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Mods ([personal profile] modblob) wrote in [community profile] redmarsshit2020-04-27 08:43 pm
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test drive meme: april 2020

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

▶ Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

▶ All TDM threads can be considered game canon, and current players are welcome to either top-level on the TDM so prospective players can tag them, or use the prompts for logs or network posts on the communities. All threads on the TDM can be used for Activity Check.

▶ SPECIAL NOTE: We're only a month off from the 1 year anniversary of the first TDM, and we received this request for a fancy dress ball, so we thought it would be funny fun to run with it! This TDM will only have one prompt/event, as the monthly log with a bit more plot-related stuff will be going up on Friday May 1st.

a. an invitation.

There are ears everywhere in Anchor. A maintenance bot here, a surveillance AI there. SINI, restlessly pacing the dark digital hallways as she watches over the things that still matter to her. It doesn't take long for word to get out about Starscream's expedition plans. It takes an even shorter time for that news to circulate amongst Anchor's robo-population.

They know when you're unhappy. They always know.

It's why residents will start waking up one fine day to find gorgeous clothes laid out for them to wear and an invitation to a formal dinner taking place down at the plaza at Anchor’s base. The clothes aren't particularly specific to a character's gender, species, or culture - it's all about what the bots think your character would like best. Even if they're wildly off the mark, the clothes are still made to fit and fashioned beautifully. The invitations are marked "TOMORROW, STARTING AT 6PM LOCAL TIME." A smaller note underneath instructs attendees to see the tailor bot adjacent to the spa if they are unsatisfied with their assigned clothing, and also that the spa bots are on high alert, prepared to beautify anyone who wants some extra pampering and a dash of makeup.

Just be careful. Some of the makeover bots are really fond of glitter.


b. quite the spread.

True to the word of the invitation, the plaza is closed off under large white tents and guarded by bots who encouragingly steer you elsewhere should you try to get inside. They're nice, polite, all the things they've been programmed to be whether they like it or not, but there will be no sneaking by them into the party area.

At 6pm on the dot the day after the clothes arrive, characters will find music playing on all levels of Anchor, broadcast from the musical robots who have been practicing ever since that first tiny party almost a year ago.

Invitations will be taken by a bot in an impeccably tailored suit, and characters will be welcomed onto the red carpet that curves around the edge of the park and into the area cordoned off for festivities. The flashbulbs and cheering of bots that line the carpet echo through Anchor, broadcast along with the music until it sounds like the entire place is full of faintly electronic cheering. Each arrival is greeted with a fresh wave of enthusiasm, their image projected larger than life against the interior of Anchor's dome.

The sides of the tents have been rolled up, revealing the absolutely decadent set-up within.

Rows upon rows of buffet tables laid out with the most extravagant and strange dishes for residents to try. All of it delicious, though not all of it will appeal to every palate. There are sweet dishes, savory, spicy, whatever you can imagine. Appetizers of a hundred different kinds. Fruit plates formed into works of art, showing places and events from around Anchor. There are spun sugar reindire. Tiny plates of hors d'oeuvres that depict the faces of residents, both current and former. One particularly large dish is sculpted in the shape of what looks like an explosion emanating from Anchor's base, near where the locked and flooded rooms were found.

There's a cake near the middle of it all, frosting painting an image of a young, smiling man. Anyone who's seen him will, after a moment, recognize the whole and handsome features of a much younger Creepy Joe - the words on the cake say LET'S CELEBRATE OUR OLDEST LIVING RESIDENT!

While most of the food is at least recognizably from the general stores and from the agricultural level, there are other plants and garnishes that look entirely foreign. If asked where they came from, the bots will simply insist they're part of Anchor’s available resources.

There is also a full-service bar, but...not manned by the usual bartender (for anyone who might ask, the other bots will kindly inform them that the usual bartender is on sabbatical for stress). Instead there's a freshly-built bot serving drinks of all kinds, taking requests for old favorites and mixing up new cocktails based on guests' stated tastes.

The only thing not on the menu is a tequila sunrise.

There's a table full of hookahs and little treats that have various light, pleasant effects. These range from simple mood lifts to treats that will leave characters blissed out and relaxed.


c. dance, our residents, dance!

After people have finished arriving, the band picks up and guests' attention is directed upward toward Anchor's dome, where there's a truly magnificent light show being projected with musical accompaniment. It's spectacular, haunting and beautiful...and it shows more than just lights. It also shows celestial bodies in motion across the planet's dusk-red sky, meteor showers, strange northern lights. The show itself is almost an hour long, and ends with words unfurling across the apex of the dome.


HAPPY +1 ANNIVERSARY ANCHOR #3, THE LONGEST RUNNING COLONY.

STAY HERE, STAY HAPPY!



The show fades away and the music picks up again, encouraging guests to dance.

Go on, dance.

It’s a party after all.


d. the network.

Need to get hold of someone, call for help, ask the city at large a question? Need to ask a friend to back you up to take out the toothy voids? Maybe you need to hold your sat phone up to whatever crazy thing you're seeing and send out a recording to double-check if your eyes are deceiving you and what you're looking at is real?

Whatever the reason, the network is going strong, so feel free to include a post to it in your top-levels.



livingdeadgirl: (smile 9)

A.

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2020-06-10 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ami's not totally ready for the party at this point - she's dressed and made up, but she's got some time to kill before her hair appointment. Normally that'd be a good opportunity to hang out somewhere and read, but she didn't bring a book, and also the green space is partly occupied by a Starscream.

Now, she's hardly ever talked to their giant-robot-in-residence, and certainly not in person. Mostly she's afraid she'll get stepped on by mistake. But he's not really stepping anywhere at the moment, and anyway she's one floor up and thus safely above him, so she approaches the edge of the walkway to watch.

It's pretty clear what he's trying to do, but it looks like he can barely reach. Which, granted, is a little bit funny, but... in the end, she's too nice to just sit there and watch him struggle indefinitely. ]


Do you need a hand with that?
Edited 2020-06-10 00:33 (UTC)
vosseeker: (twenty-nine.)

[personal profile] vosseeker 2020-06-26 05:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Starscream glances up at the walkway at the voice and question, pausing his ridiculous contorting. The haughty refusal is halfway out of his vocalizer before it stalls, because he would rather go without any adornment at all than sloppy paintwork, and the latter was looking more and more likely if he continued on as he was.

So he harrumphs, sulky, but bobs his head after a moment. ]


Well... perhaps that would be... prudent. Yes.
livingdeadgirl: (mischief 6)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2020-07-15 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ami grins and claps her hands together. ]

Okay! Don't move, I'll be right down.

[ And she yoinks off to the stairs. Honestly, she's a little surprised he accepted right away - normally guys take some convincing to admit they need help - but then again, he's a giant robot, so maybe the usual tropes don't apply here. Or maybe he's just been struggling with it for a while.

Either way, she comes Lass Scampering up to him within a couple minutes, slowing as she gets closer. Up close, the height difference between them is even more glaring. I mean, his heels are the length of her femur. (Also, this is the first time she's noticed the heels, and they are amazing.) It's a little intimidating, so obviously the correct thing to do is joke about it. ]


Hello! How's the weather up there?
vosseeker: (seventeen.)

[personal profile] vosseeker 2020-07-21 10:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ Starscream is definitely stubborn, but pride is often a great motivator. He feels excluded from such a portion of Anchor's happenings for logistical reasons that he does not want to miss the party over something so trivial as not being able to get his adornments correct.

Ami's weather remark gets an optic-roll and a long-suffering sigh. ]


Hilarious, truly. You're a pinnacle of wit.
livingdeadgirl: (grin 2)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2020-07-24 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ She laughs and takes a half-assed bow. ] Thank you, I'm here all week.

[ Was it terrible? Yeah, obviously. But it broke the ice, and now they can get down to business. Ami cranes her neck to try and check out his wings, but whether he's sitting or standing, it's not a position conducive to her seeing them properly. She motions for him to turn around. ]

Can I see what you've got so far?
Edited 2020-07-24 05:47 (UTC)
vosseeker: (sixteen.)

[personal profile] vosseeker 2020-07-27 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ Starscream snorts a little at her reply. He is at least sitting, so he's only towering over her by one story instead of two, but he's going to have to lay down in the grass for her to reach anything... which he'll probably realize shortly. On inspection, the glyphs are actually quite pretty... looping and cursive like an old script. Where he's been able to reach, the paint has been applied neat and steady; he obviously knows what he's doing.

He hesitates like he wants to say something but instead he decides to let Ami speak first. ]
livingdeadgirl: (grin 3)

[personal profile] livingdeadgirl 2020-07-29 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well, if it's compliments he's fishing for, he's got a bite! Ami is genuinely impressed, and nods approvingly. ]

Oh wow, that looks really good! Very fancy, I like it.

[ She may have her work cut out for her here! But hey, she'll consider it a challenge. ]
vosseeker: (fifty-seven.)

[personal profile] vosseeker 2020-07-31 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ The compliment obviously thaws him, as much as it's Starscream and he never really relaxes. ]

Different phrases go on different parts of the wing. If I put them on your device, are you capable of copying them accurately?