AUGUST 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

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.

Comments

[mrsnesbitt]

[he's worried for a moment that was a bit too much-- kind of like actually literally shouting right behind bonnie but! it seems luck is still on his side, because she just taps his voice box again.]

We'll complete this mission together! [he chirps off. he just about manages to follow her gaze before it would require actually moving his body. a forest...?

don't think he's ever been to a real one. what could she be planning?]

[finaletea]

[To Mami, there doesn't seem like another option at this point. No one in town can help her, and she's already tried the road with no luck. Surely there has to be a way to escape through the forest.] Right... [She lets out a sigh as the ring on her finger starts to glow again and reshape into her soul gem. She then gently sets Buzz down on the bench, adjusting him so he's sitting.]

Thank you for the company; I really hope your owner finds you.

[She smiles then adjusts the soul gem in hand. The girl is swallowed in golden light for a moment then appears again in a new, frilly outfit. With a brave face, she turns back to the forest and starts walking in.]

[mrsnesbitt]

[he wasn't actually expecting her to put him down, but you know what? that actually just makes it easier. when her back is to him and she's a couple steps away, after a cursory glance around, buzz pulls himself up to his feet. a little stiff from being in the same position for so long. he slips off the back of the bench, through the space between the backrest and the... seat...part?? seems like whoever does the grass around here's been neglecting it; he grimaces as he gets a couple blades stuck between his knee joints.

buzz watches her walk away, then look back to town. then back to mami. riiight as she transforms. he was going to run off back to the town and try that toy store but...

that's just straight-up magic! or really good smoke and mirrors. or maybe straight-up magic??

maybe a bad idea, but he opts to go after her, still trying to stay hidden. the long grass helps. he stops by a rubbish bin on the side of the path, pressing his back to it to edge around.]

[finaletea]

[This is probably a terrible idea. The girl knows that, but she feels like her back to the wall already. Being trapped like this feels so awful, so she'd rather try something than nothing at all. Even if that means getting into a little danger.

Once Mami can't see the edge of town down the path anymore, she summons one of her muskets to keep close to her. You know... just in case. There seems to be all kinds of dark magic around her that already has her on edge as.

Not on edge enough to realize she's being followed though...]

[mrsnesbitt]

[both of them are not making great choices right now... buzz is definitely aware that scooting after her was really bad, but he's too curious to see what that transformation was all about. it was like something on tv but-- in real life! imagine that.

not to mention there was definitely no-one around, so if she turns and he ends up in her line of sight and has to topple over? bad. buzz doesn't follow the vague path like mami, nor can he pick up on the bad magic. he really should've just gone back to town... but just leaving her also doesn't feel right? he's not sure why. maybe just nothing feels right around here.

it's very quiet. the pained shriek of a distant bird makes him jump a little, just barely avoiding walking over some twigs. he stops entirely, ducking by some tree roots and... has to just take a moment to not freak out.]

[finaletea]

[It seems the deep they go, the denser the forest gets. It feels darker somehow and starts to make Mami feel a little claustrophobic. It's almost like it is trying to swallow her up, and she finds it harder to catch her breath somehow...

But then the bird also makes her jump, and she lets out a loud gasp of air she had been holding in. Without thinking, her finger slips on the trigger, and she accidentally fires straight toward Buzz with her musket!]

[mrsnesbitt]

[you know, buzz has been shot at before.

not this buzz, the buzz from his video game and tv show. he gets shot at quite a lot during his adventures and as a result... is used to it. he has an impenetrable spacesuit that deflects bullets! he has a real laser!

this buzz hears the musket fire and the ball collide with the tree, creating an explosion of bark and wood and doesn't even process what it is until a couple seconds after it's done. he can't actually help yelping a little-- if the musket shot had hit him he definitely would've very quickly become an ex-toy, and that's a kind of a distracting thought! it's making him think of sid, even if mami has already proven herself to be significantly different kind of person. it was an accident, right? coincidence. she didn't see him.

after he yelps, he slaps his hand over his mouth and crouches between the tree roots as he's showered with bark. a couple heavy bits hit him and one gets wedged in the space where his helmet shooshes out, but it's certainly preferable to being fucking shot.]

[finaletea]

[Mami had surprised herself with the gun, but she's more so surprised when she hears the shout. Someone was actually following her? She can worry about the details later; first she needs to help the person she shot.]

I-I'm so sorry!! I didn't mean it-!

[Unless they're here to cause trouble, then they're gonna have to deal with more shots. But innocent until proven guilty, Mami moves over to help clear the debris.]

Are you hurt!?

[mrsnesbitt]

[she didn't see him, right? hell. he thinks for a moment, still between the tree roots. maybe before she comes over...

he's kind of acting in desperation here. he calls out:] I'm fine, you missed me! I have to go now, bye!

[that-- okay. that had to do it, right? that'll explain why there's no-one there when mami comes to look. buzz doesn't go back into toy mode unless she gets close enough to risk blowing his cover. at least the bark that fell on him and the mud makes him look a little more like he's been there a while. just the same brand toy she saw before, a complete coincidence. buzz lightyears are very popular! it's fine. there's nothing going on.]

[finaletea]

[The voice takes her back for a moment. Why does it sound so familiar. But she does her best to shake it off and continue to clean up the debris.

But she's surprised to find the toy again. The girl blinks as she picks it up, brushing off the dirt.]

What the...?

[She takes in a breath when a chill runs up her spine. Something isn't right...]

[mrsnesbitt]

[this was, what... the first person? the first entire person that even picked him up or looked at him here? and he's already screwed it up. great. cool. amazing job, buzz. you had one thing to do, and that one single job was to not let anyone Know.

it really was the transformation that threw him off. he should've followed his initial instinct to just leave it and continue his quest to find his friends. it's not like mami was his only lead! she wasn't a lead at all! she just unknowingly gave him a lift! and buzz followed her because the woods made him curious and also so did the magic!

it's not enough to make him betray The Rule™. buzz stays in toy mode, though that stupid default buzz lightyear grin is a little hard to keep up when he feels so bad for upsetting her. regardless, he doesn't let it waver. he's not actually sure if he can? look, buzz doesn't think too hard about most things, least of all how any of this toy biology stuff works. it just is.]

[finaletea]

[Mami turns the toy over a few times in her hands, unsure of what to think of it. Bebe was stuffed animal....like. So could this action figure maybe be...?

Her grip on him tightens]

If you are possessed....haunted... reveal yourself to me. Now.

[The friendly tone she had is completely gone, and the blonde has a deadly serious look her face. This world has her on edge enough as sis, and quite frankyly, she's done playing.]

[mrsnesbitt]

[that's a good line of questioning, mami. is he either of those things? who knows! who knows why toys are the way they are in pixar's Toy Story™ series!

of course, there's no answer. buzz is determined to stay incognito, even if she ends up breaking him over this. he can take losing a limb or two. maybe getting thrown into a tree. he can take it! all the name of keeping The Secret! any other outcome is absolutely untenable; he can't put the toys here in danger because of his own slip up!






you know, if he was going to get blown up somehow, he always thought it would be in a backyard. the middle of a cursed forest didn't even cross his mind.]

[finaletea]

[....No answer. A normal person would've just laughed it off and call themself crazy maybe. But Mami is not a normal girl anymore; she hasn't been for awhile.

Instead she tosses the toy against the tree. Not hard or anything, but she wants it away from her and up against something. There is no way this just a toy. She won't be tricked so easily.]

If you won't answer me...

[She raises the gun, aiming it straight for him.]

This is your last chance!

[mrsnesbitt]

[his tiny metaphorical battery-powered heart is in his metaphorical throat right now. what does he do? this is way outside his wheelhouse. no-one he's encountered has ever done this. if she fires, she'll definitely break him to disrepair with one shot-- look at what it did to the tree! this apparent dream is turning into more of a nightmare...

...wait. dream, nightmare-- she used magic. magic so clear there was no way for buzz to just wave it off as a cool smoke and mirrors costume trick. this isn't real, and buzz certainly has no intention of lucid dreaming about being broken and leaving his friends behind. they're the only ones out here-- he'll catch the consequences of his own stupid mistake. besides, who would believe her? ugh, as much as he hates that part of it...

it takes a lot to even make his arm vaguely twitch, not with a human staring him down so hard. being held at gunpoint certainly is a sufficient motivator. finally, his expression shifts.]

I... I come in peace! [nailed it]

[finaletea]

((Continuing here!))