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Test Drive

TEST DRIVE 001

-TDM threads can be considered game canon if players involved agree & if it suits any roles you may decide to choose for the current plot.
-Any reserving player that does not submit an app by Saturday morning will be subject to challenging applicants.
-Participation in the Test Drive is worth a flat 10 points per month rather than per thread, and you must have a minimum of 5 comments in that month to qualify for it.
-This TDM is good for the duration of the Mist setting. A new TDM will go up before the next setting.

The NETWORK for this setting is a voice-only walkie talkie system that can be used to communicate between all locations. The default channel will be open to all walkie talkies, but characters can change to an unused channel for private conversation.
of note: There seems to be something strange about these walkie talkies, in that there is no static. The quality is disturbingly crystal clear, like the person you're speaking to is right next to you instead of miles away.

CONTENT WARNING: Some prompts contain gore, character death, and substance abuse.

Reserves will open on Saturday, September 8 until Saturday, September 15
Applications will open Saturday, September 15 until Saturday, September 22

General Prompts

The lights above you are a blindingly, pristine white. The walls around you curve up into the ceiling like the inside of an MRI machine. Your hands, feet, and midsection are strapped to a clinical table, and minutes seem to tick by, with no clear course for escape presenting itself to you.

The curved white space above you flickers with color, and a perfect square like a television screen expands before your eyes. It pans over what appears to be a town, something small and simply populated.

“Hello, and welcome to your first setting,” a neutrally cadenced feminine sounding voice begins, riding the line between human and machine. As she speaks, captions of the text type themselves in neat and perfect Arial font. “The location is loosely based off Bridgton, Maine, United States of America, Earth. The year is 2007. You have been selected to participate. Obedience ensures an enjoyable and immersive experience for our audience. If you have been granted a role, instructions will follow. Do not talk about the role. Do not attempt disobedience. If you have not been granted a role, your objective for this round is simple: survive.”

After that, the shackles may release promptly and allow your character to roam free. Or perhaps not — perhaps they've been given a role to play, and if so, further instructions will play out upon the screen. Once suitably briefed, characters will be released to their own devices. Beware the mist.

CHECK OUT THE CURRENT SETTING PAGE FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE LOCATION.

learn from the mistakes of others

A pair of unperturbed mall inhabitants decide to chance the mist. They're the first of a handful to trickle out the front doors, and they seem to get by just fine. About a minute ticks by, and they disappear completely into the dense fog that presses in from every direction. It's so anticlimactic that for a moment it almost seems stupid to feel uncomfortable by the sight of it.

Until precisely one half of a body is hurled abruptly and with great force from an indeterminate point in the obscurity. It's not a top half or a bottom half; no, it's a cleanly sliced left half, head to toe as though a neat line were cut down the middle. It slams into the transparent glass doors and crumples before them, still and obviously unmoving, slowly leaking.

After a few seconds, a dark tendril of something reaches out, curls around the jutting left ankle, and drags it with painstaking slowness back into the fog.

At least the rest of them probably made it, right?

Right?

Hopefully you weren't one of the others to follow their lead. If you were, that dark shape seems to be closing in awfully quick.

eff this, let's bounce

A pair of car keys can be found discarded or perhaps dropped in their owners' haste. Braving the mist when it's at its lightest and pressing the key fob will cause a car to beep politely, flashing lights to indicate its location in the fog. Take anyone willing to go with you and pile in. Try to get the hell out of dodge!

An excellent idea....

Within five miles of the car's journey the battery will die and the engine will stall. Consider yourselves effectively stranded and with no one but yourselves to blame. Perhaps help will come if you wait long enough? Hours, surely no more than a few days... Maybe you should consider braving the fog to get back? Five miles can feel like a hundred in conditions like these.

Either way, it seems like you're trapped in the car for about as long as R. Kelly got trapped in the closet during that one unfortunate CD.

radio chatter

Characters in the library and the church will be able to communicate via walkie talkie radio chatter immediately! Characters in the mall will not have this ability until later in the month, so any network style threads with a mall character will take place during Week Two of the October plot or later, after most people have already been fully introduced to the setting and given time to adapt.

Roles

Employee of the Month (Multiple)

Some characters will be printed wearing a designated kiosk uniform, their name sloppily stickered in slightly crooked letters onto a Dippin' Dots badge, or whatever store they may happen to be assigned to. The cool voice that introduces them to the mist will carry on to tell them that they'll be playing employee # _____ in this month's immersive experience. Their motivations and objectives are simple: go to work.

Except the role seems to be bugged, because they can never not go to work. If they leave the five or six foot radius of their designated post they'll begin to experience consequences, which worsen in severity based on distance and duration. The role doesn't end at mall closing, it doesn't end on Saturdays, it simply doesn't end. Hopefully next month's code push will have a bug fix; we apologize for the inconvenience.

(If choosing to keep these threads as game canon, the role will wear off within the first in-game week)

Aggravated Assault

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing the role of a CONVICTED FELON having recently been released on parole. Your motivation for this month's immersive experience is frustration. Having undergone hard time, you'll find that we have increased your aggression and temper characteristics, and lowered your inhibitions. Your objective is to find and begin an altercation with Snuff the Rooster, who will be playing the role of the person who turned you in, NARK. Your altercation must take place in a public space with witnesses, and may not stop until Snuff the Rooster is unconscious, evicted from the mall, or someone intervenes.

Thank you for your participation!

Consequences for not completing the objective in this role can be moderate to severe.

Snuff the Rooster

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing the role of NARK. Formerly a close friend and ally of CONVICTED FELON from Aggravated Assault, you were quick to roll on them during police questioning in exchange for your freedom. Your motivation is to turn over a new leaf, and get your shit together. Your objective is to survive the altercation.

Thank you for your participation!

The Lovers (Duo Role)

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing one half of a partnership role! Please seek out (character 2). Your motivation this round is love, and the need to protect your partner from threats both inside and outside of the mall. Your objectives is to greet your lover with a kiss and place them above all others. Do not act like strangers.
Consequences for not completing the objective in this role or failing to present a convincing couple can be mild to moderate.

Pathological

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing a background character in our current setting. Your motivation is to tell lies; at least one third of what you say must be unarguably untrue. Your objective is to keep these lies from being discovered as false.
Consequences for not complying with this role can vary from mild to severe, with the compulsion to tell larger and larger lies growing as time goes on.

Scared Speechless

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing a background character in our current setting. You may choose one person, stranger or otherwise. This is the only person you may communicate with, either verbally or through writing.
Consequences for not complying with this role are severe.

Glitches

potency error

Someone seems to have miscalculated the relative strength of intoxicants; all inhibition-altering substances seem to have been cranked up to eleven. One shot has the strength of three, though the taste seems to stay exactly the same. One or two drinks will quickly creep up on you. One of the joints found discarded in the bathroom trashcans will easily green you out. God forbid you've got anything stronger.

greatest movie of all time

Settling in to the relatively nice theater found at the far end of the mall is a decent way to make the time go by. The projectors are automated, and there are six different theaters that show flicks at scheduled times.

Except that every single one of them is showing Spider-Man 3. Every single one, every single showing, no matter what is advertised, becomes Spider-Man 3. That's how you know this is a horror game. Hope you didn't wander in by mistake because the doors will shut behind you and leave you to watch the entire showing. Please keep your feet off of the seats.

please replace toner cartridge

It seems there was an error in printing someone this first time around; everything came through but the visuals somehow. Your character is flesh and blood, fully formed, wearing tangible clothes even, but are completely invisible. Donning additional clothing causes it to clip out and then promptly disappear. Taking clothes off will cause them to reappear. Hopefully this gets fixed in the next lite patch.

(If choosing to keep these threads as game canon, the glitch will wear off within the first in-game week)

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ A pointed look. ]

But what.

[ It’s not a question, but a demand. All that he’d given him so far wasn’t knew but if he was holding something back... then, he’d be pissed. ]

Spit it out, Deku.

[...frustrating.]

[He's so frustrated with himself that he can't even meet Kacchan's look. How could he just sit here being useless when there were people out there who were doing so much more? Helping so much more?]

If I could...I don't know if this kind of consequence only affects my right arm because I haven't tested it yet, but if it's localized in that single area, then I should be able to leave the kiosk and look around to gather more information. I would just need something to splint my arm with.

[There's a wild determination in his eyes when he finally musters up the nerve to meet Kacchan's gaze.] But right now I only have information you probably already know. This simulation seems to want our participation more than anything--to see what we'll do with the situation we were given, since no AI seem to be set up to give information to us. So I would be of more use if I could just get out of his area.

[ His gaze grows sharp, the angles of his face even sharper as he pulls his mouth into an almost sneer. Fucken idiot. ]

You expect us to waste limited medic supplies on you just because you can't sit your ass down and figure out a way to be useful without breaking yourself?

[ He has no sympathy for you. ]

How many splints do you think we'll need by the end of all of this? How many people do you think will need them? This isn't UA. There's no nurse to kiss you here and make it all better. You go out there and you're on your own. I'm not wasting my time on lost causes.

Edited 2018-08-19 04:27 (UTC)

[The words sting, but Izuku knows they're true. It's the whole reason that he hadn't run off already--that he hadn't gone past the fifteen steps threshold to see if his arm would truly break if he got too far from his posting. Hadn't he been told before that he wouldn't be of any use if he kept breaking himself on the first rescue?]

I mean, I don't know if my arm will actually break... [There's no force behind those words, knowing them to be as fake as they feel. His gaze has dropped, subconsciously flexing his right hand.]

I just...I want to go out and help! It's hard being stuck here not able to move! [Tears of frustration build in the corner of his eyes--what kind of hero was he, stuck in the middle of a mall?] I don't even have any useful information to give because most of the people who pass by aren't even people!

Edited 2018-08-19 17:22 (UTC)

[ No sympathy. Even if Bakugou landed himself in the same position as Deku, he wouldn't waste his time whining about it, he'd do something about it, even if it meant making himself make-shift weapon, gathering supplies, flitting through the radio to get intel. Bakugou didn't know how stay still. His instincts always pushed him to keep moving, to keep pushing forward. It's why he's here, scouting the area with a hiking back-pack perched on his back. ]

Then help the body-snatcher. I don't have time to hold his hand.

[ He unclips a radio from his pack and sets it down in front of him. ]

He and Icy-Hot are on channel 9. He's stuck, same as you. I left him a backpack with supplies but the fog's coming in on him.

[ So, he brought him some tape to seal off the cracks in the cage and left him a few days worth of supplies in a back pack much like his own. Being able to move around freely has it's perks, and when Bakugou came upon an outdoor shop, he practically raided the place. ]

[There's a long moment where he just stares, looking at the radio as if he was solving a particularly long equation.

And as quickly as it comes the moment is gone. Izuku blinks away the cloud from his vision. He couldn't move, but that didn't mean he couldn't be useful. Being stuck in one location was no excuse to give up. Heroes had to get themselves out of any pinch they found themselves in--and he wouldn't find the answers feeling sorry for himself.]

Thanks, Kacchan. [For more than just the radio. He does grab the device though, turning it to channel nine immediately. The determination on his face is less grim now.] I'll keep trying to figure out what the objective here is. I don't know if they truly just want us to survive, or if there is an unstated "clear" criteria we have to accomplish before the mist will dissipate. There's a lot of unknowns we're working with...

[Now that his head is more clear, he can look Kacchan in the eyes again.] Will you also be checking in on channel 9? I can give you updates if I learn anything else useful, if you're going to keep scouting.

Tch. Just don't clog up the line with mindless chatter.

[ Is all he says in response. He won't acknowledge the thanks, but he won't spit it back either. Sadly, this is considerable progress on his part. ]

That's why I'm going out there. If there's an out they don't want us to find, I'll find it. I'll search for more weapons, if we have to fight our way out, I'm not going out there unarmed.

[ He doesn't want to think about the body cut in half at the beginning of all of this. The image was still burned in his memory. It had shaken him, still shook him. So, he put it out of mind and forced himself to focus on what was in front of him. It was the only way he could function without letting his fear influence his decisions. ]

I have a few more radio's on me.

[ He answers. Just in case he ran into anyone else who was also stuck. ]

I'll keep it on.

Edited 2018-08-19 20:22 (UTC)

[There's a genuine smile, because that progress is not lost to Izuku.] I'll try to keep the calls to important updates, then.

[He already feels better after this conversation. More focused. Dire straights really did bring people together.]

Be careful out there. We should get as much information as we can before we try to make any solid moves against whatever this simulation has in store for us. And--

[His fist is clenched, determination back.] --just know if we ever have a solid plan on how to fight against this thing, then I'll be able to leave. [Regardless if it shatters his arm or not. He wouldn't run out needlessly anymore, but if there was a good opportunity to win--no matter what that entailed--then nothing could keep him stuck here.]

Don't you worry about me.

[ There's determination in his eyes too. Whatever this game was, he was planning on more than just surviving it, he was planning on winning. Anything less and he didn't deserve to call himself a hero. ]

You'll have to keep yourself alive if you want in on any of the action.

[ He sets down his pack, pulls out another radio from his stash and clips it to the outside bag for easy access. Once he's done, he hefts it back on his shoulders. ]

Stay here, I'll be back.

[A hum on the edge of exasperation. It's not like he had any choice but to stay here.]

There's not much danger for me right now, so focus on yourself. I'll be fine!

[He gives a wave.] Keep me updated!

[ An hour later, the doors of the kiosk are pushed open. Bakugou walks inside carrying a hiking backpack on his arm while his own sits firmly attached to his shoulders. He lifts the pack up on top of the counter and leaves it for him there.

The pack is loaded with the same items he left Hitoshi with a: Swiss-army knife, lighter, compact mirror, small metal flashlight with extra batteries, a pair of gloves, light sweater, pack of protein bars - peanut butter flavored - three bottles of water and two emergency blankets. Unlike Hitoshi's though, he stuffed a regular sized first aid kit in there instead of the mini one.

Once he sets the pack down, he makes to leave it there without a word. Now that he knows Deku won't die without his explicit order, he's ready to head out. ]

[Izuku didn't expect Kacchan to come back (really, he didn't expect anyone to come), so the doors opening startle him from his thoughts and he nearly crinkles all the notes he's been working on.

Before he can even get a word in, there's a sturdy looking backpack set near him. He leaves his notes to unzip it--with an attempt to look through what's inside, but he soon realizes that his guest is already leaving.]

Ah! Thanks! [The thing at the top of the bag was a first aid kit, so he had to assume the rest of it was filled with similar supplies, since he didn't have the chance to ask. It wouldn't be good to try to keep Kacchan with idle chatter when the other seemed so determined (and could be much more useful with his recon abilities) so Izuku lets him go with another wave.] Let me know if you find out anything!

[ Hours later, the radio crackles with a single message from a voice that’s been silent the whole time. ]

Heading back.

[ Radio silence follows after. Considering how communicative he’s been it might come as a bit of a surprise to see him walking through the doors of the hair salon some time later looking like shit. He’s covered in a layer of dust, his left sleeve is ripped and he’s hauling a sleeping bag behind him. And the moment he looks at Deku he greets him by tossing the bag at him. ]

Edited 2018-08-20 03:01 (UTC)

[The message allows Izuku to be more prepared for Kacchan's arrival--he had kept the radio on their shared channel in case any of their classmates had any updates--but he wasn't really prepared for the condition that his friend would return in.

Izuku himself had been crouching on the floor, notes sprawled around him per usual. He had used the first aid kit to bandage some of the fingers that had gotten bruised when he had been testing his limits, so it sat next to him--which was unfortunate because the force of the unexpected sleeping bag tossed at him was enough to knock him off balance as he looked up and caught it with his face, butt landing painfully against the plastic.]

Kacchan! [Izuku's brows are furrowed when he pulls the bag off his head.] Is everything all right out there? [It had been a while since Izuku had heard from him, and he didn't look...as bad as he could've, but it wasn't good either. A nervous energy radiates from him as he gets to his feet.]

[ Bakugou lets the pack hit the floor in a solid thump. He’s tired, the white around his eyes red and there’s caked on blood on his shoes. ]

Stay inside.

[ Is all he tells him as he moves to the shampooing station to wash his face and for a moment the water turns a light pink before running clear. ]

[Izuku hovers behind Kacchan has he cleans up, hands reaching out but not touching. He didn't want to overstep his boundaries too much after they had repaired their friendship to this point--but he was honestly worried.]

Did you go outside? What happened?

[The feeling of helplessness creeps back up his spine--and he's immediately frustrated with himself. He couldn't go out and help Kacchan or anyone else--he wasn't the one putting himself in danger, but what could he do? He had to do something!]

Sit for a bit and I can tell you the stuff I discovered after you tell me what's happened to you. [It's not really a question, and he's ready and willing to force him to take a break if he tries to resist.]

[ Once he’s washed off the grime, he grabs a small towel and wipes off the water before setting it down. Feeling mildly better, Bakugou returns grunting in response to the commentary. ]

You figure out anything worth mentioning?

[ He asks, bravado returning as he leans on a table, crossing his arms. ]

[I asked you to tell me first sits hot on his tongue, but he bites it back. He'll give Kacchan this pass, since it seems like he went through enough already.]

I don't know how much of this you'll already know but-- [Izuku stoops to grab his scattered notes off the ground, flipping through the rolls of receipts.] --I've been able to talk to more people since you've left. I caught up with Shinsou on the UA channel, so I don't know how much of that you were listening to or not, but the repercussions for not doing your job varies from person to person. Though neither of us can move beyond ten to fifteen meters of our job without more serious issues. But that got me thinking...

[He flips to a different receipt.] What kind of other roles are there? We're employees, but the voice mentioned other roles...so could someone like us be in control of whatever is out there? How much of this place is driven by an outside force, and how much of it is driven by people forced to fulfill a role?

[There's a small groan from him, rubbing the bridge of his nose.] That's all conjecture, so I'll leave the rest of that for now. It's not of too much use until I get more evidence, but it's something to think about. As for the other people I've encountered...

Edited 2018-08-20 05:07 (UTC)

I ran into someone from the League of Villains. The girl with the knife.

[He really wants to leave it at that. It was unpleasant enough.]

Edited 2018-08-20 05:07 (UTC)

It would be good to be on the lookout for her and others like her...

[He shakes his head a bit to clear his mind of that memory and continues on.]

The other thing of note I've realized from talking to people is that whatever power brought us here is immense. A simulation like this is already hard enough to wrap your head around, but there have been people I've talked to who seem to come from a place without quirks. I don't know what kind of power and technology you would need to bridge a place between planes of existence...and it really sounds unbelievable, but so does this whole situation in general. We'll have to keep our minds open to the unbelievable.

[Now that he's unloaded the bulk of his thoughts, his gaze is back on Kacchan. No more escaping his question.] What happened to you out there?

[ He watches him with steady eyes despite the fatigue seeping in. He nods, 10 ft was better than nothing. He already got some of this info with the body snatcher but at least they were all on the same page now. The bit about the different roles is interesting though. He hadn't paid much attention to the people aside from the ones he ran into. Most of them were stuck in one place and those that were out exploring where jumpy. The ones who managed to explore outside... they were the paranoid ones. His thoughts drift toward his own exploration when Deku suddenly brings up the League of Villains and a frown instantly crosses his mouth. They'd met. ]

She's nuts.

[ An irritated look. It lingers, souring his mood. But they've got more important things to worry about than some rabid fangirl. ]

It's pretty fucken believable when it's in your face, trying to kill you.

[ He's had to deal with more than a few seemingly 'unbelieveable' shit. So, if it moves, breathes, or tries to kill him. He's going to blow it to pieces in return... once he gets his quirk back to full capacity. For now, he'll just have to make do with his homemade explosives. His quirk might not be working at full capacity, but he still had enough to make a few bombs. ]

[ And then, it's his turn all too soon. He doesn't show it, but the last few hours have been some of the worst of his life. ]

The fog.

Kacchan...

[Izuku is worrying his bottom lip, gaze on his friend. He didn't want to coddle him--the last thing Kacchan ever wanted was to be coddled--but Izuku was worried. All of the bravado was gone, which only made him think whatever Kacchan had seen out there was not good. Worse than he already thought it to be, with what it had done with those bodies.]

[He treads carefully.] I'm not going to pester you for information if you don't want to talk about it, but it would be helpful for my notes. Information is the only thing I'm able to work with right now, since I can't leave. Otherwise, you can just give me something else to work on while I'm here, if anything has caught your interest.

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