November 2021 Test Drive Meme

[reddosmod]

NOVEMBER 2021 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: Perfect dog curled up in falling snow, tilting head to side.]
[Image Two: Dead man floating in water with signs of hypothermia.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Frozen ship wreck.]
[Image Two: Frozen staircase.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Bloody tentacles attacking soldiers.]
[Image Two: Tentacles coming out of astronaut suit.]

[NAVIGATION]

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NOT SO STANDARD ARRIVAL

WHEN: November - December
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Drowning, freezing to death, trapped under ice, hypothermia, frost bite.

---

Washing up on the Farther Shores towards the end of November and the beginning of December isn't the best experience. Normally there are some Sleepers who can show up without a hitch, but as winter nears, the waters begin to freeze and it gets increasingly dangerous to arrive on the Farther Shores. Many Sleepers wind up trapped under ice. Wakers must especially be diligent this month to make sure they don't lose valuable Sleepers. Drowning and freezing to death is extremely probable. If you're lucky, you might be able to break through the ice to shriek for help. Let's just hope someone's around to hear you!

Most of the Boardwalk has been converted to save the Sleepers that do make it. Tents have been put up and inside are mattresses stuffed with hay and blankets made from wool and furs. Contained coal and wood fires keep the tents cozy, but it might take a while before you get feeling back into your toes. If you have warmblood or coldblood you will not have nearly as bad of a time with all of this. Some coldblood Sleepers might not even notice the cold! Might be good to put them on the frontlines for helping people out.

Another oddity this month is that most Sleepers seem to arrive at night rather than the typical daytime arrivals. Maybe it's because daytime hours are much shorter in December...But maybe it's something else too. This has led to Wakers making search parties to try and find Sleepers in the pitch-black night. It's a precarious situation and all hands on deck are strongly encouraged.

The Dog Keeper has come out to help the efforts. His dogs can be seen running frantically around the beach to help find people buried under ice and to help break through the ice to get them to safety. Dogs are available to help Sleepers swim to the Farther Shores, and they are also available to help Sleepers warm up by cuddling up afterward. There isn't much food to offer at this time, but you can still expect to be greeted with some hot soup. It might leave you hungry, but it definitely seems to help warm you up!

FROZEN RELICS

WHEN: End of November, early December
WHERE: Farther Shores/Pthumerian Ocean
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mutilated corpses, frozen bodies, possible frost bite/hypothermia, disaster-centric setting.

---

Sleepers aren't the only thing struggling in the Pthumerian Ocean this time of year. Boats come crushing in through the ice, frozen over completely by blistering winds. The ocean seems to be spitting up boats from times long past, leaving their skeletons strewn along the Farther Shores. Some are small boats, barely worth a second glance, but others are massive vessels, cutting intimidating shapes against the dark sky beyond.

Some Sleepers may even wake up in the water-submerged bowels of these boats, having to navigate a metallic graveyard. Other Sleepers might just have the sense to go and scavenge the boats for useful supplies and parts. Valuable metals can be extracted from the boats as well as other mechanical pieces - but not just that. Sleepers who explore thoroughly will discover small non-magical items from their home might be on the boats, floating in the water, or in random debris. Some boats are trader boats, having entire crates of sealed food goods like rare chocolates, fruits, and other food that is difficult to find this time of year.

You will want to thoroughly bundle up for this trip because it's much colder inside of the boats than it is outside. It's as if they have been transformed into giant freezers. Coldbloods may be able to provide their companions with steady warmth, even if their abilities are typically more ice-centric. It seems like coldbloods can manipulate the cold in these boats to be less intense. Some of the boats may have more grim discoveries: dead bodies, some skeletal, others still with the flesh intact and frozen over. It's never easy to discover the corpses of those who have tried to brave the ocean and failed.

It's easy to believe that what killed these people was the ocean or the cold...But the more bodies you discover, the more thoroughly you explore these shipwrecks, you begin to have a creeping feeling that these aren't ordinary crashes. These weren't natural causes. Some of the bodies look as if the chests had been ripped open while others, the faces have been completely distorted beyond recognition. There is an undeniable presence of something on these ships and you have a feeling whatever killed these people has now been brought to Trench...Great!

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

WHEN: During Bone Season
WHERE: Throughout Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Parasitic monsters, tentacle horror, crushing/bursting styles of death, a form of beasthood, mild auto-cannibalism/self-harm.

---

You notice specks of blood that seem to appear from nowhere among the snowdrifts. When you pay closer attention, you may see more blood dripping...up. It doesn't look like any Sleeper Blood you're familiar with but instead appears to be black-blue colored, reflecting like glass, bubbling up out of the ground. It makes a small, glass-shattering noise when it appears before it bubbles back into the ground. It leaves a rotten odor in its wake.

The moment you get too close to the blood, even a foot away, it will expand rapidly. Bloodied tentacles will grow out of the blood and start violently lashing around at whatever living creatures are nearby. These tentacles are powerful, impervious to any weapons not reinforced with Sleeper Blood. They will grab up people and break their bodies, throwing them through the air or tearing them apart, seeming to nourish from the bloodshed.

However, some people are less lucky than a swift death. Some of these tentacles may snap right into your chest, opening up some blood portal into your soul, where this Thing will consume you. On the outside, this looks like a rush of this black-blue blood rushing into a Sleeper and then nothing. You'll feel disoriented and strange at first but will become increasingly agitated, violent with those around you. You will start to gnaw at your fingers to shed your new temporarily altered blood. Eventually, you will begin to attack other Sleepers, able to summon these bloodied tentacles and destroy anything in your path.

But this is a parasitic monster you carry. It eats away your sanity until nothing is left, and then the tentacles will burst out of you, your body left to ruin. Parasitic monsters can be removed by Blood Ministers or by forcing vileblood into the infected's body. The vileblood seems to purge the parasite without killing the host body...As long as you don't use too much. Once the parasite has consumed the body, there is no saving the Sleeper except through death. These parasites can be tracked back to the boats where people can find streaks of the unusual black-blue blood throughout the boats. This blood can be contained and isolated by darkbloods and/or Architects.

CODING

Comments

Rena Ryugu | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | Coldbood

[growingblueflame]

Arrival

(( CW's: near drowning, trapped under ice prompts, PDA ))

A. [ Rena's eyes snap open with a start as if waking from a bad dream. Although given her circumstances, she may as well be waking into one instead. She tries to take in a breath and immediately is met with ice water, and her survival instincts kick in. It's dark, and she scrambles to find her bearings. Her hands brush a hard surface above her and start to pound on it.

It only takes her a few moments to realize it's ice... despite the fact that it isn't very cold for some reason. She slams her hands against it over and over again, but no matter how hard she tries, it just won't break. It's too thick. Her mind races desperately to find any solution to break out.

She doesn't want to die... she can't die here!

Her will alone to survive seems to trigger something in her without realizing it, and suddenly, the ice starts to melt from her touch. She's too panicked to really understand what's happening, and instead just acts on it and presses further. Eventually it's thin enough that she can easily shatter it, and Rena emerges from the water gasping and coughing loudly.

She tries to pull herself out the water but struggles to be able to find a stable enough to pull herself out. Her limbs feel exhausted already, and she fears soon she won't be able to get out unless someone helps. So she tries the only other thing she can think of to do. ]

H-Help! Please help!

B. [ If you're nearby and also under the ice, with some effort, Rena may notice you. When she does, she hurry over, slipping on the ice a bit after emerging from the icy waters herself in sneakers. But she will make it over and fall to her knees over them while gasping for air. ]

I-I'm here! I'll get you out! I will!

[ She presses her bare palms on the ice, and with all her might, she tries to muster whatever she did to break free before. To her relief it seems to work, and the ice starts to melt under her touch. She reaches in once there's a wide enough hole, and she grasps the hands of the person trapped under the ice and pulls. ]

C. [ Safe on the shore, Rena tries to help with efforts of rescuing others and get them dry. It surprises her more than anything that she isn't cold. She knows she should be seeing how she just emerged from a frozen lake, and nearly everyone else is a different shade of blue. But for whatever reason she's... fine. And that alone makes her feel uneasy on top of all the other strange oddities of waking up suddenly under frozen water and being able to break- no, melt -free from it in a very unfamiliar place.

Old habits come out, though, and she quickly pushes those feelings down to help others. She's dried off enough to help pass out blankets and towel down others as needed. She'll even help them walk over to fire if needed as well.

If she sees someone who particularly seems to be struggling to warm up, she'll pat a spot next to her by the fire and holds out her arm with a blanket to wrap around the both of them. ]

If you don't mind getting close to a stranger, I'm here for you.

[ If that isn't convincing enough, there's some pretty cute dogs that seem rather friendly with Rena already curled up next to her. ]

Frozen Relics

(( CW: minor Higurashi (Gou) spoilers, general anxiety, possible threatening behavior ))

A. [ Rena can't avoid the reality of the situation forever, and something about the boats arrivals really makes it sink in. She's far from home and the people she loves and in a strange land. She's not herself at all right now, seemingly changed from within somehow. It makes her feel sick, but she tries so hard to not let the anxiety of it all overtake her.

Perhaps foolishly, she volunteers to go explore one that hasn't been touched yet, and the people around her seem to agree. She hears whispers of "coldblood," but tries hard not to focus on it. It makes her uncomfortable that a lot of the people here seem to expert her to know what's going on already. But that aside, Rena does ago ahead and enter one of the ships.

It's even a little cold for her, a small shiver running through her. After a few moments, it seems to warm up to something more comfortable, and Rena's unaware she's the one causing it. That or she choses to ignore that.

When she hears someone else enter, though, she turns with wide eyes at the person behind her. ]

Oh? Are you coming too?

B. [ The ship itself is pretty empty for the most part. It's kind of beautiful but haunting from the ice that covers it. Rena's very careful with her steps as she moves with her partner. It'd be bad if she fell and hurt herself, but her sneakers aren't exactly built for this kind of weather.

There are definitely some interesting things, but not a whole lot she thinks will be helpful. It mostly seems like junk, which normally Rena would be very excited for. But now isn't the time, and she doesn't have anywhere to keep it all anyway.

However... something does catch her eye pretty deep into the ship. At first, she thinks she's mistaken, but as she gets closer, it's actually something very familiar to her. Something she hasn't used in years. ]

No way...

[ Rena doesn't even hesitate and reaches for it, breaking it free from the ice like the sword from the stone. The weight of it feels just right in her hands, like an old friend who's come by for an unexpected visit. And despite it's inherit unsettling nature being such a dangerous weapon, it brings her some comfort to have it here.

She looks toward her partner once more and lets out a small laugh, a friendly smile on her face. ]

Don't worry! Rena's just going to hang on to this for now; that's all!

Wildcard

(( None of these working for you? Feeling free to DM me or contact me at sekoshi and we can plot something! ))



(( OOC: I'm playing Rena from ep. 20 of Gou specifically, and where that is isn't really story spoilers. It's just important to know she around 18 (so 5 years after the OG canon). But if you'd like me to avoid any Higurashi spoilers (OG, Gou, Sotsu) just let me know! Also heeeeey it's Emma (going by Eko now tho) aka Mami mun! Hoping to join yall with maybe someone new! ))

Arrival C

[killed]

[ Midori offers a soft laugh at the invite. He's bundled up and has been fortunate enough to have avoided falling into the water himself, but he'd been making every effort to assist with the rescue efforts. More specifically, he had offered his care in aiding those who had been injured. After all, one could never have enough goodwill built up. But even with the layers and careful breaks he'd taken, the chill and exhaustion were starting to get to him. This is likely the limit of what he would be capable of tonight. He's pleased with this outcome, though, considering it to be a great success.

When he sees a stranger lift a blanket for him to share their warmth, he tries to will his body to stop shivering. He chuckles, a sheepish smile on his face, seemingly embarrassed to be seen in such a pitiful state. ]

Oh! I couldn't possibly trouble you like that... There's still people who need my assistance.

[ A beat, and his smile strains a little more before he clarifies: ]

I'm a doctor, you see. There's not many of us here.

[ There's even fewer with the exceptional skill that Midori has. ]

[growingblueflame]

[ Rena definitely catches it before her tries to make himself stop. She knows the reads well of someone trying to hide their discomfort. She's often like that too after all. But this doesn't seem like the best time to be modest, really. ]

I promise it's no trouble. If you don't want to, that's alright, too. Buuut...

[ Rena tilts her head a bit with a smile. ]

I think everyone is doing okay for the most part now. And don't you think it'd be better to rest while you have a moment? To warm up and be at your best?

[ It's not that she wants to force the game to sit with her, but it's not like what she's saying is untrue. Rena just hopes it doesn't come off as desperation... even if she's a little lonely and scared right now. ]

[killed]

[ Midori offers a gentle laugh in return. He's ready to refuse for a moment, but stops short of doing so. This girl is doing a fair job of hiding it, but no one knows the tell-tale signs of a person who's anxious than a medical professional. But he doesn't wish to make her uncomfortable by bringing that up, and so he instead lets his posture grow slack. ]

"Physician, heal thyself," is it...? You're right, of course, I won't be of much good to anyone if I'm in such a state.

[ Whether that state be half-frozen or half asleep. That would be sensed by his patients, and whether or not he could still preform his job well enough, it would only increase their anxiety. ]

Then, I'll take you up on that offer. [ He closes the gap between them and sits next to her, allowing the blanket to drape over him, leaning forward to get a better look at his companion now. His smile is sheepish, but there's a warmth to it. ] Thank you for your kindness, Miss...?

[growingblueflame]

[ Rena's smiles grows when he agrees, and she's careful as she puts the blanket over him. It only takes her a moment to realize how closely they're sitting together, and as he leans in, she can feel her face grow hot suddenly. At the very least, it probably helps them keep warm. ]

I-I'm Rena Ryugu! I just arrived tonight...

[ She shyly reaches up to tuck her hair back and then drops her hand to pet the dog lying up against her warm body. It wags its tail in response. ]

And you are?

[killed]

[ It is much warmer under the blanket. He didn't need to worry about frostbite on his fingers any longer, but it would be unfortunate if the cold ddid any damage to him. He's grateful for this opportunity to get closer to someone, and a new arrival no less. ]

Midori. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ryugu-san... Ah, let me know if I'm too close.

[ How cute, she's already blushing. ]

Did you? That must have been a terrifying experience... No, I apologize, you must still be afraid. You don't need to worry, though. You're in good company.

[ She's in his company, even, a doctor who offers her a kind, sympathetic look and a warm smile. ]

[growingblueflame]

(( Continuing here! ))

A

[exiledtovampa]

[Broly hadn't been one of the first to appear under the ice, but once he'd had the situation explained to him he'd set out to find others, accompanied by the dog that helped dig him out. A dog that had a fantastic nose for finding other people in the ice in the dark, as it turns out, for as Rena struggles to pull herself onto the ice, there's the scrabble of canine claws in the dark and eager barking heading her way as fast as a dog can run on such slippery surfaces.

The dog darts as close as it dares get to make a grab for her in its teeth, astonishingly mindful of the fact that those teeth are fangs and can do considerable harm, and works on tugging her further onto the ice. It's not going to make a lot of headway on its own, but it's definitely trying its hardest, and maybe that'd be enough to keep her from sinking for another few moments.

A little bit more time is all that's needed for someone else to arrive to lend a hand more literally. The ice is thin where she'd melted it and it creaks and cracks ominously under Broly's weight but it doesn't stop him from stepping close enough to reach a hand for her in the frigid water. He has more than enough strength to pull her right out, but he's being very ... very careful. Smaller things are often more fragile things, after all.

The dog keeps on tugging, and will keep on doing its very best until she's no longer submerged.]

arrival, c

[stilljustyou]

( It isn't the first time that Frisk has been in a place that's particularly cold, but the once warm beach wasn't welcoming at all like Snowdin was. Just like the rest of this world, it almost felt bleak. Still, Frisk knew from experience that it was the people who inhabited an otherwise hopeless place that gave it light.

Frisk's lips tilt upwards into a vague smile. They don't mind. They sit down next to Rena, their shoulders touching. )

We can keep each other warm.