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!test drive meme

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the test drive meme.

❧ let's do this.

Anyone can post to the test drive meme, including duplicates! Please put your character name and canon in the title of your comment.
All threads are considered open to everyone! Tag around and make some friends (or enemies)!
If you decide to apply to the game, you can use your TDM threads for your app samples! You only need to provide seven comments if you use TDM samples.
You can't really be late to a TDM! This will be considered open until the next one goes live next month.
You can make up your own scenario, interact with one of the locations in the game, use the welcome process of your character waking or selecting a god house, or use our optional prompt below!
You do not need to pick a god house to play on the TDM! You can have your character still in the process of discussing/deciding/despairing instead.
If you are accepted to the game, you can keep TDM threads as game canon as long as you fudge some of the details depending on your original thread. If you aren't sure exactly how to do this, you can always ask a mod.
The game cap is currently at 57/100. Casts currently at/approaching the 8 character limit are:
ASOIAF/GOT: 6/8
Marvel Cinematic: 5/8
Reserves open on September 24 at 12:01AM EST and close on September 30 at 11:59PM EST.
Applications open on October 1 at 12:01AM EST and close on October 7 at 11:59PM EST.
Please always feel free to contact the mods if you have any questions! Have fun, dear (future?) Wanderers. ♥

❧ optional scenario.
As you're walking unsuspectingly through the city, you might feel a sharp but brief pain as something strikes you suddenly at any point on your body. It seems you've been shot - but where there might be a wound with any other weapon is a bright splash of paint instead, glowing faintly with magic. Our modern-Earth savvy friends might be able to recognize this as the work of a paintball gun, complete with that particular sting that isn't anywhere near unbearable but is still really unpleasant all the same. If you aren't quick to figure out what's happening, you might be struck by another paintball, or perhaps even several at the same time. As the colorful paint splashes across your clothes (will that come out in the wash later?), you'll feel compelled to interesting effects depending on the color:

red: you laugh once, with a loud ha!
orange: you finger-guns at the first person you see.
yellow: you sing and hold a note for five seconds.
green: you sneeze.
blue: you fart.
purple: you cry. :(

The more paintballs you're struck by, the sharper your eye, or perhaps even simply from picking up on the juvenile nature of the pranks themselves, some of you might catch the culprits darting around corners and giggling as they run past. Young children with simple handmade guns and bags of what look like glowing marbles. They might be willing to share with you if you promise to let them keep playing - or they might make a run for it if you try to get in their way. Either way, good luck getting that paint our of your clothes!

navigation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... yeah, I've been thinking about that.

[She raked her hand through her hair and looked down. There was some of the emotional vulnerability that he had never been subjected to, because the version he knew just had trouble finding her place and value with everyone being so cool around her. He'd never seen the faygo binges, the feelings of inadequacy.

They were partially gone, but they were still there, ready to rear their ugly heads.]

She's committed the action, the work. She's already shushed me and is doing what you'd expect. She even likes doing it I think, and she seems to worry about my head games I play on folks. On the surface it's all fine... but...

There's part of me that thinks she has the feelings, hidden, tucked away in her thump tortoise. Part of me's afraid it's not really there, or I couldn't get it out of her in the end. She wants to try, but we're trying. It's... not guaranteed. It never is, is it?

...well, she doesn't exactly need to be pacified, but she needs ... encouragement? Does that make sense? And... I mean... I don't think I'm ready to try for something flushed. Pale's a lot for me right now.

Edited 2019-09-18 03:59 (UTC)

[ It's a strange experience to be subjected to, and Karkat finds he's re-evaluating his opinion on Gamzee by the second. And Vriska. Not to mention himself, for being glad that Terezi feels that she can depend on him. None of it is a pleasant realisation. But that's not what's important here. ]

Terezi, I think it's pretty safe to say that whatever you choose to do will turn out fine. You're too smart not to learn from your mistakes, and even if swinging in the exact opposite direction of an obsessive obscene clown isn't what I'd call the best choice - it's still a fucking whole lot better than trying to get into a relationship that asks too much from you before you're ready!

[ In a gesture that's not a pap, but reassuring all the same, Karkat places a hand on Terezi's shoulder.]

What I'm saying is, be selfish! Take care of yourself first and foremost! Maybe, God I can't believe I'm saying this, maybe Vriska was onto something. Take as much as you need, and give only what you can give.

[She fidgeted, grumbling a little under her breath. She kind of wanted to say 'if I learned so glob damned well, how'd I screw you, Dave and Gamzee up?' She didn't, though. Part of her intellectually knew that two of those weren't real fuckups, and she absolutely knew deep down that Gamzee was all his fault. Her head was bowed and she reached up to scratch at it, trying to get through some of what he was saying before finally just outright belting the next one out at an impressive volume for her.]

Fine, you know what I really want Karkat? What I totally, absolutely need right now? I need someone to protect that I'm not going to fuck up! She needs protecting... and I need someone who actually acts like a moirail. [Breathe]

Fuck, I miss Vriska. You have no idea how much I miss her, how much I missed hearing you shouting about every glob-damned thing, but Vriska's a terrible moirail. We never papped or shushed each other over anything! She's a great friend, but ... I need a moirail who's a moirail. And this girl? She's almost naturally one... I'm just most afraid she'd be like that for anyone! An...And I want that for ME!

...
...
...

[Sniff, hah. She giggled and reached up to wipe a tear out from under the blindfold, and if he looked he'd catch a glimpse of white eye.]

If she needs emotions, she's not gonna need flushed with me. I'm a basket case, Karkat, man... I'm better, but... you should have seen me. [Chuckle.] Well, you did... but not you. You you. Get it? HAHAHAHA! Man, fuck timey wimy hoofbeast manure sooo much.

Yeah, it sucks major globes. But unless you're completely unrecognizable from the Terezi I know, I'm still going to treat you the exact same way as always! So, you know, like my awesome fun friend who can be way put together than she gives herself credit for. And quite frankly, doesn't deserve half the people she surrounds herself with. Myself included! So have a little more confidence in yourself and leave the miserable moping to the experts.

[ You know. Like him. But putting that little pep talk aside, Karkat is trying to take everything else Terezi said into consideration. It helps that her own emotional issues are tragically similar to his, even if limited to just one quadrant. Perhaps that's why what he says next is particularly significant, considering their shared history - retcon or not. ]

If you're so afraid of losing her, or worried that she'll cheat without realizing it, then you should let her know and figure it out together! Otherwise... you're going to regret it.

Oh glob... you're fiiiiine, Karkat. Totally fine, ok? You're a colossal fuck-up sometimes and watching your life go off the rails is hilarious when it's not a big deal, but you've been good to me. You and Dave both. It was just complicated, ok?

[She laughed and sighed. It did feel good to get to shout back and forth with this idiot sometimes. She reached over and gave him a punch at the shoulder.]

I'm... I'm a lot better than I used to be, I swear. Just don't let me near fizzy drinks. That's a road I don't need to go down again, guh...

...

And... you're probably right. Even if I think she understands, she's got a really big blood pusher for someone who says she doesn't have one. I know that sounds weird, but it's true. I'm going to need to tell her one of these days. I'm not going to get jealous of her friends, but this is... well, this is something else. [Bullshit she wasn't going to be jealous and she knew it. That lie smelled like so much rancid fecal matter in her nostrils, but she was standing by it.]

[ Don't worry Terezi, your jealousy will never get as bad as this asshole's. Karkat grumbles, rubbing at where Terezi punched him - gog knows she's not the type to hold back, at least with him. ]

Yeah, well, if you ever want to talk about it or just get someone to fuck off without actually dealing with them, I'm here now. The grand shoutmaster, at your service.

[She snuffled and laughed. Yeah, the grand master of shouting had arrived. Protect your hear ducts, world!]

Hehe, and if you need me to sniff out any lies and hunt down ne'er do-wells, I'm definitely here. Trying to convince them to have something to actually enforce.

...

[Ponder. Fuss. Fuck it. Dave'd tell him if she didn't, and it was better coming from her now that they were having a feels fest.][Because getting her sight back? Totally a mistake.]

So nothing's changed.

[ Karkat says, entirely oblivious. ]

Well... aside from the fact that I can actually see if I really really want to. Aranea fixed that. [Gruuuuunt.] But I'm not usually in the mood to fess up to that mistake. Second worst decision of the last sweep.

And I'm totally only telling you because Dave knows already and we both know he'll give me such shit if he's the one that tells you.

What? Who?? Why??? How???? Fuck, you can't just tell me that and not expect me to ask for more details!

Hehehe, look at you all confused.

[She felt better already, her snickers definitely sounding far more pleased by the second.]

I'm not actually blind.
Aranea. You know, Vriska's dancestor? You guys met them right? Totally a manipulative bitch even more than Vris ever was.
She conned me into thinking it was a good idea and it'd help, but it wrecked my sense of self on top of everything else.
No clue. Didn't see her do it, duuuuuh.

Ha ha, cute that you can still make blind jokes, but it's been a part of you so long I'd be more worried that you didn't. But seriously, that bitch?

[ Frankly, Karkat has to rack his brain to even recall her, she's that irrelevant to his timeline. ]

Sure we met, years ago, but I tuned her out as soon as she started spouting useless exposition. I didn't even know she had that power!

Hehe yeeeeep. I'm still totally trolling them about not being able to see even if I could just take the bindfold off the gander bulbs right now. [Which she wasn't doing.]

See, I told John all he had to do was follow my directions and it'd fix crap. [None of which had to do with Aranea, but details.] Trust me. You totally did not need to listen to a word out of that manipulative bitch's mouth. There's worse ones, but not that many.

[ Karkat makes no comment about the blindfold - he's smart enough to put 2 and 2 together, especially since he's always known how proud Terezi was of her disability.

So, he shrugs. Clearly dissatisfied with the results of his own timeline, but also happy enough to have gotten out alive. Besides, what was he going to do? *Complain* to this Terezi about it, when she sacrificed so much? ]

All's well that ends well, I guess.

[Blind jokes were the height of humor, damnit. And, besides, she'd never seen much worth seeing. She bobbed her head a bit and relaxed some while her head canted around to take in the city.]

Yeah, totally, and now you get to vacation in sunny Asgard and watch them paint the doorframes with oinkbeast blood and make you look for stupid coins.

[totally not kidding here.]

[ Karkat takes Terezi at her word. ]

OH GREAT, SO IT REALLY IS LIKE SBURB ALL OVER AGAIN. FETCH QUESTS AND GORE AND ALL.

Amazingly like it, only the goal's more world building. Imagine if you had to micromanage the activity of all the stupid denizens in the world that you inherited in SGRUB for month after month and keep them from making stupid decisions while they kill oink beasts because they want more?

[She grinned.]

Better than oblivion!

[Her smile might have been a little forced. The last couple weeks had been weird and exceptionally frustrating with her trying to herd purr beasts of other travelers, hoping to convince them to recommend basic laws to the natives like "No Illegal Culling" or "Don't take each other's shit."

It hadn't been a big problem yet, but after the 'door painting' episode, she wasn't taking chances.]

Goddamit, I was able to get by doing the bare fucking minimum for Earth C, but now this? Is this some kind of divine punishment?

[ Because Karkat understands all too well what leading a society can entail at this stage, when all he wants to do is stay at home, watch TV, and cuddle his boyfriend. ]

Well, I mean Dave's here and there's gods in this place, and you're totally stuck here so... yep! Definitely a divine level of hoofbeastmanure that you get to play troll sims with humans!

Especially a group as absolutely new to this as these guys. They're kind of hopeless. Like salamander hopeless.

THANKS FOR THAT MAGNIFICENT REASSURANCE, TEREZI. I'M FEELING OH SO MUCH BETTER ABOUT ALL THIS. WHY ARE THE GODS HERE SO USELESS ANYWAY?

[She snickered away and smirked over at him. Oh it was so easy, not that the situation wasn't a little distressing anyway.]

You're absolutely welcome! I live to make your nubs throb from the pan-ache that fills you right now though I can't take credit for it. Those gods are all pretty new to just about anything.

Just wait until you meet Honir. That'll be a hoot.

I can read between the lines. He's going to make me lose my shit while you cackle like a witch on steroids, right?

Maaan, you can read me like a book you little tomewriggler.

[She snickered. Like this was really a surprise.]

He will totally make you lose every last bit of shit you've got and it will be amazing.
You won't be able to avoid him either.
You'll just see him once, blathering on about some stupid thing he thinks is amazing and you'll start flipping tables and shouting.
I'm waiting for it.

[ Karkat huffs, all offended and contrary. ]

Sorry to disappoint a fan, but I don't lose my shit for just anything and anyone anymore. I've grown up a little! In fact, I bet the most this guy will inspire from me is a scoff.

Is that sooooo [Nope, she'd believe it when she sa.... smelled it. Definitely.] So, no more losing arguments with yourself while shouting at everyone to shut up? I'm almost impressed there, Karkat! Character Development has been achieved!