bumfuckidaho | TEST DRIVE MEME, APRIL 2017.

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TEST DRIVE MEME, APRIL 2017.

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
PTA BAKE SALE

It's that time of year again. The time when everyone digs into their wallet, ignores their diet, and spends a little time supporting the local school bake fair. You know, for the good of the children. And it doesn't hurt that Linda's Blondie recipe is honestly to die for. The school PTA has pulled out all the stops this year in the hopes of encouraging a good community turn out, posters advertising the sale plastering every street corner and stuffed into every mailbox for a solid week leading up to the event, and today is finally the day.

There's at least two dozen different tables set up with all manner of delectable treats, even one or two offering vegan alternatives for those inclined, not to mention a few others catering to some of the townspeople's more... unique palates.

Maybe you've got your own table set up with your wares, or maybe you were simply lured to the park today by the appetizing scents wafting through the air. Either way it seems like the whole town has come out to show their support today and why wouldn't they? Children are our future, aren't they? Or maybe it's just Linda's Blondie recipe.

Yeah, that's probably it.

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 currently has two basic functions. The first is audio-only and can be accessed from the telephones in each character's home. If an audio-based medium doesn't suit your needs (or aesthetics), be sure to take advantage of the Wayward Pines Message Board from your brand new laptop for the chance to communicate with your fellow townspeople in a text-based format instead!

( a few notes )

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

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.

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I wouldn't mind that at all. I bet you're a lot better than you're giving yourself credit for.

I… didn’t check. I kind of just went inside and saw all of that off brand junk and had to leave before I lost it on the poor cashier. I can head back over though, and maybe we can see if we can’t find a real store. I mean, I haven’t even seen heads or tails of a game shop and that is NOT OK.

Might be best to wait and see before you judge. I can say with confidence that my food is eatable.

My house in L12. I trust that you aren't creepy or anything since I'd be inviting you inside. :|

Only on Halloween, I promise.

Just let me know when you'd like to give it a try. My schedule is pretty open, it seems like.

Or he could wait to see which one she went for. Even if he couldn't remember her, Martha Kent had trained him right.

"Kal," he offers, and even if he'd dusted off his hands earlier, he does it one more time before offering his hand to her. "Kal Kent. Though I'll admit, I can't imagine ever being very good at formal."

Did you see a department store? Sometimes in small towns, all the stuff like that's in a department store.

[ He looks around the little bake sale as if he's in the middle of New York City on Wall Street before frowning at her pointedly. ]

Market's a bitch, man. Nothing I can do about it.

[ But the frown is melting into a smile soon enough, a smile that would be sly if it could stop being super pleased long enough, anyway. ]

As for me... I'm kinda choosy. But for you, I think we can work something out. You seem like good people.

You know me, though. [ That much seems clear enough. That Sharon is inclined to openly trust this woman says as much as memory would, she's pretty sure. Given how little she trusts anyone here, how little she's willing to say to anyone here.

Then again, her desire to be open with Natasha makes her hesitate, too. This could be part of it all, a conditioned or programmed response to a stranger.

Even if Fancy meeting you here would be an appallingly simple key phrase. ]

I kinda gathered that the memory thing went around. Like a psychic headcold. [ She also feels like mental programming and psychics are things she once had a less cavalier attitude toward. They were once not a fact of life; instead just a distant possibility. A risk factor. ] What's the longest it's taken that you know of?

[ Her focus goes briefly distant, the sort of reverie that still leaves her ready to respond at a moment's notice to unusual stimuli. She does know the name. It's not attached to anything - except his face, now - but she knows it.

Roll with it. Give a little, get more. Even if she wants to hang on to that sense of familiarity, that's all the more reason to be cautious right now. ] Sharon. Carter.

[ She quirks a tiny smile at him, raising her eyebrows in return. ] Maybe for a class. I know I like punching things, so that's probably it.

You're one of those guys that makes every little girl not want to trick-or-treat at their house aren't you? Sitting on the front porch and not moving until someone has safely assumed that you're a part of the decorations.

I'm free after school when I'm not working at the shelter. I mostly have half days thanks to my art program.

[Clary watches him, her brows knotted together curiously. When he finally replies she covers her mouth, coughs half heartily and turns away; anything to hide the smile.

Once she has her reaction under control she turned back to Scott.]

Thanks. I look forward to it.

[She shifts her lemon square from her right hand to her left so that she can extend her right hand over the table.]

I'm Clary by the way. [In case he doesn't know.]

Only for the ones sporting toilet paper. The little ones and the costume-wearers get the Good Candy (tm).

[ And everyone knows what the Good Candy is. ]

Just give me a ring when you're feeling like cooking. I'll try to keep a couple of nights free for you.

She shook his hand, her grip firm but not overly forceful and then dropped her arm to her side. With formalities out of the way she took a seat and reached for the coke. Elena was far to forward to play games. She was used to mind games but she never like them.

"It's nice to meet you Kal. Is that short for anything?" That or his parents didn't mind giving their son a nickname for a name.

Noted.

[Even though Clary is a little old to go trick-or-treating.]

I will. How about next Thursday? It's 8 days from now. Gives me time to buy stuff and find all my moms recipes for you.

[ she hangs upside down from the phone line like an odd, monkey cockroach hybrid. her red, clawed feet are bare at the end of legs hooked around the wire and she's probably ruining someone's phone call, but ibachan dgaf. she was wire walking and then this jackass showed up on his big ol kintokiride. ]

I did not say anything to you, human.

[ she pumps her fist in the air and smiles. mission accomplished – well, ok, not really. ] Kal it is, and you can call me D.Va. [ striking a post and giving him a peace sign she stifles a chuckle. she doesn’t remember her real name at the moment, but it’s bound to come back to her. eventually. maybe. ]

Do you think there’s a monster our here or just, like a guy with a machete?

No. I'm not even sure where to start looking.

[ He looks Ibaraki over, her appearance somehow making him feel more at home and homesick all at once. Even the fact that she's hanging from the wire doesn't phase him. ]

I was talking to the bird. [ The corner of his lip twitches into an ironic smile. ] It probably wasn't talking to me either.

"You heard it too, huh?" She pushes herself back and up, tipping backward briefly and ending up sitting cross-legged on the ground. "No, it wasn't me. But I heard it and ran to see what was wrong. Found some tracks. And then I ended up—" A sort of flap of the hand in the direction where he found her, a gesture that encompasses both the place and her state.

"Yeah. Not a gravity field, but it may as well be."

He scrubs a hand through his hair, fledgling uneasiness returning to take flight. Prison.

"So what's your guess? Here to keep us in, or something else out?"

I don't have the faintest clue.

[ And that... he's not much of a fan of that, honestly. Because his senses are very good. Very very good. If he wanted to focus on finding out the exact flavor someone was ordering at the ice cream parlor this very minute he could. Which makes this weird. ]

But that's why I want to stay in sight of one another.

[ But there's no reason to drop his manners, after all. ]

All the same, it's nice to meet you D.Va.

For YOU, not me. I'm just the spectator :-)

But that's fine. I'll keep the night clear. Short of a fire, I'll be there.

Less about games and more about letting the lady have her choice. He hadn't lied; he liked both. He also liked being gracious.

"Not so as I know. Seems like that's my whole first name."

Though it felt short, really, even to him. Incomplete.

[ she leans up, and grabs onto the wire, unhooking her knees as she goes. for a moment, she's contorted around herself, feet hanging free in the air — and then she drops to the ground, head first. a speedy twist saves her from what probably wouldn't be a head injury anyway, and she trots over towards the motorbike (and poe, obviously.)

it's shiny, she's interested. like, suspiciously interested... ]

So you are a rude human. Nosy.

[ pot, kettle. ]

I'll be hoping for no fires that night.

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