![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
4.0 Test Drive Meme
4.0 Test Drive Meme
Premise & Arrival ֍ FAQ ֍ Apply ֍ Navigation
Welcome to Well! This cycle is a little different, if you've visited us before—this TDM takes place in Well's updated setting. See the first prompt for how your characters arrive in Well. Your character arrives with only a handful of memories, clad in a mix of Old Western clothes and clothes that might fit in at a renaissance fair, and 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 November onward, and can happen concurrently with other events during November and December. This will be the only TDM for November, December, and January.
Applications are open October 27th until November 1st, and November 27th until December 1st. Invites are available for friends of current players.
Into the Maze
Content warnings: deadly traps, aggressive foliage, vines, potential drowning, spikes
You wake up surrounded by green. Thick, dark hedges as tall as two adult humans stretch all around you. They're thick, nigh-impenetrable. You don’t quite know who you are, but you’re pretty sure that here, right here? Is not where you want to be.
You’re at a crossing: paths stretch out between the hedges on four sides of you. Which path do you take?
The sprawling hedge maze is vast and complex, especially if you’re not even sure where you should be going. Along your way, you hear giggling, shouts, excited screaming, low murmurs, and, sometimes, the sound of radio static. You might see the faint outline of someone slipping around a corner, and hear them giggling, a long, white dress or robe following them as they move. But you never find whoever, or whatever, is making these noises.
If you follow them, you instead come across:
Thankfully, at these obstacles, you might find another person, equally as lost as you. They may have been following the same person. Once you join forces with each other, the way out is easier to find. Not easy, but possible. If you continue to forge on on your own, the exit will never reveal itself to you.
When you do finally stumble out of the maze, you’re greeted with the site of Wellstone.
tl;dr:
You wake up surrounded by green. Thick, dark hedges as tall as two adult humans stretch all around you. They're thick, nigh-impenetrable. You don’t quite know who you are, but you’re pretty sure that here, right here? Is not where you want to be.
You’re at a crossing: paths stretch out between the hedges on four sides of you. Which path do you take?
The sprawling hedge maze is vast and complex, especially if you’re not even sure where you should be going. Along your way, you hear giggling, shouts, excited screaming, low murmurs, and, sometimes, the sound of radio static. You might see the faint outline of someone slipping around a corner, and hear them giggling, a long, white dress or robe following them as they move. But you never find whoever, or whatever, is making these noises.
If you follow them, you instead come across:
- Thorny vines laying on the ground, or hidden in the hedges, that slowly wrap themselves around your ankles or your wrists, pulling you back, trying to subsume you into the hedge.
- A dark pond stretching clear across the path, blocking your way. You can wade into it, but when you do those voices get louder, so much louder, screaming in your ears. The bottom drops away from your feet. Strange things brush your ankles, turning into hands pulling you down into the oily water. The more you panic, the more difficult it is to get to the other side. Staying calm keeps the water at about chest height.
- Pieces of the path fallen away, down into a pit full of spiny cacti. You might not want to test this one, and instead trust yourself to jump across. It’s just short enough a gap to be scalable by most, but it sure isn’t a comfortable distance to cross. If you do fall in, boy howdy do those things hurt. You’ll need some help getting out!
- The graveyard. There’s nothing getting in your way in the graveyard, but you may simply stumble upon it. The graves are overgrown and covered in moss. The ground is moist and springy. In the middle you may find an old mossy well filled with clear water.
Thankfully, at these obstacles, you might find another person, equally as lost as you. They may have been following the same person. Once you join forces with each other, the way out is easier to find. Not easy, but possible. If you continue to forge on on your own, the exit will never reveal itself to you.
When you do finally stumble out of the maze, you’re greeted with the site of Wellstone.
tl;dr:
- You wake up lost in a hedge maze! You hear strange voices around you, and a figure dressed in white runs away from you.
- You run into obstacles: spiky vines, a deadly pond, a pit full of cacti, or the graveyard. Work with another character (or not) to escape the maze!
Welcome home
Content warnings: disorientation, feelings of being lost
When you stumble your way into the run-down old town of Wellstone, the deadly peril of the maze seems to be over. It’s cold and damp, sure, but at least you’re not in danger, and you’re in luck: up a small hill beyond some gates, you can see an ornate house with golden windows, practically beaming warmth.
Staywell Manor is a grand place, with high ceilings and exposed, ornate beams, lush carpets and tapestries, beautifully upholstered furniture. A man dressed like a butler (the old hotel receptionist, for those who’ve met him) greets you with a bland smile:
“Welcome to Wellstone. We’re so glad you’re here with us! What’s the name on your reservation?”
You remember your name, and you give it to him, and he offers you a heavy brass key. No matter the number, your room does exist in the four-story manor, and is decked out with a four-poster bed, a nice settee, and a closet full of clothes that fit you like they were made for you. They’re a strange mixture, though, a mishmash of old American Western rhinestones and denim and medieval fabrics and silhouettes in bright colors. You might find a fringed tunic dyed bright red, or a pair of cowboy boots with the toes curled up like a jester’s slippers, bell-tipped and absurd. Are those pantaloons made of denim? Weird!
While the manor is lovely and inviting, and much warmer than the outdoors, it is also pretty big. Well, it must be, because you keep getting lost! It’s incredibly difficult to find your way to your room this month. You might find your way to the wrong floor, to the parlor, to someone else's room. Remember to knock!
tl;dr:
When you stumble your way into the run-down old town of Wellstone, the deadly peril of the maze seems to be over. It’s cold and damp, sure, but at least you’re not in danger, and you’re in luck: up a small hill beyond some gates, you can see an ornate house with golden windows, practically beaming warmth.
Staywell Manor is a grand place, with high ceilings and exposed, ornate beams, lush carpets and tapestries, beautifully upholstered furniture. A man dressed like a butler (the old hotel receptionist, for those who’ve met him) greets you with a bland smile:
“Welcome to Wellstone. We’re so glad you’re here with us! What’s the name on your reservation?”
You remember your name, and you give it to him, and he offers you a heavy brass key. No matter the number, your room does exist in the four-story manor, and is decked out with a four-poster bed, a nice settee, and a closet full of clothes that fit you like they were made for you. They’re a strange mixture, though, a mishmash of old American Western rhinestones and denim and medieval fabrics and silhouettes in bright colors. You might find a fringed tunic dyed bright red, or a pair of cowboy boots with the toes curled up like a jester’s slippers, bell-tipped and absurd. Are those pantaloons made of denim? Weird!
While the manor is lovely and inviting, and much warmer than the outdoors, it is also pretty big. Well, it must be, because you keep getting lost! It’s incredibly difficult to find your way to your room this month. You might find your way to the wrong floor, to the parlor, to someone else's room. Remember to knock!
tl;dr:
- You're in the town of Wellstone, where it's cold, damp, and rainy.
- Staywell Manor is warm and inviting, but hard to navigate, and you're prone to getting lost in its halls.
Warm Your Bones
Content warnings: alcohol, intoxication, accidental consumption of blood, hallucinations of demons and shadow people
The town of Wellstone has clearly seen better days and warmer seasons. Cobblestoned streets trace their way between crumbling buildings overgrown with moss and ivy. The early-fall nip in the air is enough to make your breath fog up in front of your face. Clouds hang low and sulky over the down, spitting out little bursts of rain here and there. Wind whistles between the close-crowded buildings, blowing a few leaves and the odd tumbleweed along the damp stone.
With the heavy chill in the air and fog drifting the streets at night, thick and cold enough to creep into even the warmest clothes, it’s tempting just to stay indoors.
Luckily for everyone tired of the damp, the golden light spilling from the Cactus Pad Pub beckons. Just walking inside hits you with a blast of warmth. A fire blazes at full strength in the hearth, snapping and crackling, but more than that, every single table is set resplendently with mismatched fancy china: cups, saucers, creamers, little pots of sugar, and of course, tea, steaming and hot.
It’ll be hard to resist the urge to sit down at one of these little tables, and the moment you do, you’re stuck there for at least an hour. Truly: your butt is glued to that chair. At least there's tea, and there are cards on the table with conversation starters on them. But these conversation starters are a little, ah... odd? Comment below to get a conversation starter for you and your tablemate!
May as well have some tea while you’re here, and hope that it is in fact tea. You have a one-in-three shot. The steaming liquid in that pot might be:
Each of these effects lasts from half an hour to an hour, and longer if you drink more of whatever is in your respective pot. Once you're free from the table, if you sit down at another one, you'll be trapped there, too.
Feel free to ask the mods to roll for you to decide which teapot your character gets, and for a conversation starter, just for you!
tl;dr:
The town of Wellstone has clearly seen better days and warmer seasons. Cobblestoned streets trace their way between crumbling buildings overgrown with moss and ivy. The early-fall nip in the air is enough to make your breath fog up in front of your face. Clouds hang low and sulky over the down, spitting out little bursts of rain here and there. Wind whistles between the close-crowded buildings, blowing a few leaves and the odd tumbleweed along the damp stone.
With the heavy chill in the air and fog drifting the streets at night, thick and cold enough to creep into even the warmest clothes, it’s tempting just to stay indoors.
Luckily for everyone tired of the damp, the golden light spilling from the Cactus Pad Pub beckons. Just walking inside hits you with a blast of warmth. A fire blazes at full strength in the hearth, snapping and crackling, but more than that, every single table is set resplendently with mismatched fancy china: cups, saucers, creamers, little pots of sugar, and of course, tea, steaming and hot.
It’ll be hard to resist the urge to sit down at one of these little tables, and the moment you do, you’re stuck there for at least an hour. Truly: your butt is glued to that chair. At least there's tea, and there are cards on the table with conversation starters on them. But these conversation starters are a little, ah... odd? Comment below to get a conversation starter for you and your tablemate!
May as well have some tea while you’re here, and hope that it is in fact tea. You have a one-in-three shot. The steaming liquid in that pot might be:
- Piping hot black tea, caffeinated and bracing. Drinking it makes you energetic and exciteable and very eager to talk to your neighbors. It also makes you feel extremely fancy! Put that pinky up and use the biggest words you know to impress everyone around you.
- Dark mulled wine, spiced with ginger and cloves. Drinking it fills you with unbridled confidence bordering on arrogance. You'll feel lordly in whatever way makes sense: condescending and snotty, benevolent and patrician, whatever you might be prone to.
- Something… else. It’s dark, hot, and sweet, but there’s an odd metallic tang that sits strangely on your tongue. Whatever it is, it’s addictive. The more you drink, the stranger the world around you becomes: you’ll see faces in the shadows and glowing red in the eyes of your companions. Shadowy figures seem to haunt the walls of the pub, moving toward you. You’re filled with fear and paranoia but rooted to the spot.
Each of these effects lasts from half an hour to an hour, and longer if you drink more of whatever is in your respective pot. Once you're free from the table, if you sit down at another one, you'll be trapped there, too.
Feel free to ask the mods to roll for you to decide which teapot your character gets, and for a conversation starter, just for you!
tl;dr:
- There's a fancy tea party happening in the Cactus Pad Pub. It's sort of mandatory.
- Sitting at a table traps you at the tea party for an hour, and you'll be drinking one of three random drinks, each with different effects.
- There are conversation starters on the tables to help you get to know your fellow tea partiers!
- Tea makes you social and fancy, mulled wine makes you lordly and a bit drunk, and the last hot, sweet liquid tastes weird and makes you see demons.
- Ask the mods to roll a random teapot type for you if you'd like!
no subject
And that's before he says he remembers her, which causes her to blink in surprise.]
Huh? You mean, I don't just remind you of someone? But I--I don't remember a knight. Or what I would have done to need one...um...
[Wait...unless he means he was trying to arrest her?! Or already arrested her, and was acting as her prison guard? Nervously, she clutches the bundle of fringe in her hand.]
Uh, ah, are...are you sure you were a knight, or...?
no subject
I was sure. Dunno anymore. You--what I remember is you're pretty good at fighting, but you were also... [ valuable, but he doesn't want to use that word ] important. I was supposed to protect you.
Wish I could tell you the details, but I don't remember them. Guessing this means all you know about me is my mug on that poster, huh?
[ Another piece of the puzzle, that doesn't really show much at all ]
no subject
I'm sorry... I really wish I could remember more.
[She hesitates, looks down at the fringe in her hand, then back to him.]
I'm not sure exactly what it all means, or how to properly put this into words, but...I think...I feel at ease talking with you, Yuri. So, maybe...
[She pauses in walking, holding out her hand. They introduced themselves, but they didn't shake hands earlier.]
How about...here's to getting to know each other from now on.
no subject
Yeah, I'd like that.
[ It's easy to talk to her, too, and he feels a strange mix of feelings: relief, to have someone he trusts implicitly here, and anxiety or fear, to know that she'll be hurt, that he'll inevitably fail to protect her, just like he failed to protect Flynn and Cecelia. Whatever is at work here is bigger than him, bigger than he can fathom, than he can anticipate or fight.
He holds onto her hand for a beat too long ]
Alright, then let's get the hell out of this maze, and I can show you around. Uh... you ever had a milkshake?
[ The most important thing he's learned about here, obviously. ]
no subject
[She smiles at him, feeling more at ease now herself. He might be unpractised but his hand is steady and warm, and if he says he was supposed to protect her--well, she is in one piece, is she not? And in the face of uncertainty, she thinks they'll be stronger together than alone. They'll escape the maze, and...
Oh. She blinks, the curious tilt of her head probably saying it all.]
Milk...shake? Is that a special type of handshake?
[Really, she's trying to picture it, but it's a very odd picture...]
no subject
Yeah, it's there you shake hands with a cow. Hand to udder, sort of thing. Real novel experience.
[ The lie is so obvious that he just makes himself laugh harder, and he relents quickly: ]
Nah. That would be pretty funny. It's a drink. And a dessert. I've got a feeling you'll like it. Don't think I ever had one before. The food here's decent, when it's not rotting or dust.
no subject
Rotting or dust...the desert must have been very difficult.
[But she tries to look on the brighter side, which is: no more desert, so hopefully foot will be easier to source, and milkshakes do sound interesting.]
Anyway, a drink combined with a dessert sounds fascinating. I'd like to know how one is prepared.
[And maybe she won't need to wait all that long. They follow the path as it curves around, and suddenly-]
Oh--Yuri, look! It's an exit! We did it!
no subject
[ He offers with an easy smile. She's right, he feels at ease around her, too. He knows why, but he didn't quite think it would be so much. He's realizing that while he knows things about her, he didn't really remember her, as a full person.
He looks up toward the exit with another laugh ]
Finally. Thought we'd be stuck in here forever.
[ He's not quite sure what to expect once they are out, and his steps slow as they approach the end of the hedges. He holds out an arm to hold her back as he peers out and
Well that certainly looks like a town. But it's so different from what he's seen for so many months that it takes his eyes a moment to adjust to all that green, and his jaw drops a little looking at it. ]
Huh.
no subject
[It was much easier than searching alone. The companionship made the journey feel so much quicker, too.
She might have run to the exit in excitement if not for his outstretched arm, and she glances to him curiously, then follows his gaze to the town.]
Wow...it's certainly not a desert any longer, is it? It looks...so mysterious!
[Yes, she sounds a little excited just saying it. It's like a town straight out of a dream, with the last thin vestiges of mist evaporating in the daylight.]
no subject
Yeah, it does. I... wonder if it's the same place at all.
[ He shakes his head to clear it, walking in step with Estelle. ]
Gotta get you your room. And meet people. It's... [ weird, to think about Estelle meeting the people he met here. Or got to know here, like Flynn and Pal and Cecelia. ] There are good people here. Even if everything else is, eh-- well. Not always good.
no subject
They say no person is an island. So even if we are confronted with challenges, we can make it through as long as we have others to help us. And-
[Now she gives him a grateful smile. They made it out of the maze together, just as promised.]
I've already met one good person. Isn't that right, Yuri?
[She'd like to meet his friends, too.]
no subject
He doesn't answer right away, doesn't look at her for a long moment. His voice is a little choked when he finally does ]
We should get going.
[ Which isn't an answer, but it's all he has in him. He continues into town at a sedate pace ]
no subject
Of course he's a good person. She can see that.
The long pause, the emotion thick in his voice--these don't escape her notice, either, but she lets them be. Maybe he's just a little more shy than she expected, she thinks, as she falls into step beside him.]
Yes, wait for me. I hope you don't mind if I rely on you some more.
no subject
Yeah, Estelle. Anything for a familiar face.
[ Because of that, because he's pretty sure it's his duty. And because she does seem genuinely kind, like a good person. A good person who deserves better than what this place will give her.
He vows then to try and help her in whatever way he can. ]