reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2023-01-25 12:08 am
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JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME!

JANUARY 2023 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: Bloody Candles]
[Image Two: Anatomically Correct Chocolate Hearts in a Coffin]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Woman in restaurant, dressed in pink, surrounded by mannequins.]
[Image Two: Creepy looking mannequin staring]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Hands touching and holding at sunset]
[Image Two: Girl Screaming with her Mouth Fused Shut.]

A TYPICAL ARRIVAL WITH A SWEET TWIST
WHEN: Last Week of January through all February

WHERE: The Shores, Boardwalk and throughout Trench

CONTENT WARNINGS: Mild Body horror for arrival, additional warnings for Blood Bonds and the Chocolatier:
* Blood Bonds: Blood ceremony, bodily ceremony, telepathic/empathetic connections, possible forced/coerced relationships.
* Choclatier: Themes of temptation (non-sexual and/or sexual), addiction, blood sacrifice, severely warped personality/reality including temporary amnesia, inability to use body, paranoia, vomiting organs, homicidal feelings, mild body horror.



For those who are arriving, they are fortunate. The worst of the ice and chill of the Season of Bone is fading. Any ice flows are breaking up and it is safe for little squidlings to come to shore, wakers present to help them with cups of hot cocoa and heavy robes to ward off of the cold. Nothing, however, removes the almost bleak and dreary state of the world. All of the beach seems washed with a sort of white that remindes the mind of bleached bone. Transformation from squid to the sleeper's natural form is slower, because of the cold, but does not pose any real difficulty.

Warm Food is prepared in the form of stews, complemented by bread that tastes heavily of mushroom. Unlike prior years, no roses are given to the new sleepers, though there are roses found throughout the city of trench. All of them, however, are black as midnight and there is an ominous sense to them should a sleeper think to reach out and pluck the blooms. Should someone do so, they will feel an increased paranoia about their relationships for the next few days and the natives of Trench will give them a wide berth, refusing to sell them anything at the shops and shooing them away, though there is no outward sign of anything being amiss. Whispers in town hint that the Doorway is in a poor mood this year.

Nevertheless, the patron pthumerian of the month can be seen around Trench. Bonding Rituals remain very popular this month and many seek to curry her presence during their rites. She shows no outward sign of discomfort or disapproval, yet there seems to be more blood than usual on her ivory blade as she stands in silent vigil wherever a ritual is performed.

Anyone who yearns for a bit of sweetness that they might associate with the waning chill of winter will find themselves meeting a sudden and disturbing fellow (CW: Some Blood/Disturbing Content in some chocolates. Please check warnings in prompt). The chocolatier, who was seen in past years, still wanders about and appears to any who yearn for a happier time in the otherwise gloom of the month. His offer is simple. A little bit of blood, for a little bit of sweet. What is the harm in it? Why his sweets even have mystical properties to make life interesting!

FAQ:
* The Chocolatier option remains identical to what happened in 2023, and is available throughout the last week of January and into February. The chocolates offered have not changed this year.
* Blood Bonds are available all year round, and the method of getting one is easily learned from any local in Trench, or from a Sleeper. While they can be performed every year, they are more powerful if performed in this month (Player discretion) and the Doorway is more likely to be present to bless them personally.

WAIT FOR ME
WHEN: Anytime in February

WHERE: Anywhere in Trench

CONTENT WARNINGS: Body Horror, Loneliness, Depression elements, Being Trapped in One's Own Body, Psychological Horror



Sleepers have been working to put an end to the strange plague afflicting pthumerians. Still, while there has been success, something seems off this month nevertheless. Even if she is not ill, the Doorway appears to be in a foul mood and it is felt by many. There is a moody, brooding sense that permeates the whole of the city, as if something were supposed to happen that did not. It's the awful sense that one gets when they expect to meet up with someone for something important and, without warning, that person does not show and there's no explanation. That light gnawing at the pit of the stomach when worry or irritation sets in grows steadily worse. Is this about someone specific, or a general malaise? It's hard to tell what sets it off. For some, it comes waiting by the coast in the hopes a loved one arrives this month. For others, maybe someone was just busy and ended up late for lunch. It might not even have a visible cause.

Whatever happens, the dreadful reality settles in almost immediately. As they wait, the person begins to feel their body stiffen. It does not feel like the lockjoint disease, but rather a sudden and whole-body hardening of the person. Within seconds, they feel their body solidifying into a state almost like a mannequin. Unable to move, they can feel a dread cold leeching into their heart as they are forced to watch, to wait for whoever was supposed to be there. Why aren't they here? The longer that they are there, the colder that they feel, and if they are in a secluded place it could feel quite perilous. However, no monsters can seem to harm the person, their body nigh indestructible. The frigid state, however, denies them the ability to sleep or even blink, forced to watch the world as a prisoner in their own mind.

Palebloods are somewhat fortunate in this state. All palebloods trapped this way find themselves able to telepathically communicate with loved ones or people close, regardless of distance. Their voices, however, are always in a state like the wail of a ghost regardless of their mental state. For anyone else, they can manage to mentally connect through the network to plead for help using an omni on their person, though only in Text form until they are released. So, at least they are not trapped without escape, unless by chance they forgot their omni, but you wouldn't be so foolish as to leave home without your phone would you?

HOW TO CURE THE CONDITION:
Several options exist. Anyone with a "Blade of Mercy" (a gift given last February) could use it to sever whatever connection caused the person to feel like they are waiting, though that might very well sever the emotional connection entirely! The very person that they are waiting for could arrive, in which case a kiss (on the cheek, on the lips, gallantly on one knee to the back of the hand. Whatever works for you!) or an apology for tardiness should suffice to warm the heart. If there is no source, or if that person cannot arrive (or chooses not to), any friend or even new acquaintance can try to help the person not feel quite as alone in their waiting through some reasonable means. Any cure-all for corruption will also help with this condition.

The locales do not have any idea officially how to cure the condition, but they may suggest some of the above simply because it seems helpful at the time. At the worst, the condition does eventually fade with time.

FAQ:
* This can happen in a public location, or entirely remote, wherever you wish.
* The above "Cures" are not exhaustive. Any reasonable act that establishes or re-establishes empathy for the person trapped will cure them.
* Paleblood Telepathy is not limited by distance. However, non-palebloods must have their omni on their person in order to mentally link to it.
* This condition does not lead to death, but if allowed to persist is a reasonable source of higher corruption.
* If untreated, it will usually clear up in a couple days, or at most a week. If a player wishes to use this as a form of hiatus in February, they may, in which case it can last all month.

YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY
WHEN: The First Week of February

WHERE: Anywhere in Trench

CONTENT WARNINGS: Choking, Asphyxiation, Body Horror, Dependency, Possible Death



Self-reliance is a powerful tool in the city of Trench. You have to be able to take care of yourself, lest the dangerous elements on the fringe of the city overtake you and claim you in the night. Right?

The Doorway could not disagree more. To her, people depend upon each other. Corruption is only cleansed through the presence of others and conversation, connection. Cures and potions are, in her thought, unreliable. Even going to the Blood Ministers is more of a last-ditch effort when all else fails as she sees it. Sometimes? People need a little gentle reminder, a push to get them to rely upon each other more. Unfortunately, what a Pthumerian considers a gentle push to be tends not to be so gentle.

It happens at random, though it seems to happen most of all when it involves people who might not want to be close. You come into contact with a person, and just as you start to speak, you feel your throat throttle. It is like there is an invisible noose around your neck. No visible rope exists, but the air is cut off. You double over, gasping for air that will not come. Even if you don't or can't breathe you find yourself choking like a flopping goldfish out of water! As you reach out for help, you can see to your horror that the person you are trying to meet is choking too! What do you do? There is only one cure to this situation. You have to get to the other person quickly. There's still time. Maybe you can find some sort of solution if you get there. Deep down, you know you just need to be closer.

The moment that the two choking sleepers make contact, they will be able to breathe. The relief of oxygen entering the lungs comes instantly, though there is a problem. Any time you break contact, you begin to choke again. So long as you are able to stay in contact, you're safe but any attempt to break that contact is potentially life threatening. There is no solution other than to hold onto each other, hold hands, whatever it takes to maintain contact. For how long you ask? Oh, for at least an hour. But it's not like anyone's actually going to give you a timer on this. Will you just put up with it, or will you keep experimenting only to be choked repeatedly.

FAQ:
* Anyone can be affected by this, no matter physiology. It defies magical powers, biology and even blood powers.
* The effects last no more than 6 hours at the absolute max and most of the time it will end within 1 hour.
* Effects will cease when the two participants go to sleep (No accidental chokings). As a result, the effect will always start at least an hour before you might normally go to sleep.
* Yes, you can choke to death if you want.
* There is no knowledge of the effect amongst the locals and no warning about it, so there is no real warning on how to "cure" this other than the compulsion to get close to the other choking person and trial and error. Or Patience!
* No, the Doorway isn't sorry.

CODING
hauntedsavior: (⚡ with their sights in heaven)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2023-02-03 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Good. That's one thing you need to do here if you want to make it.

[she catches elster examining her hand and wonders, briefly, if she's like her. maybe she can imply the question that much, at least. she doesn't want to think about the idea of there being nothing left on that space mission. it's probably too touchy right now.]

I mean, I adapted pretty fast when I started turning into a cyborg, so I guess we're both good at keeping on our toes. That was technically a while ago, though, and this place always loves finding new stuff to make us deal with.
lstr: (12)

[personal profile] lstr 2023-02-03 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she is, and is not. elster's more like a2 than anna, but her being is filtered through multiple layers of memory and identity just the same. this close, anna may notice uneven and heavy... scarring? at various places on the black and orange polyurethane acting as much of her "skin", dents and scuffs and scratches in the carbon fiber. a jagged seam of mechanical scar tissue on her right arm, encircling her bicep. dark red stains and splatter, near-invisible against the black.

the scar in the synthetic skin covering her right optic's housing. instead of answering the statement about how there's always something new to deal with, she glances over with some confusion.
]

You started turning into one?
lstr: (15)

[personal profile] lstr 2023-02-03 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she looks up with some surprise when snow asks about anna. ]

Mm. She helped me find someone, after I arrived. We spoke a bit. [ a nod, tracing a penrose triangle in the sand. ] How do you know her?
hauntedsavior: (analyze your apathy)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2023-02-03 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[it definitely seems like elster has seen hell. anna takes a moment to take all that in, and knows that if she weren't quite as bundled up as she is, her body would have some similar stories to tell. insofar as it is her body, but she's not interested in that debate right now. all she's interested in right now is that shitting christ finally she can talk about something she isn't worried about fucking up.]

Yeah. Long before I came here. It's kind of a long story, but... well. I guess the easiest way to say it is that I have the body and memories of an android who was similar enough to me that the universe decided I was gonna be her vessel. [she looks at elster with a tentative smile; she says those words so casually, so simply, and she's expecting a disbelieving laugh or something like that. jokes that she can go on to say "no, for real" to.]
lstr: (12)

[personal profile] lstr 2023-02-03 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Mm. [ there's no disbelief, no laugh. just... quiet interest. her body language grows a little more guarded, but differently than before. like she's choosing her own words carefully. ] There's a phenomenon called bioresonance, where I come from. It does strange things to people, Gestalts and Replikas both. Replikas are made by it, even, so... what you're saying makes sense to me.
hauntedsavior: (⚡ take the wind and the snow)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2023-02-03 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[anna crosses her arms slowly over her chest, like she's trying to debate whether this is a coincidence or something greater. she's recognized a lot so far, but she's also been disastrously wrong with her assumptions in the past. best to temper this one.]

That's what they called it back home, too. Resonance with other souls from dead worlds, and resonance strong enough to change the way your body and brain works. You were created the same way as I was, is what you're telling me...?
lstr: (07)

[personal profile] lstr 2023-02-03 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ there's something almost like recognition in the look elster gives her, mixed with uncertainty. ]

I'm not sure. Bioresonance isn't well-understood. [ resonance between souls, power to alter reality and call to things from beyond... certainly. all she's certain of, really, is that nothing is certain. ] Each Replika model is based on a neural imprint from a Gestalt.

[ except hers, that is. but the distinction between this body and its intermediate source has vanished, anyway. ]
Edited 2023-02-03 22:10 (UTC)
centile: (84)

[personal profile] centile 2023-02-03 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[he grasps that hand before she asks him to stay. a solid point, like reaching out through the death throes of trapped spirits to find asagiri's hand.]

Okay. [easy. well, maybe not easy, this swirling, melting world around them, but there isn't another answer. this isn't a moment to run away.] I'm here. You aren't alone.

Is this you? [a beat.] Your power?
hauntedsavior: (the voice of sympathy)

[personal profile] hauntedsavior 2023-02-03 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[that's... too close. her fingers press against the fabric of her coat.]

The android I've got living inside me, A2. She was created like that. Personalities and memories of other people implanted into her to make her baseline. [a wry smile, like she hasn't had reason to think about this in a while. she's speaking more quietly, much less casually now, and she's looking more at a meaningless point on the boardwalk than at elster herself.] And now here I am, getting memories of other people's memories. Ten thousand years of them. [she adds the last part quietly, like she still can't even believe it, and then her attention returns to elster like she only just remembered the other android is here.]

This place never stops surprising me.
madgamerhat: (Pleased)

[personal profile] madgamerhat 2023-02-03 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmmm, that's a valid point.

[ The old man turns to the sky. ]

There is something different about being here. I'm surprised to have met someone as observant as yourself.

[ Sato smiles. He turns his attention on the class in his basket. ]

You must be hungry, would you care to join me for dinner?
foulhussy: (pic#14312024)

[personal profile] foulhussy 2023-02-03 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Heh. Nice.

[ Snow can feel something beginning to come undone, bit by bit, but she still can't move. Maybe it's just her, starting to peel away like shed skin. She'll molt and crumble and nothing will be left of her.

Because Kainé's memories come in indistinct flashes. They rhyme with her own and infect her with that similarity. She can't know where one ends and the other begins. She remembers Anna Amarande and she thinks the vision of her might destroy all that she is.

Even now she sees that woman in Ariane's face, the way her hair falls to frame her features, in her sarcastic jokes and gentle concern for her. ]


...All the things that made me happy have been turned to scrap. Or never belonged to me anyway.
madgamerhat: (Cheering on)

[personal profile] madgamerhat 2023-02-03 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
What an idea!

[ Sato's expression is lost at first. Yet. Once he realizes that Ash has came across a theory- he cheers. When the two mannequins come face to face, a sort of magic courses around them. Soon they're bodies fidget and return to normal...well, almost. ]

It...worked! Thank you!

[ As both strangers collapse to the ground. The young man wobbles into a seated position. He gives Ash a broad smile while holding back tears. ]
foulhussy: (pic#6671676)

[personal profile] foulhussy 2023-02-03 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ How does she know Anna? She knows her smile, and her laugh, her touch and making love to her. She knows the smell of cigarettes and the soft twang of a bass guitar. She knows singing with her for the first time, one of the happiest memories she's ever had.

She's never met her. She will never belong to her. She hates her. ]


...Long story. But if anything happens to me, take care of her.

[ She's given up hoping that unit N3 might be here. He's long, long gone. ]
toguchi: (012)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-03 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ All excellent ideas, Chozen thinks, and would very much like to be able to say. Even if he cannot feel the cold as he did before, he does not know if it still has an effect, and besides that, it would simply be good to be acknowledged as a human being and not an art piece.

It is a heartwarming show of compassion from someone so young, and as it warms his heart, it circulates through his blood. He feels his jaw give way first, popping miraculously free, and the brittle enchantment shatters. This is welcome; the pins and needles that follow, a little less so. ]


A blanket, first, I think.

[ No need to start a fire here when Chozen can move himself closer to once already in existence, as fact he confirms by shifting from one foot to the other and flexing his toes in his shoes. ]

I do not know why I was stuck...but thank you very much for stopping to check.
toguchi: (009)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-03 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Chozen shrugs easily at Mob's qualification, following the boy's lead on continued minimization of their situation. It is most unfortunate, but they seem to have the solution well in hand - well enough that a judicious application of small talk seems called for. ]

Those are very important fundamentals of Miyagi-do - repetition and patience!

[ It also doesn't hurt to support a fellow sensei's teaching methods. It certainly beats out punching sand or defrauding farmers. ]

And now we have a memorable story of how we met, Kageyama-san. [ Perhaps he will use the boy's nickname in time, but not on a first meeting. ] You saved a lost old man from drowning on dry land. We will have to tell your sensei all about it. I'm sure he will be pleased.

[ Is that exactly what happened? Not really, but close enough, in his opinion. ]
roadhousing: (Evening)

[personal profile] roadhousing 2023-02-04 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Donna laughs before she can stop herself; the sense of relief is nearly overwhelming, enough so that she's grinning wide enough that her mouth hurts from the effort of it while sucking down air as fast as she can.

At the question, she arches an eyebrow.]


Not that I'm aware of. I thought maybe it might be something to do with that whole...crawling out of the sea thing here.

[She shakes her head.]

Is this sort of thing common around here?

[It wouldn't be the first strange occurrence in Donna's life, and it definitely wouldn't be the last.]
toguchi: (Default)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-04 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ Watching Johnny flail about, Chozen hopes his dojo has a shower and a change of clothes. The smell is not improving, although it is losing some of its immediate sting. This time, Chozen does sigh, lightly and softly, as he offers him his hand to get up. ]

Let us get you there, then.

[ Perhaps this is the first of Chozen's heroic quests in this new world. Many manga protagonists begin with smaller good deeds. He does not know if it is exactly ironic, in the literary sense, that his first such endeavour here would be helping one of Daniel's old rivals, but it certainly exists around the concept of irony. ]

Perhaps we will find clues on our way as to who attacked you so in such a cowardly fashion.

[ He also does not know how much Johnny genuinely believes Chozen's face saving tale, but it is no time to drop it yet. ]
toguchi: (012)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-04 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
I should have guessed.

[ There was no reason to, but that's beside the point. Friendliness does not always have to hinge on perfect honesty. ]

You have a reassuring face. [ Especially when it has been reassured itself. ] Well, then. Perhaps we should return to your work? I do not want to be the cause of you neglecting your responsibilities...if your work allows for a second person to assist you without training.

[ He wonders what preparing for such a job would be like. A cross between life guard, fisherman, and counsellor? Does one dispense comfort and advice to squid in a way different than a human being? ]
toguchi: (011)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-04 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ That is an unmistakable sort of smile, and the painting only confirms it further. Chozen's expression softens as he looks at the delicate blurred colours that he can only imagine still falls short of what Ariane sees when she looks at her Elster.

(The markings are curious, but he can make no assumptions or inferences from them, and it would be rank bad manners to ask directly. They aren't the important thing.) ]


She looks kind. It is something about the eyes, I think.

[ He's never met anyone opposed to someone calling the object of their affection kind, and in this case, it's true. He guesses that Ariane's admiration is reciprocated - or more honestly, he hopes. He sometimes likes to think of himself as a romantic. ]

Did you come here together?
strikefirster: (pic#16035953)

[personal profile] strikefirster 2023-02-04 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Johnny takes the hand and uses it to push himself up. He's more than a little wobbly but he's standing on his own.

He's actually feeling a little better now that he's got to let some pent up emotions (and fluids) flow. He let's an arm wrap around Chozen's shoulders to support himself and he starts to lead Chozen in the direction of his dojo.]


Whoever the assholes were... They owe this place a fuckin' statue.

They've probably got weird magic or some shit up their sleeves.
toguchi: (009)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-04 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ The description will suffice, especially since Chozen will be accompanied by a brother sure to be able to distinguish this Shigeo from other boys with what sounds like a truly unfortunate hairstyle and a taste for chunky jewellery. ]

I'm sure he did not leave without you.

[ Especially in the absence of their parents, which is another source of concern. The boy is not so young as to be unable to fend for himself at all, but at the very least, he surely misses them and their guidance. ]

If I know anything about brothers, he is most likely looking for you...where were you when you realized you had lost sight of him?

[ Unlikely to be where they were first separated, but the best spot they have to start with. ]
toguchi: (011)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-04 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ Chozen has little need for gentle handling, and even if he did, the marvel of Tori's summoning would distract him from nearly any anxiety or ailment. He beholds the transformation of nothing to something with unguarded, delighted awe, and it is a very near thing that he does not clap his hands together like a child at a surprise birthday party. ]

Remarkable!

[ Is that the right word for witnessing an act of genuine magic? Chozen hasn't the slightest idea. All he knows for certain is that when he accepts them, their weight and texture is as real as anything - and they are blessedly free of the smell of ammonia. ]

Thank you very much - this is very generous.

[ Especially to someone associated with a rival to her dojo. Perhaps things have changed for the young champion since they last met, however long ago it truly was. Or perhaps she is simply kind, for all her mild teenaged bluster. ]

If you lead the way, I will gladly follow.
cuddlery: (pondering)

[personal profile] cuddlery 2023-02-04 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[Air never tasted so good again! She keeps up her breathing, a smile growing on her face in response to the other's.]

The whole air thing that happened? No, there's some random horrible things that happen every now and then, but that was definitely a new one! [She shakes her head, really hoping not to relive that anytime soon!] But getting new powers here is a thing. See in this world, our blood changes and becomes one of several types? And it usually comes with some kind of new powers, but admittedly, I don't think I heard of air-related powers coming with any of them... so it's probably not you. Or me!
toguchi: (011)

[personal profile] toguchi 2023-02-04 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Daniel's vigilance continues, and Chozen ponders whether he should attempt to appear especially competent at walking, an idea he dismisses nearly as soon as he has it. It would be far more suspicious than any light impairment, and then there would be fussing and further delay. He is fine after the few first steps restore proper feeling and blood flow to his feet, anyway.

He nods along to Daniel's explanation and conclusion, indeed looking less baffled than Daniel might expect if he weren't correct. ]


I have heard a few things. Strange blood, dangerous creatures...differences in time. [ He cannot manage being entirely nonchalant about the concepts, but the initial surprise has faded slightly. ] It reminds me of some of the stories my students in Okinawa read.

[ Which might be a reason to tell himself this is nothing than a dream, when he thinks about it. The new things here are fantastical, but not inconceivable, and he has just travelled a great distance on what might be called an adventure. It would make perfect sense for Daniel to arrive and break him out of a frozen state, if this were a dream, where memory and fantasy often intertwine.

But it does not feel like one. He smiles at Daniel during one of his glances. ]


I am sorry I am so late.

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