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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.
kaleeopee: ✘that's why, darling, it's incredible (✘that's how you'll stay)

[personal profile] kaleeopee 2020-04-11 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh oh, she doesn't need Beholding powers to understand what that is all about.]

No- you and Martin?
yolos: (xoxo 10)

huhuhu

[personal profile] yolos 2020-04-11 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's still shivering when she looks up, more than a little lost and not quite back altogether.

Kaya's never told anyone about what it was like - has never gone into detail like that. Not even with the counselor they'd assigned to check in on her once TALOS brought her on.

She used to feel hollow and disappointed, even when he was kind and patient, explaining to her that what was important was not the memory, but how she moved forward. ]


What... what was that?

[ She hugs her knees to her chest, wariness lining her features and body. ]

J-jon...?

[ She wants to say but doesn't: What did you mean by "you told it very well"? ]
Edited 2020-04-11 00:55 (UTC)
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (== yeah the sky was falling)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-11 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ EVERYTHING IS FINE ]

I, I, uh— I know what you may be thinking, but I'm not, um, actually his direct superior anymore—

[ As if job roles have held any meaning for the past... year?

He's still distinctly red. Damn it. ]
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (/=- toward death)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-11 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, it's a pang in his chest when she says his name. He hasn't had many that knew his name. He is Jon, to her, and that helps bring him back down.

It's... strange, and difficult, to regain a human sort of groundedness. He has to let go of the expansive, freeing power of it. He has to cram himself back down into a cramped, brittle little body and mindset and emotional state. Into the limited here-and-now. A part of him always hates it.

But her voice is so small, and so young.

Jon swallows, and steps away— steps back, a respectful distance, gives her space. He breathes for a moment, trying to regain himself. He doesn't want to focus on the guilt, but he needs to. He knows that he needs to. It's painful, and bracing, and it helps wake him up. ]


I'm sorry. [ It sounds a little rough around the edges, and a lot more human. ] I'm... sorry for asking so many questions. For, for— for making you talk about it. I'm so sorry that happened to you. It's horrible.

[ He's not sure he means it the way he should. He's not sure he's feeling it the right way, right now. But she's so young. He can regret doing this to her, at least. And—

Martin.

He can regret letting Martin down, too. ]
laruetheday: and i love your butt. (i love your face.)

[personal profile] laruetheday 2020-04-11 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's the least cute meet cute ever.

Clarisse steps inside, head down. It's irritating, and embarrassing, and what makes it worse is that she feels better being near Syd. She's being forced into this by something she can't control and it pisses her off, but how can she fight it? This isn't something she can just point a spear at. ]


Yeah, so... I don't know how to reverse it. Obviously.
kaleeopee: ✘oh there it is again sitting on my chest (✘some feelings they can travel too)

[personal profile] kaleeopee 2020-04-11 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
That wasn't my big concern but good to know? [Wow. Of course she knew Martin had been pining from day one (who in the office hadn't known though?) but seeing Jon of all people blushing and flustered isn't something she ever expected.]

Do I get to know how this came about?

yolos: (xoxo 11)

closing this off!

[personal profile] yolos 2020-04-11 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
It was nice to meet you too, Martin.

[ She'd give him a hug - but they only met today and while he's very nice and reminds her of Doozy a bit, he might not appreciate it. ]

Ingat ka-- take care and thank you again for the jacket!
Edited 2020-04-11 02:09 (UTC)
yolos: (xoxo 02)

[personal profile] yolos 2020-04-11 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ He steps back and while she's wondering if she should reach for him and apologize for freaking him out by basically vomiting up the worst possible experience she's ever had she can't--

--she can't stop shaking. ]


It's okay. [ But is it? Is it really, Kaya? When you can still hear the rain in your ears and the cold of this town brings back memories of waiting and waiting and waiting just praying for someone to come and save you. ] It's gone.

[ But not dead. Not dead, Kaya. The people who'd swept the school hadn't managed to kill it. And with the whole of Nilar practically under water there were too many places for it to have slunk away to. ]

It's gone and I'm here and alive and I'm never-- [ she bites the word out, like she needs to believe it ] --going to be it's prey ever again.
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (+ that love is like ghosts)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-11 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
... it is ... incredibly complicated.

[ Said fervently. ]

You could say I have had a very difficult year. [ He glances awkwardly to the scarred hand, then holds it up in explanation. ] And so has he, of course. It really... makes you realize who you trust.
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (/= if you don't know my name)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-11 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
That's right. [ It's an empty reassurance, an automatic thing. The guilt is still a distant, nebulous sort of hurt, and he finds himself more distressed by that than by the guilt itself. Guilt is human. He needs it.

He tries to find the part of his mind still able to ache with horror, and leans into it, like poking a broken tooth. He thinks of Martin. It hurts. Good. ]


Thank you, Kaya. For telling me. Stories like these are... very valuable for me to hear.

[ When he shifts away again, he realizes the difference: no tug of an invisible thread between them. He is free.

Ha.

Yes, that would do it, wouldn't it. Further proof that the Web is behind the wheels. That something, somewhere, is pulling his strings with intent. ]


I think I can go, now, if you'd like to be alone.
littlelesshelpless: (lmao that's wack)

[personal profile] littlelesshelpless 2020-04-11 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
If you could, I...really don't know how.

[Oh, she's holding open the door for her. That's...that's really nice? That's really nice. Bella sort of stammers out a thanks and promptly trips while going through the door.

Awesome. 10/10. This was a great choice.
]
yolos: (xoxo 12)

[personal profile] yolos 2020-04-11 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ The sound of the spindle is gone and she can see that he can back away.

Good, good. At least he's no longer compelled to follow her, because it can't be fun being forced to follow people. ]


I... [ but does she want to be alone? She's met one other person around here so far and while Martin had been nice enough to make sure she found a coat to keep warm, she also hadn't wanted to impose on his company. ]

Is there a way we can... keep in touch? [ The sound of her voice is uncertain. As if she already expects that Jon will say no.

Softly, she adds: ]
I've never told anyone else about... about what happened. I don't know anyone here. And I don't know how I can get home.

It would be... good... to know a friendly face.
chambermusicandtenpins: (oh well now hi there)

[personal profile] chambermusicandtenpins 2020-04-11 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
[It is strange to him how delighted Ganymede is, but he smiles a little at his curiosity, though he notices when his expression falters.]

Nothing is permanent here. Not even death is permanent. You might keep your wrinkles and grey for a month at most.
the_cupbearer: (modern life)

[personal profile] the_cupbearer 2020-04-11 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
Hm. Not so strange and new then after all. [ He'd be lying if he said the idea of functional immortality wasn't a little bleak by now. ]

Better to know than not, I suppose. [ Though now Ganymede certainly seems...well, older would be the wrong term. More tired, possibly, wearier of things. It's as if a kind of veil had dropped over his body language, leaving it more reserved as his laughter and smile die away. ] I don't suppose this place has a name?
slayertude: (pic#13907120)

[personal profile] slayertude 2020-04-11 07:23 am (UTC)(link)
I- Well, I didn't really have a choice. I needed to- Um. Maybe we should, like, work up to that. [ Because she's not certain how Bella will react if she tells her everything. ]

Okay, so how about this? I really looked up to Dorothy Hamill growing up, and I wanted to be just like her.

[ She thinks that maybe some of the wrinkles are receding a bit, but a bit isn't enough. She wants them completely gone. ]
slayertude: (pic#13907117)

[personal profile] slayertude 2020-04-11 07:30 am (UTC)(link)
Great. I leave one big mess behind and jump straight into another one. I really can't get away from it, huh? [ Not that escaping her life was really something she wanted. It's just funny that she inevitably seems to find herself in one lousy situation or another.

And it's kind of helping? At least it's distracting her from her problem, as well as the other big elephant she doesn't yet want to address. ]


I did just get here, so I'm still figuring things out. Like, where am I going to live, and what am I supposed to be doing? [ But she figures there's also time enough to work out both of those things. Possibly. Hopefully. ]
paradoxpoint: (you've got to listen)

[personal profile] paradoxpoint 2020-04-11 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Deadpan. Star.]

Ask a stupid question and you'll get no answer from me.
teamfun: (If words could make wishes come true)

[personal profile] teamfun 2020-04-11 12:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[Okay, that makes him laugh.]

Yup. Thaaaaat sounds like Clem. She trashed her car near our school so we took her in while she was unconscious. She still tried to take a scalpel to Tenn's face once she came to, though.

[Ah. Memories.]
bettorup: (Default)

[personal profile] bettorup 2020-04-11 01:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[She certainly knows how to make an impression. Javi chuckles at the image before getting back to business]

How long have you been in this place, Louis?
teamfun: (I hold a magic in my hands)

[personal profile] teamfun 2020-04-11 02:09 pm (UTC)(link)
About 9 months or so. I was in another kidnapping dimension before this, though- with Clem, actually. I was there for roughly around the same time. So I haven't seen home in a while.

Not that I'm complaining. The lack of dead people and the amount of food available is pretty nice.
droptheious: (The look of pity in her face)

[personal profile] droptheious 2020-04-11 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
The... the guardian of time.

[This sounds like the ancient mystical everything going on at home and he kind of wants to know more to compares notes or something. Luckily, she's distracted him with his favourite subject.

Which is categorically not magic. He'd like it a lot better if it made logical sense. But it doesn't. So here they are.
]

Alchemy! Engineering and potions, specifically. I've got a lot of chemical compounds I made myself.
casuistic: (015)

[personal profile] casuistic 2020-04-11 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Eames doesn't respond but there's a quirk on his brows that says Arthur can pretty much say that back to himself.

The waitress brings them back their drinks. Eames picks up his glass and takes a gulp. ]


There's a scar on your jaw I haven't seen before.
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (/+= from those that came first)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-11 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jon, predictably, goes a bit deer-in-the-headlights at you have a nice face. The startle shifts down into something a little like incredulity, and then a lot like it. He raises a hand, transparently self-conscious, to brush fingertips over the pockmark scars along his neck and up the side of his face.

The second explanation relaxes him some, lets him drop that hand and hold politely still under Sunny's eyes. He still looks a bit embarrassed, but not quite so mystified. ]


That's, ah... fair enough, I suppose. [ It's the least he can do, certainly. ]
itknowsyou: used with artist permission (!/- time was bending)

[personal profile] itknowsyou 2020-04-11 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He makes a little strangled sound as her grip tightens, eyes wide with startled fear. Don't compel any, any murderous robots, of which there are apparently many here— yes, that he can do. Avoidance of a being like this is a good rule to live by.

He lands awkwardly in the dirt, and scrambles just a little, to scoot away from her. Raises a scarred hand to rub at his throat as he catches his breath. ]


Believe me, if we— hh— never meet again, I will be— glad of it.

[ That's true. ]
paradoxpoint: (Default)

[personal profile] paradoxpoint 2020-04-11 05:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[Arthur knows better than to stiffen up. That doesn't stop him from clenching his jaw a bit right before he knocks back his drink.]

You should find other faces to look that closely at.