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:

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NAVIGATION

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Comments

damon salvatore | the vampire diaries cw: violence

[torridity]

Arrival;

[ Damon doesn't like it, not one bit, when he wakes up covered in dust. Nor does he like it when he feels hands pushing and pulling. And when he's undressed, well, he flirts a bit - no a lot - but things happen a little too fast and he's just a bit too dazed from god knows what.

It's not until he's in a room with someone explaining what's happened that he finally can collect himself to crack his typical sarcasm. He's still reeling, and it's a rare occurrence, what the hell did they drug him with? And who did it? His mind goes to Stefan, but something about it doesn't feel completely right.

He looks down at the jumpsuit and cringes. At least they didn't take his ring. ]

Really loving the kidnapee side of things, but you really made a mistake this time.

[ He's still feeling woozy, or the fight he'd put up, trying to push past these people would be a lot more vicious. Feel free to help or stop him as he tries to maim the locals. ]

Network;

un: salvatore

this is real cute, but where's the nearest bar?

network

[assguardian]

that's your first concern? "where's the alcohol?"

[torridity]

What was your first concern?

network ; un: c.forbes

[persevere]

i'm not sure cute is the word i would use but if you find one at least grab me a bottle of vodka or something.

I HAVEN'T DECIDED WHEN I'M TAKING HIM FROM SO....

[torridity]

one bottle of vodka added to the shopping list. Anything else?

[persevere]

not unless they have a secret stash of b positive hiding in the back room.

[torridity]

are you hurt? what could you possibly need with blood?

[persevere]

um because i'd rather not starve. duh?

private

[torridity]

Last time I checked Caroline, humans don't eat blood.

private 5ever

[persevere]

you're kidding, right? i haven't been human in almost three years.

[torridity]

what.

[persevere]

[Oh my god this is another weird timeline thing again, isn't it? In Damon's case, it's the worst kind of Caroline, because that means he's the even bigger asshole version of himself.

Sigh.]

apparently this place didn't suck enough already.

look, i got in a car accident and had internal bleeding. you healed me. then i died.

that was almost three years ago.

arrival

[iisupergirlii]

[Kara's eased inside the reset room, in a charming pink dress and cardigan, and waited for Constance to get done explaining... the barest of bones. And honestly, why isn't she telling them more now? She knows they know, that they're going to know. The arrivals are going to tell them anyway. She shakes her head. It's all very confusing.

One voice rings out above the hushed murmur of the crowd, and Kara's head jerks to its - his - direction. He's... tall. Kara makes her way over to him, a helpful smile planted on her face. Even if he'd said the word "kidnapee," which is... suspicious at best.]

Hi! I know you're really confused right now. I've been here a few months if you want some help? [she holds out her hand for him to shake.] My name's Kara.

up to you if you want his compulsion to work

[torridity]

[ He's been called a lot of charming things, tall isn't usually the word most people use. He hears her heading his way before he turns his attention to her, from whoever he has every intention of compelling into telling him what he wants.

So when she speaks, his expression changes from annoyance to matching the customer service expression she's wearing. He offers her one of his best smiles, and takes her hand, giving it a gentle shake before releasing it. Normally, he'd be in the mood to fluster someone like her, press a kiss to her hand. But at the moment all he wants to do is tear the hands off of whoever's brought him here. ]

Hi, Kara, I'm Damon, and confused is an understatement. [ He pauses, before leaning a bit forward, look at his pretty baby blues and the way they dilate, ohhh fancy compulsion. ] I'd love some help, tell me everything you know?

I mean, technically it probably shouldn't but I'm trash, sooooooooo

[iisupergirlii]

[wow, he sure has an intense stare. Kara had already came in here with the intention to be helpful and explain stuff, so she doesn't question the way the information just suddenly bubbles out of her.]

Oh, well, that's a lot to tell all at once. But, you're in Reims, France. Everyone remembers waking up here differently and none of us are sure who or what is behind us getting here. The natives have been living here a long time, generations, and have learned a lot of ways to stay quiet. The monsters that Constance is talking about are called Sound Eaters because they come running at any sound. And if they're around when you make noise, they will kill you. So, we work really hard here to keep everything quiet and soundproofed.

That's why they took all your clothes and everything else - it's just to check them over and make sure they're all soundproofed really well. For now, they have housing for everyone, and there's a warehouse with some beds and blankets and pillows left. You'll be sharing your house with a few other people. We've all been working together to try and find a way home, or a way to get rid of the Sound Eaters.

By the way, try to stay away from all this [she waves her hand at the floor] red dust. It's not good for you. It's done a lot of weird things to us, like made us see in black and white and have hallucinations and all sorts of stuff. In big enough piles, the Sound Eaters can use it to travel, like tunnels or portals or something.

We've learned a lot since we've been here. There were some videos discovered by some of us that show the Sound Eaters basically... taking over the planet and killing just. Millions of people. It's horrible. All of the video and some notes on it are on this thing called the bulletin board - you can find it on your device.

[she pauses then to take a breath. thank goodness she's Kryptonian and doesn't need to breathe that often, but she's already gearing up to continue her stream of explanation.]

[torridity]

[ Damon stays silent, nodding here and there at her information dump. When she pauses to actually breathe, he's impressed by how much she's gotten out. Raising a hand to cut off whatever she's going to say.

Constance. Sound Eaters. Reims. Soundproofed. Dust.

Sharing a house with people... Sounds a lot like compelling people out of their house so he can live by himself. He looks Kara up and done for a moment. ]

So everyone is just staying here instead of going home. [ Eugh. Humans. ] So how do we kill them? [ If he's been snagged by a witch that isn't making themselves known, might as well make enough waves to draw them out. He's been around a long time, but he's never heard of or seen a Sound Eater. ] And how do you know this is actually happening? I mean sure, spooky monsters here, but everywhere? [ Not that he particularly cares about the millions of people, but that is dinner being stolen from him... ]

[iisupergirlii]

[Kara ticks off each answer on her fingers for him.]

So far, most people are staying here, yeah. Pretty much everyone as far as I know. It's not safe to leave. [another tick.] We don't kill them; they kill us. At least, no one's figured out how to yet. Some people blew one up once, and it didn't work.

We have footage from around the world, news reports from right when the Sound Eaters first came that show them taking over. They're real. [Kara sighs. Each time she admits it, it's a little easier, but she still hates thinking about the circumstances around it.] I've been killed by them, so. Yeah. Real.

[otrazhenie]

[ 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 distant flickers she can't reach. They're just gone, as if all five of them were...

And yet, when she enters the next room, now dressed in a bright cranberry jumpsuit, there's Damon, looking just as dazed as she feels. Dazed and-- ]

Damon, don't. [ She knows that look he gets, the hints of violence in his expression. She knows how bad it can be if he's not held back. What she doesn't know is why she can't feel him. ]

a day late w starbucks

[torridity]

[ Don't. He hears the demand before he sees her. It's hard not to think of Katherine when he sees her; it takes a moment for his brain to catch up -- Elena. It's Elena. His attenion falls from the local, completely uninterested now. Violence had definitely been at the forefront of his mind, and it will definitely return the moment he comes into a brick wall for information or what to do next. ]

Elena? [ She looks much cuter in her jumpsuit than him in his own dark grey one. ] What are you doing here? [ Is that a hint of worry?

Okay, his first assumption had been that Stefan had something to do with this... but now? ]

hope you brought enough to share

[otrazhenie]

I don't know, I just woke up here. [ She glances at the room around them, at the local who'd been trying to explain what we going on (she assumes, anyway), but her attention shifts back to Damon after a moment.

Of course she'd picked up on that concern, she'd never be able to miss it, but shouldn't there be more? Shouldn't there be that softness in his eyes that he gets whenever they aren't fighting... An awareness rises to the front of her mind that leaves her feeling shaken. Keeping her voice calm and steady, she tries not to give anything away when she asks him a question to which she already knows the answer. ] Damon, where were you before this?

[torridity]

That's called being kidnapped. [ He narrows his eyes, watching her for a moment. ] Unless I do it. Then it's saving. [ aka trip to Georgia. ]

Before this? Well, I brought you home, got to watch Stefan make that face that he makes when he's trying to be intimidating, but really he's as scary as someone who primarily hunts Thumper and Bambi can be.

[ What a weird question. ] Why? [ Don't get him wrong, he enjoys making fun of Stefan, but there are more important matters here. ] I've pissed off tons of witches, but why would they kidnap you?

[otrazhenie]

[ She's been kidnapped enough times that she doesn't need a definition, thanks, Damon. What she does need are answers, because nothing he's saying is making any sense. ]

I don't think this was witches, this is something-- different. But what do you mean, you brought me home? Home from where?

[ He isn't her Damon. It's the only explanation that fits. He's not the one she was with on the station, and he's probably not the one she left behind. It's hard to wrap her head around and does absolutely nothing to help ease the aching loss of her connection to the Nest. ]

[torridity]

Something different? Okay, and what [ Enjoy finger quotes... ] "something different" could kidnap not only me but you from your loving little boyfriend's overprotective grasp?

[ The question however has him stepping closer into her space, leaning down a bit to lock eyes with her - looking for something in her eyes. ] Did you hit your head harder than we thought? Georgia, Elena. I don't know how you forgot our amazing road-trip. [ It actually kind of stings, if she had, not that he's going to say that. He'd at least thought they'd come to some kind of understanding. Hell, even maybe friendship. ]

[otrazhenie]

[ He really... Some small, secret part of her had been hoping she was wrong, that he was the man she'd fallen in love with and there was some perfectly reasonable explanation for why their connection had been severed. But-- Georgia. Of course she remembers that trip, they'd had fun together while he offered her a few hours reprieve from the pain of Stefan not telling her about Katherine. It's so strange looking back on it, knowing all she does now.

But he thinks she's still with Stefan. How is she supposed to handle something like this? With a shaking breath, she takes a step back, two, then turns slightly away from Damon, lifting her hands to run them through her hair. Hair that has a bit of body and curl to it since she hasn't seen a straightener in almost two months. ]

I didn't forget. That was a year ago. For me, that was a year ago. [ It all tumbles out before she can really think it through; guess they're going with the ripping the bandaid off method then. ]

[torridity]

[ She steps backwards and it stings too, while she's never liked him invading her personal space, it's been a while since she's tried to outright avoid it. Dark eyebrows pull together as he tries to put together what's exactly going on as he stares at the back of her head, that very much reminds him of Katherine's.

And then she says that, and it brings Damon pause. He's not sure if she's messing with him, not being able to see her face. But somehow he has the feeling she's not. He trusts her. He wants to turn her around, make her face him, but it's also Elena, so he wants to let her do as she wishes. He doesn't want to control her. ]

A year ago? I just saw you. [ He didn't wake up to a year's worth of hunger. Sure, he's hungry, but it's nothing he can't handle. ]