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countryclub2022-08-25 10:45 pm
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2022-08-25 10:45 pm
Entry tags:
August Test Drive Meme!
AUGUST 2022 TDM
STANDARD ARRIVAL
LOST BETWEEN STEPS
ABSOLUTE IMMERSION
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: Hands making a fish net]
[Image Two: A Skyrim Mudcrab staring menacingly]
Prompt Two
[Image One: Dingy, empty and creepy old backroom]
[Image Two: Cryptic, Creepy words scribbled on yellow wallpaper]
Prompt Three
[Image One: Skull on top of book]
[Image Two: Book with pages shaped like a whirlpool]
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: Hands making a fish net]
[Image Two: A Skyrim Mudcrab staring menacingly]
Prompt Two
[Image One: Dingy, empty and creepy old backroom]
[Image Two: Cryptic, Creepy words scribbled on yellow wallpaper]
Prompt Three
[Image One: Skull on top of book]
[Image Two: Book with pages shaped like a whirlpool]
WHEN: First Week of September
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Monstrous Crabs, Environmental Threat
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Monstrous Crabs, Environmental Threat
Normally, the people of Trench would say that September is a fortunate time for sleepers to arrive at it's shores. However, the aftermath of the violent and inconsistent storms in the last month continue to batter the city. The waters are choppy, though they are beginning to calm. The swim is difficult and unsafe, waves threatening to crash unwitting squids into the rocks. It is unlikely to be fatal, but many arrive battered and bruised, gasping as they awaken from their squid form.
Hopefully, you've found something to wear, either in your Welcoming Bag or otherwise, and can start familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. Maybe you help some other squids out on the beach. Waking up sucks! You feel for the little guys. And hey, maybe you're hoping one of those squids is a good friend...Stranger things have happened.
SEASONAL DETAILS ON THE BOARDWALK
With theme music!
The weather is awful, and so the mood of the beach is a bit more subdued than on other occasions. Food is hearty and dry, easily packaged in oilcloth, and containing mostly hard tack, mushrooms and dried, cured fish. Bottles of water are included with the food, enough to ensure that the sleepers are well fed, and enough packets are offered for a few days in case they need them, but they are certainly not the most flavorful or exotic, reflecting much more the day to day food of Trench.
The people leading the waking are gathered and huddled around makeshift structures and lean-tos to deal with the awful weather along the coast during this period. Sleepers are brought here, to fires to warm. Among those who are present are the fishermen and women who work at the docks. They, along with several of the Architects from in town, have set up booths. Though they do not demand it of anyone, they politely hint that in the season of change, it is good to learn new trades and to find a place in this strange world the sleepers have been brought to. As part of this, they are willing to offer a chance for the sleepers to help craft fishing nets and other gear for those who will brave the waters to bring back food in the season.
The task is arduous and taxing, but it is not without reward. To those who choose to participate, one of the fishermen will approach them and wordlessly drop a waterlogged box into their lap. It looks dilapidated and in poor condition, but they will say nothing more, staring off into the sea from which it was dredged. When the sleeper opens it, they will find that there is one additional item within the box, which might have been included in their welcome bag normally. If pressed, the fisherman will only say that they found it dredged up along the shores in the midst of their work.
For those who brave the coasts or the waters, there is an increased threat of monstrous presence, though nothing compared to the prior month. Poisonous crabs lurk along the edges of the waterways. Much larger versions of small crabs known to live in caves along the shore, these beastly adult versions stand about three feet tall, and have particularly strong pincers which secrete a hallucinogenic venom. Victims of it are prone to paranoid delusions of danger around every corner, and known for mistaking those around them as threats. The crabs are themselves carnivorous to boot, so they are certainly a threat on their own, though they are very much killable, and supposedly very good eating. Bring in some crab meat, and it should be good to trade for additional food and supplies this month, if you dare! As with their lesser cousins, the venom of these crabs is particularly dangerous to the psychically sensitive, Palebloods and Darkbloods.
Hopefully, you've found something to wear, either in your Welcoming Bag or otherwise, and can start familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. Maybe you help some other squids out on the beach. Waking up sucks! You feel for the little guys. And hey, maybe you're hoping one of those squids is a good friend...Stranger things have happened.
The people leading the waking are gathered and huddled around makeshift structures and lean-tos to deal with the awful weather along the coast during this period. Sleepers are brought here, to fires to warm. Among those who are present are the fishermen and women who work at the docks. They, along with several of the Architects from in town, have set up booths. Though they do not demand it of anyone, they politely hint that in the season of change, it is good to learn new trades and to find a place in this strange world the sleepers have been brought to. As part of this, they are willing to offer a chance for the sleepers to help craft fishing nets and other gear for those who will brave the waters to bring back food in the season.
The task is arduous and taxing, but it is not without reward. To those who choose to participate, one of the fishermen will approach them and wordlessly drop a waterlogged box into their lap. It looks dilapidated and in poor condition, but they will say nothing more, staring off into the sea from which it was dredged. When the sleeper opens it, they will find that there is one additional item within the box, which might have been included in their welcome bag normally. If pressed, the fisherman will only say that they found it dredged up along the shores in the midst of their work.
For those who brave the coasts or the waters, there is an increased threat of monstrous presence, though nothing compared to the prior month. Poisonous crabs lurk along the edges of the waterways. Much larger versions of small crabs known to live in caves along the shore, these beastly adult versions stand about three feet tall, and have particularly strong pincers which secrete a hallucinogenic venom. Victims of it are prone to paranoid delusions of danger around every corner, and known for mistaking those around them as threats. The crabs are themselves carnivorous to boot, so they are certainly a threat on their own, though they are very much killable, and supposedly very good eating. Bring in some crab meat, and it should be good to trade for additional food and supplies this month, if you dare! As with their lesser cousins, the venom of these crabs is particularly dangerous to the psychically sensitive, Palebloods and Darkbloods.
WHEN: August 31st-September 29, January 2, February 4, March 6, April 8, June 10, July 12, October 20, November 1, December 24
WHERE: Somewhere, you're not certain where
CONTENT WARNINGS: Labyrinth, Liminal Horror, Severe Disorientation, Autophobia, Monster Horror, Fear of Falling
WHERE: Somewhere, you're not certain where
CONTENT WARNINGS: Labyrinth, Liminal Horror, Severe Disorientation, Autophobia, Monster Horror, Fear of Falling
You just took one step back. That's all. A step backwards while you weren't paying attention, and the sensation of falling assailed you. With a grunt, you found yourelf landing hard, but not hard enough to actually break or turn anything. Around you is a carpeted space. There are old, stained wallpaper walls on every side, set up in variable sized cubicle spaces that look like they should be occupied by an office of some sort. Everything smells like mold, stale and sharp. The carpet is a little bit moist and the wallpapers all seem to be hiding hints of mildew. It feels familiar, but even if you have been in this "place" before it is not quite the same. The wallpaper shades are not exactly right. It always feels like you should know it, but you cannot quite place it.
You are not alone in this place. Another seems to have fallen in this place, thank god because the muffled sounds of these halls are already getting oppressive. The electric hum of fluorescent are buzzing in your ears like a plague of locusts and you can practically feel the migraine coming from the unremitting light, but you dare not take shelter to let your eyes rest in the gaps in the lighting. It feels like there is something there. You should probably be leaving, though that's where the problem really begins. No method seems to clearly work. There are no identifiable features to pick out. After several turns, you might find yourself facing impossibly thin hallways or a dead end. Attempts to keep track of your passage with writing, torn wallpaper and balls of twine fail, as it becomes increasingly and inconsistently disorientating, inevitably causing the lead to be lost, or worse? It might seem to be going the wrong direction. Did someone move it? Magic compasses, even those given by the Pthumerians do not work in this "place" This should not be possible, but it is true.
An hour in, because it always takes longer than that, or does it? Time can be hard to keep track of and omnis don't tell time properly here. Whatever, an hour in, and the need to get out of this place will be getting to those trapped within. They do not belong here, and must escape. The harder you run, the more that the dank odor gets under the skin, worsening even if you should not be able to smell it. Occasional items can be found, but all are useless. If you are fortunate, perhaps you will eventually find a hole in the floor. But, looking down it, you cannot see the bottom. Do you dare leap down, not knowing the end? If you do, the passage seems to go far too long to be healthy. The rush of air and the feel of fraying wallpaper comes until you find yourself deposited on the ground of Trench, in front of the statue of the Tower, or in front of the gates of Gaze.
The less fortunate may finally find writing on the walls. Someone else has been in this place. But, as the cryptic words proclaim the need to S̵̨̡̟̗̰̝͚̲̦̗͔̥̞̈͂̆̿̐́̅̓͐͝T̸̠̥̰̭͎͙̮̬͋̀͛̓̽̚Ā̷̧̮̣̪̤̠̫̤͔̩̥̾̊̍̊̀̇͋̍̚͜͝͝Y̶͓̟̍̆̍ ̴̭̲̀͘͝S̵̨͖̩̻̰͇͎̠̻͚͓̱͇̭͖͒̋͆̀͐͋̾̆͝͝T̴̮̹̫̞̘̈́̏̐̒̋̎͛̂̽̅Ĩ̵͙̖̟̥̤̲̆̈́́͘ͅͅL̵͖̣̫̙̹̊͜L̷̫̠̒̽͌͘͠. A ghastly sound erupts from behind you, complete with unnatural, horrid breathing. Steps come towards you unnaturally fast. If you move, look to turn, there is a vision of something black moving into your field of vision, just before a bone-crushing force claims life and in the next moment you wake, screaming at the feet of the gates to Gaze, or the Tower's statue. Remain absolutely still, and the puff of a breath, the smell of cow hair and breath grazes over the shoulder before eventually storming away behind, until the sound is gone, and the unlucky are left to continue searching until they find a hole leading out.
NOTES:
1. Any step backwards can cause someone to end up between places, participating in this event. Exiting requires either falling through one of the holes in the floor or being killed by the unnamed creatures residing between spaces.
2. If a character dies in this event, they do not undergo normal death effects. They awaken in one of the locations indicated, gasping for breath. While harrowing, and possibly a source of nightmares for the next few days, not to mention chills for an hour or two, there is no further apparent harm.
3. It is possible to encounter this prompt throughout the year. At one random, unpredictable day each month (listed above), the space between spaces is accessible. A person could theoretically fall in on that day, following the rules as above.
4. Mapping the space between spaces is difficult, but not impossible. Perhaps there are other locations within the labyrinthian mass, but for now at least they are not findable.
5. If the natives are asked about this place, they will make a warding sign and refuse to speak of them. At most, they will say something about the "veins of the tower."
You are not alone in this place. Another seems to have fallen in this place, thank god because the muffled sounds of these halls are already getting oppressive. The electric hum of fluorescent are buzzing in your ears like a plague of locusts and you can practically feel the migraine coming from the unremitting light, but you dare not take shelter to let your eyes rest in the gaps in the lighting. It feels like there is something there. You should probably be leaving, though that's where the problem really begins. No method seems to clearly work. There are no identifiable features to pick out. After several turns, you might find yourself facing impossibly thin hallways or a dead end. Attempts to keep track of your passage with writing, torn wallpaper and balls of twine fail, as it becomes increasingly and inconsistently disorientating, inevitably causing the lead to be lost, or worse? It might seem to be going the wrong direction. Did someone move it? Magic compasses, even those given by the Pthumerians do not work in this "place" This should not be possible, but it is true.
An hour in, because it always takes longer than that, or does it? Time can be hard to keep track of and omnis don't tell time properly here. Whatever, an hour in, and the need to get out of this place will be getting to those trapped within. They do not belong here, and must escape. The harder you run, the more that the dank odor gets under the skin, worsening even if you should not be able to smell it. Occasional items can be found, but all are useless. If you are fortunate, perhaps you will eventually find a hole in the floor. But, looking down it, you cannot see the bottom. Do you dare leap down, not knowing the end? If you do, the passage seems to go far too long to be healthy. The rush of air and the feel of fraying wallpaper comes until you find yourself deposited on the ground of Trench, in front of the statue of the Tower, or in front of the gates of Gaze.
The less fortunate may finally find writing on the walls. Someone else has been in this place. But, as the cryptic words proclaim the need to S̵̨̡̟̗̰̝͚̲̦̗͔̥̞̈͂̆̿̐́̅̓͐͝T̸̠̥̰̭͎͙̮̬͋̀͛̓̽̚Ā̷̧̮̣̪̤̠̫̤͔̩̥̾̊̍̊̀̇͋̍̚͜͝͝Y̶͓̟̍̆̍ ̴̭̲̀͘͝S̵̨͖̩̻̰͇͎̠̻͚͓̱͇̭͖͒̋͆̀͐͋̾̆͝͝T̴̮̹̫̞̘̈́̏̐̒̋̎͛̂̽̅Ĩ̵͙̖̟̥̤̲̆̈́́͘ͅͅL̵͖̣̫̙̹̊͜L̷̫̠̒̽͌͘͠. A ghastly sound erupts from behind you, complete with unnatural, horrid breathing. Steps come towards you unnaturally fast. If you move, look to turn, there is a vision of something black moving into your field of vision, just before a bone-crushing force claims life and in the next moment you wake, screaming at the feet of the gates to Gaze, or the Tower's statue. Remain absolutely still, and the puff of a breath, the smell of cow hair and breath grazes over the shoulder before eventually storming away behind, until the sound is gone, and the unlucky are left to continue searching until they find a hole leading out.
NOTES:
1. Any step backwards can cause someone to end up between places, participating in this event. Exiting requires either falling through one of the holes in the floor or being killed by the unnamed creatures residing between spaces.
2. If a character dies in this event, they do not undergo normal death effects. They awaken in one of the locations indicated, gasping for breath. While harrowing, and possibly a source of nightmares for the next few days, not to mention chills for an hour or two, there is no further apparent harm.
3. It is possible to encounter this prompt throughout the year. At one random, unpredictable day each month (listed above), the space between spaces is accessible. A person could theoretically fall in on that day, following the rules as above.
4. Mapping the space between spaces is difficult, but not impossible. Perhaps there are other locations within the labyrinthian mass, but for now at least they are not findable.
5. If the natives are asked about this place, they will make a warding sign and refuse to speak of them. At most, they will say something about the "veins of the tower."
WHEN: Last Week of August through all of September
WHERE: Gaze, and somewhere else
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible Life-threatening experiences, Distorted Realities, Fourth Walling, Content Depending upon the Canon Referenced
WHERE: Gaze, and somewhere else
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible Life-threatening experiences, Distorted Realities, Fourth Walling, Content Depending upon the Canon Referenced
As the month of September approaches, and Mariana shows signs of having cooled in her wrath, the people of Trench begin to relax once again. Hoping to keep level heads and to promote learning, the Arcane Scholars of Gaze have opened the private stores of more rare texts from the Archaic Archives. Trundling carts of books are being brought out by roped and masked individuals who kindly offer one to anyone who wishes to partake. They limit each guest to three, though they seem happy to trade a book for a book, so it's always possible to get more. They ask only that the books be returned by the end of the month for cleaning and maintenance. Whispers among the Disciples still with ruffled feathers at Mariana's wrath are that this is Never Mind's way of reasserting himself after strange magical books have been found around town. No Arcane Scholar will acknowledge such gossip, however.
The books seem harmless enough. What is wrong with a little light reading? The fiction within is quite enthralling, though after a page or two, a creepy familiarity to the book's contents comes to whoever reads. There is a sense of deja vu, and only when it is too late do they realize that it feels like they are reading the memories and recollections of someone else, perhaps someone that they know! In that moment, they will feel an inexorable pull as the book seems to literally suck them into it, along with anyone unlucky enough to be next to them!
Those who read these magical books will find themselves trapped in an event within another canon reality. The intent, of course, is to broaden their horizons and experiences, to teach moral lessons through new memories, but as always Never Mind seems not to understand the possible perils. The scenario that they find themselves in, which may be of any canon, is always one of immediate and very real peril, a time in which the character's life is put into immediate and very real peril. They have to prevail or flee successfully to escape the chapter and end the book, though for their troubles it is quite possible that they might bring something back with them. Hopefully it's nothing dangerous!
NOTES:
1. Any Canon may be used, including canons not present in the game. Players are encouraged to use their imaginations, though it is worth being aware that the entirety of the Cthuluh Mythos may be found among these collections, should one wish to utilize these books.
2. There is an actual physical threat that is present in whatever scene is viewed. If it is necessary, a threat is fabricated from the fringes of the memory, even if this changes the canonical scene. It is a real threat and can cause death or harm. However, these threats are killable through all normal fashions, and can be escaped by clever captives. Once escaped or defeated, the sleeper is deposited out of the book.
3. The books are absolutely indestructible, and even if the sleeper does not return them, ravens will break into their home (ruining a window and making a mess) to retrieve all books by the end of September. Multiple books can be enjoyed throughout the month.
4. Items retrieved may be anything from any canon which does not count as a significant power acquisition. Weapons can be brought, though they will be mundane once they emerge in Trench. Players are limited to retrieving one item from another canon per character during the month.
The books seem harmless enough. What is wrong with a little light reading? The fiction within is quite enthralling, though after a page or two, a creepy familiarity to the book's contents comes to whoever reads. There is a sense of deja vu, and only when it is too late do they realize that it feels like they are reading the memories and recollections of someone else, perhaps someone that they know! In that moment, they will feel an inexorable pull as the book seems to literally suck them into it, along with anyone unlucky enough to be next to them!
Those who read these magical books will find themselves trapped in an event within another canon reality. The intent, of course, is to broaden their horizons and experiences, to teach moral lessons through new memories, but as always Never Mind seems not to understand the possible perils. The scenario that they find themselves in, which may be of any canon, is always one of immediate and very real peril, a time in which the character's life is put into immediate and very real peril. They have to prevail or flee successfully to escape the chapter and end the book, though for their troubles it is quite possible that they might bring something back with them. Hopefully it's nothing dangerous!
NOTES:
1. Any Canon may be used, including canons not present in the game. Players are encouraged to use their imaginations, though it is worth being aware that the entirety of the Cthuluh Mythos may be found among these collections, should one wish to utilize these books.
2. There is an actual physical threat that is present in whatever scene is viewed. If it is necessary, a threat is fabricated from the fringes of the memory, even if this changes the canonical scene. It is a real threat and can cause death or harm. However, these threats are killable through all normal fashions, and can be escaped by clever captives. Once escaped or defeated, the sleeper is deposited out of the book.
3. The books are absolutely indestructible, and even if the sleeper does not return them, ravens will break into their home (ruining a window and making a mess) to retrieve all books by the end of September. Multiple books can be enjoyed throughout the month.
4. Items retrieved may be anything from any canon which does not count as a significant power acquisition. Weapons can be brought, though they will be mundane once they emerge in Trench. Players are limited to retrieving one item from another canon per character during the month.
more like cw an innocent girl getting smacked in the FACE
On the other hand, this is the first time an arm has lashed out at her like this, even though she knows it's accidental. But it's just sudden and surprising enough that she doesn't quite manage to dodge in time, instead feeling the fist very much connecting with her cheek before it moves on, before landing in the sand.
Her cheek glows in a way that feels hot, skin turning red like the sign of an oncoming bruise about to set in right there on her face. Chizuru doesn't pay it any mind though, ignoring the way her cheek stings to focus on the body in the sand, looking much worse for the wear. (The sting starts to soothe already, after all, Chizuru's inhuman body busy working on knitting itself together, even the very redness itself on her cheek starting to fade before the boy in the sand regains full control of his thoughts.)
The only thing that changes is that Chizuru - this time - makes sure to try and stay out of accidental swinging reach.
"Are you okay?" She asks, almost a squeak in worry. This boy's awakening seems especially intense, after all, and worry takes precedence even over worrying about his current state of undress.
Though she does realise that his thoughts probably aren't all quite there yet, so she repeats her question as something that might be a little bit easier to understand in his current position.
".. Are you hurt?"
He looks hurt. Those streaks against his body might not be bleeding, but they also sure don't look great. Chizuru is enough of her father's daughter that she can tell it ought to not be something permanent or life-threatening in any way, but it's still probably uncomfortable. His body must be sore, at the very least.
anything for mijn schat 🙈
Are you okay?
... Are you hurt?
A question. It's the last of them that registers, with his body still low to the ground. He doesn't turn, the idea of looking for the source not yet registering as something to do. But he swallows, knows that with his throat-
"m'Fine." If there's aching, any wounds on him, then they're nothing that his brain is concerning itself for. Or: personhood (read: stupidity) comes before bodily concern. Either way, there's a connection to the question that implies, Are you okay?, and that's one he'd like to know as he tries to move these new limbs. Not still, yet not waving around body parts: a leg shifting against wet sand, the bending back of an elbow, the twist of a wrist; eyes observing what he knows is his hand. Hand, body, human, moving, he can move like this.
Nothing feels right as he plants his palms on the softening surface to lift himself up. Just his torso, though he knows - thinks, feels - that he needs to rise further. That's what you have to do when you're down and someone thinks to ask you, Are you hurt? -- or some part of Robby's still-developing brain is telling him.
He doesn't get farther than that though, at this point. But it does give him the chance to turn his head and to spot Chiruzu, blinking at her in the same way any person might, seeing their first other being after journeying rapid waters.
Just give him a second (and plenty more) to take this all in.
o-oh, thank you...... o////////o
But he is turning back. He's moving again. He's talking. They're all good signs, and at least they have Chizuru hoping that the other will be alright in the end, even if the boy doesn't look to be in the best shape.
.. boy. He does look like a boy, she thinks. Maybe on the verge, that strange border between being a boy and being a man, especially in Chizuru's culture and time where boys had to grow up so much more quickly. He's got to be around her own age, she thinks, or maybe a little younger. It's always hard to tell with these western-looking men, so unfamiliar to her before she found herself surrounded by them here.
"It's okay," she says, careful to keep her gaze on his face to make sure she doesn't see a little bit too much if he suddenly decides to move.. But Chizuru smiles, seeming much more confident and reassuring in this moment than her usual meek attitude would allow. But she knows this is a situation in which she has to be reassuring, like an anchor, until this person is fully themselves again. "I know.. it must all seem really confusing right now. But don't try too hard to think of everything at once."
That sounds like a recipe for disaster while you're still out of it, after all.
"Try to focus.. on you. On your body. Once you can sit up, I have some clothes for you.." Chizuru pats the robes lying next to her on the sand. Nothing too fancy, mind you, since she just grabbed one of the outfits for the newcomers from the people handing them out, but it'll have to do for now.
(Not to alarm you with a sudden realisation about your state of undress or anything, Robby.)
no subject
Focus...on you. Robby looks back at her, the turn of his neck easy, though the weight of his head, his limbs and his torso are a peculiar sensation. She has clothes she says, and he follows where she guides his attention through her movement, small as it is. Clothes - clothes are a good thing, the mention inspiring some recognition, even if not the full force of it.
(But, he would definitely prefer to be dressed, wouldn't he? Even if the robes look shapeless, stranger than her own clothing - he knows they would help against the chill from the water, carried in the wind.)
He'd like those. That what he settles on, but he heeds her words, isn't guided by that voice that might be called stubbornness by some. Maybe it's her reassurance, her person; a calming quality about her, despite the thrashing of waves behind his back. Robby goes further, finding strength or response in his elbows to help him get up; he keeps a wait on one arm than to withdraw it, and trust his hold on his own weight.
The goal are those clothes. But in it, now somewhere between sitting and leaning, Robby can't help but to look again back out to the shoreline. Not for that pier, not for the buildings beyond, but - along the sand, the unsettled sea.
"--Will the others- get here?"
Focus on you, she said, but he can't help but to recall how, out there, it hadn't just been him. His only company, all swimming - for come here.
no subject
It's not even like she's never heard surprising questions before from people right after they turn back into people. She knows your mind is a mess during those moments, so random thoughts and questions slip out, occasionally even managing to fluster the girl. But this is no fluster, it's just.. ordinary surprise, and perhaps a bit of admiration. Chizuru doesn't know the other in the slightest. Robby doesn't even look like he comes from the same world as her - or at the very least not the same place or time.
But something about him asking that so quickly, so instinctively, speaks of great kindness to her.
She could be wrong. Even Chizuru knows that. But the part of her that always wants to believe in other people wants to believe in this too.
".. yes. Everyone is keeping an eye out for the squids. No one should be lost to the roughness of the sea."
Though Chizuru's voice still sounds gentle as she says that, it also sounds like she means it. Even though there are some scary people here, and even a few cruel people, she knows that so many people do their best to make sure the newcomers end up here alright, especially during the moments where the sea is not quite so calm or gentle.
She just hopes that thought is reassuring to him.
Though it also makes her wonder how much he remembers. How much is coming back to him. He remembers the others in the water, at least, so maybe..
"Do you remember your name..?" She doesn't know if he's quite there yet.
no subject
But when Robby looks back at her, there's a twitch by the side of his mouth, a smile that doesn't really become that. He takes his focus back onto his limbs, eyes glancing down on his body (naked -- and there's a more noticeable twisting in his gut of his state, getting ever close to shame and embarrassment) but rises again to her question. A side glance, thinking. His name, his name.
"I'm..." There's a sound on the tip of his tongue, as far as it'll go. Annoyance pinches at his brow before he looks back at her, the tug to the side of his mouth this time apologetic. "I'm a guy. I know I have one-"
But he'll leave the obvious spoken without words. Turns his head instead to the clothing beside the girl, nods to it.
"You mind?"
The motion isn't fluid, but he opens the palm of his free hand, not yet outstretched but waiting.
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For now she just shakes her head when he asks that short question, grabbing the robes out of the sand, quickly patting them down to get the sand out of them, and then handing it over to the boy. Thankfully he seems to start to get the range of motion necessary to be able to put those robes on by himself without - hopefully!! Chizuru sure hopes, or this is about to get real awkward - dropping over into the sand.
"Here," she says politely while handing over the clothes. She gives him another slight smile, but then seems to realise what she might see if he has to shift enough to put those on. Chizuru's cheeks turn a faint pink, and she blurts out a:
"S-Sorry!"
-- before quickly moving to turn around.
And cover her face with her hands.
You know, as if either action by itself couldn't possibly be enough to make sure she doesn't see something indecent here. She's being extra careful..!!
"J-Just tell me when you're done!"
Please let him be able to manage this himself, please let him be able to manage this himself.. It's not even that she'd hate helping someone get dressed, it's just that she doesn't want to invade his privacy by seeing something she shouldn't!! Just let her stay here, turned around like this, while he puts on the robes. She'd love that.
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And there's more opportunity for practice as he holds the garment up; trying to figure how exactly it fits, what he's supposed to do (as a very new person, and one who - in his previous life? - never had to deal with whatever this is) to get it to the wearing stage. There's a hole for his neck he finds first, studying, quizzing over, before he notices other parts flapping.
And it's somewhere in this that Chizuru has her dawning realisation.
Robby looks up from an armhole to her, bewildered with an urge to ask about her reaction. But his gut is having its own, a heat to his body that has something to do with her response, with his-- undress?
Does that make sense? ... somehow, he thinks it makes sense.
He doesn't know why, but she doesn't want to look at him right now, so Robby doesn't bother to pry. Instead, he works on the robe with, searching for the larger hole, nothing about this outfit right; too flimsy and long, and why does that bug him? -- but he manages to get his head in, first aimed towards the left arm until he gets stuck, pulls back, and goes again with better results.
Success (with some more fussing than Chizuru will have to know, but can guess). Robby takes a breath and looks at what's left to do, taking longer than necessary to get in the arms, but not a worrying amount. He tugs the fabric bunch at his waist, getting the garment on without standing, covering a good portion of him.
Robby glances at Chizuru's back, before deciding to try something else, next: to stand. He moves a leg up, having the idea that unbending at the knees = gaining height. Unfortunately, his great plan doesn't include calculating balance and what the ensuing leaning on one side will feel like, and so he does what anyone living being would that doesn't understand gravity.
He drops before he's barely begun, over on his side, a small "s-shit!" let out in surprise.
( At least he's dressed. :( )
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.. and yet she still worries. It's in Chizuru's fussy nature. What if he's having more trouble than expected? What if he needs help? Should she risk turning around, even if it means perhaps catching an eyeful of.. you know. Robby's business.
But then he lets out that sound, and that makes the entire decision for her. Chizuru spins around so quickly, her eyes growing wide as she realises what must have happened when she witnesses him collapses into a miserable pile of teenage boy on the ground. Thankfully while wearing the robes, but it means he definitely fell over from his sitting position.
"Oh no..!"
She kneels next to him, eyes wide and big with worry. Maybe she's fussing a little bit too much, like he's a cute puppy rather than an actual human being, but.. well, newcomers are very much like clumsy puppies. Who could blame her for fussing over him as if he were one then.
"Are you okay?" She reaches out, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, trying to help him back up into a sitting position. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
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"No no no, I'm fine - heh, this having hands and feet thing, it isn't as easy as it looks."
He wants to brush it off, some sense of humour and character slipping in through the haze of materialisation, and the smile he gives to Chizuru stays around as he's straightens up. He wipes off some wet sand that sticks to his cheek, and decides to forgo trying to do that alone a second time.
"Could you help me stand?" Or, even- "What's the best way, to-? I know I can do it."
He's looking about himself towards the end, an idea in his mind of what he wants to do, what it is, but how to get from A to B? And he hadn't seen her do it - hadn't been aware at the time, before she was already beside him - but standing, people know what that is, right?
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"Of course," Chizuru says after briefly inspecting him, giving her answer even more emphasis with the tiny nod she gives Robby.
Trying to move him up by herself would be too much effort, since he's bigger than her, but Chizuru figures she ought to at least be able to help here.
"I'll try to guide your body along, so.. um.. all you have to do is just try to move along. And focus on your feet." That's probably the easiest task she can give him here. Something that should be doable, even with a squid brain. "You need to make sure they're steady against the ground so your weight doesn't shift.. It's about balance, you know?"
It feels a little silly to explain something like standing up this way to someone, but Chizuru is hoping it might trigger something in Robby's brain here to help this endeavour.
She's already moving after she says that last part though. She grabs onto the other's hands, tightly holding them in her own so they won't slip out and let him fall again. Chizuru can definitely notice he's got some muscle, but then again, that's much more familiar to her than any other bodytype after spending so much time around men who are crazy about swordfighting.
Once she's sure she's holding onto his hands securely, the girl moves to stand up. Slowly, though, rather than all at once, so she can guide him right along in the movement until they're all the way up.
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So he's glad when she agrees, willing to listen - waiting to watch. Even that squid brain of his understands - out of everything it's willing to recognise - that she won't be able to get him to stand by her strength alone. A basic understanding, of bodies and people; the kind where names aren't important. The kind--
'It's about balance, you know?'
--that wouldn't be affected by a simple statement.
The blur of a face, a voice that isn't hers; a pain in his heart, a memory of struggling to stand through a staggering pain. (A tournament, the tournament -- a pulsing in his shoulder blade, ghosting now in that same place.) Outwardly, his gaze on Chizuru flickers; going somewhere else, not focused, but is that particularly strange? He still lets her take his hands, follows her lead: unable to watch entirely the way her legs move under her own style of robe, but taking guesses, working on-- something more.
Memory. Standing, over and over again - a fight to prove himself, the fight to improve; the fight to be better, to survive, to be a survivor.
It doesn't make it easier to stand. His legs are stiff, less used now than any other part of him; indignant to be used and moving, and he worries as his body shakes from imbalance.
('There it is.'
'What now?'
'You get back up and try again.')
There's a struggle deeper in him than just his legs. A constriction in his lungs, an inability to stay focused. There is another fall, one that luckily doesn't bring Chizuru down. The threat of a pull, but Robby manages to land on a knee, forward, than at an angle. Giving a 'I'm alright,' if Chizuru voices concern, and clearer-minded somehow on this next attempt. Fall, get up, never stay down.
This is what his life was. The struggle, teaching limbs and mind to be better. He rises again, nothing graceful about it, but - he gains height as he brings himself up at the waist, works on straightening his back.
Bless be Chizuru's patience, waiting on the time until Robby can finally face her. A chin tilted down for height, his eyes wide, everything about his expression still in the midsts of the struggle to get here. But there's something, with his hands holding her, a little tight from the fall, the work.
He can't count many people on just one hand who've been there to help him after a fall.
Despite the thought, he smiles, something small yet tight, pleased.
"I'm getting any better at being human?"
It's a joke, as delighted as his face.
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Especially since he does finally seem to manage to get upright with that last attempt. The slight smile on his face is definitely enough to soothe the worry in the girl's heart, and she smiles back up at him, letting out a breath of relief that he's alright.
"I think so," she says, that smile lingering. "It's okay. We all need a while to get used to it at first."
It's not even that Robby looks like he needs the reassurance, but Chizuru can't help it. She just works like this at all times. Got to reassure everyone around her.
And if he's truly becoming more human, regaining his own identity after emerging from the sea, then she figures he's got a bit more room up there to finally store things too, other than all these strange new water-less sensations.
"My name is Chizuru." There, that's a name he can try to commit to memory, at least. Maybe it'll help to start bringing back his own name as well, or other names. "And I'm so glad you made it here alright, without getting hurt.. The sea has been so rough for the past few months."
So everyone who seems to mostly make it through okay feels like a blessing. Her heart aches thinking about the squids who may never make it, no matter how much they try to save everyone.
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"I'm..." It's slow, a moment spoken after she does about the sea. His gaze lingering elsewhere as he searches for the right way to form what he wants to say, to get it out. "My name is-- Robby. It's Robby."
Robby Keene. He can hear it clearly now inside his own head, remember his own face. Homeless, distant from others; a guy not as secure in life as he'd like to recall on, but it's something. A feeling.
A time that's gone. He doesn't linger on it, a small tug of his lips aside.
"It's good to meet you. Chizuru."
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She smiles as she says it, though the name still sounds a little uneasy in her mouth. Considering just how isolated Japan had been back in Chizuru's time, this place has been her first exposure to names that aren't Japanese - but she's been trying, doing her best. Thankfully she's a lot more used to it after months and months of exposure than she had been at first.
There's a brief pause, but then the girl glances over her shoulder, back at the rest of the beach and the boardwalk beyond, and then looks at Robby again.
"Do you think you're ready to try walking?" He does seem to be stable on his legs now, at least. Even though there's still a gap between being able to stand upright and being able to walk. "I can take you over there, to where everyone else is. There's food there. You should have some."
Even if he might not be hungry, Chizuru imagines the arrival and turning back into a human takes up a lot of energy. Energy that will have to be replenished.
"And then maybe I can explain a little bit more to you about.. um. Well." She looks a little embarrassed, but in the sort of way where she's still smiling even as she does. "Everything that's going on."
Since she's pretty sure the other is slowly going to have more and more questions as his brain and memories return to him more as well.