villagememes | test drive

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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[ i. the endless ]

[ It's a shock to the system, to go from a sunny, hot beach in California to a frozen, snow covered forest. Simon is dangerously underdressed for it - t-shirt, jeans, no socks or shoes. He's shivering almost as soon as he wakes up. ]

Hello?

[ His voice calls out, but the only reply is a heap of snow falling off a nearby tree. It's fine, he thinks, he's endured worse, right? All he has to do is fly above the tree line and - he can't. With a feeling of dread, Simon comes to realize that the dragon wings he'd been sporting for months now are gone. When he shivers this time, it's not from the cold.

But he's alone here, his magic long gone and now his one lifeline gone, too. Simon does what he supposes a rational person would do, which is start walking. He stays on the path because it seems like it might be the most gentle on his numb feet, and by dumb luck, he's chosen the way that brings him to the edge of town. He feels a sense of short-lived relief when he appears by the houses. ]

H-hell-lo?

[ His teeth won't stop chattering and he can't feel most of his body, but surely someone must be here that can help him out. Right? ]

[ ii. the end approaches ]

[ By now, Simon's found boots and a warm jacket. He's keen to explore the little town, especially now that he knows there aren't many here and those that are here aren't the original residents.

Absolutely wild, really, like the stuff from films.

He finds his way to the Town Hall. At the center of things, it seems like a reasonable enough place to check out. Simon's not unnerved by the empty halls. He's ready to start walking them when he stops to absently read the bulletin board. It takes him a moment to let his gaze wander to the map, and the cryptic message it displays makes him shudder. ]

No chance they mean Father Christmas, yeah?

[ He's been involved in one prophecy already, thanks, he's not looking for any more. ]

[ iii. WILDCARD ]

Choose your own adventure! Encounters at any known locations are good by me, or whatever else you might want. Hit me up at

blackspire if you want.

Edited 2020-11-22 06:01 (UTC)

[Klaus hears someone calling out, sounding downright frozen to the bone if he can tell anything from inside the boarding house. He frowns and heads to swing the front door open to find a younger guy standing outside shivering in a decidedly summer outfit.]

Oh, my god. Come here, get in here. You're probably fucking hypothermic. [And he'll check. He knows the signs. He knows a lot of weird medical shit, because his father insisted they all learn the weirdest fucking lessons as kids.]

[ Simon has never been great at accepting help from others, but he knows when he has no choice. Right now? No choice. He’s never felt this cold in his life and he’s pretty sure his feet and his fingers are about ready to fall off. So when the door opens to him, Simon is more grateful than he shows.

Mostly because he doesn’t think he could smile even if he wanted to.

Shuffling to the door, Simon can already feel the heat coming from inside. ]

Th-th-thanks.

[Klaus leads him over to the main common area of the house downstairs, ushering him to sit on the couch while he flits around gathering things. Pillows for comfort because really, that's always necessary. A blanket to start the warming process, but he'll get more later, this one is probably too thin to do much.] Are you clothes wet? If they are, you need to change. And I'm gonna find a thermometer so we can see how low your temp dropped. Can't risk sending you into shock for warming you up too fast.

[ Honestly, Simon's been too focused on just not freezing to death in the woods that he hasn't really stopped to think about his clothes much. Mostly, he's feeling a little stunned right now, and like his body can't stop shivering. ]

S'bit damp. Yeah.

[ It takes him a moment to answer the question. Now that he's somewhere warm, all the snow and frost that's been clinging to his clothing is starting to make the fabric wet. ]

Okay, hang on. [He disappears suddenly, for a long several minutes, but when he comes back he has a fresh set of clothes.] Here, change first, and then we'll work on the rest.

[He directs him to where the bathroom is so he can change (Klaus is fully aware most people hold far more shame than he does) and while he waits, he fusses around to find a thermometer.]

[ Honestly, Simon's not really sure where he is on the Shame Scale. Especially now that he doesn't seem to have wings and a tail anymore, which he'll think about when he doesn't feel so cold.

It takes him longer than it should to get changed. His wet clothes are sticky and he's still shivering, but the warm clothes feel nice. Not sure what to do with his other ones, he leaves them in a wet pile on the floor. ]

Wh-where is this place?

[He found what he was looking for and ushers the other guy back over to the couch.] It's called Mathias, and we're not really sure where or when it is, unfortunately.

Here-- [He holds the thermometer out to him so they can check his temperature and see how bad the damage really is. Beyond that, Klaus is just in instant fussy mode, draping a blanket around the other's shoulders, and hoping he's getting some heat to sink back down into his bones.]

[After a good couple of hours wandering about, Baz has come to two conclusions about this town: he's the only one of his friends here, and there is absolutely nothing to eat. Nothing with a pulse, that is, aside from humans. He's only wandered into the town hall for a short reprieve from the cold, head too clouded by hunger and exhaustion to care much about the bulletin board, but then, two things happen at once:

First, he catches a whiff of blood. Dried, not fresh, coming from the board.

Second, he hears a familiar voice. No chance they mean Father Christmas, yeah? Coming from...]

Snow?!

[He halts, blinking. Maybe this is a dream. Or maybe they both died in some desert in bloody America after all. Or maybe he's just hallucinating from hunger and exhaustion. There are a lot of maybes right now.]

[ Simon is turning his head to see who else has joined him at the same time Baz is saying his name and it feels like everything freezes. But in a good way, not in the This-Is-How-I-Die way. Baz, who Simon had last seen looking ghastly but radiant in the California sun, who Simon had nearly broken up with, who is standing right there looking just as stunned.

He literally runs the three feet between them, crashing unceremoniously into Baz and wrapping him up in a crushing embrace. ]

You absolute tosser.

[ It’s said lovingly. ]

test drive — winter

Simon Snow || The Simon Snow Series

the endless

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the end.

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