thefoundation | Round 5 TDM

Round 5 Test Drive Meme

Welcome to the Winchester Mansion!

The Winchester Mansion is a lovely historical building, situated in San Jose, California. Ground broke on the site in 1884, but construction didn't finish until 1922. Actually, construction technically never 'finished', it just stopped one day. This sprawling mansion boasts 161 rooms, which includes 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms, numerous bathrooms, sitting rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and many other oddities! It also has 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys, two basement levels and three elevators. This massive house is the life's project of Sarah Winchester, who believed that the ghosts of those murdered by her husband's rifles would hunt her down if construction ever stopped on the house. As a result, construction occurred around the clock for nearly forty years, up until the widow's death.

Such a strange tale of supernatural beliefs, right? It's a good thing that ghost stories aren't real, or else it might make the mansion unnerving! In reality, the Winchester mansion is no more than a tale of paranoia gone wrong, and multiple earthquakes have left the building unsafe to tour or even explore.

...at least, that's what normal people are told. Foundation Agents, on the other hand, are given the real story: Sarah Winchester's paranoia may have been warranted, as unexplained activity over the last century has pointed to the presence of an Euclid-level SCP residing somewhere in the house. Recently activity has increased, and a high-ranking Agent has gone missing in the area. So, a team of Agents has been sent in to investigate the scene, record data on the SCP, and hopefully recover the missing Agent.

So. Do you believe in ghost stories? Because you're in one.

Setting up camp

No investigation can begin without proper setup! Luckily a safe area has been set aside for Agents to use as a base camp just outside of the house, as proper investigation inside will have to wait until the Foundation decides which Agents will go in. Sure, they can come and go as they please, but it's easier for them to investigate if they stay on site, right? It's better if the locals don't see Agents coming and going all the time anyway. Even with the cover of 'a renovation company looking to restore the mansion', they still have to keep some privacy! After all, not all Agents are completely human, and it might be hard to explain away a dog in a suit or something.

There aren't any go-fers to help with setting up the base camp either. Agents have to carry all of the gear in: the cameras, the food supplies, the clothes, the equipment, everything. And then they have to set it up.

Hope you guys can work in teams, because it's going to be a long day.

Setting up Equipment

Once everything's all settled in the safe area, a couple of you are sent towards the Hayes Mansion with a couple miles of electrical cords and lines to be spread out in areas where it won't be spotted by curious civilians.

However, once you make it to the Hotel, you'll be kindly greeted by the staff, who'll usher you into a Staff entrance and ask for your help in setting up the recording equipment, as the Hayes Mansion also functions as a secondary Containment Site for those SCPs that can be easily contained away from people.

The Staff will allow you to stay at the hotel for a few hours, and give you access to a room or any of it's entertainment or dining areas in exchange. The Staff will always be very friendly, though they seem to all know the same things (to a point) and all their facial features are hard to remember - they have faces that seem to slide right out of your memory.

In fact, it's kind of like the Hayes Mansion might be a big SCP in of itself...? Oh well. That's not really your problem, is it? For now, enjoy what little luxury you get before having to go back to base camp.

Meet and Greet

Everybody present is on their first mission for the Foundation, and everyone has been 'recently created' by another SCP, though everyone's gone through the requisite month or two of Agent training. With memories of a home far away from here, it might be difficult to settle in to life as an Agent. But maybe some introductions over dinner will help with that? One of the Agents helpfully brought a bunch of those "HI! My name is ___" stickers and some sharpies, so everyone can fill out one of those and stick them on. Hopefully there's no I.C. Wieners in the group.

Camp Fun and Games

Unfortunately, it's taking forever for The Foundation to decide which of the 6350's here should go on the mission - and it's boring just sitting around and waiting in front of an old house in tents in April, eating rations and twiddling your thumbs.

So it should come as no surprise when some people start dragging out the small entertainment they smuggled on the mission with them - cards, of course, and maybe even a board game or other kinds of entertainment get dragged out, depending on powers. Though there are also other sorts of things to keep busy - not all games require physical objects, like 'The Floor is Lava' or 'Truth or Dare' or even 'Tag', if you get really desperate. Maybe the more inventive among you manage to put a bunch of rocks together in a pleasing sculpture! ...Or maybe some of you go dumpster diving for whatever high quality trash people throw out around here. It's your life.

Something Spooky This Way Comes

As it gets closer to the 11th - and rumors that decisions are finally getting made go out around the camp - noises begin to be able to be heard from inside the house itself. Something that sounds like soft, despairing sobbing...It goes quiet from time to time, but the noise itself sounds like a child in distress - not an easy thing for most people to hear. Yet, going near the house or looking into the windows will reveal that there's nothing inside...

Another thing that's beginning to happen is the occasional small black fog clouds that pop in and out of existence around them. They seem harmless, and anything sufficiently 'purifying' can easily make them go away, but...touching one leads to a minor rush of negative emotions, or a snippet of a horrible memory plays out in your mind's eye. The fog seems to like to stick to tents or equipment, only dissipating once someone's touched it.

Maybe this might be a little worse than what everyone was expecting after all...

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OOC notes:

This test drive takes place during April 1st through April 10th of the year 2000. This test drive meme is considered canon for the game. All characters present on the test drive meme who are not apped into round 5 will be spirited away at the start of round 5 and never heard from again.

If your character does not have a canon power and you would like for them to be assigned one for the test drive meme, comment in the thread below and they will be assigned one. If you choose this option, then this is the power they will have for the game. If you do not ask for one to be assigned now, then one will be assigned when your character is reserved.

Only new versions of characters can be on this test drive meme. Characters from previous rounds should not reply here!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He'll lean in closer, reaching to fix Dazai's tie. ]

You'll have to keep being skeptical then because you aren't really my type.

[he doesn't even lean away from it.]

Hmmm... should I guess the type that you're more into? I bet I could~

[ He'll step back to look at it to make sure it looks straight ~~unlike anything else happening in this thread~~. ]

You could try. If you get it right, I'll give you another tangerine.

[ Two tangerines. ]

Two tangerines!

Then, I'll guess that it's someone who's direct and earnest in their emotions?

[ He taps his own chin for a moment. ]

Hmm, I don't think so. Try again! I'll be generous and give you one more shot.

Ah, then it must be someone who gets exasperated easily while going along with your shenanigans?

I can understand that one perfectly. Ango is certainly that type, and I'm reluctant to allow you to get to him, if I'm honest.

[ He's already looking over at Ango as he says that, looking like he's pondering very seriously for a moment ]

Aiya, I think you have the wrong idea. While that type can be fun to mess with, I wouldn't ever entertain the notion of getting to him. Your dear friend is safe from me.

[ WWX isn't even aware that's his actual type at this point. ]

[... "dear friend". he... it's... complicated. look. they haven't even talked about this during all the Foundation training and there's not enough alcohol in the world but also like. not wrong. dear friend, indeed. only friend, probably...]

That's a relief. I'd hate for someone who plays with people's hearts to be after him, after all~

Though that said, I'm out of chances for a second tangerine, alas.

Edited 2020-04-02 23:26 (UTC)

[ hmm.

he'll do his best to look offended. ]

Who said anything about playing with people's hearts? I'm still pure and waiting for the perfect person to settle down with.

[ Why does everyone make him out to be some kind of heart breaker. ]

Maybe you'll get another chance to win one later.

[he puts a hand to his chest]

I feel as though my heart's been played with, is why.

[... i mean. kinda.

look, you can't just say he's not your type and then mess with his tie in his personal space. that's rude.]

Edited 2020-04-02 23:37 (UTC)

Really? You don't seem like the type that's easy to play with.

[ He has a licence that says he can do whatever he wants. He wrote it himself. ]

I'm sure I can make it up to you later.