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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C'mon! Just! Grab a laptop and leave a message!

[Souda's practically literally fuming, his tail swishing side to side.]

If I take you out there and anyone else hears I didn't tell them you were back, I'm gonna get shit for it!! Just— call everybody up while I'm grabbin' your arm!

[He squeezes the hand back.]

Promise. I have plenty of forms that can fly...

...when you get wings, I'll be waiting.

[Komaeda can only imagine the sort of face Mukuro and the others will make when they suddenly receive a message from a person who was supposed to be gone for the foreseeable future—but he also can't really say no to Souda when he's filled with passionate hope for his craft.]

Fine... Go get the arm while I send out the messages.

[Despite his defeated tone, he does as he promised. The moment Souda has taken off to track down that arm from his shop, Komaeda opens up his laptop and sends out a series of messages to inboxes that may or may not be used still. With how long he had been gone, who knows who else might still be on the peninsula.

But when Souda returns, it's with perfect timing. Komaeda closes his laptop shut and tucks it under the prize counter.]

Alright... I think I've notified everyone. Shall we head out now?

[Plenty of forms that can fly... That only makes Komaeda feel even more sad for Atem, considering throughout any one of those, no one went flying with him.

Regardless, the fact that Atem agrees to the promise makes him smile. He doesn't let go of the hand—he doubts that Atem would even let him, regardless.]

So, where are we going now?

[As he asks the question, Komaeda adjusts himself in their shared bench seat with his tail coming to wrap around their legs again, and settles his head onto Atem's shoulder.]

[He seems oblivious to how lonely it is. Of course no one asked to fly with him: why would they, if there wasn't a purpose?]

We're going to the lake...

...to play a game!

[....he lets that hang ominously in the air for a moment.]

Don't worry. It's not one of mine! It's one of Nanami's.

[It's okay to do things without purpose, Atem! All of our fates are left up to chance, after all.]

I would have played one of your games too, you know?

[But, does this mean they're going back to Insert Coin?]

Though... we aren't going in the direction of the arcade...

No. We aren't!

[He nudges Komaeda's head off his shoulder, so that they can make eye contact.]

But, it's good to hear, that you'd play one of mine...because, I want to put my own spin on it!

Would you like me to explain the rules now...or when we arrive?

[Komaeda lifts his head with the nudge, meeting Atem's gaze at eye-level.]

Your own spin, huh? Knowing you... Is it going to be something dangerous?

[Despite the question, the smile he offers is rather sly. At least in this way, they've always had the same taste for high stakes challenges.]

If you want to tell me the rules now so we can start when we get there, that's fine with me.

Heh heh heh...it could be!

[...he nuzzles Komaeda's forehead with his own.]

Miss Nanami left coins, scattered in the lake...

...and you and I are going to retrieve them! For each one you get, you can make a wish...and I'll do my best, to make it real! And, for each one I get...

...I'll make a request from you.

We'll each have half an hour, to find as many as we can. Of course, if you find five, you can also get a prize from Nanami herself...

[Ah— that's nice. Komaeda smiles even brighter with Atem's affection.]

I see... That is a pretty interesting twist.

[Though he wonders just how well he'll fare in a game against Atem. They both have great strengths and weaknesses, but really... how much could he lose in a game like this, when Atem is already planning to end this world?]

I've been a merperson far longer than you have, though. Even if I'm not that athletic, performing at Nai'a has really built up my stamina, you know!

Heh heh...that's good! It wouldn't be as fun if none of the coins went to you.

[He wants to see what Komaeda would ask for. It's a fun favor-exchange game, but it's also a getting-to-know-someone-better game...and, one that no one really loses, unless it turns cruel.]

I'll expect a challenge!

[Atem would be getting a challenge whether he wanted it or not, and it's not because Komaeda is competitive.

It's because this is the side of Atem that first caught Komaeda's attention—his strong hopes, and how readily he rose to any challenge he faced, whether it was big or small. Even if his aspirations have changed, Komaeda would always support him the best he could, and even now...

He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious, too, of what sort of questions Atem might want to ask him. After all, he feels as if he's always been an open book.

Just as the thought crosses his mind, however, the bus rolls to a stop. As though fate were offering him the answers to his curiosities readily, Komaeda glances outside the window and sees the reflection of the low, late-afternoon sun in the surface of the lake in the distance.]

Well, it seems this is our stop.

[He says quietly, and uses his grip on Atem's hand to pull him up, just a bit too eagerly when he stands. There's another part of him that's particularly curious to see what Atem looks like as a merperson.]

[As he gazes out the window:]

It seems so...whoa!

[It's a good thing the bus ride didn't go on too long: Atem sinks into dark moods when left alone with his own thoughts, and a game date and playful banter are just the thing to keep him skimming over the surface, instead of going under. He's literally and metaphorically pulled back up, when Komaeda pulls him out of his seat, and cracks a smile.]

Heh...I'm looking forward to it, too.

[Off the bus they trundle, and down the path that leads to the lake. It's so cold that the beach is completely empty: the sand blows icy in the chill breeze. Atem finds a pile of rocks and stray wood, and starts stripping out of his coat, tucking it in the pile so it won't blow away.

He's still a minotaur.

How exactly is he planning to swim like this?]

[Despite the despair so readily gripping Atem, just seeing him smile and laugh means so much. Komaeda can't help but smile too—or at least, his bright and excited smile softens into something just a bit closer to fondness instead—as they make their way out onto the cold beachfront.

The winter chill howls around them, with the lake looking more like the arctic sea than anything remotely inviting. He knows that he'll manage with his merperson blood, but the idea of taking an icy dip still sounds no less fun. The only thing that actually motivates Komaeda to start peeling off his own clothing is the fact that Atem is looking forward to their game.]

You're still a minotaur, you know...

[Komaeda says as he neatly folds his clothing into a pile beside Atem's, before unzipping his skirt and pulling it down... leaving him in those lacy black panties for a moment as he folds the skirt up too.]

Are you going to use your magic to transform here... Or is it something that has to happen in the water?

[He doesn't seem to be thinking about his actions and he one-handedly begins to pull off the last, racy bit of clothing, with his tail balancing him against the sand. His mind is too focused instead on how curious he is to see Atem's magic in application.]

Oh, I'm changing out here! There's no magic that can safely dry my clothes, if they end up in the lake...

[He's down to an undershirt and boxers -- shivering in the cold, actually, the sleeves on that shirt are way too wide to be made for winter -- before the magic kicks in.

As Atem starts to lift his shirt up, his fingertips start to dissolve into fog. The dissolution crawls up his wrists and forearms like a piece of paper going up in flames -- if, that is, the paper reappeared in the flame's wake, the same shape but a different color. Atem's fingers, hands, wrists appear in blue, turning to black splotches edged in gold, to black-on-gold when it reaches his chest. His hair wisps away under the shirt, and when it comes off over Atem's head, his hair is betta-fish fins, edged in red. His feet reappear with big froggy toes and webbing between them, and Atem steps out of his own underwear, with barely a glance at Komaeda's.

The mood's wrong for checking out the lacy undergarment. They're about to play a game! And Komaeda isn't distracting him with it on purpose, so, the underwear on him isn't for Atem right now.

Atem tucks his clothes neatly inside his coat and places a rock on top of them, to keep them from blowing away, then rolls his shoulders out in a quick stretch.

Mist still clings to his shoulders, around his neck, streaming down his back. It's fine. You can't get fog wet.]

This is my Fog priest ability! It's not the only new power I've collected...but it's the only one that isn't a secret.

[Komaeda is so distracted by the transformation that it's truly a miracle he doesn't trip and fall as he finishes removing the last of his clothing. Instead, his attention is fully glued to Atem, and how seamlessly he transforms. For some reason, there's a small flicker of jealousy that Atem didn't have to go through something as despairing as having all of his skin melt off but... maybe this is the trade off for being a Fog priest—as one of Hers, you get a painless shifting ability.]

That's incredible, Atem-kun! Just to be expected from someone as amazing as yourself. I would imagine it's incredibly convenient, too... the ability to be better at swimming, running or flying whenever you want.

[He approaches without thinking, his tail lazily dragging back and forth across the sand as he touches his fingers to Atem's chest. The feel of smooth scales beneath them is... different. He's cooler, too, than when he was a minotaur, but definitely not as cool as his skin usually is as a vampire.]

Our colors are sort of similar too...

[Komaeda smiles brightly at the thought as he lifts his arm and compares the banana-yellow to gold hue with a laugh.]

[In doing what he did to get this ability...

...Atem's eyes were burned out. Boiled where they were, burst, and melted, as he was turned out of the arcade and thrown, blind and oozing blood and pus and in a new, unfamiliar werewolf form, into an unfamiliar part of the city, to limp and whimper and crawl in the thrall of his overwhelming new senses, in the ruins of his spoiled eyes.

They almost hadn't grown back.

But only his werewolf day-form carries the scars Elias left. The red, round fish-eyes in this form are whole, unmarred, in smooth-scaled sockets, and they regard Komaeda with fondness and light as he compares their two forms, holding their arms next to one another.]

You're right...even our patterns.

[The splotches, the uneven lines -- it's jewel-tone instead of pastel, froglike instead of seahorse-like, but they're definitely alike.]

Like parallel evolution...or a creature that needs to disguise itself against the sky, and one that needs to hide on the ground. Or two pieces on opposite sides, from the same chess-set...

[Black stripes and white stripes. Entangled in endless combat, fated to always meet, but always as enemies.

It's kind of romantic. Atem's voice sounds nicer like this, too -- the tone is the same, but there's a richness that wasn't there before, especially as he talks about an idea he thinks is beautiful.

(Part of his psych changes are from betta fish; of course he's into the idea of a fight.)]

[They're black and white, Komaeda smiles, just as Atem comes to the same conclusion. Two sides of the same coin, hope... and despair. Intermingling, never being able to exist without the other. Never being able to be at peace with one another.

Komaeda lifts his softened gaze, meeting those red eyes with his own, pelagic blue gaze.]

...Like Go stones.

[He doesn't elaborate beyond that statement, and just continues to stand there smiling for a moment longer as his touch drags along the length of Atem's arm, until their fingers are gently laced again.

This version of Atem is... particularly beautiful, he thinks—and he doesn't think it's because they're currently the same monster. Instead it's like... all of the things that Atem is, all of what makes him so uniquely himself, are present in this appearance. Those golden scales that burst through black splotches, the deep red of his eyes that is different from his vampire form. Everything just feels particularly poetic.]

Shall we start the game, then?

[His own voice is soft and sweet, as he asks the question. Even if Atem can't hear his heartbeat anymore, it's clearly thundering through the palm of his hand.]

Oh, I wouldn't exactly say I'm troubled at the moment!

Rather, as out of depth as I oft am, I find I learn more than I properly know. Such as with washing machines! Fantastic devices!

I was quite covered with soap when I first attempted to use one.

[..................What era is this guy from.....?]

Well... if you need help with appliances too, then... I'd be happy to help in return for troubling you!

Oh!

I shall certainly keep that in mind, though I do hope you find it no insult if I seek the advice of another first- he is quite skilled with mechanics you see, and we had to install a fair number of appliances within the vehicle he assisted me with.

[Their name rhymes with 'Brouda'.]

Ah... it's probably for the best. In the end, my helpfulness is limited by the fact that I'm completely useless! Something like handling appliances, that's much more of an Ultimate Mechanic's specialty...

Hey, do you happen to know Souda Kazuichi, then?

[...he nods. If he were looking forward to the game any less, Atem might be reluctant to part them...with their fingers touching like this, and that comment about go stones piqueing his curiosity, and the naked fondness and undisguised affection, it's tempting to linger here, in this moment. But, the Amusement Mile clock tower starts to ring the half-hour, and that's the starting gun.]

...yes. Half an hour, as many coins as possible.

[He pulls back and faces the lake. With the last chime:]

Game start!

[--he takes off for the lake, taking a shallow dive in, as soon as it's deep enough.]

Oh indeed yes! Are you acquaintences then?

He helped considerably with the vehicle I was working on, it was quite a relief. Particularly as the cabin for the driving seat was impressively small, I could not at all have fit in there properly without his helps to adjust the thing!

[And Souda does— he knows exactly where the arm is, and his scrambling around is actually effective this time. He preps a case of tools to bring too, lest he be chided for being unprepared again, and returns to his friend with a wide smile.

Well, his mouth is always wide. But still.]

Yoooo~! I'm ready if you are.

Hey!

[And then, very suddenly, Souda gets a particular look in his eye.]

You ever been flyin' before?

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TDM: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

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cw description of burns, eye scream in meta

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