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Sodder ([personal profile] sodder) wrote in [community profile] soddersays2019-06-25 12:24 am
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JULY 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME




JULY 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME









Welcome to July's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: DREAM 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: Violence, Freddie Kreuger references, fire, forced sleep with some drug-like references, stabbing, nightmares, monsters, possibility for extreme alcohol consumption, and lobster festivals
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!











WHEN THE BOAT COMES IN


It’s July and July in Maine means lobster! The Lobster Festival springs up seemingly overnight down near Koji Pond. In the morning, there’s a large parade that makes its way through town, starting from the top of East Main Street and all the way down through West Main St until they hit the festival. There are tents, a few rides, games, arts and crafts, and most importantly, food pretty much everywhere behind the hotel and you can help yourself to free ice cream at the ice cream shop! Lobster ice cream and Blueberry ice cream are pushed to the forefront, but you can get just about any flavor you could possibly dream of in the long run.

You can hear live music playing and a stage has been set up on the roof of the arcade. Live bands play everything from folk music to jazz to classic rock that you may or may not have heard in your lifetime. There’s a tent where local artists (including sleepers) are selling art, a craft tent where people are selling goods they’ve made such as pottery and homemade fudge, and a Do It Yourself tent where people are teaching you how to make your own buoy decoration for your front yard or how to weave your own baskets!

A seafood cooking contest is held for anyone who may want to show off their culinary skills. Any kind of seafood dishes are allowed, but they highly encourage showing your abilities to cook with lobster! Think you can beat the longstanding champions from Deerington? It’s pretty unlikely, especially since it looks like the townspeople keep trying to sabotage your meal as you’re making it. Did you mean to put in an entire half cup of salt to your stew? Oops. Guess you better figure out how to work with it anyway.

Across Koji Pond, there are floating crates set up for the great crate race! See if you can make it across the lake fastest – challenge a friend! These lobster crates wobble pretty heavily, but each runner is given a life vest for when they might inevitably fall in. Be careful if you do! Some of those strange looking fish in there definitely bite.

Each morning at the festival there will be an all you can eat blueberry pancake breakfast. Surprisingly, nothing drastic seems to happen, so have as many pancakes as your body can hold! They’re delicious, after all. Through the rest of the day, it’s easy to get your hands on lobster rolls of varying sizes, full steamed lobster meals (with corn on the cob and a buttered dinner roll), lobster salad, steamed mussels, scallops, haddock (baked or fried), fried clams, lobster stuffed risotto balls, blueberry cobbler, and strawberry shortcake are all available at any of the food stands. All the food seems perfectly safe. But you’re gonna need something to wash it down with…

The drink stand has a great deal to offer, but every drink seems to come with a particularly strange side effect to it. People who enjoy the hand crafted beers will find that it gets them drunk twice as fast and can even make people who would normally never drink completely wasted after just a glass or two. Every glass you have makes you thirstier than the last and it can be easy to want to reach for another beer to try and get yourself together. In fact, it’s particularly hard to reach for anything else. Urges to drink the beer will last for at least one full hour or can be cut short by being responsible and going to drink some water instead.

So maybe beer isn’t your thing; that’s okay! There’s also blueberry lemonade which will turn you the color of blueberries from head to toe! Fresh iced tea will make you feel particularly sarcastic, prone to mocking even your closest friends and gossiping with complete strangers about the things you may or may not have heard about the town. Got a juicy secret you were trying to keep for someone? Well, it’s out in the open now. Cream sodas will make you extremely cuddly, wanting to cozy up next to the closest person to you for a little while. The more you drink, the more touchy-feely you may get, so maybe try and stick to just one or two unless you’re looking for some afternoon delight. Hot tea will make you feel calm and relaxed to an extent you never have before. To the point where you might even want to just go lay down on one of the docks and take a quick catnap in the middle of the afternoon sun. Hopefully you wore sunscreen.

Effects from any drink will last for one to three hours or until you have some strawberry shortcake from one of the food vendors.


BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL


So maybe the lobster festival isn’t your thing or you got tired of all the crowds and wanted to go and do something else fun. Strangely enough, some of the fields out near the farmhouses apparently have a bunch of blueberry bushes that no one’s ever noticed before! They’re in full bloom and the berries look ripe for the picking. Perfectly round, juicy, warm from the sun – you could eat a whole handful of these and maybe never feel more satisfied. They’re deliciously sweet, perfect for pies and cobblers. And a whole basket seems to be reasonably priced, so why not go out and pick as many as you can!

The longer you’re out in the fields, the more you’ll start to feel a little groggy. It’s easy to shake off as just being from the sun at first and you might think about heading back, but something in you wants to keep picking. So you trudge in deeper into the fields, and that sleepy feeling becomes more and more difficult to ignore. Eventually, you might find that you’re ready to just lay down and take a nap in the shade of a particularly large blueberry bush. It seems like a good a spot as any – the ground is nice and soft. Just curl up for a little while and close your eyes. Even people who are normally not prone to sleeping will find that they are compelled and even capable of taking a quick nap in these fields.

Any dreams you may have while sleeping will feel more vivid than normal – to the point where it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. Did you actually manage to find your way out of Deerington and back home? You can pinch yourself, but you won’t wake up, and it’ll hurt like a bitch, so it’s hard to be sure. Dreams seem to mostly be pleasant ones, but the occasional nightmare might find its way in to your otherwise restful sleep. Anyone who stumbles on you asleep in the fields might even hear you talking in your sleep, rambling out conversations and feelings you might normally have kept quiet. Got feelings for someone you were trying to bury? They might just hear you mutter them out loud if they’ve found you there in the dirt. Wanted to make sure no one in Deerington found out you had no home to go back to? That sucks, it sounds like you might have just spilled the beans without even knowing.

The real question is if the person who finds you will wake you up or just keep listening to find out more of your secrets without having to pry for them.


NINE, TEN, NEVER SLEEP AGAIN



It’s not just in the blueberry fields that sleepiness seems to be catching. Throughout Deerington, people seem to be having a harder and harder time staying awake for long stretches. The desire for a quick nap or even a long snooze becomes harder to fight as each day passes and you might find yourself nodding off in places you normally wouldn’t – behind the wheel of a car, in the middle of a store, at work… Hopefully no one gets too hurt or loses a job during these strange episodes.

Only unlike in the fields, when you do give in to sleep, the dreams you have are now far from pleasant. Nightmares are running amok in your mind, but that vivid realism? That inability to tell when you’re awake or asleep? That has definitely not changed. You might not have even realized you’ve fallen asleep at all – most of the scenery around you seems to be Deerington itself, but something just seems off. You don’t have time to think about it though because it’s then that things start to get scary. Whether it’s reliving your most traumatic experiences, running in to your worst enemies, or seeing monster of your own creation popping up and chasing you, danger and fear are permeating every corner of these dreams. Horror movie fans might find they’re being chased by Freddie Kreuger, hunted down by Jason, cornered by the aliens from Alien. Or maybe there are terrifying monsters from your own world that have started to come for you and are trying to tear you limb from limb. It feels impossible to outrun, and maybe in the end, you don’t. But if you die in your dreams, you don’t really die in real life, right? So you might just snap awake with a particularly frightening jolt.

You think when you wake up that everything is fine. That sense of fear is gone and you’re able to just breathe. But as you go about your day, you start to see images from your nightmares out of the corner of your eyes. Was that Freddie’s claws scratching against the blackboard? Did you just hear the strange clicking of alien feet against the tiles? You hope it’s in your imagination, but this is Deerington. When does anything ever stay normal?

The danger from your nightmares is definitely invading your personal space and it will try to kill you. Anyone else can see these images just as plain as day as you can and they are welcome to either sit and watch or help you fight. Whatever is trying to kill you will go down in the same manner it would have back home – that means that it could be as easy as a bullet between the eyes or it could be as complex as an intense ritual. Guess you’ll have to figure it out for yourself before it really does kill you.



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.
rage_on: (Uuh)

[personal profile] rage_on 2019-06-29 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[His expression's caught between a glare and a 'what the heck am I looking at' but his stance remains in an at-ready position as Fern reveals himself.]

I wasn't scared! I just didn't expect to be talking to shrubbery.

[His fists lower ever so slightly.]

So what're you, some kinda mutant plant boy or somethin'?
tagartist: (289)

364. wait was this rhetorical

[personal profile] tagartist 2019-06-29 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Getting there still sounds an awful lot like already there, but she's at least grateful to be only half-carrying him instead of fully carrying him since it means an easier get away if she really tried to break away.

Which she was quickly wondering why she wasn't doing just that as she starts to get dragged towards ice cream that still doesn't sound at all good, no matter how citrus-y it might be, and did he just call that the Devil's Music? Was he serious? He's probably not serious. She shoots him a look anyway, because she's pretty sure that's the same rock her dad used to listen to and she doesn't think she's heard anyone say that exact phrase since her grandmom in regards to her listening to punk in her presence.

What is even happening right now? ]
Ice cream shouldn't have chunks of seafood in it. [ She's not grabbing that cup. ] It goes against everything a dessert should be.
laminae: (sorry dude)

[personal profile] laminae 2019-06-29 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[Fern just grins, though that question is a bit of a weird one.]

The second two. I'm not a mutant.

[And since this guy is bringing it up first, he might as well ask himself.]

S'that what you are?
rage_on: (Default)

[personal profile] rage_on 2019-06-29 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[Raphael finally eases up a bit, shifting as he folds his arms across his plastron.]

Plant boy. Ookay.

[Because why not?]

Yeah, that about sums it up.
laminae: (:U)

[personal profile] laminae 2019-06-29 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[... Okay maybe his answer wasn't so great. Who on earth would like to be called plant boy?]

Fern. My name's Fern.

I haven't met a mutant that wasn't a gross oozing monster that wants to kill everything, so I take it you aren't from Ooo?
rage_on: (Seriously?)

[personal profile] rage_on 2019-06-29 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Fern.

[Oh, he's serious.]

I'm Raphael. Think we got off lucky on the not being gross and oozing 'cuz I've seen that type plenty enough. Never heard of this 'Ooo' place though. I'm from New York.
laminae: (hrm)

[personal profile] laminae 2019-06-29 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Fern can't shake the mild disappointment that comes with being right. It's a selfish thought given how awful this place is, but having someone from Ooo would be nice.]

Man, you've gotta be the fourth or fifth person around here from this New York place. It's getting weird.
rage_on: (wait that's his face?)

[personal profile] rage_on 2019-06-29 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
No kidding? Guess from what you said earlier I shouldn't get my hopes up that any of 'em were turtles like me.

So um. What is with this place anyway?
laminae: (skrtch)

[personal profile] laminae 2019-06-30 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
Humans. Lots and lots of humans.

[Sorry bro.]

It's gonna sound jacked up, but a shared dream of a human town. That's the short answer.
sathan: (☀ 𝓈𝓊𝒸𝒸𝒾𝓈𝒶 𝓅𝓇𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓈𝒾𝓈)

[personal profile] sathan 2019-06-30 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
( that gives her pause. yeah, holy water would do it. )

Do you know where to find some?

( because it wasn't exactly just lying around )
rage_on: (Oh c'mon)

[personal profile] rage_on 2019-06-30 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
Figures.

[He expected as much, but he still can't help but sigh.]

...

You're right, that does sound jacked up.
mollymocked: (⚔ live a little crazy)

[personal profile] mollymocked 2019-06-30 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, he was about to pinch her ass to wake her up because her butt was practically in his face, but OW HIS ANKLES.

Molly's balance is compromised by Jester's kick and he scrabbles to tip over as much away from the blueberries as he can because gods save his coat!! This allows him to process a few things- relief that Jester's first reaction to him is dream state blathering and not tears because his heart can't take that right now and annoyance because is there anything on this plane that isn't awful??

He's caught himself on his elbows, twisted pretezel-like to keep out of the blueberries and slowly manages to sit back up, grunting in irritation. Okay. New plan.

He reaches over and pinches her nose shut, hoping the sudden restriction of air will wake her up.]
Hate to do this, but you're leaving me no choice here...
vajratna: (We will go where he leads)

[personal profile] vajratna 2019-06-30 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
Feb 2019. I had just turned thirteen and had a Lord of the Rings birthday party.

[ she dressed up as gandalf. ]
vajratna: (Dark adventure lay in front)

[personal profile] vajratna 2019-06-30 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
Divine magic doesn't really have rules. It's so ancient that it just keeps going and no one really gets why.

And I figured that fits this place too.
vajratna: (On his dark throne)

[personal profile] vajratna 2019-06-30 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
Nope. I fought a new kind of zombie recently called the Heartless. They didn't eat brains.
vajratna: (Even the smallest person)

[personal profile] vajratna 2019-06-30 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ she frowns. ]

I don't know. For some reason, I felt really sleepy. Maybe it was a spell?
1926: (BeelzaQueen)

[personal profile] 1926 2019-06-30 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Crowley shook his head, finishing his coffee as he gave it more thought.]

No. But I'm sure if I posed the question to our fellow citizens of Pleasantville, someone might be willing to lend a hand in its acquisition. There's just the matter of the target that would paint on my back. Our less than trusting kin may not take kindly to someone fishing around for Holy Water.

[This was honestly more dangerous than hiring a little team of human thieves to pilfer water from a church. He couldn't just say it was to kill the Devil, that would seem odd. Not to mention, well, the Devil lived amongst them and the last thing he needed was another Lucifer trying to skin him alive for a new pair of snakeskin shoes.]
bigbadrose: (if you really want to)

[personal profile] bigbadrose 2019-06-30 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
I've never been in a universe that allowed for magic before.

Least... well I dunno. I've met werewolves, but the werewolf was just an alien, yanno?

Faeries too. we have them in most universes, but they're not really faeries, they're just vengeful little brats that have abilities humans don't.
vajratna: (The shadow of the black wings)

[personal profile] vajratna 2019-06-30 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ hmm. ]

Magic's very real. At least, for me.
bigbadrose: (head tilt like a wolf)

[personal profile] bigbadrose 2019-06-30 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
So what you do is magic?
ethicalproblems: (sad δ the devil that you know)

[personal profile] ethicalproblems 2019-06-30 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
Or it’s an un-lifetime membership to the craving for tasty, tasty brains club? Got it.

[ The flippant words do nothing to hide the near nauseated expression which flashes across his face, or how his hands shake and almost—almost—fumble the knife in a way which reveals just how much he doesn’t, in fact, got this. Turns out facing an aggressive, unthinking horde is worse the second time. At least the actives were alive. Brainwashed, sure, but not... decaying, with all the sights and smells implied. And the remote wipe gun? Destructive, awful, and entirely more his speed than stabbing something through the face until...

He pushes down the thought (and accompanying images) and tightens his grip on the weapon. ]


We need to go. Somewhere. Anywhere not here. [ Oh hey, epiphany ] Up there!

[ Chase scenes across time may have lied about the easy availability and frequency of fire escapes, but there’s a window only a little higher than their heads. Closed, possibly locked, but... better than nothing? ]
vajratna: (Real names tell you the story)

[personal profile] vajratna 2019-06-30 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ she shrugs. ]

That's what they call it. Though it's not spells, it's more like . . . divinity.
bigbadrose: (finger bite)

[personal profile] bigbadrose 2019-06-30 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[Pinches bridge between eyes in thought.] But it's still like... your species, yeah?

Although humans can do some psychic stuff, it doesn't really get there until 51st century. But the Doctor's super psychic. And ood are psychic receptive and...

Would you be willing to talk to my best friend about it? He's not human either. His name is the Doctor, he hasn't traveled as many universes as me yet, but he knows almost everything, I swear.
ethicalproblems: (what δ or think it absurd)

[personal profile] ethicalproblems 2019-06-30 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
Nice choice.

[ He's always leaned a little more science fiction than fantasy, but Tolkien's a classic.

Wait. ]


Oh god. Don't tell me they've already remade the movies.
laminae: (well)

[personal profile] laminae 2019-06-30 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
A lot of messed up stuff happens. There was pollen floating around that made everyone crazy, the whole place is haunted and the ghosts stalk you, even the creepy pastel people started wrecking everything earlier and attacking each other.

[He's keeping a straight face while explaining all of this and just shrugs.]

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