Test Drive Meme - Autumn 2018

[thelostmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

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I. Dragon Catch

You step out of your house, letter in hand to find what Zephyr laid out neatly in written word for you. Dragons, saddles and a brief explanation Zephyr was interested in a cool new book about people befriending dragons! The little godling had set up a corral, some stables and encouraged everyone to try befriending a dragon to ride. Snippets of the book are included for aid. All in all it seems like a lot of fun!

Well, until you look over the Meadous village proper.

Dragons of varying shapes, colors and sizes are meandering about the meadous, clearly having escaped the corral they had been kept in. One dragon has perched itself atop your neighbor’s home taking a nice nap in the sunshine. A gaggle of cat sized dragons have taken up digging up another neighbors garden. A few dragons hang from the beer tree, more than a bit… blasted.

One or two people you recognize are attempting to catch up to the dragons with mixed results. One person is at least hanging off of a saddle looking rather perturbed.

Do you help or merely let the dragon based chaos ensue by going back inside where you’re less likely to get involved?

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II. Be Careful What You Wish For

Well, that... that wasn't quite to plan. You stare down at the crayon drawing from Zephyr showing you exactly what you wished for. Except you hadn't meant it literally. Or you hadn't meant it quite like that, even if your wording had been vague. Now you're stuck with something you didn't want. Or perhaps you made a big mistake and now you're a different species. Or have extra appendages you can't get rid of. Not without making the walk of shame back to the Wishing Pond to wish away the changes. Why this? Why? If only you had been more clear or if only Zephyr understood subtly a bit more clearly.

Hopefully, no one will catch you as you steal forth to undo your mistake. Now that would be quite embarrassing if they saw you like this!

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III. Pumpkin Maze Frights

Fall has settled over the landscape nicely, with that comes a rather customary pumpkin patch maze. A tradition long standing that comes as the seasons shift with the Meadous.

Even long time residents seem surprised at the new heights the maze has taken on, not to mention a new sign warning its extra scary this year! The sign also advises there will be a cool prize to anyone brave enough to venture forth!

A few residents are gathered at the opening, talking amongst themselves over the newly scary-ified pumpkin maze. The maze walls are composed of pumpkins of varying shapes, sizes, colors and carvings. One or two snatch a pumpkin to turn into a pie.

Everything is fairly whimsical all in all until one steps into the maze itself to follow the dirt pathway within.

The dirt path under foot is easy to follow, but offers some minor startles at the occasional loose leaf crunching underfoot.The mixed in carved pumpkins that make up the maze walls provide some shallow lighting along with floating string lights in a light bulb shape hang over head. It is oddly darker in the maze than it ever has been before. It’s almost a little scary. The unnatural quiet of the maze doesn’t help matters any. Walking deeper into the maze only leads to less lights here and there.

Zephyr has maybe gone a bit over zealous with this scary thing.

A wind whips up, making the candle light within the pumpkins flicker and lanterns bobble overhead. A few candles flicker out completely for a long moment before sputtering back to life.

Is that a shadow on a maze wall ahead of you? Will you call out or duck behind a TDM convenient hay bale stacks?

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IV. Bulletin Board

Each month, Zephyr clears away most of the notes from their Bulletin Board and adjusts the decorations, leaving it fresh and open for anyone who might wish to post something new. The Meadous is a fairly rural place with minimal technology. Those used to a network may find the Bulletin Board is the closest they can come to something like that again. Who wants to actually talk to the neighbors when you can post a passive aggressive note about someone making a racket at 2 AM, instead? There's also some measure of anonymity afforded. Just be sure to only post up your notes when no one else is around and can catch you at it.

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V. Choose Your Own Adventure

Whether it's just waking up in the Meadous or exploring some other part of the Setting, you're striking out with your own prompts to get some action started.

Comments

[clowngirl]

"I'll take other suggestions for mowin' down all these pumpkins," she says. It's not as if she's 100% attached to the idea. "Bet I could smash my way through with a big enough mallet... but I bet they're hard enough to come by here too."

[clowngirl]

You're not very popular at parties, are ya?

[roomed]

Well, that's unfortunate. He can't ask about the god here, then.

"Snowscape...? Huh. I'm glad you got out of there." He wonders if she means the millions literally. "I sort of...re-located...from my original world. The new one had frog monsters. I tried to help the best I could."

[termineur]

Well, my world's facing a veritable explosion of special abilities due to the genetic evolution of mankind. I suspect androids are going to be less of a concern when a quarter of the population can float whatever they want to themselves. But you're right, you never know how things are going to turn out. Not even when you have a precognitive ability.

You're very welcome. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[exequies]

He's from a time period that's a bit too early to know what I, Spy is, but the mention of 'snow' grabs his attention away from that. There're already several people here who loudly voice their disgruntlement whenever the winter season change comes around, and they're all from Norfinbury. Not that he really blames them; it sounds about as equally depressing as the dusty, barren and broken wasteland he'd landed in before coming here. Just much colder.

"About one and a half years, so not terribly long. I suspect you'll find plenty of familiar faces here, though, if my guess is correct. You're from Norfinbury, aren't you?"

[aigue]

"A bunch of people from Norfinbury have been here a little while," Renart says helpfully, raising a hand to start listing off names on her fingers. "Bucky," His name gets a tailwag, "Sherlock and John, Gabriel, Royce and Alfie, Stephen, Kid."

That isn't everyone, but it's most of them.

[clowngirl]

She recognizes most of the names. None belong to those who she'd consider friends, though the ones she knew were friendly enough.

"...Any clowns?" she has to ask, the tiniest bit of hope in her voice.

[aigue]

"Clowns?" Renart pauses, raising her eyebrows. That's a new one. "Not that I've seen. Friend of yours?"

[clowngirl]

"Boyfriend... Ex..." She eventually settles helplessly on: "It's complicated. He died back in N-bury. I was thinkin', maybe..."

[clowngirl]

"Me too!" she chirps. God, she would be happy to never see another snowfall. Maybe she'd get lucky and see a green Christmas/Hanukkah. Or at least a slushy one.

"Frog monsters? Really? Are we talkin' Kermit-sized, or...?"

[aigue]

"Oh." Her ears droop slightly. Ex-boyfriends are complicated things, she knows that very well.

"Do you want to go somewhere and talk about it?" A spooky Halloween maze might not be the best place to discuss this, and Renart glances around to see if the exit is nearby.

[roomed]

"No. They were people-sized. We think they used to be people."

Henry's eyes narrow slightly and he stops to make sure there's nothing on their path but flickering lights. The lack of anything jumping out at them (besides Harley, of course) might mean he was a little paranoid coming in here. The candlelight against the pumpkins is kind of friendly, honestly.

"They were working to raise, uh--" How does he explain it? "Gods from another dimension, we think. Or demons, maybe. They're called Ogdru Hem." He lets out a small sigh. "It wasn't going well."

[exigere]

I've never been invited to one.

[clowngirl]

Hop aboard the whimsy train, Robocop, and that might change.

[exigere]

I find that unlikely.

And I'm not a cop. I assisted police detectives for a brief period since my official release. I was never made an official officer.

[exigere]

Levitation and precognition are certainly not features of the androids that are in circulation where I'm from. I imagine in a world like that, we would be largely considered useless.

I imagine there will be plenty more questions in the very near future. I'll be sure to contact you, though I'll try not to be too overbearing.

[termineur]

Maybe not 'useless', but I feel like humanity would be distracted from something like making androids for awhile. They'd be too busy building vaults that people who walk through walls can't get into, stuff like that.

And hey, be as overbearing as you want. Usually, I'm the one asking way too many questions- might be nice to answer some for a change.

[poisoninmypocket]

Monty can't help wanting to show off just a bit. They round the corner and there is a door there, but also an enormous wooden mallet that looks like it was made for a giant to play croquet with. "Something like that, perhaps?" He doesn't expect her to actually be able to lift the thing. "I think the door might be the most expedient means, though."

[clowngirl]

"How'dja guess-- wait, familiar faces? I'm not the only one?" It was an immediately comforting thought, that she wasn't the only one to get ripped from that hellish place to this new one. She wasn't alone in a strange place. Wait, could that mean-- "Any of those faces chalky white with green eyes, green hair, and a killer smile?"

[clowngirl]

"That's pretty freaky-deaky. Though I did know a people-sized Croc once. He just tried to eat me though, not summon dark forces from outside dimensions."

She guesses she was probably lucky in that regard.

"You don't know what happened to them? Y'know, in that world?"

[clowngirl]

"Sure, yeah, I'd like that," she answers. It's their luck that the exit (or is that the entrance? was there a difference?) is just past the next corner. Harley huffs in relief. They're out. "Know a place where a gal can get a candy apple? All this fall weather's got me jonesin'."

[clowngirl]

Harley whistles. "Ain't she just gorgeous!" she says, rushing forward to grab hold of the mallet. She immediately lifts it up and takes a few quick practice swings, narrowly missing Monty.

"Door, huh? Well, if you insist." And with that, she sticks her tongue out the side of her mouth and swings the mallet into the door with a massive SMASH.

Oh, that was probably unlocked, wasn't it?

Harley just erupts into a crazed gigglefit.

[clowngirl]

Have it your way then, RoboNarc.

[exequies]

It's a very strange description, but then again a few people in their company could be 'very strange' depending on one's point of view. They had a fox, some sort of lizard, and a werewolf just to name a few. Undertaker taps a long, black lacquered nail against his chin as he thinks, privately suspecting she's asking about someone she's particularly attached to.

He could understand that. When he'd arrived, he'd been the first of his companions to appear in the Meadous. It had been a rather lonely existence for a couple months.

"Hmmm~ Can't say it rings a bell, no. Are they a friend of yours?"

[roomed]

"No. We were still in the middle of it," he says, with a sigh. "And my- ...the only person who's defeated an Ogdru Hem is in a coma right now."

He makes another set of turns and- hey, look at that. There's what seems like a long hallway of pumpkins leading to the opening. Henry is one-hundred-percent sure there was no part of the maze like this. He starts heading that direction.

"I don't have much I can do there, but...it feels wrong to be here, playing games."