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countryclub2022-01-25 08:17 am
reddosmod) wrote in countryclub2022-01-25 08:17 am
Entry tags:
January 2022 Test Drive Meme
January 2022 TDM
SEMI-STANDARD ARRIVAL
EAT ME
love hurts
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: Overhead view of broken ice in an ocean]
[Image Two: A blooming rose]
Prompt Two
[Image One: Three steaming buns in a steam basket]
[Image Two: Plumes of smoke]
Prompt Three
[Image One: Two hands cupping a candle]
[Image Two: An anthropomorphic flame being held by an anthropomorphic wick, which is melting]
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: Overhead view of broken ice in an ocean]
[Image Two: A blooming rose]
Prompt Two
[Image One: Three steaming buns in a steam basket]
[Image Two: Plumes of smoke]
Prompt Three
[Image One: Two hands cupping a candle]
[Image Two: An anthropomorphic flame being held by an anthropomorphic wick, which is melting]
WHEN: Late January through February
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A
Much of the ice has broken up, black ice replaced with powdery snow along the boardwalk. The snow falls gently most days, but on others it picks up, sleet and hail raining down, making the boardwalk dreary. For new Sleepers who wash up in the frigid water, the chill can make the change from squid to your original body slower and more difficult. You may get caught halfway through the transformation and need a hand (or tentacle) to help coach you through the rest.
Wakers are there and ready to greet you with thick robes and cloaks to ward off the cold and the sleet. The Trenchies who run the booths and tents that line the boardwalk tend to roaring fires and offer a selection of candies and steamed buns for any Sleepers who approach. The Trenchies will tell you that the buns can ward off the cold.
Trenchies also offer red roses to anyone they see, and more roses line the booths, available to be given to someone you fancy. Some Trenchies have gone so far as to create intricate rose sculptures, with one towering over the boardwalk in the shape of Doorway. If you stand beneath the sculpture of Doorway, you feel a great sense of possibility in the city.
Sleds are still available for anyone who wants them. The slope of the beach is ideal for sledding, but be careful not to sled straight into the frigid ocean. The broken ice can be walked across, taking Sleepers to the Farthest Shores to look out at the endless ocean.
Wakers are there and ready to greet you with thick robes and cloaks to ward off the cold and the sleet. The Trenchies who run the booths and tents that line the boardwalk tend to roaring fires and offer a selection of candies and steamed buns for any Sleepers who approach. The Trenchies will tell you that the buns can ward off the cold.
Trenchies also offer red roses to anyone they see, and more roses line the booths, available to be given to someone you fancy. Some Trenchies have gone so far as to create intricate rose sculptures, with one towering over the boardwalk in the shape of Doorway. If you stand beneath the sculpture of Doorway, you feel a great sense of possibility in the city.
Sleds are still available for anyone who wants them. The slope of the beach is ideal for sledding, but be careful not to sled straight into the frigid ocean. The broken ice can be walked across, taking Sleepers to the Farthest Shores to look out at the endless ocean.
WHEN: Late January through February
WHERE: The boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Compulsion to share thoughts or feelings, invasion of privacy
WHERE: The boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Compulsion to share thoughts or feelings, invasion of privacy
If you eat the warm steamed buns offered by the Trenchies, you find that you are warmed from the inside out, and you can suddenly feel more than you did before. You may start to hear thoughts in a different voice than yours, or feel touch when no one is near by, or feel emotions that aren’t your own. You may connect this to the buns you ate, or you may not.
Eating a taro bun gives you a strong sense of empathy. You’ll be able to feel the feelings of those around you. You may be drawn to the person, or people, whose emotions you can now feel, that intense empathy driving you to celebrate with them, or mourn with them, or try to lessen their suffering.
Eating a pork bun lets you feel the physical sensations of those around you. If someone nearby isn't wearing a cloak and is shivering in the cold, your skin feels that chill, too. Perhaps someone else is sinking their teeth into a steamed bun, feeling the warmth of the bun in their mouth.
If you eat a red bean bun, you start to hear the thoughts of Sleepers around you. These thoughts may just be surface level musings, but the closer in proximity or in emotional closeness you are to them, the deeper those thoughts become.
The effects only last a short time, about fifteen minutes. During that time, you may be drawn to the people around you, by empathy, curiosity, or solidarity. You’re all Sleepers now. If you share a bun with someone, for a brief instant, you know them, deeply and thoroughly. The moment will pass, but you'll feel a sense of solidarity with them, a strong foundation for any bond.
Be careful, if you eat more than three in one sitting, you lose the associated sense for fifteen minutes. If you eat more than three taro buns, you lose your sense of empathy. If you eat too many pork buns, you lose your sense of touch, and if you eat too many red bean buns, you lose your internal voice.
FAQ
Eating a taro bun gives you a strong sense of empathy. You’ll be able to feel the feelings of those around you. You may be drawn to the person, or people, whose emotions you can now feel, that intense empathy driving you to celebrate with them, or mourn with them, or try to lessen their suffering.
Eating a pork bun lets you feel the physical sensations of those around you. If someone nearby isn't wearing a cloak and is shivering in the cold, your skin feels that chill, too. Perhaps someone else is sinking their teeth into a steamed bun, feeling the warmth of the bun in their mouth.
If you eat a red bean bun, you start to hear the thoughts of Sleepers around you. These thoughts may just be surface level musings, but the closer in proximity or in emotional closeness you are to them, the deeper those thoughts become.
The effects only last a short time, about fifteen minutes. During that time, you may be drawn to the people around you, by empathy, curiosity, or solidarity. You’re all Sleepers now. If you share a bun with someone, for a brief instant, you know them, deeply and thoroughly. The moment will pass, but you'll feel a sense of solidarity with them, a strong foundation for any bond.
Be careful, if you eat more than three in one sitting, you lose the associated sense for fifteen minutes. If you eat more than three taro buns, you lose your sense of empathy. If you eat too many pork buns, you lose your sense of touch, and if you eat too many red bean buns, you lose your internal voice.
FAQ
- The buns lets you feel the sensations of Sleepers within around 10 feet of you.
- You can eat more than one type of bun at once, and experience all the different sensations.
- Buns lose their power once they're cool. Reheated buns have no power.
- Sleepers can shield their thoughts/feelings/sensations if they’re experience in shielding their mind or meditating.
- You can’t sense the thoughts/feelings/sensations of Trenchies.
WHEN: End of January to mid-February
WHERE: Throughout the city of Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Injury, body horror, burning, melting, simulated codependency, possible mental/emotional manipulation, possible existential cold & loneliness, possible death
WHERE: Throughout the city of Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Injury, body horror, burning, melting, simulated codependency, possible mental/emotional manipulation, possible existential cold & loneliness, possible death
[From ANTHOLOGY OF TRENCH LORE AND SUPERSTITION. Found in the Archives:]
"There is an old Trench legend of the flame and the wick. One day, a flame awoke, gazing down at the candle beneath it. The flame reached down as the old, forgotten wax stretched upwards, its arms to the sky, dripping wax with yearning to touch the flame. They sought each other, ever they drew closer, but never did they embrace until the last moment. As the heat consumed the final inch of the wick, the flame was snuffed out. Trenchies argue whether the legend may in fact be true, or an invention of the Doorway to teach a lesson about desire and its cost. Ultimately it matters little, because they have seen it come to pass."
Your heart beats loud in your ears and there’s a pressure on your chest. You find a string connected to your heart. You somehow know that someone is on the other side of the string, and you feel a deep, intense yearning, and an all-consuming desire to draw closer. Your desire may be romantic, it may be of friendship, it may be the need you feel when you recognize someone out of the corner of your eye and need to know them. It’s a desperate need that drives you forward, one that’s difficult to fight, if you even think to want to.
The closer that you come to one another, the more one of you begins to melt like wax, and the other begins to flake away in soot and ash. It hurts with the pain of burning, but the more that it hurts, the passion and need for closeness burns hotter. You know, somewhere deep in your heart, that if you touch, it will be over, like the candle and the flame.
As soon as you see the object of your desire, you have a decision to make. You have to weigh your desire to touch, to embrace, with the risk that brings with it:
You can cut the string. After all, love is often shattered by the raw emotion that it involves. If you do, you feel a cold wind blow across your body, chilling you to the bone. A door somewhere slams, closing on the potential of your passion. You are safe from further harm, the melting and burning fading with an hour and you’ll be whole again, but the feeling of loneliness will be consuming for the rest of the day even if you try to talk it off, an ache in the very bones.
You can draw closer but not quite touch. The melting and burning will grow worse, but if you talk to your partner, talk through your desire, the guttering of the wick will fade and so too will the tie that binds you. It will hurt, but the melting will fade in a few hours and you’ll feel warmed by it, if not quite fulfilled.
You can give in to your desire and embrace, letting your need for the other person overwhelm you. The pain, the risk, may not enough to keep friends and lovers apart any longer. In that moment, there is excruciating agony as if you were burning alive, and there is peace. You’ll feel your partner melting, being consumed by your partner, who is burning themselves out for you.
The embrace can end one of two ways. If you release and flee the pain, the door will slam and you hear a mournful sigh as the melting finishes consuming you, leaving nothing but faded crystal dust, a sense of judgment in your death. Connection is too much for some, but the Doorway is pitiless in this. For those who stay regardless of the pain, you will be burned to nothing and you will hear a door open. Wind sweeps over you. As it rushes past, you feel your bodies restored and a warmth that lasts with you until the middle of the month, like a blanket of hope of reunion, a tiny blessing of the watcher at the threshold.
"There is an old Trench legend of the flame and the wick. One day, a flame awoke, gazing down at the candle beneath it. The flame reached down as the old, forgotten wax stretched upwards, its arms to the sky, dripping wax with yearning to touch the flame. They sought each other, ever they drew closer, but never did they embrace until the last moment. As the heat consumed the final inch of the wick, the flame was snuffed out. Trenchies argue whether the legend may in fact be true, or an invention of the Doorway to teach a lesson about desire and its cost. Ultimately it matters little, because they have seen it come to pass."
Your heart beats loud in your ears and there’s a pressure on your chest. You find a string connected to your heart. You somehow know that someone is on the other side of the string, and you feel a deep, intense yearning, and an all-consuming desire to draw closer. Your desire may be romantic, it may be of friendship, it may be the need you feel when you recognize someone out of the corner of your eye and need to know them. It’s a desperate need that drives you forward, one that’s difficult to fight, if you even think to want to.
The closer that you come to one another, the more one of you begins to melt like wax, and the other begins to flake away in soot and ash. It hurts with the pain of burning, but the more that it hurts, the passion and need for closeness burns hotter. You know, somewhere deep in your heart, that if you touch, it will be over, like the candle and the flame.
As soon as you see the object of your desire, you have a decision to make. You have to weigh your desire to touch, to embrace, with the risk that brings with it:
You can cut the string. After all, love is often shattered by the raw emotion that it involves. If you do, you feel a cold wind blow across your body, chilling you to the bone. A door somewhere slams, closing on the potential of your passion. You are safe from further harm, the melting and burning fading with an hour and you’ll be whole again, but the feeling of loneliness will be consuming for the rest of the day even if you try to talk it off, an ache in the very bones.
You can draw closer but not quite touch. The melting and burning will grow worse, but if you talk to your partner, talk through your desire, the guttering of the wick will fade and so too will the tie that binds you. It will hurt, but the melting will fade in a few hours and you’ll feel warmed by it, if not quite fulfilled.
You can give in to your desire and embrace, letting your need for the other person overwhelm you. The pain, the risk, may not enough to keep friends and lovers apart any longer. In that moment, there is excruciating agony as if you were burning alive, and there is peace. You’ll feel your partner melting, being consumed by your partner, who is burning themselves out for you.
The embrace can end one of two ways. If you release and flee the pain, the door will slam and you hear a mournful sigh as the melting finishes consuming you, leaving nothing but faded crystal dust, a sense of judgment in your death. Connection is too much for some, but the Doorway is pitiless in this. For those who stay regardless of the pain, you will be burned to nothing and you will hear a door open. Wind sweeps over you. As it rushes past, you feel your bodies restored and a warmth that lasts with you until the middle of the month, like a blanket of hope of reunion, a tiny blessing of the watcher at the threshold.
no subject
She tries to smile back, but she's sure it's as shaky as she feels with the weight of her wet clothes dragging her down. She's not getting rid of Cal's waistcoat, not while the diamond is in its pocket, but she'll be more than happy to be rid of the dress for some warm clothes. But his words prompt her to ask "So, this is...commonplace? Humans turning into squids in the ocean? How--how utterly terrible and strange. How does one get used to such a notion?"
no subject
He carries her with diligence, and the promptness of a field surgeon, but also with a sense of care, albeit the care of a physician rather than a parent. "Just a little ways up," he says, almost like a priest counselling a troubled member of his flock. "You'll remember your self as you move further up and further in. Reach for those memories and images; hold fast to them.
He may carry himself a little slack, as if sensing her discomfort and giving her some assurance that he means no harm. "As commonplace as being born. It is, perhaps, the main way new life comes into this place. In some ways, there's no real getting used to it, any more than people lose their collective sense of awe over birth or the changing of the seasons," he says.
no subject
She takes the reassurance with both hands. "How terribly peculiar. I know through my readings of Darwin that beings evolve to suit what their environments call for, but I'd never in all of my readings imagined that squid would be suitable for the winter months. Summer and spring months, certainly. But not winter."
no subject
He may pause, tilting his head as she mentions being on the Titanic. "Ahh. I wondered that, given your historical garb. You'll fit in well here, Miss Dawson - may I call you that?
"A lady of intelligence as well as elegance," he notes, approvingly, though more in a fatherly way now. "You'll find, though, this world is full of wonders that science can't quite define by the usual means, and I say this as someone from a world with its own share of strange things. The squid transformation appears to be a gift to us from the rulers of this world, a chance for a new beginning with a new nature in a new world."
no subject
"Thank you. I would hope that such a trait is valued here?" She knew it hadn't been back home, especially giving Cal's disapproval of her trying to better herself through reading, although university was out of the question according to her mother. "Then...how can they be defined? Not of science, but of what? Magic?"
It's a joking question, given how the only magic she's seen in her own life was stage magic, something with an explanation, even though she may not have had it at the time. "Rulers? As in kings and queens? How could turning into a squid be useful for them, couldn't they bring us as we were?" Because a new world with a new chance at life was rather appealing, but turning into a squid will haunt her nightmares.
no subject
"You'll have to forgive that misstep. I arrived here from almost a hundred years into your future. The year 2009, to be exact," he says, bowing his head slightly. "I've also been horribly rude in not introducing myself properly: I'm Dr. Albert Wesker.
If allowed, he may pat her shoulder reassuringly. "Rest assured, it's very much approved here. I'd say while this town welcomes people of all talents and temperaments, ladies of learning are especially appreciated here.
"But to answer your question regarding magic: in a word, yes, true magic, the manipulation of matter through an act of the will and the proper gestures, though it may well be a form of science just beyond most people's experience." He's completely serious, if keeping it somewhat light so as not to alarm her. The magic in this place can run to the darker end of the spectrum, as she'll discover in due time.
"Not so much kings or queens, but more like gods or beings from another and stranger world. We know them as the Pthumerians, a race of beings with the ability to shape the world and the flesh and blood of the people within it, even to mold reality itself. Their motives are known only to them, and some are more trustworthy than others, but for the most part, they seem to have our betterment in mind, given the second chances which this world affords."
By now, a serene figure in a white robe approaches, carrying a Bag, which, with a graceful bow, they offer to Rose. "Take it: you may find a few things to help you start your journey here."
no subject
She allowed it. She knew that she shouldn't, that Mother would be fluttering about her like a steel butterfly in disapproval. But truly, the past few days have been joyous and painful in equal measure, she doesn't have the heart to correct him or not allow it. "I must say that I'm glad to hear it. Back home, it wasn't valued so highly. I can speak French and Latin as well as read German, ancient Greek, and Spanish." And there was a small chuckle to herself. "Cal was less than pleased to find out that I could read and understand the works of Freud."
And Rose brought a hand to her mouth with an expression of shock. "How...extraordinary! I'd heard of magic, Houdini and the like, but nothing like the magic out of fairy tales. Which is the kind of magic you're speaking of, Dr. Wesker?" Something without a name tells her that he's being sincere, though she has no idea how that might happen. Women's intuition, perhaps?
And the marvels fail to cease. "How strange! Strange and terrifying. They're a part of everyday life, then, not like God and Jesus, prayed to from afar? But," She took a deep breath. "may I ask of second chances...I'm not dead. I know I'm not, I was standing on the deck of the Carpathia. That's the last thing I remember. Surely I'd remember collapsing dead, wouldn't I?"
The being seems almost too serene. Like there ought to be a great deal more ceremony after being fetched from the ocean as a squid. But she takes the bag and looks inside: a woolen coat, a--what looked like a ladies' undergarment, and a workman's denim with black boots. She supposes it could be worse, but what of the undergarment?
no subject
He shakes his head, keeping a calm look on his face. "No joke. This world exists in a time and place all its own, outside of every other time and place. Thus, people from any time or place may find themselves summoned here.
He'll raise an eyebrow, but there's an appreciative tilt to it. "And well-learned you are. A girl after my own heart, if you'll excuse the cliché.
"You're decidedly alive, however, it's a different form of life. For some people, the call to this place doesn't 'set', as it were, and they return to their world, where barely a minute has ticked by from the moment they left.
"I speak of true magic, the power and cleverness to convince matter and nature would do well to heed one's request. I'm still growing accustomed to it, but I have at least an open mind toward it.
"They may not always show their faces, but the Pthumerians do have a hand in affecting this world and what transpires in it," he says. "You'll have to excuse me: I walked away from Christianity as a young man, since God seemed an absentee landlord in His own world. However, that doesn't mean I don't believe in the supernatural or spiritual. Coming here... I felt as though I had at last found a world where the higher powers do not seem like distant beings but entities involved in the workings of their realm.
He'll release her gently as the Waker approaches and he might tilt his head slightly, appraising the contents of the Bag. "An interesting - and practical - combination of garments. You'll find there are a lot of women who dress in similar ways. There are a number of situations where a sturdy pair of boots can be one's best assistant."