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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.
vatical: creationistic | ij (008)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he stiffens, hands going white-knuckled around his mug for a moment. someone with a similar.. power? how similar? for the same.. reason?

but he said attached to him. not inside him, not part of him, attached. is it like this.. lonely? ]
Dangerous.. how. Exactly.
lonelynotforsaken: name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (work | sweat)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[How to explain this succinctly? Martin takes another long moment to think about it, how best to phrase it so Jon doesn't seem like just a monster.]

Someone did something very bad to him, tricked him. Because of that, he has different things he needs now to stay alive. One of those things is stories. Stories from people who have encountered supernatural things. If you talk to him about them, it might give you really bad nightmares. And he has trouble not asking for them because of what was done to him. Writing it down works for him as an alternative, and it won't hurt you if you do it that way. If he asks about things, maybe suggest that, instead. It'll remind him he shouldn't be asking.
vatical: hozierspam | tumblr (007)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ so this jon eats.. stories. is that why martin was asking about the things in sunny's world..? that's honestly a little bit scary, that this jon person was changed, but it's not like he asked for it. and martin seems to.. care about him? maybe they're friends or something?

he glances down at his coffee, touching a finger to the spoon still sitting in it, and then takes a breath. ]


Should I.. write something down for him, then? I mean.. and give it to you to give to him? [ his glance lifts once more, flickering over martin's face. ] How often does he need, um.. stories?
misterdouchard: (Default)

[personal profile] misterdouchard 2020-04-07 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Mmmm. [It might be a trick of the light, but Elias's eyes glint a little in something like delight. He steeples his fingers.] Well. You are fortunate in that there seem to be many in a similar situation as us, lost and confused and frightened. A veritable buffet.

[Eat the fear of the innocent, Jon. Do it. Doooo it.]
lonelynotforsaken: name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (uncertain | okay...)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
If you... want to? I mean, I'd really appreciate it!

[This is surprising, honestly.]

He needs them... pretty often. But I can feed him with some things, myself, too.
vatical: mooncons | ij (013)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ thinking back on all the things he's seen the last few years, and all the times michael or raphael were near, or even the things he half-remembers.. ]

I can't promise they'll all be exciting reading, [ he admits with a huff of laughter. ] Sometimes Michael stops by just to, um, bring lunch because he knows I haven't eaten all day. But I'll put as many down as I can, and hopefully.. uh. Hopefully, your Jon won't have to go hungry for a while.
lonelynotforsaken: art by <user name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (smile | happy)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[Having someone call him 'your Jon' makes Martin's stomach do a strange little roll as something warm blossoms in his chest. There's a much wider smile this time, sappy almost.]

Thank you. Anything would be amazing. I want to make sure he doesn't have to worry about it. He's got too much to worry about, as is. And-and thanks for the coffee, too. This was really lovely.
pineneedles: (Default)

[personal profile] pineneedles 2020-04-07 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
fuck if i know
vatical: mooncons | ij (013)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ oh. not just friends, then. sunny returns the smile, his own crooked and charmed. even though the subject matter is still kind of spooky, martin's clearly besotted state is sweet. ]

I'm glad you think so. I know parts of this whole meeting have been kinda' upsetting, but I'm still really glad I met you, anyway.

[ martin's a nice guy, and anyone that can smile like that about another person is probably okay in his book.

he rests his elbow on the table, chin in his palm. ]
How long have you two known each other?
lonelynotforsaken: art by <user name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (smile | blush)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[The follow-on question snaps Martin back to the reality of the moment and a deep blush colors his face.] Jon? O-oh, well... um. I mean, I knew of him for... a really long time, but we only properly met... four years ago? [He's doubtful Jon remembers the first time they met in the library, even if Martin has a detailed catalog of every single second of that brief encounter.] I started working in his department.

It's- I guess it's lucky we wound up here together. Is there anyone from your world here? You mentioned... Michael? Is he your boyfriend?
vatical: hozierspam | tumblr (014)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it is lucky, he guesses.. or awful, depending on how you look at it. not only is one of them stuck here, but both of them. but at least they're together, so that has to count for something. they can be there for one another, support one another..

the question about michael makes him choke on a sip of coffee, though, and he coughs once to clear his throat, setting the mug hastily back down to keep from spilling it. once his throat is clear, he finds he's laughing a little, imagining the look on michael's face if someone suggested that. ]


Um, no. Michael's.. [ a pause. ] I don't wanna' assume, but are you familiar with Christianity and, uh, related.. mythology..? [ his lips twist up wryly. ] Specifically with the archangel Michael..?
teamfun: (Stop taking lives come on)

[personal profile] teamfun 2020-04-07 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
maybe its a step above the ice cream
don't get too excited
wills okay
hes the one i know best
hes also the quietest one so
lonelynotforsaken: name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (uncertain | okay...)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Archangel... Oh! Wow. Um... yeah, none of that's real where I'm from.

[But Sunny did mention angels and demons.]

That's- Wait, why is an archangel making you lunch?
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (! well few have seen it)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-07 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He recoils. ]

I— I will not! I've seen what it does to them— the nightmares—

[ He's not... sure how much choice he has, here, with the Archives and the (stale) written Statements so far away. But Jon is trying not to dwell on that. ] Is there no way to make it easier on them?

[ Can't he eat someone's fear without terrible side effects? ]
vatical: mooncons | ij (026)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he looks aggrieved for a moment. ] I still sometimes wish it wasn't back home for me. [ the look fades, though, as he feels his face go a little warm.

that is the question, isn't it? why would michael, of all creatures in creation, want to spend time with some lowly ex-addict? it's also part of that thing sunny doesn't like to spend much time thinking about or dealing with.

he shifts, arm lowering again as he sits up straighter, fiddling with one of the rings he's wearing to give his fingers something to do. ]
It's.. sort of.. complicated. I'm technically his parent?
cohabitations: (pic#6982059)

[personal profile] cohabitations 2020-04-07 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah, oh. Well then. So much for such a calm charge. Seems being let down was a word he might have left off until they got closer to this strange water source. He is quick to let her out of his arms. ]

You're quite welcome. [ Then he is having to quickly catch up with her as she bounds ahead of him. ] Don't---ah, get too far ahead! I'd hate for us to have come all this way only to wind up separated.

We may still have a ways to go.
lonelynotforsaken: name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (uncertain | okay...)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[The wheels are turning on that, give him a moment.]

You're... is this like one of those every time a baby laughs an angel is born type things? I've- I think I heard that?

[Somewhere? Somewhen back when he'd been a lot younger.]

Or are you an angel?
teamfun: (I'm hard but I'm friendly)

[personal profile] teamfun 2020-04-07 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Clem is a goddamn delight and Louis feels blessed to have her in his life.]

It was a hell of a ride, but things are looking good now. Finally.

[They nearly all died horribly, but they've finally got something like peace. He lets out a nervous laugh. Oh shit. Right.]

Hey. I'm Louis. Big fan.
vatical: hozierspam | tumblr (003)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he breathes another little laugh, startled, then shakes his head. ] No, neither of those things.

[ it's his turn to go quiet, contemplating how to explain something he doesn't even like examining on his own. to excuse the silence, he lifts his coffee to his lips again, more careful this time. when he sets it down, he looks a little dizzy-- his headache is still.. there, and he's starting to feel that familiar not-right-in-his-bones sensation, but he pushes it away as hard as he can. ]

So, best I understand it, a real long time ago, God left heaven. Left.. everything, just up and disappeared. Michael spent a long time looking, but He was nowhere around. [ he gently nudges his cup away to toy with his rings again, staring down at his hands as he picks the words he wants. ] Only.. twenty-eight years ago, I guess God got it into His head He wanted to try something new. So He took everything that made Him.. Him, and jammed it down into the shape of a human soul, and-- and let Himself just.. be born as a human. And His ma named Him Sunny.

[ his hands turn over and spread in a nervous shrug. ] Only I don't remember most of it. Bits and pieces sometimes, like.. like teaching Lucifer to Sing. Or holding the first star and what it felt like. .. And there's the things I.. see and.. know, sometimes.
lonelynotforsaken: name=everchased site=tumblr.com> (scared | watch out)

[personal profile] lonelynotforsaken 2020-04-07 09:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's an impulse toward skepticism, but that would provide some explanation for why this man can see like he does.]

Hmm...

[Martin sips his coffee, and sips it, and he's sort of gulping it now like he would if he had something a lot harder in hand.]

That's different!

[And he has absolutely no idea how to respond to the idea that God just made him coffee and bandaged his finger up. Jon definitely needs to not meet this person.]

And a lot to take in. I imagine.
laruetheday: but i strongly disagree. (i wasn't listening.)

[personal profile] laruetheday 2020-04-07 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Clarisse begins to head down the street to the pizza place, hands in her pockets. At Bella's question, she glances up at the sky and sighs. ]

Like two months. But the first one we were stuck in some weird underwater maze. This is actually a lot better. [ Which she wonders about. Was her initiation period in Rapture a total misery on purpose so that she'd find Deerington itself more appealing? It would be a lot of work for someone to go to, but then again, if they're part of a human zoo, it's not impossible. ]
Edited (what... the fuck happened there idk) 2020-04-07 22:03 (UTC)
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (/=- toward death)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-07 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I really— shouldn't. [ Jon takes a step inside, hesitates. He tries to think of Martin. He tries very, very hard to think of the way Martin looks at him, and not the taste of fear and confusion in this man's eyes.

He watches in fascination at that gesture, at the tremble in that hand. ]


Have you always— [ But he bites off the question halfway. A heavier weight of power was building behind those words, and he's promised, hasn't he. He needs to uphold it, for Martin to be alright. Even if it hurts, trying to rip himself away from the information here.

Jon is certain that if this man volunteers any more, he... might not be able to stop himself. Might not want to. He breathes, carefully, and starts again. ]


It feeds on... fear. Bad experiences. Terrible truths. [ Strained, so strained: ] I am trying my best not to feed it. Much.
vatical: mooncons | ij (013)

[personal profile] vatical 2020-04-07 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
It is, [ he says emphatically, and doesn't specify which part he's responding to. probably all of it. ] I don't.. deal with it much, honestly. I like being Sunny, whatever I was.. uh, before. Whatever He was. D'you like wine?

[ he smiles a little as he gets up, getting two glasses down and a bottle of white out of the fridge. he pours for himself, then leaves the glass and the bottle for martin if he wants to partake. sometimes a little alcohol helps, he gets it. (sometimes you need a lot.) ]

You're not.. uh, religious, are you? When you said none of it was real, I just assumed..
fiorenero: (.34)

MJ | MCU

[personal profile] fiorenero 2020-04-07 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
uncultured swine;

So... ( without taking her eyes off the retreating pig, MJ addresses the person next to her, calm as can be. ) Did you just see that guy, ( the sausage she has speared on a fork is waving in the general direction the pig is now darting off to, ) turn into a pig, too?

( while it's not out of the realm of possibilities considering the stuff she's already seen; including but not limited to aliens invading her city, robots destroying other cities, and people (she being one of them) blipping out of and back into existence, it's still pretty frigging weird.

one minute the guy's human, happily picking away at his plate of bacon, and then, out of nowhere, he's not either of those things. human or happily munching on his... oh. )


Huh.

( that's the sound of all that just happened clicking into place. immediately followed by the rumble of her stomach. hungry as she is, and dude is she hungry, there's no way she's going to chance turning into a pig and possibly being used for government experiments.

keeping her feet firmly in place she carefully leans toward a garbage bin, dropping both fork and sausage link into it before shoving her hands into her pants pockets. )


I officially hate this place.

――――――――――

un; boh

Anyone else watch the video a few years back where a guy stumbled upon a deceased floating pig with human hands?

Also, I read Israel released wild pigs to destroy farms and fields of Palestinian farmers, and to attack villagers.


( are the two connected? you decide. but conspiracy theories are always a nice icebreaker. and given how she's witnessed more than one person turn into a pig since arriving, these fit today's theme. )

――――――――――

wildcard;

( • as a note MJ is taken near the end of Far From Home while being trapped in the vault with Happy and the others. • please feel free to start your own prompt if these don't work! I'm more than happy to go with whatever. )
accelerate: ⚡FLASH. (pic#13858172)

[personal profile] accelerate 2020-04-07 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it's true. shove him in a room full of strangers and he'll have been invited to every single birthday party and unborn child's christening in five minutes. it's the barry allen smile. ]

Well, I haven't ridden a sleigh pulled by deer yet.

[ he does actually give that some considerable thought. that would be nice, although not a necessity. ]

Or run up a mountain yet with a pig yet. That's been on my bucket list for a while, if we're being completely honest here.