August Test Drive Meme!

[reddosmod]

AUGUST 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: Hands making a fish net]
[Image Two: A Skyrim Mudcrab staring menacingly]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Dingy, empty and creepy old backroom]
[Image Two: Cryptic, Creepy words scribbled on yellow wallpaper]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Skull on top of book]
[Image Two: Book with pages shaped like a whirlpool]

[NAVIGATION]

TDM Questions • Reserves • Taken • Applications • Full Navigation

[Jump to Comments]

STANDARD ARRIVAL

WHEN: First Week of September
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Monstrous Crabs, Environmental Threat

---

Normally, the people of Trench would say that September is a fortunate time for sleepers to arrive at it's shores. However, the aftermath of the violent and inconsistent storms in the last month continue to batter the city. The waters are choppy, though they are beginning to calm. The swim is difficult and unsafe, waves threatening to crash unwitting squids into the rocks. It is unlikely to be fatal, but many arrive battered and bruised, gasping as they awaken from their squid form.

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
With theme music! The weather is awful, and so the mood of the beach is a bit more subdued than on other occasions. Food is hearty and dry, easily packaged in oilcloth, and containing mostly hard tack, mushrooms and dried, cured fish. Bottles of water are included with the food, enough to ensure that the sleepers are well fed, and enough packets are offered for a few days in case they need them, but they are certainly not the most flavorful or exotic, reflecting much more the day to day food of Trench.

The people leading the waking are gathered and huddled around makeshift structures and lean-tos to deal with the awful weather along the coast during this period. Sleepers are brought here, to fires to warm. Among those who are present are the fishermen and women who work at the docks. They, along with several of the Architects from in town, have set up booths. Though they do not demand it of anyone, they politely hint that in the season of change, it is good to learn new trades and to find a place in this strange world the sleepers have been brought to. As part of this, they are willing to offer a chance for the sleepers to help craft fishing nets and other gear for those who will brave the waters to bring back food in the season.

The task is arduous and taxing, but it is not without reward. To those who choose to participate, one of the fishermen will approach them and wordlessly drop a waterlogged box into their lap. It looks dilapidated and in poor condition, but they will say nothing more, staring off into the sea from which it was dredged. When the sleeper opens it, they will find that there is one additional item within the box, which might have been included in their welcome bag normally. If pressed, the fisherman will only say that they found it dredged up along the shores in the midst of their work.

For those who brave the coasts or the waters, there is an increased threat of monstrous presence, though nothing compared to the prior month. Poisonous crabs lurk along the edges of the waterways. Much larger versions of small crabs known to live in caves along the shore, these beastly adult versions stand about three feet tall, and have particularly strong pincers which secrete a hallucinogenic venom. Victims of it are prone to paranoid delusions of danger around every corner, and known for mistaking those around them as threats. The crabs are themselves carnivorous to boot, so they are certainly a threat on their own, though they are very much killable, and supposedly very good eating. Bring in some crab meat, and it should be good to trade for additional food and supplies this month, if you dare! As with their lesser cousins, the venom of these crabs is particularly dangerous to the psychically sensitive, Palebloods and Darkbloods.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

LOST BETWEEN STEPS

WHEN: August 31st-September 29, January 2, February 4, March 6, April 8, June 10, July 12, October 20, November 1, December 24
WHERE: Somewhere, you're not certain where
CONTENT WARNINGS: Labyrinth, Liminal Horror, Severe Disorientation, Autophobia, Monster Horror, Fear of Falling

---

You just took one step back. That's all. A step backwards while you weren't paying attention, and the sensation of falling assailed you. With a grunt, you found yourelf landing hard, but not hard enough to actually break or turn anything. Around you is a carpeted space. There are old, stained wallpaper walls on every side, set up in variable sized cubicle spaces that look like they should be occupied by an office of some sort. Everything smells like mold, stale and sharp. The carpet is a little bit moist and the wallpapers all seem to be hiding hints of mildew. It feels familiar, but even if you have been in this "place" before it is not quite the same. The wallpaper shades are not exactly right. It always feels like you should know it, but you cannot quite place it.

You are not alone in this place. Another seems to have fallen in this place, thank god because the muffled sounds of these halls are already getting oppressive. The electric hum of fluorescent are buzzing in your ears like a plague of locusts and you can practically feel the migraine coming from the unremitting light, but you dare not take shelter to let your eyes rest in the gaps in the lighting. It feels like there is something there. You should probably be leaving, though that's where the problem really begins. No method seems to clearly work. There are no identifiable features to pick out. After several turns, you might find yourself facing impossibly thin hallways or a dead end. Attempts to keep track of your passage with writing, torn wallpaper and balls of twine fail, as it becomes increasingly and inconsistently disorientating, inevitably causing the lead to be lost, or worse? It might seem to be going the wrong direction. Did someone move it? Magic compasses, even those given by the Pthumerians do not work in this "place" This should not be possible, but it is true.

An hour in, because it always takes longer than that, or does it? Time can be hard to keep track of and omnis don't tell time properly here. Whatever, an hour in, and the need to get out of this place will be getting to those trapped within. They do not belong here, and must escape. The harder you run, the more that the dank odor gets under the skin, worsening even if you should not be able to smell it. Occasional items can be found, but all are useless. If you are fortunate, perhaps you will eventually find a hole in the floor. But, looking down it, you cannot see the bottom. Do you dare leap down, not knowing the end? If you do, the passage seems to go far too long to be healthy. The rush of air and the feel of fraying wallpaper comes until you find yourself deposited on the ground of Trench, in front of the statue of the Tower, or in front of the gates of Gaze.

The less fortunate may finally find writing on the walls. Someone else has been in this place. But, as the cryptic words proclaim the need to S̵̨̡̟̗̰̝͚̲̦̗͔̥̞̈͂̆̿̐́̅̓͐͝T̸̠̥̰̭͎͙̮̬͋̀͛̓̽̚Ā̷̧̮̣̪̤̠̫̤͔̩̥̾̊̍̊̀̇͋̍̚͜͝͝Y̶͓̟̍̆̍ ̴̭̲̀͘͝S̵̨͖̩̻̰͇͎̠̻͚͓̱͇̭͖͒̋͆̀͐͋̾̆͝͝T̴̮̹̫̞̘̈́̏̐̒̋̎͛̂̽̅Ĩ̵͙̖̟̥̤̲̆̈́́͘ͅͅL̵͖̣̫̙̹̊͜L̷̫̠̒̽͌͘͠. A ghastly sound erupts from behind you, complete with unnatural, horrid breathing. Steps come towards you unnaturally fast. If you move, look to turn, there is a vision of something black moving into your field of vision, just before a bone-crushing force claims life and in the next moment you wake, screaming at the feet of the gates to Gaze, or the Tower's statue. Remain absolutely still, and the puff of a breath, the smell of cow hair and breath grazes over the shoulder before eventually storming away behind, until the sound is gone, and the unlucky are left to continue searching until they find a hole leading out.


NOTES:
1. Any step backwards can cause someone to end up between places, participating in this event. Exiting requires either falling through one of the holes in the floor or being killed by the unnamed creatures residing between spaces.
2. If a character dies in this event, they do not undergo normal death effects. They awaken in one of the locations indicated, gasping for breath. While harrowing, and possibly a source of nightmares for the next few days, not to mention chills for an hour or two, there is no further apparent harm.
3. It is possible to encounter this prompt throughout the year. At one random, unpredictable day each month (listed above), the space between spaces is accessible. A person could theoretically fall in on that day, following the rules as above.
4. Mapping the space between spaces is difficult, but not impossible. Perhaps there are other locations within the labyrinthian mass, but for now at least they are not findable.
5. If the natives are asked about this place, they will make a warding sign and refuse to speak of them. At most, they will say something about the "veins of the tower."

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

ABSOLUTE IMMERSION

WHEN: Last Week of August through all of September
WHERE: Gaze, and somewhere else
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible Life-threatening experiences, Distorted Realities, Fourth Walling, Content Depending upon the Canon Referenced

---

As the month of September approaches, and Mariana shows signs of having cooled in her wrath, the people of Trench begin to relax once again. Hoping to keep level heads and to promote learning, the Arcane Scholars of Gaze have opened the private stores of more rare texts from the Archaic Archives. Trundling carts of books are being brought out by roped and masked individuals who kindly offer one to anyone who wishes to partake. They limit each guest to three, though they seem happy to trade a book for a book, so it's always possible to get more. They ask only that the books be returned by the end of the month for cleaning and maintenance. Whispers among the Disciples still with ruffled feathers at Mariana's wrath are that this is Never Mind's way of reasserting himself after strange magical books have been found around town. No Arcane Scholar will acknowledge such gossip, however.

The books seem harmless enough. What is wrong with a little light reading? The fiction within is quite enthralling, though after a page or two, a creepy familiarity to the book's contents comes to whoever reads. There is a sense of deja vu, and only when it is too late do they realize that it feels like they are reading the memories and recollections of someone else, perhaps someone that they know! In that moment, they will feel an inexorable pull as the book seems to literally suck them into it, along with anyone unlucky enough to be next to them!

Those who read these magical books will find themselves trapped in an event within another canon reality. The intent, of course, is to broaden their horizons and experiences, to teach moral lessons through new memories, but as always Never Mind seems not to understand the possible perils. The scenario that they find themselves in, which may be of any canon, is always one of immediate and very real peril, a time in which the character's life is put into immediate and very real peril. They have to prevail or flee successfully to escape the chapter and end the book, though for their troubles it is quite possible that they might bring something back with them. Hopefully it's nothing dangerous!

NOTES:
1. Any Canon may be used, including canons not present in the game. Players are encouraged to use their imaginations, though it is worth being aware that the entirety of the Cthuluh Mythos may be found among these collections, should one wish to utilize these books.
2. There is an actual physical threat that is present in whatever scene is viewed. If it is necessary, a threat is fabricated from the fringes of the memory, even if this changes the canonical scene. It is a real threat and can cause death or harm. However, these threats are killable through all normal fashions, and can be escaped by clever captives. Once escaped or defeated, the sleeper is deposited out of the book.
3. The books are absolutely indestructible, and even if the sleeper does not return them, ravens will break into their home (ruining a window and making a mess) to retrieve all books by the end of September. Multiple books can be enjoyed throughout the month.
4. Items retrieved may be anything from any canon which does not count as a significant power acquisition. Weapons can be brought, though they will be mundane once they emerge in Trench. Players are limited to retrieving one item from another canon per character during the month.

[JUMP TO TOP]

CODING

Comments

[martyrofduty]

This place looks like nowhere in particular even as it is somewhere. If they have merely been displaced into another section of Trench, it is new to Duty. A couple months is not so long, so that would not be surprising. However, as the month turns, so does the patron Pthumerian. Odd events are becoming no less odd but less shocking in and of themselves. Not that Duty has ever been among the most surprised.

He gives a small shrug. Duty takes a step backward, and he stays where they are. That step's been taken. Fair enough. Trench would have gotten interesting if no one could ever back up. "Lets find out."

[withfocus]

As much as just wandering around creepy abandoned places hasn't gone well for Naoki, there's not much else he can do.

"Alright." And he starts to pick a direction and go, but then pauses and looks to Duty instead. Any direction is as good as any other, and he'd rather not split up.

"I'm Naoki."

[martyrofduty]

With as little to go on as the kid, Duty follows along and holds base side by side. He doesn't need to choose the direction, and as the look at him suggests, they agree on sticking together. He lacks information with which to judge many abilities, other than perhaps karmic punishment for anyone who tries to walk through him from behind.

"Duty," Duty answers. A name for a name. He glances over a moment longer. "New?" he asks softly. No judgment. Everyone's new sometimes, and he's recently been among them.

[withfocus]

Whatever Duty is, apparently he's not very chatty. Naoki glances around as they walk. This place feels unsafe in the same way much of the Vortex World did. Some primal instinct for danger that he still doesn't quite understand.

"Yeah. Is it always so..." Well, he can't exactly call it weird. It's probably normal for these people and he doesn't want to come across as rude. Instead he just gestures at their surroundings.

[martyrofduty]

The halls hardly change, which makes it more difficult to track what ways they are going. There's something unnatural, the Pthumerian sort of unnatural (or natural for them), to it. Duty has wandered empty halls, waiting for the attack to come. That's familiar, though he hopes there aren't heralds.

"Always," Duty confirms, tone slightly wry. Yes, it says, this kind of oddness is usual. Yes, it says, it's new. Because Trench isn't one kind of weirdness. He goes a bit longer without saying anything. The air is heavy and damp, like first dipping into the River. The twists and turns don't all add up.

He stops and considers the space. It's not following the physics of halls, exactly. Some of the places they've walked should have intersected. "What's normal?" Duty asks.

[withfocus]

The way things don't line up as they should is distressingly familiar, but the unusual geometry is more seamless and subtle here. Almost like a dream, changing when they aren't looking at it.

"I guess whatever feels like it should be normal is normal." All Naoki wants is to get back to the world he lost and tried to remake. To be normal again. But he doesn't think he's going to ever really have that again.

"I've been to places like this before. Some of the demons who lived there would feel right at home here."

[martyrofduty]

Once there was a dream. Trench is where those dreams came when it collapsed, but they are still related. Pthumerian ideas differ from human ones. This place exists because it makes sense to someone, even if they are inhuman.

The kid's answer feels in line with dream logic. Not Duty's answer, not an answer that informs him what normal is to him. As with most any answer people give, however, Trench is abnormal. Duty looks over at the kid, his features slightly softened. Sorry kiddo, it would say to someone who knew him, you're not in Kansas anymore.

"Something might," Duty replies in warning. Whether it's merely mold that reaches into their lungs or a creature that threatens them. No one can guarantee anyone's safety.

Though the kid is new enough, he might not know... "You die, you come back," Duty shares. It's not true for locals, but neither of them are locals.

[withfocus]

"It feels like there's something here," Naoki agrees. He can't exactly say how he knows that feeling. This place doesn't feel safe.

The comment about coming back to life makes Naoki pause, stopping in his tracks for a moment. "Really? How does that work?"

He's seen weirder things, but honestly not by much.

[martyrofduty]

Duty nods. His instinct agrees. Whether it's creatures or environment, it'll be something. Never Mind may be considered reliable, but reliable isn't safe. He pauses a moment, listening carefully. One hand goes to his waist.

"Become a squid again," Duty answers. He's experienced it personally, and it's not quite the same as washing ashore without a death. Still, it could be worse. He motions them on.

Around a corner, something is on the wall. Duty stops as soon as he reads the words. One hand remains on the spear, but he doesn't extend it even as some terrible noise comes behind them. Not turning his head, he looks sideways at the kid. Here it goes, kiddo.

[withfocus]

"This place has a thing for monster seafood."

As they go around the corner a wisp of smoke starts to emerge from Naoki. It takes a familiar shape, basically a butterfly of some king while also looking more like a Rorschach blot than an actual insect.

"Aradia?" Naoki asks, but still follows close to Duty. That sense of danger he has is rapidly spiking and Naoki is visibly tense. The strange not-a-butterfly lands just above the words written on the wall and flattens itself down to look more like it too is drawn on the wall.

Duty had already gone still, and Naoki now knows why. He goes still too just before he hears the horrible sound of some creature and rapid footsteps. Naoki desperately wants to turn around and face the threat, but he's read enough myths and stories about situations like this.

Duty has been here longer, so Naoki focuses on him and holds his breath.

[martyrofduty]

Duty holds, ready to spin and fight should the kid break. They cannot see whatever approaches them from behind, but the unknown beings, the source of those footfalls, breath against his neck. His collar ripples in the close moist air, and goosebumps crawl down his spine. No herald would get so close without attacking, but this creature is something else.

The moment stretches on.



Something turns on its heel, the air swirling behind him, and heavier steps sound off behind him. Duty waits until there is silence, ten seconds longer, and straightens. Nothing is there when he turns his head at last. They are alone.

"Well done," Duty tells the kid. His attention turns toward the misshapen concept of a butterfly, flat against the wall. "Your omen."

[withfocus]

The breath reminds Naoki of some of the more animalistic demon he's encountered. Bicorn or Chimera or Orthus. The feeling of it on his neck and horn makes it harder not to turn and fight, but staring at Duty makes it a little easier.

He remains tense for several long moments until the feeling of danger fades back down to simply 'not safe'.

"Thanks." Naoki says, walking over to examine the strange butterfly shape. Definitely not Aradia, but it holds her shape and reminds Naoki of his failures and the people he's lost. After a moment it starts to flex its wings again, and Naoki holds up his hands as it flutters around and then lands in his palms. Looking at it, Naoki has a bit of a sad expression on his face.

"I thought they were supposed to be a reflection of us." But maybe he's reading into it wrong.

[martyrofduty]

He inclines his head briefly, instead of saying you're welcome. So few words are needed much of the time. They're both still breathing, not experiencing coming back as a squid, so it's something. As fitting of timing that would be, dying isn't high on his agenda for the day.

As expected of omens, this one means something to the kid. Something akin to Alfred or Cristabel, in some respects, than Duty's omen. Something familiar in something new. Something heartbreaking.

"Your mileage may vary," Duty answers. A reflection of some kind. Not always what you want. "What's it mean?"

[withfocus]

"It's the same way Aradia appears." Naoki glances over at Duty. "The goddess of freedom. My teacher thought she would help, but she doesn't have the same power the other gods did. All she has to give people is hope."

She's the one Naoki would have picked to make the new world if she'd ever given Takao what she needed for that. At least, he hoped she'd make a good world.

"But I followed her advice. The path she told me to take was the one I wanted anyway."

[martyrofduty]

Just what anyone needs—gods fighting over whatever is within their reach. Naturally, whichever one would do the most could has the least reach. Hope, however, is no small thing in an otherwise hopeless world. It's not what Duty places his bets on, but he appreciates it nonetheless. The hope that John will continue to do better until those decisions are who he is. It's a long road.

The shape makes sense. Something/someone significant to him. Duty looks at the omen and kid together. "Is it her?" he asks because that can happen.

[withfocus]

"No. She would've started talking by now if it was her." That's a bit of a relief, really, but Naoki also doesn't think she would choose to come here at all. This isn't a world where Aradia can become real.

The butterfly takes wing again and starts to flutter around, but it's even more clear now that it only wears the vague shape of one. Every few moments it's suddenly displaced a few inches in one direction or the other, turning its already twitchy and erratic flapping into an unnerving and chaotic display.

Then it wisps away back into smoke and into him once more.

[martyrofduty]

Duty nods. Alfred and Cristabel both immediately spoke with him, silently but heard and understood. The butterfly resembling omen isn't like them. Nor is it like Duty's own omen, far more abstract like someone trying to draw a butterfly having never having seen a single insect or bird in their life.

"Lets keep going," Duty says. Glancing at the wall, he adds, "Watch for more." Of those, whether the same words or different. Someone painted instructions that worked, the once. Given the place's age, there's no guarantee any other words will be genuine, but they don't have much else to go on.

[withfocus]

"Yeah. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to... so, do you think this is a labyrinth, or a maze?" Naoki asks as he starts walking again, faster than he had before but not quite quick enough to be a jog.

There's something about this that makes Naoki think of a myth, and think that he should be able to name the monster that snuck up on them a moment ago, but there are pieces that don't line up. Of course, he's found that the myth rarely matches with the reality of spirits and demons, but there's always been some basis.

[martyrofduty]

Leaving the weapons where they are, Duty motions ambiguity with one hand. Of a kind, yes. Of whatever kind each of them expects, probably not. "Patron Pthumerian this month values knowledge," Duty says, wordy because it's not easily explained to someone new. "It's a lesson."

That lesson could be relying on knowledge and understanding over weapons. Fighting would have been a mistake. So how does one leave? It may be another lesson, one they haven't yet learned. Duty keeps up with the kid, holding himself in check. Too fast and they may miss something. Too slow and they'll never learn.

[withfocus]

"If they like knowledge... In myth, the difference between a maze and a labyrinth is their layout. Mazes have an entrance and an exit, you usually go from one to the other. Labyrinths only have one exit on the outer edge, and the goal is usually to get to the center. Or get there and back out, or just to make it out." Naoki says. The walls are getting weirder, and some hallways they pass when forced to double back have become impossible to walk down.

"Oh, right. The most famous one had a minotaur in it." That could have been the thing that came up behind them. Human feet, the smell of fur, hot breath.

[martyrofduty]

Another world's lore. Lore predating the Resurrection. At times it's hard to be sure. Watching these hallways, the increasingly notable illogical turns to the place, Duty's sure it's closer to a labyrinth than a maze. A maze is simply gone through. Someone comes out often not changed. This place presses down and creaks, squishy and soft, in invitation to something more than tracking turns.

"Is standing still in any myths?" Duty asks. Again, their cultural knowledge flows like a river between them. John's myriad of references not enough to understand them all.