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soddersays2019-03-30 11:39 pm
sodder) wrote in soddersays2019-03-30 11:39 pm
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APRIL 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
APRIL 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to April’s Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: SPRING 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: Violent urges, violent furries, hallucinations, paranoia.
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!
SPRING TIME'S FAVORITE TROPE
Despite the slightest of chills still lingering in the air, Deerington's spring seems to pop up all at once. It'd be easy to assume every flower and every tree has gone into bloom overnight! Along with all the beautiful foliage, there's another wonderful thing about all the new flowers; pollen. And it's everywhere.The pollen settles on top of every car, every road, sticks to every screen; a thin layer of yellow that gets in your eyes and fills your lungs. Hopefully you're not allergic. No matter what, there will be one interesting side effect you may end up exposing yourself to. Those who spend too much time outside may find they suddenly have the urge to cuddle, to be close to another person, and to maybe even fall in love, even if you normally wouldn't be interested in any of it. It may be with a complete stranger or it may be with someone who you've known a long time. Regardless, whoever is on your mind will end up becoming like your new obsession.
If the person is also interested in you, you're in luck! Get in your snuggle sessions (or more, you crazy animal). If they don't return your feelings, though... You'll find yourself not handling the rejection very well. The obsessive thoughts will come even worse, turning troublesome quickly, and you'll find your head filed with violent urges. You can take them out on the person who rejected you or on a complete stranger, or you can do your best to fight them off entirely.
All the urges, positive and negative, will go away once you get covered in water, either through a shower or jumping in the lake.
GAZING AT THE PURPLES AND PINKS
The only place that doesn't seem to be covered in pollen for whatever reason is the Spring Festival at the Staggering Heights Theme Park. The usual $20 entrance fee is waived for the day and everyone is encouraged to come have fun on the rides, listen to live music, and grab a partner to dance if you feel like it! Special foods on top of the usual carnival fair can be found around the park; lavender and maple ice cream, maple cotton candy, lavender sorbet, and maple candies. At first, it will seem like none of these foods have any ill effects. After about half an hour, however, anyone who had any of these special desserts will start to see and hear things. It will start off mild - you may think you hear someone walking behind you or you'll be sure you saw someone from home out of the corner of your eye. As time goes on, they'll become more heavily intense. You'll become actively convinced someone is out to get you, even turning on friends who you are sure are part of some elaborate plan to bring you some sort of harm. You'll begin to see enemies from home - or friends who are now acting like enemies, even if you've never done them any harm. You'll feel more on edge, ready to defend yourself at any cost, and it will be particularly hard to calm you down when you're not trusting anyone to get near you. Effects from the desserts will disappear after three to four hours - or if you get a slice of freshly baked bread from one of the vendors.
The usual 9 PM closing time seems to have been extended until midnight, but people may still find that the familiar creepy elements start to sneak their way in even with the park open. The rabbit mascots are still following you with their eyes, and the closer it gets to midnight, the more obvious it gets. By the time it hits 11 PM, the rabbits will actually pull themselves up from their seated positions and start to follow you around the park. Some of them have weapons in their hands - golf clubs, steal pipes, and knives seem to be a favorite. If you get out of the park, they won't follow beyond the edges. If you try to stand your ground, however, they will attack. If you knock off the head, the mascot will crumple to the ground; and you'll find out that they're still completely empty.
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.
no subject
Call the girl practical. ]
I'd say he's more of a Dark Arts Professor type, but — [ Guess who binged some wizard movies in recent memory but. He's right. The sudden talk of his adventures does make her perk a brow. How did he have time for this among the brewing Civil War between Stark and Rogers?
Felicia tenses up a bit when he mentions time and that was when she pulls away suddenly. There's a knot twisting in her chest at the mere suggestion — like she fell too easy for someone's trap. He didn't mean it, she figures, but that... was a heavy assumption. ] How do you figure that one..? You — You don't just think someone's not who you think they are.
[ Did she do something? Did he realize something? There's a bit of vulnerability washed over her face, like the closest thing she had to someone on her side was tugged away. ]
no subject
Or that he is, but she isn't supposed to know because he's taken the memory away from her. She is going to get so mad at him. ]
You don't remember who I am under the mask back home, but you recognized Peter Parker right away.
It's been a while since I could talk to you like this, actually.
no subject
[ It's as if she felt alone again. The words he's saying don't make sense. She recalls so many years of their back and forth. His stubbornness, her craziness and anger. ]
I just...helped you find Aunt May... [ Did that even make sense? Defensively, her arms cross and there's an awkwardness hanging in the air. ] What happened, Peter?
no subject
[ He runs his hands through his hair, thinking over how to explain this. He doesn't regret what he did, but facing Felicia now feels even worse than facing Johnny when he realized he forgot who he was.
It feels worse because Felicia doesn't have a family to count on, and because she was the first person he unmasked for. He doesn't regret what he did - he had to. But wow if it doesn't feel terrible right now. ]
If I tell you the full story I think there's a 77% chance you're going to want to strangle me. So I need you to promise to bring that down to a 40%.
no subject
She's cool.
She's cool.
She has this. No biggie, right? It's still Peter. A.. time displaced Peter, but still Peter. For now, she's gathering the context clues that it wasn't just some extraction and drop job — however they got here... it was more involved than that. Time, space, ughhhh magical bullshit.
But, the way he said it. That's what makes those gorgeous green eyes twitch. Brows furrow and nose scrunch. ]
65% is the best I can do.
[ That's all she says. ]
no subject
[ Because considering that's Felicia we're talking about, it's already incredibly generous. He's finding himself staring at her eyes for a good half second - catching himself thinking that wow, she is beautiful. But that's not a realization — that's a fact, and he should be used to it by now.
Focus, Peter. This isn't the time to think about all that. ]
A lot of stuff happened. From the point in time you've just mentioned ... Do you remember what happened with the super hero registration act? With Tony and Steve?
no subject
Felicia was on pins and needles, a newly found worry filling her mind soon after. If she was to go forth and keep questioning — would she even like the answers? Peter's words fall foreign on her ears. For her...? There was no registration act. Nothing bubbled to that point. Peter didn't get involved yet and right now, it was just weird murmur of conflict.
They were more concerned with more personal matters — for both Felicia and Peter. ]
No. ...I can't say that I do. [ Her words hang a bit. ] I'm scared to ask what a 'superhero registration act' really is because from my ears? It sounds like bullshit and something far above my paygrade.
[ She's not a superhero, so it didn't matter to her.
Right? ]
What do their problems have to do with you? And what does that have to do with time shenanigans that would make me... not remember you..? Weird ex drama aside, we're friends. ...Right?
no subject
The longer he draws this on, the more complicated it's going to get. ]
Of course we are, Felicia. You're one of the most important people in my life and nothing's going to change that.
[ He decides to start with that, because it's true and maybe it'll stick and Felicia will remember he said that after she strangles him. Hey, one can hope. ]
The registration act was bullshit. But to make a long story shot, I made a lot of bad choices, one of them being unmasking myself for the entire world. Aunt May almost died because of that.
I had to take it back. So in my world — or time, whichever of the two it is — you don't remember who I am under the mask.
no subject
Hearing those words does soothe the fear and worry she has. He can see it — how her eyes soften enough and there's an honest appreciation for those words. Felicia spent a long time wondering if she was more detrimental to him than helpful. As a friend, as a fan, as a lover — that is always the underlining problem. But, she still tries. Tries to be important to him and be there for him when he needs it. Their disagreements, MJ, and her occupation were gray areas but still. She sought some truth because he meant something to her.
So, she listens. She doesn't interject. Doesn't let her expressions give her away. Each sentence felt more like some dramatic page from a comic book until they hit the 'final page'.
Something grand as unmasking — you don't go after the mask and you don't go for people's families. That was her number one rule. It pains her to hear and there's a brief flicker of disappointment in her eyes as she turns away. ]
And how... long has it been since then? Since I forgot who you were, I mean. [ He did say they were friends, right? But, she wonders — why the hell was she okay with not knowing? ] Jesus, Peter, what did you get into...?
no subject
She's never been so unreasonable as to be unable to grasp that much. ]
By now? It's been years. Don't get me wrong, it's not like you forgot about me completely — you still remember your relationship with Spider-Man and me. You just ... don't remember my face and name.
[ And whatever else would help her connect name and face back to Spider-Man. Wow, saying that out loud it sounds a lot worse than he thought ]
I had no other choice. I made a terrible decision and I wasn't the one paying the price for that. I had to do something.
no subject
Years. It was years where she didn't know who he was. ]
You mean our relationship. It wasn't one-sided. [ Her fascination with Spider-Man, sure — but she had shown far too late in her memory that she had feelings for both mask and the man behind it. Her throat feels dry and she tries to pick apart the words. ] You never told me — ... the other me, the truth, did you?
[ That was the final question she wants answered. Out of all of it — apparently needing to forget his face and the intimacy past just some mask-centric infatuation she worked hard to get past — May was alright. There's a bittersweet acceptance that she wasn't as important to him as she was. Felicia wasn't a bratty teenager — she knew she wasn't but it still stung to confirm. There was no blaming him, if he felt that that was his only call? She's made some shitty ones too. Felicia would be the worst person to pass judgment given her long history of bad choices.
They were exes, sure, but there's a lot of love and respect there. That is the only line that keeping her from absolutely decking him in the face. ]
no subject
There's that, and there's the sudden urge to embrace her — and the only reason he doesn't act out on it is because he recognize that unlike earlier, where he was just overjoyed to see her, the feeling is odd in this situation. ]
Uhm.
[ It's the only thing he manages to say after she's done talking, which probably doesn't help his situation. ]
I ... didn't. Things got, huh. Complicated? And you never asked, so I didn't think of telling you again—
[ It's a terrible excuse and he knows the moment it comes out of his mouth, and yet here he is, like a dumbass, he can't stop himself from talking ]
But we're probably still friends. I mean— definitely still friends. Wow, this is not coming out the way I envisioned it.
no subject
Years — again, she falls on that word. When they had been together, that's what months felt like to her. Years of dumb excitement and thrill. Years of learning and growing, even when it hurt to do so. He didn't tell her. Years went by and whatever their relationship had been — she's assuming friends here since the marriage dissolving was a whole 'nother can of worms... ]
Alright. [ That was all she says. All she can really sum up? What can she do to change it? Absolutely nothing. If he felt it was crucial for her to know, she's sure that great responsibility would rate it pretty high up. There's a bit of bitterness coursing through her veins, like a part of her privacy was violated. Like her memories was tarnished.
Was she just the same ol' Felicia who only cared about Spider to him...? Like all of her self-discovery and reform was gone, she assumes. ] I can't stomach hearing anymore. Whatever we went through, whatever I don't remember in your world... I guess it's clear you're not... my Peter... or Spider, if we're going to be on point with this whole thing.
[ "My Peter". She hopes that hurts. ]
This is — this is the last thing I need to worry about. Whatever you did, whatever I did... we're even. For now. You're the one who has to live with the choice you made, right? No sweat off my back.
[ He can tell when her voice gets low, like a cat getting defensive, that things aren't okay. But, there's something different — more optimistic despite her not mincing words. ]
We'll discuss this when things calm down.
[ And whatever the case was, whatever words he wants to defend himself with — she lifts her hand up to stop him. ]
Your place. Or just help me get back to mine.