SEPTEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

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.

Comments

[cashe]

[ The last thing that Ashe was expecting that day was to end up in some death trap of a room with the ceiling threatening to skewer her with her dance partner being a doll. She'd muttered a quick: Very funny Deerin'ton, before realizing that she was going to have to focus to keep herself from dying. Good thing she isn't drunk at the moment, she usually is when dance games get involved.

She figures that she's on her own and it's a good thing she's light on her feet. Maybe she'd retained enough of the drunken dancing to be of use in here.

But then she hears a voice and sees the doll moving. Her eyes widen and she's ready to go for her gun. Except the doll tells her not to freak out, and well...okay. She'd seen weirder stuff since joining the ranks of Deerington's sleepers. The little doll is clearly a cowgirl, complete with the same accent as her own. ] Well, slap my ass and call me Sally.

Please tell me I did not just die and attach my spiteful soul to a doll. [ She seems to be taking it in stride, because what els can you do. Bigger fish to fry and all. ]

[yodelling]

Don't reckon so. I got one of my own in here so it'd be mighty crowded.

[She had been warned about the general reaction of humans to them- she had been warned and let she still rolls her eyes a touch. At least she's more good-natured about it than Woody. Carefully, she gets to her feet, her hands still raised in mock-surrender. Look, she's totally safe. And tiny.

At least her first person is another cowgirl. She genuinely couldn't have picked a better first choice, she reckons- even if every stitch of her is screaming that this is the worst idea ever and she should go back to following The Rules. It's a different panic to the usual one that grips her when her fears get the better of her. That is always a surge of chaos while this is some sort of bubbling nervousness. She doesn't know which one is worse.

The light comes on behind her and it's a nice quick shuffle-step and it blinks off. Jessie looks up at the ceiling, smiling in relief as it doesn't move down. Whoooo boy, is she glad that gambit worked. It sure would have sucked to go to all this trouble for her to be too light for the darned thing to work. She smiles back at the human. The actual human. That she's talking to.]

I'm Jessie.

[Maybe putting a name to herself might make her a little less of a creepy doll threat. Too bad her name happened to be Jessie. Sorry, Ashe, the name will haunt you forever. ]

[cashe]

[ It appeared that her new companion had her own little bit of sass, just as a cowgirl should. Jessie's presence catches her off guard momentarily, but that's really about it. Ashe wasn't one to judge on souls or personality or life of anything. She'd been raised by what could be considered a very large technologically advanced doll. When people had created artificial life in her world, or omnics, they hadn't expected it to bloom into an entire race, let alone a race that rebelled against human cruelty. Ashe wasn't a part of the group that hated omnics. She figured everything had the right to live and who was she to judge life or souls or anything like that. She may not have been the most well behaved individual, but she certainly was open minded. So a doll, especially a cowgirl doll, well that was A-okay in her book. ]

I can imagine it would be. That body of yours just ain't big enough for the both of us. [ She gave her a knowing wink, sure she would get the reference.

She watches her move and gives a low whistle. They might just get out of this alive if her partner could move that well, and she felt a bit of relief and gratitude that she'd decided to show herself.

The name does catch her off guard a bit, and she chuckles softly. ] Jessie huh? 'Course it is. I know a Jesse. A cowboy though. Considers himself a bringer of justice or somethin'. Between us, he's a little full of himself. I am sure you know how cowboys are. [ Because every cowgirl had a cowboy somewhere in some manner, who could be a thorn in her side and still be important. Even if she never would be free of him...or apparently the name. ] Name's Ashe though.

[yodelling]

[Jessie would very much like to learn about B.O.B and the omnics. She'd be deeply fascinated by that whole world. She laughs, because she does get the reference. ]

It sure ain't. And I'd hate to see what pistols at dawn would look like in there.

[She grins at the whistle, offering a tip of her little hat. It's always nice to be appreciated. Another light flickers on and she casually does a somersault at it- she might be showing off a tiny bit. One good thing about a lack of bones is you're quick on your feet and pretty darn flexible.

And oh, Ashe, you are speaking her language. She snorts shaking her head.]

Hooo-ee, you're telling me. Does he think he's always right, even when he's blatantly wrong but he's too dang stubborn to back down so he just keeps digging that hole he's put himself in, 'cause lord forbid he admit he made a wrong call? And that swagger they got, what's up with that?

[She knows, Ashe. Oh, she knows. She'd say their lives would be easier without cowboys in it, but she loves hers with all her little cotton heart- and honestly, she can be just as stubborn as Woody most of the time. Usually more. ]

Real pleasure to meet you. You're... uh. Actually the first human I've ever spoken to. We got all kinds of rules that we're supposed to follow in not letting you folks know we're alive.

[To try and explain the whole... not moving thing earlier.]

[cashe]

[ She can't help but grin despite the impending doom they are facing. Jessie reminded her of the most wonderful stereotypical cowgirl and sit made the situation so much brighter. She'd felt lonesome for her own people and seeing her brings an odd sort of comfort to the situation.

She's quick on her own feet to match the lights and hopefully continue to keep them alive. Unsurprisingly it seems they make a good team, despite that she isn't quite as light on her own feet.

Bitching about cowboys? Well, that was definitely right up her ally. Everything she says fits Jesse to a tee and she gives a hearty laugh to the comments. To be fair, it was really more Ashe that was stubborn one who always insisted that she was right, but she wouldn't dare entertain that thought. Besides, Jesse was those things. ]

Oh no! They think they are right about everythin'. And don't you dare tell them they're wrong! I know that swagger! Just saunterin' on up and interruptin' whatever it is you're doin', before givin' you some cocky wink like they are God's gift the universe. Oh and don't get me started on how they ultimately leave the heavy liftin' to you. Then take the glory of it all. [ And leave you tied to the payload...which is just rude. No, cowboys were difficult, no denying that. She'd loved hers once too, but well, that was a whole other mess of things. ]

Good to meet you too, little lady. [ She paused. ] Or should not call you little? [ Ashe was extremely respectful when she wanted to be. ] I don't blame you. Half the time, if I had a choice I wouldn't speak to them. I know a thing or two about rules though, and I know their importance, so I owe you a thank you for breakin' yours in order to help me.

[yodelling]

[Jessie was factory-made to be the most cow-girliest cowgirl there ever was. It's stitched into the very fabric of her being. She'd be genuinely happy to learn that brought anyone comfort. ]

Like you can't do anything for yourself, right? Lucky, I taught Woody that one real quick. He sure as a sidewinder don't treat me like any damsel in distress.

[Mostly because Jessie would open the biggest can of whoop-ass on him if he tried. Heck yeah, independent women. Toy women. Whatever.]

No, no. It's okay. I am pretty little. I noticed and all, not in denial about it or anything.

[Not that it stops her acting like she's got about five extra feet to her once in a while. She jumps to the side, landing on the little glowing block.]

Don't mention it. Wouldn't want you to end up getting squashed by whatever the heck is going on with that spikey ceiling thing.

[Did they get kidnapped by a Bond villain? She's sure if Pricklepants were here, he'd have something to say about dramatic narrative or somesuch.]

sorry for the late, but omg i love that icon, so cute

[cashe]

[ She had kind of surpassed the whole damsel in distress thing when she had become an outlaw. There were few men out there would would dare to come to her rescue. In fact, in her team full of boys, she was the one usually doing the rescuing. The girls she had were far more competent, and there weren't that many so it was saying something.

Watching her moves between matching her own lit squares, she can tell her height does not hold her back. ] Well you definitely are no damsel in distress, and I'm pretty sure that you height would actually be extremely beneficial in certain circumstances.

[ She glances up towards the ceiling. ] Yeah, that was not on my to-do list today.

not late at all and darn tootin'

[yodelling]

[Jessie's never really had much truck with it. She's just as capable as any of the guy toys she knows - she can handle her own business, thanking to kindly. Up until she gets throw into the dark or a small space, then... well, that's a different story and she's very glad for the guys then.]

Oh, you betcha! [She's so pleased, thank you for noticing!] I can get into all kinds of places, I got me a good sense of balance for getting high places and you can move around pretty unnoticed when you're below or above most folks' eye-level.

[She is not a fan of the ceiling, no sir. She vaults her way through a few more complex moves.]

Well, hopefully, this'll stop soon and we don't have to worry about it uh... dropping.

<3

[cashe]

[ Ashe had had plenty of toys when she was little, more dolls than any little girl would have hoped for. However, she had a feeling that if she'd had Jessie, she might have actually liked her, even if she wouldn't have spoken to her in a different circumstance.

She envied her the free movement. The things she would have been able to steal with those talents. Not that she did so badly on her own talents. But still. ]

Definitely some strengths. I understand though why you don't show yourself to humans. We are in general a questionable group.

[ She has to pick up her own pace with a few sharper moves and she can feel the sweat breaking out. She had never known her dance classes would come in so handy. ]

I must say though, this is a unique form of torture. One I have neither faced, nor thought up.

[yodelling]

[Oh, if Jessie knew it would fill her little cloth heart with joy. She's got to grips with being a much-beloved toy again, but those dark days of decidedly not being that will always stick with her.]

It's more a natural thing for us. We're for kids to play with, you know? We're happy talkin' to each other, but this is a whole new thing.

[Though, if she were honest, there is still a mistrust of humans for her. She's met exactly two humans who haven't made her life more miserable in all her years and thems not good odds.

Never has Jessie been so glad she's not made of flesh and gets tired. She's so gosh darn glad. She keeps the pace up, still effortless.]

Ain't seen nothing like this before. So this ain't a regular thing here? The dancing and the spikes and all?

[cashe]

[ Not being wanted was a thing that they shared in common. Ashe hadn't been wanted when she was young, and she hadn't recovered from that. She suffered greatly with loneliness, despite being surrounded by the family she had made. It was hard for her to believe that those she cared for wouldn't leave her, in the end. ]

Well, I hate to say it, but I think you are goin' end up needin' to talk to a lot more people than just me. I think you'll find most of them accommodatin' though. This place makes you trust things you might not have otherwise, because things like this...they are commonplace.

[ Even as a human, she basically believed that they weren't trustworthy, so she wouldn't have faulted her. ] But if anyone gives you a hard time, you come talk to me, y'hear. After all, I owe you one.

[ And she certainly does, because she can imagine the guts it took to go against everything you were supposed to do just to protect someone else. And Ashe was nothing if not loyal. ]

[yodelling]

[They could write a book on it. Jessie is endlessly glad for her found family, she knows she would have continued to live a sad, lonely broken life without them. But her past is always going to be something that will rear its ugly head and remind her it wasn't always like this. She got lucky, but it might not last forever. One day, Bonnie will grow up just like Emily and Andy did- and then what? Doesn't bear thinking about. ]

Woody said about as much. Guess I'm just taking my time. Getting a feel of the place.

[Working out the people who seem trustworthy enough to shows herself to. Congrats, Ashe, you made the cut. She laughs at the offer, not unkindly, not even slightly.]

Well, thanking you kindly for the offer. Normally, I'm pretty good at taking care of myself, but given this is a whole lot of world built for people a lot bigger than me, I might take you up on that one.

[cashe]

[ Ashe would agree that found family is the far better kind of family. Leaving her own broken family, she understood the importance of making one. ]

Well, best advice I can give is just to stick together. There is power in numbers. Even when you are great at takin' care of yourself, you still gotta know who to rely on. Just let me know whenever you need an extra hand. Or...foot, as the case may be.

[ The game starts to pick up speed, and Ashe turns her attention more heavily on it. Her feet are starting to get tired, but she keeps going. She doesn't know how much time has passed and she's strong enough to continue, but this is a challenge of a different kind. As the steps continue to increase in speed, she feels the pressure of it all and begins to hope for the end of the song. ]

I wonder how much longer we got on this thing.

[yodelling]

Ain't that the truth. Lucky for us we're used to doing that. Looking out for each other.

[There is one good thing about being made of plastic, cloth and stuffing, and that is exhaustion really isn't a factor. Toys sleep, to be sure, they rest like anything else- but it's not like they have muscles that can ache or lungs that struggle to catch a breath.

As such, Jessie doesn't struggle when the music picks up- though she is still really small and some of those steps are quite the leap away. It's not as easy to hit them when time is a factor.]

Can't go on forever, right?

[cashe]

Nope.

[ Her answer was short, because as the music sped up, she was having trouble with her focus. She would have envied Jessie the ability to not run out of energy. Her own muscles were going to be aching that night. At least she had a good soaking tub to indulge in.

She really wishes she could just shoot the damn machine, but she isn't sure that's a great idea. Would probably make the ceiling collapse even.

Thankfully, just as she feels like she's going to slip up, the music hits it's last note and the game comes to a halt. It's only another moment before the door opens.]

Oh thank god that's over. [ She leans back to catch her breath. ]

[yodelling]

[Jessie lets out soft 'whoof', her hands resting on her knees as she takes a breather. She might not tire easily, but that was still a whole lot of a Bad Time. ]

And look at that, we didn't wind up dead. Go us. [She casts Ashe a look.] You doin' okay?

[cashe]

[ She doesn't want to show just how relieved that fact makes her. Despite having kept it to herself, she'd really been starting to worry, even think about what would happen if she did die. ]

Yeah, I'm okay. Just trying to catch my breath.

[ However, she didn't want to wait too long, because she didn't want to give the room the opportunity to demand on encore. ]

But let's get outta here. I don't want to find out what happens if we stay.

[yodelling]

[Jessie casts a glance upwards, eyeing those stilled spikes. She definitely doesn't want those to be set off again. ]

Yeah, let's move. That thing might start up again and I don't reckon that'd be a fun time for either of us.

[She's gonna start off, on her tiny little legs- she can book it surprisingly fast for a little ragdoll. C'mon Ashe, let's bail. ]

[cashe]

[ Ashe didn't have to be told twice. She was more than ready to get out of there and head home for some R and R and a good meal from B.O.B, which she bitched about Deerington's newest game.

Though she'd been relieved when the game had stopped, she's even more relieved when she makes it outside. She doesn't want to do that again, not at all.

She turns to look down at Jessie. ]

Well, I guess that's as good an introduction as any to Deerington.

[yodelling]

[Jessie lets out a soft 'whoof' sound- tipping her hat back a little.]

You can say that again. I reckon it could've gone better, but it could've gone a lot worse. [She turns her head up to Ashe, offering a smile.] Least I got the best company for it.

[cashe]

[ It's Ashe's turn to tip her hat. ]

Well I thank you kindly for that. I'm glad I was able to give you a better outlook on humankind than some might have. And you gotta remind me to let you meet B.O.B. sometime. He's not unlike you and your folk. Got a deep soul, but most just see him as a large doll, not worthy of much.

So you are in safe company with me, cause all I give a damn about it is how someone behaves. And you proved yourself in there.

[yodelling]

Then I'd for sure love to meet him. Folk like that deserve to know they're more'n the sum of their parts.

[She grins up- you know, for a first human, this was the best possible outcome she could have had. Well done, Ashe, you've paved the way for other humans after you. ]

Well, right back atcha. You got a friend so long as I'm stuck here.

[cashe]

Couldn't agree more.

[ It was actually quite rare that Ashe gave off a good first impression. Jessie probably should have set her standards higher, but cowgirls did have to stay together. Even if Ashe's horse is a hoverbike. ]

I appreciate that. Now I should probably be getting back to B.O.B. He'll get worried. Can I help you get anywhere?

[yodelling]

[Jessie's standards are horribly low. All you have to do is not be an asshole. There's a bonus to making friends with someone who's been deeply unloved for decades, it turns out, and this is it. Lucky Ashe. ]

I should be okay, I know my way home from here. Thanks anyway, though.

[cashe]

[ Even with the abuse, she'd always had high standards for herself. Then again she ran with criminals, so maybe they weren't that high. Either way she would just have to build her up. ]

No problem. I'll leave you to it then. Good luck.