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

don't u boy him

[knowyourexit]

[ It takes a few hours before he decides to go back to the grocery store. Moreover, it takes him going through his small stockpile to realize that he doesn't have much of a choice except to go back. Tactically dangerous doesn't cover this. This is tactically stupid and he knows it. He knows better.

But what's more dangerous? Risking exposure by going out and getting supplies he can use to help him defend himself or hiding and hoping those bears don't come knocking his door in anytime soon while he's got nothing to show for it? In the open he's got a better chance at least.

So, regardless of how frazzled he is by that encounter with a guy that could very well be his dad, he's back out a few hours later. It's just starting to get dark and he's wishing he'd stayed long enough to find out the car the other man likely has. He doesn't have a lot of time to dwell on that cause all of the supplies he'd hoped to get? Already cleaned out.

He stops as he heads out, hearing the other man's voice. This has really thrown him and he needs to get his head on straight. A half-chuckle as he shakes his head, turning to look at the other man. ]

Seems like they were all out of it. Somebody came through earlier and grabbed it all up. I think I might've bumped into them.

[futurewars]

[ He shrugs at the thinly veiled accusation there. Not about to deny it but not about to outright claim it either, even if they both know he did. ]

Gotta be quick around here.

[ Letting his words trail off a bit there, he glances around them as he remains leaning there against the side of the building. This is what he's used to. Night. When he and the other survivors are able to come out a little more easily, if only because of the cover given with the lack of light and the thick patches of darkness throughout the wasteland that is the future.

But with those thoughts pushed aside, he looks back to the kid with a tilt of his head and he really looks at him this time. Really. Truly. Not necessarily to memorize his face but to look for that familiarity that he's come to know for a few years now.

Pushing off against the wall, the sound of dirt kicks up beneath his shoes as he goes, making his way past the kid. ]

Might have got too much for myself though if you want to take some off my hands.

[ And it's then that he glances back over his shoulder, hands in his pockets, steps slow as he heads for the street. ]

Give you a ride?

[knowyourexit]

Yeah, no kidding.

[ Paper-thin, as it were. So far as accusations go. He doesn't seem that heated about it so much as annoyed. Though that could also be cause he was caught going back.

Even in the dark, the heat doesn't dissipate much. It lingers in the ground and rises up to keep the stifling humidity in place. There's an eerie quiet from all the poison the Betties had been using, John figures it's killed some of the insects.

There's a clench to his jaw that might be familiar, even if the face is too young. Not scruffy or the voice not gruff enough yet. Hair a little too long but the way he carries himself? There's not much difference to it. At least when he's hiding behind the name Baum. ]

I can walk.

[ Even if his townhouse is clear across to the other side of town. This could be Kyle but he doesn't know for sure. He's not about to start trusting things at face value all of a sudden. If it was something else. If he was metal, John'd be dead. Unless it was like Cameron. A different sort of infiltration unit. ]

There a reason you're interested in sharing all of a sudden? I never even got your name before. Now you're hanging outside here after I leave with a pretty good idea of why I went in.

[futurewars]

[ At least he doesn't go around blindly trusting strangers? So, there's that. Kyle nods out of amusement but still makes his way for the street with the thought that the kid will follow along for the things he'd gone to the Hart Mart for. ]

Don't know too many others around here who like having plastique for dinner.

[ That's his... subtle way of trying to gauge some sort of reaction from the kid. See how he responds to the so-called accusation thrown at him in terms of the materials he had been hoping to get his hands on. Really, maybe he's just a kid who likes to drink corn syrup, has a pesky bug problem, and needs to keep his water clean or something. It's possible, sure. But judging from those eyes? Unlikely.

But that's when he gives pause. When he comes to wonder how this next part will go. Because, honestly, he's not too sure himself. If this is John, he wouldn't (shouldn't) know who he is anyways allegedly and it'd be like with Sarah all over again, wouldn't it? But still. He has to know and it's not like he's got a photo stuffed in his pocket to go off of as he did with Sarah. ]

Reese. [ He gives his last name, a glance thrown over his shoulder to the kid. ] Tech-Com number DN38416 if you want something more specific.

[knowyourexit]

[ One of the first rules of the Connor house is: No one is ever safe. That sentiment extends to people. No matter who that person is and the loss of his uncle is still too fresh to put out of his mind. ]

Maybe I've just got an adventurous palate. Or a science experiment.

[ For the school he hasn't been attending in this crazy town. It's not like there's anyone that's tried to make him. But it's also not like he's let anyone get close enough to yet. It's still not a denial of what he needs the stuff for. He takes a chance. ]

I used most of mine with the robot bears.

[ Which is the only reason he took the chance with this kind of exposure. The only reason he's pretty sure he knows who this guy is, is because of that picture. Only one person outside of John ever had it. He's kept it safe all this time and he has a few years yet before it goes to the person it's meant to. ]

Reese. [ He repeats a little slowly, still shocked at the confirmation. The serial number. His heart jumps in his throat and he has to clear it, face pinching as he draws in a breath. ] It's John. John Baum.

[ Only just before that they'd actually used the name Reese. It was the closest he'd been to his dad ever then. Able to use that name instead of Connor and it not feel like he was having to hide from the world. ]

[futurewars]

[ Baum. That's not really a name he had expected to hear come from the kid but, then again, if this is who he thinks it is, then it would definitely make sense for him to go under an alias. Especially if Sarah's been teaching him how to prepare for the war. That's another thought... Sarah. Is she here? Is she... ok? She has to be if John is here and so that would mean that his mission was a success, wouldn't it? Still, he's not one hundred percent on if this is John Connor or not, even if his hunch is leaning towards a yes.

He crosses around to the back of the car he has here for himself and it's clear it's stolen with the way he just pops open the trunk and the fact that it looks at though the lock on the trunk has been both busted and scraped from a crowbar or something similar. Trunk popped, inside sits all the corn syrup, ammonia, and mothballs like he said.

Kyle just stands there, pressing his hand against the hood of the trunk, gaze not really bothering to look over to the kid. ]

Your mother like the Wizard of Oz?

[knowyourexit]

[ Nobody else in this town has figured that out yet. Maybe thought it was a funny last name or something, but never known it for what it was. He can't exactly go by Connor. It's too dangerous. It's bad enough his ID has his real name on it in this crazy town.

He can tell Reese picked up the car by less than honest means. He never got a lot of the details of those few days they had but there seemed to be a lot of cars stolen. Not that John hasn't done a bit of that in his time so far. ]

She read it to me all the time when I was a kid. [ Because it was his favorite. ] Never much cared for the movie. Too different.

You know a lot about it?

[futurewars]

[ The look in Kyle's eyes grows distant and he finds himself wondering what it must be like to be read stories like that, never mind whatever movies are; Sarah mentioned that once to him as something she wanted the both of them to do. When it was "over". Though Kyle knew that would never be the case for him. ]

Only what a guy named John Connor told me about it.

[ The trunk comes down then and Kyle rests his hand on it, expression hard. ]

That name mean anything to you?

[ And despite how casual he's been up until this point, Kyle now feels his jaw tighten as he looks the kid over, fingers pressing down hard against the trunk. This is a man who has both seen some shit and been through some shit and has gone from being thrown into one world he doesn't belong in to another. Beating around the bush is just not his style when it comes to getting shit done. ]

You see, I've served for Connor for a number of years now. We may not be what you would call best friends, but I like to think I know him and there's not a thing I wouldn't do for him. So I'm going to ask you again- can I give you a ride somewhere?

[knowyourexit]

[ With Derek he'd remembered some of what happened before Judgement Day, he was old enough to. Kyle was so young, he wonders if he remembered any of it. From the way his uncle talked, maybe not. He remembers the story about hunting the deer for food.

He keeps his expression blank when he says his name. His real name. It takes a lot for him to not fidget. His gaze flicks to the hand on the trunk, the clench of the other man's jaw. He's upset, sure, he gets it. But he hasn't stayed alive this long by just taking people at face value without proof. ]

If you know this guy so well then you'd know that it's not as easy as all that. It never is. [ He knows he keeps Kyle close in the future, for obvious reasons, but he also keeps Machines close too. Reprogrammed ones, of course. ] Eight words.

Convince me.

[futurewars]

[ The face he makes is one of agreement. He didn't know everything about Connor's life but from what he'd been told- the stories they had heard about him, he knew the man was forever looking over his shoulder growing up. Sometimes even as a grown adult, leading the Resistance and fighting back in that fucking war.

He doesn't exactly know what it is that the kid - that John - here is looking for when he tosses him the challenge of eight words to be convince him of who he is or who he believes him to be. But Kyle isn't the best for no reason. Isn't someone to back down from an order given to him by a man he looks up to and respects... even if he's a helluva lot younger right here.

So, with a tilt of his head, gaze never leaving the kid, he gives him an answer. ]

No fate but what we make for ourselves.

[ A beat. ]

Or did you want the full message?

[knowyourexit]

[ His entire life has been an exercise in running. Surviving. It's only now that he's finally embraced another part of it: fighting. It's war and he was tired of sitting on the sidelines. He'd hoped he could stop this. Stop Judgement Day and be free.

But that isn't his part to play in this. That isn't who he is. He knows that now.

John knows that it's a difficult task he's set for him. He also knows what Kyle had told his mother about him. About the child she'd yet to have. If anyone knows him better than her, or Cameron then it's Kyle. He lets go a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. ]

I know the rest.

[ Which would definitely confirm that he is John Connor and not John Baum. ]

No one else can know. It's too dangerous. As far as everyone else is concerned, I'm John Baum. That's all.

[futurewars]

[ That's more or less all the confirmation he needs there because, anyone else? Would absolutely not understand the significance of those eight words - let alone the message - Kyle gave to him. So... that's something unexpected and it's enough to have Kyle lean against the trunk of the car. ]

John Baum then.

[ He repeats, a nod of his head given as he stares ahead and just... wraps his head around all of this. John Connor is here. Right in front of him. The man who more or less saved his life, gave him a reason to fight back, taught him and so many others how to take down those machines and hold onto a glimmering bit of hope in a world where there was endless death and decay and nothing but darkness at the end of a tunnel. He's here and he feels... happy? Glad to see him? But he's so much younger than he knows him and there's so much he has to wonder about what he does and doesn't know. How much Sarah herself has taught him thus far... and that's another thought that he can no longer keep at bay as he comes to look up to John. ]

Sarah... is she here?

[knowyourexit]

[ At least with that, they'll both be on more or less the same page of knowing exactly who the other is. John nods at the affirmation of the name he's using and shoves his hands in his jeans pockets. ]

We change it when we move. Keeps the Feds off our trail.

[ He's not sure if Kyle ever knew that or how much he knows about what his mom told him were the "dark times" before the war. He's left wondering what he can say and what he should say. Where was he even pulled from? Was it during the two days he had with his mom? God, she was right. A person could go crazy thinking about all this.

His eyes look up to meet Kyle's (his dad's when he asks that. ]

No, she's---back home. [ The last time he'd seen her she'd been arrested. It was a bad day. A really bad day. ] It's just me.

[futurewars]

[ It's just him... and me. Already a bit of deja-vu there. they really are like father like son aren't they? But when John tells him that Sarah isn't here, there's a twist of something within Kyle's eyes, though he's not even entirely aware it's there. So he goes from fighting alongside the much older version of John Connor in 2029, to 1984 Los Angeles, to... whatever year it is here. Kyle never exactly got movies or schooling so trying to gauge what year this place is proves to be a lot more difficult for him. All he can tell so far from the make and model of the cars is that it's not 1984 and most certainly not 2029.

So he runs a hand through his hair and he looks stressed as his gaze trails off, eyes wide, clearly trying to think of what to do here. If Sarah isn't here to protect and keep an eye on, then John would have to be the one he makes sure is safe. Especially at the age he is... which is still something to wrap his head around when he's never known him at this age and suddenly doesn't know who the one calling the shots is. Finally, he pushes himself off the trunk. ]

Alright. I figure you and I are going to need to be on the same page with a few things.

[ Like how much John knows to begin with. ]

Where are you staying here? I'll take you there.

[ Said as he already rounds the car for the driver's seat. ]

[knowyourexit]

[ He's pretty capable of looking out for himself. Even his mom must've thought so before she got arrested again. She tried to ditch him with Charlie. Tried to separate him from Cameron and Derek too. Probably some bullshit idea that the only way he stays safe is if he's alone.

And he doesn't get a say in it. Like always. His mouth twists at that bitter train of thought, but he snaps back to the present as Kyle starts talking again. ]

Like what?

[ John heads around to the passenger side, opening the door and climbing in. ] 76 Halleck Street. It's all the way across town.

[futurewars]

[ All the way across town. Well, makes sense if one is trying to lay low and stay off the grid. Slumping into the driver's seat, he starts the car up and gives a quick glance up to the rearview mirror. ]

Right. Just let me know when I'm getting warmer.

[ Carefully, he pulls out from the side of the road and starts heading down it, eyes fixed ahead for the most part, though with the occasional glance over to John beside him. It's... surreal to him, much like it was when he first saw Sarah. With John, it's a little different. He knows him- knows a version of him where he's the leader of the Resistance and who, he no doubt knows, this younger one will inevitably become. That's why he went back in time after all. To ensure his survival, to protect his mother... who he sort of had feelings for. ]

I'm Sergeant Reese. Tech-Com number DN38416, like I said. You and I meet a long time from now in the future. [ A shake of his head, he smiles a bit. ] And not like this.

[ John is older. So much older than him. ]

I get sent back in time to protect your mother from termination on Skynet's orders. Judging from the fact that you're here right now, I'm guessing I don't fail that mission

[knowyourexit]

[ He chuckles a little as he explains, lays it all down. It's got an eerie sort of familiarity to it. Kind of reminds him of being at Dyson's house.

There's another kind of familiarity to it that comes from all the stories his mom left him on those tapes. She doesn't talk about it a lot still. There are days, especially after Derek showed up in their lives, that he'd catch her with that same look in her eyes from when he was a kid. Crying when she thought he wasn't looking. It's kind of weird finally meeting the guy that's all attached to.

His jaw clenches, expression growing a little more somber but he looks out the passenger side window. ] You didn't fail that mission.

[ He points up at the next street. ]

It's a left here and keep going straight for a bit.

[futurewars]

[ With a nod, he takes the left as instructed and keeps going straight. Within the silence that hangs over them, he mulls over that so-called revelation that he's been presented with. He doesn't fail the mission. Sarah lives and John is born. It's all he could hope for, all he could put his all into and to know that he manages to pull it off against a ruthless machine that would never stop until its target was terminated... it gives him some semblance of hope. Especially when things are looking rather dire from what he last recalls before waking here. ]

I'm guessing Sarah's told you about what's to come. [ A beat. ] The future.

[ One possible future as he had put it. Time travel wasn't really his area of expertise after all. ]

That you know about Skynet and the machines. Judgment Day.

[knowyourexit]

[ What else is he supposed to say? He's not sure. His mom did her best to prepare him for this eventuality but---it's different when he's face to face with it now. With him now, especially after all that's already happened back home. ]

She told me and I've seen it first hand. [ His jaw clenches as he mulls over the words. He's had a similar conversation with someone else recently. Even brought up Kyle. ] A machine came after me when I was 12.

That was five years ago, now. We tried to stop Judgement Day from happening but we just postponed it. We've been trying to find other ways to stop it. Take the fight to them instead of just hiding.