countryclub | November 2021 Test Drive Meme

Entry tags:

meme: tdm

November 2021 Test Drive Meme

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]

TDM Questions • Reserves • Taken • Applications • Full Navigation

[Jump to Comments]

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ english?! he was about to ask, before relief comes in understanding! his hand stays there. and stays there. and ever so slowly does it finally retreat to the back of his head in a way that's as if shoyo hopes no one notices (it's always a little awkward to be left hanging, anyway). maybe he's been around warm greetings for too long (he has), and quickly remedies the failed handshake with a short, traditional bow of his head. both funny and strange, how the world is so different with their hellos! ]

Phew— Okay. You mean the boats?

[ no, but it's what makes the most sense to him! ]

[ unfortunately... xiao's means of exchanging greetings normally involves yeeting himself out of any social engagement that attempts to bestow itself onto him. truly a 'it's not you, it's me' type of nonsense. anyway: ]

Isn't everyone well-acquainted with the concept of a boat?

[ unless one is prehistoric... which xiao is not. ]

Um . . .

[ he’s got a point, there. but with boats just as contemporary as languages . . . unless, shōyō thinks, ]

You don’t knowwww . . . Chocolate? [ no, ] Portuguese?

[ he goes with the easy route that xiao doesn’t look european nor latin american. ]

Neither am I aware of Japanese.

[ and shoyo looks like a bundle of energy; it reminds xiao of somebody else. good thing she isn't here; that'd be double the headache. except — experiencing life anew under these current conditions, it would be a distraction he'd secretly welcome. kind of, sort of like now, but they're strangers; shoyo could be a threat?? ]

Are you in search of those who share the knowledge of those things with you?

. . . Uh-huh.

[ yet they are speaking a mix of both (in shōyō’s case)—? ah, well, maybe it’s a joke? the opposite hitter cracks a smile after a pause that was made for his gears to turn, now fully able to wrangle the question with an answer much easier resolved. ]

I’m just looking for someone who’ll check out the boats with me. [ he’s about to give his hand in a shake again, but quickly remembers the sad, sad hand left hanging minutes earlier . . . it’s best to swing that hand back behind his head. ] You in?

[ xiao hears the skepticism, but the hows and whys matter little to him for the time being. so, he carries on: ]

What are you hoping to gain by doing so?

[ he has seen people come and go, knapsack bloated with food or hands cradling something larger than their palms, and then some — a weapon or something of sentimental value? he doesn't know, and he never bothered to ask. before shoyo can even answer though— ]

I suggest probing through the contents of that one in particular.

[ rather than point, he simply stares directly at the boat furthest away from them. why? because the atmosphere feels less heavy there while the ones nearby... gives off an unsettling, eerie vibe. ]

[ shōyō looks right over his shoulder after a few seconds of realizing xiao was pointing with his eyes and not his hands. simply, he answers along the way as he turns his body to comply with the tip and start their walk over. ]

I saw people grab sweets, so . . . I just want some protein bars.

[ it’s a lot to ask for in a place like trench, but perhaps he’d be a lucky one, with so many things from home worlds appearing. ]

Are there more things in that one?

[ xiao does not know what those are — protein bars; he doesn't question it, either. humans, he vaguely recalls, always shoved odd things into their mouths and called it 'sustenance' anyway. ]

I don't know.

[ nor does he care. xiao fails to see any reason to search through something cold and confined, but his compliance is etched in every step he takes in trailing after shoyo. maybe a part of him also hoped to find something specific. ]

But is it not beneficial to scavenge through abandoned remains that has yet to be explored by a horde?

Well, yeah! Like those video games.

[ he wasn’t big on gaming, but he knew a thing or two about them as a casual player. kenma was more in tune with what was new or any good while shōyō knew the first 200 something pokémon, maybe.

though he does pause mid-step to give xiao the best of his genuine concern: ]

When you say “horde”, is it, like . . . Zombie hordes?

[ one of these days, shoyo might unlock a friendship level or two which may or may not invite a surfeit of questions, wondering what in the world is a ( insert modern terminology here ), accompanied by mildly unpleasant remarks. for now— ]

No. I have yet to encounter something of that nature here. Is that a commonality around these parts?

[ xiao is new here; doesn't mean everybody nearby is, too, so he won't assume. ]

. . . I dunno.

[ but something in shōyō’s expression grows icy and wary— serious and deprived of his bounce of uplifting energy. quiet, too, as he slows to the front of the boat and prepares to board it by the rails. ]

But I saw bodies.

[ in contrast: xiao makes his way onto the deck, seemingly unfazed by the revelation of cadavers littering the confines of a metallic, icebound prison — because he is accustomed to death? (and/)or he has his own firsthand encounter but refuses to impart what he deems unnecessary. ]

And you are willing to risk another glance at such for this 'protein bar'?

[ here, xiao halts near a gaping entryway, its rusted, weathered door hanging off its hinges. ]

Why?

[ shōyō couldn’t actually pinpoint the reason as to why when the pros weren’t exactly better than the cons. xiao might even see that the young man averts his gaze from the frigid, mangled lumps slumped on the captain’s seat. shōyō gives an absent shrug, and hides that his stomach is feeling uneasy all over again. ]

Something from home would be nice right now.

[ protein bars or even some salmon sticks would be good. do good. he felt dislocated in brazil for some time, but trench? deer country was like being thrown into a video game— not as cool as one would think (unless the game was actually cool and not so frightening! he can’t watch the ring without staying up for nights afraid a girl is going to crawl out of the tv. ]

—But if I’ve got someone like you with me, I’m good. Right?

[ if there's a modicum of surprise, a slight widening of his eyes, perhaps it's a trick of the light. still: from ensuring that the wounded is safely relocated, medical assistance a security granted to them, to returning a pilfered toy to a child — xiao is softer than he seems. even now, when he can easily abandon shoyo, let him venture the trader boats on his own to deal with the ugly sight of permeating death once more — ]

Someone like me is nothing more than a stranger to you. What makes you so sure?

[ xiao does not wait for a reply; after all, they can walk and talk, saving time.

he enters through the butchered doorway, peering through every little opening he passes by. every now and then, xiao will raise his left arm, his billowing sleeve obscuring the view of what's within specific rooms, lowering it only when shoyo moves away. ( and if the young man does catch a glimpse or two: there are dead bodies, mutilated and otherwise, with blood splattered along the walls like some off-putting rorschach test. ) ]

[ some human curiosity breaches his inner chants of don’t look and you’ll be fine, though much to the obscured views come thanks to xiao. shōyō hardly lingers until he sees something following the line of the hallway like a mouse would to find its way around. blood. the boat smelled of iron and dry ice, and they were so suspiciously placed that it was hard for his mind to convince him that it was nothing but a messy paint job.

shōyō lifts his shoulders, barely, but answers the question: it’s soft, a murmur, and lacking in his infamous yelling. ]

You came with me, so . . . [ shōyō nods his head, a gesture of acknowledgement, ] You’re probably a good guy.

[ he knew nothing about him, sure. a complete stranger he just met. but, even if it was a small gesture, either for the athlete’s sake or for himself (or both), xiao didn’t seem ill intended. ]

[ what an odd assessment. xiao thinks so as he steps over a number of crates, some spilled and damaged from — whatever had stormed through the ship. many of the packaged goods are still in their wrappings, seemingly untouched aside from the dried blood that ails its otherwise pristine condition. said blood leads into a darkened room, cargo disorganized but somehow managed to survive the onslaught of abuse it potentially underwent. ]

That is hardly a viable standard to go by when evaluating the character of someone you're unfamiliar with. You ought to practice a little more vigilance.

[ — because anyone can tag along; accompanied by malicious intent, that wouldn't bode well with naive dispositions. but all xiao does is toe away discarded, spoiled goods, avoiding smashed splotches of chocolate and fruit bars in the process. all the snack bars but the protein bar seems to make themselves known to the yaksha while he surveys one of the farther corners of the room. ]

... If you happen to find— [ a surplus of almond tofu— a sentence he doesn't complete. as far as he's aware, their shelf life is a transient one; trench was like a breathing freezer right now, but. how likely would his favorite survive under these conditions anyway. on top of his reluctance to rely on outside help as well: ]

... Nevermind. I cannot find what you are looking for. Perhaps in the next room...

[ in the event that shoyo's luck is just as unfortunate. ]

. . . Huh.

[ never mind? sure, shōyō would take into account his earlier words and wonder what it was he could improve on with his judging, but more importantly came their search. shōyō found little to nothing of protein bars, but fruit bars definitely did the trick as he plucked them from the floor or scattered boxes and stuffed them in his coat pockets. ]

Did you want some, too? I’ll just— I’ll go with you!

[ a touch of anxiety spikes in shōyō at the thought of staying alone in the room that he acts with too much rushing, too much brashness. it ends up having shōyō’s foot kick the edge of a box, which pulls some items into a brusque fall and forces him to jolt out of the way. at first, fright only lasted a second. but then one of the occupied seats (that shōyō hadn’t realized was occupied, thought it was just an old lump of too many things) spins to lo and behold, it’s a body! a body with the mouth unhinged wide as if something had pried itself right out of the victim’s belly.

shōyō screams, sharp and short like a bark. ]

[ screams rarely entailed anything convenient — but when xiao turns to subdue the imposing threat, it's just shoyo attempting to blast his eardrums out of existence. ]

... You are loud.

[ sounds more like he's making note of something mundane than attempting to warn and reprimand. even as he sighs, draping a nearby sheet over the corpse ( the best one can provide in place of a proper burial, if nothing else ), he doesn't give off the vibe that he's ultimately miffed by the display. ]

How are you faring?

[ xiao did not miss the little details of the cadaver, how they have underwent an unnatural, dreadful death. something gruesome swept through this boat and long since gone elsewhere, but its appalling venture remains, like a trail. regardless: may not be best to discuss those finer details with a human being. death was hardly an easy topic for them to partake in from the little he was able to observe, before. ]

[ oh, jesus. oh, god. okay. xiao just takes it. another one that’s like, csi? he can’t believe it, and after his breathing dies down into exasperated huffs whilst clenching his chest: ]

M’good! Uh huh.

[ his voice cracks, he knows he’s sweating cold. after a pregnant pause and a stifling attempt at not looking so colorless and lightheaded, shōyō bolts for it, right back outside, at least onto the railing and away from the floor or the rooms.

because following are the sounds of shōyō putting out bile. ]

Edited 2021-12-22 13:36 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

November 2021 Test Drive Meme

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: slight emeto