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

» i. blood in my veins

[ if it's not immediately obvious from the fact that you're looking at a guy who looks like he hasn't left his house in maybe six months (he has, okay, it's just he can't catch a base tan and when he does go out it's either to reup on energy drinks or go sit inside another building for a few hours), this may take a while. richard folds himself right into the corner of the room and crosses his arms tightly over his chest, eyes wide and vaguely limpid, chewing his bottom lip.

this is, like. definitely in his top ten of worst things that could possibly happen. maybe top five. who's counting? richard. ]

So... [ he says, hoping the tone he's affected is cool and light as opposed to horribly frightened. his hopes aren't particularly high, considering the crack in his voice halfway through that single syllable. ] So, this is, like... pretty fucked up, huh. Like, this definitely doesn't seem legal.

» ii. i am the great unknown

[ things just keep happening, huh. maybe smashmouth were right, with one crucial addendum: this huge, absolutely horrible troll thing starts coming and it don't stop coming. as if being chained to someone else like he's one half of the ship in someone's fanfiction wasn't enough, now he has to stare at this fucking thing. there's literally no way on earth he's ever going to be able to do anything other than stare at it with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide as dinner plates. perhaps even more unluckily, he'd barely even managed to say anything to his chain-mate before they'd both rounded a corner and walked right into this thing. his brain, clawing back from a total shortout where all it had done was fuzz like TV static, kicks back in, and now all he can think is aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! ]

Run? [ he forces out the word. it's not his fault that when he's working on base instinct everything he says sounds like a question. ] Run? Yes? We should run? Definitely run? Running? Now? Please? Please let's run?

» iii. wildcard

[ on the off chance you have another idea, feel free to just toss whatever at me! hmu on plurk

crowders if you have Qs that need As! ]

[ Amy hasn't really said anything to the man who looks like if he could he would melt right into the wall. She's been busy pounding on the door with a fist and shouting things like "let us out," and something about the Doctor in a very angry Scottish accent. When she decides to give up on that plan with one final hard punch to the door that hurts her hand (if the way she shakes it afterward is anything to go by) she spins around to look at Richard again. ]

I don't think they care about what's legal. [ She's terse, and she knows she shouldn't be taking it out on him. So, when she speaks again, her tone is softer. ] Amy. [ She walks a bit closer holding out a hand to him to shake. Surely, this is a different planet or dimension or something weird. The Doctor would know immediately. ] I think they want us to fight. [ That's definitely not going to happen. She looks up towards the ceiling, looking for some means of escape. ]

Do you see any way out other than the door?

[The chain connecting their wrists tugs and jumps, and Clara huffs a calmly impatient breath. Staring at it ain't gonna do anything, pal.]

Ahead of you, mate. [Look, she's very small, and she can't actually drag a grown man when he freezes up in a mysterious death maze.] Running, any moment, come on!

[ Billy smiles as soon as he sees his opponent. Oh yeah, this is exactly the sort of guy he would've shoved in a locker back at school.

He cracks his knuckles. Alright, maybe he's just about to offer some helpful solutions to this problem. They could always SWOT this one and come to some sort of peaceful resolution. Here we go:

STRENGTHS - Billy.
WEAKNESSES - Richard.
OPPORTUNITIES - Billy beats the crap out of Richard.
THREATS - None.

Oops. That didn't work out too well. ]

Come on, I'll even let you take the first hit. [ Because that's how absolutely unafraid he is of this guy. ]

[ what was that thing jared said about being assaulted? you should say your name over and over again to remind your assailant that you're a human being? for a second richard just wants to start yelling richard! richard! richard! richard! until his heart presumably gives out after this guy beats him to death, which is definitely going to happen. sooner rather than later. he literally even looks like about eight of richard's high school bullies. but just yelling his own name until he dies is an immensely unflattering way to go out, even for him. ]

Or, [ he begins, slowly. jared keeps calling him a master negotiator; maybe he should give it a go? ] Or – we could just not. Hit each other. At all.

[ Is this scrawny bastard really trying to talk him out of this? That's a rarity. Usually they just ran away, or maybe tried to throw something at his face to distract him. ]

Alright. [ He crosses his arms. ] And what's in it for me, if I sit here and hang out with you until they let us go?

[ He expects that the answer will be 'nothing at all', but he's amused enough that he's willing to hear him out. ]