, so aside from some unsavoury comments here and there, he really is used to their culture.]

...will. You're right. If someone comes up to us with the intent to attack, let me handle it. I have more combat experience than I look like I do.

[He hopes the glowers slow since they're now clearly together — normal people don't want to take two people in a fight, right? Rosso is not normal people, so maybe that's moot.]

So, kid — you're not from this place, same as me. What was "home" like for you? [Might as well lighten the mood while they walk, right?]

You should not fight!

[daeshim's breath catches at the mention of combat. it's not just because he hates violence and conflict...okay it's mostly that. but there's a logical reason for it too.]

We don't know what anyone is capable of here.

[granted, he doesn't know what rosso is capable of either. but he gives his hand a squeeze, hoping that he'll at least reconsider.

lightening the mood is a good idea though. he's thankful for something else to think about, and what better subject than the place that gives him strength.]

A forest. It's called the Ruinwood.

[Daeshim has a point, and Rosso... well, Rosso's the type of person who needs someone else to cool his temper down — the hand squeezing his reminds him a bit of Denif back home, how Denif used to gently touch Rosso to remind him that not everything needs to be solved with gouts of flame.

He breathes out a little sigh. Right, don't punch random people who might have access to actual powers or something.]

A forest, huh? [Rosso jams his free hand into his pocket.] This must be a change of pace for you. ...did you have good memories there?

Good memories. A few bad. One very bad. But a lot of no memories at all.

[most of his days were spent alone there, when the only thing different was the changing of seasons. but daeshim's most recent memories were good, and less lonely.]

What about you? Where are you from, and what is it like? Who is precious to you? Tell me everything.

[Sounds typical of any place, really. Rosso nods in acknowledgement, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his hair when he's put on the spot. Fuck. He should've expected this.]

"Everything", kid? We'll be here all day. [He's going to... skip over the part where most of his childhood was spent in a lab. That's a little too sad for casual conversation.] There's this city called Elrianode back home — it's a pretty huge place. It was full of people and was the capitol of the continent as a whole. I lived in this place known as Elrianode Tower with some...

[Coworkers, technically.]

...some idiots that are important to me. [Who had better not be dead or show up here because Rosso swears on the Goddess that he will deck them if they do show up.] A dragon named Denif, an elf named Ventus, some humans called Gaia, Solace, and Harnier, and then some human Priestesses that assisted all of us.

[And then, perhaps defensively, Rosso's voice rises to a shout:] If you ever meet a guy named Soren Ventus, never tell him I give a shit about his existence! He'll never let me live it down! You have no idea what an imbecile that guy is — I can't stand his stupid face, especially when he gets all smug! [Sure, buddy.]

[there's an unspoken 'and?' in dae's expression. time doesn't mean a whole lot to long-lived creatures. and besides that-]

We don't have anywhere better to go. [so what if they're there all day? at least they'll be entertained, one from the telling and the other from listening. and from the beginning, rosso doesn't disappoint. daeshim can picture it all in his head as he goes along.] That's quite an interesting family!

[he's not sure if he's using that word correctly. daeshim doesn't have much experience with it himself, unless the humans who remained in the ruinwood with him count. (daeshim would count them.)

but the fae's eyes get a little more narrow when he starts talking about this soren ventus though. like he's trying to see something inside of rosso. and finds it.]

I see. So you are capable of lying.

[Ah, fuck, perceived. Rosso immediately turns red again, now waving his free hand around as if he could swat away his problems.]

"Family" is definitely one way to put it!

[There's a little huff as they walk on, Rosso shaking his head to himself. Yeah, he loves those idiots, so what? He totally didn't freak out when they weren't here with him after he crawled out of that grave. Definitely not.]

How would you know I'm lying anyhow?! [He hollers, as if he didn't just say "I care about Ventus" in the same breath as "I don't care about Ventus"; Rosso is a liar and a very bad one at that.] You've never met Ventus, and you probably wouldn't like him anyway — he's irresponsible and an idiot and flirts with anything that moves, and he—

[SIGH.]

—he... got me out of big trouble once, even though I was pretty sure I was going to die alone in the Demon Realm, so I guess he's sort of a close friend. Probably.

I've never heard anyone bother saying that they don't give a "shit" about someone when they really don't give a "shit" about them.

[and that was just one of a handful of clues. the more that rosso says, the more a tiny-catlike grin threatens to cross daeshim's lips. a break from his usual expression. and then of course, the truth comes out.]

Hmm...if he was that helpful to you, I think I would like him very much.

[despite the stupid face and the flirting. daeshim wonders if he might show up here to help his friend again, but he doesn't voice it. no one probably wants that for their friends, even a probably one.]

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TDM: MAY/JUNE

two!

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