The Village Mod (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
villagemod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
villagememes2021-03-08 05:08 pm
villagemod) wrote in villagememes2021-03-08 05:08 pm
Entry tags:
test drive — spring
SPRING 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.
Prospective players are welcome to play with any of the established locations within Mathias.( Recommended listening: ♫ )
GHOSTS OF THE LIVING
The fog moves in quickly and without warning, not from the waterfront but the forest, cascading through every street in a thick wave of white. It is not a soft blanket enveloping the town, but a heavy weight pressing down, threatening to suffocate as the sky is blotted out and no one can see more than ten feet in any direction.
Those who are outside when it rolls in are left wandering blind, hoping that a randomly chosen direction will lead them to shelter or another living soul. There are perhaps even those who were lucky enough to already be inside when the fog descended, quickly closing doors and windows to keep it from creeping in. Wherever they are, the residents of Mathias will soon notice that they are not the only ones in the fog.
Anyone out in the fog is left disoriented, possibly losing their sense of time and place, and it is only after prolonged exposure that they will begin to feel off. A sense of being ill will cling to them if they are in the fog for too long, including dizziness, lightheadedness, or nausea — the time it takes to manifest varies from person to person, as does the duration it will last after leaving the fog.
With all of these elements at play, the first strange apparitions encountered may be assumed to be figments of addled minds, tricks played by psyches struggling to cope with the strange reality they've found themselves in. But before long, there will be no denying that the Others in the fog are real. Appearing almost wraithlike and startlingly recognizable, these figures even feel a bit like ghosts to those who can sense such things, though everyone will feel that there is something wrong about them. Truly, there are many things wrong that residents will begin to notice as they encounter more and more of the spectres that do not acknowledge their presence in any way. They simply exist, silent and subtly terrifying like so many things in this town.
Like misty ghosts of those who have been in the town at one point or another, the Others appear as those who have died or disappeared and even those currently within the town. The likeness is truly uncanny, to the point of being completely terrifying, made even more so when they realize there is no way to communicate with the Others. They do not acknowledge anyone's presence nor anything said to them. At times, they may be only one in an area, or there may be a dozen existing in the same space. There is no limit to how many people can see them — if they are there, they are seen by all.
The Others do not enter buildings and cannot be contained in any way. They can appear at one moment and be gone in the next, or they can exist in one place for hours on end. Whether standing stationary or slowly wandering throughout the town, there is no discernible purpose to them. There is something absent and distant in the way they hold themselves, the way they walk, and their expressions, as if even they cannot grasp what is happening.
A BIT OF EXPLORATION
There are plenty of places in which to get one's bearings and hide from the fog.
There are businesses on the square, nestled around and extending out from the Town Hall. There is a schoolhouse nestled by the southern treeline, not from the rather expansive makeshift cemetery at the end of Jackson Boulevard that is courtesy of a few kind residents in town. To the far north of the square is a sprawling garden, now covered in snow, and a greenhouse that once supplied the botanical shop. And to the east and west, beyond the business square, is are residential districts.
The eastern district sprawls all the way to the beach, with some houses in perfect condition and others beginning to show significant signs of age. The western district, however, is nothing but decay. From the beginnings of rot to completely collapsed and little more than a pile of proverbial bones, none of these homes are anything resembling livable. Well, as far as one can tell, at least. For between the streets of Hill Lane and Stine Road there is a crack in the earth. A dozen feet across and fifty feet down, there is no way across.
TO SEE AND BE SEEN
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. Covering the board are tacked-on 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 painted directly across the center of the board, visible in the gaps between the pieces of paper, is a symbol in dark red. While peering at that obscured symbol, a strange breeze ruffles the papers, revealing a little more, just enough to—
An eye. A strange, ornate eye with three lobes, painted in still-wet red. And upon close examination, a keen eye will realize that the paint is actually blood, perhaps even human.
The longer someone stands there, the more it will feel like they are being watched, even studied, with great interest. It's a sensation that lingers and stays with them even when they exit the building.
no subject
Last Tai was aware, Ben was one of the only people he'd known who still was alive, so he doesn't really want to think about what that might mean.
But as it turns out, as soon as he loses track of Ben, he finds someone else. That's comforting in a couple different ways. He makes his way toward the voice until he can make out a person there, relieved that it seems to be a real person this time.
"Oh... hi." This is a bit of an awkward way to meet someone, but it's certainly better than being alone in this fog. "I thought I saw someone I knew," he turns to glance again in the direction he'd last seen the ghost, but of course there's nothing there but fog. He frowns. "But I guess not."
no subject
Zanki wears jeans, a black t-shirt, and a light jacket. Nondescript, and forgettable, as is always the intention. He's warm enough, though the air is chill.
He makes a wryly sympathetic face. "I'd thought I'd just left a friend in the hospital, but no matter how much I tried to retrace my steps, that didn't work, either. Were you here with your friend?"
no subject
"Ah, no." He doesn't think so, anyway. He had been with Ben, before. And then... there was a lot of pain, and everything went dark. He can't say for certain what happened, it was too quick. But when he came back to consciousness, he was here, by himself. And then the fog rolled in.
"I came here alone." It's the easiest answer he can give. He's not really certain of much else right now. Except that he's not even entirely certain of that, considering. "...I think."
no subject
The way Tai moves does make Zanki suspect he does something physical, possibly some form of fighting, but he doesn't have the cultural referent to go any further than that.
"Aa," Zanki says quietly, looking around, letting the silence settle over them for a long moment. He's not one to chat unnecessarily.
It's difficult to see much, and the fog transmits sounds oddly. "No sign of any demons?"
no subject
His thoughts go back to Ben. The thing that looked like Ben. It couldn't have actually been him, could it? It didn't feel like him, that's for certain. But what it was, he can't say. He decides not to say anything more about it before the other man elaborates.
no subject
His unease grows as he looks around.
"From my world," he says at last. "Oni. If it comes to it, can you fight?"
no subject
"My lightsaber is missing, though." He knows he had it before, but he didn't after he woke up. He typically carries it with him, so it's a little unsettling, being without it.
no subject
Zanki's eyebrows go up. "A weapon with which I'm not familiar," he says, and there's the slightest smile.
"I would like to hear about it. My name is Zanki. I suggest we attempt to find shelter."
no subject
"I'm Tai." He offers a smile in return, and extends his hand in greeting. "I can't say I've ever heard of an oni, so I guess that makes us about even. As for shelter, I haven't had much luck yet, but we should get out of the fog if we can." He's never known fog to make him feel sick, but right now, he suspects it's the reason he's been starting to feel lightheaded. And being somewhere he can actually see things clearly sounds nice, regardless.
no subject
Zanki shakes. Tai's hand is warm, at least, which means that the two of them are probably not dead.
"Tai," he repeats. "I can see what seem to be lights in the distance in that direction. Shall we?"
no subject
He looks in the direction the other indicates. The fog is so thick, it obscures almost everything, but he can see what Zanki means, if he squints. It's frustrating that even the Force doesn't seem keen on helping him get his bearings here right now.
He nods. "Let's stay close. Otherwise we might lose each other." He starts to move toward what he hopes is shelter with that in mind.
no subject
He twitches, but otherwise ignores the sound of Todoroki calling his name in the distance. It's not him. It can't be him.
He keeps himself in Tai's field of vision, and vice versa, while staying far enough that both should have a full range of motion if necessary. This doesn't feel like a place where Oni will attack - but on the other hand, it's definitely not a safe place.
The first lights seem to dissipate in the mist, but Zanki can see a large wooden building beyond.