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countryclub2022-10-25 08:52 pm
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2022-10-25 08:52 pm
Entry tags:
October Test Drive Meme!
OCTOBER 2022 TDM
STANDARD ARRIVAL
IMAGE OF THE SELF
A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
THE VEINS OF THE TOWER
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 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]
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 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]
WHEN: First Week of NOvember
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk, Koz's Orphanage
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A
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.
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.
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.
WHEN: Halloween through all November
WHERE: All of Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Distorted Reality, horrifying cityscape images, mounting paranoia, displacement
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."
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."
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
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!
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!
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
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
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
no subject
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..]
no subject
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.]
no subject
[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.]
no subject
[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.
no subject
[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.]
no subject
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.]
no subject
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.
no subject
[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.]
no subject
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.]
no subject
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.]
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
[He might feel a small bit of pride at that. Xichen has always been the one that they could rely on. Perhaps this is a way that he can pay the man back a little for his help.
He places a familiar jar on the table as well. He drinks a lot of tea because of his experiments and sometimes he enjoys something a little different. He thinks some wine is going to be his drink of choice a little later. But for now he will keep his senses sharp and stick with the tea.]
We are all out of our element when we first get to this world. And helping people who get here is something those of us that have been here should be doing.
no subject
Drunken Lans were dangerous Lans.]
If possible, I would like to gauge the situation of what Cultivation is like here. What are the sects, their territories and their dynamics, for starters.
[Because he apparently cannot conceive of a world where cultivators just aren't in charge.]
no subject
[He hums in thought as to how he wants to explain it all. Barely a beat before he continues.]
There are no sects. Different cities...different classes of people...but not in the same way as a sect. There are no heads of these areas that you have to please. It is simply the citizens working together to survive.
[There are lots of people that hold grudges against different areas but not because of who is in charge...there is just a feeling certain areas have that make people uncomfortable. He is surprised by how many people don't feel comfortable in Cassandra which is where he has taken up residency. But perhaps he is just used to living in places people normally wouldn't.]
Each area has something they are strong in. For Example, this house is located in Cassandra and here people focus on spiritual healing. The natives in this area tend to believe that belief and faith are above knowledge.
no subject
Surely, he thinks, someone must be in charge. What kind of chaos would run rampant if there was no one to enforce order...? Xichen will have to investigate this himself, because Wei Wuxian must have misunderstood. You can't upend the entire social order like that!
(Can't you...?)He settles instead for something more familiar, more comfortable that he can wrap his head around.]
It seems strange to hold one above the other. Is knowledge not the foundation of belief?
no subject
[As someone who often doesn't share the same beliefs in how things should be done...]
You will find that the cities are based on what kind of job you decide to take on.
[He waves towards a small section of the house that has shelves of incense and tea behind a counter.]
I sell manners of healing and attempt to help people through the difficult times this world puts them through. It's about as close to spiritual healing as I can do. I think that is why the house appeared in this place when I arrived. If you want to be in a place that focuses on learning then there is Gaze which is where the scholars tend to be. If you are a vendor...then Willful Machine is where you would lay your head at night so you can sell during the day.
[He stands up and goes to retrieve something from one of the tables. He has never been the most organized of individuals so it takes him a moment before he returns with a map. He lays it out so that Xichen can see the different areas.]
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[Not that anything could ever be simple; there was always someone scrabbling to find a scapegoat to blame all the world's ills on. First it was the Wen sect, and remained the Wen Sect long after they were rendered little more than a handful of elderly farmers, an apothecary, and a toddler. Then it was Wei Wuxian's turn. And now...
He cut that train of thought, instead following Wei Wuxian's gesture to his stock.
Healing, hm? Well, he had brought Wen Ning back from death... sort of. It certainly seemed an agreeable trade for the Yiling Patriarch and his series of strange miracles. It was a strange path to walk, certainly, and one he'd had to walk alone. Xichen couldn't begrudge him that.
Following along with the map, he glances up at his brother-in-law.]
'Scholar' seems most in line with my original duties. But if this world is so different from our own, I dread the knowledge I may impart will be worse than useless.
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I think you'll simply have to find a way to weave it with the knowledge of this place. What you know might actually come to be useful in some ways.
[He points to another area of the map.]
This is the area that needs the most protection if you would prefer to go that route. They consider this area the most vulnerable...so sometimes people with fighting skills stay there so they can protect those that can't.
[That is practically the definition of a cultivator...]
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That seems more in line with what I am used to.
[He would effectively become a rogue cultivator, but that wasn't so terrible a thing. It afforded him a freedom he'd never had as Sect Leader, and moreover, using his considerable talents to help the vulnerable was worlds better than languishing in seclusion while his grief ate him from the inside out.]
Do you still partake in Night Hunts...?
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[But he isn't alone in that. that is just the nature of the world...strange things happen even while sitting at home.]
It would be nice to get back into going out on Night Hunts...
[But kind of lonely doing it alone...]
I'm sure they would appreciate your help if that is the route you decide to chose.
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[Though it would be fair to say that Wei Wuxian often sought it out back in the day, when 'trouble' was bringing liquor into the Cloud Recesses and skipping curfew.
Fond recollections soften something around Xichen who had been looking uncharacteristically morose.]
If you like, I would be glad of your company.
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The offer of company brings that smile back to his lips though. It would be fun to go back out again.]
I'd be glad to have it. I can also help show you around while we do it.
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I would greatly appreciate it. Being in a place like this... I suspect I will need to know a great deal in as short a time as possible.
[He bows his head in gratitude.]
I will be counting on you.
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[He holds up his jar of wine with a grin. because this deserves an actual drink and not just the tea. He's never been one for formality and drinking it out of cups. ANd he is pretty sure that Xichen isn't going to share it with him anyway as he brings it to his lips to take a long gulp of it.
It feels good to be able to share this moment with someone from home. A familiar feeling through all of it even if he didn't get to spend a lot of time with Xichen. This man is family now and he is glad to have him here. As he lowers it back down his smile is on his lips easily.]
And you are welcome to stay here as long as you want. I can show you the different areas and you can figure out which one feels the best for you to move into.