TDM #004

[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. The bulletin board feed lights up so you can read about the history. 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.

Take a peep
Content Warnings: Possible animal-thing death
Themes: Slice of life, it's like gremlins... kinda

On the first of April, small piles of dust with brightly colored eggs at the center will spring up over night. After a few hours the eggs will begin to hatch and out will come the smallest and brightest bunny-like creatures (the only notable differences from regular bunnies are the colors, size, and that they make no noise). They're friendly and immediately attach themselves (bond) to the first person to pick them up. One of the natives calls them "peeps" because they don't make a sound. All with unique personalities, the creatures can be found nibbling on the dust and needing no other form of food, and will shy away from any and all water sources.

If, however, any of them get wet - there will be a sudden and brief rain shower at noon - the creatures fur will turn black and they will begin attacking the others that didn't get wet. Stopping them is key, and the black creatures will either dash away from the community if given the chance or will need to be stopped.

OOC: All characters can keep a Peep! Any color! They are palm-sized and never grow larger than an adult hand.

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

[ohmandy]

[Okay and now he's made it awkward. He would insist that she tell him and that he can fix it for her but then maybe she got it back in 2017 and there's nothing he can do about it. Shoving his hands back into his pockets, he just gives her one of his wary looks.]

You know I- [Maybe he should be typing this out rather than barely whispering in a gravelly low tone, but there's texting and then there's actually saying something while making eye contact. And it has to be said, even if he has to be as quiet as he possibly can.] I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you.

[morethan084]

[Brows knitting together when he starts actually talking, Daisy looks around to see if anyone was going to tackle him or anything.

It's actually weird to hear someone talk, even though it hasn't been that long since she's arrived here. With everything else that's happened to her recently, Daisy isn't sure if she's up for risking something actually happening.

Which is why she replies via text.]

Why? You don't even know me.

[It's been hard lately for her to feel as though anyone is on her side, so for a stranger to express that? It's a lot.]

[ohmandy]

[Again with the phone thing? He tries not to sigh and slowly wades his way through his reply.]

I don't have to to e a good man

[Well. 'Good man'. Maybe not but he's been trying.]

[morethan084]

I'm not asking you to be. I can take care of myself.

[Yeah. It's definitely tense now. Maybe he meant well, but, Daisy wasn't here for his protection.]

[ohmandy]

You don t have to do this alone
Thats all im saying

[The barrel of awkward can stop rolling anytime now.]

[morethan084]

Thanks.

[Doesn't mean she'll ask him to help out with everything, but, maybe he needed her help too. She trusts him more than she trusts the natives here. Which isn't saying much really.]

So are we going to go check out those houses?

[ohmandy]

[She probably won't think that once she finds out why he immediately assumed she'd been bitten, but. For now they're in an OK place.] Not interest ed in sound monster?

[morethan084]

Thought you were more interested in food and shelter?

[ohmandy]

I am ok in a cave

[morethan084]

[Daisy has a hard time believing that.]

Whatever.

I'd feel a lot better trying to find these things if I had a gun on me.

[ohmandy]

[With bats. Just shine his symbol into the night sky and he'll be there like a Jackson 5 song.]

Noise?

[morethan084]

No shit.

[She needed to find some sort of weapon though.]

We should find some weapons. If this is for real, we need some way of protecting ourselves.

[ohmandy]

Ok [He's not assuming that she can't handle her own or anything, but he's not sure charging outside with guns blazing is the way to go. But if there's something small that she can pick up that'll help her feel safe he's not against that idea either.]

Go house try MasterCard

[morethan084]

[Maybe not guns, maybe a bow and arrow. Although Daisy doesn't actually know how to use that...]

Let the joke go.

[At least that's what she assumes he was trying to say.

Even if it wasn't that funny, a small smile does tug at her lips.]

[ohmandy]

[He didn't think it was a joke if his face was anything to go by. Giving her his signature confused puppy look, his eyebrows rise and he tilts his head for a while before he starts towards the habitations. It's going to get awkward if they end up having to deal with the whole invite thing, but he'll cross that bridge when they get there.]

[morethan084]

[Following behind him, Daisy looks at the others. Some of them walking without looking up, others signing to one another. Definitely seems to be a lot easier than typing, at least for Angel it might be.]

Do you know any sign language?

[ohmandy]

[He gestured the universal 'a bit' to her, that small space between his thumb and index finger. He's never really had a big reason to but he'd rather sign over relying on witchcraft something with a breakable screen and an unreliable battery.

He pointed at Daisy and his eyebrows rose as if to ask if she could.]

[morethan084]

[A small smile tugs at her lips before she's shaking her head in response.

Well. She knew a few things, but, none of them would be helpful here.]

Maybe you should learn.

Although hopefully neither of us will be here long enough to need it.

[ohmandy]

[He nods. Even without talking she can probably tell he's a man of few words. They get to the door and he knocks before taking a few steps back. If there's a slight hesitation with the way he moves he's definitely trying his best not to let it on.]

[morethan084]

[Looking up at him when he steps back from the door, Daisy figures she's going to be the one to do the 'talking'.

Which she does when the stranger opens the door and she asks if they possibly have room. Or if they need to go somewhere else.

Stepping inside when they're invited in after being told they have a room and a place set up in the living area, Daisy looks behind her to see if Angel is going to come on.]

I don't care about having a room if you want it.

[ohmandy]

It ok you can
Can I come in?

[With the most neutral unawkward calm face he can manage.]

[morethan084]

[...]

Well yeah?

[ohmandy]

[He's more asking the people who own the place but there's only one way to find out. That sigh of relief is almost audible when he slips inside quietly without incident. His eyes wander around the home but for the most part he hovers unobtrusively in the corner.]

[morethan084]

[Daisy is only a few feet ahead of him before she notices he hasn't moved. Turning to face him again with a raised brow she quickly typed out:]

Aren't you the one who wanted to check this out?

[ohmandy]

[No. He wanted to go outside and get killed by the sound monsters to figure out what they're dealing with. He puts the awkward in socially awkward and judging from the way he crosses the living room in complete silence, he seems to be overly cautious about where he's putting his feet down.]

You wanted weapon