sodder: (Default)
Sodder ([personal profile] sodder) wrote in [community profile] soddersays2019-10-26 07:49 pm
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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!











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.


  • All affects from the food will wear off within about an hour if you’ve only had a bite — or they could last up to twelve if you really stuffed yourself. Please be sure to obtain OOC permission from any players for the brain and eyeball prompts!


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.
vivifying: (☆ acknowledging)

[personal profile] vivifying 2019-11-06 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Clearly this is someone in a costume, no? Really good makeup effects, right? Then comes that voice, though. The choice of words, so very Eddie and putting them into a space where there's always more time for more dramatics, more flair and zest.

Ben's eyes grow wide, and he just stares. He'd tried to look apologetic at first, but now he's just surprised. Not unhappy though, content with being around one of his best friends. Eddie has a way of filling in the blanks in conversation anyhow, so it kind of works out. It'd be more fitting if not for Ben having just dived into eating gross organs in conjunction with Eddie toting around an umbrella and looking like something out of a horror flick. Pardon Ben's squinting, the way his lips manage to actually stay shut in spite of the threatening word vomit that noshing on the hearts has conjured.

Then Eddie says his name and in spite of whatever the fuck truly is going on with his recent awakening in a weird little town, Ben starts to smile. On the pure side, genuinely happy to see Eddie. He gives a single nod. ]
Eddie. You look...are you okay? [ A blink. ] Are you in a costume? [ Like, what's with the umbrella, seriously?? Mentions of combustion from sun exposure haven't totally registered.

He can't help but peek in more closely, ducking under the umbrella just a tad, really working to get a look at Eddie. Then with the grace of a galloping giraffe, he tacks on -- ]
And what good does suffering do? I mean, if I could tell someone else besides her, since she's not here right now, I'd feel better. [ Does he though? Eh...not really. Maybe he just needs to be more specific?

Ah just what anyone wants: the effects of an event mingling in with talking to one of your close friends for the first time since you've arrived. Yay, Deerington! ]
vivifying: (☆ questions)

[personal profile] vivifying 2019-11-06 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ben gives a side-eyed glance over to the 'food.' Swallowing, suddenly a little nervous about how much he'd just devoured, his lips part and shut again. Then he blurts out -- ] No, it's a girl. I met her this year when I moved and started going to a new school. She's a lot better than...that. [ He's not hungry for the organs anymore, thankfully. ] Way better...
gentrify: (pic#11581271)

[personal profile] gentrify 2019-11-06 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
Of course it's the valley kid I pick up. [ micky mutters to himself before snapping his head back to talk to steve. ] But hey, at least you can lift shit.

[ :D don't feel bad, buddy. it's not your fault you're oblivious. honestly, he's not even buttmad, just stuffing hands in his pockets and letting out a sigh as he strolls along down the street towards the gas station.

mickey's face is still littered with cuts and bruises from having thrown down with his dad in the bar just a handful of hours again, and mickey seems to remember that right in this moment, a fingertip gingerly pressing at a bruise on his jaw while he chats. ]


Alright, so what do you do in the off time, between shitstorms? Just, what, live your fuckin' life like the world's not completely ass backwards?
driving: (pic#13326675)

[personal profile] driving 2019-11-06 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
it's 1985 for me
i guess that's not true for everyone here
but hey i learned something today
vivifying: (☆ nah)

[personal profile] vivifying 2019-11-06 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ben may enjoy some yummy food more than most, but that doesn't mean he won't be repulsed by what passes as sustenance in this place. That he'd gone to town on, really, non-food. He'd been overtaken by the draw of the event, not processing what he'd actually eaten.

He's about to apologize for the light collision when he instead gasps, a memory that's not his own playing out in his mind. It's how Richie comes to the front of his thoughts and as he's physically rocked back a bit when he comes to once more, he looks over to his friend with wide eyes. Why the heck did I see that? What was he gonna do -- Straightforward, yes, but he genuinely wonders. Then, there's the start of a smile when Richie's voice spills out of his mouth. He can't help the sincere relief at seeing another one of the Losers, thinking about each one of their names.

He's often a heart on his sleeve sort of kid, so he says precisely what he's thinking about. ]
You've been here for a whole month? Wow... [ Air blows out of his lips, head gently shaking. Forever in the mind of a kid? Yep. ] And, we should never, ever, talk about the fact that anyone in this room ate any of that. [ Least of all me. He peers over in quiet disgust at the buffet of food, frowning just so. I guess it's not just people who already overeat that are going eating nuts on it though... his head shakes in spite of himself. ] Why'd I wanna eat it so bad? Do you know?

[ He falls into a natural cadence with Richie, pleased, relieved, happy to see him. And not wasting any time trying to draw together facts. ]
gentrify: (Default)

[personal profile] gentrify 2019-11-06 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
85 what
are you fucking



honestly I'm kinda jealous
don't live into 2014
its not worth it
end times definitely shouldve hit mid-90s
Edited (Aahhh I keep forgetting html ) 2019-11-06 05:26 (UTC)

[personal profile] hiyosilver 2019-11-06 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's relief in the fact that it's really him and Bill breathes out a sigh he doesn't actually need to be giving at all. A part of him wants to give him a hug or at least grip his shoulder, but there's the unfortunate reality that this horror town as changed those small things for him — the most recent craziness of Deerington rendered him somewhat ghost like, much as he tried to hide it, and so he stuck his hands in his pockets so as not to do something like accidentally pass right through the kid and freak him out that much more. ]

I-I-It kinda sss-seems like it might be. B-But not our dream, it's Ss-Sodder's. The one wh-who wrote you the nuh-ote, if you uh... R-Read it.

[ He knows he'd bolted from his house without so much as a glance his first day. He wouldn't have blamed Ben in the slightest for doing the same. ]

I kn-now it's weird. B-But this place i-is called Deerington and w-we're still in Maine. Th-things are a little different than home, b-but not much, really. N-no clowns and the a-a-adults don't sssuck as much... A-And we don't have to go to sch-school and we can luh-ive all by ourselves.

[ He grins, like this is good news, because ultimately, the more Losers together, the better. He hates any of them being here, but it's better than being alone, the way Eddie was for so long. Five of them in one place is something neither of the boys had dreamed of when Bill had first woken up. ]

And the other L-Losers are too. M-Me and Rrrichie and Bev and E-E-E-E-E— [ ... He waves his hand to show that he can probably fill in the important name here. Fuck his inability to say Eddie. ] W-With you here, we're only mmm-issing Stan and Mike. FFfive out of ss-seven isn't bad, right?

[ A beat. Wait a second. ]

B-Ben, you need... pants.
driving: (pic#13326526)

[personal profile] driving 2019-11-06 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
don't worry, i'm dead

also i was stuck in fucking small town indiana so it wasn't great
small town indiana is still lame in 2014 right??
shiro2hero: (jfc this man needs to sleep)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2019-11-06 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I do. It's down here--

[He almost offers her a hand off the bench but visibly stops himself, and shoves his hands into his pockets instead.]

I'm sorry to hear that. Not a fan of Halloween?
gentrify: (pic#11580486)

[personal profile] gentrify 2019-11-06 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
oh well shit
nice timing

goddamn fuckin right it is
there's nothing but corn and crop circles and sheep fuckers out there
still beata iowa though
there's probably actual fuckin aliens out there
effinphd: (i need vodka)

maggots;

[personal profile] effinphd 2019-11-06 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
Why.

The fuck.

Did you get a fucking AK and I got this? [Theo doesn't even care anymore that she's going to get splattered, she's too busy waving around the crowbar she got upon arrival, which has meant her getting up close and personal with all the maggots she's killed.]
clussy: ɪᴄᴏɴ ʙʏ ɪᴄᴏɴsꜰᴏʀʙɪᴛᴄʜᴇs (ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ) (𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐)

[personal profile] clussy 2019-11-06 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
(Dramatics was definitely a choice way of describing Eddie, and he's full of them as Ben asks him if he was okay. That was, in Eddie's humble opinion, one of the world's stupidest questions to ask. A hand flicks out, as if physically shoving the question out of the air and out of existence.)

Buddy I can't remember the last time I was ever okay. (At least he's not really lying. The question though is in some way a blessing. Eddie's memories were catching up with him now that he was actually talking to the real, living, breathing, talking Ben Hanscom. He wonders if Ben was from the fifties or the eighties, and he wonders...

His expression darkens rapidly and for a second Eddie says nothing at all. There's a weird metallic taste at the back of the throat that he has to swallow around. No. He shouldn't be thinking about that now. Eddie sniffs and shakes himself out of...wherever he just went mentally and gives a rough shake of his head.)


No. It's a long story- well- actually it's a pretty short story seeing as I have no clue how I wound up this way but uh...I'm a vampire now. Apparently.

(There's literally no elegant way of saying that. Like. None. And Eddie's never had social grace to begin with so it just sort of spills out of him in a jumble of fast words.

Eddie instinctively leans back when Ben leans in, but he doesn't actually move his feet, so he's clearly not trying to get away. God. It really was Ben. After a second Eddie leans in, his eyes growing big, and, admittedly, maybe a little wet. He does his best to blink that away.)


I mean. You can like. Live to see another day mostly. (What is privilege and where can Eddie pick a fight with it.

Eddie's not an idiot. Or rather Ben had never been all that transparent, so Eddie doesn't exactly need to ask who the 'her' is, but it occurs to him that during their violent little summertime madness they never exactly. Talked. About anything personal like that.)


Uhh...(He glances quickly around because he knows Beverly is here but Ben didn't. The last thing the poor bastard needed was to accidentally be overheard.)

In case you noticed I am not really her so. (That's Eddie's special way of offering an ear?? At least he's used to Deerington's weirdness by now so this isn't as shocking as it could be.)
effinphd: (soft moment)

[personal profile] effinphd 2019-11-06 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Theo nods, looking down at her gloved hands again.] Yeah. Especially if you don't understand them. Or...if people don't understand you.

...I can learn things, about people. When I touch them with just my skin. I can learn what they're thinking, what they're feeling, sometimes learn their memories. [She pauses for a moment, then tugs the tops of her gloves, making sure they're on firmly.] That's why I wear these. So I don't learn things I don't want to.

I wanted to tell you so you knew. So that if I act weird after touching something, you'll understand why. [A hesitation, then she adds, quieter:] So you'll be careful around me. I don't want to take anything out of your head that you don't want to give. That isn't fair.
makestrouble: (What are you thinking?!)

[personal profile] makestrouble 2019-11-06 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
[He doesn't smell like a yoma. That's what she determines as she gets closer, silently focusing on his energy in the hopes that she doesn't pick up on even a slither of demonic energy. It doesn't hurt to check. And after about a second, she's happy to report that he doesn't appear to be a human-eating monstrosity.

She can see that he's flushed. Out of breath. She could give him a difficult time, but she refrains from it. She refrains because this situation is bloody weird and she's surrounded by strange buildings. Also, what's with the peculiar metal poles (street lamps) rising out from the ground like trees? The kid is the first person she's seen, and he doesn't look like he's going to be a thorn in her side. She's grateful he's stopped for her at all.

She laughs when he asks about the sword, though. She holds it up so the blade points towards the sky and then slowly lowers it back down. Doing it too fast might be seen as threatening, and she doesn't particularly wish to scare him off.]


This old thing? It was a graduation present. [She snickers at her own joke, and then grows silent, listening to him.]

Yeah, you're the first person I've seen too. [A head tilt.] Not sure what a Middle Earth is. [Is that code of weird shit? She's going to interpret it as such.] But, hey, I agree with you. This place is... It's weird as hell. Maybe we should figure this out together, yeah?
Edited 2019-11-06 05:43 (UTC)
effinphd: (Default)

[personal profile] effinphd 2019-11-06 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Theo laughs a little, waving her now-gloved hands.] Don't worry. Containment procedures in place again. I can't get anything if I've got these on.

[She stands, squaring her shoulders and cracking her neck.] Not really, no. This year's been worse than most, though. Lot of family drama.
effinphd: (Default)

[personal profile] effinphd 2019-11-06 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
No, it's...totally fine. [Theo clears her throat, gestures vaguely towards the house she'd come from.] You wanna, uh...come in and clean up?
effinphd: (por quoi)

arrival

[personal profile] effinphd 2019-11-06 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, it's clearly not enough to have grownass adults being abducted and waking up in this creepy place -- now Theo's realizing more and more that there are lots of literal children here too. Great. Awesome. She really should be more focused on getting out of dodge, but she can't just ignore all the kids who look just as panicked as she feels.

Especially when one of them runs into her. Theo reaches up automatically, glad she's wearing her gloves, especially because the kid doesn't seem to be very well covered.
]

Woah, woah, slow down. What're you running from?
blackmothwings: (1)

[personal profile] blackmothwings 2019-11-06 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
You're certain? [Her eyes follow the gesture up towards the house. She hesitates.]

I would hate to impose.
shiro2hero: (all right i'll stop and ask directions)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2019-11-06 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
You... might want to invest in more than one pair. While you're here.

[Maybe he'll even drop off a box of latex gloves for her, later. Not like he doesn't know where the place is.]

Wish I could say you were in for an easier time while you're here.
peejay: (015)

all you can eat

[personal profile] peejay 2019-11-06 09:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Similar woes have befallen the Prince-Regent KING of England. Not only has John faced the issue of these primitive primates being the dominant species, he has also his reign questioned by them. Something about England of the future, England of the past, yada yada...he doesn't bother to terribly bog himself down in the details at the moment. His primary concern is the hunger that has perpetually followed him since he dared to enter this event.

As a species with predatory instincts, the spread is natural. Tempting. But as regent, the idea of eating something with so little dignity causes him to stick to his wine. For now. The saliva that gets brushed away with a paw indicates that he might soon break.

...The sight of the wolf offers him a strange sense of comfort in this most trying time, if only for the idea of seeing someone who is vaguely similar to the world he knows. Even if that thought seems to internalize, thanks to John's own personal thought bubble, as someone who might recognize his sovereignty and reign. Yes! Another subject! There can be no time to lose, and he approaches only to-

He visibly cringes, shaking around his paw in a foppish fashion before settling on brushing the drool off his paw and onto the clothing of a nearby passerby. His tone becomes stern as he ignores the question, simply inserting himself into the conversation.]


Do mind your salivating. The royal robe is not to be desecrated.
strangel: (010.)

[personal profile] strangel 2019-11-06 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
( For all that Helena was strange, odd, freakish to some, she was clever. The gesture to chest, to ear, it makes sense, and she nods her understanding. She's looking around them, trying to get a better sense of their surroundings, before re-training her gaze on the stranger. )

But you must be good at surviving, I think.

( All the senses were needed for this, to not be able to hear? That is creating trials and struggles. Points of vulnerability. Helena moved silently to strike unexpectedly. Being deaf, this means sensing so much more. )

Helena. ( A roll of her shoulders, and she starts to straighten herself up a little more. ) What is yours?
deflectere: (S I X)

[personal profile] deflectere 2019-11-06 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, trying to explain the whole thing to my very strict parents wasn't fun. I don't know if they get it yet.
deflectere: (F O U R)

[personal profile] deflectere 2019-11-06 01:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Are you asking me to punch you?

( not that he was opposed but most people didn't invite him to do that sort of thing. )
dividingline: commission; do not take (one)

[personal profile] dividingline 2019-11-06 01:43 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a certain amount of selfishness that comes with shock. When the world becomes threatening, confusing, fear pulls you back into yourself like a fiddler crab retreating into a shell. Everything becomes about getting through it. Senses sharpen, time slows; it's natural to look out for number one while bullets fly and glass shatters and everything else falls apart. It comes easier to Grady than it does to his partner, that selfishness. He's known it for years, become used to it, the bitter core at the center of himself that tells him he's not a good person. Sure, he's good at his job, good at looking after the two of them, good at survival -- good, in some ways, but not good enough, because there's loyalty and then there's the look that Wes is giving him across the kitchen that makes his heart hitch in his chest.

Selfish asshole, he chides himself, but can't work out what else to do.

He's seen his partner cry before. More when they were kids, less so as an adult, but it's happened a few times. Work like theirs, it gets close and hot and emotional sometimes. Not a bad thing, necessarily, it's the difference between being a guy doing a job and a fucking psychopath. They've both been there, usually after a few drinks, angry or frustrated or just exhausted. But not like this, not the way Wes is pressed up against the wall like a drowning man looking for something to hold on to. A slow, dreadful weeping, like he's broken somewhere inside and hasn't figured it out yet.

Grady starts forward, though not without an instinctive glance at their surroundings as if to make sure they're completely alone. He's never been able to be as demonstrative as Wrench wants -- needs -- him to be, too aware of the kind of places they end up in, the kind of men they have to associate with, who already damn them twice for being a Jew and a big Deaf guy and don't need to add 'queer' to the equation.

But they are alone here, in this weird dark house, so he gets close enough to reach out and tug at Wrench's lapels, as if helping him straighten out his clothes, murmuring quietly, automatically.

"Hey, hey, don't.."
gentrify: (pic#11581309)

[personal profile] gentrify 2019-11-06 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
i'm asking you if youre all fuckin talk
saying shits one thing, but do you actually follow thru?


[ shh, dont @ him ]