NOVEMBER 2018 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to November's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: WONDERLAND.

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.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the nature of November's plot, character arrival prompts are unavailable in this month's Test Drive. Throughout each prompt, all characters will very clearly feel as though they are still stuck in a dream, and are working on a way to get out.

CW: Body horror (growth/shrinking), implied drugging, violence via swords and bludgeoning

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

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Prompt Three
Prompt Four
Master Navigation

BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING

The hallway you've ended up in is long and narrow, almost seeming to twirl in on itself as it spirals a long way out of sight. There's no means to go back the way you came - it's walled off now, somehow, though you're not sure when or how it happened - and so you realize if you want to leave, the best thing to do is just move forward. You walk along the checkered marble floor, the click and the clack of your shoes echoing off the twisted walls, the only sound in the whole place as you move.

You're almost convinced you're never going to find the end of this hallway, until you start to see a pinprick of light in the distance. Maybe you even pick up your pace when you start to see it. Regardless of whether you keep at an even walk or you sprint towards the light, you eventually get to the end of the hall. The ceiling has stretched up way out of sight at some point, but there's still a light shining down from somewhere, casting a large spotlight on the only two objects in the room: a fairly large dollhouse on the floor and a table with a cup filled with what looks like punch and a plate with a piece of cake on it. There's a sign, neatly handwritten in black ink: EAT ME! DRINK ME! At least it's to the point.

You can choose to ignore that sign, but as you observe the dollhouse, or the hall you're trapped in, there are two things that might persuade you into realizing it's your only option: 1) There's no door at the end of this hall in order to let you out of it, which means you're still as trapped as you were at the start. And 2) There is a door on the front of the dollhouse and if you squint, you can see a tiiiiiiny key stuck in the lock.

This all might be looking familiar to a fortunate few.

Eventually, you'll have to cave, or end up sitting there forever. Whether you choose the cake or the cup, the moment you swallow, you'll start to feel an uncomfortable ache through your whole body. Soon you can start to feel your bones caving in on themselves, your muscles tightening and shrinking, and your whole body might even start to feel like it's about to implode. It's agonizing - worthy of a scream or two as the magic works through your body, and you see the world starting to become bigger and bigger...

And all at once, it stops. The dollhouse now looks as big as a real house and that key? Is just the right size for your hand. You turn the key, push open the door, and enter into a grand foyer, brightly lit and covered in flowers and ribbons. On top of that? You're no longer alone - someone is in the room with you and they seem to have been stuck waiting for someone to help them explore the house.

TAKE SOME MORE TEA

Sometimes dreams just don't make sense. And this room seems to be the one that sticks out the most. You can see the ceiling, decorated with whimsical paintings and colorful chandeliers, and you can see the four walls, but the ground is definitely grass and dirt, and somehow there seems to be a fresh breeze blowing through, bringing in the crisp air of fall and the scent of burning leaves. Strange, since the grass is so green, strikingly so when compared to the white linen of the table cloth covering the expansive table in the center of the room, and there's not a fallen leaf to be seen anywhere.

There is, however, several place settings, several tea cups, and several tea pots. Your favorite treats are stacked high on the plates in front of you, smelling so fresh your mouth is watering already. It seems like a feast just for the two of you and your stomachs are starting to growl. Maybe sitting for a little while to rest and eat wouldn't be so bad, right? You notice name cards in front of each place setting and eventually, you find your own names, neatly printed in bold lettering. It's best to take a seat if you're going to dig in.

As you start to pile food onto your plate, you notice there's a card between the two of you, with a fun riddle printed out for you to solve:

I'm as small as an ant,
as big as a whale.
I'll approach like a breeze,
but can come like a gale.
By some I get hit,
but all have shown fear.
I'll dance to the music,
though I can't hear.
Of names I have many,
Of names I have one.
I'm as slow as a snail,
but from me you can't run.
What am I?

It might seem like fun and games, but you'll find that as you eat, your mind is getting a little foggier, and the words are blurry and harder to understand. You think it's time to go and you get up from your seat to do just that, but the door you came through - the only door in the room - is locked.

Chances are that riddle is your only means to get that door open. When you finally do solve it, a bright light will appear, and you'll need to stand in front of it, lining your shadow up with the handle, and miming turning it in order to get the door to open itself.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

The strategists might enjoy this next room when they open it; in front of you is a giant chessboard, one half of the board all set up and ready to go, and the other half of the board just missing a few pieces in order to get started. The Knight seems to have gone off to do his own thing and, much to the dismay of those around them, the Queen seems to have made herself scarce as well. But luckily for you both, there's two of you! And you seem to be just in time to take the place of these missing players.

Once you each settle into your chosen square, the game begins. It seems pretty tame at first - pawns moving to various pawns, and maybe one of you is taking charge and shouting for where each piece should go next. Best left to the Knight, likely, considering the strategy needed for that particular piece. And all is well and good and fun - until the first piece gets taken. Or, rather, not so much taken, as suddenly smashed to pieces by their opposition.

It doesn't take long to realize the same will happen to you if either of you are captured by your enemies. You have to rethink now, figure out the best strategy to not only win the game, but to make sure that neither of you ends up dead on the way there. You see the other Knight has a giant sword, one that seems to slice through the marble pieces around you like they're made of butter.

If you fail, you can try and dodge the blast, and you could also choose to run from the start; but there's a high chance the pieces will begin to revolt and come after you. You can either play the game or try and fight your way to the door. An interesting dilemma, considering that you're unarmed.

I AM NOT MYSELF, YOU SEE

This dollhouse is filled with tons of rooms, all of which seem to have their own unique flair, and sometimes they seem to be very much filled with the uniqueness of you. As you and your companion explore each door, you eventually start to open ones that seem to contain pieces of them or pieces of you put onto display. How is that possible? Well, you're not quite sure, but it certainly seems like they've managed.

Some of these rooms may hold memories playing out like strangely made stop-animation films; clay versions of yourself and anyone who was in the memory with you, mocked up to put your deepest secrets or your happiest moments into a visual reality. Other rooms may hold objects that relate to your very being - either physical items from home that were exceptionally important to you or metaphorical symbols of who you are as a person. A heart for loving, a stuffed lion (or a real lion, though you'd better hope it's friendly) for courage... All those stereotypical links people have created to show who they are over time.

There's no choice but to keep searching these rooms, though, learning more about yourself and your companion than either of you probably ever wanted to know - because eventually, one of those rooms? Is your ticket out. You'll know when you see it. A giant mirror will be leaning against the wall, the image fuzzy and rippled and not at all the reflection of the room around it. If you put your hand to it, it will sink right through. So long as you don't shy away in fear, you've finally found the end to this dream - or nightmare, as the case may be for some.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey. Diarmuid.

[ Majima touched a hand to the kid's shoulder. The scene, even with real people and real blood, was plenty gruesome, but Diarmuid had presumably lived through it already. No need for a replay, right? ]

Let's get outta here. There's nothin' for either of us.

[ They were just echoes that Deerington was throwing back in their faces, purposefully or no -- and Majima couldn't see how watching this was going to benefit either of them other than making sure they both had a fresh supply of nightmares for the evening. ]

[Diarmuid stares still for a short time, watching with slow, horrible grief at the sight of a little monk doll running to save another — Rua, that's Rua, trying to save Brother Ciarán and the relic — only to be impaled in the side of the head with a sharp bladed weapon. The figure crumples.

Diarmuid's figure runs to try and stop the man opening the box on the wagon. He grabs the man's arm, pulls at him. "Don't touch it! Don't touch it!" An elbow slams into his face, knocks him painfully to the floor with a cry.

Diarmuid steps away with Majima, hands clasping the front of his hooded cowl.]

... I — yes. There's nothing here to help us.

We should... we need to find safe passage from this house.

Edited 2018-11-17 01:30 (UTC)

Yeah.

[ He didn't know any of the people in the doll-reenacted memory, save for Diarmuid himself. Hell, he'd hurt plenty of people in his own right, too, only even Majima drew the line at attacking -- killing -- civilians.

He opened the door to the next room, and stepped through with Diarmuid. The door shut behind them with surprisingly loud finality, cutting off the distant pleas.

What waited for them in the next room was a small one-bedroom apartment, dark except for the moonlight filtering in from the window across from the door from which they'd entered. It mostly consisted of a sitting area, with a kitchenette off to the side. Stark, almost entirely without furniture except for a small, low table with no chairs and a portable radio propped on top.

Better than what they'd come from, though at the sight of it Majima felt a familiar tightening in his chest -- the same, familiar feeling of claustrophobia, of being trapped. He tried to force himself to focus on the present. ]

...you okay?

[He feels very sickly, his stomach twisting up in knots, and his face has drained of some color as he steps out of the room and into the forgiving silence of the next. His hands shake as he twists them in the fabric of his robes. Until they hurt. It's better than letting himself fall far into this blooming panic. He, too, feels trapped — but by memories that may chase him, than by the room itself.

He has tried to be strong, but right now, he just—]

I want to go home.

[It's a brittle and sad little comment, and he feels regretful the moment it pathetically leaves his lips; he was supposed to have become stronger, more rigid, more capable of facing the real and dangerous world. But Cathal, Rua, and Ciarán are dead. His friend the Mute likely is, too. He's far from home, and likely a new enemy of the Normans — the Church.

He wants the monastery.]

[ Majima said nothing at first. It was only the guarded expression that slipped from his face as he regarded Diarmuid, replaced by something like sorrow. ]

I'm sorry.

[ It wasn't as though the words helped either of them. Nor was it his intention to try and apologize for something that had happened a world apart and hundreds of years distant. The world was a brutal one, and it didn't seem to much care whether its victim was a monster or a curly-headed kid who missed his home. ]

[ Even still, it was hard to watch Diarmuid's hands twisting and grasping in his clothes and not feel sick at heart. He looked pale to Majima -- thin, more in spirit than in body. ]

If there's a way here, there's gotta be a way back.

[ There was something of a rough edge to his voice, and that was not the fault of the cigarettes he'd apparently left back at the house. He put out a hand, palm up. ]

Don't give up, okay? We'll find it.

[He pinches his eyes closed, standing still and stiff as a statue for a moment. He listens to the muffled noise in the other room, too difficult to make out now, and then steadies his breaths. Then he pulls on his satchel's strap and straightens up, and when his eyes flutter back open, he seems to have steeled his resolve.]

I'm sorry, too.

[For losing faith, for swaying under the weight of it all.

He will do better. He will try harder. If he cannot, then what is truly his worth in this place?]

... We'll find it. Let's find the way out.

I'll be alright.

[ Majima nodded, then turned his gaze back to the room at hand -- the layout seemed about the same as his old digs back in Sotenbori, which meant that around the corner would be the way forward.

Already, the dollhouse was proving to be much extensive from the inside than he would have ever imagined from the outside, but he had a feeling that although they might have started in a mere miniature, they were there no longer. ]

Let's give this another try, then.

[ And if the next room proved wrong again? Another after that... ]