TEST DRIVE MEME, FEBRUARY 2017.

[officialnotice]

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. That's basically the only thing you know for certain. Maybe a car wreck - metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Or maybe there was an explosion. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. You can't can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can remember.

It's also the last thing you remember from before you wake up here.

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed – the nursing staff greets you with a cheerful smile.

Welcome to Wayward Pines, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here.

option one       WELCOME TO WAYWARD PINES

The hospital staff had seemed very friendly, but ultimately unhelpful when it came to answering your questions, insisting you shouldn't worry about such things, and that it was smarter to just rest until you'd fully recovered.

That was some time ago. You've since managed to leave the hospital – either via escape, or simply by waiting patiently and filling out paperwork until they finally agreed to release you. Now you've found yourself in the small but hearty town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. It's a charming little place, and the people there are all friendly enough, more than willing to greet you on the street, or give you directions if you need them.

Unless you're asking for directions out of town, of course.

Some will simply smile and give you a hearty pat on the shoulder and ask why you'd ever want to do a thing like that? Others will get quiet for a moment, and direct you to the nearest sign posted near the doorway of every building.

Don't bother taking the road, either. Whether you walk or get your hands on a vehicle, you won't get anywhere. The road simply takes you away from town for a short while before looping around and bringing you right back in.

There's no use questioning things, and it seems pretty useless to try to leave. So really, why not stay a while? Everyone's convinced that you'll find something to love in Wayward Pines.

(For the purposes of this test drive, you're welcome to handwave the existence of basically any local business or activity.)

option two             INTO THE WOODS

You've just heard a scream from the woods.

I mean, it could've been an animal. There's bound to be some kind of wildlife amongst the trees, right? But then again, it did sound awfully... human.

Though all of the locals nearby conceal a flinch at the sound, they'll assure you it's nothing, if you ask them. Why, you're probably just hearing things! (But with an anxious undertone of stop asking questions.) If you're curious, though, and brave enough to go see, they won't make any move to stop you from going into the wooded area surrounding the town.

The trees are tall, and their branches are thick enough to block out a significant amount of sunlight from breaking through the canopy, leaving the forest floor a little dimmer and cooler than the streets of town.

Whatever the source of the scream was, you won't be able to find it out here. An experienced hunter might notice some signs of a struggle, and a few faint boot prints, but they don't really seem to lead anywhere in particular.

What you will find, if you walk far enough, is a fence. A big one - at least 30 feet tall, made of metal and concrete. It goes on quite a ways in either direction as well; follow the wall far enough, and you'll see that it connects with the steep, sheer cliffs that surround the rest of Wayward Pines, effectively boxing the town in.

In actuality, you'll probably feel it before you see it. A full 500 yards from the wall, when it's hardly a shadowy smudge through the trees, you start to feel a little bit tired, a little bit weak. Trouble is, the closer you get, the weaker you feel - like the wall itself is sapping the strength out of you, and the closer you get, the worse it feels. Any powers you may have had grow weaker in kind as you make your way to the fence, but even ordinary humans will find their strength sapping away. By the time you're close enough to read the signs and to feel the crackle of electricity radiating from the thick wires criss-crossing the wall's metal surface, you're too weak to stand.

Do you crawl closer still and risk electrocution, or do you crawl away and assess the situation once you're far enough from the fence to be able to stand?

option three         IT'S A COUPLE OF FLAKES

There's nothing particularly insidious about the inch of snow that settles over the town one night while everyone sleeps. Kids run outside to have snowball fights and make snow angels, neighbors wave across to you as they shovel their driveway, the local coffee shop runs a 2 for 1 deal on hot cocoa. Snow crunches under your feet at your walk down the street and the cold bite in the air is revitalizing.

The next morning, there's a few more inches of snow. And then a few more the day after that. By the end of the week the snow is a good three feet deep and the entire experience has lost its novelty. Wayward Pines only has a single street plow to its name, and even when the streets are clear, surprise patches of black ice make travel downright dangerous if you aren't prepared. No special sale on hot cocoa can possibly be worth trudging through knee high snow drifts (even your most consciences neighbors can't keep up on the shoveling anymore).

And the power starts to fail in some of the houses. Sure, the repairman promises to stop by as soon as he can, but you're hardly to first person to call him today and he won't be able to pencil you in until tomorrow at the earliest, and what are you going to do about the cold until then? Maybe your neighbor's heat is still on, or maybe that trek to the coffee shop is looking more appealing by the second.

Either way it's time to layer your clothes, watch your step, and hope that Spring to comes early. And try to ignore that kid double dog daring you to lick a flagpole, it just won't end well.

option four            ON THE NETWORK

Though it's not as high-tech as you might be used to (or hell, maybe you're ren faire and it's centuries beyond anything you've seen), but Wayward Pines does in fact have a network to accommodate its citizens.

Go ahead, post a network post! Just note that the network, at current, is audio-only and can only be accessed from the telephones in each character's home.

( a few notes )

Welcome to our second test drive here in The Pines! Just one important thing to note this time:

Upon arrival in Wayward Pines, characters find themselves struggling to remember entirely who they were or where they came from. Memories return progressively over the next two weeks. You're welcome to play with this mechanic in any of these prompts, but it's definitely not mandatory! For more details on this temporary memory loss, see our FAQ.

Comments

[orangeslice]

And I'm Ant-Man.

[ hi sam, were you hoping to have a peaceful morning alone with your coffee? unfortunately that's not going to happen because your new best friend Scott has just scooted in to the table seat, with a tray of scrambled eggs, two bagels, and a doughnut. why does he have a doughnut and two bagels?

electrolytes man.

but he sounds perky, way too perky for a normal guy who isn't on some kind of drug. that's just Scott though. to further complete the look, he has 'I AM ANTMAN' written on his hand several times, like it's part of his grocery list or something he wants to remember for later. ]

Trying to figure out if it's Ant man, ANTMAN or you know, just Ant dash man, because details matter. Ant-dash-man sounds pretty crappy anyway, so you can just call me Scott.

Randel Oland | Pumpkin Scissors

[toten_sie]

[1] welcome

[ Randel was no stranger to hospital stays. There were times when he thought of the bed in the clinic as being more familiar than his little camp under the bridge. If he didn't need to keep his cats fed, he wonders if he'd end up there at all between Section III's missions and his injuries. So while he's in the hospital, he's pretty content to heal and listen to the nurses (who thankfully don't seem to have nearly as much of a fixation with his urination needs as Nurse Rosetta) and keep his questions to a minimum, especially when he notices the fear in their eyes. Yes, he wants answers, but he won't let other people get hurt in order to get them.

Once he's out of the hospital, though, he lets those long legs of his get to work, walking around, getting a feel for the place. It's entirely outside of the realm of anything he's ever known or seen, even given all the traveling he'd done in the army. Definitely nothing like where he grew up. It's closer to some of the places out near the edges of the Imperial Capital, though not nearly as large and ostentatious.

He's seen a few people glance nervously at the signs, though they don't bother him nearly as much as he figures they probably should. He's lived through enough war, enough martial law, to know what it looks like. Though the rules themselves are where he starts to get a little curious.

And goodness knows, he has no idea what to do with the house. All it does is make him sort of wish that the Tumbleweeds were here, so that he could give it to them, since it's nicer than any place he's ever stayed at. Sometimes he sleeps there, but just as often he's to be found dozing under a bridge or on a park bench.

...well, mostly on the park bench. These things aren't made for people to sleep on, let alone seven-odd-foot tall people.

He's been pondering what to do, since there's no war here that he can see, let alone war relief, and his skills are... well, as his brother had always said, he wasn't good for much. But he at least has a strong back, so- ]

Could I maybe help you with that?

[2] into the woods

[ That... was a scream.

It's the first thing to break the idyllic peace in this place, and he reacts to it like the soldier he is, immediately reaching for-

Well, he doesn't have his gun or his shears, so his hand lands shakily on his lantern.

Not yet. Not yet. That could just make things worse.

He sees the looks, all of them telling him not to go, but he can't just ignore that, can't ignore someone, anyone, man or beast, in pain. He can't just leave someone to be hurt and his feet are running into the woods, through the brush, ignoring the sting and slap of the flora as he pushes past each bush and tree. His muscles are already aching by the time he can see the fence, and the sign.

Well, that's... that's certainly not encouraging.

He doesn't head for the fence, since he has no intention of dying, but his hand stays on his lantern as he starts looking around for someone, anyone, where the noise might have come from.]

Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Do you need help? I can't find you! I'm here to help!

[3] a couple of flakes

[ At first, Randel had been out, doing what he could, putting the shovel he'd found in the garage to use to help clear drive ways and walkways. Once the snow continued, he'd done what he could, offering to bring people things from the shops since he's tall enough that the snow walking wasn't nearly so bad for him as for other people and besides, he's never really used cars much except on missions.

When the power goes out, he sighs a little, but given that he's lived most of his life without the convenience of electricity, it's just a matter of rearranging and resettling a few things to make due and weather it out. It only occurs to him that some of the others, some of the people who seem like they've had all these things their whole lives, that they might not know what to do or how to handle the cold.

He's never regretted growing up in District Zero, but this is the first time he's really appreciated that it might have given him something that others don't have. So, shovel in hand to help him in particularly rough spots, he sets out to check the house next door, to make sure that they're all right.

...hopefully not scare the living bejesus out of them when the giant man knocks on their door from out in the dark and the storm. ]

Are you all all right in there? Are you doing okay with the storm?! Do you need anything?

[fidelis]

[ This person has claws. She has a tail. Sam rubs his eyes for a moment, looks again, blinks several times, and wonders if he can get away with putting on his glasses before she calls him on being weird or rude.

She has claws and a tail, and he works for the President of the United States. These things seem, for a moment, equally possible, before both seem entirely ridiculous. ]

I'm not sure anything's real, at the moment. I'm not sure that I'm not dreaming or in a coma or possibly high. This is a stupid question and I'm aware so you don't have to tell me that it is, but do you have a tail?

[fidelis]

[ Sam blinks. Then blinks again. ]

Ant-dash-man sounds like a very small Olympic runner.

[ While he's not entirely sure what to make of this guy, he's also very sure things like this are a normal occurrence in his life. Someone sits down, starts talking, makes as much sense as "I work for the President and live in Idaho," and Sam has to sort out context clues to figure out what the conversation is actually about. ]

Sam. Sam Seaborn. [ He doesn't offer his hand, because he figures Scott will need both of his own to eat with. ] Maybe you're an exterminator. Wait - you're. [ He gestures at his head. ] Also? Accident, vague-but-friendly explanations of head trauma?

woods

[toten_sie]

[ It deeeeefinitely doesn't help that the silhouette is over seven feet tall and clearly built with the muscle to match. As soon as she screams, though, he lets out a (rather deep) squeak of surprise himself and stumbles back, his flashlight bouncing around on the forest floor before rolling over to illuminate his face. His very startled, very human, and kind of goofy face. ]

Sorry! Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you, I was just-

[ Some focus fills his features, and he's glancing around the woods, clearly looking for both the source of the noise and whatever might have caused the damage. He's still looking as he starts pushing himself up before turning his attention back to her with an apologetic sigh. ]

Are you all right? I was just trying to find the source of the scream I heard...

[ And yes, there's a massive hand being held out to help her up if she happened to have stumbled in the midst of her jolt. ]

3

[toten_sie]

[ During one of those slides, a rather large hand reaches out to try and catch her. ]

Hey, are you all right?

[ The owner of said hand is tall, very very tall, and dressed in an old style military coat from the early part of the 20th century along with a heavy scarf that covers most of the bottom of his face and a flop-eared hat that also looks military-issued. Despite the scarf, though, the top half of his face is visible enough to show off a massive scar over his nose and cheeks, warm brown eyes, and a fringe of dark hair. ]

It's a bit hard to get around out here. Do you need help getting somewhere?

[dragoness]

[ ah, but she doesn't mind the looks, multiple though they are. everytime this guy looks back at her, her grin gets a little more slanted, a the tip of a fang peeking from under her lip. ]

Hmmmm? [ it's sing-song, and a thoughtful look then crosses eliza's face before she glances behind her. said extremity darts down behind the counter to hide itself, and the young girl gives a carefree shrug. the claws, however, are more difficult to hide. ] A tail? No, I don't think so.

[ eliza that's mean. don't be mean. but maybe if she's mean he'll pay more attention to her, and that's what she really wants. attention, even if it's just some small talk in an empty diner. ]

Maybe you're seeing things! Maybe this is all one big hallucination!

[fidelis]

[ Sam sits back and closes his eyes, a blossom of worry growing in his stomach. Maybe something really is wrong with him, if he's hallucinating like this. Imagining people have tails and thinking he works for the President.

He hates being at the mercy of the people around him, but he might just have to deal with it until his memory gets better.

If it gets better. There's a nauseating thought. ]

My name is Sam Seaborn. [ He knows that much. He's going to cling to that crumb of absolute certainty for all he's worth. ] And you are too sadistically perky to be my hallucination.

[ Ha. That felt right too. ]

SNOW

[fidelis]

[ Sam is utterly captivated.

He was going stir-crazy in his little house that he can't recall, its layout which is entirely unfamiliar. The clothes that look like they should belong to him feel like a stranger's when he puts them on. He can't shake the sense of wearing someone else's skin, which is part of what drove him outside.

Just in time to see those red lights start to dance.

It's her sudden motion that snaps him out of his own trance, though not so far that there isn't awe on his face. ]

That's... How did you do that?

[dragoness]

[ her ears (pointed, though barely visible under that mass of pink hair) perk up at that description, and eliza's face lights up. ]

"Sadistically perky"? I like the way that sounds! [ and yes, she just got even more perky with how much she has taken to that phrase. ] I will have to use it more often, it's a lot more cute than "Fresh Blood Demonness".

[ with that, she hops off the counter, giant frilly skirt swishing around her legs as she walks. her tail curls out from underneath those absurd layers of fabric, the end curling vertical much like a cobra's head. ]

Well, Sam Seaborn, you may call me [ and she places a hand over her chest, puffing it out ] Lancer! [ then just as quickly she points at him, her claw several inches from the tip of his nose. ] It's not my real name, but only my Master has that privilege, so you'll have to satisfy yourself with "Lancer".

[fidelis]

[ He gazes at her claw, then at her face, with the serenity of someone who has decided that nothing matters any more. ]

I take it back. This is absolutely, one hundred percent a hallucination and I have lost my mind.

[ And then he toasts her with his coffee and takes a long drink. ] Nice to meet you, Lancer.

[quivers]

[ Well, that's a certainly tall fellow, one that immediately has Kate on the defensive, her bat clutched tight in one hand (oh, what she would give to have her bow and quiver right now) as she holds her flashlight up high at the stranger with the other. Horror Movie 101? Strange tall men in the woods are always something to be cautious about. Do not trust. Do not trust.

She squints with suspicion as she steps back upon seeing that outstretched hand. ] Yeah, well, how do I know you're not the one causing those screams, hmm?

[ After all, she just had her own scream. Although, fine, that was entirely her own fault, especially for letting her guard down. Damn it, flashlight, cooperate better when you're on a stealth mission here. ]

[toten_sie]

[ He blinks, as if the idea had literally never occurred to him. Him screaming like that? His voice is too deep. Or... OH. Oh, she meant he'd attacked someone, oh.

Sigh. His shoulder slump a little but he still keeps his hand out. ]

I guess you don't. But I wasn't. I was sleeping out at the edge of the woods when I heard the screaming and came to try and find out if someone was hurt.

[ Now that there's actually light on both of them, she might be able to make out that he's in an old army-style long coat, a little tattered but well maintained, with a couple of empty satchel holsters and, curiously, a small shuttered lantern on his belt. He's unarmed, other than the flashlight, and his chest is rising and falling with shorter breathes, given that he'd run most of the way out here. ]

You too?

[dehanded]

[ As sam talks to himself, a tiny blonde girl drifts by the table in one of the diner uniforms, a stack of dishes and cups on her plate. she's short, not even five feet tall, and is probably breaking the rules by not wearing shoes inside, but. well, maybe the red patterns on her feet make the skin more like shoes. like a hobbit.

but then sam says the magic words "president of the united states" and her eyes light up. without a word, ibaraki scrambles for the door to the kitchens, ignoring anyone else trying to get her attention or staring at her and her gross feet. ]

[ IN THROUGH THE DINER DOOR BURSTS A LARGE MAN WITH THE HEAD OF A PURE WHITE LION. ] It is I, Thomas Alva Edison, President-King OF THE UNITED STATES. [ bahahahaha! roar!!!! hahaha!!! immediately the lion man (mumford and sons intensifies in the background, but in aminor key because this is NOT a little lion man) slides into the seat opposite sam, ignoring any protest. ] Hello, my minion. You seem distressed. Perhaps paying your taxes will ease your pain. [ as a note, ibaraki (who is indeed the one pretending to be this large lion man) knows absolutely nothing about how america or government works. ]

[orangeslice]

[ oh ho ho, silly mortal. Scott scoffs, pointing first at himself, taking a bite, then back to himself ]

Does this look like the face of an Olympic athlete? Nah— Ant Man's a superhero. His best friend's are ants, and he takes serious offense to being called a terminator, Sam. Got a cool as heck costume and everything too, I think.

[ does he think it was cool or does he remember if he had a costume or not? yes. he thinks about Sam's last question for a bit as he chews, nodding his head every few seconds as if it requires deep deep thought ]

I apparently ran a car off a cliff. And I know that's patently false, because one, I'm a safe driver and always wear my seat belt, and two, my other best friends are felons and one of them does all the driving for me.

[dragoness]

That sounds absolutely awful! A mind is a terrible thing to lose, especially here.

[ she takes her seat on the booth opposite sam, but since she's not normal she can't just sit normally. no, she perches on the top of the booth, legs crossed and tail draping over her knees. ]

Ah, but if you're still suffering from your accident, Sam Seaborn, you should know that you must not get too complacent. Or do, I don't care.

The sheriff will, however.

[fidelis]

[ N......................o.....................

The coffee that was in his hand is now in his lap. It's burning his crotchal region. ]

I'm dead. I'm dead, and this is Hell. My mother was right.

[fidelis]

[ He's getting more unsettled by the moment. Of course, there's the question still of how much of what he's seeing is real. Would they have let him leave the hospital if he was hallucinating? Should he go back?

He eases the coffee back onto the table, thoughts skipping to the signs all over town, his first burst of indignation and disgust, set aside for examination when he isn't being smiled at by half a very friendly, very watchful town. ]

I have often seen a cat without a grin, but never a grin without a cat. Are you trying to be helpful or confusing? I'm not really in the mood for the Cheshire routine.

[fidelis]

No, I'm saying Ant-dash-man sounds like an Olympic athlete, I never said you looked like an Olympic Athlete.

[ Wait. ]

You're a superhero. And I thought 'I work for the President' was out there.

[ Still, it's weird. Two accidents, same time, same result? It doesn't make any--]

Did you say felons?

Manon Blackbeak - Throne of Glass

[windcleaver]

option two INTO THE WOODS

At first, the screams from the nearby forest were a mild annoyance. What was one more human that met its end in the grand scheme of things? She typically delighted in the sound, basked in it, and sometimes was even the cause it. Oh, Manon knew the screams of humans so well that it sounded like a sweet song to her.

However, the music started to sour when the locals denied the sound. Clearly, the sound was there and denying its importance to them just seemed foolish. Were they just afraid that they would meet the same fate?

Whether it be curiosity or boredom, the mentality of the locals seemed too strange not to look into. And so the Witch strode into the nearby wood with a sword at her side. It didn't take her long to a place where some disturbance had taken place.

She knelt down to the ground and examined the dirt.

option four ON THE NETWORK

Manon watched the image on the device with attentive curiosity. The images seemed to shift and flicker without particular reason. It was strange.. like some old forgotten magic. She lifted a dagger and pressed it curiously against the front of the device. "What is this?"

1/2

[dragoness]

[ eliza gasps in indignation, placing her hands on her hips ]

Do I look like a magic book to you!? Hah, I may sometimes be a Caster class Servant, but I'm bigger than that tiny frilly mouse!

[ well now she's just insulted, and eliza has to take a moment to let her dramatics subside. i'm so sorry for her. ]

[dragoness]

[ wait, he asked her a question. ]

I'm not trying to be anything! I'm "me"!

[dehanded]

Ah, your elixir... That could have been your taxes... [ giant hallucination beefcat man looks genuinely disappointed, and not because sam might have injured himself. ]

[fidelis]

Magic... book.

[ He has that right. Right? ]

Are we speaking the same language? I mean, the sounds and syllables are all there, the sentence structure is decipherable, but the content. The content just does not-- It's not-- There's a certain something missing.

[dragoness]

... Do you not know the story of Alice in her Wonderland?

[ ??? that was where the cheshire reference came from, right? ]