wellie: (Default)
Well Mod ([personal profile] wellie) wrote in [community profile] wellcome2022-01-03 05:30 pm
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1.0 Test Drive Meme

1.0 Test Drive Meme

Welcome to Well! Characters arrive the same way every month. Your character arrives 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.

Applications open on January 20th, and the game opens on February 1st. Invites are available for members of the mods' plurk lists.

Put on your dancing shoes
Content warning: Alcohol, intoxication, altered mental state

Something’s happening at the Cactus Pad Saloon. It’s lit up bright against the growing night, and music spills out onto the street. Seems like a fun time that you should check out. In fact, it’s hard not to check it out: the closer you get, the stronger the urge to join the fun. If you’ve been spending a lot of time alone, you’ll feel even more compelled to come get a drink.

The bartender serves up anything you can think of: from whiskey to apple juice to blood, if that’s your preference. She doesn’t blink an eye, no matter what’s ordered. The funny thing is, no matter what you order, once you take a sip, the world feels a little easier to deal with, your worries seem to melt away. You’re flush with sudden confidence.

If you strike up a conversation with the person next to you, conversation flows like you’re talking to an old friend. You feel a sense of kinship, deep and meaningful, good or bad, that bonds you together.

The old record player is playing a fun ditty, and the longer you stick around, the more you’re tempted to join, or start, the dancing. Whether you’re a great dancer or you have two left feet, you find that you feel capable of dancing like no one’s watching. No one knows you here, after all. You barely know yourself, so why not draw a partner into the fray? A party’s better together!

If you end up staying there til closing time, the bartender kicks you out with a gruff “come back tomorrow,” leaving you to stumble home with your new best friend. What was their name again?


Sand trap
Content warning: Quick sand, potential drowning in sand

You step through a door into a room you didn’t mean to enter. You were trying to head into the saloon, or your hotel room, or the bathroom, and instead you’re here: in a small, tight, windowless room in a white-washed building. The air here is old, stale, and thick. Hazy gold light bounces off the walls, but you can’t tell where it’s coming from, since there’s no visible ceiling. The walls just stretch up and up into bright nothingness.

Someone else is there, too, coming through an identical door on the opposite wall. Both doors snap shut, and won’t open again, no matter how hard you try. They won’t even break.

This might not be so bad, except that a sound starts to fill the space: sand, trickling down the walls. It’s just a dusting to start. It comes sprinkling down above, seeping through the cracks in the door. The longer you stand there, the faster it comes: sand flows down the walls in massive torrents, building up on the floor, shifting and thick, trapping you in place.

The only way out is up. When you look again at the walls, you’ll notice it: about 10 feet up the wall hangs a flimsy rope ladder, half-hidden by the waterfall of sand. You’ll have to work together to even reach it, or maybe let the ever-growing pile of shifting, slippery sand lift you up? Be careful, because even if you manage to reach the rope, you both have to get out of here, and the longer you’re here, the faster and harder the sand falls. The ladder seems to go on forever, tens of feet up an endless wall. The better you work together, the closer the top seems. No matter how well you collaborate, they're at least 50 feet high.

When you’ve fought your way through the sand and reached the top of the ladder, you finally see it: the sand is coming in through the open windows of a steeple. You can’t see where it’s from, not really. You can’t see much of anything, but it’s clear: the only way out is, well, out. You have to jump, trusting that yourself and your companion will be safe.

Once free, you land together outside of one of the buildings or rooms you were trying to enter, like nothing happened at all. It’s a calm day, after all.

Memories of the living
Content warning: Cemetery, contemplating mortality

Dusk settles purple over Wellstone. Early stars are out, the moon is thin, and you find yourself inexplicably drawn to the graveyard. You can resist, but the more days you do, the harder it gets. The graveyard is calling to you in a voice you can’t hear.

While it seems small before you enter, once you start walking through the crumbling graves, it seems to stretch endlessly. You pass elaborate dust-covered crypts carved with strange angels; bleached wooden crosses overgrown with cacti; a crumbling old well, long gone dry; worn-down headstones jut at odd angles. Some graves have old offerings on them, brightly colored beads or candles or framed photos, sun-bleached beyond recognition.

You may have been walking for five minutes or fifty, but when you look around, you can’t see to find the exit. You hear howling, and see the flicker of lights from behind the graves, but you can never find their source, no matter how much you look. No matter how long you spend in the graveyard, the sun never seems to sink lower in the sky. An oppressive sense of being watched grows to the point that you whip around, expecting to find someone there until—

You do. You find each other. Others drawn here to the graveyard, walking among the crumbling stones, will end up by the same headstones. Exploring together eases the watchful feeling just a little, but it won’t help you get out. No, you’re looking for something. The exit? No, you’re sure there’s something more important than that.

If you follow your impulses, you may just find it: a gravestone, weathered, old, with a familiar name on it: yours. Your date of birth can be visible, but the date of death is too weathered to read. You may find an offering there, something small and meaningful to you, a small shiny coin or some bright beads.

Once you find your grave, when you look up, you’ll see the exit. You’re really not that far from it, after all, the rusted iron arch barely a stone's throw feet away. Your companion won’t see it yet. You can make a dash for it, get out of this awful place, or help your companion find their own gravestone. When your companion finds their stone, they will also be able to see the exit. Exiting together will alleviate the impulse to come back to this place. Leaving alone will only draw you back, making it more difficult to find your grave again.

You can take the offerings left on your grave if you want, but the sense of being watched will only grow greater until you’re compelled to return them, and leave another offering of your own.

prayererror: (and the "i" that i a fake show)

[personal profile] prayererror 2023-01-04 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Just because a dude stares at another dude, doesn't mean that the second dude has to stare back! Dimos seems quite content to just Look, even as he scrubs gently away at the more dried parts.]

You do not know...That is fine.

[None of his business. As long as it's abated somewhat, then it's alright for now.]

Perhaps it is best if I carry you, instead of making you walk. Water is priority for you to rehydrate, after all. And it will avoid stressing you out, as well...I think that would be a priority.
thequeenhimself: (charm)

[personal profile] thequeenhimself 2023-01-04 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
[The other man had the look of a cat that had been abandoned in the sewers. One that didn't like or trust people, but nonetheless wanted to watch and engage on their own terms. Ollie gave him an encouraging smile, and offered one of the darts.

Yes, he could see he was good. But, just being good was boring.]


You wanna try?
rottencactus: <user name =__7__HR site =Twitter.com> (119)

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
[He jumps, though not as badly as ...he could have. He snaps his attention to the direction of the voice, looking for it's source, finally settling on the stranger that's approached him. Mayoi reaches up to brush away the long black veil thats draped over his hat to get a better look.]

[Because that certainly makes him look less of a ghost.]


A-Ah...? Oh...

[There's a pause and he slides delicately off of the grave stone, holding the playing card to his chest.]

...Is it worth being worried when I might already be dead...?

[He turns his gaze back to the grave stone, looking at the named etched in the stone. "礼瀬 マヨイ", it says.]
thequeenhimself: (listen up)

[personal profile] thequeenhimself 2023-01-04 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Oliver followed the gesture, eyes glancing over the foreign characters before offering a shrug. Whatever language it was, it wasn't one he understood. The symbolism, however, was crystal clear.]

I think we all could say the same thing.

[He said with an oddly casual tone, turning his gaze on the other gravestones all around them. He gestured off to the side, where several rows over there was a gravestone that had an arrow pierced into the ground at its feet.]

That one's mine. I don't know what it all means, but one guy's already gotten sick.

[A shrug. Oliver cast the kid a serious look.]

Don't you think it's a little weird for a dead guy to get sick? I do. In my book, that's a pretty good reason to try and stay safe.
whisted: ([t] bound for the coast of Ireland)

Horatio Hornblower | Hornblower

[personal profile] whisted 2023-01-04 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
a. put on your dancing shoes

[It's all a bit unsettling, but it's a bit easier once Horatio has taken a breath and allowed himself to simply follow his feet. Thinking hasn't gotten him anywhere, but taking a quiet breath and simply walking has gotten him out of the sensation of crawling under his skin and into having a tall glass of water to drink. That's real progress.

Also real progress is the slow sensation of relaxation that (apparently) comes from being around other people at ease. It's quite nice, really, having his shoulders drift down into a comfortable slump, attention drifting in the quiet hum of other people around him.

Except then comes the clunk and shift of the record player turning from something quietly atmospheric into something that might inspire folks to get out of their seats and have a good time. For Horatio, it inspires a bit of spitting his water back out into his glass and glancing around for someone to ask:
] --what was that?

b. memories of the living

[It's very easy to get distracted here. In the fading (but not fading) light, there's a certain fascination with wandering along, pausing here and there to study a crumbling statue or kneel and peer at a name in particularly weathered writing. True, there's something unsettling in the sensation of not quite being alone as he wanders, but the (meaningless) work of studying his way down the path is well worth the prickle of discomfort.

Or, at least, it is until glancing up at a slight rustle just to one side reveals he's not remotely certain where, exactly, he's gotten to. It should be easy to trace his way back, and yet turning around further doesn't reveal anything that looks particularly familiar to the path he'd just been wending. Thank goodness for whatever kind citizen is behind him.
]

Sorry-- isn't that the way back out?

c. the general store

[Horatio isn't entirely sure what he's looking for as he wanders through the general store. Still, it's much better to be inside than outside, where even his broad-brimmed hat didn't seem to be doing much to stop his ears and nose and neck from beginning to turn pink.

He's fairly certain he isn't looking for empty jars. His fingers come to rest on one anyway, lifting carefully to study the slight imperfections (lovely, fascinating, perhaps a question of age or heat or original creation?) before setting it down again--

less carefully, apparently.

There's no grace to the scramble to catch the jar before it crashes into its brothers. It isn't clear how, exactly, it turns into tumbling backward into a fellow shopper, but here they all abruptly are, Horatio now clutching several (happily unbroken) jars to his chest in a mild panic.
]
unjedi: (174)

( c )

[personal profile] unjedi 2023-01-04 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ oh dear. ahsoka stifles a giggle, but still looks sympathetic. ]

I'll help you clean that up.
rottencactus: <user name =__7__HR site =Twitter.com> (98)

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
I think...

[Now that his head is pounding a little less and he can kind of scrape his thoughts together.]

I think ...that- that my health is very poor, i-in general. So ...maybe this is normal, after all.

[He's not sure, but he does also think about how badly he felt in the sun, too. He's felt weak since he's checked in.]

--W-Wait. But. I-Is that really something that's okay for you to do...? I- I would just be a burden, wouldn't I...?
rottencactus: [interdigitate] (03)

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
[He does have a point, not even Mayoi can refute that. He falls quiet for a moment, looking down at the card in his hands. It's the ace of clubs. Silently, he kneels down to put it back where he found it. It wasn't good luck to just take things from graves after all.]

...I-I suppose. I suppose there is no reason for me to stay, even if I am some kind of detestable ghoul.

[He will linger for a moment, before he reaches up to his ear and takes out one of his large, silver earrings.]

...Are you superstitious by chance?
chickenchoicejudy: Scrawny - The Wallows (You don't like my clothes)

Ryan Akagi | Infinity Train

[personal profile] chickenchoicejudy 2023-01-04 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
A. ARRIVAL (The Staywell Lobby and Lounge)

Ryan feels like he's been sleepwalking through the last hour or so.

He doesn't know what he was doing before he was standing at the reception desk, apparently checking into a hotel room. His head feels like it's full of static, but manages to give them a name after a too-long moment of searching for it amid all of the sudden and new sensory input. He spends a long time staring at the receptionist as he's checked in, trying to suss out what feels weird about him, only to realize it's a person behind the counter. He can't think of much, but one memory that floats to the surface is a place like this populated entirely by large bugs.

He's stopped paying attention to look down at his own decidedly not-bug hands. He's not supposed to be a bug, right? ...Yeah, definitely not. So maybe it's not that weird.

It's then that he realizes the Receptionist has been holding out a key and looping the same general welcome on repeat while Ryan just ignored him to stare at his own hands. Whoops. He takes the key and thanks the guy, and disappears up to his room.

Ryan stays up there for a solid hour just kind of looking at everything, touching things, exploring what was left for him. The closet's pretty cool, but it takes him a while to puzzle out what he wants to wear. Eventually he goes for a loose white button-down, blue jeans that have weirdly artful scratches in the knees, boots, and most importantly a red and black jacket with lots of fringe.

He looks at himself in the mirror when he's done and feels better for it - that looks like him in the mirror, even if he's having a hard time remembering much else. Time is spent making faces and different expressions, reuniting himself with his outward appearance.

After that, he's a little more grounded and decides to spend some time just hanging out in the lobby, seeing if anyone else mysteriously shows up (be they bug or human). Maybe it'll be someone he recognizes, or someone who recognizes him. He'll even flag people down once he spots them, fringe of his jacket fluttering like flags.]

Hey, uh. Did you just get here too? Like, out of nowhere?

[His instinct, now that he's settled, is to find others. Something feels deeply wrong about being alone that he can't put into words.]

B. PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES (The Cactus Pad Saloon)

[You know what's usually full of people? A saloon! Plus, it sounds pretty fun in there, and what else is he going to do, sulk by himself? Nah. Hard pass. Time to check out the saloon.

He doesn't remember his drink preferences, but he remembers how to be friendly and charming, so he tells the bartender to just give him whatever she recommends. It's familiar and not familiar at the same time, which is a little uncomfortable, but she gives him a whiskey sour and he sticks with that when he orders for the rest of the night.

Has he had alcohol before? He's definitely been in a saloon, so he wants to say probably, but whatever is in this drink (presumably whiskey and, you know. Whatever sour is) is really good. Ryan was already friendly before this, but he feels looser and more free. Warmer. And everyone else seems to be the same. He's totally happy to get up and dance with anyone and everyone, even trying to get more hesitant folks to join in. C'mon, dance with him! He has a decent sense of rhythm and won't step on your feet. He doesn't recognize any of the music, but that doesn't really matter much to him as long as he's having fun.

It's a good night, and a fun night. Getting to be social really recharges him.
]

C. CLOSING TIME (The Cactus Pad Saloon + The Staywell) (cw: drunk)

[See, there's a reason amnesia and alcohol probably shouldn't mix.

You could say it's the possibility of a brain injury and like, that's probably right. But there's another problem. With no memory of drinking before this, Ryan has no memory of what his limits are either.

He's mercifully cut off after four or five drinks (was he supposed to be counting? Is that what you do when you drink???) by either the bartender herself or a kind soul who noticed him swaying just a little too much. When closing time hits it feels sudden to Ryan, and he gently whines to keep the party going, but doesn't put up much of a fight. Everyone else is leaving and being here alone would suck. So, he stumbles out with the rest. If you're near him, he will happily link his arm with yours (friendliness masquerading as a way to keep his balance) and laughs.
]

That was-- that was sooooo much fun. Good party!

[After a little more giggling, he'll ask:]

Are y'...hotel? [Fuck. Let's try that again.] Are you going to the hotel? The Staytel?

[Staywell, but you know what? Close enough.]
chickenchoicejudy: Art is Dead - Bo Burnham (Won't stop screaming)

1

[personal profile] chickenchoicejudy 2023-01-04 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Ryan doesn't have an answer, but he'll pretend to think about it like he does for the sake of friendly conversation.]

Hm...I'm gonna guess more sky? Probably less sand? Maybe more than three local businesses?

[Something like that.]
rottencactus: (16)

C!

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
[The happened because of him, he thinks. He saw this person stumbling around and he became ...worried? Worried. Yes, this person has been drinking too much and has probably not hydrated at all. This is terrible, he thinks.]

[It's not very becoming of-...]

[...Ah, another weird gap. He thought he might have grabbed it just then, but he loses it. Instead he decides maybe he will try to look after this person. Maybe it will help. It's a selfish thing, he also notes. He's selfish, he thinks. Inherently very selfish. But ...it seems right, too.]

[And then Ryan grabs his arm and he squeaks in surprise.]


I-I-! Um! Ah... [Oh god talking to people is a nightmare. He's learned that, too.]

Y-Yes ...that is where I am going. Please- hold... hold onto me tightly and I will lead us there...

[Ryan has stumbled onto a dark-clad person dressed a little strangely. But his voice is an low, melodic thing, soothing. And his step is actually very steady.
Edited 2023-01-04 05:10 (UTC)
prayererror: (and tell me to sneer)

[personal profile] prayererror 2023-01-04 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Dimos' eyes brighten for the briefest moment, and he leans in just a little. That's


that's so familiar.

That's so familiar. Like trying to grasp at water with molten hands, however, the notion of familiarity is impossible, and he can only shake it off for the moment. The priority is the human here in front of him, after all.
]

More reason to carry you. You may rely on me, when you are able to find me.

[He shrugs minutely, before finally easing up; most of the blood's gone, and anything left behind requires a harder scrub than he's comfortable performing on someone soft and delicate.] Arms around my neck. We will find somewhere for you to recuperate, but I will need your assistance.

And you are no burden. Do not say this to me; it is
[--causing him a sharp head pain, almost like an electric shock] ...My...Honour.
chickenchoicejudy: If It Makes You Happy - Michael Cera Palin (And serve you french toast again)

[personal profile] chickenchoicejudy 2023-01-04 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Ryan, being too lit to think better of it, actually laughs when Mayoi squeaks. He didn't mean to scare him, but that was really funny.

But good, perfect. He's going there too. Ryan does as he's told, clinging to him a little closer and nodding. He can do that.
]

'Kay. [Barely a beat passes before he blurts out the first thought that hits his brain.] You...your voice's nice.

[It's cozy in a way that feels homey, the same way that good music apparently does. Maybe that's it. Maybe it reminds him of music just beyond the edge of his memory.]

...are you new too?

[Walking and talking and holding onto him is very hard all at once, but he's decided he likes hearing this guy talk, and prompts him for more.]
rottencactus: (67)

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Mayoi complies after that. He is insisting and he ...does not feel as though he can walk right now, anyway. Something about this is familiar, too. Like ...perhaps there is someone who does this for him, too.]

[It's gone just as fast, all he can do is move as he's told and put his arms around his neck. This person- who may not be human (Is he? Is he even human himself...? That question makes him uneasy.)-- is ...safe.]


O-Okay. If that's so, then I will--

[And then he seems suddenly falter. When Mayoi speaks again there is worry thick in his voice.]

A-Are you okay?
necessaries: (she says i am real)

makima | chainsaw man

[personal profile] necessaries 2023-01-04 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
arrival
[ When Makima awakens in a quiet bed in an even quieter town, the first thing she notices is the gash down her chest, a deep, jagged slash that traces all the way from neck to navel. It's a shame she's dressed in all these fine clothes, from the loose cotton blouse to the leather-patched denim and shiny black boots. They've even given her quite the belt. But the clothes didn't do much to stop the bleeding, and that pretty white blouse is practically soaked through with red.

Oh, well. Clothes are replaceable. Makima stretches and heads down to the receptionist's desk, and has a conversation that goes absolutely nowhere beyond getting a key to her strange little room. But Makima is still covered in blood, and still has no clue as to why, which is why she'll turn and smile pleasantly at the nearest person who seems capable of having a conversation. ]


I know, I'm making a mess. Apologies. [ then, with a wink: ] You should see the other guy.

[ Makima does not recall the other guy. ]

dancing shoes
[ Now this is more like it.

Makima is thankfully cleaned up from her messy arrival. The beer she's been given is quite refreshing. Pleasant, even. (There's something wrong with it. Something wrong with the way it's affecting her. Makima doesn't know what, and she doesn't scratch that itch.)

She'll spend most of her time lounging by the bar, femme fatale style, but she's friendly when approached. ]


Enjoying yourself? I would join the dancers, but I'm afraid I've really only ever seen this sort of thing in bad movies.

memories of the living
[ Makima walks alone in this graveyard, her orange eyes illuminated by the moonlight like a cats.

She does not say anything. She does not make any noise, does not announce her presence. Primarily, what Makima does in this graveyard, is think about how this is a place that other people fear. And people are so easy to control when they're afraid.

The watchful feeling you experience is a little more literal, this time. There is a woman standing behind you, but she isn't watching you. If anything, she's looking past you, trying to read what's made out on your headstone.

Only if you startle will she acknowledge your presence. ]


Hello.

( ooc: note that makima is a major antagonist from a series that deals with dark and heavy topics. while I don't intend on getting into those topics in a tdm setting, please feel free to take a look at makima's permissions in case you'd like to opt out of anything in advance. please message me through pm if you have any questions! )
theinstigator: (pic#15863817)

B

[personal profile] theinstigator 2023-01-04 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ The alcohol has helped Ruby come out of her shell, too. For her, this means she's downgraded from hair-trigger fight-or-flight mode to merely moderate paranoia, which is easy enough to mistake for shyness.

(The worst part is that she can't remember what she's supposed to be worried about. But surely it's not this kid.)

Ruby's a tough woman, and she's not entirely on the beat all the time, but she follows the dance well enough. ]


You're pretty good at this, kid. You practice or something?
minorjourney: (pic#)

Mollymauk Tealeaf | Critical Role

[personal profile] minorjourney 2023-01-04 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
01. Put on your dancing shoes.

[The music isn't to his tastes, but that doesn't matter. There is alcohol and people. The promise of a good time lingers as the conversation flows around him like water. He hasn't struck up a conversation yet. Everything has that odd feeling of nostalgia to it he can't put his finger on.

A tall man in a long western coat, and his shirt half open, exposing his scar-marked lavender chest, leans against the bar. He turns red eyes at anyone who approaches and takes a swig from his glass.]
Lively place, isn't it?

Got to wonder how old all this alcohol is. Depending on the age it might take us a bit to drink it all.

[He grins. He's covered in tattoos, snakes, and peacocks, all with a red eye at the center of the designs. His sharp horns curve around, and dangling from one is a novelty keychain. Why? Why not.]

02. Sand trap

[He had been wandering to get the feel of the hotel. Maybe grab a bite to eat. Find some game. Instead, he steps into a windowless room. He looks up, but the hazy golden light doesn't seem discernable. And the ceiling isn't there.] Well, that's new.

[The click of a door shutting prompts him to look up.] Hey, where were you goi-

[A hissing sound cuts across his words. He looks up and points up to sand pouring down.] That. Is a bad thing.

Wildcard
[Got an idea? Pm this journal or hit up [plurk.com profile] skyheron and we can come up with shenanigans together.]
theinstigator: (Default)

arrival

[personal profile] theinstigator 2023-01-04 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ A guy ripping the door off its hinges isn't even close to the weirdest thing that's happened to Ruby here. She'll try to take it in stride. ]

Doubt it. The people here don't seem much like the talking type.

[ Ruby crouches down next to the door, tracing a finger over the twisted hinge, looking for -- what? What kinds of secrets would a door contain? ]

I'll see what I can do. Did you just get real pissed at this thing, or what?
rottencactus: <user name =__7__HR site =Twitter.com> (121)

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
[No, don't laugh at him, weh...]

[He sighs a little when Ryan seems to be fine, at least, just drunk. Ah, he can smell the alcohol. That's not a surprise, though. What is a surprise, is that unsolicited compliment. He startles again, stammering.]


N-Nooo... it's. It's ...really not something worth noting...

[Those words tumble out of him before he understands why. Like an impulse, he blurts it out. divert the attention, divert the attention is the feeling in the back of his mind. Keep his head low or else-- or else--]

[...and it's gone again, like before.]

[It seemed a lot like he just spaced out and didn't hear Ryan, but after a moment he snaps to.]


Ah- yes. I ...I found myself here a little earlier. Is ...is that the case for most of us...?
themuseabandonsyou: (profile)

[personal profile] themuseabandonsyou 2023-01-04 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
Arrrre you ready for philosophical questions on the nature of talent versus skill, I'm so sorry

Essentially - given that skills, defined by the memories page as things your characters worked to be good at, have to be re-purchased per the game's mechanics, what happens to skills like, say, poetry, or singing? If a character had a natural inclination towards a hobby or pursuit, would the memory loss just bring them back to where they'd be if they'd never really practiced or trained?

And, given who I'm playing, if there's a supernatural element to the character being skilled at a given task (Orpheus here being the son of a goddess of the arts), does the lack of power-loss factor in or nah?
theinstigator: (pic#15865364)

memories

[personal profile] theinstigator 2023-01-04 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ The headstone says Ruby. It looks like it's been written over an older, scratched-out name. There might be another name under that, too. Ruby-the-person, Ruby the owner of the grave, runs her fingertips over it, as if she could read its secrets by touch.

No revelation comes. All she has, still, is Ruby.

She turns to look up at the stranger, and even though he doesn't look like anyone she's ever seen before, maybe that doesn't matter. Everything's been so strange, lately. ]


Yeah. Me, too.

I think I'm looking for...answers? I dunno. Who isn't, right? [ A huff of a laugh, a touch desperate. ] I just can't shake the feeling I'm not supposed to be here.
searingwing: (An empty mirror)

Diluc Ragvindr | Genshin Impact

[personal profile] searingwing 2023-01-04 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
01 at Staywell Hotel

My name? [There's a pause as he leans back slightly, somehow looking formal in black leather pants and a fringe shirt. It takes him a moment to think. He knows his name, but he can feel a weight there like a heavy mantle if he utters it.

Why? The answers aren't there. He takes a breath.]
Diluc Ragvindr. I prefer a room on the ground floor.

[His key is handed to him, and he stares at it. He pockets it as he turns to regard anyone watching or behind him. He nods once and steps to the side, offering access to the front desk.] My apologies; I didn't mean to take up too much time.

02. Memories of the Living.

[A cold empty dread grasps his heart as he steps into the graveyard. He resisted it for days until the call of it refused to let him say no. Diluc steps lightly, glancing at the graves he passes. The markings don't strike any cord with him. He steps respectfully regardless.

The sun doesn't set. Time seems to stretch on endlessly, yet he can't shake the sense he is being watched. He shifts his key in his hand, an idle motion of one who knows blades. But nothing jumps out. He risks a glance. Nothing. The sense of being watched presses in. He stops and turns, a subtle spike of heat in the air around him.

He forcibly relaxes as the heat ebbs,]
...I assume you were called here too. I apologize if I'm mistaken.

Put on your dancing shoes.

[The apple cider tastes good and eases some knot of worry. The atmosphere feels right. But he gets this nagging sense he should be on the other side of the counter. He swirls his drink.

As he takes a sip, he almost leaps out of his seat, realizing he isn't alone at his spot at the end of the bar. Like a startled cat pretending it hadn't been surprised, he settles. Then he nods to the bartender, who drifts over.]
The service here is good.

This is a good establishment. Oddities of this place aside.

[He glances at the dance floor then shakes his head.] I can't understand why I felt drawn to this place. It feels like I hear a song.

Wildcard
[Got ideas? Hit me up in pm, or at [plurk.com profile] skyheron for custom shenanigans.
umbrosus: (your demons)

[personal profile] umbrosus 2023-01-04 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Does he want to try? He looks at the dart being offered to him with fixed curiosity, and wordlessly shrugs off his black duster to drape it over the back of a nearby chair. He plucks the dart from Oliver's hand and lines himself up, mimicking the way Oliver set himself up for his throws - from the set of his feet to the line of his shoulders to how he holds the dart between his fingers.

He breathes out. He looks at the target. He throws. He breathes in. The dart quivers just outside the ring of the bullseye, and he blinks at it, then swivels his head to look at Oliver with a profoundly perplexed expression.]


...I thought that looked harder.
minorjourney: (pic#)

3

[personal profile] minorjourney 2023-01-04 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Sure, why the fuck not." Molly takes one look up and winces. He can see something up there too. Between the two of them, he can bet they'll possibly survive this. He takes a breath and climbs up her back. He balances carefully and doesn't examine why he moves with a bit more grace than most.

Now he can see a flimsy-looking rope ladder hooked to a pair of hooks to keep it from dropping. He shifts and stretches up. His fingers catch the rope, and he slips it from the hooks.

The rope ladder unrolls until it is at Vetra's eye level. It should be easy to reach. Molly climbs up and offers his hand to her. "Come on, let's get out of here."
minorjourney: (pic#)

1

[personal profile] minorjourney 2023-01-04 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
Dunno. It could be worth finding out sometime. [Molly pushes his dark hair out of his eyes and knocks back his drink. The whiskey burns going down. The drink warms up his senses as he smiles. He snags the umbrella from the bottom of his glass and tucks it up against one of his horns.]

There are a lot of mysteries hanging around. Well, other than all of us. [He snags another umbrella when his drink is refilled. He tucks it on the other side. He sways a little bit, a grin spreading across his face.] No matter what, we could all help each other through this.