Test Drive Meme #2

[spoofer]

Test Drive #2

I saw a flower, furrow, and brook

New TDMers are free to RP here as if "new" or "established;"
"new" is likely easier to keep in continuity after apping.

When gameplay begins, the second wave will have
their own intro plot and crash log!

CREATURES IN THE DARK

Far away from the city, the wall of light that is F.A.T.E.S. seems calm, glowing peacefully. You’re on an evening walk through the city, or maybe on a camping trip in the woods, or maybe on a romantic date on the beach; whatever it is, you’re outdoors, enjoying the apparent peace and quiet, for once.

That is, until you hear a noise. It’s a rustle, or a step, a branch breaking underfoot, a heavier sound than a human would make. And that’s when you find yourself faced with one of the many Xistentia critters: the Green Backed Bison. She's massive, with small horns and a broad, mossy back, a small calf at her side. She does not appear to want to charge you^[1], but that might change, depending on what you decide to do! Either approach it, run away, or go into aggressive mode; how will you react to being introduced to the incredible fauna of Xistentia?

Glitch in the City

The city of Xistentia now boasts a population of over 200 sentient souls! Congratulations on surviving your apocalypse, now feel free to enjoy the city and outlying forest. Today, a number of local businesses are open, including the local tailor, our diner Pop's Chocklit Shop, and Sue's Salads. For now, the only bar and lounge is the atrium of the Citadel, the outpost overlooking the sea. It's a lovely day to be out and about.

But at midday, the rendering errors begin. New arrivals, those who came into Xistentia since the second crash find themselves subject to a bizarre phenomenon, where a holographic projection seems to be floating above their head! It contains data about the character's marital status, preferences for fun and dating activities, and pet peeves... and perhaps embarrassingly, it isn't necessarily accurate.

As your daemon will explain the glitch is easy enough to fix! You can either move 100 yards from the location where it began, or another character can remove it for you by touching the graphic.

RENDERING ERROR #285
Preferred Alias: F.A.T.E.S. McWeirdo
Marital Status: Hateboning Nemesis
Preferred Dating Activity: Creating new universes, maintaining the equilibrium of the multiverse, organizing temporal divergences/alternate universes, restoring damage inflicted by D.E.S.T.I.N.Y.
Other Enjoyable Activity: DJing music
Pet Peeves: Unfiltered tap water, gluten-fee pasta, unscheduled apocalypses

Optional Code
<br /><center><div style="background: url('http://i.imgur.com/YZTsdyA.gif') no-repeat; background-size: 100% auto; width: 680px; margin: auto"><br /><div style="background: url('http://i.imgur.com/m5GzmXX.png'); width: 80%; padding: 15px 15px 15px 15px; margin: auto; border: 1px dotted #d10045; text-align: left; font-size: 11px"><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace; vertical-align: middle"><center><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 3px; font-weight: normal; text-transform: uppercase; color: #D10045"><b>Rendering Error #285</b></span></center> <b">Preferred Alias:</b> ** ALIAS ** <b>Marital Status:</b> Married/Single/Taken/Available/It's Complicated/Random GIF <b>Preferred Dating Activity:</b> ** List of activities ** <b>Other Enjoyable Activity:</b> ** List of activities ** <b>Pet Peeves:</b> ** List of pet peeves **</div><br /></div></center>

GAME NIGHT

At 6 p.m., your Daemon starts making noise - a software update is being installed. It lasts for a few minutes, your Daemon mainly unresponsive if you attempt to make it do anything else than upload the data F.A.T.E.S. is sending it. Afterwards, it resumes acting as normal as it did before the update, but if you ask it, your Daemon will tell you:

Upgrade was installed for entertainment and integration purposes; Hangman.exe was installed.

Launch the application, and you will be given a match against one of your fellow citizens who also decided to join the game. On your holoscreen is a rudimentary, simple game of Hangman, as well as a chat window to taunt your opponent if you so choose. However, it becomes clear that F.A.T.E.S. has no idea what she's doing... the first word is 16 letters long, and she has pre-filled in the letters Z, C, and Q.

It's a good day to complain about technology, or start a new game afresh.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

hells yeah

Footnotes

1. Note any violence or injury in your subject headers, thank you.

Comments

[vexy]

Nothing comes easy here.

[ You say that and yet you use that icon... ]

I think I know what it is! Do 'E' and 'T' and we should be set, luv.

Oh wait, doesn't baguette have a 'u' in it? Bollocks...

[lacquers]

[ Would anyone believe me if I said that wasn't intentional. ]

Nothing? Not even alcoholic milkshakes?

[ He frowns at the screen. ] I doubt it could hurt to guess E at this point. It might give us some more insight.

[ Magnus is trying to save this man from hanging. ]

[vexy]

It took them thirty minutes to get the balance on this one right so no, not even alcoholic milkshakes.

Go on then, what are you waiting for? [ Vex is slightly bloodthirsty at this point. ]

[lacquers]

[ One brow arches slightly. ] You could always order the next without and let an old friend help you out.

[ Him. He's the old friend.

He's gonna magic you up some alcohol, Vex. And also the letter E.

B A G _ _ _ E S ]

[vexy]

That's an idea. Oi, should you really be using your magic on this shite? What if we get attacked by one of those massive trolls with the big ol' clubs?

[ Vex stared at the word with a deepening frown. ]

It's not bagpipes, issit?

[lacquers]

[ Magnus looks mildly surprised here. Not unpleasantly! He just wasn't expecting that. ] You're not the only one who says I ought to conserve my magic. I feel pretty confident that I can summon some alcohol and fight a troll without running out though. Does that help?

[ Look at that! The little man is dancing for joy!

B A G P I P E S it is! ] Would you look at that.

[vexy]

I should've let him hang for that, bloody bagpipes. Oi, it's your turn to guess this time. Lemme see...

[ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ]

Right then, gimme your letters gorgeous. And yeah, I suppose it helps but if there are two trolls and you're fatigued because of a gin 'n tonic I'm gonna haunt you.

[lacquers]

It's hard to let him hang once you know what the word is, isn't it? [ Wouldn't it just kill you to intentionally guess the wrong thing?

This is the friend territory they're in now. Asking weirdly specific philosophically nonsensical questions. Also, several boozy milkshakes, not that this ever seems to have an impact on Magnus' sobriety. ]

I'll start with I. [ He pauses to consider the two-troll problem. ] I don't know that I'd really want to fight two trolls, even if I had all my magic. Alexander would be the one you'd want for that, Vex.

I guess I could put them to sleep or something, that probably wouldn't be much trouble.

[vexy]

Not for me. [ He was a vicious fellow, after all.

A for the guess, it buzzed and the head appeared in the noose. ]

Look, as much as it would be a delight to rely on Alec for some troll fighting he's not here right now, is he? Have you got him holed up at home doing all the dusting, then?

[lacquers]

[ Magnus gives the floating head a sympathetic look. Alas, poor little guy. Okay, um... ] All right, M. [ I, me, mine. ]

Oh no, I did a routine straight from a Disney musical montage and our apartment is already spic-and-span. [ There is a mildly wry note in his voice. ] Alcohol and cleanliness are never a waste of magic, my friend.

Alexander is [ he hums ] shopping.

[vexy]

[ Boom! There's the torso. Try again, Mags. ]

Shopping. [ The thought if it made him chuckle a little before he drained the last of his milkshake, greedy for the mixture of booze and chocolate. ]

Mm... I wonder if he can find anything to bake a cake with.

[lacquers]

[ Uh, curses? ] E then!

[ He's not in the mood for killing this poor stick figure, so it's time to try and play it safe a bit. After considering the cartoon's fate for a second: ] Yes, shopping. Furniture shopping! We're still decorating a little.

[ Magnus then turns, facing Vex. ]

Are you having a craving for my husband's cake?

[vexy]

[ _ _ _ _ _ E _ ]

Ooh, there ya go.

[ pause. his eyes look to Magnus' with a sloooooow sort of smirk spreading on his lips. ]

Well. I wouldn't turn down a slice or two.

[ pfffft! ]

[lacquers]

[ Oh look, success! With the stick figure. Hard to say about the rest. ]

See how you fare asking him about that. [ He should remove all the remaining alcohol from your drink for that, Vex. ]

How about R?

[vexy]

Darling, I would never ask for your husband's cake. But if it was offered...

[ He's completely joking, Magnus.

_ R _ _ _ E R ]

I used to pay for it back in Eudio, now all I've got are a bunch of coconuts in my backyard.

[lacquers]

[ Magnus seems to take on a contemplative expression at the mention of coconuts. ] Coconuts would make for a good cake, don't you think?

[ Cool your heels a minute, stick man. There's baked good talk happening. ]

They'd also be nice for drinks.

[vexy]

It would make for a delicious cake. You two ought to come around one of these days, when you're not busy honeymooning in this tropical paradise.

[ Sarcasm thy name is Vex. ]

[lacquers]

[ There go the brows again. Between Vex and Rose, Magnus is getting a workout here. ]

We wouldn't be intruding? [ Tell him more, friend. You're opening the door a crack there. ]

[vexy]

Intruding on what? My honeymoon? That died the moment I stepped into this hellhole, believe me. [ Figuratively and literally, if he wasn't in such deep denial about it. ]

I don't have time for the domestic bullshit.

[lacquers]

[ Hm. ]

I meant intruding in your home. [ He ponders the vehemence of this statement. ] How are you occupying yourself here? [ The question is phrased casually. ]

Other than playing endless games of hangman. Can I guess P next, by the way?

[vexy]

It's a house I kicked a couple of squatters out of, hardly a home. Besides, I invited you.

[ The screen buzzed and an arm was added to the figure. ]

Been exploring for the most part, trying to figure out the ins and outs around here. I can't go too far on my own because I can't control the beasties around here, so I oughta put together a team I guess. I wish Bo were here, or Nico. Hey, maybe I can borrow Alec for some adventures, eh?

[ He really didn't think about the fact that he said 'on my own' as opposed to 'with Mark'. ]

[lacquers]

[ Magnus registers his incorrect guess only vaguely. His brow's a bit furrowed now. ] Well, if you wouldn't mind my company, I'd happily come to visit you, [ he says, to start. As usual, he does not commit Alec to anything or comment for Alec with the language he uses.

He most definitely put something together from what Vex just said though. It would explain the persistent feeling of something being not quite right that he's had for a bit now. ]

My recommendation? You might want to Alexander about that. I hope to look around as much as possible myself, mostly because it will help widen the area where I can travel. [ He draws a sort of vague circle in the air to indicate their general surroundings. ]

When you say 'control,' you mean with your mesmer?

[vexy]

Nah, I changed my mind. I don't like you, don't come over. [ He rolled his eyes a bit. ] Of bloody course I don't mind your company, Mags. For flip's sake...

Yeah, I'll talk to him. Just tossing out ideas right now. [ It's not like Magnus was Alec's keeper or anything, though they were severely attached to the hip in Vex's opinion (though that was jealousy talking). ]

That's right. My mesmer is working again, but I could never mesmer animals, it just doesn't work on them. I do alright with trolls and the like, but anything like wolves and such and I'm buggered.

[lacquers]

[ Magnus gives Vex a long look. ] Oh, well, if you're sure. I have plenty of time, after all. I could bring something alcoholic! [ Sweeten the pot, as it were. ]

It's a good idea. Particularly since we don't have a lot of familiarity with our surroundings and, it seems, only limited ways of finding out.

You could ask.

[ Magnus' turn to roll his eyes a little while grinning a bit. Affectionately! ] I think we know how that will go. [ And to Vex again: ] From what I can tell, there's a fairly wide variety of fauna here. Maybe it would be good to find out what exactly you can control and what you can't? If you'd like to travel around, I'll happily portal you where I can.

[ A distraction could be good. Right...? ]

[vexy]

Could you? I definitely need it. [ The more liquor the better. When was the last time he was this eager for booze? Hmmm... ]

I figured he'd be tickled pink to be doing anything other than domestic chores. I don't want to portal around on my own, I definitely need a bodyguard and I think Alec fits that job description nicely. [ Magnus would have probably done the job just as well and yet for some reason Vex seemed fixated on Alec. ]

And darling, what's your next letter?