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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.
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (=- from the land that i left)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-07 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ He grimaces at nudges and hints. Still, there's... some little flare of hope in his chest, that Elias will maneuver them out of this as surely as he manipulates everything else. It is promptly stomped on. ]

I— no. Nothing about this place. It's... very disorienting, when I try. [ And acutely unpleasant, like trying to Know about the avatars, or peer into something else's place of power. Not quite the same, but— it's all muddled and made of strain. ] It feels... a bit like it did in the Buried. Everything feels very... far away.
kaleeopee: ✘like a song of love that clings to me (✘unforgettable though near or far)

[personal profile] kaleeopee 2020-04-07 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
Alright, alright. Table bad, steer clear of the table. And I don't know, maybe a few hours? I was still trying to get my bearings when I found you.

[Every new word that comes out of Jon's mouth sends a new icy drop of dread straight into the pit of her stomach. She can answer Jon's questions without conplaint, that's not an issue. It's when her own questions start bubbling to the surface that the fear starts to kick in.]

...how long is a "very long time", Jon?
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (!/- time was bending)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-07 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ He. Tries to count it in months, instead of years, so it'll sound less alarming.

It's almost three years exactly, though.

Decides against it. ]


... you've, ah... a lot has happened, Sasha. I am... so glad you're alright.

[ Jon is looking at her with open, mournful emotion. And too many scars. These are basically equal clues that a lot has changed. ]

Do— do you remember the statement of... Amy Patel? #0070107? About a table. And the Not-Them.
imarealistnotacynic: (Default)

Richard Strand | The Black Tapes

[personal profile] imarealistnotacynic 2020-04-07 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
A) Arrival |

[This can't be easily explained by a shared delusion. Whatever is going on here is a mystery that makes Deva Corp look like a children's television show, which makes him wary. Consequently, he hasn't been the most social being, but he cuts an unusual figure because he is still dressed in the suit he ended up in here, adjusting his glasses and sitting on a park bench to read his phone. Typing on it. This place at least provided a notebook and a pen, so he's taking notes.

He really does cut an unusual figure in his rich dressings, and staring intently at the locals and new arrivals passing probably doesn't earn him any favors either. Should anyone approach him he'll just meet their gaze calmly and shrug.]


I'm trying to decide we're all delusional. Don't mind me.


B) Uncultured Swine |

[Pig is easy to cook. Bacon especially. But given that he's been shanghaied here he's wary of different kinds of meat by nature. He's wary of food here, but he has to pick something to cook. So initially he'd selected hamburger meat. Easy to freeze, easy to cook. - He's glad he did because he's just lucky enough to see somebody eating those dumplings and end up squealing, cloven hooves kicking in the air.

That-

That should not happen. These things however can be easily explained by a number of things - infection, disease, Or perhaps that person was from one of these other so-called universes. Standing out in front of the Hot Pot, he's surprised when a Second person just sort of starts swelling in place before squealing and again, flopping over.

People don't just...eat things and turn into animals. That's physically impossible.. Delusions. This screaming was nothing.

Amid the chaos he sets his own purchase carefully down, studying the scene and just - trying to puzzle it out because this is...]


Obviously.

[His tone is edged with nerves - that anyone who passes by might be able to hear.]

There's something else at work here. This-

[It's instinctive however when he seeks someone pace by with something he knows is pork related. He slaps it out of their hands.]

Don't eat that! not until we can figure out what kind of food poisoning is affecting these people.

[One of the pigs makes a bid for his groceries and he picks it up quickly out of their way.]

redheat: redheat. (❝fairytales are simply for little girls❞)

[personal profile] redheat 2020-04-07 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ Considering what she saw herself moments prior to waking here, she would have to agree with that. Which is why she looks to Bella both curiously and with gentle concern. ]

Do you feel safe there?

[ A beat. ]

I woke up in a house that definitely isn't mine either but I don't want to leave you someplace on your own considering the circumstances of this place.

[ Being completely unfamiliar. ]
foundakeyandangels: (5)

arrival

[personal profile] foundakeyandangels 2020-04-07 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Sally has decided to take up running in the park, on days that doesn't seem too riddled with strange shit going on. Still, she runs in a gray and pink sweat pants and pink shirt, a sword strapped across her back, just in case.]

[the bench she tended to run to to cool down was partly taken by a man, so she slowed, debating going else where or still keeping her routine.]

[And the man spoke, so she moved to the far end o the bench, brow raised.]


I would go with delusional, if I were you. It makes things easier, especially when they hurt.
imarealistnotacynic: (Default)

Re: arrival

[personal profile] imarealistnotacynic 2020-04-07 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[That was...surprisingly unexpected. Looking up at her he makes a note. Orderly and concise.

He runs a hand through his hair and considers his notes.]
You're making some sense.

[A rarity here. He'd kill for his equipment.]

The root of it remains to be seen. What do you mean by hurt?

[Shared painful delusions are not...a pleasant thing to anticipate. He flips to a new page.] On July 13th, 1986 300 people collapsed on the Hollingwell Exhibition grounds complaining of sore eyes and a burning throat.

[But here he is, ready to take notes.]
detectivedwloki: (Checking)

Arrival

[personal profile] detectivedwloki 2020-04-07 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
[It was only a casual side-glance that Detective Loki threw toward the man as he was passing by but his words made him halt in his tracks.]

The general consensus is that this is a shared dream.
imarealistnotacynic: (Default)

Re: Arrival

[personal profile] imarealistnotacynic 2020-04-07 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
So a case of Folie a deux.

[That gets added to his notes.]

...I wasn't in Maine when this occurred however. How are people explaining that way?

[He sounds methodical, logical as he keeps making notes, staring at him.]
foundakeyandangels: (Chat)

[personal profile] foundakeyandangels 2020-04-07 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
[She paused at the bench, putting a foot on the edge and leaned into it a bit, stretching her legs out as she crossed one arm over the other. It was a good run. But now there is this guy analyzing....... things.]

Honestly, just going with a multi layered dream or delusion tends to make this easier for new people. Which, please don't think me rude, but you seem new. [If he thinks they are all delusional, he's not a townsfolk type person either.]

I mean when one is physically hurt. Most dreams or delusions, you don't feel. Or generally, as I've heard. This is more... real? If someone attacks you, it hurts.

Not sure what this Hollingwell Exhibition has to do with delusions though.
imarealistnotacynic: (Default)

[personal profile] imarealistnotacynic 2020-04-07 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
The Hollinwell exhibition is widely regarded as either a shared delusion or a pesticide sprayed by the British government in a field that people collectively had an allergic reaction to.

[He sets his pen down.] Mass Delusions have been documented in multiple cultures. One of the most famous that you've probably heard of is the 1518 dancing plague. Several hundred people in Stratsborg began to dance in the middle of the street. Historians can't agree on the exact number, but it's become a popular story in pop culture.

[Nonplussed, he continues to write and then sighs.] Though there's no concrete cause, various herbs and fungi have been shown to have a negative effect on human beings. If this is a "dream" that we're all having, food and plants are a likely culprit. Ergotamine is an ingredient in LSD.
Edited 2020-04-07 01:32 (UTC)
detectivedwloki: (Arms crossed)

[personal profile] detectivedwloki 2020-04-07 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
Nor was I.

[Loki crosses his arms and stares down at the man with a slight frown, watching the note-taking.]

I'm from Pennsylvania.

But you can go anywhere in a dream, right?
vatical: hozierspam | tumblr (017)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ the kid takes a step back, and sunny feels himself take an involuntary half-step forward. it earns a distressed little keening noise as he realizes that something not-normal is happening again, and michael isn't here to ease him through it, and sunny just. can't. so much has happened in the last few days that he just wants things to be not scary for a little while.

but he can't step back again, and he can feel the panic just there in his chest, making it tight and hard to breathe.

it's okay, sunny. slowly. don't try to force it. you're okay. ]


No, I-- [ his breathing is a soft wheeze, and he has to take a moment to calm the rapid thrumming of his heart to try again. ] I know. I mean, I read the-- But there was a.. spinning wheel..? [ he glances down at his still-bleeding finger, troubled when he realizes he's gotten it over both hands. ] Oh. I-- I'm making a mess. I don't know why I can't, um.. walk away.
foundakeyandangels: (24)

[personal profile] foundakeyandangels 2020-04-07 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
[She lifted a brow to all that, but listened carefully. Stretching as he spoke, she moved in the end to take a seat on the bench, hands curled over the edge and looking over at him when he was done talking.]

I have heard of the dancing plague, actually. How interesting.

[She rolled her fingers a moment on the wooden bench, then frowned.] If this is a shared delusion via fungi or plant or something, why are we all here at the same time, but come at different times? In long inter-volts. It seems about monthly someone new is here. But there are some people here who have been here for years.
imarealistnotacynic: (Default)

[personal profile] imarealistnotacynic 2020-04-07 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
[He looks up sharply at that because that's way too close to something that Simon would say - and the young man's actual delusions had been the source of considerable stress.

His gaze glances around, picking at the forest and the trees before seeing...nothing.]


That's a common delusion. People can't astral project or bilocate. It's not real and those things don't exist.

[Calming down for a moment, he sets his pen down.]

What part of pennsylvania?
imarealistnotacynic: (Default)

[personal profile] imarealistnotacynic 2020-04-07 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
[He raises an eyebrow when she says inter-volts but he pauses - then shrugs.] I haven't figured that part out yet.

This is a theory, mind you. And scientific theory is supposed to be tested. So eventually I'll have to test my theories. The idea of people appearing and reappearing however is new information. This happens freqently?
foundakeyandangels: (22)

[personal profile] foundakeyandangels 2020-04-07 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
[She leaned there, so her sword wasn't interrupted by the bench, and swayed a bit, thoughtful as she spoke.]

Mmm Often, I believe. There are people coming and going often enough. Then there are those who are unfortunate enough to be stuck here for a long time.
hollow_man: (sooo)

[personal profile] hollow_man 2020-04-07 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Except that gets him to stop in his tracks completely for a moment. No, there's no way. Unless... well, it's not his first brush with alternate dimensions.]

~Yeah, right. Sorry. I don't try to be creepy, I think it's just sort of a side effect of being... well. Me.

Say, do you believe in parallel universes?~
kinetically_charged: (smile 03)

[personal profile] kinetically_charged 2020-04-07 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Noted and filed away, and Remy has to wonder if this Rogue had any extra powers. Which, you know, good for her if it means she hasn't run into Carol. Yet. A quick glance over her appearance also didn't give away if she was wearing a power dampener, so he's also assuming her powers haven't gone into overdrive like his wife's had, which was good. It had been a tough time for Rogue, he hated to think other versions of her going through it too.

She was so young...]


Good idea. If I gotta carry ya all the way, don't wanna tire m' arms out before we even get to the mountain. [The old carrying in his arms might get a little tough after a time, but they had other options. Funnily enough Remy doesn't think she would appreciate him throwing her over a shoulder or in a fireman carry. Which means- Remy unable to stop a bark of a laugh escaping as he considered the other option, not able to stop himself from saying it.] So I guess, ah, gonna have to piggyback ya up there. [Sorry Rogue, really, he is.]
yolos: (xoxo 12)

[personal profile] yolos 2020-04-07 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
Evil deer. [ Her ankle hurts instinctively, and her mind wanders back to the odd dream she was having before she woke up.

But she'll dwell on that later.

Tilting her head curiously. ]


Reacting... how?
Edited 2020-04-07 02:12 (UTC)
detectivedwloki: (Checking)

[personal profile] detectivedwloki 2020-04-07 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
Conyers.

[If he is familiar with the area, he may know that's a place that doesn't exist in Pennsylvania - at least in any other world than Loki's.]

Where do you come from, sir?
yolos: (xoxo 04)

awyis

[personal profile] yolos 2020-04-07 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ The pig squeals and she drops to her stomach to stay out of sight.

She doesn't answer when the guy calls out the first time (how's she to know if you're not turning people into pigs, mister) but reconsiders when he seems to be exchanging conversation with his charge.

Pushing up just enough so that she's peering over the top of a particularly large rock. ]


Um, hi?

[ Now what, Kaya? ]

Are you two okay? Do you need help or something?
lonelynotforsaken: art by <user name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (Default)

Martin Blackwood | The Magnus Archives | OTA

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
I. Arrival
[It's second nature to try to disappear into the background as Martin explores his new surroundings. There's safety in anonymity, in being little more than soft steps on the pavement, a forgettable face in the crowd. He's aware this isn't the healthiest tactic to take, but this place is strange, old-fashioned, and just a little uncanny. Not in the same way as the Stranger--the Circus--but it's still unsettling.

There's a new 'ghost' in Deerington and he's-]


Oh, hello!

[There's a dog! An adorable dog that seems to be carrying some sort of package. Or letters? Oh, no, it's too cute, and he is absolutely going to follow it. So, there's now a much less subtle young man, jogging along with a dog trying to talk to it and let him pet it.]

Where are you going? Off on some ruff business? Such a good girl!

II. Spinning Wheel
[Ow. Ow! That hurt. Martin is scowling to himself and sucking his finger where he's just pricked it on the spinning wheel. Why did he do that, exactly? It feels very... Web. At least as far as it seems like from the Statements about that power that he's read. Maybe a little like that time he'd felt like he ought to pile tape recorders onto the coffin? This seems much less benign. Especially when he glances at someone and immediately changes direction to start following them.

It's not really intentional to stalk a stranger, but... here he is.]
Edited 2020-04-07 02:30 (UTC)
touchofrogue: (My Aching Head | My Aching Heart)

[personal profile] touchofrogue 2020-04-07 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ She gives him one of her flattest and most unamused looks.

And sprouts a tail. She feels it, feels her posture change - hunch - to accommodate. ]


Yeah, if I don't wind up not having arms an' legs first. Kinda hard to help ya 'long with that without 'em. C'mon, Sir Talksalot.

[ She starts walking again. Definitely scared and a little freaked out. She does NOT want to turn into a pig, but the way things are going she probably will... and then she'll have to rely on this strange Remy to help her... ugh, this place was the Worst. ]
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (== in me at all)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-07 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
I, I can move further away now. It's as though there's an invisible thread...

[ He reaches out to touch the space between them, frowning at the air. He can't see anything, and by this point, Jon can See most things no matter how invisible they're meant to be. Again: perks of an eldritch knowledge god.

So it's worrying, that he finds nothing in the air at all.

He looks up at her again, and keeps his voice polite and careful. He could push some power into a truth compulsion, but he strongly does not want to, and it takes some attention to prevent it from slipping out accidentally. ]


And what, uh, do you do, back home?
Edited 2020-04-07 02:34 (UTC)