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Well Mod ([personal profile] wellie) wrote in [community profile] wellcome2023-07-19 04:51 pm
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3.0 Test Drive Meme

3.0 Test Drive Meme

Welcome to Well! Characters arrive a little differently this month (see the first prompt). Your character arrives this month in the middle of the formless desert with only a handful of memories, clad in old west style clothes of your choosing, with no items from home.

Anyone is free to play on the TDM, but you need an invite to apply. Feel free to use these prompts, and interact with the arrival or locations. NPCs are around, but only say a certain set of phrases. TDMs can be considered game canon.

This TDM takes place from the first week of August onward, and can happen concurrently with other events during August and September. This will be the only TDM for August, September, and October.

Applications are open July 26th until August 1st, and August 27th until September 1st. Invites are available for friends of current players.

A Little Lost
Content warnings: heat exhaustion, feelings of unreality

You wake up in a sea of sand. It’s hot, and dry, and it seems to go on forever. You don’t remember much about yourself except your name and a handful of memories that most likely aren’t useful right now.

The sand slip-slides under your feet with every step. Sun beats down heavy and hot on your neck and your head. You’re so thirsty. How did you get here? How long have you been walking? Where are you headed? You can’t know. You feel like you’ve been walking forever, but the sun stays high above you, like it’s always noon. It may have been hours, it may have been mere minutes. What are those things circling in the sky above you? Vultures? That can't mean anything good.

Eventually, you find someone else, another new arrival, maybe, or a resident of the town who may have wandered a little too far into the desert. Maybe they have some water on them? Either way, company is exactly what you need right now, because there sure isn’t anything else in this desolate place. Not a cactus, not an animal, not even hints of a town.

Once you’re together, it seems a little easier to move forward. Time starts to move, too. The sun dips in the sky, your feet tread through the sand, and together, eventually you find the town.

If you take too long after you find one another, and the sun sets, be careful. Cacti sprout up closer to town, and after the sun sets, the cacti start to move, and they seem hungry for blood.

tl;dr:
  • This time, new arrivals wake up lost in the middle of a vast desert.
  • There's too much sun, too much sand, vultures circling and too little water.
  • Finding each other makes time start again, and lets you find the town.
  • If you don't make it back to town before nightfall, vicious living cacti appear to attack you.

Face Your Fears
Content warnings: hallucinations, reality shifts

In this town, fear soaks the hot, dry air. It lurks in shadows and the corners of rooms, waiting for their moment. What is it that you fear? Monsters? Disappointing your parents? Maybe you’re afraid that everyone you love will leave you, or that you’ll end up alone. Whatever it is, right now, there’s a chance of becoming very real.

It happens suddenly. Your mind drifts. You lose focus on what you were doing, and when you look up again, the world around you has shifted. What was a nice lunch with a new friend or a fun visit to the saloon becomes a nightmare. What fear manifests is totally up to you, and it can be different every time. The person beside you could become a monster you think is trying to attack you, or you could be suddenly alone in a cold dark space, desolate and empty.

Whatever horror your mind conjures up for you, it will feel real in all ways and with all senses including, of course, your perception of pain. As far as you know, you’re trapped in a nightmare with no way out.

Except, of course, there is a way out: you just need to figure out that it isn’t real. Maybe you’re strong enough to do that on your own; maybe you’ll need help from a friend or a new pal, reaching through the illusion to pull you back. After all, these hallucinations are entirely in the mind of the beholder: to everyone around you, it sure just looks like you’re yelling at your pancakes!

tl;dr:
  • You start hallucinating that the things you fear most are actually happening to you.
  • These fears feel like real, concrete sensory experiences, even though they're only happening in your head.
  • You can escape by recognizing that what's happening isn't real, either on your own or with help.



Bullrider
Content warnings: mild bovine coercion, alcohol

Come on, hot stuff. You know you want to.

Bet you can’t stay on for more than half a minute.

You don’t look too tough.

You think you can tame me?


In the saloon, you hear a voice in your head. It calls to you, the words seductive and enticing: you want to prove it wrong, you want to find out what it’s promising, you hate to lose. Whatever the motivation, you find yourself abandoning your drink and making your way to the new attraction at the back of the saloon: the bull.

It’s a big boy: a massive mechanical bull. Covered in spotted cowhide, with a bull head and big horns, this thing sits on a massive pedestal like a challenge. Around it is spread... relatively thin padding and a flimsy rope to keep the audience back an appropriate distance.

The compulsion keeps a hold on you until you’re on the bull. Maybe you’re on it with a friend, or a stranger, and it starts up with a mechanical buzzing. It starts to sway under you, and now you have just one job: stay on.

It starts easy, but gets harder as it goes along. It’s incredibly difficult to stay on for more than a minute. But during that minute, you feel amazing. You feel hot as hell, in whatever way that works for you: sexy, powerful, bold, in control.

Until he throws you off onto the padding or into the crowd! When you get thrown, there's a good chance you'll go flying into the crowd. Hopefully they're ready to catch you!

If by some miracle you manage to stay on for more than a minute and a half, the bartender slides you a bullrider special: a spicy whiskey cocktail with a hint of lime. Feel free to leave it up to pure chance, and have the mods roll a die for you to see whether you manage to stay on or not.


tl;dr:
  • There's a mechanical bull in the back of the saloon!
  • There's a strange deep voice in your head, coercing you into giving it a shot.
  • It's hard to stay on, but when you're on it, you feel powerful, bold and in control.
  • The padding's pretty thin and you'll get thrown hard when you do. You might hit someone!
  • If you stay on for more than a minute and a half, you'll get a fun little drink as a reward.



circuitice: (Wait... wait...)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-20 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ he tracks the fire, and then glances behind him briefly. There's some distance that it's opened up. and so he looks ahead, and nods. ]

Alright.

[ if he was a knight, he should have something. but he doesn't really even have the memories of that, much less any powers. Best to be as unobtrusive as possible. ]
searingwing: (pic#15075868)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-20 05:28 am (UTC)(link)
[They reach the edge of town and pass by the ruins of a building. He glances at it as they pass by. The cacti fall back. He keeps going until they reach the diner.

He steps inside without a backward glance. He is comfortable here. It isn’t the bar, in town where he feels completely settled. It doesn’t have to be.]


I’ll start with two important facts. Memories do come back. We can’t force them to. If you try to force a memory, it doesn’t end well.

This area can be extremely dangerous. The cacti are the least problem.
circuitice: (Me? I am but a humble knight.)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-20 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ once the immediate danger has passed, he realizes he doesn't know what to do next. And his only answer is the one who led him out of the desert. And, there, he at least sees some semblance of him relaxing.

and so, he smiles pleasantly, inoffensive. ]


I see.

Shall I ask one by one, then?
searingwing: (I've been here so very long)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-20 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
[He nods and slips back into the kitchen. He returns with two glasses of water and sets it on a table. He sits down on one side of the booth. He gestures for Kaeya to sit.]

I’m Diluc. I’ve been here for some time. I’ll answer what I can.
circuitice: (How do I put this...)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-20 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
A pleasure.

[ the name doesn't ring any bells for him, but he doesn't sit at Diluc's insistence, taking a longer look over the whole place, then at the water, before finally sitting. ]

What does it mean to "force" a memory?

[ as he picks up the water glass ]
searingwing: (Acadia is gone)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-20 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
If you try to remember something, there will be a stinging pain. It’s a warning. We don’t know what or who is responsible. But their work is thorough.

It only starts with stinging pain. The more you try despite that, you will bleed. Then it will likely kill you.

[He folds his arms over his chest and leans back against the booth.]
circuitice: (Wait... wait...)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-20 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I see.

[ well, that gets a slightly annoyed look, but he takes a sip of the water, considering it. ]

And how do they "come back"? Time and rest?

[ he's being a brat about it but he doesn't really care ]
searingwing: (If I burn out and slip away)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-20 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[His expression turns flat before he picks up his water and takes a sip.] They come back at random. Or during a strange occurrence.

I can’t tell what causes them. The memory regain or the occurrences. But they all seem about speaking about things we don’t usually say. And throwing our memories in our faces.

[He stares at his water glass. The ice starts to melt a little faster. He takes a breath and looks at him.] I’ve only found one being that seemed to predict a memory regain. And I’m not about to ask him about it.
circuitice: (Me? I am but a humble knight.)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-21 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm.

[ he leans forward, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand as he looks over the man before him. ]

Thank you for that much, at any rate.

Now, onto the second. What other dangers should I be aware of, besides the risk of dying of thirst or exposure?
searingwing: (pic#14902156)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-21 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
The cacti, for one. There are other creatures that appear. This last repeat of time, there were giant insects. [He rubs his hand subconsciously. The sting of the delusion still plagues him from time to time. He grimaced.]

It’s difficult to say if the same things will happen this next time. The town is caught in time. But the events leading up the town suddenly being whole again, change.

The biggest threat comes when the sand storm hits the town. Reflections of us.
circuitice: (Am I joking or serious?)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-21 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Reflections"...?

I'd be curious to hear more.

[ a pause ]

Though, I'm sure that's why you made certain to mention it.
searingwing: (An empty mirror)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-21 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
We weren’t prepared the first time they appeared. It was the first cycle. [He sips his water and puts it back down.]

They are bent on replacing us. They seem to know more about us than we do. I can’t tell if they are true reflections or darker, twisted images.

Some of them try to kill their counterpart. Some try to destroy their bonds with others. Every one of them is different. [Kaeya across from him had been slippery and cunning in the one memory he has that is clear of the more recent past. Or so it seems.

His double is going to be hell.]
circuitice: (Wait... wait...)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-21 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ slippery and cunning are not what he's projecting in this moment, though. his expression is more open and honest, to include the distance and wariness he has of Diluc. Of this place. Of this situation. It seems he has more in mind to be unobtrusive-- or at least with a backup plan of escape.

but he can read the room, and he gets the sense that there is a reason it's being phrased to him in this way. He doesn't know if he wants to know. ]


I see. That's a colorful description. Would it be safe to say that they remember any "abilities" we have?

[ he waves his hand, similar to how he's seen Diluc cast fire in the desert ]
searingwing: (I can take it if you need to)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-21 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. [He looks out at the desert and while he has been closed off before. There is a crack in that guard. He looks tired, haunted, and yet there is a spark in his eyes that will not fade.

He rubs at his face.]
They seem to be faster and stronger than us when they first appear. Do not let them touch you. It causes your flesh to rot.

They plague us until killed or the town returns to the beginning of a cycle.

[There’s a pause. He looks at him.] You don’t have to trust me. But, I do what I can to protect the people displaced and stuck here. That means you too.
circuitice: (Creativity is overrated.)

[personal profile] circuitice 2023-07-21 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
Hm?

[ he offers a polite, inoffensive smile. he straightens, pulling himself into a more proper posture ]

Did I do something to offend you?
searingwing: (pic#16378692)

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-07-21 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
[He shakes his head and places his hands on the table.] No.

We’ve been attacked in our dreams. In the waking world. Even changed in some cases. It can all sound like something out of a story book. I would not see it as offensive if you checked in with others around town to validate my words. That’s all.