memesinthenight | TEST DRIVE MEME #01

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!tdm

TEST DRIVE MEME #01

Hello and welcome to the The Next Night's test drive meme for May-June! Thanks for your interest in this GPSL! In an effort to streamline our application process and avoid future confusion between incoming and existing players, we do not have a reservation period. Applications will be judged on a first-come, first-served basis.

At this point in time, characters have not yet ICly unlocked the ability to bring in new people. However, we hope that will change in June! As soon as we set a date for applications to open, we will post an update to the OOC community as well as to plurk.

While you're here...

Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with The Next Night.

Note that we will have an application cap of 20 apps for new players for this upcoming round only, and that the game has a player cap of 60. In future months we expect to limit this to 10 apps per round. 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.

Threads with new arrivals must ICly take place after the mechanism for bringing in new characters has been re-enabled in order to be kept canon. We understand this makes keeping track of dates a bit tricky and may require some timey-wimey handwaving but please try to keep this in mind when deciding if a thread can be canon or not.

Note that top-leveling is not limited to new characters! If current players wish to post a starter, 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. In addition, any threads from the TDM will be forward dated to when these mechanics are restored.

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.

As we no longer plan to have a bimonthly game-wide HMD meme, we will require all new applications going forward to have a HMD post somewhere on the journal and we will ask for this as part of the application process.

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

log prompts

EMERGENCY LANDING.

You've arrived.

Where, exactly? Well, that's quite hard to say. All around you is darkness. Even the stars above seem dimmed, as if it were possible to turn down the brightness on the sky. The only light immediately apparent is a lantern placed directly beside you. The handy-dandy tablet also provides light, but not enough to help much. Seems like you're going to have to find your way in the darkness.

Whether you find yourself in a dusted, rusted old amusement park, a spectacularly creepy abandoned orphanage, or what seems to be a museum with a very abrupt water feature in the middle of it, it's very clear you're not where you were when you closed your eyes. If you look back, what do you remember? Your death could be vivid, complete with the injuries that brought it, or a distant memory that almost seems like a dream. Either way it sticks to the back of your mind, whether you want it to or not.

And it might not be the best of ideas to worry about how you died or how you got here alone in the dark. Because turns out, maybe you aren't so alone after all. It might be a feeling, a crawl up your spine. Or sounds, bumps and wheezes and scratches hidden in the dark. Or it might be eyes, shining out in the shadows. It might be a good idea to start running, and hope you aren't the only one that found yourself stranded in this strange place.

Whatever you do, make sure you bring that lantern with you. Diverting too far from it makes you feel faint, and pushing past that feeling is not advised.

Turns out, it's not just new Beaconites that are turning up all over the place. The automated system is doing its best, but, there's some kinks to work out. The good news is, there's supplies coming into Beacon after almost two months of nothing! The bad news is, the supplies are showing up all over the place, with no rhyme or reason.

There are blankets and clothing items scattered on the dilapidated track of the Euthanasia coaster. There's a pile of food in the midst of the mostly destroyed sculpture garden, almost looking like an artistic statement on consumerism. Need some new tools? Hope you like climbing, because they seem to be precariously balanced in the branches of trees. There's a fax machine settled by the Bonfire, and nobody really knows what that's about.

Whatever it is you find, it's all helpful things that the residents of town could probably use. Though, admittedly, it'd be more helpful if it were in a place it could be used. Just like cargo off the ferry, it'd be a good idea to haul all this stuff from its landing place to the store, or wherever else it might be helpful. Or for those feeling less charitable, just grab what looks good and squirrel it away. Surely nobody is around to mind that you're helping yourself to more than your fair share!

As a final warning — tread with caution. Because with everything appearing at relative random, the next place it appears could be directly above you. And nobody wants to be under a pile of building materials when it ultimately lands.

KATAKLYSMOS.

All around you are signs of a devastating flood. Debris is still washed up against trees and buildings, walls have been knocked over, roofs caved in, and there's even a massive sinkhole in the Town Hall. Sandbags and trenches decorate the salvaged buildings.

And to the forest spirits, this seems to be cause for celebration! Are they excited that everything flooded? Are they just trying to cheer people up? Is this some festive holiday they've adopted from previous Beacon residents? Hard to say. But little pop-up booths reminiscent of a street market start to take shape around town, made out of collapsed homes and downed trees. The spirits offer snacks and drinks (probably pilfered from whatever was left of the sorry supplies, so think sliced spam and Tang), and "souvenirs" of people's ruined personal belongings that had washed out of their homes.

The best part, though? Water-based activities, fun for the whole family! Yes, the spirits are running around with buckets full of water to dump on everyone! Congrats, you survived the flood, here's more water! Watch out - if they can't find buckets they might just steal your shoes or hat and fill those with water instead!

As with most forest spirit prompts, feel free to NPC them yourselves - they're of slightly above animal intelligence and will come up with inventive ways to get you soaking wet when you least expect it.

network prompts

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

So you've found yourself in Beacon's eternal darkness. Well done! One of the first things most do here is check out the folding tablet they arrived with. On opening it, a prompt requests that you enter a network username.

But the instant you hit "OK", the screen redirects you to a welcome app. Which seems like it should be a good thing! But whether you select that you'd like it to be read aloud or if you would rather read it yourself, it seems to be a completely glitchy, bizarre mess. Parts are barely readable, but some parts look perhaps intentionally altered. Surely this isn't how the people of Beacon intended to welcome you, right?

Once it finishes, or once you manage to close out of it (a challenge, perhaps, since finding the right button on the screen to touch is difficult - the X shifts, the screen gets covered in static, and what is that sound) the network opens, prompting you to read the latest posts or make a post of your own.

WHISPERS IN THE DARK.

It's late. Or it feels late, it's always hard to tell in Beacon. Something pulled you from sleep, or whatever you were working on. A whisper, just nearby. A familiar voice, quiet and distant, and getting increasingly louder.

After some investigation, it becomes apparent the voice is coming from the tablet. There's a cryptic post, asking simply Do you hear me? And any time that particular post is pulled up, the voices won't stop.

The voices are distinctly ones that seem familiar. Maybe someone you've met in Beacon. Maybe someone you knew before then. Maybe it's someone you shouldn't be able to hear at all, and yet, you do.

There's no chance at actual conversation, though — the voice is simply asking if it can be heard. Softly, at first. A tinge confused, in some cases. The confusion escalates and is tainted by panic, as the voice keeps calling for an answer, an acknowledgment, that seems impossible to give. Even as the voice begs to be heard, please, please just say you can hear me, even as it fades into screams of frustration or terrified tears, no amount of response seems to break through.

The comments are open — maybe you can get your answers that way?

QUICKNAV
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[ oh, she thinks with surprise now that she gets a better look at the man. he's tall. seems like someone can outdo laura's height after all.

composing herself quickly, she smiles in reply to the answer, acting relieved that she isn't going to ruffle feathers with anyone. she's genuinely happy that she'll be able to obtain (what she hopes is) a still-functioning lighter for herself so the pleasantness in her smile is genuine. ]

That's good to hear. [ she holds the item to her chest and sighs. ] I promise to take good care of it. I can see that... a lot has happened before my and others' arrival to, ah, Beacon, yes? I remember that name being brought up in that message that played on my device.

[If anyone ends up asking around later if anyone found their lighter of extreme sentimental value, at least he can point them to her as a potential finder of said object. He keeps his still, but sentimentality is definitely the only value it will ever have now.

He listens, and nods, looking around as if to gesture to the remnants of wreckage around them. There's been a fair amount of cleanup done here and there, but it's still a bigger task than they've fully had time to tackle.]

Yeah. I've been here going on a year now, there's always something. But you got here not long after a big flood, which really left its mark. We lost about half the people in town to it.

[Which he says solemnly. It's not easy to get over these big losses, and now he's been through two in his time.]

[ she looks empathetic at the news of how they have lost half their population, her eyes dark with sympathy and her voice, once jesting and friendly, takes on a heavier, more respectful tone. ]

I'm sorry to hear that, sir. If you've all been here for almost a year, I assume many of you must have been a close-knit group. What a heavy burden to bear along with the flood's devastation of the Beacon.

[ she looks back at their surroundings, carefully taking in the damage and the spirits and the others who pass them by. she looks back at him and acts like she's trying to smile in confidence, allowing it to waver a bit for a second like she's scared but is trying to push past it. ]

Though I'm new here, I'll try my best to help you and others. [ she smiles in self-deprecation now, allowing herself to visibly shift weight off her bad leg as if fidgeting from nervousness. ] I'm not sure how but at least I can promise to commit myself in the rebuilding effort.

For now, just get yourself settled, learn what's what, and - try to be nice to the forest spirits. It's just better for all of us if we keep them happy. One fewer problem to worry about.

[He looks over at the creatures where they're currently eating some of their own wares - or rather, one is, face stuffed full of stale crackers while another berates it in its scolding, squirrel-like barking voice.]

I'm Rosinante, by the way.

[There's a slight tremor in his hand when he holds it out - and down - for her to shake. Somewhere in the chaos of people and things appearing everywhere, he still needs to find cigarettes.]

Mrs Laurel. [ no first name. not yet. ] It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Rosinante.

[ she reached out and up to take his hand, making sure to only give a gentle but weak handshake in return. she notices the tremor and makes sure to look worried, her expression falling somewhere between wanting to ask what's wrong and not wanting to be invasive.

lorem pretends to take a delicate approach as she pulls her hand back, covering her mouth with her hand to show she's visibly thinking what to say. ] Forgive me for the question and you're more than free to ignore it but... Are you tired? I think I saw some debris that can work out as benches for both of us. I'd certainly like to rest, myself. It's been. A day. I think.

[Does that make her given name Laurel, if she's calling him "Mr."? Who knows. He'll worry about that later.

It seems she's noticed his current plight. There are a lot of things he can hide - expressions, emotions, his own voice, the truth - but some of the signs of withdrawal are harder to mask. He intends to turn her down, when she says she would like to rest, and, well. Fine, then, he's not going to bail on her if she wants to sit. He can spare a few moments of agitation to welcome someone before he goes running off in the hopes of finding more tobacco.]

I'm all right, but sure, let me at least walk you to somewhere you can relax. I know this place can be overwhelming at first. If you want, The Invincible's not far, and there's plenty of seating inside.

[ she smiles in thanks, nodding in agreement. that happens to work out for her quite well. ]

I'm planning to meet someone there for an arrangement so that'll be hitting two birds with one stone.

-I do have a question about the inn: Are there any rules on how to behave when inside? [ she holds up the lighter she had just purchased from the now busy (eating?) spirit. she seems to be smiling in what is a sheepish manner. ] I know we're on our own but would the others who spend most of the time there object to me having a few smokes?

You have cigarettes?

[Okay, he didn't really want to just blurt that out with the desperation he gave it, but it's too late to take it back. He looks briefly ashamed, but then shrugs at himself and smiles sheepishly.]

Uh - sorry. Been out for months, and I was hoping to find some in all this mess. No, go ahead, I smoke in there all the time usually. Nobody's ever said anything about it. You won't get far with that lighter, though.

[ she doesn't seem phased by the question and, in fact, looks sympathetic to hear that it's been difficult to find any source of cigarettes. given the current state of things, she isn't surprised to hear people have had to forego their wants for the group's needs. ]

If you have a lighter, I'm more than happy to share a pack or two with you. [ she adds casually enough, ] I'm merely a recreational smoker. I don't mind parting with them if you're interested in some.

Thanks. Really. Here, follow me.

[What a relief! He smiles and beckons for her to join him as he heads toward the tavern. Normally he'd be using this purely as an opportunity to get to know more about her through conversation over a shared vice, as it's an easy in with someone brand new, and - okay, well, he'll still do that, undoubtedly. But in this case, the cigarettes themselves are the real goal. He just hasn't been able to think straight without them.

Packages periodically rain down around them as they walk, while the strange, uncalibrated portal equipment carries on with whatever it's doing. Rosinante is just glad none of the falling objects are people. He jumps when an unexpected box pops into existence and lands right in front of him, and lands solidly on his rear end rather than his feet as it explodes open, sending t-shirts sprawling in the pathway. It's quite possibly the dumbest jump-scare he's experienced in all of Beacon but it's still genuinely startling, and his heart is still racing as he rights himself.]

Damn this place.

[ taking a step back herself, lorem is unable to hide the genuine expression of surprise on her face when a box, quite literally, falls from the sky. this place is most certainly making an impression on her.

she's quick to compose herself, leaning forward to help mr rosinante up after he stumbled over. it hurts to plant herself on the still-wet ground, her hip protesting, but she needs to help. show she's willing to be a team player with the group. ]

I- [ urgh. she powers through the pain of her hip, doing her best to tug him up to his feet. ] I hope you're alright. That was quite a fall you took. [ she looked over to the box, examining the contents with a critical eye because... clothes? this is what the others must have been speaking about. ] That won't be happening for the rest of our time here, will it?

[ lorem is unsure of how to comprehend the idea of having to fend off raining cargo for the duration of her stay. ]

[He adamantly does not want her help, but doesn't rudely brush her off either when she gives it a go. He'll allow her to assist this time, in what little way she can manage given his height. She's new, she should be welcomed and not snapped at despite that being his internal reaction. When she lets go, he brushes dirt off his pants as well as he can and shakes his head as he takes up an armful of clothing. Might as well carry it back to The Invincible, since they're going. He'd take the whole crate if he could, if it hadn't broken so badly on impact.]

Dunno. This hasn't happened before. We used to get all our things on a ferry, but the lighthouse where the controls for bringing things in collapsed in the flood, and we still haven't found a few of the people who knew how to send the ship our way. So we jury-rigged a solution, and hopefully some of the science types among us can improve it in time.

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TEST DRIVE MEME #01

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