August 2023 Test Drive Meme

[singmod]

AUGUST 2023 TDM

PROMPT ONE — ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST: A group of newcomers find themselves lost in the frozen wilds and vulnerable to the dangers of nature. With luck, they make it to the town of Milton, and to a friendly face offering food, warmth and shelter.

PROMPT TWO — HOPE NOBODY NEEDS THIS ANYMORE: Once recovered from their journey, newcomers are free to explore the town of Milton for supplies and find any signs of the townsfolk.

PROMPT THREE — THE SIREN OF MILTON BASIN: A mysterious woman haunts the frozen lake of the Milton Basin, trying to lure newcomers to their deaths.

ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST

WHEN: Day One.
WHERE: Milton, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential animal attacks, potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk.

’You are the Interloper. You are not part of nature’s design.’

It’s the last thing you hear. A dark, deep voice. Impossibly ancient. You feel afraid. Maybe you’re dreaming, maybe you’re wide awake. You saw the lights, and then your world went dark. But you hear it in the blackness, you won’t forget those words.

You awaken. You are not where you were before. It’s different for everyone, there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern in where you find yourself. You may open your eyes to find yourself in a cold, dim and dank cabin. The air is stale, dust hangs in the rays of weak sunlight that shine through the tiny windows. Someone lived here once, but they aren’t to be found. You look around, it seems like no one has been here in several days, maybe longer. The fire is cold, the dishes in the sink are a little mouldy. It is quiet. The wood creaks around you. Or perhaps you may awaken to find yourself shivering in the yawning maw of a cave, the freezing stone below you. Or maybe you’re unfortunate enough to sit up to find yourself lying in the snow, in the middle of the wilderness. Snow lies thick around you. It’s freezing out. You haven’t felt a cold like this before in your entire life. Cruel and biting. You have no idea where you are, and what’s worse — you are completely alone.

You may feel different, too. Any powers or magics you may have feel... absent. Disconnected. Things that may not have affected you previously now do. Something in you has changed.

You know you can’t stay where you are. You’ll need to move, try to work out where you are and how you came to be here. So you walk, head out into the unknown, in hope of finding a trail or a road. You’ll find one soon enough. It’s here you may find someone else in the same boat as yourself, equally freezing and confused. You’ll both need to keep going. It won’t be easy. You hear howls of wolves around you, and the terrain is difficult: slips and falls are likely. You’re completely vulnerable out here in the open.

But it won’t be long until you see it: the lazy trail of smoke rising in the air. Fire.

Follow it, and soon enough the way you’ve taken will certainly become a path or road. Unfolding before you in the mountainous forests, you’ll see the most welcome of sights: a small mining town tucked up in the valley. Battered, rusted road signs will direct to “MILTON, POP. 947”. You’re almost there, you keep going, and it looks like other people have had the same idea as you. As you head into the outskirts and further into town, you’ll find it’s a little easier to walk but the cold has gripped you hard. You’ll find the buildings, both shops and homes, are dark and lifeless, some of them are boarded up. Other than those heading in the same direction, towards the smoke, you won’t find any townsfolk coming to greet you, or even looking at you from behind curtains. … Where is everyone?

Towards the center of town, you’ll find the building from which the smoke rises: a school-house of sorts, or some kind of community hall. Perhaps both. You’ll find more and more people all drawn to this place, each and every one of them in the same position as yourself (and your companion, if you’ve found one). Some are in worse states than others: some are bloodied, nursing bite wounds or cuts; others might have some other kind of injury sustained in the journey here from falls. Others may look as if they could faint from the cold at any second.

The door opens, and you’re greeted by the gnarled, wizened face of an elderly man, dressed in thick furs. He has a kind face. He smiles warmly, and with pity, ushering you in with haste.

“It seems like a great deal of you have come.” he muses finally. “I am Methuselah. I welcome you Newcomer, although I’m sorry for how you’ve come to find yourself here. Please, warm yourselves. Eat. Get your bearings. Mother Nature has not been kind to you.”

The room is dim, lit mostly by the weak natural daylight through the windows. A roaring fire sits at one end of the huge hall. It crackles, bright and cheerful…. and warm. Even as big as this place is, the room is pleasantly warm. You’ll also find basic cots set up down one side of the hall, places to rest for a moment and get your bearings, or just trying to recover from the cold or any injuries. Down the other side are tables and chairs, and long, foldable tables laden with food, drinks and bottled water similar to one might find at a soup kitchen.

There are canisters with hot herbal teas and coffee, along with soup and stew and trays of charred moose, deer and rabbit meats, instant mashed potatoes, and tinned vegetables. It’s very basic, but it’s hot and filling. A feast. The old man has been busy. And Methuselah will continue to busy himself, still; there is plenty to do. He will fetch blankets, tend to wounds, serve food and drinks. He does not have much time to talk. More and more people seem to be coming in from the cold. He will not stop to sit and rest until everyone is seen to, taking up a place by the fire to gaze silently into its flames. He is troubled, thoughtful.

If you ask him where you are, he will simply respond: “This is Milton, of the Northern Territories.”

If you ask how you came to be here, he will shake his head: “Something has changed. The sky, it was… full of light. The Flare. I felt you coming, a great arrival. But I cannot say for certain how, or why you are here.”

He is regretful, genuinely so. He wishes he had more answers for you, but he does not. Instead he will simply insist you rest, get warm and eat. There is plenty to go around. Eventually, when you feel well enough, Methuselah will gesture to the door: “When you are ready and able, explore the town. Many left, others could not make it out. I have found no one but the dead. They will have no use of the place now, perhaps you might in the meantime.”

HOPE NOBODY NEEDS THIS ANYMORE

WHEN: First couple of weeks since arrival.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: frozen dead bodies, unexplained deaths, suicide, murder.

Other than Methuselah in the Hall, the town of Milton is void of life. While not a particularly large town, there’s a few stores and even a gas station. Life here is rustic. Function over form. Homes are simple but sturdy and warm, it’s a rugged place and one can easily deduce that the folk living here led simple, self-sufficient lives.

Commercial buildings and stores of note include a bank and post office, a hunting/fishing supply store, a grocery store, and a clothing store. There is even a church just on the outskirts of town. The buildings are ripe for picking, with most of them still with the doors unlocked, including the residential buildings. Others are locked, but can be broken into easily enough. A few are even trickier, with some of them boarded up or with entrances blocked. In terms of contents, a third of the residential buildings seem to be almost empty, as if the owners moved out long ago. There might still be things left behind of use: old, warm clothes good for the wintery weather, tools and cooking utensils — but little in terms of food. Even if the former residents move some time ago, they didn’t completely empty their homes.


Most of the homes in Milton seem to be left as if the owner stepped out only a short while ago, and with very little disturbance. Some houses, however, seem to be abandoned in a hurry, with a mess of items strewn about in some last-minute dash to grab essentials: keys, identification, treasured personal items, supplies for a quick exit. Cupboards are typically filled with an abundance of canned goods, and some chilled goods might have survived in the cold weather within the fridge-freezers, but it might be a gamble if one wants to try and eat them. Any and all electronics within homes: televisions, computers, mobile-phones — although dated, will all appear cracked and damaged, and will not function or turn out at all. The same will go for any vehicles around the town: there is no hope of starting any of them.

Diaries and journals kept by the former residents may remark on a change in the weather, with the cold and harsh climate becoming more hostile as of late. Others remark strange lights in the skies, dating several weeks or so ago, strange noises in the air, issues with power and electrical items. Some make mentions of changes to the wildlife, with wolves coming close to the town even when they had never done so before. One or two mention problems on the Mainland, with increasing difficulty of reaching out to loved ones who don’t live in the Northern Territories, or deliveries being unable to arrive. The growing trend is that something odd and terrible has been happening, although no one can truly explain what, and the problems have been growing increasingly worse and worse up to the final entries. You might note that the actual years and dates might not line up with your own: the current year given in these entries is 2014.

The newcomers are free to take over these homes, if they wish. No one appears to be stopping them, and even Methuselah seems to shrug about moving in. And as he’d mentioned, he has found no one but the dead: and plenty of them can be found.

Bodies of the town’s former residence can be found scattered over the town. In homes, in stores, out in the snow. They appear still relatively fresh, although it may be hard to tell if it’s from the cold or if it’s from very little time passing. Most appear to have died from cold exposure, some appear to have simply dropped dead on the spot. Others may be found with a gun in hand. Some, worryingly, appear to have perished by another’s hand. You won’t find the entirety of the town’s population, but there’ll be at least several dozen. Men, women, children.

Methuselah seems to have begun laying the dead to rest, but there’s too many for one man to do. Maybe you can work out what to do with them, try to bury them in their backyards, or try to take them to the churchyard.

THE SIREN OF MILTON BASIN

WHEN: Until the next Aurora.
WHERE: Milton Basin.
CONTENT WARNINGS: mental manipulation, malevolent mythical creatures, falling through ice, attempted drowning/possible successful drowning, potential character death.


Those who venture further south of the town will find themselves traversing the steep, winding paths down towards the Milton Basin. The way down is treacherous, but if enough care is taken you should be able to make it down in one piece. The water is just about completely frozen over down here, thick and sturdy enough to walk over for the most part. Within the Basin there’s more wildlife to be found: deer and rabbit are plenty. And there’s even plenty of foragables, too.

Out on the water are two small ice-fishing cabins, enough to fit one or two people inside comfortably, which hold a few forgotten supplies to try out some ice-fishing if you want to see if anything bites. Both even hold little log burners to keep warm. An old hunter’s shack can be found along the water’s edge, for those not quite brave enough to travel out onto the ice, to take shelter in for when the weather gets a little too difficult, with an old log burner still working within it.

But it’s calm down here, for the most part. Peaceful even. It’s an excellent place for fishing and hunting, and a little more sheltered from the freezing winds.

Until you hear the voice. Something soft and feminine, echoing across the ice. The Basin helps to amplify the sound, and for a long time you can’t quite be sure of where exactly it’s coming from. It’s singing, she is singing. Something old, in a language you can’t quite understand. Maybe it’s not even a language at all, but simply melodic vocalizations. It’s... beautiful, you’ve never heard anything like it before in your life.

And then you see her: a woman standing upon the frozen waters of the Basin. You realise she’s probably the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen in your life, even if you can’t quite even begin to describe her. She appears different to everyone who beholds her, some one might see her hair is long and dark, others might see her with neat red curls. Some swear her skin is dark and rich, that looks almost plum when the light hits it just so, others claim it to be cool-toned that glistens like sunlight on snow. Whatever someone might find aesthetically pleasing is how she’ll appear, and even then to describe her to others will bring you at a loss for words. And she’s singing… to you, for you.

You’re compelled to go to her, although you can’t explain why. You’re drawn to approach her, to hear her better, see her better. Your feet carry you onto the ice, out into the midst of the Basin. You ignore the calls of everyone and anyone around you, fixated on the woman before you. She smiles when you’re close enough, beckons you a little closer.

… Then everything changes. Without warning, the woman leaps for you, her face contorting into something hideous, mouth opening to scream to reveal rows upon rows of tiny, needle-like teeth. She collides with you, and the force (paired with the slippery ice below you) is enough to send you off your feet. As you fall back, the ice cracks beneath you with an almighty sound, plunging you into the frigid depths below.

The woman fights to put you beneath the water’s surface, those needle-like teeth bared like some ferocious beast. She can be fought off easily enough, but she might just drown you before you’re able to. If you’re lucky, someone might be able to help pull you out. Tools or weapons made of iron or silver are especially harmful to her.

Once you’re pulled from the water, getting somewhere warm will be the utmost priority — otherwise the cold will kill you quicker than the woman would. The woman, you’ll find, will have vanished, and the ice where you’d fallen will have restored itself, as if it had never been broken at all.

FAQs

ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST

1. Items characters have brought from home can be found either strewn around them when they awaken, or in the community hall — as if someone left them out for them to collect. Methuselah will not know how they got there, and will be quite bemused by the happenings.

2. Reminder that all characters are now depowered upon arrival. They can choose not to notice it at first, or can immediately sense something is different about them.

3. If asked any personal questions, Methuselah will smile and say "Oh, you don't want to know about an old man like me. But I have lived all over in these parts for all my life." He will be more concerned with trying to help Newcomers, and is genuinely concerned for them and their well-being.

4. If asked how he knew that the Newcomers were arriving, he concedes that although it is a strange thing to know, it is much like how one knows a storm is coming.

HOPE NOBODY NEEDS THIS ANYMORE

1. Characters are welcome to take up residency in any of the homes of Milton. Methuselah will strongly advise characters to leave a huge, dilapidated house — known as Milton House — well alone, due to extensive fire damage.

2. More information about Milton can be found here.

THE SIREN OF MILTON BASIN

1. Characters with hearing impairments will not be susceptible to the Siren's song, or may only be somewhat susceptible depending, but may be entranced to a degree by looking at the Siren. However, this will be far easier to snap out of.

2. The Siren cannot be killed, only fought off. She will disappear for a length of time to recover before she attempts to lure her next victim.

Comments

rei ayanami (ii) | neon genesis evangelion

[alef]

01: methuselah's feast.

[ It takes a considerable amount of coaxing to convince this girl to sit and eat.

From a distance, you may be able to see Methuselah say a few things to Rei, but she does not respond. Nor does she react when he wraps a blanket around her slim shoulders, or leads her to the table. Someone places a bowl of stew before her, and she stares at it for a long time before picking up a spoon and beginning to mechanically eat. She's lucky the stew hasn't grown cold. Her expression remains blank, focused somewhere in the middle distance, except when she steals another look at Methuselah, who has long since gone onto assist other newcomers.

If you sit near her, however, she'll put down that spoon. And she will stare at you, unashamed, and will not say anything. ]

02: hope nobody needs this anymore. cw: corpses.

[ Rei has watched everyone long enough to know that if she wants supplies, she'll have to go find them herself. She begins by stealing a blue quilted jacket and pair of boots off of a young boy about her size.

Once she's dressed for the weather, the real work begins. She's methodical in her process, going house by house, looking for anything interesting. The dead bodies prove the most useful.

You might find her examining one of the bodies, digging through its pockets, and when that proves fruitless, taking its gun and checking for bullets. The weapon does not seem to intimidate her. Or, you might find her sitting up against the wall of someone's former home, engrossed in an old journal. Regardless, Rei will not greet you - the living are not the most interesting beings here. ]

03: the siren of milton basin. cw: drowning.

[ Rei is not certain she has seen anyone this beautiful. There are no beautiful things in NERV. She cannot describe what the beautiful woman looks like, except that she has so, so many eyes.

Rei approaches, hand outstretched. Everything else after that happens quickly. One moment, she's on land, the next, her body is submerged under frigid, piercing water. That's the worst part of it - water, which usually feels nice, betraying her like this. Rei does not realize that she has cried out. She doesn't hear anything else besides the waves.

And then, just as suddenly, it stops. Someone has slain the monster, someone has dragged her back to shore. Rei stares at you - her rescuer - and there is so much she cannot understand. After gasping for air, however, Rei only has one question. ]

Why?

2!

[infiniteheart]

[During her ongoing quests for supplies, Yanli's come across a few other but not quite as eye-catching as this girl. She's never seen hair or eyes those colors before and it's curious. Something about give her gives Yanli the impression that she's lookig at a spirit more than a mortal human.

What a silly thought.


She makes her way to the girl, equally curious about the strange tool she's holding. She's seen a couple lying around but lacks the technical knowledge to make heads or tales of it.]

Oh, are you familiar with those devices? Do you mind if I ask what they're called?

[alef]

[ Now that she's being asked a direct question, Rei finally looks up at this particular newcomer. Her expression is as blank as always, but privately, Rei thinks the question is a little silly. Of course she's familiar with the device - why else would she be handling it like this?

She'll answer the second question, though. ]

It's a gun.

[ There. Surely, the confusion is all cleared up now. ]

Some of the other bodies have them. [ That one's for free, because Rei does feel like being a little nicer, after all that warm stew. ]

[infiniteheart]

[Yanli just stares blankly at the girl and the gun in her hand.]

Oh, I see. Thanks.

[She's not too familiar with guns though she has a very basic understanding of gunpowder. Fireworks and flare guns are in common use.]

I didn't recognize it at first. It looks pretty different from the ones I've seen. Could you tell me a little more about how it's used?

[It'd probably be a good idea, she thinks, to carry one and she's willing to trade favors if need be. She is an excellent cook.]

[alef]

[ Oh, good, the human seems to understand - or so Rei thinks. Rei's ready to resume digging through this former person's pockets when she's asked to explain something. It's an odd request, and there's part of Rei that's sure the other woman is mistaken. But there's no one else around but the two of them, and so it falls to Rei to give an explanation. ]

Watch.

[ Rei grips the gun properly, finger on the trigger, pointed away from the two of them. ]

Release the safety. It's on the side. There are bullets inside. Aim and pull the trigger. [ Once she's certain the other woman has seen her demonstration, Rei lowers the gun. ] The bullet will hurt. Or kill.

3

[deathroadtocanada]

[Kara never expected herself to move so quickly. She spotted a kid on the ice, approaching that... thing. So, she moved, and the next while was a blue. She remembered pulling a gun from her coat, a scream, the sensation of ice-cold water.

And now, here she was. On the shore, rapidly peeling her coat off so that she could throw it around the kid - actually a teenager - who was soaking wet. Cold. But alive.

She almost doesn't notice her speak.]

Hm? W-what?

cw: ambivalence towards death

[alef]

[ Rei takes the coat out of sheer instinct. She's cold; the coat is warm. Her shivering subsides a little, and Rei begins the arduous task of sitting up.

She doesn't respond until she's elevated, which takes a couple moments. Then, she looks at her rescuer, trying to parse the question she's received in response to her own. None of this makes sense. ]

Why did you...

[ Rescue me? Save me? Rei doesn't want to presume. Maybe she just got lucky. ]

If I die, I can be replaced.

[deathroadtocanada]

Don't-- [Kara starts talking before Rei's words fully hit her. And, just for a second, she's struck by them.] Don't say that.

[First things first. They need to get inside before she freezes. The fire in Methusulah's cabin should do it, but that's a ways away...]

Can you walk? I-I can carry you.

[alef]

[ Why shouldn't Rei say it? It's true.

Still, Rei holds her tongue after that. She hates saying the wrong thing. It makes her feel funny inside - like fear, but stranger. A little more distant. It's best not to get into those kinds of situations.

There's only one way to find out if Rei can walk. She uses one arm to steady herself on a nearby rock, then pushes upwards with her legs. She's a little shaky at first, a little woozy, but it works. So she nods. ]

Yes.

1

[friendsfordinner]

[ Hickey's been eating like a starving man (which considering he was a starving man before arriving here, it's less of an apt comparison and more of a damn fact.) He's been here for a while and is going back for another bowl of soup, only to find that someone's taken his seat. No matter. There are others here.

Unfortunately for Rei, the nearest seat is near her. He sits down, starts to eat his soup, then feels her gaze on him. He pauses, frowns, turns to look at her before sassing, ]

Something on my face?

[ Hickey's accent is British, his clothes are that of the 1840s, and his manner is sarcastic as fuck. ]

[alef]

[ Oh, no. Sarcasm. It reminds her of Unit 02's pilot, which is never a good thing to be reminded of. Rei considers getting up and leaving, but upon looking around, she doesn't see any spots nearby. Damn.

Not to be outdone by this stranger, she looks back at him, this time checking to see if there is anything on his face. He's been eating rather quickly, after all. Then, Rei takes a small bite of her own food, chews, and swallows, and it's only after she does all that that she bothers to respond. ]

No.

[friendsfordinner]

Then stop looking, [ Hickey says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. After a moment, he goes back to his food, taking another sip of his soup (and slurping very loudly) before turning his attention back again to Rei. ]

Y'know, it's easy to eat in peace and not have someone staring a hole in your head.

[ 'It's easy to eat in peace' says the person bothering Rei. ]

cw: child death (referenced)

[alef]

[ Rei should do as he says, and stop staring.

But she's cold. She's hungry. And, crucially, she's recently deceased. What, really, could this man even do to her?

Taken together, all that makes for a rather potent cocktail of teenage stubbornness. Rei does not look away. In fact, she takes another bite of her stew without taking her eyes off of him. ]

You're noisy.

[friendsfordinner]

And you're being strange, [ he retorts, with a little roll of his eyes. ]

People don't just stare at others when they eat.

[ Though as far as he's concerned, people can have conversations while they eat. There's soup in front of him. He's hungry. Hickey's just going to keep eating as well and enjoy the meal he's got. ]

[alef]

[ Rei? Strange? Tell her something she doesn't know, old man. She does think that the fact that he's still bothering to talk to her makes him a bit of a hypocrite. That, in turn, is irritating, like a scab Rei can't help but pick at. ]

Man acts as a prey animal to obscure his own nature.

[ Translation: skill issue. ]

[friendsfordinner]

[ There's something about this girl that rubs him the wrong way. The staring? Quoting...whatever the hell she's quoting but with an obvious tone of judgement? Nah. He's not a fan. ]

Man falls into the accepted social order so she's not the first one kicked out of the house when the storm hits.

[ Translation: stop being a creep. ]

[alef]

[ A threat, and one that's boldly expressed. Rei has never been threatened before, but of course, NERV never needed to. She knows the secrets they keep, down there in Terminal Dogma, and she knows what that means for her place in the social order.

Even though Rei is no longer in Tokyo-3, there are some risks that are too foolish to take. She looks away. ]

You think this is your house.

[ As far as she's concerned, the only person with any real power here is Methuselah, who is off tending to some other newcomer. ]

[friendsfordinner]

Might as well be, [ he shrugs. ] At least, might as well be until I find a place of my own. A few of these houses are abandoned, yeah? Maybe I'll take up residence in one of them.

[ It truly is impressive how a-okay Hickey is talking about squatting. ]

[alef]

[ Fortunately for Hickey, Rei Ayanami has never once paid rent in her life. Her standards for living spaces, generally speaking, have never been high.

It's the arrogance, instead, that bothers her. Might as well be. Does this man think himself special? ]

You ought to. This is Methuselah's place.

[ He should know that. ]

[friendsfordinner]

[ Yes. This man thinks himself very special. The more they talk, the more that badly hidden narcissism is coming out. Of course this might as well be his place! Who else is there, that old guy? He's just some old codger, he'll probably die within the week anyway. ]

Old man in a land like this? He's not long for the world.

[ It's said casually, with a little shrug. ]

I'll just move in when he passes.

1

[solitarysoul]

Levi recognized that stare, or at least he thinks he does. It wasn't an unfamiliar stare among soldiers, and he's sure he's had it himself at times. Seeing Rei as more of a kindred soul than, well, anyone else here the boy with the rifle sits near her.

He just stares back at her, avoiding eye contact, for about a minute before speaking. "...is it okay for me to sit here?"

[alef]

Rei steals a quick look at the boy when he takes his seat, but otherwise doesn't pay too much attention to him. He's quiet and armed, which Rei thinks are both sensible things to be in a place like this.

The question takes her a little off-guard, though. In her experience, most people don't ask permission for that sort of thing. She studies him for a little longer, and finding nothing especially off-putting, replies, "Yes."

[solitarysoul]

"Okay, good...thanks."

He's silent for a bit more. Should he make small talk? He wasn't good at that and he's not really sure this was the place for it. The silence was a welcome friend sometimes. But he remembers what sort of situation he's in, so after a moment opts to strategize.

"You don't have any thoughts on what's going on, do you? I don't really..." Something the gods did, probably, but he thinks that's obvious. "I just woke up in some house, and this is the only place I've found people."

[alef]

Rei does indeed have thoughts about what's going on here, but she hasn't felt like sharing them. As far as she can tell, many of the people here have woken up injured or sickly. Some might assume it's the cold, but Rei can't help but wonder if the others are like her, too.

Should they all be dead?

It's difficult, to know how much to share with this person. Rei isn't really certain what he's asking for, and in such situations, it's better to keep quiet than make assumptions. Still, he seems to want her to say something.

"I awoke in the woods. Others did too. I do not know why I, or any of us, are still alive."

[solitarysoul]

"There must be something special about us...but I have no idea what." He lapses into silence again. She either didn't have any idea or didn't want to share them, so going further along on the subject wouldn't achieve anything. Except probably annoy her. He assumes he's annoying her enough at it is.

"...I'm Levi."