DECEMBER 2018 TEST DRIVE

[sodder]

DECEMBER 2018 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to December’s Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: WINTER 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: Possible drowning, deformed monsters, body horror, violence

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

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

YOUR HANDS ARE JUST LIKE ICE

Just here those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too... There's plenty of sounds of obnoxious carols that seem to be playing from speakers that are set up around the town. In shops, at restaurants, even on street corners it can be a little hard to escape them. It's not just the music that's gotten festive either; covered in a thick blanket of snow, Deerington has decked it's halls and prepared for a cheerful December. There are garlands around lamp posts, wreaths hanging from almost every door. There's even a Christmas tree in the center of the now frozen pond! People have pulled on their ice skates and children play in the snow by the banks, throwing snow balls and building snowmen, making snow angels and shaking the flakes off of their hair when they get up.

It might be fun to join in. There's a booth to rent skates if you want to give it a go, even, and hot cocoa is being sold for cheap at another stand right beside if you need to warm your hands. It could, all in all, be a very relaxing afternoon if all goes well.

As you skate around the tree, though, eventually things may start to seem off. The crowds start to disperse too quickly and the sound around you seems to muffle itself. You look around and eventually you notice you're out on the lake all by yourself now. You can't see the children - hell, you can't even really see the shoreline. You try to skate back the way you came and a gust of wind seems to blow you backwards.

That's when you see a lady with long dark hair. Her skin looks pale as the snow around you, her lips such a cold blue that you think maybe she's caught hypothermia from being out here too long. She looks lost, bewildered, afraid, and as unsure as you probably feel. She reaches out to you, eyes begging for help, though she doesn't try to move closer.

If you skate towards her, if you take her hand, you'll feel a rush of cold through your entire body. You'll shiver from head to toe, your throat will dry so quickly and feel like it's on fire, and you're sure you can't feel your fingers anymore. Yet the look on the woman's face is one of thanks, one of relief that someone has finally come to guide her away from here. The snow will rush around you both, enveloping you, and when it settles... You'll be right back by the Christmas tree and the same people will still skate around you. You're stuck with a terrible cold all of a sudden, but hey... It could be worse.

If you chose to run away, a shriek of sorrow will pierce through the air, cracking the ice underneath her, cracks that grow quickly and head straight for you. If you're not careful, you might fall in, and... well, unless someone saw and was able to come rescue you, you'll have to struggle to find the hole you fell through. No matter how hard you pound at the ice, it just won't break. If you manage to dodge the cracks, the lady will rush at you, trying to grab for you, and you'll notice that her teeth and nails are sharp as razors. You were going to abandon her, just like the rest, and now she wants to make you suffer.

Luckily, it seems that you're not in this alone. Someone is on the ice with you, someone who can maybe help you fight. There's not much that can kill her, but if you've got some source of heat, or are quick enough on your feet, you might be able to get to the woods at the edge of the pond before she can grab you. She's bound to the ice and the trees are going to be your only source of refuge. The moment you're on land, she'll shriek once more, but it will die off in a slow echo, leaving you and your fighting partner alone in deafening silence.

TO WATCH HIS WOODS FILL UP WITH SNOW

If you decide to explore the woods for any reason, you'll find it eerily quiet. Maybe it's that chill snowfall that's muffled the sounds of wildlife, or the fact that everything in winter dies off or curls itself up in some cave to sleep the season away. Regardless, the only sound you hear is the crunch of your steps against the snow as you follow the path with whoever might have come along beside you.

The trees overlap, making the sunlight only come in tiny patches, shimmering against the ice particles, and blinding to look at. There's something that's beautifully peaceful about the walk you're taking, and yet you can't help but get the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that something isn't quite right. That feeling fills you up inside, puts you so on edge you might even show small ticks like picking at your nails or pulling at your hair or scratching at your skin.

When that feeling becomes overwhelming and you're not sure if you're going to burst, you finally hear something else; the sound of hoofs against the ground, smashing against the snow and clearly galloping, getting louder and louder showing whatever it is is coming in your direction.

A large creature bursts into view a moment later. A deformed horse with an equally deformed man growing out the middle, like it's riding itself. It lets out a terrifying roar and no matter what weapons you have on you, no matter what powers you possess, nothing seems to slow it down or even injure it. You can forget about killing it. All you can do is hope to outrun it - and you've got to be fast. You can dodge around trees and use the fallen ones for leverage, the giant boulders to maybe block the creatures path. Splitting up might confuse it enough, but it would also mean that you would have to outrun it on your own after.

Eventually, if you manage to get the fresh water river, the moment you cross over it, the beast will rear, screeching in frustration, and pacing by the riverbed but never crossing. It'll stomp its hooves and use its arms to throw things across the way at you, but it seems you've found the only weakness that the monster possesses. It eventually rides off in a huff, leaving you in that same peaceful quiet. There aren't even any prints in the snow for proof of what you just saw. Maybe it was all in your head.

But it might be best to stick by the river on your walk out. Just in case.

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.

Comments

Ellie | The Last of Us | OTA

[pathofthewrong]

Arrival

[At first she thought the nightmare of the deer was like every other vivid nightmare she's had in her life; that the buck she killed in the woods and gave to David had weighed on her subconscious enough to manifest in her dreams. Which was stupid because she's killed plenty of humans before. But this dream felt different from the human dreams, and when she darts awake to the sound of caroling in a room she didn't go to sleep in, she's immediately on alert. Did they follow her back to the house and somehow take her in the night?

She tip-toes her way through the house, noticing that it's practically brand new and not falling apart at all, picking up this and that and examining it curiously. And she finds her basket in the kitchen, reads the letter from Sodder and explores all the stuff inside it.]

Pshh, is this some sort of joke? [But despite her skepticism, she pockets the I.D., the Fluid and the letter and pulls her fully loaded pistol and backpack out of there.] Sweet.

[Then she stashes the basket somewhere in the kitchen and exits the house without eating any of the food, gun in both hands but held down at her waist. What greets her outside is something she not only did not expect, but has never seen before in her life. Festive and active streets, clean streets with caroling and speakers playing christmas music.]

What the fuck is this? [She says in a soft and incredulous voice. Whoever approaches her first will immediately get the pistol aimed at them.] Stop right there. Tell me what all this really is and maybe I won't blow your kneecaps off.

Your Hands Are Just Like Ice

i. [Ellie's never seen other kids playing so carefree in the snow, or had hot chocolate before. So needless to say she's absolutely dazzled by everything about what's happening around the pond. Unfortunately, she has no money on her so she's not sure what to do about acquiring hot chocolate or renting skates. She can be found attempting to talk to the local kids with the strange pastel hair and clothes, but they all ignore her like she's a leper.]

Pft, suit yourselves, I guess. [She grumbles and then entertains herself by making some snowballs and throwing it at the kids that just shunned her with precise and hard accuracy. When she nails a boy with weird blue hair right in the face and he runs away she laughs loudly.] Aw man, that was great.

[She'll turn to the nearest person who doesn't look like a local weirdo.] Did you see the look on his face? Classic.

ii. [Later, she'll be lurking around the hot chocolate stand and the skate rental, looking like she's trying to figure out how to acquire what she wants without much hassle. She's not above stealing, but she would also like to not cause a fuss and get into trouble around here over something so stupid. Where she's from, stuff isn't exactly paid for with money, though she does no what money is, she's just never had a use for it... or seen it for that matter.]

Man, I wonder what the exchange rate on ration cards is around here... [It's said mostly to herself. Okay, entirely to herself sine talking to herself is a thing she does regularly. If anyone wants to lend a girl a hand in the money department and get her a hot chocolate, she'd love them forever!]

iii. [Ellie has never been skating in her life, but she's always wanted to try. So whenever she gets her hands on some ice skates and laces them up on her feet, she can be found sliding and falling all over the place on the pond. She can also be heard cursing up a storm as she goes along, and the local adults even cover their kids' ears from time to time.]

Fucking dammit, how do people drift around like- like creepy-ass fairies on these things? [An exaggerated sigh of frustration is let out and she'll flop down on her back on the ice with her hands out. Anyone want to volunteer as instructor?]

iv. [Whenever she gets a better hang of the whole ice skating thing, Ellie will find herself facing down the strange woman with long dark hair. And she looks completely unnatural despite how desperate her face is. So first, she hesitates when the woman reaches out. But she's dealt with unnatural and it never means anything friendly towards her, so she runs. Or well, she runs as well as she can on skates she only just learned how to use.

And because, she is so new to skating, she doesn't manage to dodge the cracks and falls right into the icy water. And she can't swim either. Help!]

WILDCARD

(Want to do something else with Ellie? Toss me your own prompt or hit me up at spypigeon for plotting!)

your hands are just like ice, ii.

[concurrency]

[ If Ellie didn't want to be heard, she should've spoken a little softer, because Neo's making his way towards the line when he catches her.

His reply is eloquent. ] Huh? [ ...but not helpful in the least. ]

What's a ration card? [ The question comes with a raise of his brow. ] Didn't you get one of those licenses?

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie looks up at the man who's just approached her, and while she's good at reading people and can gather he means her no harm, there remains a measure of guardedness to her body language.]

You mean that creepy card with a picture of me sleeping? The letter said it could buy stuff but I thought it was total bullshit. [Then she pulls out a ration card from her world out of her backpack.] And this is a ration card. Completely useless here, but it was in my bag, so...

[She hands it to him to examine, it looks similar to one you'd find in old wartime. Basically a pass for people to get food from a military organization called FEDRA.]

your hands are just like ice, iii leading into iv.

[danzan]

I think the word is "practise".

[ Logan's not on the ice himself, but he is sitting at the edge of the lake close to where Ellie'd fallen. He's got a cup of hot cocoa he's been sipping from periodically and is dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, brown boots in the snow. Mostly he'd come to check if the ice was thick enough for hockey-- Jean-Paul would like that, he thinks-- but decided, what the hell, he could nurse a hot drink before he did what he had to do.

He takes a bigger gulp. ] If you wanna get up, you get on both knees. Straight back. Then you push up on one foot and go slow 'till you can get on the other one.

[pathofthewrong]

[She turns her head to look over at the man who just spoke up, then sits up and watches him sip his drink with a bit of a guarded expression, but no lack of curiosity. Something about him reminds her of Joel... it's probably just the flannel.]

So what? You a figure skater or something? [She asks as she starts to try and get up as per his instructions. Shakily, she manages to get to her feet, but once she's up, she loses her balance once more, arms windmilling around as she lands back on her butt.] Woah- oof!

Arrival

[missingache]

Huh?

[Blow his kneecaps off? Roxas looks down at his legs before turning his attention to the girl with what looks like a gun in her hands. He's been shot at before, but this seems like it won't be anything like those times. This girl wasn't a Nobody or a Heartless...]

I dunno. I just woke up here a little while ago... I'm looking for answers, too.

[pathofthewrong]

[Once she sees that the person she's aiming a gun at looks about as young as herself at least, she lowers it and looks at him apologetically. Her thumb clicks the safety on and she holds the gun down at her side in one hand instead, but she still has her guard up.]

Oh uh, sorry about that. [She studies him, and then awkwardly gestures with her free hand to herself to make introductions.] I'm Ellie.

iv

[tinygreen]

[Lucky for her, Pidge does know now to swim. Having decided to run from the ice woman herself, she managed to avoid the ice cracking, only top stop before she's managed to escape when she hears someone going into the water.]

Hang on!

[She highly doubts the girl can hear her as Pidge pulls out her bayard and goes about hacking a bit at the ice to enlarge the hole some. Then, she reaches into the water and makes a grab for the non-swimmer. She's really hoping not to have to go into the water unless necessary just in case there's an undertow that would keep them both from getting out.]

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie's been in a near drowning situation before, so the moment a hand reaches down to help her, she's grabbing for it.

Once she's pulled out of the water and onto the ice, she gasps and sputters, coughing up some of the water she'd taken in in her shock at suddenly falling into icy water. Before she's even finished catching her breath, she's scrambling to try and find her footing and pulling out her little pistol to aim in the direction of where she remembers the pale woman being before.]

Where- [cough.] where is she?!

Arrival

[onerthes]

[Active, vibrant streets full of lively people who had, until this moment, not been visible to Vira-Lorr. She had only yesterday come back from the woods and the camp out there. The town was alive with activity and looked very 'wintery' in its festivities. It was all so strange to see people happy and bounding about in a town that had, only yesterday, been nothing but a facsimile.

The sound of a voice behind her, demanding answers, caught her by surprise and she turned. And now, everything was going to be just a little bit more surreal for the poor little survivalist because this local had not two, but three eyes and looked like someone out of a fantasy novel cover. Odd, though, that someone who openly wore a rapier didn't even blink at a handgun pointed at her. She almost smiled.]

You can put that away. I will tell you what I can, but it is not much I fear. I am still disoriented, as you are.

[pathofthewrong]

[The moment she sees that this woman has a third eye on her forehead, she thinks maybe it's just pained on and it's some weird fetish she's got. But then on closer inspection, she sees that it's actually real and all she can really do is gape, but she doesn't lower the gun much. It shifts down a few inches but that's mostly from her disbelief.]

What the.. how the hell do you have three eyes?

IV

[legendaring]

[Well...this day took an unexpected turn for the worse. One minute Lara had been skating, the next minute things had gotten strange, calling back all sorts of bad memories that had left her shaken. When she'd come to, everything was cracking, spinning, and falling apart. Leaping into action, with some skating skill at least, Lara began trying to get away, making a beeline for the shore.

And out of the corner of her eye she spots a human shape drop into the frigid water and her instincts kick in. She pivots and slams a skate blade down into the ice at an angle, rocketing herself forward quickly enough that she tips forward and crashes down belly-first onto the ice. Skittering along, momentum carrying her, she reaches the edge of the crack Ellie had fallen into and snaps a hand down to grab a flailing hand.]

God...fuck...get out!

[Swearing, practically growling, strong arms straining with effort she heaves upward, trying to deadlift Ellie out of the water and trying to ignore the rapidly oncoming yuki-onna (or whatever the hell that thing is).]

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie grabs hold of the hand that she brushes fingers with immediately and though she may not be able to keep herself afloat, she knows enough to start madly kicking her feet in the water. When her head pops up, she gasps and coughs, but she doesn't miss a beat in immediately trying to get up onto the ice and to a safer more defensible position.

There's no time for thank yous, since the ghost lady is charging them and nearly upon them. She's gotten to her knees next to Lara and pulled out her pistol from the back of her belt.]

Stay the fuck away! [And she open fires at it, but it doesn't seem to do anything.]

arrival

[tagartist]

[ Chloe wasn't usually the kind of person who approached obvious newbies, but this was different. Particularly because she recognized that face, even if she knew that she probably wasn't going to remember her in turn. Maybe they hadn't exactly been besties, but Ellie had been cool when they'd shared the studio apartment when she'd first arrived, and she didn't want her to be wandering around on her own when who the fuck knew what was in store in Deerington on a regular basis.

Luckily, it's not the first time she's had a gun pulled on her (or the second, or...), but none of those times really ended well and so it makes her stop in her tracks fairly quickly, holding her hands up just as fast. She tries to ignore the way it makes her heart practically stick in her throat, clearing it roughly so she can actually speak. ]

A maybe doesn't sound like a real even exchange, y'know.

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie hesitates a moment when she sees that Chloe's raised her hands and looks thoroughly intimidated. She also doesn't look to be much older than her or seem to have any weapons. So slowly, she lowers her gun down to waist high so that it's pointing at the ground between them instead. Still guarded, but open to talking without hostility.]

... No, I guess it doesn't. [She shifts her stance a bit and looks down the street uneasily.] Look, my friend's really badly hurt and I need to get back to him. So... will you please tell me what's actually going on and how I can do that?

iii.

[barmherzig]

[ Swearing has never had an impact on Angela in a negative way. She's not even above swearing up a storm herself, though usually it comes out in a string of German curse words. Either way when she hears the younger girl swearing it doesn't even phase her.

She does take notice though and with ease makes her way over towards her. The Swiss Alps provided lots of chances to learn to ice skate and though she wasn't the best at it she's not the worst either. The blonde woman looks down at her and offers a hand and a warm smile. ]

It takes a little getting used to. Is it your first time?

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie is a little bit surprised to see someone come over and look at her that kindly. Mostly just because she's not used to it. Joel is great, but he's rough around the edges, and honestly the same can be said for everyone she's ever met and known. And she's a good judge of character, so she can tell that Angela's genuine, and after a moment to take in her kindness, she gives a small smile back and accepts her hand.]

Yeah, ice skating wasn't really a necessary skill to learn where I'm from.

arrival

[jawdrop]

[ To her credit, Jess immediately raises her hands to show she's unarmed. She has no idea where she is or why, and she definitely doesn't have a clue what this girl's problem is. Uh, beyond the obvious. ]

Um, excuse me?

[ ... Right, probably not the best way to address the person pointing a gun at you. But. ]

Do I seriously look like I know what's going on right now? I'm just as lost as you are, honey. There's, like, totally no need to go all Rambo or whatever.

[ Does Rambo shoot people's kneecaps? She doesn't know. ]

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie has never met anyone who looks and sounds like Jess in her life. So her reaction leaves her a little lost for words for a second.

But she does lower her gun after a moment of assessing her and realizing she's not a threat.]

Uh, who the fuck's Rambo? And don't call me honey. [She scrunches her nose and looks Jess up and down critically, then rolls her eyes.] But you're right, you're the very picture of clueless, I dunno what I was thinking.

[Her voice is dripping with dry sarcasm.]

Arrival

[almightythirst]

Whoa there-!

[ Jesse had just been wandering around, nursing a mug of hot chocolate and minding his own business. He's not a huge fan of the snow, but even an old gunslinger like him can appreciate a little festive winter cheer from time to time.

Figures that Deerington's version of 'festive' is a kid pointing a firearm right at his torso. And threatening his kneecaps. Brutal.

He puts his hands up, the mug of cocoa still clutched in one. With his arms up, it lifts the serape he wears up enough to show that he too has a firearm. It's in a holster at his hip, however. Where it should be. ]

Hoo-boy, you're a lively one. Let me guess: new arrival?

[pathofthewrong]

[Ellie frowns at his weapon, but doesn't address it right away, his hands are up and she's got her finger on the trigger if he decides to try and grab it. His attitude doesn't sit well with her, though.]

Look, partner- [Mocking his cowboy aesthetic.] I'm not fucking around, okay? I've got a hurt friend and no time to mess with some weird cult town that decided to kidnap me in my sleep. So yeah, I'll show you how lively I can be if you don't tell me with the fuck is really going on and where the exit is.

[All the festive decorations, music and strangely clean and new-looking buildings is her idea of a twilight zone cult town. Everyone's too happy and unconcerned here and like hell she believes that letter when it came with a picture of her sleeping and some blood on it.]

arrival

[fayzedandconfused]

[ It's just another kid threatening her, a girl about her own age, but kids can be as dangerous—more—than any adult. Brianna knows this as well as anyone. Maybe before the FAYZ she would've sympathized with this girl, stopped to ask questions, said "Hold up, I'm new here too." Now she moves without even thinking, zipping in a superhuman blur so that she's behind the new arrival and her machete—as clean as she could keep it in the FAYZ, a familiar weight in her hand—is gripped tightly and held at an easy angle to chop through the back of the other girl's legs. She holds it there, steady, watching her own breath puff out in a cloud. She doesn't want to do this, not if she doesn't have to. ]

No, you stop, or I'll chop your legs off. [ Looks like it's gonna be a standoff, pardner. ]

[pathofthewrong]

[A sharp intake of breath is all she manages in the time it takes for the other girl to zoom around and hold a machete to her legs. After a moment of stunned silence to take in the fact that this girl has super human abilities, she slowly moves her hands apart, finger off the trigger and gun held away at her side.]

Alright! Alright... [Like fuck she's going to have a stand-off with someone who just zipped behind her in a flash, she's not an idiot.] You gonna move your machete or what? With moves like that you had the upper hand already, you know.

Hands like ice I

[shuttersense]

I saw.

[Rei noticed the look on her face easily enough, and she could...well, tell that Ellie was not having a great time. She had noticed that she had tried to make friends, but well...it was difficult with townsfolk.

She wasn't completely disapproving, but she wasn't approving either. Instead, she shook her head slightly, a slight smile on her lips.]

It's not just you, if it helps. They react to all of us this way. We're sleepers.

drops another thread on your pile, also ii!!!

[killcounting]

<sub>[Zombies hate the cold, and the last he remembers of life outside Deerington's clutches, he and his group had trekked north to colder climes with the sole purpose of taking advantage of that. Cold weather comes with a positive connotation: safety, of a sort.

What better time to join in on the lurking and people watch? Standing on shore, he observes the kid with the ponytail carpet bombing the natives with snowballs a little ways down the pond and feels a marksman's admiration to see it--she has a good arm.

The crowd ebbs and flows, obscuring her from view, and for a while he occupies himself watching the skaters mill about the picture perfect tree in the pond. That is until he passes by the hot chocolate stand and sees the same girl again, hovering like a seagull waiting for crumbs.]</sub>

What are you up to?

_{[He could probably make an educated guess, and so his tone comes out a little amused.]}