graveyardsmash | TDM: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

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test drive

TDM: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

TDM: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

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

(CW: Human remains)

When you awaken, you are hit with an immediate feeling of motion. A bobbing, if you will, or perhaps more of a rocking. You take a deep breath through your nose and take note of salt, along with the pungent scent of rotting wood. Creaking sounds echo all around you. Sitting up, you find yourself locking eyes with a skull.

An entire human skeleton is positioned across from you, resting limply against a pillar. Surveying the rest of your surroundings, you soon realize that you're below deck on an old, dilapidated ship. A ship that's on the move. The crew must have suffered a terrible fate, strewn as they all are across the floor. With their ripped poofy shirts, sheathed cutlasses and jaunty feathered hats, they seem to scream one word at you. "Pirates". ...Ooh, is that an abandoned bottle of rum? And a treasure chest? Surely they won't mind if you help yourself. They're dead, after all!

Once you've ascended the creaky steps, you find yourself on the deck of this vast, once proud vessel. A tattered Jolly Roger flaps overhead. Thick fog obscures most of the ocean surrounding you, but what's that straight ahead? Land ho! The ship's about to make port, and a crowd of curious onlookers has already gathered on the docks to stare up at this spooky new arrival. They appear apprehensive, perhaps even fearful, as if they haven't seen a ship come in for a long time. Will they hold you accountable for what happened to the skeleton crew? Will they praise you for 'ridding' them of pirates and allow you to keep the booty? There's no way to know just yet. Perhaps you'd best hide and find a way to disembark without being seen. Or perhaps there's someone else to be found here on this ship who suffered the same fate; someone who has a better idea of what to do.

SCENARIO TWO

You've stumbled your way into a city, and you're promptly besieged by the overwhelming sights and sounds. 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 lost expression and your clothes- so different from their own- 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. A hefty laptop may be handed to you, with words of a ‘network’ used for communication. Wonder what that’s about? Then there’s the very confusing pamphlet stuffed within: "What To Expect When You're Expecting (To Turn Into A Monster)”. They may direct you to an organisation known as the Lighthouse, their members most prominently found at the 38-8 apartments and the Lighthouse Church. Or perhaps, if you're injured, they'll refer you to the Crowe Clinic instead. Unfortunately, the directions you're given are so very complicated that you lose your way in the streets after two left turns, a right and a left at the soup kitchen.

Take care when asking for more help. 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

Now that you've found a moment of peace, you open up the mysterious device that's been handed to you. Perhaps you'll recognize it as some sort of laptop, albeit an old and clunky one. Or perhaps you'll be astounded by this curious feat of technology, which is unlike anything you've ever seen before. Regardless, the moment the lid is propped open to reveal the screen and the keyboard within, you gain your first glimpse of the network.

Perhaps you'll want to choose a username and write your very first message, posing the pressing question that's on your mind at this very moment. The lettered buttons click and clack awkwardly beneath your fingertips as you type.

However, you may instead want to respond to today's most popular message.

WELCOME TO RSDOS.
PRESS F1 TO COMPOSE POST.

*** TODAY’S TOP POST ***

018.07.154.55 <JUSTSOMEGUY> Let's play Two Truths, One Lie! It's real easy! You just post three statements about yourself, and the rest of us have to guess the lie. It'll be fun! And you get to be a liar liar without your pants catching fire for a bit.

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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

➤ 1

[Being roused by the gentle sensation of bobbing is really, really strange. The last time Chie can remember feeling anything like this is the last time she went swimming and she closed her eyes while laying on a pool float. Considering she's laying flat on her bed, she really shouldn't be feeling this way, though. Ugh, she's not getting sick, is she? That's the last thing she needs right now!

With a groan of complaint, she rolls over without opening her eyes, fully intent on just blindly making her way out of bed and to the bathroom. Once she extends her legs, though, she quickly finds that there's... no bed edge to swing them over. There's no edge at all, in fact, but they do bump into something. Judging by her best guess, she seems to be laying flat on the floor. Great, it's no wonder her equilibrium is all off. She must have hit her head! But how did it not wake her up? Must have been one heck of a dream.

Opening her eyes reveals the truth, though. Because, as soon as she does, she finds herself face to face with the mostly-skeletal and partially-mummified face of a person. Or what used to be a person, anyway.

This scream of bloody murder can even be heard right up on deck!]

➤ 2

[Okay, so maybe she shouldn't have made so much fun of Yosuke for being a big city boy. Because boy, is this city big. Even Okina can't compare to this!

By now, she's sort of been given the rundown. People get pulled into this place and turned into monsters. This is some place named Ryslig, this city's name is Bavan, yadda yadda. They're names she remembers, but only because they're so blatantly not Japanese that it really just sort of hammers home that she's not... well, home.

But, at least there's a konbini. That's a familiar and incredibly welcome sight! The armful of pamphlets that had been shoved on her gets unceremoniously dumped in the trash can out front. Out of the way, badly written informational literature! There's comforting food from home to be had!

Unfortunately, for the abundance of familiar convenience store snacks... Chie is very small and has no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress she's under. After all, she's been through hell and back today, and she just wants some dang karaage. The only thing separating her and this delicious fried chicken is the barrier of currency. But, maybe she'll approach you!]

Uh, hey! I'm reeeeeally sorry to bother you like this, but I just found myself here, and I'm... kind of broke, and kind of starving. Do you think you could spot me for this... ? I promise I'll pay you back! As soon as I can, I swear!

➤ wildcard

[ Any other ideas? Hit me up at

healingcrab! I'm always open for plotting. c: ]

Oh, you're a clever one. I always did prefer purple to red. Are you as pretty as you are smart, sanctum?

As a matter of fact, I discovered #1 the first time I had PIV. "Safe sex" is all well and good until you swell up like a Christmas ham down there. No more condoms for this lady.

Edited 2022-09-13 04:36 (UTC)

aha! my House colors include purple and you're flattering me. we'll get along swimmingly. :)

i'm ever so sorry to hear your evening was spoiled. i hope your recovery was swift and the fun was later worth it.
thankfully i've been more than able to make modifications as needed by the time i was ready to play, so i've never required the accessories.

Edited 2022-09-13 05:46 (UTC)

Thankfully I started on the pill after that. There's nothing like rushing a teen to the emergency room with an injured cooch to make one's parents see the value of prescription birth control.

What sort of "modifications" are you talking about, here? Did you get the snip?

[Since she doesn't know this person's junk situation, she's using the term to cover both tubal ligation and vasectomy.]

Edited 2022-09-13 05:49 (UTC)

[genuinely, ianthe deeply appreciates the ambiguity.]

more or less. ;)
necromancy is commonplace in my world, my House's specialty is in flesh-shaping, and i am a prodigy. i can and have made adjustments to my partners and myself quite easily, no blades required.
and obviously as a royal it's quite important i manage my potential heirs appropriately, by which i mean ensuring there are none until we're quite prepared.

Let me get this straight. Not only can you bring the dead back to life, but you can somehow use that power to perform genital alterations, too? I'm speechless, truly. Utterly flabbergasted.

Are you aware of much money you could make if you offered that as a general service? Are you? Because the answer is "a shit-ton."

"bringing the dead back to life" is a bit of an oversimplification, and not my forte, but yes.
necromancy is both magic and science, study of living and dead, body and soul. i can use this magic and my natural aptitude at it to do a great deal of things, including giving someone impromptu brain surgery or a pair of absolutely banging titties.

or at least i could. the energies seems inaccessible here, much to my deep chagrin. because yes, i am very aware of how profitable it would be. i can't believe i've had to consider getting a regular job after all that.

i take it you are not from a world with magic.

whaaaat are you saying? humans are amazing!! I LOVE BEING HUMAN!!!

ten fingers are great! much better than six! you can hold almost twice as many things if you position those fingers just right! and keep hamburgers together better because you have more fingers to press down on it when you bite

i can eat hamburgers now its so cool i got sauze everywhere

i used to b able to eat before too but it was diffrent because i didnt have a digestive system the way organic beings do

my ten fingerrs can hold so mamny chips

[She started typing a little too fast near the end, there. Typos galore and she doesn't even care.]

Ryunosuke Naruhodo... She has to run it through her mind three times to really grasp it. It's so different from names like Greg or Buddy or... What are other humans called again? Tim? She's sure she's met a Tim once. But human names have evolved so much since she first set foot on Earth, who's she to judge what a human might be called in other worlds?

The question, coupled with 'Miss Quartz', causes her to break into a fit of laughter. She finally releases his hand and stands up even straighter, throwing her head back a little. "Hoohahaha! A local! As if I could fit in here like a native! Ha hee hee! That's adorable!" is what she manages to say through her guffaws and very unladylike snorts.

[He'll have her know it's technically entirely true! ...Technically.

Also no one's having anyone know anything, technically.]

Hah, thanks.

Not really. [Career 12 year old....that's an image he has now.] I just like learning things- I didn't expect to actually fly one seriously.

[He's decided once is enough, honestly.]

You've been there?

Right- maybe there's somewhere like that here at least?

We can't close the door if we do that!

You are right about cat pictures though...there's a reason you don't talk about personal things online too. [Or at least, he supposes, things anyone's going to trace back. It was a bit too risky before, but it's sort of refreshing to be able to talk like this here.

...Of course that part of his thoughts might be influenced by the abrupt loneliness that came from waking up here but hey.]

[A small nod. He does indeed see the fog- thick, plentiful, more obscuring than even the haze he caught a glimpse of once or twice in Green Dolphin through the windows. It had only so recently rolled in- that was why the changes struck him, after all.

But watching this happen to another right before him, so casually, is another sort of thing to behold. Revulsion is not the right word- it's something more subtle than that, a creeping realization that brings with it an equally quiet fear. Emporio swallows as his eyes gradually become aware that Keldor has been, and is still, for a little bit, growing. And with every moment of it, he finds himself unable to look away that much more.]

That's.... ....and that's every fog..? [He finds himself asking, a tremor in his voice.] It gets worse every time..?

[Well. Maybe there is a Little silver lining.]

oh yes. ive been just about everywhere on earth. even all those very very very small islands

do you think this place has very very very small islands as well?

Everywhere except the sub-tropics?

It sounds like you visited some tropical locations then...

I looked at a map, and there are a few islands that would be considered small. The country we're in is pretty small in itself.

I am afraid that it does.

[There's a look on the cat monster's face that seems to be that of someone who knows that no matter where he goes, he's effectively doomed to become something terrible. That he wants to escape this sort of thing, but doesn't know how. Or who he can turn to to either help him escape it, or, failing that, make this sort of thing more bearable.]

It comes and it goes. When it comes you become something truly terrifying, but when it goes you return to... Return to... Whatever "normal" was for you as far as being a monster is concerned.

[As in, you're still a monster; you're just the monster you were before the fog rolled in.]

I wish I had better news to tell.

[ONE | cw emeto]

[Sherlock opens his eyes with a gasp, taking in the skeleton across from him with wide eyes.

He doesn't remember falling asleep here. Was he abducted? Kidnapped? Drugged? What was the last thing he ate or drank? Are there puncture marks in his wrists? Elbows? Why is there a corpse in front of him? He feels woozy, and for a moment, he concludes that he must have been drugged --

-- until he smells the salt air, hears the creaking of the rigging, and feels the telltale, terrible motion of the ship under him.

His gloved hand flies to his mouth, and he lets out a stuttering cough. No, no, no no no, he's on a ship, and he gets seasick...!

(It's not the corpse that roils his stomach, it's the rocking boat.)

He doesn't stop to check the treasure chest, to see if it's real. He doesn't touch the rum. He doesn't have it in him to investigate this area -- he has to get above the deck, now.

If you're already up there, you'll see a tall man with dark hair, dressed well, clean-shaven, stumble to the edge of the boat and make a horrible noise off the side. Once his stomach's empty, and he's hanging limply over the rotten wood, he wipes his mouth on the back of his wrist, and gazes upward, toward the approaching dock.]

Land! Thank God.

...

...

Wait -- who's at the helm?

[Because they sure are approaching fast, and the crew sure looks very dead...! Sherlock straightens up, one hand on the side, still very necessary, to steady himself.]

Is anybody steering this ship?!

Edited 2022-09-14 00:15 (UTC)

Obviously, the statement about the three sisters is the lie.

Whoa--! Easy there--

[Sherlock Holmes's reflexes, while not as quick as the cars, are quick enough for this -- and he's able to rotate himself out of the way just fast enough to not be caught in this gentleman's car-related crash. He steps back -- and, whoops, there Naruhodo goes, falling flat on his backside. Welp. He folds his arms in front of him and steps back, giving the man room to get up -- but clearly not interested in offering a hand up.]

You can't cross there, you know. You have to wait until it's your turn. It's based on the color of the electric lights.

[He points a leather-gloved hand toward a traffic light, which is changing from green to yellow.]

We'll have our chance in a moment!

[Chie has made a horrible mistake by approaching the other Japanese teenager browsing the wares on display in the local convenience stores.

Leo has somehow found a shirt at some point at least, but his blue mask, and strange markings on his face are definitely out there. Leo is a gangly fourteen year old with wild hair he's attempted to slick back to no real avail. He turns to Chie, grinning a little.]

No, no, you're good. Well, you're not good since I'm broke with a capital B. Maybe three capital b's to show how serious this is. I had a plan though. Okay, maybe three plans. They're all great plans, trust me.

We could start busking to earn money. [Sorry, Chie, you are now on team Turtle.] We could check their dumpster in the back to see what goods they got, orrrr we could look start a fight in the aisle and in the case take anything thrown at us as collateral. I saw a giant salami I could use as a sword, I could make it work.

Edited 2022-09-13 16:17 (UTC)

Obviously?

What made it obvious?

(You were right though...)

...me?

[He seems taken aback that he's been approached out of nowhere. Usually, he's the one doing the approaching, with the questions!]

I won't know the answer to that until I hear what they are.

[This girl looks pretty young, and she's in surprisingly good shape -- an athlete? But, she's recently been ill, as evidenced by her short hair...]

...I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't have any of the local currency, either.

[He actually feels kind of bad about this, given her obvious recent illness, though her recovery seems like it was full. Maybe it's something else? An institution? After all, she is dressed in a way that doesn't seem quite sane.

Money's not impossible for him to earn, through bounties and rewards for solving cases, but that takes time, and this girl, clearly an unfortunate in some way or other, is hungry now.]

But some of the locals have been very friendly. Perhaps they could be of assistance to you?

Edited 2022-09-13 16:56 (UTC)

It's a matter of patterns. The first two truths were sweeping generalizations, and difficult to believe, especially if you're from a place where snow is common! But you specified you had three sisters. It's much easier to tell a lie when it's close to the truth, and it's tempting in a game like this to think you'll win if you claim something technically true, but unbelievable.

In fact, I'd wager you have at least one sibling, and it's only the number -- or the gender -- that's the lie.

Edited 2022-09-13 16:46 (UTC)

[That's what she gets for asking a middle-schooler, she guesses. That doesn't make it any less disappointing, though! She's honestly just about to groan in frustration when the kid just... keeps on talking. And talking. That's a lot of talking.]

Whoa, whoa, we can't just start a fight in the middle of a convenience store! What the heck are you thinking?

[Still, the only options that leaves - if they stick with this kid's plans, anyway - are dumpster diving and... busking. The first is right out. She's not getting food out of the garbage, gross. She's not that desperate.]

Listen, those are all, uh, [not good plans, but she can't say that] plans, for sure, but I don't think any of them are really going to work out. Like, what talent are you even going to use for busking?

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Page 11 of 68

TDM: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Chie Satonaka | Persona 4

<Artemussy>

<sanctumreverentia>

<Artemussy>

<sanctumreverentia> cw: weird necromancy shit

<Artemussy>

<sanctumreverentia>

< MrsUniverse >

no subject

< SPEAKING.IN.TONGUES. >

< SPEAKING.IN.TONGUES. >

< SPEAKING.IN.TONGUES. >

no subject

< MrsUniverse >

< SPEAKING.IN.TONGUES. >

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Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One

<heysherry>

2!

2

< SPEAKING.IN.TONGUES. >

2, pt 2!

2 - cw oblique reference to mental hospitals/institutionalization, he's reading cues wrong

<heysherry>

no subject