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soddersays2020-08-26 04:27 pm
sodder) wrote in soddersays2020-08-26 04:27 pm
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SEPTEMBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME
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!
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.
no subject
When the gun is pointed at him, he stands from his crouched position and cocks his head at the other boy. Kids with guns isn't uncommon where he's from so he's not surprised at it. But he doesn't feel like the kid actually wants to fire the gun either.
Instead, Lev nods at the woods in the distance behind them and says.]
I wasn't following you. I was following that.
[There's a strange shape moving in the distant woods. A shape that doesn't look human or like any familiar animal.]
no subject
[At least Lev wasn't flipping at the sight of him with Ferid's gun. It does make Yuu pause though. When the other explains. About being after whatever was in the woods with them. He lowers the gun then at least, still keeping hold of it but not pocketing it in his hoodie yet.]
Oh. Maybe together we can figure it then?
[Not that he. Actually needs help or anything of course! But since Lev is here too, right? But also he only knows the bare basics around guns and using it. Pull the trigger. He probably hasn't even checked how much ammo it still has. He's fired at least one shot back home at Ferid already.]
no subject
Except there's just one thing.]
...The safety is on.
[He nods at the gun.]
no subject
[Well. Now it is. In that he still somehow had it on him in his escape from the underground vampire city of Sanguinem. After fleeing, after shooting the noble vampire that previously owned it. Yuu pauses, tilting his head as he glances at the gun. Obviously not the most familiar with it as he frowns and pouts slightly in inspecting it to figure what Lev means. Even if he himself gathers the safety meaning it can or can't actually fire a shot, he doesn't necessarily know where it is or how to turn it on or off.]
How do I -- ?
no subject
[Lev frowns a little. Most people who have guns back home know how to use them... So it's a little concerning that this one has a gun but doesn't know how to use it.
His response is to gently reach out and put his hand on the gun.]
If you don't know what to do with a gun... you should be careful.
no subject
[It isn't exactly something he's used to. Having a weapon at all. He's just a kid. And even as a kid the vampires weren't about to let them all run around with weapons. Even if the kids would struggle to even really hurt the vampires, they outnumbered the vampires so naturally there was the sense to discourage any sort of potential threat from the children they took in for their blood.]
Thanks. What do you think it is, anyway? I was trying to follow and find out when you showed up.
no subject
[He takes the other boy's arm and helps him raise it.]
You need to turn off the safety here. Then it will fire. But you have to watch for the recoil. And if they're further away you need to aim higher.
[He explains calmly. Like he doesn't think it's bad for the other boy to have a gun at all, just that he wants him to know how to use it. Then he glances into the distance.]
I dunno. It doesn't look like the Demons that I've seen back home.
no subject
[He's aware of the recoil at least. In having fired it and shot Ferid back home that one time with it. So he gives a nod at that at least in Lev giving him advice. Glad at least that the other kid isn't discouraging him or taking the gun or anything. Because he probably needs it more here than he would have back home it seems. Yuu does raise an eyebrow though as he does as Lev instructs with the safety, and mentions the demons though.]
We had vampires. Back home. I had just escaped from them.
no subject
[He tries to think about how explain it. Abby uses the word "technology" often, so that's the best he's got. But it's just been part of his life since he was born. It's hard to explain the world you know.]
The Demons... they... they'll kill you if you're not careful. They used to be like us. Human. But not anymore. They've lost themselves.
[And... it's sad.]
What's... 'vampires'?
no subject
[Sanguinem was a huge difference to life before, back up above ground and all. Communications and such were damaged and destroyed in the wake of the outbreak and emergence of the Horsemen monsters and such. Still, he tilts his head as he listens to Lev try to explain about the infected back home, the demons.]
Lost themselves? That's....sad. Vampires, they're. You know. They feed on our blood. Fangs, red eyes. Really strong and fast. It's why when the adults and older kids were dying from that virus, they gathered us younger kids to take us to their underground city. To feed from us.
[And given the vampires are that much stronger and faster, it isn't like the kids had much if any choice in resisting. In not going. Yuu escaped at the cost of the other orphans he had lived with being killed in the escape attempt. His lips purse as his gaze lowers while he talks about the vampires.]
no subject
[He used to think that. He's still mistrustful of the "Old World" but he's learned to accept more of it.
But holy shit. Another person who's heard of the outbreak. Or... an outbreak. It doesn't sound the same.]
...The Demons back home... they're covered in fungus. The spores, that's what causes the infection, and... if they bite you, you become one of them. After a few days... there's nothing left of you anymore. Just a Demon in your body. Even the Demons can't think. They're just beasts.
[He inhales and then looks at the other boy.]
The Vampires... if they bite you, you can still... be you? And they know what they're doing?
no subject
[Vampires weren't even supposed to feed directly that the children in theory shouldn't have worried about actually being bitten. But it's clear from the needle marks at his neck that he was still taken for his blood. That he was used to sustain the vampires with his blood the same as all the other children. Not that it being illegal to feed directly stopped some vampires doing so anyway. Encouraging it in exchange for things like actual food rather than the nutrient pouches they were given, for example.]
They weren't supposed to bite us. Not allowed to feed directly. Some still did, but. Mostly, it was just them taking our blood with needles and all. I dunno what any of them were like before they became a vampire though to say if it changed them. But they absolutely know what they're doing. Telling us they'll give us food if we let them feed from us directly.....
[Yuu shakes his head at the memory of seeing Mika return to their housing like that. Hating that the other gave his blood to feed them that meal of curry. Their last together. He wonders if this thing in the woods, was this a vampire? He hadn't seen any around thus far....]
no subject
The demons... Vampires? [He says the word in a way that makes it clear he's never heard it before.]
They were holding you captive? And could use stuff like needles?
no subject
[Yuu's lips purse at the memory. As used to it as he was after four years, he still really hated it. The needle jabbing into his neck and how weak he felt after giving blood. He shifts his hoodie a little to reveal the marks and slight bruising from the needle in demonstration.]
They gave us basically the bare minimum to survive. Not even proper food. These gross nutrient packs. I dunno if this thing is a vampire too but if it is, I'm definitely gonna kill it.
no subject
He's used to gore and blood but needles? He can't stand that sort of thing. Especially the kind that take your blood. Even sewing up wounds sometimes makes him a little nauseous.
He can't imagine going through something like that. He notches an arrow.]
Yeah. If it's something like that, we need to kill it. I'll help, I won't let it take your blood anymore.
no subject
[And well. If this was a vampire, even if not one from Sanguinem that had been living off of his and the other children's blood, they were still living off of others here? So he figures his wrath and vengeance, his fury still seems justified. Not that he is necessarily sure this is a vampire, but for all he knows it might be. He readies his gun, giving a nod and figuring to follow Lev's lead if he's more experienced with this, given his knowledge of the gun.
At the least, if they can't kill it, they could hurt it enough to make it stop, and figure what was going on? What it was?]
no subject
The problem is when it goes too far.
But he doesn't think this is one of the monsters that the other boy was held captive by, the vampires. There's something off about what they're hunting. Something that doesn't feel natural.
Lev creeps through the underbrush, closer and closer to the figure, finally he gives the other kid a signal, stands, and fires off his bow. It hits the figure in the shoulder, piercing straight through. The figure cries "What the-!" in a very human voice and Lev frowns. He stands up and approaches the figure.
It's a guy. Just a guy wearing a weird costume.]
What the fuck?
no subject
What's with this? You're freaking us out like this.