test drive meme, may 2017

[officialnotice]

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. The details are hazy and obscure, but it's still the first thing you remember. Maybe a car wreck — metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. Maybe something less mundane, even impossible seems to have happened to you. You can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can truly remember.

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

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed, and the nursing staff greet you with cheerful smiles.

Don't worry, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here. Where is here? Why, home in Wayward Pines, of course!

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

TRACK AND FIELD DAY

With the current school semester coming to a close and summer vacation on the horizon, school administrators have elected to end the year on a high note with an invigorating Track and Field Day at the park, in order to better foster fitness and health in the children (outside of their government mandated physical education classes, anyway).

The event is, of course, open to the community at large, whether you have a current affiliation with the school or not. Because, well, everyone could stand to get up off their couches for an afternoon of running around in the sun. Or, in the case of residents with a particular sun allergy, under the shaded tarp canopies that dot the field here and there with healthy snacks, drinks, and some of the less expansive games available today (such as, oh, a nice sedate beanbag toss).

Wayward Pines thrives on the inclusion of all varieties of people, after all. Even those that aren't, strictly speaking, people at all.

All of the most recognizable games are available, of course: sack races, relay races, three-legged races, any sort of race you can think of, really; flag football and dodgeball with soft spongy balls to keep anyone from getting too competitive (the school nurse is on hand just in case though); a massive tug-of-war rope that spans nearly the entire field; and water balloon and blanket tosses. If you're not too sure what the latter is you can ask Linda at the makeshift juice bar and she'll be all too glad to explain for you.

Actually, on second thought, don't ask Linda anything. Don't give her the satisfaction.

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), 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!

( a few notes )

Welcome to our fourth 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.

Comments

[babyhunter]

[She makes a bit of a show of taking his shirt looking as if she doesn't trust it before pulling it over head. It covers her shorts in there entirety and probably looks a little weird. Clary quickly decides that she doesn't care.]

I am happy to report that it doesn't smell bad but it does smell like you.

[She wishes internally that she wasn't so short.]

I only have one question- [She pauses for affect.] Do you think I should tie it up so it doesn't look like I'm walking around without anything on underneath? [It's only a little bit awkward.]

[aeturnus]

[ It's an inane question, but not unwarranted. He looks her over once his shirt's settled over her frame and his expression is fairly noncommittal, the tilting motion of his hand only cementing it. ]

It'll probably ride up while we're playing but if it makes you feel better, go for it.

[babyhunter]

[Clary takes a moment to think it over before nodding her head briskly and pulling the shirt up so that she can tie it around her waist. She wants to use her hair tie but since her hair needs that, she's doing a classic 80's style twist and knot thing to keep the shirt resting on her thin hips.]

It does.

[She decides when she's finished.]

So balloon toss? Do we just toss it back and forth and it breaks on the loser?

[aeturnus]

[ It looks good, and he doesn't care if it warps his shirt or something. He's got plenty others like it. It's not even a brand he remembers, what's it matter? ]

More like we throw them at each other until one of us gets soaked. Might do to get some others involved but I don't think anyone's policing groups that closely.

[babyhunter]

Okay. It's on.

[She isn't really competitive but she'll run around and have fun. Hopefully people will have trouble hitting her.

She glances over at him and smiles. He looks like he'd destroy her in this game.]

Your on my team right?

[aeturnus]

[ If she has to ask, he'll give her the right answer. ]

Of course. I mean, part of the fun is in losing when it's hot like this, but I think I can put in a good enough effort.

[babyhunter]

[Clary's smile is fixed in place as she shakes her head.]

Don't worry about it. If I'm playing, our team will definately lose.

[aeturnus]

Oh, don't sell the rest of your team short. That's quitter talk.

[ That said, he goes over to get a bucket of single-colored water balloons and scopes out anyone else getting their ammunition set up. Nodding toward a smaller gang, he gives her a grin. ]

They look good. What do you think?

[babyhunter]

[Clary follows and grabs as many as she can carry in one arm which is only three balloons. Her head turns towards their ragtag team and she smiles.]

Okay, I think we got this.

[If it's anything like laser tag then she won't be that bad.]

And if we win, we can always play with the hose to get wet. [She's looking on the bright side.]

[aeturnus]

[ He laughs, gives her a thumbs up, and loads himself up too. Calls out to the other team to be fair, and launches a balloon at them mere seconds later to be fun. Oh, it's on now. ]

[babyhunter]

[Clary isn't ready when her lovely teammate decides to pelt a balloon at the other team. After that is a hectic flurry of stretched rubber and water. She ducks as a balloon splashes behind her and then manages to peg a kid in the face before getting hit herself.

The balloon hits her hard in the chest and she staggers backwards, dropping the two balloons she was holding to the ground. One breaks and soaks her feet but the other manages to remain intact. She scoops it up and quickly throws it at the other boy before running frantically back towards the bucked of balloons, laughter tearing from her throat.]

[aeturnus]

[ It's mayhem and he loves it. He dives into the whole thing like a duck to water (ha!) and is dodging left and right, grabbing whatever balloons drop that are still in tact and making retreats to the bucket for more when he has to.

Suffice to say, he doesn't stay dry for long but neither does the other team. He glances over at her at the laughter and grins, big and wide and happy. ]

You good?

[babyhunter]

[Clary manages to grab two more balloons, once for each palm. His shirt is already clinging to her right side and the knot she'd tied has come loose with the weight of the water. Her hair is dry though as is most of her left side. It makes her feel very off balanced.

It's hard to believe how much water a t-shirt can hold.

Her head turns when she hears a question directed her way. Her lips are tugged into a warm smile as she happily nods her head.]

I am. Locked and reload! [She shouts as she throws a balloon past her rather tall teammate, hitting a girl against the shoulder who had been trying to throw at him.]

[aeturnus]

[ Thankfully, he's not a giant of a man. Average for a guy at 5'10" but probably still tall to a smaller woman like her. He moves easily when he hears her calling out and dives to grab more balloons to pelt one of the opposing team members coming around the side to try and steal their balloons. ]

Rude! Get your own ammo!

[babyhunter]

[Clary is barely five feet tall and she feels as if she's going to be stuck at this dismal height forever. She'll never be able to reach the top shelf of any cabinet.]

That means they're out! Full assault!

[She throws the balloon in her hand and standing next to the bin of balloons begins to lift and throw at the other team.]

[aeturnus]

[ the mun feels this horrible, horrible pain

He sees what she's doing and rushes over to help. ]

Charge!!

[babyhunter]

[ Awww <3

Clary giggles as they throw balloon after balloon at the other team. After a few minutes the container is empty and the other team is soaked. She looks up at her teammate and smiles.]

I think we won.

[aeturnus]

[ He grins back proudly. The other team is just kind of clamoring around and trying to toss the leftover balloons at each other now, a few waving his and Clary's team off and another giving them a thumbs up, but clearly they're still ready to keep going with each other. Whatever. ]

We totally won. They didn't stand a chance.

[babyhunter]

[As far as Clary sees it, the game is won, but that doesn't mean that the fun has to be over just yet. She takes a water balloon and throws it directly at his face.]

You didn't look like you got wet enough!

[She claims as she makes a mad dash away from him.]

[aeturnus]

[ He stands in a brief, stunned silence. Then he just moves to grab the bucket itself, chase after her, and shuck the contents in her direction — pretty much just all the leftover water. ]

You know, neither did you!

[babyhunter]

[Clary screams as the water is poured over her shoulders. She looks up at him feeling a bit like a drowned rat.]

You're such a cheater!

[She's trying not to smile as she pulls her hair tie from her long bright red hair.] I'm happy to know that you got your shirt soaked too.

[It takes everything in Clary for her not to stick out her tongue at him.]

[aeturnus]

[ It's not a surprising reply all things considered but it does make him laugh and he just spends a moment running his hands through his wet hair and watching her, too. ]

Maybe, but hey, game is over, right? Did you have fun?

[babyhunter]

[Clary runs her fingers through her hair, attempting to untangle the clumpy mess that had formed. She is quick to give up and gathers the flaming strands into her palm, twisting the remaining water onto the ground next to her feet.

It splashes with an audible echo as if it was trying it's hardest to say something to her.]

I think hair holds more water than cotton. [She muses aloud to herself before looking up at him with bright green eyes.]

I did. Did you?

[aeturnus]

Had a lot.

[ He comes over closer and considers, then starts looking around. ]

Someone's got to have towels, right? It'd be silly if they didn't.

[babyhunter]

[Clary looks up at him and decides that a ten inch height difference feels like a lot the closer you stood net to someone.

His question is the only thing that pulls her gaze away from his chest. It isn't that she is staring because he was shirtless, which is fun to look at, but it's just easier given his height.]

Probably. Maybe check the faculty tents?