MAY 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

MAY 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to May's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: DARK FANTASY 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: Heightened mental health issues (anxiety & paranoia), auditory hallucinations, option for visions of canon death and violence, child death, corpses, possession.
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

DEATH'S EYE

Desperation and anxiety are things that come easily in a place like Deerington, but lately it seems like it's being felt in waves. Maybe you're feeling more desperate to get home, maybe you're afraid of what will happen when you do leave here, or maybe you're dreading what the month to come has in store for you. Some people might just start to feel anxious and terrified with no real reason behind it. The worries are plaguing your thoughts, leaving you unable to trust those around you. You keep seeing visions in your dreams of violent wars, senseless murders, and all of it seems to end with a stand in the middle of the woods with a single glass orb.

There's no rationality for it, but eventually, you'll feel compelled to find the orb. You'll find that when you leave the house to go somewhere, you'll forget where you were headed, only to end up at the edge of the forest. Sometimes you might sleepwalk and wake up in the dirt by the trees. If you decide to fight it and keep leaving, you will grow more and more paranoid, isolated, and violently aggressive to those around you. If you can wait out a full week, you might find the anxiety starts to ease, and slowly over the course of five days, you will begin to return to normal.

If you don't fight it and head into the woods, you will feel pulled to follow a long and winding path through the woods. There are multiple branches off of the path, but you won't feel compelled to go down them. Keep heading straight. Another personal will eventually stumble down the path you're on as well and the two of you will walk together through the woods.

Eventually you'll find a clearing. It's the same clearing from your dream with the same orb displayed in front of you. One or both characters will hear whispering throughout the clearing that grows more intense the closer you get to the orb. They're urging you to touch it, to free yourself from the pain you've been feeling for days on end. The strong can fight it, but most characters will be too weak from the lack of sleep and the constant fear to refuse to give in.

If you do fight it, you can leave the clearing, but the same anxiety and paranoia cycles will follow you for another full week before it begins to ease. If you don't fight it and you touch the orb, you will be filled with a blinding pain that runs through your entire body. There will be a quick and heavy sequence of images that runs through your mind; they will be images of the most traumatic experiences that your companion has ever faced and you will feel as though you were experiencing every moment first hand.

When you break free, the anxiety and paranoia will be gone and you'll be back to yourself. It seems you two will have a lot to talk about on the walk home.

Note: It does not have to be just one character who touches the orb. Both characters are welcome to.

NOW YOU SEE ME

The first few signs you're being haunted are easy to miss. Maybe you think you just misplaced your keys or put that book you were reading down on a different counter than where you find it. Things get a little harder to ignore when random objects start to fall off shelves or glasses shatter without any warning. Eventually there's no denying you've got a full fledged poltergeist on your hands; the walls will shake and screams will echo in your head that you can't block out no matter how tightly you cover your ears. Lights will flicker and bulbs will eventually blow from the power surges. Objects that fly across the room will barely miss your head— some might not even miss at all.

If you know any tricks for getting rid of angry spirits, none of them will work. Trying them seems to only make the spirit angrier. If you try too many times to get rid of the spirit, it will eventually possess you, filling you with a blind and violent rage that can make you attack even your closest of friends. The possession will last for one full hour and once the spirit leaves you, you'll feel completely drained for the rest of the day.

But there's hope! In your blessing's basket, your character will find one-half of an antler wreath. The trick is to find the person with the other half. Each wreath will have a unique set of flowers on them and you will have to find the person who has the flowers that match your own. Both of you will have been being haunted by the same ghost, it seems; they were a busy little poltergeist.

Once the two halves of the wreath are connected, it will begin to glow, before a faint wisp of light starts to travel a path in front of you both. If you follow the path of light, it will take you through the town, down the roads, through the playground at the elementary school, and eventually stopping near the edges of Koji Pond. Continuing to search will eventually lead to both character's stumbling on the body of a young child. Rest the wreath against them and the light will encompass the body, becoming blindingly bright, before disappearing altogether.

Both characters will be filled with a sense of peace afterward and will be safe from harm for a full twenty-four hours after the ceremony is complete.

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

Raven Darkholme (Mystique) | Marvel 616

[skinsuits]

A. Now You See Me
[Raven's gotten terrorized by her own fair share of psychics, but this place wasn't her world, and she might have been thankful to cross paths with any familiar face. Friend or foe. But this wasn't that. This was something else. She wasn't into the whole notion that spirits linger on this plane before passing into the afterlife since she knew how her own version of hell seemed to work. So the fact that she was being haunted by something or someone hadn't really struck her as real. By her logic there had to be a better explanation.

Until it starts to infringe on her beauty rest.

Eventually she overhears others discussing the way to rid themselves of the curse, and is thankful she hadn't thrown out her half of the wreath. That very night she wanders around town with it looking for someone who might have the matching half to hers. She isn't particularly friendly, but it helps that here no one knows who she is or what she's done. Aside from the blue skin and yellow eyes, they don't have any real reason to find her unapproachable--she hopes.

Although she doesn't show it, she's desperate to get this resolved so she can get a full night sleep without something shattering ever few hours.]

You. Show me your wreath. [It's a little demanding, but she's been doing this for a while and her patience is wearing thin.]

B. Arrival
[The room she's set up in isn't up to the standard of luxury she prefers, but more concerning than that was the question of how she even got there. This place didn't feel like her Earth, but there wasn't anything there to make her feel as though she was pushed out of her own timeline. No one seemed to have the answers she was looking for, and when she grew tired of asking around, she decided to do a bit of exploring.

Nothing around the city seems familiar, and so far no one she's run into looks the least bit familiar. It's truly a relief that she doesn't have to be in hiding constantly with law enforcement waiting for a chance to arrest her. Eventually she drops her more human-looking persona for her real form. Which ever version of America this was had no criminal record for her or the FBI would have collected her days ago from facial recognition alone.

With this newfound freedom, she'll be around town asking questions and getting to know her surroundings. She tries not to survey the city for people she can incapacitate and replace, steal from, or manipulate. With a fresh start, she'd rather be sure of what she wants to do before she makes herself a public enemy.]

Does everything in this place have to be so goddamn creepy?

C. Network Post
So what do people do around here for fun?
I'm in desperate need of something interesting to do.

D. Wildcard
(Feel free to bring your own starters. I'm open to anything. PM or contact me on Discord: Yandere#7980 to plot.)

C! un: mols

[oofta]

ive been going to the library but theres also a theater :)

[skinsuits]

How unfortunate.
Any bars?

[oofta]

oh sure arent there bars everywhere? if you didnt get a map when you arrived i have one you can borrow :)

A.

[variantcover]

[ Gwen's on her way home from her job at the comic book store. She had to close much later than usual because this freaking poltergeist thing was making her life a living hell, making a total mess of the shop and being a constant annoyance. Now Gwen knew how people felt when she was around, maybe...

Anyway, if Mystique was looking for someone who doesn't know who she is or what she's done, she's found the wrong -pool for that. ]

Uh. Why? What do you want with it?

[ Gwen has been busy all day, and hasn't heard that the wreaths are the key to solving the poltergeist problem. So she's just on instant alert that whatever Mystique of all people wants to do with her wreath, it's probably bad news. ]

[skinsuits]

[She knows of Gwen, but isn't going to recognize her outside of the usual pink and white suit she's memorable for. The comic book clerk outfit doesn't do anything for her figure, but Raven keeps that to herself in favor of trying to accomplish her goal.]

Apparently if I find the match to this one, I'll get to sleep through the night and be a smidge less murderous.
So be a doll and show me yours while I show you mine.

[Raven holds her half up, trying not to seem too irritated at having to go through this process for the dozenth time in hopes of finding the one that matches hers.]

[variantcover]

[ Probably best to keep it that way. The longer she can stay off Mystique's (s)hit list, the better. ]

Oh, yeah. Sure. That's a good enough cause.

[ Gwen unzips her shark backpack and withdraws her wreath half. It's dotted with small purple and white flowers. ]

Is this a match?

C

[speed_of_snark]

You're desperate all right.

[skinsuits]

Of all the X-Men, you had to be the one stuck here with me?
Kill me.

[speed_of_snark]

You're just mad that I'm prettier without having to shapeshift.

'Fun' is pretty limited around here. I mean, we're in Maine. Sort of.

B

[laminae]

[When you come from a world where sentient talking candy is the norm, one lady who resembles a human and happens to be blue isn't going to make you bat an eye. Especially in Deerington, which has its fair share of bizarre-looking residents. Fern included, being literally made out of grass and all.

He's just hanging out under a tree, fiddling with some texts on his phone when he hears the question. That probably wasn't directed at him exactly, but that sounds like something another Sleeper would ask and he figures he might as well say something.]

I think that's the vibe this place is going for, 'creepy and the worst'.

[skinsuits]

[There are a lot of young people around without parents, she's noticed, but that's not her job to care about or question. She looks over to the green kid, wondering if maybe he's also a mutant.]

It feels like a real life horror film, but not the jump scare kind. The ones with the unsettling music that make you uneasy while you wait for something bad to happen.

[Raven may possibly have a soft spot for kids, and mutant kids even more so.]

[laminae]

[Practically all of his movie knowledge comes from whatever videos he and Jake could scrounge up from ancient human ruins, but he's seen enough to know what she's talking about.]

That tracks. Sometimes there are jumpscares, though. Sometimes it's a whole bunch of monsters wanting to eat us, or other people or whatever. Those months are usually the more straightforward ones, y'know? Kill the thing before it kills you.

[.... It's straightforward to him, at least.]

Arrival

[4thwaller]

[ Unfortunately for Wade's possibly ex-wife from another dimension, he doesn't look like the Wade she might possibly know. No blonde hair, no blue eyes, no scars that make him look like sad pork rind. No, he looks like any other Joe, pushing a shopping cart from god knows where seeing as it has food, clothes and a bunch of items that are definitely haunted.

His head swivels to her, and his brown eyes trail from head to toe and then back up. ]

I don't remember seeing anything about Sexy Smurfette. [ Is that a compliment or an insult? ]

It can't help it, it was written that way. You try to be a native to a creepy Stephen King wet-dream and see if you come out of it unscathed.

[ Maybe luckily or unluckily for them both, he's in civvies. ]

Lemme guess, new in town?

[skinsuits]

[She only turns to get a good look at him after the Smurfette comment that she doesn't find the least bit amusing.]

You talk about it like it's a living thing. [Raven glances at the ground for a second, then shakes her head. This place wasn't Krakoa. It could have very well been someone's interpretation of Stephen King. Maybe it was some sort of psychic or illusionist punishing a bunch of assholes for something they did. She'd get to the bottom of it eventually, but in the meantime..]

Is it that obvious? Gonna show me around?

[Yeah, she caught him looking her over. Maybe he'd be useful later on. Could be fun to keep him around.]

If you have an issue w his fourthwalling I can change it!

[4thwaller]

I watched a crack in the road heal up all goopy and gross like a wound. There's probably still a scar. Really gives you the heebies to match your jeebies, if you know what I mean.

[ He narrows an eye, squinting. ]

No, I just know which X-Virgins are here and which one's aren't. And you weren't on the list.

[ Womp. There it is. But he does seem to consider her other question. Apparently knowing who she is, or having an idea at least since Katniss always avoided him at the X-Mansion, doesn't really draw any bad or good feelings.

Fingers thrum over the push bar of the shopping cart he's got. ]

You need a tour guide? I can show you the perfect spot to throw rocks at all the goody goody spandex shoes.

[ It's a shame Daredevil is gone, he was a lotta fun to try to nail with a rock. ]

Not to mention a Chinese place to die for. I could inject the mapo doufu directly into my veins.

B and also omg yes

[kinetically_charged]

[Now, here was the question. A very important question, and one he's had to ask himself almost every time they meet up:

Was Mystique wanting to kill him?

Honestly, it was a 50/50 chance most days. Sometimes they could work together. Other times she was making it very clear just what she thought of him. Then again, she hasn't shot him. Yet.

So Remy counts that as a win.] Does feel a little like fallin' 'nto a Stephen King book, non?

[skinsuits]

[One would think after gifting him three adorable kittens the guy might stop being so suspicious of her. Obviously he's holding on to the past and the times she's tried to sleep with him for nefarious reasons.

Even here, Remy was pretty off-limits if she ever wanted Rogue to hate her just a little bit less. Not that she was even aware there was any version of her foster daughter here yet. But, maybe she's just saving her bullets for when he really pisses her off.]

Almost exactly like that. I'm just waiting for some supernatural creature to come out and try to eat me. [She lets out a soft sigh, shaking her head. If he was here that meant they were in the same boat, more or less.] How the hell did you end up here too?

[kinetically_charged]

[As wonderful as the cats were, and as much as Remy adores them so, it really doesn't counter out the whole Foxx thing... let alone other stuff she has done, to him and to Rogue. Then again, she was civil last time he saw her at the wedding, so he guesses he can give her a bit of leeway. For now.]

Give it time, from what I hear of this place. [Remy's tone was less than amused at that idea, or anything this town could throw at them. Normal life was crazy enough, let alone showing up in a place set in the Twilight Zone.]

Went to bed one night, woke up next day here. Ya know, after a wonderful dream of bein' dragged through the woods that I really be questionin' if was actually a dream.

now you see me -- and sorry for her

[touchofrogue]

[ Rogue is out and about for similar reasons as Mystique, though when she sees the woman approaching a poor stranger only to find it incompatible, she...

...(her stomach lurches and she feels sick and so, so, so angry)...knows she doesn't have to run, is absolutely certain that she is capable of facing her (and hating it, hating it so much, feeling so guilty and so angry and still so hurt - she's not over it, it's been five years, you'd think she'd be over it, but it still simmers and churns within her), but she still...

turns and crosses over to the other side of the street and stars walking very quickly in the opposite direction. If she's lucky, Mystique won't have noticed her and she won't have to physically confront her mother after only just discovering that she's arrived, because Rogue is not sure what she'll do if she does. ]

oh no, her favorite child appears

[skinsuits]

[She's very caught up in the one-sided conversation going on between herself and the poor soul who seemed to be holding a wreath similar to her own. Raven is lining them up to compare by force when she catches a streak of white hair in the corner of her eye. It's enough to make her look up.

Even if she's completely mistaken, she wants to know for sure it isn't girl she helped raise. There's always been a spot in her heart for her even though she's done so many things that seem counterproductive. She loves Rogue. That's her daughter, and she'd do anything for her. Which is part of what put such a rift between them. Apparently being willing to sacrifice a baby to wake her from a coma is not the sort of love Rogue wanted that time.]

Is it...is it you? You look different.

[Just because it was Rogue didn't mean it was her Rogue. She should have known it was too good to be true. Still, wouldn't one from another universe/multiverse/timeline be almost as good.]

Do you know who I am?

so - thoughts on them having matching wreaths? and again, sorry for her 1/2

[touchofrogue]

[ NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE.

No.

NOPE.

No.

...fuck. ]

2/2

[touchofrogue]

[ The worst thing you can do with Mystique is trust her.

The second worst thing you can do with Mystique is show any weakness.

So when her plan of noping into the atmosphere fails her (and of course it would), Rogue holds still for a long moment, just trying to breath beyond the thundering in her ears and the intensity of her fight or fight reaction.

Mystique was not the enemy here, the situation was the enemy, she should not lose her temper, she should not immediately isolate her, she should not--

She turns around and rakes her mother with a fierce glare, taking her in from the top of her head to the toes of her feet with palatable disdain. ]

Like I could forget.

[ ...but there are differences that she sees now that she's closer. It's the way she's carrying herself more than anything about the way Mystique looks - Mystique can look like anything. It's a fragile thread, but it keeps her from stalking off again. ]

B o hi mom

[suchmiracles]

[ Kurt has been in Deerington for long enough now to know that whatever dictates the dream -- Sodder or otherwise -- isn't likely to ever give them a break, but the last few weeks have felt like the closest to one he's had since arriving. There are no monsters tearing through the streets, nothing stalking their sleep and waking hours, no rains of blood or fire. In some ways, things seem to be settling into something like a normal routine. He feels almost bouyed by the idea that he might be starting to get on top of this strange second chance at a life.

Pride, as they say, so often goeth before a fall.

With the plant life still choking the streets, he's walking to work instead of getting a ride from Logan or Wes. It's pleasant enough in the bright spring air and he always enjoys the opportunity to keep an eye on what's going on.

When he sees her, she's got her back turned and it's almost enough to be able to write off the sudden hitch of his heart and the sense of foreboding that runs ice-cold down his spine as a coincidence. Surely, across all possible universes, she isn't the only red-headed blue-skinned woman, with that particular build, that way of standing -- then she turns her head slightly and he knows, somehow, instinctively, that it's her.

The urge to run or teleport away is strong enough to make the muscles in his legs twinge. He flinches slightly but doesn't go, indecisive, leaving him standing slightly awkwardly on the mossy sidewalk. ]

sonny boy

[skinsuits]

[Raven doesn't have the advantage of having spotted Kurt in advance. She was having a short-lived conversation with someone else until he happens to turn around and catch her son looking her way. It's disarming in a way she hadn't felt recently. Had the setting been different, running into him would have been more planned than coincidental, so this catches her off guard.

She has nothing to say planned, no mission to accomplish, or motivations that might require manipulation to achieve. It's just the two of them and their strained past. Two people couldn't possibly have looked so alike and had less in common than they did, but she takes steps to approach him apprehensively.]

So you're here too? You look well.

[Her eyes take him in from head to toe once, then scrutinize his face.]

It is you, isn't it? This isn't a trick?