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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.

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[ When the fog rolls in, Athena's first thought is 'fuck.'

Which, to be fair, is her first thought a lot of the time.

She had been on her way to 1308 after a session with her piano, as she's come to think of it, but the fog rolls in too fast for her to actually get there, and with the disorientation she doesn't know she's overshot the mark until the Grey Gull comes into misty view. She stumbles for it--she can at least call Raylan and Tim and make sure they know she's okay--and busts in the front door like the Kool-Aid Man's 5'3" apprentice.

She slams it behind her, leaning against the door with her eyes closed for a second, trying to stop her head spinning.] Jesus Fucking Christ, this place.

[ The first spoken words Peter's heard in awhile and they are... those. Sure. He supposes he shouldn't judge. Those might have been his, too, if he wasn't so convinced this is just a stress dream. And the young woman who has stormed in doesn't help with the delusion; she adds to it. ]

Yeah, tell me about it. [ The fact that Verity should be miles away from this place, this has got to be a dream. Is this guilt clubbing him over the head? If he could have done more for her family, he would have. ] You all right? Someone chase you in here?

[ He's seen no one but Verity since coming here—waking?—here. ]

The fog. [ She shakes her head, dizzy and disoriented and feeling a little ill, which is why she doesn't notice immediately that the guy at the table is a stranger. When she finally looks over at him, she blinks. ]

Shit, are you new? I mean, I'm not pretending I've met everyone here yet, but I don't think I've even seen you.

[ This might be the most words Verity has ever said to him. He was lucky if he got a curt greeting when they crossed paths. But this is... not like her. Watching her catch her breath, though, Peter gets up immediately and find another glass. He fills it with water from the sink behind the bar. ]

I'm that forgettable? Ouch. [ She's messing with him. Right? ] Here.

[ He slides the glass toward her on the table across from him. ]

[ She tilts her head, giving him a confused look. ] Pretty sure we've never met, my guy.

[ Of course, tilting her head like that makes the whole world slosh sideways a little, and she winces, pressing the heel of her palm against her temple.

She's not particularly keen on approaching a man she doesn't know, even if all the other men she's met in Mathias have not been creeps. Still, he at least puts the glass across the table from him, which is a point in his favor.

Athena walks over slowly, in part because she's wary and in part because that dizziness hasn't gone away. She plonks herself down in the chair opposite him, taking the water and sipping it lightly. She gets the feeling chugging right now will have unpleasant results. ]

So has anyone given you the "welcome to hell, we're all mad here" speech yet?

[ What has his brain done to Verity? She's like a "normal" girl, as if she had never gone through the foster care system at all. ]

Is this Hell? [ In spite of the deadpan tone, he is genuinely curious. Maybe not exactly about Hell—he'll be out of here as soon as he wakes up—but he wants to hear more from her. She's never talked to him this much. He's going to eat it up. ]

[He's not entirely wrong. There was just, y'know, homelessness rather than foster care.]

Jury's out. According to the extremely ironic welcome sign, [she doesn't actually know if there's a welcome sign] this place is called Mathias.

[She spreads her arms, half stretching and half embracing the surreality of life.] I'm gonna try for a baseline 'what world are you from' here and ask if you've ever heard of the Gift.

[ What world? His confusion bleeds through as a slow blink and nothing more, but his mind is whirring with alarm bells. ]

I'm from Seattle, Washington. [ As for the "Gift," he can only think to ask, ] Are you a Jehovah's Witness?

[ Or is that the Word? It's hard to keep track. ]

[ Nope, no Gift. She wrinkles her nose. ] Ew, no.

[ Athena sighs, biting the corner of her lip for a second. ]

Okay, this is going to sound crazy, and I know it sounds crazy, but I swear I'm not lying to you--we've all basically been Narnia'd into this place, we don't know how, and we're almost all from different worlds. Well, not all, a lot of people seem to be from places without the Gift, but they're still from like, America, or Canada, or something. Which is kind of weird if you think about it, it's like whoever's controlling this place has a fetish or something. ...If you can call that a fetish. I mean, someone probably does.

[ Blink. ] Right, anyway. Hi, I'm Athena.

[ Hope you guys weren't enjoying your conversation too much, because here comes another taller, lankier kool-aid man, bursting through the door. Jeff practically whips around and kicks it shut, in such a jerky, uncoordinated sort of way that it's a small miracle he doesn't lose his balance and fall. ]

Shit-- fuck-- shit-- fuck this place!

[ And then, breathing harshly, he turns around and... ]

Oh.

[ He sees Athena, which is some relief. And then he sees a strange man-- strange like unfamiliar, not strange like weird-- and in spite of the fucked up fog bullshit going on outside, he can't help but feel a wave of embarrassment over his entrance. With an awkward smile, he waves. ]

Hello there.

Athena. [ Not Verity. Hmm. ] You look... remarkably similar to someone I know on one of the islands I patrol. I'm Peter. Wildlife officer—

[ And here comes another through the door! Is there only one way to enter a building around here or something? Peter's going to have to practice his flailing technique. ]

Hey. Come join the party.

Hey Jeff. [ Athena twiddles her fingers in a wave, but her focus is almost entirely on Peter, because he just said some magic words. ]

Like how similar? Average-remarkably-similar? Creepy-remarkably-similar? 'What the fuck' remarkably similar?

[ It's an important question okay.

Oh right. She gestures Jeff's way again. ] Jeff, Peter, Peter, Jeff, he's new and I don't think he's really registered the whole fucked-up Narnia spiel because he's way calm about it still.

[ He moves over to them with a wistful sigh. ] Boy, I wish we were in Narnia... There'd be, like, cute talking animals, and a satyr...

[ Focus, Jeff. He fixes his attention on the other man and tries to offer a smile, but it comes out as a wince. ]

Peter. Hi! I, ah... I know it's a lot to take in, but trust me. You're a long way from... where are you from, actually?

[ Well, Athena isn't wrong. Peter isn't taking this very seriously, not because it isn't registering, he just expects to wake up at any moment. That makes it easy to stay calm in the face of post-apocalyptic mayhem. ]

Seattle, Washington, [ and because Peter can't help himself, ] so. Pretty close, frankly. [ He gestures at the wall of fog so thick you can't see five feet in front of you. ]

I'd go with "what the fuck" category. Her name's Verity, if that rings any bells.

[ Athena grins. ] Badass. No bells though.

[ She shoves a chair out for Jeff with her foot. ]

I have a hopefully-not-evil twin too, Jeff. I mean, we've had pretty good luck so far with the not being evil thing-- [LITTLE DOES SHE KNOW] --but still, there's a first time for everything. Including being abducted into a creepy murder town. Which you have been. For the record.

[She's just gonna keep saying it.]

[ Jeff flops down on the offered chair, gaze drifting along with Peter's hand, as if he hadn't just come in from the fog. ]

We're in Washington?

[ He sounds genuinely confused for a second, before the joke clicks and he lets out a soft: ] Ohhhh...

[ Wait. Athena has a twin now? Jeff turns to her, eyes wide. ] Dude. So we've both got twins? [ He turns to Peter, just to explain. ] I've got a 'what the fuck' twin, too. If you see me walking around later, but I'm, like, a cowboy? Then that is not me.

[ A beat. ]

Because we're in a creepy murder town.

[ Just to reiterate Athena's point. ]

By which I mean the town... itself wants to kill us. My theory is? [ He leans in closer and lowers his voice, so the... town... can't overhear him. ] We're, like, on another plane of existence. [ He gestures vaguely, but broadly. ] Between worlds! Which is how the twin thing happens.

She's more of a tough cookie than evil, don't worry...

[ When Jeff finally gets a clue, it pulls at the poker face he's been cultivating this whole time. Maybe he can blame it on the moonshine when it finally cracks into a crooked grin. In fact, the more the man talks the less Athena's warning sticks.

Cowboys with Jeff's face. A town trying to kill them. What the fuck twins. Now this sounds like a normal run-of-the-mill dream to him. ]

That makes sense. [ But Peter draws inward, his dark brown eyes looking past Jeff as he considers this. ] It's been on my mind the last few days. Heaven, Hell... Makes sense it would bleed into my dream.

[ For a second, Athena is confused, then she gives an exaggerated sigh and a frustrated little noise. She leans as far as she can across the table and... well... pinches Peter on whatever part of his hand or arm she can reach. ]

I can kick you, too. Or like. Dump some moonshine over your head, but Raylan would probably be annoyed at me for wasting it.

Hey— [ Pulling his hand back for inspection, he can't help but chuckle at Athena's cheeky problem solving. He really should've seen that coming, huh? ] Don't think that proves anything, though.

[ He's had plenty of vivid dreams that seemed so real. Same sweat trickling down his face, same fear, same twisting guilt, same impotency when no matter how hard he fought through the slow motion, he could never save the civilians that had become collateral damage in a political war. What's the imagination of pain really going to prove? ]

[ Jeff groans. ]

Fuuuck... A skeptic.

[ Not that Peter has any reason to believe them, he supposes. It's not like Jeff wouldn't have questioned it, either, if he hadn't gotten the whole run-down of the place from the aforementioned cowboy twin. Somehow, the face made it easier to swallow the insanity of this whole fucking town.

Okay. Time to try to convince him... through the art of logic. ]

Soooo... Okay. It's established. You've got heaven and hell on the mind, so you dreamt up a nightmare ghost town. And you know a kid who looks like Athena, so. [ He gestures to Athena like "CASE CLOSED." We all know where in Peter's subconscious she's come from. ] So where do I fit in? [ ANSWER THAT, SMART GUY. ] There's no way I make any sense in the context of a dream!

Edited 2021-05-24 23:40 (UTC)

[ Without missing a beat, Peter asks a clarifying question: ]

Are you single?

[ It's hard to tell if he's teasing with that poker face of his. ]

[ Athena's whole face squinches up. ]

Oh ew, come on, not in front of the minor.

[ She's barely a minor, but still.]

[ Peter can watch in real time as the cogs start moving in Jeff's brain. First, he looks a little confused, like, yeah he's single, but what does that have to do with anything? Then it clicks, and his brows go up, and then he smiles, looking totally smitten. ]

Oh. You're good.

[ Said like goooood. And then Athena brings him CRASHING BACK DOWN TO EARTH WITH THE CRUELTY OF YOUTH. ]

Right. Oh. Yeah... And anyway, I could never go for a guy who thinks I'm imaginary! I've got to have some self respect!

Edited 2021-05-25 22:40 (UTC)

[ There's a moment there when he worries he'll have to step in and change the subject, wipe that awkward look off the man's face, but Jeff finally gets a clue. A shame he doesn't bite. The slow, resigned nod from Peter says as much. ]

So. Let's say I've been abducted from my bed, placed in a ghost town. [ His arms open out as if to beckon advice. ] Now what?

Now, um... You're in the same boat as everyone else here. Try to survive long enough to figure out what the fuck's going on and how we can get home?

[ It's not much of a strategy, but it's all Jeff's got. He props his chin in his hands and leans towards Peter juuuust a little. ]

But hey, at least we could go on a date.

[ IF YOU BELIEVE HE'S REAL. Wait. Jeff suddenly shoots Athena a nervous, guilty look. ]

Shit-- sorry! I won't traumatize you with any more gross adult flirting in your vicinity!

(no subject)

citharede - 2021-05-25 23:56 (UTC) - Expand

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