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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Diagnosing his illness hadn't come easy, and he still didn't completely understand the spell specific issues that followed suit.]

It's little more than a fever and some mild nausea, but during these bouts of illness, I'm incapable of using my magic.

[His posture remains rigid throughout the explanation, it's not easy to explain this sudden weakness but it's better Alec knows than expects the same caliber of magic from him that he was used to before.]

The simple spells, they're easier. Anything requiring any extensive energy well... it bottoms me out.

( that doesn't sound good at all. alec has to wonder if his runes would work. he doesn't have any real need to activate them right now but he wants to just to see if they do work. )

Are you all right?

( alec can only guess how the lack of magic might be affecting him. he knows if he didn't have his shadowhunter abilities, he'd be very out of sorts so he can only imagine how it is for Magnus, someone who's had magic for so long. )

With everything, I guess?

[To see a day where Alec was the one providing comfort, and concern through the rose-colored glasses of their still very rocky relationship is an unsettling tilt to their relationship. Typically it was the reverse, and so with a simple nod he finishes what's left his wine before meeting Alec's sincere gaze.]

I'm making do. One doesn't become as established as I am without being able to handle the occasional backslide.

[The smile he uses to punctuate the words is strained, false, but it's as sincere as he can muster given how tense he truly feels.

So much of him wants to reach out, renew the kiss they'd shared what feels like so recently, but it wouldn't be fair- he knows it.]

( this feels...strained. even someone occasionally as oblivious as alec can see that. he doesn't know what else he should to do try and bridge that gap because it's there and it hurts a bit. )

Can I do anything?

( he's always been the honest type. the one who doesn't beat around the bush and if he can somehow help magnus, he wants to. he's hurt him so much already. )

[Something twists and pulls at Magnus's heartstrings. Alec has no recollection, and they'd only shared one kiss it's stupid of him to assume it was more than something as simple as the shadowhunter acknowledging certain truths.

Magnus can't help himself though, he'd do whatever it took to keep Alec safe here. He knew it in painful clarity.]

Oh. Alexander. While flattering, I'm certain there's nothing that can be done. I simply need to sweat through this. I don't regret it.

[A smile found him, despite the obvious burden he was carrying now.]

A young man could've died. I did what I would've done anywhere. I'd likely do it again. If I can be so bold, it really is good to see you. We had come so close to never speaking again, and I'm thankful that wasn't the case. I feel more... myself around you than I've been in a very long time.

It's good to see you too.

( and he means that. he really does mean that. he's confused and a little uncertain about this place but he at least knows magnus enough to be confident and comfortable around him.

now. he wasn't always like that and he knows it. he swallows and wipes a hand across his brow. )

I don't think I could have gone without speaking to you even with what I said.

Really? It seemed that you were more than fine with the decision you'd made.

[It might have been unfair to say, given what he knew, but the truth was that when Alec had come marching in throwing around words that were all too true Magnus had been clear about not seeing him again, not speaking to him. Up to a point.

His own interest and curiosity where the shadowhunter was concerned had completely blinded him by the time the actual wedding rolled around.]

I tried to be.

( and he'd done his best to convince himself that getting married was what he wanted and what he needed. he'd pushed down everything else. )

But I haven't been happy for a long time.

Well, it might be bold of me to say, but I think turning down your wedding might just be the beginning of a bright new future for you.

[If not just because of the sheer energy Alec had exhibited in the kiss, but just due to living for himself for a change. The fact that this played his interests was simply a matter of luck and intuition.]

Except now I'm here so that's...

( a bit of a kink in the road. sure, magnus is here but his family isn't and neither is the institute and he hates being away from them and he hates being in situations where he feels like he's on his back foot. )

That's unexpected. I don't really know what to do about that.

None of us know how the magic here works, even someone with my background - I've come up short, which implies this is more powerful than anything we've ever had to deal with in Brooklyn.

[Magnus isn't a fool, he knows what Alec's family means to him and what the institute means to him. The lack thereof was going to be a point of contention, plain and simple.]

I suppose all you can do is settle in for the time in which you're around. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky few to return rather than be stuck here but for the time being my own place of residence is, of course, open to you.

What? Really?

( he's surprised. magnus is a forgiving person, he's learned, but offering a place to stay after everything is even more than alec expected. )

You don't have to do that. I'm sure you have a lot of...company. ( that wasn't what he meant to say and he shakes his head. ) I meant that I don't want to intrude on your routines and all.

Why not?

[The bit about the company he might have earns Alec an easy sort of look, something between mild-amusement and wryness. It would be unfair to tell Alec about their kiss when he's yet lived it but the alternative is to tell him he's been alone, and he's not quite sure which is worse.]

I'm aware I don't have to, I want to. You need to be somewhere you feel comfortable should you stay for much longer than a visit and I have more than enough space to share.

[The townhouse he's moved into has the bare minimum up. What he could afford he's put into it and it's all very Bohemian in nature because of it.]

Because we don't know each other that well and I was a...

[ jerk. he'd been a jerk and he knows it. he shrugs, awkward and uncertain. ]

I just don't want you to regret it asking me or anything like that.

We know each other well enough to cohabitate, or would you rather stay elsewhere or among the natives while you find your bearings?

[ Harsh, maybe, but he knew Alec well enough to know that comfort was a mutual boon that they'd share. Magnus's might veer into hedonism but only so far as alcohol and a little debauchery and never at the expense of anyone else. ]

Regret is a waste of time. To everything, a reason. You know all too well I'm not about to let a shadowhunter such as yourself out of my sight in this admittedly dangerous terrain. What would the clave think?

You don't want to know what the Clave would think about me living with a warlock.

( but alec's about done with letting them run his life. he knows they have the best of intentions when it comes to his job and how they try and protect the downworld and the mundanes but they can't get into his personal life. )

Which is almost reason enough to say yes to you. I'm so tired of them trying to run certain parts of my life.

You're in control, Alexander. If nothing else, you make all the choices here.

[Certain parts of his life aside, Alec makes the exact same decision not too long after what he remembers. They're weeks apart from each other, some lessons take longer to learn.]

So, if you choose to stay with me. My door is open to you.

Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to be and I'll — I'll help with things.

( chore, rents, whatever. he doesn't want to just loaf off magnus' kindness. )

I want to contribute.

That's very noble of you, and I won't decline the charity.

[Rent wasn't an issue really, but there would be moments when Magnus might be incapable of doing the simplest of things. He keeps his place relatively structured for that exact reason.]

I do have a bedroom for you, but it hasn't yet been furnished. You may need to occupy the sofa for a while until I can find you a bed of your own.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

NOVEMBER TEST DRIVE MEME

NOVEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

NOT BEAST NOR KIN

ALL YOU CAN EAT

Character Arrival

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