cursedcontent | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

Entry tags:

!tdm

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

A Blood Offering

You wake up cozy in bed at the Saturn Motel. As you observe the room you may realize that it looks a little dated. Or, perhaps from your point of view the lamp and TV are wildly futuristic. Or, like Goldilocks, it may seem just right: close to the world you just left behind. Either way, you just had a very strange dream (see the arrival scenario) and now you're here. And you're not alone: there's a bed next to yours and someone else is waking up just like you are.

You can chat for a while if you like, but if you try to leave you'll find the door is firmly locked and no amount of kicking, punching, or hitting it with an object will do you any good. Instead, there's a letter on the nightstand which reads:

"Good morning and welcome to your new home!

You may be wondering why you're trapped in this room. Fear not, the door will open easily if you offer a bit of blood. More than a few drops but not enough to be a serious wound. A handprint's worth will do, let's say, and it only needs to come from one of you.

I'll let you sort that out yourselves. See you on the other side.

Sincerely,
The Mayor"

And indeed, a handprint's worth of blood pressed against the door will unlock it and let you out into the world. Do you volunteer your own blood? Do you take it from the other person by force? It's up to you! But there's no food in here, so you better figure it out eventually.

Roller Rink

As a celebration of your new lives here (and an apology for the whole blood offering thing - they were just testing something out, really) the Mayor has invited everyone to the Crazy Eight Roller Rink for a private, after-hours party.

Attendance isn't mandatory, but it is heavily encouraged so that you can meet your fellow Cursed and know who's in on the whole secret. It'll help you down the line at some point if your Curse gets out of control and you need someone to wrangle you.

As a reward, everyone who shows up and completes at least one lap around the roller rink (you must be wearing skates, but you can crawl the lap if you can't get the hang of them) will receive a free walkman with a mystery tape inside. The color, style, and mystery tape your character gets are up to you.

Mallrats

Everyone loves the mall! Right? Right! And this group of newcomers is lucky enough to be here for the White Pines Mall Grand Opening celebration! Feel free to walk around the mall and partake in sales galore, check out the attractions, or just get to know the layout of the place.

The Mayor has given everyone a gift card for $100 that can be used anywhere in the mall as long as they attend the Grand Opening.

They also strongly suggest that you familiarize yourself with the mall and its layout, just in case you ever get stuck there for a while and have to compete with others for food and resources. But that probably won't happen.

Extra Info

The test drive meme and the IC intro log will have the same prompts, and threads between two accepted characters can count as game canon.

The first prompt is flexible: technically you're supposed to be with one other person, but if you want to do larger groups that's fine.

Rooms at the Saturn Motel initially contain two beds for the prompt, but upon leaving and returning characters will find that they all have their own rooms with one bed. If you want a roommate, someone better be ready to sleep on the floor or snuggle up! The room doesn't have to look exactly like the reference image as long as it's not too fancy and suitably dated.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ 1 ]

[It was quiet. That was the first thing she noticed. And she wasn't laying on hardwood floors, though she was definitely horizontal, currently. Nell's eyes flick open a few times, frowning softly as she did so. For a moment it all seemed like a dream, walking in the doors of Hill House, being comforted by the faces of family. Of Arthur... The climb of the spiral staircase... No, she wouldn't think of that, not right now.

For the room she was seeing now reminded her of the hotel room she was staying in hours earlier. Maybe a different suite, since she always seemed to choose the same one that her dad chose all those years ago. She sits up, legs swinging over the side of the bed, hand going up to her sore throat. Eleanor tries to keep her head as still as possible in order to keep her neck from hurting as she looks around, eyes alighting on the letter.

It's as she gets up to get the letter to read it that she notices in the mirror that she's still wearing her mother's dress. Freezing in place, her hand drifts down from her throat to the fabric below, fingers tangling in it. She swallows the whimper building in her throat, tearing her gaze from the mirror, from the tell-tale rope marks on her neck...

She forces a smile on her face, though it looks pained... Or tired. Really, either one. But nonetheless, a smile on her face as she looks at her unfortunate roommate.]

You too?

[ 2 ]

Whoa! [Eleanor flails as she tries to regain her balance, grabbing onto the nearby railing and—quite possibly—you in order to keep upright. She stands there for a few moments, trying to keep the wheels under her still for just long enough to catch her breath.

In... Out...

Okay. She pulls herself closer to the railing, having let go of whomever she might've grabbed before, straightening as she does so.] You'd think I'd remember how to do this better... [She tucks some hair behind her ear, looking down at the roller skates on her feet.] Then again, I think I learned on roller blades. And definitely not in a dress.

[Or, if she had, it was a much shorter dress. Mayhaps a skirt or a skort, given the time. She turns her head towards the main skating direction.]

At least I'm halfway there.

[ 3 ]

[You'll find Eleanor this time browsing the racks at Ruby's in an attempt to find something other than a dress more suited to lounging about in a boudoir. She's almost mindlessly moving hangers, not really seeing the clothes. But at least she's finally found shoes!!!

Finally, there's a fabric in the rack that makes her pause, pulling her attention to it as she pulls it off the rack. It's a dark red-colored cable sweater, nothing too heavy weighted. But it looks and feels cozy. And cozy is what she's after right now. And thankfully:] Just my size.

[She smiles softly, a truer smile than she'd worn earlier, and drapes the sweater over her arm, looking around the store and speaking more to herself than anyone else.] If I were a t-shirt...

[ WILDCARD ]

[Wanna do something fun with curses? Maybe wander in a few of the stores and window-shop? Heck, she'll take food even! Hit me up here, PM, or try

gloryfalling.]

[ Fortunately, by the time the stranger's grabbed the front of the EMS uniform he arrived in, Vasiliy's mostly gotten a feel for his skates, at least enough to stay upright despite the sudden pull. He lets her catch her breath—and balance—before he actually answers. ]

Me too. I'm more graceful on ice.

[ He follows her line of sight to the other side of the rink—true, she's almost halfway there, but considering how awkward she seems on rollerblades, that's quite a distance. He extends a hand, (thankfully) bloodless fingers spread. ]

Do you want help?

[Rude of her not to apologize, really, for grabbing him. But it is left sort of open-ended for those that don't intend to "catch" her and be an untouched (or ungrabbed) observer. So once she does manage to get herself back under some sort of control, Eleanor does offer him an apologetic smile.]

Sorry, by the way. [Ah, ice skating?] I don't think I'm brave enough to try ice skating. [Hopefully they won't do an ice rink night any time soon. Though given the state of decor, Eleanor has a feeling that technology here isn't as...far forward as what she remembers.

Funnily enough, the skates with their cornered wheels feel more slippery to her versus the straight line of wheels that the blades hold. She glances down at the offered hand and her smile turns a little sheepish.]

You sure? I might drag us both down next time. [But she does lightly take the proffered hand.] Thanks.

No problem.

[ Vasiliy pauses for a moment, regarding her stance. Then, gently: ]

Try to bend your knees more. And do not lean too far forward. That is how you lose your balance. [ Well, one of many ways he's figured out over the past half-hour. He's not having a great time himself, but he gets the sense that if he had time to figure out more than how to move forward and stop without falling it'd probably be pretty fun. He'll have to visit this place later, once he's gotten his bearings a little bit more. ]

[Eleanor follows his advice, cautiously pushing off at not a terribly great speed.]

You'd think I'd remember more of this from my childhood. It's supposed to be like riding a bike, isn't it?

[She's rather proud of herself for having gotten as far as she had, honestly. Hill House didn't offer much in the way of skating. Or...well, it could have, but she didn't think her parents would've approved of skating on antique flooring in a house they were trying to flip.]

Edited 2022-08-24 03:26 (UTC)

[Nell is not the only dead girl to find herself waking up alive. Nancy is alive, the broken ribs and her skull both mended. She's got a blistering headache, and one eye is nearly swollen shut. Like Nell, bruising around her neck is evident, but it's not rope. It's hands.

She rubs her head, hunching forward on the bed. So many questions. So many bloody questions.

But she's going to start by answering the first one.]

Yeah, suppose so. Is this... Is this hell?

[With the way she's hunching forward, most of the injuries are hidden from Nell's view for the moment. Though the swollen eye is definitely spied and she slowly walks over to the other girl's bed, sitting on the side of it.]

I'd hope that Hell's choice in decor was a little more modern than this, either that or more medieval. [She smiles a little as if trying to crack a joke.] But I don't think you'd want me to answer that one given what I remember last of home. [She was raised open-minded religion wise, but hadn't chosen a branch herself to wander on.]

Did you want a cold washcloth for your eye?

Modern? [This is positively foreign! Still, she likes the woman already, seemingly calm and gentle, perhaps only a few years older than her. She thinks of Rose Maylie, a kind, beautiful lady who was going to care for her Oliver. Who was going to keep him safe now that she no longer could.

She swallows the thought. And the thought of what she had last remembered at home.] Fair enough. But certainly, this is not any heaven.

Yeah, if you don't mind. 'm Nancy, by the way.

[She picks lightly at the bed spread.] I remember rooms like this when I was a little kid, even then they were kinda old. [Eleanor gets to her feet and crosses to the small bathroom they have in their room, it takes her a moment to find a cloth and she gives it a sniff to make sure it's clean.]

Heaven I imagine would be at least a little bit brighter than this place. [She runs the faucet to the cold side, letting it run for a few seconds before placing the satisfactory cloth under it.]

Eleanor. [She casts a grin over her shoulder.] Most call me Nell, though.

It's like... it's a hotel, I wouldn't wonder. Something quite nice. [Everything was nice to her when you grew up picking pockets and stealing to survive. Even the bland, generic art on the wall.]

Probably right. This is rather dark... [Which would mean Hell, wouldn't it?]

Nell, lovely to meet you. You're not the first Nell I've met. [She watches Nell in the bathroom.] They have pumps that run into the home?

( 'Quiet' is an understatement. The silence in the room is thick and deafening, drilling into Jesse's head like a pounding headache. He's pacing the room, a skinny arm hugged tight across his middle with his other hand up at his mouth, chewing at his thumbnail, when the girl in the other bed awakens. He stops in his tracks, cutting a jumpy look over at her as she gets up and catches pale sight of herself in the mirror. )

( Jesse is an agitated and ashen-faced sight: his dirty blond hair sticks up in anxiously finger-raked angles, and dark circles hang heavy beneath his blue eyes. A sickly film of sweat clings to his skin. Coming down off hard drugs is a bitch. )

Um... ( His gaze is dragged towards the vicious discolored ligature mark burned around her throat. He swallows nervously. Dread, as hollow and cold as Jane's glassy eyes had been when he'd found her dead next to him in his bed, pools into his gut. ) ...'Me, too'?

[The corner of her lips quirk a little, mostly at the familiarity of his pose and motions. It reminds her of Luke and she'd be lying if it didn't make her sad slightly, just because she hadn't been able to get into touch with him before she went into the House. The worry refreshes itself in her mind.

Eleanor gestures with her free hand to the room.] Being stuck here in this place. [She looks back down at the letter.] They've been nice enough to offer us a way out of this room, at least. [She holds it out for him to take.]

( Jesse follows her glance to the letter she's holding. They've been nice enough to offer a way out? Nice. Ha. Yeah. Real fucking nice being trapped in some motel room he has no memory of winding up in. Real fucking nice what they - whoever "they" are - suggest as a means to escape. )

I already read it. ( Jesse shifts his weight on the spot, wiping his sweaty, slightly shaky hands down the sides of his jeans. Shit, man, what happened to this girl? She's so damn pale, and that mark around her throat... Jesse swallows, hard. His tongue is dry and rough like sandpaper, sticks to the cottony roof of his mouth.

Fuck it. He decides to reach for the letter and read it again: eyeing the girl, a glance skimming off that savage mark around her throat, Jesse takes a step forward with a hand outstretched, takes it, turns it around the right way to read it, again. A humorless grimace of a smile splits across his face. )

Heh, yeah, real fucking nice of 'em to offer us a way outta here. ( The paper rustles as Jesse jerks it up to hold it out, facing her. ) The hell is this voodoo blood sacrifice bullshit, yo? "A handprint of blood"? What about a key, yo?!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

eleanor vance | haunting of hill house | ota

#2

no subject

no subject

(sorry for the delay!)

1

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

#1

no subject

no subject