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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2022-09-25 09:57 pm
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SEPTEMBER TEST DRIVE MEME!

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]

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."
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.

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.

CODING
wingstosee: (unacceptable)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-18 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
I

I DON'T KNOW?????
foulhussy: (pic#7613912)

[personal profile] foulhussy 2022-10-18 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
read a book that says they stick stuff in youre asshole
guess some people are really into that shit.
wingstosee: (unacceptable)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-18 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
That's not the problem! I'm not! I don't want to make you uncomfortable!!

[ he doesn't want to breathe, though. he wants to start crying. instead, he does breathe. his shoulders hunch down; he presses his knees together, minimizing the space he's taking up.

when he speaks, though, he sounds more put together - if only by a bit.
]

I don't... It's not a bad thing. I'm happy for- you, and your husband. Both of you. [ he swallows, his hands nervously fiddling with the prosthetic arm. ] ...where I'm from, it's... It's not really something you can say out loud. When you're like... When you like someone like that. So- I'm really, really glad that you can.

[ it's about the best way he's going to be able to say it. that doesn't stop him from adding: ]

The friends I left- or, um, got kidnapped from, I guess? They're- like that too. For girls. I think.

[ he shouldn't be saying that... but at this point he's just. sort of babbling uncontrollably. ]
wingstosee: (iseethedevil)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-18 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
SEE??? THAT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW RIGHT
shiro2hero: (disappointed dad eyebrows)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-10-18 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
Seen your share of weird? [He has to ask. Harry has that kind of weariness some, if not all, of the Deerington Veterans carry. It's hard not to spot.] Wish I could say it gets easier.

[ l o l ]

That's the funny thing. For the most part... we can do whatever we like. Some Sleepers open businesses, join organizations. I work at Koz's Orphanage when I'm not out here. The people here - I don't want to say they "revere" us. But it's close. They definitely welcome us.
shiro2hero: (this is my chill the fuck out face)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-10-18 06:17 am (UTC)(link)
You're not. [Just as sincerely as the rest of his words, his voice dropped a bit lower - even, steady.] You aren't making me uncomfortable, Venus.

[He'll even hunker down a bit himself. Sitting on his heels. It doesn't make his big meat dorito self that much smaller, but it can't hurt. It's like talking to Chloe, or Eddie, in those moments of stress. So he'll just do what he always did then - calm honesty. Get to their level.]

You're not the only one who's ever told me that, either. Couple of them ended up being like family to me. [Before they'd gone back to the sea.] So I promise, you aren't making me uncomfortable. But thank you, it means a lot to hear that.

[That Venus comes from somewhere it's "not done", and says that anyway, he means. And then maybe we can... talk about those friends in a different way and not in a distressing way!]

Tell me about your friends? What are their names?
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (06)

cw: cannibalism (reference)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-10-18 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, he'd have been so lucky as to have me deign to marry him in the first place.

[A prospect Mercymorn regards with all the enthusiasm of bedding down with snakes, if those snakes smoked indoors and had a repellant affect of turning everything they said curiously nasal and half-breathy at the upturned ends of sentences.

But the girl isn't wrong. If they are more throwing darts back and forth than engaging in conversation, at least it seems like they're narrowing in on their targets. So it is with a slight, indifferent shrug and tilt of the head that Mercy capitulates:]


He is here. As is the Emperor. They've made up very sweetly, evidently - as have they and Duty, for all the trouble they caused each other. They even have your darling younger sister and her vivacious cavalier restored from death itself to fill out the household. Delirious happiness and contentment, just like the good old days.

[Mercy is often cruel. This is a worse, more rarefied cruelty, something curdled with contempt and sharpened to a razor's bite.]

It's all sweet fat of the hog and adoring smiles. Practically like going home for you, I'd expect.

[To the gilded charnel house of the Third, beauty sheathing those ravenous, cannibalistic appetites.]
Edited 2022-10-18 14:40 (UTC)
fogsong: (67)

[personal profile] fogsong 2022-10-18 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ her lips twitch upward in the hint of a grin when he mentions Cheryl's lack of fear when it comes to speaking her mind. Sharon herself had a mouth that could get her in as much trouble as it gets her out of. ]

They chose the wrong girl to be their vessel. [ never mind that she had been willing to give herself to them to save her dad because she'd do anything to protect him. ]

And, uh, ditto, Harry. I can't say I'm not disappointed, I miss my dad, but I'm really relieved you aren't some trick. In any case, my door is open for you, too. This place can be... a lot to deal with, especially alone. Don't be afraid to like call me or something if you suddenly sprout horns or see a ghost.
foulhussy: (pic#14884392)

[personal profile] foulhussy 2022-10-18 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
is that what youre into?
hauntedsavior: (⚡ take the wind and the snow)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2022-10-18 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[anna falls more quiet than she has so far. it's different from when she'd been quiet to listen. this has... something heavier behind it. she sighs.]

I asked a god to turn me into a raven so I could try to kill a different god. I wish I could say it was cool, but I still feel so... sick in my stomach, thinking about all of it. It wasn't my proudest moment. And it didn't work.
wingstosee: (shouldhaveknown)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-18 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh.

[ what else is there to say to that? it wasn't something good. it wasn't something happy. anna tried to kill someone, and she gave up something to do that, and it's still hurting her now. ]

...we don't have to talk about it, then. [ as simple as that. ] We can just... talk about something else.
wingstosee: (unacceptable)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-18 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I
WHAT

ILLEGAL?????????????
foulhussy: (pic#14401117)

[personal profile] foulhussy 2022-10-18 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
not here
shit, i dont think this place even has any damn laws.


[ She could only imagine how confused somebody from Facade would be about that. ]
hauntedsavior: (⚡ our shields were all but shattered)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2022-10-18 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[really? huh. fuck, okay. if only anna could let things go so easily.]

Thought you'd have a little more to tell me about deicide, but... [she runs a hand through her hair and lets it all fall in a mess.] I guess I'm just saying, like. Enough things happened where I thought that that was the only choice I could make, you know? Even though it wasn't. This place has a way of getting inside your head.
wingstosee: (understanding)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-18 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
If you want to talk about it, we can. I don't mind... [ his eyes drop down to the radio. ] You know. That. But it doesn't sound like it's the choice you wanted to make, and I don't know what good it'd do.

[ a bit of anna's hair drifts across his cheek. he stays in his position on her shoulder. ]

I don't even really know if deicide... makes sense. Like. "The devil is only the shadow of man cast by the light of god." Would the devil still exist? Would we?
wingstosee: (iseethedevil)

[personal profile] wingstosee 2022-10-19 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
I'm making a new law and it says you don't get to make fun of me like this!!!
syncopathic: (and I never felt cheated)

(cw: leg injuries)

[personal profile] syncopathic 2022-10-19 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[No need to tell Dito twice. He's already advancing on the zealot, who's still trying to regain his footing from the disciple's vicious attack. Dito reverses his grip on the spear and executes a sideways slash, striking his opponent on the side of the head and opening a deep wound from the corner of his mouth to his cheek.

The zealot backs away, hissing with pain, and moves to let another hook fly. It hits Dito square in the face-- or it would have, if the disciple hadn't dodged so quickly to the side that there was only an afterimage of shadows and darkness. The man senses Dito's presence behind him and spins to correct his mistake... too late, as Dito's spear suddenly plunges into the fleshy part of the zealot's calf. This time the man howls with pain, dropping to one knee, his leg no longer able to support his weight.

Dito huffs out a soft chuckle, smug and almost seductive. His voice is a purr as he twists the weapon in his hand, eliciting another hoarse cry from his unfortunate opponent. Blood gushes from the wound, creating a rapidly growing puddle of crimson.]


Mmn... there. That gentled you down some. Didn't it, big boy?
in_loveless_memory: (But that doesn't make sense)

[personal profile] in_loveless_memory 2022-10-19 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
... Gross.

Also, I didn't ask to be reborn. Can I NOT be a squid, is that allowed?
in_loveless_memory: (That's nice don't care)

[personal profile] in_loveless_memory 2022-10-19 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
His tail frizzed out and he stopped dead. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky...

Fuck it.

He brought his gaze back down and landed it on Maul, clearly unamused as he lifted a brow at the Sith.

"I'm going to say this slowly so you might comprehend it, but I have no faith in your abilities. See, I can understand how someone like you might think I'm just wandering into the city with no desire to gather information, but the part you're missing is that my option for information is... you and you're... well... you and therefore all information you potentially have is either going to be a lie or fucking useless. So I'm going to be getting it from someone actually capable of coherent sentences that involve slightly more thought beyond 'stab it with my light stick.' Not that I expect you to understand any of this or the nuances of such a notion."
Edited 2022-10-19 04:31 (UTC)
in_loveless_memory: (It's not like that)

[personal profile] in_loveless_memory 2022-10-19 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
"They're cruel everywhere," he retorted and then looked away, blushing, clearing his throat. There was no reason for him to unload his opinions on some relative stranger. He looked back to her.

"Thank you for your concern even though we just met," he inclined his head. "You don't have to worry about me, though." He rather she didn't, it was easier, if ultimately lonelier.

"I don't suppose you could tell me a bit about here, though, besides it being dangerous and the people cruel?"
survivalthroughhate: ([TPM 40] Thinking)

[personal profile] survivalthroughhate 2022-10-19 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
One advantage of talking to someone with cat ears and a tail: it was always easy to tell what sort of emotional state they were in. Maul, for all his lack of emotional understanding in other people, couldn't deny he could tell exactly what Ritsuka felt towards him. He listened as he got a verbal tongue-lashing from the catboy.

His eyes narrowed in anger and his gloved hands balled into fists but he didn't say anything at first. So Ritsuka didn't want anything to do with him. Alright. He could either throw a temper tantrum about that or leave him alone like he wanted. Caught between the two options, he came up with a third.

He snapped his fingers and two of his followers came towards him. "Help the boy. Tell him whatever he wants to know. And get him something to eat before he falls over."

The helmeted figures nodded. "It shall be done, Lord Maul."

He turned back towards Ritsuka. "We'll see each other soon enough. Of that I am certain."
entreats: (and see the lightning crack)

[personal profile] entreats 2022-10-19 06:33 am (UTC)(link)
Ange will let him go ahead, at least, though she's definitely more on guard than she's showing on the outside. Ange has mastered the art of the pokerface, after all, and though that is failing her a little in Martin's presence given their history, she's at least still good at seeming nonchalant when she isn't in the slightest.

Like right now. Martin may say that, but Ange isn't under the impression in the slightest that they can just have a casual look around and then go.

.. which is only strenghtened when she looks past him and the open door. Ange manages to keep her nonchalant attitude, sure, but she's very quick to say: "Don't touch anything in there."

Look, that blood could technically be any blood. It could even just be some other weird, green liquid.

But Ange is pretty sure that's vileblood, and she's not going to let Martin hurt himself by touching it on her watch. Especially not when he's only just arrived and may have no clue about this stuff in the first place.
jedies: (Tales from the Crypt)

[personal profile] jedies 2022-10-19 09:05 am (UTC)(link)
I wish it were that easy.
foulhussy: (pic#7613909)

[personal profile] foulhussy 2022-10-19 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
good luck enforcing it.
i'm just giving you shit
you're okay.
Edited 2022-10-19 20:46 (UTC)
hauntedsavior: (⚡ take the wind and the snow)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2022-10-19 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, when you have a pantheon to work with, you can probably commit deicide a whole bunch of times without eliminating the devil from the world. If that's what you're worried about.

[she doesn't know any smarter or better way to say it. she's never been too big on philosophy, or maybe she's just never known the right words. it's fine.]

You already know I'm gonna say that I think we can get by just fine without capital-g God. I guess I've just never had any reason to think about any other parts of that equation. It all probably depends on how much you think the devil's in this to piss off god versus how much he's in this for fun. [she looks out past both of them, like she's lazily staring at an invisible camera, and scoffs at herself.] That's stupid.

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