wellcome | 3.0 Test Drive Meme

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3.0 Test Drive Meme

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ When Alec spots the kid losing his shit in the alley, his first thought is that he's strung out on something. Wandering slightly closer and eyeballing him for signs of the 'them' he's muttering about pretty much confirms Alec's suspicions when the only thing he sees under his scratching fingers is reddened skin.

He watches him for a minute from a few feet away, hands tucked into his pockets underneath the drape of his white poncho.

He could walk away. He probably should. It's none of his business. But Alec doesn't really have anything else going on, right now, and he is a little curious where the kid found a hook up in the middle of Ye Olde Western Bullshite. ]

There's nothing there, man. [ Alec informs him. ] You're hallucinating.

[He startles, and then startles again at feeling the vermin within his body express their disdain at the sudden motion, speaking in a language of teeth and pain. He inhales, shakily, eyes wide as he focuses on the... much more understandable and definable figure before him.]

You... you can't see them? They're right there. [He gestures, at the empty space. His other hand immediately goes for that wrist, gripping it with near enough force to bruise.] I'm sorry, I— you should go! While they're still distracted by me.

Edited 2023-07-21 04:04 (UTC)

[ When the 'kid' lifts his head, Alec realizes he's a little older than his first guess. He's not that far off from Alec himself, as a matter of fact. He looked and sounded younger, hunched up and scared like that.

Alec doesn't go. Against his residual sense of caution, he walks over to crouch adjacent to the stranger, pushing the white hood off his head to better examine those empty wrists of his. ]

There's actually nothing on you. [ Alec repeats, with what he thinks is reasonable patience. ] Believe me. If you were covered in flesh eating bugs, or whatever, I would not be this close to you.

[His eyes dart between his wrists and the stranger's face. Nothing there? Nothing fucking there? That's absurd, he wans to scream, but his throat pinches. The assurances given to him rock the world-boat, stormy waves of reality bashing themselves against the judges standing above him.]

No, I guess you wouldn't, but... [Why would it hurt so much? But, does it still even hurt?] ...really? What about the—

[Wait, how many people are even staring down at him? He can't tell. One, four, eight? Who makes up their number, exactly?]

—the others...? [It sounds weak even to his own ears, that believed it so fully only moments ago.]

Edited 2023-07-21 04:51 (UTC)

There's nobody here but the two of us.

[ The other boy is taking being reoriented to reality pretty well, in Alec's estimation. He'd been a little apprehensive about getting a swing thrown at him, but this isn't so bad. It's even sort of satisfying to watch him start to calm down. ]

You're seeing things that aren't there. It happens. [ Alec shrugs; it's no big deal. ] Did they give you a room at the hotel yet? You'll probably ride it out better inside.

Nobody but us...

[He murmurs it, around the pain he can still halfway feel. The figures around him shift and fade back into the shadows from where they came.]

That's right. There's nobody here but us. [There's something complicated in his voice, across his face, but it's only there for a moment.] And, yeah, room 113. Just give me a second. [He tries to lift himself, but...]

Shit...!

[He stops partway through rising, hands going to his bloodied throat. The phantom bugs and their organ-munching ways might be vanishing, dying away due to the pesticide of rationality, but the very real bruise on his wrist and scratches on his neck hurt like a motherfucker.]

[ A flicker of further satisfaction stirs in Alec as the other boy reconnects with the world. All the obnoxious busybodies he's met so far, and where were they when this guy needed a hand? Nowhere to be found. Alec handled it.

It inclines him to further generosity, or at least congenial deal making. ]

Hey. I could help you out with those, if you tell me what you took and where you got it? Don't worry - I'm not a narc, I don't give a shit. I'm just trying to get the lay of the land.

[ If he's having trouble getting up, Alec should probably offer him a hand, so after a moment's consideration, he does. He's watched enough people eat shit in the sand today to have thought about this. ]

I'm Alec.

I didn't take anything... [He swallows, which was a bad idea. Ow.] It just started happening while I was walking around, I don't know why. If you're looking for the good stuff, I'm really not the guy.

[He takes the hand, gratefully, and hefts himself up. It surprises Keiichi, briefly, the complete effortlessness with which he can muster up a bright and cheerful smile despite the pain and the blood staining his shirt. Nothing picks up your spirits like... getting literally picked up? He'll work on that.]

Thanks. I'm Keiichi— Maebara Keiichi! I'm probably way cooler than this, usually.

[ Oh. That's slightly disappointing, but it tracks. Alec lets out a long suffering sigh as he helps Keiichi to his feet as they both get up. ]

Then you got mindfucked. Great.

[ Another apparent master-stranger problem to add to the pile. Or Keiichi is just crazy on his own, which would be convenient, but doesn't seem likely. ]

It happened because this town sucks, and we're all screwed. [ Both facts Alec seems resigned to. ] I'll take you at your word about the coolness.

...I guess I might as well still help with your neck anyway. Come on.

[Keiichi, being insane? Couldn't be.]

Hey, it can't be all that bad. If everyone else is even half as helpful as you, I like our chances!

[He twitches a bit. Maybe he shouldn't be so loud when his neck is quite this fucked up.]

Right, uh, lead the way then. And, thanks again for this...

[ Alec side-eyes Keiichi for a long, contemplative moment as he starts to shuffle towards the hotel. After reaching some sort of internal conclusion, he tips his head back and pops his tongue against the roof of his mouth. ]

Huh. Maybe your brain is still short-circuiting.

[ Oh, well. Scrambled brains seem par for the course, so Keiichi should do just fine. ]

Do you remember what you were doing before you started freaking out?

[Keiichi makes to squawk indignantly while walking beside Alec, but it comes out as more of a choked noise, hands gripping at the empty air.]

My brain isn't fried! I'm super fine now. My mind? Totally unfucked.

[An obvious falsehood, given the way he's still clearly on edge, but one he's eager to believe.]

And I really was just walking around. Trying to familiarize myself with the layout, you know? I kinda spaced out for a moment, and then I was... [A grimace pulls at his lips.] Well, freaking out.

[ On one level, Alec is filing away a new bit of evidential trivia about the massive mindscrew effect blanketing this shitty town. Random, or seemingly random, infliction of fear-inducing hallucinations. Interesting.

On another, more immediate level, he's rolling his eyes as obviously as possible at Keiichi's indignation, because it's kind of entertaining. ]

Oh, wow, you got all your memories back? Lucky you. Careful telling everyone, or they'll get jealous.

Don't take it personally, dumbass. We're all in the same boat.

[There's something familiar about the structure of this interaction, and, perhaps strangely, Keiichi's response to being called a dumbass is to laugh.]

Hey, take this seriously, I'm trusting you with my secret here! My dark past as a... [He struggles, searching the empty corners of his brain for something, anything. Unfortunately, the illusory bugs must've taken everything the desert winds didn't blow clean out of his skull.] As a yakuza? Yeah. My sordid history as a member of a criminal organization.

[He nods, decisively, and then immediately regrets it. There was too much decision in the nod, agitating the lacerations.]

[ Alec snickers, pivoting on the heel of a rhinestoned boot to walk backwards for a few steps as he looks Keiichi over a second time in more detail. ]

Oh, really? Huh.

[ He'd been half-expecting to get told to fuck off anyway, so this is an unexpected little upside. It pings off the hazy warmth of - but he's not thinking about that. Just in case.

So. Keiichi, and his sordid history. ]

You know, I see it now. You've got the cold eyes of a killer. Bet you probably wish you could forget all the terrible acts of violence you've committed.

I can still feel the blood on my hands, as if fresh. Red, liquid blame, staining me in ways that can't be cleansed! [He brandishes his literally bloodstained hands. The effect might be somewhat ruined by the fact that Alec knows the blood belongs to Keiichi himself, but it's the thought that counts.] I'll never sleep again! Forgive me, God!

[He maintains his pose, reaching skywards, and severe expression for a second, two, three, and then he breaks, bending over himself laughing.]

Ow, fuck- [More laughter, interrupting him, yet also paining him further. What a strange mix of sensations.]

[ So this is how Alec finds out what his own actual, full-throated laughter sounds like. He thinks it's not half-bad, if he says so himself. ]

Oh, come on, it's not that bad. Those orphans probably had it coming.

[ He's not going to go over there and slap Keiichi on the back, or anything, but he does stop walking to wait for Keiichi to pull himself together. If Keiichi happens to look up, he'll catch the mildly approving twist of Alec's smirk. ]

[With some difficulty, the laughter stops and his expression settles on an odd combination of jubilant smile and pained grimace.]

Maybe. I think it stopped being excusable at the third orphanage.

[He catches the approval, and he also heard the laughter echoing with his own. It is a pretty good laugh, and Keiichi has already idly decided that he'll see if he can't hear it again at some point. Maybe he was actually an amateur comedian before all this? Eh.]

Eh, who's going to miss them? Their parents?

[ Alec shrugs loosely, his tiny smile lingering in place. He'd offered to clean Keiichi's neck up because it had seemed vaguely like the kind of thing he should do, but if he keeps being interesting it might actually be worth the effort.

New lesson learned: leave a guy to freak out in an alley by himself, and you just might miss out on a good bit. Alec spins back around and starts walking again, satisfied Keiichi remains mobile. ]

So, killer. What's your deal besides the life of crime?

[That's a good question. And not one that he has a satisfactory answer to.]

Sorry to say, but the rest of my deal has been swept away by the desert winds. Maybe it's out there, in the sands, fine particle memories lost to the dunes.

[A shrug. Free shrugs! For free.]

I lived somewhere called Hinamizawa in Japan, if that means anything to you. It doesn't mean too much to me. [He begins tilting his head, and the doesn't do that. It's just a bad idea.] What about you?

[ 'Fine particulate memories lost to the dunes' is a phrase Alec tucks away for cribbing off of in the future. ]

Doesn't mean anything to me either.

[ Free shrug for free shrug. Nonchalently, Alec moves on to answering the question. ]

And I have no idea who I am, aside from the name, and it's not like I know that's real.

I should try making something up. Think I could sell being long lost royalty?

Definitely! But, you might as well go for broke at that point. You're actually a young king who had to take the throne after the tragic death of your parents!

[He gestures, grandly, arms waving wide. Not as exuberantly as he very palpably wants to, however. He's capable of learning from repeated exposure to pain, it seems.]

And you've got, I dunno, an evil uncle or sister who's trying to kill you to take the throne for themselves. Nobody'd be able to call you on it!

[ That's also actually pretty good. Alec laughs again, low and quiet. ]

I like sister. She's jealous because I'm prettier than she is, and the people love my fluttering eyelashes and supple pout.

[ He demonstrates a simper, tilting his head coquettishly and biting his lip just a little. He holds it for a second before he snickers, dropping the performance. ]

I bet she killed our parents because they liked me better. Sad, really.

[ He graciously pulls the door of the hotel open for Keiichi, mostly because he got there first. ]

[Keiichi nods along, but does actually have to turn away from the pout.]

Weapons grade... that's seriously dangerous!

[It's amazingly unclear how much of this reaction is a joke and how much is genuine. Either way, he heads on in and begins the walk towards room 113. He's pretty sure that they were heading to his room rather than Alec's, at least.]

Way too dangerous. Political exile definitely wouldn't work. You'd have to die for anyone else to ever take the throne.

ii face your fears | cw: drugs

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CW: neck injury! and referenced self harm again!

CW: neck injury, self-harm, drugs reference

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