soddersays | AUGUST 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

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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.

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[ Peter does, cocking his head slightly to one side. There's a long moment of silence and then -- he hears a breath. Ragged, raspy... wrong.

Like a beast.

His arm stays where it is, keeping the other boy behind him, though it's trembling along with the rest of him. Whatever it is, it's moving down a row closer to them, perhaps having to turn a corridor or two. But it's close. ]

We need to move. [ Every instinct says to run, but Peter forces it down with a hard swallow. He turns, taking the younger's hand in his own to move down the closest aisle to them. They're already conjoined by chain, but he keeps Will closer than that, by his side. Peter tries to keep quiet, knees bent, sneaking more than walking, even though his heart's pounding.

And then he turns into an abrupt dead end. Surprised, horrified by it, his tense body jolts. The chain gives a rattle.

And suddenly the thud of footsteps are picking up speed, as an inhuman growl pierces the air. ]

[will nods, minutely, like he's afraid even moving will cause some sort of noise. he curls his shaky fingers around peter's, clinging as tight as he can and walking carefully on the balls of his feet, minimizing the sound of his footsteps.

and for a moment it seems like it'll work, like they'll get out of this alive and well. but then they run into the corner, the chain will rattle and that awful sound will shatter the air. will barely swallows back a gasping scream when the creature rounds the corner, scythe dragging alongside it, eyes blazing red.

what happens next is -- primarily luck. the monster lurches towards them, raises the scythe and swings it down, and will doesn't think, he just pushes peter one way and lunges the other. the metal of the scythe meets the metal of the drawn-taut chain, a screeching, ugly sound that sends sparks flying. the monster is strong enough to topple at least will to the ground, which fortunately means it buries the tip of the scythe deep into the earth.

in the handful of moments while the creature struggles to free it's weapon, will is up, reaching to grab at peter's hand, his arm, tugging frantically.] Come on, come on, come on!

[ There's no time to process what turns the corner. Peter thinks he screams, or maybe it's in his head. Everything in him seems to shut down, to freeze.

The thing has horrible eyes, teeth. Monster.

Thank god for Will's quick thinking. Peter finds himself stumbling to the side and out of the way by the push, thrown off-guard by it, eyes impossibly wide and breath frozen as that screech scrapes through his senses.

There's a hand at his, tugging. It's the younger boy, telling him to move. Once again, Peter follows his direction without a second thought, getting to his feet, running. His sneakers pound the earth, his free hand clawing at hedges, trying to move harder, faster.

He might be pulling Will too fast. He doesn't mean to, he's in panic mode. ]

Fuck--- fuck-- We have to fucking get out of here!

[will's arm is absolutely going to be sore later, from being almost wrenched out of it's socket, but he doesn't have room to care, not with the enraged roaring of the creature too close behind them. he's stubbing his bare toes on rocks, taking turns too quickly and barely feeling the sharp branches of the hedge raking across his arm, his side, his face.

he doesn't stop until they turn a corner and come to the three identical ones. some other kind of test?

he turns, looking desperately up at peter.] Which one?!

[ He'll feel terrible for it soon enough, hurting the younger, but it's as though something inside him is keeping him going, relentless. All he can think of is to put as much distance between them and that thing as possible. It's the fastest he's moved since he arrived here, and his body is protesting too, limbs achey, bruised features feeling especially raw every time he brushes against something.

He won't let go of Will, no matter what. When they come to the three doors, Peter's gasping for breath, clutching the other boy, knowing he has to make a quick decision. ]

This one! [ It's the closest to them, and he lunges for it, prying open the handle and pushing Will in first. Fortunately, it seems the pair of them will get a reprieve, as the door leads back out into the center of the city. Peter stumbles forwards onto his hands and knees, jerking his head to look back at the door -- which has... vanished. Panting hard, he rolls onto his back, barely able to move. ]

Are you--- are you okay?!

[will doesn't let out the breath he's holding until they tumble into the middle of the city, monster nowhere to be seen, nothing around them but open city streets. when he does, it's accompanied with him crumpling onto the ground, flopping onto his back as well, spread-eagle, gasping for breath.]

We're...not dead! [he lets out an incredulous laugh, like he can barely believe it. it takes him a couple heartbeats of time to roll onto his side, looking over at peter and actually seeing him. but once will does, he's back onto his hands and knees, crawling over with his forehead furrowed in concern.]

You're...you're hurt are...are you okay? [will's scraped up too, but he didn't start out bruised and bloodied like peter did.]

[ It's impossible that any of this just happened, but it did. Somehow, they're back... here, in the middle of the unfamiliar town Peter only recently woke up in. Somehow, they just survived being chased by a monster through a maze, and the door to it just... disappeared.

They also aren't chained together anymore, which is something he's only dimly aware of, still trying to remember how to breathe. ]

I thi- I think so. [ He coughs, cupping his face in his hands for a moment only to wince sharply when his fingers graze the bandages over his extremely sensitive nose. Yeah, no... no he's not okay. He knows that. But he doesn't even know where the hell to begin with that. Peter lowers his hands, still lying on his back on the grass. His eyes slowly move up to look at Will, really seeing him for the first time, too. ]

I got hurt back home, and then I.... [ The words taper off and he swallows hard. ] This is all like a nightmare.

[will is frowning still, but he sits back on his heels, giving peter his space. part of him resonates at the strange sensation of feeling injuries you aren't sure you can remember getting. his own skin crawls with the memory of being burned, so vividly that he looks down at his hands to make sure they aren't charring to ash.

they aren't. the only visible injuries he has are ligature marks on his arms and wrists, from the clothesline tying him in place. that and the general air of exhaustion and sleeplessness.

that last comment makes a very grim half-smile flicker across will's face.] Sort of. But you're all alone in nightmares, right? At least there are other people here.

Is your nose broken?

[ Whatever this is, it really isn't a nightmare, is it. The younger boy's right: this place somehow has other people in it, somehow they've been brought here. Peter's started to piece that much together, though he has no idea how to even voice it. He tries to concentrate on slowing his breathing, resting one palm on his stomach, feeling it rise up and down.

Talking to someone.. helps. Someone small and young, someone kind and doe-eyed. It has an odd lump in Peter's throat to look at him, but it still helps that he's there. After a moment, he slowly sits up. ]

I think so. I don't remember what the doctor said, but it sure feels broken. [ The injury is painfully fresh, only happened yesterday where he's from, but the pain keeps him grounded. As Peter begins to focus more, his eyes catch those marks on the other's arms, the darkness around his eyes. That sort of darkness is familiar: tired, worn.

Slowly, he frowns, eyes on the bruised lines across Will's skin, leaning forwards. ]

Did someone do that to you?

Oh. What happened? [because the best time to share injury stores is while sitting on the ground in the middle of a hellscape city, right? still, will is noticing the other injuries, the bruises, the dark purplish shadows that speak to not getting enough sleep for a long, long time. it's...familiar. maybe that's why he wants to find out more, see if his instincts are right. if they have more in common than being stuck here.

the question makes will look down again, surprised a little by the bruises. he hadn't thought they would be that bad, but he -- or, rather, the monster inside him -- had struggled pretty hard back in the shed.]

No, it's okay. It's...they're...I'm okay. [blatant lying, but it's better to fib than try to explain that he'd caused the injuries himself.]

[ It's a question Peter hasn't even considered, much less talked about with anyone else. Everything just before his arrival here happened so fast, so... violently, that it wrenched the breath out of him and he hasn't really been able to breathe again until.. now.

His eyes drift to the grass, wet and heavy and struggling to keep focus again for a moment. He can't trust anyone or anything, but he finds something inside of himself opening up to the boy. He feels... safe. ]

It's... [ He swallows. ] It was like something wanted to hurt me. They probably thought I did it to myself, acting out or--or something. [ His voice drops to a whisper. An involuntary, sharp shudder slips through him. ]

But it wasn't me. It was something... inside me. [ His eyes widen slowly as he speaks, as he voices it out for the first time. It doesn't make any sense, and his hands move to the sides of his head, fingers curling into messy waves. What the fuck happened to him?

Staring at the boy gives him something to focus on other than himself. It is pretty obvious he's skirting around it, but Peter doesn't call him out on it. The boy could be in danger, so he finds himself asking a question that'll at least let him know whether that danger is something to have to worry about here. ]

Did... it happen here, or back home?

[it's like an echo. not exactly the same -- the thing inside will hadn't wanted to hurt him, just everyone else -- but similar enough that goosebumps rise in a ripple up will's arms and across the back of his neck. he almost asks if it was the same kind of monster, a formless smoky monster of shadow and lightning and wind.

but no, the mind flayer didn't harm it's host. that was important to it, that he not be harmed. it took desperate measures to keep him something akin to safe.

still, will thinks he recognizes enough to say, quietly, looking down at his hands and watching his fingers knot together:] Like something was using you? Wearing you like...like a suit or a puppet or something? Talking with your voice and moving you around and...and things like that?

[ As the younger boy speaks, an odd feeling stirs inside of Peter, and chills slip down his spine sporadically. It's not exactly how his own experience is, but it's... familiar, like it's in the same family. A familiar iciness, darkness. Something foreign inside you, something with purpose.

Something alive. ]

It's like... being choked. From the inside. Like.. it's everywhere in me, and I can't breathe. And it hurts.

[ He doesn't know what it is, doesn't understand what it wants. At first, he thought it was his sister haunting him (it's what he deserves) but.. there's something malevolent to this. Something that doesn't feel like her, not exactly.

Though he's tall, mature for his age, he seems almost like a child in how he's shaking now, how he doesn't dare raise his voice above a whisper, though there's no one else around. He stares at the other boy, sees how tired he is all over again. Maybe it's something Peter can feel more than see, the way Will's eyes are. The way it's like looking into a mirror.

Haunted. But---that means someone else potentially has experienced something like this? God, what a thought, and he's searching more intently now, dark eyes peering right into the other's pair. ]

What would something like that... make someone do?

[will tucks in on himself a little more, scrunching his shoulders up to his ears, folding his hands on his knees. making himself smaller. it's so....it's familiar, but not enough. it's a different kind of monster, which means there are different kinds that like to burrow into people and make homes inside their brains. the idea that there's more than one makes will's chest ache with terror.

but peter's looking at him, dark, haunted, shadowed eyes boring into his own, and will can't lie. he can't lie to who might be the only other person who understands.

so he swallows hard, licks his suddenly dry lips.]

I-It would...make them...say things or do things they...didn't want to do. Watch people through them. Hurt people. Kill people.

[ There's a new level of horror seeping into him now. Peter's staring at the kid (he's probably not actually a kid, but he seems quite young, maybe around Charlie's age or even younger, and his mind can't help thinking about how young she really was (just a lamb, defenseless). There's an odd ache in his ribcage, a lump in his throat, as he looks at Will: the way he's curling into himself like he wants to disappear.

'Hurt people.
Kill people.'

Peter's not questioning or doubting what Will tells him despite how shocking it is. Something is wrong in the world, there's---there's inexplainable, dangerous things going on, and Peter's clearly not the only one who's seen the effects of that. It's not relief, not at all. But it's something, some connection, some.... ounce of familiarity to be found in the simple fact that someone else.... knows about this kind of thing (whatever exactly "this kind of thing" is). He hasn't felt connected to anyone in a long, long time, and it's horrific, what they're able to connect over, but it's also like taking a breath of air after being trapped underwater for too long.

Peter slowly draws closer to Will, rather than moving away. ]

I'm.... I'm sorry.

[ It isn't encouraging words; there's no "it's okay", because it isn't. He isn't trying to put on a brave face for him either; Peter's trembling and he looks just as ill. It's simply raw empathy, thick brows knitting together, eyes glossing over with a film of tears that don't fall, just rest there in his eyes. He hasn't reached out for anyone in a long time -- he can't even remember when, he's almost forgotten how? -- but his hand moves to the younger's, fingertips hesitating just a moment before he gives it a soft squeeze. ]

[apologies haven't been much help up until now -- appreciated, yes, but always undercut with the awareness that nobody else can understand. they don't know what it feels like, to hear yourself, see yourself, and not be able to do anything about what you say or do. to feel that helpless and trapped.

peter does. he does, and he's wearing the effects of it, on his face, in his eyes, the same way will is, and it probably makes will the worst sort of selfish to feel relief. he's so, so tired of being alone.

his whole body flinches when he's touched, the small point of contact almost making him jerk away. but he doesn't. he swallows tightly and looks up at peter, shoulders slack in that guilty, shameful relief.]

I'm sorry too.

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AUGUST 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

AUGUST 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

BLOOD IN MY VEINS

I AM THE GREAT UNKNOWN

Character Arrival

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