TEST DRIVE #1

[collectedmods]

TEST DRIVE #1

Hi shoppers! Welcome to the first Test Drive Meme for COLLECTED. A few things before we get started:

» For the time being, our TDM’s are closed to those eligible to apply based on our invite system. This means that you must be on one of the mod’s plurklists, or invited as a +1 by someone on those lists. Thanks for understanding!

» TDM Threads will NOT be canon.

» Because of that, feel free to assume/handwave CR, and assume your character has been in the setting for a little bit.

» When the game opens, characters will be able to try their hand at going outside. But, during the TDM, all doors and windows to the outside will be locked, and characters will be unable to venture out there.

» These prompts are not exhaustive - feel free to make up your own within the setting of the mall! Anywhere on the Second Floor of the mall is free game. And if you have any questions about what you can and can’t do (or about anything else) reply to the QUESTIONS comment below, and we’ll get back to you soon.

Most importantly, have fun! And thank you so much for your interest in Collected; we’ve been so stoked over the turnout!! 🧡

PROMPTS

I.

There’s one big problem about getting around the Mall - and no, it’s not the bottom floor that’s flooded.

The other huge problem that the dilapidated infrastructure causes aside from making everything smell weird and leaving tons of crumbled debris around is that at some points in the mall, it’s impossible to get across large gaps in the flooring where it’s fallen through to the waters below. In fact, to access the side of the mall across from where you are right now, there are no paths that are safe for walking across. But there is one way.

One attraction of the mall has stayed (mildly) in tact - and that’s a Hi Wire Bicycle. The one way across to the other side of the Mall is this rusty, dusty bicycle attached to a thick wire, with signs around the attraction describing how much the fare used to be to ride across - if you were daring enough, that is! Obviously, no one’s ridden across this thing in years - much less for the overpriced payment required.

More than that, it seems a little… less than safe. The net that probably provided mall-goers with some degree of self-assurance has aged, sagging and unraveling at the junctures of some of the knots. If you were to fall onto it, would it still catch you…? The wire affixed to the bike doesn’t seem too steady, either, not to mention how hard you’ll have to push against the rusted pedals to get them to move. As it stands, though, it’s the only way across to get to the Second Floor’s other half of stores. Luckily (or maybe unluckily?) there’s a seat for you and a friend. So, at least you won’t go down alone.

To make it across, you’ll have to be brave, be creative, and most of all, be lucky!

II.

A.

Near the heart of the food court, decorations for what used to be Santa’s village are still laid about. How many Christmases ago were these left here? By the looks of things, a lot. A thick coating of dust has settled on the nooks and crannies of what is supposed to be the elves workshop, alongside the seat where Santa must have sat to take pictures with children.

In the Elves’ Workshop, you’ll find a massive amount of animatronic elves. They’re all positioned to be working on toys, putting up decorations, or singing from carol books - it looks like these little guys were put here to perform for kids, not unlike an interactive (and more Christmas-y) version of It’s a Small World. There’s even un-opened (and therefore okay-to-eat!) boxes of chocolate chip cookies that must have been for the Mall-goers around Christmastime stashed inside an open cabinet, which was most definitely only for employees to access.

The only problem is that once you enter and make your way inside the workshop… something strange happens. Is something grabbing onto your clothes? Your hair? Maybe a stray finger? It’s the little wooden hands of one of the elves. Your first thought is that you just brushed past it and got caught on it - but, on the second thought, it’s not letting go. In fact, it’s grip is getting tighter. Painful, even. All while it smiles blankly ahead, eerily still aside from it’s tiny hand squeezing you. Take your eyes off these cheery boys and girls for too long, and you’ll realize they’re not staying put like good little elves - they’re moving closer to you only when they’re out of sight.

If you’re unlucky enough for several to latch onto you, you’d better ho-ho-hope someone can break you free.

B.

Outside the Workshop, more towards where the line to meet Santa would be, there’s a big snow machine. Unluckily for you, the machine’s sensors, which would have known to start putting out snow whenever people walk by, seem to still be working despite the Mall’s run-down state. As soon as you get near the thing, it starts spewing out tons of fake snow. It’s completely unlike the delicate sprinkling you’d find in a shopping center: it’s plain blasting you with the stuff, more like a hose than anything else. Too bad that the part of the machine that broke was whatever controlled the volume and speed of the snow instead of the sensors, right?

The fake snow is sticky and old, and will stick to you and the floor the more you get caught in it - better hurry and stop that machine!

C.

There’s a huge, luxurious chair that was most certainly reserved for the Santa employee in the center of the village area - tall and wide enough for at least a few people to clamber onto. Even though the paint is chipping off parts of the throne, and the wood is decaying in places - it still doesn’t look too bad, all things considered. Even the camera is still sitting in front of the chair, balanced on a tripod as though there were kids coming to take pictures with Santa today.

You’ll find that walking into the frame of the camera with more than one person causes the camera to go off. The camera will even print your picture, and never seems to run out of film - no matter how many times it fires. Did it catch your bad side, the first time? Feel free to try again! Dress up, find props, take pictures with your newfound companions to your heart’s content!

The only thing to be wary of is that in every few photos, someone else is in the photo. It’s a smiling, bright-eyed child, despite their transparency compared to you and your companion in the image. Judging by the sitting pose, and the performative smile, the added kid is none other than a reflection of a child who had taken pictures here with Santa long, long ago.

III.

With the size of the mall, and the variety of the stores inside, it’s only natural to think to forage for items that might be of use - there’s got to be something left behind here that will help you, right? Or a portal home?

Not too far from the department store you’d wandered in from, there’s a clothing store with an… interesting problem, for lack of a better word. The store has been overrun with rats. Big ones, too, scurrying about the floors and what’s left of the shelves, gnawing on what remains of the carpet and the remnants of cardboard packaging. Anyone sane would steer clear of this mess!

But, there’s something off about this store. Not only do all the rats somehow stay mysteriously contained within the walls of the store, never scurrying out of it, and with no signs of other stores being infested at all, but there’s also something that’s very familiar to you in this store. It could be a weapon, an item of clothing, or something as simple as your most favorite phone charm - point of the matter is, the rats have a hoard akin to a dragon’s behind the cashier’s counter, full of trinkets and belongings to all who have come through this place. They’ll work to keep their paws on what they have, too.

If you want your special something back, you’ll have to brave the vermin.



NAVIGATION

Comments

[skeletonize]

For the remote chance that one might change everything.

( she speaks in the grand scheme of things, as a young woman who had from the dawn of her youth scoured the darkest corners of the dusty, decrepit libraries of the Ninth House for whatever necromantic secrets she could raid for her own use.

but, considering what they were looking at... harrow's expression sours beneath the dark canopy of her hood. it was foolish, just as the whole accursed thing was. )

...Not that that is applicable here.

( she turns up her nose to it, face a mask of haughty derision painted in alabaster and charcoal. ) I would sooner sink myself to the deepest pit of the drowned ground floor. Though if you wish to ascertain whether or not the thing is a screeching death trap, I would not stop you.

( were this any other situation, harrow would just make a bridge made of bones and be done with it. but her resources are limited (for perhaps the first time in her life, as bones were easy to come by in the Ninth House and in Canaan House as well). but regardless of what she had just said, she really didn't want to end up taking a second swim in the inky black water below. )

[resting]

I'd be careful offering an alternative like that. For some reason, it seems as though this is the sort of place that might grant a wish you wouldn't desire in earnest.

( onto the bike alone, then. one foot slips for a second as he tries to move into the seat and the wires sway, an ominous creak coming from where they're attached to the wall. yeah. this seems fine. what's the worst that could happen, he dies?

... )

I wonder, miss... do you have vampires, where you come from?

( it's relevant. he swears. )

[skeletonize]

It's welcome to try.

( it had already tried to sink her once, upon her arrival here. though harrow would not relish it one bit (she's already frustrated enough that she has to use showers here, but of course this place is too much of a relic to have sonics available), it certainly seemed more dignified than clambering onto a bicycle and wheeling it out into empty space on a hope and prayer that an ages-old wire wouldn't snap under sudden, unexpected pressure.

her chin lifts slightly at the odd question, expression shifting into something scrutinizing as shes tries to figure what his angle could be.

vampires? the flesh magicians of the Third House consumed flesh and keratin to fuel their necromancy, and one could create a thalergenic ward with the living blood, fresh from the vein.

therefore, flatly: ) No.

[resting]

Is that so? Of course, they aren’t real, so perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised? ( :thinking: ) Well, the details themselves are extensive, so I’ll spare you the worst of the rambling. What’s important is that my existence could be likened to one of theirs, with their weaknesses, of which water is a concern.

Were I to fall, I’d surely die in an instant.

( and yet, here he is, carefully boarding that which could only be called a deathtrap. he already has a few minor regrets as he situates himself properly in the seat, and gives the pedals a light test; the rust refuses to give under such a half-hearted attempt, which is also the point where he realizes the chances of success here are... not outstanding.

he also feels a bit committed, though, sitting and all. that’s why he turns to look back at harrowhark with a smile that shows none of his reservations. )

Are you certain there’s nothing on the other side you’d want? If we can get this going fast enough, the trip itself may even be quite thrilling... ♪

[skeletonize]

( the dubiousness was so intense in harrowhark's expression, it seemed ready to rattle away from her living form and manifest itself physically among them. of course, it was rather ironic for a literal necromancer to react in such a way, but given the constraints of what was considered reality in her own dimension, it would be natural not to bat an eye to immortal emperors or ranks of the living dead and yet think claims of vampiricy beyond the pale.

but this world was not under the constraints of her own, so perhaps she should begin to lighten the fuck up.

the stranger not deciding to descend into a full discussion of the details was appreciated, albeit bitterly. her shoulders rise as she takes in a deep breath, which she then releases long and slow through her nose.

she is quite certain there is nothing over there which would be of much use to her. she feels that to be true for this entire forsaken building. but is she ready to watch someone topple to their death when she could do something to stop it? God — this really shouldn't even be a question. one was not responsible for the idiocy of others.

but...

harrow steps up to the bike, though she moves further past it, to the line. she rummages around in her robes for a moment before producing a tooth — mandibular first premolar, fairly decent shape — and pressing it to the cable. one watching carefully would see that she seems to grind it into the line, as if it were the consistency of putty. right after this, there is a shimmer along the cable, starting at this end and racing towards the other. it's faint, almost unnoticeable, but the color has changed, the aged tightrope reinforced with dentine and enamel, stretched thin enough to preserve the faint elasticity required.

she stands, taking a few steps back toward the stranger. ) It will not break. ( she still stands, seemingly unconvinced — or simply uncertain. )

How is your balance?

[resting]

( and watch carefully he does, eyes fixated on her movements. it's fascinating. times like this make it truly clear how much they were missing out on, only having the option to play at being something greater than the mundane when so many more wonders were out in the universe.

there was much still to be grateful for as things were, though. rei cannot help the minor twinge of jealousy, but he also knows that these things come with costs. everything in life does. )

That's a very clever trick, young miss. ( is trick the right term? well, he has the benefit of ignorance on his side, if not. ) I find myself quite grateful you were the one to be here.

( though strengthened, the wire itself isn't as taut as it may have once been. he can see the dip in the middle, not one significant enough to prevent a working setup from failing... but does this count much as working? )

I think the concern is with the structure of this bicycle, you see. Perhaps it was different while things were less decayed, but it feels as though most of the weight is here in the front, with me. If perhaps the back were a bit heavier, it'd be less of an issue...

( is harrow even heavy enough to make an impact? unlikely. it is, however, such a good excuse for a friend to join in... right? )