» TEST DRIVE #001

[reveriemod]

TEST DRIVE #001

( 0 0 1 ) » WAKE UP

Were you asleep or were you unconscious? It doesn't matter: when you come to, there's an odd taste in your mouth and there's a low-level mechanical hum in the air. Your head hurts and you feel nauseous. You aren't anywhere you know: everything around you is metal, from the floor you lie on all the way to the ceiling. You are dressed in a jumpsuit you definitely weren't wearing before.

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite."

The message repeats on a loop. If you look for its source, you find a comms device on the floor next to you. The logo on its wallpaper says REVERIE TERMINAL. Upon closer inspection, you find the same logo on your jumpsuit.

Welcome to your new home. What choice do you have but to explore your surroundings?

( 0 0 1 . 1 ) » WAKE UP WHERE?

When you wake up, you find that you're not alone. But more importantly, you find that you're in a closet. An empty closet, bar you and your new companion. It's small, cramped, and there is no door that you can see. The ceiling is low, there is barely any lights, only some coming from the tiny flashlight clipped to your suit's shoulder. You cannot be sure that there is any air coming in to the room.

Are these grooves in the wall supposed to mean something?

( 0 0 2 ) » OBSERVATION DECK

There were no windows in the corridor you woke up in and no windows in any of the crew quarters you might have checked for occupants — but there are plenty of windows on the uppermost level of the station, deck 1. In fact, there are windows from floor to ceiling all along the circumference of the station's circular deck, and it's possible to walk along it all. What it shows is a strange solar system you've never seen before and a planet that might resemble one you know, but certainly isn't the same.

You're in space. You don't know where you are. Neither does anyone else.

( 0 0 3 ) » BAR

On deck 3, you find the bar. Tucked away from the crew quarters, it's dimly lit, there are bar stools thrown down on the floor and what looks like some very old drink spills, crusty and dark against the bar top. But there is alcohol here, or at least, what you think is alcohol, in bottles with faded labels, most of them indecipherable. Take a drink, get drunk, start a fight, or start a party? You're stuck on this station, might as well make the most of it, right?

( 0 0 3 . 1 ) » VIRTUAL

But the alcohol isn't even the most interesting part of your discovery (depending on who you are, of course). No, what catches your interest is a second, smaller room off from the main bar room, which looks to be some kind of arcade. There are a few VR sets lined up against one of the walls, and surely, they can't be working, right? Nothing is on this rust bucket. And yet, if you put it on, the display comes to life.

It's a pretty simple HUD, and when you move around in reality, you move around in the virtual world you've just entered. It's a luxurious world, full of brightly, saturated colors, making it just a little obvious that it isn't real. Ahead, there is a jungle, a temple, and a city. You can play around, slay some monsters, have some fun, but you can feel yourself growing hot, like the VR helmet is burning your forehead.

And when you try to take it off, you find that you can't. The HUD glitches, the sound cuts off to a blaring alarm, and an error message appears, in glowing, blinking red letters: FINISH THE MISSION. Will you, despite not knowing what the mission even is, or will you fight to get the helmet off?

( 0 0 4 ) » MALFUNCTIONS

(cw: body horror, bodily functions, gore, blood, death)

The fabricators function well enough, until they don't. One day, one moment, everything's all right — the food doesn't generally taste amazing and sometimes downright awful, but it's nourishing and filling no matter what your dietary needs — and the next, things go a little haywire.

In short, the fabricators are malfunctioning.

Oh, they're still producing food that looks and tastes much the same as before, but now there are some unexpected side effects.

NB: Characters may experience any of the following side effects: nausea ranging from slight to debilitating, the sensation of being happily and affectionately — but not overwhelmingly — drunk, bone-deep exhaustion and weariness that makes it hard to move, or repeated hallucinations of loved ones screaming for help, reaching out to characters and leading them down abandoned corridors or being killed by unseen forces.

The extent to which characters are affected is up to players, as is whether you'd prefer to play this more lightheartedly or tackling more serious themes. If the latter, please provide warnings in subject lines where necessary.

( 0 0 5 ) » NETWORK

The comms device you found next to you when waking up connects to a station-wide network, REVERIE NET. You have the option to post video, voice or text messages.

What will you share?

( 0 0 5 . 1 ) » NETWORK USERNAME

When you first turn on your communication device, it requests for you to pick a username to identify you on the network. It can be anything you want. However, as you try to input a username in your wristband to access the network, you get the following message, along with a small, but irritating, warming sound:

this username is already in use.

What does this mean? Is there other people around? Were there other people around?

( 0 0 6 ) » WILDCARD

The station features a variety of locations, from sleeping quarters free for the claiming to a dirty swimming pool and a bar that still holds alcohol (though some of the bottles seem to have been opened a while ago).

Go wild, but don't wreck the place. It's your home for the foreseeable future, after all.

Comments

[couplings]

You're messing with me, aren't you.

[ Squinting at the boy in front of him, he opens the bottle really slowly, adding to the suspense. ]

How come you know how alien blood looks like in the first place?

[bunbiki]

[ HOW SUSPENSEFUL. hibiki can't help but lean out of his seat to try and inspect it as kagura opens it. ]

Hmmmm, that's a secret.

[ a grin, ear to ear, and he shrugs. ]

Some of my best friends are aliens.

[ is that -- a joke? ]

[couplings]

A secret, huh.

[ He raises his eyebrow at that while pouring the alcohol into a glass he's grabbed sometime earlier. ]

Are you sure you aren't an alien, too?

[ This is some E.T. shit right here. ]

You're weird, kid.

[bunbiki]

[ kid! please! he's eighteen! it's fine. ]

I get that a lot.

[ he eyes the glass. it certainly looks like normal alcohol. ]

Gross. Why do people drink that?

[couplings]

[ Too late, he's a strange alien kid in his book now. ]

I wonder why.

[ Shamelessly eyeing the boy. He doesn't look weird, just says weird things. ]

If that's how your friends' blood look like...do you think you can introduce me to them? [ KAGURA, NO??? That's sick. ] Have they considered donating their blood? Just asking.

[bunbiki]

To science, maybe.

[ hibiki, no. this conversation screams danger, do not engage and keep making it worse.

he swings his legs back and forth off the stool, restless and full of energy but having so little to do with it. ]

If it's laced with poison, I'm not sure I can carry you to safety. I have noodle arms.

[couplings]

What if I happen to be a scientist?

[ No one's gonna believe that?! ]

I guess I'll die. [ He had so many drinks in his life he can tell by looking that there's absolutely nothing wrong with this one. ] If you ever meet my assistant, just tell him that I'm sorry that I never got down to filling the paperwork.

[ So dramatic. ]

[bunbiki]

I'll be sure to do just that. I'll keep it locked away safely up here.

[ hibiki teasingly points to his mop of curls and nods astutely. this dork. this dork! ]

I'll also be sure to give you a heartwarming eulogy at your funeral. And cry a lot.

[couplings]

You're a pretty reliable guy.

[ Kagura might or might not be serious right now. But who is he to talk? He's the least reliable person out there. ]

Don't cry too much, though. People might get the wrong idea.

[bunbiki]

Oh. Of course not. Just the right amount of crying.

[ he lazily rolls his shoulders and then glances from the glass up to the stranger's eyes. ]

Hibiki Kuze. I'd hate for you not to know the name of the last person you spoke to before the alien-blood killed you.

[couplings]

[ Of course just before the introduction, Kagura has brought the glass up to his mouth and taken a sip...

Upon hearing his name he starts to choke on the drink. Good job, Hibiki. You're going to kill him before the alien blood does. ]

Are...you...fucking— [ Okay, he needs to catch a breath. ] Kidding me?

[bunbiki]

[ hibiki blinks in surprise. and then looks utterly alarmed. ]

H-hey! Are you okay? I don't actually think it was alien blood. I think it's just wine.

[ oh god he's fretting. ]

[couplings]

[ When it seems that he can speak again, Kagura decides to show off his other side.

This man doesn't get to troll anybody all that often, let him have some fun. ]

N-Noel, babe...is that you...?

[bunbiki]

[ ????????

okay, he's almost always the one to tease and say absurd things. it's weird when someone turns the tables on him! ]

Nnnnnnno?

[ oh god what the heck was in that wine? ]

I look like a girl to you? Oh man that's a real kick to my self-esteem.

[couplings]

Babe...I can see the light...

[ Is he taking this too far? Yep. But Kagura has absolutely no problem with this. ]

You always seemed to have issues with your self-esteem...but to me you're perfect.

[bunbiki]

[ hibiki eyes him suspiciously and then glances at the bottle and brings it up to his eyes to give it a closer inspection. ]

Hey. Hey! This smells fine.

[ and then another narrowing of his eyes. ]

Your acting is horrible, Stranger.

[couplings]

Ouch. I think I've heard that one before.

[ The fun times are over so Kagura can properly sit in his seat again and dry the glass down. ]

But tell me one thing. Is Hibiki your real name?

[bunbiki]

Yes? Why would I lie about my name?

[ he relaxes back on the stool, leaning his cheek into one of his palms. ]

You still haven't told me your name.

[couplings]

Don't ask me, you're the one to have alien friends.

[ Well, that for sure was a lie. Right. Right??? ]

Hibiki...that's amusing. You even look a bit alike. I guess that's my fate.

[ He's going to need more alcohol after this. ]

Kagura Mutsuki. As long as you're not too pushy and won't make me do my paperwork, we can get along.

[bunbiki]

Paperwork? Never. I'd rather die than do paperwork.

[ that's kind of an exaggeration but okay. ]

It's nice to meet you. I was beginning to worry I was the only person here. Silly, right?

[couplings]

Seriously? Damn, you're better than the original. [ Rude?? ] Let's be buddies, Hibiki! Do you want a drink?

[ Kagura seems pretty relaxed until his new friend mentions that he hasn't met anybody else yet. ]

Shit...it's not just the two of us here, right?

[bunbiki]

I'm not sure. I don't think so? It seems awfully big for just two people.

[ but he's kind of enthused about the buddies thing. that was easy!!! fate acquired. ]

Instead of wandering around aimlessly, I figured if I stayed in one spot long enough, I'd see someone.

[couplings]

I hope you're right. This place could use some chicks.

[ #priorities ]

And you've chosen this bar of all spots. You're a pretty smart guy, Hibiki. Maybe all Hibikis are smart...