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

[menaretrash]

It's very spooky when the paper towel dispensers suddenly activate... [ They are motion activated, yes, and she can't really figure out how it happens, but there's a glitch somewhere. Probably. She's more concerned with what he has to say next.

Because just as he says it, she's about to take a bite -- and that gets her to stop, eyes wide. ] No, I didn't even really think about that...

[ She eyes the smores. Stares it down for a few moments. ] I mean, if we went running afterwards, that would burn the calories off, right?

[ We, Akechi. We. ]

[cawnfidant]

( could they be remotely controlled by someone else? maybe? he knows futaba-san might actually be able to. but his musings are cut short when she delivers that bomb. we? it's surprising enough that for a split moment his eyes widen at the prospect, it is followed by a not-so-smug snicker after that. )

How do you think I kept myself from becoming an actual pancake? ( if he can bring himself to joke about his goddamned fallout with her, maybe, just maybe he wouldn't mind running with her? hopefully his point will come across without him having to spell it for her. )

I know by a fact that you do not have a special routine to keep your figure, you're lucky in that regard. ( his past self would probably add how jealous he is of that in some sort of saccharine way, but the truth is it is actually a little admirable at this point. ) Either way, I don't think a few more of these will make an extensive difference. ( that said, he takes a bite of one of those stupid delicious snacks. )

[menaretrash]

[ To be fair, she can... actually picture Futaba pulling a stunt like that, all while sitting at her monitor cackling like a madwoman at a job well done as the various girls in the bathroom scream and scatter.

His quip has her smiling, at least. ]

Good to know that I've got a running buddy here. [ Because it's going to happen, now. He's gone and done it, and besides, he's already sort of been integrated into their friend circle, hasn't he? He'd best get accustomed to Ann dragging him around, whether it be for jogging or sweets or... whatever pops into her head. This is his life now, isn't he lucky? ]

Ah! W-well... thanks for that! But that luck is bound to run out someday, right? [ His next point is valid, though. A few more can't hurt. Especially now since he's become her running buddy whether he likes it or not. ] You're probably right... I mean, they have some nutritional value, right? Chocolate is good for you! I've read it's got antioxidants in it. So, really, we're being healthy!

[ The healthiest pair, they are. Chocolate and running, who knew? ]

[cawnfidant]

( good, she got it. she's not that... bad... )

If you can keep up with me, that's it. ( as long as it's only running, otherwise he's pretty much a noodle, or so he's lead them to believe.

calling her (or any of them) a friend, might be a stretch, but for as long as they have to deal with this akechi holds no ill intent to them and might be willing to work with them, or even share some 'smores with them... hmm. )

You think so? Hmm, I suppose metabolism is bound to change as we grow up. ( that earns her a chuckle. ) Oh, yeah, super healthy. If anything it'll give you enough energy to run away from monsters. ( did he just jinx it? )

[menaretrash]

[ Goro has no idea what he's just signed himself up for, does he? ]

Is that a challenge? [ Because if it is, challenge accepted, good sir. But only after smores, because right now, sweet treats are far more important than running and... exercise in general. ]

Unfortunately. I don't think I ever want to get old. [ It doesn't sound like a fun time, inevitable though it may be. ] See? It's healthy! Antioxidants and energy, who could ask for any more than that? [ He probably did. Their walk home is going to end up being a full on run that has nothing to do with exercise, isn't it? ]

[cawnfidant]

( he never signed up for this! he'll mark it as spam and unsub.

...!! oh no, she said the magic word... ) Heh, we'll see. ( he'll probably, never say no to a challenge, maybe. )

How childish. What do you want out of life, then? ( it's not like he cares or anything. ) I mean, you seem to be a woman of simple pleasures if anything it takes is something sweet to make you happy. ( it'd still be exercise! )

[menaretrash]

[ Sorry, that's going to be a no go. What he's signed up for is permanent, unfortunately for him.

She smiles, casually smooshing her s'more until the marshmallow spills out the sides just a little bit. ] Will we? Because if that's so, you know I'm going to make you eat those words, right?

[ She snorts at him, though, at that childish remark, and she shoots him a look. ]

Does it really matter? We're stuck here. What I want out of life here doesn't really make a difference now, you know? [ Ugh. She finishes the rest of her treat, chewing thoughtfully and granting him a few moments of peace silence, before she swallows and crosses her left leg over her right. ] Maybe that's true. What I want most is for those around me to be happy, though. If my friends are happy, then so am I.

[ Because while she may be a woman of simple pleasures, one thing is for sure: Ann adores her friends, and would do most anything for them. ]

[cawnfidant]

( n-no! where is this contract? he demands to see it. )

Those sure are big words for someone with such a petite mouth.

( the way she says next has akechi tensing up a little, barely noticeable unless someone actually knows him better than he would give them credit for, it's so easy to hide the frown when he's a little busy chewing his own melted marshmallows—he's so going to regret all this sugar in the morning—but the point is that she's actually right, nothing they do here will make any difference... then, what's the point? the least he wants is to start a depressive debate about it, so he lets it go, albeit, with a bit of a thoughtful stare.

what she says next, is a little more digestible, unlike all this sugar. )

Simple pleasures indeed... ( she's lucky in that regard as well, of course... )

[menaretrash]

[ Folded and tucked away in the depths of some vault, never to be seen again, of course. In the bank of friendship! ]

Not big words when they're a promise.

[ She sighs, because she doesn't want to make the air heavy. It's why she leans over to press her shoulder against his, nudging him gently. ]

Either way, I guess that just means we have to work with what we've got here, right? This might not be ideal, but after everything we've been through, I think we're up to the task, don't you?

[ She leans back again to give him his space once more. For now. ]

Are you happy right now? I mean. As happy as anyone can be in a place like this, at least?

[cawnfidant]

( what the hell is that even? is it in equestria?

d-don't confuse him with that lug ryuji! they are not friends, don't come so close! eh, whatever, he allows it, even tho he's not quite versed in the unspoken language of "friendship," it's a bit of a reassuring gesture. )

Whatever. We cannot stop either way. ( it would mean death, or something. )

I am not unhappy right now. ( tomorrow (or the next hour) who knows. and that's probably the closest he can admit to being "happy". little steps, ann, little steps. ) And... you? ( it does take him a long, almost unsure pause to ask, but hey, he did. )

[menaretrash]

[ IT'S A SECRET OKAY. it is. friendship and magic, and lucky charms!!!

Too late. It's already begun. They're stuck together, and regardless of their past at home, this is their new normal. She'd rather be friends than enemies, and whether they like it or not, they both need one another in this strange new world. Deal with it, dude. ]

No, we can't. So, we'll adapt as always.

[ She hums, before she flashes him another bright, genuine smile. ]

I'm glad to hear that. If you're happy, then so am I. [ Simple pleasures and all that. ] I am. This is all new and a little scary, but... it won't last forever. And we may as well be happy so long as we're here, right? Keep pushing forward and all that.

[cawnfidant]

( sounds fake. don't forget the little horses

akechi takes a moment to look at her, almost scrutinizingly. how come someone like her came to join forces with someone like him? she clearly doesn't seem deterred in the slightest by his (new) attitude or even, their past, either she's stupid or... no, she isn't. as much as akechi loves to minimize ren's friends, to call them names and make them all feel inferior, they all had something very special and the fact was that he was rather comfortable being around her. for now. )

Can you be any more cheesy?

[menaretrash]

[ Your face is fake. the talking horses...

Making friends isn't anything that Ann's ever had an easy time with. Shiho was her one constant companion, but not including her? She'd been alone until Ren had transfered schools and entered her life. And with Ren, came Ryuji and the others, something that she'll be forever grateful for. Friendships and bonds that can't be easily broken, even if they are literal worlds apart at the moment. And right now, she is determined to make Akechi see her as a friend eventually, too.

It's why, when he says that, she laughs. ]

I can, yeah. Do you really want me to go there?

[cawnfidant]

( ROOD! after a talking cat, it seems like nothing. )

... Part of me is slightly curious but, no, I really don't. I've had enough sugar for the whole week.

[menaretrash]

[ U STARTED THIS, SIR! but the cat doesn't fly or sing songs about friendship... he just dunks on ryuji... ]

Are you sure? You don't want diabetes?

[cawnfidant]

( I'M FINISHING IT! he would... for ann. )

I see, your ultimate plan is killing me. Well played, I should have seen it coming. ( wasn't that a song? wait... )

[menaretrash]

[ DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT! He's a good kitty, okay. A very good, amusing kitty. Poor Ryuji, though... ]

Killing you with sugar and kindness, sure. Of course. [ A very CATCHY song... ] Either way, guess you're stuck with me for the foreseeable future~.

[cawnfidant]

( :x he deserves it. )

Sounds better than the alternative. ( ouch, he went there. ) Lucky me. ( sarcasm? who knows? )

[menaretrash]

[ >_>! Most of the time, yes..... ]

Don't worry. I'll keep you safe here. [ Probably. Mostly. If she's not the one dragging him into doing something stupid. ] Yes, very lucky you. And since we're hanging out together and we're best friends now, that means we're going to have lots of fun.

[ This is escalating quickly... ]

[cawnfidant]

( :>?

stop saying this kind of things! his heart cannot take it! is she for real, is she just trying to impress him? he doesn't know! gotta put his foot down here. )

Don't be ridiculous, if anything it's me who will have to take care of you. ( look, realistically talking, it took all of the phantom thieves to take him down, she has no chance. even though he knows she means well, he will not put his teammate in risk because of him. ren would never forgive him. )

... That's it, you've had more than enough sugar for a day. ( she's talking so much nonsense... he finally gets up and apparently is about to walk away. this is also him trying to run away from that idea, okay? only he looks down at her. ) Let's go.

thank you and yes, i do too. this is the quality content we deserved!!

[menaretrash]

[ .... :>

No. She won't. She'll never stop. ]

Liar. I can take care of you just as well. I can be very domestic, you know. And fierce. [ Like a PANTHER. A dom...estic panther. Whatever. The point is, she is currently Filled with Determination. ]

I'm getting cut off?! [ She pouts as he stands up, before blinking. Oh. Well, she's not going to turn this down, so she stands up and stretches. ] Okay, okay! At least we'll get to burn those calories off...

[cawnfidant]

I'm not talking about tha--! ... You know what, whatever. I'll take your word for it. ( this is a lost cause. she's also filled with far too many 'smores. )

You're gonna get sick if you start running right now. ( why does he even give a damn about this... oh right, joker. he starts walking home, hers, at least. keep up, yo. ) I have to ask, do you really eat that much all the time? ( it is not rude to ask if he's actually curious, is it? )

[menaretrash]

It's true! I am VERY domestic. I bake a mean cake and I can make chocolates. If we can get our hands on some ingredients, I'm going to make a ton of stuff for you so I can proveit. [ Either way, this is a win! She's not filled with nearly ENOUGH s'mores-- ]

Yeah, probably... so, walking it is! [ Which is also a win, because she's feeling lazy and she'd much rather walk and talk. She trots to catch up to his side, and then hums. ] Oh! Well... it just depends on the day and my mood, really. Or... how serious I'm feeling about the whole modeling thing.

[ She'd like to think that, most of the time, she's a good person when it comes to eating. But truthfully, most of the time at home she barely keeps anything in the refrigerator and she mostly just survives on things from school and crepes. Oops. ]

[cawnfidant]

I... actually am not that fond of sweets as I might have lead you to believe. ( he hadn't really told many people about it, if anything, he had only personally told ren and yoshizawa about it.

but the almost flippant response manages to madden him a little, is she or not serious about her so-called dream? )

Is that one of those things that do not matter here? Or is everything you do based on your mood? ( it's a little hard not to get personally offended by that, given how much he had to do and how much he had to put up with over his life to get what he wanted, it just seems to him that she's getting everything she wants without even having to lift a finger. )

[menaretrash]

Really? Then what sort of foods do you like best? [ Pretty sure she remembers him saying something about d e l i c i o u s p a n c a k e s at one point.

She shrugs. ]

Uh... [ Jeez, talk about a mood swing. ] I mean, no, it doesn't really matter here? I can't model here. Does it really matter in the big scheme of things? I've had to fight to get as far as I have with my little hobby.