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

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.

[ 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. ]

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]

[ 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. ]

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.

[ 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.

I think it would still be considered one, though not the way I'd want to meet anyone.

[Like really, what a terrible first impression getting killed by a giant moose. Though maybe he shouldn't be so blasé about the idea]

[ Leonard lifts an eyebrow. Wait, did the guy mean he was the meet-cute? Kinda figured he was talking about the moose— jokingly, but still. ]

Dr. Leonard McCoy, by the way. [ He tips his head. ] New around here, I take it?

[Either works, really]

Gabriel Gray. And yes, I woke up not long ago. It's a lot better than my last nightmare.

[For one, there are other people]

Damn. Don't envy your nightmares, then.

[ He glances around them, pressing his lips in. ]

However, this one might end up feelin' a hell of a lot more real to you.

[The last one felt pretty damn real, but there's no reason to argue the point]

So, Doctor McCoy, what sort of doctor are you?

Medical doctor. I'm Chief Medical Officer aboard the starship Enterprise.

[ It's the way Gabriel says his name that has him pausing again, looking him over intently, again trying to place those familiar features. ]

Oh. So you're from the future. A very far future, if you have star ships that need medical personnel.

[He knows about people from the future. That and his lie detector ability didn't go off, so he has no doubt that what McCoy says is true.

And there's staring again. Sigh]

Something wrong?

Edited 2020-07-28 22:09 (UTC)

I'm from a future, when compared to the vast majority of the people here. A couple are from years well ahead, though.

[ And even those from the past don't all come from the same reality. But he won't get into that.

He snaps out of it when Gabriel asks him what's wrong. He shakes his head, looking apologetic. ]

Sorry. I didn't mean to... stare. You just look a lot like someone I know.

Interesting. I've only known someone from four years in the future.

[It was technically Nathan who knew of this person, but he's not going to bother with semantics.

That catches his interest]

There's someone who looks like me in your future? What is he like?

[ Leonard takes a deep breath in, then exhales, slow and heavy, almost coming out as a groan. ]

A complete, insufferable pain in the ass.

[Sylar can't help it: he starts laughing]

I'm sure someone would use that to describe me. Maybe this person and I have things in common.

[ Leonard snorts in response, shaking his head. ]

Well, you're not that alike. He doesn't laugh, for one. The only time I saw him laugh he was bleedin' out on me, pretty sure he was delirious.

I'm in a good mood. But he still sounds interesting.

[He's quiet for a moment. He should probably try to do something nice here] Will you be all right getting to your next destination?

[ Leonard pauses a moment, trying not to make it look like he misses that insufferable pointy-eared bastard. ] He has his moments.

[ There, that's neutral enough. He glances at Gabriel, eyebrows up, then nods. ] Yeah, sure. I know my way around well enough by now. You'll do alright on your own?

[He can pick up that it's a complicated relationship. He has one of those too, and the other half of that relationship is also not here.

To the question, he nods]

I can handle myself. As long as I stay away from giant moose, I should be all right.

Right, then. Well, I'm easy enough to find should you need anything.

[ He goes by his own name everywhere on the network, and he works at the hospital, as well as Head Medic at F.E.A.R. Definitely not a hard man to find, around here. ]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

[Always a good idea to know a doctor]