test drive — autumn

[villagemod]

test drive — autumn
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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.

Since not all setting details have been made available yet, you are welcome to invent your own general locations for this test drive. There are no living souls in Mathias Township beyond the player characters. In fact, there are no signs of life at all... We hope you enjoy your visit.

( Recommended listening: ♫ )



— the fog —

It moves in quickly and without warning, not from the waterfront but the forest, cascading through every street in a thick wave of white. The fog is not a soft blanket enveloping the town, but a heavy weight pressing down, threatening to suffocate the sky is blotted out and you can see no further than your outstretched hand.

Those outside when it rolls in are left wandering blind, stumbling toward shelter as you're unable to even see your feet beneath you, let alone any obstacles in your path. Perhaps you call out for help, hoping for another voice to guide you toward shelter or simply another living soul. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to already be inside when the fog descended, quickly closing doors and windows to keep it from creeping in. Can you hear those voices crying out? You recognize some, but the others... Are they really there at all, or are you alone here and simply beginning to finally lose your mind?

And perhaps the most important question: Do you answer?



— portents —

You wake up with an ache in your head and a cloudiness to your thoughts, your body sprawled on the ground in a location you don't remember going to. As you sit up, the world spins and start to clutch your head — to realize there's something on your hand. A symbol, a word, a streak of wet paint or ink. You don't recognize it or have any memory of how it got there...

Or how the much larger depiction came to be on the wall or the floor around them. You can see it shining wet in the glow of whatever light source is nearest, but something instinctual urges you not to touch it. If you defy that urge, it burns, a searing pain that radiates from the matching mark on your hand.

Did you do this? Or was it done to you? The person approaching may have answers — or accusations.



— past deeds —

The Town Hall stands at the center of Mathias Township, a modest two-story building that would be welcoming if not for the faded sign, chipped paint, and deafening silence. 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 your attention is a large bulletin board on the main wall, once meant to hold flyers or announcements for the community.

What it holds now is decidedly different. Tacked onto the board is a torn scrap of paper with words scrawled almost illegibly in dark red ink.

why did this happen

Upon close examination, a keen eye will realize that the ink is actually blood, though whether it is human is unknown. And beside that scrap, a symbol has been drawn in dark black marker — it resembles a feather or a branch, but you've never seen anything like it before. It scares you even as you know it is perhaps the most important thing you have ever seen in your life.

On the floor below the bulletin board are more scraps of paper scattered amongst grime and dust, most blank but some with other strange symbols scrawled in a variety of inks, perhaps matching the pens and markers scattered near the baseboard. Some are small enough that they might have once been part of the same page, creating something larger. And to the far side, a pristine stack of crisp white copy paper and an unopened box of ballpoint pens.

What do you do?



code bases by tricklet

Comments

[revvedup]

[ it's not as if max wasn't trying to leave where she'd just been, but she hadn't been so desperate to leave that she was willing to end up someplace potentially worse. (you know things are bad when she's considering manticore a better option.)

the woman brings her hands up to run through her hair, and something about the movement makes max focus in - there's abrasions, only momentarily visible before she shakes them out, and they're not quite bruises from cuffs on her wrists and ankles (she doesn't know if those are still there, but they ache as if they are), but it's notable enough for her to be concerned. she sways a little as she pushes herself off the wall, but steadies after a second or two. ]

Are you okay?

[ well, clearly neither of them are okay. maybe she should have gone with 'hurt'. ]

[chuju]

[ Daisy's been running on fumes for days now, ever since they started on the wild time travel ride to stop the Chronicoms. Hell, even before that, everything with Izel... The weeks have been far from kind and all she wants to do is sleep and wake up back in that damn healing pod with Sousa watching over her. Somehow, though, she's pretty sure that isn't an option. ]

I could ask you that, but I'm guessing we'll both give the same answer. [ There's a tired bitterness to the words as she gives Max a very pointed look, but then her expression softens and she shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest. ] I fell when I was out in the fog earlier, but they're just scrapes. I'll be fine.

[revvedup]

[ max manages to laugh at that, albeit tiredly. her hand is brought to her face to rub at her forehead and her eyes slide close as the world tilts again, and a breath is drawn in sharply as she tries to will it to remain still. ]

Maybe we should try finding something resembling medical.

[chuju]

[ Oh yeah, they're both in great shape. A soldier and a spy who each look like they're about to keel over at any moment. But oddly enough, not being the only one worse for wear makes it a little easier to admit she could use some help. ]

Yeah, that's probably not a bad idea... [ She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a huff before pushing herself off from the wall. It's a personal point of pride that she manages not to wobble as she does so. ]

[revvedup]

[ max nods, steadying herself after another few seconds and starting to look at their surroundings. she hadn't seen anything resembling so much as a nurse's office in the direction she'd just come from, but she's willing to take another look if it means not going back out in the fog - she's got a feeling that's not going to be a great idea for either of them. ]

You see anything like it back where you just came from?

[chuju]

Uh... [ She struggles to recall, having been more focused on finding either her team or information about whatever's going on here. ] I think I saw a first aid kit down the hall in the kitchen, but that's it. I haven't been upstairs yet.

[ There's probably nothing up there either, just more offices and maybe a closet or two of storage. Unfortunately, a few hundred boxes of pens and pads of post-its aren't going to do them much good right now. But going back out into the fog probably won't do them any good either, so it's worth a look. ]

[revvedup]

It's a start, anyway.

[ max is pretty sure she won't feel any better until whatever drugs manticore had pumped her full of work their way through her system, not to mention whatever whoever had brought her here had drugged her with. she's not positive that that's what happened here, but it's certainly what it feels like. ]

Let's start there and work our way up.

[chuju]

Good plan. Let's do that.

[ Daisy knows nothing in the first aid kit will help her underlying condition of still recovering from having lost almost half the blood in her body, not to mention everything else Malick had done and taken while she'd been drugged in that barn. The healing chamber had gotten her past the brink of death, thankfully, but she still ached and felt the exhaustion down to her bones. And her powers...

She needs to rest, she can hear Sousa and Jemma both intoning that very firmly in her head, but there's no time for that now. She needs to patch herself up enough to be able to fight when needed, make sure Max is okay, figure out what the hell is going on, and find her team. Not necessarily in that order. ]

Kitchen's back this way. [ Her steps are slow but steady as she heads down the hall toward the little office kitchenette she'd only briefly examined earlier. ]

[revvedup]

[ max nods, taking advantage of their last few moments of stillness before she propels herself forward and follows daisy down the hall, making sure to take note of the other rooms they're passing and what it looks like they contain as they move. daisy's not the only one moving slower than usual, but her steps don't waver as she follows.

it may be a mistake to follow a stranger like this, especially given where she's just come from. but max isn't cruel and can recognize the look of someone who's just escaped a very bad situation. ]

[chuju]

[ The kitchenette is just how she'd left it: eerily silent and well-stocked with packaged snacks and cans of coffee grounds. She finds the white box of the first aid kit on top of a cabinet, popping it open to reveal rather slim pickings. Some bandages, alcohol wipes, a few single packages of tylenol — but at least there's that much. ]

Let's see if there's... [ Stepping over to the small sink, she twists the handle and feels a surge of relief when clear water comes rushing out of the spout. ] Running water. Finally, some good news.

[revvedup]

[ well, those are both something, at least. max breathes out in relief before moving to the sink to clean her hands, nodding at daisy to sit down wherever there's an available spot. ]

I can fix up your hands. Is there anything else that'll need cleaning or bandaging?

[chuju]

[ She lowers herself into one of the chairs at a small table against the wall, clearly placed there for anyone who might want to take lunch away from their desk. Max's question takes her by surprise, and it's only because of their shared states of feeling Not Great that she actually takes a moment to check. Her arms are fine, her neck as well. Reaching around underneath her shirt, she feels the spot above her spine that thankfully has healed on the surface; it still hurts to be touched though. ]

Just my hands. [ She rests her arms on the tabletop, a little stunned at herself for letting someone help her like this. ] Thanks, by the way.

[revvedup]

[ max took stock of her own state when she first woke up. she'd had a pounding headache, stiff and aching limbs, bruising where she'd been restrained, and an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach; all of which she's pretty sure are due to being drugged and have subdued enough for her to function almost normally.

she washes her hands as thoroughly as possible, remembering the mark of something on her palm when she'd first woken, and once it's done she settles in the chair opposite from daisy, opening the kit. ]

Yeah, no problem. [ alcohol first, which is sure to be painful. ] I'd warn you this is gonna hurt, but I've got a feeling you already know.

[chuju]

[ Daisy had been far too disoriented and worried about her team when she'd first woken up to do anything with much forethought. She'd been able to move and so she had, end of story. At least she'd managed to heal most of her surface injuries from the day before. ]

Yeah, this isn't my first rodeo. [ She'll wince when the alcohol is applied, of course, but it's nothing compared to being shot, having dozens of breaks in her bones, or having an implant forcibly removed. After a moment, she decides they might as well take this opportunity to share information; who knows what will be waiting for them when the fog finally clears. ]

Where were you before you woke up here?

[revvedup]

[ max works in silence for a moment or two, debating how much she wants to reveal to her. daisy was already able to discern she was military (kind of difficult not to, considering what she's wearing) and she's already picked up on how she's not functioning at a hundred percent. once her hands are cleaned, she decides to reveal it. ]

I was trying to escape the facility I was created in. The guy who helped me said they'd sent someone to kill a friend of mine.

[chuju]

[ She watches Max's hands handle her own, the other woman's touch careful and considerate in a way that doesn't seem the least bit out of place. As if by instinct, she knows that Max isn't someone who enjoys causing pain, that some part of her might be broken but not irreparable. In some moments— and it's so strange because they've only just met, but there are moments when Daisy feels as if she's looking in a mirror.

She looks up to watch Max's face when she speaks and feels her jaw drop at the revelation presented so willing. Created. Whether philosophically or literally, it sure sounds like this woman has been through some Hydra-level bullshit. And suddenly, in ten seconds flat, Daisy feels the intense need to protect her in any way she can. Starting with revealing one of her own secrets in return. ]

I was in the healing chamber on our time-traveling spaceship, recovering from being tortured by a psycho who wanted to steal my superpowers.

[ It's not lost on Daisy that one of their stories is vastly more believable than the other. She just hopes Max is willing to keep an open mind with things. ]

[revvedup]

[ she means it very literally, but the finer details are a little much to go into when they don't know where they are and they have to assume they're not safe. the news of interdimensional and space travel is new to her, but that aside their situations don't sound all that different. there have been plenty of people outside of manticore who had wanted to see what they could create from her if they got their hands on an x5.

her eyes go back to daisy's face and her eyes are a little wide, but she doesn't say anything, waiting for her to finish explaining where she was before she'd wound up wherever they are. it sounds a little unbelievable, but no more unbelievable than her own tragic backstory. (and she's not even aware of the virus she's been infected with to kill her would-be boyfriend yet.)

she believes her, she realizes within seconds. for one thing, there's nothing to gain by her making something up, and for another it sounds so matter-of-fact and unaffected. ]

Sounds familiar, minus the time travelling spaceship. [ having finished cleaning the wounds, she pulls out a tiny tube of ointment and a few bandages. ] What superpowers?

[chuju]

[ A tension eases from Daisy's shoulders when Max seems to accept what she's said. Without her team around, with no idea if they're even here, it helps her feel less alone in this strange place to have someone who understands in some way. She'd never say so, of course, but she'll admit it to herself, which is a lot more than she used to be able to manage. ]

Let me just... [ She moves one of her hands before Max can start with the bandages, lifting it and looking around for something to quake. Settling on a roll of paper towels collecting dust on the counter, she sends a gentle shockwave toward it, knocking it back and sending it rolling off the counter and onto the floor. Smiling slightly at the fact that her powers are still there after everything yesterday, and turns her attention back to Max with a bit of pride in her voice. ] For example.