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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2021-09-24 08:03 pm
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September 2021 TEST DRIVE MEME

SEPTEMBER 2021 TEST DRIVE MEME
OUR GAME IS OFFICIALLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON OCTOBER 1st.
Reserves open on September 26th. Applications open on October 1st.


Welcome to another Deer Country 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: Skeletons running across the beach and crashing into each other.]
[Image Two: Apples being dipped into caramel and put on a sheet.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A sketchy film reel of a well.]
[Image Two: An undead girl crawling up the side of a well with contorted movements.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A massive whale bursting out of water to eat something.]
[Image Two: The inside of a whale's mouth filled with water and the back of its throat.]

STANDARD ARRIVAL
WHEN: End of September to mid October
WHERE: The Farther Shores/The Boardwalk
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A


You're one of the lucky ones. Your journey is smooth sailing and you wind up exactly where you're supposed to: on the Farther Shores. You grow out of your squid body without a hitch, either with the help of another Sleeper or one of the Wakers, and you get to discover this new world. All new Sleepers might take some time to find their bearings. It might be tricky to remember how to use your body parts the way you're supposed to. You might stumble around the beach or forget how to talk - but don't worry! It'll come back to you sooner or later.

Hopefully, you've found something to wear, either in your Welcoming Bag or otherwise, and can start familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. Maybe you help some other squids out on the beach. Waking up sucks! You feel for the little guys. And hey, maybe you're hoping one of those squids is a good friend...Stranger things have happened.

SEASONAL DETAILS ON THE BOARDWALK

The Boardwalk is quite the spectacle this time of year. 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. One or two booths are set up offering Face Painting, Natives explaining to new Sleepers that face paint was integral to the survival of Trench sometimes - especially during the month of October. "We do it to disguise ourselves from roaming spirits and hungry beasts."

You hear rumors of something known as The Black Parade coming soon and there seems to be a festive buzz about the event. The weather has gotten a little too chilly to enjoy the beach in bathing suits, but there are other ways to take a bit of a break before committing your life to the terrors of Trench! In the evening, natives will go out to the beaches and set up cozy bonfires in clusters. They will throw in batches of incense to keep the beaches safe and fill the air with the warm, comforting scent of cinammon. Smores are generously enjoyed around these fires. Stick around and you will hear some natives telling stories about Legendary Ghosts. They might ask you if you know any stories like that too.

But of course, they give a caution about ghost stories: "Careful. You'll never know when you'll start living a ghost story yourself..."
WELLNESS
WHEN: Always - this monster permanently exists in Trench
WHERE: Near the Wayward Station in a Well
CONTENT WARNINGS: Bodily contortion, nail trauma, being trapped, possible drowning, "child" appearing monster.


You are pulled beneath Trench and into the currents that circulate throughout the city. You are jostled through the complex sewage system or waterways and get tossed between the stone tunnels until finally you're spilling down into a deep, deep well. You hit the still water at the bottom, easily a hundred feet down, and everything is finally quiet. The water here is quiet and still: nothing like the hurdling ocean water and channels you were pulled through. Up above you can see a perfect circle of light: the opening to the Well.

Another soul is plopped out next to you. Perhaps a familiar face or someone you've never met before. It's good to know you're not alone. Still - how to get out? There's some low pressure in the Well weighing down on you, but more than that, the pressure seems to dull abilities almost completely. You can't just fly out or zoom up the walls as you might normally be able to. The walls are made out of wet cobblestone and they are slick and difficult to get a grip on. You're sooner to destroy your nails than make it even halfway up. And it's a long way up.

Maybe there's something around you that might help? Being thrown into the Well at least comes with the benefit that your Welcoming Bag is floating in the water with you. Maybe there's something useful inside or you can use your new Omni to send a distress call. Or use your Omen to try and help someone find out where in this godforsaken place you are.

Your Welcoming Bag isn't the only thing floating around in the water with you. A human skull bumps into you before sinking down under the water. Something slides through the water beneath your feet, wisps of hair glancing over your ankles.

Suddenly the heavy sound of stone sliding against stone comes from above. Someone is sealing up the Well. Your light is running out and just as the last sliver of light casts across the water, you see a humanoid-looking creature peering at you from the other side of the Well. Then everything goes dark.

Torn fingernails rip across your arm and you're yanked underwater. The moment your blood surfaces, even just a drop of it, you're revitalized with your power (if you have any). For those who are warmblooded and common, you will find that you can suddenly at least see in the dark almost perfectly. You can also see a distinct pattern along the stone wall that could be more easily climbed than anywhere else. Now the challenge is to just try and get there.

The girl in the Well with you is violent and ferocious. She will try to drown you or break your body as quickly as she can and will use the dark and the water against you. She cannot be killed, but she can be temporarily stunned and thrown back. Once you begin climbing, she's quicker out of the water, crawling up the wall after you in spastic, contorting motions. The only true way to stop her is to get out of the Well and seal it back up. You realize that whoever had originally closed the Well wasn't doing it because of you...They were doing it because of her.

If you fail to seal the Well afterwards, the girl in the Well will haunt you. She will endlessly stalk people and drag them down into the waterways of Trench. She travels primarily through water and must be confined to the Well or else. The Well is located in the Trenchwoods close by the Wayward Station.
SWALLOWED
WHEN: Can happen any time someone goes too far out into the Pthumerian Ocean
WHERE: Middle of the Pthumerian Ocean
CONTENT WARNINGS: Being swallowed alive, travel inside a beast, possibility of killing a beast, organ-centric horror.


Like many Sleepers, you might get swept further out into the ocean before you're swept towards the Farther Shores. It's not the ideal scenario and immediately puts you in a vulnerable position. When you break the surface this time, you're in the middle of an unusually calm ocean. Where are the waves? Where is the commotion of the ocean? Although you're completely alone, you don't feel alone.

Pressure is building up beneath you. Something is coming towards you. You can feel the water beginning to churn about and you need to start swimming. Now. Still too disoriented from reincarnation, you probably don't have enough sense of self to use any sort of powers to get out of the situation. There's a tremendous roar, and suddenly, the world is going dark all around you, walls of red coming up on every side. Massive white stones jut out at you and it takes you a moment before you realize what's even happening.

A monster is about to swallow you whole. It's significantly bigger than you to the point where you've washed down its throat without a single injury. You don't even know what swallowed you, but you're sliding down the throat and through its body within seconds. You somehow get tossed to a strange part of its body and land on a fleshy surface and discover you're not the only thing this creature has eaten. Other Sleeper(s) are nearby, and maybe even some pets, all more shocked than hurt.

Looks like you've been had. But it's far from the worst. Everyone's okay and there doesn't actually seem to be anything inside of the monster that's interested in hurting you. Avoid the stomach acid and figure out the insides and you might actually just make your way out of the creature without incident. Most of the monsters who swallow Sleepers don't seem to even realize what they did, and you can usually find your way out the way you came in. Along the way, you might discover some other interesting things inside of the body such as swallowed ships with interesting resources, some of your items from home or other people's homes...And of course, you'll probably find a lot of skeletons of creatures swallowed long before you. Not everything can figure their way out of a massive creature.

You can always hack your way out of the creature but that's gory and tough work. These are behemoth beings and even cutting your way out won't necessarily mean you killed it - but it probably does mean you're going to really piss it off. Then again, it's so big, will it really even bother to fight back?

The situation can be admittedly disgusting. There's nothing fun about swimming up a creature's bloodstream or having to navigate its intestines. Some creatures are bigger than others, making the journey far more complicated. Others are smaller, easier to escape. If you upset someone's stomach, you might even just get puked up and that might be one of the simplest ways to get out of dodge.

The monsters can look like anything and be nearly any size. The Pthumerian Ocean is massive and contains massive beasts and lesser Pthumerians. Once your character has gotten out of the beast, they will find that they are much closer to the Farther Shores. They might even wind up beaching the creature they're in if they're really lucky! Navigating the creatures isn't too unlike navigating a complex cave. The only difference is the walls around you are some sort of organ.
CODING
siriusly: (you equipped bees?)

boardwalk

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-25 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[help comes not from any of the faces around the fire, but from a tug at his clothes from behind. a little dog looks up at Luke, ears up, alert...almost giving the air of an expectant, insistent child.

in being noticed, its tail wags once.]
faithfulson: (Looking out)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-25 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Luke turned at the tugging, letting out a faint noise of surprise at the little dog. He almost immediately reached for him, but he held himself back, careful to reach his flesh and blood hand out for the little guy to sniff. ]

Hello there. Are you friendly?
Edited 2021-09-25 19:05 (UTC)
siriusly: (Default)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-25 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[it approaches, sniffing very diligently at the hand, seeming to come to a decision about something not even a moment later.

it yips, bouncing on its front paws and then trots a few paces back the way it came before stopping, turning around and staring pointedly at Luke. it looks out into the dark, then back at Luke once again.

come on!]
faithfulson: (Oh bite me)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-25 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Luke frowned, a bad feeling rising in his chest; something had to be wrong if it was trying to get someone to follow. He excused himself, before getting up to hurry after the dog. ]
siriusly: (item get)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-25 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[the dog is entirely ignorant to any bad vibes, dutifully trotting through the sand beyond the light of the nearest bonfire. before the next one draws near, a short figure's silhouette appears crouched in the sand...

until it's not. Manabu straightens up, holding the still sand-covered welcome bag in one hand and...something else in the other. something unfamiliar to him, but perhaps it is to the man the dog is leading his way.

something from a galaxy far, far away, perhaps?

either way, the dog barks as though to announce its return and Luke's arrival, pleased to be connecting dots Manabu would've had no way of knowing; he doesn't have the keen sense of smell of a dog, after all!]
faithfulson: (Not amused!)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-25 07:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Luke paused a moment, eyes widening slightly, before absently glancing back, like his shoulder betrayed him. He thought he had been carrying his bag, but... he must have dropped it while he was walking around. ]

[ Some great Jedi he was. ]


Excuse me?
siriusly: (um. well uh. i. uhhhhHHHHHHHH........)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-25 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Eh? [blinkblink.

bark!]


Gah-! Hey! Huh-?! [Manabu's attention snaps from the dog and to the stranger in tow, startling, nearly dropping what's in his hands.] Oh! Hello--yes? Is--everything okay?
faithfulson: (Soft and simple)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-25 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Luke smiled faintly, clasping his hands before him, left over right. ]

Thank you for finding my bag and lightsaber.

[ He wasn't mad, wasn't about to accuse him; just embarrassed. ]
siriusly: ([system reboot])

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-25 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[Manabu stares at him like he's never seen him before in his life.

because he hasn't. it's easy.

after a beat, his good eye flicks to the aforementioned saber.]
...Wait. [squint.] This is yours I thought I found another one of Maul's things...

[at their feet, the dog snorts, clearly disappointed in its dumb counterpart. like, seriously, when is Manabu gonna trust his omen? why would he bring a random guy over if he didn't already smell the connection??]
Edited (busted htmllll FOREVER BUSTED) 2021-09-25 21:36 (UTC)
faithfulson: (Why are you breathing my air?)

Apparently I got your edits before I got the original post

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
Maul?

[ Luke tilted his curiously, not sure who that was. He was pretty sure he would know if he had heard a name like that before; who just went by a name like that anyway? It seemed unnecessarily morbid. ]

I don’t know who that is, but that is my lightsaber you’re holding.
siriusly: (i think he's dead.)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Manabu looks to the saber in his hand curiously.]

Huh...Maybe you're from the same galaxy, then? [he wonders on that while handing it over.]
faithfulson: (I know what you mean.)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ Luke accepted it happily, holding it close to his chest, before holding it out, flicking it on to make sure it was still working. The green blade sprang to life, humming faintly, before he closed it down and clipped it to his belt. ]

It’s possible. The galaxy is a huge place.
siriusly: (ahahaha......what............)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
[he smiles crookedly.] Right. To say nothing of all the other ones around and stuff, yeah?

Oh-- [he holds the bag out.] Here. This is yours too, right? Sorry. I was just looking for...familiar things.
faithfulson: (The cute farmboy peek)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you; I didn’t mean to drop this.

[ He paused a moment, checking to make sure everything was still inside, before shouldering it. ]

I can understand that. Everything is… different, but familiar at the same time.
siriusly: (oh my God please don't hit me)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
That's an understatement. [he laughs a little, his now-empty hand moving to rub the back of his neck.

the little dog growl-barks, satisfied with the exchange, and walks over to pop a squat at Manabu's feet.]


Though with that - the bag, I mean - I take it...you just kinda...washed up here recently, huh?
faithfulson: (Looking out)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
Yes.

[ He shrugged slightly, a faintly sheepish smile on his face. ]

I ended up in a well instead of the shore, but yes.

[ He offered him his hand. ]

I’m Luke Skywalker.
siriusly: (let's just get this over with)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[quickly reaching to shake that hand.] Manabu Yuuki. Nice to meet you!

[wow... a normal introduction. that's rare here. he almost mentions it, but the dog barks again and makes him grimace as he feels the grating demand for attention in the back of his head. he better indulge it before he gets his ankle bitten again...

with a sigh, he gestures downward.]
And this is...I dunno. I haven't got a name yet. He's apparently my omen. Which is...a thing here. Um. Don't know how much you've been brought up to speed on yet.
faithfulson: (Soft and simple)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
Not at all.

[ He had no shame in admitting it; it’s been one heck of an evening. ]

He’s adorable, though.
siriusly: (my bad)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
[the dog stands up, tail wagging, pleased as punch to be praised. hey, if Manabu likes compliments, so does this little guy!

dryly:]
Yeah, until he's chewing on your ankles all day...

[he sighs loudly over the little growl-ruff that ensues from below, his attention on Luke.]

That aside, ah, maybe I can help you get a few answers? If there's some burning questions on your mind right now.
faithfulson: (Oh hell yes!)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
I would appreciate that. My arrival here has been… a lot.

[ Understatement. ]

So… what is an omen?

[ Other than heckin’ adorable, that is. ]
siriusly: (have you ever tried to read fob lyrics)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Aa... [he deflates a bit. of course, more about the dog. and of course, the dog is pleased by that, trotting over and pawing at Luke's leg. pet me, space human.]

From what I gather, they're like...parts of ourselves? As animals? But like, parts that kind of already know how things work here. It's--it's weird. They pop out in a puff of smoke and follow you around...
faithfulson: (Say what now?)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Look, he’s from a planet that is literally space hell, where just about everything was out to kill you. He’ll take something small and cute, and he happily ducked down to pet the little guy. ]

So they can just… appear?
siriusly: (my bad)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[while the dog soaks in the desired and glorious pets, Manabu's arms lift and drop against his sides helplessly.]

I guess so! Everyone says it's something to do with smoke, but I can't say for sure for this one, cause...uh. [grimace.] Cause I was kinda...bursting into flames randomly for a while. So smoke was kind of a given?
faithfulson: (Smells like BS)

[personal profile] faithfulson 2021-09-26 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Luke’s head snapped up, concern immediately coming to his face. ]

On fire?

[ He paused, a worried look coming to his face. Between whatever was stalking around the well and this, he was starting to wonder just how much trouble he had just gotten himself into. ]

Is this kind of thing normal?
siriusly: (um. well uh. i. uhhhhHHHHHHHH........)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-09-26 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[quickly:] No. [beat.] Well, I mean! Ssssort of? Not, not for me! I mean, there's people who could, like, do fire-things before this? But not me. This is new. Not normal.

[beat.]

But it. Might be normal now?

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