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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"So I've heard. You've gotten off to a good start. You're even respectable now. Who would have ever thought?"

Times change, apparently hara change. Or could he ever? Would Cal still be that crazed har who did horrible things in the name of love? Was he still the boy who convinced him to run away, spurn his family and his species and dive into something new, unknown and completely and utterly crazy? You were always good at convincing others, Cal. You were always good at convincing Seel.

"You're always charming. It's an addition anyone who has ever met you has fallen for. I bet you have an array of worshipers here. Have they thrown garlands at your feet yet?" Sorry Cal, sometimes Seel can't help but be cruel. Especially with you. Cruel or loving. Middle ground was hard.

"Nohar I know, that's for certain." He was still surprised himself, sometimes. "Respectable" might not be quite such a new thing to him anymore, but it was still something he'd never imagined would be said in the same sentence as his name without some negative qualifier. "Isn't," for example.

He had to try hard to resist the urge to roll his eyes. At least Seel knew how to be polite while still being completely ruthless. That was a plus, right? At least it would make for less hitting. Because something told Cal they'd end up taking it out on each other later in private.

"No garlands yet. I'll make sure they save some for you."

"If I was a betting har I might have put a pool together. Against you, naturally." And he would have been surprised to lose. Cal. Respectable? It was like a sick joke or an oxymoron, two words that should never be put together in the same sentence.

"I'll believe when I see it." Anyone could dress Cal up and get him to play nice for a little while, but push came to shove and the old Cal would always come out. That was what Seel thought anyways. Three or more times was a pattern.

Was Seel's claws coming out a good thing, Cal? With any luck they wouldn't draw too much blood. "Please do. I'll be sure to light them on fire first. The flames might bring out your eyes."

They would very much be taking it out on each other in 'private'. Hopefully no one would call the police on two people having angry, horribly, violent sex. Or maybe they should.

"I wouldn't have expected otherwise." All of the respectableness still squeaked, occasionally, if he turned around too fast. It still shocked him sometimes when he looked in a mirror and saw a har he didn't quite recognize staring back. It had been hard won.

He shrugged, though. Seel wanted a rise and he wasn't going to give him one for as long as he could help it. He deserved every terrible thing Seel had to say to him and quite a few more he wouldn't have thought of. He was hardly going to keep him from saying them. He wasn't above a good shouting match--or a physical one--but nothing had hit that hard yet.

"Yes but after a while the burning starts to smell and eventually you get sick of it." In more ways than one. Seel knew which he meant. He didn't have to say it out loud. "It's so much nicer to just wear them, I've found."

If it was up to Seel, Cal would still be rotting away in a tower in Immanion, it was where he belonged. Prison. You don't get away with what you did, and despite everything Cal had been through and paid, it didn't seem like enough to him. Maybe that was why Cal was Tigron and Seel wasn't. Seel was kind of an unforgiving fucking cunt sometimes. But, despite all that, Cal had done him a solid. He'd been able to help him and his family and he supposed, in some horrible way, that he owed him.

It was a crappy feeling. He hated it. And he hated that he was family. And Respectable. In Charge. Powerful. Why did Cal get to be Tigron after everything he'd done. What kind of reward was that for murder? The universe just was not fair.

Seel just scowled at Cal. He'd never get sick of it.

"Why are you at the bake sale Cal? If not to be supportive? You want to be supportive, don't you?"

They certainly weren't going to get over decades of history in one day and Cal hardly expected it. At least they were pretending to be polite, which was more than he could say he'd hoped for. It was a start, if nothing else, and maybe, eventually, it would turn to actual civility. He wasn't stupid enough to believe they'd ever be friends again. But he could live with some kind of rudimentary understanding, if they could ever forge one. That might be too much to hope for, too.

"Does it matter? Sure. I'm here to be supportive. Why are you here?" Probably something officious and conciliatory to make himself sound better than Cal. He ust be so very moved by the cause of the humans here. Cal may not have hated them as much as he had in the less-than-golden days of his youth, but surely there were more important things to worry about than strangers' schoolchildren.

No, they weren't going to get over it in one day, or rather, Seel wasn't. Then again Seel had thirty years to get over things and he still hadn't so, it might take more than time for him to get move on. An apology, groveling, therapy. A reminder that Cal is now his Tigron and family to boot, and helped Seel and Swift immensely. That could earn a little forgiveness. At the very least he should probably stop scowling at him.

But he was still scowling. At least he had uncrossed his arms? "You? Supportive? You haven't even bought anything. It's customary to purchase something to support the students at the bake sale. I would have thought you'd understood that in your new...position. Me? I understand being supportive." And since there were people watching, Seel switched to a less vocal means of communication. I have a son. You abandoned yours.

At first, Cal sighed. The same dance, then. He'd grow quite familiar with the steps by the end of this...ordeal. Whatever it was.

"Do you?" There was more in those two words than just this moment, this place, this strictly human gathering. Did Seel know at all how to be supportive anymore?

His expression didn't change by so much as a twitch of an eyelid, and yet somehow it still went completely flat. That was a dangerous look, but it almost dared Seel to keep going, too, just to see what happened. You liked to pick people apart, Seel, why not just keep going until the teeth clamped down on you?

You'd best not speak of things you know nothing about.

This was why he'd stayed away from you for this long. Well, one of the reasons. Seel wasn't sure what to do with you Cal, how love and hate could intertwine so much and he couldn't find the end of the string to sort it all out.

Seel fixed his gaze at the other and glared. He knew all about being supportive. He had a life Cal could only dream of while he was doing...what had you been doing Cal? He was still fuzzy on your whereabouts after you'd been released. Like a dog. You should have been left in that tower to rot until there was nothing left. And then Seel could have wept at your bones.

"Yes. I do." Those works, between the two of them could mean so much. Seel did like to pick people apart, Cal especially. He peeled and peeled until the gooey, gushy, vulnerable part was all that was left. Only this time, Cal hadn't been defanged. He should know better than the bait a wild animal. He knew he needed to stop. He just couldn't. "I'm supportive. Buy a cookie, Cal."

Really? I know nothing about Tyson? Your son is just like you. Seel said it in such a way that it wasn't a compliment.

He had to bite back a sigh. Thiede could dress Seel up like a good little Gelaming consort, but he never changed. At least he was used to it. And that made it easier to deal with, if not entirely pleasant.

"I'm sure." He wasn't. Seel could certainly play the part of supportive companion well, but in the end he was still choosy. And Cal was no longer one of his chosen ones. At least he'd already resigned himself to that. That was one bridge he'd never be able to rebuild. Even with the headstart he'd gotten.

I had noticed. What does he think about that? Do you even know? Did he even bother to ask him anything?

No, Seel might never change. Part of Seel was still thirteen, stuck in that filthy cellar, Uigenna and then raped and it was all your fault Cal. At least the rhythm was the same. They knew each other, inside and out. Maybe that would help. Maybe it would hinder.

He knew he needed to thank Cal for what he'd done. The har saved his son from being tortured to death. Seel wasn't sure if he'd ever recover, mentally, but at least Cal tried. That meant something, even if he didn't want to admit it out loud.

Tyson's misguided. He both worships you and thinks your a murderer. He's right. Seel knew, he just didn't care. And dammit Cal, you were going to be supportive of this town if it killed him. He fished out some more money and bought him a cupcake.

"Eat it."

Cal didn't even bother to hide the glare this time. Seel didn't know anything and still thought he could stand there and tell him exactly what he'd done wrong without bothering to ask for clarification. Because he didn't want it. He had this terrible image of Cal as some destroying angel and he wasn't going to let it go--even and especially now that Cal had changed.

Whose fault is that? He had very much not had a hand in any of Tyson's childhood, whose fault was it that he was so conflicted, Seel? Didn't that sound familiar?

He rolled his eyes, though he accepted the stupid cupcake. If Seel was so insistent on anything, there were certainly worse things he could have made him do. That was a fight he wasn't willing to have. Let Seel have a victory or two, and Cal could flail at the more important issues.

Nice, that was a cheap shot Cal. Although yes, it was most likely some of Seel's fault. He hated Cal and even untrained Wraeththu could throw psychic stones and see the mixed feelings Seel felt for Tyson's hostling. It was bound to be confusing, especially with the other members of the family feeling so different about him. To them, Cal was family. They probably should have talked about it more, helped Tyson understand where he came from, but it was only natural that he was curious. Both his father and his hostling were enigmatic figures in Wraeththu history.

Instead of owning it, and knowing that if he told him 'maybe he should have tried harder not to kill someone', it wasn't going to end well at all, Seel offered a "just enjoy the cupcake."

Seel had asked for it. He'd started with the cheap shots, Cl had only defended himself. Or at least that's what he'd tell anyone who asked. He couldn't help but feel just a little bit of smug satisfaction when Seel didn't answer--but while he hadn't expected that Seel would end p in Forever, he had hoped that Cobweb could raise Tyson to be better than he was. Apparently, this were more nature than nurture.

"I will." Or at least he wouldn't complain about it. That was as much of a peace offering as either of them were going to get. "Was there anything else?"

That's how it always ended with you, wasn't it Cal? You 'defended' yourself. Right. How long would that excuse last? But Tyson, Cal's son deserved better, and it wasn't a 'better' that Seel was capable of giving him. At least Cobweb and Swift were there. But nature was too strong. Watching Tyson was a lot like watching Cal when he was younger. He had to strain not to see himself beside him.

"No, nothing else. Tiahaar." Seel turned, plastering on a beautiful fake smile and picked up a conversation with a random resident selling cookies shaped like footballs.

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