reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2023-01-25 12:08 am
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JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME!

JANUARY 2023 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: Bloody Candles]
[Image Two: Anatomically Correct Chocolate Hearts in a Coffin]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Woman in restaurant, dressed in pink, surrounded by mannequins.]
[Image Two: Creepy looking mannequin staring]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Hands touching and holding at sunset]
[Image Two: Girl Screaming with her Mouth Fused Shut.]

A TYPICAL ARRIVAL WITH A SWEET TWIST
WHEN: Last Week of January through all February

WHERE: The Shores, Boardwalk and throughout Trench

CONTENT WARNINGS: Mild Body horror for arrival, additional warnings for Blood Bonds and the Chocolatier:
* Blood Bonds: Blood ceremony, bodily ceremony, telepathic/empathetic connections, possible forced/coerced relationships.
* Choclatier: Themes of temptation (non-sexual and/or sexual), addiction, blood sacrifice, severely warped personality/reality including temporary amnesia, inability to use body, paranoia, vomiting organs, homicidal feelings, mild body horror.



For those who are arriving, they are fortunate. The worst of the ice and chill of the Season of Bone is fading. Any ice flows are breaking up and it is safe for little squidlings to come to shore, wakers present to help them with cups of hot cocoa and heavy robes to ward off of the cold. Nothing, however, removes the almost bleak and dreary state of the world. All of the beach seems washed with a sort of white that remindes the mind of bleached bone. Transformation from squid to the sleeper's natural form is slower, because of the cold, but does not pose any real difficulty.

Warm Food is prepared in the form of stews, complemented by bread that tastes heavily of mushroom. Unlike prior years, no roses are given to the new sleepers, though there are roses found throughout the city of trench. All of them, however, are black as midnight and there is an ominous sense to them should a sleeper think to reach out and pluck the blooms. Should someone do so, they will feel an increased paranoia about their relationships for the next few days and the natives of Trench will give them a wide berth, refusing to sell them anything at the shops and shooing them away, though there is no outward sign of anything being amiss. Whispers in town hint that the Doorway is in a poor mood this year.

Nevertheless, the patron pthumerian of the month can be seen around Trench. Bonding Rituals remain very popular this month and many seek to curry her presence during their rites. She shows no outward sign of discomfort or disapproval, yet there seems to be more blood than usual on her ivory blade as she stands in silent vigil wherever a ritual is performed.

Anyone who yearns for a bit of sweetness that they might associate with the waning chill of winter will find themselves meeting a sudden and disturbing fellow (CW: Some Blood/Disturbing Content in some chocolates. Please check warnings in prompt). The chocolatier, who was seen in past years, still wanders about and appears to any who yearn for a happier time in the otherwise gloom of the month. His offer is simple. A little bit of blood, for a little bit of sweet. What is the harm in it? Why his sweets even have mystical properties to make life interesting!

FAQ:
* The Chocolatier option remains identical to what happened in 2023, and is available throughout the last week of January and into February. The chocolates offered have not changed this year.
* Blood Bonds are available all year round, and the method of getting one is easily learned from any local in Trench, or from a Sleeper. While they can be performed every year, they are more powerful if performed in this month (Player discretion) and the Doorway is more likely to be present to bless them personally.

WAIT FOR ME
WHEN: Anytime in February

WHERE: Anywhere in Trench

CONTENT WARNINGS: Body Horror, Loneliness, Depression elements, Being Trapped in One's Own Body, Psychological Horror



Sleepers have been working to put an end to the strange plague afflicting pthumerians. Still, while there has been success, something seems off this month nevertheless. Even if she is not ill, the Doorway appears to be in a foul mood and it is felt by many. There is a moody, brooding sense that permeates the whole of the city, as if something were supposed to happen that did not. It's the awful sense that one gets when they expect to meet up with someone for something important and, without warning, that person does not show and there's no explanation. That light gnawing at the pit of the stomach when worry or irritation sets in grows steadily worse. Is this about someone specific, or a general malaise? It's hard to tell what sets it off. For some, it comes waiting by the coast in the hopes a loved one arrives this month. For others, maybe someone was just busy and ended up late for lunch. It might not even have a visible cause.

Whatever happens, the dreadful reality settles in almost immediately. As they wait, the person begins to feel their body stiffen. It does not feel like the lockjoint disease, but rather a sudden and whole-body hardening of the person. Within seconds, they feel their body solidifying into a state almost like a mannequin. Unable to move, they can feel a dread cold leeching into their heart as they are forced to watch, to wait for whoever was supposed to be there. Why aren't they here? The longer that they are there, the colder that they feel, and if they are in a secluded place it could feel quite perilous. However, no monsters can seem to harm the person, their body nigh indestructible. The frigid state, however, denies them the ability to sleep or even blink, forced to watch the world as a prisoner in their own mind.

Palebloods are somewhat fortunate in this state. All palebloods trapped this way find themselves able to telepathically communicate with loved ones or people close, regardless of distance. Their voices, however, are always in a state like the wail of a ghost regardless of their mental state. For anyone else, they can manage to mentally connect through the network to plead for help using an omni on their person, though only in Text form until they are released. So, at least they are not trapped without escape, unless by chance they forgot their omni, but you wouldn't be so foolish as to leave home without your phone would you?

HOW TO CURE THE CONDITION:
Several options exist. Anyone with a "Blade of Mercy" (a gift given last February) could use it to sever whatever connection caused the person to feel like they are waiting, though that might very well sever the emotional connection entirely! The very person that they are waiting for could arrive, in which case a kiss (on the cheek, on the lips, gallantly on one knee to the back of the hand. Whatever works for you!) or an apology for tardiness should suffice to warm the heart. If there is no source, or if that person cannot arrive (or chooses not to), any friend or even new acquaintance can try to help the person not feel quite as alone in their waiting through some reasonable means. Any cure-all for corruption will also help with this condition.

The locales do not have any idea officially how to cure the condition, but they may suggest some of the above simply because it seems helpful at the time. At the worst, the condition does eventually fade with time.

FAQ:
* This can happen in a public location, or entirely remote, wherever you wish.
* The above "Cures" are not exhaustive. Any reasonable act that establishes or re-establishes empathy for the person trapped will cure them.
* Paleblood Telepathy is not limited by distance. However, non-palebloods must have their omni on their person in order to mentally link to it.
* This condition does not lead to death, but if allowed to persist is a reasonable source of higher corruption.
* If untreated, it will usually clear up in a couple days, or at most a week. If a player wishes to use this as a form of hiatus in February, they may, in which case it can last all month.

YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY
WHEN: The First Week of February

WHERE: Anywhere in Trench

CONTENT WARNINGS: Choking, Asphyxiation, Body Horror, Dependency, Possible Death



Self-reliance is a powerful tool in the city of Trench. You have to be able to take care of yourself, lest the dangerous elements on the fringe of the city overtake you and claim you in the night. Right?

The Doorway could not disagree more. To her, people depend upon each other. Corruption is only cleansed through the presence of others and conversation, connection. Cures and potions are, in her thought, unreliable. Even going to the Blood Ministers is more of a last-ditch effort when all else fails as she sees it. Sometimes? People need a little gentle reminder, a push to get them to rely upon each other more. Unfortunately, what a Pthumerian considers a gentle push to be tends not to be so gentle.

It happens at random, though it seems to happen most of all when it involves people who might not want to be close. You come into contact with a person, and just as you start to speak, you feel your throat throttle. It is like there is an invisible noose around your neck. No visible rope exists, but the air is cut off. You double over, gasping for air that will not come. Even if you don't or can't breathe you find yourself choking like a flopping goldfish out of water! As you reach out for help, you can see to your horror that the person you are trying to meet is choking too! What do you do? There is only one cure to this situation. You have to get to the other person quickly. There's still time. Maybe you can find some sort of solution if you get there. Deep down, you know you just need to be closer.

The moment that the two choking sleepers make contact, they will be able to breathe. The relief of oxygen entering the lungs comes instantly, though there is a problem. Any time you break contact, you begin to choke again. So long as you are able to stay in contact, you're safe but any attempt to break that contact is potentially life threatening. There is no solution other than to hold onto each other, hold hands, whatever it takes to maintain contact. For how long you ask? Oh, for at least an hour. But it's not like anyone's actually going to give you a timer on this. Will you just put up with it, or will you keep experimenting only to be choked repeatedly.

FAQ:
* Anyone can be affected by this, no matter physiology. It defies magical powers, biology and even blood powers.
* The effects last no more than 6 hours at the absolute max and most of the time it will end within 1 hour.
* Effects will cease when the two participants go to sleep (No accidental chokings). As a result, the effect will always start at least an hour before you might normally go to sleep.
* Yes, you can choke to death if you want.
* There is no knowledge of the effect amongst the locals and no warning about it, so there is no real warning on how to "cure" this other than the compulsion to get close to the other choking person and trial and error. Or Patience!
* No, the Doorway isn't sorry.

CODING
frogfear: (010)

[personal profile] frogfear 2023-01-28 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Nice to meet you.

[She says it like she genuinely means it, as opposed to merely being polite. He might be far bigger than she would have expected from a heron from her world, but that doesn't mean much between Trench, and the countless other places people come here from.]

No, I understand. A lot of people don't really get it if you show up looking... not human. But you're probably going to find a lot more understanding here - I know a few people who can take different forms. I met one guy who was a campfire once.
opheliac: (•_•) (But not for long 'cause it'll get jinxed)

[personal profile] opheliac 2023-01-28 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
( is someone fucking with her? definitely not! why would she think such a silly thing as that? anyhow, she gets the monkey's attention when she clears her throat. he cocks his head curiously before beaming over at the pretty shell. oh, but of course, trading must be involved. after all, that is how the city of trench operates. the excitement fades from the monkey just a smidge as he glances over to the cigarettes that's still curled with his tail.)

Oh! W-Well... I'll have to ask my Sleeper if it's okay first. These are hers. But!! She likes shells, too!

( did this monkey just speak? why yes, yes it did. and what a goofy voice it has, too. mr.bananas (yes, jinx named this monkey "mr.bananas". how original, right?) stands upward and points over to the boardwalk. )

She's over there sitting at the bench! Let's go ask.

( he does seem to be telling the truth because there is someone sitting there. it's hard to make out with them wearing a hoodie and hunched over, but it's definitely a somebody.)
Edited 2023-01-28 04:46 (UTC)
cuddlery: (yeah?)

Chocolates-II?

[personal profile] cuddlery 2023-01-28 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
[This tall scorpion lady did happen to look Sevika's way. She's a new face, and Scorpia does feel a ping of curiosity. It's not often she meets a lady who's around her height!

But that greeting, the grin and wink, they all give her pause. She smiles awkwardly as she waves with the pincer.]


Oh, hey there! Hi. Sorry, I wasn't... trying to stare or anything. Just, don't think we've met before! And me, I'm always happy to meet more people. [Scorpia gives a nervous laugh. She's always glad to see others with positive demeanors, but something about this stranger's feels... weird and off.] My name's Scorpia!
toteninsel: (the twin suns sink)

[personal profile] toteninsel 2023-01-28 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's okay. Elster has all the time in the world to figure it out. Ariane isn't dying; the ship isn't malfunctioning; the dream isn't falling apart. Taking things one at a time isn't a luxury she'll deny Elster. ]

Okay. Let's be safe.

[ That sounds good. A distant concept, perhaps, like a character from a forbidden book, but still nice.

Ariane doesn't say much, after that, content to walk alongside Elster. Too quickly, however, that contentedness turns into focus as her knees threaten to buckle and her body threatens to stumble. Neither illness nor cryo have been kind on Ariane's endurance, and it's probably better for her to speak up rather than trip for real, and worry Elster more. ]


I think this is all I can do for now. [ A slight smile, trying to make the best of things. ] How far are we? Maybe they have copies of those dumb exercise montage videos at the Station.
lstr: (12)

[personal profile] lstr 2023-01-28 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ ariane's jokes are beyond welcome, after so long. elster's lips curl slightly, and she nods, turning to the smaller woman to lift her up, one arm supporting her legs, the other behind her back. ]

A little less than a kilometer. But I hope theirs don't have all the patriotic posturing.

[ the people passing by are mostly gestalts or... something else, from the look of them. no recognizable replikas. elster pays them little mind, only focusing on ariane's comfort and getting them to their destination.

she murmurs into ariane's hair, near her ear, surprising herself with how much emotion chokes the words. du bist in ordnung, whispers the magpie. ich bin genau hier, meine liebe.
]
Edited 2023-01-28 05:56 (UTC)
consymsus: @ MINTESQUE (place that I've been dreaming of)

[personal profile] consymsus 2023-01-28 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh. That was clearly the wrong place. He's very lanky, and shoving him is quite effective. For a moment, he watches. A curious light in those glittering eyes of his. Yes, there is a definite lack of oxygen, this body does require oxygen to function, and he should quickly rectify the problem. However, there is still that detachment. All he has to do is find the Array again, and all will be well.]

[Human beings have no such luxury.]

[Slowly, he extends a hand toward her again. Toward one of her shoulders for sure this time. Carefully settling his fingers where he hopes is a much safer place for any human to be touched.]

[Air rushes back into his body. And Sym beams.]


How strange! What causes this?
zauneyete: (Cigar points)

chocolates I (https://i.imgflip.com/17tz4p.jpg)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-28 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ You know what's funny about being tossed into a weird and wild new place, where all the rules have changed and absolutely nothing makes sense? It's difficult to tell, with this wild chocolate creature -- and the temptation inherent within such a promise of power -- but the more things change?

Well, the answer to that question is obvious, with the sound of a soft, metallic pop, thmp, tsph (comic books sounds) of a lighter being opened, and then very obviously lighting something that smells -- frankly terrible -- but then again, considering who steps out of the alleyway off to the side... the smell of that awful cigar is not the only vile thing in Sevika's vicinity all of the sudden.

Because she can't catch a single damn break. She think some new squid-esque rebirth is going to get her out of dealing with Silco? No, absolutely not. And especially not that she's sprouted horns and there's the slight stain of chocolate on her fingers.

Eyes flicked to that, and then back to her, and then:
]

You actually gave it your blood?

[ He asks. Would Silco be able to resist the Chocolatier? No, absolutely not. He had, however, watched Someone else get chocolate in exchange for blood, and has blissfully made it out without talking to the thing. Thus far. Which of course, means that he gets to sit atop a high horse, if it's only momentarily. ]
ex_sink985: (you should keep your head down)

[personal profile] ex_sink985 2023-01-28 08:46 am (UTC)(link)
A pleasing surprise. "Hn. I do not think they—"

Whatever he thinks is interrupted by yet another horrific bout; he coughs up blood first, turning quickly away to try and avoid spraying the helpful cultivator. It spatters vein-dark to the ground, and is followed by the wet corn coloured sea-cucumber that is the pancreas, though that Xuan catches in his hand and adds to the growing collection.

"I do not think they are mine," he manages to say finally, tongue flickering to catch a spot of blood in the corner of his mouth. "I believe my own organs are still functioning." His awareness of his own internality feels acute; his blood in particular, since he arrived, seems to take the same precedence in his awareness as his qi.
ex_sink985: (black water runs deep)

[personal profile] ex_sink985 2023-01-28 09:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ Xuan has a hard time with the concept of 'enough', will eat until the point that if he was human he'd be sick just for the comfort of eating. The actual amount is kind of irrelevant, but he still nods at the question, because her kindness has alleviated his real hunger. Calmed the anxiety over never having enough again, the fear of starvation. He doesn't have an appetite, so now that he has decided to stop, he will stop. Two will be enough.

He eats the stew methodically, taking the time to enjoy the rich flavours and the warmth, dipping the mushroom bread into it to soak up the gravy and enjoying the texture of it soggy.

And in turn she might find that he's something of a stabilizing force. His blood power is one of anti-empathy, like an emotional black hole, or a good dose of xanax. It's weak when he isn't actively using it, resistable, and right now he isn't even really aware of it, but it might be nice if Vi has any turbulent feelings bottled up.
]

Not much bread where I was from. Mostly noodles.

[ Murmured quietly, a half-assed explanation for why he had been swooping up her leftovers. Or maybe a shitty attempt at conversation. ]
centi: (🙃)

[personal profile] centi 2023-01-28 10:43 am (UTC)(link)
Mm! Yes sir, Mr Toguchi-sama. His name is Kageyama Shigeo, he is about this tall — [ moving a hand at his own height. ] — with a straight across fringe, and a necklace with a big stone in it.

[ A nod, fairly sure that sums Shigeo up well enough, especially since they look similar enough that people sometimes mistake them for twins. Though he does clarify: ]

We were here getting some food and checking to see if our parents — if anyone we knew had arrived. I don't think he'd go home without me, but I can't find him.
toteninsel: (lost carcosa)

[personal profile] toteninsel 2023-01-28 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There are two types of music permitted in the Nation: historical tunes, to bolster the Nation's glorious past; and propaganda, to advance its future. This song, however, is neither, and it's unlike anything Ariane has heard before. She lacks the context to place it, but if there's one thing she understands, it's this: the song is for someone lost. The song is for wishing to be found.

There was someone who came looking for Ariane, once. Over and over again. She had remembered -

- the redness fades. The wind stops howling. All that remains is Reyson and a small slip of a girl, and she is beginning to thaw.

This time out loud, a whisper: ]


Thank you.
toteninsel: (behind the lake)

[personal profile] toteninsel 2023-01-28 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ariane blinks, eyes adjusting to the screen. I'm reading again, Ariane realizes, about halfway through the message. It's incredible. A miracle. She should thank this person, sometime, for giving her the opportunity.

But it seems like they're trying to start a conversation, and while Ariane was never very good at these, she thinks she remembers just enough about how they're supposed to go. ]


Really? [ Ariane smiles, although it's really to herself. Her own private joke. ] You must have dreamed some pretty beautiful places, then.

I don't know. I think I might be.

Would you tell me about them? Your beautiful dreams.
toteninsel: (shall dry and die in)

[personal profile] toteninsel 2023-01-28 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If there's anyone who understands the horrors of being a prison within your own body, it's Ariane. This specific kind of loss of dignity, however, is new to her. The scene would be funny if it weren't so sad.

The breathing is a good sign, though. ]


That's it. You won't stay like this forever. Focus on me, not on your body. Fear won't help you here.

[ Ariane assumes this is a terrifying experience, but then again, she might just be projecting. ]
toteninsel: (the shadows lengthen in carcosa)

[personal profile] toteninsel 2023-01-28 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ariane settles in, pressed close against Elster's body. It's only Elster's warmth that makes Ariane realize that the locals were right: it is cold outside. There's a world of difference between feeling pain and feeling nothing at all, but there's entire universes between pain and this. This is good. Ariane could stay here forever, even after knowing exactly what forever means.

Ich liebe dich, she murmurs in return. Ich liebe dich. She'll never tire of saying it. Compared to the confines of her pod, this world is massive, in a way that is nearly overwhelming, but it's easy to focus on Elster. She's the only one who matters. ]


They'll have a bed, [ Ariane realizes, with no small amount of delight ] for both of us.
madgamerhat: (Default)

Re: Ash Lynx | Banana Fish | Paleblood

[personal profile] madgamerhat 2023-01-28 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
A. Wait for Me

[ The old man approaches the two strangers. At least, that's how the scene first appeared. With a confused look, the old man regards the mannequin. Very lifelike. He muses. As the other talks, he cannot help but to smile. ]

More like a chapter out of Junji Ito.

[ He sighs. ]

I'm Sato and it's clear that you must be new here.

[ Sato makes an effort to meet new Sleepers from time to time. After all, coming to Trench can be quite the experience! ]
jadedlynx: commissioned; please dns (in prison; having to explain again)

[personal profile] jadedlynx 2023-01-28 07:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The name sounds Japanese, but Ash isn't familiar enough with any other Asian culture to tell much of a difference. ]

You can tell that by my fascination with weird mannequins?

[ It's obvious that the comment suggests there's more to the situation than Ash currently understands. Is there an artist famous for these kinds of statues? ]
hauntedsavior: (⚡ our shields were all but shattered)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2023-01-28 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[it fits well on this woman's face, she thinks. the smile. the smile of someone who is truly, utterly in love. it's strong enough to reflect, however sadly, on anna's own lips.]

I would be glad to walk with you. I know this place, so maybe we can find your magpie together. [it's complicated. it feels like she belongs here but she has so few specific memories—but she could name every brick of every building.]

You were looking for her. I would do the same thing if I could. [she says it with just a hint of levity, but the weight of it really is impossible for anna to ignore.] There's a girl at home—not here, the home that I came from. Her name is Rose. [and there's something blocking her throat as she tries to speak what's obvious; she doesn't get it out. it might be for the best.]

Um. My name's Anna, by the way. I didn't say and I don't know if you... picked it up from being inside my head or not.
madgamerhat: (Looking back)

[personal profile] madgamerhat 2023-01-28 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
One can say that.

[ Sato crouches beside the mannequin. While studying the doll, he is still caught in bewilderment. The old man rises. ]

How long have you been here...if you don't mind me asking?

[ Without asking for a name, Sato seems more interested in time. Seems to me that Trench has an odd way of 'welcoming' Sleepers. He tilts his head to the side. ]
jadedlynx: commissioned; please dns (hand on door; repimand)

[personal profile] jadedlynx 2023-01-28 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It should be an answer question, but Ash isn't an easy person. He's not prone to revealing even the most simple of details, but the man has already correctly guessed the fact he's new. It's definitely more suspicious if he hesitates in answering so in spite of the internal pause, his answer comes immediately. ]

Day two.

[ Yesterday was baby's first steps all over again. ]

Day one of seeing freaky mannequins in the street.
poorlittlesange: (unflappable)

[personal profile] poorlittlesange 2023-01-28 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Jin Guangyao does everything in his power not to perceive this strange young man licking at the blood at the corner of his mouth. If his patient and approachable expression is anything to go by, he's succeeding quite well at this particular bit of self-deception. (He does appreciate the effort taken not to spatter him with blood, however.)

"What a relief," he replies, smiling again, and it is, though he decides not to worry about whether these mystery organs are simply yet another horror dreamed up by this place, or if they belong to another person. "If gongzi wishes, this one would be pleased to lend him some spiritual energy." He lifts one slim hand, fingertips already alight with qi; he is far from the strongest cultivator in Trench, but providing support of this type should not be too taxing on his golden core.
miyagimagic: (042)

[personal profile] miyagimagic 2023-01-28 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There's quite some information in Chozen's words. There's the more obvious fact that the other truly seems to be alright - because Daniel is staring at the other, and it's not like he will lie to himself and say he knows the other well enough to be able to know his tells when he's lying, especially not when Daniel fell for it for an entire day like an idiot before, but he still can't find any sign in there that Chozen is trying to hide something from him.

But there's also that small mention. Daniel's old couch - in the guest room. The one he hadn't brought Chozen to yet before ending up here. It means that Chozen, very much like Terry Silver, is from some point in time ahead of him, even if Daniel has no idea how far. But Chozen doesn't look like he was stabbed, nor is he mentioning it, so-- did it not happen? Or did Terry Silver just lie to him?

(God, he did, didn't he? He probably just lied again, and Daniel fell for it again, like nothing has changed. Like he's still that teenage boy.)

It leaves Daniel quiet for a few moments, a very obvious pause, before he seems to go through an entire spectrum of emotions. He frowns, seemingly faintly frustrated in a way that's turned inward more than anything else. Then he exhales, as if trying to get rid of both that and the worry, though the latter still lingers a little in the edges of his expression by the time he nods. ]


Yeah. [ A beat, and then again-- ] Yeah, I'm-- I'm fine.

[ Not exactly the most convincing answer in human history.

But then again, maybe this is not entirely the usual classic Daniel attempt at shoving feelings right underneath the carpet before anyone can notice. Sure, it mostly is, but judging by the way Daniel glances around them before his gaze returns to the other, there's more to it. ]


We just have a lot to catch up on, I think. [ Something about his gaze turns apologetic as he says that, and it's only now that he bothers to pull his hand back - though it's slow, with no hint of rejection. ] And this doesn't seem like the right place for it.

[ Too many people.

Not to mention the possibility of Terry freaking Silver showing up, and while it's a fear that Daniel usually manages to quell to some level, it's a little harder under these circumstances. ]


Do you think you can get up and move? [ Daniel holds out the hand he just took back towards Chozen once more, joined by Daniel's other hand. ] I can help you up.

[ In case the stiffness is a little more intense than implied after all. ]
decentsort: (Default)

Kanan Jarrus | Star Wars

[personal profile] decentsort 2023-01-28 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Blind Conversation (Standard Arrival)
He's not sure how long he lies there. He's not sure who he is for a long time either. Distant words and conversation ebb and flow around him. That provides some sense of safety, of time. Three days, three months, three years, three decades, it could be any of those. The language, the very personable language, affects the shape he remembers. When slowly that shape reforms, still, he sees nothing. He's enclosed in a small space, soft and watery and—

Perhaps a bacta tank?

When it feels ready, when it feels right in the Force, he presses his hands above him and pulls the warm tank-like container open. Someone helps him out, but even when his eyes open, he sees nothing with them directly. Instead he senses the people and their presences and to some degree their emotions the way he did from within. That's fine, he senses. That's what he expected.

He sits with others, breaking bread and eating soup. He still doesn't know his name, but it will come in time, he's certain.
Remember Remember (Winter Mournings)
With the difficulties remembering who he is, the slow return to himself, someone suggests a local tradition—Winter Mournings. The memories he visits may or may not be his, but they may help him remember who he is. He finds a place on the boardwalk to sit, out in the cold but not too cold. Focusing his mind comes naturally, and he holds onto the antler and meditates.

He finds himself in a memory but not alone.

Order 66
Fighting the Grand Inquisitor
Kanan's Knighting
Rescuing Hera & Dying [Observe only]

[ OOC: Please specify observing or participating! ]
Believe in the Force (Wait for Me) [Closed to Ezra Bridger]
When Kanan hears a voice in his head, a familiar one for all it sounds like nothing more than a ghost, he recognizes it. He follows his way through a city he does not know, trusting in the Force to lead him where he needs to go. The people around him—but not him, he checks in with himself—worry over concerns he does not know. The sentiment is a familiar one to him from many peoples living under the watch of the Empire. One step at a time. He's here for a reason. He believes that.

What his fingers find, when he's in the place the voice wails from in the Force, is stone. Statue. He traces the shape of the statues face and focuses, almost frowning. He could well believe Ezra leads a life that has people building a statue of him, but this stone statue feels alive. It feels like Ezra in the Force.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you," Kanan says. The apology is real. The explanation he hopes Ezra understands by now. They go where the Force leads them.
ascarylady: (029;)

[personal profile] ascarylady 2023-01-29 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ That sure was a whole lot that just happened right there. Sevika doesn't even answer whether or not she really wants a punch to the face — she does, actually, with the thin hope it might snap her out of this — because a dog randomly appears from, what? A bunch of black smoke? ]

Why the fuck do you have a talking dog? [ Oh, there's Sevika, the real one, shining through the fog of hideous cheer for a second. ] I mean... that's... really great, wow, you. Have a pet. Great.

[ That's a real struggle between sarcasm and actually sounding like she believes that right there. This is beginning to get tiring. Well, what does one do when confronted by a dog? Obviously, it's dropping into a crouch so that she's on Fang's level and immediately reaching out to ruffle the wolfdog's ears. ]

What a... super cute... pal. [ No, really, kill her. Furthermore, she adds, although the cheerfulness in her tone gets particularly strained here, ] Although I'll rip your spine out if you try to do anything about my arm, you adorable ball of fluff.

[ Typical Sevika, refusing help. ]
ascarylady: (065;)

[personal profile] ascarylady 2023-01-29 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ Great, so the monkey has a master. So much for netting a pack of cigs for something as simple as a shell. Another person is likely to want something more than that, even if this supposed Sleeper it belongs to likes shells, too. ]

Ugh, fine. [ Sevika grumbles but decides she may as well give it a shot. Keeping the shell tucked back into the palm of her hand, she hefts herself back up to stand. A glance is sent toward the bench. ] ...can't make out who it is...

[ She doesn't like that. Even so, she gives a nod to Mr. Bananas. ]

Go on, then. Lead the way.
madgamerhat: (My pleasure)

[personal profile] madgamerhat 2023-01-29 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
Understood. I've been here several months.

[ The old man beams. He raises a finger to indicate an important point. ]

As you are new, this is what you must remember- the Trench is a place of unrelentless mystery.

[ He glances towards the mannequin. ]

One can never be too certain of what will happen...

[ The old man pauses in his thought. Down the street, another mannequin appears in view...]

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