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Sodder ([personal profile] sodder) wrote in [community profile] soddersays2020-03-25 05:21 pm
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APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME




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!











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.
lednikovyy: IW (Be the good girl)

[personal profile] lednikovyy 2020-03-30 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
well that's new, but he can hang around Lefty's pen for now as long as he doesn't mind being with a bitey goat. she's pretty harmless, but she plays rough with others.

you new around here?
lednikovyy: CW (Only go so far)

[personal profile] lednikovyy 2020-03-30 05:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't want to be too presumptuous, but just know that if anything happens to my best friend, you're officially next elk in line.
zwhack: (𝟭𝟬𝟯)

[personal profile] zwhack 2020-03-30 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ part of it is just old fashioned good samaritan concern, and maybe if it were any other town, she might stick with that, but for one, it's deerington, which meant all guards and all precautions had to be taken when someone wasn't on their rocker.

whatever sickness it is, it's definitely making its way to physical form as the girl seems to get pinker in tone, limbs suddenly shifting in ways that absolutely shouldn't be natural.

she's seen people turn in the blink of an eye, but that's typically when they become zombies, to which, aside from the gradually rotting skin, shouldn't actually consist of sudden limb adjustments. ]


Okay, okay, so not good meant not good. [ she won't panic, she won't panic.

except the girl is now less girl, and more — did she just squeal? ]
Oh God, please tell me this pig thing is just a normal weird magic thing you do and not a local town curse. Because that ... is a problem.
earps: (pic#12726075)

[personal profile] earps 2020-03-30 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Or, alternate plan: go and stock up on food in order to further fuel said puns.

He has a blatant disrespect for authority. I'm not even sure he considers me a threat. Even after I swore I'd turn HIM into nugs.
noblebeast: (Hero: Ugh)

[personal profile] noblebeast 2020-03-30 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He gives her an odd look. Stage girl? What the hell does that mean? And he doesn’t know anything about any stories either. What the fuck. Is she from some storybook world? At this point, nothing’s odd the table. ]
noblebeast: Coloring <user name=heroredriot site=tumblr.com> (Hero: Adrenaline)

2/2

[personal profile] noblebeast 2020-03-30 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[ But that last suggestion? Fuck yeah! He can get behind that. ]

That’s what I’m talking about.

Let’s go blow some shit up!
knewaguy: (8618)

[personal profile] knewaguy 2020-03-30 06:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[And that's precisely his cue to laugh, right then and there. It is a whole lot of shit to get used to - but since when isn't he bombarded with all of that and more? His life's been longer than most and if we're counting the multiple realities he might've lived through too? Fuck, he's already too jaded for this conversation. Most especially because:]

About a month an' a half.

[It's not funny. He still snorts.]

You can say it. It's aged me, I know.
maisel: <user name="peaked"> (you were teased)

[personal profile] maisel 2020-03-30 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
That was quite possibly the worst answer I could receive, but I appreciate your honesty in these trying times.

Are from New York, too? Whereabouts?

-Midge
nockturnal: (pic#13782953)

[personal profile] nockturnal 2020-03-30 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
His eyes narrow further at her assessment. She's not wrong, but he doesn't appreciate being corrected, and merely grunts briefly in response.

A prudent move, as it happens. She does know quite a bit, more than he could have sourced on his own in his immediate surroundings. So much the better. The mention of a little girl being responsible earns an arched brow, however.

"I would have doubts as well. How would a child locked away bring us here, without our being aware of such a thing?" His arms fold over his chest as he speaks, ignoring a spinning wheel that seems to have formed just in his peripheral vision, not far behind the white-haired woman.
redheat: redheat. (❝and you make her smile so❞)

[personal profile] redheat 2020-03-30 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Rather than say anything, she simply smiles, a quiet means to show her own amusement at his words. That's something she can often rely on when it comes to Logan. Something a little lighthearted to be said regardless of current situations and all. He's always been rather good at that.

So it's with a sigh that she reaches out with her other hand and, gently so, holds his fingers with her own, smile still softly drawn upon her lips. ]


I'm glad you're here, Logan.
knewaguy: (069)

[personal profile] knewaguy 2020-03-30 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[His eyes immediately track to the touch, and he stares at her fingers for a second before turning his hand gently in toward hers. There's this nagging red flag in his head telling him it's a bad idea - she's gotta still have Scott on the brain, but he can't help himself. Never could.]

Not the words I usually hear from people.

[Okay, now he's being self depreciating on purpose but - well.]

You look... good.
redheat: redheat. (❝this could be our maybe for now❞)

[personal profile] redheat 2020-03-30 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She does. She has all of them on her mind. Scott, The Professor, Ororo, Rogue, the students. She had reached out with her mind when she first stumbled her way down the streets here in an attempt to try and locate them but... nothing. Silence. Cold silence and a lack of presence from those she loved so dearly.

But then here's Logan. Standing here with her in this shop that she's ducked herself into and while he may have jumped quite a bit in years as far as appearance goes from when she last saw him, it's still him. She knows it is. ]


Now that I'm not bleeding all over the place, yeah. Thanks.

[ She still offers him that gentle smile before she ducks her head down and glances off over the shelf then. ]

I'm not keeping you from something am I?
lednikovyy: CW (Only go so far)

[personal profile] lednikovyy 2020-03-30 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Brooklyn, born and raised.

you can count on me for honesty and an audience member if you find a good place to perform.

-Bucky


[ He's just going to keep signing the texts as long as she does it. ]
pineneedles: (vlcsnap-2018-10-01-17h00m41s141)

if this is not ok let me know

[personal profile] pineneedles 2020-03-30 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, what do we know about spells based on spinning wheels? You're not asleep, but maybe I'm supposed to--

(Johanna steps forward quickly and tilts Bella's chin up, giving her a quick but very sound smooch on the mouth.)
pineneedles: (Default)

[personal profile] pineneedles 2020-03-30 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay. Thanks then.

(She gave her a funny look then, thinking it was kind of strange.)

I guess I'll see you around later, Miss Talks A Lot.
demonicbeauty: (Considering)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2020-03-30 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, Ariadne couldn't blame her for that.

It sounded like a highly unpleasant habit.

She frowned thoughtfully. "You've mentioned that name before. Sodder. Clearly someone with power. At least, power enough to bring back the dead." And Ariadne knew of demi-gods who weren't that mighty. "Is that the local deity, then?"

The realm allowed for monolatry. There were so, so many gods and there was really no sense in trying to deny the existence of any. Instead, individual kingdoms just seemed to pick and choose the ones they wanted to worship. For her own part, Ariadne was more or less a Mudorist. But not one who practiced often.
droptheious: (I hope that you've enjoyed)

[personal profile] droptheious 2020-03-30 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[Look, Usagi, look. He just wants to live in his snarky little alchemy bubble and perky happy people find him and drag him out of it. It's good for him, and he knows he needs perky, happy people to make his life bearable and stop him from backsliding into being a dramatic little murderchild again. Having good people in his life is vital for his wellbeing.

But by god, he's gonna bitch about it.
]

...Huh.

[He follows where she's gesturing and yeah... yeah, that sure is a spinning wheel. Just. In the street. His brow furrows as he makes a soft 'hrrrrrrrrrrrm' sound.]

Does the wound feel strange to you? This place has a habit of doing... weird things. Do you feel okay in yourself?
needajetpack: @ recadreuse (i herd u talkin shit)

Mando | .... The Mandalorian

[personal profile] needajetpack 2020-03-30 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
{ ARRIVAL }
[This is not his beautiful ship.]

[There's no sound of engines, there's no distant hum of life support. No occasional sway of navigation in hyperspace. Nothing. It's quiet. There are... birds? There should not be birds in space. Unless the kid decided to forgo baby noises and start making chirps.]

[Possible. But not likely.]

[No one else is present in the house for his rude awakening. For the ensuing frantic search for a tiny green head, a pram, anything. For a sign. Nothing. Nothing but a basket, which is slammed down with frustration -- no words. Just that gesture.]

[He exits through the back door. Prowling through the streets like a caged animal, poking through small spaces, lifting lids on trash cans. Townsfolk stare, whisper, and he rounds on them -- on the natives, abruptly.]


Where is it? [Stern and sharp. Determined. The townsfolk whisper still and step away.] You heard me!

[Maybe his translator is broken...]



{ NETWORK | text }
I need a ship.

I can pay.


[That's it. Short and sweet. It's easier to keep your tone level and calm over text, too. Don't give away the unease, don't let anyone know you're missing important things -- ]

[Don't ask about the missing little goblin.]
teamfun: (I find boxes of photographs)

[personal profile] teamfun 2020-03-30 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
does his name
by any chance
rhyme with "peeve barington?"
just tossing that out there
as an example


[Louis that's not even trying, come on dude. ]
littlelesshelpless: (lmao that's wack)

[personal profile] littlelesshelpless 2020-03-30 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Really? [Bella picks up a strand of her hair, giving it a long, thoughtful look, then flicking it back over her shoulder. But she does smile.] Thanks. That's...really nice of you.

That's...huh. I'm definitely speaking English, and you sound...completely fluent. I don't know any Japanese. Maybe this place is...translating for us?
cashe: (pic#13004774)

[personal profile] cashe 2020-03-30 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
So maybe she had been splitting hairs, but at least she has a lot of information to offset her own rudeness. Which she mostly gives out freely. Unlike many of the sleepers, she wouldn't sugar coat it either.

"Yeah, see, she isn't your average child, apparently she's got some sort of power or somethin'. It's hard to get a clear answer, but I've worked on puttin' as many pieces as possible together." She fancied herself a reasonable person when it came to reality, but Deerington had thrown enough at her that she's well enough adjusted to the supernatural at this point. "I know it sounds weird, didn't believe it myself when I first got here, but weird things happen constantly, as you'll find out."

Deerington threw plenty of curve balls. Such as the spinning wheel that starts to nag at her. She turns around and glances to it, feeling the urge but fighting it off with a sigh. "Take these spinnin' wheels for instance...they are poppin' up all over town and I guarantee they mean nothin' good. I got half a mind to start collectin' them and have a big ol' bonfire at my place tonight."
littlelesshelpless: (lmao that's wack)

[personal profile] littlelesshelpless 2020-03-30 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[That makes Bella laugh, taking the bottle back and raising it in -- a toast? Maybe? She's 18, she's never toasted anything.] I think I'd make a better big cat than a frog. Hopefully.

[She draws in a breath, then slowly tips back the bottle, downing it in one gulp. It makes her grimace a little.] Hm. Pennies.
hsalf: (tw03)

[personal profile] hsalf 2020-03-30 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ no he doesn't know, and he does not want to know. ]

Their accents sound fake. Am I wrong? They have to be faking it.

[ this is all very important discussions about how much wells council is full of shits and he, not even a wells, is the best wells. ]
littlelesshelpless: (tiny smirk)

[personal profile] littlelesshelpless 2020-03-30 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think they can transfer credits from a nightmare town. Like whatsit, Silent...hills? [That's what it reminds her of. One of Jake's dumb video games.

She catches the other girl's gaze and quickly sticks her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. Cue a completely innocent, wide-eyed look.
]
littlelesshelpless: (:3 uwu)

this is everything i ever dreamed of ok

[personal profile] littlelesshelpless 2020-03-30 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[Bella doesn't have time to think before the relative stranger is stepping forward and kissing her like -- well. Not like Edward had. Closer to Jacob, but still, without that awkward "I'm-being-gentle-cause-you're-a-delicate-Girl-and-might-break" air. It's firm and solid and quick and it leaves Bella blinking rapidly.

If she were more smooth, this is when she'd say something about it not working and needing to try again. But she is not smooth, so she just stammers and looks at her still-slowly-bleeding hand and shrugs helplessly.
] Uhhhh. Try...walking...away?