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3.0 Test Drive Meme
3.0 Test Drive Meme
Premise & Arrival ֍ FAQ ֍ Apply ֍ Navigation
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:
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:
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:
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.
no subject
She's so glad that didn't happen this time. A little more selfishly, she's so glad that Alec has no idea about her power. Even if he seems to have some power of his own, Olympia isn't too sure whether he would understand.
Maybe it's all that relief that makes his words not feel so heavy. Or maybe it's because he's judging her over her actions, rather than anything else about her she can't help. Being called nosy or meddlesome doesn't feel like a big insult to Olympia, not when it means she's helping people. ]
Does that mean it'd be an even bigger bother if I asked you if I could see whether I can help you with your hands?
[ She's even smiling a little as she's saying it. But it's not a smirk, nothing smug. All that can be detected about the smile on Olympia's face is a certain warmth.
And - okay, maybe something just a touch playful. But most of the intention underneath it is very genuine, like she just can't give up on the idea of helping him now she's started on it, even if Alec is reacting like a cat who just got saved out of the water. ]
no subject
This is a less than ideal position, which is annoying. Alec's plans for tonight had revolved around kicking back and relaxing after a day packed with hassles. Dealing with killer cacti, creepy meat puppets, and being kidnapped and mindwiped is inarguably a full slate of problems. Adding fending off some smiling woman after getting dropkicked into a mental deep fat fryer is a bit much. ]
You can't.
[ He stares flatly at the back of his right hand and experiments with flexing his thumb. The full implications of his predicament are starting to present themselves, and he likes absolutely none of them. ]
It's a nerve thing. It'll fix itself. [ Eventually. ] Probably interference from whatever hit me, threw my power off. You're lucky I didn't make you piss yourself.
[ Lying about the backlash comes easily. He's not advertising his biggest weakness to a stranger, however helpful she's pretending to be.
Thinking about how he's going to have to hole up for a few days, drink out of the tap, fumble around his hotel room and hope that nothing happens in all that time - it's a tight, itchy, cornered sort of frustration. The last thing he needs is anyone knowing the extent of how vulnerable he is like this. ]
It doesn't bother me. You're the one wasting your own time.
no subject
[ This time it's said without the smile, since the girl sure is thinking for a moment about the sheer amount of pushback she's finding here - it doesn't feel entirely unfamiliar, somehow, even if she can't place it at all.
But somehow answering it like this does feel familiar, and her tone sounds very straightforward and genuine, though less insistent. It's just the truth, after all, isn't it? Helping him doesn't feel like a waste of time, even more so when Olympia has absolutely no idea what else she is supposed to be doing in this town. She's sure that sticking to herself would only make her feel restless, so focusing on Alec like this - especially while he's in this state - feels better.
She'd insist on helping, but considering she feels like it'd just be met with more of these words, she saves it for a moment. Maybe she can just sneak after him when he heads to his room and help him open his door, because she's pretty sure he wouldn't be able to do so with his hands like that..
All those thoughts shoot through the girl's mind, leaving her outwardly quiet for a moment, though not moving from where she can easily watch him.
At least she's looking at Alec's face, rather than his hands, when she speaks up again. ]
.. was that just now your power? What were you trying to do?
[ The thought mostly occurs to her because of what he's saying - that she was lucky. ]
no subject
The state he's in is her fault. If she'd left him alone, his power never would have reacted, and so if she's so insistent on trying to getting involved, he could just let her be. It's really the least she could do, and it would make his life much easier. If he plays into her guilt, he could spin it out for a while, and maybe corral her into keeping quiet about the whole affair.
But if he lets her start, she'll think she has leverage over him. He's fairly sure people expect you to be grateful for their help even if it's no less than they owe you in the first place. Worse, they end up thinking that being able to threaten to withhold that help gives them control. He doesn't need specific memories to understand that. It's just how people are.
At least she's asking about something else for a second. ]
I wasn't really trying to do anything. It was a reflex. [ He jerks his chin at her arms. ] I do muscle spasms, nervous system misfires. Usually pretty effective at getting the 'don't touch me' point across.
[ At least his voice is evening out. He sounds more vaguely bored now than anything else, which is a marked improvement. He could inject a touch of venom, he supposes, but that would be more work he doesn't want to do. ]
Are you seriously not going to fuck off?
no subject
'Don't touch me', he says.
It's all just a little bit too familiar. Olympia already felt some relief in finding someone else with powers, even if they put him into such a miserable state, but it's only now she realises just how similar his power is to her own. Her power, the one thing she remembers, along with it acting as a reflex as well.
Still, her tongue feels so thick in her mouth as she even thinks of mentioning it. Even if he'd have no reason to judge - aside from attitude, maybe, but it's not like Olympia seems to be taking that factor into account in the first place, judging by how she's not leaving even though he told her to plenty of times now - it's just a little bit too scary, openly talking about her power when it's so dangerous.
Instead she passes up on the opportunity, even though it feels perfect. Even though she's not sure she'll get it again.
(Maybe she's a coward, she mentally scolds herself.)
Olympia swallows, then her gaze drops into something a little more guilty. ]
.. I'm sorry. [ At first one might think she's apologizing for not having "fucked off" already, but no-- ] I wanted to help you. I didn't realise touching you might just make it worse..
[ She even bows her head a little, like she's showing him respect - or just penance. ]
Won't you at least let me help you to make up for that..?
no subject
He doesn't care. If there's some other secret thing bothering her so much, she can spit it out or she can swallow it. Not his problem.
He chews on his lower lip for a second and then lets out a heavy teenaged sigh, his shoulders tacking down from where they'd stayed slightly tensed all this time. Maintaining suspicion in the face of all her misery is too much effort. ]
Will you stop moping if I say yes? [ He asks, rhetorically. ] Okay, whatever. Grab my stuff and stop acting like you kicked a puppy.
[ She should know better than to grab at people she doesn't know, so it is still her fault, but he's discovering this guilt thing does nothing for him. ]
no subject
Granted, some people might see this as being happy with scraps. And it's not like Olympia is the type to let herself get treated badly-- but this isn't that, she thinks. For one, Alec doesn't really seem angry. If anything, it almost feels more like he's brushing off attempts to help because he's embarrassed, or some other similar reason that doesn't involve not actually wanting help. And then there's the fact that Olympia knows she has something to make up for here.
Something she's determined to do right. ]
Do you need help getting up too?
[ Just look at the way she's saying it, at the way there's almost a little bounce in her movements.. It's almost reminiscent of an excited little kid. ]
no subject
Things that are his problem include getting up. He briefly imagines doing some kind of awkward shuffle on his ass or attempting a tucked roll, but neither option appeals. ]
I can do it myself if you move the table first.
[ He's not actually tall or heavy enough that it would be difficult for her to shimmy him out from underneath it as-is, but again. Not appealing. There's also the practical issue that he's not sure how her own hands are doing in terms of grip strength or tactile feedback.
This, he decides, must be the biggest drawback of backfires. It's all the logistics that come after. ]
no subject
[ Apparently it seems that the girl - at the very least - is facing this taks with quite some enthusiasm.
But, you know, while that is a good thing.. it only goes so far when it can't carry on into actual action. Not that Olympia doesn't try, mind you. She moves to get out from underneath the table herself, careful to not bump her head against said table on the way up.. But while standing up seems to be no problem for her, the problem starts when she actually touches the table, attempting to push it away.
The odd sensation in her hands was bearable when she wasn't trying to actively touch anything too hard. Holding the glass made her hands shake, sure, but it wasn't enough pressure that it really hurt.
This, on the other hand, is clearly too much. She's putting just a little bit too much force into hands that cramped up so badly only a few minutes ago, and Olympia's body isn't having it. She tries for a few moments, like she's trying to push through the pain of frayed nerves and muscles, but then her arms drop back to her sides after having managed to move the table perhaps a single inch.
The best thing to do here - or the easiest thing, surely - would be to communicate this to Alec. That she's having trouble carrying out a task this simple because of his powers.
But the idea of making anyone feel bad about their powers makes Olympia's stomach sink all the way until it's basically hanging out in her shoes, and she rejects it immediately. She can't make Alec feel bad. ]
This is-- Um, it's-- P-Please wait a few moments, I'll get it..!
[ This is clearly the much smoother answer, right. This isn't a girl looking rather pained and nervous at all, nope siree. ]
no subject
I hit you pretty hard.
[ He doesn't sound remorseful or concerned, but he also doesn't sound judgmental. It's a fact, like the table being made of wood or sand being an irritating thing to have in your shoes.
Alec sits up and works his feet underneath him, forearms pressed awkwardly against his stomach. That also hurts, but it's better than letting them flop loosely. ]
It's not permanent. The aftershock might last for a few more minutes, but then you'll just be sore.
[ It occurs to him that he could have mentioned that earlier. If there's a next time, with someone else, he'll keep that in mind - assuming he doesn't want to fuck with them a bit first.
With that squared away, Alec starts his slightly wobbly rise to his feet. ]
no subject
Or, even worse -- her being the one to hurt him permanently, even if it wouldn't be on purpose.
So instead she's left there standing uselessly, figuring out she can't push the table nor help Alec to his feet. It makes her look a little sad for a moment, but as she considers his words-- the girl instead starts shaking her head. ]
It's alright! I'm fine, really.. [ Said with the exact tone and facial expression of someone who's very much not fine. Sure, Olympia is smiling, but there's something sad - or rather, pained - in its edges. ] Like you said, you couldn't help it.
[ Sure, maybe it's not really applicable to the current situation, since Alec doesn't seem necessarily like he's feeling guilty about it.
Maybe it's more that Olympia wonders if someone told her that after her own incident. She hopes someone did. (She isn't too sure if she'd deserve to hear it.)
She can't help but want to spread it all the same. ]
And don't worry, if you fall, I'll catch you..!
[ Granted, that wouldn't exactly be great with the way her nerves are so frayed in her arms.
But enduring a little pain sounds better than just letting Alec tumble right to the ground if his entire getting up attempt fails here. ]
no subject
If I fell I was going to throw myself on you, actually. Then I was planning on guilt tripping you into being my maid. [ He sighs, shaking his head, slotting his burning arms into a better approximation of a real fold over his middle. ] So much for that.
[ Not that she's not seemingly dying for him to ask her to do just that. The quavering eagerness she keeps directing at him is a step up from the raw guilt, but it's starting to chafe a little all the same.
Alec leans his hip against the edge of the table and considers his options as he looks Olympia over from a non-floor angle. The impression he gets is delicacy, a composure as shiny and flimsy as a soap bubble. If he wanted to hurt her, it wouldn't take much. He doesn't want that, but he can see it.
What he does want is for her to stop acting like there's a bomb under the floor that hasn't gone off yet. There's an imbalance here he's not getting, the way that she's apparently getting less comfortable the more things are still going, as far as he can tell, just fine.
That could be the problem. She knows he can hurt her, and the less he apparently needs her the less obvious reason he has not to. ]
I'm not going to do it again if you don't suck up to me. [ He informs her, with a nod. ] I don't care. Seriously.
no subject
Especially when it makes her eyes grow wide in surprise the moment she realises just what Alec is saying here - and its implications. Olympia does realise in this moment that her behaviour definitely might have seemed off, but it seems that Alec has interpreted it in the exact wrong way. The last thing she'd ever want is to make anyone else feel like their powers make people react to them differently when the very thought of that happening to herself makes it feel like a deep void is swallowing her from the inside.
So she quickly shakes her head, looking startled. ]
N-No! No, that's not--
[ Olympia pauses, biting her lip. She folds her hands instinctively together in front of her in fretful worry, only to quickly release their hold on each other when it still stings. ]
I'm not sucking up to you. [ Well, you know, not on purpose, anyway. ] It's not that I'm scared of you, or your power, not at all!
[ It's a tough decision here. She knows that denying this without any explanation is going to make it seem like Alec was definitely right, and he's not. But telling the truth is.. scary. Even if Alec might seem to be in a better position than most people to understand, there's no telling how he'll react. And something about the idea of telling anyone about this in general feels so daunting in a way she can't explain, not even to herself.
.. but.. she knows. She can't put her own comfort above someone else's, not when she owes Alec in the first place.
So despite the anxiety gathering in her chest, Olympia forces herself forward, a little closer to Alec, if not just so she can lower her voice so what she says is only audible to the two of them. Sharing it with one person is one thing, but the whole town definitely does not have to know. ]
It's.. I have something similar. A power that's more like a reflex. One that could hurt other people pretty bad. [ The girl looks very much like a guilty puppy as she confesses this, but she continues to speak. ] And I understand that when it comes to that sort of thing, there-- um, there can be a lot of things that are hard to deal with. And you hurt yourself so bad because of it, on top of that..
[ Her gaze momentarily drops to his arms, but then she shakes her head and looks back up at his face. ]
I just didn't want you to feel bad about it, so soon after showing up here. [ Granted, there's no true telling if Alec showed up only today, just like her-- but on the other hand, he was here by himself. No one else was helping him. ] Or for you to be all alone.
[ Surely he'd have friends if he had been here for longer than her, right? ]
.. I'm sorry. [ There was a smile on her face - like trying to be tough despite nerves, or maybe wanting to soothe him a little, but it keeps mixing with other things. Worry, guilt, nerves, maybe even something deeper. ] I must sound really meddlesome right now..
no subject
Alec is ready for it this time. It's more like a wash of ink in water than the weighted crush it had been. As soon as he notices it, somewhere around her going on about hurt, he follows a reflex to turn bluntly away from the sensation. It's like closing a lid over a candle in a jar, letting it gutter and starve.
His body doesn't cleave away as cleanly as his mind does. He thinks it might have to do with how unpleasantly aware he's been of it since he blew out his arms. He vaguely feels like pain should push you further from yourself, not drag you closer in.
He can come back to that. She's finally stopped talking, although Alec can't say exactly when. He blinks and swallows, stilling his left fingers where they've been (apparently) burrowing into the fabric of his shirt under the cover of his right forearm. ]
I don't feel bad.
[ He's been staring at his discarded notebook for more than half of what she's been saying. Peeling himself back to her brings her weird, wavering smile out of his periphery and into focus.
Fantastic. She actually looks worse now. ]
Listen, unless you're about to tell me you're the mastermind of this shithole? Chill. [ His voice has a faintly tired slur, right at the edges. ] You're helping me, I'm not alone, parahuman solidarity forever, et cetera. Can we go?
no subject
(Besides, it's not even like he seems mad. Not in the way where she ought to apologize. If anything - and maybe she's reading too much into it, she can't be sure - there seems to be a kindness in his words. A lack of rejection over her powers, and coupled with a sentence which, beneath the barbs on top, seems to say it's alright.)
But Alec is right here, and even asking if they can go, so she can't get lost in her own thoughts for now. It'd be selfish, especially right in the middle of her trying so hard to do something for him.
So she does what she promised. She grabs his stuff, this time a little more succesful in her task since the sensation in her arms and hands is slowly starting to turn into more of a dull ache, much more bearable while trying to carry things. Olympia is already moving towards the door that leads out of the dining hall and into the hallways of the place, pushing open the saloon-style swinging doors with her back and holding it open for him, so he doesn't have to attempt to push them open himself with his body. ]
.. I realise I didn't ask you your name. [ She says, determined to try and move past her guilt. It's hard, but he's telling her it's okay, so she should try.
Just don't think about it, she tells herself. Focus on this right here. ]
I'm Olympia.
[ Kind of weird how foreign introducing herself feels, but-- no time to unpack that either. Maybe it's the guilt still lingering within her. Clearly it's that. ]
no subject
I'm Alec.
[ It's one of a handful of things he knows about himself, and it seems like most other people know their names too. At least something they think is their name, which is good enough to work with for the time being. He does feel vaguely attached to Alec, but that might just be because he likes how it sounds.
Olympia isn't a bad name either. He nods at her as he slides past and heads for the stairs. It's a bit of a climb to his floor, which he realizes will be less than fun when the first few steps jar his arms.
The upside is that she seems to actually be trying to calm down, which reduces the amount of annoyances in the world by a solid fraction. She still looks sad, when he glances over his shoulder to make sure she's still following, but maybe that's just how she looks. She has the big, soft eyes to be good at it. ]
We both keep our mouths shut about this. [ He says, unprompted. ] If anybody asks, the town did something mysterious to me, and you're just a really inexplicably helpful bystander. No powers gossip.
[ He won't tell anyone what she told him, she won't tell anyone what happened in the dining room. That strikes him as fair. That, and how she acted when she talked about her powers - he guesses she'll appreciate some discretion. ]
no subject
[ Apparently that statement was so unprompted that it manages to catch the girl by total surprise. At least she manages to not instinctively halt in the middle of the stairs, still moving up as she grows quiet for a moment to think, but she definitely didn't see it coming.
.. even though she should have, Olympia figures now she's actually thinking about it. Of course this sort of thing would be important enough to Alec to bring it up now. If their positions had been reversed and Olympia had been the one to accidentally use her powers, wouldn't she also worry about everyone getting to know that..? ]
You don't have to worry. I already wasn't going to tell anyone anyway. [ It's an area Alec has absolutely pegged her right on - Olympia would never just talk about someone's powers without their permission, especially given her own situation.
Maybe it's why her voice sounds a little more steady as she says it, because she really means it and truly believes in it. ]
No matter what happens.. I'll keep it a secret. I wouldn't want to do anything to change people's impression of you. [ She says, as if Alec isn't entirely capable of being a little gremlin and ruining people's impression of him all by himself.. ]
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Yeah. Protecting my precious reputation, and all that.
[ Telling her he doesn't care about any of that is clearly not doing the trick. He's starting to get a better impression of what her problem is, though. All this preoccupation with other people, what they think, what they might find out, plus that damp drape of guilt still clinging to her when they've already worked everything out?
He goes quiet to do an exaggerated look around for potential listening ears before he looks back at her and rolls his eyes. She's taking this about seven degrees too seriously. ]
People are going to find out about my power. I just don't want the first they hear about it to be this. [ He'll give that a second to sink in, hopefully. ] I was talking about what you said, dweeb. Did they scoop out the self-preservation part of your brain while they were in there?
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Not that it feels very important to figure out right now in the face of everything else he's saying. It's easy to shove that aside, right along with the sharper edges of Alec's words. Even if he's dismissing the potential side effects of people hearing about his powers, Olympia is still determined to keep them as secret as can be on her end. Even if he's not worried about what it could do to him or people's perception of him, she is worried about what it could do for him.
But while that's an easy internal decision to make while they're still climbing these stairs, it's the rest of it that gives the girl pause, not speaking for a moment as she tries to process it. ]
.. you're really willing to keep what I said a secret?
[ Even though she already clearly indicated she'd do the same for him.
Perhaps it's not the self-preservation part of her brain that got scooped out, but maybe it's the self-worth part, huh. If she's able to imagine keeping Alec's secret so easily, yet seems so surprised by the idea that anyone would care enough to keep her secret at all. (You know, without being so Douma-y about it, and Olympia doesn't even consciously know about that angle.)
There's a slight pause, like she's still processing it, but before Alec can speak up she does sneak in a: ]
You really are too kind.
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Seriously?
[ His amusement isn't mocking, at least as far as he's thought it through. He's just tickled by the concept that he counts as too kind to the girl who's carrying his stuff after he twisted her nerves like spaghetti and yanked. ]
Sure. And yeah, really.
[ He could point out there's nothing it in for him if he spreads her secret around, or make a crack about wanting to see what happens the first time someone fucks with her, but he's not in a mood to mess with her further. The truth is that he just doesn't have any compelling reason to share her secret, so he won't. Call it parahuman solidarity, or more accurately, not wanting to be fucking bothered with unknown future fallout. ]
This floor, left. You know, not that it's any of my business, but you should maybe check if people will keep their mouths shut before you tell them deep dark secrets next time.
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[ Her answer comes relatively quickly, like the girl didn't even have to think about his words or her own this time. In fact, she's still moving as she's saying it, following Alec's directions - no longer climbing the stairs further up once they arrive on the landing, turning left, glancing at the upcoming rooms.
Like all of this is so instinctive to her. ]
I wanted to make sure you didn't feel even worse because of your power. [ Which was probably obvious, given how quick she had been to reassure him back there, even with her arms hurting like crazy. But she can't help but repeat it here - maybe since to her, this fact makes it very clear why she told him her secret without thinking twice about it. ] That felt more important.
[ Sure, Olympia thinks life would probably become miserable for her if everyone knew about her powers here, especially when they wouldn't even know her aside from that.
But she knows she'd feel even more miserable if she had a chance to help someone and just completely ignored it. ]
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He can't think of a better explanation for why she keeps insisting on acting like his theoretical emotional well-being is more important than hers. He wouldn't spill his secrets for the benefit of anyone else's feelings, he knows that much. ]
It's not.
[ Alec rolls his eyes unseen as they arrive at his room, then peels his arm off his stomach with a hiss. Before Olympia can offer to help, as he's now pretty sure she would, he digs into his pocket and fumbles his key out - right onto the floor, instead of into his palm. ]
Fuck.
[ He squeezes his eyes shut and thuds his forehead against the door, which at least provides a counterpoint to the shrieking spiralling up from his fingers. He could ask her to get it, but he guesses he doesn't need to - and he doesn't want to, either, so that works out. Instead, he shuffles to the side to give her room to unlock the door for him. ]
If I was going to feel shitty about my power, which I don't [ except in the very literal, physical sense, right about now ] I'd feel shitty about it whatever you said.
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In fact, the way she bends down, moving his stuff to carrying it with one hand so she can hold the key in the other - it all seems so natural, like an automatic sort of movement. Olympia didn't even have to think about doing this for him, and a moment later - once she's sure he's at least not still leaning against the door, so he won't just.. fall right into the room.. - she's already unlocking the door and pushing it open with her body for him.
It's a good thing the actions are so automatic too, since the girl's mind is way busier with what Alec is saying than with what her body is doing right now. ]
I guess that's true. [ She admits. Sometimes feelings are hard. They don't go away so easily, even when other people try to help, right? ] But don't you think it at least feels a little bit better when someone is being kind about it to you..?
[ There's some guilt inside of her as she says it. What if she's just projecting? After all, Olympia thinks she would sure feel better if people were kind to her. And while it feels like a universal constant in her mind, what if she's wrong about that?
.. She bites her lip, but then stops, speaking up again. ]
Either way, I can't take back what I've already said. So.. I'll be relying on you. [ To keep her secret, that is.
If Alec says he won't tell people, she'll believe him. ]
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Throw the stuff on the desk.
[ For the short time Alec's had this room, he's already made his presence felt. The closet hangs half open and a variety of the clothes that were once in it are draped over the back of the chair in the corner or just crumpled in a careless heap on the floor. The plush robe provided to every guest hangs off the corner of the bathroom door instead of the hook on the back. There's a small collection of bottled drinks and packaged snack foods on the desk.
There's also, if she happens to notice it, broken glass scattered across the sill of every window. It's the same greenish colour as the bottles. ]
...it's better than you freaking out about it. [ Alec says, quietly, and apparently to the ceiling he's staring at. ] I'm just saying not everybody is as 'reliable' as me. Got it?
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[ Her voice sounds a little absent as she's saying it though. It feels a tad improper, but Olympia is just curious enough by nature that she can't help but glance around his room when she enters it - especially since this place already feels so lived in. It feels like seeing a little slice of Alec that she might not be able to hear actually come out of his mouth.
Still, she's at least dutiful in actually putting his things down on his desk. Not throwing though, instead she puts it down very delicately. The urge to clean up his clothes does come to her as she moves through the room, but considering she doesn't want to touch anything without his permission, she lets the clothes remain in piles on the floor.
Instead the girl wanders over towards the windows, perhaps wanting to check out the view from the boy's room, only to manage to nearly cut herself on the broken glass. Olympia pulls her hand away just before it could accidentally land on it, her eyes growing a little wider with surprise. ]
.. huh? What happened here?
[ Why would there be broken glass in his room? ]
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