shiftmods: (Default)
shiftmods ([personal profile] shiftmods) wrote in [community profile] realitydrome2015-12-02 02:34 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME 01.1



HERE YOU ARE.


You appear in the Interim with nothing but the clothes on your back.

And the money in your pocket, and the things in your backpack, the bed you were sleeping in, the book you were reading, the cereal you were eating...you get the idea. Anything you were touching - anything inanimate and not nailed down - has come with you. Handy. Except you’ll only be able to bring what you can carry, and strangely, nothing electronic seems to be working. Not your digital watch, not your cell phones (there’s no signal anyway), and not even your magic space car.

You’re obviously not the first person this has happened to; there are the remnants of others’ abandoned belongings all around. A desk half-buried in sand, a more recent pile of heavy winter clothes, evidence of people who have passed through and left behind what they didn't need or want. The Interim is big, but open...it will be easy to encounter others like yourself who are still here.

There’s endless desert as far as you can see; blistering orange on a backdrop of a purple sky, punctuated by lightning that tells you a storm will be here soon. The static filled air is almost artificially dry, with no smell, no taste...something only noticeable in its absence. No matter where you've appeared in the Interim, you can see a building. A lone building, with no obvious origin or cultural markers, decidedly alien but the only thing that signifies life. There’s nothing forcing you to go there, but where else will you go? And with the lightening storms pressing in on the horizon, staying out in the open doesn't seem like the best idea.

Grab what you can carry (or don’t), and start walking.


THE BUILDING.

Let’s assume you've made it to the building.

No matter what side of the building you approach you'll come to an automated door that will open on the featureless façade, sliding upwards. The same door will close (but not lock) behind you once you enter. Just in time too, because once the storm arrives, the lightning and the suspiciously uniform golf ball sized hail will make being outdoors hazardous. So step inside.

Take a breath; the air feels heavier, ionized, thick with the smells and and tastes that were curiously absent in the air outside. Metallic, wet, a faint smell of rust, a faint hint of something organic, something chemical. It’s like real air, even if it is strange. Now that you’re inside, it’s dark. This building has no windows, but in the pitch you’ll see coloured emergency strips leading your way; a trail of red dots guiding you who-knows-where. All the entrances to the building, all the red lights will take you to the center; the industrial labyrinth walls will all fall away to a cavernous room, revealing a massive machine. Or at least your assume it's a machine. It's purpose is not obvious; it could be a water purifier, a nuclear reactor, or make license plates or anything else really. There's a cavernous part in the center that is clearly meant to be be passage, although it doesn't appear to go anywhere. A dead end.

You’ll notice a large console, complex with buttons, dials and displays that will be foreign to you, no matter what world you come from. The technologically proficient might be able to make some educated guesses, but even the least tech-savvy amongst you will recognise the simplest of instructions; a large lever, prominently placed, with a yellow sticky note reading in hastily scribbled English:

ON.

Nothing happens when you press it.



WRITING ON THE WALL.


By now it’s probably become apparent that your electronics are working again; within the confines of the building anyway. Most things will be working normally, although cell phones, radios and anything designed to pick up a signal will be going haywire, picking up errant singles in the form of video, audio or both, all of them scrambled, none of them discernible. You may catch snatches of recognizable imagery, or sound, but nothing concrete and there won’t seem to be any commonality. Most will be unsettling alien.

[Mod note: should anyone fiddle with the signals picked up, or attempt to glean anything useful from them for long enough, the most recurring tidbit will be ‘POWER’]

There’s writing on the wall; you might not have looked around much before, you might not be very observant, or maybe you did look and would swear on your mother’s grave it hadn't been there before. Whatever the case, it’s there now; crudely written English, written on the wall in black. An arrow points to something next to it that resembles a circuit breaker...or at least something analogous to one. Flip the master switch and the rumble of power behind the walls will suddenly bring light to the room….dim light.

RESORE PPOWER, FOLLOW WIRES

Stemming from the massive as-still-unknown machine, there are many conduits and wires leading out from the room. Time to split up, team up and follow them. The building is big, it’s dark, and there are no maps. Follow the wires and flip those breakers.*


THE LOWER LEVELS

Going down, things will seem to get even darker, even damper. The rumbling in the walls will grow louder as you go further down, and the air will seem to have a stronger ozone scent. Most of the wires and pipes and walls, will have traces of rust, but dust will be a scarcity.

Watch your step, and keep your eyes peeled there’s a strange skittering in the dark...


THE UPPER LEVELS

Things will get quieter as you go up, dryer too. It will still be dark, but as you ascend levels, you’ll notice an unusual lightness. The air seems a bit thinner, and your steps a bit lighter. It might be too much to say gravity feels weaker, but it wouldn't be wrong. Every level you go up the effect will be exaggerated and it may become difficult for oxygen requiring individuals to breath. Electronics will be behaving even worse on the higher levels, picking up errant signals and mishmashing them together. Nothing clear will come through, but it will be obvious that nothing you’re picking up is from back home.

*There is no set number of breakers to be flipped in the Test Drive, the task will simply be considered done at the end, whether four or forty have been flipped….there can be as many as you would like to seek out!


FIRST CONTACT

After partial power has been restored, you'll find that electronics are suddenly able to pick up a transmission....





OOC NOTES
NAVIGATION

Characters will be brought into the Interim in much the same way as the game, and the same basic rules apply - see the FAQ for specifics about inventory, the types of characters, or powers etc! If you have a TEST DRIVE specific question, please ask it below! Any other questions can be asked here!
  • Characters played in the TDM will not have the benefit of having any damages or conditions to their body repaired just yet...
  • Characters will not be power-nerfed for the purpose of the TDM; police yourself and don't make things unfun for others! (ie/ your infinitely powerful super villain destroying the building isn't fun for anyone else)
  • Characters will not be beholden to the inventory they have here should they choose to app
  • For convenience's sake, spoken language barrier is being hand-waved for the TDM (unless you feel like playing out the communication problems, in which case go for it!)
  • If a character IS or has life-essential equipment that is electronic, they will be transported directly into the building. Should they step outside the building however....the same rules apply.
  • Please put your character's name and canon in the subject line so everyone knows who they are!
The TDM will be considered soft canon...that is, it will be considered canon, but is not at all necessary. You can choose to have it be canon or non canon for your character. Since this test drive is also functioning as a game beta, changes may also be made before the game opens. Please note this is an excellent time to ask questions or provide feedback! We’re looking to hear from you!

Reserves open 12.11.15
Applications will open
01.01.16

twobastards: (what the fuck is wrong with you)

Inside

[personal profile] twobastards 2015-12-14 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
The centre of the building felt colder than the outer rooms; whether it actually was or if it was purely psychosomatic didn't matter. It was cold, and Liz was taking a moment or two to shrug off her kit and shrug on her jacket. She clocked the strange young woman as she entered the room, but didn't pay her much mind until she spoke.

"What do you mean?"
valr: (to the smell of gasoline)

[personal profile] valr 2015-12-14 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
The dead, not the living, have her attention right now, so while she doesn't quite startle at the sound of someone speaking, it's clear she wasn't expecting it.

Kara shakes herself out of it, "Lotta people died right here."

That probably makes her sound a bit crazy, but she doesn't really care.
twobastards: (you're kidding right)

[personal profile] twobastards 2015-12-14 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Liz pursed her lips. That might explain the coldness, but all in all she's rather sensitively blind, so who the fuck knows.

"Think they're gonna be a problem?" She had her glock, and her dagger, but the only ammo she had for her her shotgun were meant for human foes, not ghost ones.
valr: (and half-remembered)

[personal profile] valr 2015-12-14 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
That's an interesting response, and it earns Liz a cursory glance from Kara, like she's sizing her up.

"Think they're long gone, it just feels like death in here," If they were Norse, she might be able to feel more than just 'death' but her religion is long gone.
twobastards: (default)

[personal profile] twobastards 2015-12-14 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Well that's a relief." Rocking back onto her heels, she shot Kara a wry smirk. "Liz, Liz O'Connell," she said, introducing herself with a half-assed salute. "Allied with the Wolfes, if that means anything." Which, judging how her life's been going lately, means that dead-sense aside, this girl's going to turn out to be a zealot and Liz is going to have to fight for her life. Again. "Take it you woke up in the middle of the desert as well?"
valr: (bombs of love)

[personal profile] valr 2015-12-14 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
"Kara," No last name, because she won't give her full name to strangers, not when they could be any number of things. The last thing she needs is some idiot fae knowing her name.

And Liz is right, what she said means nothing to Kara, so she doesn't comment on it aside from a shrug.

"Yeah, I woke up in the desert."
twobastards: (right)

[personal profile] twobastards 2015-12-14 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
"You have any idea how the hell we came to be here, Kara? 'Cause I'm at a loss." If it were magic, she's reasonably sure Marc would've been taken along, too. Like, 93% sure, because he'd been driving the car.

Using her cane, she leveraged herself up and limped closer to the centre console. And whistled. "Well, wherever we are, they have way better tech than us. Damn."
valr: (a double feature)

[personal profile] valr 2015-12-14 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
Kara's answer is a simple shake of her head; she's not wordy at the best of times, and strange situations leave her inclined to keep her mouth shut. It's not so much caution as simple distrust, considering she doesn't know any of these people.

"That tech didn't do 'em much good if they're all dead," She can't know that for sure, but she's yet to meet anyone actually from this world.
twobastards: (hmm murdering you soon)

[personal profile] twobastards 2015-12-14 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
Stroking her nose, Liz rubbed the old breaks as she thought. "Yeah, prolly not, but like. My usual solution when things don't work it to turn it off and turn it back on again; I got friends if I need anything more advanced. And this? More advanced."

Turning her back on the console for the moment, she looked around the room for something that resembled a switch. And put her hand on her gun. "Hey, were those words there when you came in?"
valr: (where you learn things)

[personal profile] valr 2015-12-16 10:54 am (UTC)(link)
The words weren't there when Kara came in, which is why she's scowling at them for daring to show up unannounced. This is some horror movie bullshit and she doesn't want any part in it.

"I ain't following instructions from a damn wall," That just seems stupid.
Edited 2015-12-16 11:04 (UTC)
twobastards: (you sly bastard)

[personal profile] twobastards 2015-12-17 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Pulling her gun, she checked the safety but pointed it to the floor. No need to get jumpy.

"Wish we knew more about what happened to those that died. That would make it easier to know whether or not to follow the advice. The place itself could be sentient, or there could be someone tied to it trying to help. Then again," she continued, wry, "the building could be evil, or whomever is trying to contact us is."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I am too tired for this bullshit."