test drive;

[thecommissary]

The game cap is 30 players. We currently have 22 players in game. TDM Guidelines 1. We strongly encourage you to post to the AU Workshop before posting here, just to get your concept out there. Feel free to link to your workshop post in your tag for easy lookup purposes. 2. Threads can be game canon if both players agree to it. 3. No one is late! Consider this a permanent test drive (until captcha is hit, if that happens). We'll be tracking top-levels and drawing attention to new posts. 4. You don't have to use any of the prompts below; feel free to create your own! 5. Don't worry about cell block assignments for the purpose of the TDMm if you haven't chosen one - feel free to keep it vague or retcon the threads a bit later. Prompt 1: Common Room The common room has books, magazines, newspapers, cards, and board games. The television has been out of commission for a while, but oh! Look! It seems like a new TV has been mounted on the wall! And this one's a 32 inch flat screen, a nice substitute for the old broken tube TV someone broke over a Monopoly dispute turned violent. If you decide to watch the TV, the screen cuts to static a few minutes after you start watching and a strange voice starts to speak. It's a soft voice, but with the occasional distortion as if spoken by a person standing too close too a microphone. "Hello there! You must be [CHARACTER NAME]. I think it's about time you got to know somebody a little bit better. Why don't you..." (Choose one of the following options:) "Tell someone something you don't want them to know. It doesn't have to be terribly juicy, as long as you'd prefer not to have told them." "Give one of your fellow inmates a nice hard slap across the cheek." "Be nice. Ask somebody if there's anything you can do for them. Anything at all." "Find someone with a snack, and take it away from them." "Go up to someone you don't know, and ask them what they did." "If you decide to ignore me, or you tell anyone you're not acting of your own free will, the guard beside the magazine stand will send you strait to the SHU for two weeks.. Your choice." No one else in the common room seems to hear the voice except you - although the aforementioned guard sure seems to be staring you down. The other people watching TV continue to react to the show that was playing. Prompt 2: Lockdown Uh-oh. Something bad must have happened, because the entire prison has been put into lockdown without bothering to herd everyone back to their proper blocks. You've been herded into a cell with someone from ANY block, and who knows when you'll be let out. You have a set of bunk beds, a table and chair, a toilet and sink, and two shelves where the inmates who actually reside in that cell have put anything that belongs to them. Now's a good time to get to know your new temporary cellmate. Or pray that you're on good terms, if you already know them. Prompt 3: The Yard It's recreation time! Your daily opportunity for a couple hours of fresh air, if you choose to take it (or if the indoor guards are sick of you and decide you're going outside whether you like it or not). The guards here are primarily concerned with preventing your escape, so if you're not lingering around the fences you'll be watched less than if you were inside. If you're new, weak, or don't have a solid group of allies yet, that also means it's less likely that anyone will help you if someone else decides to pick a fight. Be careful. The outdoor guards to a careful, meticulous sweep of the entire area every night, trying to keep...something out. It seems they were slacking off a bit yesterday: the tiniest sliver of obsidian rock has made its way into the yard undetected and - ow - you've brushed up against it, embedding it somewhere on your body. The shard has imbued you with one of the following effects: The next person who makes eye contact with you can read your thoughts, and you can read theirs. Careful, it might get hard to tell who's who after a while. You suddenly feel frightened and timid, as if everyone in the yard is bigger, stronger, and out to hurt you. You are overcome with the urge to dig into the ground with your bare hands, looking for more of the rocks. The next person you see fills you with rage, and you want to attack them. You become exceptionally suggestible, and will do whatever you're told. You feel a strange euphoria: regardless of how you felt before, the prison now feels like the very best place to be, as if you're at the center of the universe. Regardless of the effect, the shard will slowly start to burn hotter and hotter, compelling you to remove it.

Comments

[spawnofsatan]

When one is bored and also bad at solitaire, anything is possible if only you set your mind to it.

[ He deals cards between them, setting the rest in the middle and flipping the topmost card facing upward next to the pile. Rook has absolutely been shanghaied into a game. ]

I'll teach you. The object is to make matched sets of three or four of a kind, or sequences of three or more in the same suit.

[violenti]

[ That earns a laugh. ] Alright, that's fair. I can't say I'm any good at it either.

[ A card game is also something he wasn't expecting, but as far as asking stupid questions go, this is a pretty good outcome. He watches Michael deal the cards, and listens intently. ]

Sounds simple enough.

[spawnofsatan]

Quite. Now, you can either take the card in the discard pile, or you may draw one to add to your hand. If you have any sets, you may lay them down. If you don't, you can put one in the discard pile.

[ He lets that sink in before continuing. ]

Tell me something about yourself not related to your incarceration here.

[violenti]

[ He hums confirmation, picking up his cards to look at them. The question (command?) seems to surprise him. ]

Uh- hm. Well, I'm Blackfoot. I grew up on the reservation in northern Montana. [ As he talks, he picks up one card and moves it to another position in his hand. He glances up over the edge of his cards. ]

Your turn.

[spawnofsatan]

[ The surprise is turned back on Rook as Michael's expression changes into delight. It's more of an answer than he is anticipating, and to have it turned back on him is pleasing. He'd assumed that the conversation would end. Thankfully, he was wrong. ]

I've never been to Montana, only pictures and the occasional news broadcast. I'm sure the mountains feel different than they do in California.

[ Michael takes a card from the pile, discarding a two of clubs onto the pile. ]

My grandmother was the one that raised me. She was very into her Catholic faith- she called a priest to perform an exorcism on me when I was eight for my troubling behavior.

[violenti]

They're cold, but beautiful. [ Rook picks up the card from the discard pile, and puts down an eight of hearts. He raises his eyebrows. ]

Are we talking head spinning and talking in tongues, or killing small animals?

[spawnofsatan]

I'm certain she would have preferred head spinning and speaking in tongues. At least with that, it would have fallen in line with her beliefs.

[ He draws another from the discard pile, organizing his hand and laying down clubs four, five, and six. Michael sighs, looking troubled. ]

I just loved her so much. I didn't know any other way to show her. I never did manage to make her understand.

[violenti]

[ That sounds... ominous.

Rook instead peers at the cards. ]

So does that mean you've won the hand? [ Three cards doesn't seem like much. ] Or do you need a certain number of these trios?

[spawnofsatan]

[ It gets worse before it gets better. ]

No, you need to be rid of all the cards in your hand in order to have won.

[violenti]

Oh- oh, alright.

[ Rook looks thoughtfully at his hand, and draws a card. He's quiet a moment longer. He sets down a three of diamonds. ]

[spawnofsatan]

[ He lets the silence settle for another turn before he gives Rook a pointed look over his cards. ]

I know you're dying to ask- go ahead.

[violenti]

[ Rook glances up, but doesn't keep eye contact for long. He draws a card, then lays down a three, four and five of spades. ]

Hm? Ask what?

[ He may be being intentionally obtuse, but it's hard to tell. ]

[spawnofsatan]

[ He hums in disbelief, picking up another card and discarding a three of hearts. ]

You know, hedging isn't very cute.

[ Where's that brutal honesty gone, Rook? ]

[violenti]

I didn't know I was trying to be cute. [ A corner of his lip quirks upward despite himself as he eyes Michael. ] I'll try harder.

[ Rook picks up the three of hearts and discards a jack of clubs. He places down a two, three and four of hearts. Looks good, he thinks, but the rest of his hand is a damn mess, and he's not sure he should've put down one of those cards.

He looks up again. ] Am I supposed to ask what you did to prove your love to your grandmother that made her call an exorcist? I- well, alright, I did ask what you did to be in here, so there's that, but there's gotta be a limit to prying in personal shit.

[spawnofsatan]

[ Michael huffs in amusement, offering a wry smile in exchange. ]

I suppose I'll let it slide this time.

[ He takes his turn, picking up the jack of clubs and sets down the ten, jack, and queen of clubs. ]

No, you answered that one on your own. As I said, at least she could have explained away demonic possession. The early signs of a serial killer, not so much.

[violenti]

[ It's a little bizarre to be pseudo-flirting around a conversation about serial killer behavior in not just children, but specifically the man in front of him when he was a child.

Maybe this is just prison life. Rook thinks he's heard weirder things.

He draws a card, tapping his finger on the tabletop. Glancing over the tops of the cards again, he eyes Michael a moment. ] No, I imagine not.

[spawnofsatan]

[ Rook is an easy person to share things with. Mainly because of their deeper conversation earlier, but Michael doesn't see him as someone who is going to lie to him. He certainly hopes not, anyway. In any case, they're both in prison for whatever reason and he's got no business throwing stones at glass houses. Michael's story certainly isn't the most horrific or absurd by any means.

He catches Rook's eye and smiles. ]

I've learned as I've gotten older that she was a hypocrite. For as much as she told me she did it because she loved me, she didn't really. Couldn't have.

[violenti]

[ Rook holds their eye contact, though he's quiet. Finally: ] Love means different things, to different people.

[ He sits up a little straighter, inhaling as he stretches. ] Then again, there's a lot of nature versus nurture conflict within the forensic psychology, to my knowledge - about those who exhibit 'the early signs of a serial killer', I mean.

So, you might be right.

[spawnofsatan]

I realize now that she had her own inner demons which she projected upon me.

[ He shifts under Rook's gaze, putting his cards down for the time being. ]

I may not understand the psychology behind it, or what she was going through.. but what kind of person tells a child that they're unwanted and bring nothing but misfortune? I understand that I was a difficult child in the end, but she never gave me the chance to try.

[ Michael clears his throat, picking his cards back up. ]

Maybe it was for the best that she abandoned me. I found my true family.

[violenti]

I wouldn't know. [ The way Rook speaks is soft, sympathetic. ] I don't think I'd want to.

[ True family... Rook thinks of the Seeds, their message of family — and the atrocities they committed.

Then again, he's in prison, too. ]

It's good a good feeling, feeling like you belong. [ He smiles faintly. ]

[spawnofsatan]

[ He hums in agreement, drawing another card and discarding a jack of diamonds. ]

Indeed. Ms. Mead is more of a mother to me than my own flesh and blood. I would burn the world to the ground for her if that's what she wanted.

[violenti]

[ The turn of phrase makes Rook unexpectedly uncomfortable. Cold seems to wash over him. He's quiet, and any words that he thinks to say to just move the conversation along get stuck in his throat.

Finally, he just nods a little. He picks up the jack of diamonds, and sets down the 10, jack and queen of diamonds.

He doesn't quite dare make eye contact, or maybe he can't bring himself to. ]

[spawnofsatan]

[ It's easy to see the shift in atmosphere, the way that Rook seems to be looking everywhere but at him. ]

Ah. It appears as though you've won. Hope isn't lost on you, after all.

[violenti]

[ It's not you, Michael, don't worry.

Rook seems to visibly relax at the mention of the hand being won. He smiles. ] Yeah, well I suppose it's about time I had a half-decent instance of 'beginner's luck'.

...Another round?

[spawnofsatan]

[ Michael gathers all of their cards back into the deck and hands it over to Rook. ]

Why don't you deal this time and we'll see if your luck continues.