TEST DRIVE MEME #1.

[therunning]

OPTIONS: WAKING UP You wake up in a studio in an apartment building that's got windows all boarded up. You remember being sick, you remember dying, and you probably can't believe this is the afterlife. If you head out into the hall you'll see that others are heading out too, looking just as confused as you are. All of you died, most of you of the same thing. If you head down to the front office, you'll meet a native resident who will explain in brief that you're in Aqora, a settlement living among the undead and that people like you show up every so often. You'll be given an informational pamphlet, a shitty cell phone, and a walkie. Then you'll be expected to figure it out. No one has time to hold your hand. EXPLORING Miscellaneous things here: shops and restaurants turned into places to live, apartments full of people living day to day, the main focus (the library) being the hub where people come to learn and children go to school. Because school never ends, even in the apocalypse. Feel free to buddy up with other newcomers to figure out what the hell is going on. OR, say you've been here a while. It's time to figure out how to get more supplies! Let's go on a supply run. You'll just be heading out past the barricades to start, and you'll have to dig through buildings to try and find things. If you're lucky, maybe you'll hit a cache. If you're unlucky, you'll find too many undead to fight. No one goes out alone though, so hopefully your partner can help. "NETWORK" Someone has set up a rudimentary network using the nearest cell towers. You can communicate with others in the area but only via voice and text. Anything further out is voice only via walkies. You can have a username or leave it blank. Have fun, campers.

Comments

[buildabazooka]

shady ppl callin themselves the institute capital I
thats so transparent
damn sorry u went from that to this night of the leaving dead crap
now i cant complain about anything again
i had a 72 chevelle n now i dont big whoop

[notlucky]

Don't flatter yourself, a sheòid. Caring doesn't make it romantic.

[notlucky]

I'll have everything set aside for you when you come in.

network.

[oleta]

i remember dying

waking up

[oleta]

I don't know what holy book you're talking about.

[ wha...t? she doesn't know what the bible is? this is easily explained by the orwell-esque world she comes from but anyway the point is: no idea what any of that was. oleta seems tense and tight like she doesn't know what it's like to be calm, how to relax. still, she shrugs. ] I thought death was going to just be... quiet. I thought there'd be nothing.

Instead there's this. But there's... Someone I know here too, so I have that to be thankful for. [ with a tiny, tiny smile. then: ] Sorry, I'm not used to having people to talk to.

[slowdancer]

Bullshit. Florida's a state, same as any other state. Been a state longer'n I've been alive, I think. You're American, so suck it up and deal with it like the rest of us, yeah?

[Johnny frowns, peering closely at a shattered computer screen with somethink akin to wonder, albeit slightly angry wonder. He has a lot to catch up on, it seems like--or, rather, not catch up on. Perhaps a closer phrase is "make amends with". Time won't stop and allow itself to be caught.]

And if you're American, maybe you know me. I'm a jockey.

[God, it feels good to say that in present tense.]

But maybe not, considerin' I don't have the faintest clue as to who Dolly fuckin' Parton is.

[buildabazooka]

[That first remark earns this woman an eyebrow raise. Tulip is from a tiny town in West Texas. Everyone knows what holy book she's talking about. But clearly this woman is extremely sheltered, if her words are any indication.]

Well, I don't see no people 'round here that I know. Just as well. I hang out with a buncha assholes. Sorry, no, I can't pretend this is normal, you don't know what the Bible is? Tell me you're at least familiar with the beardy white guy upstairs. You know, God?

[Like, yeah, she gets atheists, but most of them at least have a passing familiarity with what they don't believe in.]

[withinwires]

You have every right to complain. It's my understanding that everyone who isn't native to this world died before they came here. We've all, at the very least, lost whatever lives we had before.

The current situation aside, it's good to be free.

[oleta]

[ oh. OH. okay. it takes her a second before it clicks - their society values history as lessons but oleta is a special case; she has been kept in the institute for so long that she has forgotten things, no longer knows things she would have known.

she lets out a shaking laugh and nods, finally. ] Sorry, I know what the Bible is. It's just... Not called that. We don't... have religion any more, where I'm from. [ a beat. ] The belief is that it causes violence. I've never known what to believe.

[buildabazooka]

ugh yea dont remind me
i hope to god jesses the one drivin my chevy and not cassidy i dont trust that man behind the wheel
shoulda left a note or sumthin
"hey im dead jesse gets the car"
neway
congrats on ur freedom to get bit or not bit by a zombie as u see fit
u wanna learn how to defend yrself u can come to tulips school of fightin dirty
im nothin if not good in a scrap

[buildabazooka]

[Okay, okay. Just a situation of misunderstandings. Thank God. She's not sure she's capable of being the person to explain Christianity to someone wholesale.]

No religion, huh. That sure woulda helped me out a few times.

[Definitely would've helped pull Jesse's head out of his ass sooner if he gave up on his preacher bullshit due to it being nonexistant or whatever.]

Yeah, Christian Bible's done a lot more harm than it's done good in the world, so I can see the point there.

[Especially recently, with this Genesis stuff and their hunt for the missing God.]

I ain't the most devout Christian, but I guess you could say I believe. Pretty sure there's a Hell I should be in, anyway.

[withinwires]

[It's a hard thing to un-program, that aversion to and terror of violence, but she's overcome those feelings before, out of necessity. She can do it again.]

I would be appreciative of that. I don't intend to make a habit of needing such skills, but I'd rather not be entirely defenseless in this situation.

I'm Hester.

[neart]

not everyone likes their comings and goings to be announced publicly

the system might seem inconvenient to you but this isn't about you
this was set in place for the settlement as a whole

you might not see a point in it since you're applyin it only to yourself
but there are other people to consider
other people w loved ones who find comfort in havin that log in place

you can argue w me all day about it if you want but you're gonna sign in or you're just gonna have to accept the consequences

[oleta]

It's part of a system implemented. They take away things that cause violence and leave behind [ emptiness ] peace. Family connections. Religion. So many things.

[ she seems thoughtful, though. ] Does it really cause harm? I did end up wondering if they were lying.

[ look oleta is from the same world as hester it's pretty fucked up. ]

[volumeone]

I'm not sure if I'm applying, but I appreciate the invite, thank you!

[tojoclan]

I do as well.

Do you remember how you died?

[oleta]

the institute i was in was experimenting on me and i got sick from it

TDM INVITE

[therunning]

Hello friend! Since we're not sure if you have an invitation or not and you've showed a lot of interest through the TDM, we'd like to confirm you have one! If you have one then don't worry about it, but if you don't then please consider this an official invite! You can simply put "TDM Invite" in the invitation slot on the application if you decide to apply.

Re: TDM INVITE

[buildabazooka]

oh thank you! rema told me about this musebox but i wasnt sure if she had enough invites for me or not and i was gonna ask but yes this makes it easier!!!! <3333

[tojoclan]

That's unfortunate. I'm so sorry.

I fell ill very suddenly. The disease itself was slow to take me, but we could not find a cure.

[hakuho]

[ mine lets her say her piece, not interrupting, not judging. he stays impassive, until she's finished. ]

Are you ready, then?

[ because he's heading out. lets go. ]

[buildabazooka]

...

[She stares at him for a few more seconds like. She's not used to people actually listening to her??? What the heck.

Okay she gets out of his business again. Scratches the back of her head with a thumb.]

Yeah, ready.

[She starts heading out with him... This is fine.]

Name's Tulip.

[buildabazooka]

Priscilla-Jean Henrietta O'Hare
but you can call me tulip ;)

any girl could do well learnin to defend herself anyway
at least to fight off anyone wantin to take advantage if not zombies

[buildabazooka]

yeah yeah
ill sign yr fuckin paper
lemme just say tryin to pull at my heartstrings over it aint helpin ur case
and ok we rly have to worry abt ppls feelings rather than letting everyone know for sure their back which is what u just got done sayings the most impt thing
cant do a mass text, nope, ppl might get ~embarrassed~
sounds more to me like ur just rly in love with the paper as a concept
knew u just had a bureaucratic hardon for it

[She said she'd sign the paper, so she signed it. With a little drawing of a tulip flower. Hey, it's unmistakably her, at least.]

[buildabazooka]

[Tulip makes a face. She could've almost understood removing religion, sure... But family connections? That seems a bit much.]

Sounds almost like what Hester had goin' on.

[Tulip sighs, trying to think of how to explain it.]

Religion's the kinda thing, people try to find answers in it. Comfort. Meaning. That's what it's s'posedta do. But then some people get to thinkin', if religion worked so good for me, why can't it work good for everyone? And they stop at nothing to make sure it does.