memesinthenight | Test Drive Meme #7

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!tdm

Test Drive Meme #7

TEST DRIVE MEME #7

Hello and welcome to the In the Night test drive meme for November! Thanks for your interest in our game! Reserves open on December 20, and applications open on December 22.

While you're here...
Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with the game.
Note that we have a reserve cap of 20, and a (current) application cap of 2 apps this month for new players, as the game has a player cap of 60. An accurate count of current players will always be available on the taken page.
TDM threads can become game canon if both players wish. If the situation isn't something that could happen in-game, you're free to chalk it up to some strange hallucination, a shared dream, or other mysterious circumstance.
Note that this is not limited to new characters threading with characters already in-game. If current players wish to thread out the TDM prompts as canon events, they are welcome to do so. They are welcome to make posts in the main comms for TDM events as well. Please note, however, that actual plot clues or happenings will not occur in TDM prompts.
If you plan to apply, please keep in mind that we do require at least one sample thread on the application to be from our TDM (though it doesn't need to be the current TDM).
You're welcome to use the provided prompts or come up with something on your own, but we do ask that all threads take place in our game's setting.

Thank you again, and we hope you'll choose to join us!

log prompts

MAGIC CASTLE IN THE LAND OF SWEETS

You wake up one morning to find that The Night Market has come to Beacon, rising from the depths of the lake to set up booths and stalls all around the square. As a market, they offer a variety of goods and services typically unavailable to the good people of Beacon. Lantern charms that grant special and boosted abilities? Check. Magical potions to imbue the imbiber with fun but temporary effects? Got 'em. Specialty goods from home? Can do. Cigarettes? You bet your buns. The only catch? It all comes at a price.

Accepted currencies at the Night Market include: Building and scrap materials, old tablets, old lanterns, captured forest spirits, torches, information, and most importantly... Plutonium. Of course, attempting to barter is always an option... but these currencies are your best bet for dealing with the various vendors offered by the Night Market.

And finally, if bartering isn't your speed, The Night Market has also brought with it a host of activities akin to a street festival. Warm up with a hot toddy or gourmet latte from the pop-up coffee booth, sample a treat from the candy shop, or win your bae a stuffed forest spirit or mechanical goldfish from the carnival games. Above all? Have fun!

This prompt is a mini version of the game's Pleader event.

BATTLE WITH THE (RAT) KING

Throughout the month, the residents of Beacon will discover that a familiar and not particularly wanted visitor has returned. Strangely, the creature appears to be incised by the holiday decorations that have been put up by those so inclined. It goes after any decoration it can, intent to rip them down, tear them, sometimes even run off in a tangle of garland. In particular, the Rat King goes into a frenzy any time it spies a nutcracker, and won't stop until it sinks its teeth into the wooden soldiers. It could be worse, you suppose. The thing doesn't seem to be paying mind to people unless they get in its way. Still, there are some residents that went to a lot of trouble to put this all together. Maybe you should help?

Or maybe you're scrooge and just want to watch the Rat King do its business. That's also fair. Just expect to get some coal in the secret santa exchange.

network prompts

MARCH OF THE TOY SOLDIERS

At some point while you were out and about, minding your own business, you find yourself in quite the troubling situation. All of a sudden, you're surrounded by what appears to be a small army of tin soldiers. The reality, of course, is that they're all somewhat small forest spirits that have decked themselves out in pieces of scrap that act as army-like uniforms, and not real toys at all...but still, the effect is unsettling. They're not all that threatening, really, aside from being creepy, but there are so many of them, and they hold sharpened, bite-sized spears that they keep trying to jab into you any time you try to move out of the circle they've made to sequester you.

Ultimately, you're able to more or less make out what they want: a ransom, of which they do not have the ability to properly communicate. They won't rest or let you go until you post of your plight on the network and give them what they want. You know, just, who knows what they actually want. That's still up for debate.

CHILDREN'S GALLOP

RINGLE DANGLE JINGLE JANGLE!

This is the nosie that greets you on an endless loop from the Bonfire Square. A small group of spirits have gathered there and set up what appears to be a donation pan, which they keep smacking and rattling as they provide all of Beacon with a rousing and unending set of holiday caroling. Unfortunately for everyone who isn't a spirit, this basically just sounds like coordinated screaming. And the screaming does not stop. Maybe for some of you, this would be easy enough to ignore in one capacity or the other, but it seems the spirits have accounted for this, and are very insistent on being given the attention their cheery efforts deserve.

Which is to say: throughout the day, everyone receives what is effectively spam emails to their tablet in the form of...very loudly written words. The emails pour in, over and over:

WE WON'T GO UNTIL WE GET SOME WE WON'T GO UNTIL WE GET SOME WE WON'T GO UNTIL WE GET SOME WE WON'T GO UNTIL WE GET SOME

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— magic castle in the land of sweets.

❪ and so, one very needed panic attack later, eddie finds himself drawn to the lights filling the harbor and the people milling about the festival. it was better than sitting around, quietly (and sometimes loudly) freaking out about his apparent death in the sewers below derry to some demonic clown monster. worse yet, he has no idea what might have became of the other losers or where they might even be. there's a possibility they might not even be here and he's the only one to die in that gray water.

eddie probably stands out too. a tiny, angry mess of dried blood from lethal wounds that no longer exist, the murk of the sewers and demonic black leper puke. perhaps most notable is the cast on his arm with only one word written on it reading LOSER with the S crossed out by a bright red V.

currently, he is holding a cup in his hands and is frowning at it. sniffing once before shaking his head and sticking out his tongue much like a thirteen-year-old would. ❫

Who the fuck thought pumpkin spice should be in coffee?

— battle with the (rat) king.

What the fuck!?

❪ that's all one might here before a mop of a kid in a cast is tripped to the floor in the tangle of garland and lights as the rat king makes off like a bandit in the night. eddie, meanwhile, is anything but amused and fights to detangle himself from the mess that he's found himself in. it's quite the sight but it's clear that the kid is anything but amused both because of the current situation and the fact that there are just rats running around attacking folks and their decorations. ❫

Awesome, fucking great. First, I die in a sewer and now I'm going to get rabies. ❪ can the dead even get rabies? ❫

— march of the toy soldiers.

@ kaspbrak

So if anyone knows what the tin soldiers want just feel free to pass that knowledge along because I'm like super tired of standing here being held hostage by toys.

— wildcard.

❪ for anything not mentioned above! feel free to hit me up through PM or shout at me on plurk at

kaldwin. ❫

[Richie makes regular trips to the Night Market when he's bored and he's exhausted all other platforms and options of curing that boredom. There's always something to look at, some poor fool to watch, and it's better than sitting at home twiddling his stupid thumbs stuck with his thoughts of how he wished things could be different.

It's surprising what a complete and total lack of a sweet tooth death can give a person. Richie doesn't have the same enthusiasm for sugary snacks he did before, sometimes he stares at his food for minutes before eating at it- like it spontaneously became sentient and said something about his stupid glasses or the fact that he'd been wearing the same shirt since he showed up. His white button-up is slightly stained now, scuffed and dirty, and fuck it wouldn't you know, despite his best efforts he hadn't been able to get those stains out.

It's running from more of the same thoughts, pacing the cage, that brings him to the night market and he's been perusing what there is to offer for longer than he can really remember. It's not until he happens upon some of the more festive bullshit that a familiar shape catches his eye.

Small, with haunched shoulders, wisps of chocolate brown hair combed just so under muck and mud and vile that it has to be him it has to be. Richie sprints forward doesn't ask to do it- just does it, he whirls him around by his shoulders to get a better look. To be sure, because this place liked to fuck with people.]

Eddie?

❪ he's spun around at such a speed that the coffee all but flies out of eddie's hands, crashing to the ground and spilling out everywhere. for a moment, eds can only stare before glaring upwards because what the fuck but before he has much of a chance to react suddenly all he can see is richie and he nearly finds himself gaping. ❫

Ri— Richie? ❪ now he's suddenly having another completely different reaction. this one involving his breath suddenly coming out faster, wheezing through each gasp because if rich is here then... then... ❫ Oh god, what the fuck is going on.

❪ he breathes again with another sharp, awkward sound. ❫

I know I'm breathtaking but Jee-zus, c'mon dude just in and out, y'know? You can't possibly need that crap now.

[Now that they were- well, dead. Richie's not sure how much Eddie knows though so he doesn't say anything else and he stands there for a few seconds not sure what to do or say but feeling warm all over. Now he wasn't alone, stuck here in a freaking world of crap with a bunch of strangers and it was selfish and unforgivable but he crumbles under that relief. It's too easy to pull Eddie into a hug, to remind himself that this was real and not some dream that he'd wake up from again just to be reminded that it had all been wishful thinking.]

What because I'm dead? Who the fuck says the dead can't have asthma? You still need glasses.

❪ he's mostly lashing out because eddie, as it was, just doesn't get it. he doesn't understand a lick of this and fuck does it hurt that richie's here. him dying? yeah, okay, maybe for some that would make sense but rich? richie didn't make sense.

and, yet, all that pent up energy seems to spill out as he's pulled into the hug. staring awkwardly over richie's shoulder before sighing and moving to return it because frankly it was the only thing that made sense in the moment. ❫

This is all fucked up, Rich.

Okay, okay. Fine. Grab your inhaler then. Where is it?

[Richie won't argue with the sound logic that yes, he absolutely still needs his specs dead or not. His eyesight had always been criminally awful, something for the Guinness book of world records but with them on he still managed to see his friend.

Who- now that he has a moment to think, he realizes, didn't make it out of the clown's lair either. Richie can't think about what that must mean for the other losers. Doesn't want to.]

You're telling me. I've been here for a little while and all I can figure is that death sucks a lot worse than living. It's a lose-lose scenario. Are you okay?

[Jokes were jokes, but at the end of the day Richie remembered how vulnerable he felt when he showed up here and it's not something he would have ever wished on Eddie. Not now, especially knowing how terrifying it all must have been and how badly it must have gone.]

❪ he shakes his head. ❫ Don't have it.

❪ because sound logic on his part or not, it didn't help that eddie didn't have his inhaler or any of his medicine on him after that little display outside of the neibolt house with throwing his fanny pack away. ❫

N-no, I'm not fucking okay. I'm dead and so are you and probably so are the others but why is just us here?

❪ he doesn't mean to be so forceful but honestly, eddie is still trying to get the hang of all this. or at least try to understand even a piece of it. ❫

Jesus Christ. Okay, well, just pace yourself until I can figure something out like I don't know- a paper bag.

[Richie's got his eyes on the carts around the vendors, the trash cans, he knows he won't be able to convince Eddie to use anything he dumpster-dived for but just on the off chance he wanted to be prepared.]

Do I look like I know? It hasn't been that long ... I've been wearing the same pair of clothes for weeks.

I don't need ❪ wheeze. ❫ a fucking paper bag, Rich. Especially some weird dead ❪ no really, we're a little wheezy here. ❫ people paper fucking bag.

❪ for now, eddie is just going to squat a little and try to reign in awkward breathing in. ❫

I should have known, Christ. You need new clothes, I definitely need new clothes.

What if it's my paper bag? I'm dead people.

[It shouldn't hurt his feelings but it really does, he bites his tongue on the other comments floating around in his skull in favor of calming Eddie down. He smooths his palm over Eddie's back in rhythmic motions. It's not the first time he's had to help him through a similar sort of situation.]

I think you need a good shower first. Get the gray water out of your ears.

You know what I mean, Richie. ❪ he says between deep breathes of air. ❫ You're not some dead person, you're my friend. That's also dead apparently but so am I, so...

❪ he shrugs slightly, sniffling but appreciating the slow movements across his back. it gives him a rhythm to focus on and something to try and mimic. ❫

Y-yeah. I get this fucking leper puke out of my hair.

Sorry about that. That's what we get I guess, for following Bill down into the catacombs.

[It's really not the brightest idea he's ever had, but even with the smell of vomit fresh in Eddie's hair he can't help but be happy to see him. Tears in his eyes he's fighting against, because he knows how selfish it is - Eddie's not responsible for his loneliness or the circumstances of his death. The only one responsible was him.]

Eugh- yeah, well I can help you. I live by myself and that means bathroom and shower access. If you want it.

Maybe but we made the choice to go down there. We had to save Bev.

❪ he breathes in deeply through his nose again before peeking up at richie, frowning slightly but nodding. ❫

Okay, yeah, I need it. This stuff is starting to dry and I'm going to lose my mind if I'm stuck in these clothes any longer.

Well, I hope we saved her. I don't remember much after IT got me.

[It's a good thing for them both that Richie's got a decent constitution when it comes to nasty shit. He slides his hand down and off of Eddie's back and lets his palm linger on his wrist as he maps out the quickest course of action to get them back to the house.]

I- uh, I- I don't have much for spare clothes. You can wear the shit I sleep in. C'mon.

I'm sure we did. At least... I think so? Thinking back on it is hard maybe because I...

❪ and he let's the thought lingered unanswered because what was the point in continuing to bring up that they were dead? wasn't the blood on him and his clothes enough? fuck, he must have been skewed right through... ❫

Y-yeah, okay. Lead the way.

Just don't- Don't think about it.

[Nothing good came from it, Richie only just stopped looking over his shoulder for Pennywise and whatever tricks he might be pulling. For a while, he thought he might even be floating and this whole thing was some concoction to keep his mind active and terrified.

Eddie being here almost made that worse because out of all of them he hoped that Eddie would make it out, leave Derry, and all of it behind. Everything he lost would be okay because at least his best friend would be out there making something of himself. The walk to his place is a slow one, but once he's there he shoves his key in the door and it swings open. There's not a single touch of his style anywhere. He hasn't had much time to settle in.]

❪ there isn't much in the way of a response to richie's word aside from the smallest nod of eddie's head. perhaps, maybe, the other loser was right in his thinking. maybe it was better to just not think about it even though the idea of it was surrounding them. it's tiring and eddie can't help sighing, falling in step behind richie though making sure to keep a step or so behind his friend.

for the most part, eddie's gaze remains downwards on their moving feet but every so often he looks up and takes in their surroundings. it's a different sort of creepy than he's used to back home and once he even slows down just enough that he has to jog in order to catch back up to richie.

needless to say, he's glad when they reach the place though he lingers in the doorway with a frown. ❫

You live here all by yourself?

[A different sort of creepy is a good way of putting it, the darkness was something that he never got used to. It's easier navigating it with Eddie, with purpose - he knew how Eddie must feel, covered in grime and leper vomit.

His place at the Invincible hadn't changed since he took the key. All the decorations and furnishings were unchanged because he'd been holding out hope that this was some hoax and he'd just fade into nothing like he was supposed to. That's not something he can tell Eddie, though, and he knew it.]

Yeah. I haven't been here long.

❪ eddie's curious enough to get a look at the place that richie called 'home away from home' but he doesn't wander far from his friend's side as he looks around. it's simple, clean and nothing at all like richie.

again, it's a different sort of weirdly creepy. it's what finally urges eddie to ask what's been lingering at the tip of his tongue their whole walk over: ❫

Are you okay, Richie?

[It's not like he's been there long enough to change the room much. Richie hasn't been inspired by death, he's handled it as mechanically as possible and that included a lack of care and concern about the stuff that used to bring him joy. No music, no band posters, no stupid toys nothing. It's the same room he checked into.

Richie's digging through his drawers for something, anything he can give Eddie - and he settles on a plain pair of shorts and a shirt. It was gonna be too big for Eddie, it was too big for Richie but he pulled the drawstring and made it work. It was fine enough to sleep in, at least for some second-hand stuff. He holds it out to Eddie, folded neatly.]

Am I okay? What kind of question is that?

A fucking valid kind of question!

❪ he doesn't mean to momentarily burst open like he does but it's in eddie's nature to talk, think and frankly work at a hurried pace. this time it's no different. he's at least grateful for the clothes, accepting them and sighs. ❫

You've been stuck in a place where supposedly we've ended up because we died and you've been alone this whole time? Why wouldn't I ask if you were okay? This shit is crazy, Rich.

I mean, that doesn't matter, does it? Yeah, I've been alone, but everyone here's dead I guess and it'd be stupid to mope over it.

It's not like we didn't know what we were dealing with.

[A creature that ate fucking kids is what they were dealing with. Richie hasn't coped with death at all or dealt with the fact that he showed up with no one that he knew and a bunch of people thought he looked like some other kid.

It's too much to load Eddie down with right now, even though Eddie rarely left well enough alone or took his bullshit answers the way that he wanted them to.]

Yeah, this shit is crazy, but it's not like there's anything we can do about it. Welcome to your little slice of afterlife.

Edited 2020-01-21 04:58 (UTC)

[ ... Well, Sora isn't going to walk by a kid stuck in a bunch of wires. Caution is one thing; letting a kid struggle on his own is another. ]

Whoa, whoa, lemme help! [ He walks over and gets on a knee, grabbing onto a spare end. He's definitely noticed the rats but hasn't quite made the connection between them and the criminal mischief. ] You okay?

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Test Drive Meme #7

eddie kaspbrak | it

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tapdances back on through here because APPS ARE COMING

it is timmmeee

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(Rat) King