APRIL 2023 TEST DRIVE MEME

[reddosmod]

APRIL 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: Delicious, Gelatinous Fruit Treats]
[Image Two: Women in white dancing around a May Pole (Animated)]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Creepy smile within smile within smile within smile to infinity]
[Image Two: Ghostly figure coming out of a mirror.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Child with Skull painted on half their face.]
[Image Two: Anime character transformed into a very old man.]

[NAVIGATION]

TDM Questions • Reserves • Taken • Applications • Full Navigation

[Jump to Comments]

A Mostly Pleasant Arrival

WHEN: May
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: Forced honesty, personality changes, physical changes.

---

Congratulations, sleeper! You're one of the lucky ones to arrive in a month that is not awful to come ashore. The transformational process is almost alarmingly quick and painless. In fact, it is so quick that it is deceptively easy to change back into a squid and do it all over again! Partial transformations are not uncommon during this month for the first twenty-four hours after arriving, and even brief transformations of minor facial features like hair color, eye color, height, weight and a few more extreme possibilities have been known to happen. Don't worry, because the transformations are all temporary and none are inherently monstrous (Unless you already are a monster, in which case good luck with that!). Greeters are present in force to help accommodate you as you make your way, your welcome backpack and items all freshly and neatly cleaned and ready for you as they put the robe on. Everything is so welcoming and inviting that it almost seems like they're having a party.

This is, in fact, because they are. The Wild Moon is about and festivities are in full swing throughout the month of Bauphomette. May poles are set up and it is possible to dance around one if you should wish. Doing so can help to ground oneself in their current form, which may help new arrivals settle in a bit better. Even ignoring that, it feels good to sing and dance, and everyone is very friendly. Even the usually grim Hunters who guard the roads and entries to the shores seem to have less stern smiles on their faces, though their eyes are ever watchful to keep the peace of the festivities.

SEASONAL DETAILS ON THE BOARDWALK
Throughout the Month of May, all of the possible events of last year's TDM in April are also available, should you wish to use them.

Decorations this month are decidedly floral in nature. Everyone is dressed in white, regardless of their usual preferences. Flowers adorn many of the people of Trench and the weather throughout the first week of May is pleasant. Even if it rains, it is a refreshing, light and pleasant rain, and there are many awnings and umbrellas to take shelter underneath.

And of course, there's refreshments. What festival in Trench would be without them? The foods this month have a very floral theme to them. Edible flowers have been grown and prepared especially for this time of year. They've been used to help create infused and gelatinous sweets, Floral spring rolls and edible flower cookies and the like, along with floral teas that are meant to calm the mind. Additionally, the people of Trench will note that any of the foods present can have a beneficial, albeit transformative effect on the mind and body. They promise it won't last long, but if you're really concerned there is hard tack and water available that's quite filling.

Changes from Food will last a few hours at most. There are several options available among the drinks and foods. These may be combined as the player sees fit. Drinks have mental effects, while Treats have physical ones, the Trenchies will inform:

Pomegranate Juice: Sweet and tart, anyone who drinks it or has some of the fresh pomegranate and seeds will feel compelled to speak nothing but the truth. Pomegranates are found littering makeshift shrines to Bauphomette throughout the party, and Trenchies insist they are free to take.
Petal Infused Hot Tea: Pungent and aromatic, it is relaxing. The heat gives a warmth and vibrancy that fills a person with confidence, to the point of arrogance and fearlessness, leading the emboldened to try something that they might not otherwise do, even if it's very risky!
Floral Iced Tea: While refreshing, it feels like there's something just a little lacking, and anyone who drinks some will feel that they need more but not what they need more of at first, making them clingy and affectionate towards other people, especially strangers.
Iced Water: It's not the tastiest, but has a way of washing things away. Water can cleanse and remove the effects of other drinks, though it leaves the person feeling emotionally drained if it is used this way.

Floral Spring Rolls: Trying one of these surprisingly edible treats will have the added effect of giving a person plant traits temporarily. Hair may convert into tresses of ivy or carefully manicured moss, or perhaps a mushroom cap! Skin might become bark-like or chlorophyl green. The more that one eats, the more that they change.
Gelatinous Sweets: These curiosities come with a note. “Have you ever wondered what it is like to walk in someone's shoes?” Eating one has a profound physical effect, causing a person's appearance to transform into that of another person in Trench! It may not even be someone they've met, or seen yet! It would be awkward to meet someone, not looking the way you're supposed to, or worse? Looking like them!
Edible Flower Cookies: They come with lovely notes saying “Eat Me!” What could be sweeter? Well, like something out of Alice and Wonderland, eating one can cause a person to grow or shrink by a foot. More cookies can cause the height difference to become worse and worse, though if you're only a foot tall, it's a good way to end up an inch tall! So, maybe eating more to fix the problem is risky.
Hard Tack: Like the water, it can fill the stomach and remove prematurely any physical effects, though if it does so, removing a physical change physically drains the character.

Smile, You're a Monster Inside

WHEN: The First Week of May
WHERE: Anywhere in Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Body Horror, Psychological Trauma, Possible Monster Transformation,

---

“You know you're a monster, right?” You turn around suddenly, hearing a voice that may or may not feel familiar. When you do, you see someone there. They are grinning with a smile that would make even the Joker proud. The gash across their face is almost too large to fit between the ears and seems chillingly unnatural. Before you can react, you blink and they are staring at you as if nothing was unusual. Perhaps they are even confused as you speak, as if they have no idea what happened only a minute ago. This is only the beginning.

It keeps happening. You keep seeing people smiling at you in chillingly awful ways. Their eyes are too wide and their grin is almost impossibly large. Every time they smile, they say something to the effect of reminding you of your monstrous nature, of the fact that you are capable of transforming into a beast. Worse still, despite the fact that usually the month of May is a time where beasthood is rarely that prominent, and transformations appear to be far more natural and healthy, for some reason it is as if Baus' influence is not as strong as it should be. You can feel yourself getting more corrupt by the day, by the encounter. What is worst about it all is that you know that you are becoming corrupt and getting closer to beasthood, but despite your attempts to purge it, regardless of the methods that you use, nothing seems to work. Salt water from the lake, Moon Drops, interaction, they all seem to fail. The thing does not get consumed somehow, but there is no relief, no Nepenthe for your pain and corruption.

Only the oldest among the Disciples seem to have the answer. If you are there, purchasing and collecting incense to futilely ward this effect away, they may witness one of those smiling faces though they themselves will not have it. They will ward themselves and tell you the only solutions. Bausphomette uses her power and her magic to work a great effect, they say, and this means that the corruption in the blood is bubbling up more strongly, causing transformations and the wild moon to be out of control. You will either eventually succumb and transform into a beast, requiring that you be put down, or you must confront the corruption inside of yourself, something that you cannot do on your own.

If you do nothing, you will lose yourself within 72 hours, going progressively mad each day until transforming into a beast, requiring that you be killed. You may be warned by nervous natives before this that you are not looking well, and they may direct you to either the Luminarium, where you will be sent on to Cassandra and the houses of incense, or you may be directed there first. If you do not confront your corruption, you will succumb to it. The confrontation ritual is a simple one. Incense must be put in a circle around a mirror and lit. A friend must stand behind you, outside of a magical circle. They must put their hand reassuringly on your shoulder to support you and you must declare that “I am not a monster. You're the monster” to your reflection three times. On the third, the reflection of your friend will disappear and your reflection will smile like a fiend. “That's right. I am a monster, aren't I?” it will say, before erupting from the mirror, shattering it to dust as it transforms into your beast form. At this point, you must defeat and destroy your beast form, who collapses down into nothing but blood staining the ground. Afterwards, both you and your friend will feel stronger and more sure of yourself for a few days.

AGE IS JUST A FRAME OF MIND

WHEN: The First Week of May
WHERE: In and around Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Significant Aging or Age loss. Body Horror.

---

People seem to be convinced that something is a little off this month. The wild moon is particularly wild and unpredictable, and with it there almost seems to be an unpredictability to time itself. You woke up this morning, and when you were washing up you noticed it. Your hands look wizened, withered, wrinkled and old. Your bones creak and ache. Your voice shows the effects of aging. If you should see your reflection (if you dare to even look in a mirror this month, seriously), you look to be extremely old, or at least some of you do. The rest of you wake up, only to find an experience that feels almost familiar considering what many people in Trench encounter when they eat the wrong thing. Your hands are smaller, and your clothes don't fit right. Everything seems taller around you, and if you look? You're suddenly much younger, your body that of a child!

Well, this is annoying, because the only thing that you did was go to sleep last night. Nothing happened that should have hinted something was wrong. However, what is strange is that you mentally have not changed at all. Your memories are not limited by the fact that you are suddenly younger or older. You are simply trapped inside of a body that appears to be unnaturally re-shaped. As you try to go about your business, you may even experience a sort of see-sawing effect. Some will go from a child in the morning to near their death's door by the end of the day, while others may experience the exact opposite in the course of the day. Still others? You feel no change, and are just stuck in the body that you find yourself in when you wake up.

Thankfully? While the physical experience is exactly what it says on the tin (and therefore could very well come along with considerable arthritis and other health problems, though not ones that would lead to a fatal condition), it isn't permanent. Trenchies offer all manner of creams and ointments to help, but they do nothing to avert the curse that you are experiencing, only the physical ailments it may include. The actual condition will last for a few days, at most a week (and at the least a day), and seems as unpredictable a thing as is imaginable. Just the same, without warning, by the end of the first week of May, this impact seems to be gone, and there are still more whispers that usually? Bausphomette keeps the Wild Moon more in check. Some wonder what might have changed, or how the Pthumerian might be using their powerful magic, that it was not turned towards this.

CODING

Comments

Sha Gojyo | Gensomaden Saiyuki

[kappastrophe]

[A MOSTLY PLEASANT ARRIVAL]

Alright, so this wasn't the weirdest thing that'd happened to him, but it was still pretty fucked up. Being a squid messed with his head bad enough, but coming to the first time with tentacle arms was gonna give him weirdass nightmares for weeks.

Heh. Wait 'til he told the guys at the bar about this. If he ever got back to the bar. And if the bar was still there.

He's trying to shake water out of his ear when his nose picks up a smell that isn't brackish. Hot tea, sugar, something fried? Gojyo wasn't as bad as the monkey, but with his stomach grumbling he figured it couldn't help to at least go and check on the source.

Everything seems pretty benign, and hey, people seemed to be happy to be here and eating. But Gojyo's squinting down at a cookie that says "Eat Me" and feeling some kind of way about it. Either a lifetime of distrust around shit that seemed too good to be true or just his inner asshole demanding he not follow the demands of a cookie has him hesitating.

"What are ya, poisoned?" He mutters around a thin stick protruding from the corner of his mouth. His cigarettes got soaked in the ocean, or absorbed when he was a squid, or some fucked up thing.


[AGE IS JUST A FRAME OF MIND]

"What the fuck?"

Gojyo glances down at his arms, protruding out of what was now a much too large shirt. His voice was like, ten octaves too high. He brought one tiny, thin hand to his face where his tell-tale scars should be and--- nothing. Smooth, unmarred skin.

"What the fucking fuck?" He glances around furtively, hoping to catch someone's eyes. Child-like eyes implore you to give him an answer that makes sense.


[OTA!]

Anything you like! I'm open to any additional prompts.

arrival!!

[knowsvinewhip]

Were you expecting a friendly face there, sir? Or a familiar one? That's too bad.

Because something's swooping down out of the sky at Gojyo's head. Is it a monster? Another floppy squid beast? Is his hair in danger?

No it's just... It's Jeep. Who settles for fluttering around the redhead, cheeping. He's looking for the communicator, because how else is he going to get the point across here?

[kappastrophe]

Honestly? He was hoping for a cookie situation that wasn't full of murder. But he'll take Jeep. He grinned first, though it rapidly slid into a frown when he realized he was down one companion.

"Hey there. What're you doing out here all alone?"

Jeep meant Hakkai was here, which meant he didn't land on Squid Island all by his lonesome. It was promising. Jeep flying away from Hakkai wasn't.

Honestly he hadn't figured out the communicator yet, but it was hanging loosely from his pocket.

[knowsvinewhip]

More wild fluttering, until the little guy can land on the sand. Looking at Gojyo, then pointedly at his pocket.

The stalemate continues.

Finally, Jeep seems to realize there's not going to be a sudden realization. So he just dives for the communicator. Tugging on it with all his tiny noodle-y strength. Look at this!!

[kappastrophe]

Sorry, Jeep.

Even Gojyo could catch on to that. He pulls out the device and fusses with it for a moment. "This thing, huh?" He mumbles around the stick between his lips. Oral fixations were a bitch.

"See, this is why I hate technology. Too fancy for me. What's wrong with a good ol--" A familiar name flicked onto the screen. Gojyo tucked the stick into his pocket with a relieved exhale as he finally figured out how to switch it to video.

"Yo, Hakkai! You missing a lizard?" He kept his tone light to cover his nervousness. There was a reason Jeep was here and not with Hakkai, and it's not because he and Jeep were best buds.

Age

[threelayers]

Neopolitan just sort of stared at him for a second. What? Why was he freaking out? Oh right, he did look more than a little bit on the young side, didn't he? What did she want to bet there was yet another curse running around and this guy was usually a wee bit more mature than this?

She raised an eyebrow and held out her omni, chuckling silently before typing on it and forming a holographic display.

Welcome to Trench.
Where dumb crap happens all the time.
Let me guess. Usually older?

Hey, at least she wasn't telling him he had a potty mouth.

[kappastrophe]

"Hell yes I was!" He shakes his arms outwards by way of demonstration, but honestly he probably just looks like a child throwing a fit.

"I was a whole actual man for starters." He clicked his tongue in annoyance, muttering to himself. "First squid arms, now baby arms. This place is cursed."

[threelayers]

Yeah, really dumb curses happen all the time.
You sort of have to get used to that, though there's some good news.
You won't have the squiddy arms again unless you go home.

Because of course going home involved the squid arms again, didn't it? Why couldn't life ever be pleasant and simple? Oh right, because it was Trench.

[kappastrophe]

His eyebrows shot up.

"Wait, goin' home's an option? Shitty as home is I never thought I'd say this, but I'll pick that one. 'least then I've been through puberty and don't got pipsqueak legs."

Because honestly, he'd rather gargle glass than relive his childhood, thanks.

Arrival

[detonating]

I'd put money on it. You're better off just eating that fucking stick.

[Says the small blond boy, wearing very oversized clothing. When did he get here? Who knows. But he's here, and he's eyeing that table with a great sense of disdain.

He seems pretty damn sure of his warning. He made that mistake last year. Don't do it, dude. It won't end well.]

Re: Arrival

[kappastrophe]

Tsch. Figures.

[He works the stick in his mouth again for a second before glancing blandly down at the voice. Kid had a mouth on him, but Gojyo was doing way worse at his age. And hey, he wasn't exactly a role model here.]

Everything here fucked up or can a guy get a decent drink somewhere?

[detonating]

[Based on the question, Katsuki can safely assume that this is in fact this guy's first rodeo. Which means he isn't going to know where anything is and will need direction.

Not his forte.

But blah blah, he's a hero, blah he's supposed to help. That doesn't always mean in battle, even if he wished it did sometimes. Ugh.]

Not everything. In general? Don't trust free, and especially don't trust free on the boardwalk. Anything worth a damn, or anything that won't make you sprout two extra heads, is something you're gonna have to trade for.

[Kid looks annoyed as fuck as he turns to start walking, and it might seem like he's brushed Gojyo off for a moment until he raises a hand to motion for the man to follow him. Cellar Door probably has the kind of joint he's looking for.]

[kappastrophe]

[The corner of his mouth twitches upwards.] Ain't no such thing as a free lunch, huh? Got it.

[And unless Sanzo was here and had his gold card and it worked here, looks like he was going to have to find a job. Pain in the ass, but he's done it before. There's gotta be a place where his kind of people hang out to gamble their hard earned money away. And if nothing else he'd always been good with his hands. Repairing, building, that kind of shit.

So he follows after the kid, though not quietly.]

So, uh. Looks like your britches're bigger than you are. That normal around here?

Arrival!

[supersaver]

Actually, I think that one makes you change size.

[Look left, look right...but the source of the small voice is coming from below. Thankfully, the insane deja vu that Ochako got when coming upon this little festival has kept her hands out of the literal cookie jar, partaking of nothing because she is certain she went through this exact same thing in Trench the first time she was here. Though she may only be the size of a five year old (not by work of the cookies, but Trench just being Trench), Ochako at least maintained her intellect and memories as a teenager. She has to crane her neck to look up at this large man, gripping her sun dress tightly and frowning.

He can probably hear her tummy rumbling. She's hungry, but the little brunette knows better than to give in to temptation.]

[kappastrophe]

[Gojyo blinked down at the tiny would-be helper.]

Yeah, that fuckin' figures.

[He rubs at his nose for a second. Why were there so many kids here, anyway? Was this some kinda squid babysitting island? Gojyo shivered. If Sanzo'd been right this whole time and he was really in hell he was gonna find a way to claw back up just to---

... waitasecond. Makes you change size.

He glances around.

He glances back down at the kid.

The hamster on the wheel of his brain that generates thought manages a full rotation.]

... man, you ain't a kid, are you?

[supersaver]

[Bullseye. Ochako laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. It's so funny, a little kid doing something most older people would, but he's right on the money, at least in one way.]

N-No, I'm not...not really. I'm actually about seventeen normally. This world has a really bad habit of making weird or sometimes bad things happen to people. It's, um...really annoying. But it's not cuz of the food!! I actually woke up on the beach this way, so I'm thinking this might just be, um...Trench being Trench.

[Some kind of blood effect, maybe? Or something to do with the moon? Ochako doesn't fully remember, her memories of this world are still being sorted from the ones from back home. Had she been gone that long? It sure feels like it if it's taking this long to remember things.]

I'm Uraraka by the way - Uraraka Ochako. I'm guessing this is your first time being here, sir? I can, um...I-I can try to help, if you want. Though my memory's a little fuzzy, ehehe...I just arrived back here today.

age is just a frame of mind

[marimo]

"Mm?" Zoro pauses mid-gulp from a bottle of ale he scored from one of the Wakers on the boardwalk. Lowering his drink, he asseses the pleading, chubby-cheeked face staring up at him. "You got a problem, kid?"

If Gojyo was expecting anything to make sense, he's probably going to be disappointed. Because instead of someone who knows what the fuck is going on, he's saddled with a man with literal moss for hair. (How long will it take for this dumbass to notice? Some nearby Trenchies seem to be placing bets.)

[kappastrophe]

"I ain't a kid!" He stamps his foot, which looks rather petulant on a child. Not helping, Gojyo.

"I'm a grown-ass adult and I have no idea what the fuck happened," He gestures at his body, "To my amazing ass and legs." He squints up at the stranger, who seems-- tall. Too tall. Why is everyone so tall? (Hang in there locals, I hope you're betting on the long game.)

[marimo]

"You don't have any," Zoro (un)helpfully supplies.

Because, yep, he's just seeing a kid who's frustrated with himself for being so tiny. He arches an eyebrow at him.

"Why're you worried about that stuff, anyway?"

age

[divine_braid]

"Wow... someone would think a kid like you should watch his language," Duo said, though he sounded way more amused than anything else. He also looked to be around the same age. "Lemme guess... this isn't your normal age, either?"

Re: age

[kappastrophe]

"No!" Gojyo all but spits the answer.

"Up 'til a few seconds ago I was taller, hotter and definitely older." He grimaces, then finally notices the apparent age of the boy across from him. Or man. Or teenager? Who the fuck knew.

"You too?"

Re: age

[divine_braid]

"Yeah... Let's just say I liked being able to see over the kitchen counter." Duo crossed his arms in frustration. He'd always been short for his age. He hated it.

"Hotter, huh? I'll believe that when I see it."

Arrival (Luffy | One Piece | Darkblood)

[holdmyhat]

Unlucky for this guy, ye who snoozes, loses. A long arm and greedy hand with no discernible owner nearby grabs the very cookie in question. And in a instant it's snapped away like a slingshot.

Several feet away, its owner munches swiftly at his stolen prize, all the while big black eyes stare at their victim in the hopes that he doesn't turn around and find the very obvious culprit.

[kappastrophe]

Gojyo barely has a second to take it all in. His eyes go comically wide as he takes a step back, hands up and unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. He turns in the direction of the hands movements and finds... a kid?

"You could've just asked, man." He's not big on sweets anyway. "Heard those were pretty cursed though, so let me know how that goes."

[holdmyhat]

He’s been spotted! Luffy’s eyes wander anywhere but at the redhead he stole from, but when the guy mentions a curse, his lips pucker tight in dread.

"W-What curse—uh-uhhahhh!" All of a sudden, Luffy is shrinking. He’s growing so small and his voice is jumping in octaves he hasn’t heard since he was a little boy in Foosha Village.

"Hey!" He’s just under 3 feet now with his hands clutching tightly at the straw hat on his head.