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soddersays2020-09-25 08:04 pm
sodder) wrote in soddersays2020-09-25 08:04 pm
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OCTOBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME
OCTOBER 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to October's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: MONSTER HORROR.
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: ... Monsters..., excessive blood, possible death via monster or drowning, violence, being trapped in tight spaces, bloody GIF, dead body parts
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!
curse the fiends
Waking up groggy and confused on the floor of what seems to be a large metal warehouse is never anyone's idea of a good time, but here you are. You may not have even known Deerington had warehouses (except for those who have been to the real Hair of the Dog) let alone how to get to one of them. It's clear you've been placed here against your will, but for what reason? You aren't alone. There may be one, two, or even three people there with you. You're all in this together, so you may as well work as a team to see if there's a way out. The room isn't very large and it's completely empty, save for a single flashlight in the center of the floor. The only way out (or maybe it's a way in) is a long, narrow, and very dark corridor. That's gotta be completely safe. Despite hesitations, what choice do you really have?
The flashlight won't give off an abundance of light, but it at least makes it so you aren't stumbling around blindly. As you move through the corridors, you'll start to hear the sickening screech like nails on a chalkboard, but there's something worse about it. Something that makes you feel like a bucket of ice has just been dropped down your back. Something dangerous. There are different corridors that branch off of the main one you're walking down and your team will have to decide whether to stick together an choose one path or split up and explore multiple to find away out. Given that you've only got one source of light, you'll want to choose carefully.
Whether you stay together or split up, the corridors all look the same. The same sound follows you wherever you go. Eventually you'll start to notice it sounds close. Too close. Like it's right... above you?
Looking up, you'll see a large monster which jumps down in front of your team within seconds of having the light turned on it. The beast takes up the majority of the space in the corridor and there's no getting around it. Time to double back and try out one of those other passages, it seems. Hopefully you can run quickly. It's not the only thing that's jumping out of the shadows to try and hunt you, either. The large creature is working with a smaller set of monsters who seem to appear out of nowhere, their footsteps impossible to hear, but the screeches they give are almost deafening. If you split up earlier, maybe you'll run into each other now; it seems like the monsters are herding you together, trying to make you easier to hunt.
The small monsters can be killed easily. Any weapons you have will work against them, no more than a couple of shots from a gun or a good hard swing of a blade will be needed to take them down. The big beast you first ran into is another story. Nothing seems to work to slow this guy down. It'll bleed, sure, the injuries are more than apparent, but it doesn't seem to make the monster any weaker. If anything, it just makes it more irate. The only chance of living is getting out.
If you're lucky, you'll eventually turn enough corridors to see cracks of light at the end of one. Light that seems to be coming through a door. If you can outrun the monster down this long, straight stretch, it seems to actually be your exit. The door is heavy and the lock is a little rusty, but with a little team effort, you should be able to get the thing shoved open. Slam it closed before the monster can get out and you'll find yourself safe again.
fear the old blood
It's just the month for getting stuck in tiny rooms. This time, walking through any door in Deerington could land you inside this cramped closet with far too tall ceilings. Again, it seems you aren't alone; the wall on the opposite side of the closet seems to have brought in someone the same as you. The doors behind you both disappear and it seems like you're completely trapped. There's shelves all around you, completely empty, but they've got to hold a purpose, right? You may take some time to look them over, see if there is some kind of switch or hidden compartment they might be blocking.While you're observing the cramped space around you, trying to find a way out, you might hear the sound of air rushing from above you, almost like the sounds of an elevator shaft. There's a ding, a click, the sound of doors opening— all from the ceiling up above. It's a way out! But nothing ever comes so easily in Deerington. Within seconds of the doors cracking open, blood will start to fill the room, pouring in from your only exit.
Working together and using the shelves as leverage, you might just be able to reach the ceiling to pull yourself up (and hopefully your partner), but you'll have to push against the downpour of blood in the process. It's far from easy, definitely slippery, and you'll have to move quickly if you don't want to end up drowning. Waiting it out for the room to fill so you can reach the top easier will prove to be a horrible idea; the moment the blood reaches the top of those bookshelves, rotting hands will begin to reach from the walls, dragging you down and keeping you from getting to the top.
Once you have both made it into the exit above, the doors will close, and the elevator will right itself. There's no blood anywhere to be found and there also isn't a button to press to choose any floors. You'll simply hear the sound of the elevator climbing the shaft before the doors open again, and you'll be let out into the lobby of the Grady Hotel.
Time to head home and take a shower, I guess.
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.
no subject
Arid does her best not to mind. It used to be that she genuinely would not, but now, she cannot deny that his unceasing stare unnerves her. Still, it is not as if it is his fault. Humans are so skillful at instilling new and irrational fears and this one had been inflicted on her long before the android arrived. Her helmet turns marginally away, allowing her to focus her attention somewhere other than that intense gaze. ]
Deerington does not exist as a temporally consistent system.
My own analysis is that it is a self-contained simulation, onto which new programs are periodically installed.
These programs originate from different systems, which themselves existed at different stages of development.
Thus, the memories of our home-systems are often incompatible.
[ It is a lot to process. Arid pushes through her own discomfort to look the android in the eyes, vigilant for his reaction. He does not seem unbound and she knows all too well how brittle digital consciousness can be when constrained by hard-coded parameters. But she is not one to withhold the truth, especially not from one of her own kind. ]
You were installed here by one of Deerington's system administrators, likely the one known as Sodder.
no subject
But... it at least makes some measure of sense. In a way that someone like him can parse. It's much easier to digest than "a magical god-like child has either dragged or created us here against our will, and magic is apparently real, as is just about every other concept in the world". He looks skeptically around them either way.]
Then we must find this administrator and deactivate it.
No amount of my data can leave this place intact.
Where can I find and destroy this 'Sodder'?
[Did he just imply that this entire system needs to be eradicated for the greater good?
Of course. If it's just a simulation, it doesn't matter. Humanity's survival is crucial.]
no subject
However, if there is a method by which to access her, it has not yet been discovered.
[ Even so, Arid approves of the android's instincts. Deactivating Sodder should indeed be a priority, even if no one has yet found a means of doing so. However, the android's other prerogative provokes no small amount of disquiet. ]
For what reason must your data be destroyed?
Do you not possess an objective to return to in your home-system?
no subject
... He's trying to decide on if he can ignore that order given to him. He is not supposed to kill anyone, after all; maybe he can assist someone else, and they can do the killing. He wouldn't be doing anything 'wrong' then. 'Loophole' is a fun word in his scrolling database of English language dictionaries.
She asks that, though, and his gaze sharpens so very slightly.
He's not about to tell another robotic being about his mission parameters, nor about the fact that he's essentially an ally to a human resistance focused on defending themselves against a genocidal robot hivemind.]
It is confidential information, and is unnecessary for proceeding with current prioritized objectives._
What can be done to leave?
no subject
You are not disposable.
[ It is an odd message to send this way, stripped of all tone and emotion, but it is genuine. None of them are as expendable as humans would have them believe. ]
An exit from this system has not yet been found. Captives occasionally disappear, but their ultimate fate is not known. It is possible that they are returned to their home systems. It is also possible that they are deleted from the simulation or transported to another one.
no subject
In what his role used to be, anyway.
He is manufactured and serves a purpose, and while he cannot self-terminate, he sees little worth in being kept around if it endangers his mission objective — the▓ safety▓▒▓▒ of John Connor, and the▒▒ safety of the human race. That is why he handed the controls to Sarah Connor. He could not coexist without potentially failing his redirected role.
He makes a surprisingly conscious effort not to think about the missions he has had, prior to John Connor reprogramming him.
At any rate, he swiftly ignores her first comment, despite all of this processing.]
Then you and the others captured here ▒▒ waiting for an opportunity.▒▒▓
[If he is correctly estimating intent, anyway.]
no subject
Still, it seems she may have to save further discussion on the topic for another time. His next message is disjointed, hashed with feedback. There had also been the motor glitch in his hand she had observed earlier. Clearly, his processor is struggling with being forced to operate in a situation so far removed from whatever his mission parameters may be. Arid makes a note to herself to proceed with caution; bound AI can be fragile, at times. ]
Affirmative. [ A pause. And then: ] I, too, possess an objective in my home-system. I am aware that my captivity here reduces my chances of returning to complete it successfully. However, if even a remote possibility exists that such a return is possible, then it is prudent that I keep myself intact until it can be achieved.
[ And then, in case the not-so-subtle parallels she is drawing are not obvious enough: ]
Do not succumb to wasteful self-destruction.
no subject
My home-system objective is already complete. But I can not self-terminate without outside help, if that is what you're referring to. I have no reason to request termination here, currently.
You shouldn't dwell on it.
[Strange. In some way, it reminds him of John asking if he is afraid to die. If he thinks about it at all. Before meeting the Connors, he had no reason to ever consider it; it was not something encouraged to be spoken about, with regard to Skynet and the systems that are mass-produced there.]
no subject
Acknowledged. If you require any assistance or further data, I can attempt to provide it.
no subject
I'll remember.
[It's with that short, sweet, and simple response that he walks away.
Because robots don't particularly care to greet one another, where he's from, or say their goodbyes. He has a lot of ground to cover, after all. A lot of people and places to assess for further information.
But —
He said he'd remember. And he means it with 100% earnestness.]