2.0 Test Drive Meme

[wellie]

2.0 Test Drive Meme

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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. This month, there is a strong possibility that those old west style clothes include a pair of jorts or daisy dukes.

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 May onward, and can happen concurrently with other events during May and June. This will be the only TDM for April, May, and June.

Applications are open April 26th until May 1st, and May 27th until June 1st. Invites are available for friends of current players.

All-Night Diner

Content warnings: feelings of euphoria and mild intoxication, exhaustion

There’s banner over the diner's doorway reading Welcome!, with colorful flags drooping in the heat. Inside, the waiter greets you with a wide smile and an announcement:

“Welcome to the Stardust Diner! Pie’s on the house today. Have a seat.”

During the day, the diner is just that: a diner. You can get anything on the very extensive menu, including prickly pear lemonade. The pie is free, and everything else is put on the tab for your room that will never come due, probably. It seems like a shame to eat that pie all alone! Accepting a piece of pie makes you feel like you should share this moment with someone. Luckily all the booths are plush and open, and it’s easy to plop down with a stranger to share this special moment.

At night, the mood shifts. The diner’s neon sign is a beacon against the thick darkness, beckoning you in with blinking lights and a line of text reading FORGET YOUR WORRIES. Inside, country-swing music rolls in time with throbbing red lights. The tables have been pushed aside to make room for a makeshift sticky dance floor, and the atmosphere is intoxicating.

It’s as easy as anything to be swept along with the vibes, the dancing, the intensity of it all. When you start dancing, you really do forget your worries. You forget that you don’t know how you got here and that you don’t may not even know the person beside you; you forget that you’re supposed to be anywhere else except here. Everything feels briefly perfect and beautiful, meant to be, no matter what else is happening to you.

When you stumble outside, it will be dawn, no matter how long you think you’ve been there, and you’ll be exhausted enough to simply curl up right there in the sand and fall asleep. Hope you made a friend kind enough to drag you home, or that someone wakes you up!

tl;dr:

• The diner is open and the pie is free.
• If you get a slice of pie, you feel compelled to share it with someone.
• At night, the diner transforms into essentially a nightclub. The vibes are intoxicating and you can forget all your worries and dance the night away.
• You can only leave at dawn, and your body will be exhausted. Better get help getting back to your room!

Something’s Coming

Content warnings: blood, blood-sucking, monsters

A few hours after dusk, strange creatures begin to scurry from shadow to shadow, chasing after anything that moves: chupacabras. Large ones. They’re big creatures, the size of large dogs with spikes down their spines and tails, dark and hairless with fearsome teeth. They are everywhere, and they are hungry.

They are indiscriminate in who they try to bite: the biggest among you is just as at risk as the smallest, but the bigger you are, the more of them might come for the fight. No matter where you are, there’s a risk: they seem adept at making their way into buildings. You might find one looming over your bed, resting on your chest, getting ready to bite; one might slip into the diner while you’re dancing and latch on when you’ve forgotten to be concerned.

If a chupacabra manages to bite you, it will suck your blood, and it won’t stop until you’re completely drained unless you do something about it. Having your blood sucked by one is not a pleasant experience, it’s excruciatingly painful and the creatures will do their best to keep you prone while eating their fill. The more they drink, the more exhausted you’ll get, until it’s very difficult to fight them off.

They can be killed or scared off, but the further they are into a fight or into their meal, the harder they are to get rid of. If a chupacabra has latched on to you, you’ll need help escaping!

tl;dr:

• Chupacabras strike the town at dusk.
• They want to suck your blood, and are indiscriminate in who they attack. They will try and drain you completely.
• They can be fought or scared off. It's easier to get rid of them if you have a pal.

The Walls Have Eyes

Content warnings: eyes, trypophobia

There are eyes everywhere. They peer out of cracks in walls, the floor, the grout in your shower, an open cut in your skin. There are even eyes in the craters on the moon, staring down at you unblinking.

These eyes seem familiar, even if you don’t remember them. You feel like you do. You feel a heavy weight settle over you when you look at them, guilt curdling in the pit of your gut.

The eyes belong to someone, or someones, who you’ve hurt or let down. They belong to your greatest mistake, to someone who you left behind, to someone who you regret. The same eyes over and over again, or the eyes of many who you’ve hurt, watching you, judging you, pleading for you to save them or apologize or make up for the mistakes you may not even remember making. You just know that you made them. They eyes don't lie.

The more you ignore these eyes, the more they seem to encroach on you: appearing in the walls, following you around corners, in the creases of your knuckles, the fold of your sheets. They replace the eyes of the people around you, the same eyes staring at you from everywhere you look.

Your skin itches with the constant feeling of being watched. Your head feels tight, and your own eyes feel too full, like there’s too much of you inside your skin. You’d do anything to get away from this feeling.

Soon enough, the mounting pressure explodes: you have to confront them and your guilt and your mistakes, and beg for the forgiveness they’re asking of you. Even if you don’t remember what those mistakes were, or why you should feel guilty, you have to tell someone. If you don't, the feeling will only mount, until all you can see are eyes. Eyes, just eyes.

tl;dr:

• The eyes of someone(s) who embodies your regret appear in the cracks of the world around you.
• The more you ignore the eyes, the more of them appear, and the more you feel an intense, heavy sense of guilt.
• The guilt you feel can be based on things you remember, or things you don't. If it's based on things you don't know, your head will also hurt.
• The eyes will ease if you admit your guilt, to the best of your ability. Tell someone your guilt, and the eyes will recede.
• If you don't, your whole world will become eyes.

Comments

Emerald Sustrai | RWBY

[hallucinogem]

a. let's sneak in from the cheap seats [pie]

[this is hardly the greatest pie in the history of pie, but it's still pretty damn good, in the opinion of this one green-haired girl who at least looks enough like she belongs here to fake it. the circumstances of her arrival have been as weird as anything else, but, like, whatever, right? everyone's nice enough, and she's getting some free food out of it, so that's all probably fine.]

[actually, as she thinks about it, there's no real way to know whether this is or is not the greatest pie in the history of pie. she knows nothing of the history of pie. maybe the person she slides in next to will know.]

Hey. Do you know much about pie? I get the feeling I've had better than this, but, like, who knows. [she rests her plate and a brown bottle of sarsaparilla on the table.] Is it the same here every night?

b. but at least they were mine to make [eyes]

[they're silver.]

[that's the first thing she notices when she starts seeing them all around her. and she doesn't know what that means, but she knows that being stared down by these silver eyes is starting to give her a headache. a headache and a horrible sinking feeling in her gut, as though she needs more of that. she's walking through the streets when one of the silver eyes catches hers through a gap in the wood, then another, then another, and they just multiply and multiply and it gets harder and harder to understand what's happening but it's only making her head hurt worse.]

[she ducks off around a corner and backs against the wall of one of the more intact buildings, and she sees her own red eyes staring back at her from a broken reflection, and in an instant—before she can even realize that her nose is bleeding, the red flashes to more silver. more and more, surrounding her, coming from every angle. she sinks to the ground and slams her own eyes shut, and with both hands on her head she screams out,]

Enough! [like it's a plea. like someone will listen.] That's enough. I see you. I see you. Just... tell me what you want.

[she's not expecting a reply. maybe someone can surprise her.]

a

[rustedknight]

I don't know. I haven't tried all the pies yet. Or been here that long, actually.

[ The blond, bearded man answers her earnestly, scooting a little to the side to make sure she has plenty of room. A half-eaten slice of apple pie and scoop of vanilla ice cream are shuffled with him, as well as a nice tall glass of chocolate milk.

Once she's situated, he drops his voice, glancing around them watchfully. ]

But listen...be careful who you talk to about pies around here, all right? Some people get...weird about them.

[hallucinogem]

[see, he seems nice enough for a stranger. there's a brief question in em's mind about just how old he is, but it doesn't seem to matter much; they're all just here in this small town together.]

Yeah? How do you mean weird, like an elitism thing, or...? [pie elitism sounds like a wild way to waste one's time.] I mean, I have pie opinions and all, but it's not like it's life or death.

[unless it is for her. this is silly.]

[rustedknight]

[ Age is one of the many social nuances Jaune remains blithely unaware of, so he and Em are (for now) in the same boat. ]

There's a guy here who thinks the pies are mind controlling people.

[ Is that pie elitism? Jaune doesn't think it quite fits. It's also not exactly life or death, so all in all, it's good that those were her top worries. ]

Dark hair, really tired looking, goes by Eraserhead. Anyway, they're not doing that... [ Jaune glances down at his pie, thoughtfully ] ...unless the pie is telling me to tell you that.

[hallucinogem]

[emerald is tilting back a drink when those words come out, and she has to swallow quickly so she doesn't spit it out all over the table.]

The pie is mind-controlling people? Are you for real? [that's as wild a conspiracy as anything.] I don't think that's something that people do to pie. But who knows! [she takes another bite, swallows, and waves her fingers sarcastically.] Maybe the pie is making us say that. [ah, she's having a good time already.]

So you said you haven't been here for very long? [she offers her hand.] Call me Emerald. I'm pretty sure you're the first person I've met who can say more than ten words.

[rustedknight]

It's really not. [ Jaune assures her, with a tiny ripple of underlying amusement. ] It did want me to share it, but it didn't make me, and when I did, it was done.

[ You know. The way pie silently and mysteriously communicates its wishes sometimes, as pie is prone to doing.

That covered, Jaune takes her hand and shakes it, his calloused grip tentative and light. ]

I'm Jaune, and it's only been a few days. You've probably talked to the receptionist and the waiter, right? They're like that. So are a few of the other people in town, so don't be surprised when it happens again - they're not being rude. It's just how they are.

[ There's a little touch of protectiveness there. ]

[hallucinogem]

Yeah, that's about the size of it. [she smiles, catching the protectiveness and trying to deflect it herself. she's not, like, a mean person, is she? probably not. she's just kind of going with what feels natural to her, no matter what questions it may bring.] Good to know it's not about me specifically.

[and yet. the questions it brings are kind of hard to ignore. she stops for a moment, holding her fork and looking down at her plate, then looks back over at jaune.]

Do you, um. Do you have... these weird gaps in your memory too? Or did I just win the jackpot here.

[rustedknight]

[ There's no need for Emerald to worry. Jaune's protectiveness extends indiscriminately to everyone, as he'll prove when he winces lightly at her question, then turns apologetic. ]

I do. So does everyone I've talked to. There's nothing happening to you that isn't happening to everyone else. [ His tone is serious, but still gentle and calm. ] Anything strange you're thinking, or feeling, or seeing, there's a good chance it's happening to someone else too. So you can always talk about it, ask any question you want. No one is going to think it's weird.

[ He half-turns in the booth to face her better, resting his hand on the table's edge. ]

Everyone is missing most of their memories. We're all here in a town called Well. There are the people who were here when the first people like us arrived, like the receptionist, and then there's - well, us. The newcomers who don't remember how he got here, or much of anything else.

That's the first part. Are you following so far?

[hallucinogem]

[emerald nods along, and there's part of her that is calmed by this idea. the idea that she's in the same boat as everybody else, that she's not being singled out. she has no idea why that's a comfort, but she doesn't know enough about what's going on inside her own head to question it, either. it's... a weird sort of conflict to have to live with. but she's trying very hard to avoid thinking about it too much, and the pie is helping.]

[she only just met jaune, but he really does seem like a nice person. she appreciates, in her heart, that he's taking the time to treat her like an equal and give her some guidance. and she doesn't know why that's so important, either, but... maybe she doesn't need an answer for that yet.]

Okay, so none of us know much about who we are, and the town's small enough that everyone gets hit by the same stuff. I'm with you so far. What's part two?

b

[toteninsel]

[ For a second, there are two sets of red eyes in that reflection. Then Ariane blinks, and all she sees are blue lenses. Those blue eyes are unnerving, to be sure, but it looks like this other person has it worse.

Ariane should move on. She doesn't know this person, doesn't owe her anything, and this person probably doesn't want Ariane's help anyway. ]

I don't want anything.

[ Ariane says, her voice soft and a little unsure. ]

Are you seeing them too?

[hallucinogem]

[emerald wouldn't be having it so bad if she hadn't been ignoring them for so damn long, but here she is. at least there's someone else here. she looks over and sees some eyes that appear to match her own, and that's... actually a relief. it means that she can keep ignoring the silver, at least for now. she brings herself out of her terrified cocoon just enough to maintain eye contact.]

I am. They're everywhere. It's not just me? [that's an even bigger relief. a madness shared by two is a lot easier to handle.] Do you know... who? Why—anything about what's happening?

[toteninsel]

[ Ariane holds the eye contact, which might as well be holding someone else's hand, for how much she's used to doing this. For the first time in a while, she wishes she could actually help, but she doesn't really know what's going on more than this person does. ]

It's not just you. [ Ariane takes a few steps closer. ] Mine kept telling me to remember my promise, but I couldn't tell you what that means. Is that what's happening to you?

[hallucinogem]

[emerald doesn't move; maybe she's too scared to do it, or maybe meeting somebody else in the same position as her is having the opposite effect. maybe it's making it easier to handle. misery loves company, right?]

I don't know what that means either. [she shakes her head, and there's just a hint of regret to it. as she works herself up to tell this person what the eyes are telling her, she can feel tension rise in her chest and an ache growing inside her skull.] They keep telling me "it's your fault she's dead", but... but I've never killed anyone. I don't know what they're talking about. I just want it to stop.

[toteninsel]

[ That's worse than any old promise. That's a lie. Ariane is no longer confused. For the first time since coming here, she's angry.

Slowly, still a little uncertain in her own body, Ariane lowers herself to the ground. She reaches out to one of the woman's hands that's wrapped around her head. If she doesn't pull away, Ariane makes the lightest, gentlest touch, like a spiderweb on the wind. ]

If you've never killed anyone, then it can't be your fault. It's not your fault.

[ It's not your fault when they push you, or kick you, or call you names. It's not your fault when you have to run away. ]

Is there anything I can do? To make it stop.

[hallucinogem]

[that makes sense. and... and the touch helps. the touch feels like a comfort, like something familiar to her. even if it's just something that light, so light to be almost imperceptible. emerald feels like she's had someone talk her down like this in the past just from that. she breathes out slowly and tries to collect her thoughts.]

[it doesn't come easy, but why would it?]

I don't know. I don't know what you can do. It doesn't... it doesn't hurt as bad now that I told you, I don't think. [she doesn't stop her own thoughts long enough to focus on the pain, or maybe she can't. either way, her words feel woefully inadequate right now at conveying the worry, the fear behind them.]

It's not the kind of thing we would forget, is it? Killing someone?

[toteninsel]

[ If it doesn't hurt as bad now that she's told Ariane, then Ariane will stay. She keeps here hand there, but increases the pressure just a little, now that she's confident this person doesn't want to pull away. ]

Okay. That's good. I'm here, if you need to keep talking.

[ Is that the kind of thing they'd forget? Ariane doesn't answer right away, and when she speaks up next, her voice is a little softer, a little more unsure. ]

I don't know. I'm sorry. I know I've forgotten years of my life, but... I still remember I made a promise to someone. And if I can remember something like that, then I think you'd remember killing someone.

[hallucinogem]

[emerald listens and just... lets herself be comforted. by the touch, by the words of this person she doesn't know. there's a nagging feeling that this should be strange, that all of this shouldn't be the way she would normally do it, but she shuts it up more easily than even she could have predicted. she sighs and presses back a little bit into the touch.]

I would... if I did kill someone, I would feel miserable about it. I need these stupid eyes to know that. [she's trying to bring herself back to reality. it's definitely all starting to hurt less.] I feel like I know that that's how the world works... that sometimes people have to kill people to get by. But I don't think I'm the kind of person who would do that. I feel like I'm the kind of person who just wants to live, and kind of... just do things that make me happy.

B

[guidemyway]

[Honestly, Ruby had ducked into the building earlier to avoid running into anyone. She's just sprawled out on the remains of a stair case when she hears Emerald scream. Her head tilts up- But she doesn't jump up to her feet, but her head tilts down to look find the other girl before she speaks up.]

I was- just looking for some alone time.

...I guess that was too much to ask for.

[hallucinogem]

[alone time, huh?]

Trying to find some alone time just made it all worse for me.

[she says all that without looking up at the woman who's come to her side. when she does, it's the color of her eyes that she notices immediately, and—and she freezes up. her palms press flat on the ground.]

You have silver eyes. [she doesn't know what to say for a moment that feels like forever. and then, with only a little anger,] Why are your eyes everywhere?

[guidemyway]

Yeah... I just got here and I've noticed it's pretty bad for that.

[There's a blink when Emerald says that. She isn't quite sure what she means by it. She didn't see any eyes and she actually hadn't taken much time to look at herself in the mirror.]

Uhmmm... I guess they are- But are you sure you're feeling okay?

[hallucinogem]

Are you seeing silver eyes everywhere too?

[yeah, this is getting frightening. there's something inside emerald's head that's screaming conflicted emotions at her, but the biggest one, the one that's probably going to live the longest and outlast everything else is that gods-damned guilt that's been eating her alive for an eternity now. she curls her hands up into fists as her eyes go wide.]

Or are you the one doing it? Are you the one telling me that it's my fault she's dead? [her voice feels frantic, but very small at the same time.] What are you talking about?

[guidemyway]

[Ruby raises her hands up gently.]

No- I wasn't doing it. I swear. I wasn't seeing silver- No. But- just about every other colour.

[But there's a pang of guilt of her own. If anyone was to blame for people being dead- It was probably her.]

I don't know what you're going through. But... I think I know a thing or two about it myself.

[hallucinogem]

Then start talking.

[she feels like a cornered animal ready to lash out, to bite. but she doesn't want to; she's not that bad off yet. it's not that bad. it will be, though, if she doesn't hear more. she closes her hands and digs her fingers into her palms.]

Because I never killed anyone. I never did anything like that. And these eyes won't stop telling me that I did and I just want it to go away.

[guidemyway]

[Ruby just stares. She doesn't really have it in her to fight back against the bite back. She just wanted to be alone in her own misery.]

You shouldn't listen to them anyways. If they were mine they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. I know people died because of me.

It's probably why I'm here.

[hallucinogem]

I don't want your sob story. [she says it with anger, with teeth, but there's... but she can't get all the way there. because it feels like she believes this person, or it feels like this person is at least telling her version of the truth. emerald sighs and presses her palms flat against her legs, and though she's scared, she can feel the pain starting to get easier to bear.]

They're your eyes that I'm seeing. So you're the one telling me that I got someone killed. And if I did? If I actually did? I'm sorry—I'm actually so sorry for that. Because I'm not a killer and I don't want to be one. [she breathes.] So if this is real, then I just want to make it better for you.

[and then, a realization. she looks over at this other woman.] Do you... know me?