soddersays | OCTOBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

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OCTOBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to October's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: MONSTER 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: ... Monsters..., excessive blood, possible death via monster or drowning, violence, being trapped in tight spaces, bloody GIF, dead body parts
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

curse the fiends

Waking up groggy and confused on the floor of what seems to be a large metal warehouse is never anyone's idea of a good time, but here you are. You may not have even known Deerington had warehouses (except for those who have been to the real Hair of the Dog) let alone how to get to one of them. It's clear you've been placed here against your will, but for what reason?

You aren't alone. There may be one, two, or even three people there with you. You're all in this together, so you may as well work as a team to see if there's a way out. The room isn't very large and it's completely empty, save for a single flashlight in the center of the floor. The only way out (or maybe it's a way in) is a long, narrow, and very dark corridor. That's gotta be completely safe. Despite hesitations, what choice do you really have?

The flashlight won't give off an abundance of light, but it at least makes it so you aren't stumbling around blindly. As you move through the corridors, you'll start to hear the sickening screech like nails on a chalkboard, but there's something worse about it. Something that makes you feel like a bucket of ice has just been dropped down your back. Something dangerous. There are different corridors that branch off of the main one you're walking down and your team will have to decide whether to stick together an choose one path or split up and explore multiple to find away out. Given that you've only got one source of light, you'll want to choose carefully.

Whether you stay together or split up, the corridors all look the same. The same sound follows you wherever you go. Eventually you'll start to notice it sounds close. Too close. Like it's right... above you?

Looking up, you'll see a large monster which jumps down in front of your team within seconds of having the light turned on it. The beast takes up the majority of the space in the corridor and there's no getting around it. Time to double back and try out one of those other passages, it seems. Hopefully you can run quickly. It's not the only thing that's jumping out of the shadows to try and hunt you, either. The large creature is working with a smaller set of monsters who seem to appear out of nowhere, their footsteps impossible to hear, but the screeches they give are almost deafening. If you split up earlier, maybe you'll run into each other now; it seems like the monsters are herding you together, trying to make you easier to hunt.

The small monsters can be killed easily. Any weapons you have will work against them, no more than a couple of shots from a gun or a good hard swing of a blade will be needed to take them down. The big beast you first ran into is another story. Nothing seems to work to slow this guy down. It'll bleed, sure, the injuries are more than apparent, but it doesn't seem to make the monster any weaker. If anything, it just makes it more irate. The only chance of living is getting out.

If you're lucky, you'll eventually turn enough corridors to see cracks of light at the end of one. Light that seems to be coming through a door. If you can outrun the monster down this long, straight stretch, it seems to actually be your exit. The door is heavy and the lock is a little rusty, but with a little team effort, you should be able to get the thing shoved open. Slam it closed before the monster can get out and you'll find yourself safe again.

fear the old blood

It's just the month for getting stuck in tiny rooms. This time, walking through any door in Deerington could land you inside this cramped closet with far too tall ceilings. Again, it seems you aren't alone; the wall on the opposite side of the closet seems to have brought in someone the same as you. The doors behind you both disappear and it seems like you're completely trapped. There's shelves all around you, completely empty, but they've got to hold a purpose, right? You may take some time to look them over, see if there is some kind of switch or hidden compartment they might be blocking.

While you're observing the cramped space around you, trying to find a way out, you might hear the sound of air rushing from above you, almost like the sounds of an elevator shaft. There's a ding, a click, the sound of doors opening— all from the ceiling up above. It's a way out! But nothing ever comes so easily in Deerington. Within seconds of the doors cracking open, blood will start to fill the room, pouring in from your only exit.

Working together and using the shelves as leverage, you might just be able to reach the ceiling to pull yourself up (and hopefully your partner), but you'll have to push against the downpour of blood in the process. It's far from easy, definitely slippery, and you'll have to move quickly if you don't want to end up drowning. Waiting it out for the room to fill so you can reach the top easier will prove to be a horrible idea; the moment the blood reaches the top of those bookshelves, rotting hands will begin to reach from the walls, dragging you down and keeping you from getting to the top.

Once you have both made it into the exit above, the doors will close, and the elevator will right itself. There's no blood anywhere to be found and there also isn't a button to press to choose any floors. You'll simply hear the sound of the elevator climbing the shaft before the doors open again, and you'll be let out into the lobby of the Grady Hotel.

Time to head home and take a shower, I guess.

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

Xue Yang can really, really be irritating sometimes. Song Lan doesn't say as much, it probably should be understood by now. Still, he remembers what the other had shown him and that he has questions about it.

He looks at the horse as he follows Xue Yang. Why is he still following him? They're not in any danger anymore. This is foolish. The horse is a good looking one, though, and there's a faint smile.

Yes, yes, he knows. A lot of his cheer is forced these days and that makes it more grating. But it's probably better than being a sobbing mess on the floor.

Xue Yang lets Wuye out of his stall, grinning when the stallion trots right up to Song Zichen, chest puffed proudly.

"Don't flirt with Daozhang. You'll make me jealous!"

Song Lan looks at the horse as it comes up to him, glancing at Xue Yang with a look of disdain but for which part?

He does take a step back from the horse though the horse is offered a slight smile all the same.

"You have much to explain still," he tells the other, he won't be distracted by a horse.

Wuye is a good boy - proud and fierce, but good. With a whistle, Xue Yang brings the stallion back to him, giving him an apple as a treat and rubbing over his neck.

"Right. What do you last remember?"

"I was fighting you," Song Lan says, watching the other with the stallion. There is so much that doesn't add up and he finds it's hard to hold onto his anger and let it drive him.

"Well that..." he turns his head and looks away, wincing, "I won't lie to you..."

He leaves Wuye to wander as he pleases in the front, fenced in area, moving back to Song Lan.

"Daozhang Xingchen stabbed you from behind. He mistook you for a monster after I...cut out your tongue." he pales, "I found out that Shuanghua mistakes humans for monsters once the tongue is removed. You...would have died if..." he swallows roughly, "I made you into a Fierce Corpse. Once Daozhang Xingchen learned the truth about you and my identity, he killed himself."

Song Lan stares at Xue Yang and by the end of it, imagining Xingchen killing himself the effect the words have are all over his face. Grief, anger...

"How could you," he says, voice low but dangerous. How could Xue Yang have done all this? He had known the other was tricking Xingchen but he didn't know how bad it was, how badly it would all turn out.

"A-Lan..." he murmurs, sensing that pain and willing to put himself in the way of that anger, "I have no excuse. What I did was beyond cruel. The truth is... I fell in love with Daozhang Xingchen. I didn't know how to handle it, so I punished him."

The disgust is written on his face. Someone like Xingchen deserves...love. Support. Not horror and nightmares.

"I punished you too, remember?" he motions at his eyes, "I think I was half in love with you too back then."

Again with the A-Lan, the way he says it keeps throwing Song Lan into confusion. Nothing the other says really makes what he had just learned better. Of course, he remembers. He remembers everything that Xue Yang had done.

"That's not love," Song Lan bites out. It's obsession but it's not love.

"I didn't know any differently." he admits, ashamed, "I was by myself on the streets as a kid. I can't tell you how many times I was beaten. Then I was taken in by the Wens...and the Jins...not because they cared about me, but because I was useful. They beat me and tortured me when I failed their little tasks too." he lifts a shoulder in a shrug, "When I saw you two...so perfect...so understanding... It made me feel like I was missing out on something really good. I didn't know how to go about getting it."

Xue Yang licks his lips, biting the inside of his cheek.

"I wasn't expecting to see Daozhang Xingchen. I hurt you and... The Jins had me nearly beaten to death. They dislocated my leg and left me on the side of a road. That was how Daozhang found me."

Song Lan would have felt pity and compassion for anyone else but the things that Xue Yang had done were unforgivable. There is no excuse for the massacres, for tricking Xingchen the way he had. For turning Song Lan into a fierce corpse even if for him that hasn't happened yet.

"You deserved it," Song Lan says quietly.

"This all only makes it harder to believe that I would ever have that note."

He accepts the agony that follows Song Lan's words. Yes, he did deserve it. All of it.

"When I came here, you were with Xingchen. Living together. He gave me a chance and you were...strict...with me. I think the decision had more to do with how death works in this place than either of you liking me." he looks down at the ground, "Things went well for us and one day Xingchen admitted to me that he wanted...more with you. I taught him how to court you."

And it ended up as three instead of two.

"Then Xingchen disappeared and it was just us. We meditated together at first and then I started courting you. Properly. No violence, no blood..."

That is a lot to process, a lot that doesn't seem possible. He can't understand how any of it could happen.

"I don't understand how any of that could happen."

Can he really trust the other even if he seems sincere?

"I love you, Daozhang." Xue Yang states, voice only the slightest bit uneven, "You can detest me; I've earned it! But I love you nonetheless."

He motions at the house and adds:

"You are welcome to stay here or at my apartment. I promise no one will bother you in either place."

Song Lan looks away when the other tells him that he loves him. That's... too much and it feels too real. How could he even for a moment almost believe this man? He takes a deep breath, centering himself.

Perhaps, he curious and perhaps something in him does believe every word that Xue Yang had said or maybe he just wants to keep an eye on him.

"I will stay here."

The reality might hit a little harder since Xue Yang is looking at Song Lan like he hung the moon and the stars. Yes, this delinquent of a man, this demon of a man, has discovered love.

"Good. This was originally Xingchen's house. I've kept it up for him should he come back."

Wuye is rolling in the grass without a care in the world. Horses.

Song Lan doesn't really notice anything else once the other said it was Xingchen's house. He feels sadness falling over him.

"Is there anything of him left here?" he questions. And anything to put out of his mind the way Xue Yang had sounded, looked when he had declared his love.

"A few things." he understands the draw and walks to the front door, opening it to let them inside, "I'll show you to his bedroom. I...have Shuanghua too."

The sword seems to have a habit of appearing and disappearing based on its whims, however. When it is in his possession, Xue Yang keeps it clean.

Edited 2020-09-27 00:17 (UTC)

"Why would you have.." Song Lan doesn't finish the thought. Maybe it's better to stop questioning things but he feels unsettled. All of this has him feeling off-balance in a way that he doesn't really understand. So he just nods, he would let the other show him and he would try to make peace with his questions.

"Do you really wanna know?" Xue Yang moves off into the house, grabbing the sword and a mask. It takes but a moment for the spell to take effect. When he approaches Song Lan again, he looks like Xiao Xingchen. He even sounds like him.

"I found a way to keep him around."

Song Lan steps into the house but he goes no further. The question had seemed ominous and when he comes back and he has Xingchen's face...his voice.

"Why..." he can't help but say and at the same time he can't look away.

"I missed him." he hugs Shuanghua to his chest, "That and I used this disguise to get Senior Wuxian's attention. He was the only one who stood a chance of resurrecting Daozhang Xingchen."

Song Lan frowns and he looks away from him. "You shouldn't do this."

"...I'm sorry, A-Lan." he removes the mask and dissolves the spell, "I know better now. I've...learned."

"It's not me you should apologize to," Song Lan returns and he gives up trying to tell the other not to call him that.

OCTOBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

curse the fiends

fear the old blood

Character Arrival

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