APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to April's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: ENCHANTMENT 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: Enchanted food, possible body horror, mild finger injuries, magic based mind control, rapid aging, possible death
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

YOU UNCULTURED SWINE

Pork is on sale!! Time to buy it up for all your family meals. It also means anything with pork in it in all of the restaurants is on special and super affordable for just about anyone. New arrivals can even get a free meal of bacon, sausage and eggs at the diner! Seeing all the low prices, you find yourself craving pork more than ever. But who doesn't love bacon, right? Maybe you had ham and pineapple pizza at Peter's or those delicious and mouthwatering pork dumplings at the Hot Pot. You could have cooked a nice pork loin with your friends and family for a large get together. Candied bacon is a real treat to munch on in the park!

You're cooking it yourself or getting it from the local restaurants, so nothing bad could happen with a little self-indulgence, right? Just about everyone has learned not to trust the food at a giant feast in Deerington, but short of the lunch and dinner menus at the diner, the restaurants and the grocery store have never done a Sleeper harm! At least, that's the way it's always been before. Two years is long enough to start taking things for granted.

Anyone who has any of the specials from the restaurants or who cooks any kind of pork related product at home will find that once they have finished their meal, they will slowly turn into... pigs. It seems to vary on how fast a single person turns, some moving slowly over the course of days while they eat more and more food, and others will turn into a full blown pig in a manner of minutes. At first you can still talk to others and display your usual personality in pig form, but the longer you stay a pig, the more boarish you'll become.

So how do you break the curse? Locals say there's a magic stream up on the mountain that will stop these kinds of enchantments, but you can't go alone. Someone will have to carry you up and sing to you while you drink. It might be a friend or a lover or a complete stranger, but whoever you can nudge into it will have to physically carry you in their arms up the side of the mountain looking for this stream. It can take a while— the walk is fairly long, a few hours at best, but you'll know it when you find it. The stream sparkles unnaturally in the sunlight and it seems like none of the animals are willing to drink from it's unnaturally cold waters. The moment you take a long sip while your companion sings whatever song pops into their head, you'll turn back into a human. Hopefully your clothes turn back with you.

If your character does not eat meat/pork, then they'll be safe from this event!

GOOD ENDURES

Mirror mirror on the wall...

The pork doesn't seem to be the only enchanted object around Deerington this month. There are several of them cropping up all over the place and each one has a different outcome for those unfortunate enough to run into them.

Spinning wheels seem to be in the most random of places. Some of them will even just appear in your house. Sometimes multiple spinning wheels show up. Anyone who gets to close will have the strong urge to prick their finger on the spindle, the needle very easily cutting the tip and making you bleed more than you might have expected. Hopefully you have a first aid kit around.

Anyone who pricks their finger will find that they are forced to follow the next person they see around everywhere. They'll follow them to work, to school, to the bathroom, to the kitchen, even to bed. It doesn't matter if it's someone you've never spoken to in your life, you will follow them like a lost duckling every hour of every day. It's enough to drive anyone bonkers.

Mirrors will also suddenly be being displayed in every home and every shop, even if you never had them before. It doesn't matter whether or not you have a reflection, any person who looks into the mirror will find that they are forced to imitate the next person they make eye contact with. This can be their personality, their posture, the way they speak, their basic movements— you'll start to become a total mirror image. If it goes on too long, you might even start to find the two of you start to look more and more alike...

Apples start to pop up in all the stores as well as in your fridges. They're bright red and look so delicious, you can't resist taking a bite. Even if you don't like apples or are normally allergic to them, you'll want to eat these, and you'll find they taste delicious and don't bring harm to anyone. At least... not at first.

A few hours after eating the apple, you'll start to notice differences in your appearance. Your hair has start to thin and become gray and limp, your skin is wrinkled and covered in spots, your hands become frail and shaky. You're aging, and rapidly at that. Before you know it, you've turned into a hideous hag, one that would frighten children in any fairy tale book. But how do you reverse it?

The cure for all three enchantments is to tell three facts about yourself. Even just introducing yourself will show improvement if it's to someone who never knew your name before. Those who ate the apples will have to seek someone out, but anyone who pricked their finger or looked in a mirror will specifically have to confess these three facts to the person they're enchanted to follow/imitate. Once three facts have been shared, you'll be able to leave, return to normal, and age back to your regular self.

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.

Comments

[mayormacfuckyou]

[Wow, whatever that means, fuck you.]

guess that makes sense you'd get the lowest grade even for being a fuck up

[magija]

[ she feels almost silly talking about it, but she does still get that slight flutter in her belly. maybe because it's just been a long time since she's been genuinely happy. ]

Kai Parker.

[ she sets up the tea bags into the cups, pouring in the heated water before turning to hand one off to lilith. ]

I didn't really get along with him too well at first, but he helped turn me back after I'd become a ghost. Which ... is just another little incident that happened after you'd left.

[earps]

Shit, "Suckville" is a way better alternative than anything I've managed to think up in a year.

[ AKA who is this clever chick and is Wynonna mildly offended by her quality quipping ability or just wildly impressed? Chances are it's a little bit of both. ]

I'm Wynonna, by the way. [ It takes her an extra second to free her hand from the array of tees she's slung over her forearm, but when she unearths it she gently extends it across the space between them. ]

[touchofrogue]

[ Rogue shakes her head. ]

This is the first time I've met you. An' whatever memory problems might have happened here, I can only tell you that it doesn't feel like I've got any gaps in my memories right now. [ She shrugs a little. ] So take that for what it's worth.

[finaletea]

Um well... they went back to human I mean!

[ That probably isn't common for vampires but- ]

This town... is always changing. It rarely stays the same for more than a month. People change with it too.

[finaletea]

That's the spirit!

[ Claudine seems to pick up on things quickly and that makes her glad honestly. Hopefully that'll only help her here.

Mami shakes her head at her question though. ]

Not as far as I've been told. Sodder does seem to believe in us, though, so maybe that's part of the reason. I think... one day we will be able to save her.

[deathpending]

Later rather than sooner, I hope?

[ Jonathan smiles, careful not to show teeth, just in case. He amuses only himself, anyway — perhaps it's a consequence of claws now, or that he was never really able to let things go and it is simply poetically literal now. ]

Do you feel... quite all right? I know things are strange here.

[doesntpaint]

Just gonna take your word for it, I guess.

[ While simultaneously not flapping his lips too much in public, because yeah, he doesn't really trust this place at all. ]

Hm, let's see, my schedule's clear. Mind if I head over?

[doesntpaint]

"Oh, that's clever. Witty, even. Iron Man Barber Kit. I need to remember that, pitch that idea to marketing. Bet I'd make a killing." Hey, shooting the shit with people is half the fun. At least, it's more fun than turning into a pig. Or even considering what that would be like.

He gives those bracelets a good once-over, taking in what details he can from just surveying them.

"So, uh, scale of one to ten: how crazy are you going to think I am when I say I've seen something like that before?" The webshooters, he means. It's not the most improbable thing he's ever heard. The fact that there could very well be two individuals going by the name Spider-Man isn't that weird, is it? Not in his mind, anyway.

[droptheious]

Yeah, movies don't exist yet in my-ohokay. [Suddenly there's hand grabbing, he manages to roll his shoulders through the mental stalling that comes with the sudden contact.] I mean, I don't hate magic, I just find it excessively inconvenient. But sure! I'd like to see some more. I like adventure stories? In books. I mean.

[droptheious]

[Good assessment there Rogue, he's bsolutely a jackass. Largely unintentional these days, but a jackass all the same. ]

Uh... yeah? What- what do you think I've been asking questions for? If I didn't want to help you, I wouldn't bother asking. I'd just leave you to it.

[Yeah, that bedside manner ain't getting any better. He points at her hair, helpfully.]

Your hair's back, by the way.

[holybeasts]

[She continues looking astounded for the moment.]

How peculiar! I've never heard of any vampire regaining their humanity.

[How in the world would that work even?]

[especiallyparanoid]

I see! Congratulations are in order then.

[He looks rather pleased at that. Always good to hear about the not-ending of the world!]

Before I found myself here we had recently returned from Pylea, a demonic dimension where people were enslaved and held as cattle.

[lightthedarkness]

Adventures stories I can do! Maybe pirate stories or oh! I wonder if they have samurai movies here! Those are awesome!

We'll do a whole movie night! I... have no idea where the movies might be here to even rent but I'm sure there's something!

[threelayers]

[She nodded and pointed at herself and then Rogue before shaking her head. No, she hadn't met 'a' Rogue before in her life. She would have remembered someone with decent striping game in their hair pretty readily, honestly. She thought about it for a second and then tapped on her phone.]

Be wary.
Death is strange here.
Not permanent, but there is damage after coming back.

[touchofrogue]

[ Since it seems an honest question, he gets an honest answer. She turns around and starts listing things off, counting them by touching the tip of the pinky of one gloved hand and moving across each finger as she advances another option. ]

Scientific curiosity. Sick amusement. Bein' a nosy parker. Writin' a newspaper article. [ She shrugs a little. ] There are a lot of reasons why people do things. It doesn't really matter.

[ She shifts to check beneath her glove and -- all seems well there too. Rogue frowns slightly. ] Because we should figure out what just happened to fix it, because if it happened to me, it can happen to other people. An' I'd hate to see what happens if that aging process isn't stopped.

[touchofrogue]

[ Right so - at least the first meeting things is cleared up.

She frowns a little at that information. ]

What kind of damage?

[cohabitations]

[ It would be. Not only is she left wondering if she could offer accidental bits of his future or possible futures--- Does learning that he meets her change things already? Do the mechanics of this place allow for that? Brave new world, such as it is.

He's about to worry after the person who changed again, except another townsperson seems keen on taking the role of carer once his attention is away. He gestures to the nearest booth and slides into one side, crossing his arms on the table and lacing his fingers together. ]

I have to admit that I'm not overly fond of science fiction. Hank would have a more solid theory, I'm sure, but I haven't seen him here as of yet. [ No, it's---just him. He's not sure how he feels about that. ] If you have a more educated guess then I'll happily defer to you.

[cohabitations]

[ Having never turned into swine before, it isn't as if he would know, would he? It was perhaps worth the attempt at least. Looks aside, that is.

He follows along dutifully as she trots along and sniffs this and that.

Only to turn to him with what he surmises as a sound of disappointment. Ah, well. Not every idea or theory will pan out. ]

It was worth a try, at least. Seems we've still plenty of daylight. With any luck, we'll have you sorted before it's dark.

[cohabitations]

You mean I get the pleasure of suffering this atrocious lack of manners more than once? I've overwhelmed with joy.

[ It must look quite ridiculous two grown men standing on a trail in the middle of some dreamscape woods arguing. Were he privy to his future growth and endeavors he would say that at least he manages to stay consistent. They both have that going for them. ]

Actually I just left. [ A quick look to Erik had confirmed that it wasn't worth effort on either of their parts. ] Though that is an incredibly tempting thought.

[ He won't. ]

[cohabitations]

[ It was a little cheeky, wasn't it? He has something if a mischievous streak, even if he doesn't always indulge. ]

That you've missed out on? Are there a lot of those? [ Asked gently. ] Domino toppling. I'm familiar with that.

They're little tiles with numbered dots. A small line in the middle separates two different numbers. Here---[ He reaches across the table for a napkin and asks a passing waitress for a pen to draw with. ] I was never very good at the actual game but I liked to set them up.

[ It's crude but it gets the point across. He holds up the napkin. ]

This is what they look like.

[threelayers]

[She tapped again, figuring it was important to get across. Why she knew wasn't pleasant but still good information.]

Horrible illness for a weak, pains for a month.
Major memory problems if you die more than once, for a couple months.

I haven't died, so don't know more than that.

[droptheious]

Any of those would be great, yeah!

[Wait you can rent them?]

Like... like taking a book out of a library?

Action;

[doesntpaint]

Great, I always wanted one.

[ He winks back. ]

You're from the moon? Funny, you don't look like an alien. [ And not just because she's young and attractive (no, he's not having any untoward thoughts, don't worry). She looks very human, so that's an interesting piece of information. ] Kind of a big move, coming to Tokyo from the moon. Makes my move look like small potatoes.

[ He chuckles, though. ] You should go to Disneyland first chance you get. It's worth the trip.

Long story short, my house in California got blown up, and I had some business ventures I wanted to pursue in New York anyway, so- It was all very practical. [ On paper, anyway. The reality of it is slightly more interesting, which he doesn't necessarily mind telling her about if she asks. ]

[droptheious]

I'd be lying if it wasn't scientific curiosity, but if I can work out how this place runs, the better chance we have of finding ways to cut off the insanity at the quick.

[And that, at least, is honest. It's not as altruistic as he's making it sound. He's still trying to balance the scales of his terrible existence, but it's still a step in the right direction. ]

Exactly! There's no guarantee it'll just stop. I want to end it and reverse it before it actually hurts or kills someone. I don't trust this place not to try and age someone into non-existence.

[Because you can absolutely die that way, hi Gothel.]