Deer Country Mod (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
reddosmod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
countryclub2023-01-25 12:08 am
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2023-01-25 12:08 am
Entry tags:
JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME!
JANUARY 2023 TDM
A TYPICAL ARRIVAL WITH A SWEET TWIST
WAIT FOR ME
YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY
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: 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.]
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: 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.]
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.
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.
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.
WHEN: Anytime in February
WHERE: Anywhere in Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Body Horror, Loneliness, Depression elements, Being Trapped in One's Own Body, Psychological Horror
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.
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.
WHEN: The First Week of February
WHERE: Anywhere in Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Choking, Asphyxiation, Body Horror, Dependency, Possible Death
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.
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.
no subject
This crisis is not so dire (as he will not think of the possibility it will not end), but his inaction is worse for it being imposed from without.
He has spent a long time learning how to nurse the coals that always simmer in his heart, banking the embers and feeding them enough oxygen to keep their light from going out, but never enough to douse them entirely. As Daniel's panic rises, Chozen fans the flames, drawing on the motive force of righteous anger to compel himself to break free of whatever binds him.
What is strange is that it does not feel like heat. It feels like a hum. Everywhere he and Daniel make contact thrums in tune with the building note, until Daniel's hand folds with uncommon gentleness over his fingers curled uselessly around the mug, and then Chozen tastes metal on his tongue and sees static he blinks away, eyes fluttering to life - and ah. That's good, then.
His fingers flex underneath Daniel's shaking ones. He slides one hand free and settles it on top of them, stilling their motion by capturing them between one hand and the other, and he smiles as he moistens his mouth with a sweep of his tongue and a swallow. ]
I am all right, Daniel-san.
[ He pats his knuckles gingerly, not quite releasing his hand. ]
I did not mean to worry you. That was...very strange.
no subject
It seems that Daniel's brain needs a moment to process what he's seeing here though. His mouth opens, but then closes without saying anything, like the words won't quite come just yet. Like his entire body needs a moment to slow down and calm down - just breathe, he thinks, like mister Miyagi taught him all those many years ago - before he can properly form sentences again.
At least relief rolls in like a wave, slowly dousing some of the flames fueled by worry and adrenaline. ]
.. are you alright now?
[ Those are the words that come back to him first. Maybe because they feel so natural - like a default mode of fussing that Daniel can't help but fall back into, even if he's using it on a grown man near his own age, rather than the teenagers he usually herds here.
He only barely manages to hold back the urge to pat the other down, just to make sure there's nothing wrong with him. Instead Daniel sits still, allowing his hand to stay between Chozen's own. Even if he lost the ability to sense things like body heat many months ago now, there's still something reassuring about the touch, or maybe just the fact Chozen can now move to touch him at all. ]
There's-- [ His chest feels tight as he thinks back on this same beach, on facing yet another familiar face, you sent your dogs after me, a little samurai justice--
Daniel swallows. ]
There's nothing wrong, right? Do you feel off at all?
[ Maybe he'll be able to avert his worried doe gaze in time, but not right now. There's something about having contemplated Chozen's potential death for months now, haunting him in the back of his mind like a nightmare, that all returns to pile on to Daniel at once now he's actually facing the man, looking as alive as ever. ]
no subject
Perhaps that is precisely why it does not feel awkward to maintain the slight, warm contact as Daniel visibly trembles at the precipice of some as yet unnamed fear. Chozen's hands owe him a debt. This is one small gesture towards repaying it. ]
No more than I did sleeping on your old couch.
[ His smile softens, kindliness mellowing out his otherwise stern features. He does not know what has Daniel in such a state, and it does not matter in the moment. What is important is demonstrating to him that all is well. ]
Only a little stiff. It is 'no big deal'.
[ He shrugs, illustrating the fluidity of his joints. They are a little stiff, actually, but that is still a much lower priority to worry about than Daniel's distress. He pitches his voice low, as if the people preoccupied with their own concerns enough to ignore Daniel's calls for help would bother to listen in on his question and Daniel's eventual answer. ]
Are you all right, Daniel-san?
no subject
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. ]
no subject
Chozen may be calm, and doing his utmost to remain so for the sake of others, but he is not oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. It is as he said not so long ago: there is simply no problem to taking one problem and making two out of it without reason. If Daniel's lingering troubled look and marked hesitance forebode worse trouble than already exists in this land of fantastical horror, that is only all the more reason to maintain his equanimity. So that is the second ward against making too much of it.
The third is, as Daniel himself points out, the place. This seems like the sort of catching up better done over a warm drink in a walled room. ]
We will find out.
[ He isn't serious about the prospect of not being able to. Another gentle joke, tossed underhand, easy to catch. He accepts Daniel's hand without qualm and makes his way to his feet, taking a moment to be grateful for the pins and needles that blossom in their soles. ]
Thank you.
[ The pulse of his grip is not truly necessary, but the impulse seizes him. He lets go after that, and brushes the seat of his robes clean of sand before he inspects his cold drink. Sadly, he reaches into the cup and produces a sodden clump of stray seaweed, rehydrated by the hot chocolate to a lumpy, slimy mess. ]
Ah. Not so good for my teeth anyway. [ He drops the seaweed to the sand, but hangs onto the cup. He will not contribute to littering. ] Where will we be going?
no subject
But the calm is a reminder. The calmer Chozen is, the more Daniel is reminded of the way his thoughts are spinning out of control already, and it forces him to focus. Balance. He's thinking about all these negative things, but he has to balance them out with the positive. Chozen is here, and he looks physically fine, despite the odd frozen posture of a moment ago. Chozen is here, and he is-- an ally. He is someone Daniel can count on.
(He is a friend, if Chozen would allow it.)
Mix the good with the bad, Daniel thinks. He inhales, exhales, and feels a little less frantic for the moment. ]
My place. [ is the simple answer to Chozen's question, and Daniel is already starting to walk off the beach, in the direction of the city. He knows where the most nearby lantern is, and thankfully it should only be a short trip using that to the house-dojo. It's the safest place he can think of for the two of them to talk.
He is definitely still glancing at Chozen though, just to make sure the other can walk well after all that, ready to slow his pace to match the other's if necessary. 'Not frantic' doesn't always mean the same as 'not overthinking' in Daniel's case, not when it comes to considering others. ]
Which.. I imagine, might be a slightly odd answer, considering you only just came out of the ocean. [ And not a word about Daniel's absence back home. It must be true what they say. ] But I have already been here for over half a year now.
[ At least that's some initial information he can already present while they're on their way, even though he imagines it could be quite the bombshell. ]
They already told you about this place back there, right?
[ Judging by the fact Chozen got that drink, which has now turned into a commemorative cup, apparently. Daniel imagines they didn't give a drink to a statue. It must have happened before whatever froze Chozen set in. ]
no subject
He nods along to Daniel's explanation and conclusion, indeed looking less baffled than Daniel might expect if he weren't correct. ]
I have heard a few things. Strange blood, dangerous creatures...differences in time. [ He cannot manage being entirely nonchalant about the concepts, but the initial surprise has faded slightly. ] It reminds me of some of the stories my students in Okinawa read.
[ Which might be a reason to tell himself this is nothing than a dream, when he thinks about it. The new things here are fantastical, but not inconceivable, and he has just travelled a great distance on what might be called an adventure. It would make perfect sense for Daniel to arrive and break him out of a frozen state, if this were a dream, where memory and fantasy often intertwine.
But it does not feel like one. He smiles at Daniel during one of his glances. ]
I am sorry I am so late.
no subject
It's a thought he doesn't have much time to linger on in the face of what follows it. Daniel isn't exactly a man who has received a whole lot of apologies, and being smacked in the face by one when he least expected it leaves him startled enough to - at first - be quiet in the face of it. Daniel just ducks his head a little as they walk, like he isn't entirely sure how to process those words.
They feel like a little too much for him. Like he didn't do anything to earn them. ]
If I recall correctly, I just asked you to fly out to California. Not to follow me to some strange squid land where we're all dealing with strange blood.
[ Daniel tries to make it sound a little comical, especially with that emphasis, but it's just his way of dealing with it. And to, at the same time, absolve Chozen of absolutely any guilt here. None of this is your fault.
There are natural words to follow that though, but Daniel hesitates to speak them for another moment. It feels too selfish. Should anyone truly be happy that yet another person is stuck in this hellhole?
.. what would be worse between that, and outright lying to someone he wants to trust, and who he wants to be trusted by?
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Daniel opts for honesty. ]
I.. guess it would be a lie though to say I'm not relieved and glad to see you. [ Especially alive. Unharmed. No longer frozen-- add that one onto the list too now. ] It did kind of feel like we were going to be a team back there.
[ And then it had just been Daniel. Daniel, and a much earlier Johnny, and a town full of danger. And then Robby, and then Terry, and then a mess.
Sure, he may not have had much time to bond with Chozen yet, but he feels like a surprisingly uncomplicated factor in the middle of all of it. An untangled string. Their past may be a mess of its own, but he feels like he knows where he stands with the other. What he wants to give. What he'd like to receive.
It feels like standing with an equal. ]