AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

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.

Comments

Gabriel Gray/Sylar | Heroes

[clockwork_gray]

1. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[This gathering seems a little childish, but then again, he might learn something useful. A lot of ghost stories and legends have some vague basis of fact, and he can at least get a feel for the sort of people who live here.

He sits quietly most of the time. He just smiles when suggested he should tell a story]

Oh. I don't think anyone wants to hear any of my horror stories.

[They're pretty fucking gruesome tbh]


2. Ahhh! Real Monsters

[Like he is going to ignore rumors of actual monsters running around. That is definitely a thing he wants to see for himself. As luck would have it, he spots the giant ghost moose]

As if regular moose weren't terrifying enough.

[But he's also fascinated because holy shit, that is a giant moose]


3. network
text; un: g.gray

Does anyone know if there are spare parts for these devices?


4. Wildcard

[idk mystery option I guess???]

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[cawnfidant]

Hmm, now you've managed to make me a little curious. ( says the kid, who in fact had pretty much the same idea about this gathering. except it's a bit of a lie and he did want a snack... information and food, there is nothing better than that. )

Maybe you'll manage to add some spice to this rather boring reunion.

CW: brutal murder, blood

[clockwork_gray]

[He frowns, fiddling with his broken watch as he sorts through all the horrible things that he's done and seen. None of them involve ghosts or monsters in the sense that traditional campfire stories do. Finally he comes up with one]

Once there was a man haunted by the future. He was cursed with the gift of foresight, and many sought his gift for themselves. At times his vision helped, but other times they only made things worse, as future sight is known to do.

He saw a man in the dark many times, always looming just out of sight. This dark man killed many before, always brutally. The day the man with foresight finally saw the killer clearly was the day he saw his own death. He saw the killer coming to him, torturing him first before finally ending his life.

And he did nothing to stop it. When the killer came, the man with foresight accepted his death. The end.

[cawnfidant]

That's... ( actually terrifying, but this stranger might not know it's not quite because of the apparently scary murderer, but the idea of not doing anything and simply waiting for their death simply because he had seen it happen... that is absolutely nightmare fuel for akechi. )

How foolish... knowing what would happen, wouldn't this supposed foreteller do something to avoid death? ( what's the point of that!? )

[clockwork_gray]

Sometimes the more you try to prevent a foretold future, the more it comes to pass. Maybe this man thought to accept the future rather than try to change it.

[It's not like he thought about the why at the moment]

[cawnfidant]

( there is something off about the way he says that... it is as if— )

Are you talking by experience? ( it cannot be, no one can predict the future. )

[clockwork_gray]

It's a common theme in Greek tragedies.

[And yes, yes he is talkig by experience. Not only seeing pieces of the future himself, but having people try to make a future happen that involves him somehow]

[cawnfidant]

Hmm... it is. ( even so... ) Was never a fan. What of the killer? Did he have a motivation, or was it simply his... destiny?

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

[delilahs_death]

[Jezebel arches an eyebrow at that. His own history is littered with its share of horrors, and he can get the sense that this man shares an interesting level of gruesomeness in his tales.]

Tell it anyway. Perhaps you'll be surprised.

[clockwork_gray]

There once was a man who considered himself a noble hero. But he was also in love, and he determined to do all he could to protect his beloved. One day he learned that a man was going to kill his love.

The so-called hero confronted the killer. He could have stopped this killer, but instead he asked for the man to spare the girl. In exchange, the "hero" allowed the villain to go free and kill so many more people.

So much suffering and death, all for a single life.

[It's a different kind of horror, but still pretty awful]

[delilahs_death]

[Jezebel listens intently, his expression passive while Gabriel speaks. At the end, he wears a wry look when he responds:]

And yet I wonder if the hero would regret it.

[Hard to say. He knows those who have made similar bargains and never lost a moment's time to regret.]

[clockwork_gray]

I don't know. It would say something about his character, though, to not feel any remorse for innocent lives lost.

[Look, even he feels bad about the murders he's done. Maybe not ALL of them, but there is some guilt]

real monsters

[dark_ages]

Yeah, and I wouldn't try to get much closer to it...

[ As it is they're likely to be in trouble if it notices the pair of them looking at it. ]

We should probably get out of here.

[clockwork_gray]

We should.

[He's not stupid; he knows that thing would crush them with a hoof. He looks around and points]

That way. It seems to be localized in this park, so once we leave the area, we'll be out of its territory.

[dark_ages]

[ Well, at least that. He's met far too many idiots that would stupidly run out to meet the moose, especially in this place. ]

Right. Let's just hope it doesn't take some likin' to us and follows us.

[ He steals a quick glance at the man's profile. Something about him just seems oddly familiar, especially when he starts talking, but he can't exactly put a finger on it yet. ]

[clockwork_gray]

Let's hope. I don't have any space for a pet.

[No pointy ears and an attempt at humor. This is not the Vulcan you're looking for. Not that Sylar has any idea he bears a resemblance to said Vulcan. He's just assuming his new companion is staring because of mug shots.

They'll talk about it once they're out of the moose's territory, probably]

[dark_ages]

[ That actually gets something of an amused snort out of Leonard. ] Same. Not a pet this big, anyway.

[ Although Leonard's main issue is that the thing could probably kill them both with just one headbutt. Reason enough for him to keep looking over his shoulder, tense and paranoid, constantly checking if the moose is following after them. ]

[clockwork_gray]

It won't follow us.

[That being said, he still puts a healthy distance between himself and the giant creature. Once they're out of harm's way, he can devote his attention to the new face. The fact that his ability isn't buzzing at him tells that this guy has no powers.

Good. He didn't want to have to face that temptation so soon]

This is one of the stranger meet cutes I've experienced.

[dark_ages]

[ Don't take this personally man, but he's still gonna keep looking over his shoulder with a healthy dose of concern and paranoia. It's not until the moose turns back and decides not to pursue that Leonard actually relaxes, heaving out a long sigh. ]

Pretty sure you wouldn't be callin' it a meet-cute if it'd gotten any closer to you.

3. text; un: fern

[laminae]

i am like 90% sure the fluids are made of magic stuff
but you might be able to find something in the junkyard
that place has all kinds of math dosh if you spend the time scavenging

[clockwork_gray]

I wouldn't call this "magic" just yet, personally.
I'll check the junkyard, though. Thank you.

[laminae]

then what? bunk cosmic junk?
or are you a 'magic is just irresponsible science' kind of person
not gonna judge that's also valid

[clockwork_gray]

Something like that.
Some would call a flying man magical, but in my world it's explained through genetics.

[laminae]

oh yeah ok science biz
i got a lot of nerd friends who are geniuses at that stuff
so your world's all science, then?

[clockwork_gray]

As far as I know.