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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.



classifier: (3)

[personal profile] classifier 2023-08-05 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"I suppose it is comforting to know I'm not the only one."

He sighs, lifting the tea to his lips and taking the first sip. This was certainly more complicated than he wanted it to be, but when was life easy? He leans on his elbows, contemplating what he should ask next. He feels like he has a million questions, but there was a significant lack of answers.

"What can I do to help?" Where could he start? He needs whatever information that she was willing to share, and he would start to dig.
sighsheavily: (pic#16590720)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-08-05 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"It depends on what you know how to do...and what goals you seek to achieve."

Her eyes lift and fix on him, watching for reaction while she lifts her teabag out of the water, setting it on the saucer.

"Or if you just mean to lease yourself out to any old project, well...that depends on who you ask." Sip.
classifier: (8)

[personal profile] classifier 2023-08-06 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
"No, I want a solid grasp as to why I am here." He frowns, tapping the mug in frustration. "Why are we here, why don't we have our memories - I'm willing to do just about anything to get to the bottom of it."

He doesn't know why he has this drive to know, but it definitely feels like this is the right path to take. Maybe it'll help him survive this strange journey that he's found himself in.

"Point me in the right direction of who I need to talk to." A pause. "Or give me a starting point and I'll start digging. Someone here has to have found a hint, a clue - something more than it just being a mystery."

And if not, he's certainly going to do his best to get to the bottom of it.
sighsheavily: (pic#16590720)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-08-06 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"The why is still out of our reach," she says, eyes lifting without her head moving - kind of a Kubrickian look of scrutiny.

"But myself and Palamedes Sextus are working on that. He's found a way to reach out to some...other bound souls here. Unseen. Ghosts, if you will.

"Beyond that...the graveyard. So much seems to hinge on what we can learn from that place."
classifier: (5)

[personal profile] classifier 2023-08-07 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Of course the Why was out of reach, but it made sense that there were more questions than answers. He sighs, casually tapping on the mug as he weighs his options. He could do this on his own, or he could attempt to work together with them.

"I'd like to help." He says, finality in his words. "Whatever I can do to help, you have it."

He tips his head a bit. "Did you say Palamedes can... what, speak to the dead?"

Legitimately or are we talking like a phone psychic? Cause that could be an interesting endeavor if true.
sighsheavily: (pic#16420024)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-08-07 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"He can hear them," she amends, pausing to have a couple bites of her croissant; she continues on after dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Speaking with them is still a work-in-progress; we're still in the process of developing that system, since getting them to respond in a coherent and safe way is still difficult."
classifier: (7)

[personal profile] classifier 2023-08-07 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
He tears off a section of his croissant, watching it flake apart before he takes a bite. He can only believe so much is possible. Listening to the dead? A centaur? The mystery surrounding how they've arrived and what they can, and can't, remember?

He exhales out his nose as he sets down the pastry, wiping his hands off with a napkin.

"What have you tried so far? I know there are things that are used in paranormal investigations but..." Well, he can't recall what they are. "What do you plan to do next?"
sighsheavily: (pic#14281462)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-08-08 12:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"Our line of questioning led to a rather harsh cutoff." She has another sip of tea. "So while he is, hopefully, minding himself to avoid any further physical repercussions, I'm refining our line of questioning. Being overly direct or demanding yields quite harsh feedback, so a more delicate and annoyingly roundabout method is in order.

"For example, asking for names yields a bunch of nonsense - likely because multiple sources seek to respond at once. Simple yes-no questions work better, but were not entirely problem-free. Yet when asking to indicate whether or not we are in this place as a trial or punishment, with distinct options to select to prove as such, the responses were very uncertain.

"I imagine getting easy philosophies onto the why or the science of how will not be easy. With this avenue, at least."

She goes quiet for a bit to eat.

"If you wish more more guidance in general, I would say study yourself first and foremost. What you know, what you infer...what may be lingering at the surface. Memory recall is sporadic, but there are some here better at it than others. Ryan, for example...I would consider him far more helpful in that regard than I."

Because he's friendly and approachable and she's...her.
classifier: (4)

[personal profile] classifier 2023-08-10 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"What have you learned from the ghosts? Do you mind me asking what you are using to attempt to communicate with them?"

He's got vague ideas of spirit boxes and Ouija boards, but nothing quite concrete to consider helpful.

"You've been helpful so far. You caught me dealing with a hallucination of sorts and helped me out of it -- I'd call that extremely helpful."

He shudders thinking about the man from earlier. His menacing approach, his malicious smile - he's grateful he was just an illusion but if he was going to haunt him here... well he wasn't looking forward to that.

"Not to say that I don't appreciate being pointed to someone else who could also assist - I do - I just don't think you should discount yourself."
sighsheavily: (pic#16416823)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-08-11 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
She smiles thinly.

"It's...mm. Well, not a full discounting. I'm far less self-deprecating of late, so there's that. I only mean to say...I archive, yes, but my analysis may not be as keen to your interests as others would be. Palamedes, Aizawa, Darin...everyone's perspectives have valuable facets, so it behooves you to speak to everyone here to paint these pictures for you.

"But that aside, once we get more than spooky omens of being trapped and demands to get out from the ghosts, I think there's other avenues to explore."
classifier: (13)

[personal profile] classifier 2023-08-16 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"Archive is something I'd be interested in. I'm sure our experiences have and will differ immensely."

But there were names, more people that he could seek out and ask the same questions of. People who he could attempt to rely upon in the coming days, weeks, months? However long he was staying at this hotel he supposes.

"Well, here's hoping you are able to explore those other avenues."

As much as he wants to insert himself into their investigation to seek the answers he wants, she doesn't know him. He barely knows himself, who would trust him so early on?
sighsheavily: (pic#14667795)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-08-17 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"You'll find resources out in the general store," she says with a slight nod, her focus on her food until she can wipe at her mouth again. "More often than not there are writing suppliers of some sort available, even if they leave much to be desired. If you can't find anything, you can come find me; I've been stockpiling in the event supplies get sparse."