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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2021-12-20 07:51 pm
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December 2021 Test Drive Meme

DECEMBER 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: A cat skidding across a frozen lake.]
[Image Two: A man carving ice sculptures]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A woman laughing as she plays with many tentacles.]
[Image Two: A naked girl in a fetal position under water.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A cold limp hand in bloodied snow.]
[Image Two: Jack Nicholson slamming an axe into a door in The Shining.]

SEMI-STANDARD ARRIVAL
WHEN: End of December, early January
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Similar warnings from November's TDM. Drowning, freezing to death, trapped under ice, hypothermia, frost bite.


Arriving in December has most of the same from the November Arrival. One difference is that the beach itself has completely frozen over, making it a slick black ice skating range. And that's exactly how Wakers treat it. You can rent skates and sleds. People have taken to the beach to have fun as well as help Sleepers out. Learn how to ice skate and help your fellow Sleepers! Win-Win!

Tents are filled with furs and warmth. Someone is giving out hot soup and hot chocolate to those just arriving. You can find plenty of hot bread rolls. Local seamstresses have gathered and are giving out thick wool cloaks with unique designs. You can find thick fur ushankas, gloves, and scarves. There are coldblood stone snaps as they call them where two small coldblood stones are hooked together so you can make a snapping noise that generates a small spark of flame that's hard to blow out.

Along the Boardwalk are magnificent ice sculptures of various intricate creatures: humans, animals, monsters, Pthumerians and other things. Some Watchers are in the process of working on new mounds of ice and are willing to teach anyone interested in the art of ice sculptures.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
WHEN: End of December to mid January
WHERE: The Pthumerian Ocean and the Farther Shores
CONTENT WARNINGS: possible drowning, injury, hypothermia, giant friendly tentacles, confinement in a goo egg, nudity/exhibition, body horror of varying degrees


A new year is upon us and the winds of change can drive rough and tumultuous waters, now filled with big chunks of ice. Some incoming sleepers will be facing more obstacles of ice, cold and wayward currents that can take them off course and delay their arrival on the shores. But many are in luck as the massive tentacles of a benevolent beast from the deep can be seen rising from the waves on the horizon as it collects as many sleepers as it can who have begun to shift from their squid form before they are safely out of the choppy waters and onto the ice covered beach.

The tentacled behemoth will wrap new sleepers up in a protective, transluscent and spherical fish or squid egg filled with a gooey liquid to help further suspend and cushion them on their journey to shore. However, this protective egg is a toss of the coin in how helpful it can be. Merely by chance, a sleeper may find themselves in either a red or blue tinted egg that they wil likely need help getting out of, and quickly, seeing as the warm goo that is cushioning them doesn't exactly provide air for those who require it.

A Red egg will provide extended magical warmth even when a sleeper exits it into the cold, they will feel as though they are stepping into a heated room and wearing comfortable warm clothes, even if they are naked. Wakers who assist someone getting out of a red egg and who are splashed with the gooey contents will also feel this effect, and if they are clothed they may feel... overheated and overcome with the strong compulsion to get their clothes off.

A Blue egg is not so helpful, if a sleeper finds themselves in this egg, they will start to transform back into their squid form, even if their mind is continuing to reform and remember themselves. They can regress all the way back into a squid or be unfortunate enough to get trapped in a grotesque halfway fusion of squid and their regular form, but either way their mind will still be normal and somehow some will be able to speak. Just like a red egg, this can happen to Wakers who come in contact with the blue egg's goo. This effect can last for an hour or longer depending on player preference.

Characters who attempt to make their way out to sea to make contact with the tentacled monster will never seem to be able to reach it to see what it looks like. The waters will become darker and colder, and more tumultuous the farther they go either by boat or swimming (why you're swimming is beyond literally everyone else, but you do you). Chances of ending up in the freezing water and dying by drowning or freezing to death are extremely high if this attempt is made, and locals will advise against it if asked.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE
WHEN: Late December to mid January.
WHERE: All over Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Surreal/existential horror, out of body experience, temporary memory loss and fugue, imprisonment, frozen death, blood, possible insanity and violence, monster/creature leech


All throughout Trench there's a phenomena of bloody snow piling high in whole districts within minutes and snowing people into their homes or whatever building they happened to be in at the time, even a tent on the boardwalk can be covered. Most of the blood is a stark red, but other blood type colors can be found in large or small swaths here and there. At first it seems like an inconvenience that you can either wait out with whomever you've found yourself snowed in with or dig your way out of, but the blood in the snow is thick and heavy and pressing in against the walls and windows and if you choose to try and dig, the influence of blood in the air will hit you hard and the ill effects will come on fast and halt you in your efforts...

Soon, the rooms appear to warp, minds become foggy as what appears to be an illusion or a reality warping takes hold, no longer does the room look like your home or the store you were browsing, and you can't quite remember what it was before or why you were there. The roof over your head is different, and the slow motion of the fan causes the cracks in the plaster to show shadows in ways that just don't match your memories. It is strange, but as you walk through the new space, you do not feel in danger. Something is just not quite right.

You recognize the furnishings but you can't place when you bought them. It looks like a hotel room and this is a suite for two. How long have you lived in this place? The door of the kitchen or perhaps the pantry opens, and someone else emerges with the same look of vague confusion there. You recognize them, but not quite. Their name is on the tip of your tongue until they speak. Do you know each other? Yes, you do. This is your house, right? Weren't you just standing there together not long ago...?

It must be your home: Some Sleepers, for one reason or another, might accept the surreal experience as the new reality even as they grow weaker and ...thinner? Their life feels impermanent, almost like you could peel the wallpaper away to find something entirely different underneath. But it isn't a bad life. It's simple, comfortable, food is always magically available somewhere when they need it and the people they are with are family, are they not? You're pretty sure that's what you remember. The scope of the vision grows, somehow you find yourself in the bar of this hotel where a bartender stands waiting. He doesn't feel quite real, but he'll happily chat over a cocktail 'on the house' with guests, who he assures have always been there.

But some Sleepers find themselves rejecting this vision, as comfortable as it is, it's still wrong. This isn't their home. This feeling everything should be fine is a lie. Everything is wrong, and at a certain point, they snap. The idea of sleeping a night in this place is just too much and the moment that their mind refuses this reality completely, it is replaced by a singular urge: to destroy this lie entirely. Paranoia and a frantic instability overtakes them and they find whatever weapon they can to start breaking everything in sight, even attacking their fellow Sleepers and hunting them through the shifting little hotel spaces that seem to move around them rather then them moving within it.

Violent Sleepers can be subdued and reasoned with, but it may be difficult. Powers are also dampened, though not gone, if Sleepers can remember that they have them at all. All sleepers, docile and violent will start to weaken to the point where they collapse and they will eventually die, but if they are lucky enough to pull themselves and/or each other out of it, they'll be able to see clearly that it's the bartender that they should attack. Once they do, there will be a screech and the illusion/reality alteration will falter and the bartender's true form is glimpsed.

Once the creature is wounded sufficiently, Sleepers will find that there is a fleshy pulsating rope attached to the base of their skull as the creature was feeding on their hopes and dreams of the future, keeping them in a state of complacency, confusion and conflict. The only way out of this is by attacking the bartender or death.

CODING
shiro2hero: (no really i don't get it)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2021-12-28 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Didn't really surprise me either.

[Shiro just braces himself. Holding Keith up in one arm, trying to get the rest of the blanket around him with the other. Anything for a bit of decency, right? That'll help.]

[Stay calm, stay focused. He'll have a breakdown later, probably. Any time that isn't now, when he's got to help. He's needed, so, therefore, anything else can wait. Everything else can wait. Like dwelling on memories of shoving grief down deep. Conversations in the snow. Of how much he'd failed - ]

[Abruptly, he turns his head. Whistling. He knows, by now, that doesn't summon the Omen, but easier to prep Keith for a lion appearing, that way. And appear she does, seemingly rising from the snow, white, golden eyes, and large - even for a lioness.]


Here. She'll let you ride.
tempredmental: (Uh Well I Guess I'm Okay)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2021-12-28 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
[Keith was at least able to help with the blanket. He didn't have as much strength in his grip as he would have liked, but he could hold on to that with his free hand, for now, keeping his other arm draped over Shiro's shoulders for now. When the lion appeared, he was suddenly reminded of Atlas and...

But Shiro didn't know about that, did he? After all, he still had the Galra arm. And now Keith was confused again. He let Shiro guide him into sitting on the lion's back, and then looked up at his brother.]


What's the last thing you remember from home?
shiro2hero: (why am I the disney princess ??)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2021-12-28 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
You want to talk about that now?

[Seriously? Now? On the beach, in the frigid weather? His Omen snorts, a sound of pure feline disdain, before abruptly starting off up toward the boardwalk.]

[Shiro has to jog to catch up with her. Trying his utmost to ignore the pain in his joints with the effort. He'd forgotten, in the rush to get Keith situated and safe, but as soon as distraction set in, the pain joined it. He's still able to catch up, get a hand on Keith's back to brace him.]


... Time doesn't work the same here as it does at home. Just. Believe that first.
tempredmental: (Coran Are You Okay?)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2021-12-28 07:52 am (UTC)(link)
[Keith yelped, almost falling off as the lion moved so suddenly, not giving him the chance to answer. He scrambled to hold on, clinging a little desperately, but he managed to stay put until Shiro caught up.

But, Shiro's comment about time? Keith frowned a bit, and then shook his head.]


Time doesn't work the same in some places back home, either.

[Which kind of answered part of Keith's question. If Shiro felt the need to 'prepare' him for some sort of weird potential time difference, then clearly he didn't know about Keith's time in the abyss or the three year time slippage after the fight with Lotor.

As if Shiro's appearance hadn't already kind of cemented that for him. It was that appearance that had gotten Keith's attention about asking such a thing in the first place.]
shiro2hero: (last day on earth sucks ass)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2021-12-28 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
All right then.

[Fair enough of a comment. Planets rotating at different speeds, years being longer in different systems, heck, maybe even wormholes changed a few things. It didn't really make what he had to tell Keith any easier, in Shiro's opinion.]

Last thing I remember... Lance, Pidge and I went to rescue that... ferret. [Slav. He means Slav. But his whole face twitches. Refusing to utter that creature's name. Even his Omen glances back, disbelieving.] Then I woke up in the dream world before this one.

I... I was there for more than three years. I've been here since summer.

[There's a lot that needs to be explained. Deerington itself needed explanation. How it went from that dreamed up town in Maine to Trench... from people being marked with deer and suspicion, to accepted, marked only by the changes in their blood.]

[He pushes his hand through his hair, before shoving stiff human fingers into his pocket.]


I'm guessing you're way ahead of that mess.
tempredmental: (What Are You Doing?)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2021-12-28 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[That far back... Okay, so Keith hadn't been prepared for that much of a difference. He was in shock for a second before he numbly nodded his head.]

Yeah... you could say that.

[He frowned.]

Probably not as far as you think, but yeah. It's been a while since then.

[Keith was aware that his appearance had changed a bit in his time the abyss. He hadn't really noticed it because it had been a normal growth over two years, but it had only been a few weeks for everyone else, from what he could tell.

He wasn't even sure how to explain the three year time loss back home, though. And don't even get him started on the whole...

Okay, moving on. Shiro had been 'away' from home for a long time, apparently, which bothered Keith on some level because, well, he'd still been around back home, right? Or was that another... again, not something he was ready to think about. He'd been avoiding it since the fight.]


Is this like... an alternate reality or something?
shiro2hero: (sorry i hecked up)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2021-12-29 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
Before, or after you found the wolf?

[There's a slight smile in the question. Tired, worn. He'll deal with the feelings surrounding all of this once everything is in place. Once they're somewhere off the streets. Warmer. Keith looks... he looks like he did when he first got to Deerington. Before the Pit - ]

[His Omen headbutts the back of his leg, angling toward the lamp at the end of the boardwalk. He follows her, the hand at Keith's back reaching to dig into her fur, instead. Grounding.]


It's something like that. This is called "the Waking World", Trench. Before that, the Dream. "Deerington". [A shake of his head.] It's a really long story.

[Before they reach the lamp, he hesitates, staring at the warm little light. Gathering the words he wants to say properly.] People came and went, a lot. They'd wake up, then go back to sleep again. Almost the whole team was there, at one point.

... including you.
tempredmental: (Determination)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2021-12-29 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Keith looked surprised for a second.]

You know about the wolf? [Was that enough an answer? So, definitely after.

Keith frowned at the 'long story' comment. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get all the details in one shot, but maybe it would be easier that way. But, sleep... dream... whatever that all meant... the whole team-]


Wait- what? Why wouldn't I remember that?
shiro2hero: (... i should go)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2021-12-29 07:28 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I do. It showed up with you in the dream... You kept saying you weren't going to name it.

[That definitely was an answer. And it's also kind of funny to think about, in retrospect. Out of everything else.]

[He's avoiding looking at Keith, for now. His eyes still trained on the lamp.]


I don't know. It happens, sometimes. [And maybe, in this case, it was better.] Just how this place works... and no one's been able to figure out why.
tempredmental: (Quiet Talk)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2021-12-29 07:59 am (UTC)(link)
Eh-heh... yeah. [Keith sighed a little.] The rest of the team kind of did that for me. I forget who came up with it first, but everyone ended up liking the name Kosmo, and it kind of stuck.

I uh... [He shrugged.] I'm not a fan, but... he answers to it.

[Keith sighed slightly. Okay. So, at least it's a known thing and not some weird abnormality that stuck to just him.]

Right. So that means there are possibly people here who know me and I don't know them. [He didn't like that. Keith had a history with having a reputation, and it wasn't a good one. People usually knew of him because he was a troublemaker and had "discipline issues".]
shiro2hero: (last day on earth sucks ass)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2021-12-31 08:56 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Yeah, that's what we all called him.

[It's funny, really. Mostly because of Keith's reaction to it. It felt a little like teasing. And that teasing feels refreshing after so long of trying to manage pain. Trying to repair the trauma.]

[But now, the real statement. And a deep breath.]


There will be. Most of them - I don't think they're still here. The team will know you. Lance and Hunk. [And... oh. Crap. That requires another breath.]

And Adam.
tempredmental: (That CanNOT Be a Good Thing)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-03 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
.......................

[Processing.]

Adam...?

[Did Shiro know about what happened? Keith couldn't tell. His hesitation on mentioning him could be for anything. They had broken up back home after a fight about Kerberos, after all. Shiro knew that Keith had most definitely taken his side and pushed Adam away for hurting Shiro. But, did Shiro know about Sendak's attack on Earth?

He hesitated to say more before finally responding again.]


I... I see.
shiro2hero: (... i should go)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-03 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah.

[There comes another silence. Shiro’s fingers still digging furrows in the lion’s fur. It should be easier to talk about with time but no. It feels as raw as ever. First the fight in the kitchen - hearing what happened to Earth.]

[Then the revelation in a tiny apartment. I’m sorry, Takashi.]


He told me. [Is what he finally says.] About Earth. About the invasion…

What happened.
tempredmental: (Planning for Launch)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-03 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Keith had... regrets... when it came to Adam. How, when the Kerberos crew had gone missing, he had pushed away Adam's offer for help. Keith had still resented him at the time for not supporting Shiro, and didn't know how to process everything that was happening. He had lashed out at him, as Keith was wont to do, and yeah...

That loss was still... difficult. Keith didn't outright hate Adam. He'd just been angry at him, and then never got the chance to resolve it.

But, for now, Keith was more concerned about Shiro. He looked at him, trying to figure out what was going through his head for the moment, and gently touched Shiro's arm.]


Are you... are you okay? [Who was he kidding? Of course, Shiro wasn't okay, but... well, it was a way to offer some support. He wasn't sure what else to say.

But this would be a good hint to Shiro that Keith already knew about that bit of information, too.]
shiro2hero: (last day on earth sucks ass)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-03 06:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Is he okay?]

[Well that's a damned loaded question. In general? Most people would probably say no, Shiro was not fine. Not in the least. He hasn't been for a very long time. But that's not what Keith's asking about. Not right now. He exhales. If he lies, he's going to get called on it. One of those people who just knows him, knows his bluffing.]


We... we worked a lot of things out. Him and me. [Might as well give him the full story before they actually get to the house and confront it.] It took a couple years.

I'm not okay with what happened, no. [Understatement of the century.] But we're here. We're going forward. Can't really be upset about that.
tempredmental: (Coran Are You Okay?)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-03 08:26 am (UTC)(link)
[Keith was quiet as Shiro spoke, and then gave a small nod. He could understand. Honestly, he was kind of glad they'd worked things out... that they'd even gotten the chance to. Granted, ending up in a place like this was definitely the worst way to get that chance, but they got it.

He hesitated for a moment, and then took a breath.]


We got him... Sendak, that is. We defeated him. For good. [Outright killed him, but...] I don't know if that helps at all. But it was only a couple of months ago for me.
shiro2hero: (right ok pretend to listen and look cool)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-03 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Keith buddy if you think this is bad, you should see Deerington in The End. Whoo boy.]

[Honestly, he'll take this. Trench hasn't yet been as bad. It hasn't opened huge pits and ripped their sanity away with monsters in the dark. His family hasn't died, here. But, of course, the key word is... "yet".]

[He almost starts forward towards the lamp, but - stops. And the ghost of an exhausted smile flickers into being.]


Well. That's good news. Finally. [He lets out his own exhale, one he didn't realize he was holding.] Ready to see the house?
tempredmental: (Planning for Launch)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hey... Keith would take even that much of a smile at this point.

He nodded.]


Yeah. I'm ready.

[As much as he'd ever be, anyway. The idea of seeing Adam again, after how things ended, knowing he was gone back home, was going to be weird, but he supposed it would be like seeing his father here.

He'd already had that hallucination once back home.

But, this wasn't a hallucination, was it? And he was going to have to deal with it at some point. Might as well get it over with...]
shiro2hero: (AM I PALADIN OR AM I EVIL)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-04 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
Hold on.

[It's going to be a bit of a jolt, going through the lamp system for the first time. A flash, a sense of motion, and they're standing outside ... the Mouse House.]

[With the Black Lion crouched atop it. Watching their arrival.]


Welcome to the house.
tempredmental: (Impressed)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-07 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Keith had to grip tight to the lion he was riding on as they went through. It was pretty disorienting.]

Woah...

[And, oh... hey... The Black Lion? But... huh. Right. Shiro was from before the Lion switch. That was... awkward. He took a couple of breaths to shake off the weird teleporting sensation (it was a little different than what he knew from Kosmo).]

Huh... interesting looking place. Very... round... ish. [He gave Shiro a sheepish smile. Hey... he was tired. Words were hard enough when he wasn't tired and adapting to a new universe.]
shiro2hero: (AM I PALADIN OR AM I EVIL)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-07 06:12 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Kind of a lot to take in...

[He'd felt the same way, when he and Allura had found it. On that big empty lot back in Deerington. With the holes and the missing fixtures. All the work they'd done... His jaw works.]

[The Black Lion's eyes light brighter for a moment. Catching sight of the both of them. Then it settles again.]


It came with us. From the dream world. C'mon, let's get you into some clothes.

[He'll just lead the way. Up the porch, into the house.]
tempredmental: (I Messed Up)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-07 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[Keith took a breath, focusing on the mini Black Lion again for a moment. If it was here with Shiro, then likely that bond would take precedence. His jaw tightened a little, but then Shiro's omen followed Shiro up the steps into the house, bringing Keith with her.]

Did a lot of things come through from the dream world?

[Once inside, Keith noticed there were things he could hold on to if his legs were still unsteady, so he gave a gentle pat of thanks to the omen and eased himself up, holding the blanket and robe around himself still.

Of course, the fact that he just didn't feel cold was still bothered him. He'd ask in a moment, but he really did kind of want to get something normal and maybe less body heat containing... Now that he was inside, it felt even warmer.]
shiro2hero: (jfc this man needs to sleep)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-08 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
[Just wait, Keith. Now the big metal lion is going to have its hands full looking after both of you.]

The whole house did. Everything of ours that was in it.

[The Omen ducks out from under him, padding into the living room. Shiro holds an arm out, ready to brace Keith if need be. Somewhere in the house, a little jingle bell rings. The kind on a cat collar. Shiro wasn't kidding when he said everything.]

You had a room. Last time you were here. If you want it, I can show you.
tempredmental: (You're Supporting Me?)

[personal profile] tempredmental 2022-01-10 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[One should feel bad for the Lion............

Keith didn't reject that offer of support as he still felt a little bit shaky, but he was up and he could move. That was a lot better than before. At least, it was a lot less anxiety inducing.

He didn't think much of the bell for the moment, but he definitely saw the benefit of already having a place to stay. And, if all that stuff had come through, there might be some useful things that had been left behind by his previous self. It would be worth a look.

He nodded.]


Yeah. That's probably a good idea.

[There could be some clothes in there, first of all. Plus, he'd be with some familiar people for support as he adjusted. It was definitely a good idea.]
shiro2hero: (no really i don't get it)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-01-11 07:16 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. It's down this hall.

[He nods toward the right door. The opposite end of the house from the room he'd claimed. And then, the room Adam bossed him into taking over. But it was still part of the house. Still part of the team. As divided as it had become over the months.]

[No one's fault. Just the way the cards were falling these days.]


Should be clothes in there. Definitely a few hoodies, at least.

[Shiro's hoodies. Because he's pretty sure everyone in Trench had at least one of his sweatshirts by now.] When you get your legs back under you, there's food in the kitchen, too.

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