TDM: APRIL/MAY

[ryslighelpers]

TDM: APRIL/MAY

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 from a deep and dreamless sleep to find yourself lying among the ruins of a burnt-out, empty town. Your head aches and your limbs are stiff. The ground here is scrubby with half-grown plants and barren stone, and while there are a few buildings - most notably the large, empty hunting lodge at the center of the town - there is no sign of life.

Almost no sign. Wander around, and you may start to spot others like you, lost among the bones of empty buildings and abandoned firepits. Perhaps you’ll enter the lodge, which is still more or less whole, and find the bloodstains on the wooden walls, the meat hooks waiting empty in the kitchen. Perhaps you’ll discover, among the empty huts, graffiti scrawled in rusty red: TAGE LIVES.

Perhaps, out of the corner of your eye, you might see a flicker of movement; a figure that looks almost, but not quite, human. These figures will not attack you–in fact, if you approach or call out to them, they will quickly flee, vanishing into the ruins–but they watch you from afar, and you can’t quite shake the sense that they’re waiting for something.

Maybe you shouldn’t hang around to find out what.

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> I'm booored. Who wants to play Twenty Questions? It's like… You choose a thing, right? And say you're ready to play, I suppose. And then someone else will ask you twenty yes/no questions to try and guess what the thing is! It HAS to be questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no". Entertain me, network friends!

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.

Comments

[oversleep]

i won’t.

are you the welcome committee?

[unholey]

Okay.

No, not really. I just happened to see your post and figured I'd say something before things got out of hand; some of the people around here have pretty weird senses of humor.

But if you have any other questions, I wouldn't mind answering them.

[oversleep]

i wanna go home.

_{[ Even if home was terrible. Even if somehow being here is helping him further escape the pain he is experiencing. He doesn’t need to express to this stranger that he’s so scared that he’s finally crying. ]}

there are no comfortable beds here.

[unholey]

I’m sorry. I wish we could. I do too; more than I can say.

[Homesickness– for Napoli, for the sea– aches like a poorly healed broken bone. It never really stops; it just gets easier to ignore.]

Have you had a chance to eat yet today?

[oversleep]

no.

_{[ But that's because he's really out of touch with his body and the functions he has to do to keep himself healthy. ]}

[unholey]

If you're staying at the 38-8 apartments, you should be within walking distance of the 8/12 convenience store. All the snacks there are free.

Libeccio is a bit further out; I'll attach the address some directions. It's an Italian restaurant. I'm friends with the owners; you're welcome to come and have a meal, if you'd like. Don't worry about the money. I'll cover your tab.

Comfortable or uncomfortable, sleeping in a bed that you don't know is difficult. Having a full stomach might make it a little easier for you.

[As promised, there is a small file attached to this message with Libecccio's address and directions written from the perspective of starting at the 38-8 apartments.]

cw: alternate route spoilers

[oversleep]

<sub>[ The problem is.. he doesn't like leaving the house or any kind of dwelling. He hasn't left it in four years. His mom was trying to encourage him to go say goodbye to Kel, but he ignored him the day he came by to try and see Sunny one last time. He ignored him and took a nap instead because sleeping was the closest thing to happiness for him.

He's afraid of outside. He's afraid of people, so let's not even talk about how afraid he is of monsters that are apparently real. When he first got here, he thought he was still dreaming. Now that he knows this is reality, the thought of leaving where he found he could stay and hide makes him sick to his stomach.. which is rumbling. ]</sub>

i'm okay.
thx.

_{[ BUT YOUNG MAN, YOU ARE NOT.. ]}

[unholey]

[On the other side of the screen, Fugo idly drums his fingers on the surface his laptop rests on; without even thinking about it, they run through the shape of a piano scale.

This is a newcomer. One who was worried about others seeing their writing; who can't sleep, because the beds are too uncomfortable. Who hasn't eaten yet. No one is really "okay" in Ryslig, but this is even less okay than usual.]

I see.

Well... would delivery work better? Even if you're okay right now, you might get hungry later.

[oversleep]

that’s an option?

_{[ Oh. Looks like we might have something here. ]}