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graveyardsmash2022-09-09 09:15 am
ryslighelpers) wrote in graveyardsmash2022-09-09 09:15 am
Entry tags:
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.
no subject
Hm... sounds pretty carefree, the opposite of you.
[Komaeda laughs as he leans his head onto Atem's, being mindful of those horns as he does. He won't bother mentioning that it might be something Atem needs now.]
You know... I'm pretty happy as a merperson, but I might try being a demon. I think I'd like to fly... It would be nice to fly together sometime, too.
[It's a nice thought, even if he knows it'll only remain a thought and not a reality that's in the cards for them.]
no subject
...I don't think anyone's ever gone flying together with me.
[Chasing down Riley and Ryou going over the edge of the roof as a manticore and needing to get grabbed doesn't count.]
no subject
[They have plenty of mutual friends with wings, Komaeda actually... finds that to be a pretty lonely thought.
He manages a small, albeit sad smile as he gives Atem's hand a little squeeze.]
Let's fly together then, next time. Promise?
[It's childish, they both know that the possibility of that chance is non-existent and yet... He wants to have it, regardless. A little promise to do something nice together, in a future that won't exist.]
no subject
Promise. I have plenty of forms that can fly...
...when you get wings, I'll be waiting.
no subject
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.]
no subject
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.
no subject
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 subject
[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?
no subject
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.
no subject
[...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...
no subject
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!
no subject
[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!
no subject
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.]
no subject
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?]
no subject
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.]
no subject
[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.
no subject
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.]
cw description of burns, eye scream in meta
...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.)]
no subject
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.]
no subject
...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.]
no subject
Komaeda turns his head, his gaze following the form of Atem's body as he darts for the lake and dives into the shallow waters with gusto. In contrast, he walks to the edge of the water and lets it lap at his clawed toes for a short moment. How long has it been, since he swam? He doesn't even remember.
Suddenly, there's a tightness in his chest, like some unseen string were tugging straight through him—calling him to the depths. He walks into those shallow waters, where Atem has already disappeared below the surface, and keeps walking until the first pass of water hits the gills on his ribs, and they surge to life. At once he feels his legs pull against one another, flesh stitching and stretching until two appendages fuse into one.
Despite how much of his life he's spent on land, this almost feels more natural. Like a creature called to its home, Komaeda takes one last gulp of air, and then descends beneath the water's surface.]
no subject
Something Komaeda might note, if he glimpses him, is: Atem still has legs -- sort of. His tail is split in two, and the space between the toes is finned. His legs can propel him with frog kicks or move up and down like a dolphin's tail. He's slower in open water than other mers, and good luck with distance swimming -- but his maneuverability is high.
He digs into rocks, crevasses, going from shallow to deep, based both on method and on instinct: he knows Nanami and how she games pretty well by now!
But, at one point during the half-hour, he'll find himself near Komaeda, crossing paths -- and, when he does, his fins flick, propelling him up and into a quick stolen underwater smooch. If he's not stopped, Atem will dart back off right away to get back to it, left hand closed around a few coins already.]
no subject
Still, he manages to seem completely at home in the water as he checks nooks and crannies, surveys the grassy floor, and collects coins in his one hand. The benefit is that, having known and played games with Nanami before, he understands her thought process when it comes to tackling an unknown level. If she were to design her own game level, he has a few guesses as to what she would do.
Distracted as he is, however, it's only with the help of his senses that he turns just in time to determine whatever is swimming at him is Atem, and not some other creature. The kiss completely catches him off guard though, and the moment Atem swims away, that shock causes the bioluminescence of Komaeda's stripes flicker.
Despite the deafening effect of the water that engulfs them, the clicking that rises from his chest thereafter seems to echo all around him.
But eventually, the sound of the bell tolling the top of the hour, muted as it is, reaches him. With his haul in hand, Komaeda peeks around for Atem, before simply resolving to swim back to the shore with it. Above the water's surface, the winter air feels so much colder, and everything acutely feels like too much as his senses shift from their underwater adaption.
So in the meantime, he'll settle onto the shoreline and count his coins in his lap, as he waits for both Atem and for his tail to start to unfuse.]
no subject
It is super goddamn cold out of the water, and honestly, Atem wants to go back in...but they can't stay in the lake forever, and it will only get colder as the sun sinks. So he grits his teeth, suppresses a chatter, and wills himself to stop shivering as he crawls up by Komaeda.
Atem turns over, so he's seated, and lays the coins out in front of him.]
Ten...! Not bad.
[He turns to look at the other player.]
How did you do, Nagito?
no subject
In his lap, his hand unfolds to reveal a small hoard of coins.]
Lucky seven!
[He casts a smile over his shoulder.]
Do you want to start, since you're the winner?
(no subject)
(no subject)
cw nsfw discussion
cw VERY NSFW CONVERSATION!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK, ANY WORK, AT ALL
Actually we're just gonna move this. Just in case--