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July 2018 Test Drive Meme

JULY 2018 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to July's Test Drive Meme! This is our first Test Drive ever so let's make it a good one. This month's Test Drive's theme is: JAPANESE BASED 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: Psychological horror, supernatural horror, body horror with stitches, potential gore, potential burning.

Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Prompt Three
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

THE SISTERS OF KOJI POND

The streets of Deerington are hazy this fine summer evening in July. Buzzing drunkenly through the tall wild grass on the sides of streets are the speckled dots of fireflies as they fly about. It's a bit muggy, the kind that makes your clothes hang from your body and cling against the slopes of your shoulders and arms. It's easy to feel lost in the tranquility of that perfect summer night. The stars are bright overhead, and there's a full moon in the sky that looks as big as a quarter from where you're standing. Distantly, it smells like somewhere someone is having a late night bonfire. If you listen hard enough, you could almost hear the crackling of the wood as it splinters and burns.

That's when you can hear the soft laughter of a woman. It's the appealing kind of laughter that maybe reminds you of a distant lover, a sister, a friend, or maybe even your own mother. Turning towards the laughter, you might see the shining glow of the moon tucking itself behind a nearby building. But no, the moon was still up in the sky where it belonged. Wasn't it? The moon has halved itself. That's all right. That's how it had been when you last looked. Wasn't it?

The laughter distracts you from the halved moon, sounding closer now. The exhale of a sigh and you feel that prickling sensation that you are not alone. That's when you see a white cat. The creature is sitting neatly in front of a street lamp, and it's positively otherworldly with its luminescent glow. So that's where the moon had gone. The cat appears perfectly normal except it has twin tails winding slowly back and forth behind it.

When the cat finally looks your way, it opens its mouth and a woman's laugh comes out of it, bright and cheerful.

The cat stands up and pads down the sidewalk, its tails twirling about in an almost mesmerizing motion. Behind you, the moon has gone from a half down to a thin crescent, the stars blacking out one after the other.

If you follow the cat, it takes you down winding streets. The cat takes you to Koji Pond. Above the sky has gone completely black, and there are no fireflies to see. The street lamps have gone completely out. It's just you and the woman-.

The woman? What had happened to the cat? No, it had always been a woman you were following, right? You can't mistaken a cat for a woman.

But there's not just one woman. There's two, you realize. Two at opposite ends of the pond. Each are wearing an identical moon-white kimono. One is laughing softly, but the other is staring blankly across the water. The grave woman wears her long black hair up in a tight bun, whereas the laughing woman's hair is flowing free and filled with soft flowers. The grim woman turns her flat, black eyes and gestures to you.

"Come here. Now."

The laughing woman tucks some hair behind her ear, looking your way. She radiates warmth and that summer sweetness you remembered feeling before the world went dark. "My sister is so cruel. Ignore her. Sit beside me."

Which woman will you go to? Neither of the women will pressure you, but you'll find that if you try to leave, your sight will grow darker and darker, though you won't be blind exactly. It's more like the light from all the worlds in existence have been stolen away and put into these two women. Everything beyond them is cast in darkness.

If you go to the stern woman, her tight expression will smooth out and she will bow her head, cupping her hands against her chest. From her sleeves, she will remove a silk bag of roasted soybeans. She hands them to you, not smiling, but not looking quite as severe as she had moments ago. "Scatter them."

Once you do, you'll notice the more you scatter, the more stars you bring back into the night sky. By the time you're done with the bag, the women will have both disappeared, and the white cat from before will be sitting where the stern woman once sat. Only this time, the cat has one tail.

However, if you decide to go to the laughing woman....

As you come closer, you'll notice that her hair is parted to hang evenly over her shoulders, and at the back of her neck is ...a mouth. A snarling mouth with sharp teeth. The closer you walk to her, the hotter and more stifling the air around you becomes. All you can hear is the woman laughing. Her face is reflected a million times in the water's surface in Koji Pond, all laughing, an entire auditorium's worth of laughter hurled at you.

You must overcome the laughter. The woman's hair will grow, wrapping itself around you wherever it can to drag you towards her. The moment you assault the woman, her laughter will turn to screams and the world all around you will feel as if you've been placed into an oven. Small fires will spark live in nearby bushes and across the grass.

It doesn't seem like regular objects can truly kill her though.

The other sister can't reach you, but she is throwing raw soybeans to you. They scatter all over the place. If you're quick on your feet, you'd think to pick them up. If you're even quicker, you'd think to throw the soybeans into the nearby fires to roast them. This seems to be the only way to really hurt the woman- and the only way to eventually banish her. But it'll take some time.

The worst part? The longer you stay near the woman, the sicker you'll feel. Maybe you'll come down with the cold, or maybe you'll grow blisters on your tongue. It doesn't matter: you'll grow terribly sick with some illness in the world and nothing will cure it until the woman has been abolished. And when she finally is? You will be left terribly weakened, but the stars will slowly come back as will the full moon.

I LOVE YOU: PLEASE LOVE ME BACK

It begins as a regular day in Deerington. The only problem is that there's really no such thing as a regular day in Deerington. When you come to, you'll find yourself feeling particularly emotional. Whether that's overly sad or happy, it doesn't seem to matter, because you're feeling everything so intensely. Maybe you just didn't sleep right, or maybe it's this weird dream you're having. Hopefully if you ignore it, it'll go away.

Except it doesn't go away. It's beginning to feel isolating being alone with your thoughts, even if they're happy, because it feels like you're near bursting to express yourself to someone.

When you finally cave, it's to the nearest person. The urge grows even louder inside of you until finally you're exclaiming loudly to the other person how you're feeling. Then you think to ask something that seems perfectly natural to you: you ask for a hug. Or maybe you ask for a handshake. Any contact.

Maybe the other person is sympathetic, or maybe they're feeling this emotional onslaught as much as you are. Either way, the moment your skin makes contact with another person's body, you'll feel a sudden swoop of sensation slide through your skin. It doesn't hurt, necessarily, but you've never felt anything quite like it before. And you don't want to stop touching this person wherever you may be touching them. As a matter of fact, you want to get closer. This urge does not need to be felt on both ends.

But the closer you get, the more yourself you begin to feel. Until at last you decide to look to where you have touched the other person.

Securing the two of you together are thick, coarse black stitches. Try and tug yourself away will result in atrocious pain on both ends. Anywhere your skin has touched the other person's will have been stitched to it. Careful getting hysterical though- the more emotional you become, the more likely you'll be to crowd closer to the person you're sewn into, and the more you'll fuse together. Better try and calm each other down first.

The solution is simple: you need to cut your way out of the bond. The tricky part is finding something to cut it with...and, well, the fact that the moment someone tries to cut the stitches, you'll both feel a hysterical urge to stay together forever.

It's possible to overcome that urge- but boy, do you need to have an iron will. Cutting the stitches is a miserable ordeal that hurts every snip of the way- but each time you cut a stitching, it fades away entirely as if it had never been there to begin with.

There is another option, of course. You could always jump into some water and get the stitches wet. Once you do, they'll melt right off you, not even leaving holes or dots behind. Surely you hadn't just imagined that, right?

THIS IS MY HOLE, IT WAS MADE FOR ME!

It is certainly a nice day for a refreshing hike into the woods! Or perhaps you have decided that a little exploration is in order for this new, strange town you have woken up to. At some point along the way, perhaps you find someone else on the trails of the National Park. No such thing as bad company, right? As you traverse towards Mount Rheum, the wind begins to pick up and you hear a low moaning. You could swear that you recognize that voice. Before you can place any names, the moaning stops and it's easy to think that maybe it was just the wind. Winds pulling through the trees always did make the strangest noises.

Except when the wind picks back up, you're more certain that you know this voice. Maybe it's the voice of your companion, or a loved one, a hated one from back home...Maybe it's even your own voice that you recognize. Each time the wind blows, the voice seems to change. It can't be the wind? It all seems to be coming from one direction: Mount Rheum.

You never quite reach the base of the mountain.

Even if you head straight on towards the mountain, when you pass through the line of trees that should technically open up to the base, you'll find no such thing. Instead, you'll find an enormous looming wall of gray slate. You can't even see the mountain behind it, it's so immense. How did you not see that from the forest? The wall seems to be tipped towards the mountain, and you think, just maybe, you could climb it. It crosses your mind for just a second before you notice something odd about the wall. From far away, it looks like a bunch of black smudges. But as you grow closer, you realize they aren't smudges at all. They are holes.

Holes the shape of human beings. And every single hole looks completely different from the next. There's hundreds of them, maybe even thousands, and they climb all the way up the slate wall. And there is one hole made specifically for you.

You may even find the hole that belongs to someone you know, or your companion, and every time the wind blows, you can hear the groaning voice of that person coming from within their hole.

It is impossible to get over the wall of gray slate. No matter how hard you may try. But it seems possible to find your own hole. You'd swear that the holes are moving. Examine the inside, and they seem to go on indefinitely. Put your hand inside any of them, and they will feel oddly warm. As warm as a human body. If you put your hand into the hole that belongs to the person you're with, they will feel a terrible coldness overcome them. Keep your hand in long enough, and you'll begin to see them die right in front of you. Better keep your hands to yourself....Or that'd be easier said than done if you didn't feel yourself grow in power, in intelligence just from stealing their life force.

Climbing into your own hole? You'll feel exhilarated! Alive! Like you have truly found the proof of your own soul. You don't want to leave your hole. It was made for you!

It is almost impossible to get out of your own hole. Chances are good you'll be slowly pulled into it, your body steadily crushed and stretched out, but you'll be conscious the entire time, and at some point you'll begin to moan horribly from the pain of it all.

Of course, you can always be saved. If someone climbs into your hole after you, it'll break apart the rock structure clenching down around you and they might be able to pull you out in time. You'll be left terribly weak, pale, and incapable of proper speech for a couple of hours...But at least you're not dead.

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

No. They don't even bat an eye. [He grimaces. She's touched on something he hadn't wanted to think about in its entirety. But it does bear discussing.] They could be.

For all we've figured out, they could be just as much a dream as any of this. Someone's gotten in touch with one of them, but even that hasn't told us anything useful yet.

[Which... reflects poorly on their efforts, in retrospect. Then again, trying to understand this place tended to take a backseat to surviving what it threw at them. The cold after the masquerade, the monsters in the streets, the oil slick rain...]

There's usually some kind of catalyst event before it changes. The animals panic. There's a party, or storms roll in. But just because it's done that so far doesn't mean it always will.

[That gives him pause. Something hopeful finally sparking in his chest.]

Can you reach the Castle from here?

[ She nods, accepting. Of course Allura would love to have the answers to her inquiries all presented neatly, but she doesn't expect them to be. Even though she and Shiro have had more disagreements than usual over the past several missions, she still trusts him. He would not still be here if he didn't have to be. ]

So there are some warning signs. That is better.

[ To just be standing there and have reality flipped around would be inconvenient, to say the least.

Allura knows she'll be letting him down, but she must be honest. She shakes her head, looking disappointed. ]

No, not yet. When I awoke the first thing I tried to do was contact the Castle, but there has been no response. I left the building just on the chance that there could have been some interference or signal blockers, but then you appeared.

[That makes two of them. Two of them who would love to have the answers. But there's only so much you can do without completely wearing yourself out. He's getting a little too close to that point as it is. Knowing it's not just himself trapped here... That's more reason to push himself further.]

Yeah. So far. Whenever something big happens, there's usually trouble coming.

[Not to say that was always the way. But so far, so good.]

[He feels that hope crush itself in his chest. But does his best to keep the feeling off his face.]

I couldn't raise anyone either. My comms are all dead.

[ She nods again. ]

I had assumed as much. You would have reached out if you could.

[ Which is troubling considering that he is more familiar with the mechanics of this place than she is, but that doesn't mean they can't try to tackle it together. ]

We may have to rely on the available technology of this world instead. The architecture makes it difficult to place, but can you think of anything that might amplify a signal?

[His turn to nod. That's the truth of it. If it were possible to reach out, to get word to the others, he would have. But it just wasn't.]

There might be radio towers, or satellite dishes. But they'll be owned by radio stations or the native people here. Getting them won't be easy.

[It would be, if they had Hunk and Pidge along. But they don't.]

We could ask around and see if anyone has access to stations.

[ She's not sure if they can send or receive anything beyond the veil of this place, but it would be foolish to ignore the possibility. ]

Yes, that will be our first step.

[ It does make her feel a little better to have something concrete to work towards. She does dislike being directionless. Allura offers Shiro a small smile, folding her hands in front of her. ]

We will take this one step at a time, but I promise that whatever happens, I won't leave without you.

[They've got to try, right? They wouldn't be themselves if they didn't give it a try.]

I know some people with connections around here. I'll start asking them.

[The people who work with FEAR, for example. Rei, for another, with her new connection to the Dog Keeper.]

... yeah. Yeah, I know that too. But thank you. Little reminder doesn't hurt.

[ It can be easy to give into hopelessness when left alone. She knows Shiro is stronger than even he gives himself credit for, but she knows that she is lucky to already have someone she knows in this strange situation. She won't take it for granted.

Allura gives his shoulder a gentle touch before turning to look back down the street. ]

I woke up in that building.

[ She points to two houses down. ]

I'm not sure if it was just random chance or any significance, but I heard some music. Is that how you arrived as well?

[It would have been. It would have been incredibly disheartening. Other people were around, though. Human beings. People to rely on. That got him through well enough. Even if they didn't know well enough to call him on his nonsense.]

[The touch at his shoulder gets a genuine smile in return.]

Something like that.

Did they give you anywhere to stay while we're figuring things out?

[ Allura raises her brows slightly, shifting her gaze back to the house for a moment. ]

I'm not sure. Was the room I awoke in intended to be mine? Nothing in it looked familiar, so I assumed otherwise.

It might be. Depends on if there were any instructions or keys in the basket you got.

[His shoulders lift in a shrug.] I've got space. If you'd be more comfortable around someone you know.

[ Her expression does lift at that. ]

Would you mind? I would hate to be an inconvenience, but you're correct in that I would be more comfortable with you around. Besides, you are already more familiar with the workings of this place than I am and I tended for our stay here to be short, if possible.

No, I don't mind at all.

[She can have the bed, and he'll... take the couch. For the few times he actually manage to crash into sleep. It'll be fine, he figures. He doesn't tend to use the bed enough for it to be an issue.]

Got to warn you. It's kind of bare.

Wonderful! You have my gratitude.

[ The scope of the situation is still beyond her, but this is a comfort that she will not turn down. She clasps her hands together, pleased, though his appraisal of his own place does get an amused look. ]

Are you expecting me to be surprised?

Any time. It'll be less lonely with someone around.

[Someone besides the handful of kids, Justine, or Rei dropping by to hand over food and make sure he wasn't dead. A couple splotches of color brush over his cheekbones when she asks that.]

Okay, fair. But... I had to warn you anyway.

[ She's not particularly surprised that he'd be prone to keeping to himself either, but she also highly doubts he's been idle. She supposes she will find out more of what he's been doing with his time here soon.

Although... ]

That's not a subtle cry for help, is it?

[He's about to nod her forward. To start heading toward the building he's living in. It's not even that far away. But--]

[Wait.]

Ahhh no? Not that I'm aware of?

[ He's given her something to think about, intended or otherwise. ]

Very well.

[ Allura lets her hands fall to her side. ]

Then I shall behave myself.

[It's a miracle. He actually laughs. Shaking his head at her in quiet disbelief.]

I ... really missed you.

[ That actually gives her pause. Of course, to Allura, she had just seen him less than an hour prior on the bridge. But it hits her someplace else, across the distance she's felt growing between them since he returned to them several months prior. She knows that's not what he's talking about at all, but...

It is enough to draw a bit of pink to her face, making her marks glow just a tad if he's watching. It's heartening. ]

...If I must be here, I am glad it's with you.

[ Feeling emboldened, she reaches out for his hand. ]

Now, show me your place and we'll see whether or not you truly need my assistance.

[If he's being honest, the look on her face makes something in his chest twist up. Not in a bad way. Not at all. He's not entirely sure why -- maybe it's being without the team for as long as all this. Maybe it's the relief at seeing someone you already know and trust all over again.]

[Either way. When she reaches for his hand, he doesn't hesitate. Just slides his fingers into her grip.]

Yeah. So am I.

[But even all that isn't enough to stop a wry laugh.]

Okay, okay, but don't laugh too hard.

I did promise to behave myself, didn't I?

[ She tugs him in what the assumes was the direction he was about to lead her. ]

I won't laugh.

[ A beat. ]

Or at least I will be kind enough to cover my mouth.

[ She's hilarious. ]

[It is surprisingly easy to tug him along. Like she had him on a string. He just falls into step with her, without a second thought.]

Wow, that's still harsh. It's my first apartment!

[... He's actually laughing a little, himself. It feels good. Really good, to be able to do that again.]

[ It really is, surprisingly so, and it makes her feel a little like a child again, ready to run off somewhere new and excited to explore. Of course, she has a fairly decent idea how "adventurous" his lodgings will be, but she's happy for the lifted mood all the same. They have plenty of time to discuss the more serious aspects of the situation later. ]

Is it? That is a little surprising, but I suppose I'm not really in a position to judge.

[ Has Allura ever had to find her own place or pay rent? Ever? No. ]

Yeah. First the Garrison, then the Castle... Not a whole lot of time to be a normal human out there.

[It's said lightly. Amused. Something about the mood between them just makes it easier to joke around with her. Like there was never time to, before. Yes, of course, they have a new mission now. They have to get back -- they've got to figure out this world and get out of it.]

[But...]

[For now, is there any harm in joking about an apartment?]

JULY 2018 TEST DRIVE MEME

THE SISTERS OF KOJI POND

I LOVE YOU: PLEASE LOVE ME BACK

THIS IS MY HOLE, IT WAS MADE FOR ME!

Character Arrival

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