Ryslig's Expanded Monster Guide
Nov. 6th, 2022 01:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingforplayer2The Expanded Guide is edited by Chiaki Nanami.
The Expanded Guide begins with a condensed & re-edited version of Spengler's Guide, written several years prior. This contains broad knowledge of the 23 monster types at the time, and largely features the information covered in Ryslig's bestiary.
The new content in the Guide consists entirely of individual monster testomonials.
Submissions to the Guide can be made by anyone at any time, in a drop-off box at the Insert Coin arcade. The form below can be used as a template for any monsters looking for inspiration or structure for their entries. Nanami copies out the entries longhand, and stores the information in several locations, so that the information is never lost.
A copy of the current manuscript may be requested for casual perusal at any time.
As of now, the Expanded Guide has not yet been officially published on the peninsula.
MONSTER ENTRY SUBMISSION TEMPLATE
The Expanded Guide begins with a condensed & re-edited version of Spengler's Guide, written several years prior. This contains broad knowledge of the 23 monster types at the time, and largely features the information covered in Ryslig's bestiary.
The new content in the Guide consists entirely of individual monster testomonials.
Submissions to the Guide can be made by anyone at any time, in a drop-off box at the Insert Coin arcade. The form below can be used as a template for any monsters looking for inspiration or structure for their entries. Nanami copies out the entries longhand, and stores the information in several locations, so that the information is never lost.
A copy of the current manuscript may be requested for casual perusal at any time.
As of now, the Expanded Guide has not yet been officially published on the peninsula.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS
Date: 2022-12-01 07:50 am (UTC)Statement of Intent by Chiaki Nanami
Date: 2022-12-01 07:50 am (UTC)When I first arrived in Ryslig, I was astonished at what I found. The fantastical creatures and magical powers of this world are like those only imagined in my own world. I have longed to escape into fictional places from stories and games, and now here is Ryslig: like somewhere out of my dreams.
It's also like somewhere out of my nightmares, too. Ryslig is not a kind place to any of its inhabitants; not to the local humans, forced to become prey to mutated interdimensional refugees; nor to said refugees themselves, who are subjected to a multitude of horrors on a monthly basis, chief among them forced physical and psychological changes which have the potential of altering their selves at their very core.
These changes are often frightening and painful; and over the years, our community of monsters has come together to provide resources and infrastructure; to ease the transition, and to build a society. This expanded guide is my own small contribution to those resources; and in fact, I contribute not the guide itself, but merely its instantiation.
You see, Ryslig has had works written before about the spectrum of transformations that are idiosyncratic to those of us immigrated to this dimensional plane, most notably the guide written by Egon Spengler several years ago. However, in my research, I have never been able to find a collaborative work on this topic; merely (apparently) solo ones. And while a scientific approach from a practiced researcher may provide a solid base on which to build upon, I don't think it's sufficient to cease the development of resources at that base. Monster changes are so varied that, to each individual, they are practically unique.
This is why I believe that any attempt to be truly comprehensive in this field must be a cooperative effort. We can't predict everything that the future will hold; but what we can do is work to document the present before it fades into a forgotten past, and chronicle our journeys as we go. This is what I hope to do with this guide: to write my own story; to bring together my friends', and to concurrently use this collection as an aid to forging my own future. And to you reading or writing along, thank you for joining with us on this journey; I invite you to share your own as well.
addendum to Shade entry by Bruno Madrigal
Date: 2023-04-17 04:02 pm (UTC)What do you like about being this monster?
While it's true it was not a good fit for me, I was able to really see how others adapted to it. For some folks, being bodiless gave them a kind of freedom you can't get as any other Monster type. You can go anywhere you want. Walls don't mean a thing. You don't get tired. You can fly and fly and it's like a really good run but better. You don't have to eat or drink, you can sleep anywhere it's dark, you don't get sick, and nothing can hurt you, not even light. It's true that light, especially sunlight or the glow from Nephilim, is a Shade's weakness, but all it does is make you smaller and weaker. I remember putting my hand in a shaft of light and watching it disappear with no pain, and come back again when I pulled by arm back out.
Possessing people sounds awful on the surface, like something out of a horror story, but it doesn't have to be. If you have their permission and you both go into it with a positive outlook, it can be, if nothing else, a refreshing break from intangibility. But it can also be something deeper. They're letting you into their heart, as a friend of mine put it, and you're kind of letting them into yours, too. You can't really hear each other's thoughts, but you can sort of feel emotions in a vague kind of way, or at least I could. And people tell me that me possessing them was relaxing and comfortable, like a hot bath. You come out the other end with a connection that's hard to explain, but for me it made friendships and even romantic relationships deeper, somehow. If you've got someone like that in your life, you can learn a lot.
I think, though, that the best thing about being a Shade is the ability to move things with your mind, and it's something I can really speak to. I got bored easily, so I practiced with it a lot. There are so many things you can do with it. Anything you can do with your hands and an object, really. I could press keys on a typewriter, I taught myself how to use a paintbrush, how to crochet, how to use a chef's knife; how to move really big things and really small things. You can unlock a door for someone by moving the lock tumblers. You can clean a place better than just about anyone. And you can have a lot of fun just playing around with it, making things fly and move. Really the only limit to it is your focus and imagination.
What do you dislike about being this monster?
Even under normal circumstances, wanting vengeance is very typical for Shades, and it can get pretty loud, but you can overcome it or work around it. I found that if I imagined those vengeful thoughts sort of dissipating, like the smoke after you blow out a candle, I could let them float away from my mind.
The kind of isolation that comes with not having a body can get overwhelming. It helps to remember, though, that people can and do get really clever with making sure that you're seen and heard and included, that you don't just fade into the shadows if you don't want to. Some Shades find it much easier to make themselves solid than I did, too.
It helps, I think, to have a good sense of self. I didn't, so that stood in my way on a kind of subconscious level. If you know who you are, if you know that you're here and you exist and that you can be perceived on many levels, then it's easier. And that sense of self is something you can develop at any age, really. I'm 51 and I'm starting to really grow one at last.
This place makes you think about these things. No matter what you become, your body, a fundamental part of yourself, changes. Becomes something you weren't before. Even your brain changes, and that can change how you think and react. You can find yourself wondering who and what you are, now, and I think that can be healthy, because coming here, being transformed, strips away everything you thought was you, and it's like a clean slate. You can rebuild who you are and build it the way you want it built, instead of how your homeworld wanted. And I think being a Shade is a unique way to do that because all you are is your mind, and it's the deepest foundation that you can start from to really discover who you are and rebuild your sense of self from there. It's a Buddhist's dream.
Also, if things get to be too much, remember that you can always visit the simulation room in the Cube for a break from Monster-ness. Just don't stay in there too long.
What is something unique to you about being this monster?
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What types of creatures or beings influenced your monster form?
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What is it like to feed as this monster?
I found consuming souls to be pretty harrowing, I won't lie. I was raised to believe the soul would go on to wherever it was destined to go after the body died, and spend eternity there, so death was, as they say, 'but a door.' If a person's soul is consumed, where does it go? I still don't know the answer to that, but I've found a few things to remember when feeding. The first is that a soul is energy, and energy can't be created or destroyed, only transformed, so it's possible the soul passes through you, feeds you, and moves on.
The second is something that I learnt from someone who was Death, itself. They had spent some time as a Nephil, which also eats souls, and reminded me of a concept called memento mori. One form of it is remembering people who died, sort of like they do in Mexico, on Earth. You don't have to build a memorial for each person, but keeping a small part of them like a lock of hair, makes sure that you remember the human was a person, and that even though you took their soul, they aren't gone from the universe, and you can, in a way, thank them for their sacrifice.
The third is, if you can, make sure you take the body to the F.E.A.S.T kitchen or share it some other way. Shades and Nephilim are unique in that they don't technically kill. The body is still alive and can feed other Monsters, too. In a way it helps you to respect this resource that you have no choice but to consume and, for me, anyway, that made it
well, not as hard.
What are some notable physical features you have as this monster, and what do you like or dislike about them?
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What are some notable mental changes you have as this monster, and what do you like or dislike about them?
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Would you become this monster again?
You know, I find that I might want to try it again, but only temporarily.
Would you become this monster for good?
Probably not, but that's me.