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!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Prompt Three
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

DICE BLOCK

In case everyone hasn't had enough fun and games to last a life time in the good old town of Deerington, apparently this month brings you one more. Maybe you were just walking through the door to get into your own house, or maybe you were leaving from work — the moment you walk through any door, you'll find that it doesn't open up to the place you were looking for. Instead, you find yourself standing on a giant game board and you seem to be right on the start space. The doors already disappeared behind you, don't bother trying to run back. The only exit is at the end and you'll have to hope you make it there.

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.

Welcome, players! Is this your first time? Yes? Great!
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

But what's behind door number two! People are going to start to get tired of walking around in their own houses at this rate. Even if you managed to escape the board game horrors, this new room you've found yourself in doesn't seem much better. In the center is a large TV screen and on the floor in front of it are two pads with arrows pointing in four directions; up, down, left, and right. Anyone who is familiar with Dance Dance Revolution might feel right at home! But fear not, there are instructions on the screen for you to follow if you need them.

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!

Everyone loves to get a text, don't they? Of course they do! Which is why someone has been kind enough to send out a little special something to everyone's Fluid's this month! There's no name you recognize — in fact, it doesn't even look like a name is attached at all. The sender's identification only looks like this: 🥳

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[If it means anything, Diarmuid jolts, too; not into another person, mind, but... he's been having a hard month, rest assured, and probably anything is enough to startle him back. It does deflate what hopeful energies he has in his heart, though, seeing the other jump and look as confused as ever.

Ah. He does not remember this place; it's not uncommon, he's fairly sure, but it's unfair to the person who cannot recollect it. They'll have to be forced to relearn the terrible situation again...?

The boy (who would really love to have fast healing, too, if he had any clue Peter possesses it) lets Peter have his distance.]

I'm...

It's a bit strange, but I'm from — from another universe. My name is Diarmuid, from Kilmannán. We... share faces. Voices. Height it seems, too. [Though Peter's probably heavier, bulkier under his sweater; Diarmuid is all skinny muscle under the curtains of robe, 140 pounds of monk kid who's been fasting more recently.] Sometimes, people with the same face appear here. Someone in the town looks like a friend of mine from home, even.

Edited 2019-09-03 07:28 (UTC)

[his face scrunches up a little at the unfamiliar names; ones he knows he'll have to try and learn to pronounce at some point. preferably without it seeming like he's trying to copy an accent at the same time. unfamiliar or not, he's not about to start insulting somebody that way.

especially not his...sort of twin?

okay. alright. he can do this.]

So in another universe, you're me. But you're not me too.

[...no, that didn't make any sense to him either. he takes a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks as he slowly lets it out. it's only then that he nods and moves on to attempt number two.]

So do we just look the same? Do you have an aunt called May? Oh! And how about a best friend called Ned? [though, hold on!] Is your last name Parker too?

I suppose it's... something like that.

[That they're each other, but also absolutely not each other.]

I don't have a last name — where I'm from, surnames aren't very common, I suppose. [And he's orphaned with no memory of his parents, anyway, so he supposes it wouldn't matter regardless.] I've... no living family that I'm aware of, and I was the only monk my age at the monastery, so I'm afraid we've not as much in common there...

[He smiles a little, though.]

I've met you before — perhaps not you as you are, but another you. He told me about cars and CD players.

You're a monk?

[there isn't any judgment in his tone, despite his confusion. as much as he may try to behave and respect others around him, that really isn't a career path he's ever even considered before. nor would he. especially given his love of all things science related. if they share any similarities beyond their faces, then that clearly isn't one of them.]

So does that mean you're not used to technology?

[though whether that's due to being a monk or something deeper than that, he doesn't know. but the idea of having to be taught about cars and cd players, the former being something he has somewhat limited knowledge about, has to mean that diarmuid must have some kind of disconnect to the modern world.]

[He nods, looking more at ease despite how battered he appears to be, at the moment. While things have been hard this month — it's Deerington. There's some little sad part of him that expects it. And this...! While he's not happy to see Peter trapped in the town, he cannot help but find some little kernel of happiness in seeing that oddly modern face of theirs again.]

I'm from 1209. A time long before... most things here, I suppose.

... Electricity, cars, books printed on paper... All sorts of things.

[well. so much for that theory. they can't be alternate versions of the same person if diarmuid is from over eight hundred years in the past. but he supposes it's not worth dwelling on that point for any longer than he already has. it's not like it'll change anything about the situation they're in.

so instead, he just smiles back at the other man. right up until he realizes he skipped out on one, big question.]

How did you know my name?

... Ah. Well.

[Perhaps he did not think that part through. It would be very concerning and strange, if he told him the reason he knew, wouldn't it? And yet... Diarmuid is not one to lie. Perhaps when he was younger and got into a bit of mischief at the monastery, but... never like this.]

I had met you before. Here, in Deerington.

You were here once before... so I suppose you may have lost memory of it, when you returned home.

Or perhaps it was another version of you. I admit, I'm not quite sure.

I've never been here before.

[though considering he's only ever left the state twice in his life (though he's not sure a school trip or the whole germany thing counts as a holiday), that isn't all too surprising. the idea of having lost his memories of a previous visit though leave him filled with concern, and for a moment, he just frowns back at diarmuid. or rather, through him, given that he really isn't focused on the other boy.

just for a few seconds though. eventually, he just nods to himself, before forcing a smile back on to his face again.]

Its gotta be like you said. We're from different universes. So the guy you knew has to be from another world too, right?

[The boy nods, thoughtful, not quite so easy to smile even by Peter's standards at the moment. He's had a terrible time as of late, if the battered face and arm in a cast and sling said anything about his current circumstance.]

I suppose he must've been.

Are you from this 'Queens', too? In... Enwhysee?

[He learned a little, especially from Gwendolyn. Gwen.]