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Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE MEME 001
⚰︎ ⍢ ⌲ ⍚ 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ᵒʰ ᵐʸ ᵍᵒᵈ ᵗʰᵉʸ ʷᵉʳᵉ ʳᵒᵒᵐᵐᵃᵗᵉˢ
instead he offers her a warm smile. it's not quite genuine, but he means no harm. ]
I know. I was hoping to talk to you.
no subject
Why me?
[ she lingers in the doorway, her eyes lagging across the room, searching for anything he may have disturbed. ]
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You remind me of someone.
[ he makes a vague gesture with this hand, then lets it flop back down like he was too exhausted to finish the idea. ]
Have we met before?
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[ she doesn't recognize him, but he might have had some kind of scarf protecting his face from the sun. there were clans that kept their warriors in head coverings to protect them.
she studies him, frowning. ]
Who?
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[ like that explains it. ]
Are you going to come in? You can tell me what happened.
[ he doesn't look like he has any intention to move from the bed. ]
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[ she narrows her eyes. the more this man speaks, the more confused she becomes. it feels like he's walking her in circles on purpose. ]
I don't know Felipe. And I don't know you. Get out.
no subject
[ he's probably past the point where he can safely get away with the lie he picked up, but he's so tired he's past caring. getting up from this bed and leaving the room is the last thing he wants to do. ]
At home.
no subject
[ it feels like he might have an answer planned, but she's not ready to surrender her pretense of aloofness, to admit that she does want the kind of connection that he's offering, even if she doesn't know how to do it. staying aloof will keep people safe from her. ]
no subject
[ it's no use to spin the tale any further, he can sense she's already suspicious, and what they all want is some peace and quiet. maybe it's best to try another angle. ]
The room's big enough for the both of us, isn't it?
no subject
[ she doesn't want a stranger to have that kind of proximity to her while she's sleeping. he could just stab her whenever he wanted.
or worse, aristaeus could think he was someone like darcy, and decide to do something to that stranger because of mavis. she doesn't want that kind of guilt on her shoulders either. ]
no subject
You don't have to trust me to sleep in the same room with me.
[ she looks so tired – maybe she'll just pass out if he keeps stalling. ]
no subject
[ and he has the affable ease of someone who doesn't contribute much, she thinks, so she already doesn't regard him as particularly clever. on the one hand, that makes him less of a threat. on the other hand, it doesn't change the other concerns. ]
no subject
Now, there's more to me than just my looks.
[ calling him dumb? Felipe laughs. it's unexpectedly genuine, a proper belly laugh. he's one of those guys with a distinctive laughter - one you could hear from miles away. ]
See that? [ he gestures toward the door with a wave of his hand. ] There's no proper lock on the door. It wouldn't keep anyone out if they really wanted in.
no subject
she walks over to the spare bed and tosses the mattress off, onto the floor. she pulls one of the wooden planks up from the frame and walks back to the door, wedging it under the knob to keep it from opening.
she gestures at it, looking back at him. locks are not the only way of making a space secure. ]
I'm beginning to think you'll die if you stay anywhere else.
no subject
Clever girl.
[ ten points from him. now they can sleep in peace. ]
I knew you'd warm up to me. Should I take the first watch?
no subject
If a man comes in — tall with an uncomfortably symmetrical face — [ she points ] Go out through the window. Don't bother waking me.
no subject
I won't say a word.
[ thanks for the weird warning. ]
What if I smell breakfast?
no subject
[ she goes to sit on the mattress on the floor. she pats the stuffing with a slight frown. it's too soft, really. she can't help but feel like she won't get much sleep either way on this.
at least there's bedding, though. she's been chilly since she got here just because it's not the desert weather of the wilds. ]
Do you have any loose metal? [ this seems arbitrary when she's looking at the bed, but she's still thinking of security and alarms. ] Or wood, or broken glass.
no subject
I came in here wearing a small towel.
[ that's a no. ]
If you go on about this much longer, I'm starting to think that I should worry about the symmetrical fellow too.
no subject
You're like a child.
[ she does not expound on the connection between this conclusion and the fact that he has clearly not been able to gather his own resources.
but she is lying down, all the same, and that makes the world tip and spin. she presses her eyes shut and turns her face against the mattress, willing it to stop, but somehow it continues even when she can't see. ]
no subject
Hey.
[ he says softly after some time has passed. she's been laying still, but he can tell she isn't asleep yet. ]
Just tell me if you'd like to be held tonight.
no subject
What.
[ not a real question. just a chance for him to take that back. ]
no subject
It's been a long day. A lot has happened.
[ he knows he could use a hug. nothing sleazy about it, actually. ]
Thought that I'd offer.
no subject
If you touch me, you won't have the chance to get out the window.
[ now she's definitely not in the mood to sleep. what if he tries to crawl onto the mattress next to her???? she rolls onto her side facing his bed, stares dead-eyed at him and tries not to remember the tentative, cautious way she had reached out to darcy in the cave to warm them. braving their powers for the chance at contact.
and now darcy was in kossos. had they forgotten mavis? did they wish they had? ]
no subject
I won't.
[ some people find it soothing, having another person close to them when they rest, but it makes sense that Mavis wouldn't be one of them. his bad. ]
But if you feel like it. [ he makes a face. closes his eyes. ] Don't hesitate to ask. The offer stands.
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