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6.0 Test Drive Meme
6.0 Test Drive Meme
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Welcome to Well! See the first prompt for how your characters arrive in Well. Your character arrives with only a handful of memories, clad in a mix of Old Western clothes and clothes that might fit in at a renaissance fair, and no items from home.
Anyone is free to play on the TDM, but you need an invite to apply. Feel free to use these prompts, and interact with the arrival or locations. NPCs are around, but only say a certain set of phrases. TDMs can be considered game canon.
This TDM takes place from the first week of May onward, and can happen concurrently with other events during May and June. This will be the only TDM for May, June, and July.
Applications are open April 26th until May 1st, and May 27th until June 1st. Invites are available for friends of current players.
Arrival: Escape!
Content warnings: forced captivity, blood, eating eyes, drowning in sand, forced intimacy
If you don't complete a task in five minutes, you will return to very first room and have to start again.
You can choose your own path, or comment below to have a random path set for you!
1. There Ain't Room
2. Glitter Bomb
3. Riddles Three
A. Cry For Me
B. Love Me
C. Hold Me
I. Blood
II. Sweat
III. Tears
The receptionist greets you as he always does, welcoming you home.
New characters arrive using this prompt. Characters can return from death from the previous cycle using this prompt. You can also just wake up and be in this prompt, so you can do this as many times as you like.
tl;dr:
The First Room
You wake up somewhere dark and damp. Maybe this is your first time waking up here, maybe it's your fourth, but the beginning is the same. You're in a small stone room. The only light comes from torches flicking on the walls. The room is bare except for a metal door. And you're not alone. You and someone (or someones) are here together, and you have to get out.After this, you find yourself in one of the following rooms. Choose one from the first set, then one from the second set, then one from the third set. You will always end in the final room. You must travel through five rooms to escape.
The door is locked, and to leave it you must just find one key. On the door is a note with a clue:
Freedom is hot!
The key is in fact in one of the torches! Depending on luck, you might find it on your first try, or your fourth. Find a way to extinguish the torches, and handle the hot, hot key to unlock the door.
If you don't complete a task in five minutes, you will return to very first room and have to start again.
You can choose your own path, or comment below to have a random path set for you!
The Second Room
You find yourself in one of the following rooms:1. There Ain't Room
2. Glitter Bomb
3. Riddles Three
1. There Ain't Room
In this room is a shooting game. There's a barrier with bebe guns attached to it, and at the far end are small cut outs of people. There's a sign on the far wall, in old-West style script, reading:
There Ain't Room
The cut outs look sort of familiar! There are cut outs of you and your compatriot(s), as well as some typical cowboy looking cut outs. Shoot your own cut out to escape! You each must shoot your own one, if you shoot each others', that person feels it as if they have been shot, and will start bleeding.
When you successfully hit all of your own cut outs, the floor under you opens up and you drop into the next room.
2. Glitter Bomb
As you walk through the doorway, you feel oddly.... sticky? Like your skin is covered in honey. Because it is! Yum.
In front of you is a room covered in glitter. There's so much glitter. You can't see a door, but you have to find a way out. Search the room to find the exit.
The exit is a trapped door in the floor. You'll need to make your way through the glitter, all the while it will stick to your very sticky skin. You'll need to dig a big enough path to get through, open the door and get into the next room! Too bad some glitter will come with you, and you'll still be sticky.
3. Riddles Three
A large hour glass in the middle of the room starts ticking down with sand as soon as you enter this room. One three of the walls are riddles engraved in the stone, and chalkboards in front of them. You must answer all three riddles correctly before the sand runs out to escape:Once you answer correctly, the hour glass disappears, leaving a hole in the floor that you must jump through to exit.
- Where waves kiss sand and breezes blow, where tropic dreams grow, I'm where you want to go. What am I? Answer: Kokomo
- With auburn locks and eyes of green, a rival, a threat, a beauty queen. Answer: Jolene
- With cowboy hats and boots that stride, no one told me where my horse I ride. Answer: Old Town Road
The Third Room
Next, you find yourself in one of the following rooms:A. Cry For Me
B. Love Me
C. Hold Me
A. Cry For Me
This room is beautiful and shiny, the walls made of crystals. In the middle of the room is a crystal plinth with a small crystal cup on it. In flowing script around the cup it reads:
Collect five tears
You must collect five tears in the cup to escape. Once you do, an entry way opens in the crystal in front of you.
B. Love Me
This room is very plain, and on a piece of paper dangling from a string in the middle of the room is the instructions for this room:
Exchange five sincere compliments each. Don't break eye contact.
You must do this within the alloted five minutes to escape. If the compliments are less than sincere, you may try again, but if you don't reach the five each by the end of the five minutes or if you break eye contact even once, you will be returned to the first room.
C. Hold Me
This room looks a lot like the pub in town. The walls are wood paneled and there's jangling piano music coming from--somewhere?
In the middle of the room is a mechanical bull, with a sign reading:
Stay on the bull together for 45 seconds.
If you succeed within the five minutes, you're free to continue on!
The Fourth Room
Next, you find yourself in one of the following rooms:I. Blood
II. Sweat
III. Tears
I. Blood
This room is very tall. There's a rope dangling down one wall. On the wall it reads:
Climb!
And that's what you have to do. The word "Climb" starts to bleed. And then the walls start to bleed. The room will fill up with blood within five minutes, so you better get climbing!
At the top of the room is a hatch that will let you escape through a hatch in the ceiling.
II. Sweat
When you enter this room, one of you finds that you are alone. You're standing at the edge of a pool, and that pool is full of sand. It's also searingly hot in here. On the wall, it reads:
Rescue your partner!
One person is chained at the bottom of a swimming pool full of sand. A counter on the wall counts down until they will suffocate. Better get swimming!
Once you've rescued your partner, a door on the other side of the pool will open up. Better move fast to get there!
III. Tears
This room is dark, very dark. You can just barely see, except for a glow-in-the-dark sign reading:
Eat some eyes!
And that's what you need to do! In the walls are eyes. They're watching you. You must each eat an eye to continue on. Once you do, a door cracks open in the far wall.
The Fifth Room
No matter the path you took to get here, the final room is the same:The last room you end up in, even though you enter through the same door, you find yourselves separated by a wall. There is a door for each of you at the far side of the room. You can hear each other, but you can't see each other. Each of you have a plinth in front of you, which reads:When you escape, you step into the lobby of the Staywell. It's bright and airy with beautiful white stone. When you look behind you, it seems that you've stepped out of a supply closet. Weird!
Who should escape?
In front of you are the names of yourself and your partner(s). You place the name of the person you believe should escape in a slot in the table.
Once everyone has made a selection, the names will light up:If your room is green, when you open the final door, you've escaped! Welcome to Wellstone.
- If you all chose each other, your room lights up green.
- If you all chose yourselves, your room lights up green.
- If someone chose themselves, and someone else chose another person, the room of the person with the most "votes" lights up green. The others light up red.
If your room is red, when you open the door, you find yourself back in the first room. Good luck!
The receptionist greets you as he always does, welcoming you home.
New characters arrive using this prompt. Characters can return from death from the previous cycle using this prompt. You can also just wake up and be in this prompt, so you can do this as many times as you like.
tl;dr:
- You wake up in an escape room! You must finish (at least) five rooms to escape. You have five minutes to finish each room. If you fail, you'll be taken back to the beginning of the dungeon.
It's alive!
Content warnings: public shaming
When you shake off the glitter and the sand, it might be time to head on down into Wellstone town. The air is full of a shimmering warmth that might be familiar to some. It's like the sun has been baked into the very stones and is radiating back up at you. Run-down buildings lean against each other for support, made out of mostly weathered stone with a few old boards here and there to keep structures up. Desiccated, skeletal fingers of dried-out ivy climb them, waving occasionally as you pass. Waving, and… whispering? For more information about how the town has changed, check out this month's Wellstone Post or read the Locations Page.
The town is alive with sneering, whispering voices. It's unclear where exactly they're coming from, but they're everywhere. Step into the Cactus Pad Tavern and you might hear a decisive no manners! spat sharply from the doorway. Make your way to the steaming bathhouse to wash off that honey, but be careful when you're undressing: you might just hear rude snickering from the air around you. Wow, the walls might say, your toes are so long. What weird feet!
The voices might interrupt a conversation at breakfast to make fun of something you said. Your mirror and your wardrobe might question your outfit choices. They're loud enough to be heard by everyone in a public space and seem to delight in saying cutting things at the worst possible moment. You don't recognize the voices, exactly, but they seem just familiar enough to really hurt, and the voices seem to know you well enough. They might even call you out when you tell a little white lie, or let everyone know exactly how loud you snore.
There's no way, seemingly, to get them to shut up, so... may as well get used to it?
tl;dr:
When you shake off the glitter and the sand, it might be time to head on down into Wellstone town. The air is full of a shimmering warmth that might be familiar to some. It's like the sun has been baked into the very stones and is radiating back up at you. Run-down buildings lean against each other for support, made out of mostly weathered stone with a few old boards here and there to keep structures up. Desiccated, skeletal fingers of dried-out ivy climb them, waving occasionally as you pass. Waving, and… whispering? For more information about how the town has changed, check out this month's Wellstone Post or read the Locations Page.
The town is alive with sneering, whispering voices. It's unclear where exactly they're coming from, but they're everywhere. Step into the Cactus Pad Tavern and you might hear a decisive no manners! spat sharply from the doorway. Make your way to the steaming bathhouse to wash off that honey, but be careful when you're undressing: you might just hear rude snickering from the air around you. Wow, the walls might say, your toes are so long. What weird feet!
The voices might interrupt a conversation at breakfast to make fun of something you said. Your mirror and your wardrobe might question your outfit choices. They're loud enough to be heard by everyone in a public space and seem to delight in saying cutting things at the worst possible moment. You don't recognize the voices, exactly, but they seem just familiar enough to really hurt, and the voices seem to know you well enough. They might even call you out when you tell a little white lie, or let everyone know exactly how loud you snore.
There's no way, seemingly, to get them to shut up, so... may as well get used to it?
tl;dr:
- The town is alive, and it is judging you. Your outfits, your words, your body, your habits: nothing is off-limits.
- The voices sound just familiar enough to feel like voices you know, but aren't able to be pinpointed to a single person.
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Very well.
[That is agreeable enough for him.]
Firing.
[He says it and then immediately does so, shooting one of his targets right between the eyes. His precision certainly does not leave one wanting, even if his less than emotive manner might. Though, how long have they been here doing this?]
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she exhales after a beat, then holds up her own.]
Right...once more.
[click.
...
...
wait she has to do the stupid lever thing.]
R-right now, I mean.
[now that she can fire, she snips at the side of one of the funny cowboys.
her ear twitches after-the-fact.]
I guess...just hit all of them you haven't already? [that's what she'll do. gads, even her own!
the punishment of doing so being, of course, the floor dropping on them without so much as a warning click.]
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When she fails to fire the first time, however, that gets a slight smirk from him, a subtle upward curve to the corner of his mouth. It doesn't stay for long, as his expression shifts back to its stoic neutrality as he pumps the lever and takes aim.
He does not nod or give any verbal agreement, instead letting his actions speak for him as he shoots what remains of his own targets and the cowboys. As the last are struck, Barnabas begins to lower his gun—but then the floor gives way beneath them all too suddenly. Fortunately for Barnabas, he knows how to land with some retained dignity, so when the wood floor beneath him catches him, he is able to stay on his own two feet as he bends his knees to absorb the shock of the landing.
Whether or not Cecelia is capable of the same, well...
Regardless of her balance or potential lack thereof, Barnabas takes a moment to take in their surroundings. This is a tavern of some sort, he supposes, though he isn't quite sure why he knows that. The most curious part of it is the mechanical bull, and while he recognizes the saddle, he is not entirely familiar with such a machine. Reading the sign, he looks to Cecelia.]
Might you wager it requires a single rider?
[Considering how the last room was somewhat cooperative, maybe this will prove otherwise?]
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she's slow to recovering, hissing through grit teeth as she carefully sits up. she's got a low tolerance for pain, okay? she's delicate.]
Wager what, now...? Gnruh... [she best not need to stand up right away...
rubbing her elbow, she glances around, then blinks at the contraption...and scowls.]
What is that thing doing here? Egads. It better not need-- [she's partway to her feet when she double-takes at the signage and exhales in an exasperated scoff.] Of course... [two riders! of course!]
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He approaches her, and offers her a hand as he keeps his eyes on her.]
It would seem so. [He says with a casual ease, as if they aren't about to saddle up real close to each other in a moment. Destroying any personal bubble either of them has.]
Come then—we ride.
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gads.
while slowly taking the hand:] Have you...recollection of riding this contraption, by chance? So you know what to expect?
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[It's an honest admission, one he gives as he helps her to her feet. Sparing the thing a glance, he narrows his eyes in scrutiny.]
However, I am more than capable of riding a steed. I cannot imagine this should prove difficult.
[He turns his attention back to Cece for the moment.]
What of you? You seem familiar with it.
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[beat.
she frowns back at the machine.]
That thing, though. If it's anything like what I recall, it's quite dreadful; we'll likely get thrown into the furniture.
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[He isn't sure what to make of this room proving familiar to her, for it is less than so for him. Not that such a thing matters when the trial is one of strength, not memory.
Once more he appraises it. So it would buck like an unbroken chocobo—or attempt to, anyway. He has no idea how well it can emulate that, and even less how this thing might come to life to attempt the feat. Still, he does not find himself intimidated, rather curious instead.]
It should be of no moment.
[He approaches it calmly, placing a hand on the saddle, before looking over his shoulder at Cecelia.]
You may either sit in front or behind—though if you worry that you cannot hold fast through its attempts to dislodge us, then perhaps the former should do.
[He is fairly confident that he can hold himself and her in place. Truly, how hard could this be?]
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Cecelia looks unconvinced, but...what choice does she have here, really?
sigh.]
I'll...hold onto you. Behind you. Lest I...I get pitched forward and have my face hit the floor.
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Very well.
[With her choice made, he nods and sets about mounting the bull. The movement is fluid and without any sighs that betray his apparent confidence. Then he takes his foot out of the stirrup, positioning his leg forward so that it is out of the way and Cecelia can use it. He likewise offers his arm for her to grasp and help herself up, since the damn thing isn't the most gracious with available handholds for a second rider.
He has no idea what actually will activate this thing, something he realizes, but assumes that it will make itself apparent either when she is on the contraption. Either it will start automatically, or there is something that is needed to make it operational...probably.]
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[this is very hard to negotiate when wearing ankle-length skirts. either she hikes them up to an inappropriate length to straddle the contraption as the man does, or she risks the unwieldy side-saddle.
it's not wrong of her to want to keep some of her dignity, is it? truly? if it is, she'll surely be punished, so she may as well cling to what she has; Cecelia exhales in a soft huff, accepting the help up and twisting herself to sit side-saddle. no sooner does she get her arms around the gruff man's waist than her keen ears pick up the high-pitched whine of electricity activating.]
Oh, g-- [the thing turns on.]
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Something that is a bit more difficult with someone holding onto him, but that is nothing he cannot adapt for. However, for all Barnabas has an inhumanly strong grip—both with his hand and his thighs—the precarious position that Cecelia's in does nothing to help either of them. Least of all her, since she is left to only hold on with her arms, and less so with her legs.
So with the bucking, jerking around, and spinning...hopefully she's really good at clinging!]
17 dex save 🙏
[Cecelia has no memories of being a graceful rider or rodeo cowboy because she has never been either, therefore she has no cause to be able to handle this gracefully. it's all she can do to hold fast and cling, and the fright unfortunately does make her talons start to manifest in her desperation. sorry about that. survival be like that.]
oh bless
It does not lessen his hold, and he keeps his heels tightly ground into the machine as it continues to try to throw them. Likewise, his grip on the handhold stays tight, and for all it tries to wear him down, he is utterly indefatigable.
Honestly, those claws in him only inspires him to change what he's doing with his free arm. The counterbalance is important, but it means nothing if he loses his companion. Thus he swiftly places his hand on her wrist, resting his arm ontop of hers, all to keep her securely there. Reinforcing her hold.
Still he moves with the motions of the machine, anticipating it all now. He doesn't know how much longer they have, moments like these turn seconds into minutes, and they have to make it to 45 of the former. By his estimation, they're bound to be halfway there at least...]
no subject
thankfully, the buzzer blares (not thankfully, that sound is wretchedly loud) just before her ankles hit the side of the concrete landing the machine is mounted on; she yelps and falls free of him, unfortunately taking shreds of his clothing with her claws as she goes.]
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Really raises the question what this guy is affected by.
Barnabas dismounts, careful not to step on her, before he once more offers her a hand. He peers down at her, silent and neutral, seemingly free of judgment—]
Had you properly straddled it, you may have faired better.
[Okay, a little judgment, and not entirely silent.]
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oh. oh no.
she looks at her talons with mild horror before her eyes snap up to him.]
Did--did I- [ARE HIS INTESTINES POURING OUT IS HE-- huh? wait--]
...Oh. You...regenerate. [like Darin.]
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[Neutral and to the point.]
You need not worry, for as precious little as I recall, I do remember thus: I cannot be harmed in any truly consequential way.
[Or, rather, he cannot recall the way he can be, but what he can remember is that essentially all ordinary means are inconsequential to his otherwise immortal body. Sure he feels the pain of it, but that's just a mild inconvenience.
His hand is still offered to her.]
Are they wonted—those talons of yours?
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They're...they're an occurrence. Not unexpected. [not well-liked, but neither are they a freak incident anymore.] I am only grateful I didn't do grievous harm to you.
...I can...fix your clothing. Later. Let us get out of here, first.
no subject
I see. Certainly useful, should you have need of them. [Less so when you don't, he doesn't voice.]
Indeed, we can concern ourselves with the state of my garments later. Time proves itself a luxury within these chambers, one we should not test the limit of.
[And with that he makes for the exit. Grabbing the knob and turning it, he glances back at Cecelia to be sure she's following—and when she's close, he opens it and steps through.
But when Cecelia does, she won't find him. She'll find herself in an intensely hot room, with a pool full of sand, a counter on the wall, and the insructions:
Rescue your partner!]
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[she doesn't waste breath wondering aloud as she looks about, baffled by the pool most of all, needing to double- and triple-take at the instructions.
rescue.
her eyes widen.
no.
she looks back to the sand, searching for signs of disturbance.
this is a joke, right? just...meant to make her jump in there and make herself a mess. right?]
no subject
Though, after a few moments there does seem to be some shifting in the sand. Barnabas is chained to the bottom of the pool by his leg, certainly, but he is not robbed of his strength. However, not being able to breathe, and the crushing weight of innumerable gallons of sand on him certainly has its impeding effects. So, it is not without effort that the sand begins to shift as he attempts to free himself.
Were he able to freely kick his leg, he might be able to break the chain, or crush it entirely, but this is worse than attempting to swing at something under water. The compression of it all makes this quite the struggle, and he isn't certain that his companion will be able to lend him much aid given her...stature.
But then again, she capable of magic, so maybe...
Nevertheless, he is attempting to use what loose sand he can to shift it downwards to lift himself against the pull of the chain. Whatever she can do, this will only make it easier for both of them.]
no subject
[oh no.
Cecelia freezes for a precious second, heart in her throat. any second longer is practically murder, so she forces herself to move - then halt again. she's not strong enough to fish a grown body out of such a dense pit, she'd only be dooming them both!
she walks the perimeter, her gaze darting from the bulging sands to all around in search of...something. rope, a mechanism, a clue... were it her in there, she'd--]
Gads.
[well.
well!!! he took a talon-lashing without batting an eyelash! she has to hope he can endure a bit of heat. Diluc showed her how to manipulate the sands to make glass before, so...
facing a space away from his assumed form, Cecelia inhales, glowing hand over her heart. she exhales a narrow cone of white-hot flame that liquifies and then immediately crystallizes a portion of the sands. no sooner does she do that than, after catching a proper breath, she exhales again, but this time pure ice.
she can see the murky shape of a body struggling amidst the remaining grains, now that she has that glassy window. now, she just needs to break what fragile glass she's made to give all that sand fresh room to pour and give him some air...and she has nothing but herself.
gods, but this is ridiculous-! but she's not going to let a man die for her dignity, so--
so she just jumps in, breaking all that icy glass, bracing for the remaining sand to rush into the newly-opened space.]
no subject
However, that chilling breath comes after, and while Barnabas cannot see or know exactly what's happening, he has reason to believe Cecelia is actually accomplishing something here. Because the weight of the sand is different, the compression shifting, and for a moment it's actually a little more difficult to move—until there's the distinct sound of glass breaking. As it does, the sand pours, filling that newly formed void, and Barnabas is able to move more freely.
Not entirely freely, he's still chained, but he's able to push sand out of his way, his hands pushing past the surface to dig a hole for himself to semi-emerge as he sucks in and gulps down a breath of air. He certainly is in a state, plastered with sand all over his sweat soaked clothes and body due to all this heat, but hey, at least he's not suffocating anymore!
He only takes that moment for a breath before he continues to dig himself free, pushing as much sand off of himself as he can. Once he's loosened enough sand, he digs his arm downward to grab at the chain and crushes it in his hand.]
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