SEPTEMBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to September's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT 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: Evil dollhouses, potential body horror (turning into a doll), heights, pranks with the potential to cause harm, some stalking vibes
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

THE EVIL DOLLHOUSE

When you wake up, you find you're not in your own bed, your own room, or even your own house. The room is well decorated, almost Victorian in fashion. The bed is pretty uncomfortable and you're not even sure the mattress is a real mattress. The chairs look like they might be made of plastic and the doors are flimsy. But it might not be what catches your eye, especially if you look out the window.

Through the clear panes (which also seem to be plastic), you will notice you do not see the town of Deerington, or even the outdoors at all. You see a living room that feels larger than life. There aren't any people in it, but as you look around at the fake looking furnishings and the strange view, you might be hit with a realization: you're inside a dollhouse.

The dollhouse has three floors for those who explore; the second floor you woke up on has two bedrooms and a fake little bathroom, all decorated in the same Victorian dollhouse style as the room you originally found yourself in. The bottom floor has a cute little kitchen with small porcelain dolls sitting around the table, a living room with all the basic furniture one would expect to find (in fact, it looks a great deal like the living room outside the windows), and an office filled with books that can't actually be pulled out of the shelves. On the very top floor is an attic. It's dusty and filled with broken toy beds and chairs, a few shattered doll pieces, and on the far wall you'll see another bookshelf. All seems... fairly standard, really, if you're used to seeing dollhouses.

But what there doesn't appear to be is an exit.

While searching, you may run into another Sleeper. A friend or a stranger, it's clear you're both stuck here together. And the longer the time ticks by, the more concerning things get. You might not notice at first, but anyone inside the dollhouse starts slowly... changing. It seems to go at a different pace for everyone, but the results are always the same. Your skin will start to become porcelain, your cheeks more rosy, your clothes made of cheaper cloth material, your joints become stiffer, and your eyes will start to become more and more glass like. If you don't get out of the dollhouse soon, it's clear that you may become the next doll at the kitchen table.

Searching the house again may feel fruitless, but keen observers may find light scratches on the floor in front of the bookshelf in the attic. Maybe they were like that because of someone moving things around or maybe there's a reason. If you decide to eventually pull the bookshelf aside, there will be a large door in the wall. It may seem strange, given that the wall only leads to the outside, but it's the only door to the outside that actually opens. You expect it to open up into the living room, but instead you'll see the grass of the park below. Far below. It's likely you could get hurt jumping, especially if you've started to turn to porcelain, but what other choice do you have?

Once characters take the plunge, they will find that they land rather softly in the grass, despite how high the jump may have seemed. As soon as you are out of the dollhouse, your body will have returned to complete normal.

And the house with the dollhouse in the living room will be nowhere in sight.

THOSE PESKY KIDS

You start off thinking maybe you're just forgetful and moved minor pieces around in your house without paying attention. You might think you're just seeing strange things out of the corner of your eye, because why wouldn't you? It's Deerington. Things are always strange. But each day, there's something weirder going on. Small objects might turn into entire rooms being rearranged, strange sightings out of the corner of your eye might turn into you swearing you saw a lake monster running through the street, and you swear you can hear the rattling of chains or the sounds of someone telling you to leave echoing in your house at night or following you down the street.

A haunting seems plausible. It wouldn't be the first time in Deerington. But no amount of herbs burned, or exorcisms performed, or chants and spell cast will make these things go away. In fact, they seem to just becoming more and more frequent, and more and more intense. Eventually, the strange creatures you see running around may start to try and attack you. They may start to try and kill you. But they always run off before you can attack back or show yourself to be stronger than them. It's probably the first time the monsters have ever been so easily scared.

Anyone who looks into it further may start to find weird clues lying around after a monster has been chased off. Footprints that don't look quite monster-like, tapes or records that when played will make strange rattling sounds like the chains you've been hearing, a piece of rubber that looks a lot like the monsters skin... Huh. The more you follow the clues, the more they'll lead you towards the answer to your dilemmas; these aren't hauntings.

They're pranks.

People can work together to catch a monster or ghost (or killing it, if you decide to); catching them will lead to them getting quite flustered and angry, struggling to get away. Pull off the mask or the sheet and underneath you'll find... a very disgruntled townsperson. Maybe your business was taking too much money away from theirs and they were hoping you'd close down with enough scares, maybe you talked back to them one time and they were looking for revenge, maybe you ruined their house or garden when you were fighting the things in Deerington that actually try to kill you, or maybe they were just having some "harmless" fun; they all have a different excuse, but they're clearly angry about getting caught.

They woulda gotten away with it if it weren't for you pesky Sleepers, after all.

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

[When things weren't chaotic (which seemed to be few and far in-between), Homura had taken to wandering around the town herself. It gave her something to do and allowed her to note down the changes that may happen between each shift.

The answer always is something, at least. This town twisted in on itself as much as a witch's labyrinth did. And it seems this time the town is going to throw Homura a curve ball she didn't see coming.

Pink hair drawn into pigtails, golden ribbons because those red ones were still in Homura's hair. But her eyes are still normal and still kind and--

The police station is irrelevant. Madoka's question is something she can't answer. She just stands there for a moment.]

...Madoka...?

[It feels like something is both crashing down around Homura and being raised up. Something giggles but she doesn't listen to the comments of the Clara Dolls. Madoka is here.

Madoka is here.]

[The sound of her name has such a strange ring to it. It should be a forgotten word by now, one of many prices paid for her wish. But when its spoken on those familiar lips, it doesn’t sound so out of place.

Madoka turns to meet the eyes of her friend. Oblivious to what will transpire in due time, Madoka’s reaction is to brighten with a wide smile. She said her name, she’s wearing her ribbons...! There’s no room for doubt, right?!]

Homura-chan? Is that really really you, Homura-chan?

[Her eyes feel hot with the threat of tears. This kind of reunion was one that Madoka never entertained as a possibility... She isn’t sure how she is supposed to feel, but she can’t deny that she is happy.]

[For a moment Homura has to ask herself if she really is. If this is a dream within a dream, something hidden behind a window tied shut with ribbons. A nightmare slipping into a good dream. Sodder's dream, Homura's dream. Madoka's dream.

Or this is actually happening and she is getting caught up in how own mind. Again.

Homura shakes her head to clear the noise and feels her earring tap against the skin where he new tattoo is from the force.]

...it is. You're here too, Madoka.

[In a place where danger abounds. In a place where she'll get hurt. And yet Homura feels relief to know that she's here. It's awful of Homura. Just-]

How long have you been here?

[The warmth of tears begins to spill over. It really is Homura. This is like a dream. Madoka had known they would reunite one day, but she always thought it would be when Homura's soul gem broke: It would be a bittersweet reunion, like tucking Homura into bed before a long rest.

But this isn't that kind of bittersweet.]

You're wearing the ribbon, too. [It's not just Homura: This is her dearest friend. The one who made that wish and repeated time over and over, all for her sake.

Madoka wipes her face, laughing weakly at her own tears.]

Only a few hours, I think. It's so weird... Time is gonna take some getting used to, eheh.

[It...this is....

There is so much she wants to say but nothing is coming out. Things lost to the cycle of time repeated over and over. Homura had known when Madoka would appear in the new world, repeating things yet again from a different perspective, but she had not yet gone over what might happen or what might be said. She has no cheat-sheet. It's probably what a fish feels like when it's out of the water.

Homura touches that ribbon when Madoka points it out. Even after betraying her, Homura still wore them. Explaining her feelings on that...]

...yes. It will.

[For the first time in a very, very long time, Homura feels like that little girl from so long ago. But regardless of how she feels, she can understand the concept of being unused to time moving forward normally.]

You haven't run into any trouble? This place is dangerous.

Danger...?

[That might answer Homura's question for her. Madoka shakes her head slowly. Her thoughts spin, ending on a soft and cozy realization. If anyone here is going to understand Madoka's strange and specific situation, it will be Homura. Only Homura, actually.]

I haven't, no... So the police station is like this because it's not safe here. [There goes Madoka's charitable hope that it simply wasn't necessary.]

I didn't appear here because of a Witch either... [She is so certain that Homura would never forget that Madoka doesn't even ask if she remembers witches.] Have you been here long? Are you okay?