memesinthenight | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

Entry tags:

!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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Because I don't feel dead, do you?
Drowning my sorrows didn't work when I was alive, I don't see why it would now if nothing else has changed.

no, but i'm pretty sure i remember dying
apparently the guy who was supposed to bring me back decided to suck at his job

Same. On both counts.
I'm not in denial or anything, just stating facts. Dead or not, it seems like I'm still me.
Not sure how to deal with any of this yet but making it all more miserable with a drunken puking session seems ill-advised.

who was supposed to keep you alive?
and look
i'm saying we might not have to puke
maybe it's a win win

You'd probably think I was insane if I told you.
Try it if you want, then.
Let me know what happens.
Just for science, I've never found anything useful at the bottom of a bottle.

chill, dr. no name
i'm not an alcoholic or something
there's nothing else to do anyway
and i wouldn't think you're nuts

I didn't say that.
Or mean to imply it.
Sorry.

He was an alien. But I guess he must have died, too.
Don't really want to think about who else did.

an alien?
god
what is it with aliens?
all of them suck

[Wow, racist.]

We're aliens to somebody too.
Maybe even to each other.
But people tend to suck regardless of species.
He wasn't so bad, really.

okay well
where are you from?

Ever heard of Minab?

[Kyna was replying pretty much rapid-fire before—now, there's a telling pause before she responds. It's probably just a coincidence. It's totally a coincidence, and she's going to look like an idiot, but]

wash?

[ There's a long stretch of silence on his end as well, as Wash stares at the screen in horror that whoever he's talking to is someone he knew. Meaning they're also dead. Now there is a burst of denial, maybe it's coincidence or a bizarrely appropriate typo but... he knows that's stupid. And saying no won't change the fact that someone he knows is here too, as much as he doesn't want to face it. He shouldn't be surprised, of course a bunch of people must have died in the attack, including his friends but he was stubbornly refusing to think about it until now. When he's faced with the fact of it in blunt, toneless text.

Worse, between the way this person speaks and their knowledge of his birth planet, there are only a few people it could be. Really, just one. And he's not willing to accept that. ]

I need to wake up now.

[It has to be him, doesn't it? Her heart leaps, and for a split second she's torn between indescribable joy at the thought and then the horrified realization of what that means.]

what?
wash, is that seriously you? where are you?

[ The happiness that she's here with him hasn't hit yet because he's stuck on Kyna is dead and can't get past it. Of course he wants to find her, but he also doesn't, because that makes it true. Stupid, really. It's true whether he wants it to be or not.

Maybe he'll skip over his own existential crisis completely, in favor of having one for her. There's another long stretch of nothing, then: ]

Top floor of the inn. Door on the right at the end of the hall.

give me a sec

[Teleportation isn't really an option—she doesn't know the layout of this place well enough to ensure she won't teleport into a wall and hurt herself, so she does it the old fashioned way. It certainly takes her longer than usual, even though she's only a floor below him.

It's him, obviously, and once again Kyna is caught between relief and dismay. He's here, but she can only imagine what caused that damage on his armor.

Impulsively, she crosses the room and throws her arms around him, ignoring the metal digging into her.]

Oh my God, it is you.

[ Wash stands up at the sound of footsteps, leaving the tablet beside his helmet on the table in a pool of light from his lantern. He listens to them coming closer, chest tight with anticipation until another light appears in the doorway, held by an intimately familiar figure.

God, no. No no no this can't be happening. It feels like something in him is breaking, falling to pieces even as guilty relief floods in. It's a complicated tangle of feelings that he hadn't started picking through on his own behalf yet but... it's different when it's someone else. And he just stands there staring like a conflicted idiot until Kyna takes the initiative and rushes forward, hugging him despite the fact he's still in his armor. Damaged armor, with ragged tears in the metal. She could get hurt.

She already did. Again, she died and he wasn't there to stop it. ]

Kyna? Careful, you'll cut yourself on-- [ His voice catches in his throat and he settles his hands on her shoulders to nudge her back, get a better look at her. As much as he can, anyway, with useless tears welling in his eyes. ] God, you're really here.

[Of course he worries about her first, even though he's the one who looks like he just lost a fight with a woodchipper. She lets out a soft, irritated huff when he eases her back, about to scold him, but then she sees the look on his face and softens.]

I guess you can't get rid of me, huh?

[It's a pretty useless joke, but she's trying. There are tears in her eyes, too, but she tries to blink them away.]

[ He can't quite manage a smile at that. It's a decent joke but he's just too upset, and simultaneously happy, and also angry at himself for being so incredibly selfish as to be glad she's with him. It's a mess. He's a mess, but what else is new... Kyna's seen him worse off than this, anyway. ]

Obviously not.

[ A stray tear rolls down Kyna's cheek and he just can't take this. Can't look at her and wonder how she died, if it hurt, if her friends are missing her right now, if the people she was supposed to take home and save are trapped or dead now too... his grief for her is breaking down the numbness he's embraced since waking up here and thoughts of his friends are sneaking in. They're probably fine. They have to be fine. They have to have lived and won and gone home and been okay. Except there were all those times they sat him down and screamed in his face about how much more important to them he was than he believed, and out of nowhere he wonders who's taking care of Olympia, and that's it. Fuck death.

Kyna probably knows him well enough to see the collapse happening inside his head through his expression, and he doesn't want her to think it's her fault. Also he really wants to stop thinking at all, this is terrible. So he takes a shaky breath in and cups her face with a cool, metal encased hand, leaning down to kiss her hello. That's not inappropriate at all, right? He's real bad at reunions. ]

[It certainly isn't expected, especially considering that collapse clearly going on, but she kisses him back. It's probably not the best kiss, all tear-stained and surprised. She's been trying very, very hard not to think of Lance or Harlan, or Tucker and Nico back home, never seeing her again. And the only thought she's allowed herself to have about Wash is that he's okay and he survived. Now it's all she can do to keep herself from going into a tailspin, and when she pulls away, she sucks in a shaky breath.]

Are you okay? I mean, um...

[Dying aside.]

[ At least they're keeping up their trend of shitty reunions.... it's not exactly a bright side but it's familiar territory. It's too bad he has no idea how to answer that question. He was keeping it together before but feels pretty upended now, and there's no point in lying. No point in honesty, either, though. This isn't something they can fix, not a world they can make plans to escape. Right?

He straightens up and shrugs awkwardly. ]

It doesn't hurt or anything, but this isn't how... I mean. I really needed you to be okay. [ Of course he's fucking this up. What else is new? His jaw works with tension for a moment before he decides this would all be easier to handle if he could hold her. ] Sorry. Let me get out of this.

[Kyna is already fidgeting, toying with her necklace as usual. She bites her lip when he pulls away, gaze dropping to her shoes.]

I thought you were okay, too.

[ This is a really shitty same page to be on, Wash thinks to himself as he strips off his armor. It's more difficult than usual, and he's honestly not sure if he's going to be able to repair all the damage... does it even matter? It's important to him, sure, but. He's already dead. Is the afterlife dangerous? With his shitty luck it is, but so far everything seems quiet. He struggles for a moment with a damaged clasp on his chest plate, and decides if nothing else fixing it will be something to do.

The pieces get set on the table one at a time, until he's down to his torn survival suit and boots. He can't tell if he has new scars beneath the tears or not, but they'll find out eventually. Right now he couldn't care less. He just reaches for Kyna, tugging her over to the nearest chair so he can sit and pull her into his lap. As fucked up as the situation is, this is familiar. Comforting. Wash wraps both arms around her and holds her close, trying to focus on just this one thing. When he finally speaks again he sounds a bit calmer, and has figured out a better way to express that he's glad she's here even if it means they're both dead. ]

At least we're together. Right?

[As Wash takes his armor off, Kyna wanders over to the table, running over one of the gouges in the metal. It's a welcome distraction when he pulls her into his lap, because it means she can't keep wondering exactly how that happened, or how much of dying he remembers. Unfortunately, his question just sends her thinking about everything else she's been trying to avoid. Kyna sighs, hooking her fingers into one of the holes in his survival suit.]

Yeah. I just... What about everyone else?

[ That sure did backfire. Wash tenses, reaching up to thread his fingers into Kyna's hair with the hope it'll soothe them both. ]

...have you seen anybody we know? If they're not here, maybe they're okay.

[ He obviously really needs them to be okay. ]

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