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cursedcontent2022-08-20 11:49 am
cursedmods) wrote in cursedcontent2022-08-20 11:49 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME #1
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.Roller Rink
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.
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.Mallrats
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.
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.Extra Info
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.
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.
blood offering;
they've done their introductions, he's flatly he doesn't give a shit about this mayor person (his exact words may have been 'what do i care what some asshole like that has to say?') and now he is staring at the door like it owes him lunch money.
ichigo has not done the assignment. the letter lays unopened on the dresser. he lifts one foot and kicks the door — it rattles the wall and the door in its hinges, but it doesn't budge. and the power behind it... definitely only human.
he scrubs a hand through his hair and, angrily, ）
Ah, what the hell! I'm tired of this place! You, Steve, wasn't it? You sure that Mayor guy didn't say anything else?
（ he... was not paying attention in his own dream. par for the course. ）
no subject
Steve shakes his head. ]
No — no, I don't think so. [ And the letter remains untouched by all in this room, an obvious solution to a problem they're both exerting too much force at.
There's an exasperated huff as he tries to think back on what he'd been told. ]
There was just some stuff about curses. Oh! [ He remembers something. ] Oh — hey, okay, okay, so to get home, we just need to beat the Curse. No telling how long that's gonna take though, but maybe there's a clue in here.
[ Maybe the Curse is like, some metaphor for the door. He's really firing all synapses here. ]
no subject
clues, huh.
sure would be nice if ishida was here to do the math on that one — strategy has never really been his strongest point (and let it not be said he's unaware of that particular flaw). but, dutifully, he starts feeling along the wall, knocking along the wood as if looking for the struts.
when that yields nothing, he moves a nightstand (letter whomst?) and when there's nothing behind it but a shitty yellowed outlet from whence snakes the cord for an ancient lamp, he makes an annoyed noise and then just. picks up one end of the bed.
that letter? still ignored. ）
Hey, you. Look under the bed.
（ yes. genius. surely the answer lies there. ）
no subject
Steve looks from the guy who introduced himself as 'Kurosaki' to the bed being lifted up by its skirts, and shrugs, accepting this as his fate. ]
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
[ So he does just that, gets to his hands and knees and everything and takes a peek around the underside of the bed where the carpet is its freshest, boldest colour from years of being in shadow. ]
Well, the good news is that the carpet is a dark salmon-red. The bad news ... nothing like a key or anything.
[ He gets back up, any and all letter-type objects being woefully neglected. ]
Maybe we've gotta call Room Service?
no subject
（ it's okay, steve, he would have said that about any idea he didn't come up with himself right now, and probably at least half of whatever he did manage himself. but he is now studying the phone.
he drops the bed (not on steve, at least) and dusts his hands off like he just touched something gross (look, he knows what goes on in hotels, all right? how often do these things get properly cleaned?
but the hamster wheel is now properly turning. the little hamster is doing its best with its stubby little legs, okay. running, running... oops, it did a faceplant, but never fear, this hamster is as stubborn as he is and soon it's back in its little wheel.
finally, ichigo flings an arm out dramatically and points at the phone directly. ）
Let's try it.
（ by which he means steve. ）
no subject
[ He lets out an exasperated sigh. This guy is starting to remind him of a certain bossy little shithead (endearingly), only they look to be around the same age, and yeah, okay, he doesn't mind doing the thing, taking initiative, whatever.
So Steve picks up the receiver and hits the button for the front desk, and then puts it to his ear expecting ... well, literally anything. ]
Huh.
[ He hits another button. And then another, like he expects that to do the trick. He checks the length of the phone's line to make sure the whole damned thing is connected at all, which, you know, might seem obvious but it's worth a check anyway, right, but nothing comes out from the other side.
It's silence. ]
Shit. Phone's dead.
no subject
he puts his head in his hands for a few seconds, trying to think. smoke does not, in fact, escape from his ears, but it's a near thing. fingers curl and tighten in a violent shock of orange hair, and then he drops his hands away with an annoyed noise of disgust. ）
Okay. We just need to put our heads together. We're in a room, we both had this weird freakin' dream, we can't just bust out with force. There's got to be something here, some sort of key.
（ or a time limit. he's reminded almost uncomfortably of that girl's dollhouse fullbring — but if it's anything like that, they might have to fight. this guy seems like a normal human — even without reiatsu, ichigo just doesn't think of himself as being one of them anymore. he's got too many things warring for genetic supremacy in his blood, whether it's quincy or hollow or shinigami or whatever the hell else. but he makes the decision right then and there — even if that is the key, he's not going to touch the guy. ）
Ah, for fuck's sake —
（ he gets up and just straight-up kicks the nightstand over, which makes the letter flutter to the floor. he looks at it for a moment, and then picks it up. he makes a face at it, and then holds it out. ）
Do you read English? I'm shit at it.
no subject
[ Steve accepts the held out letter and starts to unfold it of its contents, half-wondering whether reading hotel junkmail might just be a waste of time. But it's the best clue they've got, and maybe it'll give them something — anything — to go on: a proper phone number, maybe a contact name, advice ...
Oh.
Well.
Shit. ]
Good morning and welcome ... blah, blah, blah ... okay: Fear not, the door will open easily if you offer a bit of blood.
Wait.
Seriously?
[ He finishes reading the rest of the letter aloud and with increasing incredulity. He almost regrets them ever discovering this thing because now that he knows how to get them out of here, he's got a pretty bad feeling about it. Like, this can't be good. Anything to do with offering up ones blood never is. ]
cw for shounen dumbass disease (self-injury)
（ said in the absolute deadpan of someone who's accustomed to far heftier costs than that. he doesn't have anything sharp on him, except — well, he's in his civilian clothes, and without thinking too much about it, he pulls his belt out of his pants, flips the prong of the buckle out, and stabs it right through his hand.
there were surely easier ways to do that, but does he care? no. no he does not. pain tolerance level: shounen protag used to being run through with swords.
the belt gets tossed on the bed afterwards and, cupping his uninjured hand under the other one to catch the blood, he marches right over to the door and smears the blood on it. that's 'offering', right? ）
What the hell, do we have to say 'open sesame' too?
（ oh. well. it worked. ichigo at least has the presence of mind to rip a strip off his shirt and wrap it around his hand helpfully (when your father is a doctor you think you'd care a tiny bit more about infection, but nope, not he). ）
no subject
[ There's a sluggish moment between Steve putting the letter down to watching Kurosaki move his hands down to his waist when he thinks the guy is going to pants himself. For what reason? Who the hell knows.
But no. It's freakin' worse than that. The belt is removed and then there's blood, and then said belt is being thrown aside as his roomie heads straight for the door to press his palm to its surface. Like this is totally normal.
This is totally not normal!
It takes another moment before everything catches up with his brain and Steve rushes towards man and door and watches him bandage his hand up. Like it was no big deal. Not only was that extremely crazy impressive ('metal', Eddie might say), but it was just plain and simple crazy. ]
Dude!
no subject
（ his tone isn't dismissive when he says it, more reassuring as he goes back to get his belt. rather than thread it back through the loops of his pants, he just wraps it a few times around the non-stabbed hand. you know. in case he has to punch someone.
look, he's a hooligan. ）
Come on, let's go. Try to stay behind me. We have no idea what we're going to find out there.