memesinthenight | TEST DRIVE MEME #05

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!tdm

TEST DRIVE MEME #05

Hello and welcome to the The Next Night's test drive meme for December-January! Thanks for your interest in this GPSL! We operate on a rolling application system. Applications are always open and will be judged on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Next Night is currently set to end in spring of 2021, so this will be the last TDM posted - but don't let that dissuade you! There are plenty of opportunities for new characters to get involved in current game events as the community of Beacon unites to deal with a world-ending foe.

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 10 apps for new players, and that 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 top-leveling is not limited to new characters! If current players wish to post a starter, they are welcome and encouraged to do treat the TDM like any other game-wide event. Current players are welcome to post logs or network posts using TDM prompts as desired.

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

the walls, the walls are coming down

After Dr. Solis' disappearance, the people operating the portal have occasionally struggled with bringing in new people. So they widen the parameters. Select all target sectors of the multiverse. Surely, this has to be better, right?

For some of you, the last thing you remember is dying. Maybe it feels like a moment ago, maybe a lifetime. But now you awake in darkness, with a lantern your only source of light, and a tablet that prompts you to sign on to a network at your side. The locals must be these strange thing surrounding you - some humanoid, some animal-like, others something else entirely, but they encircle you, masked faces pressing closer, until one shrieks and squeaks and takes you by the hand, or shoves you, or simply tries to herd you to the large bonfire in the center of an open square.

For others, you're quite sure you were just recently alive, and possibly in the middle of something important. And when the forest spirits try to haul you off, their hands pass right through you. Your lantern flickers. The network prompt blinks, but entering a username doesn't seem to get it to go anywhere until it finally lets you on as an anonymous guest user. Strange. But while you're here, you might as well enjoy the sights, right? Hopefully this is just some strange mistake and you'll wake up shortly with nothing more than a headache to show for it.

Note: for characters who are not dead, they will function as "ghosts" for this TDM - however you want to interpret that! If you decide to app them to the game, they will have to end up dead as part of their arrival in Beacon, but are allowed to remember the events of this TDM once they have died and wound up here.

As this is a fourth wall-style prompt, feel free to play any character you like for a brief visit to Beacon, but keep in mind that if you later decide to app them they will need to fit within the rules for appable characters. For situations involving characters previously in Beacon returning for this mini-event, any memory of previously being in Beacon is allowed but will automatically render the threads non-canon (or some strange hallucination).

Questions? Feel free to ask on the December Gameplan.

rat nicholas

Did you all forget the Rat King? Because the Rat King hasn't forgotten you. Just as you're picking up the monthly supplies and greeting the strangest round of newcomers yet, there's a thundering of paws, shrill little squeaks, and the glint of torchlight on sharp teeth. A wall of rats overtakes the town, threatening to trample anyone and anything in their path.

But if you manage to stay out of their way, you'll see a strange sight - the Rat King, body composed of hundreds of fleshy, furry rat bodies writhing and swaying, is being pulled on a large piece of scrap metal across the snow. And as they swarm, the King tosses gifts to and fro! Try not to get bonked in the head by a shrunken apple doll, or trip over a very pungent cheese rind. Among the strange rat-favored junk you might even find a few treasures in the form of actual sweets, or some lovely spirit-made garlands, though you might have to beat the rats to the good ones!

network prompts

Q&A

WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE
TO SEE THEM AGAIN

WHAT WILL YOU GIVE
TO KEEP THEM SAFE

KNOWING YOU GET NOTHING IN RETURN?

[The words appear on the network - sometimes when you go to make a post, sometimes interrupting what you were trying to type.

Maybe this place is just like that, or maybe there's someone looking for an answer?]

shivers

The brutal cold drags its teeth across your flesh with every biting gust of wind. You just want to get indoors, to safety - but the snow spirals thickly around you, blocking all vision, reflecting light from your lantern onto shards of ice that seek to dig in to any part of your exposed skin. You close your eyes, cover them with a hand, while branches crack and snap in the forest around you.

When you open them, you aren't where you were, and you are very alone. But the tablet in your pocket still has a signal. Maybe you can ask for help? Maybe someone knows how to guide you back?

(This is a mini-version of our upcoming event, Shivers (I've Got 'Em)!)

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[ daylight pauses for a second, actually wondering the question himself: can he use lasers here in beacon? as rosinante pointed out, it would be pretty useful to the others if they need a hand in clearing away debris or needing a hand in building stuff...

in the end, daylight, looking apologetic, shook his helm. ]

I'd like to figure that out but, if my memories are correct, it would take a lot out of me. [ yeah. now that he thinks about it- ] Forming force fields here were daunting and I couldn't use my powers for up to maybe... What? Three times a day?

Trying to form lasers here and for a while would be pretty exhausting. I mean- I could try, if you want. It doesn't look like I'll be leaving here anytime soon so... you knonw.

We can do show and tell later. I do think it'd be a good idea to try it out before an emergency, but maybe not right this moment.

[Before they head back out at all, though, Rosinante stands with his back to the bar and gestures to the interior of The Invincible's main ground floor room, here. Covering almost all the walls are murals, clearly by many different painters of different skill levels. Flowers, boats, and abstract swirls of color are just a few of the decorative elements all around.]

I think we did this right after the flood, if I'm remembering right. Time's a bit of a blur. We've had a lot of hardships since spring. It's stuff like this that helped keep some people smiling. Now that you're here, if you want to add to it later, you should. There's always more paint.

[ with his winglets perking up at the sight of the murals, there’s no denying the interest daylight has in the prospect of putting a little touch of his own. despite the years and the tribulations, his love for the arts has carried on strong.

so there’s no need for him to deny his interest and excitement at the extended offer. ] Really? You’d be alright with me putting an image or two on the murals?

Of course! It's a community project. You're as much a part of it as any of the rest of us.

[And surely more than some, despite Daylight's long absence. His impact on Beacon and their relationship with the spirits continues to be felt every day. They owe him more than some here probably know.]

Whenever you want. I should probably fill you in on more of what you missed, though. Want a drink?

[Seeing as how their supplies have all just been refreshed, he's already reaching around the bar to find a new bottle to crack into.]

Yeah. [ his winglets hitch up in excitement at the proposal - both the chance to paint on the mural and the drink.

mainly the drink, because he has some pretty big (to him!) news to tell rosinante: ] I can actually eat food and drink stuff like water now. Without having the urge to immediately puke it back out and everything. Always curious about how human alcohol tasted so I'm not letting this chance getaway.

[ it's these sort of little victories over the years that had made the biggest impact in daylight's day-to-day life. ]

Got any recommendations for anything?

[He'd mostly offered out of politeness, so when Daylight says he can actually down it, Rosinante glances over his shoulder with another of his bright, open grins. He does that a lot more lately. Reunited with Law, and having found a romantic companion in Will, he's honestly happier now than he was most of his life. Certainly happier than he used to be in Beacon.]

That's great! Yeah, let's see here. I'm partial to whiskey, but the red wine isn't bad. [He picks up a wine bottle and squints at the label, but it's something he can't read. Not a familiar one.]

Can't vouch for this one, actually, this is new. Or if you'd rather go for beer I can poke my head into the stockroom, see if we have any of that brown ale left. Kinda liked that one.

Oh! Let me see- Maybe I can read the label...

[ daylight needs to squat down and adjust his optics to zoom-in. when he's able to pick out what it reads, his expressions brightens and his winglets flicker up and joy in enthusiasm.

he recognises that logo and the font anywhere! ] It's a Chateau Latour. From... 1982, it looks like it. [ is this from a previous boat trip? definitely came after the end of this world. ]

Heh. I remember my grandma loving this stuff while I was growing up. [ he had very faint memories of her now but the smells of wine and paper and ink always stood out to him in memories. ] I'm no expert but my grandma was and she always touted how Chateau Latour is one of the best wine estates there is.

[Funny how the sounds of the words are familiar. Chateau? He knows that one, but the text was all wrong. Chalk it up to Beacon's translation weirdness.

Wait-]

This is from your world? Wow, lucky find. I'd love to try it. Here, I'll get us some glasses.

[And a corkscrew. He's back around the corner of the bar in a moment, and sets the glasses down on top of it with the corkscrew at the ready.]

I guess that means somewhere in all the notes we recovered from the lighthouse, there's coordinates for your world. I can try to look that up later.

I'm positive about it. I remember my grandma showing off her favourite bottles to me and this showed up a lot.

[ admittedly, showing a baby robot alcohol they can't drink isn't... the safest thing to do, but daylight is willing to let it go because grandma was at least enthusiastic to spend time with him.

since no chairs will be able to hold his weight anymore, daylight opts to sit on the ground, crosslegged as he waits for a small glass (or bucket. he won't be picky) of wine. ] I think grandma was a patron for them too. Before the end of her life, she made it a point to, like, patron people in fields of vinification and dance and linguistics and cryptanalysis...

[ 🎼 some of these things are not like the other. 🎼 ]

[Yeah, the glasses are just the size they are, suitable for everyone else but not these two. Rosinante fills them nearly to the brim to attempt to make up for it, then hands one to Daylight before sitting on the floor as well - as he's always resorted to here. Chairs hold his weight, but they're not at all comfortable and he tips them over too often anyway.]

That's a wide variety of interests. Hm. Cryptanalysis? That's not an average person's hobby.

[ daylight laughs and nods in agreement, optics twinkling as he remembers his grandma. ]

Grandma wasn't an average person. She participated in the Shadow Wars. [ right- wouldn't know any of this- ] The Shadow Wars happened around the 2020s or 2030s. It was humans' attempts to push back against these two factions who hailed from my dad's species because, where I'm from, Earth and other places got dragged into the two group's battles with the other. It wasn't pretty.

But my grandma, and others like her, didn't give in that easily. She was part of a codebreaking group that was not only trying to decrypt the ciphers the factions were using but learn their languages at the same time. She helped build human-sized versions of both factions' cipher machines despite having never seen it, using only documents and photos for references.

[ daylight looks nostalgic and proud as he speaks about his grandmother and her accomplishments, undeniably affectionate of her.

while she wasn't perfect - he's come to understand that none of his family were but they tried in the end for him. especially his grandma, who wanted to right some of her wrongs before she passed away. ]

[His eyes widen as Daylight speaks, and as he sips at the drink - which, yeah, really good, actually. As far as he can tell, anyway, for he's never been any sort of connoisseur of red wines.]

So not a hobby, she was an actual codebreaker. I would've loved to meet her. That kind of skill takes some real genius. Always sounded so cool to hear stories about that stuff.

[Well, and to do a little of it, for he's trained in the use and recognition of several standard encryption methods in his world and will just decline to mention that fact. But he didn't invent them, and he sure wouldn't really know where to start in breaking one he'd never seen before, and building entire machines to do it? That's some professional work.]

I wish you could have met her. Grandma had the best stories to tell when it comes to her old profession. She was called the Mother of Glyphbreaking for a reason and, oh man, the story behind that is great.

[ some of the stories might have not been the most appropriate stories to tell when around little robot babies, sure, but they were fun stories all the same.

he takes a sip of his drink, trying not to drain it in one go. grandma used to rave about this particular vintage and he can see why, as he takes a moment to both savour it and go over his thoughts. ]

... Maybe you can. [ daylight leans back to rest his weight on one of his arms, fidgeting with the glass as carefully as possible. ] I'm not sure what you guys have discovered while I was away but if you're able to go anywhere after this or if you have plans after this... You're welcome to where I hail from, you know?

Anywhere, any-when?

[It's still not intuitive to him, but the concept of space-time has become something he's at least used to seeing on paper thanks to all the old keeper's notes he's had to sift through for portal deliveries. Whether it's safe for them to go back through the other direction remains to be seen.]

You know, I like the idea of going to visit your world, if we can. Not just to visit your grandmother, but because maybe it would give more weight to what you already told them. And your people might have the means to do something about the rest of the world eaters, I imagine, right?

[Maybe that's a big assumption, but. Robot people.]

Anywhere, anywhen, and anyhow.

[ daylight says it with such conviction too, steel in his voice and in his expression that wasn't there when he was younger and still in with the others beacon.

the mention of the other world eaters they'll need to deal with has daylight frowning a bit, considering what to say. ]

... They should be able to help, yeah. If anyone can help you out with your problems, it'll be my dad's species. They're kind of used to war and combat. [ the words are surprisingly sharp but not wrong. ] If you need a translator or a, I don't know, an expert on Galateion culture, let me know. It's the least I can do for you guys after what you've done for me.

[Well, hey, war and combat do couple themselves with a lot of valuable skills. Rosinante wouldn't argue that point at all, and he gives a solemn nod of understanding at the comment. Given his own background, he's well familiar.]

If we can all get there, I'd appreciate anything you can do to help. Of course, it's not just up to me, Law and Will probably have ideas of their own. And there's still the question of if we can even get to your world, or to any others except this one. I won't pretend to know how any of it works.

Law?

[ that's a new name he hasn't heard of before. though it's been years since his departure from beacon, daylight likes to think he remembers the names of everyone he met there. there weren't that many of them, after all.

his curiosity is made clear with the tilt of his helm, optics zipping on and off in an imitation of a blink. he doesn't need to do it but it helps reinforce his piqued interest. ] Are they one of the new faces to town? I don't think I've met... him(?) yet.

[Like he said, there's a lot to get Daylight caught up on.

He beams, because he can't help it. An opportunity to introduce someone to his favorite person in the whole world!]

He was just a kid when I knew him back home. We traveled together for about half a year. And now he's all grown up! He's a brilliant doctor, and swordsman, and I guess he ended up naming his whole crew in honor of me, and... You have to meet him! He's probably just upstairs reading, or working on something. I bet he'd love to meet you!

[Between the broad smile, the animated wave of his hands (don't mind the slight wine spill, oops) and the outpouring of affection, this is probably the most enthusiastic Daylight has ever seen Rosinante about anything at all. Ever. It's quite the transformation from before, when he kept so much to himself.]

[ rip wine but, at the same time, it is a reasonable enough sacrifice.

daylight is unable to hide his grin when he sees how alive rosinante becomes when he begins talking about law. it's definitely a far cry from the rosinante he knew when he was still in beacon. how time changes everyone.

something about the energy, the pride reminds him a lot of the way emer talks about his creators back on the colony. or how auntie eps loved to brag about the kids from the children's shelter she had patron over the years. ]

I would love to meet him! [ there's no way he's going to miss this chance. not when rosinante is practically offering it for him. ] You think he's in the inn now or somewhere around the village? I'd hate to bother him if you guys are busy right now.

Upstairs here, yeah! Either that or at Solis' lab, but he would've told me if he was heading over. He's been studying a sample of world eater tissue we collected from the one that was stuck in the portal!

[That is a whole other story and one Daylight absolutely deserves to hear, but - apparently later, because Rosinante knocks back the rest of the wine in his glass rather than elaborating. It's a good thing he's so big, and can just chug booze.

The glass rattles against the table as he slams it back down, then stands, still grinning.]

Come on! I'll introduce you.

[Law is, of course, not going to be especially friendly or welcoming, but hopefully he can at least manage generally cordial. Between having Law as his closest, dearest friend and then also dating Will, it's probably about to be pretty obvious that Rosinante has a Type and that type does not match his brilliant smiling face and wide, enthusiastic eyes as he beckons Daylight to follow him up the stairs. There's just no accounting for taste.]

[ daylight laughs and clearly agrees to the sudden change of plans, setting aside his glass on a table - sorry, spirits who are tending the inn or whoever it is. - and following up.

his new gain in height and size means he's got to be more careful while he ascends the stairs, not wanting it to give way under him. at least having to take it slow means they can chatter a bit more, especially since rosinante mentioned something so casually that it threw daylight off guard for a second.

because seriously- ] You guys had a closer encounter with a World Eater? And lived- [ er, to an extent. ] -to tell the tale?

Fuck, that must have been an intense situation for you to have been in.

[Daylight not just swearing but saying "fuck" of all things catches him totally off-guard. He glances over his shoulder as he goes up, looking a bit more bewildered than he'd care to admit.

But hey, people grow up, they change. He'd laugh if it weren't for the seriousness of the topic. His voice takes on a more somber tone as he explains.]

Intense is a word for it. Not everyone did live. It was a plan by the Night Market that went wrong. They managed to locate one out in space that was smaller than most. Maybe young, they thought. They got everything ready to trap it in the portal so they could study it, but all kinds of things went wrong. You remember how they would ask for spirits sometimes in payment? They had a bunch imprisoned down there for other research and they broke out when the World Eater got close. The things get into your head, too - without having even seen it, people were getting sick, were attacking each other, or just... lost all hope and ended things.

Everyone we met at the market when they used to come up died down there. Their only survivor was a weapons expert who hid early and hid well. We're lucky we got to her in time.

[The only bright point in that whole disaster. He still misses so many of the people who used to live in that station. Hell, he's wearing some of the makeup he got from Petra right now. She was as close a friend as many here ever were, even though they only knew each other briefly.]

... Oh.

[ oh fuck.

the night market. his memories of them are probably the faintest ones he has when he recalls beacon. but his memories of them are enough that his tanks twist and slosh at the thought of the faces flitting through his head now, wondering what their fates were at the end:

he remembers michelle and her kindness, her paper flowers. he remembers catherine and her twinkling eyes, her ability to bring back emer - not his emer but an emer - giving him a much needed sense of peace. he remembers pluto and her mysteriousness, her connections and resources allowing him to get a piece of home after so long...

he sighs and his winglets droop, the earlier cheerful mood between the pair now obviously gone. ]

I'm sorry that happened. I'm glad you guys were able to get to her in time too, the survivor. That must have been... [ he shakes his helm and his optics are flinty, dark, and angry. ] That was fucked up to go through.

I'm glad you didn't have to be there.

[Out of respect for the dead, he'll leave description of the event at that. The grotesque details are still fresh in his mind, but they don't need to be spoken aloud.]

If it wasn't small and trapped halfway through the portal, I don't think we could have beaten it. Weaver, their survivor, was crucial too since she had the bomb they were going to use to take it out once they were satisfied with their research. We don't have any more of those, but I think she can make another if we can get her the supplies. Hopefully it will be enough to deal with the one that's still out there.

... What happens after?

[ once the shock and the horror he feels about the night market's fate fades away enough, daylight finds himself wondering what happens next for the others.

past him would have never considered this, more focused on the moment and trying to get by the day, but, well, time changes everyone. daylight is a bit more forward-thinking now, especially for crises like these. ] When- [ not if. ] -you guys defeat the World Eaters, what will happen next for you all?

TEST DRIVE MEME #05

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cw: implied suicide

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we can wrap up here if you want. it was such a joy to tag rosinante again with day. ; u ;