TEST DRIVE MEME, JANUARY 2017.

[officialnotice]

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. That's basically the only thing you know for certain. Maybe a car wreck - metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Or maybe there was an explosion. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. You can't can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can remember.

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

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed – the nursing staff greets you with a cheerful smile.

Welcome to Wayward Pines, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here.

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          YOU DONE HECKED UP

It's hard to say what it was, exactly, that crossed the line.

It might have been all those questions you've been asking about the town and the people within it. It might be all that talking you've been doing, about your life outside and the family you miss. It might have been the number of times you've not-so-subtly referenced the fence in the woods.

In any case, the Sheriff has taken notice of it, and you've been charged with disturbing the peace. It's his hope that a few days in a jail cell will teach you that such things aren't appreciated in Wayward Pines.

Until such a time that he deems to let you out, you and your cellmate have some time to kill.

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), but Wayward Pines does in fact have a network to accommodate its citizens.

Go ahead, post a network post! Just note that the network, at current, is audio-only and can only be accessed from the telephones in each character's home.

( a few notes )

Welcome to our first test drive here in The Pines! Just a couple of things to note:

( 1 ) 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.

( 2 ) The above link to the FAQ won't actually load for the first few hours this is up - we're sorry about that, we just have to port the FAQ into HTML. The FAQ is now live! We'll also be tossing up a few more vital pages over the next 24 hours, then opening reserves at 12:01 AM EST on the 17th. Keep an eye on thepines for updates.

Comments

ellie | the last of us

[pungi]

into the woods.

[Ellie runs off after the scream. Of course she does. Besides someone possibly being hurt, someone needing help, she has to know the reason someone could scream like that. It could be nothing. They could have tripped. It could have been an animal. Or it could be something else, like the infected.

She has enough experience with hunting, and surviving, and... well, hunters to understand that some sort of struggle went down, but not much more than that. After looking over the scene and not finding much of anything, Ellie starts walking further into the woods, determined to find the source of that noise, or at least some clue as to what happened. She doesn't have her gun thanks to the stupid sheriff, but she has her knife. So she isn't too worried. She can handle it.

She's expecting a deadly animal, or infected. Hell, even hostile people wouldn't really surprise her. She's not expecting her own body to start fighting her. Pretty soon Ellie knows she should turn back. She needs to... rest, or something. Something away from here. But then she sees the fence up ahead. All she wants to do is collapse onto the twigs and leaves at her feet, but there's no way she can ignore that. If there's a fence, there's gotta be a gate... right?

She ends up almost falling down to her knees about two hundred yards away, finger and thumb massaging her forehead ineffectively.] Holy shit...

[So, maybe part of her is regretting getting this close. She's so out of it she can hear - footsteps? Someone close by? She turns, swallows, and tries to shout, but it comes out in more of a whisper:] Who- Who's there?

you done hecked up.

[Ellie does not like being in a cell of any kind. She doesn't like being locked up. So as she's being led toward the occupied jail cell Ellie isn't exactly coming quietly.]

Shit, shit, getoff- This is bullshit! [She's struggling, enough to give the person handling her a bit of a fight to get her into the room at all. Ellie doesn't have her knife, but couldn't reach it if she did. She's pushed forward, landing heavily on her hands and knees. Angrily, she swerves straight back around, but the keys are already going back in the sheriff's pocket as he turns away from the locked door. Ellie begins shaking the door.] Fuck, fuck...

[She's pulling at the bars fruitlessly, looking around the ground near by for any sign of something she could use to get herself out of here. It's only as she turns to look further around the cell that she notices she has company.]

Oh. Uh, hey. Don't suppose you've found any bright ideas on how to get outta here?

woods

[isdf]

[A part of him finds the intense fatigue rather familiar. While this in and of itself doesn't alarm him, the fact that he feels weaker with each step, combined with the scream earlier, brews the suspicion that he must be wary of what lies ahead.

Ahead is the fence.

His legs, however, are weary. Just when they threaten to give out, he hears a murmur and presses onward to find a girl. His words tumble out slowly in a quiet, indoor voice as he hangs onto the last vestiges of his strength by propping himself up on an arm against a tree.]

I didn't realize that there was someone ahead of me . . . I advise you to turn back. It would be dangerous to advance any farther.

ignis scientia | ffxv

[chauffeuring]

[option 1; welcome to wayward]

[ "Do not try to leave, do not discuss the past, do not discuss your life before, always answer the phone if it rings." Ignis can't help but stand there and stare at the sign in the shop window, arms folded as he tries to suss out exactly what it means. Waking up in the hospital had been an event, the nurses helpful in getting the retainer to his feet again, but not so forthcoming with information. That in itself is a major problem, something that didn't sit easily on Ignis' shoulders and it still doesn't even now after he's had time to wander around. At points Ignis is certain he sees something he recognizes, but overall the general feeling of this place is one of constant unease. He hasn't seen his friends yet and that alone has Ignis on edge. He should be checking out the nearest cafe to see what foods they have, to at least try the coffee and probably turn his nose up at it not being the usual Ebony branding. But instead he's stuck, staring at the sign with a small frown and trying to think of what the others would make of it.]

What do you make of this? [ He asks the nearest person, hoping that it won't be just another shake of the head that seems to happen a lot. It's either that or a greeting, which sets Ignis' teeth on edge. It's just a bit too familiar for his tastes and if the road he'd tried out earlier hadn't looped around he wouldn't be stuck here trying to figure it all out.]

[option 3; you done hecked up]

[ There's a first time for everything. Most people had fond memories of such times; their first time eating their favourite foods, their first time hanging out with their best friend. Ignis can say, hand on heart, that this is the first time he's ever been arrested and put in a cell and it's definitely not something to fondly remember. From what he can tell, it had been for asking questions, but mainly telling a nearby person that a recipe was similar to one back home. That had gone down extremely well, enough that the local Sheriff had offered Ignis a place to stay for the night in the form of a small, secure cell. "Disturbing the peace"? If the others were around they'd find it all too amusing, there would even be a remark about how Ignis' recipes do disturb the peace somehow.

Regardless, it's pretty mortifying that it's even happened. For now Ignis sits on the edge of the spartan slab that's meant to be a bed, taking in the cell without looking like he's checking it out too much. He doesn't need more suspicion in his direction than needed. Despite the almost jovial attitude that seems to be going around, Ignis gets the feeling they'll be keeping an eye on him regardless of where he is or what he's doing. When he speaks to his cellmate, it's with a low and quiet tone.]

What did they bring you in for if I may be so bold as to ask?

1

[isdf]

Hm?

[ Yuma, who's still in the process of absorbing the situation in quiet wonder, glances at the sign. It's the first time since his discharge that someone has asked him about this facet of Wayward Pines, and he doesn't think too hard on it. He thinks it's simple enough. ]

The rules of this town are quite stringent, but straightforward.

Aranea Highwind | Final Fantasy XV

[unweaving]

[ welcome to wayward pines ]

[ But fuck hospitals, though.

It's not much justification for not going back, especially when the fuzziness of her memory tells her they were probably right about her needing to stay, but it's enough. People are weirdly relaxed about her little escape, anyway; she'd gone to demand her belongings at the sheriff's office, expecting an earful, and all she'd gotten was a big smile and sympathy for wanting to get back home.

Home, that's a trip. She doesn't remember it, but the mailbox says “Aranea Highwind” even if the inside says “personality of mashed potato”. Also, “starvation diet”. So after a good ten minutes in which she can be found standing out front, staring suspiciously at her home with her hand on her hip, you'll find her in the store, shopping basket over one arm, making a valiant effort at not throwing things across the shop in frustration at not recognizing any of the brands despite a wormy little feeling that tells her she should. ]

Oh, come on.

[ into the woods ]

[ There's a scream, and a memory crackles and fizzes at the base of Aranea's skull.

It's just out of reach, like trying to remember the words to a song when you've only got one bar of the melody looping in your head, but it's enough to send her haring off towards the sound. Somebody needs help, and she... helps? Or wants to help. Or doesn't help, is part of the problem, and wants to be different.

It's too much, a bitch of a thing to get stuck on when what's needed is action, so she shakes her head hard to clear out the fog and runs until she can't. And then walks until she can't. And when all she can see is a wall and the ground coming up towards her as she falls to one knee, that's enough to send her scooting back. Can't help anybody if she can't help herself. Can't miss the way that anemic-y weakness lifts the further away she gets, either, so she stays. Pace out sideways, move in until that lethargy presses down on her, head back until she feels like herself (now that's funny), and repeat. It's a mystery she can't resist poking at, but she's not so engaged she won't notice anyone around her. ]

welcome to wayward pines

[keephimtalking]

Hey, look on the bright side, at least you can eat most of that.

[ The voice is coming from an isle over. If Aranea looks up, she will see a very alien looking fellow, peering over the shelves at her from the toiletries section, looking vaguely bemused.

After a moment, he squints and amends. ]

... Probably.

Fennel | OC

[warubble]

Option one:Welcome to Wayward Pines

[They alternately use the terms "accident" and "episode." They being the doctors and nurses and the hospitalist who came through Fennel's hospital room. Fennel doesn't question his own foggy confusion about the events. It seems like something happened while Fennel was driving (be blacked out--no he had a seizure). The whole routine seems to familiar to Fennel he must have been in hospitals a lot.

Hours later, Fennel has collected his belongings (from the Sheriff, not the hospital. That seems very strange), which revealed he needs a prescription filled and evidently dressed for much colder weather than here. He has also discovered--remembered he wears a medical alert bracelet. Seizures. Sometimes you have seizures. Take your medication and you're fine, Fennel.

Now, perhaps not the best decision after getting out of the hospital, Fennel smokes a cigarette, lounging back on the bench with his head tipped back and legs outstretched. The nicotine seems to be helping him clear his head, and contorting the air in and around the smoke into slowly more fanciful shapes is giving him a minor head-ache. He can get simple, geometric shapes to stay formed far above the roof of the pharmacy, but moving shapes fashioned after birds and animals are harder to keep still.

Fennel pulls his feet and legs back closer to the bench as he senses someone coming closer. He probably looks rather disreputable--these clothes are worn and his hair is a scruffy mess of a ponytail, but bruises hide in his dark complexion instead of standing out, so maybe he doesn't look too bad off.] Sorry, I'll stop taking up the whole sidewalk.

Option 2:Into the Woods

[Fennel staying put after hearing a scream would be like asking a hunting hound to stay put when they smelled a rabbit. It could be a child or a cat or anything, really. They snatch of noise isn't enough to identify, only enough to jolt enough adrenaline into Fennel's system to insist on ACTION.

It probably doesn't help that Fennel is an incredibly restless human being and moving is for more natural than not moving. But these do not seem like normal woods. There seems like there should be a great deal more light and movement in woods. In fact Fennel has convinced himself he heard nothing before he finds scuffle marks which lead nowhere and generally make him feel like he has suddenly made Bad Life Choices just by coming into these woods.

And maybe the trees ate someone? It's difficult to decide what happened, or if anything happened, or if it was teenagers playing hide and seek or tag or something in the woods.

Maybe it is time to go back to where he can see the sun...]

2.

[ratkingcole]

[Corstine shrugs at that. She's also dressed warmly - although in a much different fashion than Fennel. She's wearing some kind of animal furs underneath a simple iron breastplate, with an iron helmet resting on her head.]

Hey fella, do what you want. S'none of my business where you wanna stand.

[She looks him over with her one good eye - the other follows the same motions, but there's no mistaking it for anything functional. The cornea and iris have greyed over, and the white of her left eye is completely stained black.

His bruises might not stand out as much, but she still notices them. It doesn't take much to realize how he got them, all things considered.]

So I guess you just got out of the... place? The big one, with all the beds and healers an' shit in it?

Emily Grey | Red vs. Blue

[greyaria]

a - Welcome to Wayward Pines

[Something is very wrong. Emily's not sure what, which bothers her almost as much as the wrongness itself, and the questions consume her thoughts for days as she paces around her house or runs errands in this odd little town.

Why are there cameras inside the houses?

Her scientist's urge--she knows she's a scientist, but she doesn't know how she knows that, either--is to find answers, but she just doesn't have enough data, and "something's wrong" does not count as a testable hypothesis, so she needs more information. That's why she's now ringing a neighbor's doorbell with a plastic-wrapped plate of chocolate chip cookies. It had only taken her three batches to get the hang of the primitive kitchen and--wait, why "primitive?"

The question can wait, and she plasters on a smile over her confusion as the door swings open. She's really good at smiles.]

Hi! I'm Emily from down the street! I was trying out a new recipe and there's no way I can eat all these cookies by myself, so I thought I'd swing by and say hello!

[That's only half a lie. She's certainly never heard of a Tollhouse cookie before, but she could absolutely eat them all by herself.]

b - Into the Woods

[Emily likes to think of herself as an amiable sort, but kidnapping and attempted brainwashing are really testing her her composure, which is why, when she hears the scream--she knows what a person screaming in pain sounds like, thank you very much--she immediately...turns around and goes home. It's where she keeps her gear, after all. While it's certainly nice not to have to run around in head-to-toe armor, if she's heading into a possible fight, capris and loafers aren't going to cut it. She changes into her distinctive white and purple armor and jogs off into the forest, disregarding the stares from people who can't quite manage to pretend that's normal.

When she draws in sight of the fence Emily slows down, and stops dead when the draining effect becomes noticeable. After a moment of consideration, she scuffs her toe through the leaf litter, leaving a line in the metaphorical sand, and starts walking forward again. After advancing about a hundred feet, she turns back and retraces her steps to the mark she made, then takes a sharp left to proceed parallel to the fence for a few hundred feet. Then she repeats the entire procedure at different distances, testing the limits of whatever strange security surrounds the town, never quite getting close enough to be incapacitated. Eventually, she draws back to a safe distance, planting her hands on her hips while she looks at the wall through the strange purple visor of her armor.]

Well, now, that's more like what I was expecting!

[No one should really sound so pleased about this sort of discovery. She clears her throat and her voice takes on a more official tone, though it's still very...perky.]

Audio recording, Dr. Emily Grey, number--oh, heck, let's just start from the beginning again! Audio recording number 1! I am at the edge of town and I had nice hike through the woods to get here. I saw two squirrels chasing each other and it was cute! No sign of whatever caused the disturbance I overheard, but the town is borderd by a medium-security [what the hell kind of security is she used to?] fence protected by some sort of effect that drains electronics and causes extreme fatigue, becoming noticeable at slightly less than half a kilometer from the fence itself. Also, I'm out of milk and should pick some up on my way back. End log.

b?

[unweaving]

[ Aranea'd been doing pretty much the same testing pattern on the fence, until she spotted something else out there. Something person-shaped, but fully enclosed in armor, and moving in a pattern -- something that makes her brain itch and tell her that right there is the problem, that's the reason someone screamed.

So she follows along, quiet as she can in her far less practical armor, because taking the thing down (what thing? Empty, says her subconscious, but that's stupid so she stops listening) is going to be a real bitch without her lance, but then... ]

Milk?

[ Cover blown. She still doesn't know exactly what she thought this thing was, but she's pretty sure they don't need milk. Or think squirrels are cute. ]

Lantar Sidonis | Mass Effect 2

[keephimtalking]

Welcome to Wayward Pines

He’s been crying ever since he woke up.

There are two holes in his skull, a line cut clear through his temples. The staff said his survival was a miracle. When asked if anyone of them knew what had happened, they said he’d been in an accident.

He doesn’t try and ask them for much of anything after that.

He sits through the days, sits through the check-ups, sits through the final, cheerfully optimistic speech from the doctor and nurse telling him he was fully recovered. They walk him through the paperwork and he waits in the waiting room for a nurse to fetch him some species-appropriate painkillers in case he feels any more pain.

None of the staff say anything about it. Something stops Lantar from trying to ask.

Why was he crying? Why was he crying? He doesn’t know why he’s crying, only that he can’t seem to stop. Maybe they just didn’t know what a crying Turian sounded like, humans didn’t have the ears for that note- but they must have noticed the way his voice wobbled and cracked every time he spoke.

… Right?

Lantar is on the hospital steps now, staring up at bright blue skies, vast, alien and unfamiliar.

He’s... never seen a sky before.


Into the Woods

There’s a scream from the woods and Lantar knows it’s human.

He stares at the edge of the trees, the sound still ringing in his hears. He sees the way the people around him flinch and knows, deep in his bones, that it’d not been a hallucination. And yet-

No one moves to try and help.

Someone tells him it was probably just an animal and Lantar exhales a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. The moment he feels everyone turn back to their daily activities however, he slips away.

Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong, wrong, wrong and it settles in the pit of his guts like lead. He has to know, he needs to know-

The woods are dark and he can barely see, his eyes weren’t made for gloom. There’s a scent under the sharp, clean-cut smell of pine trees, however. Nothing he can pinpoint, nothing he can recognize. There are footprints in the dirt that he can barely make out in the shadows. When he tries to follow them, tries to follow the scent, they take him in circles over and over and over-

It’s nearly half an hour later that he finds himself staring at the distant fence, the feeling of wrongness overcoming him again, stronger now.

He doesn’t move. And he won’t immediately notice anyone who approaches him.

welcome to wayward pines

[automag]

Round one: Romeo wakes up and launches himself off the bed to punch two members of the hospital's staff in their smiling, sunny faces. He gets all the way out of the room and half way down the corridor before someone bigger and burlier than him grabs him by the arm and jabs a needle into his neck. Round two: Romeo wakes up to a strange man leaning over him with a stethoscope. He yanks the stethoscope from his ears, smacks him in the face with it, and rolls off the opposite end of the bed, directly into a man with another needle.

Round three: Romeo wakes up with one hell of a headache, and he's strapped down to the bed and can't move. No amount of 3 AM shouting and yelling on his part is enough to bait anyone to come into his room again.

It's a long couple of days, after that.

A doctor tells him that he was in an accident. "Not just any accident," he says. "A plane crash. You were flying the plane. Might want to brush off that ol' dusty flying manual before you hop into the pilot's seat again, eh?" Romeo is, like, 80% sure that what he's saying is complete bullshit, but he nods and keeps nodding until someone decides that he's healthy enough to leave.

One of the nurses hands him a pair of loose cotton trousers and a cotton t-shirt after he bitches (and bitches) about having to walk around half-naked. Then hospital security shoves him out the door. You can change somewhere else, they say.

Romeo is so distracted with pulling the hospital gown down over his knees that he doesn't notice Lantar seated on the steps until he's already on top of him. He nudges him in the side with his knee as he trips, one hand flying out to grip the nearby railing, just barely saving himself from a tumble down the concrete stairs.

When he recovers, he turns to look at him.

"My bad, buddy. You good?"

eleven | stranger things

[deprivates]

01: welcome to wayward pines.

[ When she woke in the white room several days ago, the men there told her there had been an accident, that she had hurt her head very, very badly. They told her name was El, and that the accident had made it hard for her to speak, to remember and say the words.

That was the first lie.

El knows that it's not words she's forgotten -- it's something more. Something from before the accident. El knows she never knew those words in the first place.

When they release her, El keeps the gown they gave her. There's something familiar about it, and lately, El has taken to wearing it more and more. It might help her to remember. She doesn't know. So many things are gone.

Those walking along the street will find a slip of a child, head shaved, staring up at one of the posters. Lightly, she traces one of the words with her fingers.

Happy.

Then, she turns to look behind her, as if she knew someone was there all along. ]

04: on the network.

[ The phone rings. Should you choose to pick it up, no one speaks. Instead, after a few seconds of silence, this song plays. ]

01 holy shit

[rockmusic]

[If Pebbles were from around here, she might be hesitant to approach the strange girl with the shaved head and the hospital gown. She isn't from around here, though, and so when she sees Eleven on the sidewalk tracing letters on a poster, all she sees is another outsider. One close to her age, even.

It's a welcome sight, to be honest. Even if it is a bit startling to see th girl turn around all of a sudden, and look directly at her.]

...aren't you cold in just that?

Pebbles Flintstone | The Flintstones (2016) | OTA

[rockmusic]

a - Welcome to Wayward Pines

[An accident? Something feels wrong about that claim. Still, the witchdoctors - or just doctors? At the hospital seem to think that's what it was.

They kept her for a while, and ran a few tests, but it wasn't terribly long before Pebbles was back on the street. Not much longer than that, she had her belongings back from the sheriff.

Pebbles was always a clever girl, but even if she weren't... it didn't take an extraordinarily clever mind to realize there was something different than it should be. For one, her clothes looked so much different than everyone else's - a top made out of woven grass, a skirt and belt made out of animal hide, and a complete lack of shoes. Everyone else dressed so... differently here.

Even more than that, though. The buildings here aren't made of stone, or carved wood. Neither are the cars, or the appliances. And she hasn't seen a single dinosaur since she got here! Her memories might be more than a little hazy right now, but what she's seeing here goes against everything she understands those things to be.

There must be something she's forgetting here - one of those memories she can't quite keep a mental grasp on. Finally curiosity overwhelms her, and she turns to the nearest stranger.]

Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice... there aren't any dinosaurs in this town.

[She says it with a perfectly serious expression. She isn't joking at all.]

What's the deal?

[itsthecount]

Wrong. I just spotted an old woman walking down the road about two minutes back. They're most definitely not extinct yet.

[Count Olaf is always the pleasant man, especially when speaking to confused strangers.]

charlie oni | oc

[aglaopheme]

welcome to wayward pines.

[the paperwork to leave the hospital had been strange in a way that charlie wasn't even sure they could articulate if anyone asked, and took too long by far, but eventually they're free and clear of the bright narrow halls and overwhelming smell of antiseptic that every hospital seems to share with each other.

picking idly at the hospital wristband still stubbornly chafing, charlie tries to piece together the memories that led up to the accident that left them in the hospital to begin with, and only manages to come up a blur of color and sound. "it's normal" the nurses had rushed to reassure them, and charlie's inclined to trust them on that but it's an uncomfortable feeling nonetheless.

at least walking the streets of town helps shake up other memories in charlie's head, and they pause in front of one specific building near the edge of town to stare up at it fondly for a moment before turning their head and calling out to the person walking past nearby.]

Want to see something cool?

on the network.

Hey, this might be a silly question, but bare with me okay, I took a knock to the head recently. Cell phones. Those are a thing, right?




(OOC: Charlie is a siren, which in Charlie's world means that they will appear as the preferred gender of whoever they are currently speaking to. just let me know which gender to reply with and if you have any questions, feel free to pm me!)

Welcome to Wayward Pines.

[ratkingcole]

[Well that's an interesting question. The knee-jerk reaction Corstine has is to tell this stranger to fuck off, and she honestly almost does - right up until she realizes that she doesn't have anywhere to go in this shitty little town, and nothing to do.

She isn't going to step within arms' reach of this stranger, of course, just in case this is a set up for some kind of mugging.]

Fuck it, sure. Whaddya got?

[Incidentally: This also gives her an idea for a set up for mugging.]

Nocits Lucis Caelum | Final Fantasy XV (chapter 13 but no spoilers; yay memloss)

[hardnoctlife]

WELCOME TO WAYWARD PINES

[ Do not try to leave.
Do not discuss the past.
Do not discuss your life before.
Always answer the phone if it ri--

...Okay, you know what? Forget this. The black-haired man (well, he could be a teenager for all he knows) is glaring at the sign as he clenches his teeth a moment, one hand curling into a fist as he releases a shaky and frustrated breath. He doesn't have time for this! He has to... leave, damn it! Something isn't right; one second he was on the road, then... Ugh. ]

Happy...heh. [ A wry smile is on his lips. ] Fine, they wanna see happy? I'll show them happy.

[ Behold, the beauty of that royal sarcasm; the level of confusion he's feeling is clearly not sitting well with him. At all. He's turning and storming off to grab the attention of the next person he sees. Could be you, could be the person you happened to be talking to (rude). ]

Hey... Are you from around here? [ He's done trying to talk to the people who are just gonna give him another smile. Done trying to get answers from the ones who just direct him to the same damn sign. In any case, maybe you've just been approached by this angry person, or this is all just be a thing you're watching unfold. Time to offer some answers -- or lack thereof -- or... grab the popcorn, maybe, since his less-than-fun stubborn nature is finally rearing its ugly head. ]

YOU DONE HECKED UP

[ Of all the things to find himself inside a cell over, this has to be the absolute dumbest. The black-haired young man can be seen looking possibly akin to a small child who's just been grounded; arms folded over his chest, blue eyes narrowed and staring straight ahead, a frustrated sigh eventually slipping out as he crosses... then uncrosses his legs.

Whether you were already in here when he arrived (which means you would have seen him giving the sheriff a bit of trouble upon getting pushed into jail) or you're a new arrival, he is just now going to be looking your way. Maybe you've talked prior to this, so you're well-aware of him not remembering his own name just yet... or maybe you knew him from that-one-world-he-can't-remember-the-name-of-just-yet, and you do know his name (he'd sure appreciate learning it from someone who isn't a citizen of this place); he'd been too impatient to stay around and ask the unhelpful hospital staff what his name is, since they'd been unable to answer any of his other questions, anyway.

Alternatively, you're both strangers, so time for a fun little meet and greet.

His tone is full of frustration to an obvious level: ] You charged with "asking too many questions," too?

YOU DONE HECKED UP

[lux_in_tenebris]

[Despite the cell’s condition, Lunafreya isn’t a stranger to being imprisoned. When the Sheriff charged her with the supposed crime, she didn’t put up a fight. Maybe she should have, but one of the townspeople tried to defend her, and he threatened to have them thrown into prison as well. She couldn’t let someone innocent take the blame off her shoulders. They need to set an example, and she would rather protect others than allow them to suffer in her stead.

What she didn’t expect, was to see Noctis being escorted into her cell just then. Without hesitation, Lunafreya steps toward him. Her hand starts to reach out toward him, and then she pulls it back. As much as she wants to be familiar, like when they were children, their situation isn’t completely the same. They can’t pick up where they left off. It seems as though there are always circumstances standing in their way.]

No… As a matter of fact, I am not fully certain of his reasons for choosing imprisonment.

[She had been discussing Eos for quite some time, explaining her former duties to the more friendly townspeople. Based on past experience, Lunafreya knows that there doesn’t always have to be a legitimate reason. Some people are willing to do whatever it takes to attain their goal. The ends justify the means, in their eyes. There is too much hatred in the world for her to hold onto it within her heart, even if her inaction may appear to be a sign of weakness.

There is nothing but kindness in her tone as she asks in return.] And yourself, Noctis? Are you all right?

clint barton | marvel 616

[hawkguyandpizzadog]

welcome to wayward pines.

[waking up in a hospital with injuries? fine, yeah, okay, seems normal enough, or at least, clint's manages to work through the necessary paperwork to get himself discharged with a speed and accuracy that frankly astounded some of the nurses on staff.

....... is what he gathers from their exaggerated expressions, anyway, because clint can't hear a goddamn word they say. which leads to more than a few complications before the hospital figures out the issue and manages to scrounge up an interpreter for him. clint's not sure why this whole thing feels like such a shock to him, because he can understand the clerk's signs just fine so it's probably not exactly a new situation for him but something in him sits down stubbornly at the first flickering of fingers and refuses to budge.

he's angry, and he doesn't know why.

walking down the side of the main street in town, clint studiously ignores the friendly townsfolk waving to him from their yards or storefronts. he doesn't know where he's headed but he's feet apparently do, because he eventually comes to a stop in front of a small, neat looking house with his name on a mailbox out front.

pressing a hand to the swathe of bandages wrapped around his head (and most importantly, his ears) clint can't think of any sort of place that would suit him less, really.] I'm a mess. [he says lowly, and even if he's not directing the comment at anyone in particular it wouldn't be accurate to say he's talking to himself either.

after all, he can't even hear himself, can he?]

you done hecked up.

[clint doesn't even know why he's here, and that's the worst part of it. hadn't even heard the sheriff pull up in his little podunk town cruiser, just felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder out of nowhere and reacted accordingly. And suddenly they were throwing him up against the cruiser and cuffing him, taking him for a little ride down to the station to "cool down" (or maybe something to do with a clown? reading lips in a car rearview mirror was complicated).

apparently punching the sheriff in the face was frowned upon around here, who knew?

he drapes himself against the bars of the call, presses his pounding head against the cool metal and heaves out a tired sigh. this feels familiar too, and clint really wants to know, between jail and a hospital, what that says about him, but self introspection does not appear to be one of his hobbies because he willfully drops the issue and settles for yelling down the hall:] Hey, this is discrimination! I'm gonna sue all of you!

[or at least he hopes he's yelling. there's no way to tell, really.]

[rockmusic]

Sue? What's that?

[Pebbles comes from a time a bit before such things as a legal system were really established. Or maybe they were established, and her life just hadn't interacted with that part of things yet - the whole 'civilization' thing is kind of new to humanity, so sometimes it's a little difficult to keep track of it all.

The police of wayward pines were, to their credit, unwilling to put a 13 year old girl in the same cell as an adult man overnight. Which is why Pebbles is in the cell directly adjacent to his - visible through a few iron bars.]

Did you ask too many questions too?

Noah Czerny | The Raven Cycle

[smudging]

( one: welcome to wayward pines )

[ People forget things, right? Noah knows that's not anything unusual, not every memory is stored and saved forever (he's sure he learned something in school about that, but whenever he tries to search those parts of his brain, it's like hitting a brick wall. Nothing.). Besides, all the nurses in the hospital kept going on and on about some accident, so he figures that whatever pieces might be missing had to be the result of something knocking him in the head -- though, he doesn't feel any kind of soreness that would indicate he was even in an accident, he doesn't even know what kind of accident he was involved in, every questiont that he'd asked was answered by way of pretty words in soothing tones that did absolutely nothing to jog his memory.

Oh well. Maybe he'd catch a glimpse of it on the news. Accidents were usually reported on, right? Someone had to know something.

There's something... strange about the town. It both feels vaguely familiar -- like a place that could have lived when he was younger, too young to have any concrete memories of. -- and yet completey new and somewhat out of place. Like something real, but not all at the same time.

Or maybe he's still recovering from the "accident".

It doesn't take long for Noah to come across an ominous sign plastered in the window of a small sandwich shop only a few blocks from the Sherrif's office -- and despite just how little sense it made that the Sherrif had his things, but couldn't tell him much more about the "Accident", Noah didn't question it. There were a lot of things that were weird, but every time that he goes to ask about them, he gets the runaround. Stopping just short of the door, his eyes catch on a khaki colored poster in the front window and he mouths the words as he reads them.

The words are another thing that he feels like he both knows by heart, and yet has never read before.

Do not leave. (Okay. That's a little weird.)
Do not discuss the past. (That's... a little more weird.)
Do not discuss your life before. (That sends a cold chill through Noah, the edges of his vision becoming fuzzy, as though he were bordering right on the edge of beingt here and not.)
Always answer the phone if it rings (Not as weird, but okay. He could do that.)
Work hard, be happy, and enjoy your life in Wayward Pines

Looking around a few times, he catches the attention of someone walking by on the sidewalk. ]

Uh.. Hi. Sorry, but do you have any clue what all this is supposed to mean?

[ He gives a quick motion with his head to the sign in question.]

( three: you done hecked up )

[ Disturbing the peace? Disturbing the peace?!

Noah hadn't been doing anything except asking his neighbor a few questions. He wanted to know how he got here (because the talk of some "Accident" wasn't cutting it anymore.), he wanted to know how to get out of here, he wanted to know why this place felt both like home and yet like somewhere he'd never been before. He should have saw it all coming, though. The way that his neighbor continued to look over his shoulder, or fidget uncomfortably the longer that Noah prodded him about some other life that he just knows he has. This wasn't it. There was more, he'd come from somewhere else, he'd known other people, even if he couldn't remember anything more than vague outlines of bodies and places.

He'd hardly gotten his entire barrage of questions out before he'd been hauled off in handcuffs, processed and then thrown into a dingy jail cell. ]

You didn't even tell me what I did! Hello?! You can't just lock me in here without any explanation! [ Right? The laws in this town were backwards as far as he could tell, maybe they very well could just throw people in jail for absolutely nothing. It wouldn't have been the weirdest thing he's experienced since arriving.

"Waking up". "Recovering". Whatever they want to call it.

Turning on his heels, he drops to take a seat on a slab of concrete jutting out from the wall -- what he assumes is supposed to act as the worlds most uncomfortabe bench. -- wedging himself into the corner and crossing his arms over his chest tightly. It's then that he notices someone else and he perks up slightly. At least he's not stuck in this place alone all night. ]

"Disturbing the peace", too?

( four: on the network )

[ There's a lot of silence and obvious fumbling with the reciever on the other end of the line, quiet curses and the sounds of buttons being accidentally pressed. He still hasn't quite gotten the hang of this thing yet. Was it pound-megaphone-pound? pound-pound-megaphone?

Eventually, a voice comes on the line. ]

Hello? Is this even working? How do I--

[ More fumbling and the message ends abruptly. ]

Welcome to Wayward Pines.

[rockmusic]

[Fortunately for Noah, the fur-clad girl in front of him seems more than willing to help him out - even if there might be a bit of a misunderstanding about what the problem he's having is.]

Oh, sure. No problem, I did well in my 'Intro to the Written Language' class.

[One of the few things she can actually remember, funnily enough, was her report card - although the details of the classes themselves are all part of the haze.]

It says "Do not leave. Do not discuss the past. Do not discuss your life before. Always answer the phone if it rings. Work hard, be happy and enjoy your life in Wayward Pines."

aqua ★ kingdom hearts

[prismbloom]

welcome to wayward pines.

[ Do not discuss the past. That's a rule Aqua's quite alright with, considering... ah, a lot of things. Her time in the Realm of Darkness is not a thing she wants to discuss right now, especially with strangers. Talking to them is fine... but remembering all the things she's seen, it's really better for her not to speak about it. (It doesn't stop her from dwelling on it, try as she might otherwise.)

Still, the whole atmosphere is odd. It has a... a certain feeling to it. Her head feels fuzzy if she tries to think too much about things from the past, and the citizens are entirely too cheerful about everything. Aqua's tried to leave via the road, but that had been a bust, and when she'd attempted to ask questions, she'd been met with resistance. She's not content to resign herself to staying here forever, though, which is why when she sees another person, she approaches them. ]

Excuse me. This may seem like a strange question, but is there anything you find odd about this place?

the woods.

[ A scream.

Aqua had definitely heard it, even though the people she's had little luck with in her investigations refuse to acknowledge it. She remembers who she is--was--now, a Keyblade Master with the balance of the worlds on her shoulders. Standing idly by is certainly not an option, even if she isn't getting any help with that pursuit.

Into the woods she goes, then. Aqua is wary, since she's never ventured into them, but whoever is out there needs her help. If someone catches her attention before she gets too far in, she'll stop them and ask, ]

Did you hear that, as well? That scream.

[ Otherwise, she makes her way to that fence. It's too tempting to approach it... so she does. She's not even that close to it when she feels it: a draining feeling, sapping away her energy. Aqua presses on, though, to see how far she can make it; that person is still out there... And then she's on the ground, struggling to keep her wits about her.

Alternately, Aqua does manage to get away from the fence. Anyone she sees who's getting a little too close for her comfort, she'll stop, and say, ]

Don't go any further. There's a strange power there closer to the fence--it drains your energy.

welcome to wayward pines.

[enter_the_darkness]

[ Well, when it comes to discussing the past, something tells him he's better off not doing that anyway. Even if Vanitas can't remember much of anything beyond his name and a little of his time on some... world called Crystallis (a memory that comes with a few other, random things, including the name "Plena," the name "Ira," and... the word "chocobo?"), he feels like there are so many other things... all there in the back of his head, just waiting for some kind of spark or something.

But, honestly, he's not worried about all that, more than he is about the fact that he's not able to leave this place. After his second attempt to take that road, he's just going to settle for leaning against a wall, hands tucked firmly into his pants pockets, eyes settled intently on the ground.

That is, up until he hears someone asking another person a question. Said person being asked gives their answer, a kind smile, a gentle touch to the woman's shoulder... The same song and dance he's seen more than a few times since he woke up in that hospital. He's stopped thinking about the weird accident, the weird people, the weird feeling he's had since he got here, but that doesn't mean he's anything resembling the word "resigned," either. That's why, after the woman finishes her conversation with that Happy-go-Lucky 2000 (just try to argue that they don't all seem almost robotic, people), he walks right on up to her. ] It'd be easier to list off what I haven't found odd, but...

[ For a moment, his eyes narrow at her -- another familiar feeling... He's actually getting tired of those, since all they do is make his head feel weird all over again. ] ...There's a reason you asked that person, right? So, I'm not the only one.

[ A smirk. ] I wouldn't go around announcing any "odd" feelings, though. Saw some guy get dragged off just a few minutes ago, just for asking too many questions.

howard "the worst" stark | mcu

[inventor]

i. welcome to wayward pines;

( the sign bewilders him first. well, actually — waking up in a hospital with no memory whatsoever first bewilders him. but the sign registers as an 8/10 on his "strange-o-meter™". the third was being kicked unceremoniously out of the hospital without any information regarding his identity; the fourth would definitely be the weird residents answering in riddles and plastered smiles.

in general, this whole village has a creepy, conrad veidt-ish quality to it. (yay, he remembers something!)

his first thought is to leave the town immediately. that's easier said than done. his efforts end in frustration, after the locals refuse to give him directions, and when he does decide to take his chances by taking the only road out, he finds himself back in the town center. either his head injury is more serious than the doctors initially realised or.....

he doesn't know. it's unwise to draw conclusions without first compiling all the evidence. he starts by walking around the town, observing the comings and goings of its residents. at noon, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker, and the other shops close for lunch. ample time for snooping, he thinks. spying through the red french doors of the bakery, he spots the sign right below the CLOSED sign.

he has to read it several times before he realises that it's not a joke. even then, he guffaws. then, he says, to no one in particular, ) They must really not want the business.

ii. into the woods;

( a scream — human — pierces the quiet stillness of the town. on instinct, he runs towards it. he doesn't know why he's doing it or how he knows that it's human (instead of, let's say, a bobcat). but, logic be damned, he runs in to the woods. trampling over wet grass, ducking under tree branches, and stumbling over loose rocks, he eventually finds himself in an open clearing, lost. he peeks over his shoulder, eyes carefully observing the surrounding environment. the afternoon sun barely penetrates through the thick foliage of the trees. )

Hello? ( aside from his soft pants and the bubbling of a nearby stream, it's quiet. after a few moments, he calls out again, ) Hello? Is anyone there? ( another few moments pass and a look of irritation and impatience begins to cross his features. a sharpness enters his tone, ) Look, if this is some kind of trap or joke, you got me. Come out and kill me or whatever. I don't have time for a wild goose chase.

( another few moments pass before a whispered curse — "fuck" — slips from his mouth and he runs off again. if there's anything he has time for, it's a wild goose chase. the further in to the woods he treks, the quicker his speed declines before he finally slows to a walk. his lungs are on fire and his muscles ache with exertion. he stops to take a break, leaning against a tree. not for the first time, he chastises himself for running in to the woods like an idiot. a sharp pain enters the periphery of his mind — a headache. he massages the space between his eyebrows, willing the headache away. if anything, that causes the headache to crash down upon him with the force of a thousand bulls. his body crumples from the pain, breath becoming short. he's in so much agony that he isn't, can't be aware of his surroundings. )

iii. you done hecked up;

( upon regaining consciousness, his first thought is "ow." the next thoughts and minutes are focused on an in-depth analysis of "ow" and its relation to his body, mind, and soul. his head throbs with pain and he softly moans against the cold concrete floor. he cracks open his eyes, bloodshot eyes, and the dim lights of the building feels like knives to his senses. quickly, he shuts his eyes and moans again. after a few minutes and a great deal of strength, he's able to peel himself off the floor to lean against the wall. eyes still closed, he focuses on breathing — in, out, in, out. that's all that he can do to regain control.

it must've been some party for a hangover like this and for him to end up in jail. by this point, he knows a jail without even needing to look. (yay, he remembers something else!) honestly, all that can be done right now is wait for the hangover to fade and for a police officer to arrive to release him. whenever that should happen is anyone's guess. )

2

[rockmusic]

[Howard isn't the only one who ran into the woods at the sound of a scream - although for Pebbles curiosity was more a driving force than heroics.

She stands in stark contrast of the man (no pun intended). While he wears the sorts of clothing that rich geniuses from the 40s wear, the 13 year old girl before him stands barefoot in the woods, wearing some kind of bluish animal fur as a skirt, and a top made out of woven grass.

She wasn't following him, exactly. Being one of the first children to live in civilization, she hasn't exactly need to hone her tracking skill. Still, with the amount of noise he was making, it wasn't exactly the most difficult thing in the world.]

...were you the one screaming earlier? I can help you get back to town, if you want.

Jiaying | MCU / Agents of SHIELD | OTA

[oncekind]

Option 1: welcome to wayward pines

[She's been told repeatedly by the nurses that the memory loss was normal. That she'll get it back in time. But the lack of anything concrete, especially in the form of a name, was distressing. If there is one thing she knows, however, it's that she has family and she needs to get back to them.

So when the nurses have left her alone, she climbs out of bed and carefully makes her way outside. They said she had a back injury, which is making walking very hard. The first person she sees will get an urgent an anxious plea as well as a tight grasp on their arm. She's losing her balance and now that she's upright and moving, her back hurts a lot more]

I'm sorry. Do you know who I am? Or my husband? My daughter? Do you know where I live?


Option two: into the woods

Hello? Is anyone there? [she doesn't buy the explanations. That it was nothing. No one screams like that for nothing. She starts to inch her way through the woods, calling out intermittently]

If you need help, make a sound. I'll come for you.

[she only stops once she's close enough to the fence to suffer the effects, feeling weak and ill as she braces against a tree. She catches sight of the top of the fence through the leaves]

I-- hello! [and in a softer tone to herself:] What is that?

Option 1

[flowerida]

[ Flower's smile doesn't change. It stays the same, genial and friendly little curve of his lips as he watches the woman struggle, clutching at his arm, clearly in pain.

After a moment, he sighs, sounding like he'd just caught her doing something awful silly before moving to try and curl his arm under her shoulder to support her. ]

There, there. Come on, let's get you inside. You're going to catch an awful chill walking around like this, you know that?

jude mathis | tales of xillia

[snapivot]

into the woods.

[jude is off and running for the woods the moment he hears the scream, ignoring the reassurances of a handful of townspeople that he was hearing things, that if he hadn't it was simply an animal.

their faces betray them though, they're clearly worried about something, and there's no part of jude that's simply satisfied to leave things be with that knowledge. he's reasonably certain that this exact sort of thing has gotten him into trouble more than once but.

someone could be hurt, he can't just pretend he didn't hear anything.] Is anyone out here? Hello? If you're hurt I can help you, just let me know where you are!

[not when there's something he could do to help.]

you done hecked up.

I can't believe this. [jude says with a sigh, pressing his head against the cool metal of the jail cell bars, once again questioning his life choices that led to this moment.

he hadn't really thought asking questions would get him into trouble, before, but lately that seemed to be all his curiosity did for him. it was never a good sign when people reacted so poorly to that sort of thing though, and it only tells jude that he needs to dig a bit deeper (though perhaps a bit more subtly this time, he should have known better really, blame the lingering ache in his head from whatever accident brought him here) in the end.

their mistake really, underestimating how stubborn he could be when push came to shove.] ... at least there's no wanted poster this time. [he concludes with another sigh before settling down into a sitting position to wait.]

hecked up

[notyetlostboy]

[In general Poland wasn't a person who fraternized with strangers. Meeting new people made him sweaty, his heart pound in his ears and his stomach knot up terribly with indigestion. Unfortunately the cell he was sharing was relatively close quarters and... the mere mention of previous wanted posters existing of this man was the most interesting thing he'd heard in days.

Poland looks up from studying his fingernails, instead studying Jude. It was difficult picturing him looking intimidating enough to warrant a poster. Maybe he's just not looking at the right angle? Hm.

It's rather hard to not notice Poland framing Jude with his fingers from across the cell, aside from Poland not realizing how noticeable he's actually being.]

Blivette Sonicdriver | OC

[magicandgunpowder]

((please excuse the crappy icons...slowly doing artwork))]

»» ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴀʏᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴘɪɴᴇsₒ
[Blivette isn't sure how she's ended up here. Perhaps she went through a door, she remembers that from before. Passing through a door and ending up in another world entirely. Though this one appears much better off than what she remembers from that world. The staff does little to answer her questions and simply leaves her confused and frustrated.

Still, she waits until she's released. Feeling as if trying to run away would end poorly for her, though she isn't sure why she feels that way. Perhaps something similar happened before? It's a small blessing, she supposes, that they don't keep her for too long. Especially considering they thought she was a child at first (given she's not even three feet tall it's no surprise).

Once free she begins to wander around town in an attempt to find a familiar face, though she's not sure if she'd actually recognize anyone if she were to run into them. Her memories are so fuzzy and there's so little she actually remembers.

Having gained so little information from the staff in the hospital she decides to ask around in town.]

Um, excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you but I'm quite lost. I was wondering if there's any way out of town? [This and similar questions are asked from anyone she can find. Most ignore her and then finally someone points her to the sign...which is naturally too high up for her to read.]

Read the sign, they tell me. Sure, I'd do that if it wasn't a good three feet above my head!

»» ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴏᴅsₒ
[The scream from the woods causes a strange itch in the back of Bliv's mind. That kind of itch of almost remembering something but being unable to quite remember what it is. Like a words that's on the tip of the tongue but you can't remember what the word sounds like.

Either way it sends a chill down her spine and pique's her curiosity. She doesn't ask what it is, it's either someone in need of help...or a trap. Either way she finds herself running off in the direction it came from. She shouldn't go alone, she knows that's stupid and dangerous.

Before long she ends up a little lost and doesn't find anything that answers who or what screamed. Unsure which way she came from she continues walking until starts to feel a little weak. She gets the feeling there's something large ahead and soon realizes it's a giant wall (made even more giant compared to her lack of height).]

What? [It doesn't dawn on her at first that the wall is causing the weakness so she continues toward it until her knees start to feel weak.]

What is this thing? [She's curious, she wants to get a closer look, but she's quickly realizing that's not an option.]

Welcome to Wayward Pines.

[ratkingcole]

[Corstine watches this exchange with mild curiosity, her eyebrow raised slightly at the sight of the gnomish woman before her. She's... honestly not sure if she's ever seen anyone that short before. Her memory's pretty hazy right now - something that is causing her increasing amounts of irritation.

Still, she might as well throw the half-pint a bone. No reason not to give her the same information as everyone else.]

The sign's a bunch of bullshit. Says not t'leave town, or talk about the past, or else.

[There's also something about a phone, but Corstine's honestly... not a hundred percent sure what that is, so she left that part out.]

Leon S. Kennedy / Resident Evil

[roundhoused]

( option 1 )
[Something about this place seriously gives him the creeps. Sure, the hospital staff had been friendly enough, but they were almost too friendly, and they hadn't been even a little bit helpful. Something inside told him he needed to escape, but once outside, Leon only found himself with more questions than answers.

It isn't until there's some distance between him and the hospital that Leon tries to approach anyone.]

Excuse me. I'm not from around here. Can you tell me anything about this place?

[Anything, honestly. While he'd like to hope that he isn't the only new "resident" in town, any sort of hint that might help him figure out just what kind of place this is would be a plus, too.]

--

( option 2 )
[A scream like that would grab anyone's attention. The residents once again prove unhelpful, leaving Leon with no choice but to do some of his own investigating. He doesn't know what to expect... only that it can't be anything good.

He hasn't gotten as far as discovering the fence yet, but if he isn't the only one attempting to investigate, then that's fine, too. The first person he sees, regardless of their current state (whether or not they're injured, whether or not they even look like they could have screamed like that), he immediately asks:]

Hey, are you alright?

1!!

[isdf]

[Himself a recent discharge, Yuma's just finished perusing a notice in front of an establishment when Leon approaches him. He gestures to the sign.]

Would you like to see for yourself? There are signs like these on every building. I believe they provide an apt summary of the town.

helga sinclair | atlantis

[anteil]

into the woods

| Helga doesn't suffer even the mildest case of helper syndrome, and thus could live very well with herself and the rest of the world if she didn't go looking for the screamer. That's not it. What gets to her is the lack of information, the obvious secrecy, and the fact that the locals won't meet her eye when she inquires about the sound that just went through skin and bone of everyone within hearing range.

Fortunately, she isn't the only non-local here! And since she doesn't have a death wish, this is an excellent team-building exercise right there. |

The neighbourhood watch seems to be off duty today. | –– poignant glare at the locals –– | How about it?

| You, me, the forest of bloodcurdling screams? |

you done hecked up

| The city limits are off-limits. Point taken and likely much to be ignored in the future, because if her middle name wasn't Katrina, it would be "fueled by determination and spite in the face of adversary". Now, that's all very low-key motivational, but she continues to be locked up, and there isn't much she can do until that state of things chooses to pass her by.

Well, maybe some push-ups. Get some of that frustrated energy out.

Maybe some bonding with the cellmate. Shared jail-time sure is a a conversation starter. |

Let me guess – | she speaks in a lazy type of drawl, because for all struggle she put up while going in, there isn't much point in keeping that up once the keys are turned and you're formally screwed | disturbed the peace?

into the woods

[aplacelikeme]

[ Telling Evey Carnahan not to ask questions is like telling the rain to stop falling. It might stop eventually, but it will have nothing to do with whether you want it to or not, and it is much the same way with the constant stream of inquisitive remarks that keep falling from Evelyn's pretty little mouth to upset and annoy every one she comes across in this strange place.

Trust the Americans to build a town that is basically a prison.

For some reason that she can't quite place, she finds herself driven to say "no offence" to no one in particular at that thought. How odd.

But at last, here is someone willing to actually investigate When something strange happens. She pushes her glasses further up on her nose and gives Helga a determined nod. ]

But of course! If someone out there is in distress we can't just stand here twiddling our thumbs!

[ Why does a librarian think she is in any way qualified to handle this situation?

You know, she's not quite sure but for some reason she is certain that she's had worse. This memory loss business really is awfully frustrating, isn't it? ]

miyu | vampire princess miyu

[kyuuketsuhime]

THE WOODS;

[ There's an emptiness to this place that she can sense underneath everything, a strange distance — it's clearly not Japan, not anywhere close, even if the dark and foreboding woods are something she's more than used to. The locals here seem scared of them, and when she hears those screams one of her first nights here, it has her attention. The night is what Miyu was bred to live in, and under it's cover (and entirely alone — Larva is nowhere to be found, even though she calls for him, over and over) that she wanders into the woods to investigate. The moment she feels her power draining she stops, takes a few steps back, and cants her head to the side as she listens. Whatever was screaming as stopped, and there's something opressive in the air, sapping her of her energy, making her thirst and taking away those powers bestowed unto her.

A shinma, perhaps? A powerful one she's never encountered before? Those old grandpas that gave her this task to begin with are also nowhere to be found, and while normally she'd be grateful for that — there's too much that she doesn't understand here. It's driving her a little up the wall. She doesn't like not having the upper hand. It's a sensation she hasn't felt in decades.

Miyu slips out of the woods and back into town as the sun starts to rise, padding her way barefoot and clad in an old-fashioned kimono over the sidewalks, back towards the block she lives on. An odd site in a sleepy Idaho town, especially considering she's not really going out of her way to keep herself from being conspicuous. Sloppy, but Miyu also assumes most of the people in the town are asleep. There's no one around to question why she's awake at dawn and running around with the mud stained hems of her kimono and her feet to indicate she's been out playing in the woods.

Too many thoughts on her mind. Too many thoughts about Larva's lack of response. ]

[oncekind]

[Jiaying sits at the front porch of her house, wrapped in a white bath robe and wearing indoor slippers. She's heard the scream again and since it's not wise to incur the sheriff's attention, she decides to stay up and sit outside instead, wondering if she's really the only one who's heard it.

Her memory is still fuzzy and limited. She doesn't know how she got hurt or how she got into an accident. Her name is on the front of the house 'Jiaying'. It seems familiar enough. But what matters most is the husband and newborn daughter she remembers. They are no where to be found and as the thought grips her again, she wraps her arms around herself.

The sound of quiet steps causes her to look up though and she's a little startled to see a young woman in a kimono walking down the street. After a moment's hesitation, she calls out softly,]

Hello?

Dandy Mott | American Horror Story

[affluenza]

1 //

[Dandy decides to check out the grocery store first. Although he really should have bigger things on his mind, he's currently holding two different boxes of cereal: a box of Frosted Flakes in his left hand, and a box of Froot Loops in the other.

He turns to the nearest unfortunate individual.]

Excuse me? Which one of these is better, you you say? I do like the cartoon tiger a bit more than the cartoon bird, but the bird's cereal is more colorful.

2 //

[When he hears a scream, of course he has to go investigate. Not out of any sort of concern for the person in question, but rather because there might be a gruesome scene to behold and there's no way he's missing out on that. He's bored and a mangled body would really brighten his day a bit.

But he looks, and he looks, and he looks...and now he's getting tired. He did miss his nap today, and doesn't really think any more of it than that. Turning back towards town, he notices another person a little ways away.]

Hello? Was that you who made that noise? Are you hurt?

[He sounds a little too excited about that last question.]

3 //

[The one good thing about being in jail was that he had a, literally, captive audience. He's decided to take this opportunity to ramble on, and on, and on, about his hopes and dreams of stardom.]

I feel like Burt Lancaster right now. You have seen Brute Force, haven't you? It's a classic. Mother didn't want me to see it. She said crime films are too provocative, a prison film even moreso, but I wore her down and I saw it six times in theater.

[He leans dramatically up against the bars of the cell, arm above his head.]

I would be phenomenal in that role. I even know most of the lines. I know a lot of film scripts, actually. There wasn't much to do back home so I'd stay in all day just rehearsing by myself...

[And he'll just keep talking about his acting methods and vocal warm ups and other fascinating topics until he's interrupted.]

1

[snapivot]

Better? [jude asks, eyes wide in surprise at the question. it's not exactly the sort of thing that anyone has ever asked for his opinion about, and it doesn't help that he's not familiar with either of the two cereals either.

is food even supposed to be that unnaturally colored?]

I... I don't know. Shouldn't you make the decision based on the food itself instead of the packaging?

enrico pucci | jjba (stone ocean)

[theophilia]

option 2 | network or in-person dialogue sample

[The screaming . . . sure is? Super fucking unsettling? Not that it's the first distant scream Pucci's ever heard; living as a prison chaplain, not to mention one with the intent to sow discord, leaves one in close proximity to many screams, both distant and close-to. This is different, though. It's out of his control, and it frustrates him.]

[That's the thing, really. He's more frustrated than frightened. More curious than either. So whether it's on the network or in person, he poses the following question:]

I wonder whether the pros of investigating outweigh the cons. What do you think?

[malignans]

That would depend entirely on what you hope to gain from such an investigation.

[He could just tell him to do it. Dio's fairly confident in that. But given the space in time between them . . . Well. Dio wants to see how much of how he thinks has remained and how much has adapted.]

elena gilbert | tvd

[martyric]

welcome to wayward pines.

( of course elena's first instinct is to run. she runs all the way down the road, some crazy burst of adrenaline keeps her going far beyond what elena's usually capable of...

until she realises that the road is just leading her back to town. there's nothing quite like hopelessness to take the wind out of a girl's sails. still, there's no point in giving up, she just needs...a new strategy.

cue elena going up to every person she sees without discrimination. )

Where are we? ( she's awfully demanding when she's scared, and elena will gladly grab the arms of people who are ignoring her. it's just rude, man. ) Where's all my stuff? How do we leave, the road just comes back to town.

( someone stop her before she pesters the town half to death. )

you done hecked up.

( so maybe all that hassling was a mistake.

elena's never been in prison before. for all the experienced she's managed to cram into the last few years, jail has never been one of them, and she kind of doesn't know what to do with herself. sitting still hasn't been a big part of her life either, and the combination is...well. she's struggling, that's for sure.

a good solid hour is spent pacing back and forth as she mentally runs over just about any plan she can possibly think of to get herself out of this cell and out of this town. all of them are terrible ( surprise surprise ) or require more people ( which she usually has ) and elena honestly feels more alone now than she's ever been in her life. when someone else ends up tossed in the cell with her, she doesn't mean to be but she's thrilled.

it's just been really hard being in here. that's all. )

What did you do? ( she asks, and her voice is wry and amused despite the expression on her face that clearly says bitter and irritated. she's got to see the funny side of this, right? the other option is going crazy. ) Did they say how long it'd be?

ring ring.

( okay, of course the phones are going to be the first thing elena tries. even after the phone connects and the dial tone stops elena still keeps punching in familiar numbers in the hopes that one works.

unsurprisingly it doesn't.

when she gives up on that there's a resigned sigh. it only lasts like two seconds though, the pity party is over quite quickly, and when she speaks it's fierce with determination. )

Can anyone hear me? Hello? I've woken up in a town called Wayward Pines, and I don't know what's going on but I can't get out. If anyone can hear this, please, tell me.

( she gives it approximately five minutes, and then the message starts again: )

Can anyone hear...

( lather rinse repeat )

wildcard.

( other options are great! give me spooky wood things or stepford wife creepery or anything 😍 if you're really not sure if i'll be down feel free to shoot me a PM but i guarantee you i almost definitely will be )

the heckupening

[theophilia]

[It's not that he's particularly thrilled to be here, either--he's not, and he doesn't look it--but the thing is, he doesn't look that worried either. The reason for that is, having worked in the prison system, he has a rough idea of how this goes. Admittedly he's in some kind of weird nonsense town now, and it doesn't follow any of the normal rules, which is deeply aggravating and will need to be corrected if at all possible. But the rest of the situation isn't foreign; therefore, he can weather it.]

[He's a little surprised to see someone else already here, though. So the people in town don't have things as much in hand as they'd like to, clearly. He shrugs one shoulder, his movement a little awkward like he doesn't shrug much, because he doesn't. #priesthood #srsbsns]

I mentioned the fence. [Several times. Lots of times. So many times. He's kind of fixated on it. The sound of the door slamming shut rings in his ears as he comes to sit on one of the benches.]

And no, they didn't. Which is an expected psychological tactic. [He genuinely has no idea how weird this sounds.]

Skye | Agents of SHIELD

[morethan084]

Option Two

[Skye was always too curious for her own good, so despite the way the locals tried to brush off that terrifying scream, Skye ignored their warnings. None of this sat well with her, especially the lack of animals the further in she went. Like they had all run away from whatever might be out there. There’s a part of her that’s regretting this, especially since she has no weapon on her person to protect herself.

The fence is also something that makes her instincts scream at her that this was not good. At first when she starts to feel drowsy and woozy she thinks it’s because she’s been in here for hours and hasn’t had anything since lunch. Except that she’s feeling worse by the second and that could not be normal. Spotting the fence, Skye had to wonder if it was giving off something to make her feel this way. Knees buckling, Skye attempts to reach out and grab onto a nearby tree but her finger tips just brush the trunk of the tree before she’s suddenly on the ground.

This was not good. Honestly she's not sure if she's hallucinating or if she actually heard someone. Either way, she tries to talk as loudly as she can. Dread filling her when she realized she could actually be in danger and her having absolutely no chance of putting up a fight.]

Hello? Is someone there?

Option Three

[Curiosity killed the cat, or arrested the cat in this case. The cat being Skye. This didn’t feel like the first time she’s been in trouble with the law, so she’s not as panicked as she probably should be. Either way she’s bored out of her skull and finally has to break the silence because it’s honestly killing her.]

What are you in here for?

3.

[ratkingcole]

[That earns a sideways glance from her cell-mate. She's got a bruise on her jawline, and some cuts and bruises on her arms - it's clear that she didn't enter the cell willingly.]

I abided the law too hard. They threw me in here because I was making everyone else look bad.

[Yeah, that's real likely. ]

Lemme guess: You ignored the sign and asked a bunch of questions in broad daylight?

Ramesses II | Fate/Grand Order

[dendera]

A- Welcome to Wayward Pines
[From the looks of it, this particular new arrival should probably still be in the hospital. But of course no mere mortals could hope to hold Ozymandias, King of Kings against his will! (He climbed out a window and fell in a bush, it was decidedly unglamorous and now there's a few twigs stuck in his hair. But never mind that.) He's certainly full of energy despite his injuries, though, if the volume with which he's communicating with the locals is any indication.]
No- Yes I have seen that sign! I do not care what it says! You think that you can hold me against my will? Hah! Don't make me laugh! I am simply giving you the chance to escape my wrath by telling me how to leav-
[The local man pats this clearly mentally unwell foreigner on the arm.]

Remove your hands from me, mortal! Know that I am Ozymandias, King of Kings! Who are you to think you can touch this divine body without my permission!?
[This seems like a slippery slope towards getting arrested. There's already other locals gathering around, looking concerned.]

C- You done hecked up
[Though, he managed to get arrested anyway, for an unrelated incident. It seems like the police had a fair amount of trouble with him, since his clothes are ripped and they opted to keep the handcuffs on him even inside the jail cell. Just in case.

So now he's sitting here, blood dripping from a nose that might be slightly broken, sullenly silent with death in his eyes. But that's mainly just because the guard left the room and there's no one left for him to yell at and demand to release him from "these crude iron shackles," lest he "rain the consuming light of Ra upon your heads." Not that he can accomplish anything of the sort without the conduit though which he commands Mesketet, something he doesn't currently have.]

c. 1/2.

[dehanded]

[ betcha didnt know you could arrest a gremlin. ]

Unhand me, human! I will tear your limbs from your body and use your tiny insignificant human skull to drink the blood of your children — your house will burn and your box of sweets will be mine! You will pay for this insol—ack!

[ someone just threw a small, screaming gremlin into the cell with him. didn't even give the poor pharaoh enough time to say anything. this seems like a regular enough occurence that the threats are ignored but... ibaraki, why?








she might have robbed the candy store. you dont know her life. ]