SEPTEMBER TEST DRIVE MEME!

[reddosmod]

SEPTEMBER 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: Bread Cornucopia filled with fruits and veggies]
[Image Two: Creepy glass eye embedded in sand]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A Lone Lighthouse by night]
[Image Two: Ghost Ship in dilapidated condition]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Wasps, Wasp Nest made from human Mask screaming terror, swirling eddies in wasp Nest]
[Image Two: Horribly mutilated Cenobite in Latex gear with exposed teeth]

[NAVIGATION]

TDM Questions • Reserves • Taken • Applications • Full Navigation

[Jump to Comments]

STANDARD ARRIVAL

WHEN: First Week of September
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk, Koz's Orphanage
CONTENT WARNINGS: Creepy Prosthetics buried in the sand

---

On some level, you are one of the fortunate ones. The storms of August are now a distant memory. It is the waning of the Blood Moon and the tempestuous state of the Beast Moon this year is fading finally while the harvest is being collected. Sleepers arriving find no particular difficulty in actually reaching the shores for the most part, and transformations back into their natural state of being are relatively easy. They are met by happy Trenchies and fellow Sleepers with robes of white and their bags as normal, and motioned towards the waiting tents set up along the

What is strange, however, is that when Sleepers arrive, they may find their eyes drawn to something disturbing amongst the sand. Water washes with the waves and tide, and reveals a body part! They are always prosthetics of some variety, and many are glass eyes that eerily stare at the person. They can be retrieved with some ease, though they're in bad need of cleaning. Perhaps they belong to someone in town? If not, however, asking around will get a suggestion to bring those to Koz's Orphange in Crenshaw. They have a Lost and Found there, and it is the season of finding what and who is lost. If they do, they might catch a glimpse of Koz floating mournfully through the area, and one of the children will gratefully take the item, saying that they will add it to the rest of the Lost and Found, before coming back with a photo in hand. "Here, I found this, and I think it might be yours?" The photo is, indeed, of the giver and someone from their past. Perhaps it is an actual photo taken, or one they cannot remember having been taken. Regardless, it is offered to them in a cheap wooden frame. How it got there, the orphan does not know. It was probably there when they arrived.

SEASONAL DETAILS ON THE BOARDWALK
The Boardwalk is quite the spectacle this time of year, and those who were here the prior year will remember many of the decorations and festivities. Pumpkins have been stacked on spikes lining the Boardwalk with grotesquely realistic carvings of faces decorated on them. Massive white linen has been hung in the air to look like ghosts floating back and forth against the ocean wind.

Delicious smells waft from the Boardwalk as fresh donuts, candied apples, and hot apple cider are sold at every other booth, along with complementary cornucopias given to each new Sleeper made out of bread that has fruits of all varieties but always seems to have a small jar of the favorite fruit, seed, vegetable (or even meat) of the person receiving it. If asked where it is from, the Sleepers shrug and say "The Orphans took up a collection to give a welcoming gift to new arrivals." If what is in the jar is eaten by the person given it, it will help to ease their mind and give them a calm that can last up to a week as they acclimate.

Preparations are in order for this year's Black Parade. An annual celebration, it is promoted among the excited locals as something that people can participate in. Face Painting booths and costumes are available to those who wish them, with the statement by the Trenchies, "We do it to disguise ourselves from roaming spirits and hungry beasts."

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

A FADED MEMORY

WHEN: Mid October
WHERE: In Swimming distance (Barely) of the Farther Shores
CONTENT WARNINGS: Ghostly Ship & Lighthouse, Threat of Corruption, Remains of Ghastly Murder and Dismembered Corpse

---

It is by accident that your eyes chance to look towards the Farther Shores. There, you happen to see a lighthouse, but you know for certain that it cannot be the lighthouse that is normally there and manned by the fishermen. You can't usually see that from this angle. The moment that you see it, a feeling of mounting dread falls upon you, and you realize that there is no light in the lighthouse. Though the compulsion to investigate can be resisted, there is an almost overwhelming urge to go, to investigate, to re-ignite the flame before it is too late!

The question is getting out there. The fishermen, when the lighthouse is mentioned, will make warding gestures and look terrified. All will resolutely refuse to sail out, muttering incomprehensible curses and lashing their boats securely to the shore. There will be no fishing tonight. The lighthouse, from the docks and shores, is out in the water on a rocky outcrop that nobody remembers being there, though any Trenchy asked will pale at the mention. The only way to get out there is to swim. It is a hard, dangerous swim, but the tide is coming in, rather than going out, so the riptide is not pulling down. It can be done, or a raft can be hastily made. When clambering up the stone steps to the lone lighthouse, it is apparent its door is ajar. And within? Horror awaits.

The insides of the tower are caked in viscuous, green blood. The Lighthouse itself is barely standing. It looks as if a thunderous, colossal fist has battered it repeatedly, the building nearly collapsing at every step. It does not actually break apart, but those who ascend the steps find themselves fighting not to slip on old, caked and thick blood that smells of roses. The contact with the blood isn't doing anything good to the person's sanity and hallucinations of the screams of the dying can be heard, along with shrieks of "What is it?" at the top of someone's voice. An increase in corruption is possible here, though not required. The more one contacts the blood, the greater the risk is. In the top of the lighthouse, dismembered, skeletal remains lay in gobs of what may once have been flesh. One of them holds desperately a torch in their hand, and there is a lighter present. One look out into the night will see a great vessel approaching, broken, its sails tattered and ruined. there is little time, and hopefully the lighter works!

The moment the torch lights the lamp in the lighthouse, the ship veers away from a collision course that would have destroyed the lighthouse and likely the flimsy rock outcropping on which it stood. Shades of dead sailors stare in horror at those who man the lighthouse today, the ship sailing away into the night. All are pointing beyond, and if you look over your shoulder, you can barely see a collosal figure in shadow walking into the town beyond, seemingly confused and wailing. Nothing further happens, and when the people in the lighthouse reach shore again, they will find upon turning back that it is gone, as is the outcropping, though a close inspection does see the remains of a shallow of stone there where the island once stood.

Note: The Ghost ship cannot be interacted with. If someone has the ability to reach it, they will pass through it only to realize it is nothing more than a memory in the land. Fragments of rotted wood and broken masonry can be found in the water below, covered in countless barnacles. Nothing within them shows any proof of what once transpired. There is a risk of corruption from blood exposure, though this is very much up to the players if they wish to incorporate it.

No Trenchy will willingly speak of what transpired, though a careful investigation at the Pale Sanctuary may find a tome among the sacred texts associated with Cloverfield. Reading from it, one might find a forgotten marking that the first sighting of Cloverfield, long ago, saw the collapse of the original lighthouse. No Disciple recalls the incident, and none will speak of it.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

FRIEND OR FOE

WHEN: Anytime in October
WHERE: At the frindges of the main districts
CONTENT WARNINGS: demonic bugs, Bug Horror, Grotesque death, Self mutilation, Bug Infestation

---

The first thing that alerts you to the danger is the screams. They are agonizing, gut-wrenching and full of naked horror. When traveling near the edge of any of the districts, particularly the Crenshaw district, it is possible at times to witness a truly horrifying sight. The screams, if investigated, come upon the grisly attack of a horde of not exactly wasps but closer to demonic insects swarming over a person. They shriek, their whole form shrouded by the terrible creatures as they're being stun and the things seem to be extruding some sort of substance to cocoon them while still alive to one of the trees. There is no cry for help, as the person is clearly unaware of who is there, but do you reach out to save them?

If you do not, the scene is horrific and grisly beyond reckoning. The wasps trap the hapless victim against a tree, grafting the extruded paper all over their screaming visage to form a new wasp nest before they ultimately begin crawling inside of them, devouring them from the inside out and implanting their eggs in the new 'home' created for them. It is at this time that the palpable danger may dawn upon you. The infernal bugs have not yet seen you, but they seem to be aware that there is other life around. Do you take this moment to try and beat a hasty retreat, or do you fight it out with the bugs? They can be destroyed, but only by means of abilities and powers that destroy multiples at once, such as great gouts of flame. Hopefully you have a coldblood present! Fleeing them is easier, but can you leave this person to their fate? Still, if instead you observe and take no action, eventually the bugs seem to notice you, and though they swarm near, as long as they are not attacked, they seem to do nothing.

Strange.

If, however, you try to save the victim, a very different scene plays out. The same rules apply to fight the swarm, and if you stop them short of killing their victim, you will see just who it is that you have saved. There, mutilated through self scarification and brutally altered in horrible ways that seem almost fetishistic, is one of the blood crazed zealots. Despite being weakened and badly injured, they lash out at you, their defender. The power that they wield with their blood is incredible, and they demonstrate an ability to wield it that is well documented. The only note is that no Cold-blooded Zealots are present, and so their powers are not represented this time. However, they are drained and though they pose a threat to your life, they can be killed here with a bit of care, can be resisted with great difficulty and certainly be escaped. Either way, there is no true reward for having killed them other than knowing that you have done so. Why are they here? Alone?

It is almost as if they were an advance scout, and the wasps were someone's defense against them, someone's early warning.

[JUMP TO TOP]

CODING

Comments

[specialtechnique]

[Oh- it worked?? Of course it worked, Reigen is a master of persuasion, a total champion of good and rational points, ha ha... He makes a face that's caught somewhere between surprised - which he attempts to mask by casually looking away, as one does - and relieved.]

Good, you've finally seen sense... I'm sure you can find someone to ask about the lighthouse later.

[One of those mysterious experts. About the lighthouse. He makes another face next, glancing at the other man sidelong, like - what?? What, exactly, is he supposed to interpret "the rest" as?

uhhhhhhh]

How do I know you're not going to run off into another dangerous situation if I tell you about the extremely high-level risk areas I've already mapped out? [perfect save] Let's start small: some of the market stalls are cursed. Be on your guard if any of the locals have a mysterious, glassy-eyed stare...

[He's actually pretty sure this one is real, too! Maybe!]

And especially avoid their free samples.

[opheliac]

Bzzzt, wrong...! — I never play the wrong game. It's all laid out perfectly, rules and all.

(along with him, she looks onto the people ahead of them. even if she attempts to try and pick up the conversations of the trench folk, it's too hushed unless she gets close-up and person. but the bustling of the city is nice and ... sitting here with him is a little nice, too.)

[iaiafhtagn]

He caught it! Oh dear, oh dear...! And he still doesn't recognize her. Frets and frets! What's she to do? Blue eyes aver themselves again. She could be more direct and just say it, but there was no telling what might happen. Some servants can be kind of hostile...!

Hang on!

"Ah... well...."

...She stuffs her mouth full apple in one, big bite! Filling her cheeks up to look like a little hamster. Can't talk with a full mouth, and the council must deliberate on this. And by council, we're talking about Abby's mind. She could always let loose, but she's still not all that used to how things work here yet.

[iaiafhtagn]

I would imagine that paying for other people's blood would also become rather expensive.

But I guess we don't need a whole lot of it to do stuff either? Right?

[icanhearscreams]

[Hm. He's already being paid in food and housing, but... more food is helpful.]

I don't want or need your blood. Meals are fine.

[kaientai]

I like seein' things with my own eyes. Knowing is always better than not knowing, isn't it?

[ he has not yet realised the danger knowing things can potentially present in a world like this but whatever. ]

Whatever has people running scared, wouldn't you rather know so it doesn't happen to you?

[ this may sound very self-serving, but that's intentional. ryouma doesn't expect to get anywhere with someone like her by appealing to a sense of compassion. he's not judging though, just realistic. ]

[faceblocks]

[she nods, her expression shifting several times before she offers a tight smile. she wishes she could be as team 'fuck silco' as he is. some days she is, most days it's more like 'maybe fuck silco sort of'. but she can't not laugh at that assessment. and it's less of a pressing issue now that he's returned to the sea.]

Yeah. I'll tell you about him some other time. I...

...look at you, all settled in and damn, I don't even get to show you around.

[she's not really disappointed, it's a playful tone. but still. she's barely had time to get used to him being all grown up. he's sharp in more ways now, and she's both sad and proud to see it.]

[monsterwife]

[ John's expression is nearly unreadable, like this. Perhaps he did not want Alecto eating his castle. That would make sense. She molds the sand herself, long and thin, like a toy. A sword. A tower. ]

The world is not made of dreams. [ She says, almost scolding. How could John not know? He loves the world. ] The world is dirt and blood and sky and water.

[ Things that taste good. Things Alecto shovels into her mouth, as if she could make herself one of them. Perhaps that is her dream: to be anything other than this. ]

What is the devil? I do not know it.

[monsterwife]

[ The boy marks himself as one of Anastasia's, and for that alone, Alecto deems him worthy enough of her regard. But only barely. She tilts her head, as if to get a better look at him. ]

Would you offer me something, if I was?

[ Alecto can read the regret and fear in his body. It is plain and obvious for all to see, and old, etched in like wrinkles. Such a thing must be horribly heavy, like chains. Alecto wonders where he sleeps. She wonders what he thinks morning is. ]

You are a Tomb-keeper. You need not fear me like the others do. [ Alecto rises and approaches, her movements ugly. ] You are not like Anastasia. [ Alecto continues, mostly to herself. ] You are like Samael. I am sorry.

[monsterwife]

[ Alecto's visitor is ugly. So horribly ugly, and nothing like Anastasia at all. She hates it, although this is nothing new. It is so easy for the humans to anger her, these days. It is so easy for them to hurt.

He kneels like a person trying to make himself beautiful, and that is the worst part of all. Alecto's golden eyes flash with displeasure, and she stands, so she might tower over him. She is not appeased. ]

Stop lying. You think I do not know you are scared?

I know you. [ Said like an insult, a tragedy. ] I know so many like you. But you cannot have me, for I am already bound.

[ She is looking at him, that ugly boy, and for the first time in thousands of years, Alecto knows she has made a mistake. There was someone else she should have seen. Her gaze snaps up, looks to the door behind him. ]

Cousin?

above cws continue

[monsterwife]

[ Alecto, for the first time, smiles. It is a terrible thing -- a baring of the lips, a revealing of the teeth. She does not remember where her tongue goes, so she runs it over those too-flat, too-white teeth, and the light catches on the spit she leaves in its wake.

Does she forgive? Can she forgive, in a body like this? She loves John. John loved her so he made her. He did not give her forgiveness.

And even if he had, she would have devoured and devoured and devoured it all, until there was nothing left. ]

No. Never. Nor do I forget.

[ Alecto brushes at the doll's hair, and for once, she is gentle. ]

You should not, either. I would know you for that, and you would not be alone.

Sorry I'm late! Going through some things. (CW: mentions of dead people and survivor's guilt)

[cloversandcranes]

[Makoto nodded silently at the apology, and kept on walking. Maizono giggled by his ear, whispering dark temptations that slithered around in his head.]

...I prefer this smell honestly. If only for the distance it gives me. I...didn't have much experience with monsters. At least the nonhuman ones.

[After that tiny confession, he traveled further up the stairs, trying not to flinch at the screams he heard. It wasn't quite loud enough to be real, but enough to make him sweat.]

...Something really bad happened here.

[After he uttered that word, he saw some globs of something near the top and frowned. Moving closer he crouched near the object and sighed.]

I think I found someone, or what's left of them.

[towards_okeanos]

"Ah... it's complicated, I see."

Iskandar is going on a hunch here. Because that non answer is very telling. As worried as he is that he had offended her, there's one set of particular circumstances that could have cause Iskandar not to remember her, and her remember him. If they both were Servants summoned by the same Master, but to different wars. It is rare for a Servant to retain memories of their different Summonings. It would take someone more knowledgeable in theory of magic to explain why that happens so.

"I have been a Heroic Spirit fighting for the Grail in at least two wars, before being reborn here. May it be that you have encountered a version of me that I have no recollection of?"

Or she can have no idea what he is talking about and he's just managed to fluster and terrify the poor child even more. Well, he who risks not, gains not.

[iaiafhtagn]

She slowly began to chew on the bits of apple inside her mouth. Listening to what Big Alex has to say. A servant in at least two grail wars prior? And he remembers them? Gosh! He really is amazing! Then again, there are some instances where servants remember past summons. Hm....

The Council of Abby's mind begins to convene itself as she slowly swallows the apple chunks.

"We... have."

Sort of? She doesn't know him all that well personally. But she knows him. "Have you ever heard of Chaldea before?"

Just going for it. Be up front like the big, boisterous man before her!

[ekkoeffect]

not that i've seen. haven't done much yet myself.

[ekkoeffect]

Wasn't aware there were rules for killing people for fun.

[That shouldn't come out as casually as it does. That should have more of a bite. But it doesn't. Because he's accepted Jinx is who she is. He isn't going to change her just by asking. He wasn't going to convince her by saying nice words. Jinx has to want to change herself and he doesn't think he's the person she'd do that for. He's no Vi.

But he still sees the girl she used to be, too. And maybe he hasn't grieved that girl enough to move on like he thought he had.]

At least this fruit is fresh. No bruises or rotten parts.

[ekkoeffect]

[Hearing her say that does twisty-coiling things to his stomach. It's been so long since he had someone there for him like that. He has friends, he has teammates, he has all these people who look to him and trust him to do everything he can to protect them. He has people, he's not alone, but it's different.

Vi is always going to be his big sister.]

Not like it takes much to settle in around here. It's not so different from Zaun...if it time traveled a few hundred years and everything was blood magic.

[He nudges her with his elbow.]

And you can still show me around. What spots do you get into the most trouble? [Because he knows you Vi.]

[kaientai]

Ryouma can have that effect on people, but he's always pleasantly surprised when he feels like he makes a little bit of progress. He's never exactly considered himself a people person despite his outgoing nature, given the likelihood that people just find him weird.

"No worries. I'll wait right here then!"

And he means it, seeing as he plops right down on the ground where he stands. He might as well rest up if he's going to be rowing a boat! Besides, it's hardly a two-man job. The locals are frightened enough over all this without making them feel bullied out of their stuff.

[towards_okeanos]

Iskandar laughs. It's his signature laughter, one Abigail no doubt heard many times.

"Ha! I had! I had the pleasure, and the honour, to be part of it before I got dragged here by the gods of this place. Are you from Chaldea too?"

He considers his adventures with the second most unlikely Master quite the highlight of the whole experience. He had a chance to meet many illustrious Servants, battle foes he's never seen before, see places he never knew existed. It was a good campaign. Iskandar is almost sorry it ended so abruptly. But a second chance at life is nothing to sneeze at. So he doesn't begrudge the Pthumerians for doing what they did.

[monsterwife]

[ At the sight of this unremarkable human, John takes her hand. Alecto is not sure why. All she knows is that the human makes John angry, and that is enough to set Alecto on edge, her body set nothing like a human and everything like an animal with its haunches raised. Her eyes are almost feline, like this, and when she licks the last shards of metal from her lips, it leaves streaks of blood. ]

No one who is afraid chooses anything.

[ So this is meeting. There is a human ritual to it, Alecto knows. One that John has taught her many times. But it's so hard to remember it. ]

I do not know you. Explain yourself.

[ A command, with the force of a billion dead behind it. ]

cw: blood, dysfunctional relationships, discussion of major violation of bodily autonomy

[monsterwife]

[ Those stolen eyes, beautiful in another face and ugly in the human's, are horrible to look at. Which is why Alecto fixes her own gaze on them, unblinking. The horror focuses her, helps her remember why she is angry. It is so easy to get lost in that anger, an anger suited for ten billion, an anger meant for two gods. It is like a sea, a thing that Alecto loves.

The human covers her hand. Alecto turns her palm upwards, so that she can weave her ugly fingers between the human's, and she digs her nails into the skin hard enough to draw blood. If she holds on any less, Alecto knows, she will lose herself entirely.

(Is that such a bad thing?) ]

It is no good. [ Alecto agrees, for once. ] There are no good things left.

[ But that is not important. The human needs to be quiet, so Alecto can focus. It is so hard to tell a human a story, to condense a world into beginning and end, to wrap it up in order. But that is what John did to her, isn't it? He made her a story, and now it is Alecto's job to tell it in the human's language. ]

There used to be. There was a world, once. [ Alecto's voice is halting, uncharacteristically hesitant. This is not her language. Still, she presses on. ] I was sick. John was helping me. He loved me. I loved him. I picked him to change.

[ If a thing like her could sound desperate, she sounds like it now. ]

He changed me, too. I am not supposed to be like this. It hurts. I still love him.

no worries!

[kaientai]

That's fair. Didn't really think about it like that...

[ if he doesn't get it, he's at least willing to think it through. he can see the logic, even if it's not for him personally. ]

Well, it's all just perspective after a point. Nobody wants to know about these things, but sometimes they happen. All you can do is control how you let it affect you.

[ that's probably easier said than done, but it's the only way ryouma knows. that's the sort of thing that lets ryouma get the job done. it's what's needed if he wants to get to the bottom of this mystery; he called himself a detective the one time, he might as well earn it. ]

Maybe somebody pissed off one of those, whatchamacallem—...

[ ryouma's thinking. over time little hints at his real accent shine through too. ]

...—the Poo—... Too—..? Hmm.

[ he gives up. ]

Those "Patrons". They're kinda like gods or something 'round here, right..?

[ he never asked anyone how to pronounce "pthumerian" and now he wishes he had. ]

[opheliac]

Fun but justified. I don't just kill random people, Silly Head. — If that were the case, this whole boardwalk would be coated with blood. ... Be pretty lookin' buuuuuut killin' around 'cuz, I dunno, whatevs doesn't feel as good, y'know?

Every life I took away back in our realm were people against Silco's dream. And as his weapon, I did what I was suppose to. (she shrugs as she tilts her head back to peer up to their sky.) Doesn't get much simpler than that.

[entreats]

There's no answer at his first rambling. Perhaps awkwardly so, especially with the brief silence that falls over them when Martin pauses. Even when he asks that last part, Ange is still quiet for a moment.

After all - she has no idea what she wants here. She really liked Martin before, to a point where it seemed like they could really understand each other on some points in ways most people would never be able to. But now they're starting out from an entirely different point. Where she knows so much about him, and some of the deepest thoughts that other him had, and he knows nothing about her.

Wouldn't it be awkward? Or painful?

.. She isn't sure. But on the other hand, it's not like Ange just wants to ignore Martin either. The same Martin, or a different Martin - they're still people she wishes to see happy. She wishes to somehow be happy with.

".. wouldn't that be too awkward for you?" She asks, avoiding direct eye contact with him.

Sure, it'd be awkward on her end too. But Ange can think about that awkward, and decide whether or not she can handle that. She can't decide the same for him.

[ekkoeffect]

[That's such bullshit he can't help but chuckle. Because did she really believe that?]

Silco may have taught you how to kill, but you're the one who chose to do it for him. No matter how many get hurt for him or die because of him or all the kids who end up like us because of him. You did what you chose to do.

[And with that he finally pushes himself to his feet. He's not angry, no clenched fists. He's just...not sure what to say or feel. It's weird to be this confused when he also feels this calm. He leaves the jar on the bench.]