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Entry tags:
Autumn TDM
✖ Test Drive Meme
Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island looks very much like a cute little seaside town from New England, the sort overrun with tourists in the summer. But it’s not summer anymore, is it? No. Even on warm days the air holds a secret knife-edge of chill. Autumn is here.
The gently rolling hills beyond the little town are alive with reds and oranges and yellows, a riot of fall colours just begging to be used as the backdrop for a Hallmark movie. The town itself is likewise picture-perfect, with a bandstand in the middle of the park at the center of town where sometimes bake sales are held during the day and local concerts in the evenings. Mr. Terwilliger from nearby Terror Lake is even going to put on a one-man performance of the entire score of the H.M.S. Pinafore! Is there a church painted white with a red roof? You bet your ass there is. There’s little restaurants and corner shops that will keep you happily fed, and all sorts of little tourist shops that will keep you up to your neck in shitty keychains and postcards.
Ⅱ. PSL 4EVAH
The Coffee Shop AU is an alternate universe fanfiction trope; in most cases, one of two characters is the barista, and the other is or becomes their favorite customer.
Love it? Hate it? Too bad, you’re living it.
That’s right - succumb to the siren call of pumpkin spice and walk through the doors of C’Ya Latte and you’ll find yourself either in line like a normal customer, or suddenly and inexplicably behind the counter. Hope you know how to work that milk steamer.
Regardless of what role you suddenly find yourself in, you won’t be able to leave the coffee shop until a full shift has been completed. Not unless one of you notices that the tip jar on the counter is suspiciously radiant. Thanks for the tip! reads the sign in bubbly letters that actually sparkle, and yes, it’s a clue: if one of you offers up some heartfelt advice to the other, the coffee shop doors will unlock themselves.
Ⅲ. PUMPKIN PATCH KIDS
CW: Monsters, blood
If you wander just outside of town, you’ll find a road that is lined on either side with trees displaying their autumn colours. There’s a sign reading “this way to the PUMPKIN PATCH!” with a little arrow pointing down the road, and should you take a stroll you’ll find yourself at a quaint little farm. There’s a big red barn, some goats and chickens you can go and gawk at, an apple orchard, and of course the advertised pumpkin patch.
There is a little stand set up by the entrance to the farmyard, and as you pass by the kid manning it will hand you a cellphone.
“It’s for the scavenger hunt,” she explains with a smile, also handing you a list. “You and a partner have to take a picture of each of the things, and then you come back here and you get a photo prize!”
The list reads:
As the sun bleeds out in the western sky, the shadows of the orchard grow long and longer. If you choose to wander out that way you’ll find that the neat rows of apple trees have begun to twist and turn, creating a maze that spirals inward. Sunlight fades from bruise yellow to purple, and in the twilight you find yourself at the center of the orchard.
There is a mound of earth here. If you walk around it, you will find it’s not just any pile of dirt: it’s a barrow. There is an old, nearly collapsed entrance there just barely showing above the ground. In front of this there is a stone into which the following is carved:
“Accept this sacrifice.”
As you read the words, you feel the ground shiver beneath your feet as the barrow splits open and a creature pulls itself from the stinking womb of the earth.
It is ten feet tall with an emaciated body and a grotesquely oversized head. The skull looks pulpy, and the face is a grinning nightmare of teeth and milky white eyes. Its fingers are nearly as long as its forearms, tipped with claws that cut through flesh as easy as butter.
Looks like it’s time for you to run.
But you cannot seem to find a way out of the maze… even if you can fly. You just seem to wind up back at the center no matter what you do. And the creature is always there, moving toward you as soon as you stumble back to its grave.
Accept this sacrifice.
What could that mean? Has someone given something up for you? Now would be a great time to acknowledge it. Have you given something up for someone else, and resented it secretly all these years? Maybe time to get it off of your chest.
Or maybe you’re much more literal. Maybe you carry a sharp object everywhere you go and don’t mind spilling a little blood… yours or your companions.
Whatever you do, you better do it fast or the creature will sink its talons into you and pull you back into its final resting place.
Ⅳ. CRAFT FAIR
There is of course a town hall in a town this quaint, and it of course is host to a craft fair! It is, after all, right before the holidays! What holidays? Well. All of them! Look, just come get your uncle some salmon rub and your mother-in-law a candle or something.
The hall has tables end to end, and there’s plenty to buy: jams and jellies, honeys, tea blends, and even locally roasted coffee. There’s jewelry and scarves and knockoff UGGS, knitted toys and home decor that reminds you to live, laugh, and love.
There’s also a row of tables near the back of the hall where you can actually sit down and do some crafts yourself!
There’s a few stations. A lot of locals seem to be making some sort of masks out of straw and twigs and burlap - there doesn’t seem to be any room for you there, though.
More accessible and less unusual are stations to make friendship bracelets at. There’s bright coloured thread and easy to follow instructions! It’ll be fun! No, really - as you work, you’ll start to feel quite relaxed and pleasant. Whoever you’re working next to will also seem super easy to talk to. Who knows? By the end you might have a new friend to give your bracelet to.
Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the Autumn 2021 POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game! Our next application round will run from August 27 - September 3, 2021. For the Autumn season, we invite you to use this TDM to explore but one of many, many islands within the Endless Isles; use it as an opportunity to introduce and familiarize yourself with the game, form connections with other characters, and just have some fun. (Perhaps while also getting some solid samples together for your application!)
Use the prompts provided below as-is or feel free to write your own set within the environment detailed in each. You're even welcome to access the network via your character's ScryWatch. While there will be some inevitable changes, TDMs may count as game canon and some islands may be revisited in the future. Be mindful of your surroundings -- you never know how you and your fellow Travelers might affect this place in the long run.
Killer idea: pumpkin spice playlists!!
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island looks very much like a cute little seaside town from New England, the sort overrun with tourists in the summer. But it’s not summer anymore, is it? No. Even on warm days the air holds a secret knife-edge of chill. Autumn is here.
The gently rolling hills beyond the little town are alive with reds and oranges and yellows, a riot of fall colours just begging to be used as the backdrop for a Hallmark movie. The town itself is likewise picture-perfect, with a bandstand in the middle of the park at the center of town where sometimes bake sales are held during the day and local concerts in the evenings. Mr. Terwilliger from nearby Terror Lake is even going to put on a one-man performance of the entire score of the H.M.S. Pinafore! Is there a church painted white with a red roof? You bet your ass there is. There’s little restaurants and corner shops that will keep you happily fed, and all sorts of little tourist shops that will keep you up to your neck in shitty keychains and postcards.
Notes:
1. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.
2. These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.
3. These residents of the island are normal humans. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.
4. Any food is safe to eat, and is consumable by non-human entities.
5. Have fun!
Ⅱ. PSL 4EVAH
The Coffee Shop AU is an alternate universe fanfiction trope; in most cases, one of two characters is the barista, and the other is or becomes their favorite customer.
Love it? Hate it? Too bad, you’re living it.
That’s right - succumb to the siren call of pumpkin spice and walk through the doors of C’Ya Latte and you’ll find yourself either in line like a normal customer, or suddenly and inexplicably behind the counter. Hope you know how to work that milk steamer.Regardless of what role you suddenly find yourself in, you won’t be able to leave the coffee shop until a full shift has been completed. Not unless one of you notices that the tip jar on the counter is suspiciously radiant. Thanks for the tip! reads the sign in bubbly letters that actually sparkle, and yes, it’s a clue: if one of you offers up some heartfelt advice to the other, the coffee shop doors will unlock themselves.
Notes:
1. A full shift is eight hours, regardless of what time you may have wandered into the shop. Both customer and barista are trapped for the duration.
2. Yes, the barista gets free drinks.
Ⅲ. PUMPKIN PATCH KIDS
CW: Monsters, blood
If you wander just outside of town, you’ll find a road that is lined on either side with trees displaying their autumn colours. There’s a sign reading “this way to the PUMPKIN PATCH!” with a little arrow pointing down the road, and should you take a stroll you’ll find yourself at a quaint little farm. There’s a big red barn, some goats and chickens you can go and gawk at, an apple orchard, and of course the advertised pumpkin patch.
There is a little stand set up by the entrance to the farmyard, and as you pass by the kid manning it will hand you a cellphone.
“It’s for the scavenger hunt,” she explains with a smile, also handing you a list. “You and a partner have to take a picture of each of the things, and then you come back here and you get a photo prize!”
The list reads:
- one of you holding a pumpkin! :)
- you holding hands while one of you goes down a road/path!
- feet with autumn leaves!
- apple cider or hot chocolate (you can find these at our concession!)
- something you think is truly beautiful!
- you holding hands while one of you goes down a road/path!
- feet with autumn leaves!
- apple cider or hot chocolate (you can find these at our concession!)
- something you think is truly beautiful!
As the sun bleeds out in the western sky, the shadows of the orchard grow long and longer. If you choose to wander out that way you’ll find that the neat rows of apple trees have begun to twist and turn, creating a maze that spirals inward. Sunlight fades from bruise yellow to purple, and in the twilight you find yourself at the center of the orchard.
There is a mound of earth here. If you walk around it, you will find it’s not just any pile of dirt: it’s a barrow. There is an old, nearly collapsed entrance there just barely showing above the ground. In front of this there is a stone into which the following is carved:
“Accept this sacrifice.”
As you read the words, you feel the ground shiver beneath your feet as the barrow splits open and a creature pulls itself from the stinking womb of the earth.
It is ten feet tall with an emaciated body and a grotesquely oversized head. The skull looks pulpy, and the face is a grinning nightmare of teeth and milky white eyes. Its fingers are nearly as long as its forearms, tipped with claws that cut through flesh as easy as butter.Looks like it’s time for you to run.
But you cannot seem to find a way out of the maze… even if you can fly. You just seem to wind up back at the center no matter what you do. And the creature is always there, moving toward you as soon as you stumble back to its grave.
Accept this sacrifice.
What could that mean? Has someone given something up for you? Now would be a great time to acknowledge it. Have you given something up for someone else, and resented it secretly all these years? Maybe time to get it off of your chest.
Or maybe you’re much more literal. Maybe you carry a sharp object everywhere you go and don’t mind spilling a little blood… yours or your companions.
Whatever you do, you better do it fast or the creature will sink its talons into you and pull you back into its final resting place.
Notes:
1. If characters complete the photo scavenger hunt, they will each receive a photograph of an important memory.
2. The only way out of the maze is to either cop to a sacrifice - the character’s or another’s - or spill some blood in front of the creature.
3. You can try to fight the creature, but it is extremely difficult to kill. It also has a tendency towards not staying dead, and might pop up again later during your visit on the island when you least expect it.
4. No, you don’t get to keep the cellphone.
Ⅳ. CRAFT FAIR
There is of course a town hall in a town this quaint, and it of course is host to a craft fair! It is, after all, right before the holidays! What holidays? Well. All of them! Look, just come get your uncle some salmon rub and your mother-in-law a candle or something.
The hall has tables end to end, and there’s plenty to buy: jams and jellies, honeys, tea blends, and even locally roasted coffee. There’s jewelry and scarves and knockoff UGGS, knitted toys and home decor that reminds you to live, laugh, and love.There’s also a row of tables near the back of the hall where you can actually sit down and do some crafts yourself!
There’s a few stations. A lot of locals seem to be making some sort of masks out of straw and twigs and burlap - there doesn’t seem to be any room for you there, though.
More accessible and less unusual are stations to make friendship bracelets at. There’s bright coloured thread and easy to follow instructions! It’ll be fun! No, really - as you work, you’ll start to feel quite relaxed and pleasant. Whoever you’re working next to will also seem super easy to talk to. Who knows? By the end you might have a new friend to give your bracelet to.
Notes:
1. You can purchase things from the fair, but if you can’t fit it in your bag it will not come with you off-island.
2. Eavesdropping on the locals making masks, you’ll hear them talk about ‘the holidays’ a lot, but that’s the extent of it.
Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the Autumn 2021 POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game! Our next application round will run from August 27 - September 3, 2021. For the Autumn season, we invite you to use this TDM to explore but one of many, many islands within the Endless Isles; use it as an opportunity to introduce and familiarize yourself with the game, form connections with other characters, and just have some fun. (Perhaps while also getting some solid samples together for your application!)
Use the prompts provided below as-is or feel free to write your own set within the environment detailed in each. You're even welcome to access the network via your character's ScryWatch. While there will be some inevitable changes, TDMs may count as game canon and some islands may be revisited in the future. Be mindful of your surroundings -- you never know how you and your fellow Travelers might affect this place in the long run.
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"Well shit. Oh well, good thing I look adorable in basic bitch attire." She says and takes out the cellphone, moving so she can get a good picture of Kyle's feet.
"We'll still use your boots though, they look better against the leaves. Even if they are kind of farmer Brown-ish."
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"Yeah, you are." Kyle suddenly realises he's wearing the same type of thing besides swapping Uggs for boots. Oh.
"Remind me to buy hats before we leave," he says as he walks to some fallen leaves.
no subject
"Hats?" She asks, "How come? You trying to cover up all those curls or somethin?"
She let's Kyle get into position and then frowns, coming back over to move his legs so that he's in a better pose. She isn't shy so this involves a bit of grabbing his thighs and moving him.
"There, perfect." She says and takes a picture.
no subject
His face goes bright red when she just gropes his skinny thighs. "Uhm, HI, you could ASK," he says. But he doesn't move, letting her get the photo.
"Jesus. Okay, uh. One of us with a pumpkin."
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She snorts and rolls her eyes, "Then don't pose like a stork!" She says and then looks around for pumpkins.
no subject
He makes a face before he follows after her.
There's pumpkins galore - it IS a pumpkin patch, after all. Kyle wanders around them, looking for a good one because even if it's just for a photo it feels important not to pick an ugly one.
"So, uh, where are you from?"
no subject
She goes over to a mound of pumpkins and starts poking around, trying to find one that's the perfect size and shape for her to pose with.
"Originally? San Antonio, Texas. But before I came here I was mostly living in La Jolla, California. You?"
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Kyle picks up one and then rejects it for being too warty. "You don't sound Texan," he says. "Uh, South Park, Colorado, originally, but I was going to school in Boston."
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Roxy chuckles, "Yeah just wait till I get mad or drunk. Then you'll hear Texan." She makes a face as she moves aside a mushy pumpkin.
"What were you going to school for?"
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"I just got my degree in political science. I was supposed to start law school in the fall."
He picks up a pumpkin and studies it. "This one's cute?"
no subject
She raises both eyebrows at him, "Law school? Wow, color me impressed. You must be like super smart or something." When he holds up the pumpkin she coos and nods, "Aww perfect, he's so cute! Here you take the photo this time."
She takes the pumpkin and holds it up just below her nose so it looks like she's peeking over it, her violet eyes wide and doe like. She may not be law school smart but she does know how to pose for a good photo.
no subject
He nods as he hands her the pumpkin. "Yeah, I'm pretty smart. But there's literal geniuses around here."
Okay, Roxy's kind of adorable. Kyle can't help but grin as he snaps photos of her.
"Is that your real eye colour?"
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She poses for a few extra shots before putting down the pumpkin, "Yeah but literal geniuses are always boring." She says, thinking of her half sister Caitlin who is very sweet but not exactly exciting.
"And yeah, this is my natural eye color. Weird right?"
no subject
"Not always," he protests. "My little brother is one and he's pretty cool. And the three I know here are all pretty awesome. And weirdly attractive."
He nods. "Yeah, but like COOL too. Okay, uhhh... hot chocolate or cider. My treat."
no subject
"Are they stuck up at all? That seems to be another genius trait." She asks and then smiles at his compliment.
"Aw thanks, and let's do cider. Get into real fall vibes."
no subject
Kyle laughs. "No! No. Well. Okay, more like... David's great. He's nice, and he's got this amazing voice. Elenore issssss.... not stuck up, just like, over people. She's kinda mean, but in a way I like. And Quentin..." He smiles stupidly. "The worst. Stuck up doesn't even cover it."
He falls into step alongside her as they head for the little concession stand. "I have to admit, this is kinda nice."
no subject
"So what you're saying is that David is cool and the others suck, okay good to know." She says with a snort. As they approach the concession stand she can smell the hot cider and she smiles, her stomach rumbling a little. Maybe she'll get lucky and they will have some food for sale as well...
"Yeah this is actually pretty cute. When I arrived on that weird boat I was afraid it was going to be all like weird demons or some kind of island of dr moreau deal."
no subject
Kyle snorts. "No! I'm saying David is the nice one. Nore and Quentin are just a little abrasive, but they don't suck. Nore saved me from hogs, once."
The concession does sell food: popcorn and caramel apples and okay-ish hot dogs.
"No, no demons yet. We had some zombies, though.
no subject
"Oh goody, abrasive geniuses. Just who I want to hang out with." She says and gets in line for the stand. "You really need to learn how to sell your friends better darlin."
"Uggggh zombies? Guh-ross. I hate zombies, they stink up everything."
no subject
Kyle nods. "So you've seen zombies before? Are you like, magic or something? I know that sounds stupid but there's a lot of special people around. I'm just a human guy."
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He steps up to the little concession and gestures for Roxy to order whatever she likes. He gets cider - he doesn't know when he'll next get to have any.
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"Don't let superheroes give you a complex, trust me, we aren't that great. Most of us are super emotionally fucked up and the only thing we are good at is getting into fights with like giant monsters. None of us have like real skills, people or even like job wise because most times we work for the government or have some creepy old rich guy who pays for everything so it's not like we know how to hold down a regular job let alone a career."
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cw: nsfw talk
cw: nsfw talk
cw: nsfw talk
cw: nsfw talk
Re: cw: nsfw talk
cw: nsfw talk
cw: nsfw talk
cw: nsfw talk
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<3