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

_{[Many people have tried and failed to find a hint of anything in her face, speaking to the time and energy she's dedicated to installing layers of steel beneath her poker face. And the longer this goes on with no clue as to the reason behind it, the more she leans on it to hide the truth: that she's getting scared this is way beyond the usual demented shit at Kings.

The brooding queen of the damned look certainly helps deflect, too. She delivers a blank stare from beneath lids painted a purple so dark it's almost black in the shadows of the hedge wall.]}

Don't take this the wrong way, but until this chain comes off or you provide a conclusive reason for the bondage play, I don't care. Now shhh.

_{[The footsteps have passed by, or so it would seem. She leans close to the corner again, ear cocked, listening. The rhythmic, heavy steps of someone of considerable heft are already fading down another branch of the maze.

This is the first step up she's had in ages. They have the advantage if they can fall in behind any undesirables.]}

[ Her disinterested reaction to the vexing news that his name is Peter is... relieving. She could be pretending not to know him, but those people... didn't seem the type. They'd used his name almost like a weapon against him, cried it out at him.

He doesn't verbally reply but he's nodding, giving a soft breath that was pent up just moments before. She doesn't know him. She's not one of them.

And he does stay shhhed, obediently, though there's the softest clank of the chain as he leans in close once again behind her, tilting his own ear close to the hedge... over her head. The footsteps have faded away. That's good, but he still wants to put as much distance between them and the direction those things are going in.

His method to try to convey this to her is to tap her very slowly on the shoulder and then point at the row going in the opposite direction from where the heavy footsteps passed them by. Maybe... that could be the way they came from? Maybe if they head back that way, they'll be able to get out.

Though then again, maybe they're only allowed out if they keep going "forwards", find the exit. ...But Peter's not thinking about that. ]

_{[Everyone has a story, and she spends time with an overwhelming majority of people split between two extreme spectrums: wanting everyone to know their name and their deeds, or living in fear letting a single detail slip to prevent that information being used against them.

She's pitched her tent in the second camp. Unless his identity will keep her life out of danger, he can keep his business to himself, and she'll do the same. If that brings him any kind of relief, she can only hope it pays off in the form of him listening better.

So far? He's not great at it. Tapping her shoulder will require an awkward stretch on his part, as the first thing she does when she feels him hovering again is jam her palm under his chin and push him away.

She follows up with a foreboding look. Stop it. And then a shake of her head. No, if they go back the way they'd come that only puts them further from either entrance or exit. The only way to beat a labyrinth is to solve it.]}