test drive — winter

[villagemod]

WINTER TEST DRIVE
Welcome to the test drive and thank you for your interest in The Village. This test drive is not game canon but will allow players the opportunity to experiment with game mechanics, the setting, and the flexibility of choice allowed by this game. The following prompts are examples of typical situations characters might face in the game. At least one thread from the TDM is required as part of the game's application process.

The setting details and locations are still being unveiled in the game, so prospective players are welcome to play with established locations or create their own within the general setting of Mathias.

( Recommended listening: ♫ )

---

INTO THE ENDLESS
Winter has arrived in Mathias. Snow falls steadily, big puffy flakes that pile up quickly in drifts as the wind blows them around town. The trees in the forest are covered in it, the branches bending under the weight and shaking when the piles fall from them to the forest floor. The roofs of buildings become solid white and drifts form in doorways as the wind tries to rush inside anywhere it can.

New arrivals wake in the forest, with its winding paths twisting back on themselves as they branch in either direction. It isn't safe to stray from the path, there is a menacing fog that waits just a few yards inward in any direction, but for now, there is nothing impeding movement along those snow-covered paths that cut through the trees. Continue stumbling in one direction and you'll reach the small town, coming out near the mishmash of quaint houses that nestle beside crumbling ruins that used to be homes. But choose the other and you'll seem to stumble on forever, huddling against the wind until there seems to be a clearing up ahead—

And then nothing. The earth opens up before you in a ravine so deep that the bottom cannot be seen. The other side can be seen, tantalizingly out of reach, and there is the sense that safety is just beyond, if only you could get there. But with that sensation is also the knowledge that if you stay here, you will die. The edge seems unsteady, like getting too close would set it crumbling and send you tumbling into that dark endless nothing that waits below...

BODIES WITHOUT SOULS
Benedict Books is nestled quaintly on the square surrounding Mathias's Town Hall, a thick layer of dirt covering the front windows. Looking through those windows provides a much different view than looking directly into the shop through the doorway — vague shapes and forms of figures seem to be inside, though no details can be determined through the streaks of grime. Flickers that resemble flashlights can be seen passing along the windows from time to time, and on occasion there is even a muffled tapping sound that comes from behind the glass, as if someone is trying to get your attention. The same distorted figures can be seen looking through the windows from the inside outward, but moving from one side or the other reveals... nothing. There is nothing there, and perhaps it is all in your imagination.

A portrait hangs at the front of the store to illustrate the namesake of the little shop... that may, in fact, not be so little. Dust covers everything in sight and detritus litters the wooden floor, as if someone left the door open and allowed half the forest inside.

The books are mostly familiar titles from the 1990s and earlier, but close examination will reveal that key details seem to have been changed. They fill shelves in neat lines along the walls and rows in between, the building almost seeming to stretch on forever until, finally, a small office can be seen tucked away in the back. A glance back toward the front door gives the impression that the room isn't that big, after all. Strange that you previously thought so.

Prying the door open is the only way to get inside the small office; the hinges have rusted and are caked with dirt and grime. Search as you might, there are no interesting bits of information to be found here beyond a few inventory lists on the little desk. There is, however, a green and gold safe in the corner that, no matter how many times one turns the dial, simply clicks and clicks. Scratches around the safe indicate that someone tried to get in at one point, though there's no indication as to whether they succeeded.

THE END APPROACHES
Standing at the center of Mathias, the town hall is a modest two-story building that would be welcoming if not for the faded sign, chipped paint, and deafening silence within its empty halls. It's a typical government building, with a reception desk at the front and rows of identical offices within, the names half faded from each door. But what catches the attention is a large bulletin board on the main wall beside the reception desk, once meant to hold flyers or announcements for the community.

What it holds now is decidedly different. Tacked onto the board are scraps of paper covered in an assortment of handwriting styles — requests for supplies should anyone find them, pieces of information shared in the hopes of someone understanding the strange symbols and mathematical equations, notes about those missing or recently deceased. And over the center of the board, tacked on top of other papers, is a map discolored with age. Mathias Township can be read in the corner, a stretch of forest displayed beneath it, but everything else has been smeared to illegibility with red... ink? Upon close examination, a keen eye will realize that the ink is actually blood, though whether it is human is unknown. And scrawled across that forest, nearly covering the illustration of a clearing and a large house within, are the words

he is coming
A number of tarnished metal pushpins are scattered around the edges of the board, waiting for future messages to be shared, and a stack of pristine white paper and pile of cheap ballpoint pens rest on one of three chairs beside the board. The chairs are clearly meant for those waiting for meetings and are covered in the same layer of grime as everything else in the building — everything except the pens, paper, and bulletin board.

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Alec McDowell | Dark Angel

[fourninefour]

i. Into the Endless

[Alec is not expecting to wake up in a forest. Hell, he isn’t expecting to wake up at all, given that he and Max have just been exposed, caught up with the mass hysteria sweeping through the city and held hostage at Jam Pony. Although, he figures, he doesn’t know what Heaven (or any other form of afterlife) looks like; maybe the afterlife is supposed to be a forest, after all.

Regardless, there’s a sweeping fog lurking that makes Alec feel deeply uneasy, on top of the fact that the entire forest seems to be whited out with snow; he doesn’t know where he is, nothing about the landscape is familiar to him, and he seems to be alone, so far, from what he can gather. He winces, but decides to press forward.

No use giving into fear; no use winding up dead just from standing still.

There are many winding paths to choose from, but Alec doesn’t want to stray too close from the path that he’s currently on. He moves slowly, cautiously, keeping an eye and ear out for any kind of surprises. This kind of forest, with all this snow and fog? Looks like it should be full of them.

Except that, apparently, he chooses wrong; he marches on, teeth chattering and his arms wrapped tightly around himself, and then…]

Shit!

[Alec jumps back, having nearly walked right into what looks to be an endless abyss of a ravine. He keeps cursing as he backs up, angry at himself for being so stupidly caught up in his own thoughts so as to nearly get himself killed.]

ii. The End Approaches

[Alec doesn’t know what to make of this place, this Mathias. It seems to him like something out of a storybook, one of those old tales they use to scare children into behaving. All the chipped paint and fading signs remind him a bit of Terminal City, only…much more decrepit and skin-crawling, if he’s honest with himself.

The Bulletin Board seems ordinary enough, at first glance. Alec approaches, curious, and he reads the various messages that are pinned up in place. His eyes widen as he takes in what he sees.

Requests for supplies, requests for aid, notes about missing people, and notices about those recently deceased. Alec doesn’t read them all in depth, but he does skim the surface of most of them, trying to pick out a pattern or something connecting them all.

And then he gets to the creepy map of Mathias, the one with all the blood on it.

He stares, trying to make sense of it all. His unease increases, and, without thinking, he’s rubbing his shoulder, a way of trying to keep himself calm as he tries to make sense of it all.

‘He is coming,’ it says.]

Who is coming? Who is he? What the hell is with this town?

iii. Wildcard!

[Alec here is from the very end of the show, from the series finale of season 2. He also does look like bb!Dean Winchester, if your character would recognize him. If you’d like a different prompt or have a different idea, let me know either here via his journal or at afaeryschild.]

ii

[revvedup]

[ max stops by the bulletin board once every few days, checking over messages from other new mathias citizens and trying to keep track of what's happened, as well as trying to find clues on what might have lead them here or caused others to leave. the form she can only see the back of, even out of the manticore uniform, looks familiar enough to make her stomach seize up. even though she's mostly sure, it's not until he speaks until she's positive of who it is, and she considers leaving once it registers, but a memory makes her stay put.

it's been a few days and she's yet to actually live through it, since she hasn't left the town. but she still remembers the tone of that voice when it had revealed her escape had been a trick, that she was the weapon meant to kill eyes only; manticore's last attempt at breaking her in order to rebuild her. he'd been playing her the entire time.

she probably should leave, turn and leave him to whatever, but she doesn't. instead she stalks up to him, tapping him on the shoulder and decking him in the face with a right hook when he turns around. ]

[fourninefour]

[Alec has seen and experienced a fair amount of fucked up things in his life; being created in a lab, having a clone who went off the deep end, suffering the consequences of that clone's actions, and having to live in hiding to avoid being persecuted for being a transgenic, just to name a few. A creepy ass town with a creepy ass bulletin board with notices of missing people and notices of recently deceased, though? That's a new one, even for Alec. He has so many questions, and if his experience with Manticore has taught him anything, he doesn't expect easy answers, or, really, any answers at all without having to fight for them.

He's caught up in his own head, trying to process all of this, when he feels the tap on his shoulder, turns, and has Max punching him right in the face before he can even get two words out. He reels, head thrown back, but recovers quickly enough.]

Damn, Max, what the Hell was that for?

[revvedup]

The last time I saw you you walked into Logan's place and were filling me in on how I'd been tricked into killing him. You're lucky that's where it started.

[ that isn't entirely true. this place had filled her in on what manticore had really had planned and had even shown her burning manticore down, but that was harder to explain than what she'd already said and she doesn't feel she owes him a deeper one than that. ]

[fourninefour]

Whoa, whoa! Calm down Max.

[He knows it's the wrong thing to say as soon as he says it; telling Max to calm down, in fact, distinctly usually leads to the exact opposite, and usually involves Alec getting punched in the face more than once. He backs up, holding his hands up as a form of protection.

Stupid is as stupid does, even stupid knows better.]

I don't know how to explain this to you, but uh. That was a while ago.

[Shit, he thinks. There's...quite the time gap between the two of them, now. He has a lot that he's going to have to explain.]

[revvedup]

[ she's still eager to fight, and it doesn't entirely have to do with him. she's been stuck in this place for over two weeks with no way out, has lost people only for them to almost immediately revive, the conditions seem to only be getting worse, and it's all starting to get to her. alec makes for an easy target for her anger and frustration, given what she'd found out about him at home.

but he mentions that being a while ago, and it doesn't make sense. she steps back, fists still clenched, and looks him up and down, trying to discern any sort of tell that would give away his dishonesty. there's not one, but that doesn't mean anything. manticore had trained him well. ]

What do you mean, that was a while ago? What do you remember, because I remember coming to in my cell to you convincing me I had to leave to get to him in time. I remember you strolling in and training a gun on us both once he started seizing up and spiking a fever in my arms. I trusted you and you were playing me the entire time.

[ as angry as she is, hurt bleeds into her tone. it was stupid to put her trust in someone she'd only just met, and she doesn't know what she'd been thinking when she'd decided he'd earned is. maybe she was desperate, maybe it was because he'd had ben's face. all she knows is she would be stupid to give it to him again. ]

[fourninefour]

[Alec has to wonder at what kind of place this that seems to be able to collect people from seemingly different points in time; Max seems to be from the past, Hell, from near to when they first actually met, and that...well. That's a lot to process.

He rubs his hand over the bottom half of his face, wondering what's the best possible way to explain this situation. And situation, he thinks, is putting it kindly; clusterfuck is a more apt description, if he's being honest.]

Yeah, you know what? I was playing you then. I was still...fully in Manticore, the perfect genetic weapon, going wherever they told me. And if that's the last that you remember of me, you don't have any reason to trust me now.

[He considers her, trying to keep his own frustrations under control.]

But I don't have any reason to lie to you here, either. Manticore isn't here, from what I can tell.

[Which, well. Doesn't exactly mean much, in all honesty, given Manticore's methods. He rolls his shoulders back; rolls his neck. He keeps his gaze focused on Max.]

So to answer your question, the last I remember? You and me were holed up at Jam Pony because we'd been found out as X5s.

[revvedup]

[ she's still angry, even as she lets him say what he needs to. a big part of her wants to ignore what he's telling her and keep fighting him instead, but he doesn't deny any of it, admitting she's got no reason to trust him.

she doesn't want to. she wants to keep being angry, let it control her actions and take her hurt and frustration out on him. but then he mentions jam pony, that they'd been discovered as x5s, and she knows she hadn't told him about that. manticore has no reason to know about it, it can't have been something he'd learned from them. maybe they could have gotten it from zack, back when he'd turned himself in for her...but then why had they never gone after her?

it's the truth. she doesn't want to accept it, but she knows it.

her stance relaxes slightly, her fists unclench, and her expression shifts from fury to shock. ]

You're not lying. [ her voice is soft, as if she has to confirm it to herself before she proceeds with the conversation. she swallows, her voice a little louder now. ] What do you mean, we'd been found out? Who found us out?

[ mathias had shown her burning manticore down, too. everyone was free. it should have been over.

shouldn't it? ]

[fourninefour]

[He doesn't know what to do, really. He's making it up as he goes, trying not to further piss Max off while also trying to defend himself and fight for the odd friendship the both of them have managed to develop since fleeing Manticore. He doesn't want to push too far; he doesn't want to simply roll over and profusely apologize for shit they've worked through before this.

The key is in finding the middle ground, and, honestly, even now? That's never exactly been one of Alec's strongest traits.

He arches an eyebrow at her observation.]

Don't sound so disappointed, Max. I'm not trying to screw you over here, even if you don't trust me.

[Alec rubs his hand over his face. God, but this is going to be a long conversation, he expects. And they should really find someplace else to have said conversation.]

Is there somewhere around here we can go where we can talk? I'd rather not have this conversation while freezing my ass off.

[revvedup]

[ she doesn't, or at least she doesn't want to. his betrayal when she had had been too great. but he's already mentioned things that he shouldn't know, and however impossible what he's telling her seems, he's right - he's got no reason to lie to her when they're stuck in this place.

max looks him over again, mouth set in a line but eyes less angry, and holds his gaze for a little while before she finally relents. ]

There's an apartment above the Grey Gull. People come in and out of the restaurant, but it should be quiet upstairs.

[fourninefour]

[Alec nods. It's a start, at least. They've got a lot to talk about and work through, but at least she seems willing to hear him out. He'll take that, as long as he gets the chance to explain himself.]

I'll follow you, then. Lead the way.

[He thinks he's seen The Grey Gull, or at least, he's passed by it. At least they'll have privacy and warmth, two things Alec can appreciate as he tries to explain to Max everything she's missed out on.]

[revvedup]

[ she nods, then turns from him, trusting him to follow in her footsteps. fortunately no one is there to witness them as they walk through the doors and disappear up the stairs in the back, up to the apartment she'd been crashing in with daisy until the boarding house had been discovered. once they're there, she secures the door behind them and listens. they're alone, no one's even in the restaurant.

max turns to him, crossing her arms back over her chest. ]

Okay. Start talking.

[ she needs to fill him in about this place, and maybe it's not fair of her to withhold information until he provides some. but it's taking a lot for her to do this after what she'd learned he'd done. ]

[fourninefour]

[Alec follows as Max moves, walking up the stairs behind the Grey Gull to the apartment Max has been telling him about. He follows her inside, waits as she secures the door behind them, and finds the nearest wall to lean on. He makes himself comfortable, not taking his eyes from Max for a single moment.]

Okay, well. Where to even start? Manticore definitely burns down, and we all escaped. You, playing hero, of course, went with some of the younger transgenics.

[He pauses, looking over at Max for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to proceed. The look he next gives her is ominous, to say the least.]

Does the name Ames White mean anything to you yet?

The End Approaches

[conning]

You could be a Jeopardy contestant. [ Sorry Alec. Neal is feeling a little cross at the moment. He's been here long enough to replace his chic New York wardrobe with a baggy sweater and slightly too-long jeans, and even three pairs of socks one on top of the other don't keep his feet from sliding around in the boots he scavenged from one of the houses.

It's very, very creepy to pull together a mismatching wardrobe from the clothes of people who randomly disappeared. Neal eyes the other man for a moment. ]

No clue, see previous, see previous. As far as I've gathered, no one has any idea what's going on.

[fourninefour]

[Alec turns to the other man with an arch of an eyebrow, eyeing his wardrobe with obvious amusement.] I suppose I could, if I knew what Jeopardy was. You going for grandpa chic there? You're kind of too old to pull off the surly teenager look.

[Not that he's dressed any more stylishly, what with his slightly too large jeans, crappy jacket over a turtleneck and some kind of ugly ass vest he found, and his boots, which pinch his toes. But the day is young, and it's not a day that ends in 'y' if Alec doesn't make some kind of remark that may or may not get him punched in the face.]

Cool. So we're all just...stuck here, no one with any idea what's going. Awesome. That always bodes so well.

[conning]

[ A flat look. ] I prefer grandpa chic to freezing my literal limbs off. Not as dramatic a statement, maybe, but more serviceable in the long run.

[ He stops in front of the map, glaring up at it. ]

So far as I've been able to gather--yeah. Apparently the first of the very confused arrivals got here about three weeks ago and have been 'trickling in' since.

[ He knocks on the bulletin board. ] So far I've met a mercenary, a violent crimes consultant to the police, a very testy PI, and been told about the existence of a US Marshal somewhere within these humble walls. I'm sensing a theme and not particularly liking it.

[ Neal looks over at Alec, appraising him. ] Neal Caffrey. You?

[fourninefour]

[Alec shrugs, though, admittedly, he has to concede that the stranger raises a valid point. Even with his enhanced genetics, Alec isn't exactly immune to the extreme temperatures, loathe though he is to own up to that particular fact.

Huh. Well that's interesting, Alec thinks. The first people showed up three weeks ago, and everyone else has been trickling in ever since.

And then the man starts listing off all of the different people he's met, and Alec visibly tenses, his shoulders straightening and his mouth narrowing. Without thinking, he moves to adjust his turtleneck and the scarf he wears, making sure they fully cover his neck and the barcode on it.]

Why so much law enforcement in one place? That seems more than a little overkill. Are they trying to turn this village into a police state?

[And here Alec thought the only things he had to worry about were the cold and the disappearances. Shit.

He considers the man, Neal, apparently, and nods. Whoever he is, he seems to have an interest in taking note of law enforcement, which Alec finds at least mildly reassuring.] Alec. I take it you just recently arrived yourself?

[conning]

[ Neal catches those tells, Alec's discomfort at the presence of the law. It makes him feel better. A little. At the very least it makes him curious. ]

Very. Recently enough that I haven't slept yet, unless you count the nap I woke up from in the forest. And I'm guessing, based on the questions about the Our Friend the Law, that you're new too.

[ He rubs his face. It's easy enough to fall into this, to try and make his sidelong way into someone's good graces by appealing to their dislike of law enforcement. ] One thing's for sure. Whoever brought us here is really not afraid of drawing the wrath of federal and state governments.

[fourninefour]

[Alec snorts at that, 'Our Friend the Law,' indeed. Well, hopefully none of those law enforcement agents are from Manticore, or with White and his fun group of friends. Otherwise, he's deeply screwed, even without this weird, haunted town and this disturbing message board.]

Yeah, just recently strolled into town myself. I'm guessing we took the same nap.

[He shakes his head, glancing up, down, and behind for any potential for signs of law enforcement.]

I don't know whether to be impressed by how brassy that is, or the sheer stupidity of it all. Hey, by the way, any of these law enforcement types, were any of them named White, by any chance?

[He fishes because he needs to know; he needs to get an understanding as to whether he should stay in town or take his chances in the damn woods.]

[conning]

Didn't get the marshal's name, the consultant is named Malcolm Bright, PI goes by Sherlock. Merc goes by the name Rodriguez, though who knows if that's true or not. [ He shakes his head. ] No White. That I've met at least. He your... particular pain in the ass?

[fourninefour]

Yeah, my 'particular pain in the ass' just about sums White up. You would know him if you met him, even if he didn't introduce himself. He's the biggest asshole in the room, wherever he goes.

[And, yeah, obviously, Alec's biased; comes with the territory of trying to outrun some hellbent asshole trying to kill you and yours. But, generally speaking, even outside of his vendetta against transgenics, White is just an overall unpleasant human being. (The 'human' part is debatable, of course.)]

What about you? You've got your own particular asshole to worry about showing up here, or?

[conning]

[ Keller and Adler jump immediately to mind. The first, a brilliant sociopath who's more than willing to kill to get what he wants--one of the things he wants being Neal, dead--and... well. The second, a brilliant sociopath who's more than willing to kill to get what he wants--one of the things he wants being Neal, recruited to his side. Neal's lips twitch into a brief, ironic smile. He really needs to keep better company. ]

Several. [ He shakes his head. ] And plenty that it would be incredibly reassuring to see, but I also don't want them stuck in a Silent Hill knockoff.

[fourninefour]

[Alec grins at that, even further inclined to like this dude. Anyone who seems to distrust the law and has several particular pains in the ass after him has the potential to be good people, and Alec appreciates Neal's company the more for it.]

Damn, I'm slacking. You've got a whole collection, huh?

[He tilts his head at the mention of Silent Hill, unsure what that might be referring to. Even now, his knowledge of pop culture is extremely limited; he still doesn't know the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars.]

[conning]

[ Unfortunately, Neal is a pop culture reference addict. Which makes my fourth wall life hard. ] A man can't be too careful in his choice of enemies.

[ A crooked smile. ] Of course, that means more potential angles of attack, but such is life.

[fourninefour]

Probably not, but that just keeps the man on his toes, in my experience. [Alec says, as if he's actually chosen his own enemies instead of, say, picking them up along the way and/or antagonizing them into especially despising him and wanting him dead.

Alec just grins right back.] Keeps life interesting. Wouldn't want to get too complacent, right?