She used to be a regular deer.
A doe with soft eyes the color of river mud and a coat brushed in golden-brown sunlight. She lived in a quiet enclosure in a small town zoo, watched by children with sticky fingers and sleepy parents who rarely gave her more than a passing glance.
To the keepers, she had been known as 'Missy.' A stained oak sign hung on an old wooden pole which ran far above her enclosure. Her world was small, but peaceful. Leaves drifting from the same trees, the rustle of paper bags, and the low hum of voices beyond her containment.

Then it began on a quiet, cloudy evening. The zookeeper had just done her rounds, whistling a tune as she locked the gate. The doe lifted her head, ears flicking, drawn to something beyond the trees. Something behind the fence. Not outside of it, but behind reality. Something unseen but watching. She blinked. And the world blinked back. The cameras failed that night, static hissing like a whisper through the surveillance feed. When morning came, she was still there. Standing in the same place. But something had… shifted.
The keepers didn’t notice right away. She looked the same, after all. At first. They didn’t see the way her legs bent just a little too far when she walked. Or how her eyes no longer reflected light.

diary entry from today's short visit.

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Popped in last night to have a mooch around, wondering if I'd have another chilled stroll amongst the sleepers. Quiet at first, I wandered by the water and found an acquatic deer sleeping in the water.



Walking back to the little hill, thinking I'd sit down for a while, found Widmung sitting there who stood up just after I arrived. So I wouldn't be on my own tonight!



And shortly we were joined by P and... deer whose picto I absolutely have seen before and whose name I ought to know but the connection has slipped my mind. Sorry. There should be a directory for slow idiots like me to use to look names up haha.



There were a bunch of other deer sleeping near the ruins, and one group that were standing up but not really doing anything, which didn't bother the four of us who got on with a healthy amount of running about like fools and dancing.



During the proceedings I got to try on many different sets of pyjamas. Much to my amusement and that of everyone else. And I don't look too bad in different threads, given that my horns remain ramly.





And more dancing during all the dressing up lol



Plenty of magic flying around



lol look at me I look so cross, made P laugh haha



then you guys started stacking again, a skill I have yet to get the hang of, I think I must be getting the timing wrong. I'm usually fiddling about trying to click the emote icons in the menus, maybe I should get used to using the ones bound to the f-keys.

Hello!
Could you please help me
I recently had an error with the launch of the game. When connecting to the server, an error appears: Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library.

Went in last night and nobody was around. Still noce to have a brief wander nonetheless.

Wandered into the old tree to find deer asleep in there. I sometimes make up mnemonic names for deer I don't know well yet or haven't met enough to put a proper name to, by looking at the shape of their picto. Here we have Left Mouse Click, Space Invader and Cotton Candy.

(I hope this doesn't offend anyone).



It is not often that I meet anyone with horns curlier than mine. These are quite impressive.



Then I came across something I didn't think possible, deer retaining their magical forms inside the zone of the fountain. Can you still cast magic in there, thereby re-transforming base deer within the zone? I must admit I haven't tried that (I don't tend to cast magic much anyway simply because I don't want to annoy deer who are already in their preferred form).

Or is it a glitch that users have learned to exploit? One of the things I find interesting about the game is the way users have discovered various exploits and glitches which allow them to add expressiveness to interactions without actually breaking the game.

I know there was an attempted upgrade to unreal that was never completed, but I have never tried it. To anyone who has tried it, how did it feel compared to the older version? Were any of the exploitable glitches that are routinely used replicated or simulated?

(apologies if I seem nerdy asking this stuff, I love the subjective experience of the game but I am also fascinated by its longevity and its design).



And I am always impressed that even for an ancient game it can still be quite beautiful at times.



After that I went back to the little hill and went to sleep, as everyone else was asleep too.

Well it was dark at least, surprisingly so when I instanciated. I thought I even saw a bat, although I may have been imagining that. But it was certainly dark, and looked a bit nippy, and I wondered if I'd see any others awake at all on such a night.



No sooner had I started to wander the darkened forestthough than there was the sound of hooves and I was joined by Eris and Valaire.



Meeting-frolicking ensued, followed by a greetings-nuzzle. It's always so nice bumping into other deer in the forest, everyone's so pleased to see one another and joyous in greeting. If only humans were as welcoming and pleased to see one another. Mind you it's probably for the best that they aren't, imagine how chaotic it'd be in Basingstoke town centre if everyone was frolicking and nuzzling all the time. And glowing.



It is rather lovely though. Very shortly we were joined by Widmung and there was more leaping, nuzzling and glowing.



Followed by a not inconsiderable amount of circle-dancing. The previously chilly-seeming night was warmed by dancing, good company and all manner of good-natured frivolity.



Including the ever-popular interpenetrating with a tree, with which we all joined in with alacrity. It made me laugh to see a row of deer butts all sticking out of the tree with their little tails wiggling. I think that little tail wiggle is one of my favourite aspects of the deer animation.



Even amongst all this amiable silliness Valaire found a moment to look properly imposing with that long mask and those scary blood red antlers.



More dancing followed, and of course a bit more frolicking.

While I try to get the CSS sorted for the lady's old profile, I figured I'd post her here to get out back out there! I would love to rp if anyone has threads or... I'm not sure how it really works on here anymore tbh. I'm just eager to write and make some connections for her!



Name: Sunna'may

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
MBTI-Personality type: ENFP
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Gender: Female (She/her)
Sexuality: Pansexual
Status: Single

Species: Chital
Scent: Patchouli
Diet: Herbivore

[I'll edit/add more detail as I go]

Sunna'may is a Púca fae capable of shapeshifting; most often taking the form of a fawn, frog, or feathered doe. She is playful and mischievous.

here's some basic character information regarding beau! i'll also post screenshots and art in this thread.

if you see me, i'm IC! if you'd like to roleplay, my discord and toyhouse are both irl_deer, or you can contact me here to make arrangements. i hope i'll see you in the forest soon!

thank you eris/oxyinco for the inspiration to chronicle beau's journey like this!

———



Beau (for whom the bell tolls)
aka Beauregarde

Gender: male
Species: unicorn
Age: yearling
Size: #16 on the size chart

A moody unicorn yearling, recently reincarnated into the Forest. He's easily camouflaged beneath the shade of the trees, courtesy of his shadowy pelt. He's at his teenaged prime, extra angsty and aloof. He moves like a bullet between dark patches of the forest, and from the center of his forehead pierces a narrow, blade-like horn.

He is cursed to share a thousand lifetimes with Knife Princess. This is just one of them.

He seems both aware of his predicament and displeased by it. Though he has no memory of his past lives, he knows this to be the next in his nigh-endless chain of subsequent reincarnations. Beyond this unusual wisdom, he is a regular teen — quiet and somewhat distant, especially from strangers. He prefers to stick with those he knows.

He isn't the most social, but he seems to have integrated into the Forest quickly in the short time he's been here. He spent his foalhood being raised by Missy, and she is the closest thing to a mother he has. When he isn't laying close to someone he knows, he can be found resting on the bridge.

*wakes up* uuh. What the... where am I?



oh man these rocks are *cold* And hard. How did I...

oh yeah I remember now... bits at least... it was raining confetti... deer were dancing and I was bumbling about trying to climb up here and I almost fell down and then... I don't remember...

man... must have been something in that candle smoke... I gotta get myself home.

*stumbles slowly across the forest, wondering if it'd've been better to call a taxi*



unf. zzzzz.