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October 2018 Test Drive Meme

OCTOBER 2018 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to October’s Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: HALLOWEEN HORROR.

All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.

Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.

CW: Wet and rotting corpses/zombies, ghosts, violence, blood, knives, possessed dolls, options for underage drinking

Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

IT’S JUST A BUNCH OF HOCUS POCUS

It’s not Halloween if you don’t make a trip to a cheesy haunted house. At least, that’s what everyone in Deerington likes to say. The old Victorian stands at the top of a hill, rickety and in desperate need of a new paint job. The yard and porch have been decorated with what you’d expect for your typical haunted house; fake spider webs spread across the overhang, painted foam grave markers with cheesy names like “Here lies Richard Cranium” and “BEWARE!!” in creepy letter etchings. You can see the blinking of variously timed strobe lights in some windows and the shadow of what you’re pretty sure is a full-sized doll standing in the window, meant to look like someone staring out at you. The rocking chair on the porch near the door has a skeleton with a bowl of candy in his lap, and a sign is propped up against the wall next to him.

“ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. TOUCH NOTHING AND NOTHING WILL TOUCH YOU!”

Well that sounds promising.

The first few rooms you enter are appropriately cheesy. There’s the silly burst of air that you hear just before a plastic figuring pops out of a poorly constructed coffin, the clicking sound of the machinery inside echoing in the room when it starts to pull back and the lid closes once again. There’s fog machines trying to give the appropriately spooky air, stuffed sheets shaped to look like dead bodies wrapped up laying in piles on the floor with fake blood staining the white fabric, black lighting to show off words scribbled on doors like “TURN BACK NOW” and “SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.” Nothing you haven’t seen before. It might be even worse than things you’ve seen before, over the top cheesy, boring enough to give a yawn. Each door seems to open on its own so you don’t even have to touch the handles.

As you make your way through the next automatic door, the room you walk into is different than those before it. It’s a regular children’s room. A bed against the wall near the window, a dresser in the corner, a small desk with a chair. Nothing out of the ordinary, save for the lights not being on, and the strange flickering light in the closet. You step towards it, figuring you’re in for another jump scare, but the door doesn’t open. Whether you’re naturally the curious sort or not, something in the back of your mind makes you want to open the door and see what’s on the inside.

If you fight it and walk towards the next automatic door, you’ll find you’ve walked out to the backyard of the house, those same foam decorations and a dozen or more jack o’ lanterns lighting your way on a path back to the town.

If you choose to pull the door open, however, it’ll take you into yet another room, with a flickering television playing nothing but static. Once you step past the doors of the closet, they slam shut behind you and whoever else dared to enter. The doors won’t lock no matter what you do, no matter how strong the person shaking the handles or pushing against the wood may be. You realize you broke the one rule; you’ve touched something. But can things now really touch you?

The only light source in the whole room is that television and it’s not lighting up much inside the room around it. If you squint when the TV is at its brightest setting, you can just make out another door. Your exit, you hope. But as you make your way towards the door, the flickering suddenly stops, the TV steadily bright, a low humming noise coming from the screen, and suddenly the door seems several more feet away from you than it was a second ago. Before you can reach the door, there’s the sound of trickling water from behind you. If you choose to look back, you’ll see something coming out from the screen - a girl with soaked clothing and pale, rotted skin. She emerges fully from the glass and starts to move towards you. You know it’s best to start running for that door. If you stay and try to fight, you’ll find that no regular weapons work on her, though special weapons and powers that are effective against spirits will definitely do the trick. For those who don’t have any of these at their disposal, however, there is one more hope besides just trying to run; two old school VHS tape sit on the table near by, a fancy machine between them that is meant to copy one to the other. Work as a team and have one distract her while the other records, and you’ll find that she disappears as quickly as she flickered on the screen and the TV will return to static.

Regardless of what you choose before carrying on, the next room you come to as the door slams and locks behind you is entirely different. Brightly lit and filled with what seems like hundreds of porcelain dolls, it’s almost hard to tell where there could possibly be another exit hidden among the massive shelves. You can start to wind your way through them, but before long, you start to hear the sound of running feet, the jingling of bells, the swish of satin, and most eerily the sounds of children giggling - but there’s nothing that sounds save about them. Some of the dolls you saw on the last shelf seem like they’ve moved and are sitting in the corner or laying in a new position on a new shelf. Sometimes you swear you can see their heads turn to watch you pass, but it has to be a trick of the light, doesn’t it?

That is until one of those dolls runs by you, brandishing something shiny in their hands - something sharp. A knife, you realize too late, as it tries to slice at your legs and knock you down. You can kick them away and they’ll go flying, and when the porcelain smashes, the doll will scream in agony. You notice there’s blood pouring from the hole that formed, spreading quickly across the ground. The dolls are easy to kill, but are they really just dolls? You can take your time to contemplate that later, as now you have to fight your way through the violent and armed toys to reach the door at the end of the maze of shelves. Hopefully you can get out without too many severe injuries.

When (or if) you do manage to get to the next room, you seem to have a chance to take a breath and tend to any wounds. It’s decorated like the room of a small cottage, a large pot over the fireplace that isn’t lit, and several jars full of (possibly rotting) food and herbs on the shelves. You see a book on the stand in the center, latched shut and covered in dust. You can open it, if you want, but remember the warning you ignored that got you in trouble in the first place. It’s probably better to carry on to the next room.

If you do choose to open the book, though, there will be eerily glowing text lining the pages, the light will seem to poor out and fill the room, and you’ll be transported back out in front of the house.

Those who continued through the door will find themselves out in the backyard. Just like for those who got out sooner, there are dozens of jack o lanterns, but the graves don’t look like they’re made of foam this time. They’re real stone, engraved with real names and real dates this time. And the ground underneath them seems to be moving, like someone’s trying to crawl out of there. Better not to wait around. Soon as you start to move down the path, you’ll start to hear the sounds of groans as the undead start to crawl from their own graves, pulling themselves up through the dirt, and determined to get to the only food source they see - you. The zombies seem like they’re never ending, coming from every inch of the yard, but at least they’re just like normal zombies - completely incapable of being killed unless you cut off the head. There are shovels lying next to a few graves if you need a quick weapon, but there’s also still always the option to run as fast as you can up the stone path to the front of the house and back towards the street.

When you do finally manage to get back to the front, there’s a momentary blinding flash of light, disorienting anyone near it for a few seconds. When it finally fades, any leftover zombies chasing you have disappeared and the house looks like the same, cheesy haunted house you walked up to in the first place. If for some reason you decide to go and explore the backyard again, the grass will be back to normal, and the graves will all be replaced by cheaply painted foam once more.

Was that all in your head? Who knows. But maybe it’s best to just get out of here.

WE DID THE MASH

Somehow the street lamps have all been converted to oil based flames, the Authority are in witch hats, and every where you go there is music that seems to be playing from faintly glowing bats hanging upside down from telephone wires. The bats will open their mouths in succession, seeming somehow capable of producing the sounds of instruments and singers alike of popular Halloween songs.

Yards are decorated as thoroughly as the front of stores. Maybe you haven't bothered to decorate, but your neighbor sure has! Fake gravestones are propped up in yards, giant fake spiders in trees, and no matter where you walk, the ground seems covered in thick, rolling fog from machines. Or at least you hope it's coming from machines. Hell, you can't even find it in yourself to be too worried! Everyone around you is having way too good of a time! And God, there is food everywhere! Might as well grab a bite while you're out, huh?

It's tempting to break loose and dance. Jack-O-Lanterns absolutely crowd the streets. There's more than you can even begin to count, and all of them are lit all throughout the night. Even if you accidentally trip over some, they don't seem to catch fire to anything or go out! Some neighbors have camp fires set up with marshmallows to roast, while others have...are those broomsticks? Well that's kinda cool, you guess. Correction: it's really cool since you can actually pick one up and take it for a fly! Make sure to attach a little lamp to the front though because God knows it's dangerous flying at night. The brooms only work if you wear the appropriately provided hats, of course, but you can keep both the broom and hat indefinitely and have a readily available means of flight in Deerington after! Be forewarned though: the brooms are as easily broken as regular brooms and the hats easily blown away in the wind.

TRICK OR TREATS

At any of the events, especially the nighttime partying, you can find any number of the following treats (and their potential side effects):

Donuts (Will make you deliriously happy. Everything is amazing to you. May cause a lot of affection. A lot of affection.)
Candy Apples (You will eagerly tell someone everything you like about them. Talk about a sweet tooth.)
Candy Corn (Will make you extremely sad. Like god, you'll be wondering why you hate yourself so much.)
Pumpkin Spice Lattes (Causes suspicious amounts of obedience and a desire to do what you're told.)
Hot Chocolate (Can provide some minor healing. Best stuff to drink with a common cold!)
Hot or Cold Apple Cider (Nothing will happen. It's just really good.)
Alcoholic Cider (This isn't your grandma's apple cider. This stuff will knock you on your ass. Anyone who drinks this will get wasted regardless of whether or not they are immune to alcohol or even ingest regular food. It only takes one or two before you start to get tipsy, but any more than that and you'll be well on your way to drunk. Please drink responsibly. We don't need any FUIs.)

Character Arrival

You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.

There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.

The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.

If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.

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Exactly as many as you'd think.

[ The donut inspires a bloom of warmth in his gut and down his arms, has the symbiote seeping out to wrap a tendril around his forearm, smaller tendrils branching out like fingers to secure the connection. He takes another sip of the hot chocolate in his other hand before answering, grinning widely, and more than a little self-deprecating. ]

I think most people would call it reckless, but I'll take roguish. I do, yeah, how'd you know?

Wouldn't you like to know?

[ Said cheekily. Not to prey upon Eddie or anything, but you can't tell a guy like Blake you're into solving complicated conundrums and then brashly ask for the answer. Nope, buddy, you're not getting the satisfaction. ]

You work a lot? Like even when you're not workin'? [ Blake waves a hand, already deciding he's right. ] Same thing with me. Bit of an obsessive workaholic type. Makes for a good roommate, right?

Or- No. [ He hesitates, raises an eyebrow. ] What? Girlfriend? [ And then, as he watches Venom acting out, he smirks, but not unkindly, and adds: ] Ex. Recent?

[ Educated guesses, mostly because of the attire, grooming, and Brock's possessive friend, but also a little because John just gets how people work. Not himself, of course, but plenty of others. ]

Let me guess. Detective.

[ It's a decent deflection. ...okay, maybe not the smoothest, but it's the best he's got. ]

Ex-fiancee, actually. Pretty recent, yeah. Got her fired following a story.

[ He looks pretty chagrined about it, but what's done is done. Or something. ]

[ Blake taps his index finger on the tip of his nose, that got it in one shot acknowledgement as he nods to Eddie. He's not really been a proper detective for a couple years, but he likes to think he's always had a knack for it, even before the title. ]

That's really rough, man, sorry to hear it.

[ Eddie seems like a nice enough guy, but Blake's got no trouble imagining a person's career getting in the way of a decent relationship, especially when it's the kind of job that's in the public eye. ]

What d'you like to do to cope? You race? Man, if we had bikes here... [ Hngh. ] That'd be hot.

[ He waves the apology off; yeah, it hurt, but it hurts less now with Venom around, and anyway there is A Plan, as crappy and half-formed as it is. An impulse, mostly.

The second half requires more of a response anyway, even if it's a self-conscious chuckle with a darker, more rumbling one in the back of his mind and a curious mental probing as Venom tries to find context.

WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY 'HOT'. I DON'T THINK MOTORCYCLES ARE PARTICULARLY HIGH-TEMPERATURED UNLESS YOU'RE STICKING YOUR FINGERS IN THE ENGINE. ]

That's not...

[ He sighs, and rubs the back of his neck, trying not to come across as more of a weirdo having this discussion with Venom.

He'd rather not be having this discussion with Venom in public, honestly. ]

I don't think he means literally, buddy.

[ THEN HOW DOES HE...? ...OH. HE MEANS PHYSICALLY STIMULATING. LIKE WHEN-- ]

Stop. Just stop. Yes.

[ YOU'RE BLUSHING. ARE YOU EMBARRASSED? IT'S PERFECTLY NATURAL, EDDIE, ALL SPECIES-- ]

Stop. I'm not having this conversation with you right now, so shut up.

[ A beat, a (meant-to-be) calming breath, then he continues. Trying incredibly hard not to give off any more vibes of embarrassment. ]

Not necessarily race, but a ride's a good way to blow off steam, yeah.

[ John almost wishes he could hear both sides of this conversation because it's intriguing enough only getting bits and pieces, he can only imagine what he's missing. Clearly something about the hotness, although he's not sure what. Perhaps Venom doesn't approve. Perhaps Venom approves more than he should. ]

Oh, you look like you'd be great at blowin' off a little steam.

[ They're doing innuendo, right? No, wait, probably not, he totally just got out of a thing and no. Just no. (But he knows for a fact people who ride bikes have pretty good hip action...) ]

Don't take offense if I think you need a little convincing. It's cute for a little while, I'm sure.

So, what's fun? Dancing? Drinks?

[ The laugh is self-conscious, like he's not quite sure how to take it, but he's still got donut in his system. More as he takes another bite to buy him some time to come up with a response. Venom shifts and twists against skin, something almost encouraging echoed along nerves and through their connection. Venom is curious. Wants to see what this is all about. ]

Hey, you gotta convince, convince away. Right? Haven't really had a whole lot of time with. Everything. But yeah, uh. Dancing, drinks. Movie night. You know, the usual.

Movie night as in popcorn, candy, feet up on the seats? Or as in beers, a blanket, and whatever sounds good?

[ He's not a connoisseur of any kind and often his television would goes days without John bothering. It's a symptom of his upbringing — sharing with dozens of other boys meant no one got to watch what they wanted — but he can be convinced. Usually because it's more about spending time with a person than necessarily enjoying what he was seeing on screen.

Nibbling at the apple, he tries not to feel too much like a predator as he watches Eddie trying to brush it all off. ]

[ The laugh morphs, gives way to an easier, albeit lopsided and still self-conscious, smile. Before, he used to joke that he was a catch, even though deep down he knew better. Now...it's all the old insecurities with the mess of the symbiote piled on top.

WE LIKE HIM, EDDIE. ]

You're only saying that because he's talking about popcorn and candy. Greedy little gremlin.

[ Venom chuckles, practically a purr; it knows better than to assume it's an insult, not with the warm flush from the donut.

YOU LIKE HIM TOO OR ELSE YOU WOULDN'T BE ENCOURAGING HIM. ]

Beers, blanket, and whatever. Absolutely.

[ TOLD YOU. ]

Shut up. We'll talk about it later.

[ Hrngh. John can pick out little things until he's blue in the face, but he's not a mind reader so all he can do is guess what Brock and his "greedy little gremlin" are on about. It's definitely friendly and it's definitely about him, but he can't tell what and that just makes him want to push. ]

Since I doubt that last bit's for me... I hope your friend'll at least tell me what you two talk about. Later.

[ Because he definitely gets the sense Venom overshares. ~~He did not just ask an alien out even if it probably sounds that way and really wouldn't be all that far off from his other pathetically unpracticed pickup lines.~~ ]

What d'you call it? Him? Sorry. [ There are no aliens where he's from! ] It?

Not if it knows what's good for it.

[ All the symbiote does is laugh at him, like it's figured out the punchline of some great cosmic joke.

WHERE IS THE HARM. ANNE ISN'T HERE, AND SHE DOESN'T WANT US RIGHT NOW ANYWAY. WE ARE FREE TO DO WHAT WE LIKE UNTIL SHE CHANGES HER MIND. ]

That doesn't mean we need to tell Blake everything that goes on in our head.

[ NOT EVERYTHING, NO. ]

You're disgusting.

[ And then, quickly, like he can just divert the conversation before Blake the Detective catches on: ]

...it. The symbiote's an it.

No, I mean, does it got a name? 'Cause I'm about to call you the Odd Couple...

[ It's a bit charming, but maybe only because the apple says so. They fight like an old married couple — or like Felix and Oscar, as Blake's noted in his dated reference. He's had that with someone before and he... admittedly, kind of liked it. Bickering is a sport at times. ]

Oh. Uh. Yeah, it calls itself Venom.

[ At least it's affectionate bickering? ]

Venom? Really? Did you— Did you explain what that means here?

[ Seems weird, right? But he had mentioned that whole purpose to do all kinds of bad things and you know what? Blake doesn't want to think about that right now.

He resolutely takes another, final bite and tosses the rest of the apple in the trash. ]

Or is that like when big guys call themselves tiny? Please tell me it's really caring and compassionate and sweet instead... 'cause it seems like it's really pal'd up with you and otherwise that'd make anyone else trying to pal around a little nervous I'd think...

[ It's not really a scoff, or a laugh, but something in between. Because...yeah, he knows how it sounds, and it's not like he can really correct it. ]

It's complicated? It's definitely not sweet and innocent, it literally eats people. But it also cares about me? Like, legitimately. It's saved my life more times than I can count, and we've got an agreement. No eating good people, and no eating people at all while we're here. It'll listen.

[ A beat, then: ]

And anyway. Let you in on a secret? You'll be alright. It likes you.

[ Blake leans in, voice lowering conspiratorially, a thin little smirk on his face. ]

To be fair, I did drug it to get to this point, so I'm not sure how much I qualify as a good person anymore. Let's hope the fondness doesn't wear off, yeah? Otherwise, I'm gonna have a hell of a time convincing myself back into your collective good graces.

'Good's all subjective, I think. Anyway, its definition of what makes it fond of you is a little...arbitrary. So I think if it's decided it likes you, you're okay?

[ HE DRUGGED US? CLEVER. WE DON'T FEEL DRUGGED. WE FEEL GOOD. ]

Yeah I think you're gonna be good.

If I wake up in the middle of the night seeing too many teeth ready to eat my face off, I'll know who to blame, Eddie...

[ Said in a far-too-fond way because what the hell, the guy seems pretty nice even without the drugs. Tolerable, if nothing else, so Blake's not that worried about teasing the guy even after all of this wears off. ]

Now I'd better go before I say much more.

[ He taps Brock's arm with the back of his hand in passing. ]

Next time be a little more suspicious, eh? For both your sake.

He's not gonna eat you, geez.

[ Not that he doesn't understand the concern. Or that he takes it personally.

He nods in farewell to the good-bye. ]

More suspicious. Me. Right. I'l see what I can do. See you around?

Maybe.

[ He works three jobs when there's power and people are acting as consumers, so it would be hard for Eddie to miss him around town, honestly. But Blake's making no promises because he thinks it might be a bit more interesting for the other guy to wonder. ]

See you later, boys.

[ It's tossed out with a wave of his hand over his shoulder as he heads off to make trouble elsewhere while under the influence. ]

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