AUGUST 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to August's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: DYSTOPIAN 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: Physical violence, monster violence, creepy ogre-like monster in link, being hunted by a monster.
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

BLOOD IN MY VEINS

With supplies low and food getting even more scarce, things in Deerington, Maine seem to be getting that much more tense. For those who pay attention to the habits of the townspeople, there’s something that might add to that feeling of stress; all of them seem to be involved in some kind of physical training, whether it’s archery, hand-to-hand combat, or fighting with firearms, they all seem like they’re getting ready for something and it definitely feels like it might be something big.

But no one wants to train against a townsperson - it’s highly likely they’re not going to fight fair with the way they’re all glaring at the Sleepers, as though they’re to blame for everything that’s been going on. Unless you’re sparring with people in your own backyard though, it seems like there isn’t any space to get your own training in.

The Betties are starting to pop up around town pretty regularly, waiting until they find Sleepers on their own, and quietly waving for them to come closer. “You need to prepare,” they’ll whisper to you in hushed urgency, before grabbing your hand to try and get you to follow them. If you fight, they’ll insist only once more, before leaving you alone. But there’s something inside of you urging you to comply and follow.

They’ll lead you down an alley, pushing aside a large dumpster, and revealing a trap door in the middle of the concrete. You’ve never noticed it before, even if you’ve been down this alley a hundred times. The Betty leading you leans down, pulling it open, and the ladder that goes into the tunnel is long and dimly lit. You could leave now, but the Betty will insist this is for the best.

“Knock twice. No more or less. Show them what you’re made of.”

Once you get to the bottom of the ladder, there’s an equally long hallway that leads towards a closed metal door. You knock twice and the door shakes before sliding open. The light that comes through is almost blinding with how bright it is compared to the dim tunnel, but as your eyes adjust, you can finally step in to a fully stocked training room.

There are instructors in basics for beginners, areas for intermediate, and most abundantly there are one-on-one sparring areas. The moment you come close enough, you’ll be immediately paired with another Sleeper, and the two of you will be locked in the room together to be observed. You could choose to not fight, of course, but you’ll be stuck there for a good long while if you do. It might be best to just get it over and done with.

So feel free to help others who seem to be struggling or show off your strength for everyone to see. It looks like everyone is going to need to be ready for some kind of fight.

I AM THE GREAT UNKNOWN

Maybe you got knocked out during a fight or maybe you fell asleep in your own bed - or maybe you don’t even remember closing your eyes at all, especially if you don’t usually have the ability to go unconscious for one reason or another. No matter the cause, everyone will wake up in the same place, surrounded by tall, thick hedges in the middle of a... maze?

It doesn’t take you long to realize you aren’t the only one waking up, too. Someone is next to you and it seems like you’re stuck finding your way out of here together. Literally. On each of your wrists is a metal cuff with a long chain connecting them. It can’t be broken, no matter how strong a person is or how powerful a weapon or spell they try to use against it. You’re in this together whether you want to be or not.

Once you can pick a direction to head in, it seems like this might almost be boring - that is until you start to hear the sounds of rustling leaves and breaking twigs. At first it seems like it might just be a trick to spook you, but the more you ignore it, the louder it gets, until finally you see it, charging down the row at you, scythe raised and ready to strike.

You can try to fight, of course, but it’s hard when you’re chained to one another. Learn to work together quickly and maybe you can make it work. It seems to go down with normal attacks, though it takes a long time to get the creature to fall unless you cut off the head. Ultimately your best interest might be set in running as fast as you can to get away. You can lose it in the maze if you’re quick about it. But then you might also be lost yourself.

If you do manage to lose the monster rather than killing it, stay quiet and you might not attract its attention again. It may take a while to find the end of the maze. The hedges feel like they stretch on forever and the sun is blaring down. You’d think there would be shade with all the height of the bushes, but there’s no relief from the heat. Hopefully you don’t burn easy.

When you get to the end of the maze, the two of you will come up on three doors. One door will lead out of the maze and back into the center of Deerington, cuff free. Another door will lead you right back to the beginning, forcing you to start again. And what’s behind door number three...?

The monster, of course.

Choose wisely.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Quite unfortunately at the opposite end of the spectrum, Wrench's patience is unparalleled. He understands now what they're expected to do, though he hasn't puzzled out the why of it all. If it's not to the benefit of any of them down here, it might well be for their amusement instead. Maybe they know the things he's done in his lifetime and perhaps they expect they can draw a clean path of destruction along that moral compass. Whatever they think though, he's not going to hit a girl.

He sits in the dirt on the floor with his back to the space where two corners meet. Wrench watches, half-amused and half-hopeful as she looks up and seems to implore something at the ceiling. Maybe she'll get somewhere with them. Several seconds pass, and he stamps his foot on the ground. The heavy sound of boot on concrete to draw her attention. When he has her eyes, Wrench makes his fingers into a fist and feeds it into his open fist.

"They want us to fight, you know?" his raised eyebrows seem to say.]

Edited 2019-07-28 02:28 (UTC)

Yes, I understand that.

[She verbally responds to his unspoken statement. He doesn't really look like someone she wants to try and fist fight. She's small enough that he towers over her. It's not that she's intimidated, it's more that she's annoyed someone is doing this to them.]

But if I let you hit me, I'll end up with a black eye for weeks. And if I kick you in retaliation, you'll end up with swollen shins. Doesn't sound like very much fun if you ask me.

[Yes, she knows she just told him to hit her. But now she's having second thoughts.]

[As best as he can tell, they're agreed then. Wrench isn't going to hit her. Maybe it's what they expect him to do. They keep putting people in front of him like they're waiting for that, but so far he's only taken a swing at the ones that have attacked first. He's no fool, though, and he harbors no delusions about the kind of man that he is. Self-defense hasn't been a viable motivator in years, the night in the woods notwithstanding. He's done far more for much less than a ticket to his own freedom. Somehow he doesn't think that's what's waiting beyond the doors to this building, anyway.]

Hey, [he bats a hand in the young woman's direction. When he has her gaze, Wrench points a finger at her, then jabs his own fist at his jaw in a mock uppercut. Maybe this one is her practice round.]

[She nods in understanding and takes a second to have the decency to look apologetic. She doesn't want this. He likely doesn't either. It's a shame she has to potentially break her hand on his face.

She curls her hand into a fist and uses his mock uppercut as a guide. Assuming the same motion, she visualizes his jaw as the Book of the Beast, and imagines punching it into orbit. It's better to imagine that then looking at reality as she punches him right in the jaw.

Her hand stings with pain and she huffs as she recoils. She shakes it to try and rid some of the pain.]

Do we really have to keep doing this?

[Pity, no matter its cause, is the one thing sure to make his wellspring of eternal patience run dry. Wrench rolls his hand in a gesture meant to urge her on. For a moment he's put in mind of some terrible movie he watched decades before: a young girl with a mop of curls and her scam artist father. "The harder you hit me, the more I know you love me." Only Wrench hopes that the harder she socks him, the more likely they both are to get to go home. Whatever that amounts to any more, he supposes.

It might be easier if he were to close his eyes, but he continues to stare at her all the way through. Ultimately, it's not a bad effort. Her knuckles catch more of his throat than he'd like and the undignified sound he makes is a little squawking and a lot choked. He covers his neck and works his jaw, but his attention is immediately on the door that bolted shut behind them. Several seconds pass, but it doesn't so much as flinch on its hinges. They must know it's all staged.]

Shit. {Wrench climbs to his feet and stalks over to the door. He runs his hands over its surface, looking for any break or give.]

Well, thank you for trying. That actually looked like it hurt.

[She speaks up with amusement as she comes up beside him. Her hand feels along the door before her ear is pressed to it. She listens closely for a few seconds before whispering a spell beneath her breath.

It doesn't work and Sabrina is left tapping her fingers against the door. She counts to five before spinning and trying to surprise him with an unprompted punch to the jaw.]

[Wrench regards her with a curious scowl. There must be others who have figured out the formula. He's seen them before when he first arrived, evenly matched and out in the open. Some swung bō staffs and makeshift swords while others sparred open-handed and methodical, stopping from time to time to make corrections in their form. It didn't have the feel of an animalistic fighting pit. No spar-to-the-death crowd, cheering the bloodlust. It seemed more like training.

He turns to her again and taps a finger to the side of his ear in question. "Hear anything out there?" he's wondering, but Wrench can see her wind-up from a mile away. The little fist is too easy to step out of the way of. When she misses, he can tell by the way she stumbles it was nearly a full-body effort.

That gets a smile. Wrench pushes off the door and steps toward the open space in the room, then gestures to her with a hand. Come on, try again.]

[His smile makes her grin in return. Maybe she's a little proud of herself for that. Since he's gesturing she bounds right in for another strike. She's hit his face a few times and her hand is hurting. But she can't just up and quit on him. Her fist curls tighter and she really swings. The sound of her hand cracking against his jaw makes her recoil and shout out.

She shakes her hand and takes a few steps back. And then loses her patience entirely and turns to start attacking the door.]

[Moments of genuine levity have been completely absent since his arrival. It's the barest form of amusement to be found, getting his kicks from goading a child into hitting him. If she ended up here the same way he did, she must be absolutely terrified. That is, unless this truly is a kind of purgatory and her crimes are just as bad. Wrench can't rightly believe that, but how old was he when he threw his first punch? Younger, undoubtedly. He was younger when he did worse than that, too.

She's got a fire in her eyes now, and he stands amused in front of her. Wrench hasn't raised a hand to hit back, but as long as she keeps swinging he'll keep giving her the target of the fleshy underside of his jaw. The harder she hits the harder he'll make it for her to pop the next one off. The final crack is enough to take him from nasally laughter to an actual yelp of surprise. Her fist pops his jaw shit and his teeth catch his tongue. Wrench's grunt is wet and thick, and he turns his head to spit blood.

When his gaze settles back around and he sees her at the door, Wrench takes a step forward. One big hand closes around her shoulder and he pulls her back, either trying to stop her from hurting herself, or gain her attention. He shakes her, trying to rattle the desperate aggression from her frame. His eyebrows raise curiously and he taps the shell of his ear. Did it do anything? Is anyone coming now?]