villagememes | test drive

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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 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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[ someone throws a rock at his back and it's jarring enough that he nearly stumbles in the snow. he catches himself before it happens but he's still whirling around, ready to defend himself when he catches sight of a very familiar face, standing there like he's a predator and she's the prey.

it's smart of her to do that because he is absolutely the predator but he has no inclination to go after her. he's actually slightly relieved to see her standing there. ]

Elena?

[ he raises his voice a bit to be heard before he starts moving towards her slowly. ]

[ he looks good with shorter hair. she's certain elijah could rock a mullet if he so chose to grow his hair out.

she watches him walk towards her and notes that it's with the familiar air of authority and confidence. she takes a few steps towards him, suspecting he finds it easier to walk in the thick snow.

her brows furrow as she watches him. ] I like your hair.

[ it's a stupid thing to say, and she feels plenty stupid for even voicing it, but she's cold and she's been alone for too long that sometimes stupid things come out of her mouth. ]

Thank you.

[ he sounds slightly surprised when he says it because it is an inane and insignificant thing to comment on considering their current surroundings. ]

You're going to freeze, Elena.

[ elijah shrugs out of his jacket and immediately starts putting it on her arms, peering around him as he does. he can't see or hear anything and that worries him.

are they truly stranded in the middle of nowhere? ]

Come on, we have to find shelter.

[ elena opens her mouth to protest, but his jacket is nice and soft, and it feels so warm from leeching his body heat. she does think to shrug it off her shoulders and throw it back over him, but she slides her hands deep inside of its arms and pulls it to her over her jacket. ]

Thank you.

[ her hair's trapped beneath his blazer, which only seems to make her feel a touch warmer. now that he's here, she thinks that there's hope to go home, even if none of that makes sense.

licking her lips, she glances around the snow-covered woods. ]

There's nowhere to go. I've been trying to find somewhere warm for what feels like hours.

[ as soon as his jacket's gone, he feels the cold like a whip against his shirt but he ignores it. he's a vampire and while hypothermia might kill him, it would be temporary albeit unpleasant and uncomfortable.

as she speaks, he nudges her forward because they had to get walking. they couldn't very well make camp out here. they wouldn't survive.

she wouldn't survive. ]

There has to be somewhere, Elena. I refuse to believe we've been somehow dropped into the middle of nowhere. There's always something.

[ he is going to find shelter and then he is going to ask why elena gilbert is here with him. ]

[ elena walks at his nudge, and tries to make her strides long so she can keep up with him and not become lost in the snow. if she widens her strides, then perhaps that means she gets closer to the warm hole in the wall she keeps imagining.

arms wrapped around her, she stays near elijah just in case the snow thinks to part them.

she smiles up at him. ] You're over a thousand years old. You don't think there's a small possibility?

No.

[ he especially doesn't think that's the case considering the circumstances of how they got here. he keeps walking, eyes scanning the area for something that looks like shelter.

he peers up at the snow and then brushes it out of his hair. ]

Do you remember anything about what happened before? Was there any indication that this was going to happen to you?

[ well, his brother drained her of her blood. what other indication could there be?

elena presses her lips down tightly so that she doesn't blurt those words out so unceremoniously. his jacket is nice and warm around her, and elena tries to stay close to him. she does give his question serious consideration, and then decides that, no, nothing had indicated she would end up here. no flicker of snow, no strange chill... just the death she had signed up for. ]

No... [ her heart ticks a little and she hates how lying feels like a heavy shawl. ] I was walking at night and... woke up here.

[ she looks up at him and smiles at the snow in his hair. ] Did you?

No.

[ there was nothing that he remembers that would indicate this was coming. he wonders, just for a few seconds, if this was something that niklaus had done but it's not really his style. if niklaus wanted him out of the way, he would have just shoved a dagger into his chest and put him into a coffin. ]

This isn't right. [ he stops, looking left an then right before he chooses a direction and starts moving. ] Are you all right?

[ he hasn't asked her that, has he? even if they've been on opposites sides before, she doesn't deserve his ire.

her only crime was being a doppelganger. ]

[ when he stops, she stops, and it takes her a second to realise that he's moving again and follow him. it's hard to keep up considering she's contending with thick snow, the cold and his blazer, but she does her best to stay on his heels. ]

I'm fine.

[ it's a nice practiced lie. elena much prefers to say she's fine than anything else, not wanting him to worry and not wanting to admit to herself she's not. she keeps her gaze down on all the snow.

she's a little puffed, breathing slightly laboured. ] Are you cold? Maybe you should take your jacket back.

Elena, I'm an Original vampire.

[ he says that like it's all the explanation she needs. except yes, he is cold but he is not going to take back the jacket. she needs it much more than he does. ]

I don't need my jacket. [ he keeps moving through the snow, trying not to go too fast so he doesn't leave her behind. ] What I need is to figure out where we are and why we are here.

[ while she very much wants to discover the same things—where they are, why they're here, and how to get him back home—she doesn't want to let him simply brush her off with "i'm an original vampire, elena." maybe he forgets her best friend is a vampire and her boyfriend is one, too.

arching her brow, she sasses, ] Just because you're an Original doesn't mean that you're not susceptible to the cold.

[ impulsively, she reaches out to snag his hand to prove just how warm his skin is. ]

No, but it means I will deal with it much easier than you will. It doesn't affect me like it affects humans.

[ elijah thinks that will be the end of it but then she grabs his hand and that's enough to stop him, nearly slipping on wet snow as he turns to look at her. ]

What are you doing? I wasn't aware you wanted to hold hands while we tried to traverse our way through snow, Elena.

[ mr. always in control was not great with random surprise touches from women who looked just like someone he'd loved. ]

Holding your hand.

[ and trying to discern if he was lying to her. she can't hear his heartbeat and learn the ways his heart might stutter if he lies, but she can feel it through his skin if he's colder than he wants her to believe he is.

she peers up at him, a little relieved they're no longer walking but disliking the fact it's still so cold. ]

You could walk so fast you leave me behind. I'm just trying to keep up with you.

[ since, you know, he's an original vampire and all. ]

I wasn't going to leave you behind. You're the only other person I've seen since I woke up.

[ he can't help but wonder if that's by design, if the person who had organized this had somehow set it so he and elena would find each other.

giving his head a shake, he tries to stop puzzling this out because standing in the middle of nowhere while it snowed around them wasn't the place for it. ]

Come on. If you're going to hold my hand, hold it tight. We need to move as fast as you can.

[ he doesn't remove his hand from hers, so she keeps her fingers locked with his. his palm is nice and warm, and his fingers are a lot longer than she had thought. ]

I can move very fast.

[ she tilts her head up defiantly, even though they both know that's a lie. he can easily outpace her while walking slowly, and the snow doesn't help matters.

her hand squeezes his as she does her best to elongate her strides. ]

Were you sleeping? Before you came here...

I don't think so.

[ his arrival here doesn't coincide with one of the many times that his brother has put him in a pine box and he's sure he wasn't napping when this happened.

though, her question is curious enough that he looks over and frowns. ]

Why? Were you? [ does she think this is a dream? it's not an altogether out there theory but if it were a dream, why were they not waking up and how had they ended up here together? ]

I was in the woods with Stefan.

[ kind of dead, she thinks. she decidedly omits his brother, her aunt, greta and jules from the narrative. it's believable that she'd be with stefan. there's no one else she'd be with.

she looks down at the snow and then up at the snow ahead of them. if she hadn't stumbled upon elijah, she'd be very, very lost and alone. ]

Maybe I fell asleep. I was looking at the stars.

Do you think you're dreaming right now?

[ it is possible, he supposes, but his dreams tend to be much, much more violent and they don't often involve her. ]

Does this feel like a dream to you?

No.

[ elena had wanted to say yes, but she doesn't want to lie about something she knows she doesn't believe in. she doesn't think she can dream any longer.

she inhales deeply and peers up at him. ]

Dreams don't feel as real as this. [ she squeezes his hand as tightly as she can. ]

[ he agrees though he doesn't say as much. he just nods and starts walking again, using her grip on his hand to try and drag her a little faster. ahead, he can see what looks like a dark object in between a thicket of trees and he wants to hope it's some kind of house. ]

Come on, I see something.

[ once they're inside and out of the snow, they can talk because he is very surprised to se her and she'd made a rather inane but maybe significant (now that he thinks about it) comment about his hair.

they really do need to have a chat, don't they? ]

You need to move faster, Elena.

[ she wonders if the dark silhouette ahead is merely a mirage… that both of them can see. a powerful witch could do that.]

I'm moving as fast as I can.

[ she tries to sound amused, but exasperation seeps into her tone. sometimes she's starkly reminded that she's just a mere human surrounded by far more extraordinary people. she only weighs them down like a very heavy and annoying ball and chain.

she tries to lengthen her strides and then stumbles. ]

[ elijah doesn't say anything in response to that because he knows and he doubts she's going to allow him to grab her and haul her off with his speed. she seems a little too stubborn for that. ]

We're almost there.

[ he thinks they are, at least. he tries to focus on the dark image but he can't quite get his eyes to sharpen. he should be able to see it but he can't. that...is something to think about later.

when she stumbles, elijah's quickness comes in handy and he catches her before she ends up face first in the snow. he pulls her against him, a frown on his face. ]

Are you all right?

Yes, just… [ she's painfully human and utterly useless against snow, apparently. add that to the list of things she's not good at.

standing upright, she doesn't brush him off or step away from him. peering up at him, she huffs a sigh, wanting that to rid her of the tension and frustration building inside of her, but it accomplishes nothing. she recentres herself as best she can, not wanting to appear disoriented or flustered in front of elijah.

she forces a smile. ] I'm fine, I promise. If you want, you can vamp speed up to the mysterious black thing and check it out. I'll catch up.

[ the last thing she wants is for any distance to separate her from the one person from home she recognises, but she knows she's slowing him down and she feels grossly awful for it. ]

[ before she even finishes talking, elijah's shaking his head. he's not going to leave her here where she could suddenly disappear, never to be seen again. he doesn't know where they are and he doesn't know what lurks out here so right now, the safest places she could be is with him.

so, he's staying. ]

We're not separating, Elena. We'll get there together or we won't get there at all.

[ he tightens his grip on her hand and looks at her, trying to make her believe that they could and would do this. ]

Come on, we have to go. Hold onto me and we'll get there, all right?

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