quietplacememes | TDM #003

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test drive meme!

TDM #003

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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{ a r r i v a l }

[ This is the second time that Elena's woken somewhere strange, under even stranger circumstances. None of this would be all that difficult for her to cope with except - that silence isn't just outside, it's inside as well. Her head is devoid of the presence of the rest of the Nest, her broodmates not even distance flickers she can't reach. They're just gone, as if all five of them were...

She doesn't fight the hands that clean her up, her disorientation so pronounced that she's more worried about hurting someone with her vampire strength if she tries. It's not until she starts to be ushered outside that she protests, quickly typing out on her own device an explanation about her condition: if she encounters direct sunlight, she'll die. Thank goodness the woman takes her at her word; she's allowed to stay there until sunset, and it's only then that Elena ventures out into the community, following the posted signs and taking care with her steps. Enhanced vision helps her see the sand pathways with no trouble as darkness falls, and she'll do her best to make her way somewhere safe without incident. (Which would be so much easier if she wasn't hungry.) But if she finds someone else outside, perhaps having a far worse time than her - well, it's in Elena's nature to help anyone and everyone who needs it. ]

{ r e u n i o n s | for s72 gamemates }

[ The second the awareness of another host flickers into her mind, Elena jumps up from whatever she's doing, nearly knocking over her chair and breaking that precious crystalline silence. She reaches out along that thread of mental connection created between them by the symbiotes, latching onto it with all her mental strength and practically shouting at the other person from her enthusiasm. It doesn't even matter who it is, she isn't alone here anymore. ]

( Where are you?! )

{ w i l d c a r d }

[ Hit me with your best shot! Elena can't go out in daylight because of her (secret) vampire nature, but she can be active during daytime so long as she stays safely out of the sun. Feel free to hit me up via PM, over at

taintedcrimson or on discord at taintedcrimson#0896 to chat things out! ~~Anyone wanna get nommed on by a hungry baby vampire?~~ ]

[Sleep has been evading Zero in this world more often than he'd like, even if it's for good reason. It's been a couple of weeks, but he's still extremely unsettled. Normally he's the very definition of composure and calm, even under chaotic situations— that goes to show just how bad the situation is, here. Although that's not to say he's never able to relax. Even just having Yuuki in the same room as him is easing. Having her beside him, and the same in turn, makes all of this a little more tolerable.

Still, it's another night where he's left his designated house to go for a walk, out of not having much else to do. He's become more familiar with the streets of Reims, but the pure silence is still maddening at times. He's certainly not the only one out and about right now.

—However, there still is something that catches his attention. His senses have been a little skewed since arriving. A brand new world, along with an even more varied population. At home it's simple. There are humans (hunters among them), and vampires. Here? Who knows. What he does pick up on, though, leans more to the familiar side than not: the presence is definitely that of a vampire, but not what he's used to. What he doesn't feel is any animosity coming from them (thirst is an entirely different matter).

Either way, he'll approach easily, and not focus on those other parts for the moment. After typing something, he'll show her.]

Would you like to find somewhere to sit down for a bit? I know this is pretty disorienting.

[ The more minutes that stretch on as Elena slowly, carefully explores her new surroundings, the more she begins to wonder how this will effect her senses. With everything so heightened from becoming a vampire, will she start to be able to more easily pick up on the sounds humans can't usually hear? She's already found that if she really concentrates, she can hear the heartbeat of someone nearby. What about the people a block or two over? Will she be able to hear the slight shifting of sand as people walk along these paths?

That ease hasn't come just yet though, so she doesn't notice the young man until he gets closer and she can see him. After reading his message, she nods and types out her own. ]

Yes, please. Thank you.

[Ah, that's true, being able to hear the pulse of those around him. Although he's now been a vampire for longer than he had been a human, so it's one of a number of things which he's learned how to tune out. Otherwise it's deafening. It still can come in handy. Being able to pick out the presence of those he's familiar with is helpful in a place where it's unfamiliar and easy to get lost.

He simply nods in turn, then gestures for her to follow him. Eventually they'll reach the library. After double checking that the door's hinges are oiled, Zero will let the both of them inside.]

[it's getting late. most people are wrapping up their day, heading into their houses, or new apartments. Kara's flying over the city, patrolling, making sure no one is getting into any danger as the sun goes down.

a new arrival straggles out of the reset room, and that catches Kara's attention. did they arrive... later than everyone else? that's never happened before. she swoops down, making her presence clearly known in front of the person to hopefully not startle them as much. once she lands, she holds out a message on her device.]

Hey there. Did you just get here?

[ With the intense silence in the area, it's easier for Elena to pick up the shifting of the air, just enough of a disturbance to pull her attention up as the flying woman descends.

Okay, that's new enough that her jaw actually drops a little as she stares in stunned silence. It takes her a second to look down at the device when it's held out, and another to remember to use her own to answer. ]

Kind of. I've been inside waiting for the sun to go down.

[Huh, that's weird. Kara doesn't say that, though. Maybe she's another alien! That would be so exciting. She doesn't, offhand, know of any alien races that only come out at night, but that doesn't mean anything really.]

Oh, well, would you like some help finding everything? It'll probably be a little difficult in the dark. I'm Supergirl, by the way! It's nice to meet you. :)

[ he sees a woman wondering around late at night when he's restless -- he's been keeping human enough hours for long enough that it should come easy in a place like this, where the sun doesn't even burn him; but it's the opposite. with sleep come dreams, riding on the tail of his last thought. and his thoughts are always some fatalistic nonsense one way or the other.

eventually he catches up to her, wearing a yellow jumpsuit with the sleeves ripped off. and immediately he's hit with a knowing. this woman isn't a woman at all, and if she isn't a lazy house-vamp like someone here than the residents here could be in more trouble than big fuckoff sound monsters. he offers elena an unwieldy smile and decides he should keep an eye on her either way. ] find a house yet luv?

[ The problems that arise when you've been on a secret covert mission in space for the last month and a half? Everyone else out at night automatically seems suspicious, because the people of Hyrypia had been sensible and slept at night unless they were up to something. But overpowering that is the instinct to make sure her robes are covering her completely, they can't be discovered, except she isn't wearing any. Her blue jumpsuit matches his, though the arms are still attached. As the moment of panic at being caught begins to fade and she reads the message, she wonders absently at this missing sleeves.

With a slight shake of her head, she glances around for a moment before typing out her response. ] I kind of just got here and haven't started looking yet.

[ he nods, inclining his heads back the way he came from, towards the communal houses. ] were you fighting too? I guess the quiet game really is for everyone's Safety or whatever

[ with a shrug he gets back to the point ] the rooms are up for grabs, first come first serve kindof deal

[ Fighting? Her best guess is that he means people have been arguing against the quiet policy, she'd certainly heard enough of it when she'd been inside. If only that had been the reason she'd delayed.

She hesitates for a moment, debating whether to ask before deciding to throw caution to the wind. He's not part of the Nest, so she might be able to pull off a convincing lie with enough effort. ]

Do you know if any of the houses have rooms without windows? I have a medical condition that makes it dangerous for me to be in the sun.

[Taako is... only mildly less ornery than he was before. At least now, he's gotten a little bit less disoriented, and he's managed to get his hair tied back up into a braid, which he hopes will keep it from getting matted up with sand... again. He's out and about at night mostly because... well, he doesn't sleep, and he wants to try and get the lay of the land without ten-thousand other motherfuckers trying to ask him questions he doesn't know the answers to.

... whiiich is one reason he's mildly irritated when he still runs into somebody, even at what should be kind of absurd hours for humans to be out and about. Don't these things usually sleep at night? Goddammit. One of his long ears twitches up as he glances at her in irritation; but he tries to wipe that off his face as quickly as possible, given, if she's new like he is-- and he's guessing she is, from just how lost she looks-- she's likely having just as bad a time as he is.

He takes out his communicator, and he very slowly hunt-and-peck types out a message for her; he catches her attention, and then turns it to face her.]

new around these parts ?

[ Were Elena fresh from Mystic Falls, those ears would have been cause for a double-take, even a triple-take. For all the weirdness she'd encountered there, vampires and werewolves still looked human most of the time. But she's just spent over a month surrounded by aliens on another planet, so... Yeah, there's no real surprise here.

Glancing at the message, she nods, reaching up to tuck hair back behind her left ear before typing out her response. It's a good thing she's had years of practice with texting; this would be miserable without it. ]

Just got here a few hours ago. You?

[ Elena's mental presence flares strongly against so much emptiness, and she isn't the only one latching on with everything they've got. For a moment, everything else blanks out in the sheer relief of not being alone in his own head.

Then it all kicks back up again, and Sam lets himself twist a little bit more into their link, lets it anchor him back down. ]

( Just left the place I woke up in. Hang on, I think I can find you - damn it's good to hear you. )

[ Sam. He's not the only one drowning in relief, a feeling of joy coming in close behind. Of all the hosts who could have ended up here, if it couldn't be Damon then at least it's Sam. ]

( It's good to hear you too. I'm not far from you now. )

[ She sends him a few images to follow, though Sam's ability to track others through their link is much better than her own. Each second that she has to wait to see him stretches on and feels like an eternity. ]

[ Elena holds such a big piece of him - more than he knew, maybe, or at least more than he was consciously aware of - that it feels a little like coming home, having her in his mind. That he feels a little more like himself.

The images help, with as unfamiliar as the area is, and it's endlessly frustrating that he has to move quietly.

When he finally gets to her - his arms circle around her automatically, as he lifts her up into a hug. ]

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TDM #003

elena gilbert | the vampire diaries (s72 crau)

arrival (lmk if this is okay! ..sorry for the novel)

a-okay, and novels are my fave

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arrival! omg elena omggggg

karaaaaa

gathers all the CW babes in my arms

let me know if this is cool, always willing to edit!

spiiiiike it's perfect, thank you for this gift

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ELENAAA

so much unexpected love for this sad vampire girl

reunion!

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