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

[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?

[aeturnus]

[ He's not trying to tower over her or anything. Almost more that he's trying to make sure they don't get separated into other games or groups as the whole event keeps going on around them.

There's a nod and he starts walking over toward the nearest tent. Slow at first to make sure she's with him. ]

Good idea. Let's check.

[babyhunter]

[Clary jogs to catch up to him and then manages to match his pace. Her fingers are still messing with her hair. It's drier but the way it sticks to her cheeks and neck is uncomfortable.]

I'm sure if no where else the first aid tent will have something.

[That's what first aid was for.]

[aeturnus]

[ Yeah, this is why he keeps his hair short. Isn't it? He vaguely recalls it being long at some points and annoying. ]

True, but they'd probably be prepared closer to the balloon area, right?

[babyhunter]

Touche.

[She points a finger up at him as they walk.]

Clearly the water is making it difficult for normal brain functions. I'll let you lead the way and follow behind like a good padawan.

[aeturnus]

[ He rolls his eyes and motions for her to go ahead, grandiose and playful. ]

Oh no, you're in greater need. Please take point.

[babyhunter]

[Clary sticks her tongue out at him this time and steps in front of him with a confident stride. She pauses when she reaches the tent and is handed a towel before she's even able to ask for one.]

Mm, I guess they read our minds.

[aeturnus]

[ He takes one of the offered towels as well and starts rubbing through his hair. It's not nearly as long or absorbent as Clary's but he's still a dripping mess all the same. ]

Or they saw the state we're in.

[babyhunter]

[Clary begins to dry her hair first and then pats down her legs and arms. She wants to squeeze the water from her clothes but given that she's wearing them, it'll prove to be a difficult task.]

Yeah, yeah. Don't be a smart ass. Want to lay out in the sun to dry the rest of the way off?

[She doesn't think that the games are going to miss them.]

[aeturnus]

[ He doesn't have as much problem thankfully, although jeans are terrible for being wet and waiting to dry. Still... ]

You make a very tempting offer.

[babyhunter]

That's not a yes.

[She points out before passing the towel back to the woman who had handed it to her. Clary continues to run her fingers through her hair as she walks, looking for a patch of grass for her to sprawl out on the lawn. She's wearing shorts and as if knowing she'd be getting wet they're made out of a light material. Wearing two shirts makes there process of drying take a little bit longer.]

[aeturnus]

[ He follows her, despite the outright yes, and looks around for a good spot, too. Somewhere close to one of the tents to as to not be mistaken while not too close that it'll block the sun anytime soon. ]

I was still thinking about it. Done with that now. Yes.