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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Jace opened his mouth to say something about a scratch behind the ear and he'd purr for Alec, but that would be flirting. He couldn't remember flirting, but he remembered emotions. He remembered loss, pain, sadness. He remembered he loved Alec.

He loves Alec.

Alec Lightwood-Bane, he reminded himself.

"I think I'd prefer sparring where no one can ask too many questions. But dodgeball sounds fun. I may even consider letting you win."

"We can do that. The upstairs of the store is set up for training." It wasn't as elaborate as the space he used when they were home, but it was enough to relieve tension when Alec had too much tension at the end of the day or he wanted to spar with people who shouldn't see Magnus' more 'unique' hobbies.

Rolling his eyes, he gave Jace a 'really?' look. "You don't have to let me win. I have better aim than you."

"Training it is then." Not that the festivities weren't....colorful and bubbly....but Jace had enough wandering through crowds and noise for one day. "You don't mind do you? We can stay. Play some dodgeball."

If it made Alec happier to be here then he'd stay.

"You have better aim, but I am faster."

"I don't mind. I'm still learning to deal with crowds." Which seemed strange considering that they had lived in New York, but they'd been anonymous there. No one noticed them unless they wanted them to. Even if he did want to stay, he knew Jace was still recovering from the accident.

Which meant sparring probably wasn't the best idea, but they'd trained enough while injured that Alec knew how to be careful without it being obvious. "Faster doesn't matter when I have the high ground and can wait. Remember, patience is a virtue."

"You only say that because you can't catch me!" Jace smiles, turning to face Alec and walking backwards. "First one to the shop has to eat Izzy's cooking."

But he doesn't wait for Alec's reaction. He's already running, more like a Mundane than a Shadowhunter because they are in public and he doesn't have his stele. And maybe a little because running gives him a weird sense of deja vu boarding on panic.

Suddenly, Alec winning doesn't seem so bad and he stops, turning to find him in the crowd.

"I don't have - " The rest of the comment faded away as he took off after Jace. Without runes to improve his speed, he might have had difficulty keeping up with his best friend but he'd trained hard so that Jace would never leave him behind in battle.

Except he had...

For a moment, Alec nearly stumbled, suddenly dizzy. A breath-stealing shock erupted through his chest then disappeared.

Lengthening his stride while trying to ignore the images that had accompanied the startling pain he'd felt moments before, he caught up with Jace. His hand drifted to his side and the mark beneath his shirt. Something terrible had happened to them both, but he couldn't remember what. "Jace?"

Jace could only stare at Alec for a moment, his heart racing because he'd lost him again somehow. It hadn't been long enough for anyone else to even register time passing, but Jace had lost him. He'd lost Alec.

Before he can even process what was happening he reached out and pulled Alec into a crushing hug.

"Please don't leave me, Alec."

It didn't make sense. It didn't have to make sense. He couldn't shake the terrible feeling he'd had when he'd woken up in the hospital. It followed him. Even in his dreams. Even now.

It was stupid, running away like that. Teasing or not. He shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have left Alec.

Not quite understanding what was happening to either of them, he wrapped his arms around Jace. They were safe. Jace may have left him behind before but he was here now. He was alive.

Was that what the strange flashback meant? Jace had died? But if that was true, how could Alec be hugging him. Alec had to be remembering it wrong. Maybe it was some remnant of the accidents, Jace's fears somehow tangling up with his own. He seemed more sensitive to Jace's moods than anyone else's, even Magnus. "Nothing but death can part us," he whispered, closing his eyes as he struggled to figure out why the words he'd said were wrong. "We're parabatai."

"What the hell is happening, Alec?" Why couldn't he remember? Why did it feel so normal to remember what few moments he did while the rest of his life was missing?

The accident had been bad, he'd been covered in bruises, stitches, bandages, but he couldn't remember the specifics, the details, and all he could think of was Alec. He had to find Alec. He felt stuck in that moment and haunted by things he couldn't remember.

And some things he could. Like Valentine and his chains.

All while feeling as if he belonged here. With Alec, Magnus, Izzy. Home away from home. It shouldn't make sense.

"We're brothers." True and not true and Jace held Alec tighter. Forgetting for the moment they were surrounded by strangers.

"I don't know," he admitted, telling himself that what he thought was memories had to be hallucinations. Could head injuries cause that kind of effect a few months after the initial accident?

Resting his cheek against the side of Jace's head, he automatically started rocking from one foot to the other the way he had when they were younger. The motion had always seemed to reassure Jace even when he was hurting so much that Alec didn't know how to help.

"More than brothers." And not quite brothers. Jace didn't feel like a brother. He loved him, that was something Alec was as absolutely certain of. They'd grown up together and some of the details were murky, but they weren't brothers. Not the way he was Izzy's brother. His feelings were too complex, too confusing, to be for a sibling. "You were my first..." First what? "Friend." And more than that. Parabatai, whatever that meant.

"Here is something you may never hear me say again: I've had enough fun for one day."

More than brothers. Alec said exactly what he'd been thinking. Right up until the moment he found out Alec was actually married. The memory wasn't wrong. But he had to be remembering things wrong. Something was wrong and he knew part of the problem was him.

He just didn't know why or how.

Slowly, he pulled himself away from Alec, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. He felt out of control and off balanced and he hated it. He was always so sure of things, of himself.

Slowly pulling away from the embrace, Alec gave his parabatai a worried look. The words weren't that surprising, but the tone was. Jace didn't normally seem so tired or out of sorts. "We'll go back to the shop, but not to spar."

Others might have noticed the way they'd clung to each other but Alec didn't care. They didn't have to hide in Wayward Pines. No one would hurt them because they needed reassurance after Jace had been badly hurt. Everyone in town knew someone who had gone through something similar. "I have a listening corner set up. I have some LPs I know you'll like."

Alec probably shouldn't keep the shop closed, but everyone would at the games until they wound down. He could open later when Jace was calm.

Edited 2017-05-31 16:18 (UTC)

Jace inhaled, trying to regain some motum of control, and then nodded. He had wanted to be outside, enjoying the events the way everyone else seemed to be, but it all felt wrong somehow.

"You know me better than I know myself right now." Alec also knew Jace loved music. It was a good way to calm down, recenter himself. He hadn't had much time for music lately. He thinks.

"What training equipment do you have?" Curious. Just incase he needed to punch a dummy at 2 a.m..

"That's not hard when you have amnesia," he teased, hoping to lighten the mood before whatever was wrong got the better of Jace. As he spoke, he started heading toward the shop, keeping his pace slow so that his friend wouldn't get nervous that he'd somehow 'lose' Alec.

"Not much at the shop. It's mostly for meditation and the basics. There's a punching bag. The better equipment is at home." Alec smiled, not realizing how easily he'd assumed home meant all four of them. "Haven't figure out an archery range yet."

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