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countryclub2021-12-20 07:51 pm
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2021-12-20 07:51 pm
Entry tags:
December 2021 Test Drive Meme
DECEMBER 2021 TDM
SEMI-STANDARD ARRIVAL
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE
CODING
Another month, another test drive meme! Our test drive memes are open to anyone interested - regardless of whether or not you join our game!
All Test Drive Memes are game canon. Players can choose to keep their TDM threads canon or not. TDM threads can be used for AC and can be used as your writing sample for your application.
Our TDMs serve as a way to build into the actual lore and worldbuilding of Deer Country and we strongly encourage everyone to enjoy and participate! Current players are always welcome to pull prompts from the TDM to reference on the Network or bring into logs as well as tag out to new characters top-leveling on the TDM itself.
Characters will always be able to actively die during TDMs as this is an extremely dangerous world. You can still have this be game canon! Check out how character death in Deer Country works here.
If you have any questions about the TDM, please ask down below!
IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: A cat skidding across a frozen lake.]
[Image Two: A man carving ice sculptures]
Prompt Two
[Image One: A woman laughing as she plays with many tentacles.]
[Image Two: A naked girl in a fetal position under water.]
Prompt Three
[Image One: A cold limp hand in bloodied snow.]
[Image Two: Jack Nicholson slamming an axe into a door in The Shining.]
All Test Drive Memes are game canon. Players can choose to keep their TDM threads canon or not. TDM threads can be used for AC and can be used as your writing sample for your application.
Our TDMs serve as a way to build into the actual lore and worldbuilding of Deer Country and we strongly encourage everyone to enjoy and participate! Current players are always welcome to pull prompts from the TDM to reference on the Network or bring into logs as well as tag out to new characters top-leveling on the TDM itself.
Characters will always be able to actively die during TDMs as this is an extremely dangerous world. You can still have this be game canon! Check out how character death in Deer Country works here.
If you have any questions about the TDM, please ask down below!
Prompt One
[Image One: A cat skidding across a frozen lake.]
[Image Two: A man carving ice sculptures]
Prompt Two
[Image One: A woman laughing as she plays with many tentacles.]
[Image Two: A naked girl in a fetal position under water.]
Prompt Three
[Image One: A cold limp hand in bloodied snow.]
[Image Two: Jack Nicholson slamming an axe into a door in The Shining.]
WHEN: End of December, early January
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Similar warnings from November's TDM. Drowning, freezing to death, trapped under ice, hypothermia, frost bite.
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Similar warnings from November's TDM. Drowning, freezing to death, trapped under ice, hypothermia, frost bite.
Arriving in December has most of the same from the November Arrival. One difference is that the beach itself has completely frozen over, making it a slick black ice skating range. And that's exactly how Wakers treat it. You can rent skates and sleds. People have taken to the beach to have fun as well as help Sleepers out. Learn how to ice skate and help your fellow Sleepers! Win-Win!
Tents are filled with furs and warmth. Someone is giving out hot soup and hot chocolate to those just arriving. You can find plenty of hot bread rolls. Local seamstresses have gathered and are giving out thick wool cloaks with unique designs. You can find thick fur ushankas, gloves, and scarves. There are coldblood stone snaps as they call them where two small coldblood stones are hooked together so you can make a snapping noise that generates a small spark of flame that's hard to blow out.
Along the Boardwalk are magnificent ice sculptures of various intricate creatures: humans, animals, monsters, Pthumerians and other things. Some Watchers are in the process of working on new mounds of ice and are willing to teach anyone interested in the art of ice sculptures.
Tents are filled with furs and warmth. Someone is giving out hot soup and hot chocolate to those just arriving. You can find plenty of hot bread rolls. Local seamstresses have gathered and are giving out thick wool cloaks with unique designs. You can find thick fur ushankas, gloves, and scarves. There are coldblood stone snaps as they call them where two small coldblood stones are hooked together so you can make a snapping noise that generates a small spark of flame that's hard to blow out.
Along the Boardwalk are magnificent ice sculptures of various intricate creatures: humans, animals, monsters, Pthumerians and other things. Some Watchers are in the process of working on new mounds of ice and are willing to teach anyone interested in the art of ice sculptures.
WHEN: End of December to mid January
WHERE: The Pthumerian Ocean and the Farther Shores
CONTENT WARNINGS: possible drowning, injury, hypothermia, giant friendly tentacles, confinement in a goo egg, nudity/exhibition, body horror of varying degrees
WHERE: The Pthumerian Ocean and the Farther Shores
CONTENT WARNINGS: possible drowning, injury, hypothermia, giant friendly tentacles, confinement in a goo egg, nudity/exhibition, body horror of varying degrees
A new year is upon us and the winds of change can drive rough and tumultuous waters, now filled with big chunks of ice. Some incoming sleepers will be facing more obstacles of ice, cold and wayward currents that can take them off course and delay their arrival on the shores. But many are in luck as the massive tentacles of a benevolent beast from the deep can be seen rising from the waves on the horizon as it collects as many sleepers as it can who have begun to shift from their squid form before they are safely out of the choppy waters and onto the ice covered beach.
The tentacled behemoth will wrap new sleepers up in a protective, transluscent and spherical fish or squid egg filled with a gooey liquid to help further suspend and cushion them on their journey to shore. However, this protective egg is a toss of the coin in how helpful it can be. Merely by chance, a sleeper may find themselves in either a red or blue tinted egg that they wil likely need help getting out of, and quickly, seeing as the warm goo that is cushioning them doesn't exactly provide air for those who require it.
A Red egg will provide extended magical warmth even when a sleeper exits it into the cold, they will feel as though they are stepping into a heated room and wearing comfortable warm clothes, even if they are naked. Wakers who assist someone getting out of a red egg and who are splashed with the gooey contents will also feel this effect, and if they are clothed they may feel... overheated and overcome with the strong compulsion to get their clothes off.
A Blue egg is not so helpful, if a sleeper finds themselves in this egg, they will start to transform back into their squid form, even if their mind is continuing to reform and remember themselves. They can regress all the way back into a squid or be unfortunate enough to get trapped in a grotesque halfway fusion of squid and their regular form, but either way their mind will still be normal and somehow some will be able to speak. Just like a red egg, this can happen to Wakers who come in contact with the blue egg's goo. This effect can last for an hour or longer depending on player preference.
Characters who attempt to make their way out to sea to make contact with the tentacled monster will never seem to be able to reach it to see what it looks like. The waters will become darker and colder, and more tumultuous the farther they go either by boat or swimming (why you're swimming is beyond literally everyone else, but you do you). Chances of ending up in the freezing water and dying by drowning or freezing to death are extremely high if this attempt is made, and locals will advise against it if asked.
The tentacled behemoth will wrap new sleepers up in a protective, transluscent and spherical fish or squid egg filled with a gooey liquid to help further suspend and cushion them on their journey to shore. However, this protective egg is a toss of the coin in how helpful it can be. Merely by chance, a sleeper may find themselves in either a red or blue tinted egg that they wil likely need help getting out of, and quickly, seeing as the warm goo that is cushioning them doesn't exactly provide air for those who require it.
A Red egg will provide extended magical warmth even when a sleeper exits it into the cold, they will feel as though they are stepping into a heated room and wearing comfortable warm clothes, even if they are naked. Wakers who assist someone getting out of a red egg and who are splashed with the gooey contents will also feel this effect, and if they are clothed they may feel... overheated and overcome with the strong compulsion to get their clothes off.
A Blue egg is not so helpful, if a sleeper finds themselves in this egg, they will start to transform back into their squid form, even if their mind is continuing to reform and remember themselves. They can regress all the way back into a squid or be unfortunate enough to get trapped in a grotesque halfway fusion of squid and their regular form, but either way their mind will still be normal and somehow some will be able to speak. Just like a red egg, this can happen to Wakers who come in contact with the blue egg's goo. This effect can last for an hour or longer depending on player preference.
Characters who attempt to make their way out to sea to make contact with the tentacled monster will never seem to be able to reach it to see what it looks like. The waters will become darker and colder, and more tumultuous the farther they go either by boat or swimming (why you're swimming is beyond literally everyone else, but you do you). Chances of ending up in the freezing water and dying by drowning or freezing to death are extremely high if this attempt is made, and locals will advise against it if asked.
WHEN: Late December to mid January.
WHERE: All over Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Surreal/existential horror, out of body experience, temporary memory loss and fugue, imprisonment, frozen death, blood, possible insanity and violence, monster/creature leech
WHERE: All over Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Surreal/existential horror, out of body experience, temporary memory loss and fugue, imprisonment, frozen death, blood, possible insanity and violence, monster/creature leech
All throughout Trench there's a phenomena of bloody snow piling high in whole districts within minutes and snowing people into their homes or whatever building they happened to be in at the time, even a tent on the boardwalk can be covered. Most of the blood is a stark red, but other blood type colors can be found in large or small swaths here and there. At first it seems like an inconvenience that you can either wait out with whomever you've found yourself snowed in with or dig your way out of, but the blood in the snow is thick and heavy and pressing in against the walls and windows and if you choose to try and dig, the influence of blood in the air will hit you hard and the ill effects will come on fast and halt you in your efforts...
Soon, the rooms appear to warp, minds become foggy as what appears to be an illusion or a reality warping takes hold, no longer does the room look like your home or the store you were browsing, and you can't quite remember what it was before or why you were there. The roof over your head is different, and the slow motion of the fan causes the cracks in the plaster to show shadows in ways that just don't match your memories. It is strange, but as you walk through the new space, you do not feel in danger. Something is just not quite right.
You recognize the furnishings but you can't place when you bought them. It looks like a hotel room and this is a suite for two. How long have you lived in this place? The door of the kitchen or perhaps the pantry opens, and someone else emerges with the same look of vague confusion there. You recognize them, but not quite. Their name is on the tip of your tongue until they speak. Do you know each other? Yes, you do. This is your house, right? Weren't you just standing there together not long ago...?
It must be your home: Some Sleepers, for one reason or another, might accept the surreal experience as the new reality even as they grow weaker and ...thinner? Their life feels impermanent, almost like you could peel the wallpaper away to find something entirely different underneath. But it isn't a bad life. It's simple, comfortable, food is always magically available somewhere when they need it and the people they are with are family, are they not? You're pretty sure that's what you remember. The scope of the vision grows, somehow you find yourself in the bar of this hotel where a bartender stands waiting. He doesn't feel quite real, but he'll happily chat over a cocktail 'on the house' with guests, who he assures have always been there.
But some Sleepers find themselves rejecting this vision, as comfortable as it is, it's still wrong. This isn't their home. This feeling everything should be fine is a lie. Everything is wrong, and at a certain point, they snap. The idea of sleeping a night in this place is just too much and the moment that their mind refuses this reality completely, it is replaced by a singular urge: to destroy this lie entirely. Paranoia and a frantic instability overtakes them and they find whatever weapon they can to start breaking everything in sight, even attacking their fellow Sleepers and hunting them through the shifting little hotel spaces that seem to move around them rather then them moving within it.
Violent Sleepers can be subdued and reasoned with, but it may be difficult. Powers are also dampened, though not gone, if Sleepers can remember that they have them at all. All sleepers, docile and violent will start to weaken to the point where they collapse and they will eventually die, but if they are lucky enough to pull themselves and/or each other out of it, they'll be able to see clearly that it's the bartender that they should attack. Once they do, there will be a screech and the illusion/reality alteration will falter and the bartender's true form is glimpsed.
Once the creature is wounded sufficiently, Sleepers will find that there is a fleshy pulsating rope attached to the base of their skull as the creature was feeding on their hopes and dreams of the future, keeping them in a state of complacency, confusion and conflict. The only way out of this is by attacking the bartender or death.
Soon, the rooms appear to warp, minds become foggy as what appears to be an illusion or a reality warping takes hold, no longer does the room look like your home or the store you were browsing, and you can't quite remember what it was before or why you were there. The roof over your head is different, and the slow motion of the fan causes the cracks in the plaster to show shadows in ways that just don't match your memories. It is strange, but as you walk through the new space, you do not feel in danger. Something is just not quite right.
You recognize the furnishings but you can't place when you bought them. It looks like a hotel room and this is a suite for two. How long have you lived in this place? The door of the kitchen or perhaps the pantry opens, and someone else emerges with the same look of vague confusion there. You recognize them, but not quite. Their name is on the tip of your tongue until they speak. Do you know each other? Yes, you do. This is your house, right? Weren't you just standing there together not long ago...?
It must be your home: Some Sleepers, for one reason or another, might accept the surreal experience as the new reality even as they grow weaker and ...thinner? Their life feels impermanent, almost like you could peel the wallpaper away to find something entirely different underneath. But it isn't a bad life. It's simple, comfortable, food is always magically available somewhere when they need it and the people they are with are family, are they not? You're pretty sure that's what you remember. The scope of the vision grows, somehow you find yourself in the bar of this hotel where a bartender stands waiting. He doesn't feel quite real, but he'll happily chat over a cocktail 'on the house' with guests, who he assures have always been there.
But some Sleepers find themselves rejecting this vision, as comfortable as it is, it's still wrong. This isn't their home. This feeling everything should be fine is a lie. Everything is wrong, and at a certain point, they snap. The idea of sleeping a night in this place is just too much and the moment that their mind refuses this reality completely, it is replaced by a singular urge: to destroy this lie entirely. Paranoia and a frantic instability overtakes them and they find whatever weapon they can to start breaking everything in sight, even attacking their fellow Sleepers and hunting them through the shifting little hotel spaces that seem to move around them rather then them moving within it.
Violent Sleepers can be subdued and reasoned with, but it may be difficult. Powers are also dampened, though not gone, if Sleepers can remember that they have them at all. All sleepers, docile and violent will start to weaken to the point where they collapse and they will eventually die, but if they are lucky enough to pull themselves and/or each other out of it, they'll be able to see clearly that it's the bartender that they should attack. Once they do, there will be a screech and the illusion/reality alteration will falter and the bartender's true form is glimpsed.
Once the creature is wounded sufficiently, Sleepers will find that there is a fleshy pulsating rope attached to the base of their skull as the creature was feeding on their hopes and dreams of the future, keeping them in a state of complacency, confusion and conflict. The only way out of this is by attacking the bartender or death.
no subject
He finally got it closed and slung it over his shoulder as Lance asked if he could walk. That confused him. Why wouldn't he be able to walk? Filing away Lance's odd behavior for now, he shifted a bit, moving to stand.]
Considering I almost drowned while trapped in an egg full of weird goo? Yeah, sure. I'm probably fine.
[Sarcasm... Keith's second most used defense mechanism.
But the attitude shifted instantly from defensive to panicked when his legs didn't want to work. He leaned forward suddenly, bracing himself on the ground and the pack sliding off his shoulder to slap down into the lingering goo with a plop, and pushed, his arms trembling a bit.]
What the fuck...? [His voice came out in a panicky sounding whisper.]
no subject
He's a paleblood with empathic ability he can't control and picks up only on strong surface feelings. Instinctively, he jolts over to help catch Keith and steady him as he fumbles to the ground. And having physical contact causes his stomach to twist and lurch. If there was even a shred of doubt left about Keith actually being here, it's certainly gone now. His hands jerk off of him like he was burned and he settles back on his heels, staring at the ground between them hard. He clocked that Keith's body doesn't show any of his scars from Deerington already, and his reactions so far backed up the painful truth that… he's forgotten everything. It's a fact he's doing his best to dissociate from.
The sight of that red goo is now twisting in his mind in a way that melds with some of his harder memories. The last thing he needs right now is a trauma flashback, he takes a steadying breath and swallows, closing his eyes. What's important is helping Keith, his feelings can come later. When he's alone. In the dark. Or the forest, where he can blow some stuff up (or get blown up HAH (sure why not)).]
You'll be fine, man. It's normal. [His voice is still strained, but he's trying. It's hoarse when he next speaks.] I um… I can go get you something to eat and clean off with.
[It's a genuine offer to help because he cares and he's concerned, but also… he feels like he's teetering on the edge of something bad and Keith shouldn't have to endure that (again). Maybe going into an alley to scream and set fire to a dumpster will help. Or maybe he should keep a lid on it until he can go nuclear in the woods tonight, he can't decide, can't think, his mind is all over the place.]
no subject
I am not fine, Lance. Nothing is fine right now. Why would this be normal?
[He didn't want to play like everything was hunky dorey here. Forget food. Forget-... okay, well, getting the damn goo off would be nice. BUT MAYBE FIGURING OUT HOW TO GET HIS LEGS TO WORK SHOULD BE A PRIORITY? He was barely holding back a complete freakout at the moment. The fact that he was wearing nothing but robes and kneeling on frozen sand without feeling the cold was also kind of not registering.]
What the hell is this? [Oops... his voice cracked a little... Keith's already meager and stretched coping skills were at their limit.] Will you just tell me what the fuck is going on?
[It was bad enough that he had to deal with this sudden regression in their friendship, but dealing with it on top of waking up trapped in something, unable to breath, almost drowning, having been stripped by whatever force put him there (the whole squid thing was just a weird nightmare, right?), and now he couldn't move the way he wanted to... It was wrong. All of it. And Keith didn't like it. He just wanted something normal. He wanted Lance to stop being jerk again. He wanted his fucking legs to work.
Just... something to go right...]
no subject
And if he's being honest, if he wasn't an empath, he'd have probably bitten Keith's head off right back just now. But as it stands, he feels how scared Keith is and the part of him that cares deeply for him won't allow him to snarl back when faced with that. It hurts so much, but he places a hand on the back of Keith's shoulder to offer some kind of physical anchor but he still can't get himself to look up at his face.]
I said you're gonna be fine. [He lets out a shuddered breath and runs a hand through his hair. Trying to force his voice to soften, but it just sort of sounds tenuous.] Your strength and all that will come back, probably in the next hour or something.
[Then he stiffly pulls off his coat and not without some winces of pain here and there. He drapes it around Keith's shoulders to add to his covering, since it's longer than the robe, a wordless apology of sorts. Then he has to take a moment to focus further on pushing everything into a mental box. It looks like he's gonna just have to keep a lid on it. Try to anyway. He sounds half dissociated when he speaks next, half pained.]
We're in another universe. We were all sort of reborn here somehow with some powerful magic from some super powerful beings. Remember Bob? They're kinda like that.
no subject
Keith absorbed that information, though. An hour... or something... fine. Having an expectation of getting back to himself was something at least, and it did settle part of his nerves, enough that he could focus a bit and start at least acting calm instead of snapping at everyone. He just needed a moment, and a deep breath or two...]
Another universe. Like another reality? [Though, he definitely looked annoyed at the mention of Bob.] That guy was a jerk. [No love lost there.
But as Keith was coming down from his own freak out, he was definitely taking note of how Lance was acting now. He was starting to pick up on things behind the surface of what Lance had been exhibiting, and it bothered him. He reached out to touch Lance's shoulder in return.]
Hey... did I do something wrong? I'm sorry I got all angry like that. I just... It was a lot, you know?
[And when did Lance get that scar in his eyebrow? Keith definitely was concerned now. Just how much of "another universe" was this place?]
no subject
[He huffs a breath through his nose and his tone and expression is flat in a way that says 'yeah, I didn't know that either and it's dumb.' He's about to gear himself up to force himself to say more, but then Keith is touching his shoulder and he looks up at him to see him gazing at him like that and speaking with that tone. And a crack forms in the box he stuffed everything into in his head.
Stupid stupidstupid, he shouldn't have looked at him. All he sees is the radiation burns he suffered a year ago (it did that (you did that)) in that goo that's still clinging to him. He swallows and turns his head away. Keep it together, keep it- he can feel his molecules start to spark up, collide-
His hand jerks up to shove Keith's off of his shoulder roughly ad shift away from him a bit. He can't touch him, it can't happen- can't- he's breathing short and shallow and he doesn't know what else to do but push away. In more than just the literal physical sense. He still won't look at Keith, but his face twists into a pained glare at the ground between them.]
I know it's a lot. [His voice is strained and cracks in two places. And there's definitely frustration and a bit of sorrow in there that he is desperately trying to hold back.] Just- just forget about it.
no subject
It took a moment for the shock to fade.]
I-... I'm sorry. [He was worried now. This wasn't like Lance at all. Granted, sure, Hunk was the outright hugger of the team, but Lance was definitely tactile. He draped himself on his friends, and leaned on them, and touched them... and this was all wrong. Keith didn't know why it bothered him so much, since he sometimes found all the physical contact to be annoying, but it just wasn't Lance.
And honestly, if he thought about it, that was the problem.
Another universe, huh? Which meant there could be time slippage, too. Which would explain why Lance looked the same age as Keith, now. Keith had always been like half a year older, but the time in the abyss had given him another two years on everyone. But now they looked to be the same... though, Lance seemed to have been through a lot in that time, as Keith really focused on taking it all in. His face shifted from shocked hurt to concerned seriousness as he managed somehow to finagle his half-working limbs into a better sitting position.]
How long have you been here?
no subject
Why he can never seem to do anything right or figure out how to just accept what's happened and move forward and be okay is beyond him. There was a time when he'd love to touch and be touched, to be the center of everyone's focus, and now? Cracking jokes and being a charming flirt feels more like going through the motions and more a shield than something he feels fully sincere about.
For a long time he's faked it till he made it, in just about everything he's ever tried to do, and that still holds true. But faced with Keith returning like this after all they had been through together, it's an impossible task. He can't put that shield up and be the person Keith is more used to right now. That person is still there, he's just more broken and buried under all this dug up pain. Maybe eventually he'll manage to crack a smile and tease Keith about something dumb for fun.
Maybe.
He shakes his head.] No… I'm sorry, man. [His jaw clenches and he closes his eyes to steel himself.] …It's been over three years.
no subject
That made sense. It also explained a lot... because a lot can happen in three years. They'd discovered that back home, after all, with everything that had changed in the three year time slippage that happened after their reality jumping fight with Lotor. The whole direction of the war had changed in those three years they'd been gone. And, no, Keith didn't know details, but he definitely got the gist that Bad Things (TM) had happened to Lance. And now he was changed.
He used the blanket to wipe off as much of the remaining goo as he could, and then shifted to slide his arms completely into the sleeves of Lance's coat. It wasn't that he was cold. In fact, the coat felt too warm. But it definitely offered more coverage than the robe that had been in the pack. And, frankly, he didn't need everyone on the beach seeing his junk anymore than they probably already had.]
Three years... [He repeated it more just to stick it in his head than anything else.] And from back home? What's the last thing that happened for you? [Alternate universe, alternate reality... so, at this point in his life, Keith was totally willing to accept and even ask about the idea of an alternate timeline. He just... needed to be sure. What did Lance know?]
no subject
The effort of keeping it together is harder now as the pressure mounts to not let Keith see more. Of course, he realizes he hasn't exactly been acting… normal. But that doesn't mean he is okay with being seen as broken, fragile, changed. Even if it's true, it isn't completely true. It isn't (it might be (shut up)).
Why he can't just go back is another painful yearning question that slams into his chest once again and he lets out a shuddered breath. Now he can't figure out which way is up or left or right in this moment, there's so much going on internally, emotionally. Fuck.]
Yeah, three years. But I'm fine, alright? [He huffs, and his head jerks again in the direction of something only he hears and he scoffs.] I should be the one asking you this stuff. Where do you get off being all… [He gestures animatedly with a petulant look and it would be funny out of context. Then he gives up, lets out a breath and crosses his arms before answering but the petulance remains.] Fine. Whatever. We were on Earth trying to summon the lions.
[More precisely, it was right before the Galra fighter was about to kill him and Veronica, but that's not something he wants to talk about.] Your turn.
no subject
Are you? [Because he was beginning to doubt it. But he sighed. Right... summoning the Lions to Earth from where they'd left them on one of Saturn's moons. Maybe that would be the easier thing to stick to for conversation right now.]
I'm... past that. After that happened. Almost a month or so. [He pinched some of the fabric of the blanket between his fingers, rubbing it a little, and then offered it over, since Lance had gotten some of the goo on him, too.] Need this?
[He was trying, okay? He swallowed down his initial need to snap back. After that time getting stranded in space, Keith had learned that he wasn't the only one on the team that covered up anxiety with anger. He just did it the most often, and the fastest.]
no subject
[Yes, clearly the most tactful thing to do here is to put the spotlight back on Keith and remind him of his own recent trauma. He's not exactly known for his tact, especially when he's feeling like he's on the verge of a meltdown in several different directions all at once.
But then Keith says he's from after that battle, and he goes still, even his hands which have been twitching where they are on his arms that are crossed this whole time. Wu told him a long time ago he should ask his friends what happened, but he had never been sure if Hunk was from before or after his point in the timeline…
He's practically a statue, seeing and hearing something else entirely, gaze off in the middle distance, the thousand yard stare if you will. Keith's question about the blanket goes unheeded, but then belatedly, he looks down at it.] …Huh?
no subject
Yeah. [His tone was sharp, but he was trying to stay in control.] I was trying not to think about that. [And the fact that he had no clothes on when he woke up like that, and the fact that they were in an alternate universe, and the fact that Lance had already been here three years and he himself had just arrived, and the fact that-... That wasn't helping. Deep breath.]
Lance?
[The deer-in-the-headlights look was unexpected. He tried again, holding out that blanket still.]
Do you need to clean up?
[Nevermind the fact that he'd just told Lance he was from later in their own timeline and wasn't shocked to see his fellow Paladin alive...]
no subject
His hand comes up to run down his face, pausing to massage at his eyes a moment. The fact that Keith isn't surprised to see him alive hasn't really occurred to him, though even if it had, he'd probably still need to hear it. But right now, he doesn't think he wants to ask just yet. There's so much already going on that he is trying to wrestle into submission.
And then there's the matter of Keith's trauma and everything he's clearly still dealing with. He nods at the offer, and accepts a small corner of the blanket to at least brush the globs off. It gives him something to occupy his hands and part of his mind.
After a pause, he figures out how to answer, his attitude shifting once again. There's a tight tremor in his tone again as he's making himself open up slightly just to get through this encounter. Get through to the next moment, then the next. And even as he opens up, he's shutting down part of his emotions. Again. Survival.]
Sorry. I know it's a lot to take in. Let's just… focus on catching you up to speed… [He closes his eyes and his voice takes on an edge of barely contained pain as he reluctantly admits:] There's stuff I don't wanna think about either.
[Please don't ask about him or if he's okay. That's as close as he'll come to admitting maybe he's not completely fine, but he'll be more fine if they just stick to business and don't talk about it. Not now. Likely not ever.]
no subject
So, he let it go.]
Okay.
[His tone is quiet. He got it. Maybe, later, they could work things out a bit more, but he was okay for now to just leave it there.]
Anything you can tell me, then... it'll help.
[He left it open to Lance to decide what was important and what he was comfortable sharing.]
no subject
Man, where do I even start…
[He lets out a shuddered breath and smooths a gloved hand through his hair on one side as he thinks. His hair is a bit more in his eyes these days, but he still keeps himself well groomed and away from mullets. For so many reasons… anyway, right, basics. Focus Lance.]
This place is called Trench. Well, the city is, anyway. The world is Deer Country, because it was sort of "born" from this place called Deerington. [Wow, this really is a lot. He heaves a breath and focuses on lining up the basic facts and knocking them down, following one thread of information to the next. It helps him disconnect from his turmoil as it's a rather robotic task.]
Anyway, Deerington was a nightmare. Literally. Those god beings I told you about? They're called Pthumerians, and they can make half Pthumerians with humans. A half Pthumerian little girl ended up being really powerful and couldn't control it- [His breath hitches there because that hits close to home. He shakes his head and continues.] She was having a nightmare she couldn't wake up from and lots of people got pulled into it from different worlds and trapped there. Then the nightmare collapsed and from her power it created this new world. And a lot of us were brought from there to here just about four months ago.
But it's been like centuries or something since this place was created, so I guess we showed up late, or some weird time dilation thing happened. I dunno, man. It makes my head hurt. But we're here now, and there's Pthumerians and half Pthumerians all around, and blood magic, and I've got no idea how or why more people like you show up here, but the way you came is the same. You were reborn as a squid thing and we're called "Sleepers" because that's what we were called in the nightmare so I guess it stuck. Also, word is there's no way home.
[He lets out another long breath and stops there for the moment to give Keith a second to take that all in. That was the extremely simplified version of everything, of course. Julia, the little girl having the nightmare turned out to have been dead for most of the time they were there if not the whole time, and it was a whole… convoluted and confusing thing that would take hours to explain.
He considered briefly about telling Keith he'd also been in the nightmare, but he knows him well enough to know he's not ready to learn he forgot over two years. Or rather, that he got a "reset" of sorts, since his body is clearly back to what it was before and he's not almost 24 anymore. Also, it's a painful subject for him and he'd rather not go there right now.]
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Keith looked down at his lap for a second, wondering if the whole squid thing was why his legs didn't want to work right.
He squeezed his eyes shut as all of that finally settled on, "...there's no way home." There had to be a way home. Sure, Keith wasn't exactly the patient type, but they'd only been outside the nightmare for four months, right? So, maybe they hadn't found it. He wasn't quite ready to accept that, yet.
Which also brought up another question. Opening his eyes again, he looked back at Lance.]
So, what makes anyone think that this isn't just another nightmare from another super powerful alien thing? [He was not going to try to say "Pthumerian" right now. It had taken him long enough to be able to remember "quintessence".]
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It's a struggle he has regularly, not really knowing what's real or fake. It's not an issue that's unique to him, but it's not common either. It's the last thing he needs especially right now when trying his hardest to stay disconnected from the immense grief and pain of finding Keith here on the beach having been reset.]
It's- it's just not. Don't go there, man.
[It's a shame he can't seem to keep the unsteadiness out of his voice when he says that. He swallows a thick lump in his throat and grips his arms hard where they are crossed to keep his hands from shaking too visibly.]
There's differences, alright? I dunno how to explain it, just- just trust me on it.
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Okay, okay. I... I trust you. [Which, yes... he did. Have fun with that, Lance.
He rubbed a hand across his face.]
You said there's stuff on the Boardwalk, right? Maybe... let's focus on something like that. [Neutral enough, right?] I can try to get up again. [Keith pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing he wasn't fully processing everything, yet, and he knew all of this was going to hit him hard later. But he was kind of tired of sitting on frozen, goo-covered sand next the egg that nearly killed him, and he was getting a little antsy about making sure he could actually move.]
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…If you have more questions, just ask them. [He doesn't sound annoyed this time, just worn out. But determined to get through this. Get to the next moment, then the next.] Chances are I'm not gonna like any of them but when has that ever stopped you from getting on my nerves? Or stopped us from getting to the bottom of something.
[That last part is actually a gentle tease, the kind of thing he'd say after they started getting closer just to break some tension and get Keith to lighten up and relax a bit. It's not easy for him to lean into that rapport right now, it hurts, but a lot of things in his life have hurt more or less constantly for a while now. He can try and swallow it for Keith.
He raises his hands with a little shrug, trying to force an air of aloofness.] But if you wanna risk smacking your face in the ice, be my guest. It hasn't been an hour yet.
[He can tell Keith does feel antsy, though. So even though he says that, he stands and offers him a hand up. Still, he's not looking at his face as he does, but the gesture is an improvement. If Keith has more questions, he can ask them on the way to the tents.]
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Like you never got on my nerves? [He smirked a little, honestly thankful for the tiny moment.
But, yeah... hour or not (and the comment about falling gets a small eye roll in response), Keith definitely wanted to get off this beach and away from the remains of that egg thing. In fact, he ends up looking at it again kind of by accident, and the casual teasing attitude disappears under something more of a 'holy cow how did I survive that' for a split second before he pushes it down to look at the offered hand.
Okay... he took a breath. Moment of truth, he supposed. He grabbed the pack again, putting it over both shoulders this time with a tad bit less difficulty than he'd been pushing through earlier, and then braced one hand against the ground as he grabbed Lance's hand with the other. Control over moving had come back, at least, even if it wasn't the same usual level he had, but strength was another thing entirely.
He clenched his jaw, squeezing his eyes shut as his legs refused to let him stand. Despite best efforts, Lance might potentially feel a tremble in his arm as his frustration suddenly spiked.
He did not want to be in this spot anymore.]
Fuck. [Keith breathed hard and deliberately, trying to focus and keep himself from freaking out again.]
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So he ends up not saying anything in response and divides his focus between helping Keith up and tamping down on his inner conflict as he feels his powers start to respond to it at his core. One good thing about his internal damage not healing is it acts as an early warning system for when he's about to turn dangerous for the people near him. It hurts to use his powers these days, and he's oddly glad for that as of late, and right now.
He catches Keith's glance at the egg and gathers rather well how much he really doesn't want to be near it. Lance can understand that, he doesn't wanna be near it either, albeit for different reasons. And then Keith makes his standing attempt and… doesn't go anywhere. Lance keeps his grip solid and watches where their hands are joined with an unreadable expression. Safe to assume there's pain under there, though.
Then he lets out a shuddered breath and gently pulls on Keith's hand, dipping his head in an offer to let him put his arm around his shoulders if he wants. Even as he does, he's mentally and emotionally distancing himself as much as he can, so while the offer and the action would usually be a great bonding moment, his body language and expression aren't in line with that.]
Come on… you don't have to do it alone.
[Even the tone of his voice is more flat and guarded, and he's looking away as he says it. But he's trying as best he can and isn't about to let Keith freak out alone and… suffer like last time.]
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He dropped his gaze down and to the side, away from Lance.]
Sorry...
[His voice was low as he apologized, feeling like he was just being a problem and this would have been so much better if they could have gone their separate ways as soon as Lance had cut him out of the egg in the first place.
But now, this close, and in such physical contact, Lance would definite feel like Keith was colder to the touch than he should be thanks to his new blood type...]
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But Keith's feelings coupled with that apology has his throat constricting. God, no matter what he does, he can't win, he can't stop from hurting in some way. He swallows the feeling and shoves it in the box with the rest and resolves to focus n getting Keith to the boardwalk. His arm comes around to support his waist and pull him closer.]
You've… got nothing to apologize for. [His voice is less detached, more rough. Then he forces the sincerity he feels to come through, though there's a tremor as he does.] We're a team.
[He swallows and closes his eyes. His head turns a bit jerkily away like he just heard a loud voice that startled him. Which he did, but he knows chances are it's all in his head. That's usually the case. And he makes himself not address it more than that. Then he opens them again and now that Keith is so close he's definitely noticing how cold he is. Then he tries to sound more normal. Tries.]
Dude, let's get you some soup, you feel like an ice cube.
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Keith nodded anyway, though. Because, in his mind, they were still a team. He wanted Lance to know that.]
Yeah. We are. [That was why Keith was worried about Lance...
A beat.] Thanks.
[He looked surprised, though, when Lance said he felt cold. He shook his head.]
But I'm not cold? I mean... I even feel a little warm. [He was pretty sure it was just the coat, but he honestly felt even warmer than before. He had no idea that coldbloods didn't really feel cold, or that he was even a coldblood for that matter, nor did he have any idea that the red goo was making him feel even warmer.]
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1/?
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