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memesville2021-03-10 05:07 pm
robbies) wrote in memesville2021-03-10 05:07 pm
Entry tags:
TDM - MARCH/APRIL 2021
TEST DRIVE MEME - MARCH/APRIL 2021
It's the day the devil in us gets released.
“Help me. Please, help me…”
A child’s voice, calling out for aid. There’s no rhyme or reason for when it comes to you. It’s so quiet, a whisper in the deepest, darkest corners of your mind. Were it not for the sharp, stabbing pain it pulls out of you, you could ignore it. You could even pretend it’s just your imagination.
It all happens so quickly and powerfully. Left in the dust, your brain struggles to process it all. Blacking out is the least it can do, but it’s also all it can do, and it does so before you even have a chance to fully register just how young the voice is, and how deeply, heartbreakingly lost it sounds.
When you finally awaken with your bare feet tangled in soft sheets, a layer of fuzzy fleece or slinky silk clinging to your body like another layer of skin, the sunlight pouring in from the window next to your bed momentarily blinding you, and the cries of happy children playing outside of it carrying faintly, it all becomes very clear—
Something is horribly wrong.
A child’s voice, calling out for aid. There’s no rhyme or reason for when it comes to you. It’s so quiet, a whisper in the deepest, darkest corners of your mind. Were it not for the sharp, stabbing pain it pulls out of you, you could ignore it. You could even pretend it’s just your imagination.
It all happens so quickly and powerfully. Left in the dust, your brain struggles to process it all. Blacking out is the least it can do, but it’s also all it can do, and it does so before you even have a chance to fully register just how young the voice is, and how deeply, heartbreakingly lost it sounds.
When you finally awaken with your bare feet tangled in soft sheets, a layer of fuzzy fleece or slinky silk clinging to your body like another layer of skin, the sunlight pouring in from the window next to your bed momentarily blinding you, and the cries of happy children playing outside of it carrying faintly, it all becomes very clear—
Something is horribly wrong.
MARCH 1st.
 |
It becomes very clear very quickly that this isn’t a simple kidnapping.
By the time you make it down to the living room, you’ll notice that the television is on; someone must have forgotten to turn it off before they went to bed. On it, the morning news is playing. “With their charity luncheon a rousing success, the Happy Home Association later donated all of their proceeds to the Santa Rosita Planning Commission. Debra, a member of the HHA, said the amount they donated more than ensures that 1961 will be an eventful year for us here in our fair town…” |
GETTING TO KNOW THE NEIGHBORS.
| As you get acclimated, you gradually begin to learn more about this strange new world you’ve found yourself in. You’re in a neighborhood on the east side of a town called Santa Rosita located… somewhere in California (wherever or whatever that might be). The year is 1961. If it wasn’t clear enough, your neighbors are more than willing to humor you if you ask. Even if you accost them with questions and demands. Sure, you and your family are a little kooky, and you have a very overactive imagination, but the key to any good joke is playing along! And how could something like “I’m from the future, from another world” be anything but a joke? A. DRINK UP.With March incoming, spring is in the air and everybody seems to be excited to get out of their house and enjoy the good weather. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and guys and gals alike are out to take a brisk walk and socialize! Wanting to make sure you’re feeling truly welcome to the town, whether you’re brand new or went through such a wild winter with them, your neighbors will be on their way with gifts aplenty. Delicacies such as tomato aspic and potato salad and bologna cake will ensure that your fridge is full to bursting, and no matter how you try to demur, they’re insistent that you accept their offerings.March also brings with it St. Patrick’s Day, and some of your neighbors are feeling festive! A knock at the door, and you’ll find yourself confronted with a plate full of 7-Up Cheese Aspic, wiggling and bright. “I saw this recipe and just knew I had to try it!” the beaming cook says, pushing it into your hands. “And with St. Patrick’s Day coming up, we should all be getting in the spirit, right?” The combination of cheese cubes, raw onions, and green olives in a mixture of lime jello and fizzy 7-Up might be a bit off-putting to some. But you never know until you try! Go on, give it a whirl! |
 |
B. SPRING CLEANING.
It’s a beautiful, picturesque Saturday in the neighborhood—the sun rising, banishing the dark shadows of night, the birds beginning to peep and tweet, the morning dew sparkling on the grass…“Morning, neighbor!”
“Hello, pal!”
“Time to brush off the cobwebs, huh, fellows?”
“You said it!”
And as one, several lawn mowers come to life with a synchronized roar, breaking the peace of your quiet Saturday morning.
All over the neighborhood, windows are being thrown wide and the mops and brooms, hedge clippers and lawn mowers, gardening and carpentry tools alike are being brought out as the townsfolk set to combing every inch of their house and yard (and in Mr. Martin’s case, literally!) to bring it to order after a long winter. Everybody has a job, from the oldest old man to the youngest child, and everybody’s pitching in to do their part and ensure Santa Rosita enjoys another beautiful year.
And don’t think they’ll leave you, their new neighbor and best friend, out of the picture! You might emerge from your house one day to pick up the paper and find there’s a Robbie in your front yard, whistling cheerfully as he prunes your front hedges. One of your neighbors might make a cracking joke about how they can’t have you feeling left out as he rolls his lawn mower into your yard, or you might receive some new gifts in the form of seedlings and sprouts all ready to be hardened off and planted (you do know what that means and how to do it, don’t you?). Careful—if you let that salt linger too long on your car, one of the well-meaning neighbor kids might take some initiative and wash it for you! Watch out—first they’ll come for you with the hose for a laugh, but then they’ll come for your wallet when they beam and hint that, “Oh, it was nothing… I was happy to do it…”
HAPPY FAMILIES.
 |
It becomes very clear very quickly that this isn’t a simple kidnapping… Hey, hold on a second—haven’t we been through this already? When your eyes open to the sound of your alarm, there’s something pinging at the back of your mind—you might not be able to place what it is right away, but something’s wrong. Maybe it’s the feeling of your pajamas, or maybe the sheets are a slightly greener shade of blue, or maybe your alarm is a tiny bit shriller than it usually is… but whatever it is, it’s got all your senses on alert. Getting up and out of bed, it may become immediately obvious—or maybe not, if your “spouse” has already woken up and gone downstairs for the day. But sooner or later, you’ll find that your loving family is no longer your loving family. Something weird is going on with Santa Rosita, and whatever force brought you here seems to be on the fritz. Your “family” can change by the day—you might go to bed in your home on Mockingbird Lane and wake up in an entirely new family on Loomis Drive. Curiously, your belongings seem to travel with you… most of the time. Sometimes they’ll be lost in transit, and that lovely little black dress you bought at Honeybee’s has somehow ended up in one of your neighbors’ closets. Hopefully you’re on good terms with your neighbors so that you can get your stuff back! Your neighbors seem entirely nonplussed by the frequent swapping of households. Ask any of them and they’ll say you’ve always lived there, that your son has always been your son, and you’ve never had a daughter, silly! As all the photos in your house seem to change along with them, it’ll be hard to find anything that might prove them wrong. |
TOPSY-TURVY.
While your families are constantly shifting, that doesn’t seem to be the only thing going sideways. The entire city of Santa Rosita seems to be in a state of flux—days might go from mild at dawn to scorching by noon and back to December snow by dusk. Winds howl in single gusts before dying down, and rain falls such that you can stand on one side of the curtain of rain and stay dry while you stick your hand into the deluge two feet away.
Doors in your home cannot be trusted; similar to December, it’s possible for them to open up to entirely different locations. However, unlike December, the doors don’t all lead to a singular place—where they’ll lead at any given moment is anyone’s guess! You might find yourself on the other side of town, back at the site of the now-gone Christmas village, or even in one of your neighbors’ houses. Maybe you can use your bedroom for a quick commute to work or school if you get lucky or are persistent enough? Curiously, locations like city hall and the police department never pop up when you find somewhere new on the other side of your door; neither will NPC households.
As if that wasn’t enough, ghosts and goblins seem to appear and disappear with the changing of the hour. Paranormal activity of all types run rampant, ranging from innocuous to intense. You may return home to find that everything in your kitchen has been shifted by two inches… or you may wake up to find your dresser floating midair and coming back down to the ground with a resounding crash! Ghosts appear, dressed in any style and fashion up through those of 1961 (or sometimes, strangely, in clothing that’s odd and futuristic for Santa Rosita’s quaint streets), and it might be possible to find other mythical creatures around the town from time to time, though the storybook unicorns and witches seem to disappear whenever you get too close. Further, there’s something that seems to have taken up residence under your bed, though it’s never there when you try to look or catch it. But how else do you explain its cold, withered, knobbly fingers as they lock around your ankle if your leg hangs off the bed at night? Its sharp nails scratching at your heels as it tries to grab you when you get out of bed in the middle of the night? The sound of breathing that fills your room at night and the faint clammy breath on your face in the instant before you open your eyes?
Wandering packs of zombie children may show up in your neighborhoods in the night—surely you’ve stocked up on pumpkins to make a new jack-o’-lantern, right? Doppelgangers and ferthurs appear and disappear in shifts; you may be looking out the window when it happens: A slight shift in the air, almost like a video ripping, and they’re gone, transported back to wherever they came from. Maybe they were chasing you when they disappeared; you might turn around to find that nothing is there (was it ever?).
Still other are the mysterious figures you might see around town. You’ll find that no matter how often you see them, you’ll never be able to describe them to someone else; the words will escape you every time. Are they short? Tall? Stout? Petite? Dark hair? Light hair? Smiling? Frowning? Nobody who sees them can agree, but one thing is for sure: They’re watching you, and they’ll appear at random, whether that’s standing in your corner watching you sleep or trailing after you through the grocer’s. None of the NPCs will notice these figures, though they do seem to give them a wide berth if possible—almost like they can unconsciously sense the prospect of danger.
The only respite from the chaos seems to be that not everything happens at once, and at other times of the month the city is downright peaceful. There’s no reason or rhyme to the starts and stops of the monsters, the figures, the doors or the weather; check the almanacs and mark the night skies (when it isn’t hidden behind snowfall or turbulent clouds), but try as you might, you won’t be able to find a pattern.
All you can do is hope that this passes quickly.
Doors in your home cannot be trusted; similar to December, it’s possible for them to open up to entirely different locations. However, unlike December, the doors don’t all lead to a singular place—where they’ll lead at any given moment is anyone’s guess! You might find yourself on the other side of town, back at the site of the now-gone Christmas village, or even in one of your neighbors’ houses. Maybe you can use your bedroom for a quick commute to work or school if you get lucky or are persistent enough? Curiously, locations like city hall and the police department never pop up when you find somewhere new on the other side of your door; neither will NPC households.
As if that wasn’t enough, ghosts and goblins seem to appear and disappear with the changing of the hour. Paranormal activity of all types run rampant, ranging from innocuous to intense. You may return home to find that everything in your kitchen has been shifted by two inches… or you may wake up to find your dresser floating midair and coming back down to the ground with a resounding crash! Ghosts appear, dressed in any style and fashion up through those of 1961 (or sometimes, strangely, in clothing that’s odd and futuristic for Santa Rosita’s quaint streets), and it might be possible to find other mythical creatures around the town from time to time, though the storybook unicorns and witches seem to disappear whenever you get too close. Further, there’s something that seems to have taken up residence under your bed, though it’s never there when you try to look or catch it. But how else do you explain its cold, withered, knobbly fingers as they lock around your ankle if your leg hangs off the bed at night? Its sharp nails scratching at your heels as it tries to grab you when you get out of bed in the middle of the night? The sound of breathing that fills your room at night and the faint clammy breath on your face in the instant before you open your eyes?
Wandering packs of zombie children may show up in your neighborhoods in the night—surely you’ve stocked up on pumpkins to make a new jack-o’-lantern, right? Doppelgangers and ferthurs appear and disappear in shifts; you may be looking out the window when it happens: A slight shift in the air, almost like a video ripping, and they’re gone, transported back to wherever they came from. Maybe they were chasing you when they disappeared; you might turn around to find that nothing is there (was it ever?).
Still other are the mysterious figures you might see around town. You’ll find that no matter how often you see them, you’ll never be able to describe them to someone else; the words will escape you every time. Are they short? Tall? Stout? Petite? Dark hair? Light hair? Smiling? Frowning? Nobody who sees them can agree, but one thing is for sure: They’re watching you, and they’ll appear at random, whether that’s standing in your corner watching you sleep or trailing after you through the grocer’s. None of the NPCs will notice these figures, though they do seem to give them a wide berth if possible—almost like they can unconsciously sense the prospect of danger.
The only respite from the chaos seems to be that not everything happens at once, and at other times of the month the city is downright peaceful. There’s no reason or rhyme to the starts and stops of the monsters, the figures, the doors or the weather; check the almanacs and mark the night skies (when it isn’t hidden behind snowfall or turbulent clouds), but try as you might, you won’t be able to find a pattern.
All you can do is hope that this passes quickly.
OOC INFO
Hello, and welcome to We're Still Here's third TDM! Here's a few things we'd like you to keep in mind:
We’re Still Here is taking a short pause for the months of March and April. This TDM will span both months and we encourage everybody to tag out, tag in, backtag, and start new threads as you please! Apps will reopen in May.
The TDM is canon. You can treat this as a real game-wide event and pick and choose what threads you would like your character to remember when they enter the game. For characters who app into the game, the events of the TDM will be treated like a dream.
Please note that there is a lot going on in this TDM — this is intentional! We wanted to give you, the players, a full world and event to play with that could last beyond the usual event or TDM cycle. You may cherry-pick from the above prompts as you please and take reasonable liberties as you would like; if you have any questions, you may use the mod top-level below to ask them.
For current players, the Housing page has been updated with new assignments! These assignments are temporary and will be subject to shuffling once more at the end of the pause. As detailed in the above prompts, you may play with shifting housing as often as you would please; for those of you who do not want to make use of this prompt, the new Housing assignments are there for your convenience.
There is no Network prompt listed, but feel free to wildcard one for your characters anyway.
Please be sure to label any threads with relevant content warnings as necessary. Any questions for the mods can be asked in the mod top-level below (please note that due to the pause, these questions may be answered more slowly than normal!). For new and prospective players, please make use of the Prospective Rolodex!
We’re Still Here is taking a short pause for the months of March and April. This TDM will span both months and we encourage everybody to tag out, tag in, backtag, and start new threads as you please! Apps will reopen in May.
The TDM is canon. You can treat this as a real game-wide event and pick and choose what threads you would like your character to remember when they enter the game. For characters who app into the game, the events of the TDM will be treated like a dream.
Please note that there is a lot going on in this TDM — this is intentional! We wanted to give you, the players, a full world and event to play with that could last beyond the usual event or TDM cycle. You may cherry-pick from the above prompts as you please and take reasonable liberties as you would like; if you have any questions, you may use the mod top-level below to ask them.
For current players, the Housing page has been updated with new assignments! These assignments are temporary and will be subject to shuffling once more at the end of the pause. As detailed in the above prompts, you may play with shifting housing as often as you would please; for those of you who do not want to make use of this prompt, the new Housing assignments are there for your convenience.
There is no Network prompt listed, but feel free to wildcard one for your characters anyway.
Please be sure to label any threads with relevant content warnings as necessary. Any questions for the mods can be asked in the mod top-level below (please note that due to the pause, these questions may be answered more slowly than normal!). For new and prospective players, please make use of the Prospective Rolodex!
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Not that he can fulfill his purpose here in a place full of Earthnoids and people from who-knows-where, but that seems to matter less. If Angelo is indeed real and has been here for a month despite the fact that Frontal has seen him the very day of his departure... that means time is not of the essence. They could think it over calmly and escape on their own schedule... if it wasn't for the complete lack of connection.
It leaves Frontal unusually susceptible for change and that can never happen. ]
That was a necessity.
[ He sounds stern as he issues the reminder but it quickly melts. ]
This isn't my doing. I can't sense anybody in this place. Can you?
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[ hmph. so here's a preview of frontal's life in santa rosita at least, and he can always count on it .... not being boring.
angelo inhales sharply. he'll let it go. he'll let it go. he said he will. he runs his fingers through the curl on the side of his face and tucks a strand behind his ear. ]
I cannot.
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So the best way to handle this is by handling it not at all. Pretend Angelo hadn't said it, hadn't stepped out of line this badly. (The fact that he would, that his hurt is so raw, is another point in favor of this being the real one, a least.) ]
Then you understand that I am not intentionally shutting you out.
[ When he reaches out slowly, to place a hand on Angelo's shoulder, it is less for Angelo's benefit and more for his own. He wouldn't like to admit so. ]
Do you remember the last week?
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.... we left the Nahel Argama. Our coalition failed. Banagher chose not to ally with us. Marida, Zimmerman, and the princess remained there.
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That matches my own recollection.
[ Just the two of them then. Just the two of them now. ]
How about the last week in this town? I met you before. Something like you. Do you remember?
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I ... this place, when you disobey their rules - they have methods of brainwashing you to be a perfect neighbour.
I and two others attacked a cop, with the intention of taking their weapon and studying it. We succeeded, but it was a difficult fight. It seems every one of the cops are armed with it. In the escape, two of us got hit.
The effects were severe enough to last a week; most of the time, to everyone's knowledge and experience, smaller infractions are punished with brainwashing that lasts for about an hour or so.
no subject
I commend the initiative, but do be careful.
[ Upside down pineapple cake... ]
That kind of act doesn't suit you. I'd rather not see such a discordant sight again.
no subject
But there is no defence against it, Captain. And if you are not a Newtype right now, then you are just as susceptible to it as anybody else is.
[ which is a problem. a very, very big problem for both of them. ]
no subject
I understand the implications.
[ A curt reply. Frontal crosses his arms and takes a moment to think. He does not come up with anything particularly helpful. He's overwhelmed in a way he hasn't ever been before and it is irritating. ]
... let's move inside. We have more to talk about and no reason to keep standing in the street.
no subject
he does feel better following after him, however, a bit at ease despite their current predicament. he felt his touch. he heard his voice. he is speaking to him, and he is reminding him of his place. he misses the eternal in him that subsumes him entirely whole, and while that agitates angelo, it is likely more of a pressing issue for his captain.
the house is just like any house in santa rosita, and angelo narrows his eyes at a photograph of his captain in a happy family. he flips that picture frame down. awful! disgusting! ]
=) - the cat typed this and we're preserving it
He leads the two of them to the parent bedroom and then locks the door from the inside - his 'wife' is out for whatever right now (he didn't care to ask) and if they want in... well, they'll just have to knock then. ]
So we're imprisoned, then.
Considering the delay between our arrivals and the general... mix-and-match state of the population here, I'd wager that we don't have to worry about returning to our world in a timely fashion. Are there any other silver linings?
u_u ty boppo
[ angelo seats himself on the edge of the bed with a sigh. ]
There is not much else beyond that.
no subject
[ Restless, Frontal opts to remain standing. He pulls open the curtains a little and stands facing the window, like he often did at Palau as well. The little park in front of their headquarters looked just as symmetrical and utterly fake as the perfectly kept lawn he is staring at now. At least some things don't change. ]
Not that I am chastising you. I am including myself in this concern.
[ Without armed forces to command, without a mobile suit to pilot and without newtype ability... there is not much left of the things Frontal was made for. ]
no subject
[ he thinks about it thoughtfully, and adds, ] My assessment is that this place ... isn't their doing. They have stumbled on a beast that allows them to live happily but it is dragging visitors like us permanently, and they can only use so much of the terrible things at their arsenal to control us. They cannot get rid of us entirely, and that is the problem.
no subject
That would make sense... if we are a disturbance and they had the ability to brainwash us all permanently, there would be no reason not to do so immediately upon arrival.
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He tucks his knees underneath him as he sits on the bed, watching his Captain as he paces in the room. ]
While there are plenty of visitors from other worlds here, it seems that none are familiar with our world .... none that I’ve met, anyway.
no subject
And then he has to think about other people from their world and that means thinking about Char and repressing any relief at hearing that Angelo hasn't met him. ]
... there is one, but he is not of concern.
no subject
[ angelo frowns at this revelation. there was someone here, and he didn't know? how ridiculous. perhaps a new arrival like the captain was. though he hasn't really had the time to keep up with the neighbours considering his mental state. he'll make a note of that for later. ]
I did not know .... but if you say so, Captain. I won't be bothered by him.
no subject
[ Unless the lack of mental connection between them has changed anything fundamentally, then Angelo will keep his word to him once given. That is reassuring.
So Frontal can make good on his name, on his being, and continue without deceit - even if lying by omission is a route he could take easily nough. ]
It's the original Char Aznable - from a time where he was lacking in determination entirely. He is no good to us.
no subject
[ could such a thing be true ...? was he drawn here because his captain was as well? so many questions are rising into his mind that he can't quite find the answers to.
but at a time when he was lacking in determination, ah ... that was ... angelo tries to scour his memory of his legacy. the gryps war, then? somewhere around that time. he was going around under an alias, and had even helped the likes of amuro ray and bright noa. ]
... but surely it can't be more than a coincidence, Captain. [ after all, nobody plans to be here. ]
no subject
[ It does feel almost too targeted for a coincidence. Out of all the people in the Universal Century, at any point in time, to bring Frontal and Char together... What a twisted thing to do. As if someone was watching, impassively, curiously, waiting to see who would emerge victorious. Of course, Frontal knows that is going to be him. ]
Whether it's coincidence or someone's idea of a joke makes no functional difference either way. He now is a distraction that was placed before us.
[ Because that's what Char is to both of them, isn't he? No matter how much Frontal would like to deny it. ]
no subject
[ how does one even explain char aznable's existence here. and what would they gain in putting him here from a point in his life where he doesn't even want to be himself ....? angelo has so many questions.
in the meantime, angelo is becoming more and more comfortable with this captain. he may not be the one that would connect to his mind, but he feels him exude the calm he always had, and it's very good in lulling angelo to trust. he also misses him, which he won't tell him, as it is not something his captain needs to concern himself with. there are other, more important things to focus on - surely he need not be held back by his emotions, which are selfish and needy.
still. he purses his lips into a thin line of disapproval as he gathers his thoughts. ]
... I dislike the fact that you are here, and somewhat changed. It is such a dangerous and reckless thing to have done.
But I will protect you, because you will always be important to me.
no subject
Angelo is both the best and worst option to be stuck here with. He is the best because he is, always, the most reliable subordinate all of Neo Zeon has to offer. And he is the worst because their connection is closer than any other and Angelo will be able to witness every minute alteration Frontal may go through - and he will look at him differently for it, eventually. It is not a loss on any pragmatic level, but it feels like the greatest omen of failure there could be.
The fact that Angelo even thinks he needs to reassert Frontal's importance in his life... it is a testament of doubt on that very same matter. ]
I trust that you will - you are the head of my guard, after all.
[ And while looking out the window is a safe way to avoid having to see Angelo's expression, it is not the best way to lead this conversation - Frontal can't waver now, he has to reassert himself with or without his abilities. So he turns, offering a thin smile. ]
But like yourself, I retain my fighting experience and skill perfectly well. With just the two of us, rather than protection, it should be cooperation, should it not?
no subject
[ wow. was he expecting anything else otherwise? angelo looks at him incredulously. ] That we cooperate to achieve what needs to be done is a given. You are important, and therefore, your safety is the priority here.
no subject
So it may be, but I can handle myself. [ A beat. ] And I'd loathe to lose you.
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