TDM: ROUND 3

[strangerpeople]

15 STRANGERS ROUND 3 TEST DRIVE There are 15 strangers in this place. Someone knows why. And its clear the odds are stacked against you. 1. ARRIVAL Oh god, you're inside a Base. Why are you here? What happened to your powers? Your memories? Who else has been so unlucky as to be brought in with you? What are you wearing? What are these strange rules? And...why do you feel like the person who wrote them is going to like yelling at you? 2. POWER You have been, er, "blessed" with a power. Its not a power you want or care for, but its yours now. You might want to try an control it, lest you hurt someone else. That is...unless you want to. Or if you want to try and see if you can break out of your new domicile. Or, hey, go ahead and blow things up - there's no rule against property damage aside from the camerabots, after all... 3. HOME So now you live in a Base of some kind. Whee. Maybe living here forever won't be so bad, since there are things to do with your free time. Unless you're looking for a way out, but surely, you wouldn't do that, right? 4. MINIGAME The Commander has decided to do...erm, 'games'. Those who win the games will get prizes, the Commander has promised. This Test Drive Meme's minigame: a laundry folding contest! The most items folded in one hour wins! Work alone, or in teams - either way, you get the feeling there's an ulterior motive to the Commander making you do this while they watch and laugh... 5. MOTIVE The Commander has (somewhat too gleefully) announced the motive for the week. Clearly someone out there really wants to give you a reason to kill someone else. How will you react? Will you stand against such an insult and help others to fight the temptation? Or perhaps, you yourself are tempted...? 6. DEATH One of your own has died - no, been killed. The Inquisition has started. The body lies before you, and now you must discern the truth from the clues before you. But can you when you mourn? Or, perhaps you don't mourn the dead. Perhaps you're only playing along because you know more than you let on. 7. TRIAL Well, it looks like the Commander wasn't kidding when they said there would be a trial if someone was murdered. So now you're here, looking to condemn the responsible killer. If you do, they die. If you don't, well, you'll end up killing an innocent person, as the Commander has announced what would happen if the majority votes incorrectly. Whatever happens, you have to figure out what happened. Can you? 8. SCAPEGOAT Oh dear...the Commander has just announced that the person everyone just voted for...was actually completely innocent! Not only that, but they've revealed who the real culprit was! Maybe you're that innocent person, trying to say your goodbyes or beg for your life. Maybe you're one of the ones who voted for the innocent person, trying to cope with the horrible act you've just committed. Or maybe you're the true culprit, who now has to not only deal with an innocent dying for your actions, but also the fact that you can now be killed without repercussion!... 9. WILDCARD Anything not mentioned above. Go wild!

Comments

[losergod]

[ He scrambles upward, inelegantly. He feels and looks ridiculous now, thanks Akira. ]

Wonderful, now that I've been on the filthy floor.

[ Inhale. Just. Trying not to have an episode about it--he's wearing gloves, it's fine, it's fine... ]

[beguiledcard]

[ C.............

Buddy...

... Wanna talk about? ]

Not a fan of dirt, huh...

[ That feels like such an understatement. He's dusting himself off, making a slight face as he does. After some consideration: ]

... Want to go do something distracting?

[losergod]

[ ... Maybe. Depends on if you are good at coaxing, 'cause otherwise he'll probably just be bullshit and mysterious.

In other words: something you're likely used to. ]

Did you have something in mind?

[ A beat. ]

I refuse to play E.T. They buried that game for a reason.

[beguiledcard]

[ That gets a quiet snort from him as he reaches up and twists a strand of bangs in thought (fortunately, it looks like their hair is settling down). ]

We can walk for a little while and see if anything comes to mind?

[losergod]

... See if a scene inserts itself into your inner monologue? I don't know; there's a chance we might just be walking awkwardly with forced dialogue.

[ He smiles a little bit. Well, at least his hair is settling down and he has his things now... ]

That would be a truly terrible fate. Besides, you might waste all your SBP.

[beguiledcard]

[ His brow knits as he lowers his hand back to his side.

For just a moment, it might appear that, from Akira's POV, this guy just started speaking Spanish at him. Though, one part of it catches his attention just a tiny bit more than the rest: "forced dialogue." ]

Last I checked, everything I've been saying is fully at-will.

[ Akira tilts his head to the side just a bit. ]

What's SBP?

[losergod]

You say that now, of course, but nobody really has free will, do they?

[ He smiles. Mysterious! ]

... If you don't know, then you don't need to know. It's something of a pointless system, anyway.

P5 spoilers

[beguiledcard]

[ That sure is a sudden look of pure determination and stubbornness appearing on his face. They might be in a situation like this, but... ]

You might have a difficult time arguing that with me. [ a very small shrug ] I shot the last being that tried to convince me of that, since he was trying to destroy the world while he was at it.

[ His eyebrows lift a little. There's something... about that smile? He can't put his finger on it, but there's a very soft twist in his gut. As though he's forgotten something important. ]

I'm guessing it's something from your world?

[ There's a brief pause. ]

We had SP, but that was for certain abilities during fights.

[losergod]

... Would I?

[ He suddenly seems very interested, yellow eyes practically staring Akira down. ]

Would you shoot me, I wonder, if I continued to disagree with you? Are you the kind of person that solves disagreements with murder, Mister Kurusu?

[ Yeah, he's been observant enough to learn everyone's names in like, the short amount of time they've been here. It's a little creepy how fast he picked up on it, though. He... tends to lurk. ]

[beguiledcard]

[ UM

Well, okay, so... that's a thing? Akira narrows his eyes a little at the choice of wording, as well as the fact that he already has his name memorized. Hm. And... Akira should take this seriously? He should.

But, the thing is, he's just... tired, and not even in the physical sense. So enjoy some dark-humored deadpan...... ]

That's me, all right. Stone-cold killer.

[losergod]

[ Somehow that reaction just makes him seem to smile a little bit wider. Something about it really reminds him of Q84, and he can't help but be delighted.

His purest creation. She was so clean. ]

You should be careful about being a brat, Mister Kurusu. I don't think people would find it very becoming of you. In either case, I think it's cute you define your life struggling to make your own decisions. In reality, that's all anyone can do. But, free will is a myth. In the end, we all go to the same place.

[beguiledcard]

[ That earns the hint of a soft smirk. ]

If I went through life caring about what other people think all the time, I'd probably go crazier.

[ He shrugs gently. ]

As far as where we go, is that really what matters? You can't appreciate the end of a book or a movie without getting through the middle part first.

[losergod]

I've seen the end. It's...

[ How does he put this. ]

Hm. A friend of mine once said that he believed everything we created would explode into its own life, breathed into existence by the mesmerizing, singular, final explosion of our demise.

... What do you think of that?

[beguiledcard]

[ Buddy, you need to get out more. ]

Is there anything to prove those beliefs?

[ . . . ]

You've literally seen the end? With your own eyes?

suicide cw/HC spoilers I GUESS

[losergod]

... Yes.

[ He smiles. It's oddly gentle. ]

All things considered, it was quieter than I was expecting when I walked into the sea. Who knew becoming a God was as simple as dying?

[beguiledcard]

[ Oh.

He manages to focus on his breathing, but it doesn't take away from the way his eyes widen a tiny bit. Nor does it help how dry his throat suddenly feels. He died... and then became a divine being? It's an interesting thing to consider, too, given his own experiences with dying to become something else. ]

You'd be surprised.

[ It's his turn to smile, and it's not gentle. It's... a tiny bit bitter, if anything. ]

There was a similar offer put on the table for me and a handful of other people, but... again. [ weighing hands gesture of sorts ] Me... Free will...

[losergod]

If it's not the puppets struggling futilely against their strings, it's the parasites eating away at their minds before they can find them to cut them down.

[ He seems oddly gentle when he says that, surprisingly. Seems he picked up on the fact Akira has... suffered somehow. He's not sure how, but he has. ]

And it wants to spread itself. A plague of the mind.

[ You don't look like one, he doesn't say. ]

It would seem to me you have your own personal parasites, Mister Kurusu, that are in need of cleansing.

[ ... In other words, you're suffering from emotional pain and you need help to carry that burden, is what he's getting at. ]

[beguiledcard]

[ It takes him a moment to process the words. It sounds almost like something Yusuke would say? Close enough to have Akira's expression dimming a tiny bit as his gaze shifts to the side for just a moment, anyway.

But then, seconds later, the words fully sink in, and... ]

I'll be fine. [ a gentle, reassuring smile ] It's not the first time I've made it through a place like this.

[ Even if... he did fail in the last one. Even if, in the end, he couldn't protect anyone. Even if it hurts just a little to take in the next breath...

None of that will stop him from fighting through this one. ]

[losergod]

... If you run out of Social Battery Points, you can always replenish them by resting.

[ That is the most cryptic fucking statement anyone has ever made in the history of ever, but it's probably clear what he means, right? ]

Besides, I have found the NPC dialogue here to be a touch better than I expected, as someone I know might say.

[beguiledcard]

[ Social Battery Points - SBP, huh? That... sounds a lot like "get some fuckin' rest, Kurusu," but that's just him. He always needs to do more of that, even if he... doesn't... these days. It's kind of difficult to sleep, when all that brings is nightmares.

In any case, he's going to assume that NPC is referring to their host? Just what kind of world does this guy come from? ]

It's a lot more... colorful than I'd have expected.

[losergod]

[ He nods. ]

At the very least, I can appreciate the attempt that was made with this world, but I think whoever wrote it wasn't thinking in terms of practicality of the setting. Long-term survivability for the people inside it. The library is poorly stocked, the wine we aren't supposed to touch--though, I don't drink, but I'm sure others would want to--and only one shower we can only use if we get permission?

If I had written this, I don't think I'd have made the layout of this place so... droll. And I don't need to bring up E.T. again, I hope.

[beguiledcard]

[ So he... thinks they're in a work of fiction? A movie? A game? Akira could argue, but for now? He'll go along with it, for the sake of learning more about the kind of place this guy comes from... ]

Or maybe they were just that sadistic.

[losergod]

Sadism in and of itself doesn't really constitute what's going on here. I've done sadism; pure sadism is more...

[ He waves a hand. ]

... Meat grinder. This is just meant to wear us down and annoy us. It's poorly considered. If they want anyone to even survive, they really should just... think about hygiene, at least. It's disgusting.

[beguiledcard]

[ He shrugs gently. ]

We didn't get showers until the second week in the last place I was in. Not that I remember anything before the second week - I just remember being incredibly happy over having a shower, finally. Either way, it turned out that woman was just... angry, really.

[losergod]

Look, this kind of thing wouldn't get a single kudo. Nobody would even give it a share. This is the worst setting for a story I've ever heard of.

[ He is firm on this! ]

If I was going to write it, I'd make it more, you know... intelligent. This is just... the NPC is bad, the set is bad... I just can't fathom who wrote this nonsense. Whose world this is.