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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.

sighsheavily: (pic#14281458)

cecelia ardenbury - an oc

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-01-03 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
o1. at staywell

[it's funny...for how much panic grips her, makes her limbs quiver and stomach knot, she can't not finish the braid she'd mechanically started upon waking.]

Ardenbury...

[she keeps murmuring the name - her name, she's certain, while she watches the reflection of herself comb back thick, curly red hair in efforts to tie it back. she can only do so much on her own, given the trembling of her fingers, so halfway will just have to do so she can rest them tightly in her lap and try to steady her breathing.

Ardenbury. Cecelia Ardenbury... the weight of it is still hard to grasp - like there's something to it that's terribly important.

gads, like her memory, perhaps? she scoffs at herself, at her panic, and at the frumpy sleeves puffed at the shoulders.]



What storm? The sky's clear as day! Sir--

[the receptionist smiles graciously, bobbing his head and once again going on about what to do in town. the saloon, the diner, but to stay--] 'Stay in town, dangerous outside,' yes, yes, you said that. [four times! Cecelia's patience is waning, her tone starting to get clipped. she closes her eyes, her fingers gripping her side of the reception desk. inhale, exhale.]

...You've been... [steady, girl.] Quite informative. Yes. Thank you. Good day.

[she turns away before her expression can be caught darkening too fast, but that only means the person approaching the desk gets to glimpse some of the barely-contained exasperation. it vanishes because of surprise, however; she straightens up with the startle that another's presence brings, blinking, silent for a beat.]

Mm. Well. If you came here for information...I can confidently say you'll find woefully little of it from this...repetitious fellow.



o2. dancing shoes

[Cecelia can't shake the nagging feeling of nostalgia in this space, so much so that she is just as unable to shake the dull throbbing at her temple. her brow pinches and eyes wince as she gently rubs at it, lips pursed in a thin line as she stands along a vacant wall near the end of the bar -- the end not littered with broken glass and booze puddles, thank you. she must've attended dances before like this, as a wallflower, as the sort to linger, wonder...pine...

it'd be nice to be asked, perhaps. that's what most girls would like, yes? that seems right to her - seems true to the confusing cocktail of feelings she's nursing along with that headache.

as a shape moves in her peripheral, pulling her focus, an ear twitches and prompts her to flick a glance over.]


Mind where you stand. [she nods, eyes down toward the glass graveyard underfoot.] You'll soil your shoes.



o3. sand trap

Mm-? No...no, this isn't...

[her sentence trails off into thought as she purses her lips, brow furrowed as she looks around the room, deciding to step inside fully and peer closer for clues. her eyes follow the beams of light across...up...

...where...?]


-!

[the soft click of a doorknob being turned prompts her to dart a glance around and to a door she was sure wasn't there before, and yet there it is.

and there someone is.]


...Pardon. I've been turned around. If you'll excuse-- [she squeaks with a startle as the hard slam of both doors in tandem blasts in her ears, makes her heart jump in her throat.

with a hand over her heart:]
Gads-! What--



o4. memories

Wait-!

[a hushed, earnest tone calls the moment her eyes fall upon another person. she immediately hastens closer, hoping beyond hope that she's finally turned a corner in this harrowing venture.

this person has to know what's going on, and definitely better not rattle off the same three phrases ad nauseum...!

with a pained-yet-restrained expression, like someone lost in a store finally biting the bullet and asking for assistance:]
Please. If you'll just spare a moment and tell me how to make it back to the hotel...?



[tl;dr who is this: half-elf sorceress, ???? age (looks mid-late 20s), dragon (red) lineage, inherently magic if you got the sniffy senses for it]
vibing: (soft | move | look)

yuri lowell | tales of vesperia

[personal profile] vibing 2023-01-03 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
1: Dancing shoes

[ Decked out in black, denim clinging tight to his thighs and loose around his shoulders, Yuri orders a beer at the bar, almost like it's muscle memory. The bandana is loose around his throat, over a bare chest, his linen shirt open to his navel. The bartender pours him a tall pint and the flavor washes over his tongue like fresh water after a long, hot day. It feels like the days here are dragging on forever, and he isn't quite sure why, or what he should be doing, but he's antsy just sitting around.

At least the bar is lively. People dance and talk and drink, and he settles into the noise, letting it wash over him. After a long moment, the drink seems to ply his tongue, and he glances at you, sitting next to him, a smile flickering on his lips
]

What d'you think's beyond the desert?

2: Sand trap

[ As soon as the door snaps shut behind him, Yuri has a bad feeling. This room isn't where he meant to go: he wanted to go drown himself in the shower; the cold water feels amazing, and he can't get enough of it.

This isn't a bathroom at all. There's no shower here, no water here, and he meets eyes with you, standing across the small room from him, and his hand goes to something on his wrist--something that isn't there. Fuck. He needs to get a sword, or an axe, or something. At least he's still decent at hand-to-hand.
]

Alright, funny joke. Where are we?

3: Memories of the living

[ The graveyard feels oddly peaceful. It's hot and dry, like the rest of Wellstone, but it feels calm here. Surrounded by people who tread this ground before, who lived in these buildings, who maybe even built them. He doesn't quite notice that he's lost until he very much is, walking slowly between the headstones.

The feeling of being watched tips him off first. Goosebumps shiver up his spine and he twitches, even if he doesn't show it, and looks slowly around for the culprit. His eyes land on you, and he relaxes a little. Knowing the enemy is easier than not.

He gives you a little nod, intent to keep walking on his own, when he turns back toward where he came from and... nothing. Just more stones, more crosses, more graves. No path, no exit. Strange. He hooks a hand on his hip
]

Exit's that way, right?

[ He points back the way he came, which might not be where you came from. ]
thinkfirst: (smile | helpful | kind)

02!

[personal profile] thinkfirst 2023-01-03 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh—

[ Flynn narrowly sidesteps putting his heel through the broken end of a bottle, jostles it with a sharp tinkle of glass instead as he comes down slightly to its left. Crisis averted, he guesses, and looks up from the carnage with a small smile that brightens quickly. ]

Thank you! What a mess; I don't see why you wouldn't just return your glasses. It seems like such a waste.

[ His fingers twitch with some half-remembered urge. Somebody, he thinks, should really tidy these, or someone is going to get hurt, and he very nearly bends to pick one up when he remembers his reason for leaving the crowd behind to come over here in the first place. ]

Um— but, if you'd like to get out of the muck—

[ Smooth, Scifo! How are you supposed to ask someone who looks just a little lonely if they'd like to dance? Does he just spit it out? Isn't there a protocol for this kind of thing...? If there is, he doesn't remember it, and now he's just standing here staring at her, so— ]

Would you like to dance?
vibing: (smile | tease | soft | cocky)

01

[personal profile] vibing 2023-01-03 11:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This girl is hilarious. Yuri leans back against the wall--he was going to leave the hotel, but the uproar at the front desk has him pausing, a small smile on his lips--and watches. When she turns to him in surprise, he pushes off the wall with a little shrug ]

Yeah, gave him the beat down earlier. Really got me in the mood to try out the diner. Gotta support the tourism industry in this town.

[ He practically memorized what the guy said, the words beat into his brain ]
unjedi: (235)

??? (ahsoka tano) | star wars

[personal profile] unjedi 2023-01-03 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
( i. arrival )
[ okay. this looks vaguely reminiscent of her last memory, but not quite as dreary or heartbreaking. and her heart was breaking that day. she felt it with every step. she tugs on the poncho, feeling the fabric between her fingertips (this was grey once) and pulls off her hat to notice the bumps made, adjusted for her montrals. she glances to see if there are any other visitors in the lobby. ]

Wellstone . . . Does anyone know where that is?


( iii. dancing shoes )
[ the saloon seems nice, albeit a bit too noisy for her tastes. at least she's not getting stared at. she dangles her drink between her fingers, letting the liquid slosh around as she musters a faint smile, watching the people dance. it was . . . nice. nice to see people happy, even if the absence of her memories feels like a dull throb. at least it doesn't feel as painful as when she first arrived.

she leans back, taking a sip. ]


You're not going to dance?


( iii. memories of the living )
[ oh.

this has the tinge of familiarity. her last (and only) memory had been standing over shoddily-made graves. with sticks and helmets propped on top of them as markers, all with the same orange tint and pattern. the pattern that graced her own looks. she remembered the dirt under her fingernails, the burn of her knees as she dug those graves. and she remembered, this is my fault. these were the people I'm responsible for. I did this to them.

the what and why eludes her, but the guilt does not.

now, standing over her own, she can feel that again, with the steady thump of her heart. this is hers. ahsoka tano.

but the name doesn't mean anything to her. how could it? so she just stares at it, as if willing the meaning to come to her. as a thought, as a vision, as anything.

nothing happens.

she sighs, turning away. ]


We probably shouldn't stay too long in a place like this.


( iv. wildcard )
[ got a different prompt you’d like to do? ping me on [plurk.com profile] timmtams / pm this journal. app + permissions. ]
Edited 2023-01-03 23:56 (UTC)
thinkfirst: (skit | sad | annoyed)

sand (thirst) trap

[personal profile] thinkfirst 2023-01-03 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Flynn's hand, naturally, is still on the doorknob. The closed, unmoving doorknob, which hasn't been responding to any of his attempts to open it. This is shitty for a lot of reasons but the most pressing of all of them is that Flynn—

Flynn really, really has to pee. Flynn has had to pee for the increasingly-desperate two minutes he's been trapped in here already, and now his only possible exit in the form of the other door has snapped shut and so possibly he can be forgiven for snapping, red-faced and uncomfortable,
]

If it's a joke, it's a very elaborate one. Check your door, please—

[ As if Flynn isn't striding across the room to try it himself, possibly nudging Yuri aside in his distress. Oops! Normally he's so much more polite than this, but desperate times... ]
fauxmarth: (i mean. ok. but like. uh.)

lucina - fire emblem: awakening

[personal profile] fauxmarth 2023-01-03 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
o1. at staywell

[the errant explorer on one of the floors of the hotels may be the lucky winner of bearing witness to the unintentionally violent yanking-off-the-hinges of a linen closet at the end of the hall at the hands of a dark-haired girl in a fringed skirt.]

Oh... [one of the pins holding the hinges in place tinkles to the ground and rolls at her feet.

oops.

she stands there, back to any witnesses, her face beet red as she stares at the sliver of closet she can now see, now that the door is askew. she appears to be in something of a quiet shock as she hastily goes over her options here. she should try to fix this. she could make a quick exit and forego the blame, but she really should try to fix this. but if she lets go of the handle, is the door going to sag with the awkward weight and break entirely off the single hinge??

thank goodness there are currently no witnesses.]



o2. dancing shoes

Excuse me...

[the girl bends a little to meet the person sitting in the booth closer to eye-level. she smiles, a touch timid, a dash hopeful.]

It's awful crowded, isn't it? [seems so to her.] Would...you mind if I sat here, too? On this side. [the vacant side.] Or are you waiting for someone?



o3. sand trap

...

[wait. huh? this isn't her room.

she frowns immediately, eyes narrowed as she steps into the unfamiliar room, hair prickling on the back of her neck. as she fights past the danger sense in her head warning her of unknowable threats, she forces herself to paint this space into the whole of the hotel she's in.]


...Too big to be along this wall...right...?

[she'd muse more, but someone's just come through the door opposite, wholly catching her attention.]

Oh-- Is, this isn't... Wait. [she's flummoxed.] How...how is there a door there? [that should be open air. that's the window-facing side!

...right?]



o4. memories

Was there a battle...?

[she's wondering aloud, her pacing having slowed to a stop as she takes in the long line of headstones before her, her expression scrunched with concern. it seems to go on forever, but that can't be; she was certain she was heading toward the fenceline, and yet it seems even further than before.

a battle...that was the first thing that came to mind, seeing such volume. what else could it possibly be? she has to really consider it.]
A plague? [...surely these aren't over time; they're all relatively of the same wear, right? maybe...

when company comes her way, she's musing aloud as such, bending forward to wipe sand off the face of one of the headstones, trying to make out the name. when she catches glimpse of a shape under the brim of her hat, she lifts her head and looks, hesitating before straightening up, watching, curious and hesitant about whoever's approached.]
Edited 2023-01-04 00:01 (UTC)
vibing: (hip | talk | look | unimpressed)

[personal profile] vibing 2023-01-04 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yuri's nudged aside, holding up his hands as he watches this guy try the door he just came through ]

Jeez... no luck, man. It's stuck.

[ He's not not freaking out, but he's not freaking out as much as this guy. Instead, while Flynn fruitlessly tries the door again, Yuri looks around the room, a hand on his hip. He lets out a whistle ]

Alright, the way out is up. Far... up...
rottencactus: <user name =__7__HR site =Twitter.com> (97)

Mayoi Ayase | Ensemble Stars!!

[personal profile] rottencactus 2023-01-04 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
Arrival

[Something isn't right. Mayoi can't seem to shake that feeling. It's beyond the obvious, because there is something irrevocably wrong with his present situation. The sun is too hot on his skin, he feels like he's wilting, even inside, these clothes don't feel exactly right, the style is strange, and he doesn't recall much of anything other than his name and a faint tune he can't quite catch, just constantly out of his reach.]

[But no, there is something much worse under it all, and Mayoi can't grasp it. It's a dread that seems to be simmering under his skin. A terror, the feeling of ice running through his veins the moment he thinks he might have it, but then gone again, leaving him with the after shocks of something. Something he should be afraid of, something he should have in the back of his mind that he doesn't.]

[Just the fear that he's forgetting something important and whatever it is, it's a matter of life or death.]

[Standing, seemingly dissociating in the lobby of the hotel, Mayoi stands, staring at the floor with his eyes slowly widening until--]


Hiiieeeauugh!

[It's a pained shriek and he doubles over, cupping his face as blood all but pours out of his nose and ears. Shocked tears well up in his eyes and he lets out a few more pained, startled, pathetic little noises.]

[...p-please help him...]



Idol Shoes


[He's recovered from his incident in the hotel lobby, and while he still feels a little frazzled, he's managed to find some means of settling down. Something tells him this is probably his default-- his baseline. Just ..always a little on edge for reasons he's unsure of. It's fine, it feels manageable.]

[He doesn't care for crowds, but after wandering a bit aimlessly, he needs to take shelter once more from the sun and he finds his way inside, hat tipped down and keeping his eyes away from anyone who might be looking at him. He orders something to drink, something gentle like an unsweetened green tea and finally takes a moment to enjoy it. It's like magic the way the tension finally oozes out of him.]

[So, it's no surprise he winds up on the dance floor. And that he becomes a a demon in black snake skinned boots.]


Come, come take my haaaand~ It isn't so hard, see? Follow my lead and we'll dance until oblivion, fufufu!

[His grin is wide and his teeth are sharp but, it looks fun, doesn't it? Take his hand, come on, you know you want to.]


Memories


[Maybe the feeling of being watched doesn't get to you, but it's hard to ignore the absolutely haunting sound of singing coming from within the graveyard somewhere. There's no words, at least none that can be made out, Mayoi is just singing from the heart and it absolutely sounds like something a ghost would be belting.]

[He looks a little like a lost spirit, anyway, just normally, but even more so with him sitting upon his grave, holding what looks to be a single playing card and he wails into the night. If you're sneaky enough, he won't see you coming. Or maybe you wait for him to finish his song? He's having a moment, either way.]
Edited 2023-01-04 00:04 (UTC)
sighsheavily: (pic#14667795)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-01-04 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Cecelia's eyes move across his form, drawn here and there to pieces of gesture that rapidly paint presumptive pictures in her mind: for some reason, there's a wealth of knowledge that comes out of nowhere to inform foregone conclusions that she seems very keen to believe.

take this man's case: even with a startle, he shifts without twitching, so he's surely no anxious wallfly. yet in the half-start of cleaning, he must have much on his mind to be so quick to drop his valuable first-impression for such a diversion.

...or he's got a clean-streak. both can be true or none at all.

her eyebrow lifts. muck. hm.

her head tilts. an offer to dance? without an offer to a name at all?]


Are you offering because you wish to dance, sir? [or evade the draw of cleaning.]
thinkfirst: (talking | neutral | worried)

arrival!

[personal profile] thinkfirst 2023-01-04 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
It... feels like I should.

[ Flynn says uncertainly, to both himself and to this stranger, who has said the first new thing he's heard in hours—the receptionist, really, is not helpful at all—and who he is shifting closer to. Strangely comforting, with the empty buzz of his own head, to be met with as much confusion as he feels. It's a lonely thing to be trapped in your own head with only your doubts for company. Flynn should be okay with this, shouldn't he?

He's sure that he should.
]

You had a reservation, didn't you? I did, so I must have made it and... forgotten. But I'm sure that I'm supposed to be here, and that means I should know where here is.
sighsheavily: (pic#14315118)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-01-04 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
You... I beg your pardon? [her eyes widen a bit, incredulous. 'gave him the beatdown'-? in the mood??

let's be reasonable about this; it's surely just a turn of phrase.]
...Mn, you mean you've attempted to scold him for his unhelpful repetition. I see. [she lifts her chin a bit, trying to look less bothered about all of this (she is bothered).]

If this is the case for all who exchange words with him, perhaps some signage will needs be in order...
vibing: (neutral | look | tired)

iii

[personal profile] vibing 2023-01-04 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ The graveyard stretches on forever, the quiet oppressive, the feeling of being observed making his skin crawl. He notices Ahsoka from a ways away, and feels instant relief. Another person, alive (he hopes). He's been in here for who knows how long, the moon hanging eerily still in the sky, the purple cast over everything unchanging.

He keeps his steps even, dirt puffing up around his boots, eyes slipping from her to the gravestone, the name unfamiliar as he tries to sound it out on his tongue.
]

Would if I could. Seem to be pretty turned around.

[ Like he just took a wrong turn. Like he doesn't feel like he's caught in an endless stretch of land with no escape in sight. ]
thinkfirst: (determined | ready | lead)

[personal profile] thinkfirst 2023-01-04 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Flynn yanks hard, uselessly, on the door one more time. It doesn't even budge. It feels like it should budge, because he just saw it close and it can't be that well-sealed, but even ramming his shoulder into it just makes his skin smart, makes him scowl at the thing. ]

Up doesn't make sense. I've been into the bathroom on my room. I was just there this morning! It was a normal door! It didn't lead—

[ Finally, he turns around, still frowning, and follows the guy's eyes... ]

...up.

[ Flynn squints into the hazy light. Is that a ladder? He steps closer, trying to get a closer look, and then yelps as something sharp hits his eye. ]

Ow!
venenatum: (5)

Dahlia Hawthorne | Ace Attorney

[personal profile] venenatum 2023-01-04 12:12 am (UTC)(link)

STAYWELL HOTEL


She sits in the lobby, staring at the key she's received from the front desk. She has yet to make it to her room, brown eyes narrowing at the key as she tries to recall just how she got here. There are spare memories - things she can recall but nothing concrete - but nothing that comes to mind of how she arrived at Wellstone. Dahlia sets the key down rubbing her temples as she decides that it's currently not worth the effort to try and remember. Besides, she feels like she's supposed to be here, and it's a warm welcoming feeling.

She starts to twirl her fingers through her red hair, idly wondering what she should do next. Exploring could be interesting. She could ask the hotel staff questions about the area. She could go to her room and lay in bed until nightfall doing nothing until she willed herself out again. She had options, but instead, she sits in the lobby, considering them instead of actually getting up.

Finally, she rises to her feet, smoothing out the cloth of her dress with a heavy sigh. It was too hot to really explore, wasn't it?

"Well," She says to herself with a smile. "Let's see what there is to do."

With that, she makes her way to the bulletin board, taking a look to see what is currently advertised.


PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES


 The night air was like a balm, cooling her heated skin from the harsh day and inviting her back outside to explore. The music is what calls to her, drawing her inside the saloon with welcoming arms. She has her hair up in a loose bun, mostly to keep the heat off her neck, her dress sweeping the floor as she walks towards the bar with a sweet smile. Maybe just one drink wouldn't be so bad. It's not like she had the opportunity before.... before? The thought is gone as quickly as it arrives, not quite sure where she was going with it.

Dahlia orders her drink - a Mary Pickford - and takes her seat at the bar.

"The music is quite lively isn't it?" She glances toward the person next to her as she waits for her drink, a smile never leaving her lips. "Almost makes you want to dance."

Does she like to dance? Does her newfound conversation partner like to dance? Well, it was definitely a mystery she was oddly looking forward to finding out.


MEMORIES OF THE LIVING


She feels like she's been wandering the small graveyard for hours. It was starting to frustrate her, unable to find the exit as she continues to pass by what she swears is the same headstone she passed by when she first arrived. A scowl crosses her features, huffing as she kicks up dust and dirt - nearly kicking over a wooden cross that marked someone's grave practically throwing down her parasol in the process. Deep breaths, Dahlia, why are you so angry? It's not like she's entirely lost - or entirely alone.

"Please tell me," Agitation still clear in her voice, "you aren't lost as well?"

She quickly lifts up her parasol from the ground, shaking the dirt and dust off as she takes another calming breath. Perhaps with another person would be beneficial for finding a way out. Two heads were better than one, after all.

Edited 2023-01-04 00:21 (UTC)
unjedi: (227)

[personal profile] unjedi 2023-01-04 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ she can sense it. the uncertainty, the unknowing. so they're all the same? for some reason, at least that is quietening. she can loosen her guard a little. ]

I forgot a lot more than simply a reservation.
vibing: (wave | smile | soft | tease | amused)

[personal profile] vibing 2023-01-04 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Guess that's one way to look at it. Thought he was fucking with me.

[ Hands slide into the pockets of his jeans, and he rocks on the toes of his black boots, shrugging a shoulder. The image of ease. Or, he would be if there was a sword at his side. Even with all these layers, he feels naked without it. ]

Pretty sure he only knows 20 words. That can't be his fault.

Sign's not a bad idea. Think people'll read it?
unjedi: (208)

[personal profile] unjedi 2023-01-04 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
You can't?

[ was something keeping them here? but her senses aren't telling her anything. ]
unjedi: (220)

( 02 )

[personal profile] unjedi 2023-01-04 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
No, go right ahead.

[ waiting for someone. as if she or anyone else can remember that. ]

You don't like dancing?
sighsheavily: (pic#14667795)

[personal profile] sighsheavily 2023-01-04 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
[her eyes narrow, feeling a shade...put off by his nonchalance. there's really no need to be; she ought to be encouraged by the confidence to relax and speak as he does, but still. engh.

hearing not a bad idea is something of an unintentional olive branch. she lifts a hand to her chin to consider, looking askance.]


I suppose I couldn't rightly say... I would hope most would seek to find the truth through their own experiences, even with written forewarning...but it would be validating to see that the outcome wasn't theirs alone. That they're not being singled out for bullying, that is to say.
fauxmarth: (i...guess you can eat cake that way)

[personal profile] fauxmarth 2023-01-04 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
[apparently when in doubt: find the strangest-looking person in the room! she's not sure if it was intentional or not, but...yeah. she is a strange-looking person; that isn't hair at all!

Lucina's mouth twitches in a sheepish way as she sits, unable to keep from briefly tucking her chin and looking toward the dancers.]


I'm not actually sure I know how, if I'm honest... [she looks back.] Is that strange?
vibing: (huh | look | soft | neutral)

[personal profile] vibing 2023-01-04 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yuri twists, his hand going to--nothing. There's nothing there. He curls his hand into a fist instead, and he glances up, around, trying to find the source of what could have hurt this guy.

He doesn't really hear it at first, but his eyes go up, and up again, and he can see the shimmer of tan against the white wall. Taking a step forward, he kneels down, and touches the floor, where little granules of sand are building up on the edges of the room
]

Huh. That's weird.

[ It's sort of like rain, but sand, and indoors, and that doesn't make any sense at all. Just as he's about to say more, the sand seems to start falling faster, the pile at his feet doubling in bare seconds ]

Looks like bad news.

[ He glances at the guy again, sizing him up. He feels a tug of something--he looks familiar, but Yuri can't for the life of him place why. But he can't for the life of him place much today. That doesn't matter now. What matters is this guy looks strong ]

Think you can give me a boost? [ He tilts his head toward the ladder ]
faithfulson: (Pallin' with my bffs)

At Staywell

[personal profile] faithfulson 2023-01-04 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ Luke can't help but wince in sympathy at the... "attempt" at being subtle going on down the hall. At the rate she was going, he was afraid the whole wall was going to come crashing down on her. The fact that letting go of the door looked like it was going to fall off on top of her didn't help, and he found himself rushing forward, grabbing the door before it fell off the remaining hinge. ]

[ Lucina will have the pleasure of a man that looked like he lived his life under the sun suddenly hovering over her, though the clean black pants and fringed shirt didn't exactly match the farmboy look to his face. The charming, slightly lopsided smile made up for it though. ]


You look like you could use a hand, ma'am.
shiro2hero: (don't ask me to do math)

Shiro | Voltron | ota

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2023-01-04 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
(1) THE HOTEL WELL-IFORNIA
It's almost like the outfit was made to fit too tightly. At least in the chest and biceps. As such, the man now resembles a plaid-clad dorito in black jeans where he leans against the front desk, trying to do his utmost to get more words out of the clerk.

"I just -" What is there to do in town? I'd check out the saloon "Yeah, you said that. Look, I need to know."

He shifts, and something goes thunk on the counter. It's his right hand. And it's completely made of metal.

"What is this?"


(2) DANCE OFF | the saloon
"Sorry, I don't - "

He was going to say he didn't think he wanted anything. It just felt right to say. No thanks. But the glass is definitely just water. Which sounds great, actually. It's hot out, after all. And so, at first, Shiro can be found at the bar proper, with his dorky glass of water, nodding politely to people passing by. Or snapping his head around to what he swore was a dark shape in a corner.

... later on, though, the magic drink does its trick. Shiro will be out on the dance floor with the rest of the people. His expression suddenly lighter, and despite the grey hair, he looks much younger. He's a crap dancer though, no matter how enthusiastic he is.


(3) GETTING WEIRD | the graveyard
It gets cold in the desert at night. And so the plaid shirt is exchanged for a long coat. There's a glove over his right hand. It's all very dark and dramatic in the evening, echoed by the faraway look in his eye. Staring into the dim light, out over the little graveyard.

If you're there too, he glances your way, then nods his head forward. "You hear it too?"


WILDCARD;
( Happy to match format or throw up a separate, specific prompt for anyone who might want one! )
Edited 2023-01-04 00:24 (UTC)