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countryclub2021-11-19 02:06 am
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2021-11-19 02:06 am
Entry tags:
November 2021 Test Drive Meme
NOVEMBER 2021 TDM
NOT SO STANDARD ARRIVAL
FROZEN RELICS
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
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: 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.]
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: 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.]
WHEN: November - December
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Drowning, freezing to death, trapped under ice, hypothermia, frost bite.
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!
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!
WHEN: End of November, early December
WHERE: Farther Shores/Pthumerian Ocean
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mutilated corpses, frozen bodies, possible frost bite/hypothermia, disaster-centric setting.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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He would always know that voice. It was the first he had heard after decades in the Wardstone box which bound both his power and movement literally and metaphorically. Perell started-- spilling hot soup on his hands and lap, burning his still tingling limbs with a greater ferocity than he anticipated. All Perell could do was stare in shock for a moment as he registered the raccoon skin cloak and the rosy cheeked boy both two feet tall and two feet wide.
It was almost cartoonish when he completely dropped the bowl onto the wooden planks under his feet.]
Billie?!
[He blurted out. Then:]
Please. Tell me that you're really Billie this time.
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Billie looks suddenly suspicious. Tuck and Vyng had a similar reaction - they didn't believe he was really him either at first. It took dragging him to Shiro's for a second opinion to convince them he was real.]
Who else would I be? Is there... I dunno, another me, running around here or something?
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[Perell shook his head. Truly, he had no idea yet that anyone else was in town-- he had thought he was alone, and was preparing himself to deal with yet another loss and forced New Beginning. Perell stood on shaking knees and approached the boy, only making it a few steps before the intensity of the cold pulled him down before the boy.]
I don't know much about this place yet. But, what I've heard suggests that anyone from our homes might not have the same memories. I- I don't know what to tell you.
[He reached up with a shaking hand to pat Billie on the head.]
Just know that everyone saved me from myself in the Sea of Graves... And someone who looked a lot like you never let go of my hand through it all.
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[He says this so casually, as though since he knows it, the wizard obviously does too. As Perell sinks to the ground, Billie pulls the blanket off and wraps it around his shoulders.]
I'm glad we helped you. We were still looking for you when I got here.
[He doesn't really have much of a grasp on how any of this works, but with his family here, maybe it doesn't matter.]
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[And there it was: hope. Perhaps, even in this weird city and bereft of his magic, they can still make things work. He pulled the offered blanket tightly around his shoulders, grateful by the gesture and the boy's presence. Whether he was the Spring Fae or as Billie, Perell knew that things would end up okay if they stood together.]
We should get you back to them. And find my clothes, I guess.
[He was still clad in the woolen clothes and slippers offered by the Wakers. They had found his glasses, but he missed his shoes... And his hat.]
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[Those are the important details, right?
Billie, too, recognizes it might be best to get back to Tuck and Vyng. Trench is dangerous - he's seen first hand that it's dangerous, and trouble has a really bad habit of finding them easily.]
When I got here, my stuff was already all in a bag for me. One of the people at the shore found it. I guess they're called Wakers?
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[He sighed, the chagrin obvious on his face.]
I didn't have a lot of stuff to begin with, so they're having a little trouble finding it. I know what to look for... but the weather's just too bad to go out like this.
[He was, effectively, in what amounted to a glorified set of cozy pajamas. They were totally comfortable! But, Perell wasn't certain how well they would hold up once the wind got involved.]
Why don't you tell me more about what you've been up to here? And your new friend, Shiro, and his cat too.
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[He looks at the fallen bowl that the dog is helpfully finishing up, and at the pajamas and slippers he's dressed in. It really doesn't look like the town has been as generous to Perell as it was to him. He can't help but feel a little guilty about bringing it up, and maybe a little guilty too about ]
I guess they're not giving away as much now. Maybe they kind of overdid it a little last month. But we'll find you some stuff.
[He shrugs a little when asked about Shiro and what they've been up to here.]
Some weird religious guys tried to sacrifice Tuck last month. Or take his organs or something.
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[With every word he heard about life in Trench, Perell felt a distinct set of regrets grow. The first of which being that he hadn't chosen to remain a squid-- at least until the end of the winter.]
... Maybe we should go find them now.
[It didn't matter that his legs still felt half frozen and half asleep. They had the rest of their party to find. ]
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[The dog approaches Perell and nudges at his hand. You sure you're up for travelling right now, soup friend?]
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It's a relief that they're not far.
[Not that he didn't trust Billie-- but, everyone had their limits. Perell stood once more, and pulled the blankets tighter as the frigid draft whipped through.]
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[Billie shrugs. He knows where home is, but he's just assuming Tuck and Vyng probably aren't too far away. They could be just about anywhere.
He looks back at Perell.]
Are you sure you don't want rest a little more first?
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I'm not sure, Billie. But, after everything that just happened in the Sea of Graves in my memory? I'd feel much better knowing that you're safe.
[He could rest later. He could rest when he found Tuck and Vyng-- and if he ever saw Aquaria again.]
no subject
The beach isn't so bad. There's lots of people around, and the Wakers are really helpful.
[The dog wanders up to him, and he throws an arm around its neck.]
And dogs!
[There's a beat before he looks up at Perell. He has been worried about him since they were separated.]
What do you remember?
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I was swept out to sea, Billie, [He explained, casting a glance out at the frigid ocean that lapped up against the shores.] Not this one. The Sea of Graves.
And... I drifted for a while. Until--
[Cutting himself off with a look of displeasure, he shook his head. There were a great many ways he could describe what happened in those waters, but they all might be too florid, or too academic, for Billie to fathom. Instead:]
Until that water monster that we had to free you from took over my body and started work in a tower we washed up on. I think.. it may be Aquaria's...
[The thought of that creature stealing his face then defacing the tower of one of his best friends set his jaw tight. It made him angry to think of.]
It doesn't matter. He took my body from me-- but you, Tuck, and Vyng saved me. Again. I don't know how to thank you three for always having my back like that, even when it looks impossible.
[Especially when it looked impossible.]
no subject
We were looking for you, still. When I got here.
[His eyes widen when Perell mentions the water monster, and he bites his lip. He lost the bag that had the vase in it over the side of the boat. He thought it had been okay, since the tent was here, now, with Tuck and Vyng. He shifts from one foot to the other, looking - and feeling - very guilty, indeed.]
I'm glad we found you.
no subject
[And he smiled-- sad and tired, yet truly and honestly grateful underneath the weary lines on his face. His eyes stung as tears threatened at the memory of that boy with Billie's face finding him and patiently holding his hand while Tuck and Vyng went to work.
Somehow they succeeded... against all odds.]
I--
I don't think I'd even be here if it weren't for you three.
no subject
Umm... When - when did monster try to take over again? Do you remember? Was it, like, right after we got separated? Or... you know. A little later?
no subject
I... I don't know, Billie. It was a blur.
...I drifted for quite a while. While I do know how to swim, it's been a long while-- and those currents were too strong to fight.
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[It's probably fine. It's probably not important. He doesn't need to mention losing their stuff over the side of the boat, right?]
The currents were really strong.
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None of that applied to Billie-- and Perell was Adult Enough to know that.]
They really were, Billie. How did you all even make it? You came with someone else... Chimes, I think you called him?
So much was happening at once that I'm still putting the pieces together.
no subject
Yeah - Chimes found us and pulled us out of the water, and took us to Hither and Yon - Meers and Francis are still there, though. We didn't have space for everyone in the boat, so Meers said they'd be brave and stay back.
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Did you now? I think I've heard stories of that place. Lost travelers from all over end up there...
[It was quite a feat, and Perell longed to get his wizardly fingers on the wood of that bar.]
Meers, though. That kid has potential himself, if he's ever willing to explore it. It's not quite the same as your's, but his heart is nothing short of impressive.
[He sighed, a wistful smile brightening his face as he thought of the mistrustful young Mender who was only doing his very best.]
I hope we can cross paths with him again one day. He's... a good friend.
[Fearful as he was, Meers still lied for Perell's sake-- and Perell was never going to forget it.]
no subject
Yeah... I miss his paella.
[Well, he misses Meers in general too.]
Maybe he'll make it here too some day.
no subject
[It always came back to food with Billie, but that was perfectly normal and helped Perell feel more comfortable in this world.]
Maybe we will-- but, maybe we won't. It's not for us to say. But, it would be nice to see him here.
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