countryclub | March TEST DRIVE!

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meme: tdm

March TEST DRIVE!

MARCH 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: A Bowl of Miso Soup]
[Image Two: A Lonely Lighthouse at the edge of a pier.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Two super-imposed people with time elapse city lights surrounding them.]
[Image Two: Two people with glowing energy flying between their mouths.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Gif of "Run" written on a wall in blood as someone stumbles past.]
[Image Two: Zombie Dog from Resident Evil.]

[NAVIGATION]

TDM Questions • Reserves • Taken • Applications • Full Navigation

[Jump to Comments]

A Weirdly Banal Arrival

WHEN: End of March to mid-April
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Uh, you were a squid and now you're you!

April begins as a quiet month. It's actually bordering on a disturbingly quiet one. Even the Trenchies seem almost briefly on edge on the first of the month when there appears to be nothing going wrong at the time of the first sleeper's arrival. Squids swim to the shore with ease, the currents being helpful rather than harmful, and the transformation is surprisingly easy and painless. Outside of the outright strangeness of having been a squid only moments ago, you are not greeted with any difficulties upon arrival. The weather is just cool enough to appreciate a jacket or extra layer at night, and there are no storms other than occasional spattering of rain in the early mornings, when nobody is up. You arrive to a city that seems to be as at peace as is possible when it is steeped so deeply in blood rituals and strange monsters.

You are greeted by the greeters, who have bags that contain your possessions and clothes for you. All of them look towards the lighthouse with nervous gazes, remembering past years' problems this time of the year, but nothing seems to come of it. After the first day, the Trenchies feel comfortable enough and begin setting up booths where new residents of the city can ask questions. There are booths set up each by one of the local representatives of the Arcane Scholars and the Disciples, who seem to be trying to convince every sleeper to come to them for their answers, enticing them with a broth not unlike miso soup to help fill up. You'd better get used to eating mushrooms, they will both tell you. The broth is warming, hearty and gives a feeling of peace to even the most disturbed of souls. Otherwise, it does little else.

Of course, the Trenchies have a little ulterior motive in trying to entice people. They're quite busy participating in a little playful rivalry, trying to convince people to favor their ideals over others. Both booths will ask the same question. “Do you believe it is better to have someone strong to work beside, or to know enough to walk on your own?” The odd question hints to the perspectives of both groups, but either way they're keeping “score” in order to give each other a hard time if more answer one way or another. Should you answer Work Beside, you might be given a voucher, entitling you to an extra batch of incense from the Disciples. Should you answer Walk On Your Own, you will be given a voucher for a free book by the Arcane Scholars (or a free visit to allies sin the Luminarium, if you're not the reading type.). If you feel like you got embroiled in something bigger, not to worry! You didn't. They're just clearly being a little bit petty, and everyone else seems to think they're being a bit silly. Either way, welcome to Trench.

F.A.Q.

Anyone who wishes may answer the question, new or old, but you can only get ONE voucher, so “choose wisely?”
Further inquiry will show that there really is nothing going on here other than some librarians and pthumerian priests being petty with each other.

Getting to Know Each Other

WHEN: All of April
WHERE: Around Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Out of Body Experience, Body Disassociation, Body Swapping

Argonaut likes to think of itself as a helpful soul. With newly minted sleepers arriving every day, it hopes to help them get to know their situation better and better, and what better way can there possibly be than to walk for a day in each other's shoes? Surely they'll thank the helpful little explorer for this new adventure on which they have embarked, without being asked if they actually wanted or needed it? Whatever, this will be fun and after the last few months, Argonaut thinks people could also use a little bit of fun to go with hope for a new tomorrow!

It happens seemingly without warning. As you are walking along, a small and fluttering moth of gold happens to flutter right into your field of vision. This only happens when you happen to be facing someone else, and there is no warning whatsoever. As soon as it enters both of your fields of vision, golden light erupts disturbingly from your mouth and theirs, rushing towards the other person's mouth, while you feel deeply cold inside. A second later, and you are staring at yourself from within this new body! Any magical or psychic powers that you had which are not of Trench origin (such as blood based powers) have traveled with you, but all blood-based powers and physical powers (such as super strength) remain in your own body. No power, however great, seems to be able to undo this change and you appear to be stuck like this!

The transformation lasts for exactly 24 hours. Regardless of how separated you might be at the time, a month will again appear to you after the end of that period, turning you back into your normal self. Feel free to attack the moths if you'd like. It isn't as if Argonaut or their followers don't die often enough after all. However, this is only possible after they have surprised you with the transformation, should you find your body swapped with another. Well, at least it's temporary, so this isn't so bad right? You just have to endure being someone else for a day. Of course, the bad news is that argonaut dies a lot, which means that their memory is not exactly perfect. So, it is entirely possible that if you happen to be in sight of another person, you might get bodyswapped with an entirely different person!

Don't worry. They'll get this right. Eventually.

F.A.Q.

This prompt is easily avoided by simply not encountering a golden moth this month.
Argonaut's moth agents cannot be noticed before they surprise someone and cause the transposition of souls, but they can be attacked and killed easily afterwards if desired. If encountered in this fashion, their ability cannot be resisted.
Body Swaps last for 24 hours at a time, not a minute more or less, and cannot be undone by any other means. However, body swaps can continue into the wrong body, day after day, for as long as you the players wish to do this. By the last day of April, Argonaut themselves will step in to “Fix this” and everyone still body swapped will return to normal on the morning of the last day of the month.
Blood Powers are body-locked and do not transfer. Powers that are Mental or Skill-based may transfer if you wish (or not if you do not wish them to transfer). Powers that are inherently physical such as an armored hide or supernatural speed do not transfer.
No memories are conferred by transferring bodies, only a new body to walk around in for a day. Good luck!

Run

WHEN: The First Week of April
WHERE: Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Monster Horror, Running for One's Life, Possible Character Death

Everyone needs a little exercise, right? Something goes wrong in the rest of Trench, or perhaps someone thinks that it would be a good time for everyone to get out and get some exercise. Either way, the result is that the moaning lantern network seems, for the first week of the month, to not be working properly. The only lantern that appears to be connected to any of the lanterns in town is the one that attaches to the distant Outpost that was established months ago by sleepers, away from Pthumerian influences for the time being. That tiny enclave's lantern appears to still be lit and working, allowing teleportation outside of the city of Trench, but no other appears to be working correctly. You might get lucky after multiple attempts at different lanterns, but it feels really hard to get any sort of connection. It appears that everyone will just have to explore the city of Trench the old fashioned way, by foot.

Well, that's irritating, you might think, but it's far from the worst thing in the world. Perhaps you do need some exercise. First there was the wooden root barriers and now this. Well, at least your legs still work, so you might as well get to walking. All seems well and good when you're traveling inside of the districts, but it's when you get outside of town that things get a little dicey. See, while the hunters quickly mount defenses at the edge of each district to ensure its security (almost as if this sort of thing might have happened before), they can't also keep the paths between districts nearly as safe, and the monsters that sometimes lurk outside of town seem to know it. (This has definitely happened before.)

As soon as one district is out of sight on the road leading to the next, you can hear it. Howls. When you turn back, you see zombie dogs and feral, burning hell hounds in the distance. They snarl. They snap. They bark. Above all, they are coming for you, so you had better either be ready for a fight, or get to really testing those legs of yours! The good news is that the hell hounds, zombie dogs and monstrous wolves are definitely defeatable. The bad news is that there's several of them, so it really is a question of whether you have the skill to beat them back until they stop coming, or you're willing to run. Your odds are better if you do run. They're fast, but they're not as fast as normal, living hounds it seems, which gives someone with a running start a fighting chance. You'd just better treat this as a wind sprint to get to the safety of a friend or the hunters. You wouldn't want them to catch up would you?

F.A.Q.

Lantern network lanterns are very inconsistent during the first week of the month, unless to reach the far distant Outpost. Returning is possible from the Outpost, but for some reason only to the lantern that was used to reach it by that person. Teleportation powers also seem to be limited to a distance of about a football field and line of sight.
This event can be avoided in the Outpost, by traveling in large groups or by remaining inside of single districts. Teleportation lanterns can work, but only very sporadically during this period.
Beating monstrous hounds is possible, but requires skill, strength or powers and probably numbers, as they will attack in packs, enough to be legitimately threatening. Death is possible from this event.

CODING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

❥ i'm just a ghost out of his grave | arrival: one
cw: n/a

[ This world is.... new. Waking, woeful, and he wanders. So much of it doesn't feel familiar. There is a different hum in the air. The magic is soaked in blood. The spirit is restless with the thought: blood, blood mages, blood magic. Bound, broken, twist him into what he is not — a demon. But he is... safe. The Amulet will keep him himself, won't turn him, won't bind him to another's beck and call. Solas's magic charged within it will keep him safe.

But oh— the hurts. There is... so much here. A world that is so wrong, but filled with hurt — and he knows that he can help. There is so much for him to do—! And he can help the hurts, hold them for a moment before smoothening them with balms. Comfort, care, compassion. ]

She's not really mad at you. She's just upset because you're punishing yourself when you shouldn't feel guilty. She doesn't want you to hurt yourself over it. Talk to her. [ The man stares at him for a moment with wide eyes, he seems to take in the words, but makes no reply. Cole turns away, heading off from them without another word — leaving the man reeling for a moment before they resume their conversation with their companion. And then he's gone, disappearing into thin air.

The spirit wastes no time, honing in on the next hurt. Bigger this time, a low and aching thing. He crosses the Boardwalk over to a Hunter staring off towards the ocean, the grey swell seemingly calm. In a instant, he is there once more as if he'd never broken his stride. Stepping close, he tilts his head as he plucks at the hurt — holds for it a moment within him before he finds the words to say. The right words. The words to help, to let the pain fade. ]

You were the last thing he thought about. He didn't feel frightened, he felt loved. [ The Hunter doesn't move, doesn't seem to notice him either, save for the slow bow of her head. And quick enough he flits to the next person, someone tending to a store. He appears behind them, hovers at their shoulder. The softest voice as he speaks to him gently: ]

You were scared, backed into a corner. You didn't know what else to do. Tell them you're sorry.

[ The natives of this world see him, but for a moment. Seeing but unseeing. It is what he is. He is there but not really there. He helps the hurt then they forget him. And he is glad to help. But for Sleepers, they will notice him as he flits about: the strange, scrawny young man hiding beneath a wide-brimmed hat, twin blades strapped to his back. But Cole notices too, and he will voice a quiet surprise, curiosity when he confronts: ]

... You can see me—?

❥ stop staring straight through me | arrival: two
cw: n/a

[ He does not require soup, he does not eat. But he answers a question, and is given a voucher in exchange. It is better to have someone strong to work beside, he agrees. Adding 'only if they will help people' to his answer. He is reminded of those back home: the Inquisitor, Solas, Varric, Leliana, Cassandra, and all the others. Even the Enchanter. They are working together, they will help people. They will stop Corypheus.

He stands cross armed, head low. He doesn't seem to shift much, or interact. After his initial interaction with the Disciples and Scholars, he returns to being unnoticed by them. People are hesitant to take the soup offered, he finds. The worry, fret, remember old pains. A wolf amongst the sheep, all within a bowl or heaped upon a plate, or filled within a goblet or tankard. ]

Suspicion. Snakes, seeping with poison. They have made fools of you, burned and burned once more. [ Too many times mislead, too many times hurt by the offerings of food. It always seems to turn sour, to rot. Grows foul within their guts. He is quick to offer assurances. ] It is good soup. It helps.

❥ ghost in the world, ghost with no home | run
cw: monster horror, possible fighting in threads

[ He appears from seemingly nowhere, stepping out from nothingness. Had he always been there, following the lost? Who knows. But he is there now, and he is here to help. Only this time, it is in another way. He helps, but he can fight. He helps people by fighting.

They are not demons. Not the demons he knows. Monstrous, burning things with sharp teeth. It is easier to kill beasts, and monsters. Because that is what they are. The pack approaches, slow and salivating. Ready to pounce upon them both. His hands flex, he does not look to his companion. He'll fight these creatures, stop them from causing any hurt. ]

Snapping teeth. Hungry. Hopeful. Howling. You can't hurt me.

[ He reaches behind him, draws his twin blades from his back — holds one in each hand. Ready. ]

I will kill them.

[ Someone tell him 'no'. ]

[In the sanatorium one got used to all sorts of crazy mutterings from the patients. Ruka was still piecing together her memories of that time, but Cole's words just flow over her, nothing alarming enough to make her actually pay attention much. It's familiar enough that it's almost sort of comforting, which Ruka thinks she should probably be more concerned about. Probably that's not something to be comforted by.

She just watches him while she gathers her strength, quiet and content. Maybe he was someone at the sanitorium too, but Ruka doubts it. He's not that familiar and she thinks she would recognize if a Westerner had ended up at Rogetsu Hall.

She's startled when he confronts her directly and for a moment she's not sure what to say.]

...Yes. [Ruka settles on that, tilting her head quietly. Maybe he's actually a spirit, but if so he's a bit more aware than the usual kind she's come across, though that'd explain his surprise.] It's sort of what I do. See what others usually can't or don't. Or won't.

Sorry. Does it bother you?

Captures, collects, but never keeps. Little flickers to fight back. Hurts to make them calm. [ He plucks the words out, quiet understanding. He stands straighter, arms folding over his chest for a moment in his fidgeting. She knows spirits, but not the ones in the same shape of him. ]

... No. Yes. [ Mixed feelings on it all. ] They see me... or rather the shape of me their mind makes so it makes sense, but then they forget. Then I forget. It's... safer, for them, for me. I don't take.

[ He falls silent, contemplates. ]

But it is... alright.

[Forget. The word makes Ruka shrink back somewhat and her gaze flits uneasily towards the sky, where the moon might rise. But then her focus is back on Cole and she shakes her head a little]

I've forgotten enough already, I'd rather you didn't make me forget anymore.

[She can't say she fully understands what he's saying, but she thinks she gets the idea of it]

So you are a spirit?

The moon made you forget. [ He steps forward, head tilting. ] It... sings. Slices through the sound of souls, self slips away. You can't remember, but you want to remember. ... It is not the same, I don't do that. But... I won't make you forget, if you don't want me to.

[ There is so much to sort through. It is forgetting, but not like he does. It is.. wrong. Forgetting the self. He doesn't do that, he wouldn't. He only makes them forget him. Why would the moon make them forget—? ]

Yes. I came from the Fade, I came to help.

cole | dragon age: inquisition | (still kind of voice-testing)

arrival one

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arrival: one, also voicetesting, feel free to see his hurts

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arrival one

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run

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arrival two (i'm rusty but i couldn't resist)

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arrival 2

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he misunderstands hard

Arrival: One

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arrival: two

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