soddersays | SEPTEMBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

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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

Brand...?

(That was new. Neither of them had any such markings. Tattoos were one of the easiest ways to identify an individual. They had spent hundreds of years avoiding detection. A tattoo was a threat. He's stunned to silence seeing the mark on Joe's arm. So shocked that he grabs Joe's arm and slides his fingers over the unfamiliar ink.

His jaw clenches and there was a quiet rage that boiled up in his stomach. The idea of anyone marking Yusuf...)

If it does, they will regret it for the rest of their short lives.

(That was a promise. But as loathe as he was to see the tattoo on Joe, it was now part of Joe, and so he lifts Joe's arm, giving it a reluctant, but earnest, kiss. He holds his lips there, his eyes open, intense.

He lets go of Joe's arm and pulls his own sleeves up to look at his skin. He hadn't checked for a tattoo yet. He undoes his vest to peel off his shirt. None of his chest or stomach. He turns around to put his back to Joe for that to be examined. Meanwhile he lifts up each pant leg and ah-.)

Found it. (On the back of his right calf. He slides his fingers over the design, frowning, and he drops his leg, looking at Joe.)

The letter said this was a dream. If it is, it's not the kind I usually have when you're in them. (It's a gentle flirtation, tease, something to loosen the tension of this unsettling situation. Not much different than when he had flirted with Joe while they were strapped down to the tables, reminding him of far better times.)

[The tension Joe feels is palpable, but his Nicky always did have a way of coaxing him to composure when he'd otherwise be breaking down doors, of making more of a mess. Of the two of them, Nicolo was much more prone to weigh the outcomes of actions and sometimes his frustration got the better of him.

The small kiss to the mark, as gruesome as it looked, makes him feel a little better about things. The defensive that precedes it manages to make him smile despite how world-weary he was. How exhausting being at the mercy of Dr. Kozak and the tests had been for him.

It's easy to forget that they're in a hallway, and when Nicky turns his back to him he makes sure every freckle is where it's supposed to be and every piece of him was as he remembered. He's on his way to offer his shirt back when the tattoo is exposed and just like his, it feels like it means something more than the art of some deer. Something more telling.

He's about to open his mouth and ask about that when Nicky goes on, and it gives way to a breathless chuckle. He knew that he was being pacified but he didn't care.]

No clothing required in those. Here.

[Joe offers up the shirt again, out of instinct. He's still not sure how to take this place, what it means or if it's rooted in any truth.]

Thank you.

(He takes the shirt from Joe and slips it back on. He smooths the material out, his brain already working a mile a minute. Nicky somehow managed to look bored, or serene rather, while he was calculating his situations. He was probably the calmest of their group, always rational, always trying to think five steps ahead.

Now that he knew Joe was here with him, he wasn't as nervous. They had survived through far worse than a surprisingly domestic home with butter yellow carpet. He actually looks around him at their surroundings, and he's surprised by how comfortable they actually were. He slips his hand into Joe's, slotting their fingers tightly together in a squeeze, and then he starts to walk.)

I think we're alone here.

(He peeks into the bedroom Joe had woken up in, and then the bathroom, and then the third bedroom. It really was shockingly domestic. He walks over to one of the windows and looks out. They were in a neighborhood. An American one, Nicky assumed, by the looks of the architecture. Classically cookie-cutter with neat, organized green yards and cars parked in the driveways.

They had been to America a handful of times but usually stayed in cities. There weren't too many intense crimes being committed out in suburbs like this. He withdraws from the window, turning back to Joe.)

I don't think we are in London at all right now. This looks like America.

[Yusuf knew all too well how tactical Nicky could be, it had been part of how he'd met his end the first time at his hands and it had saved his life many times following that.

He allows himself to be led around, the house itself wasn't inhospitable but he was used to something tailored to their lifestyle. These manicured lawns, and the shrubberies out front make him feel less and less trusting of their surroundings. He knew as long as he had Nicolo here that they could do anything, but something still unsettled him a nagging fear. A gut feeling.]

Some sort of Nuke town, maybe?

(They were used to hideouts and safehouses. They were not used to this. In their thousand+ years of living, Nicky had never even imagined being in a steady, stationary home like this with Joe. One would think two lovers would want that, but it had never really suited their lifestyle. For Nicky, he really did believe in the whole "home is where the heart is" idea and his heart was wherever Joe was.

It was possible. A Nuke town. They did look like this, but no.)

I saw someone walking their dog out on the sidewalk.

(Which was far too ordinary for a Nuke town. It looked like a civilian.

He moves back towards his basket and gets his sword across his back.)

Did you see the town map? It looks like a child's drawing.

[There was some time, in his youth before his death that he thought home might be a place instead of a person. Since he's known Nicolo he knows it's more than that, and that he'd go anywhere that Nicky led him and he'd follow him into anythng regardless of circumstance.]

I thought it was another trick. Poorly written or fabricated.

(Being a nobleman had mostly always meant his home was where the cloth was, where his people were. In his youth, he had always figured he would avoid marriage by swearing an oath to knighthood and die bloody in battle.

Technically he had died bloody in battle. He can't help but smile at Joe.)

This would be quite an elaborate trick, Yusuf. And an odd angle to take.

Maybe.

[Certainly more in-depth and creative than the likes of Merrick and his goons but his suspicions always rose to the surface. He didn't truly contemplate things until he stopped moving and he hadn't done that since waking up, his immediate knee-jerk reaction still went to that. If this was a dream he didn't want to think of why he'd been asleep for so long, strapped to the table with Nicky beside him.]

The last thing I remember is Dr. Kozac and talking to you about Malta.

(Nicky's smile fades as it occurs to him that the last thing Joe remembered was not the last thing Nicky remembered. He stares at Joe silently, and there was some small degree of panic beginning to build within him, but he doesn't let any of it reach the surface.

He does humor Joe with a mild grin at the mention of Malta, and he moves closer to him. He nudges his nose against Joe's and kisses him. This time it was a bit slower than their first few kisses of relief. It was a proper kiss, one he lets linger for some time, long enough to ease the dull roar at the back of his head.)

We will have to have a repeat of Malta here to celebrate our freedom.

(He rubs his hand against Joe's cheek, thumb sliding over his cheek. He drops his hand, sighing.)

That is not the last thing I remember though. I remember escaping from that miserable place. I remember...

(It clicks then that Joe wouldn't remember Booker's betrayal at that point. Nor the hurt it had caused them all.)

A few months past that, actually.

[The kiss is sound, comforting, and it lights a fire at the base of his spine that licks up to his ribcage. To be able to touch him and kiss him freely, without the wires and the scalpels and the eyes of strangers is a boon of comfort that he had missed desperately.]

I'm not sure that Malta has the amenities for all that.

[Nicolo made him feel worthy, despite the sins of his past and his temper. He can feel the weight of the tension between them, and he searches Nicky's face for the words he has yet to say.

There's no preparing him for the way time has displaced them. They've always worked through everything together, and this crux or difference in experience is one more example of this not being what he's used to. The last thing he wants is another surprise, more working against them. He knew he could face anything with Nicky but he was still human, he still worried.]

What? How is that possible?

[Months? What could have happened in months to the two of them? Their home is sparsely furnished and rather than take a seat on any furniture he backs up toward the window nook and scrubs a hand over his face.]

(It's an expected response. The very same Nicky had felt bubbling in his own gut the moment he realized it, and seeing that surface on Joe hurt even worse. They had only been forced into separation once or twice in their lifetime, and those had been sheer agony. This was something else though. This somehow felt more nefarious if only for the fact that neither of them had realized it until this exact second.

He moves towards Joe instinctively, reaching out to rest a hand against his bicep, squeezing.)

I do not know, Yusuf. Shh. (He shifts around so that he could ease his arm over Joe's shoulders, tucking him against his own body.)

We will figure it out. We always do. (Always.) We are still together. That's all that matters. The rest is music. We simply need to learn the dance that goes along with it.

(See, Nicky could be poetic and profound too sometimes.)

[As worried as this place and its power over them made him, he'd rather be here with Nicky than have it just be one of them or have Nicky be here alone. He pushes his face into his chest and breathes deeply. The scent of him hadn't changed, and it overpowers the musky smell of the unoccupied home enough to help him find some solace in how real it all seemed. His mouth, his scent, the feeling of his body. It was real. Real enough. Maybe this was a dream, but it was a dream unlike any he'd ever known. To him, Nicolo was truly here and that meant something Whatever drew them here couldn't take that from him. He'd long since stopped believing in magic, but he believed in this. In them, and what they could achieve together.]

Maybe just the foxtrot for now. This track sucks.

We have been through far worse.

(Nicky smiles then, pushing back some of Joe's hair so that he could kiss his forehead.)

We have done far worse to each other.

(It's a common joke after all these years. He squeezes his arms around Joe, holding him tight.)

We should scope the area out. See what the civilians are like. What our parameters are.

(It wouldn't do much for their gap in memory, but Nicky didn't think there was much that could be done about that for now. But knowing that Joe had just come straight from the torture table? He holds Joe a little harder. He had the luxury of being able to have a proper comforting session with Joe afterward. Many nights of comfort, to be exact. This Joe did not have that luxury.)

...Or perhaps we can first see what's to eat.

Worse than suburban living? I don't think so.

[Two could joke, he knew that Nicky was trying to cheer him up and so he takes the bait. Nudges his face somewhere closer to the center of his chest, pushes his nose just between the divide of his lungs.]

Let's do both. Food first, travel later.

[He's hungry and still a little tired if he's being honest, but he won't say that to Nicky now. Not when he knows they have priorities, things to account for, and an area to canvas. He holds up his antler key with a smile, and waves them to show that he has another key on the ring, to an old hummer that had been part of their equipment stock.]

(That makes Nicky laugh a bit loudly. It's not often he laughed like that, but Joe was known to rile it out of him once every decade or so.)

Perhaps not. Maybe we can find more suitable accommodations elsewhere if we're to be stuck here for a while.

(Joe didn't really need to say it. Nicky remembered how exhausted he had been once they had finally managed to escape. Just because they couldn't die and they healed quickly didn't mean that it wasn't taxing on their bodies. Hell, it was exhausting mentally, and sometimes that was enough.

He looks down and sees the key, his own smile stretching.)

Well that's something, isn't it?

(Nicky shifts, feeling his sword against his back.)

I suppose I should leave my sword here.

(He's reluctant to leave weapons behind in this kind of unknown situation, but he had a hunch that walking around with a medieval sword wasn't exactly smart either.)

[That laugh was something he cherished too. It was his, something he kept close to memory when he needed something to cling to and he rubs at Nicky's side on his way back up from the nook.

He's in the same shirt that Merrick stabbed him in, holes in the back and center of it and he hasn't bothered to change yet or go through the rest of his things.]

Something. If it has fuel in the tank.

[Joe had his own blade in the bedroom, and he hadn't bothered to grab it yet. One of them should at least be armed. After everything they'd been through, it was wise to stay prepared.]

Keep it. One of us should have something, and you're much easier on the eyes.

If.

(Nicky agrees. He's noticing what Joe was wearing now and idly draws a finger over one of those holes, a frown stretching across his face.)

Would you like to wear my overshirt?

(He was already pulling it off. No choice now. He offers it to Joe.

Another laugh, but this is a softer one, his eyes sparkling.)

You are an incredibly biased man, Yusuf. I do believe that contemporary aesthetics would lean more towards your bone structure than mine.

(Not that it really mattered. People's preferences changed rapidly over the years. All Nicky ever really cared about was what Joe thought of him.)

I will take it with us but leave it in the car.

[Would he like to wear his overshirt? Yes, but he realizes with thinly pressed lips that it hadn't ever been up to him anyway. The overshirt gets pulled over his head then, and it smells of him and fits nicely enough to keep him from looking like too much of a vagrant.]

I might be biased but every person I've seen in this neighborhood so far fits your complexion more than mine.

[Given that knowledge he's more inclined to let Nicky carry his sword. The last thing he wants is to step outside with his blade and get brought into custody so soon after being free.]

Do you think they have fried chicken? The U.S. always has so many chicken places.

[Okay, more than a little hungry, maybe. Despite their circumstances, Joe is still guarded and he passes the keys over to Nicky, hoping their journey into town isn't met with any more ill-will. It's been a long several days for him and he needs the win.]

Well of course. It's an American suburb. Fear not, my love, they will see my face and become suspicious, no doubt, of my own origins.

(He was no stranger to racism. None of them were. They had all seen every end of bigotry over the years. America's terrorist paranoia was as exhausting as it was pointless.)

Between your complexion, my face, and our love, I do wonder what we shall get burned at the stake for first in this world.

(There's some tinge of amusement there, but there was also some raw sincerity too. It has happened before to them. Sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always possible. He put nothing past humanity anymore.)

We shall see. I would imagine they would. They do love chicken.

(Nicky takes the keys from him and heads downstairs and out to the car. There's thankfully no one around so there's no real fuss getting inside and setting his sword in the back. Hilt leaned forward so that he could reach it just in case.)

You know. (He revs the engine to life, peering over at Joe.) We might sooner draw attention because of our car than anything about us. This thing is not very subtle. Some people might think you're overcompensating, Yusuf.

(A smirk, and Nicky backs the car out of the driveway.)

[Open-minded and empathetic Nicolo never did have any problems pointing out flaws in ways of thinking. More than that, he had a way of putting it that made other people seem mule-headed if they so much as tried to argue.

The smile that stretches across his face at a comment that would otherwise be grim is a testament to that. He'd stare down a thousand deaths, or more, just to be close to him. To have the honor of loving him the way he did and to be loved by him in return. Hundreds of years would make most jaded, but Yusufs's love grew day by day.]

Who knows? Maybe they'll like your Ted Talks.

[He knew that he did and the comment on chicken earns an extra sticker on the way out the door, at the expense of America's total lack of ingenuity.

He climbs up into the humvee like it's an old friend and smooths his hand over the dashboard. He hat least has the self-respect to act offended when Nicky makes his fun.]

Yeah, mosquito bite. [Did he just compare his manhood to a blemish? Absolutely. Did he also do it with a straight face? Also yes.] Let them think, drawing assumptions won't stop us from being prepared. [Yusuf sighs and settles back in his seat, he checks the virus and a pair of glasses fall from behind it, and he puts them on. Happy for simple pleasures.] Se sei imbarazzato da questa estensione della mia virilità potremmo sempre cambiarla per una honda cr-v? la famiglia suv.

Ted Talks. My name's not even Ted.

(He was being intentionally dense and that much was obvious from the way his mouths twitched up at the corners. America couldn't help themselves. They were still in the infancy of colonization.

He gives another one of his breathy chuckles. He of all people knew that "mosquito bite" was hardly an accurate descriptor for his lover.)

I do remember being quite afraid when we first made love. There were rumors that men from your country had horse-cocks. Literally.

(He cuts Joe an amused look.)

You had killed me more times than I could count but I was truly expecting to kill me in a brand new way. Thankfully for us both, you more closely resembled a squirrel.

(Now he really was being a bit of a brat. He reaches a hand over to give Joe's thigh a solid pat.)

My Yusuf. (He withdraws his hand to find his own pair of sunglasses which were unsurprisingly in the car as well.)

Nessun cazzo su questa terra mi ispirerebbe mai a comprare una Honda.

Isn't it?

[Two could play coy, and though he was prepared for far more banter their first time, together, was a fond memory. He had been terrified, for more than the trivial. It was new, foreign and considered a sin of sins. He'd long since abandoned religion as he knew it, but Nicky awakened another part of him he hadn't known to begin with.

The comment about horse is replied to with an earnest snort.] Not goats? [Goats were the only thing that really survived in their harsh landscape with little to no help. Everyone had a horse, but that didn't mean that they were thriving there.] Camel?

A Squirrel. Looking for a nut. [Bad humor begets bad humor. Joe takes the hand at his thigh and laces their fingers together.]

Nicolo mio, una ferrari comprerebbe il tuo favore? Maybe a boat off the coast of Valletta?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

SEPTEMBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

SEPTEMBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

THE EVIL DOLLHOUSE

THOSE PESKY KIDS

Character Arrival

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cw: general bigotry

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cw: dick jokes

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