THE TEST DRIVE MEME: MARCH - APRIL

[checkingin]

THE TEST DRIVE MEME

SO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CREEPY HOTEL BRIGADE.

Well, welcome potential apper! Here we have the handy dandy test drive meme so you can get a feel for how your character might react to the game setting. This post can also be used to cultivate some of those required sample threads for the application.

Feel free to play any scenario you so please. However please note that TDM threads cannot be used for Activity Checks (for existing players) and will not be considered game canon unless transposed comment for comment into logs in checkingout. We also recommend avoiding playing the initial arrival, so that the intro log doesn't become repetitive and boring for you. Other than that, go wild.

Here's a few additional useful links:

PREMISE | THE HOTEL
TAKEN | RESERVES | APPLICATION

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS.

No time for losers, because we — have waffles and pancakes and crepes and delicate bowls of ripe bananas and juicy oranges. We have bacon and oatmeal and cereal and milk; we have coffee (that's really hot and will burn you quite spectacularly) and tea (that, on the other hand, is miserably cold and bland). And we have orange juice (that might just kill you)!

Basically, every component one needs to start the day off right. Which is good, because this is the only meal ever served in the hotel. So come one, come all — get it while it's hot and try to pick among seats amidst the crowded circular tables, or stand along the wall. Bemoan the lack of hashbrowns or fight over the last fork. Mix, mingle. Have "fun".

DON'T YOU LOVE MY TASTE IN MUSIC.

What starts as soft, subtle musical notes wafting out of unseen speakers?

Yeah, that quickly manifests into blaring, loud, aggressively high pitched notes — so distorted, and reverberating so magnificently in the main lobby that even those impenetrable windows rattle in their frames.

And what's more, there doesn't seem to be an off switch anywhere in sight. Good luck finding one.

GOING DOWN.

Right by the stairwell in the lobby is an old timey elevator, the sort that really ought to be manned by staff to insure that it's in decent working condition and won't kill you. But it's usually not. And usually doesn't run.

But today, your ears are treated to an oh-so pleasant ding, and the doors will slide open, offering a ride to the floor of your choosing. Finally, no more calf workouts on the stairs, right?

...well, you probably should have taken the stairs, because three seconds in the entire carriage shudders, screeches to a halt, and refuses to move.

Then the lights begin to flicker.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE.

Don't see a scenario that appeals to you here? Make up your own. Get crazy with it! Good luck getting outside.

Comments

[hacker]

Quarantine— [ Skye reels at the news, blinking fast and whipping her head towards him. She stops in front of him, searching his eyes for reassurance. Realization sinks in a moment later—why wouldn't they? ] ... The temple. We got out. [ Except Trip. Trip would never get out. ] I don't ... I don't remember anything after the earthquake.

[avengeme]

That we're not. [Coulson huffs slightly in amusement]

Were you hoping for something?

[avengeme]

You don't- [Coulson frowns] We got you and Mack out. [there's a pause as his expression hardens slightly] Trip didn't make it. Raina was... changed.

The team is working around the clock to make sure you're in the clear.

[abigdarkroom]

[Had she expected or hope for something?]

Perhaps? I know a couple of ghosts back home. The music, I thought might be a scare tactic from a ghost, maybe? .

[avengeme]

Like a poltergeist?

[and okay he can't quite bring himself to ignore the casual way she just said it. He quirks his eyebrows, watching her curiously]

You 'knew' a couple of ghosts?

[abigdarkroom]

[She was casual about a lot of things, but yeah, ghosts. her head tipped a bit to look down as she spoke]

A couple, yeah. They lived in the house we moved into. stayed in the attic. And no, Poltergeists do more than play with music volume. Which I think it’s louder now, if possible.

[avengeme]

[Coulson sighs and pushes away from the wall, looking down the stairs] Of course it is.

[he's determined to ignore it for as long as possible though]

Didn't think ghosts were the friendly type though.

[abigdarkroom]

[She raised a brow at that.] It’s a common misconception. Ghosts can be friendly. Ever heard of Casper? [a joke, but she smiled faintly.]

Poltergeists on the other hand like to play tricks. Not always friendly.

[It was dumb to tell adults this. after all, they never believed her, or when they did they tried to take advantage of it.]

[hacker]

Changed.

[ Dread wells up like a void in Skye's gut. Her eyes dart across Coulson's face. ]

Changed how?

[shwarm_after]

[He's stuck somewhere between spitting the coffee out on the table in front of him and shouting. How was Coulson here without him knowing? How did Coulson appear in front of him without him even noticing? Did he secretly hide in vents? Were there trap doors right behind him? Was Coulson just a figment of his imagination? Like a balding secret agent version of Jiminy Cricket.

He swallowed the hot coffee, wincing in pain. Ow.]

What are you doing here?

Thank you! I just put his app in today

[overprotective_hunter]

[Part of Alec is furious that someone would do such a thing. He's seen horrors before, people twisted into some perversion of themselves and he had raged over that. But those individuals hadn't really known what had happened to them. They hadn't been changed and left to the fear and grief that such a change would cause.

That anger will be dealt with eventually, hopefully aimed at whoever had hurt her, but for now he keeps steady and hides it away. It won't help either one of them now. He has to be supportive and calm for her. If he knew her better, he'd pull her into a hug but that gesture might be dangerous since she might misinterpret his intentions.]

There has to be magic here. How else could they bring us here?

[What she says using her mind voice isn't picked up by Alec. His runes and training usually can keep others out of his thoughts.]

I've seen other people here. Some of them were probably brought here the same way we were. And I'm sure they're going to want to find ways to go home too.

[avengeme]

Well, she has spikes all over her body now.

[more importantly]

Skye, is something wrong?

[avengeme]

[Hey, he's a secret agent. He has his ways. To be honest he's kind of pleased to catch Tony off guard like that. But he smiles kindly enough]

The same reason you are. But seriously I don't think anyone's found out exactly what that is yet.

[avengeme]

I've heard of him. I've just never met him. Personally. [he says with a smile. He picked up on the joke, really. Then he sighs.]

Well, if it's possible to be brought into a hotel without a front door, I don't see why I can't stretch my suspension of disbelief to include ghosts and poltergeists.

[and it doesn't look like she's lying]

[hacker]

[ Uncertainty suffocates her for a beat too long. The quiet eats away at the space between them, and a weight sinks in Skye's chest. Spikes. Whatever Skye's been dealing with, she's not the only one. A quick blink follows and she shifts her weight, sharpening her gaze on Coulson. ]

Yeah. Yeah, something's wrong. I screwed up—bad. I gave my crazy dad exactly what he wanted, and now Trip's dead, Raina's deformed, and I— [ She shakes her head, babbling through it. Her breath catches. ] What happens if I'm not clear? What if it did something to me too?

[ She clings to ifs, but fear demands she figure out precisely what they're looking at here. ]

[abigdarkroom]

I haven't met him either, but others like him. [she said with a soft smile, strangely interested in an adult that believed her. Maybe he was just humoring her, but he made a good point. Hotel with no doors, why disbelieve ghosts?]

Do you remember getting here? I've been here a couple of days but I don't actually remember getting here.

[she wonders if it's going to be like the neitherworld, where when she gets back home weeks will have passed in hours. Hmm...]

[hacker]

Smart woman.

[ Skye nods along with the compliment, then points to the fruit basket. ] Fruit keeps better. Kinda hit-or-miss taste-wise, none if it's exactly fresh, but if you're gonna stock up …

[hacker]

Hacker.

[ That identification comes before SHIELD agent only because it's Tony Stark. Her own girlish enthusiasm takes her back to a time with the Rising Tide, before SHIELD. It's reminiscent of who she was before HYDRA and alien drugs and alien DNA and earthquakes. Flustered, she reaches a hand out quickly, then drops it when she realizes he's not in any position to be shaking it. Still, she introduces, ] I'm Skye.

[avengeme]

We've talked about this. It's not your fault. And if something did happen to you, we'll figure it out together.

[his tone is firm and sure. There's no way he's letting Skye deal with this alone as long as he has any say in it]

[avengeme]

Apart from waking up on a musty floor? Not really. And I've been kidnapped a few times in my lifetime to know I'd usually remember these things.

From what I've heard asking around? No one knows for sure what's going on either and the staff aren't particularly helpful.

[hacker]

[ She nods, dropping her head. ]

Of course.

[ She says it like it should have been a given, but it wasn't. She'd had to ask. Her uncertainty cracks through, and she rubs a hand against the side of her neck, shrugging loosely. ]

Sorry. It's just ... cabin fever, you know? This place gets to you. Makes everyone a little paranoid. But ... I'm spikeless, so I don't think we've gotta put together any big-SHIELD action plans yet. Maybe something else got to her.

[therightpartner]

More wary than smart. Stocking up is something I was used to before.

[Glancing around, she starts taking stock of what items would last longer than others. Rationing and working with a super soldier had made her more aware of what might survive rough conditions.]

There are a few other items that would last, if someone was careful.

Does the food change at all from day to day or is it always the same fare?

[therightpartner]

I hope what you read was complimentary. [But the admission makes her wary. Her exploits aren't exactly public and few agents she's met have been appreciative of her role in the SSR.]

But it's rather rude to know so much about me while I can only hazard guesses regarding your work.

[notafraidofyou]

[haha, say that out loud.]

Yeah, I think most of us have, at some point or another. He's good people, though.

[redandgoldjiminy]

Wally's not exactly Batman as far as reading people goes, but he's not blind either. There's something going on here, but he doesn't want to play twenty questions to get there. They're having a nice breakfast. He nods at the coffee. "Might be cool enough to drink by now."