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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2022-07-25 10:37 pm
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July Test Drive Meme!

JULY 2022 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: Colorful paper lanterns shaped like jellyfish lit up and hovering in the air. ]
[Image Two: A person with long hair wearing a crown dedicated with shells and rocks. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A GIF of waves breaking roughly out in the middle of the ocean. ]
[Image Two: Strong waves crashing into a lighthouse and rocks. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A large Ningen (a sea creature that is half human, half monster, and has no face except for a large slit for a mouth) towering over a deep sea diver. ]
[Image Two: A person standing out on the rocks with their arms out stretched as the tentacles of a large sea monster wave in the air above the ocean. ]

STANDARD ARRIVAL
WHEN: August
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A


You're one of the lucky ones. Your journey is smooth sailing and you wind up exactly where you're supposed to: on the Farther Shores. You grow out of your squid body without a hitch, either with the help of another Sleeper or one of the Wakers, and you get to discover this new world. All new Sleepers might take some time to find their bearings. It might be tricky to remember how to use your body parts the way you're supposed to. You might stumble around the beach or forget how to talk - but don't worry! It'll come back to you sooner or later.

Hopefully, you've found something to wear, either in your Welcoming Bag or otherwise, and can start familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. Maybe you help some other squids out on the beach. Waking up sucks! You feel for the little guys. And hey, maybe you're hoping one of those squids is a good friend...Stranger things have happened.

SEASONAL DETAILS ON THE BOARDWALK

This month has an entire festival dedicated to Mariana. The people of Trench seem to be quite enamoured with her, despite her often cruel and unpredictable behaviors. The festival has gone all out with decorations. The boardwalk will be lined with lanterns in the shape of various sea creatures, such as jellyfish, dolphins, seahorses, and (of course) squids! These lanterns will be lit every night throughout the month and will burn through the night. They are bright beacons to a month that is otherwise becoming more and more gray and chilly as time passes.

The people of Trench are also decked out for the occasion. Blues and greens are the popular color choices for outfits, and many people will even decorate their hair with pieces from the ocean. Whether it's with full headpieces that are worthy enough for mermaids or just something as simple as weaving shells into a braid, everyone seems to have something on them that ties them to the sea. There are stalls set up to help newcomers (or oldies who just want to have some fun) decorate their hair as well and face paint for those who want to go the extra mile.

The festival comes with all sorts of celebrations that can be partaken in at absolutely no cost. There are food vendors, though they seem to be short on seafood this month. Likely it's due to the rough seas with waves so treacherous that not even the most skilled of sailors seems to be able to get out into them. They'll remark on how difficult is must have been to swim to shore in those awful waves. So instead of fish and shrimp, there are other sea-dedicated dishes: seaweed salad, noodle dishes made with seaweed broth, caramelized chicken in a fish and ginger sauce, etc. There are also ocean themed desserts, such as cupcakes with blue frosting shaped to look like a great wave. There are games such as dunk tanks, dart balloons, ring tosses, and other typical carnival entertainment. If you can think of it, it's probably there. At the end of the night, there's often a fireworks display over the rolling waves.

rough seas and high winds
WHEN: Last Week of July, First Week of AugustT
WHERE: Beach and Nearby Oceans
CONTENT WARNINGS: Threat of drowning, severe weather phenomena, Environmental hazards, possible death


For some reason, Mariana is particularly wrathful even as the month begins. Even leaking into the end of the month of July, the sea begins to foam and rage in ways that are almost impossible to imagine. As you stare out int the beachheads, you may see vast waves and surf that would daunt the most professional of surfers. Water crashes into each other in colossal spouts. Waterspouts can be seen as storms occasionally buffet the coastline and just out into the ocean itself. However, the one thing about this chaotic energy is that it is just that, chaotic. One moment the sea may be calm, and the next it is a roiling, seething force out to destroy everyone.

This is, naturally, dangerous for those who are just hapless squids trying to reach shore. They may find themselves inexorably being flung towards sharp rocks and shoals, threatened with being dashed upon the stone near to the coast, or they may find themselves constantly swirling in eddies and whirlpools to the point of near exhaustion. However, they are not the only ones so threatened. Even those on the coast are in near constant danger of being washed right back out to see by an unexpected wave and sudden rip-tide. There are wood planks and other detritus to grab hold of, but it is very much a battle for one's life out there!

The sea's rage, the locals say, is because Mariana is particularly incensed over something that occurred. They do not know what exactly, but many have said that sleepers have felt a particular brunt of this ire lately. For now, it is a game of survival and a constant battle to bring people in safely.

Notes:
-Any natural weather occurrence is possible in the first week of August and last of July. Seemingly impossible combinations may occur (A waterspout in the middle of the eye of a hurricane, almost anything.
-These threats will be upon anyone who is not far enough inland to enjoy the festivities. The beach is not truly safe and sleepers are hustled inland quickly.
-Death is possible, though sleepers who die in the ocean find themselves returning very quickly as squids for some reason, within 24 hours, only to be threatened again before they eventually find shore.

of monsters in the water
WHEN: Throughout August
WHERE: The coast and waterways
CONTENT WARNINGS: Monster Horror, Possibly Getting Eaten, Threat of bodily harm, Unnatural Physiology, Existential Dread


Something has been dredged up from the deep by the storms that rage. It is said that Mariana not only presides over the oceans, but also the most powerful monsters that dwell within the deep. Some of these, it is believed, may be the remains of Pthumerians whose minds and lives were lost during the hard times before, or the spawn of their mating with things other than humans. Whether these rumors are true, eldritch things have begun to emerge from the depths and darkness, things best left unseen.

Throughout the month of August, it is possible to encounter creatures that can only be described as monsters emerging from the water. With every passing storm, another emerges. Some are as large as small kaiju, while others are closer to human size, and each shares very little in common with the others, save for two particular details. The first of these is that they are all aquatic in nature and bear at least a passing similarity to sea monsters of ancient legend or particularly large and dangerous aquatic animals. Giant cuttlefish, Megalodons, Plesiosaurs, Octopi, Sea Cucumbers, Whales, or any of a number of other sea creatures appear to be their basis. The other similarity, however, is that all are hideously and grotesquely deformed. Tentacles, second rows of teeth, great clawed hands and feet enabling them to walk on dry ground, a thousand eyes all over the hump of a hunchback whale all shooting laser beams in the full moon, almost anything seems to be possible, though the changes are all chtonically horrendous in nature.

These creatures are violent, dangerous, and horrifying to behold. Just looking at them jars the mind and threatens to damage one's psyche while they try to understand what they are seeing. Bones are in seemingly impossible angles, bodies moving in ways that they shouldn't. Just looking at them can cause nausea, vertigo or mental breaks, though the danger does not stop there. They are agents of chaos, seeking to destroy mind or body, on a rampage whenever they reach ground, though they do not delve far into Trench beyond the waterways and beach, almost as if they are prevented by something. When one strays too close, an ominous light glows from the tops of the tallest spires in the city and they are inevitably repelled, but until they are killed or sent back to the deep from whence they came, they remain a threat outside of the city.

CODING
threelayers: (02)

2b

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-12 04:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[No response.

At least, there was no response immediately. The sounds of skipping could be heard coming up behind Jinx, leading to a momentary pause. There was faint breathing, followed by the sound of an umbrella closing. Shortly afterwards, said umbrella tapped down next to the blue-haired troublemaker, a half-pint woman with pink and brown hair leaning over the counter and cocking her head towards the other woman. She wore a smirk on her face, along with a raised eyebrow and a bowler cap with a feather in it.

One tip of the hat forward and she nodded once to Jinx. Sure, she was game for a bet, though Jinx might need to be the one to set the bet itself. She didn't seem to be that talkative, did she?]
opheliac: ✖ palpo (You think that I'm insane)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-12 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
(the fact this stranger is being non-talkative is pissing her off. although, it is than someone blabbering about absolutely nothing until they bore her to tears. this person could at least say something when one is addressing them (even though she is addressing her just in a different way. just not the way jinx wants them to). blowing a huff of air through her nostrils, she pushes herself off the booth -- eyes narrowing as she takes a few steps to the stranger.)

Too big to say somethin' or what? — 'Less a poro caught your tongue.

(which is horribly inaccurate. as if a poro would do such a thing to anyone.)
threelayers: (10)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-13 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
[She laughed silently, the mirth all too apparent as she regarded Jinx. She held one finger up and pulled out a little black omni while leaning against the counter and winking at the girl. Her thumb blurred as she typed on it surprisingly quickly. She was really good at typing one handed like this.

When she did, words appeared as a little hologram up in the air.]


Nope, cat's got my tongue, sorry.

[She gestured down, where a very large black cat who exuded smoke in thin tendrils was walking up and walking around her feet, purring softly.]
opheliac: ✖ malagraphic (Stay with me I'm in ecstasy)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-13 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
(whoa, okay. that's a new yet neato trick. but jinx gives herself a moment to read the words then follows her gesture to the cat. again, she is looking rather perplexed about this exchange and once more starts to question is this place actually real? yes, yes, it is. she's been able to touch everything here so far so it's definitely all real.

luckily for neopolitan, this gets her to back off though with a quirk of an eyebrow. )


Are you come kind of magic user? — Like have Arcane talent?

(there had been stories of those with arcane talent in the olden days along with a wind spirit named janna that once watched over zaun. but jinx had never met with anyone with such a talent and janna was just some kid story parents would tell their kids. at least, that's what she assumes. she never seen any of these things in action for herself. well, the gemostone being the exception.)
Edited 2022-08-13 04:44 (UTC)
threelayers: (02)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-13 01:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[Blink. Blink.

Oh, did she mean the omni? Well, kind of technically? Neopolitan was pretty damned sure that there was blood magic intrinsic in the thing, but she wasn't sure she'd call it magic on its own. She wasn't sure. Gesturing at herself, she considered and then tapped her lips, obviously trying to think before typing on it again.]


This thing's an omni and it sends messages to other omnis.
They're mostly not magical, I think. Just really nifty technology as far as I know?
You should have one in that backpack that they gave you.

But I do have a trick up my sleeve that some folks think is magic.


[She took a step back and winked over at Jinx before holding one finger up. There was a tinkling in the air, and what looked like pink petals started to form at the base of Neopolitan's feet. They worked their way up her body, fitting together almost like jigsaw puzzle pieces or shards of a broken stained glass mirror. As they did, her appearance changed, and when it was done? She definitely did not look like the same person. At this point, she gave her a snarky grin and snapped her fingers, letting the illusion crash and the petals of light fall again.

Show off.]
Edited 2022-08-13 13:53 (UTC)
opheliac: ✖ malagraphic (On the low)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-14 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
(the fuck is an omni? and as for her backpack, she... ditched it. somewhere. jinx had it on her and then she set it down somewhere further away from them. but no worries, she can retrieve it later or hunt down anyone that decides to fiddle with it. jinx watches as instructed and her eyebrows raises as this stranger takes in a completely different form.

that's really incredible but she won't say it. and on the other side of this, this could also seem as a threat. if one can change into another form/person, it'd be easy to pin on the person one transformed to after a thievery or an act. but jinx wonders if there are some limitations when this stranger does this. can she only do this in a short amount of time? is she still silent? hm. maybe this is something worth asking in a later time. for now, jinx will continue to play the part of being fascinated (which she is) and not at all thinking deeply into this.)


Whoa. That iiiiiiis somethin'. You can do that with anyone?

(okay, maybe just one question.)
threelayers: (02)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-14 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh, she caught on quick. It was REALLY good for frame jobs, and Neo was kind of an expert, though she didn't add that she was always quiet when she did it. It was just a visual illusion with a sort of 'hard light' aspect. You could feel the illusion, and it looked and felt real, but there was no real sound. Or at least, not from her throat.

She chuckled silently and nodded quickly while typing.]


I have a really overactive imagination.
I can create illusions that are bigger than myself when I want to, but there's a limit.
And I usually can only keep up one illusion at a time.
Oh, and then there's this!


[Blink. Between that blink, there was a tinkle. And then there were two of her, both of them winking at Jinx and grinning as they waved their hands. Yeah, so that was definitely a thing.]
opheliac: ✖ malagraphic (I blasted off the planet)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-14 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
(so she can make two of herself? that is even more dangerous than she previously anticipated. jinx comes to the conclusion then that this woman should definitely be under her radar and to maybe find out more about this ability. perhaps there's a tell, everyone has one usually. the fact she isn't speaking is one. if she can change form into someone else, a person would have to know something is up if she types out her words instead using their voice face to face.

another thought, jinx could use this to her advantage somehow. she's not sure what yet but she could be useful to her once she gets her bearings. as they say," keep your friends close but your enemies closer". but for now, jinx will continue to play along to be impressed and not at all plotting or figuring out ways to use her.)


Huh! — That reeeaallly is somethin' you got there. Pretty lucky of you. I can see that helpin' you outta jams. Has it so far?
threelayers: (02)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-15 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[The not speaking one was definitely one of the biggest tells that Neo had, since it wasn't something that she could avoid no matter how hard she tried. Admittedly? She usually used situations where she didn't need to speak.

She nodded and smirked.]


Never rely on a semblance or any one trick to save your butt.
But it doesn't hurt to have a trick in your tool box if you know how to use it.
Name's Neopolitan, by the way. You can call me Neo.
opheliac: ✖ malagraphic (Circling in slow motion)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-16 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Neo, huh? The name's Jinx. — So I gotta ask, did you just get here too or you've been here?
threelayers: (12)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-16 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[She started to count on her fingers. It kind of looked like she was struggling for a moment before finally sighing and then laughing softly. Yeah, this had gotten nice and complicated hadn't it?]

About two and a half years or so?
Time gets a little fuzzy.
opheliac: ✖ malagraphic (thinkin' out the box)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-17 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
What...? Seriously?

(she suppose it's not too much of a surprise, maybe. if this is true a second shot on life, why would one only be here for a short time.)

— Then I guess you know the ins and outs of this place pretty well, huh?
threelayers: (Default)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-18 01:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[A quick, curt nod and a smile. Yep, seriously. She'd even gotten hitched while she was in the nightmare. That was how long she'd been stuck in this place, really. The question made her think before shrugging.]

You want the technical or magical crap, you can ask someone else.
But I've been around the block to know a lot of the things that go on around here, yeah.
So I know just about anything you could know, without getting too nerdy about it.
opheliac: ✖ malagraphic (but I know them birds saw me)

[personal profile] opheliac 2022-08-19 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, No Talks, if I definitely come across somethin' I need more info about I'll search out for ya.

(which will probably be a lot since she knows... literally nothing about this place or where she is. for now, she is just going to have fun at this festival and eat all the food. and maybe steal prizes.)
threelayers: (10)

[personal profile] threelayers 2022-08-19 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
One easy tidbit everyone figures out pretty quick is the blood.
Your blood probably isn't normal anymore, and depending on what kind of blood you have?
You might have some trick or power that you can use.


[As proof, she took a glove off and pricked a finger. the duskblood just kind of flaked and fluttered away before the tiny prick closed back up again.]