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.

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Oh... [Well, he'll give the man that. Awkwardly adjusting his hat, the boy nods.] ...I...guess so? Honestly, I haven't been here that long, so there's only so much I can explain... ...but I guess next to nothing, that's still better.

...I knew people could arrive in strange ways, but...a boat like this is still a surprise...

It's nice to meet you, Foo-chan. I don't think I've heard that band. Maybe we can look for a CD together.

The goat's name is Neve! It means "snow", since she's such a pretty white color!

[~~this is so sad alexa play despacito~~]

If you're looking for someone to give you hope, Nagito -- the hope that you could enjoy anything forever --

...you're talking to the wrong guy!

[Sorry. But it is pretty hopeless. They only get to see what this is like, what they're like, when there's a deadline. Atem can't argue it.]

Nothing's eternal. I would know...

[Pyramids, tombs, mummies, monuments -- they last a long time, but not forever. Any world is the same. His was nearly destroyed, twice...who knows how many other threats are out there?

To save the world, you have to get it right every time. But a plan to destroy it only has to work once.]

Even if we thought we had all the time in the world, something would happen, to separate us. The only difference is that we wouldn't be in control of when that end is...when it happened, it would catch us by surprise.

[Is that better, he wonders? The false hope of forever, the illusion that they had endless time, when really, something would cut in, and return them to a suffering state?]

[As realization dawns on her, Komaeda simply watches with that same, placid expression. He doesn't seem to show much sympathy by way of his face, but he does take a small step forward and waves his hand, as if dismissing her shock.]

It could be worse— as a merperson, we just need to absorb people's life energy. Sort of like how a vampire might drink blood! You can learn to control how much you take, too, so that you don't accidentally kill anyone when you drink from them.

[He's definitely omitting some stuff, but it's fine!!]

Some monsters aren't so lucky... they have to eat souls or meat. Humans won't survive something like that.

And this choice... it was either to oppose the Fourth God or join him, correct? Hm... that is troubling!

But I still feel like that isn't everything, right JOJO-san? I mean, we've had people on both sides of the god war for years now. What you've described is like playing the same game, just in a different setting. So what made it so despairing, I wonder? Was the Fourth God a worse dictator than the Fog?

Even I know nothing lasts forever, Atem-kun. I've told you about my past, haven't I?

[Komaeda laughs, abrupt yet still airy enough that he seems to be genuinely nonchalant about the excessive despair he's endured his entire life. No, he knows better than most, he believes, that no good thing lasts forever. Every good event will be followed by bad, and vice versa—an endless cycle he's never once been able to escape, even in Ryslig.]

But... that's sort of the reason I'm mad at you! I would've liked to date you before you decided to fall into despair.

[He says he's mad but the only real notion of it is the pout his fishy features can't quite make. A bit of a brow furrow gets him partially there, but it's not the same a proper mouth muscles.]

You know... take it from me, the guy who's had to endure bad luck his entire life... sometimes the unknown is scary, but you can't be scared of it forever. If you let despairing thoughts control your life, then you won't get to live it.

[It had taken him a long time to learn to act despite the scary things that can happen, but once he did, he was finally able to experience all the things he had waited far too long for.]

Besides, Atem-kun... it's not your responsibility to face things alone. You have all of your friends, you know. I'll protect you too... the best I can.

.....I see.

[ She looks down, working through this in a small voice. ]

It's not....that surprising, right? Animals eat each other in nature. But for monsters and humans, who can talk to each other....who can communicate, and become friends.......

[ It's a relief she might not have to kill anybody. In fact, if what she does is drain energy, maybe she can even use it to help people! Like those who have too many nerves, or something.....

But the people who become the other monsters....

Emma's eyes brim with tears. ]

It's so sad......

[He says he's mad, but...

...he'll just have to live with it, won't he...? There's plenty to be mad about, that's happened because of Ryslig. This is a drop in a very, very big bucket.]

Hah....

[It's humorless.]

...I'm sorry, Nagito. I wish I could say, I know you will!

But, I can't! Because you can't protect me. Not from Ryslig! No one can. If the power behind this place has decided that I'm going to be hurt, then...no amount of powers or planning, or even friends, can change that. Ryslig doesn't let anything interfere with putting monsters through pain.

[He's not looking at Komaeda. He's waling towards the mall, and holding Komaeda's hand, and looking ahead at the pavement.]

It's not the unknown that's made me this way, Nagito. If it were still "the unknown," I'd be able to deal with it...but, it's actually too certain! It's certain that it'll be bad, and certain that nothing can be done about it! Unfortunately, too many of those things happened, while you were away...

[His eyes go distant. How many times...?]

...unfortunately, those things change us. You didn't come back until after I realized how hopeless it is, here...how useless it really is to fight. You'll have to settle for the "me" that's left...

...the rest got burned away.

[Perhaps to any other person, her argument might be seen as pitiful or naive. Some might consider her to have a heart full of compassion, a notion that might spurn on sympathy for the girl. But the guy before her is no such person. He doesn't pity her nor does her consider he thoughts to be childish. Instead, she's met with a look of distinct confusion.

Komaeda's head tilts to the side, his anemone-hair wriggling absently around his wide pelagic gaze.]

Is it? [He asks, and almost sounds genuinely curious when he does,] I mean... when an animal in the food chain is eaten, it benefits the ecosystem as a whole, right? It keeps the prey from being overpopulated and, in reality, this sort of thing probably happens between species that have a way of communicating too, right? There are plenty of animals that can signal to each other, even if they can't exchange words.

[Suddenly, his lone hand shoots up between them in some manner of placating motion, the stump of his other forearm matching the motion, despite not having a hand of its own to wave.]

Ah! But don't get me wrong... the thought of taking someone else's life just to continue my own is really despairing... My existence isn't worth that much. Still, even if I don't like it, the human I feed on will likely experience being eaten some day regardless.

[He offers her a smile, as if anything he just said was comforting in the least.]

That's why I usually just try to find humans who are old, and who have no living family members. That way if they die... I leave a much smaller impact.

[During midday hours on a Thursday, the majority of Wasn't Bound Yesterday's customers tend to be housewives and young women looking for something new (to them, not in general) and interesting to keep them entertained. There aren't usually too many of them, however, and so it's this time of day that Joshua reserves for shelving new arrivals.

It helps, being a Naga. He wouldn't be able to use the stepladder to reach the higher shelves, but with the ability to shift his center of balance on his tail, it isn't even a problem to just stretch up a little bit and forego the ladder completely.

He's in the back, the majority of him partially hidden by shelves but woven between others in a bright, iridescent, entirely unmissable purple-pink hue, when his ears pick up the jingling sound of the bell affixed to the door. He turns his head toward the front, lowering down as his tongue flicks out a time or two. Not a familiar-smelling presence... but somehow damp? Another monster, probably.]

Welcome, [he calls out, turning his attention back to his shelving.] If you need anything, I'm back here.

[In his several-months-absence from Ryslig, some things have stayed the same, but a lot has changed. One such thing was the recommendation of a bookstore to visit from Nanami, especially since prior to his stint within the Sea of Stars, there weren't any monster-owned stores. He's guided partially by curiosity to see just whom has arrived since he left, and partially by the fact that finding someone who he can talk about literature with (that is also willing to tolerate monsters) is... rather difficult.

So he makes his trip midday, when things are covered both at Insert Coin and 8/12, and with a little goal in mind. Hinata had insisted he didn't need a present for his belated birthday, but Komaeda couldn't just let that sit. Something small, something inconsequential so that even if Hinata doesn't like it, it isn't nothing.

He enters the store as quietly as possible, making himself as small as possible amidst the cozy atmosphere and the comforting smell of musty paper and leather binding. The voice is a surprise—good hearing? he thinks—but that shouldn't be so surprising if the owner is a monster, too.]

Actually, [he calls out, even as he folds himself into his layers of oversized turtleneck sweater under a too-big jacket,] I could use some help, if you don't mind? I'm looking for a present... [a brief pause,] for a friend! [He adds.

Komaeda pads his way over to the counter to wait, and pulls his hands (one distinctly scaled and too big to be gloved, and one much more human-shaped, hidden by leather) out of his pockets to instead fix the long, plain skirt hiding his legs and the brunt of his tail.]

Ah—

[Souda stops short, just staring at Komaeda for a moment, blinking those reptilian eyes slowly.]

Y'know... every once in a while, you make a good point.

[As if everything makes sense now, Souda starts taking off his stupid jumpsuit, because why is he wearing clothes either, anyway?]

[—ah. It seems he's needed after all. With another flick of his tongue, Joshua sets down the book he'd been looking to shelve on the small stack of them that he has left and begins winding his way through the shelves and up to the front counter. Even with fifteen feet of tail, it's still a quick endeavor. The rest of the store is fairly unoccupied, after all.

This isn't someone he's seen before, but to be fair, he knows he hasn't seen everyone. Still, he gives Komaeda a brief once-over as he settles in behind the counter, coiling his tail to be out of the way. Definitely a monster, at any rate.]

So, you're looking for a gift for a friend, hm? [He lifts his arms, folding one over his chest while the other brings his fingers to tap thoughtfully against his lips.] What kind of gift?

[He does make a good point, doesn't he? But it's still a good thing that it isn't anything he hasn't seen before... because otherwise, Komaeda would be hiding his face from his friend's nakedness—

But also he can't simply let the opportunity pass, can he?]

Souda-kun... are you sure about this?

[He asks, suddenly bringing a hand to his face in mock shyness.]

I mean... right here? Where everyone can see us? It's my first time being so bold but... if you insist! How could I say no to my best friend?

Hey, hey hey. I'm still keepin on my pants!

[Whether that was always the intent or just an easy-access get-out-of-matching-Komaeda card is unclear. Regardless, Souda unsnaps the fasteners behind his wings that keep his jumpsuit in a shape that still looks, you know, like a jumpsuit, and allows it to drape down to wherever the dragon-looking-gargoyle equivalent of a waist could be considered to be. He ties the sleeves of the jumpsuit, and it almost looks completely like this was the planned move.]

Even if they don't come after you, someone's still gonna yell at me about it... Even when you're the one making it weird. God, damn.

[grumble grump. That said, he isn't irritated enough to complain about the best friend comment— and the stretching of his wings and relief of some of the fabric surrounding his already-warm body is really nice, okay.]

[Komaeda's wide, unblinking eyes are on that tail the moment iridescent scales flicker beneath the musty yellowed lights of the shop. He's met his fair share of naga, but none with this coloration—though he's also not so ignorant as to not realize that some could change their shape with Mana's help. Still, he keeps himself perfectly polite, perfectly still at the counter until that unfamiliar face pokes out from between shelves.]

Hello there! [Comes the greeting first, quickly followed by:] I'm looking for a birthday gift, probably some light reading, considering this guy isn't exactly...

[What's the right way to say this? Hinata isn't exactly stupid, but he's certainly the guy who maintains average scores in a school's class ranking.]

The type who likes to read complex books? [Nailed it.] I generally only read novels, and I don't know much about current Bavan authors... is there any light reading you recommend?

How am I making it weird?

[His still grinning, or rather, opening his mouth wider to bare more of those too big needle-sharp teeth. From where he stands behind the counter, Komaeda leans his arms onto the glass, one folded over the other.]

I mean, don't werewolves and bears walk around without anything? Or naga and arachne for that matter? Why do we have to wear clothing? I mean... I probably should, considering that I'm not much to look at...

But I find you more handsome as a gargoyle than you were before, personally!

[Whatever that means.]

You should feel more confident.

[Ryou came here to play games.

He came here to be around someone that seemed intent to be friends with him, to her detriment or otherwise, at least for a little while.

He did not come here expecting to see a naked banana-colored seahorse man. Ryou really doesn't know what to do, so he just stands in the doorway, dressed in semi-inappropriate clothes for the temperature, though at least he's wearing leggings with his shorts this time, and he's wearing a white-knit jacket.

Perhaps he should say something, but...

...one simply loses all thought when faced with a naked, if anatomy-censored Nagito Komaeda. Especially when Komaeda's been gone for...months...]

[ Emma, bless her heart, appears to be contemplating his thoughts. Her heart aches to think that everybody here lives like this, with something awful hanging over them.

Yet one part sticks out to her, though, worries her - on top of all the other worries she has now. ]

I still think it's sad. But, Nagito-kun....

[ She peers concernedly into those fishy orbs. ]

Is eating people making you hate yourself?

Ah. [The hand at his lips comes away with a gesture.] Not to worry. I know the type.

[Something Beat might enjoy reading, then. Or somewhere between Beat and Neku's comfort level? Hmm. He isn't the one that will ultimately be making this decision, but it's part of his job here to at least direct someone to the right general place.

His tongue flicks out once, twice, and then he tips his head, giving Komaeda a considering look.]

The books here aren't generally more recent releases, but I'm sure you can find something. What sort of subject matter do you think you're looking for? We have just about anything.

...Man...

[Rather than get super annoyed, for some reason, Souda's head just sinks a little.]

Giorno said kinda the same thing... so why's it still feel like an insult when you say it?!

[With a groan, he shakes his head and starts shuffling over to customer-side of the counter. The spines on the back of his neck shudder, apparently an expression of his annoyance.]

I seriously can't tell when you're fuckin' with me or not.

[that's news to no one]

[This is the monster-friendlier part of the city, but Gladion still doesn't quite trust it, especially on someone else's behalf. The part of his focus that isn't navigating goes to keeping pace with Ken and staying on what he thinks is his most open side, putting himself between the kid and any unfriendly attention, or perhaps even just curious eyes. Every couple of minutes, the vines around his shoulders shift and rustle, an end flicking loose for a moment and slithering back up into the twining loop.

The peering about is obvious. Gladion has a couple of guesses as to what it means. He doesn't recognize his surroundings? Odds are, he mostly knows the big city.]

Vandare. South of Bavan?

[A subject? Komaeda hadn't considered that far, to be honest. What subjects does Hinata like? A mystery or suspense story might be out of the question, and as far as hobbies go, he's pretty certain Hinata doesn't have any. So what does that boil down to in terms of subject matter?

Well, he knows that Hinata likes kusamochi... but never mind the fact that he can't cook, and that there aren't any stores that would carry it (not even 8/12, despite it being a magically stocked). Maybe he could endeavor to make it himself, or find someone who could, if he could at least find out if there were any mugwort plants on the peninsula.

Silence stretches between them as Komaeda considers all of this, his gloved hand raised to his own chin in thought. When he finally draws a breath to reply, he doesn't even seem to consider how odd his answer is compared to his initial inquiry.]

Would you happen to have any books on local plant species? [His maw splits open just enough to bare his needle-teeth in a pseudo-smile.] Maybe something with lots of pictures, if possible?

[Her question catches him off guard, mostly because he doesn't think anyone has ever asked him so directly before. Does eating people make him hate himself...? No, he's certainly done far worse things.]

Hm... not particularly! [He responds, much too chipper in the face of her concern,] why do you ask?

[He smiles at her, expectant and very obviously confused.]

[lol. lmao, even.]

duty calls to us all.
it's not so simple as just retiring, i imagine?

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Page 60 of 68

TDM: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

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<naturegirl>

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cw more cannibalism talk!

<MrBrightside>

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ryslig dot thread

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seriously though, but also now we're talking about cw: ETHICAL cannibalism!

a custom-tailored wildcard prompt c appears!

I hold it lovingly in my hands

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i for maximum awkwaaaaard

ethical consumption..... (blanket tw for cannibalism for this whole thread probably)

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