TEST DRIVE MEME 001

[rubimods]

⚰︎ ⍢ ⌲ ⍚ TEST DRIVE MEME:

CONTENT WARNINGS for this game include: monsters, body horror, dub-con, non-con, religion, blood/violence, and marking/branding, loss of autonomy/self, and mental influences.

This log additionally has warnings for: nudity, spiders, waxplay, character death, and references to children in proximity to sexual situations.

✧ ✧ ✧

Welcome to RUBILYKSKOYE — a dark, horror-smut game where player choices will drive a mod-run storyline about the world and its NPCs. For the first round, this test drive serves as characters' arrival into game.

THESE THREADS CAN BE GAME CANON if both players are accepted into the game and agree to it. However, if players who'd prefer to start fresh are welcome to reuse these prompts in their own personal logs upon acceptance into the communities.

If you have QUESTIONS about the test drive prompts, please ask HERE. Questions about the game itself or the general setting should be directed to the FAQ.

FAQ ✧ SETTING ✧ CALENDAR ✧ RESERVES ✧ APPLICATIONS

AWAKENING IN PAJAK WOOD

The chirping of partridges in the treetops rouses you. Light barely filters through the canopy, just enough to suggest warmth of the sun. By the time it reaches the forest floor, the daylight has taken on a sickly green tinge. You lie amongst the mosses and ferns, the soil cold and just a little damp on your bare skin. Wherever you were before this moment, whatever you were doing or wearing, when you awaken in this forest, you find yourself naked and helpless as the day you were born.

Fortunately, you seem to be alone. The birdsong continues as you sit up and get your bearings — aside from a brief wave of disoriented nausea, you seem to be no worse for wear than you last remember. Amongst gnarled oaks and moss, you see nothing around. No sign of civilization or sentient life. Movement flickers at the corner of your eye, but it's just a curious animal — brave squirrels or lizards who have come to see what stirs in their home.

Then, like the rippling of the horizon at noontime, the ash-gray soil around you undulates. Sea, not earth. Something else has come to greet you — their grey bodies blended in so easily with the floor, but as you stagger to your feet, you see them. Thousands of spiders roll like waves underfoot. They crawl towards you from the darker edge of the forest.

attack

Individuals who attack the spiders will find the small spiders are easy to kill, but the pheromones released by their corpses draw larger spiders in their place. Huge, blood-red spiders the size of hunting dogs drop from the treetops. In addition to their venomous bite, which contains a fast-acting paralytic, these creatures are clever: they will attempt to use their webbing to handicap any trespassers, binding limbs together or to trees. If you're unfortunate to become fully cocooned, you don't have long before this forest will be the last thing you see.

FAQ: DEATH RULES

hunt

Any aspiring monster-hunters enterprising enough to try to follow the spiders to their nest will move eastward. This way, the forest grows darker and darker — though the sun never grows warm red-gold with sunset.

In the void, the birdsong is replaced by the click of mandibles and the skitter of many legs, but soon it is impossible to see. Even with the brightest magical light does not reach further than a few inches. The air grows heavy and thick, as if it were not air at all but some more solid mass. Almost like liquid-smoke, it presses down upon you. Slowing your movements. Soon, you cannot move at all.

Turn back while you still can — collapsing out here is dangerous. The void can play tricks on your senses. You may find yourself reliving unhappy memories or hallucinating your worst nightmares.

SETTING: THE VOID

But flee the spiders westward and you will discover that the wood is well-populated with the survival resources that someone might seek — berries bushes and trees bearing stone fruits; sticks and dry leaves to aid in the building of a fire; rocks big enough to fashion into crude weapons; small animals that can be hunted or caught; hike long enough, and you might just find the freshwater stream that runs north-to-south, populated by both poisonous toads and delicious crawdads.

What's more, you may run into others with stories just like yours. Some may have already formed clumsy nudist hiking parties, others may still be naked and confused and processing how they have no memory of how they got here. They all stagger vaguely, as you do, with only the sun for a waymarker — and even that won't last long.

Now is a good time to overcome any hang-ups you have about modesty, as it's going to be a long hike. If you sneak a good look at your new companions, you may four varietals of marks on their bodies. Maybe someone will even point out that you have one, too.

FAQ: CURSE MARKS

EVERY DAY LIKE THE ONE BEFORE

Hike far enough — or long enough that the sun does go down — and signs of life come into view. The glow of fires and lights, the smooth curve of a stone wall. A town sits at the edge of this wood, a reward to the survivors.

The fifty-foot wall of beige stone protecting the town's perimeter has only a single entrance — an iron gate positioned on the southern edge. When you arrive, the gate is already open, welcoming people into town from the winding dirt road. Attentive eyes may note that the road itself bears the mark of many wagon wheels and horse hoofs, but not cars.

guards

The guards grant entry to anyone who attempts a conversation with them. However, if your character is more likely to attempt to sneak in, overcome the guards, or attack them, please reach out HERE.

Inside the wall lies a quaint, historic town with a population around five thousand. The streets are cobbled, and their signs are lit by gas lamp. Wooden shutters protect otherwise open-air windows on the buildings, which are all under three stories with gabled roofs. A number of businesses hug the main street — a clockmaker, a cobbler, a bank — while residential homes sprawl outwards towards the wall. At the far end of the main street, visible about a mile to the north now that the trees and the enormous wall is out of the way, sits a castle with three towers.

No matter what time you pass through the gate, the streets are full of people. The climate of the bustle befits a night market or a busy friday downtown — plenty of people to ogle at your exposed body. But despite any efforts on your part to hide or make excuses, the locals don't seem offended by your nakedness. Even families with children don't gawk or look twice. In fact, the further into town you go, the more you may notice that they all wear revealing clothing that, to your sensibilities, may seem sexually suggestive. Some individuals openly expose their breasts and nipples, while some others may incidentally reveal when they turn around to tend to their errands that their dress is backless — entirely! If anything, they seem to be under the impression that you're naked to participate in the evening's events with the rest of them.

Those still determined to find proper clothing will find that modern clothing stores aren't a thing here. The closest this town has is a tailor's shop, which is closed for religious observance, and a stand in the central marketplace selling scarves and blankets.

Fortunately, the people of the town are very generous! The locals will gladly share what they have with those who ask politely — but those items are as revealing as what they're wearing. You might get a mesh bodysuit or drape outfit. Remember not to be ungracious! it's only appropriate for the occasion.

steal clothing

Anyone unwilling to ask nicely for help could break into someone's house or yard to steal some of their clean laundry. Notably, inside their homes, the people of the town also appear to own some more modest apparel. Be sure to alert us HERE if your character pursues this option.

SETTING: CRIME

And what is the occasion? The locals are excited and flattered by any interest in their ordinary weekly prayer: the folks dancing and selling their wares are all offering their energies to give thanks and ask for their god's patronage! The abstractions are all familiar — fertility, harvest, peace. Smalltalk makes them eager to chat and draw you into those festivities — including some ceremonial wax-dripping on the exposed parts of your body!

Anyone who chats at length with the townspeople will gather that the locals feel it's better for the newcomers to dive into the deep-end because, since you'll be settling in here, they expect you'll want to participate down the line. They seem to be under the impression that the new arrivals are a boon from their god.

In addition, many of the locals' choice of clothes reveal the same four types of marks on their bodies as the folx who were wandering out in the wood!

ROOM AND BOARD

Once you're tired out, the locals will help you find a place to stay. The boarding house is several stories tall and spacious, accessible through an embellished iron garden gate and obscured by hanging plants, trees, and vines. Beyond the overgrown yard is a bright red door, which opens into a spacious cottage.

The house has clearly been empty for some time — dust has gathered on various furnishings — bedding, sofas, curtains, wooden tables. According to the locals, it has remained empty since its last occupant passed away, and that's all they'll say about that!

Each floor of the house has a shared sitting room, but only the first floor has a kitchen — large enough to support feeding the entire household. Here, a few of the townspeople will help out — they stock the kitchen and help make dinner for the new arrivals.

finding roommates

Don't spend too much time in the dining room going for seconds, though. You'll want to claim a bedroom quickly because each one only has two full-size beds, and there aren't enough spaces for everyone. The last people upstairs will need to double up to squeeze in. Roommates will not be mod-assigned; players should coordinate directly with one another to determine their living arrangements.

Get a good night's rest. By the light of day, locals will help get the new arrivals set up on the coal stove with breakfast. You may notice they're dressed in a way you would almost call normal — at least, in a manner befitting 19th century Eastern Europe. As you find your way around town to get your bearings, folks are eager to help you find a place to apply your skills so you can contribute to your new home.

Comments

johanna mason | the hunger games (wilk, cw: drug use mention, hallucinations)

[underscoring]

AWAKENING (A)

[ the woods remind her of home, but she knows the danger that they hold even if you know them well. johanna lies still for a moment or two, trying to gather her thoughts as her fingertips dig into the earth, attempting to ground herself as the world spins and nausea roils in the pit of her stomach. all she can recall about the time before she woke up is being drunk and alone in her house, but nothing about ending up in the woods.

which, and she's not sure how she's able to tell aside from knowing she would never wander into the woods naked, sober or not, she's sure isn't the woods surrounding the victor's village.

after a minute or two she pushes herself up, limbs still shaky as she stands, looking around. the moment she's steady the ground seems to ripple beneath her feet. she freezes, not wanting to move and startle something into attacking, but then pinpricks of black start to swarm up her legs and she shrieks, suddenly seeing water in place of soil (or spiders), and then she runs. ]

AWAKENING (B)

[ eventually she comes to a stop, once the ground looks more green and brown instead of grey and black. she scrubs her hands hard over her skin, fingers digging harder at the track mark scars when she thinks she sees spiders burrowing in, and eventually straightens when she sees more smears of dirt and spider corpses instead of spots.

she's still unsteady as she straightens, but the first thing she focuses is a bush in front of her, bearing fruit in the form of ripe berries. she stagger-walks until she's close enough to get a better look, and once she's sure they're the type that won't kill her or make her sick, she pulls a handful free and shoves them into her mouth. juice bursts in her mouth, across her palm, and down her wrist as she eats, pulling another handful free and enjoying them with the same vigor.

she stiffens upon hearing footsteps behind her, and there's a look over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. she doesn't seem concerned with the fact that she's been caught gorging, or that she's naked save for the berry juice staining her mouth and skin. ]

These are safe. [ in case that wasn't clear. ] There's more if you want any.

LIKE THE ONE BEFORE

[ eventually, she finds her way into town, juice still staining her skin and mouth. the stream hadn't made her hallucinate or scream once she'd seen it, which is progress, but she still doesn't harbor much desire to go near it and risk either if she gets too close. coming upon the town she's reminded briefly of the capitol, mostly because of how everyone's dressing. it has the heir of a pageant or celebration, but the people themselves remind her more of those in her home district. a mother comes across her, startled at first when she sees the stains of red and thinks they're blood, but takes her wrist with a gentle hand and offers to take her back to her home to get clean. she doesn't question it when she asks for a damp cloth instead of using anything with running water (if they've even got that in this place), and she eventually emerges in a sheer oversized shirt, belted around the waist, and a pair of shoes, the woman smiling as she sees her off and tells her to be safe.

despite the kindness of the woman and some others who she encounters (a woman who offers her a suspiciously phallic shaped biscuit, a man who offers her a scarf that gets tied around her wrist), she's still wary about participating until she comes across a booth where the vendors are weaving flower crowns. the florist smiles at her and offers her the start of one and a sprig of flowers, asking if she'd like to join in. ]

Okay. Yeah.

[ time passes quickly as she works on the crowns, displaying obvious skill as she weaves smaller flowers and greenery alongside the larger blooms. eventually there's a stack of three or four in front of her as she works on another, shaking her head as the florist hands another to a passing patron. ]

I can't believe you're not selling these.

ROOM & BOARD

[ the woman from earlier finds her still at the booth, smiling as johanna hands her the nicest crown she's worked on all day, and guides her to the boarding house. she stays a few moments, showing her where the kitchen and rooms are before heading back to her own home, and johanna lingers in the kitchen, gathering a small feast for herself before finding an unoccupied table to sit and eat. she lingers a while after most have left, trying to scrounge up a bottle of wine that she's willing to share if she gets any help.

once she's had her fill, she heads upstairs, listening at doorways for people already inside before eventually finding an empty one and stretching out on one of the beds. she's barely shut her eyes before the door opens again and she huffs, opening her eyes to glare at the newcomer. ]

Sorry. [ she sounds anything but. ] This one's taken.

WILDCARD/OOC

[ if none of these work for you feel free to mix and match or make something up and i'll go with it! johanna's post-mockingjay by a few years, if you've got any questions i can be reached through dms or vdova. ]

AWAKENING (B)

[songquips]

( it's been more than a few hours since jaskier awoke in this place; he's now tired, bruised and above all else more hungry than parched. he's found a large enough rock to carry with him in defense, walks slowly through the brush while looking for creatures to hurl his weapon at before making his escape.

he hears the young woman before he sees her, bent over near a bush of berries and -- indulging. jaskier's stomach growls loudly, announcing his presence as he watches the scene before him with a tinge of jealousy that he didn't find the bush first. ) Are you sure?

( then again, he's making his way over to pluck a berry from the bush to pop into his mouth after a quick look over. the worst that could happen is that he dies a painful death by berry, not by spider. preferable, that. though he'd rather not die at all, thank you. )

[underscoring]

Pretty sure, but that's only based on a few handfuls of these already.

[ and she's not dead yet, is she?

well, she could be. she knows better than to rule out any possibility.

her new companion joins her eventually, hesitantly examining a berry before popping it into his mouth. ]

I grew up in the woods. You're taught what's dangerous and what's safe out here from birth.

[songquips]

In these woods? Every wood is different, I assume. ( then again, this wood does look pretty similar to most of the ones jaskier's ventured into at geralt's side. awfully full of nature and discomforts.

he pops another berry in his mouth and lets out a pleased groan, settling down into a crouch to pick off a few more. then belatedly-- ) Do you mind sharing?

room & board.

[songscape]

Oh, so sorry!

( Uta takes a step backwards, but then appears a little conflicted. )

All of the other rooms are taken ... Do you mind if I just take a moment in here? It's pretty overwhelming downstairs.

( She's so unused to people; even if she's good with people, she's very easily drained. )

[underscoring]

[ the girl starts backing out, but then stops, hesitating before daring to speak up again. she isn't wrong about downstairs being overwhelming - that's why she'd eventually found her way up here, hoping for some peace even if she couldn't find rest. johanna regards her a moment, then huffs an annoyed sigh before shrugging and rolling onto her back. ]

Fine. Just don't make too much noise.

[songscape]

( Uta nods and steps inside, unbothered by the annoyance in the woman's countenance. She takes a seat on the other bed, drawing her legs up onto it and making herself seem smaller.

Of course, she has to speak, even if it's clear that Johanna isn't the conversing type. )

I gotta ask ... D'you know where this place is at? New World? North Blue, maybe?

( Maybe ... If it's in the New World, she has a better chance of getting somewhere a little less dismal. )

Like The One Before

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar was sitting nearby and accepted the flower crown from the vendor with a bemused smile on his face. He wasn't sure why these were being given away but the Norse as a whole had a great appreciation for flowers as a whole. It was a cultural thing. He put it right on his head without a trace of irony and watched the weaving intently for about a minute.

Then he scooted closer (literally, he didn't walk, instead pulling himself along the ground using his arms in a sitting position) and watched Johanna for a moment.]

How do you do that?

[He asked curiously.]

[underscoring]

[ johanna's lived with enough fear and danger in her life that she never gets totally absorbed in what she's doing, so she's aware she's being watched. it doesn't occur to her why until the man she's handed her latest work off to speaks up, and her fingers still in their work as she focuses on him. ]

It's easier to explain if I show you. Do you want to learn?

[ragnarsson]

[He nodded.]

Alright.

[Anything that helped to keep his fingers dexterous was worth gaining knowledge of given how much he relied on his hands. Keeping them supple and in good condition was a must for someone like Ivar.]

[underscoring]

[ johanna doesn’t quite smile, but her mouth does curve a bit upward as she comes around to where he is to show what she’s doing a bit better. ]

In this case, it’s important that whatever you’re weaving isn’t so big that objects get lost but not so small they can’t grip onto anything. [ she selects a strand, wraps it over the stem of a flower, then secures it by folding another strand over both. she repeats the process a few more times before handing the crown off to him. ] Now you try.

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar's fingers were used to weaving and braiding to an extent. Most of the Norse, male and female, had long hair during at least one point in their life, so knowing how to style it was a must. Ivar was currently growing it back out after a period of keeping it short, so it had been a while since he'd been used to such movements with his fingers, but he soon fell back into the muscle memory.

He did his best to follow Johanna's example. While the crown was rather loose and sloppy, since he couldn't get the tension right just yet, he was able to follow the example well enough for a beginner.]

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