TEST DRIVE MEME #4

[inthenightmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME #4

Hello and welcome to the In the Night test drive meme for September! Thanks for your interest in our game! Reserves open on September 20, and applications open on September 22.

While you're here...

• Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with the game.
  
• Note that we have a reserve cap of 20, and a (current) application cap of 13 apps this month for new players, as the game has a player cap of 60. An accurate count of current players will always be available on the taken page.
  
• TDM threads can become game canon if both players wish. If the situation isn't something that could happen in-game, you're free to chalk it up to some strange hallucination, a shared dream, or other mysterious circumstance.
  
• Note that this is not limited to new characters threading with characters already in-game. If current players wish to thread out the TDM prompts as canon events, they are welcome to do so. They are welcome to make posts in the main comms for TDM events as well. Please note, however, that actual plot clues or happenings will not occur in TDM prompts.
  
• If you plan to apply, please keep in mind that we do require at least one sample thread on the application to be from our TDM (though it doesn't need to be the current TDM).
  
• You're welcome to use the provided prompts or come up with something on your own, but we do ask that all threads take place in our game's setting.

Thank you again, and we hope you'll choose to join us!

log prompts

GATHER YE ROSEBUDS WHILE YE MAY

With a cloud of mourning having weighed heavy on Beacon over the last month, the Lighthouse Keeper has decided to try and rally the community with a game: a selfie scavenger hunt! With the promise of (secret) prizes for those who play along, she's provided a list of 25 different items to track down and take a picture with. And, of course, all submissions will be public for others to view and comment upon. A town forum, Instagram-style. How fun! Feel like teaming up? Finding a companion to go searching with could make the task go by faster, as there's nothing saying that you can't both submit the same pictures so long as you take them together. And what's a proper game without company?

This prompt is a mini version of this month's Gather Up event.

IT'S RAININ' SIDEWAYS

Overall, the weather has been mild lately. Since Autumn hit, the standard has been overcast darkness blotting the stars and little wind. The rumble of thunder sounds just before the downpour begins, as if a switch has been flipped up in the clouds. If you're in the Invincible, the houses in the village, or any of the other solid establishments, it isn't anything to worry about, really. Mostly, it just means hunkering down until the storm passes. However...it seems that someone opted to build themselves a structure in the square that's proven not to be able to withstand these harsher elements. Whether you're the unfortunate sap in the tent or you're merely a bystander, one way or another, you notice its roof cave in, the beams placed to support it buckling inward and trapping the inhabitant inside. It's not enough to crush someone, but it'll surely be difficult to gather oneself as the wind and the rain bears down without mercy. Call for help and maybe someone will hear you, or be the good Samaritan that runs to their aid.

network prompts

I CAN'T *PBBT* UNDERSTAND *PBBT* YOUR ACCENT

Something's wrong. The things that you type and the things that you speak are transforming themselves upon being posted to the network. Or maybe that's not quite accurate, because everything in your posts are certainly your own words...it's just that indiscernible static has descended upon the page and crept into your audio, blocking out pieces of your statements--just enough to change the overall meaning of what you were originally saying. Efforts to clarify don't seem to be improving the situation, and it's hard to say if there's any way of fixing this. Maybe it's a comfort that the problem isn't isolated on your end; after all, that effectively takes the issue out of your hands to solve. Or maybe it's just the opposite. Maybe knowing that the network is experiencing widespread failures, however mild, fills you with a sense of dread and unease. One thing's clear, at least: you'll need a bit of luck to get your point across for the time being.

THE TITLE EQUIVALENT FOR WHEN YOUR GRANDMA COMMENTS ON YOUR UNRELATED FB STATUS AS IF SHE'S WRITING YOU A PERSONAL LETTER

Sometime in the recent past you had a problem. Maybe it was a dire emergency advertised to the community at large, maybe you became overwhelmed with stress and needed the ear of a close friend, or maybe it was just something embarrassing you were sharing in confidence. Unfortunately, regardless of what the message was, it looks like it disappeared the moment you hit send, as if it had been eaten by the network itself. It's been long enough now that you've brushed it off; you've been able to solve your problem one way or another and moved on. That's when it appears, unprompted, on the network for all to see, regardless of how private it was meant to be. Well, now you might have a bit of explaining to do.

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Comments

Somehow I feel this isn't entirely true

[techtype]

[Prompto would also like to know how one can die if one is already dead. He's never not believed in some sort of afterlife, though he hasn't thought of it at length, and certainly never imagined that it would be a small, dark world lit primarily by an eternal bonfire. There's people he knows here, so that's one plus.

Luna isn't exactly someone he knows well--he's seen pictures of her and heard her voice, but this is the first time he's been able to interact with her in any way. They'd gotten the meet and greets out of the way, but he was still a little awkward around her, so when she suddenly comes up and gets his attention, he's just a little confused.]

Huh? Sure...can I ask what it is or is it a surprise?

[nyxulric]

[ Well that's a bit of a relief... until confusion slips in alongside relief when he sees not the sort of state she's currently in, that much is sort of expected what with the weather and the shoddy craftsmanship (if you want to call it that) of the shelter out here. It's the whole somehow being able to dislodge a piece of rubble and lift the weight of the beam off him that brings the confusion. That kinda comes in handy.

But he pushes away from the beam once she's in the clear and nearly trips over his own feet in the wind and rain, hand running down his face as he catches his breath quickly before his attention falls back onto her. ]

I'm gonna guess that's kinda normal for you?

[ The whole moving things with her hand deal, to which he nods as he straightens up, still catching his breath. ]

wildcard; bonfire

[nyxulric]

[ Nyx is definitely by the bonfire having a moment to himself and he definitely catches the sight of a blond head eyeing the bonfire in a way that clearly speaks potential trouble. Honestly, what is it with him knowing blonds who are prone to getting themselves into trouble? Sorry not sorry, Luna.

He watches the kid for a bit, watches the way he seems to mull over whether or not to do whatever he's got on his mind, but judging from the way he's eyeing that bonfire, Nyx can only guess. ]

I wouldn't if I were you. [ He says then, not in an accusatory tone but gentle, staring off into the fire himself. ] Seems pretty important around here.

[luxoraculi]

[ The look that he gives her serves only to amuse her, and it shows on her face and in the way she can't stop the corners of her lips from tugging upwards. They may not have known each other very well, but they did have a bond. Because they are so similar despite their very different circumstances that it's not even funny. And she would have given anything to have Nyx accompany her to Altissia, because despite the short time they'd had together, he is someone special to her. He is a friend and an ally. ]

I am very much aware, yes. But I did not see any point in allowing the poor man to get further injured... besides. It was my problem to deal with. Enough people died and lost loved ones... I did not want to add to that.

[nyxulric]

[ She's going to give him an aneurysm one day and she wasn't even supposed to. He's supposed to be dead, played the Big Damn Hero role and she marry the prince, become queen alongside Noctis as king and live happily ever after. Or something. That's usually how those stories go at least. But she's here and she's smiling at him when she knows he's a little annoyed with her decisions made but, rather than berate her for what she felt was best to do, he just... sighs. ]

Has anyone ever told you how damn stubborn you can be at times?

[ Yet even as he asks, it's not from a place of malice or with any intent to scold her. Rather, it's an I give up sort of tone. ]

[luxoraculi]

[ That smile? Is getting bigger at every second because for some reason right now his irritation is just too much. Perhaps it's two months spent in darkness, perhaps it's other things that have recently come to light. But the words he speaks and the tone he uses?

It makes her laugh. ]

Yes, and that person happens to be you. Come along then, dear Nyx.

[ That's it, that's all he gets as she very carefully loops her arm through one of his, and very gently begins to tug him from the dock. ]

You and I are not the only ones from home here, I am sad to say. King Noctis is here as well, as is his dear advisor, Ignis Scientia.

[nyxulric]

[ Yeah yeah, just going to let her drag him along even if he's still sighing because brave princess crap. But what she says next nearly has him stop in his tracks because... it's bad enough that she's here, but Noctis is as well? That... is not what was supposed to happen. Shit. So many things were not supposed to happen and it has Nyx look to her with something in his eyes, something that might be akin to disbelief before he looks down ahead of them.

Just... shit. ]

The Prince- the King is here?

[luxoraculi]

[ Poor Nyx, he'd better get used to this sort of thing. Especially so since Noctis is here as well, he's going to have his hands full with the two of them together. But at least he'll have Ignis to help keep them in check... mostly. Probably. ]

Yes, unfortunately... he, too fell in Altissia, as did Ignis. I did manage to get the Ring to him, but it was too late. I died, and he died moments later.

[nyxulric]

[ That's a pretty big PROBABLY there. Though, to be fair, it's not exactly like he knows how difficult Noctis himself can be. Boy is he in for a real treat. ]

You say that so nonchalantly.

[ Kind of disturbing a little? But, she's been here for a bit now, hasn't she? Of course she would have adjusted to and accepted what had happened. ]

Guess you never really did fear death, huh?

[luxoraculi]

I don't mean it to be that way... I never wanted Noctis to end up here, or Ignis. Or you. None of you deserve this.

[ It's true, she's been here a while and the only way forward is to accept what cannot be changed, after all. ]

One cannot fear death when they know it is inevitable. I knew what my fate was to be from the time I was a little girl... the only thing I have a problem with is leaving my brother alone. And the fact that I failed in protecting Noctis.

[broplaints]

[No one should have had to be the hero. No one should have had to plea with his ancestors for the power to see another dawn. No one should have had to exchange their lives for a future that was so bleak.

And what was it all for? To protect him? To march him forward towards some destiny that he didn't even fully realize? It was like leading a lamb to slaughter, without ever making them aware of their fate. Just expecting them to keep going, on and on. To just accept it all when the time came.

Noctis was tired of people sacrificing themselves for him. Having to choose between the future and themselves. The lives of innocents or their own. Each one an impossible choice that no one should have to make.

Most of all he hated that stupid ring. Hated his ancestors and the gods they had followed so blindly. Hated the empire. Hated all of it. And now he couldn't even do anything to fix it.]

Thank you. For what you did for Luna. For Lucis. And... I'm sorry. I should have been there. To help all of you. If I had known, I...

[Wouldn't have gone. But his father had made it seem like everything was under control. Like he could handle it. Like there was no danger. Like it would all be alright.]

Do you... do you know what happened to my dad? All the papers said was that he died in the fall.

[nyxulric]

What and you do?

[ He comes to stop then and turns to look to her. ]

We've both failed people we love. Doesn't mean we deserve getting the short end of the stick here. Especially you.

[luxoraculi]

It was written in the stars before my birth.

[ She looks down for a few moments, before looking back up at him, shaking her head. ]

While that is true, I am one hundred percent deserving of this. But you are not, you are innocent. Noctis and Igis are innocent. It isn't fair.

[nyxulric]

[ Ease your mind, young King. He doesn't regret what he did, the bargain which he had made with the old Kings. It's like he said: not the worst way to go. For while his life may be considered precious and worthy to live by others, in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing. Nothing more than a blip in time compared to the countless others which the future holds. ]

Don't apologize.

[ He's quick to throw that at the young King, a shake of his head given. ]

I don't regret it.

[ Because if he had to do it all over again, prevent Luna from placing the ring on her finger and plead to the old Kings... he would. Over and over again. As many times as it took to give the future a chance.

But what he asks of him next catches him a little off guard and he finds himself staring off ahead as he lets that question, that request of being told, sink in. He knows what happened. He was there and witnessed King Regis' death alongside Luna. But should he... is this his place to answer? Who else would? Luna? She could yet he gets the feeling she might try to spare him the truth as a means to lessen his grief. So it falls on his shoulders then, right? Seems like it.

His jaw becomes tight, teeth dragging over his lower lip again and he looks to speak, to answer the young King but... he falls silent then, a sigh leaving his lips as he stares ahead to the crackling flames. ]

Drautos killed him.

[ He just starts with that first, still not looking to the young King. ]

He was working for the Empire the entire time. There was corruption within the Kingsglaive. I didn't know. [ And he hates that he didn't. ] I couldn't... [ Pausing, he sighs. ] ...he wouldn't let me help. Asked me to take the princess to Altissia to meet you.

[ He recalls the way in which the barrier came up between them. How Luna had pleaded for him to not leave them. But he had and they had witnessed his slaughter, Nyx feeling powerless yet again. ]

I'm sorry. [ Bowing his head, he looks to Noctis then. ] He made it so I could get her out of there.

[nyxulric]

You are not pulling this brave princess crap on me again, are you?

[ Seriously, Luna? Seriously? ]

Look, I get it. You've got a duty to fulfill and you're damn proud of it. I get it, your Highness. But that doesn't mean you deserve the hand you were dealt. None of us deserve it. So quit acting like you didn't deserve better, cause that's a damn lie.

[broplaints]

[Sometimes, the things you had once wished to know the most are the things that cut the deepest. And if he could go back in time, rewind it by just a few minutes, knowing what he does know, he would have stopped his traitorous tongue from ever speaking those words.

It doesn't work that way. And now that knowledge is locked forever within his mind.

Drautos, he's in your hands.

Those words echo along side it. Words spoken to a man who he had thought could be trusted. Who he believed would help to keep his father safe.]

What about - [But his voice shakes. Trembles so much that he has to cut it off. To stop speaking before some other emotion comes along with it.] What about Clarus? Why wasn't he with him?

[Shield of the king. Meant to protect and serve. To stop anything that tried to reach the king. Why wasn't he there? Was he -

No. No. Clarus was the father of his own shield. Someone who had fallen trying to protect their home. He refused to think that man would have betrayed them. Would have ever been anything but loyal.

All his father had been was another sacrifice made in his name. Another means to an end. A life forfeited to ensure the ring was received by the chosen king. Passed into Luna's hand and kept safe at the cost of three lives.

It was too steep.]

Don't answer that. [Because he knows why. There was only one singular thing that would ever make a shield leave their kings side. Which meant that Clarus had fallen before his father. Bought him a little more time. Made it so he could get to Luna. Could keep her safe. Help Nyx get her away.

Both hands lift, palms pressing against his eyes, as if he can somehow stop the flow of tears that threaten to start with the pressure along. There had never been anyone in his entire life that he missed more than he did his father.]

You know, when I was young, I never felt as safe as I did with my dad. It was like he could defeat anything. I always thought the ring would take him from me. Nothing else could touch him. [Why is he even saying all of this? Sitting here, trapped in this sham of an after life, in front of one of the few, scare sources of light. Spilling his soul to a man he barely even knew.

Maybe it was because everyone else was too close to him. Only saw that he needed to be strong and not the strength his father held.]

Thank you. For being there with him. I'm glad. That he had one of his glaives with him in the end.

[nyxulric]

[ As Noctis grieves, Nyx remains silent. From the sounds of it, he'd already known that his father had passed. It was just that he didn't know how or even why and so Nyx himself had to be the one to tell him and in doing so, of course it would open barely closed wounds.

He can't even begin to imagine the despair Noctis must carry with him at the burden of those surrounding him constantly falling in order to protect him. To have so much riding on his young shoulders. To save the world as Luna had been so adamant in telling him when he felt doubt. Those expectations, that pressure would eventually get to anyone and he has to wonder if the young King is ever really honest to others with what he feels.

He wants to reject the thanks given to him for being there as it hadn't been anything he had wished to see and, now that he's here in this sort of afterlife, he wonders if the King's face from that moment will haunt his dreams. But he says nothing, doesn't ask Noctis to not say such a thing. Instead, he sits there alongside him in silence, the crackling of the bonfire filling the quiet between them. ]

I lost my sister when the wall fell at Galahd.

[ He finally speaks, though allows his gaze to linger on the flames. ]

Seemed like no matter how hard you fought, it didn't matter against the Empire. [ He'd fought to the point where he had believed he would die and maybe a part of him didn't care. ] King Regis saved me. He didn't have to. You never have to but it was a choice he made. I owed him my life for that and it's why I stood by his side as a Glaive. To the very end.

[ For despite attempts made by Drautos to have him doubt King Regis and even come to sway him, Nyx had remained loyal to the Lucian royal family. ]

And now I stand by you here.

[ Hunched over some, he comes to look to Noctis then. ]

Not just because you're King. Not just because of who King Regis was or what I felt I owed to him. But because we both know what it's like to lose someone you love and feel completely powerless about it.

[kungfuey]

What? [ That has her head snapping around, the mere suggestion of her having a kid apparently the last that Scarlett ever expected anyone to make. ]

No - [ Her tone bordering on incredulous as she shifts her weight uncomfortably from what foot to another. Her tone dismissive even as her actions up to this point, suggest otherwise. ]

No, she's just some kid. [ God forbid anyone think for a second that Scarlett cared about anyone other than herself, least of all some pain in the ass little girl who followed her around trying to copy her. ] A kid goes missing in this and people are likely to lose their damn minds.

[ She's not wrong, of course, but you don't have to be a genius to realize that has little to do with her being here. It's okay Scarlett the world will not end if people discover you have emotions. ]

Scavenger Hunt (ish)

[kungfuey]

[ It's perhaps better said that almost everyone is talking about it. Which really just means everyone except for that one person whom, despite technically falling in the 'Millennial' category, wouldn't know a selfie if it bit her in the ass. Some people found ways to entertain themselves, even in death, while others sat on logs by the fire as if they might be able to leech warmth from the flames as the evenings - days? In Beacon took a turn towards cooler temperatures. ]

Big rat. [ She doesn't look up at first, busying herself with something that soon becomes apparent. A stack of papers piled in her lap as she tries to use the light from the fire to read them by.

When she does look up, she offers Jim a cursory once over, Scarlett making little secret of the fact that she's sizing him up - her eyes narrowing on the more obvious accents of his uniform - then meets his gaze to dryly add; ]

Really big rat.

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara looks him up and down curiously. He doesn't seem to have claws, or particularly impressive teeth. ]

Ah. Then you are a shape changer?

[oldtonew]

Ah.

[ That's something, she supposes. One last kindness. Kettara shrugs, watching the fire. It cracks and pops, but does not speak to her. There is no wisdom to be gained from it. Yet, she stays. Perhaps if she is patient, if she is good and faithful, then her meditation will bear some sort of fruit. ]

It served a purpose. And my teacher - he avenged me.

[ She had known as much before she finally passed. Master Muln had held her close while her body gave out. And for a moment she had imagined he might have been like a father after all, that he might guide her into the next life. ]

His next student will do better.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Yeah, Stone is going "what" too. This is very frustrating.

He does at least know how to swap to audio, so he does that. It's still staticky, but that's not quite as bad as random gibberish.]

Can you *zzzt* me? Is this better? Couldn't read *zzzt* wrote before. Can hardly *zzzt* shitting thing, anyway.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Nice that she's not freaking out about the idea. Stone isn't hiding what he is, since he's dead and that seems like a lot of work, and besides, it might be useful for people to know they have a large flying person around. But sometimes groundlings get afraid of that sort of thing.]

Yeah. My other form is a lot bigger than this one.

[saintjames]

[ He raises his head. It doesn't go passed him, the way she looks at him, the way her eyes catch on the patches of his uniform and every other tell-tale sign of his career. Jim might be more put off by this if he were literally anyone else, if he hadn't been given this exact look for literal years since his return to Gotham, since his posting at the GCPD. Whether she finds him lacking or not doesn't really matter to him. He isn't the sort of man that needs the approval of others.

Really he's more interested in actually getting an immediate solution to what had been mostly a rhetorical question. ]

Oh, is that all?

[ There's a sarcastic turn to his voice, but he's not sure if he's relieved or not. Something about the way she says it has his mind reaching immediately for what this thing might look like. Big like a pekinese? Big like a german shepard? Bigger? ]

And here I was really worried for a minute.

b-1

[otrazhenie]

[ Elena had been outside when the storm began, clutching her lantern as she tried to keep her bearings amidst the rain and darkness, when she noticed the structure in the square. It's her own penchant for helping people that has her going inside and finding it empty — hopefully the inhabitant has found better shelter elsewhere. She takes a moment to collect herself, preparing to make a run for it through the downpour, when the structure literally crashes down around her, a thick piece of wet wood hitting her head on the way down.

Holding her lantern close to shield it, she tries to get a good grip on the debris to shove it off herself, but it's moving before she can, lifting on its own to reveal— a girl. A teenager, younger than Jeremy, and Elena can smell the blood on her even as it's washed away by the rain. ]

No, I'm fine. [ Shaking her head, the pain already subsiding, she climbs up out of the mess and hops clear as smoothly as she can manage with everything slick from the rain. ]