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

[aberth]

[ Adam is so very glad he does not have anything awkward and awful projected above his head. He'd asked Barricaded about it the minute he saw it happening, had almost turned back around to hide in the apartment he shares with Ronan until it was all over. But then he'd been told that it wasn't anything that would trouble him and so he'd carried on with his exploration safe in the knowledge that he was still unknowable to most of the people here.

There are some things he's not ready for.

Right about the time that Magnus is wandering past though, Adam has commandeered a park bench and is spreading tarot cards before him with a frown between his dusty coloured brows. He looks up at the amiable mumbling between Warlock and butterfly, lifts his gaze to read the words above. ]

You can summon demons?

[ It's out of his mouth before he can stop it, a shiver running up his spine. ]

[lacquers]

[ Magnus' wandering halts rather quickly when he comes across Adam and is presented with that query. Of all the things to inquire about regarding the content of his little profile there, that has to be one of the least amusing.

Not that he seems bothered about answering. Spending as much time in Eudio as he did, he's grown pretty accustomed to answering questions like that.

Well, he's actually never been directly asked about the demon summoning part of his job, or not to his recollection. Magic, yes. How he makes cocktails that float and seem to explode in your face without actually exploding, yes. Whether or not he does his eyeliner with a magical assist, sure. He's answered that one more than once.

But demons. Hm. He crosses one arm over his torso. ] I can, yes. Though, I suspect, not here. [ He glances around demonstratively. ] Does the subject interest you? [ He asks not because it seems to, but because it doesn't. Which is smart. ]

[aberth]

[ The relief that fills Adam then is surprising. It's been long enough that he thinks he should be able to forget the feeling of his hands scrambling unbidden at skin. But of all the things he has lived through, that one sticks in his throat and wakes him up at night sweating and afraid more often than the others.

He looks down at the cards again and lifts one shoulder in a shrug. ]

It's not something many people can do. [ The third sleeper only came to be through happenstance. But when he looks back up, his eyes are piercing and curious, nonjudgmental for now. ] Do you often summon demons for fun?

[ He knows Magnus is a warlock. He doesn't know what he's like as a person. ]

[lacquers]

[ Magnus lightly purses his lips. Well, that's a good question, isn't it? ] Oh, never, if I can help it. There are much better ways to have fun than sketching pentagrams on your floor and chanting in demonic languages until some disagreeable distant relative shows up.

At which point, you have to keep them under control and not get anything that stains all over your floor.

[ More seriously: ] It may have a slightly different context for me than most. But no, I don't do it for fun. I do sometimes do it in exchange for payment though.

[ He could follow with a 'why do you ask?' but he has a sense that there's more that might need discussing first. Or maybe Adam won't want to linger on the topic. Either is fine by him, the door's open. Promise. ]

[aberth]

[ Distant relative?

Adam's earlier conversation with Magnus now makes more sense. He waits for it to mean something, for the fear to kick in, but he finds himself strangely devoid of anything beyond calm. ]

Right.

[ Payment is slightly better than fun, but not by much. ]

What do people need them for, that they'd pay for the service?

[lacquers]

[ Magnus watches Adam silently a moment. There's nice ways to answer this question and there are real ways to answer this question and there are unkind ways to answer this question.

He doesn't want to be unkind. ]

It may help if you think of my role in this as a negotiator. Sometimes demons take things from people and sometimes there are things they can provide that people need. It's my job to make sure they get whatever they want or need.

Both parties.

[ It's sort of distasteful, but sometimes imperative. ]

[aberth]

[ Adam picks one of the cards up from before him, running his thumb over the smudgy infinity sign. What Magnus is saying makes sense, and while Adam knows it's none of his business he's almost glad to have asked and received something satisfying in answer.

People do things that might not be savoury all the time. ]

Okay.

[ He looks up again, and offers a half smile. ] Sorry, I know it was none of my business.

[lacquers]

[ At that, Magnus gives a quick wave of his hand. ] Oh, no need! If I hadn't wanted to answer, I would've said as much.

I think it's helpful if we know a little about one another's worlds and backgrounds. Not that anyone should feel they're forced to share, but I don't mind.

[ In his eyes, this information is superficial in a situational sense. While it would mean something different to someone familiar with his world and the work he does there, here it's just so much abstract knowledge. He can't demonstrate it and it doesn't necessarily have an impact on his place among the other arrivals.

But he also doesn't mind telling Adam. He wasn't rude in his inquiry or anything of the sort and... there was a sense that having the information might help him. Magnus does not yet know why though. ] The subject of demons interests you?

[aberth]

Do you want to sit down?

[ He nods to the other side of the picnic table. It feels a little awkward, but he's definitely trying his best to be less of an army of one in this place. Beside, Magnus answered his question, it's only fair he does the same.

He waits, until the warlock decides what he wants to do and then lifts his chin a little, looking almost like he's squaring up for something. The truth has not always come easily to Adam Parrish. ]

There was a demon in my world, before. I wasn't relishing the idea of living through that again.

[lacquers]

[ Magnus lets his eye follow Adam's gesture, then smiles and nods. ] Thank you! [ This feels a bit like progress.

What kind, he's not entirely sure. He's going to be cautious. ]

Oh? [ Speaking of 'what kind,' actually... ] Can I take it to mean that's not common, in your world? [ His intonation places less emphasis on it being Adam's world than on it being common, as if to allow for a segue back to an easier topic. Since Magnus has already established that demons are fairly common in his world, if he's interacted with them as much as he alludes to have done, as it were. ]

[aberth]

It's not meant to be.

[ But neither are mystical forests and boys who can pull living creatures from their dreams, and so Adam takes his former worldview with a pinch of salt. He keeps being proven wrong anyway. ]

I mean, I guess it could be? But a few years ago if you'd have told me it could happen I'd probably have thought you were a religious nutjob. [ He winces a little, he's not exactly trying to be insulting but it sounds that way. ] Now, though. I'm not so sure.

[lacquers]

I find it's better not to rule anything out. [ He looks pointedly around them. ] Not that I mean to take all the fun out of life, but there are some surprises it's better to be a little bit prepared for.

[ Not that he has any idea how you prepare for traveling to a new universe and he's done it twice now. Also, ] I'm not saying everyone should expect a demon on their doorstep.

It's tricky. But I can assure you, I won't be summoning any here. Other magic, certainly. But not that.