bumfuckidaho | test drive meme, may 2017

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test drive meme, may 2017

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.

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Is it you? Please. The man I'm looking for is very dear to me. I can't remember his name, only his face but he'd never just disappear from my side.

If you know me then you'd know this: what do I wear around my neck?

It's from his mother. I don't think I should say more without knowing if you're him for sure. I'm sorry.

{ She's right. }

Come to the coffee shop on Main Street in an hour. I'll be there.

{ Wearing his favorite t-shirt. It's a test, but it's a test he hates. Because there's someone itching at his memory too and if that's her? Well, he'll still be glad he was careful but he'll be so glad. So glad to see her. And there can't be that many women with white hair, can there? }

I will.

[Justine arrives in the dress that they had given her. It feels comfortable, tugging around her frame as if it is made for her. She pulls her hair back behind one ear before braiding a white silky ribbon between the midnight strands. Flecks of jewels adorn her wrist and neck, winking whenever the crystals are touched by the sunlight.

She feels a knot of tension in her stomach and an accompanying clawing sensation in the back of her head. It's as if something rages and tears at her mind, wanting to break her to pieces and release itself from it's cage. Justine pushes the feeling away.

This man is the key. He's always near to her and he's someone very dear to her but why can't she remember his name or how she knows any of this to be true.

Her heels click softly on the coffee shop floor as a figure from Thomas's past steps towards him.] You're him? [She breathes the words in a whisper, knowing he can hear her. Justine wants to go to him, touch him and hold him, but she remains still as if trapped behind glass.]

{ A part of him says that it shouldn't hurt, to see her there, dark hair ties in that white ribbon. Another says that she is the most terrible, wonderful mixture of sorrow and joy that he knows. But either way, the strange power inside of him, what he's learning (again, unbeknownst to him) as his Hunger sits up and watches her raptly. But her hair... wasn't it white? But maybe- }

My...

{ he can't. Not when it doesn't match. }

I go by Valentino sometimes. So.

{ he wants to touch her so much his fingers curl against his sides }

About the necklace?

[That isn't the name.

Justine's eyes fall to the table as she takes a seat across from him. She knows its him. It's as if she can feel it radiating from his very skin. As if there is something that lingers just beneath the surface. It is a darkness and light that matches her own. Her teeth dig into her lower lip, turning the soft pink skin red with the pressure.]

I see. [Her voice is calm and sweet though Thomas will be able to tell that her guard is raised. Something feels off and Justine doesn't know what that something is.]

It's your mothers pendant. You told me once, that your brother has one just like it.

{ he lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, a breath opposite and equal to the tension he can feel in her somehow on his own skin, and really fricking hates this memory bull. Then he lets his shoulders slump as he seeks out her eyes. He'll be watching to see her reaction.}

Thomas.

And you're...

[She looks up at him as his name pours gracefully from his lips. It's as if he's given her the secret to her own survival and in an instant she feels herself clinging to it. Thomas. That is his name.]

Justine.

[She answers in a soft breathy voice.]

It's really you.

[Justine feels a flood of emotions fill her chest. Are they hers? She knows their caused is directly related to the man sitting across from her.]

[ The inclination he has, the desire he has, is to reach out and pull her to him, against him, press his lips to her skin and-

He doesn't even really know what he wants but he wants it so much he almost shakes. As it is, his fingers curl in against his leg as he gives her an easy smile. ]

In the flesh, apparently.

[ It's been ingrained him, the cool appearance, the indifferent air; past pure memory, it's a strange kind of learned instinct, the same way he knows how to walk and the words to talk even if his personal memories are all missing. Mostly missing.

But he can't do anything about his eyes, and they speak to what he wants. He barely has a hold on the strange magnetic force between them, but he can't hide his eyes. ]

[She knows him. It's a feeling that she can't explain or describe and yet she finds herself reading every small movement as if he was telling her his most intimate thoughts. They're linked together and all Justine has to do is tug on those loose threads for that connection to tightened.

Her lips part as her eyes met his. Stormy gray orbs look back at her and she feels her skin crawl with seductive warmth. He's hungry. She doesn't know where the thought comes from but it resonates deep inside of her. It's matched only by the desire to take care of him; protect him.]

We can step outside.

[She offers in an equally relaxed tone though like Thomas she's tense, wanting but hiding behind a practiced vale of innocence.]

[ He hadn't realized he was hungry until he saw her. Then, as unflattering as it was, it was like a steak had been wafted in his face and the rumbling started. He didn't like that, didn't like thinking about her as food, even though he'd just met her, as far as his mind was concerned. She wasn't food. Something inside the back of his brain was telling him that she wasn't food, no matter how delicious she seemed to him, to that strange Hunger inside. ]

I'm not sure that's a good idea.

[ A deep breath in. ]

Why were you looking for me?

[ He's stalling and even he knows it. Why was he looking for her even though he didn't know that's what he was doing? Why does a compass point north? ]

[Justine exhales a slow measured breath. Thoughts, not entirely her own, flutter like a humming bird through her mind. 'You need to feed.' She insists softly, desire suddenly reflected in her dark brown eyes. 'I am here for you.' She knows it's true despite having few memories of the man in front of her. 'Always'.

Justine closes her eyes and inhales slowly. These are her thoughts and at their center is Thomas.]

I am yours.

[She answers his question easily, as if those three words explain the depths and twists that she feels within her chest. 'Yours.' She thought to herself sweetly. Out of every oddity in this town, that single word feels right.]

[ There's a part of his mind saying that it can't be true, that no one belongs to anyone, that's just wrong. But it feels very distant from the visceral, crawling, snarling hunger just under his skin that says yes, yes she is, and wants nothing more than to sink his teeth in and take.

He shoves it down, viciously. He doesn't know why he's so angry about it, but he is, and he's just going to go with it. ]

Then I guess I'm yours too.

[There is something in Justine's gaze, a shining light of hope and affection that was reserved for the man that she'd been searching for. As if he'd carved a place in he heart and kept that place, no matter the distance or time between them.

Her affection is complicated, not something she'd describe as love, not even a feeling that she wants to say out loud but it's strong and stead fast in it's resolve. In a strange way it's unlike any other feeling in the world, perhaps, because it belongs to one person and no one else.

I am yours and you are mine. As much as we can give.

Justine reaches forward, her fingers brushing lightly over the back of his hand. Static thrills into her fingertips and she feels herself being draw in by him. It's comforting, familiar and she wants it.]

Then please let me help you.

[Her words are soft and while she doesn't know their source, it feels right.]

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