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

[bywolves]

And people aren't supposed to be able to form circuses out of wild animals by staring at them. Typically.

[ That's what he assumes is happening, anyway, considering the animals fled when she looked up at him. ]

[vacationer]

[He's not wrong, so she doesn't argue the point.]

It doesn't matter, anyway.

[bywolves]

What doesn't?

[vacationer]

[She lies back on the rock, spreading her arms out.]

Take your pick.

[bywolves]

[ Royce snorts. ]

Where did you come from?

[vacationer]

A place that felt more real than this.

[bywolves]

[ Relatable. ]

It's plenty real. Not that I'll be able to convince you of that. Go through enough illusions and everything starts to feel like a trick.

[vacationer]

I don't see the purpose to this. This play world, that pretends to be happy and fun? There's no point.

[She hadn't really understood the point of being taken to that other Earth either, but at least that was Earth. She could still fulfill her purpose there. But this place? How can she lead humanity to their destiny if she's cordoned off from them? A year or so ago, she would have been relieved to have that burden taken off her shoulders, but now? Now, she just figures it means there's something even more terrible ahead of her.]

[bywolves]

There is no defined purpose to this place. [ He shrugs. ] It's a haven. A place to recover. It drives about half the people here insane.

[vacationer]

That's a nice story.

[And for a moment - just one split second - a heavy weariness comes over her. If he's looking, he'll see it cross her face; see it make her shoulders droop. And then it's gone, and she's back to blank apathy.]

[bywolves]

[ He sees it, watching her closely. He's going to try something, here. ]

And I imagine someone like you doesn't believe in stories. Or nice things. The world is out to erase you from existence and you keep going anyway, mostly out of spite.

[vacationer]

[She shakes her head, firm.]

No. No, the world wants me, whether I like it or not.

[Spoilers: she doesn't.]

[bywolves]

[ Hm. He tilts his head back. Also relatable. ]

With a power like that, I shouldn't be surprised.

[vacationer]

[She laughs. It's not a happy sound.]

I guess neither should I.

Are you a human?

[bywolves]

That's an interesting question. What would I be if I wasn't?

[vacationer]

An alien?

[She shrugs. "Human" and "alien" were the only two options back home, and barely anybody even knew about the latter. In the last world she'd ended up in, she'd realized that the multiverse is a thing that exists, but she still has no clue how it fits into everything. Is this world also doomed? Is she meant to lead everybody here to the slaughter, too? Hell if she knows.]

[bywolves]

No. Not an alien. At least, I don't think so. Depends on the definition.

[vacationer]

Are you something from beyond Earth living in a human body?

[bywolves]

Does it count if Earth doesn't exist where I came from?

[vacationer]

[She wrinkles her nose.]

It's probably on another planet, and you just don't know about it.

[bywolves]

Maybe. [ He shrugs. ] Elan looks nothing like Earth, based on what I've seen. Suppose that makes me an alien, then.

[vacationer]

[But apparently not the kind of alien she hates, so... she'll let that go for now.]

And we're really not on Earth now?

[bywolves]

No, we're not, as far as I can tell. It's a world Zephyr created.

[vacationer]

[Flatly:]

Great place. Love the tower of limbs.

[bywolves]

Isn't it charming? [ Royce says dryly. ] I still don't know why it's here, but we're not allowed to touch it because one of the other residents wished for it.