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NOVEMBER TEST DRIVE MEME

NOVEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to November's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: DEATH/ZOMBIE HORROR.

All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.

Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.

CW: Possible mild cannibalism, organs (including pictures of fake food that looks like organs), mutant insect in linked picture, blood, sensations of starvation, possible binge eating, possible binge drinking.
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

NOT BEAST NOR KIN

The blood and organs that have been festering in the ground and walls of Deerington seem to not only be attracting rats at this point, but something far more dangerous and... just plain gross. These deadly looking maggots are roughly the size of an average human. They’re slithering in an out of the ground, filling up holes where some organs seem to have burst open, or writhing around in the wake of the red waves that have left bloody puddles in the street. If you keep your distance, they’re mostly just disgusting to watch, adding to the feeling of utter decay that the town has gone into.

But those who wander too close or who are unfortunate enough to go by a nest of these maggots without noticing could end up swarmed. They can leap farther than something that large should physically be capable of and the sharp teeth on the end of their bodies will pierce through even the toughest of skin and bone. Once they latch on, they won’t let go; not until they’ve finished their meal. If you aren’t quick, the blood loss will be, and you could end up an evening snack for a whole group of these creatures.

They are fairly easy to kill, luckily. Average weapons seem to take them down or you can smash their heads (if you can call it that) with a few good stomps from a boot. The only trouble is how quick they move and how strong they are; you might need to call for help to get away from them when you get cornered by too many of these monsters.

ALL YOU CAN EAT

Maggots aren’t the only things that want to eat, though! And it seems that the community center is aware of that as well. Advertisements are strewn all over town for an all you can eat buffet that will be set up, not even an entrance fee required (though donations are welcome at the door if you’re feeling generous). No one in their right mind would want to go and get food from a party into Deerington at this point though, right? Of course not. You’re way too clever for that.

Except that as the party draws closer, anyone who saw the advertisements will find themselves slowly feeling like they’re starving. There’s a hallow belly feeling that no amount of food you consume will ever be able to fill. It feels like you might go crazy from how bad the hunger gets, craving something to fill your stomach, anything... And in the back of your mind, you might remember the buffet. You might start to feel a strange realization that the food they’re offering will actually help get rid of your cravings and you’ll be drawn to the party no matter how adamant you’ve been that it’s not a good idea.

The spread they offer isn’t something that should be appetizing to most on a regular basis; raw, very clearly human organs are laid out across the table on fairly decorative plates. A fountain of what looks like blood is put up in place of chocolate for you to dip your food into. No matter how disgusted you might normally feel, you find yourself practically drooling at the mouth and you’re quick to grab a plate and dive in.

At least the drinks look like they’re normal; sodas, beer, wine, champagne, and liquors ready to create your favorite cocktails. A menu will give you an idea of what pairs best with each organ, so make sure you select something that goes perfectly with your plate of intestines.

What would a Deerington party be without something tricky attached to all this. Even the smallest bites of any of the organs will offer sudden changes to the consumer, each power growing stronger the more that you eat.

Eating BRAINS will make it so that you are able to hear another person’s thoughts. Anyone standing near by, really. They’ll trickle in slowly at first, but the more that you eat, the more you’ll hear, and eventually it could become overwhelming. Sometimes you can focus in on just one person if you stare at them intently, but that could make you look like a creep. Maybe you should just go somewhere quiet until it passes.

Eating a HEART will make you feel compelled to confess your emotions to someone. Maybe a specific person or maybe it’s towards a complete stranger, but you just want to get everything out onto the table. You’re overcome with feelings so strong you don’t know how to contain them anymore and you’ve just got to get them out somehow.

Eating LIVER will cause you to want to drink. A lot. You might find that you’re not able to get enough, even. It doesn’t make you immune to the alcohol though, so it’s got the potential to lead some pretty nasty alcohol poisoning if you aren’t careful. Characters who usually can’t get drunk will find that consuming liver makes them a total lightweight. Woops. Better have someone help you walk home.

Eating the STOMACH will make you want to eat everything. You’ll no longer feel starving, but you just want to taste any food that’s near you, and you won’t stop no matter how full you feel. It’s not just organs, but any food consumed outside of the buffet. It might be a bad time to go to Peter’s Pizza for a late night meal.

Eating INTESTINES will give you an abundance of courage. You’ll find that you’ve got guts you never knew you had and it might make you willing to go tell your crush how you feel about them, or tell off that one guy who’s been pissing you off for weeks, or maybe you might start to think it’s cool to go scale a building or fight a monster when you don’t have any skill sets to actually take one down. Hopefully you don’t do anything you’ll regret in the morning— assuming you don’t get yourself killed doing something stupid, of course.

Eating EYEBALLS will allow you to obtain the memory of the first person that you touch. Depending on how much you’ve eaten, you may just see a small snippet or you could get sucked in to a full and heavy flashback. The memory will feel like it takes place in real time, but by the time that it’s over, you’ll find that whoever you touched is only just starting to ask you what’s wrong — or tell you to watch where you’re going, buster.

Character Arrival

You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.

There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.

The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.

If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Since the TDM takes place in November, does that mean Deerington still looks like it did in October or has it changed back? I.E. is there day/night again?

ONE █ ARRIVING IN STYLE

[The dream was enough to rattle him but then waking up in a totally different place with the old hokey music playing made it all feel a lot more real. It's really not his style to dream about woodland creatures, his dreams are a lot more fantastic and creative. Dustin would've thought this just transitioned into another dream if it weren't for the basket that he takes absolutely no time ripping into.

The first thing he plucks out of it is one of the sticks of jerky and he's sitting in the lobby of the establishment he woke up in looking through the rest of the crap with some mild interest. He still has half the stick of jerky propped in his mouth like a Cuban cigar.

He's flipping through the text documents, and making notes with a pen he took from one of the desks. Things to remember for later, absolutely. When he isn't underlining relevant shit you can find him marveling at his fluid and talking to anyone that will listen about the functions with wild eyes.]

TWO █ CALL HIM JOHN MCENROE

[Curiosity never killed Dustin and when it comes to living organs growing out of facets in the street he knows better than to get to close. They're all over everything and it's impossible not to get stuck by one when it explodes, the worms screeching to life in a way he's never seen parasites move before.

It reminds me of the Upside Down, of Dart, and he uses the thick died branch that had fallen off one of the trees onto the street to start mashing them one by one as they came for him.]

AHhh! Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Please tell me these things aren't related to the Sarlacc.
Hey! You! Need a little help here.

THREE █ WILDCARD - NETWORK OR CYOA.

[I'm down to clown! Just toss something else from the TDM or a network post for a prompt and I'll reply asap. My plurk is

doggos if you have any questions.]

i. arrival

[when theo comes to, it's with the image of that damn -- rotting flapper-era woman, something, whatever-the-fuck -- reaching to touch her forehead as she stands on the staircase still hovering before her eyes. she reaches up, gasping, to cover the spot, try to banish whatever that thing had transferred to her.

but there's nothing. she doesn't feel anything but her own feelings, and fuck knows those are bad enough.

there are gloves in the basket, and theo pulls them on slowly, one finger at a time, then smooths them all the way up her arms. she pulls her sleeves down, zips up her hooded sweatshirt, lets her hair shake loose around her face, minimizing the amount of skin that's revealed. if this is another one of hill house's fucking tricks, she doesn't want to give it an opening. not another one. it already took mom, took nellie, took luke. theo's not going without a fight.

she'll be wandering the streets, arms crossed over her chest, trying to find her siblings or her dad. if she bumps into anyone, it'll make her cringe, swearing under her breath and steering away like the contact hurts. still, if she sees anyone in distress, she won't be able to keep herself from trying to help. stupid fucking empathy.]

ii. not beast nor kin

Jesus fuck-- [it's spat out, angrily, accompanied by the wet, squashy sound of a blunt object against something that gives like a rotten pumpkin. the blows come one, two, three, probably more than is strictly necessary, but there's something vaguely cathartic about beating the shit out of something.

theo doesn't quite remember where she got the crowbar, but it's sure helpful, gobs of maggoty pulp dripping from it once the thing's dead. there's some bodily fluid -- blood? do maggots have blood? -- on her face, and she wipes it off with a gloved hand. she's panting, angry still, and it feels good. it feels strong.

someone's staring, and she tosses them a quick, narrow-eyed glare.] What.

iii. all you can eat

It isn't real. [that's what theo keeps muttering to herself, stabbing furiously at a hastily-sawed-up piece of liver on her plate and scarfing it down. she barely chews, swallowing the raw bits and shuddering in spite of her ravenous hunger at the slippery feeling of it.] This isn't fucking real.

[it's another one of the hallucinations, the dreams, spilling out into the real world. like an ocean, dad would tell them. she's probably not even eating anything, just going through the motions, but god, the hunger feels real.

when it comes, so does the thirst, though that's nothing new. theo sets down her empty plate on the nearest flat surface, announcing to nobody at all:] I need a fucking drink.

[they better have vodka.]

[[ooc: please take a peek at theo's permissions/opt-in. if you want her to pick up anything via her empathy powers, or if you want to opt-out of playing that entirely, let me know!]]

00. network

un: Ambassador.Vihalen

I wasn't scheduled to visit the United States again until next Spring, but I suppose if the information in the letter I received is true, I don't really have any choice in the matter. So, let's make the most of this unplanned interruption!

Please, tell me about yourselves, and where you come from. Are you from an Earth like this one, or from another planet altogether? What is your home like? What are your beliefs and traditions?

I thank you for indulging my curiosity in this matter.

– N.V.

01. arrival

Nadass went to bed the night before as she did most nights, in a lush penthouse suite of the finest hotel whatever city she was visiting had to offer. It wasn't necessarily her preference-- she just as much appreciates nights spent in a small hut in the wilderness, or aboard a military ship at sea. She has slept in many beds over her three year term on Earth, and though none of them have given her quite as restful sleep as her own bed back home did, she didn't object to any of them.

The bed she awakes in is clearly a human-made bed, though it is wholly unfamiliar to her. So is the room it is inside of. She pushes herself up, echoes of the strange dream playing in her mind, and stumbles around the house, trying to find answers. She finds them in the form of a letter, though the letter only leaves her with more questions.

Fifteen minutes later, she is sitting on a park bench in the middle of town, holding the jar of some exotic berries and a stick of something that looks like cinnamon, but is green. The letter said to eat it, but she's just so confused as to what food from her home planet is doing here, on Earth, in Maine, she's not so sure she should...

02. all you can eat

[ After eating the food in her jar, Nadass finds that she is still hungry. Ravenously hungry. So when she sees signs advertising a free buffet, she jumps at the opportunity to satiate her hunger. When she arrives at the community center and sees what is on offer, she is at first horrified, but despite her misgivings, she can't ignore her body's need to eat.

She makes herself a plate with some brain and some heart, and digs in. She only eats enough to not feel hungry anymore, and soon enough she can be found huddled in a corner, clutching her head and openly sobbing. Anyone who comes close enough for her to notice them will be treated to some panicked cries. ]

I'm so scared! I want to go home! I knew when I accepted this mission that I would never be able to leave Earth, but I didn't think it would be like this! And now I'm hearing voices and they won't stop...!

03. wildcard

[ want something else? hmu @ objectpermanence/millennial falcon#9103. will match prose or brackets. ]

[Clara just blinks, eyebrows arched over wide eyes in something like approval.]

Nothing. [Clipped, English.] Just thinking that you took that down quicker than I was about to.

[She could do without the cast-off maggot guts that have landed on her jacket, but hopefully offal doesn't stain leather; she hasn't thought to Google that, yet. There don't seem to be any weapons on her person, anything suggesting she was getting ready to fight a creepy-crawly larger than her, but she also doesn't seem to have been rattled by the scene.]

Edited 2019-10-27 01:39 (UTC)

Let Me Introduce Myself with 1,000 Words Describing the Scenery and Also A Song

[ Hi there, how's your day going. Hope you're having a good time getting your groceries or something from the store.

As you exit the store, please note there's a guy standing on a car in the parking lot. If you have a car, it's probably yours. He's tall and blond and is apparently using the height to Look Into The Distance like he's in some movie and someone's making a sweeping crane shot of him.

If you don't say hi first, the blond turns to see who's there with a hard look, sizing up whether you're a threat. This new place is 1: exciting but also 2: strange and also kind of terrifying. It's a lot to deal with when you still haven't explored all of your own world yet. ]

Peace, stranger. I bear you no ill will. I am newly come to this dream-land and am yet to make out the lie of the land.

Not Beasts Nor Kin

[ If you're wandering through town this afternoon, you'll find a tall blond surrounded by around a dozen maggot corpses, turning one over with the toe of his boot. His expression is disdainful, if a touch curious.

There's not a drop of blood on him. Not a hair out of place. The only sign he's fought them is the knife in his hand. He looks over his shoulder when he realises he isn't alone.]

What do you call these? They are no goblins that delve through the earth, though they are as easily slain.

All You Can Eat

[ Feasts, unlike so much else here, make sense to Legolas. People gather in one place to eat and make merry. But he's curious about everything he doesn't understand, eager to meet and learn and fully engage in whatever happens.

Until he sees exactly what's on offer and, despite his hunger, decides firmly to abstain from eating anything. But he won't be dissuaded from talking to whoever else is here. ]

This is... not your usual fare, is it? [ Yeah, he's noticed the reaction that a lot of people are having to the food on offer. ]

Peace to you as well...

[ Nadass probably doesn't look like much of a threat. She has no weapons, is dressed in crisp, formal clothing, and is carrying a bag of vegetables. ]

I am new to this place as well, but allow me to be the one to tell you-- cars are for riding inside, not standing on top of.

[ The girl staring at Theo is small for her age, wearing a leather jacket and biker gloves, and carrying a pretty hefty machete. She's also liberally splattered with maggot guts. There's a fiery look in her eyes, something that seems eager and a little bit impressed. ]

Nothing. There's another nest of them down the street. Want to go beat them up? [ Brianna lifts her machete and grins. Come on, come on, it'll be fun! ]

[ The worlds Nadass is used to are far advanced in terms of both years and technology, so the Fluid is nothing new to her. But she stands and listens intently to Dustin's raving descriptions, a patient smile on her face. ]

Interesting. So it can do voice, video, and text?

[ Immediately put at ease when he doesn't see any weapons, Legolas jumps lightly from the car to the ground. He doesn't seem put out at her correction. ]

Then I thank you for your correction, my lady. [ Why exactly someone would ride inside the thing he has no idea, but first-- ] I am Legolas, of the Woodland Realm.

[ Steve is literally already running towards Dustin, baseball bat in hand. ]

Jesus, you couldn't wait for me to tell you not to get close to these things? [ Honestly why was he pleased when Dustin first showed up again? No self-protection instincts at all.

One by one, he sets about smushing them when they get close.]

If you tell me you want to adopt one, I'm making you live with Byers.

[The front door opens with a ding, letting in a burst of cold, blood-scented air and a quiet string of muttered swears. The boy distractedly trying to bustle through is loaded down with at least six pizza boxes, topped by two teetering bottles of soda.]

Uh, six pepperonis for Mr. Mc- [Shit, he can't see the label. He sets the boxes against the front window, trying to peer around to the sticker on one side. Why the hell would a laundromat even have a pizza party? Why is there literally no one here except-

Holy fuck.]

Dustin?!

[In his shock, Mike loses grip on the pizza boxes - or rather, they seem to just... drop through his hands. The boxes land flat on the floor, unharmed, but the sodas aren't so lucky. Hard commercial tile busts one cap right open, and bargain-brand Fruity Cola Max fizzes out in all directions in an ambiguously colored ocean. But Mike hardly notices, standing there speechless and focused. The laundromat's front door is half-visible through the sloppy mass of his sweater and flannel pajama pants, and his hair has become something almost otherworldly since it's last haircut nine months ago. He looks like a feral ghost, delivering pizza in its pajamas.]

That's what it looks like. I haven't seen anything like this back home. It's some pretty serious technology.

[Technology that he fully intended to figure out. The fact that it was so slim and portable made it even more interesting to him. He puts it away in his pocket for the moment to fix his focus on present company.]

You been into yours yet?

[There's a slight squeak of wheels and gears as Mike stops his bike, one foot trying hard to stay solid enough on the pavement. His jaw positively drops - and not just because of the monsters.]

Um. [Oh, shit. His voice has gone up an entire octave.] I, uh-

[He's even more beautiful in person. Surely this is some kind of hallucination.]

Maggots. They're maggots.

[What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-]

I definitely didn't ask for the puss explosion but yeah- let's go with you not being here for the reason it happened.

[If Steve really wants to take the blame for some random happenstance he'll let him but the look on his face is anything but sincere. It's high brow sarcastic and he is still beating the worms back with his stick, slightly jealous of Steve and his baseball bat now.]

This isn't the situation with D'Art. This is clearly different.

[A couple more wallops with the piece of wood, a worm tries to make its way into his shoe and he shakes his foot off, stomps on it a few good times for measure.]

Man, you really weren't lying about this place.

My name is Nadass Vihalen, of Ninga. [ It's a bit of a formal way to introduce herself, but Nadass is all about matching the customs of the people she's speaking to. ]

I have not heard of the Woodland Realm. What planet is it a part of?

[ Nadass examines the device on her wrist. ] Only long enough to set up a user profile. Though I might use it later to try to find some more information about this place. Ask questions, learn about the people here and their customs, that sort of thing.

Miiiike...?

[At first Dustin isn't sure what he's looking at, not until the pizzas get placed away from the voice and it sounds a lot like his friend, and the legs sort of match up but he can't quite tell.]

Mike!

Yeah, that's a lot of pizza he'll investigate that later with his mouth, right now he's in a hustle on the way to his pal, stowing away his fluid and something he was reading in the process.]

Holy shit, dude. You're here too? Why the hell are you delivering pizza?
Oh. Well, there goes the coke.

Edited 2019-10-27 18:56 (UTC)

Maggots. [ Repeating the word, Legolas gives the fleshy lump a final nudge with his boot. Satisfied he's going to learn nothing more about it this way, he looks back at the child.]

You look very young to be in so dangerous a place. [ He's not had occasion to deal with the children of men, but this one looks young rather than only short of stature. ] Have you lost your way?

[A - farming bugs for rep]

Overall, this doesn't look a whole lot like Silithus, but the huge insectoid worms are doing a good job of reminding him unpleasantly of it. He hasn't been in town for long, but he's going to assume that the maggots aren't supposed to be here, so he'll readily dispatch them wherever he can. Armed with a butcher's knife in one hand and a baseball bat in the other (both really too small for an orc, but he'll make do with what he's got), Saurfang spends most of the day slaughtering them, sustaining only minor wounds. They're not really much sport, but they're dangerous enough that he doesn't feel like he can leave them be. There are children and civilians in this town, after all.

Speaking of, he's happy (or at least willing) enough to rescue or help out anyone who gets caught by the maggots. Perhaps you're someone who just received assistance, or you've helped him out on one of the rare occasions he gets one of the little monsters on him. Once the last maggot stops wriggling, he turns his attention to the nearest disgusting organ-wall and grunts.

"Is it always like this?"

[B - network]

[un: saurfang]

What's wrong with the woods surrounding the town?

[These maggots are pretty big, but strangely enough, Fern has dealt with bigger. First back home underground, though he was technically a sword at the time he still counts it, and more recently in trips to the Great Sleep, where giant worm killing is pretty much the only real past time.

Both have left him with more than enough experience in handling these things, and wrecking stuff is always fun times, so when he hears what looks like some kid having a rough time he doesn't mind helping out. Darting in with inhuman speed, Fern forms a grass sword and starts slicing those bozos up in the same way a chef expertly slices up a sushi roll.]

Dude, your weapon sucks.

Well met, my lady. [ The introduction puts him even more at ease. Of all the people he's met here, many have left him feeling wrong-footed in their brusque or apparently indifferent approach to new meetings.

And this isn't the first time he's been asked about his planet, and Legolas is pleased to have a ready answer.]

My people name it Arda. It is... from speaking with others here I believe it is quite different to the planets you men are from. [ He assumes she's human. ]

[ Steve is really not happy with these bugs being this close to Dustin.

Especially because he cannot see the clear difference between these things and Dustin's last pet.]

You thought I was lying when I told you about the monsters and the blood waves and everything else that's happened here? [ Dustin please. ]

not beast nor kin.
[ a girl with long, wild yellow hair sticks out against the bloodstained walls and floors like a sore thumb. yang is trying to make her way through town, pointedly avoiding any maggots crawling on the ground or the walls and trying not to step in any bloody puddles. her nose is scrunched and her brow is furrowed in disgust. ]

Ugh, this is disgusting...

[ she takes a few steps further and inevitably crosses paths with a maggot nest. the only indication of any danger is a strange hissing sound that happens just before a maggot flings itself at her. ]

Shit-! [ luckily, yang is fast, and manages to punch through it completely using her cybernetic arm. and judging by how the maggot kind of just...gets shredded to pieces, that arm of hers is pretty strong.

more of them start crawling out of the nest though, and all of them are heading towards yang. might wanna give her a head's up or help her out, here. (or not.) ]

all you can eat.
[ yang is reluctant to go to the party, but she shows in hopes that maybe she can meet more people here and learn more about what's happened to this town. she's basically here to socialize and gather info -- at least that's what she wants to tell herself, anyway. it's becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore the grumbling in her stomach, the way her mouth waters whenever she sees the entrees on the menu.

it's bad.

but maybe talking to a stranger will help. yang approaches the nearest person after helping herself to a can of soda. ]

So...hey. Come here often? 'Cuz I sure don't.

[ a dry attempt at conversation followed by a laugh, but hey. it's something. ]

wildcard.
[ hmu with anything. ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 62

NOVEMBER TEST DRIVE MEME

NOVEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

NOT BEAST NOR KIN

ALL YOU CAN EAT

Character Arrival

QUESTIONS

no subject

Dustin Henderson / Stranger Things

Theodora Crain | The Haunting of Hill House

Nadass Vihalen 💫 Alien Ambassador OC

ii. IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND WITH HTML NOW

Legolas / Lord of the Rings

introductions

ii

no subject

no subject

t w o

one.

no subject

beasts.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Varok Saurfang | World of Warcraft

Two

no subject

no subject

yang xiao long / rwby