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SEPTEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
SEPTEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to September's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: CHAOS.
All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.
Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.
CW: Torture (emotional and possibly physical), claustrophobia, potential weapon violence (guns, knives, spears, flamethrowers, etc.), possible body horror, emotional manipulation, emojis
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!
DICE BLOCK

But you aren't alone! With you are other unfortunate souls who hopefully weren't just looking for a quick bathroom break. Some of them might look a little worse for wear. What happened? Well, looks like you may have to ask later, because you'll only really have time to exchange names if you don't already know one another before a large screen you didn't notice was hanging from the ceiling will light up. There's a giant image of a typical six-sided game die that's completely stationary. For the moment. Shortly after, a voice will come on over the speakers, echoing in the otherwise fairly empty room. It's overly cheerful, grating, and giggles at the end of every sentence.
Would you like to hear the rules?
Okay!
Each player will take a turn rolling their die.
You can then move the number of spaces shown — but only those spaces!
You can move forward, backward, right, and left, but not diagonally!
Each space will have a symbol.
The spaces with a clover are lucky spaces! Congratulations! You'll gain some fortune, whether it's an extra turn, moving ahead more spaces, or gaining an important item you can take with you on your journey!
The spaces with the skull are unlucky spaces! Boooooo, that's too bad! You'll befall some grave misfortune here. Hopefully it won't set you back too badly! Make sure to avoid these at all costs!
The spaces with a chest are item spaces! Here you'll be able to win prizes, like medical supplies or weapons! Maybe even a small something from home! Wouldn't that be nice?
Your goal is to make it to the end alive! Good luck! And remember to have lots of fun!
The first player's name will pop up on the screen, before the die will begin to randomly blink between numbers. Eventually it will land on a number. Once the player moves forward and lands on their space, it will repeat for the second player. This will go on until one (or both players) reach the end!
When they said to make sure to not land on an unlucky space, they certainly weren't kidding. Each one seems to come with some sort of random punishment or horror; it can be as light as having to move back a few spaces or go back to the start, or as heavy as breaking a random bone or feeling a blade slice open your skin. Maybe you'll start to slowly turn into a monster or become filled with the desire to kill your opponent. Anything can happen, but it's always going to be bad.
Players who reach the end will be able to go through the door and end up back wherever it was they were intending to go in the first place. Players who lose? Well... It's back to the beginning for you. Time to wait for the next player. Better luck next time.
DANCE DANCE

Two players only, and you'll have to work together! It's a team dance and you'll want to encourage each other to stay perfectly in sync. The doors won't open until you finish, and should you mess up? Well, look up, friend!
The ceiling is covered in sharp, painful looking spikes and every time someone misses a beat or steps on the wrong arrow, the ceiling will drop down a foot. It's pretty high up there, but miss more than three arrows and you're gonna start to really feel the pressure. The spikes are looking a lot bigger and more ominous than they did when they were all the way at the top. Hopefully you've got some good rhythm.
But this is a good lesson in teamwork! Even the worst dancers might be able to get out of here okay if they've got someone who they can work together with. Maybe their perfect scores will make up for your two left feet. You can only hope you're both so lucky.
THAT'S NOT A "MEH" FACE!

The message you've gotten is pretty simple though! Each person has received a text message with one emoji inside. No rhyme or reason applied! That's... random, isn't it? You can try to text back, but no one will answer, and so you might as well just close your device and forget about it.
Every person who received a text will find that their personality starts to shift. They begin to take on some aspect that's tied to the emoji they received. Did you get a simple smiley face? You're happy and relaxed for the time being! Or maybe a silly face will lead you to become more of a prankster. An eggplant could have someone feeling like sexting a Special Someone. An angry face might get you really riled up, even towards people you love. Did you get a knife? Time to start stabbing. A gun? Those people around you look like really good target practice...
The options are endless. Each emojis effects will last for twenty-four hours or until another emoji is sent from the same user.
Character Arrival
You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.
The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.
If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.
THAT'S NOT A "MEH" FACE!
no subject
[He pauses in the street mid-step, realising all of a sudden that he is famished. Putting a hand to his stomach with a confused frown when he spots what he thinks is a familiar face.]
Arthur?
[Of course Arthur's here. Something about him is off, body language all wrong, but Eames is too preoccupied to consider what, if anything, that could mean.]
Have you been to any of the stores around here? Seen what they stock?
no subject
He shouldn't let his mind wander.]
Hello to you, too.
[ Tempting as it is to act like Arthur, John decides against it, not wanting to create any more confusion for the man. This is not the first or the second or the third time he's had this very same introduction and it amuses him every time. ]
Stores are empty, restaurants are closed, too. More'n a few people've got their homes open or businesses open givin' out food and supplies, though. I'm John, by the way. Blake. Not an alias or, uh, whatever. Just happen to look like Arthur. We even sound alike.
[ He holds up his hands. ]
I promise this is not a joke.
no subject
[He squints at the guy for a moment, almost suspicious, but Arthur isn't close to being a good enough actor to pull this off. Beyond the face and a little of the voice, there's nothing familiar in this John guy. It's crazy how uncanny the resemblance is, but stranger things have happened. Are happening.]
But you know him?
[There's an apologetic tick to his voice, a playful smirk that suggests it's not apologising for Arthur, so much as commiserations on knowing him socially. (He assumes.)]
[Honestly Eames could dunk on Arthur all day, it's nothing he hasn't or wouldn't say to the man's face, but his stomach grumbles angrily, reminding him what he's supposed to be doing. Which is finding something to eat, ideally. Something sweet. Runny, maybe...]
no subject
[ Somewhat of an understatement. They've been neighbors for a year and had tried very hard to kill each other once upon a time. It took a little time to get over — neither all that relenting in personality — but now that they have, they get along pretty well.
He notes the grumbling noise from the other man's stomach. Can relate. He's thinner than he should be from all of this, having been slowly starving himself along with the rest of the town for too long now. ]
Hungry, then? Lemme help out. You like tea?
no subject
[That's a very big yes. It's a rare day when he'll turn down a cup of tea, even from a relative stranger.]
If this is some kind of plot to murder me, I'll be very disappointed.
no subject
[ John chuckles at his own joke and waves the other man his direction. They're not far from his place in Prospero, and assuming Eames isn't skittish, he figures he can get the guy something to eat and a welcome cup of tea and send him off right... in plenty of time to warn Arthur and allow him to prepare. ]
It's not far. We've been stockin' up, so we've got a little to spare. If you're not too picky, stew's on the menu. And the tea's made with blue nectar, but you'll find that's pretty good for you. Helps curb the appetite.
no subject
I take it food's in short supply then?
no subject
[ John glances back, shrugging. ]
You should be fine. Most people here don't shoot first.
no subject
I'm guessing there's not much in the way of ammo either then.
no subject
[ John's one pistol (his service pistol) is kept at his home in Prospero, rarely to be picked up, and nearly never used. Back in Gotham he'd made a pledge to avoid that kind of violence and barring the ridiculous shenanigans of places like Deerington, he's mostly managed. ]
This is me.
[ John gestures to a storefront, pulling out his keys and unlocking the door. Inside is a small, eclectic restaurant. He gestures Eames in. ]
You take anything in your tea? Green okay?
no subject
[Anyway.]
[Eames glances around, taking in what he can on a quick sweep, and walks toward the bar to lean.]
Got any honey?
[Wait. No. There's not a single green tea he can think of that he'd put honey in. He pulls a bit of a face at what he's just said, but at the same time? He really fucking wants some honey in his tea.]
no subject
[ He rounds the drink bar and flips on some lights. They probably won't stay long, but there's something weird about being in a dark, empty restaurant with a near-not-stranger. Then back to the kitchen he goes. If Eames looks hard enough from the counter or decides to snoop, it's the kind of illusion one might see in a dreamshare, where the inside is impossibly doubled in the space allotted to it.
While the water's on, he digs out a jar of blue nectar from the near-empty pantry. It's really no wonder the place is locked up. ]
This stuff's kinda the same thing. Not quite as sweet, but good. You wanna try? Otherwise, I'd have to run home, but it's just up the street.