Sodder (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sodder) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
soddersays2019-07-27 01:49 pm
sodder) wrote in soddersays2019-07-27 01:49 pm
Entry tags:
AUGUST 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
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!
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.
Amelia Pond | Doctor Who
[ Amy had been dragged off by a suspicious looking woman... It was almost impossible to refuse, if not for curiosity but because something in her gut was telling her to follow. Maybe that meant she shouldn't have, maybe she shouldn't act like a moth drawn to a flame... But, well, she's curious. These Betties, despite being super creepy, don't actually seem to want to hurt her, either. That's always a good sign.
When she got to the door, she couldn't help but repeat the phrase. ] Knock twice. No more or less... [ So she knocks. Once... Then twice. Surprisingly, for some reason, the door opens.
She raises her hand above her face to shield from the light that blinds her. Before she can even get an "excuse me, what's going on?" she's shuffled into a room with another person, turning around right as the door is locked in her face. She pounds on it with her fist before turning back to look at the other person with her. ] What's going on here?
[ She's not going to fight someone Fight Club style for no reason. ]
[ Waking up cuffed to another person might be one of the less weird things she's experienced. Luckily for her, they still seem knocked out, so for now, she's going to try to get out of the shackle on her wrist.
Yeah, she's having no luck with that...
Whether or not this tugging and clanking wakes up whoever she's stuck with, they'll be met with a properly unfriendly meeting. ] Oi! You! [ She brandishes a branch she's broken off one of the hedges like it's a jousting sword. Downright frighting. ] Feel like explaining how this happened? And... Where we are?
[ She can't just go being handcuffed to strangers in strange hedges, she's getting married tomorrow! ] No funny business, either!
these r proper fancy phones, huh? weird that they hand these out to u when everything else seems outdated. anyone else find that odd?
[ Feel free to send me a different prompt. ]
i am the great unknown
Deerington.
Though what is Deerington is more the question.
Calm down. Okay. Going to try to get us out of this.
[Which first The Doctor tries what he learned from Harry Houdini. Which that is all in the wrist. No such luck. Then takes out a sonic screwdriver and buzzes that. Nope.]
Okay, we might have to find the key. Shouldn't be hard.
no subject
Don't tell me to calm down when I'm shackled to some strange man wh--
[ Sonic screwdriver? ]
Where did you get that?!
[ Oh, well, that's enough to get her swinging that branch at him. ]
What did you do with the Doctor why do you have... [ That looks like the one he had when they first met, not the weird green one... ] Did you hurt him?! I won't fall for whatever trick you're playing!
no subject
[Then a look at her closely because he hadn't said what his sonic was]
Oi!
[Which Ten get somewhat smacked in the head with and is rubbing his face and proceeds to make silly like faces as The Doctor stretches his face]
I am The Doctor.
[Which Ten stares Amy directly in the eyes, which may not be light blue eyes but dark brown but there is a familiarity to them none the less. Not that Ten is liking this with her knowing The Doctor and not this face and him not knowing her]
blood in my veins
They ain't listening. Tried that already; the whole hollering and banging bit. Yea, they're either deaf, [She turned a stubborn glare to the door and raised her voice considerably when she said the word 'deaf', hoping they'd hear her.] or don't care.
[Donna stood up and brushed her pants off before walking up to the other ginger, giving her a sympathetic look.]
No bleedin' clue. I thought we were getting training or something, yeah? But no. Just tossed in here like an animal exhibit.
no subject
She scans the room with her eyes, looking for something, anything. ] There's got to be another way out. [ She heads over to one of the walls, pushing and knocking at it in different areas. ] "Knock twice. No more or less. Show them what you're made of." You think that means they're watching us?
[ She's never been someone to sit around and just not do anything, even before she met the Doctor. Now? He's probably made that behaviour worse in her. ] Like with cameras, or a fake wall?
great unknown but tfw u only have s7 icons despite playing from s5
It would just be nice if it wasn’t Rory being threatened. ]
Amy! Amy, stop! It’s me!
[ He holds up his hands, as if that would ever be enough to stop her wrath. ]
And I don’t know. I was going to ask you the same question if you’d just put the branch down.
if you wanna play him from 7 play him from 7 omg
Rory? [ She looks to him then at the branch before she drops it. Then she lifts the wrist with the cuff and chain that attaches them. ]
Well, I don't know either! I just woke up shackled to you, in this weird hedge maze.
[ The fact that she's shackled to him of all people does calm her down quite a lot though. But the whole, waking up in a weird hedge maze and not remembering how they got there? That's a bit alarming. Like... a lot alarming, actually. ]
I don't have anything to pick the lock on me, do you?
i am the great unknown
Still, he jumped, turned to look at the young Scottish woman with a look of mild concern, focused on the branch, and then back at her.]
I-uh-wh-uh-um-...[Very elegant, Aziraphale. He glanced up around them at the great, tall hedges, at the ground, at the sky above them, down at their shackled hands, and...sighed, looking more exasperated then anything before looking back up at her as he shifted to sit up a little straighter.] To be honest, my dear...I don't particularly know what this little scheme is, but...well. I've only been here for a month, and things of this sort seem to be the norm.
[He shifted his shoulders, trying to straighten his jacket as he cast a critical eye around their surroundings again, already trying to decide what the best course of action was. Is this...a hedge maze?]
Be glad they didn't decide to bury us, this time. [He looked mildly offended at the threat, his gaze snapping back to her before he shook his head incredulously.] I assure you, Madame, 'funny business' is the last thing on my mind.
[He may look like the living embodiment of a toasted marshmallow and sound as prissy as someone's old, gay Great Uncle, but he knew what 'funny business' meant. Why were people so quick to assume he had any intention of doing something so horrible, as of late? He'd rather they just keep assuming he was just a Great Southern Pansy!]
no subject
What do you mean bury us? Did that happen to you?
[ She lowers the branch, the threat gone for the moment, but still present enough if she doesn't like anything he's doing. Calling him a toasted marshmallow is being generous, at least Amy would say so, if it were suggested. ] Why can't I remember how we got here? Or how this happened? Do you remember anything?
[ She stares at his bowtie for a moment. ] Did you see a man? He's tall, got floppy hair, bit of a chin, wears a bowtie? [ That's an apt description of the Doctor, right? There's the possibility that he got them into this, but how would that track?
Maybe whenever weird stuff happens she should just assume he's involved somehow. ]
no subject
Yes, unfortunately. My friend and I, and a great deal other people who've been brought to this town. Just woke up one day, found ourselves in our very own coffins and had to dig ourselves out. [And he certainly hoped he didn't have to tell her how much worse that had been, then waking up shackled to someone in a hedge maze. And that hadn't even been the end of it.]
The - well, I don't suppose it's amnesia, exactly - gap in your memories? From what we've gathered, this is some sort of..collective dream. We all just went to sleep one day, and poof, here we are! [He accented the words with a little gesture, like a tiny puff of smoke going up in front of him.] And I assure you, I'm real. Spent a good part of the day thinking my friend and everyone here was just a figment of my own imagination. That was rather embarrassing, if I say so myself...
[He thought for a moment about the man she described before shaking his head, reaching up unconsciously to adjust his own bowtie, now that she'd pointed out the existence of such things. Not many men wore them anymore, did they? It would be something memorable, if he'd seen someone else wearing one.]
Doesn't ring any bells, unfortunately. He may not have been caught under the same spell that brought us here, or he may be waking up elsewhere. Friend of yours? [He fidgeted with the cuff on his wrist, but kept casting glances back up at her to show that he was still paying attention as he tried to remove the thing. It was too tight to pull off over his hand, though he gave a good effort before deciding it would do more harm then good. Trying to throw a miracle at the thing did little good, not that he was surprised by that anymore, and he sighed before trying to pull the chain free from the cuff itself. Nothing. Nada. The thing was right sturdy. It looked like they were stuck.]
network; un: boozemancer
I guess I'm pissed there's no candy crush
no subject
candy crush? what is that?
[ Is this something she should be aware of? ]
no subject
Network / UN: Badwolf
But you're right, I haven't figured out why certain pieces of technology are specifically more advanced. It might be because it comes from different minds. Then again, my father's world uses zeppelins instead of airplanes because Queen Victoria pushed Americans to focus on aero technology to compete, but otherwise everything else is more advanced than the Universe I was born in.
no subject
unknown.
I'd tell you if I knew.
[The trouble with being handcuffed to someone built like a supermodel quickly makes itself clear as Clara starts trying to stand up. The chain needs to be about a foot longer, because her arm feels like it's being pulled out of its socket.]
Could you help me up before you start brandishing?