October Test Drive Meme!

[reddosmod]

OCTOBER 2022 TDM

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 snowy, rocky beach in winter. ]
[Image Two: Bowls of mushroom soup and bread. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Dali painting of the moon as a city]
[Image Two: Twisted, warped cityscape]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Monster choking a sleeping person to death]
[Image Two: Death hovering over a sleeping person]

BONUS PROMPT
[Image One: Liminal Space image of a nondescript room with strange ledges]
[Image Two: Cenobite woman with borg-like attachments to her face]

[NAVIGATION]

TDM Questions • Reserves • Taken • Applications • Full Navigation

[Jump to Comments]

STANDARD ARRIVAL

WHEN: First Week of NOvember
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk, Koz's Orphanage
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A

---

You're one of the lucky ones. Your journey is smooth sailing and you wind up exactly where you're supposed to: on the Farther Shores. You grow out of your squid body without a hitch, either with the help of another Sleeper or one of the Wakers, and you get to discover this new world. All new Sleepers might take some time to find their bearings. It might be tricky to remember how to use your body parts the way you're supposed to. You might stumble around the beach or forget how to talk - but don't worry! It'll come back to you sooner or later.

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
This is not the greatest month to wash up on the Farther Shores. It's November and you'll pretty much immediately hate it! The waters are frigid but not quite frozen yet, but that won't make your arrival any less uncomfortable. Thankfully the Boardwalk seems well-stocked with heavy blankets and furs to give to newly awakened Sleepers. Barrels of hot chocolate and hot alcoholic cider are readily available to warm people up. There are several stalls selling hearty soups willed with mushrooms, potatoes, beans, and other filling components.

Fresh baked bread and pastries are sold on wax paper. Enjoy a steaming cinnamon roll or croissant or just your standard bread and butter. Many bakers have set up temporary stoves and seem to invite teaching Sleepers how to cook and prepare bread and pastries. Maybe knead some dough, learn some tricks of the trade. If you help out ab baker, they might even thank you with a sack of flour or other ingredients for bread!

Like last year, as the Moon shifts to Bone, whispers and hushed talk begins anew among the Trenchies about The Tower. There are whispers that something feels wrong. "You know Trench is his body, right?" one might say. "But look at what's been happening. Is everything alright?" There is nervousness, agitation. Trenchies can't seem to put a finger on it. One of the old fishermen mutters under his or her breath if overheard in this time. "Long time since we tried to leave the Tower's shield. Hope didn't bring anything back from out there. World's a strange place."

None of them seem to have anything specific to add. They just seem nervous for some reason.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

IMAGE OF THE SELF

WHEN: Halloween through all November
WHERE: All of Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Distorted Reality, horrifying cityscape images, mounting paranoia, displacement

---

"They say that Trench is the body of the Tower." It is a saying so often repeated during the Bone Moon season that it becomes more of a mantra. Whether or not it is actually true remains a hotly contested debate between Arcane Scholars and Disciples, one of the few times that neither side fully agrees even with themselves. Yet, if it is true, what happens if the person whose body serves as a city begins to have an identity crisis of sorts? That certainly seems to be the case this month.

At random times, it just happens. You're walking from one place to another with your friend. You just stepped out of a lantern network teleportation circle. You open a door. Suddenly, everything is just wrong. It feels like you are in a surrealist's nightmare. Walls appear to be bleeding concrete in all directions. Stairwells twist impossibly, as if M. C. Escher himself were the architect. The pathway to where you intended to go warps and transforms itself into a perilous, twisted monstrosity that you have to navigate. Worse? The way you got here is just gone behind you, leaving you only the path forward.

Navigating this isn't impossible, but you will definitely need help. It might be that one has to stand on another's shoulders to get over an obstacle and then help them up. Maybe someone very small has to crawl into an opening to reach the door handle so the way through can be found. It varies, and the effect lasts only as long as it takes to get where you're going, but while you're here the reality continues to shift and some of these twistings could easily crush you! Don't tarry too long!

NOTE: The physical danger here is from environmental hazards. Feel free to choose any you like, but they will all return to normal when your character reaches their intended destination. Trenchies know nothing about this, though if one asks one of the former wastes, they will ward themselves as if against evil. They know something, but they dare not speak and will whisper hurriedly that the sleeper had best not talk too openly about this. "Best not to draw attention right now."

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

WHEN: Last Week of October through the first week of November
WHERE: At Home, in your bed
CONTENT WARNINGS: Severe Insomnia, Sleep Deprivation, Deprivation induced hallucinations and mood swings

---

Something is clawing at your mind from the moment that the first signs of the cold coming. You can't put your finger on it, but even as you see the people of Trench preparing for the next month's arrival of sleepers, you can see they feel it too. Something claws at the mind and for a few people in Trench, this becomes a very literal problem. The thoughts are so overwhelming that you can't manage to find a good night's sleep. This problem is especially prominent for new Sleepers, who seem prone to arriving with terrible bouts of unexplainable insomnia.

That sounds simple enough to deal with, right? Perhaps some sort of sleep aid, or working oneself to exhaustion, and you can power through it, right? No. Nothing seems to work at first. Searches for a monster are futile. Warding and incense seem utterly ineffective, and no matter how hard you try, night after night you cannot sleep. You are terrified of falling asleep. If you fall asleep, you may never wake up! Even characters who do not fear a mortal death feel themselves compelled by this, and the longer that they do not sleep the more corruption risks them at its door. A night or two missed is one thing, but eventually irascibility sets in. Hallucinations may eventually start to crop up. The body needs REM sleep. It needs dreams, yet the horror that threatens the person will not allow them to sleep, for fear that it will come for them while they sleep. What 'it' is, they do not know.

There is only one solution. For those who already spend time with others? This is a simple thing, but they must still agree to do it. You can solve this curse only if you do not sleep alone. Another must stay awake for the vigil through the whole night. Simple enough given their insomnia, but they will be assailed by their own horrific lack of slumber. Only, after you have had a good night's sleep, be sure to care for the other who was so kind to you. Why? Because anyone so unkind as to not help their erstwhile companion sleep after they have finally gotten rest will find out that those fears were not unfounded and the next time they sleep, they really do not wake up!

Death, in this rare case, comes in the form of a heart attack. Its source is unknown, and all that the sleeper will remember is the worst nightmare of their life as they lay in bed, dying in soundless screams. So, be sure to take care of each other, sleepers!

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

THE VEINS OF THE TOWER

WHEN: November 1st (And only November 1st)
WHERE: Beginning anywhere, ending in A Nightmarish Place
CONTENT WARNINGS: Liminal Space, Disorientation, Hints of horrible monsters, Possible Death, Insane Zealotry, Mutilated Bodies

---

Rumors have lingered since the first encounters two months ago of a 'space between spaces' that people could accidentally fall into that this occurrence has not been entirely limited to the month it first happened in. Every once in a while, on unusual days, it has happened since that time. There appears to be little rhyme or reason to it, but it has happened again. Maybe you took an accidental step backwards. Or maybe you were crazy enough to have identified some spot you disappeared before and you were actually experimenting with the effect every day to see when it happened. You know, to chronicle the dates it happen, to keep a record, to understand it better, all of those sorts of things that cause some sleepers to poke things that are Better Left Alone because that's what some sleepers do with their free time, and then they touch the spot with something and suddenly they and everything around them are sucked in. How you got there is not important. You're here now, wherever here is.

Only this time its different. You're not in the spot you were last time, and in the distance you can hear shuffling of feet. Dread enters your heart, as you know that you do not have the means to fight whatever it is. You have an overwhelming urge to run, to flee at top speed. You and whoever is "lucky" enough to be with you must run as fast as you can, around corners, a roaring, inhuman scream echoing through the hallways, slamming into walls. You can't quite see it, not unless you want a swift, awful death at least. But around a corner there is salvation, an elevator shaft and the door is open. Frantic scrambling, running and jabbing buttons will cause the doors to close, just as something black like a giant hand grabs the far wall. You hear the rush, the scream. The elevator shudders three times as something pounds on it, but you're safe. Or, are you?

Instead of the usual moldy hallways, you see what looks like a hospital hallway. Anyone who lived through the nightmare may have awful flashbacks, but nothing is chasing you this time. The impossibly stretching hallway seems ceaselessly unchanging, each door locked, at least until you happen to notice a grate on one of the overhead air conditioners open wide. If you are curious enough to crawl up and into it, you're treated to a long scramble through the passageway, right up until you hear voices, menacing ones in the distance. Crawl quietly!

A grate emanating ugly, light is up ahead. As you and your companion work your way over, you're hopefully not heard. Through the grate, you see something awful. Two mutilated and disfigured figures speak while a third, calm and ordered looking woman listens. She seems to have mutilated her throat such that she should not be able to speak, and the other two appear have performed torturous experiments on their own flesh, their twisted visages that of the 'Zealots' that the Sleepers sometimes whisper about in fear. "It is almost time for the harvest. We made the quotas last cycle but only barely. The need is greater. Sacrifices must be made," one hisses. The other nods vigorously. "Yes. The situation is decaying. We have to move to stop this before it gets out of hand."

Before they can say more, however, the third woman looks up, directly at the grate. She smiles once, and a voice echoes from her throat as what appears to be a mouth inside of it moves, her own lips unmoving. "Continue this discussion later. It seems the problem has worsened. We will need to step up security in the meantime." She reaches out a hand and wrenches. The air shimmers around them and suddenly the duct you are traveling in collapses and breaks beneath you. Instead of falling into the farm, however, you find yourself falling through darkness for what seems an eternity, until you collapse hard to the pavement, in front of the entrance to the Gate, your breath coming back to you slowly, shakily.

NOTES: Death is possible should a sleeper assault the first creature. It is a being of impossible angles and blackness, is itself unkillable and will rend its victims to oblivion through brute force. Fighting the Zealots is not possible through this prompt. The grate cannot be opened in time to exit into the Sleeper Farm and engage them. However, the astute will be certain that there was for a moment an actual entry through and into the Sleeper Farm, somehow. Those familiar with these locations will recognize them as being Floor 1, the Stalls

[JUMP TO TOP]

CODING

Comments

[baiyueguang]

[This gets a far simpler smile, infused with his usual warmth.]

As gracious as ever.

[From anyone else it might sound sarcastic. From Xichen, it is genuine gratitude for Wei Wuxian's kindness.]

This place does sound dangerous. I imagine these matters go well beyond fierce corpses and resentful energy, elsewise there would be little need for a warning.

[Elsewise it would just be business as usual, he means.]

[chenqing_player]

We don't get warned about the dangers when we come so it is up to us that have been here to be the informants.

[He doesn't really consider himself gracious or kind but he does his best. He always has wanted to help those that needed it. He still continues that now.]

I haven't seen a fierce corpse in over two years but there is certainly spirits and other types of monsters. Chenqing isn't as useful but Suibian gets a work out.

[Not that he hasn't had occasion to use the flute. There are times when it is still very useful.]

You'll want to keep your skills sharp.

[baiyueguang]

That seems counterintuitive.

[There's a worried little crease in his brow as the unasked question as to why they wouldn't warn strangers about the danger here, but he assumes it's probably some silly oversight. There's already a thousand and one things that require getting acclimated to and any threat that wasn't immediate could wait.]

...You can use Suibian again?

[He looks both pleased and puzzled about this.]

[chenqing_player]

I think the natives of this place are just so used to adapting to it that they don't really think of it as odd. It is just those that show up and aren't used to those kinds of tricks that are unprepared.

[Because no matter what they does seem to happen the people who live here just take it in stride. He has learned a lot just from them and their habits while learning how to adapt himself.]

Ah...as for suibian, I'm not as adept at it as I once was but I've had a few years to build up a little strength with Lan Zhan's help. [Dual cultivation certainly played a part in his improvements.]

I almost had to figure it out so that I could defend myself in more ways.

[baiyueguang]

[Lan Zhan's help, hm? Well, he knows what that means. Good for them, congratulations on the sex, indeed, but there are some things about his didi's life he would be happier ignorant of. He gently pushes the thought aside.]

...Adaptability seems the rule of this land. I'm not surprised that you've thrived here then.

[A beat.]

How do you mean by 'more ways', though?

[chenqing_player]

[He laughs softly, quite aware of how many different places he has been forced into adapting to. No one expected him to survive a drop into the Burial Mounds.He never would have expected to live on two strange worlds away from his own. And certainly no one believed he would come back thirteen years after his 'death'. If anything...adapting has become Wei Wuxian's way of life.]

Well..Its not just spirits or physical monsters. Sometimes it plays tricks on the mind or the foes we fight are immune to certain weapons or attacks. The more ways you have to defend yourself..the more likely you are to stay alive.

[Wei Wuxian tends to avoid as many altercations with unknown foes as he can, but even he knows the benefit of experimentation and learning all he can. So he does just enough to find out what he needs to know and protect anyone who is around without risking another unfortunate end.]

[baiyueguang]

[It begins to sound like business as usual. Spirits and monsters are generally easy enough to handle; the sort of thing he'd send skilled junior apprentices to deal with to get some practical experience. And there are plenty of things back home that play tricks on the mind or are immune to weapons and attacks.

But the way Wei Wuxian says it... there seems to be more to the matter than he thought. He isn't sure what questions he should be asking to get the specifics.]

You are already a versatile combatant. If you are giving such a warning, I'd best heed it. But for all its troubles, this city seems to be bustling.

[Something on the air smells good, and he can't quite place what it is.]

[chenqing_player]

Even I've been caught off guard a few times in my time here. Usually when this place decide to do something to me physically. It will make your body change into things you least expect or sometimes will change you and you won't even realize it until someone can break you out of whatever it is.

[So many things that would be easier to show then explain but he hopes the other man doesn't actually have to experience any of it. He looks around at the different people going about their normal business. The places to eat and drink and shop all normal by appearance and just doing whatever they need to to survive.]

This is the best part of the world. Foods you will have never known to try before. People you never would have had a chance to meet otherwise. Not everything is doom and gloom and even though I want to make sure you are prepared for the hard things...these nicer things are the parts everyone should try to focus on when they can.

[He stops and looks over at Xichen with a grin.] How about some lunch before we go back to my house?

[Because there certainly isn't much to eat in the house...he doesn't do a lot of cooking himself.]

[baiyueguang]

You? Caught off-guard? That seems implausible.

[There's a flicker of that playful smile, the one he had back in the day before the world was filled with worry and strife when he sent his didi's crush off to the Cold Springs knowing full well who Wei Wuxian would find there.

It's gone just as soon as it appears, and his expression is drawn tight in a placid mask.]

...But you are right, if there were no real respite from the danger, I imagine these streets would look very different.

[The offer for lunch is a generous one. His stomach is still doing that strange thing where it feels like it's twisting in worry, so food is not necessarily the first thing on his mind. Especially in his disheveled and dirty condition; the Lan Sect has some very strict rules about hygiene and food.]

...Are you sure you want to have lunch with me in this state? I'm prone to get sand on everything.

[chenqing_player]

[There is a warm happy feeling that floods him when he sees that smile. It is good to see the man relaxed enough to do so after everything he has had to endure. Of course, Wei wuxian can't be sure exactly how much of life this Xichen has seen in comparison to himself.]

I don't mind what kind of state you are in and the people here are fairly used to seeing those that have just emerged from the water. I don't think they care about a little sand.

[He laughs and looks around at those that are walking around, clearly not even giving Xichen's appearance a second look.]

If you would prefer to get cleaned up first though, then we can always come back this way.

[baiyueguang]

[Wei Wuxian's laugh is such a reassuring sound, though he wonders dimly if it's a front. His little brother always worried that Wei Wuxian masked his own pain with laughter and bright smiles, and there is a pang of guilt that he never got to know the man well enough to tell the difference.

When Xichen speaks next, there is a hint of hesitation in his voice.]

I would, if it is not too much trouble...?

[Hunger is a distant thing for him; getting clean and appropriately attired is far more pressing than eating. He can go a while without the latter.]

This one does appreciate the sentiment, but he knows that, while Wei Wuxian enjoys his food heavily spiced, he probably will not appreciate it seasoned with sand.

[And Xichen's impressive head of damp hair has collected quite a lot of it, to say nothing of other places he'd rather not mention.]

[chenqing_player]

[Wei Wuxian has learned even more ways to mask his pain while on these worlds. Its easy to just hide the fact that he has been lonely or ails from the side effects the events of this world have on him. The constant pull in the back of his mind each month as dark energy seems to surge and swell around them. He learned a long time ago that the face people want to see is not the one the reveals everything. But his smile is sincere this time as he signals him to continue to follow.]

Sand is definitely not my favorite addition and it seems to get everywhere very easily. We will see how much we can knock off of you before we get to the house.

[Because he won't feel much need to want to clean it up out of the house either.]

I think you'll probably recognize the house even from a distance when we get to the street.

[A large two story home. The first story one that has a striking resemblance to a familiar Jingshi nestled in the back mountains of the Lan sect. A house that was clearly designed by the one who is no longer with him. The second story added when they realized they wanted to share their home with anyone seeking assistance with their ailments of the world before this. A shop nestled into one section of the bottom floor where Wei Wuxian can experiment and invent as many ways to heal and help as he can. A home decorated with all the feelings of their world but with the modern conveniences that this one provides. A familiar donkey and a house of rabbits also easily seen from the street once close enough.]

[baiyueguang]

You have my deepest gratitude, and my apologies for the sudden imposi--

[His mouth clicks abruptly shut when he sees the house come into view. He looks at Wei Wuxian in absolute shock, and though he doesn't say anything, there is no doubt exactly what the question on his mind is.

...How...?!]

[chenqing_player]

[He looks at the house with a soft expression. Pride and clearly a little sadness at the fact that this is his daily reminder of the life he once had. But he tries to shove all those feelings aside as he looks over at the surprise etched across the other man's face.]

The place I was at before this one used to give gifts. As bad as it was, sometimes it was also generous. It was his wish to have it there and because of the efforts we put forth we were given a home away from home.

[But that wasn't the whole story. The sacrifices they made in order to have such extravagances were great. But in the end it was worth it. He can hear Lil' Apple bray in the background as if calling for the black stallion that is taking an afternoon nap in the barn. Familiar sounds that greet him every time he returns to this home even if he doesn't have the companion he truly desires to see to do the same.]

And when I arrived here...the house came with me. As well as everything else. A strange blessing all things considered...

[Considering the man who built it with him did not come with it and that took a lot to get over..]

[baiyueguang]

[Blessing is not necessarily the word Xichen would use, though once the initial shock passes, his mind is racing with questions.]

The place you were at before.

[It's a question phrased like a statement.]

You mean to say that it wasn't our world before this one?

[He hears the bray of a mule, and smiles once more. Of course Li'l Apple would be here.]

[chenqing_player]

[A shakes of his head with a sigh] I was actually taken to a place that was a 'dream world'. At least that is what they claimed it was. Lan Zhan and I were both there for over two years before I got pulled here. That world collapsed but is somehow tied to this one.

[A vague wave towards the house.] Reasons why things I had there ended up here as well. It's a very complicated story.

[He walks up to the home and heads inside, pausing to turn towards Xichen to make sure he is following so that he can guide him to a place he can get cleaned up.]

I haven't been to our world in a long time...[Said quietly and almost to himself as a reminder that he seems to be stuck for what feels like forever. He can't seem to figure out how to get out of this place and no one else is able to give any answers. He hasn't given up on going home but he loses a little bit of hope with each passing day.]

[baiyueguang]

...I am sorry.

[He says it so softly, it's almost a whisper.]

It must be hard here, away from all you love and all you fought to achieve. You deserve better than that.

[But as Xichen was starting to learn, the world doesn't hand you what you deserve. It just hands you what you get and you have to make do. And there is another pang of guilt for him, because his own desires are the complete opposite of Wei Wuxian's. Putting a world of distance between himself, between everything, with only a long life of seclusion waiting for him back home, he wants nothing more than to remain on these shores. Perhaps he can find some scrap of purpose here while he meditates on how everything could go so horrifically wrong.]

If there is a way to get you home, I will gladly help you find it.

[chenqing_player]

I don't know that I deserve anything better then this but even this is better then some things.

[He has experienced so much in his lifetime that most people would be broken from but still he has managed to keep moving forward.]

A single plank road is the life I lead. It's obvious that there are those here that still need my help and so I will continue to walk along it.

[As it was when he lived with the Wen's in the burial mounds. Still true here as he lives away from the world he grew up i to protect those that can't do so themselves.]

Come...I'll show you where you can get cleaned up and change. If you need some of Lan Zhan's clothes to change into, there is a whole closet of them.

[He's already heading up the stairs and towards the second level where the bedrooms and spare bathroom is.]

[baiyueguang]

[A part of him wants to insist otherwise, that Wei Wuxian deserves his own happiness, but he lets the matter drop instead. Can't be rocking the boat too hard or he might capsize it and have to see how badly the rot has set in to their society.]

There is no need; it seems I have a few changes of clothes in the bag they gave me.

[And even if that wasn't the case, he couldn't bear to part his brother-in-law from the last remnants of Wangji he had.

Following up the steps, he tries not to be too nosy about the place, but the way his gaze darts around he's curious about their living situation. There are a number of modern appliances they passed already that he had to carefully quash any questions about.]

[chenqing_player]

[He opens the door to the bathing room and his grin returns.]

And this is one of the nice pieces of this world. [He turns on the handle and watches as the water flows into the sink.] You can get cleaned up in here. The bath also runs from inside. Feel free to take as long as you need.

[He collects a towel and washing cloth from a cabinet and places it on the edge of the sink. He has learned much about how to navigate these modern worlds and he will do his best to help Xichen with it as well.]

And we have plenty of rooms...[He stops himself when he realizes he said 'we' but he doesn't let it trip him up for too long.] You are welcome to stay as long as you want in one of them.

[baiyueguang]

Ah...

[The washroom is a little overwhelming. Metal faucets...? He's assuming that's where the water comes out since Wei Wuxian said the bath runs from inside. A test of one of the taps actually startles Xichen before he hastily turns it back. But it does confirm what he was just told.]

This is miraculous. Did you build all this...?

[Forgive him, Wei Wuxian, he has heard the Yiling Patriarch can do the impossible; he can only assume this is one of the many things on the roster of accomplishments.]

[chenqing_player]

[He laughs with a shake of his head.] I cannot take credit for this invention. [Not that he was given credit for many of the things he created...but that besides the point.]

This is just a part of the magic of this place. You'll discover quite a few things that we don't have back home. This room is just the start.

[But Xichen can count on Wei Wuxian to be the best of teachers as he can be in order to get Xichen s quickly acclimated to all of it as he can.]

[baiyueguang]

[Xichen gives him a look. Are you sure you didn't invent indoor plumbing? It seems like something the Yiling Patriarch would do. He doesn't press the matter, instead occupying himself by turning the taps on and off.]

I thought becoming a squid would have been the end of the surprises. It seems I was mistaken.

[He smiles, offering a bow of gratitude to Wei Wuxian.]

I shall endeavor to not get distracted and take too long. Thank you.

[And he is true to his word. He's not in the habit of luxuriating in tubs (and given where the Lans do most of their bathing, is it any wonder why not?). Moreso, he is quick and thorough with getting all the filth from the ocean scrubbed from his body (he is absolutely mortified when he pulls a drying strand of seagrass from his hair, he never wants to be a squid again).

When he's cleaned, combed and dressed, he pulls his hair into a simple topknot without any ornamentation aside from the white ribbon around his brow and heads down to find Wei Wuxian.]

[chenqing_player]

[Wei Wuxian leaves Xichen to his washing. The man can take as long as he wants. He knows what it is like to encounter the modern inventions of this world. He won't judge Xichen if he decides to take the world's longest bath.

But when the man emerges, there will be tea ready for him. These are things he can take pride in. The tea he uses in the house are his own blends that he creates. Teas that help to soothe and calm all that ails people of this world. He looks up just as he sets the tea pot down on the table. THe inside of the house is very reminiscent of their time even if there are modern features in certain rooms. Things that should stand out starkly against the traditional decor but have been cleverly woven in to try and appear more natural. He smiles up at the man as he returns downstairs.]

I made some tea just in case your hunger wasn't back yet.

[baiyueguang]

[The unusual decor certainly warrants Xichen's curiosity, though he tries to strike a balance between interest and gawking. The teapot, however, is blessedly familiar, and there is a look of relief upon his usual serene features when Wei Wuxian offers tea.]

I appreciate it. And... I hope you won't mind if I regale you with questions about Trench? As you might have surmised, I think I am a little out of my depth here.