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memesville2020-10-25 11:03 pm
robbies) wrote in memesville2020-10-25 11:03 pm
Entry tags:
TDM - OCTOBER 2020
TEST DRIVE MEME - OCTOBER 2020
Everyone's entitled to one good scare.
CW: Violence, death, mouth trauma, vomiting, needles, razors
“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 baseball 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 baseball outside of it carrying faintly, it all becomes very clear—
Something is horribly wrong.
OCTOBER 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, a cartoon pack of cigarettes and accompanying cigarette dancers prance around a black and white pumpkin patch, joined by dancing skeletons, ghosts and witches as a cheerful little earworm blares: ”Thirty days til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, thirty days til Halloween—“ |
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. AUNT MYRNA'S PARTY CHEESE SALAD.Over the course of the week, your neighbors will come by unannounced, each with a new homecooked meal to welcome you to their cozy little side of town. Meatloaf, potato salad, lamb chops. Gelatin molds — lots of gelatin molds.Someone even comes by to drop off a gelatinous yellow lump of pineapple, green peppers, celery and yellow cheese swimming in a soupy mixture of sour and whipped cream. “It’s my aunt Myrna’s recipe!” they gush once they drop the casserole tin into your hands, proceeding to rattle off every ingredient. Well, at least you won’t be starving anytime soon. When you bring it back in to your kitchen - and its cheery wallpaper and its floral patterned Pyrex dishware, you and your new...family(?) all stare at the cheese salad, the gelatin, the curiously frosted meatloaf spread. A smorgasbord courtesy of the insistent generosity! Who will take the first bite? |
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B. DON'T BE A SQUARE!
You can only avoid the cheer and the neighbors for so long, even as you sit inside enjoying all the amenities of your new home. The television can only turn its volume up to five, after all! One bright and sunny Saturday, the weather crisp and clear, news broadcasts and reruns of The Ed Sullivan Show are drowned out by the music in the neighborhood. Eventually it’s too much to bear — you simply must put on your shoes and go discover the source of that infernal racket.Why, it’s the block party! Haven’t you seen the invitation — with instructions — sitting in your mailbox, silly? Wear a badge so everyone on the block can know you’re new and welcome you to their extended family!
Well! Each neighbor was supposed to set up a table with snacks and drinks and entertainment on their front lawn. Carter Mayhew, one of your Robbie neighbors, has a whole ring toss obstacle course set up for boys to play with, and his wife is cheerfully and blandly instructing a group of girls on jump rope rhymes. Colorful streamers hang from every lamppost and mailbox, balloons and party favors galore. Like you, there are even a few newcomers to Santa Rosita that are caught just as unaware of this event — though others are being welcomed in by husbands and wives and children, caught in conversations about building decks and the upcoming Halloween festivities.
Before you can decide if returning home or joining the party is your choice, a plate with chips and dips and yes, more gelatin is shoved into your hands and a party hat snapped on to your head.
“The guest of honor has arrived! Come and meet your neighbors, neighbor!”
THROUGHOUT OCTOBER.
|
Life falls into a peaceful haze for the next several days. Dull, unassuming, tranquil. As the month drags on, the spirit of Halloween begins to manifest in Santa Rosita, from the pumpkins people start putting out on their doorsteps to the smiling faces of paper skeletons pressed against their windows. And then, towards the end of the month, something terrible happens. You hear it first through word of mouth, rippling through Santa Rosita like a wave, dark murmurs accompanied by sad sighs and downturned eyes. Soon, you start to read about it. Grim business, they say. A tragedy. How could something like this happen. People stop talking about it by the end of the week. Best just to forget about it. Every day, that cigarette commercial comes on. It’s impossible to escape it. And every day, the number of days in the song changes, counting down. ”Thirteen days till Halloween—” “Eight more days til Halloween—” “Three more days til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween…” |
HALLOWEEN.
CW: Violence, death, mouth trauma, vomiting, needles, razors
|
October 31st. It sneaks up on you whether you like it or not. When dawn breaks on Halloween day, things are as serene as they’ve ever been as men do yard work, raking leaves as their wives bake fresh pie and cookies in the house, the spicy scent of cinnamon, apple and pumpkin wafting through the neighborhood on chilly October wind. There’s a smile on every child’s face as they skip off the school bus in the afternoon, running into their houses to get their costumes ready. As it begins to get dark, the residents of Santa Rosita start lighting their jack-o-lanterns. One by one, little balls of light flicker to life on every porch and doorstep, jagged smiles grinning in the dark. For the entire night, nobody blows the candle inside their pumpkins out. It’s a tradition, a very old one, and traditions are just another way of saying rules. And Halloween in Santa Rosita, as it turns out, lives and dies by the rules. |
A. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR CANDY.
Halloween isn’t just for the kids, although they certainly make up the bulk of who you’ll see out and about on the streets. Walking through Santa Rosita, your neighbors are as generous with handing out treats as they are with handing out gelatin molds and pot roasts, and they don’t discriminate. Adults are received just as warmly as children; the worst one can expect is a quirked eyebrow if they show up to a house without a costume.Apples, packs of gum, homemade cookies. Chocolate bars, nickels, popcorn balls. Your neighbors hand out all sorts of treats, most of them homemade. The Robbies are no exception, and it’s their treats that seem a bit more high quality than most, some of the candy they hand out being obviously expensive, brand names. The good stuff. They drop each treat into your bag with those same pleasant, mild expressions and too-tight smiles you’ve grown used to in your short time here.
Eventually, as everyone winds up doing at some point in the night, you decide to start digging into your treat bag to sample some of your well-earned goods — maybe in the comfort of your home, maybe outside on the streets. And that’s when the fun begins.
Maybe you bite into metal, the razor sharp end of a blade embedded into the apple or candy bar you’ve picked out burying itself in your gums, or splitting your tongue. Maybe it’s a needle, impaling itself straight through the roof of your mouth or a cheek. Or maybe it’s nothing that obvious. Maybe the realization that something is wrong comes moments after you’ve devoured that chocolate bar or cookie, the bitter aftertaste of rat poison hitting the back of your throat along with bile and the rest of the contents of your stomach as they rise up and out of your mouth.
Or maybe you’ll bite into plain, sweet chocolate or fresh fruit. That’s also part of the surprise. You really don’t know what you’ll get until you start eating.
B. ALWAYS RESPECT THE DEAD.
At ten o’clock, all the television sets in the neighborhood turn on, blaring to life right in the middle of that omnipresent cigarette commercial. The volume begins to rise of its own accord as your television starts to pick up interference, bursts of static squealing amidst the rising, screaming chorus of ”HAPPY HAPPY HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN!”Breaking through the static, garbled and tinny, a child’s voice cries out.
“Can’t— I can’t hold them— back— Pumpkin— don’t blow the— out—”
And just as quickly as it cut in, the voice cuts back out. Commercial jingle notwithstanding, you’re alone once more. But not for long.
The doorbell rings. You can see them outside from your window: costumed children. Their masks and clothes are grimy and ragged from the muddy, slimy water they’ve been decomposing in for over a week. When they come to your door, squelching wetly as they shamble up the porch steps, they ring the bell or knock, as all polite children do. If you don’t let them in, they’ll find their own way, always by force. And once they find you, all they can gurgle in their reedy, waterlogged voices is, ”Trick or treat.”
From there, they attack.
With superhuman strength and speed, they tear and rip at anything they can get their hands on — clothing, skin, muscle, face, eyes. Being short and small, despite their strength, they're at a distinct disadvantage. They can even be thrown off, with some effort. But they don’t stay down for long, and attempting to hurt or mortally wound them only stalls them for a few moments, if that. How can you kill something that’s already dead?
Some in the neighborhood are willing to try and find out.
The only houses they seem to ignore completely are the ones with lit jack-o-lanterns still outside. They’ll loiter outside these houses, staring straight ahead at your door or window like they can see exactly where you are. But sooner or later, they’ll pass by and move onto the next house.
As long as the candles in carved pumpkins stay lit.
OOC INFO
Hello, and welcome to We're Still Here's first TDM! Here's a few things we'd like you to keep in mind:
The TDM is canon. You can treat this as the game's first real 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. Upon awakening from it, characters will find that time has jumped ahead to December 1st. You may also feel free to use similar reality and/or time distortions to explain why the family members your characters have in the TDM aren't the same as the ones they may be assigned to in the game proper.
If you would like to have Halloween content in your relaxed housing prompts, please feel free! You are not beholden to follow our prompts exactly so long as the spirit is maintained.
There is no Network prompt listed, but feel free to wildcard one for your characters anyway.
Although the TDM is canon in the sense that characters are free to remember its events when they app into the game, it does not count as an official plot heavy event, meaning that characters will not receive regains from participating in it.
With regards to the dead trick-or-treaters: you may NPC them however you'd like, but keep the details we've listed in their prompt in mind. They are supernaturally fast and strong, will ignore houses as long as they have a lit pumpkin on the porch outside, and will try to enter each house the moment the candle in the pumpkin goes out. Additionally, they can't be killed, but they can be momentarily stalled by injuring them. By November 1st, 6AM, they will disappear the moment the sun comes out.
The TDM is canon. You can treat this as the game's first real 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. Upon awakening from it, characters will find that time has jumped ahead to December 1st. You may also feel free to use similar reality and/or time distortions to explain why the family members your characters have in the TDM aren't the same as the ones they may be assigned to in the game proper.
If you would like to have Halloween content in your relaxed housing prompts, please feel free! You are not beholden to follow our prompts exactly so long as the spirit is maintained.
There is no Network prompt listed, but feel free to wildcard one for your characters anyway.
Although the TDM is canon in the sense that characters are free to remember its events when they app into the game, it does not count as an official plot heavy event, meaning that characters will not receive regains from participating in it.
With regards to the dead trick-or-treaters: you may NPC them however you'd like, but keep the details we've listed in their prompt in mind. They are supernaturally fast and strong, will ignore houses as long as they have a lit pumpkin on the porch outside, and will try to enter each house the moment the candle in the pumpkin goes out. Additionally, they can't be killed, but they can be momentarily stalled by injuring them. By November 1st, 6AM, they will disappear the moment the sun comes out.
Kipo | Kipo | OTA
[Kipo wakes up in a comfortable bed, in a very intact house. The sun shining outside tell her that she's not underground, and after a quick look she sees humans outdoors - playing, walking, going about their day.
What... what happened? She knows humans used to live on the surface, but they don't now! At least not yet. She doesn't recognize any of the humans outside being from her burrow. Was this some kind of Dr. Emilia trick? She bolts upright, making her way through the house.
And then she sees the family pictures. Except one problem - that's not her family. Her dad... her mom... none of them are in any of these pictures. But for some reason, she is.]
Okay, Kipo. This looks bad. But I'm sure we're going to find out what happened! Just gotta find dad... or Wolf, Benson, or Dave...
[She twitches at the sound of footsteps.]
Who's there?!
[Halloween Candy]
[Chocolate in her world is a rarity, and yet the neighbors had plenty of it to give Kipo as she passed each neighbor's house. She sits on the floor of the living room, candy bars spread out. She happily bites into one, and it's as good as she imagines it'd be.
This almost makes up for the kidnapping and stripping her powers. Almost.
She bites into another one, and yelps loudly before spitting something out. It's... a needle?]
What was this doing in here?
[Halloween Children]
[Kipo doesn't notice that the children at the door are actually dead. She just thinks they're really, really good costumes. She smiles, opening the door.]
Awww, you guys look like little zombies! I'd give you some candy, but there's something wrong with it...
Siblings!!
And then sticks his arm out, grabbing the door handle in one hand so he can yank it shut if he needs to but staring at her for now.] Who are you?!
no subject
[Kipo only got a quick glance, but she recognizes the boy being in one of the photos on the wall. One of them being her and him playing baseball together.]
Hey, I think you’re in one of these photos too!
no subject
[He has to stare at her for a few moments.]
Wait, hold on--
[And he slams the door shut to look at the photos in his room. Which, she's right - he had one on his side-table of the two of them holding up a trophy, and he opens the door again a second later.]
Yeah, you're in one of the photos in here, too! What the heck?!
no subject
[She holds her hands up, hoping to look less like a threat.]
You can come out, by the way. I think... we're both stuck in the same situation.
no subject
I'm... not sure what you mean by humans on the surface. That's where they're supposed to be, right? [Girl you are very confusing already.]
no subject
You never grew up in a burrow?
no subject
october 1st, rip
Jesus, when did she ever think she'd want to go back home, back into the middle of the latest shitshow she managed to get herself and the others embroiled in.
Slipping into a silk robe that is far more Stephanie than it is Alice, she walks downstairs cautiously, taking in the pictures on the walls, the faces of people who are supposedly her family. Right, like she has time to think about if she even wants one. But apparently she's married and has had two kids (oh god? oh god, oh god oh god) and—
—that has to be one of them.
Slowly, Alice comes out from around the corner and looks at the girl. Her... daughter? Jesus Christ, what the fuck. ]
Um... it's just— [ oh my god oh my god ] your mom?
[ She both looks and sounds extremely uncertain, and she keeps her eyes on the girl for any sign that she believes Alice is her mother. ]
no subject
[However, Alice is in all the "family" pictures. One of them is her and a much younger Kipo. Kipo doesn't let her guard down yet, thinking maybe Alice is convinced that she really might be Kipo's mom.]
Do you... really think you're my mom?
no subject
No. [ She all but sighs out the word, relieved as she is. ] I'm definitely not your mom.
[ She stays where she is, glancing around the room, not counting the pictures but noting that they're pretty abundant, photos of a family that isn't real. ]
You wouldn't happen to have any idea what's going on here, would you? Because I don't, and that plus all these pictures and this wedding band are really freaking me out.
[ And yet she's pretty much always this tense physically. So, you know. Some things never change. ]
no subject
No, I wish I knew. Maybe if we look around the house we could find some answers?
children
[ The butt of a rifle strikes one of the children, sending it barreling into the others just as they were about to lash out at Kipo, turning them into a pile of someone else's problem before she pushed Kipo further into the house and slammed the door closed again. ]
Re: children
[Kipo looks at alarm at the door, then at Elphelt. Nope, she still hasn't realized it yet.]
no subject
But something's wrong! They're attacking people! I... I don't think they're alive anymore. Not, in the traditional sense...
no subject
[Kipo gets up to join Elphelt at the window, and she sees the kids clawing to get in as well.]
No! Bad kids! Stop trying to break in!
no subject
[ She didn't really know how to delicately put the situation, but it was the only thing she could think of to describe what was happening. ]
I think these are the kids that died in that bus crash!
no subject
So he's filled his little bag full of candles plus a box of matches and slung it over his shoulder, and is currently trekking across Santa Rosita with a lit jack o'lantern in tow.
What?! He's had enough of the undead trick or treaters!
From the end of the walk, Luke tries to get Kipo's attention, sort of waving one elbow at her. (The pumpkin is big!!)]
Hey! Your-- um, you probably should send those kids off, miss! And light your pumpkin. I have candles!
no subject
[Before she can figure out what Luke's doing, she feels something sharp against her side. The motion is quick, and the pain is sudden. She lets out a pained growl, and when she presses her hand against her side she feels something warm and sticky.
One of the children is holding a jagged piece of metal, and it has a little bit of her blood on it. Another kid lunges forward, but Kipo holds them back with her hand.]
Kid, get in here!
[She'll figure out the pumpkin thing in a minute. Right now, trying to avoid small dead demon kids!]
candy
Hey! [A older woman approaches, dressed not quite like the locals. Honestly, how many woman here wore pants?] You okay over here? I heard a noise.
Re: candy
[Kipo digs her hand through the candy bag, picking out a large wrapped candy bar. She snaps it in half and...]
Huh? There's something silver in here...
[She pulls it out. It's a razor blade.]
What the heck is going on?!