TDM #003

[bequiet]

TEST DRIVE MEME
You wake, standing. A thick, muddy red dust coats your skin and clothes - it sticks to your tongue and blocks your vision. Inhale and it chokes you, exhale and your breath puffs out in front of your face in a transparent maroon cloud. It tastes of copper, tangy and harsh. Movement is difficult, every limb tingles and aches. Look to your left, your right. Evenly spaced in each direction stands another person indistinguishable in every way from the next. You're disoriented and lethargic, unable to grasp onto a single thought. A pinprick of light blooms ahead and grows steadily larger; a door has opened.

Hands grip your wrists, push at the small of your back and guide you out of the darkness into a room with four walls and a thin, sagging ceiling. The plaster is peeling, the air is musty, and the floor is slick. White plastic piping juts up from the center and curves into multiple spouts, clean water flowing in uneven streams. Those hands pull your clothes off and clear the dust from your body, redress you in handsewn jumpsuits.

A finger is pressed to your lips. Kind eyes meet your own and a single word is whispered - hush.

Led out of the room in a line, you’re taken down a short hallway and into another, much larger room. There’s a woman waiting for you there, a child hugging her leg, and a cloth bag in her hands. She reaches in and pulls out a device, passes one to each of you. Once finished, she begins to move both hands in graceful gestures, a language. One of the people who helped you lifts their device and the screen lights up, tracks the woman’s hands. Letters appear on the screen and you understand the device’s purpose. She tells you what she knows and it’s not much.

This world is haunted. Noise attracts them, so it is not allowed. Communication is through body language, soundless writing, and the device. She tells you that your feet must be light and your mouth never used. There is a community outside these doors, where you can survive together, but only if you agree to one thing: complete and total silence. You'll have time to talk it over. Acceptance allows you to journey outside. The ground is marked in pathways of sand, lining the paths to each building and everywhere in between. You notice that the locals hold their devices always, aloft and glance to it often. It will not vibrate or make a sound to signal a message.

Notices appear. Rules. Guidelines. Feet on the sand and never anywhere else. To open a door you brush your fingers along the hinges - oiled and you may enter. If not, take the brush from the can sitting nearby and coat the metal with the dark liquid. You're to settle into your new home.

Caught me unawares
Content Warnings: Confusion, disorientation
Themes: Survival, horror, it's like groundhog day

The ending of the floor has caught me unawares. This must be the reason why I’m falling down the stairs.

That night, when you fall asleep, you dream of your life before The Quiet Place. At first it's the happiest moments of your life played on repeat, over and over. Everything good and sweet and fun. The second night, it's much the same. You go to bed anticipating another restful and pleasant sleep. But on the third night it changes.

For everyone, it starts the same. There's a long hallway with a door at the end. You walk towards it with nowhere else to go. You twist the knob and when you step forward, the floor ends and you fall. Falling lasts for seconds, minutes, or hours and when you land, it's with a jolt and a cloud of red dust all around you. There's someone else next to you, stumbling, coughing and choking on that familiar dirt that coats your tongue and mouth. When your eyes meet, everything blurs and you're falling again - this time, when you land, it's inside that dream from the first night. Only you're not alone. They're with you. The only way out is to experience the dream together. And when you do wake up, for real, that same red dirt is on your hands.

Falling down the stairs
Content Warnings: Confusion, disorientation
Themes: Survival, horror, it's like groundhog day

The ending of the floor has caught me unawares. This must be the reason why I’m falling down the stairs.

That night, when you fall asleep, you dream of your life before The Quiet Place. At first it's the worst moments of your life played on repeat, over and over. Everything bad and sour and awful. The second night, it's much the same. You go to bed anticipating another restless and dreadful sleep. But on the third night it changes.

For everyone, it starts the same. There's a long hallway with a door at the end. You walk towards it with nowhere else to go. You twist the knob and when you step forward, the floor ends and you fall. Falling lasts for seconds, minutes, or hours and when you land, it's with a jolt and a cloud of red dust all around you. There's someone else next to you, stumbling, coughing and choking on that familiar dirt that coats your tongue and mouth. When your eyes meet, everything blurs and you're falling again - this time, when you land, it's inside that nightmare from the first night. Only you're not alone. They're with you. The only way out is to experience the nightmare together. And when you do wake up, for real, that same red dirt is on your hands.

OOC
From your mods:

Please remember to mark your content in your starters or subject lines as material comes up. The threads on this meme can be used as game canon. Feel free to thread out arrival style meetings as well! If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment below. Have fun!

NAVIGATION

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Comments

Haha upside F.R.I.D.A.Y. probably has Steve's music library

[flyguy]

[That sounds like Steve. But that's what makes Tony wary. It's not like Steve's a complicated guy. Toast for breakfast, morning jog, always separates his recyclables— basically a walking poster for 1940s wholesomeness. It's nauseating.

And, well. Tony's been tricked before.

Slowly he begins to walk around the man in front of him, the adrenaline of being on edge making it hard to stay still. Tony is far too acutely aware that he doesn't have any suits here. That he's been spending all his time trying to build tools and batteries, not weapons.]

The last time I saw Steve Rogers was in an HYDRA facility in Siberia.

[He moves his hand through the air as if releasing several somethings unseen to the eye and several “screens” showing footage of a dark facility appear. Himself, Steve and Bucky walking through it. The cryostasis pods of the other winter soldiers. Parts of the fight afterwards from the perspective of Tony and CCTV footage taken from the repowered facility.

No sound. But then again. Is it necessary? The shaking footage as Steve's fist repeatedly slams into the camera is self-evident enough.]

If we had a reunion it sure as sugar wouldn't be this cookie cutter. If someone's playing games I'd like to know. Because I can't figure out what anyone would gain by impersonating Steve Rogers in a bad end, game over version of Reims on an Earth where he probably never existed. Either you're pretending to be Rogers and we have a problem.

Or you are Rogers and we have a bigger problem.

[oorah]

[ he shrugs, then nods. at least someone gets where he stood the moment he got here. as frustrated as he's been... he thinks they're here to liberate these people, and it's a movement he can get solidly behind; especially now that his fight is done back home. ]

Not much is known about the Sound Eaters. They look human when they're born but then something happens. They change. They devour anything that makes noise.

[ sorry this isn't more pleasant bro, he's trying his best. ]

falling down the stairs

[theycalledmeacurse]

[ Another battlefield, one where she doesn't recognize the players. War is the same regardless though, whether it's soldiers in mechanical combat suits or giant robots hunting down anyone with a particular genetic profile. The hopelessness, the fear that grips you before the surge of adrenaline, the pain of losing even a single person you were supposed to keep safe.

But even if it's the same, she'd really rather not be here, thanks.

An explosion nearby throws her to the side, wet sand clinging to the black leather of her uniform. She sees a-- thing over a sand dune, something terrifying, and instinct tells her to grab the gun of a nearby fallen soldier. It's big, and heavy, but she's not going down without a fight. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Will shrugs, a little shy now that all the attention is solely on him. Still, he's trying harder to talk to more people and be more welcoming, so.]

i didn't recognize you. are you okay? it's sort of scary at first, i know.

[valuedstrength]

[He thinks anyone else would regard this as a prank. Steve finds it to be a practical question. It's something he asked himself when coming out of the ice. He shakes his head and texts a quick message back.]

We're alive. Things are just getting weird. [He shrugs. It can never be helped. He's not without manners so he adds,] Hello. I'm Steve.

arrival

[oorah]

[ frank gets up from the info booth to stretch his legs, and he's already finding it's more efficient this way. he or david sits behind the booth and the other can wade into the crowd, giving out answers that way. two birds, one stone. something like that. he pushes his way back inside the reset room, always interested in what the new arrivals will ask even if the natives often give insufficient non-answers. he's learned it isn't because they're actively trying to lie to them, but out of their own fear. pissed off beats scared every time. it's how he's lived every day here, and when he hears a woman arguing over the din of everyone else, he realizes he might have found who he was looking for. ]

They're not great at questions. Maybe I can help? [ a large man says in a low tone just over her shoulder. he's dressed in one of the jumpsuits too, but it's all in black and looks like it was tailor made for him. he's wearing a black beanie on his head too and tall combat boots that set him a few inches higher than he already is. ]

[historyrabbit]

[Nah, he won't take Sora's clothes. Instead he'll just tease him that the other needs to eat more so he can finally hit his growth spurt so that Lavi can steal his clothes.]

Good. [Timeywhimey.

So far he's doing okay. Considering he was probably doing city jumps when they pulled him here. But without the earwig there isn't any kind of adverse reactions awaiting him.

It's either that or Lavi is immune to such things because he's done it so much before the pull here.]

Hopefully we won't need one at the same time. Though as skinny as we are we can probably fit in the same one. [Eyebrow raise? Stark?] Any relation to the Howard Stark we had for a short time?

We'll see if we need to tell him. Though at least the Cities would explain how we know each other.

un:hotdog himSELF

[oorah]

we've moved from house 6 i'll send you an encrypted message with fight club's new 20


definitely not a pilot [ ty 4 playing ]

[valuedstrength]

[Steve would be suspicious if it were pleasant. He gives this serious thought before responding.] Environmental? Sounds like a job for our scientists. Assuming we have them.

[He hopes so. He's smarter than he lets on, but not that smart.]

[oorah]

There are a few guys. Not enough. A lot of magic users. And a doctor and a nurse. [ and then there's that weird guy who blew up his device on the network, but that seemed less relevant since they're talking about people who could actually help, right? ]

This red shit has the answer, if there is one.

[flyguy]

[Tony follows after, far less at ease. It's not as though Clint's ever invited him over for tea and...child care, apparently, as the kids rush to Natasha. Tony takes a quick step back. Both to clear the flying body parts as Romanoff scoops up Clint's little girl and to raise his hands in peace, eyes looking for the retired homeowner. “Retired”. Whichever it is, Tony doesn't want Clint thinking he's on official business and this turning into a fight (and there's just the smallest stab somewhere he won't acknowledge that that's even a concern).

Except...? It's like the Accords never happened. Somehow dinner, games and putting the kids to bed comes about (he's never put a child to bed, he's never played board games on the floor, hell he's not sure he's ever sat down to a cozy family dinner; the sickening feeling he needs to get out of here is pervasive). And Natasha? She's downright beaming. Positively the happiest Tony's ever seen her.

It's one of those odd clarifying moments as she falls asleep on the couch and Tony sits in a chair across from her. He's honestly never really thought about what makes his fellow Avengers happy. Sure, possibly a sign of narcissism on his part. But they're all adults. They can take care of themselves.

It's only like this he realizes what he's missing out on. And. Also waking up as the dream dissolves around him…? Sitting up from the work bench he'd fallen asleep at, he begins to rub an hand over his face and stops. Pulls it back. Stares.

Red dust.

But his samples of it are— still tucked away in the lockbox he keeps them in. ...It's not the first time this has happened. And it doesn't take him long to flip through the network looking for names that might be familiar.]

CallingIt: Is the spider theme for your body count or the way we keep running into eachother like some metaphorical web. I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable about it, have to say. You awake?

[reapercussion]

My life is messy. [It's more of a warning than a promise, so that if they do head into something else from her vivid death experiences, he knows.

With a deep breath, she squares her shoulders, opens the door...

and she's falling again. She braces for impact as the dust practically reaches up to meet her, and really, you'd think they have a different process to go about this instead of shoving her around here.

But whatever this is, it's not hers. Is that normal? Like there's a grasp of normal around here. Instead, she sees her new friend Taako, but not the Taako that came through the door with her. If her nightmare was anything to go by, she has a feeling this isn't going to be great.]

Oh man, samples. [She holds her stomach. The sensation of being hungry and needing to eat is both so familiar and foreign to her at this point, but she's already thinking of tacos, and there's the scent of chicken on the air.] You think we can eat something in these dreams?

[But even as she asks, the sounds start. The wretching. Vomit.] Oh. [She can't quite watch the scene unfold. This is some serious food poison. She looks at Taako instead.]

[skyofreverie]

[He's trying to, honest. Sora's new house is already starting to look like he's hoarding food. (Spoilers: he is.) Mostly because everything that had been in his room was moved over - everything in the kitchen was left.]

Seems like this world's new arrival day is at the beginning of the month. Like how things were in Fac.

[This world isn't much safer then the Cities but at least they don't have to deal with that. But...] Be careful of the free food the natives might offer you. They seem to mean well but there was a beverage offered that seemed to encourage feelings of love and affection - also touching. Then some snacks that were dosed with sedatives to help us "relax". Trading for it with them is fine, just not the free stuff so far.

[A shrug of his shoulders.] I bet I could get them to set up another one in the room next to mine and they would do it willingly. Comes with being accepted by the community. [Silent sigh and he reaches up to ruffle his bangs.] Don't know, didn't ask. I sort of implied that I was the only clone in the Facility when we talked.

Yeah, that'll work. Most people already know that I world-hop.

[reapercussion]

[Sally spins to face the guy talking to her. Well, she assumes he's talking to her, because she's getting pretty loud. There's a hand up and a finger pointing, and she stops short of going on a rant because--]

Okay, can we start with why you're dressed like the grim reaper? Or like, some weird version of the grim reaper. [She's moving her hands as she talks before nodding slowly.] Does that mean I'm dead right now? Are we all dead, right now? I thought that maybe being touched meant I, uh, wasn't? But the dead can touch the other dead.

[lovesbitch]

[ he is hungry, but she can't help him with that. and human food sounds nice, like a comfort he doesn't deserve. cold cow blood from a bag is about the best he could hope for, and even that seems more than unlikely. ]

I'm a bit peckish yea What've you got

[ belatedly, he almost feels bad for wanting to eat something an actual human could subsist off of, but. that seems like too much effort just now anyway. ]

[oorah]

[ that's a ghost story. one man couldn't do that. he's the grim reaper. frank tips his head, letting her wear herself out. he doesn't mind her flailing around even with a finger in his face. he's used to it all by now -- he's seen every reaction. and he can't blame anyone for any of it. it's a shock no matter who you are, even for him it had been. when sally is done, he'll speak up again, in that low register of his and only with enough words to get his point across. never more. ]

We're not dead, we're alive. If you were dead before, now you're not. [ there's a beat ] Someone told me I looked good in black. [ apparently he'd taken it to heart. ]

[ibiza]

[ Please. Be quiet. One of the people insists. Margo stays on guard, holding that ball of energy like a security blanket. A security blanket she’s about ready to throw at anyone who crosses her. ]

Why? Why should we be quiet?

[ It will all be explained. Please, just put on the jumpsuit and follow us. Another explains, holding up his hands cautiously. Margo’s eyes narrow. She doesn’t like the idea of following them to another room. It seems like that would be placing a lot of trust in the people that seem to be her captors. They seem sincere, but she’s been conned before. Who hasn’t? Once burned, twice shy, as they say.

She glances quickly behind her to Spike to see what his reaction is. Like it or not, he’s her new partner in this mess. Margo figures they should act together in this. It means their chances of survival are greater.

So long as neither of them do something really stupid. ]

[reapercussion]

[The tone, the patience, it's enough to get her to at least breathe. Breathe. God, she can breathe, that's amazing. When she talks, she breathes. A grin splits across her face.]

I'm alive. Cool. [She pauses at that, giving him an obvious glance over.] They weren't wrong. You do. But when you approach people who have spent the last few years in and out of death, it's a little uncomfortable. I've been in a lot of weird places. [Mostly like. Limbo. Purgatory.]

What do they mean by the world is haunted?

[inconstantly]

[Bloody amateurs.

John made an attempt to help the man help himself, but the dirt is too thick and circumstances too annoying to be slow about it. He snaps his fingers and the entire environment stills. He looks to the stranger with a mix of annoyance and self-satisfaction.]

Hardly. You just need a little imagination.

[He circles his wrist and produces a bouquet of flowers like a stage magician in demonstration. Then in an instant the flowers burst into flame before morphing into a pack of cigarettes. John grins, pleased with himself and slips one of the cigarettes between his lips.]

And a willingness to say 'fuck it' to all semblance of reality. Think you could find it in you to conjure a lighter?

[skyofreverie]

[He knows this is just a dream - a nightmare really - but how else are they supposed to break out of this then by doing something different?

If this guy is going to hide, then Sora's going to fight.

Watching as the man is literally dragged out of his home and a sinister-looking man in all black joins the party.]

Why do they always wear black? [Mostly to himself.]

I'm going. [Sora stands, right hand balling into a fist.] Hey, jerk face! Why don't you pick on someone who's willing to fight back?!

[Stepping out from behind the rock, waiting to see if it has any effect on the nightmare figures. In a flash of white light, the Kingdom Keyblade rests in his hand.]

[oorah]

[ it's hard not to catch a bit of her cheer, his lips twitching with the effort not to smile himself. but being alive is about where the good news ends, so it's easy to keep it at bay in the end. ]

Sorry. I'm just trying to help. [ maybe a little too often, maybe he takes on a little too much. but he can't help it. he feels responsible for everyone who gets dragged into this shitshow. he points out the doorway he came from, outside the reset rooms. ] Once you go through there, you can't make a sound. They're real, the monsters they told you about. Any noise, no matter how small, could get you or someone else here killed.

[historyrabbit]

[Hey, hoarding food is what they do. I'm surprised they haven't turned into massive hoarders tbqh. Facility often puts you through the worst kinds of things and leaves you with odd coping mechanisms.]

Refreshing to know that some things never change. No hint that this is the Doctors with a new environment, is there?

...Noted. So just the free stuff then. Any way for us to reasonably get the not-free stuff?

We might have to, just in case. [Not that Lavi tended to go into one at the same time, but it'd be nice to have just in case.

Lavi reaches out and gently squeezes Sora's shoulder again.] Hey, you did what you needed to do, that's okay. Maybe one day we'll stop.

[skyofreverie]

[So true. Especially after the poisoned food debacle back in the cities. Sora's supply of food helped a lot of people in C3. In a world like this one, keeping food was probably a good habit to have.]

Not that I've seen. I doubt they'd let an experiment run two months long - not even the F3 trips lasted that much time. There's some footage I gotta show you about what happened here.

Just the free stuff. I fish the river myself and that's fine. These people deal in trade, mostly. And reward us for being quiet.

I'll get them started on it. Won't mention you're name. Let's see if they already know who it's for without me saying. [A good way to test the knowledge of the natives on the people who get brought here.

Nods his head.] I know. It's fine if a few people know I'm a clone if it'll help in the future. Me and you weren't prone to clone sickness all of the time but what if Allen showed up? He was comatose a lot more than both of us. I don't want us to have to worry about our bodies failing just because the doctors messed up.

[reapercussion]

Hey, you're doing good, buddy. I'm sorry. You know, don't even listen to me. You're a very handsome not-reaper.

[Sally looks out at the doorway, and the smile disappears. This is serious. This is real, but she isn't really sure what that means anymore. She presses her lips together, running a hand through her hair as she paces around a bit.] Good news, I've been there a few times. Bad news, I'm not a very quiet person. [She believes it, though. He seems honest enough, and the people who pulled her through the dust... They believe it.]

settling in - un: socorro;

[warfares]

If not at the greenhouse then you'll have to take your chances with one of the other arrivals.

How pressing is your need?