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?

---

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

connor; detroit become human (psl/au)

[exigere]

iv: bulletin board


[ despite being written in crayon, the lettering and spacing is so perfectly lined up across the note that one could mistake it for being printed off from a computer. ]

Is there a particular reason the residents here make wishes for food and beverage items to grow on trees, rather than asking for the establishes that would serve these items in the first place?

[pleasereset]

Because it's cooler that way?

[exigere]

Presumably that's only an effective method of temperature control in the winter months.

[obeir]

[ Does someone seriously own a printer with crayon ink? ]

There already are several places that serve food and beverages, not to mention the fact Zephyr provides fully stocked pantries. I don't understand this tree phenomenon either, they seem superfluous.

-KD6-3.7

[exigere]

[ it wouldn't be that far of a stretch considering what the folks here tend to wish for ]

I feel like there were several, more logical conclusions the people here could've come to before resorting to these specific trees. A wish to simply stock their own pantries and refrigerators with these items seems like it'd be far more convenient.

Hello, K.

[clowngirl]

Who are you, the whimsy police?

[exigere]

No. I used to assist with the Detroit police department, but they were far from whimsical.

[termineur]

I'm guessing someone thought one up as a joke, and then everyone who wanted a particular type of food just decided to go with it.

I find them kind of charming, honestly.

[exigere]

I guess if it started out as a joke, it makes more sense. It's still a very strange sight to see, but perhaps the charm will come in time.

Harley Quinn | DC Comics | Snowblind

[clowngirl]

III. Pumpkin Maze Frights

Mazes are always fun. For the first five minutes or so, and then you're stuck with a task that's almost become a chore. Left, straight, right, right, left, left, right. It's ridiculous how easy one can get hopelessly lost, and not the good kind of ridiculous that Harley finds amusing.

Harley would be bored by now if this particular maze wasn't so darn creepy, the flickering lights giving her a little bit of the shivers as she makes her way through. Why didn't she just go bobbing for apples? She wonders if it's too late to turn around and try to backtrack her steps when she suddenly catches sight of a shadow on the wall ahead.

What luck! Another undoubtedly lost reveler to compare directions with. Someone to act as a guiding light in the darkness. Someone to lend her a hand. Someone to... JUMPSCARE THE BEJEEZUS OUT OF WITH A LOUD "BOO!!" AS SHE HOPS OUT INTO THEIR PATH.

Because let's face it, funny is funny and funny takes precedence over the little things like safety and sense of place. She'll ask the other person if they know the way out in just a second, if they haven't ended up wetting themselves.

[poisoninmypocket]

There's no wetting, but the noise that issues forth from Monty is not, perhaps, the most manful sound he's ever made. The young gentleman shrieks and leaps back more than a few feet, arms coming up to defend himself. When he sees it's nothing more than a petite blonde woman, fear turns to horrified embarrassment.

"I-I do beg your pardon, miss. I- whatever are you doing?" He's going to make an effort to smooth himself out. He's wearing a full, old-fashioned suit and cravat and his accent says upper crust and British.

[clowngirl]

There could have been no better victim of Harley's scaring than a fancy British gentleman, of that she is sure. She looks at him for a moment, as if readying to answer him, but instead just bursts into a fit of giggles. Thanks, Monty.

"Oh, I was just havin' some fun," she says eventually, wiping at her eyes. "Relax, Max, you'll live longer."

She leans to one side, trying to catch a glimpse of the way the stranger has come.

"Speakin' of, I'd like to get outta this thing by the time I'm a gazillion years old. You seen the way out yet?"

[aigue]

Renart is mostly in the maze to see what this supposed grand prize is rather than out of any interest in being in a maze. Specifically, she's hoping the grand prize is a pumpkin pie, because she could really go for some pie right now. Other pumpkin-based pastry would also be acceptable, because her stomach is starting to growl.

She pokes around the maze, not bothered by the gradually dimming lights thanks to foxes having very catlike night vision. Her interested is drawn to the pumpkins themselves - they smell tasty and bring back memories of hunting in farmer fields, in Europe and the Americas - and the noises of crickets and other bugs scrabbling around.

So she isn't really prepared for an ambush. At all. She lets out a shriek that's more akin to a woman getting murdered, the fur on her ears and tail standing on end, and proceeds to try and tackle whoever it is that thought this was a good idea.

[clowngirl]

She yelps as the other woman lunges forward. This may not have been the brightest idea Harley's ever had. Caught off guard, she goes down, wrestling to get out from under her tackler.

"Hold off! Hold off! I'm a kook, not a spook!" she yells out, desperately. Although hopefully by now it's apparent that the blonde isn't some sort of pumpkin monster or angry ghost, she feels she could use all the help she can get to get herself out of this situation.

[roomed]

Henry is pretty sure he should never have checked this maze out. He's getting himself worried for nothing- maybe it's a little darker in here, but that probably doesn't mean anything, right? But he keeps expecting some part of this practically candy-coated world will turn around and show its teeth.

He's certain that's what's happening as soon as he hears the loud noise. It makes him jump about a foot in the air and then whirl in place. His expression...well, that doesn't change much from his usual dazed look, although his eyes do widen a bit.

Unfortunately for Harley's hopes and dreams, he relaxes almost immediately when he sees Harley. "Oh...." he says quietly. "Hello. Are you okay?" As if she hadn't been trying to scare the crap out of him.

[exequies]

The intended victim here doesn't scare easily but he does freeze up in this instance, a sharp inhale accompanying the shock of Harley's appearance. He's an odd looking fellow with very long, silver-grey hair and messy bangs that obscure a good half of his face, including the trail of a scar that peeks out from where they fall over his right cheek. For a heartbeat or two he remains as still as a statue before suddenly...

He gives a sputter of a laugh. It grows, turning into a wilder giggle that ends in a cackle before he regains the ability to speak.

"Weeeeelllll~ Well, well! You did get me with that." His voice carries a British accent, but it's far from posh. Closer to Cockney but not quite as thick.

He raises his hands and gives a few claps. "Good job."

Jade Harley | Homestuck | Facility

[crystalanthemum]

I: Dragons!!!!

Okay, holy shit. She's been here before, but dragons are new. (She's sure that they would have been around a lot longer if someone she's sure is still here had her way, so they must have been contraband or something.)

Jade immediately locked on on the one napping on someone's roof, though, and with several minutes of effort-she's not that good at climbing, okay???- has joined it, happily resting her head on it for an afternoon nap.

This just means whoever is coming home to this house, of course, now has a dragon and a strange child sleeping on their roof. Maybe it's your house? Probably that's worth investigating.

III: What pumpkins???

Jade is just... standing at the entrance of the maze, staring at the walls with a fierce look in her eyes. Occasionally she reaches out to touch a pumpkin, only to withdraw her hand and take a deep breath.

She does this for a really long time, until she finally notices someone watching her, and politely steps in front of them.

"Umm. Could you help me figure out if these pumpkins are actually here?? I have had some very bad luck with pumpkins, well... failing to exist when I touch them. Could you pull one out for me please??"

Can you really refuse this girl and her terminal pumpkin cravings????????

IV: Message board!!!!!!!!

ok so its like....... fall now??? and it was summer when i went to bed
so the way i see it there are two options!!!!!!!!!!!!
one is i fell asleep for like a month and a half which is not the most unreasonable amount of time i had ever slept so i am going to hope it is that one
the other option is that i perhaps slept for over a year?????????????
or maybe i vanished again and came back???????????????
if it is that second one then god dammit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if it is the first one then i am probably extremely nutrient deficient and would appreciate if anyone has any spare applesauce
yes specifically applesauce!!!!!!!!!!!!
also hi my name is jade how is everyone :)

IV - because If I did III he might smash a pumpkin on her and I couldn't live with myself

[aibolition]

[This one's enthusiastic.]

I think if you fell asleep for a month and a half you might be dead or near death. Starvation and all. But I've been here longer than a month by now and I've not seen any notes like this before. You don't strike the quiet type either.

Lourdes Hidalgo | The Star Shards Chronicles | Mask or Menace

[vacationer]

[Lourdes knew from the start that this was complete bullshit, and this thing that she's standing in front of - this tower made from metal and spikes and human limbs - just proves it. She stares up at it, dead-eyed and emotionless, idly wondering if it often makes people (soft people, naive people, normal people, people who haven't seen the horrors that she has) scream in terror. From the first half of the welcome letter that she'd read before she'd tossed it aside dismissively, she'd gotten the feeling that this is supposed to be a happy, fluffy place, but this? This is proof that that was a lie, just like all happy, fluffy things are. The Meadous, apparently, doesn't even do a halfway good job of hiding it.

She stands there for a while, quietly congratulating herself on getting to the truth of things so quickly. She's sure there are people (soft people, naive people, yadda yadda) who are taken in by the lie at first, and the post-realization crashdown is probably hard on them. She'd feel sorry for them, she thinks, if she were capable of such things anymore. But after some time, she'll move on, wandering like a ghost through town and eventually finding her way into the woods.

She walks and walks, past the point when her legs start to get sore. There's no purpose to it, and she's going in circles half the time; she might not even end up that far away from the village. She's just walking for something to do, really; she's walking because it's better than sitting still. But eventually, she won't be able to walk anymore, and so she'll half-collapse onto a flat rock, folding her legs up under her and staring listlessly out at the trees. When the animals start to come out (they're easier to notice when she's just sitting quietly, instead of tromping through their habitats), she just watches them quietly at first. But then, one by one, she starts to control them: first making two rabbits play leapfrog, then bringing a deer in and having them all run in a tight loop in front of her, and then adding more and more animals as she sees them, until there's a synchronized ballet of woodland creatures running in smooth, concentric circles around her rock.

It takes more concentration than it should - more than it did the last time she tried this back on her Earth. Those two months she'd been on probation without her powers had gotten her out of practice, she realizes bitterly. And that, surely, is something she'll be punished for eventually.]

[OOC: Please note her many content warnings (none of which will be brought up in detail - or at all, in some cases - without prior permission) as well as her crazy powers! If you want your character to be susceptible to her body control, let me know; otherwise I'll default to assuming that they're immune. If you want your character to be susceptible to her magnetism, feel free to just write it into your tags; this is just an effect she has on people rather than something she actively does.]

[bywolves]

[ One of the things she might notice about the woods is the fact that the trees are louder than normal. When the animals in the woods start to perform for her, the trees rustle and shake, despite there being no wind. If she listens closely, it almost sounds like indecipherable whispers.

And as if he was summoned (he kind of was - the trees like to tattle), Royce arrives on the scene. He situates himself on a high branch in a tree not far from her, hood up, most of his face hidden. His stupidly long cloak drapes down off the side of the branch. He watches the animals move for a long moment, and then, in a voice just loud enough for her to hear: ]

You're making the trees nervous. [ It's casual. Conversational. Like people can normally hear what trees are feeling. ]

She's welcome to use her body control on House. It will go over SUPER poorly.

[rubikscomplex]

[House has been exploring the woods, himself, in one of his tentative forays into the wider world of the Meadous. He knows there's likely more to explore, but without the certainty of shelter like there would be in Norfinbury--there's almost always a building somewhere nearby--the doctor has yet to explore very far. Today, though, he's drawn by the sound of rhythmic thumping.

The doctor is quiet as he approaches, using the trees to hide himself. When he gets closer and sees the animals all circling the woman on the rock, he considers turning around and walking away. She's clearly busy with her Disney moment and he doesn't have time for someone that whimsical. But eyeing her more closely, she doesn't seem to be smiling or particularly happy, which is far more interesting. He steps out from the treeline, stopping short of the first ring of animals before calling over.]

I'm guessing you're some sort of freak. This--[a gesture to the animals]--happen often?

[shslliar]

II. Wishes.
[Okay, so apperently this Zephyr guy can't give him his friends back. Which would have resulted in nothing if his list of friends didn't include a small robot and someone who liked bugs.

So that's exactly what he got. A small robot bug that isn't even sentient.

It's not a total loss, though. He got a new toy out of it! Now the people of the Meadous will have to live in fear of that thing suddenly crawling on them while they were minding their own buisness! Spoopy... Until it runs out of juice, anyway.]

Bulletin Board
[Looks like someone decided to wish for a typewriter, if only because posting ransom notes on a regular basis would be a waste of time and resources.]

I miss having a network. [With anon function.]

V. Money doesn't grow on trees...
[But apperently Chinese takeout does.

You'll find this guy sitting in the tree with a box in his lap, casually slurping on some noodles. Don't ask how he got up there in that giant coat, he has his ways. Sluuuuuurp.]

Ah! .... Heh. And I thought Wonderland's closets were weird.

[He might have been a little spoiled from the infinite object closets and free food back in Wonderland, but he's adaptable.]

II

[telecosmetic]

[Eliza grabs the bug with a yelp, looking around at her surroundings.] Ales? Is this another one of your tricks?

Bulletin Board

[justabaddream]

[There's some writing underneath Kokichi's post that appears a little while later.]

You get used to it. It's actually kind of nice, you know? Sometimes hearing from people all the time gets kind of annoying.

[Especially when said people hate your guts and won't let you forget it.]

II

[obeir]

[ When K's accosted by the little bug while outside gardening, he pauses what he's doing to carefully cup the critter within his hands, peering down at it curiously. It's a... robot? How unusual. But also kind of cute, he thinks. (He may be slightly biased, being an android himself.) ]

Hey, little guy. [ As he's talking to the robot bug, he also surreptitiously glances around for any clues about where it might've come from — this is the first he's encountered in the Meadous. He'd assume it's one of Pokey's gadgets if the kid hadn't gotten Unlost sometime back. ]