memesinthenight | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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!tdm

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

Hello and welcome to the In the Night test drive meme for June! Thanks for your interest in our game! Reserves open on June 20, and applications open on June 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/application cap of ~~20 apps per month~~ (this has been waived for the first month!).
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.
Though threads can become canon, they cannot count toward AC.
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

YOU'RE DEAD, JIM

You haven't been in Beacon long when you find yourself in Bonfire Square, staring into the flames and thinking about how you ended up here. Maybe it was an accident, a sudden freak thing that you never saw coming until you woke up on the ferry, or maybe it's a miracle you made it as long as you did. Maybe death was a relief. Maybe it was just your time. Whatever the case, you can't help but reflect on your final moments as you linger in the firelight.

But however you died, it's behind you now, and you're here, stuck in this little town with just a few buildings and a smattering of other people. You're going to be here a while, so you may as well get to know your neighbors, but... Would it be cathartic to commiserate about your deaths? Or is your time better spent stocking up at the general store? Then again, you've got plenty of time, so why not catch a drink or two (or three) at the Invincible? Pretend you're unaffected by your death, and, well. Fake it 'til you make it, perhaps.

Point is, you have options. You're dead, you died, and this is your "life" now. Better get used to it.

AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES

Currently, there's only one place to live (technically speaking) in Beacon: the Invincible, a tavern and inn located in Bonfire Square. Luckily, the place has working amenities (minus light), and the forest spirits don't charge anything for your stay. Unfortunately, it seems there may not be enough rooms for everyone. Guess you'll have to get cozy!

Maybe you'll try to pick a roommate from around town or in the bar downstairs, or maybe you'll just walk into the first room you see and choose that way. Want a room all to yourself? Get ready to fend off any potential intruders. And the fun doesn't end there.

The Invincible's rooms aren't all created equal. Some may have had their furniture stolen or become a dumping ground for unwanted pieces, resulting in a single bed, five dressers, and other equally distressing situations. Will someone sleep on the floor? Will you nail two beds together to form bunk beds? Maybe you just want to make this room into something more like home— potentially to your roommate's chagrin. Whatever you decide, this is where you're staying for now, so you might as well get comfortable.

network prompts

HACKER VOICE: I'M IN

In order to use the network, you have to register a username. Er, at least, that's how it's supposed to work. For some reason, new users have recently been able to bypass that requirement, allowing them to post anonymously. Time to troll strangers on the magical internet!

Eventually though, you'll need a username in order to use the tablet's other functions, like the direct messaging system. So hey, why not take advantage of the ability to source opinions, and workshop your potential usernames on the network? Share ideas, get feedback, steal ideas, critique others, and figure out what you want everyone to call you.

TURN ON YOUR LOCATION

When you wake up, you're in the woods. An iron shackle complete with a chain leashes you to a tree, and the only light you have is your lantern. You've never seen this area of the woods before. You certainly didn't go to sleep here.

Hm.

But, all is not lost. You find your phone in your pocket, as well as a scrap of paper covered back to front in cryptic scribbles. Are these clues to your location? They must be. You also spot a key dangling from a branch, though it's hanging from a tree you'll never be able to reach from here. Perhaps someone on the network will be able to lend you a hand...

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[ well – maybe she has a point. but also, maybe raylan, stubborn as an ox, has decided this is the hill he's going to die on. he knows it's pointless to pick any hills to be dying on considering he's already goddamn dead, but this lady just has not endeared herself to him. to be fair, neither has he to her. and what's more, if he's already dead then dying on this hill won't do him any more harm. ]

If you ain't seen a bed in three, four years, why d'you figure you need one now? [ he scrunches up his face, adopts a slightly patronising lilt to his voice. ] Mattress might could be too soft for you.

[ And of course, they just had to go and choose the same hill. It's probably a good bet that somebody else would be willing to let her take a bed in their room but now? It's just a matter of principle. There's also the fact that Scarlett has never endeared herself to anyone in her life and yet that's never made her give up. ]

Because they say a change is as good as a holiday. [ The driest. ] I'm looking to sleep. I'm not interested in exchanging life stories, hell - I'd be just fine if you wouldn't speak at all. [ It's preferable even. ] And I am - [ She squints at him now and makes a real show of taking in what little she can see through the door. ] Definitely not looking to jump you in your sleep, so...

[ honestly, if raylan wasn't so damn determined to keep a door between the two of them – purely for posterity's sake, at this point – he'd actually be forced to admit to himself that he kind of likes her. there's something to be said for pure unrelenting bullheadedness. reminds him of someone. ]

Oh, definitely? Well ain't that just a relief. [ the biting sarcasm comes out of his mouth with a slightly thicker accent attached, talking around his teeth. it'd probably means absolutely nothing around these parts, considering the frankly offensive waves of riffraff he's seen loitering about, all pointy ears and unconscionable heights, but he kind of wants to flash the badge. most definitely wouldn't intimidate her, but it'd make him feel a little better about himself. for now he keeps the loose flap of his shirt hanging over it, clipped on his belt. ] Well, since I'm the one in control of the door, seems to me you ought to offer me somethin' if you wanna bunk. What's half a room worth to you?

[ There had to be somebody out there in the world who could appreciate her willful need to win every battle, no matter how big or small. Of course it would apparently take dying for her to find them, and of course they had to be as stubborn as her to never admit. For what it's worth, the feeling is mutual - on all accounts.

She flashes him a grin that in no way meets her eyes, her weight shifting from one foot to another as she folds her arms across her chest. It does occur to her, absently at least, that she could simply force her way through the door. The arsenal strapped to her back was like a skeleton key to just about every lock she'd ever encountered but there was something invigorating about going ten rounds of the verbal variety and it was far more satisfying to pick the metaphorical lock than put a katana to its throat.

Plus... this was a really small ghost town. ]

You're negotiating. [ She shakes her head, briefly considers reaching for that blade but when her hand moves it's towards one of the bulky, weighted down pockets of her worn cargo pants. Her gaze remains fixed to his face, watching for the slightest twitch as she rips apart the stud that conceals the bottle of whiskey she now withdraws. ]

The beds not worth the whole bottle. [ But it's there, the unspoken offer that she'd be willing to share. ]

[ raylan's been around the sun enough times to know when someone's close to fixing for a fight, and when her hand moves to the pocket of her pants he feels a warning pulse shift through him. his expression doesn't shift except for a slight tightening of his jaw. his hand is right by his gun, not touching it, all he'd have to do is move half an inch. he's outdrawn more people than he can count. she just doesn't strike him as that stupid, which is what stills him.

when all she does is pull out a bottle of whiskey, he relaxes visibly, his shoulders slouching, and his face splits into a proper grin. he's not going to stand here all night bickering over millilitres; he'd be more than happy with a couple of pulls, considering – well, everything. ]

Alright. Okay. You wanna shake on that? [ he opens the door a crack more. there's nothing to prove that shaking hands to her is anything more than a slightly longer high-five, but it'd make him feel better. he peels his hand away from his hip and offers it to her. ]

[ The thing he'd soon pick up about the woman in front of him, is that she's always fixing for a fight. It's not so much that she thrives on violence but more out of habit, necessity even. She'd barely gone a day in the last four years without something gunning for her and with what she comically described as her misspent youth? Some people went to Prom, others played 'Endtimes are coming' in a cabin in the woods.

Would you believe she's not as batshit as that whole sentence sounds?

She eyes his hand skeptically like after all that to and fro, she's seriously thinking about walking away. A moment later he'd feel her solid grip, her hand that while small, toughened by callouses as Scarlett shakes his hand. ]

Were you really going to shoot me? [ Yeah. She caught that. She does sound amused at least. ]

[ it's the handshake that seals it for him, hands he recognises not out of any known familiarity but a kind of kinship. once he's dropped her hand, he finally moves away from the door, letting it swing open. he's barely made a mark on the space, just thrown his jacket over a chair; everything else is untouched. ]

Woulda pulled on you, sure. [ after all that, he feels a certain responsibility to be honest with her. they both know where the other one stands, and all. ] If I felt it was necessary. Shootin' you, that's a different matter. We may never truly know. [ raylan sniffs, turning around to face her. now there's a little space between them, he's not hunching any more, just standing at a slightly jaunty angle in the middle of the room. ] You got a name?

[ The first true hint of a grin appears at his answer, a glimmer of something close to respect shining in her eyes as she nods before entering the room. While their lanterns don't offer them much in the way of light, he'd still get a better look at her apparel; her hands and face the only inches of skin left uncovered as even her neck is protected by the thick cloth she's wrapped around it. ]

The night's still young. [ And they're about to throw alcohol into the mix. He could still decide shooting her is worth the clean-up.

While he'd barely marked the space, she seems set on claiming it, tossing the bottle of whiskey into the middle of the bed as she starts to work on undoing the harness that contained the two most visible weapons - it may be reassuring to see her ditching them but that's sure to pass when he realizes just how armed she is. ]

Yup. [ Working out the knots in her shoulders as she rolls them back, her gaze swiveling in his direction once her swords have been dumped alongside the booze. ] Scarlett.

[ raylan is very pointedly watching her shed items here and there, not even bothering to pretend he isn't. he sits down in the seat he'd claimed with his jacket, stretching out one leg. she's right there, though raylan's pretty well convinced at this point that if it hadn't devolved into a spat in the doorway, then there's no real chance of it happening anywhere any more, even as unbelievably decked out in weapons as she is. in any case, raylan's never understood the point of carrying around so many things, but then the two of them must have grown up with a different understanding of how far they need to go to survive, and who exactly they'd be fighting.

also, he reasons as she's undoing the harness, there's a lot to be said for the disparity in their genders. raylan feels safe with a gun on his hip, partly because the threat of it alone is sometimes enough, but that probably can't be said for a lot of women, regardless of skill. a lot of the time, people simply don't believe a woman has the capacity; raylan, from experience, knows they often do, and likely more of it than a lot of men. not that he thinks she's overprepared; abundance of weapons or no, it's better to be ready than to get caught with your pants down.

he rests his elbow on the arm of the chair and props up his head, his temple leaning on his knuckled hand. ] Raylan. [ and after a micropause: ] Givens. [ the name means absolutely nothing here. the one upside to being essentially stranded wherever the hell it is they are is that, unless he works up a reputation quickly, there'll be no more half-genial, half-hostile declarations of raaaaylan givens! whenever he arrives in a given location. ] One-woman army, I see.

[ Scarlett used to be fond of guns, until she realized they were too noisy, bullets were limited and they didn't do a whole lot of damage to the things she'd have to come up against. These days her assortment of weapons were as much a security blanket as they were a safety net. Even as she's tossing her bowie knife, a switchblade and a handful of throwing stars onto the bed, you can bet there's still more where that came from.

She hesitates at the exchange of surnames, her tongue feeling thick but that flicker of uncertainty in her honey-colored eyes can only be seen for a moment before she starts unwinding the material around her throat. ] Harker. [ That's true, or at least, more true to Scarlett than 'Helsing'. ]

Pays to be prepared. [ Her shoulders lifting in a shrug as she drops onto the edge of the bed, sliding that bottle of whiskey towards her. She hadn't allowed a drop to pass her lips in longer than she could remember, but she didn't suppose she needed to be as careful now. Not with being dead and all. ] Though not well enough, apparently.

Well, don't be embarrassed about dyin' on my account. Everyone here made the same mistake. [ there's the hint of a sting to his voice, annoyance again that he's here. this whole place stinks of failure, a feeling of ultimate pointlessness to everything else he's done his whole life. and now he's got company, he can't decide if he misses winona or if all he misses is someone who's going to let him sleep in a bed next to them.

whatever. not the point. raylan sucks in a breath and puffs it out slow, finally taking off his hat. he has to lean a considerable distance to place it on the nearby dresser. ] Where'd you learn to use all that? Don't know a whole lot about hand-to-hand but I figure ninja stars aren't the kinda thing you can just toss about and hope for the best.

Oh - I'm not embarrassed. [ Almost managing to sound like she means it, too. Hell, Scarlett didn't know what she was about being here. She hadn't screwed up, she'd chosen this - as much as she could have anyway. She didn't have a death wish, just a spiteful streak that went so long she'd rather bite the dust than allow somebody else to win. She could rationalize it now. Tell herself she'd been as good as dead the second they'd found that stupid key but none of that really mattered now.

She watches him as she unscrews the cap from the bottle, like the person with limited people skills could actually glean some understanding of the man just by watching him move around. ] My Dad. [ She takes a swig, a slight grimace there from the burn that hits the back of her throat. Her features smoothing out as it warms her insides on its way down. ] You could say he was... kind of intense.

Is that how you shoot a gun, Cowboy? [ A hint of a smirk playing across her lips as she extends the bottle his way. ] Pull the trigger and hope for the best?

[ raylan scoots his chair closer to the bed to take the whiskey off her, giving her a grateful nod before he has a mouthful and passes it back. he's spent a whole lot of time lately drinking whiskey straight from the bottle so for a second it all feels almost horribly familiar, in a temporary room in a place he doesn't want to be. ]

Oh, no. [ he's not touching on that dad thing. not his bag at all. he flashes her a smile so none of this sounds like a threat, because it isn't. ] I shoot to kill.

[ Scarlett only wishes this were familiar, which is probably why she can't fully relax. She can honestly say this is the first time she has ever drank whiskey straight from the bottle, at least with another person.

Somehow, that shoot to kill comment earns him a wry grin. ]

But that's a skill, right? You hone it. First with practice and then it's muscle memory. [ Taking another swig. ] Throwing stars are a lot like bullets, only quieter.

Mm, I can kinda see the appeal, [ he says after a moment of consideration. he's not about to rush out and buy some, but the idea of tossing them around like lethal frisbees kind of has some charm to it. ] How lethal are they? Just outta curiosity. Must take some strength to kill someone with one.

Depends. [ She passes the bottle back and proceeds to pick up one of the stars from the bed, the sharpened edge catching the light from her lantern as she turns it over. ]

They were originally designed to be a distraction but you hit the right spot and they can drop an opponent.

[ Of course, she can throw them with a little more force than your average person, but she wasn't about to slip that into the conversation. ]

A little poison on the blade and they work a treat. [ A grin slowly working its way onto her lips as Scarlett flings it across the room and watches it stick into a wooden beam. ]

Plus they're just kind of fun.

[ raylan barely flinches, which is kind of cool on the surface but unreasonably stupid if he actually puts any thought into it. what happens, he wonders, if you die in the afterlife?

it's a fairly horrible thought and he doesn't want to waste more time thinking about it, so he has a swig of whiskey and nudges it back to her instead. ]

You get much use out of all that? [ he has to imagine she does, but he can't conceive of what situation he'd ever be in that would necessitate more than just a gun. wherever she's come from, it probably has little or no similarity to what he constitutes as normal. ]

[ Really, now. If she was going to try to kill him, she would have done so already. The one thing you could say about Scarlett is that she followed her instincts. It was undecided as to whether that was a good or bad thing. ]

More than you'd think. [ Casting her gaze over the pile of sharp objects as she starts to unstrap what looks like arm guards. Maybe it would be smart just to keep her mouth shut? She didn't have to be a genius to guess they had very different ideas of what constituted a threat. He carried a gun, after all. ]

Vampires. [ Or she could just throw it out there like she was talking about her preference for drinks. ]

[ continued here! ]

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TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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