3.0 Test Drive Meme

[wellie]

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.

Comments

[sighsheavily]

[she nods, heading out of the room.]

I'm sure I made it to the last moments, so I should be able to answer at least a little bit.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Right...but, before that. There's something I forgot to do.

[He turns to her, places his hands on her shoulders, and reels her in for a real, honest to goodness, proper kiss. One that he'll hold for the few necessary seconds he's sure she'll need to actually snap her brain back to reality long enough to potentially reciprocate.]

[When he does break the kiss, he offers a bashful smile.]

I'm glad you're alright...

[sighsheavily]

A--

[-!!

she was already getting into work-mode, but nuts to that. the startle is brief, the daze is a bit longer, and her eyes flutter a bit thereafter.]

Hmh-? [he's what now? oh.] Ah, well. I have been...trying to be less of a liability, so.

[she trails off, rolling up on her toes to kiss him again, to match and surpass that earnestness.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Work will still be there when they’re done. Because if she’s going to challenge his earnestness, he’s certainly not backing down.]

[His hands move to her waist so he can lift her up as he stands up straight, then snake around to hold her against him in a full embrace while they kiss. It’s soft and loving and he’s not so eager to break this one.]

[Maybe it’s not the tearful, outdoor reunion they might have envisioned as he crested over the dunes to wander heroically into town. But it sure beats the brain-frozen, milkshake addled madman she got before. Better late than never, right?]

[Who cares that they’re in the hallway. As far as Darin’s concerned, they’re in their own little world.]

[sighsheavily]

[a muffled squeak and a soft, contented sound follow the tickle up her spine at being so effortlessly swept up. what's she supposed to daydream about now if what's presented her in her waking hours can top that?

she grants herself the mercy to not mind time and place for a little while and let Darin have her full, undivided attention...until she needs to breathe again, at least.]

Right-- [she exhales with a waver, almost a laugh.] Enough. We've got work to do. [unfortunately.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Cece has to know Darin's got it bad for her if she's able to distract him from work.]

[But he concedes and sets her down.]

Right. Work. People to help. Leads to follow. Lives to save.

Let's go be heroes, then.

[sighsheavily]

[not so much heroes as just mindful citizens, really; not that many people find their way to this spit of a town, and those who do find help in other people. still, it's a good chance to survey (Diluc's poor camp...) and see what the store's got before the sun starts kissing the horizon to herald the start of the evening.

after grabbing dinner and parting so Cecelia can clean up, they're reconvened in his room.]

This is what triggered my recollection of the breath spell. [she's brought the gilded book cover, barren of its pages. it's proper metal, and its frayed leather pieces still remaining show off some of the intricate symbology that must've been scrawled all throughout.] I must've learned it from here, or something similar, I suppose.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[As his room had become a regular hang out for the two of them in the evening hours, Darin had secured a few things from the general store before his untimely end in the last loop. He was happy to see they'd still survived; a few extra pillows for the bed and a few spare blankets. He'd also 'commandeered' a few of the better looking chairs from the other, empty rooms so that they could lounge in peace.]

[He's on the edge of the bed now and when Cecelia brings over the book, he takes it reverently.]

This...hm. There's a lot of care and craftsmanship here. Someone put this together with a lot of intent.

...Where did you say you found it?

[sighsheavily]

Down in one of the fissures. [quickly:] I did not fall down that time - Flynn wanted to check, and I wasn't about to let him go alone.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Seems like people keep finding things that belong to them down there.

Something's down there. If the fissures open up again this time, I'm going down for another look. I want to see if the maps I made match up.

The good news is that a good portion of the scrap and salvage I brought up from there managed to survive the loop. Starting tomorrow I'm taking inventory and I'll start figuring out where to start fortifying the inn.

[sighsheavily]

That is good. [she shifts in her chair.] We'll have to find out if Diluc's cache made it as well. All the molt from when he'd been a very large, very metal bird...

[this place is weird.]

He found a book down there, too. The pages weren't rotted on that one. Perhaps we'll be so lucky as to find some literature on this place we can actually use... [sigh.] It can't hurt to dream.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Well, at this point I'll take anything. But it does feel like we're making progress. The tough part's gonna be waiting to see if any of our efforts bear fruit.

[He holds the book cover back out for her.]

...How are you holding up? You know, in light of all of this?

[sighsheavily]

[she hesitates, blinking owlishly at him before taking the piece back and letting it lay on her lap.]

Well, I wasn't stranded out in the desert, so I daresay I've got a leg up on quite a few, don't I?

Or...do you mean the matter of... [she looks down at the book and her murky reflection in the gold plating.] Reclaiming some very vicious magic. I suppose I should've expected it, given my blood, but... it was nice to feign innocence while I could.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I meant everything but...well...

Do you mind if I...ask about that? The blood part, I mean.

I didn't ask about it before but...your double breathed fire so...

I didn't want to put you on the spot.

[sighsheavily]

Mm. [she's not too bothered to divulge that now - least of all with him.]

Dragon lineage. It was the first major recollection I had here. I know, for certain, that my bloodline stems from a dragon. I just don't know how far back. I've a feeling it's something quite distant, ancestral...

[she doesn't want to think about calling a giant, fire-breathing reptile father or mother.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...So...dragons can erm...mate with people?

That sounds...

...Complicated.

[sighsheavily]

[she makes a face at him.]

Supposing they do, I imagine there's magic involved in any dalliances. Shape-changing, perhaps. Dragons must be quite powerful, yes?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Don't give him that look, it's an honest question!]

I...wouldn't know, actually. I don't really know much about magic other than it existing.

So...your ancestor was a dragon. That's...kinda cool, actually.

[He stands up to pace about the room. Restless energy, thy name is Darin.]

[sighsheavily]

[she watches him with a thoughtful frown.]

I'm not so sure. I've a feeling dragons are more aligned with destruction than I'd like to be.

[maybe they're alike in that way? it's a reach, but reaching is what she does.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I mean, sure if you're going by fairy tale logic.

Dragons are supposed to be greedy and hoard wealth, right? You're not like that.

[She might feel his eyes on her backside.]

I never asked...where did your tail go?

[sighsheavily]

[her ear twitches.]

...Wherever the scales and claws went, I wager. I don't miss it. [and he better not either!!!]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh...so that's not something you can control?

[sighsheavily]

No. [she self-consciously shifts in her seat.] Diluc said he saw scales on my face when I had helped him come down from a flare-up of his own power, but...I don't recall doing that. It may be this place playing with what little I know with myself, or it could be some facet I've yet to fully control. Maybe it's a bit of both.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...Kinda like my transformations.

[He's by the window now. The town...while desolate, doesn't look that bad. If they hadn't been through two loops already, he'd be inclined to say it was almost peaceful.]

This place is really all about bringing out the worst aspects of ourselves.

Or painting certain aspects in a negative light.

[sighsheavily]

I think so, too. It's easier to notice outside of ourselves, too. Isn't it?

We're more apt to trying to do kindness to each other than ourselves.