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.)
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 | FOURTH OF JULY |
If there's one thing to be said for Wayward Pines it's the town's resilience and staunch refusal to give up on the image of a picturesque little town, and July 4th this year has the community putting it's best foot forward in this regard with its annual 4th of July picnic and fireworks spectacular.
To hear anyone (Linda) familiar with the town talk (complain), this year is a much more sedate affair than any of the years prior, but in a lot of ways today is a very good opportunity for people to reconnect with their neighbors; chat quietly at a table, share a recipe, play some catch, or argue with Jerry over the proper way too cook a burger. Jerry never listens, of course, but thankfully the whole event is a pot luck so there are plenty of other, far more edible options for those with a more... discerning palate.
The day passes pleasantly, and the night? The night brings the fireworks. A beautiful cascade of bright colors and lights in the sky. Sparklers are handed out like party favors while everyone is strongly encouraged to play safe by a long-suffering and weary looking sheriff. After all, the town has had quite enough excitement by this point, don't you think?
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 fifth 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.
Alice | The Magicians | Probably Spoilers for the End of S2
[ Walking is making her angry. She doesn't understand why, because she doesn't understand anything right now, but walking is making her positively furious. She can't even tell herself that the feeling isn't logical, because there's a voice in her subconscious saying that it is entirely, completely logical to hate walking this much. It's a waste of time. Completely uneconomical. It's so human.
Also, her eyes are bad. Why are her eyes bad? They're supposed to help her see, not impede that function.
Alice's walk is turning into a stomp, and she beginning to growl under her breath as she reaches main street, finally.
She's entirely too caught up in her hatred for her eyes, walking, and the feel of muscle shifting under skin to pay any attention to who she might bump into.
She's not sorry. ]
IV. NETWORK
So who here can actually do fucking magic
un: teatime
[ Not that it matters. JEFFERSON CAN'T DO MAGIC, PERIOD. ]
no subject
no subject
[ The most awkward sentences ever typed. WHY IS HE EVEN TELLING HER THIS? Possibly because it's only a test drive meme. ]
(no subject)
1/2
2/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
4
no subject
Magic. Can you do magic, a question asked in the same vein as 'can humans avoid thinking about sex for more than five minutes at a time.'
no subject
i feel the need to apologize for her
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
iv.
no subject
NOT sleight of hand, NOT some self-congratulatory innuendo.
no subject
I find myself without a staff at present, but that hardly inhibits me.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
People are liars.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
IV un; taakofromtv
un: fuckyou
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
private; un: fuckyou2
can you NOT?? go all google magic on this message board?
un: fuckyou
We're stuck in Idaho with zero resources. Why shouldn't I try to find people with actual magical ability?.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
un: foodforthought
Tell us more about this "fucking magic".
un: fuckyou
It's a form of complex cooperative spellwork that utilizes the combined physical and emotional forces of the magicians participating, typically during climax, though there are branches of study that also take into account the geometry of the body and physical positioning of those involved throughout. The latter takes years to master and, though it has a component of education regarding pleasures of the flesh, is closer to dance magic than, y'know, simple FUCKING.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
UN: fenrir
Not sex magic though.
un: fuckyou
You know what forget it.
Do you maybe use magic or do you actually use magic, spit it out.
(no subject)
IV - un: all
Or so I've been told.
un: fuckyou
Can you USE MAGIC or not.
(no subject)
4
iv. un: newt
[isn't this a section 3A? HE'S PRETTY SURE THIS IS A SECTION 3A.]
IV UN:kscirockstar