soddersays | AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

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AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to August's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: CRYPTID 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: Violent animals, ghosts, hallucinations
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

Everyone loves s'mores, right? Of course you do. If you've never had them, you're gonna love them, and if for some reason you hate them, well, as it usually goes in Deerington, something inside of you will nag at you about how maybe you ought to give them another chance. There's a variety of different kinds of s'more flavors to try and plenty of perfect campfires to roast your marshmallows over. There's promise of wholesome and innocent fun to be had! Surely that won't be a lie this time.

Everyone who gathers around the fire for some tasty treats will find themselves in the mood to share creepy stories from their home worlds. Maybe they make one up on the spot or maybe it's an ancient legend that was passed down through the ages. Regardless, there's gonna be a whole variety of spooky stories, and the flavor s'more you're eating seems to dictate the theme that you'll end up leaning towards.

🔥 Traditional S'Mores will have people wanting to tell classic ghost stories. Maybe it's a haunted house you ended up in or a spirit who possessed the friend of the brother of this guy from your town once. The main theme here will be ghosts of all varieties.

🔥 Peanut Butter & Chocolate S'Mores will have people wanting to tell slasher stories. A famous serial killer from home, maybe, or the story about a group of kids who went up into a cabin in the mountains where there was once said to be a creepy caretaker and they were never heard from again...

🔥 Chocolate Chip Cookie S'Mores will have people wanting to tell monster stories. Local legends, maybe, or the classic stories about werewolves, vampires, and Bigfoot. Any kind of monsters will do.

🔥 Salted Caramel S'Mores will inspire people to tell revenge stories. These could be legendary warnings that exemplify why vengeance always leads to digging two graves. Or maybe it's your own story of revenge from home— or the fantasy revenge you'd like to get someday.

🔥 Nutella S'Mores will have people wanting to tell personal horror stories. These stories are ones that hit extremely close to home. The scariest, most bone-chilling memory you have, no matter how silly or serious it may be in comparison to those around you. Hopefully most people aren't fans of chocolate hazelnut?

Regardless of which story you hear, anyone gathered around the campfire will listen intently to all words spoken, and they will find themselves believing every word. On your walk home, you'll be filled with a sense of paranoia and dread, seeing things move out of the corner of your eye that may or may not be there. Is that a man with a hook for a hand or is your imagination just playing tricks on you? It's certainly hard to tell.

These can stay as harmless hallucinations, but for those who end up stuck in the paranoia for too long without being talked down, they will slowly start to become real. Eventually, they can become solid enough for other people to start seeing them, and the creatures from your mind may even start to attack. They can be defeated with normal weaponry or by the power of positive thinking! Wish your attacker away with enough conviction, and poof! They'll be gone.

Let's hope you can do it before you end up the victim for the next slasher story someone tells.

AHHH! REAL MONSTERS

It seems that the monsters from these stories aren't the only ones popping up in Deerington, though. There's talk from locals of multiple sightings of classic Maine legends all over town. They're easy to ignore as the townsfolk just being easily spooked for a while. But when enough stories start to line up, you might start to think maybe there's some truth to them. Or maybe you'll even end up seeing one of the monsters for yourself.

Down in Lake Tomoei, the legendary Cassie can sometimes be spotted peaking up from the water, or trying to attack anyone who even tries to go near the lakes shores. She's a nasty beast with one hell of a temper and she's quite possessive of the lake she's found herself in. 100 feet long with a skinny neck and a fish like tale, she definitely seems like a force to be reckoned with. Cassie is easily injured by ordinary weapons, but her skin is thick, so it will take a while to draw blood. Most likely, she'll disappear into the depths of the lake before she can be killed.

Up in the mountains, there's talk of the ancient evil Pamola. Penobscot legend describes him as half-man, half-eagle, with the head of a moose and a temper to match one. Pamola can't stand people visiting his mountain, even for a casual hike, and will often try to deter people away with random and unpredictable storms; thunder, snow, and powerful winds will beat down on whoever goes looking for Pamola. If you manage to find him, he will show no mercy when he attacks. Most who have tried to find him have been killed and eaten by the evil spirit. Because he's an ancient spirit, he will be particularly hard to defeat if you manage to find him; he can not be killed, but you can offer a sacrifice to quell his anger. If you have magical powers that can hurt deities, these will still be effective in weakening him until he retreats.

The final creature that seems to be wandering about is the Specter Moose (pictured above). This moose is thirteen feet tall, with thirteen foot wide antlers, and is a blinding white color. The moose can be found wandering in the park, usually, but sometimes it comes out to look around town. He may seem harmless, even cute, but don't get to close; moose are dangerous and locals fear them for a reason. They can charge at the drop of a hat and not even large vehicles tend to survive an encounter with a creature that big. The Specter Moose also seems to be incapable of being injured by normal weapons; solid objects mostly go right through it, unless it's purposefully aiming for them. You'll either have to get a shot in while he's slamming into something (or someone) or just run. Anyone who has magic or weapons that can hurt spiritual beings will be able to fight the Specter Moose as they normally would.

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.

Threaded | Flat

01: Arrival
[At first the dream reminded Setsuna of one of her premonition, similar to the feeling she had gotten during the eclipse when the enemy had invaded. She felt uneasy, the sense of fear and dread creeping over her. The pain of the dream wasn't anything new, but when she jerked away she found herself panting and sweating as she reached out.]

What was?

[The unfamiliar surroundings made her pause, her long legs slipping from under the sheets as her feet touched the cold floor. This wasn't her home, it wasn't Charon Castle either.]

Where am I?

[Taking a deep breath she tried to recall the dream she had just had. She had been brought here to help, perhaps she would be able to, was her duty as a guardian not yet done? Slipping on a pair of flip flops she wandered out into the streets to learn more about the world she found herself in.]

02: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
[Setsuna knew about s'mores, and that generally it was kids that enjoyed them the most, but it had never been something she had thought of doing herself. Now as she sat around the fire, she was content with just having the company and watching others enjoy their treats as she listened to the stories.]

03: Ahhh! Real Monsters
[She had been brought here to help, to protect others and keep them safe from the dangers that would threaten them. And dutifully so, Sailor Pluto found herself out on patrol, keeping an eye open for any of these manifestations of fear, these monsters and spectral threats that continued to creep up. If anyone found themselves in danger, or there was scream, she'd seem to almost appear from nowhere with her garnet rod in hand ready to face the threat.]

I am the Keeper of the Door of Space and Time. I am Sailor Pluto. Guardian of the Underworld.

Arrival:
[It was a nightmare, but it wasn't enough to unsettle Subaru. He had seen ghosts and malevolent spirits before, he had faced the danger that they presented before. So he did not fight when the deer came, he did not question the plea for help. Rather it make his heart ache a little, as he was resolved to do anything that he could. So when he awoke in a strange place, he suspected that it was still part of the dream.

He had entered into the dreams of others before, the minds and hearts of others, and knew the dangers that it presented. But someone had asked for his help, so he was determined to find them and do whatever he could to bring them peace.

The first thing that he did upon waking was inspect the house he found himself in. Checking his gloves, and then carefully entering each room.]

Hello, I don't mean to intrude, but is there anyone here?

02: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Umm, are you really sure this is a good idea?

[Subaru had never really been a fan of scary stories, finding most of them to be tragic more than haunting. But he also was a little uneasy with the energy that surrounded the area beyond the light of the campfire, even as the s'mores were being made.]

Someone could have nightmares, or not get a very good night's sleep.

[Plus there was already a restless energy, it was possible that a spirit could be drawn to the fear brought on by the stories.]

03: Ahhh! Real Monsters.
[As an onmyōji, it was Subaru's responsibility to investigate claims and problems caused by specters. So when he heard stories of the thirteen foot moose that had begun to appear, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi family had to look into the matter. Wandering the streets it was actually his Shikigami that had found the specter first, drawing Subaru to where it stood in the middle of a street seemingly agitated by something, staring at something or someone he couldn't quite see beyond the vehicles and bins that blocked his line of sight.]

It's even bigger than I thought it would be. I wonder what could be drawing it here.

[Stepping a little closer, Subaru called back his Shikigami having it draw the attention of the moose from whatever it had been pursuing.]

Please, you don't have to hurt anyone or destroy anything else. You can tell me what's wrong.

I. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[ Well this is cozy. She’s pretty sure it is anyways. The whole fire, s’mores supplies… real classic shit. Coraline holds back a sigh, wishing she had just One friend here with her. Then, it’d really be cozy.

She eyes the various confections. Sure, she can’t really like, taste things anymore… the experience might still be nice though? It’s not like she’s ever had the chance to go camping. Might as well do something new, even if it’s fairly worthless.

So yeah. There she is, sitting as far away from the fire as possible with a particularly long stick. A single marshmallow on the end. Please ignore the sunglasses. They will not be coming off. Thank you. ]

I.A.

[ At your approach, she’ll automatically hold out the bag of marshmallows next to her. ]

Here. I’m like, pretty sure they’re free? If not… RIP I guess.

I.B.

[ Later on, she’ll have made and consumed a Chocolate Chip Cookie S'Mores, and the urges are starting to hit. It takes her a while, her usual desire to not draw attention warring with the whole “let’s tell a story!” thing. At the next moment of silence though, she raises her hand and speaks up, justifying it to herself because it’d like, totally be weird to not say anything at all right? ]

Uh…

[ A small pause as she gets the nerve to continue. ]

I uh, got one? It’s this like. Cryptid that’s supposed to live deep in the swamps of Louisiana.

[ Supposed because they now sleep in her apartment 50% of the time. ]

II. Ahhh! Real Monsters

[ Catch Coraline stalking the Specter Moose around town, her curiosity evident even with her (as ever) covered up face. If anyone starts to get too close, she’ll be quick to melt out of the shadows, tugging them back. Or trying to anyways. ]

You uh… might wanna stop. Deadass just saw the thing yeet a truck.

III. Wildcard

[ HMU at

JejuneN if you wanna do anything I guess. ]

i. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

( Abby hasn't been around long, but she has been learning quickly. Where she's from, adaptability is a core survival skill. She pays attention to details, picking up on clues and trends, slowly piecing together a new set of survival tactics, tailored to a very different world. One of the first things she learns to be wary of is temptation: in her limited experience, the more tempting a thing seems, the more dangerous it turns out to be.

So s'mores? Should be a no-brainer.

Except, when you're born two decades and some change after chocolate went extinct and the only marshmallows you've ever encountered were eons past their expiration date, temptation can be difficult to resist.

She cracks for salted caramel: her dad was a fan, Abby was always unconvinced. She tasted caramel once while scavenging for supplies in a dilapidated coffee shop. Most of the syrup bottles that once lined decorative shelves were either missing or empty, but a very determined 13-year-old Abby found the smallest amount of caramel collecting at the bottom of one bottle. Her dad had gotten such a kick from watching her pump the syrup directly into her palm and lick it clean, then unscrew the cap to suck out any syrup trapped in the pump's siphon tube. She remembers his laughter so clearly it makes her chest ache.

Despite her enthusiasm for caramel, Abby remained skeptical that adding salt wouldn't just ruin it. The chances of finding anything caramel again were so slim that it never really mattered, but Abby enjoyed how worked up her dad got, insisting that she'd eat her words if she ever tried it.

When she sees the salted caramel s'mores, she isn't thinking about the inevitable price she'll pay for letting her guard down. She isn't seeing much of anything, all but lost in her memories, almost on autopilot as she takes the first bite.

And then, to her horror, she starts talking. )

When I was 16, my dad was gunned down in his operating room. ( This is the last thing she wants to be sharing, but she can't make herself stop. ) I spent every moment since planning revenge on the man who killed him.

( Fuck. So much for unwinding by the campfire. )

ii. NETWORK

Anyone out there into weight lifting? I'm looking for a spotter.

iii. WILDCARD

( Feel free to choose your own adventure if these prompts don't work for you/your character. PMs are open for any planning needs. )

[ 1 - are you afraid of the dark?; nutella s'mores ]
[ cw: food horror, mentions of murder ]

[ Keiichi hasn't said much at the campfire, and when it was his turn to tell a story, he warned ahead of time that it wasn't going to make much sense. He kept referring to it as something that happened to him, but not him, and he's having trouble elaborating on that last point.

His legs are sprawled out before him, one knee bent so that he can rest an arm on it. He tries to think of where to begin for a moment, then sits up a little bit to begin. ]

There was a horror manga I read when I was younger, and one thing I remember from it was this stupid scene where someone discovered a sewing needle in their food. That scene really freaked me out, and ever since I read it, I started to have nightmares about that sort of thing happening to me.

[ One corner of his lips curls upwards in a cockeyed smile, but that smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. ]

But it was just a stupid scene, right? It wasn't like that would actually happen to him in real life.

[ But then, the smile fades from his face. He picks up the stick he'd been using to roast marshmallows with one hand and pokes it in the direction of the fire, pushing one of the smaller logs an inch or two to revive the dimming flames. ]

I'd been out of school for a few days, and two of my friends came to check up on me. They were worried about me, and they were just trying to cheer me up. They'd even brought me ohagi. But after they left and I bit into one, I felt something sting the inside of my mouth... and when I spat it out, there was a sewing needle in my hand.

[ He bites back some sort of negative emotion, his pupils dilated as he remembers the traumatic event. Well, maybe 'remembers' isn't the right word. ]

It wasn't really there. But because I'd already stopped trusting them, my precious friends... my brain saw what it wanted to see. I became convinced they were trying to kill me, so...

[ He sets down the stick and brings his hands up to the sides of his head, fingers burying themselves in his shaggy hair. ]

That 'me' who lived in that world... he did something terrible. He killed those precious friends. [ His voice chokes with emotion, and but he forces himself through it. ] I still remember it sometimes, even when I look at those same friends' smiling faces... I guess I ended up being the villain in my own horror story.

[ 2 - network; username: kthemagician ]

This really isn't what I had in mind when I said I wanted to visit the United States some time. But I might as well pick up some souvenirs while I'm at it, right?

Does anyone know where I can pick up some board games? The more complicated the rules are, the better.

[ 3 - wildcard ]

[ Want to try something else? Feel free to suggest something here, or just hit me up on plurk @

bofubutt! ]

are you afraid of the dark?

i. I've never actually made one of these!

[Mikey looks delighted, holding the stick out over the fire. He definitely knows what they are - you can buy all sorts of treats based off them in cafes, but he's never actually done the whole campfire routine with them.

He looks even more delighted when his marshmallow goes up in flames, and he begins blowing on it furiously.]

Ah! Where's my chocolate? [He could have sworn he had the other pieces he needed sitting out ready for him once he was ready with the gooey center, but they seem to have disappeared. This just won't do. He gets up to make sure he hasn't sat on it.] Who took it? I need a replacement.

ii. [Mikey isn't usually much of a storyteller. He'll leave that up to others while he sits back and enjoys them, but something about the atmosphere just gets him into the ghost story spirit and he starts telling one without being prompted.]

Shh sh. [He puts a finger to his lips before he starts.] So there was once this woman named Oiwa - beautiful beyond measure. Unfortunately, as is often the case, she married a man who was only interested in her beauty. Somehow this lowlife had another woman interested in him (maybe it was his money), and she was jealous of Oiwa both for her beauty and his affection. This woman, her name was Oume, gave Oiwa a cream for her face as a gift, but it was laced with poison.

The cream caused one of Oiwa's eyes to sag [he pulls down on the skin below one of his eyes with a finger] and for some of her hair to fall out - but it works so subtly that she doesn't even notice. Her husband is so disgusted by the way she looks now that he wants to immediately divorce her and marry Oume instead. He hires one of his friends to have his way with Oiwa, as he could use that as grounds for his divorce, but when his friend sees her he's so shocked that he can't go through with it. Instead he admits the plan to her and shows her a mirror so she can see what's happened to her. She's so distraught with what she sees that she immediately takes the man's sword, killing herself and cursing her husbands name as she does.

Of course said former husband wasted no time in remarrying to Oume, but on his wedding night he found himself faced with the ghost of Oiwa. He immediately fled from her, but she continued to follow. No matter where he went he would see her face in every reflective surface, everywhere he looked, until the day he died.

[He frowns a bit after he finishes, unsure why he'd decided to tell all that in the first place. His sister was always so much better at telling ghost stories than he was.

How awkward.]

real monsters!

Please move to the side, thank you!

[While Mikey isn't one to run from a good fight, most fights don't involve 13-foot tall antlered spirit beasts. His best weapons right now are his feet, and he'd rather not loose a leg trying to kick something like this in the face. So right now running is the best option.

Only he's not sure where he's going to end up running to. He could really use two good solid structure close together to run between so he can escape. Like in the cartoons.]

wildcard.

[Anything else!]

afraid of the dark? (A)
[ Are you enjoying your campfire, Deerington resident? Enjoying the stories? Hope you're not too spooked, because there's a sudden shift behind you in the dark. The crunch of dead leaves, the flash of wide luminous eyes—

Something pounces right at you.

To snatch the bag of marshmallows out of your hand. ]

afraid of the dark? (B)
[ Congrats, there's an entire catgirl at your campfire: short, compact, somewhere in her young teens. Precise age is a bit difficult to tell with the proportions that are subtly wrong, the slate-grey skin, vividly yellow eyes, and the rows of very pointed teeth. She’s wearing some kind of fur hat and boots, but no real creature has fur that eye-searingly blue, right?

And if it’s just a pelt she’s wearing, you’ve got to be imagining the twitch of that blue tail, right?

She fidgets during every story, crinkling marshmallow bags and digging out plump marshmallows one by one to spear on her... claws? The bluish metal blades snikt neatly out from her gloves, each blade as long as her forearm. She very daintily spears a marshmallow on each one and holds them to the fire, then screws up her face in determination when the heat starts to build. This… is definitely a safe and sane way to roast marshmallows. ]

real monsters! (C)
[ Nepeta is stalking cryptids, because of course she is. If you’re on the hunt, she might also be stalking you. Enjoy the feeling of eyes on the back of your neck. This is less undergrowth than she’s used to, less cover, so you may catch a flicker of yellow eyes or the twitch of a blue tail. ]

arrival! (D)
[ Oh wow what a shame the Fluid doesn't seem to allow bullshit text options!!! Gosh!! A travesty. ]

:33 < this chat system is SO DUMB!!!
:33 < it really cant do colors at all???
:33 < and i have to type out my kitty faces efurry time...
:33 < ://

arrival! (E)
[ Congrats, friend. Have you found this posted to the network? Is it in your inbox? Who knows! Nepeta is bored and she’s going to find someone to roleplay with. ]

:33 < *the fierce huntress stalks the str33ts of this strange new world*
:33 < *ears pricked fur the sounds of prey or purrhaps a fellow hunter...*

[ Have fun with that. ]

Edited 2020-07-31 00:04 (UTC)

I. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

[ No, not really. Jesse hasn't been afraid of the dark since she was a kid. There's scarier things in the daytime, behind locked doors, behind government secrets. Too much of her life has been made into a mystery and pointing at her saying she's crazy to be scared of the dark.

Though... eating s'mores? That's something she hasn't done in a long time. Like, deprived. Just like most family activities.

What kind of flavor of a s'more she gets... well that's up to who she is sitting next to at the campfire. ]

III. CHARACTER ARRIVAL

[ Weird is not unusual for Jesse Faden. Arriving in a new dimension with weird dream logic? Okay... normal. Well, maybe not the dream part. The other dimension or timeline or whatever this is? More along what she's used to dealing with.

Falling into a cavern though--that feels more like a dream.

She cautiously gets off the bed and looks around.

'Okay... ghost deer. That's new. Creepy house with creepy soft music playing? Hopefully Stephen King isn't writing this.'

You never know though.

Jesse inhales sharply before opening the door from the bedroom and stepping outside. ]

► S'MORES

( she's heard a lot of really spooky stories, though in lydia's terms they're not actually scary, just a little creepy or weird. she hadn't looked at the s'more that she'd been passed, taking the snack whilst she'd been listening but when her story starts... well, it certainly sounds a little personal )

People have attempted to kill me more times than I can count. The first time, the first real time one of my teachers tried to use a garotte.

( her s'more? nutella )

They were trying to fill some prophecy to draw power, symbols in three. But I was in the way, I'd figured out too much of her plan. She didn't succeed but a lot of things ended up changing that night.

► NETWORK / UN: MARTIN

1) deerington? that's really the name of this non-existant town?
2) how many people are in this dream?
3) has anyone tried contacting a spirit here?

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

When was the last time she sat around a campfire to actively enjoy something?

Gertrude Robinson was a woman who would much rather listen to stories then tell her own, sitting with her hands folded on her lap. She's an older woman, unassuming as she is dressed in what appears to be slightly modern library chic in drab colors. Nothing to make her stand out, nothing to show she can be a threat in her own right. She accepts all the components to make a s'more, nothing too extravagant as she starts to impale the marshmallow on the stick.

"Oh, well, I might have a story or two." She muses. "It's a matter of picking which one would be best."

So what story should she tell?

AHHH! REAL MONSTERS

"Tell me more."

There's static in her words, but kindness in her tone that makes it difficult to tell that she's dragging the story out of her victim. They speak of monsters high up in the mountains or deep in the lake and even warn her to not wander too far without a plan. It's not often that she uses her ability to compel, but when the stories are disjointed with no consistency? Perhaps it was time to use it more.

The Spectral Moose catches her interest the most. Not because it was a dangerous creature (she's heard stories about them from Canadian tourists), but the very nature of it being ghost-like fascinated her. It was rare to run into the ghost of a beast, at least in her work. Those statements she did record or read are mostly in regard to how monstrous humans can be.

So Gertrude sits on a bench, book in hand, waiting for this creature to appear. And when it does? She may have miscalculated exactly how large it is.

NETWORK

un: g.robinson

Has anyone actually left?
I'm curious about what is beyond the town, but not without some knowledge.
Any assistance would be appreciated.

( network | un: greywaren )

[ he still fucking hates phones, but.. this place is a dream. not one of his dreams, and the trees don't speak, in latin or otherwise. needs must. ]

i hear i was in this place before. i don't fucking remember it. [ he always remembers his dreams. every one, all of them. but then again, he has to remember that he's not the one dreaming this one. ]
cabeswater sound familiar to anyone?
what happens when you dream inside a dream?

( are you afraid of the dark? )

[ ronan's there, sprawled out in a seat like he owns it and everything there. he's dressed in black--black jeans and a black tank--and his tattoo sweeps up over his shoulders and the back of his neck, wings and claws and beaks, sharp swirls that look like they could draw blood.

there's also a raven perched on his shoulder, huge and black, grunting to herself as she worries at the bottle cap from the beer he's drinking. he's probably technically not legally old enough to drink, but when's that ever stopped him? he's taking it easy, at least-- it's his first and only beer of the night.

someone ends a story, and ronan's response is a short, sharp bark of laughter, which chainsaw echoes a moment later in her own clicking way. he reaches up with his free hand to stroke her breast once, pale blue eyes flicking to the speaker. ] Man, that's gotta' be bullshit. [ but he sure doesn't seem inclined to offer one instead. ]

[ ooc; i'm taking him from post-bllb but before trk. ]

[a - arrival]

[ Hell is other people. It seems especially ironic that someone like Peter whose entire existence has been about carefully curating fearful loneliness has found his last dream to be one populated by far too many people and no clear avenue of exit. The thought alone is enough to make his skin crawl.

Absolutely horrible.

But it seems that until this place sees fit to release him he has no choice but to play along. As is his preference, Peter prefers to do much of his exploration in the evening hours when there are fewer people on the streets. And if there happens to be a fog coming up from seemingly nowhere then it can most likely be blamed on some odd weather patterns. ]

[b - text, un: tundra]

such an odd place, this town
so far away from everything you know
isolated
don't you ever find it a bit hard to cope realizing you might never see home again?

[c - wildcard]

[ If you'd like to do something else feel free to hit me up via PM or at

blackskymetro ]

Edited 2020-08-04 01:49 (UTC)

I. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[Klaus finds himself sitting by a campfire, propped up into a sitting position by a fallen log that most people are actually seated on, long gangly legs shamelessly splayed out in front of him. He's only been half-listening to everyone's stories so far, his thoughts drifting back and forth between his current predicament and the one he's left back home, fingers idly picking at one of the s'mores he's been nibbling at for the last half hour. Honestly he's itching for something that'll hit harder than just sugar, but with no options of the kind this is what he's left with. S'mores. He's been alternating between the classic and the nutella, because how could he resist either, and maybe the additional chocolate will provide a nice, pleasurable zing of glucose.

Eventually his eyes lift from the campfire, and as someone's story starts to trail off he says, almost dreamily--] I've got a story.

[His voice is soft, airy, like someone who's just woken up from a long nap and is still sorting his bearings. Which is half-true for Klaus, to be perfectly fair, and the wistful smile on his face only makes him look even less lucid.]

About a ghost. Ghostssss. [He raises a finger to emphasize that he's made that plural.] And a sweet little boy who did nothing wrong.

II. Network

[Despite all appearances, Klaus does know how to use technology. It's been... a very long time but the basics are simple enough, and eventually he's able to turn on the video feed and put up his message. Of course he has to greet the masses with a dreamy smile and a loose gesture of one hand, the palm of which clearly has the word "Hello" tattooed across it in large capital letters.]

Guten Abend, mon amigos! [He chuckles slightly, mostly to himself, before continuing with a clearing of the throat.] So sorry to bother you all on this fine... fine evening, but could someone please tell me what, ah... What year it is? The antlered fellow in my dreams failed to mention that part...

III. WildCard
[Do as you wish~ Season 2 friendly but can also avoid spoilers!]

Edited 2020-08-04 05:45 (UTC)

[one: are you afraid of the dark? || tw child death and car accident/train collision in story]

[Richie sticks a good old-fashioned s’more onto the end of his stick, leaning so far forward as he listens to the stories that he runs the risk falling off the log. There’s a hungry look in his eye like he wants to hear more, and it doesn’t go away until it’s his turn to speak up.]

A train smashed into a bus full of kids in my town once. [Wow, that’s dark. And not entirely surprising, if you know where he’s from.] They say that the kids on that bus? Never left the train tracks. If you pull your car up near the tracks, and you kill the engine and nod off, they’ll sneak up behind your car and just push it riiiiight onto the tracks. So when you next wake up, it’ll be while the train’s coming down the tracks, and the last thing you’ll ever hear before the train smashes into your car is the sound of them giggling.

[And then he leans back onto the log, and takes a bite out of his s’more. A few more stories, and he’s done, getting up to leave the circle and the campfire and go home. Wherever home is, in this place.

He’s only a few blocks out when he happens to catch sight of—of something. A shadow, really, nothing more than that, but something about how quickly it seemed to dart out of view unsettles Richie. For a long moment, he stares at the tree the shadow must’ve darted behind, before he shakes his head.]

Can’t be. Maybe somebody laced the water again. [He pauses, then laughs ruefully. This version of Richie has apparently seen some shit, lately, judging from the longer hair and the more modern clothes. He keeps walking.

...was that a kid giggling out of nowhere?

Richie starts walking much faster, ducking his head low and trying not to look. They’re just stories. Right? That’s all. Right? Right?

You of all people should know, Richie—sometimes the monster under the bed is very, very real. Shut up shut up shut the fuck up—Richie smacks the heel of his palm into his forehead, cursing quietly.]

You’re practically a fucking superhero. Quit freaking the fuck out, they’re just—they’re too far away.

[But it had all sounded so real.]

[two: network]

hey, Losers, you guys still here? I checked the network and everything so I know you were here at least until last week or so
didn’t think I’d be back in Maine again or that it would be even more fucked up than usual
where are you guys

anyway hi I’m guessing there’s no way out and we’re all stuck here and here’s a cool nifty new tattoo
joke’s on you asshole I already have a tat
does anyone know if we get superpowers here too because I just got here from a world where you got superpowers the second you showed up and I need to know if that’s just a constant between universes and horror movie nightmares or not

[three: wildcard]

[PM or hmu at

robbstark if you wanna hash something out! otherwise feel free to use this option. I make no promises for immediate apps, I’m just dipping my toe in this setting for now.]

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AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

AHHH! REAL MONSTERS

Character Arrival

Setsuna Meiou - Sailor Pluto | Sailor Moon

Subaru Sumeragi | Tokyo Babylon

Coraline Li | Original

abby anderson | the last of us part ii

i. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?