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

( more than a bit of a dick )

And I'm not just a demon.

( her words are steel, a chilled touch that comes not only verbally but almost seems to permeate into the room around him.

it's an overreaction but she's done with men telling her her place, underestimating her and acting as if she doesn't have power.

her hand lifts from the bar, a tight clench of her first that not only immobilises him where he's sat but serves to squeeze, to choke him. she's not playing nice demon now )

Never said that, sweethear--

[She held him in place. Crowley narrowed his eyes, unamused with her tricks. And hey, he could do the same thing, so he wasn't too surprised.

It was uncomfortable and he honestly disliked the sensation of being choked. He couldn't physically struggle, but he could strain against her power with his. Oh, and set her chair on fire as a distraction to break her concentration.

Witch bitch, just like his mother. She wasn't showing him anything he hadn't seen before.]

( she notices the flames, jumps up from her seat but she doesn't just let him go -- it takes more than that to break her. instead, as she moves she'll throw him, a show of her magical strength rather than anything physical, throwing him clean across the room.

sorry, anyone else that was trying to drink, these demons had some power struggles to get through.

she also wasn't surprised that he could use magic as well. most demons weren't witches and thus not as skilled but they all had talents similar to witches )

I wonder how much being King will help you.

[He didn't expect the fire to make her let him go. It was a distraction, plain and simple. When she jumped from the chair, it gave him the smallest of openings. Just enough to twitch a finger, and that was all he needed.

Lilith would feel what almost felt like a hand close around her heart and lungs. If he couldn't breathe, she wasn't going to either.

This would be the point where he would smoke out of the body, leave it to suffer, but that tattoo wouldn't let him. He'd felt it as soon as he woke up here. He was trapped in his meatsuit.]

( she wasn't immobilised, not in the way that he'd been but the feeling inside her causes her to stop, looking down for a moment to find nothing there before looking back at her. this isn't the first time lately that she's been held in place by a man and it pisses her off.

and though she'd been a little mad before the way that she looks at him now is with a little more fire in her eyes, not enough to seem enraged or out of control but she will happily let him know her feelings.

once she gets him off her. it takes more focus but she starts by teleporting him out to the woods, throwing him off, breaking his hold before (seconds later) teleporting herself there. he wanted fire? he'd find, with a raise of her hands, himself surrounded by a ring of fire, flames the height of his knees )

[When she teleports him away, he has a feeling he won't be alone for long. As soon as she's there with him and the fire is surrounding him, he rolls his eyes.]

Bloody Hell! Stop posturing and let me bloody talk!

[Fire was one thing that didn't concern him. He could extinguish Holy fire with a snap of his fingers. Hellfire was even easier to deal with. He waved a hand in front of himself, palm at the ground and the fire doused as if someone had dumped water on it, hissing and everything.]

I don't know what you got your knickers in a twist about but that wasn't a damn challenge!

[Crowley straightened his tie and gave her the most annoyed glare.

He hadn't doubted her strength or power. Nor had he intended to hold her in place. He'd merely been reacting to her hostility with his own in an effort to free himself. He knew plenty of stupidly powerful women to know better than to discriminate over gender. Hell, his own mother was one of the most powerful people he'd met. Even if she was an absolute bitch.]

You don't want to work together, fine. I'll take my offer back to the angel. At least he doesn't stab me in the back until the end of our little foray.

[Unless she says anything to give him pause, the King of Hell will vanish, teleporting away. His hex bag will render him untraceable.]