wpsfaculty: (Default)
Faculty & Staff of Whispering Pines Sanatorium ([personal profile] wpsfaculty) wrote in [community profile] dhmeming2019-05-15 09:42 pm
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test drive meme. 001

T E S T  D R I V E  M E M E




Welcome to the Dead House.

And to our first Test Drive Meme! Please see the links below for information on the housing arrangements and the setting to get some ideas! Below is also an example of one of the altering events and how it can be played with in game!

There's also the option of using that neat little wrist screen to see who all these "others" are!

Note: If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask on the FAQ.

premisegetting startedrules/faqhousingsetting



one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

PROMPT 1: Left to Your Own Devices

There's no tugging sensation, so sense of falling or of being uninterruptedly drawn from your own world, or wherever you've found yourself, to yet another. Your sense of smell returns first, as the antiseptic scent of hospital fills your nostrils and a bright light somewhere above you begins to pierce the gloom as a reassuring male voice repeats your name.

A medicinal haze fills your mind, clouding your thoughts as you blink your eyes open. The man, blond with a gentle smile and kind eyes behind thick glasses, across the simple wooden desk from you seems familiar, but you're sure you've never seen the man before...right? He tells you that it's alright, that you had another episode and required sedation, that the drugs are wearing off now and any residual haze you're experiencing should clear as the day progresses.

After a discussion, limbs still refusing to cooperate, you're taken through winding corridors and up a rickety elevator to a floor with rows of numbers doors on either side. One is opened and inside you're deposited unceremoniously on the small cot within. An undetermined amount of time passes as sounds occur around you, the shuffling of feet, muffled voices, a bird at the small barred window letting in overcast daylight. Are the sounds figments of your hazy imagination or is that someone at your open door trying to get your attention? If only your limbs would cooperate...

PROMPT 2: and at the mercy of a strange device...

The world begins to take in a sharper focus as a vibrating sensation at your wrist catches your attention. There, a plain hospital bracelet, stating only your full name and a room number, is found, shaking gently against your skin. Brushing at it, what first seemed to be only a clear window holding a piece of type-printed paper with your information on it goes to static for a moment, like a small view screen, then to black, and the following words flash quickly across the screen:
your memories are real
there are others
don't believe their lies

Any attempt to respond to the strange message is met with silence. What others? Do they mean the other people on your floor? The other floors? Do they mean their lies or the ones who put you here, apparently for your own good?

PROMPT 3: Where exactly is here?

The room in which you find yourself is sparcely furnished, but with a bit of peculiarity for the curious and exploratative. The facility itself seems to run on a firm schedule that affords for a lot of free time to use the facilities, be it the sparce showers, the rec rooms on every floor that contact various but rudamentary forms of entertainment, or the yard with its exercise areas, spaces for outdoor sports, and the workshop for the more industrious patients. There's even a list of tasks that need performing, with a reward system in place.

NOTE: When the environment isn't altered in some way, the above is what patients can expect from the day to day life of the Dead House. The cafeteria and the yard are open at specific times of the day, stated on the Housing page. Otherwise, patients are given free rein through the wards, including the recreation rooms and there is no "lights-out" time.

EVENT PART I: just another day at the carnival.

Access to the Yard opens today like it does everyday, but as soon as the double doors open, the scent of popcorn, cotton candy, fried dough and anything else you typically associate with a carnival assail your nostrils along with cheery carnival music. The mist that typically hangs over everything is gone, replaced by resplendent sunshine that reflects on all the brightly colored carnival tents, the gleaming metal of the rides...when did this get here?

Looking back, the hospital building is nowhere in sight, and it looks as though you stepped through a fairgrounds entranceway, instead. You and everyone else around is clothed, suddenly and without warning, in whatever clothing would be normal for you in your own worlds, but no matter how outlandish that might be, no one seems to take any offense to it.

Patients are free to roam the carnival, ride the rides, eat the popcorn and other treats, play the carnival games and even win prizes! Hey, there seems to be plenty of acceptable currency in your pockets, so why not, right?

For those of you who return through the doors you entered by on-time per the schedule, your clothes return to scrubs and anything you won or bought at the carnival disappears...

...except for one thing of the player's choosing. Did you get to keep that stuffed animal you strove so hard for? Maybe a candied apple? Whatever it is, that one thing is yours to keep! Un...less the orderlies find it. Maybe you should stash it in that chest of yours in your room...




EVENT PART II: one night in horrorland.

For those more stupidly brave and adventurous patients who stay outside after the doors have closed, the cheerful carnival changes quickly as the sun sets below the horizon. The dazzling lights go out, leaving the entire assembly, and all its attendees from the hospital plunged into darkness. With the loss of light, all the throngs of people who'd been attending the carnival seem to have disappeared as well. In fact, looking around at the gloomy midway and off-shoots bathed in the light of the full moon overhead, it seems as though no one has been here for some time. Signs and billboards that had appeared new in the light of day seem weatherbeaten and abandoned, garbage never cleared rots in the streets, filling the area with a sickeningly sweet smell of decay.

The passages seem to shift, like a moving labyrinth, if patients attempt to find the way out, to the comparable safety and warmth of the hospital, and considering the sense of being watched that seems to be creeping up on all of you, sending a close sweat down your spines, that might be a good idea...if you can find the way. The gloom itself is thick, and figures move just at the edge of your vision, darting into a funhouse here, or maybe even calling your name...

...with a voice that sounds familiar. Follow at your own risk, though, because anyone who hasn't found their way back to the hospital before the sun rises may find themselves missing, as the carnival leaves with the sunrise...

OOC note: The figures characters glimpse are real, and you're free to NPC whatever haunted carnival, slasher film, or other horror movie trope you'd like with them if they corner your character...or if your character happens to think they've cornered them. Keep in mind, characters can die, and the cost of returning is a lost memory. Have fun!



navigation: premiserules/faqreservespatientsapplicationssettingic commooc commmeme commdirectory
dr_feistus: (brb having a flashback)

Dr. Paul Feistus | OC

[personal profile] dr_feistus 2019-05-16 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Daytime

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a fair like this. There had been the occasional tiny one that popped up in parking lots in Shelton, or Ansonia, but nothing of this scale, nothing this loud and wild and full. He'd almost gotten used to the drab scrubs, so being able to tuck his hands into the pockets of a pair of good dress slacks was a luxury he relished as he strolled the midway.

As he passed a game of chance, baseballs stacked in front of pyramids of milk bottles, he could almost hear his cousin Phineas at his elbow, all those years ago. "It's rigged, you know, but that shouldn't stop you trying. They're still fun. Just throw as hard as you can and pretend it's Miss Stevens' face."

The faintest of smiles tipped the corner of his mouth, and he stepped up to the counter, reaching for a ball, running his fingers along the abused stitching. In retrospect, Miss Stevens had been the least of his foes, her transgressions against his life trivial. He gripped the ball a bit more tightly, thin fingers pushing against the cork behind the leather and string. Whoever walked by might do well to not be between him and the target when or if he finally decided to throw.

Nighttime

The cold was beginning to go straight through to his bones - and there hadn't been much on them to begin with. Paul wrapped his arms around himself and shivered, glancing over his shoulder for the fifth time in as many minutes. He'd been certain the way back to the House had been this way, and yet he found himself passing the same landmarks: a discarded, half-eaten funnel cake trod into the mud, gone to mold and nibbled by vermin. The shredded remains of a balloon. No matter which way he went, the ferris wheel seemed to loom in front of him.

He twisted his face in a sneer, refusing to give the wheel his full attention. Things like that were for happier people or brighter times, both lost to him far too long ago.

Or maybe not.

She whispered his name on the wind, far away yet right in his ear, and he took to it with an ease he'd berate himself for, when he inevitably came to his senses later.

"Marilyn."

Why not? People here said they came from different worlds. Would a different time be so hard to believe? A time before it had all gone so sour? No, not hard to believe at all. He strained to hear her, and took to the siren call of the ferris wheel after all.

"Where are you...?"

Behind him, shadows moved. He paid them no mind, and moved further into the dark.
customplates: (aaron_003)

Nighttime

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-16 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
Wandering, lost and alone, used to be a pastime for Aaron. Getting lost was the first step on the road to being found, after all, and after the end of the world, everything had been a new discovery. It was partially why he'd decided to stay past their curfew. If this strange carnival could just appear, what could he learn from sticking around after it should have closed?

What he'd ended up with was something straight from an '80s horror movie, and while the dead rose back home, this was an entirely different brand of terror. A discarded lead pipe in his hand was the only weapon he could hope to find, and he allowed it to lead the way, though, by the time he heard Paul's voice raise just over the wind, he felt like he'd been wandering for hours.

Paul's form was a darker shape in the gloom, but he called out to him, intent but trying to raise his voice no more than need be.

"Hey! Who are you talking to?"
schnees: (yh3nXbx)

weiss schnee | rwby

[personal profile] schnees 2019-05-16 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
I: carnival
[ it's certainly nice to be in her own clothes again. the scrubs were comfy and all, but they were drab and boring and...quite frankly? pretty eerie. for weiss, fashion precedes comfort, and she feels more like herself than she has since she arrived here.

even if carnivals and fairs are bittersweet, now. ever since the vytal festival and the fall of beacon, she can never enjoy them quite like she used to...but she's sure as hell going to try.

she sits down at the water gun game. the seats beside her are empty at first, up until someone (you!) sits down next to her. presumably, they're also interested in playing, and weiss can't help but quirk an eyebrow as a small smirk crosses her lips. she positions her hands on the water gun appropriately.
]

I was wondering if I'd have some competition.

II: night in horrorland
[ weiss had foolishly walked back towards the carnival. her rebellious spirit and restlessness prompted her to start her own investigation of the place, which she's now realizing may have cost her more than she was hoping it would have, with how the smell of rot fills her senses. the carnival is gone.

it's dark. she feels a chill run down her spine. she feels like she's being watched--followed, even.
]

...Hello?

[ she can fight. she knows she can. but her weapon and her dust aren't on her right now. she's almost entirely defenseless, and that's what scares her the most. but she won't back away.

she's on high alert and takes a defensive stance. her eyes narrow when she sees a figure appear in her peripheral vision.
]

Show yourself!
flagitate: (byfamira_249 (2))

[personal profile] flagitate 2019-05-16 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ katniss is on high alert. she doesn't like this; her guard is up, muscles tensed so tight it's starting to hurt a little. katniss tries not to think too hard about what she's smelling; she's liable to turn tail and run blindly away from whatever it is.

she hears a voice, and katniss takes a step back. ]


... I'm not going to hurt you.
dr_feistus: (judging you silently now)

[personal profile] dr_feistus 2019-05-17 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
He turned, and noted a face that was vaguely familiar from the halls. They'd never talked, but at least he knew it wasn't an orderly, or anyone else who'd try to detain him in some way.

"My wife," he said plainly, noting the pipe in the other man's hand with concern. "I heard her, over that way. I think she's arrived here, the same as the rest of us."
customplates: (Default)

I: carnival

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-17 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
[If Aaron's honest, he never expected to see anything like this again. Maybe overgrown, abandoned, but not in working order with money in his pocket and games to play. He was never particularly good at any of them, and he was fairly certain most of them were rigged just enough to not allow too many wins regardless, but that didn't stop him from taking a seat at the water gun game, smiling at the young woman beside him to spite the oddities.

And hey, if they were crazy, they might as well enjoy it, right?
]

I'll do my best.

[And similarly, he squares his hands on the handles, thumbs poised over the triggers.]
customplates: (aaron_033)

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-17 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
Aaron's concern only grew at the news. He'd known from the moment he'd made the decision that staying after the doors to the yard were typically closed was risky, but he hadn't known what to expect. Next time, if there was a next time, he'd prepare better, maybe pocket something from the woodshed in the yard or...or something.

Still, if his wife was here, she was probably just as lost as they were, and sticking together sounded like a better plan than working alone. He nodded.

"Alright, but...there's something out here. I haven't gotten a good look at it, but...I'll come with you." He does lower the weapon, shifting it to one hand to offer the other in a handshake. "I'm Aaron, by the way."
customplates: (aaron_003)

Aaron | The Walking Dead

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-17 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
I. Rec Room

His feet still feel heavy from whatever drugs had been pumped into his system as he made his way down the halls. To his knowledge, aside from exploration after the outbreak that had ended his world, he's never seen the inside of a mental institution before, but he's pretty sure they don't look like this in 2010. Squinting at the harsh light in the rec room as he makes his way, his eyes linger on the schedule posted near the doorway first before he shuffles further into the room, wandering here and there, looking at the boardgames, grabbing a pulp magazine at random from the bookshelf, before finding a seat on one of the chairs and flipping idly through the book.

He starts if someone approaches, smiling sheepishly soon after and chuckling, mostly at himself.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people, you know," though he's smiling as he speaks.


II. Network | audio

[There's the silence of an open audio line for a moment before he speaks, and his voice is quiet at first, as though it's too far from the microphone.]

Did it work...? Oh!

[And then, at a more normal volume.]

Hey, so...did everybody see that...that message on this thing? You know the one, right? That...that there are others. It's talking about us, right?
Edited 2019-05-17 03:06 (UTC)
aparkourlypse: (normal_907_24403)

i; rec room

[personal profile] aparkourlypse 2019-05-17 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
"You should know you're barking up the wrong tree by now."

Jesus offers him a fatigued smile, sitting in a nearby chair of his own. It's hard to tell what to make of this place. They certainly aren't around anymore, and this is more something that would be found in the noir genre.
customplates: (aaron_026)

i; rec room

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-17 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
Blinking, Aaron turns to look at the man who'd joined him, and a slow smile spreads across his face. Relief washes over him like a flood and he lets out a tense breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Jesus?"
aparkourlypse: (normal_907_24263)

i; rec room

[personal profile] aparkourlypse 2019-05-17 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
"As far as I know, it's not the second coming, so yeah. It's.. really good to see you, Aaron."

He wishes it were under different circumstances, but that's their lot in life.
customplates: (aaron_010)

i; rec room

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-17 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
"It's still just as fortuitous." He nods. It's good to see a familiar face, that's for sure. "It...makes the looming foreboding easier to bear."
raccity: (07)

Leon Kennedy | RE 2: Remake

[personal profile] raccity 2019-05-17 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
i. Room
[Leon had dozed on and off after being taken to his room and tossed in the bed. At one point, he was pretty sure he'd woken up and seen a strange message, had it been real? It'd felt real, but apparently, distinguishing reality from fanatasy was an issue of his. It didn't help that he'd nodded off soon after seeing the message, making it feel even more like a dream.

When the sound of the door opening wakes him up again, he's feeling more lucid than before. His limbs feel heavy, but he can move now and his mind feels clear.

He blinks, looking bleary-eyed at the stranger. A roommate? Or just a curious passerby?]


Who are you? [He slowly pushes himself up into a sitting position.]


ii. Rec Room
[The more the drugs wore off, the more vivid his memories became. Raccoon City, how excited he'd been when he'd gotten the call that he'd been accepted to the police force there, the outbreak, Claire, Marvin, Ada. These weren't figments of his imagination. Which meant he was here by mistake. Had he lost it after they'd gotten out of the city? Or had he dug too deeply and Umbrella had silenced him?

Leon shuffled into the common room, scanning it. He started with the nurse's station, speaking quietly with them, trying to make them understand that there'd been some mistake, that he shouldn't be here. Their patronizing, calm reassurance that he should just go find something to read or try a boardgame frustrated him quickly.]


No! You don't understand. I'm a cop! I shouldn't be here. I'm not crazy.

[What he didn't realize was that if he wasn't careful, he'd end up drugged again, maybe some kind fellow patient will step in before the nurses decide Leon is being too disruptive.]
customplates: (aaron_008)

i. Room

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-17 11:15 am (UTC)(link)
[In retrospect, it probably wasn't the wisest idea to go exploring while he was still shaking off the residual effects of whatever drug had been used to sedate him, but Aaron wasn't a man to be kept down by anything, and the key to knowing how to get out of a situation was knowing what the situation was to begin with.

He also had a penchant for sticking his nose around where it didn't belong.

He came up short when Leon spoke, though, blinking at the young man on the cot in the room he'd just entered for a moment before cracking an awkward smile. He really hadn't anticipated anyone being here.
]

Oh...uh. Hi. I'm Aaron. I, uh...didn't know anyone was here.
aparkourlypse: (normal_907_24018)

[personal profile] aparkourlypse 2019-05-17 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"I certainly hope so. You know I've got your back."

Jesus is more relieved than Aaron knows to see that he's okay and that he's got a familiar face, otherwise this place might be an entirely different story.
aparkourlypse: (normal_908_01485)

ii. rec room

[personal profile] aparkourlypse 2019-05-17 12:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Paul has been sitting in one of the armchairs off to one side of the common room, watching. He's still trying to get a read on this place, but none of his theories are good ones. He knows that the memories he has are real, he can rationalize that, but he also realizes that to some.. it might sound a little crazy.

That's when he spots a younger looking man approach the nurse's station to talk. His body language spoke of authority, which could be misconstrued as aggressive. He only takes a moment to observe his adamant pleas before Paul crosses the common room and inserts himself into the conversation, casually taking this poor guy by the arm. ]


I found some of those robbers you were looking for. Come with me and I'll show you.

[ He offers the nurses a placating smile before dragging poor Leon over to the other side of the room and away from potentially listening ears. ]
dr_feistus: (pleasure to meet you)

[personal profile] dr_feistus 2019-05-17 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Paul," he reciprocated with a firm, brief handshake, before resuming his walk toward the ferris wheel.

"I don't suppose you're able to ... elaborate on 'something out there', by any chance? Because the last time I checked, there's always something. It just usually fails to be noteworthy."

He walked with a slight limp, favoring his left leg, but it didn't seem to be causing him any obvious or immediate pain.
raccity: (09)

[personal profile] raccity 2019-05-17 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[He rubbed one of his eyes with the palm of his hand, trying to shake of the residual haze. It didn't help that he probably would've felt exhausted even without the drugs.]

'S'okay. Guess I was more tired than I thought. [His voice was still thick was sleep.

Glancing down at his wrist, his brows furrowed as he ran his thumb over the identification bracelet. It looked normal now, or as normal as a bracelet he shouldn't be wearing could be. Not only was Aaron in the same uniform he was, but he had a bracelet as well.]
You don't seem... [He caught himself before saying 'crazy'.] You don't seem like you should be here.
raccity: (11)

[personal profile] raccity 2019-05-17 11:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Robbers? [He turns to face the newcomer.] This isn't a joke! I...

[Once he met the other man's eyes though, his intention clear. This guy was trying to help him. It suddenly struck him just how this must look to the nurses right now. The doctor, after all, had told him this was the sort of thing he was in here for.

He didn't resist when the stranger guided him away from the nurse station and over to a sitting area by some barred windows, though he did throw one last look over in the nurses' direction to see how closely they were scrutinizing him. He saw one watching him with pity written all over her face as she shook her head, the other two still looked wary and ready to de-escalate if need be.

He leans in a little closer so he can speak quietly, giving the stranger an earnest look.]
I think a company I found out too much about got me locked up in here.
aparkourlypse: (normal_907_12069)

[personal profile] aparkourlypse 2019-05-18 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Paul glances over the other man's shoulder to the nurse's station once more before turning his attention in front of him. He frowns at the new information, mulling it over. It's hard to think that a company would have this much sway, especially after the end of the world... ]

Why would they do that instead of killing you?

[ Sorry, he's not being very optimistic right now. ] What do you know that they need?
raccity: (09)

[personal profile] raccity 2019-05-18 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
[And in one question Paul destroys his most plausible theory.]

I... I don't know. But that's what happened before I ended up here. And I'm not dead. [Why... why wouldn't they just kill him? There was lots of blood on Umbrella's hands at this point.] I don't remember how I got here. Maybe they tried to make me forget the whole thing and screwed up. Or maybe it has something to do with the virus.

I don't know. I just know they're powerful. Their bioweapons just destroyed a city. And I got out.

[He took a seat and leaned over to put his head in his hands.] I know it sounds crazy. But how else did I get here?
aparkourlypse: (normal_908_21057)

[personal profile] aparkourlypse 2019-05-18 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know how I got here, either. The last thing I remember before this was the world being over. Facilities like this just don't happen.

[ He crosses his arms, nodding for Leon to continue. ]

What kind of bioweapons? Do you know how it was deployed or.. anything about it?
customplates: (aaron_018)

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-18 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Jesus certainly had when they'd moved on the assault on Negan's outpost. Too bad none of them had been humble enough to research more. Maybe things...Maybe Glenn and Abraham...He shook his head and smiled back to him.

"And you know I do, too. So...what do you make of all this?"
termineur: (Wave them along)

Sylar | Heroes

[personal profile] termineur 2019-05-18 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
i. exploration

Sylar-- okay, so his medical bracelet reads "Gabriel Gray"- is someone who's not new to the concept of sedation. He shakes it off fairly quick. And once he does, he's wandering the halls, examining everything he can. He's fairly certain this is some sort of...weird mind thing that Parkman's done to him. He just has to figure out the trick to it.

He seems honestly rather at home here, even as he walks into your room and starts rifling through your sparse belongings. Hey, he's crazy, it's not like people can expect him to respect others' privacy. Besides, there's nothing like a conversation starter that gets other people to speak first.


ii. Entertainment

Once he gets bored of looking through so many identical rooms, he can be found in the leisure area, apparently flipping playing cards into the air. Funny thing, though- all those playing cards are floating down to join a rather elaborate and fragile-looking house of cards. They seem to be arranging themselves on the table, with no outside help. The house seems oddly stable, too...

Sylar, of course, is keeping an eye on everyone's reactions. Time to see who notices. So far he's determined that the nurses are definitely not noticing.


iii. Familiar

The first time anyone can find Sylar looking unsettled is out in the yard. It's not the outside that's bothering him, really- it's this carnival. He stands out against the colors in all-black clothing, as he stares intensely at the rides and booths.

By the time anyone comes across him, he's staring down the worker at the ring toss. His hands are flat on the booth as he leans over. "Where's Sullivan, huh? Where is he? You'd think he'd want to protect his family here from the Big Bad Wolf, right? Because if he doesn't show, I'm starting the feast early, and you're gonna be the first one I open up."

Never mind that he can't sense any abilities from anyone here. He's mad, so he's got to take it out on someone.
customplates: (Default)

[personal profile] customplates 2019-05-18 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
"I haven't gotten a good look at it. It's...roughly man-shaped I think? But fast. Anytime I try to get close enough to see it clearly, it darts away into the shadows. It...may be nothing at all, but I don't take chances."

Aaron has been in too many life or death situations not to be cautious, after all. "I...I could have sworn it looked like a clown."

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