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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[ ironically: five finds it deeply goddamn depressing, the number of people here who are his siblings' age and younger.

and yeah, wash is hard not to notice. but five hadn't, truthfully, paid him too much attention until he answered. ]

The galaxy?

[ Yup, Wash is about the same age as Five's siblings too, but he doesn't think he's too young to have died. In fact he's cheated death so many times already it feels like this is just him running out of lives, or death catching up. He hasn't really processed it yet. Is actively trying not to think about it not out of grief for himself or what he's lost, but because he's worried about the people he left behind. Every time he passes someone he's almost afraid to look at them, in case he'd find a familiar face... it's easier to distract himself with trying to figure out how this place works than the existential crisis end of it all. Easier to sip shitty coffee and tell this kid about space colonization. ]

Yeah. Some of the outer colonies and hubs aren't developed enough to have real agricultural settlements, and nothing grown in a tank is ever as good.

[ He makes a face down at his mug. ]

This is only barely better than the sludge on my home planet.

[ truth is, the idea isn't as weird as it could be. the temps commission monitors all of space and time to make sure the timeline proceeds as it should, after all. and, sure, maybe he caught a scifi movie or two as a kid. still, though, talk about a response he wasn't expecting.

(five can accept his own death, if that's what this really is. he fought tooth and nail to get back to his home, to the proper time where his family is alive, and ensure the apocalypse doesn't come and kill them. he's left the commission in chaos, bought his family time there. he's given them the harold jenkins lead, found with diego and allison the stalker shrine in the guy's house. they can take it from here. as long as they survive, everything -- everything -- will have been worth it.) ]

Where's your home planet? Not Earth.

[ can't be, with the description he just gave. ]

[ Fortunately or unfortunately, Wash doesn't have enough experience with normal kids (ones that weren't raised as experiments or post-apocalyptic monster hunters or child soldiers) to realize that Five's manner isn't how the average 13 year old would react to this kind of story. He just thinks the kid is interested, and educated enough to be following along with the vocabulary, so he keeps talking. ]

Earth is still the human homeworld, but I've never been there. I was born on a mining planet called Minab. How about you?

[ to be fair: even when five actually was this age, he was somewhere in between experiment and child soldier. so wash is in good company. ]

Spent my whole life on Earth. I can't imagine never seeing it.

[ When Wash is from, Earth isn't doing so hot anymore but.... you don't abandon the homeworld. You just don't. He isn't about to tell a kid something like that, though, or about the war and all the colonies that were glassed, including Minab. Instead he decides to ask questions -- even when people's home worlds suck it's usually a safe enough topic. ]

I did want to see it someday. Where on Earth are you from?

[ five names some north american city, because lmao what are details on this show. then adds, ]

I doubt you've heard of it. The place is a big city on Earth, but compared to space? Nothing, probably.

[ Yup, Five is correct, Wash has no idea where that is. He shrugs. ]

I haven't, but it was worth asking. A lot of my friends are from Earth, they told me about what it's like where they're from, in their times.

[ doesn't matter, because that sure grabs his attention. ]

In their times. What do you mean by that?

[ Not time travel, exactly, sorry Five. ~~That's about two seasons past his canon point.~~ ]

I've been in a place like this before -- people from all different worlds and times, and the majority had at least heard of Earth. No guarantees any two people's Earths were actually the same if they didn't already know each other, but there was enough that lined up that a whole bunch of people could have been from my universe's past. About 500 years back was the most common timeframe, before colonization began.

[ not time travel, no, but still interesting. wash has the full force of his scrutiny now, and he listens closely. ]

Believe it or not, you aren't the first person to tell me something like that recently. Was this place called Hadriel?

[ Wash blinks, his expression shifting from neutrally conversational to concerned.... but not surprised. Considering what they were in the middle of when he died? Yeah. Other people must have too. He just isn't sure whether or not he wants to know. It'd be great to not be alone, if it's a friend. But... what if it's a friend?

His stomach flips as he steels himself to ask Five exactly who it was. Waiting to run into them himself won't change the fact that they're dead, he might as well know now. ]

Yes, actually. Did you get this person's name?

Nate.

[ the conversation was recent, so he doesn't have to think back too far or try too hard to remember. wash's reaction hardly goes unnoticed, and -- not surprising. having a loved one, a familiar face, here means they've died too. ]

He said his name was Nate. Does that ring a bell?

[ Oh no, Nate. Wash tries to keep his expression from completely crumpling in front of the kid, and about half succeeds... it's too bad he isn't wearing his helmet. ]

He's a friend.

[ even five has enough of a heart to say, ]

I'm sorry.

...me too.

[ Wash tries to shake it off, tells himself they'll find each other soon enough. Maybe he'll have a bit more of a poker face by then, however unlikely that might be. ]

Have you run into anyone you know, yet?

[ he drinks some more of the (terrible) coffee, because he's just that desperate for the caffeine, he guesses. ]

No, no one. I'd like to keep it that way. [ a beat, then ] Though there is someone I would've expected to meet here, if this really is the afterlife.

[ well, maybe, maybe not. ben hopefully ended up in a better place than where five deserves to head. ]

[ This kid is really... remarkably mature. At first it wasn't surprising to Wash, assuming the kid fell into one of the categories he's already familiar with, but there's something about Five's manner that's different. Beyond the usual cynicism or resignation, he just sounds old in a way even the most formal traumatized kids don't.

Maybe he's reading too much into it. Or is in denial that a kid is here in the first place? ]

I'm not an expert, but if it's actually the afterlife it has to be one of many. Or some kind of transitory space? I definitely died, no denial there, but there's a lot about this place that makes me wonder exactly what it's meant to be. Assuming someone or something didn't just hijack our souls to this place for their own agenda.

[ ...he's just a little paranoid. And by a little I mean incredibly, but it's also a bit of a test to see how Five reacts. ]

[ completely unaware of the scrutiny, five takes that all in. he raises his eyebrows a little at the theories, but more acknowledging than doubtful. ]

Theology was never my expertise, but I've never heard of multiple afterlives. Well, besides the obvious.

[ the good place, the bad place, etc ]

I haven't ruled out the hijacking idea. Everything about this place seems off.

[ Okay. No tween is going to say something like "theology was never my expertise" that's just. How many expertises could anyone possibly have by age 12? Something's up, but he's not certain how to ask about it. ]

It doesn't seem all that weird as a possibility. If the universe is ever expanding and you assume that every new consciousness is unique? The afterlife would have to be expanding, too. Maybe that means splitting everybody up.

[ He takes another sip of his coffee and shrugs. Personally, he's leaning towards soul hijacking, and thinks that's pretty obvious. ]

The first question to follow the hijacking theory is probably 'why us?' Anything special about you?

Ah.

[ there's actually sort of a smile as he takes in that theory, waves a hand towards wash. ]

You're assuming the afterlife obeys the laws of physics. Which is possible, since everything else seems to, but not a guarantee. Personally, I don't have an opinion, but it depends on who you talk to.

[ like apparently tweens?? h m. ]

Thing is, that's only half the question, isn't it? Could be someone wants us. Could be that we were just unlucky. Or it could be that we aren't the objective at all. We could be the bait.

[ HMM INDEED. Wash's eyes narrow a little, both at the new theory and how Five dodges the question itself. ]

Yeah... could be any of that. But you also avoided answering at all, which makes me think there is something special about you. Besides not actually being thirteen.

[ He may not know exactly what's happening here, but it's something. Are you some kind of supernatural creature impersonating a child? Do you just age incredibly slowly? Is this a Benjamin Button deal? Explain, Five!!! ]

[ five actually barks out a laugh, leans back with eyes glittering. thank fucking god, honestly, someone picking up on it without having to be told. ]

Fifty-eight, actually. Good catch; most people take longer.

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TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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