sodder: (Default)
Sodder ([personal profile] sodder) wrote in [community profile] soddersays2020-09-25 08:04 pm
Entry tags:

OCTOBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME




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!











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.
demonicbeauty: (Listening)

I. (I love the Endverse so much!)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-09-28 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[Ariadne isn't so much passing by as...up in a tree. She can't help it. She loves to climb. And she's been doing her best to monitor the whole situation with the gilded leaves. It's not to her liking, but she's hoping that she can still manage to save some of the flora in Deerington. Even if it means occasionally trying to scrape the magical gold off of the leaves, when she can.

She's examining a particularly lovely maple when she hears someone below. His scent is immediately unpleasant. And a bit...off. Ozone, probably. She's smelling it on almost everyone, lately.

Curious, she drops down to a lower branch, landing in a neat squat with her back against the trunk. She leans forward, grabbing the branch with both hands, letting her face and her ropelike braid fall to one side, looking down at him.]


What about fornication?
perfectantidote: (intent)

oohhh I'm so happy to hear that <3

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-09-28 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cas tugs on his hair a little bit, biting back on a groan. He can almost hear himself ask the question, were he just a few years younger, and still so blissfully unaware of all the delightful trapping of a post-apocalypse.

He glances up, though, bleary blue eyes finding someone in the branches above.

Huh. Interesting. ]


As in the expletive, not, uh. The act. Though the act would be... preferrable to... whatever all this is, really.
demonicbeauty: (Awkward)

:D

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-09-28 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Right. An idiom.

[She's still getting used to all of the idioms from all the worlds, colliding all at once. As it is, she's terrible enough with her own world's choice words.

Which is funny, as she knows over thirty languages.

But no matter.

She offers the stranger a sympathetic smile.]


Plenty of reasons for expletives, I suppose. Any specific ones I can help with?
perfectantidote: (grin)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-09-29 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ Cas shifts a little, folds his legs into a lotus seat position, though the rifle stays in his lap.

Horrifying death and strange resurrection into a dreamscape aside, this day might be about to turn around little. He grins, a little too wide. ]


Well. Which idioms do you know, for uh... extreme unhappiness with an overall situation?
demonicbeauty: (Skeptical)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-09-29 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
A few.

[She throws her weight to one side, swinging to the underside of the branch, still holding it tight.

Her braid brushes the grass below.]


May I make the assumption that you're new to the city?

[He's got that new-arrival fog to him.]
perfectantidote: (listening)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-09-29 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He's getting dizzy just watching her - it's... not gonna stop him. Though Cas' eyes do drop to her swinging braid brushing against the grass below.

His fingers twitch. ]


I mean... who am I to. Hm... deny a beautiful woman her assumptions?
demonicbeauty: (Unsure)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-09-29 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[A terribly confused expression flashes across her face. Not only because no one ever calls her a "beautiful woman," but also because she's not entirely sure what he means by that.

She drops down onto the grass, landing in a crouch like a cat. And then, not sure what else to do, she sits down in front of him, pulling her legs into the lotus position.]


Is...is that a yes?
perfectantidote: (stretch)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-02 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well... how delightfully familiar. Cas shifts a bit, straightens his back until it pops and rolls his shoulders a bit. Now that they sit here like this, positions mirrored, he feels reminded of his cabin.

Good times. ]


Sure. You're... not new, yes?
demonicbeauty: (Thoughtful)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-02 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
[She shrugs her thin shoulders.]

I guess not. Not any more.

No, I've been in Deerington...almost half a year, I guess.

[The days tend to blur. And she hasn't been as careful about tracking time as she might normally have been.]
perfectantidote: (Default)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-02 11:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, there are worse sources of information than weird, beautiful women. Cas feels like he can handle weird, and he certainly doesn't mind beautiful people just in general, even if his mind is far from thinking about anything further than appreciating the aesthetic - he's not that bad, after all. And in lieau of souls to behold with senses that have dulled to practically human levels, well, he's got to appreciate something around here. ]

So... you can tell me all about this, uhm... lovely little pocket of the universe, then.
demonicbeauty: (Mischief)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-02 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, it's not always lovely.

[There's actually quite a lot Ariadne appreciates about Deerington. Electricity is fun. The people are usually quite interesting. And there are such extraordinary inventions to use.

She spent half a day amazed at the way a new tissue popped up from the box, every time she pulled one out.]


There are some dangerous forces at play that want to hurt us.

[A pause. Her sharp, gray eyes assess him for a moment. That phrase--pocket universe--would seem to indicate a more than basic understanding of the situation already.]

Mother Superior is one of the ones you gotta look out for.
perfectantidote: (doubtful)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-02 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Quite frankly, Cas is just gonna be relieved to discover running water and other amenities of a functioning society. Trying to learn how to be human after society's collapsed hasn't exactly been his idea of a good time, quite honestly.

And ah... there it is.

Because of course there would be meddling by way of congregation. ]


Well, I uh... can't say I believe I'd get on with any nun.

[ Though the idea of scandalizing a convent, come to think of it... well. No, perhaps there is some blaspheming even he'd avoid. For all time's sake, not because he has faith left anywhere in this half-dead body of his. ]
demonicbeauty: (Uncertain)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-02 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, she wouldn't get on with you. She's caused quite a lot of trouble for us. Quite a lot of monsters.

I don't know what she has against us...

[There has to be something. Some hidden pain. Because Ariadne doesn't believe people are evil by nature. Evil is just a manifestation of frustration and anger and hurt.

One that can be healed, in the right circumstances.

But she can't even dream those circumstances for Mother Superior. There's just too much she doesn't understand.]


But we have Sodder protecting us. Watch out for creatures with antlers. They're generally on our side.
perfectantidote: (listening)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-03 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cas has never been given the chance to grow past the apocalypse and develop a more deep-seated empathy. His thoughts don't go down a similar track - for him the world is still more black and grey.

White's been taken off the board. Too bad. ]


So, uh... a nun and stag are fighting it out and we're caught in the middle, yes?

[ Simplified, perhaps, but... well, that's the kind of cosmic conflict Cas is used to. ]
demonicbeauty: (Awkward)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-03 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I...guess.

[Not exactly how she would finesse it, but it might be a way to explain it to a child.

A very, very small child.]


I think we tend to lean toward the stag, though.
perfectantidote: (unfocused)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-03 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
So... when you say this Mother Superior is out to hurt us... any details there?

[ Antlers good, nuns bad - simple, but not yet so much to go one, of course.

Cas taps his lip in thought. He might seem easy smiles, runaway sentences and over-simplified, but there is a sharp mind still tucked somewhere behind those slightly unfocused eyes. ]
demonicbeauty: (Considering)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-03 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I guess...it depends on if you believe in magic.

[Something tells her he does. But Ariadne's instincts are a little wonky here.

And assuming can get people hurt, as she well knows.]


There have been some very awful curses.
perfectantidote: (wonder)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-09 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Magic. Yeah, wonderful start. he can't say he's seen any particulars in action recently - with angels and demons it tends to be more wardings and banishings, wheras Croats are... well, a bullet suffices, and the less said about that the better.

Been a while since they stumbled across witches, though.

Been a while longer since Cas had the occasional to channel a spell himself. ]


Yeah, uh... that's awfully familiar.
demonicbeauty: (Annoyed)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-09 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
Well, it's real here. And not just for Elves.

[Forgive her, strange man. Where she comes from, everything ties back to Elves, eventually. She's trying to break herself of that particular line of thought.]

Terrible magic hits us all the time.

[She gestures up to the trees, gilded with gold and metal.]

Like that. Some curse turned all the leaves to...well...that.
perfectantidote: (Default)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-09 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Elves. Right. Cas is just... gonna take that and roll with it.

In all fairness, he probably sounds just as weird talking about his own world. Still, he feels too sober for this conversation. ]


That seems... tame, as far as curses go.
demonicbeauty: (Upset)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-09 05:16 pm (UTC)(link)
It's killing most of the trees.

[Which is upsetting her quite a lot, apparently. Judging from the way her voice trembles a little bit.

But she pulls herself together, clears her throat, and continues.]


And, you see, a few months back, they sealed the entire village with a magical dome. Which cut off our air, boiled off a lot of our water, and nearly poisoned us all.
perfectantidote: (frown)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-09 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cas refrains from shrugging in dismissmal. Oh, who's he to blame others for their emotions and attachments, just because he's stopped seeing the point in any of it. He's not a complete asshole about it - or so he likes to think, at least. ]

Now... that sounds unpleasant. How did you, uh... make it through?
demonicbeauty: (Awkward)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-09 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
The dome cracked.

Hit by lightning, we think.

[She wishes she knew more, but frankly, it's all a bit mysterious.]

Although when it shattered, a lot of people got hurt.
perfectantidote: (expectant)

[personal profile] perfectantidote 2020-10-09 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cas glances around and briefly up - other than a blackened sky and a red orb he's currently ignoring thankyouverymuch, nothing is to be seen, of course. His mind folds what little he's seen of the place into a brief calculation - how massive such a dome must have been to cover the entire area a town like this could feasibly span. ]

I can imagine... so you're, uh... free to leave this town otherwise?
demonicbeauty: (Confused)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-10-10 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
Not...entirely.

[She shifts a little in her seat.]

There's a limit to how far anyone can go. Although I think it's getting wider.

(no subject)

[personal profile] perfectantidote - 2020-10-10 15:54 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty - 2020-10-10 15:57 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] perfectantidote - 2020-10-17 14:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty - 2020-10-17 15:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] perfectantidote - 2020-10-19 17:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty - 2020-10-19 17:32 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] perfectantidote - 2020-10-19 17:43 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty - 2020-10-19 17:45 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] perfectantidote - 2020-10-19 18:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty - 2020-10-19 20:52 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] perfectantidote - 2020-10-22 22:13 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty - 2020-10-22 22:41 (UTC) - Expand