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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Kurogane freezes for just a moment when he realizes just who he offered a s'more to. He'd given up on finding anyone he knew for now, so the surprise is double when it happens to be a Syaoran he doesn't know.

Even though this is a different Syaoran, he can't help that his expression softens almost immediately. ]

No idea. I just had a regular one earlier and thought I would put something else on it. Go ahead and give it a try.

[His head tilts ever so slightly, puzzled by the softening expression on the other man's face. Maybe he didn't realize he was offering it to a kid? Regardless, he wasn't about to question it-- it certainly cut the tension when he didn't look quite as intimidating.

He nods at the suggestion, though, before taking a small bite of the s'more and munching on it thoughtfully.]

... hm. It's not bad? The nutella makes it really sweet, though.

[His eyes glance over to the other s'more in Kurogane's hand, a bit curious.]

How's yours?

[Because, congrats Kurogane, you've encountered the Syaoran from a world that dedicates a third of it's plot to food!! So of course he's going to be a little interested in whichever combo Kurogane's put together for himself.]

[ Kurogane is glad Syaoran at least likes his, and he's secretly glad that he didn't end up eating the nutella one himself. Until he bites into his chocolate chip cookie s'more. ]

Terrible. [ ...But he takes another bite anyway. ]

I thought using cookies would make it more interesting but it's even worse than the one I had earlier.

[ He should've known better. ]

[Syaoran's brow knits as he watches Kurogane take another bite, despite his distaste, quietly wondering why he was still eating it. Maybe he just didn't want to waste food?]

Hm... maybe it's too much chocolate? Those plus the chocolate already in the s'mores could make it overwhelming. Maybe they have something here that could balance it out? I thought I saw salted caramel with some of the other stuff...

[But then he glances at his own s'more, considering. He'd offer Kurogane the one he gave him, but it was already kind of a mess now that he took a bite.]

We could make another nutella one, too, if you want.

[ He considers that for a moment before there's a nagging feeling that he really should finish what he has, no matter how much he dislikes it. The feeling is so strong that he can't let it go. ]

It'd just be a waste.

[ Kurogane's quiet for a moment, looking out at other people gathered around sharing stories. ]

So, kid, do you have any stories to share?

[ There's a few stories from his home world coming to mind right now, but he wants to give Syaoran the chance to go first. ]

Edited (word) 2020-07-28 05:39 (UTC)

[He nods at Kurogane's decision, though there is a bit of him that felt bad that he had to be stuck with a dud. But, like he said, it'd be a waste not to finish what he had, so...

He's silently polishing off the remainder of his s'more when the other man proposes that question, and he blinks, taken a little by surprise. It's true that there were others indulging in all sorts of stories around the fire, but Syaoran wasn't exactly the story-telling type, more content to sit and listen than entertain other people. Sakura's friend, Yanagisawa, was much more adept at that sort of thing (much to Sakura's dismay), so she would have loved being part of this... and Yamazaki, no doubt, would have scores of tales to tell as well...

He opens his mouth, about to tell him no, but then something makes him pause. There's some sort of nagging urge in the back of his own head pushing him forward, to maybe... just maybe... try and give it a shot.]

Ah... well, maybe one or two...

[He clears his throat, his mind going to one of the standard spooky stories his sister loved to pull out when he was a kid... but for whatever reason, that doesn't seem good enough. No, there was something that was urging him to add some real life experience to it instead... although he probably wasn't going to tell Kurogane that much.]

Okay...

Not too long ago, there were a class of fifth graders, who went on a weekend trip to the beach. There was nothing particularly special about the students, or the teachers, and the beach itself was as normal as could be. However... there were rumors about one of the caves that bordered the ocean. Some students thought it was haunted, while others thought it was under some sort of dark spell... but no one could prove anything aside from a few vague feelings.

The second night of the trip, the teachers decided to hold a test of courage for the students within that very cave. All they had to do was set a lit candle on a shrine, deep inside, and turn around and make their way back. Two by two, the students started to make their way in, until all that was left were a girl, a boy, and their friends that they were paired with.

The girl and her friend went in first, followed by the boy and his own partner. However... something was off. With all the students who had entered the cave, they would eventually wind up running into their classmates on their way back. But... no one was around. Not a student, not a teacher... not anyone. The boy, concerned, turned to his friend... only to see that his friend was nowhere to be found. Realizing something was wrong, the boy rushes through the cave-- only to find the girl, who went ahead of him, in tears because her friend had disappeared right in front of her eyes.

After calming the girl down, the two decide to get to the bottom of this mystery, suspecting the rumors about the cave had some supernatural weight to them after all. They explore the cave, until they come across the shrine in the heart of it all, littered with dying candles. It was clear that whatever was responsible for the disappearance of their friends, it was centering itself in that very spot, and therefore had to be sealed away somehow. But despite all of their stealth, and their silence, they couldn't quite sneak up on the spirit to catch it. The boy felt his body quickly begin to erase, and soon, he too became one of the many victims of that night.

But the girl, summoning her courage when she needed it most, managed to seal the spirit away in the nick of time. With the force now bound, all of the students came back into existence... although, unfortunately, none of them could remember a thing about their test as a result. But maybe, in the end, it was better that way-- to be without a mind or body, even for a small amount of time, is a horror no one should wind up experiencing.

The spirit is still bound to this day... though some say the girl who sealed it away has the power to control it at her own whims. Hopefully no one will ever make her angry enough to use it.

[He takes a deep breath, surprised at the story that came out of him, and glances back over to Kurogane, eyes expectant.]

What did you think?

[ He listens intently, even taking a break from eating his s'more so that he paid complete attention. Seeing the look in Syaoran's eyes, he nods. ]

Not bad.

[ It's definitely an interesting story, and is creepy enough to get Kurogane's interest. ]

Probably is for the best they don't remember it anyway, especially for a bunch of kids.

[There's a look of quiet pride that crosses Syaoran's face at that, and he bites down a small smile. Yanagisawa would have been pleased... if she didn't rip him for borrowing one of her stories first. (Not that he was aware of it, of course.]

... thanks.

[He can't help but wince slightly at Kurogane's words, though, recalling that hauntingly brief brush with the Erase card's effects, his magic giving him the questionable benefit of remembering the whole experience. But... not gonna mention that! Nope!!]

But yeah... no use having their nice beach trip ruined over something like that. Shame for those who were excited over the test of courage, though.

[He straightens his back a little, hoping to divert the attention away from the story (and the creepy memories that came with it).]

What about you? You have any stories to share yourself?

[ He notices the wince and doesn't say anything about the subject change, letting it drop.

One of the stories he has in mind is from his home world, but that isn't always something he wants to talk about. Still, something is nagging at him to talk about the monsters from his world. ]

Where I grew up, there were monsters everywhere and they would do whatever they could to destroy a town. All you could do to protect yourself were set up wards and learn to fight. If you weren't careful, they could break through protective wards and you would have to defend yourself. Running wasn't really an option.

[ He shrugs. ]

Not really a good story, but they were around enough that most people were afraid of them.

[Maybe another time, another gathering, he probably would have been just a touch more skeptical. Granted, it wasn't too hard to believe given what he knew back home-- angry spirits and malicious spells could be just as harmful as any horror-movie beast. But... monsters?

Still, there was something about it, something that touched a nerve a little too closely thanks to recent events, that made him tense slightly in fear. Two weeks of killer robots had been bad enough, but to actually grow up amidst all that...]

... What sort of monsters were they? Were they like ghosts? Or some other sort of creature?

[ Normally, Kurogane wouldn't add more details. Instead he would say it didn't really matter, that the monsters weren't in this world.

But... there's that nagging feeling again, telling him to share more than he would otherwise. ]

All different kinds of creatures that were all different shapes and sizes. There were plenty of small ones that weren't that strong, and those are the kind of things I'd take care of when I was younger. [ He pauses, a little surprised that he said that last bit, but that feeling to add more comes back. ] But some were the size of buildings and could destroy a village with one hit.

[Syaoran's imagination wasn't as active compared to some of his other classmates, but somehow, it was easy to fill in the details of Kurogane's story in his mind. Maybe it was due to all the magical creatures he's seen before? But the mention of large, village destroying beasts was enough to send a shiver up his arms-- which was odd, since he didn't spook so easily.]

How did you fight them? I know you said they could get through the wards...

[And as far as he could sense, this man didn't really have any magic, so spells and sealing were probably out.]

I used a sword.

[ He shifts a little so that Syaoran can see the sword at his waist. The hilt is intricate—a silver dragon head with red eyes.

He wonders if this Syaoran knows how to use a sword, if he's gotten any training. ]

[His eyes widen as he catches sight of the sword, and his back straightens a little, taken a bit off-guard. In hindsight, maybe that was a silly question to ask-- after all, he knew well enough that there were physical means to battle these sorts of things. He just didn't want to assume...

His fingers curl carefully over his left palm, where his tattoo covers, mind flitting to his own sword. That was a little more complicated to show off, at least not without grabbing the attention of everyone else at this gathering.]

... I see. [A+ response there, Syaoran] You must be a pretty skilled swordsman, then.

[But curiosity gets the better of him, especially with that detailed hilt, and since it's a bit difficult to tell from this angle--]

What type of sword is that, anyway? A katana...?

Edited 2020-08-08 18:56 (UTC)

[ Kurogane notices the way Syaoran's eyes widen at the sight of the sword, and he can't help but really wonder now if he does know how to use one.

He gives a slight shrug at Syaoran's comment. There's not really a point in bragging about how good he is, not when he would rather show it off anyway. ]

Yeah, it is. It's name is Ginryu.

[ Kurogane moves it into his hands, resting it on his lap so Syaoran can get a better look at it if he wants. ]

[Syaoran inches in a little closer at Kurogane's silent invitation, his eyes studying the intricate sword. He didn't have extensive knowledge when it came to katanas-- jians were more his specialty, thanks to his training-- but he couldn't help being interested, nonetheless. Maybe it was just seeing how it was structured, how it might hold up in a fight, and how it compared to his own that he found so fascinating.

His gaze glances up when Kurogane mentions it's name, though, curiosity in his eyes. His own sword didn't have a name ~~at least not one that we know of yet, thanks CLAMP~~, but this one had to have some level of importance or attachment to it to earn that honor.]

Is it a family heirloom of some sort...? Or was it crafted just for you?

[Because he could definitely see something that well-made being passed along in the sort of world Kurogane just described-- but also them having a booming sword trade, too. Syaoran's own jian certainly fell in that first camp.]

It's a fairly heirloom.

[ He doesn't expand on that, instead noticing how Syaoran looks at it. Sure, a sword like this would attract attention, but the fact that the Syaoran he knows can use the sword makes it easier for him to jump to the conclusion that this one can too. If not, it seems like he's at least curious about swords, if his questions and interest are anything to go by. That's all he needs to ask: ]

You have a sword too?

[His head jerks up at the question, looking somewhat startled by it. Was it that obvious? Maybe he should have feigned some disinterest in the other man's sword, but it wasn't every day that he saw one, and he was curious...

Granted, pretending he didn't have a sword after all of this felt kind of ridiculous. It was one thing keeping it out of sight back home, but here, where nearly everyone he's been running into had magic or weapons or both...

He's quiet for a moment, before he nods in confirmation.]

... yeah. A jian. It's been passed down in my family, too.

[His fingers curl over his left palm again, unsure.]

I don't have it on me at the moment, though. [A beat, and then--] Or-- I mean, I do, but it would wind up drawing a lot of attention if I took it out right now.

[And also because Deerington likes to be cute and make it feel like a sword is actually exiting his hand whenever he summons it, so that's.... not fun, either.]

[ Kurogane puts his sword back at his side, crossing his arms when it's back in place. His mouth quirks up in what can barely be called a smile at Syaoran's surprise, and it only lasts for a second. Seems like he was right.

Kurogane's eyes glance down to Syaoran's hand when he moves his fingers again, and he wonders if this Syaoran can also summon a sword from his hand. If so, it would seem that this one is similar in quite a few ways. ]

You don't have to take it out. There'll be other times anyway.

[ And if it would get negative attention, then it's better to wait anyway. But still, he's curious. ]

So how would you take it out?

[It's something of a relief when Kurogane tells him not to bother, his shoulders relaxing from a tension he wasn't aware he was carrying until now. Considering how the gathering seemed to be mostly Sleepers, he doubted it would bother them too much... but he still didn't want to go and make it big show when it wasn't needed.]

... Mm, that's true. It's not like there aren't monsters to fight here, either.

[Though it does seem to imply that they would possibly meet again, and in that moment he realizes he doesn't know this guy's name. He opens his mouth, to ask him as much, but then Kurogane poses that question. Well... it probably would be obvious he'd ask such a thing if he couldn't show him in the first place, so he should have expected that. Given his luck, Kurogane might already know about magic, even if he didn't have it-- he DID mention wards in his story-- so being cagey about it was sort of pointless. It was still a hard habit to shake, though...]

I, ah-- I summon it. From here.

[He opens his left hand for Kurogane to see, pointing right in the middle where his tattoo lay. The tattoo, of course, wasn't part of the process whatsoever, but Sodder probably thought it was significant to put it there.]

It's not really a subtle thing, since it involves a good amount of magic... but since it's stored in my body, I can have it on me at all times. It's been pretty useful.

[ Huh. So he was right. He'd never met a different version of Syaoran in one of the worlds he traveled to, so the similarities strike him as a little strange, even though he shouldn't be all that surprised by them.

He nods. ]

Yeah, it is. [ It certainly is for the Syaoran he knows. He won't mention that just yet, though. At least his experience with summoning it is personal too. ] It makes battle easier.

[Syaoran can't help but nod in agreement, a bit glad that this guy seems to get it. Not that he's really had anyone else to talk to about this aside from Sakura or Kero, but...]

Mm. I had to train a lot back home in order to do learn how to do it, though. I used to have it sealed in a charm, but I had to take it with me everywhere, so it wasn't really convenient.

[But wait, he had meant to ask the other man a question, hadn't he? Maybe it was good to do it now, especially since he already knew one of Syaoran's skills.]

Ah... what's your name, by the way?

[ Kurogane nods. Something like that would probably come with a lot of training. Honestly, he was lucky to have Fai just use some of his magic on him.

The question takes him aback, but just a little. Right. This Syaoran doesn't know his name. Although he's knows this Syaoran isn't the one he knows, that simple fact had escaped him. ]

Kurogane.

[ He doesn't care about pleasantries whatsoever, so he's tempted to leave it at that. But... he very much has a soft spot for Syaoran regardless of the world he's from, and so he pushes his distaste aside for that kind of thing for just a moment. ]

And yours?

[Syaoran wasn't much one for small talk, either, though he had certainly been getting better at engaging in it when he had to. There is a brief moment of confusion at Kurogane's name, though-- was that just his name? Or was it a family name?-- but he shakes it off. He was just have to address him as such.]

Li Syaoran-- but just 'Li' is fine.

[Because, unlike Kurogane's Syaoran, this one was a bit more picky about things-- considering only close family (and Sakura) called him by his given name, it was more or less a matter of intimacy. It was common enough back home that he didn't have to make the distinction, but people seemed a lot more familiar here than he was used to...]

It's nice to meet you, though, Kurogane. [Another odd difference-- he didn't use honorifics like the other Syaoran did, either.] Have you been in this town for a while?

[Not being very social has made him somewhat unfamiliar with a lot of the residents, so as far as he knew, Kurogane might have been in this place for a while already.]

AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

AHHH! REAL MONSTERS

Character Arrival

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1/2 because this will probably be long I'M SORRY...

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