The Village Mod (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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villagememes2020-11-19 10:10 pm
villagemod) wrote in villagememes2020-11-19 10:10 pm
Entry tags:
test drive — winter
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 wordshe 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.
iii. the end approaches
Eliot steps up to the bulletin board, pointedly ignoring the guy setting up his own message to tap the old map, frowning.
A few moments pass before he finally acknowledges his presence, and realizes what he just wrote.]
A doctor, huh?
[Eliot's clothes are well-kept, he was lucky enough to bring a motorcycle-style jacket though it places him from a more mild climate than the current one. His stocky frame and general way of carrying himself--not exactly entirely aggressive, but certainly with the underlying implication of if you start something, you're gonna regret it.]
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Until the man suddenly talks to him and he blinks owlishly, looking back over his shoulder. But there's no one else, so that's probably for him.]
Uh, yeah. Are you a local?
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Me? Nah, I just got here.
Where are you from?
[Obviously he's new if he's introducing himself as a doctor, but he's curious and still utterly baffled by this place.]
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But Carter bristles slightly when Eliot seizes him up like that and holds his gaze, refusing to be intimidated. He's not a fighter but he's also not cowering.
But also please don't take him in a fight.]
Chicago.
Do you... Okay, this is going to sound really weird but do you remember how you got here?
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[He doesn't say where he's from, doesn't even offer it right now. He just knows that this is getting weirder and more confusing by the second.]
I have no idea how I got here. Don't even remember a thing 'cept wakin' up in the woods.
[At least he's not cowering, he'll give him that.
Don't give him a reason to take him in a fight then, man.]
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[Carter looks at Eliot expectantly. And then, when he doesn't offer any information in return, he looks a little more. Clears his throat.
Eventually,]
So who are you?
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[He doubts he knows him, and doesn't care if he does. There's no point in trying to keep a secret identity of any kind right now. If he's been kidnapped they obviously know who he is.
Whoever they are.]
Seen anythin' else unusual? Footprints in the snow when you woke up, maybe?
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[A beat.]
Okay, honestly, I didn't really pay attention. I was freaking out and trying to get to shelter.
[He points down at his short sleeves.]
Not exactly made for this weather.
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[It's not like he can fault him for that. If he's never been in a situation like this before, how can he know?]
The next time you're kidnapped that's the first thing you need to do. Memorize the area around you, look for footprints, anything. You'd be surprised at how distinctive even just one thing out of place can be.
[Eliot grumbles at the sight of him without a jacket.]
You're gonna freeze solid if you don't get inside or find a coat.
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[Carter looks around as if trying to memorize the area now then frowns and if he doesn't know what to do with this information. He doesn't know what to do with this information.]
I guess I am. You wanna come with? You're not exactly dressed for winter either.
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[For a moment it looks like he's going to scoff and say he's fine, that he's not even cold, that he doesn't need a coat, but then again, he is cold and he does need a coat.
Would do him no good if he, for some reason, came across a team of henchmen who were decked out in cold weather gear and he wasn't.]
Might as well.
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[Oh!]
Are you a cop?
[It would explain the whole retracing your steps, examining the crime scene attitude.]
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[There's a pause that makes it sound like it's an option he's not going to take.]
Nope.
[Kinda the opposite there, buddy.]
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Right.
[Is he going to elaborate, is he-- no, of course he isn't.]
Well, I'm going to do that. Once I have my coat.
[So there.]
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Is that really a good idea?
[He's just saying.]
You don't know how we got here. Police could be in on it.
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[He throws his hands up in exasperation, then pushes the door open, wincing when the biting wind chills his arms once again.]
And why would they let us wander around town if they were?
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[Duh. He winces when the doors open too, it's just so damn cold and he crosses his arms close to his chest as he trudges forward in the snow.]
Waitin' for us to make a mistake. Waitin' for the perfect moment.
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And now here they are again, out in the snow. Now what? He tries to think back of his psych rotation. De-escalate. Don't argue. Focus on the fear behind the delusion.]
Has that ever happened to you? Police doing something like this?
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Not me specifically, but I've seen it happen. I've seen good people screwed over by a system that was supposed to protect them. Doesn't take much for worse things to happen.
[He trudges through a particularly deep drift.]
I didn't notice any signs of a struggle when I woke up, which means they knew what they were doin'. Whoever brought us here, I mean.
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[Carter bites his tongue the moment it slips out. Should he have asked? Does he want to know how the creepy motorcycle jacket guy who hates the police knows that?]
It doesn't have to be malevolent. Might have been a chemical spill, maybe we breathed in some fumes...
cw: violence, drugs
[He shakes his head, rolling his eyes with a scoff.]
When you need to get a person from point A to point B without them knowin' or noticin', there are a few things that have to be done or the police will be on you in no time. They have to be knocked out or completely immobile, because any, any sign of a struggle will leave a million clues. Footprints tell how many people are involved, how heavy you are, what kind of shoes you're wearin', and that tells you the kind of work a person is in. I'd say we were probably given some kind of tranquilizer 'cause if they physically knocked us out we'd have a headache by now.
[You asked, so.]
cw: violence, drugs
Carter bristles at that tone, the rolling of eyes. He wants to snap back that this isn't what he meant, that he's not stupid, that this could be a hallucinatory or hypnotic effect rather than an actual physical relocation and you know what, he'd like to see the heavy tranquilizer that doesn't give you a headache--
Deep breath. De-escalate. Don't argue.]
How do you know that? If you're not law enforcement?
[He keeps the repetition inquisitive instead of angry but there's a sharp, testy note to it. Maybe he didn't pay attention to the spot where he woke up but he's clearly observant now.]
cw: violence, drugs
Eliot scoffs again and gives him a long look.]
How do I know that?
[You really want him to answer this?]
Listen, man, there are some questions you probably don't want to know the answers to.
no subject
[He sticks his chin out, feeling defiant.]
Like if you have anything to do with this? With all your in-depth knowledge on the perfect kidnapping?
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What kind of kidnapper would pretend to be kidnapped along with the person they kidnapped!? What kind of crazy person do you take me for?
[He throws a hand up.]
Come on, man! I don't have anythin' to do with this! Do you? How do I know you're really even a doctor!
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