soddersays | APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Unfortunately for Bella, and Usagi too for that matter, Usagi is just as massive a klutz. So someone falling into her? Well, that means what little balance she has is gone and she is now on the ground.]

Did anyone see the wall that ran into me? [She rubbed her hips and looked up, blushing at the cute girl blushing in front of her.] Oh um, hey, hi.

[Uh-oh -- at least Bella didn't end up on the ground. Just...careened off into the road. Thankfully there don't seem to be too many cars? At least she doesn't get turned into roadkill, and can quickly scramble forward and offer a hand to the other girl, still red-faced.]

I'm so sorry, I should learn to walk. Or something.

[She took Bella's hand and stood up, oh wow, she was really pretty. Usagi cleared her throat and then waved her hands in front of her.]

No no, it's okay, I'm a massive klutz, I can pretty much trip over nothing. Um, are you okay though? I'm told I have a hard head.

[There's a quick, shy grin that's quickly hidden as Bella ducks her head. She'd been expecting -- maybe teasing? That's what she'd gotten used to, well-meaning, but still with a kernel of annoyance.] Me too. I trip going up the stairs. And down. And...probably while just thinking about stairs.

I'm okay, I swear. [A moments hesitation, taking in the other girl's cute hair, her big eyes, her smile.] It's...probably good to have a hard head. Built-in helmet?

[No teasing from her, not from Usagi. She grins wide.]

Well, the amount of hair I have probably makes it seem that way, I guess? [She laughed.] By the way! I'm Usagi Tsukino, what's your name?

I think your hair's beautiful. [It's an odd thing for a teenage girl to say, maybe, but Bella says it quietly, gently, without a hint of teasing. She offers a smile.] Bella Swan. It's nice to meet you, Usagi.

You're sure you're okay? I mean, from me running into you?

Thank you, I try to take really good care of it. [She idly touched one of her tails and then looked back to Bella.] Oh wow, what a pretty name!

Oh, that? Yeah yeah, totally good! I fall like, ALL the time. Like I said, massive klutz. But thank you for being so concerned, Bella-san! It's nice to see a smiling face after all this spooky-hooky stuff in the letter.

It's so long. [Bella has the vague, sudden urge to reach out and touch, but she was raised with manners, thankfully, so she absolutely doesn't. She will admire Usagi's hair, though, wishing her own was as bright or shiny.] Thanks. My mom reaaaally wanted me to be Italian, I guess.

O-Of course. I'm a big klutz too. I trip over nothing, all the time. [She frowns at the mention of the letter, crossing her arms over her chest.] Yeah, that was really creepy. Do you think it's real, all this? Or just...some kind of weird messed-up prank?

If I let it out of my buns, it actually touches the ground. [She laughed.] My hair can get even longer if I let it. [Serenity had WAY longer hair than what she was currently maintaining.] Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?

[At the mention of it being a prank, she shook her head.]

I mean, I'm from Japan and I'm apparently in America now, so I mean, that'd be a lot for a prank. I do think it's real... which may make it worse, honestly. But at least we're not alone in this, right?

That's...amazing. I've never had my hair past about this long...it get in my face while I sleep. [Bella can't believe she's having this conversation rather than the obvious "hey so who do you think kidnapped us" one, but it feels...sort of nice?] Uh, Forks. Washington state. [A pause.] United States.

...huh. Can you -- I mean, are you speaking Japanese right now? And this place is just...translating for us?

Well, your hair is absolutely gorgeous, Bella-san! It looks super silky! [Eh, Usagi has a very very very long list of "weird" and if she freaked out every time she'd never have time to save the entire galaxy.]

Oh! Actually, yeah, I'm totally speaking Japanese, and you sound like you're speaking Japanese to me. Do I sound like I'm speaking English? My English is horrible, but knowing I sound fluent is AWESOME!

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?

Of course! You don't think it's silky? I could share my shampoo regiment if you want? [She smiled even wider when she saw Bella smile, happy to get the girl to feel more at ease under the circumstance of the situation.] And not at all! It's 1000% honesty! What, no one's told you your hair is silky looking? Well, then I will be more than happy to remind you as often as you like, Bella-san!

I guess it must be! At least that's one nice thing about this place!

I-I mean, um...not...not in so many words. [Bella laughs, suddenly, still red-faced, but definitely reassured in spite of herself.] That's...really nice of you to say, Usagi.

[Then she nods, looking around, trying to find other nice things.] And it's, um...the weather seems nice, at least. Sunny. Not rainy. I don't really like the rain.

All true all true! [She reached out and gave Bella's hand a squeeze.]

Oh, well, I do like rain a tiny bit if I have a cute or pretty umbrella! Actually, I know next to nothing about the states except like, Massachusetts. [Because that's where Harvard was so, of course, Usagi did what she could to learn about the state Mamoru would be staying in.] Do you know anything about Maine? Even if this is... apparently, a dream Maine with terrible people in it?

[The hand-squeeze is -- it's nice. It makes the weird, uncomfortable situation a liiiittle bit better. Bella manages a smile in return.]

I like it for a couple days, but it rains almost every day in Forks. [Bella frowns, thoughtfully, trying to think.] Umm...lobster. There's a lot of lobster in Maine. Oh, and uh, lighthouses? I think?

Oh wow... that... I guess you must have some serious forests... that or flooding issues, huh?

Oh! I love lobster. You think they have sushi here? [Eh, probably not.] I can't really cook, like, I mean, I make a mean sandwich and I can steam rice and make tea but that's about it. Hmm... I wonder if you can steam a lobster.

But you know, I've never been to a lighthouse! We should find one and go exploring!

So many trees. It's like...a weird green alien planet. All that drippy moss and stuff everywhere. [She shudders a little, still a desert-dweller at heart.]

I can cook. I'll, um...I can show you some of the easier recipes? [Then, knowingly:] You can, yeah, but you gotta make sure not to undercook it. It's good with butter and stuff. I've only made it a couple times, but it's nice. Not too fishy.

...really? I haven't seen one here, yet... [Bella sets her hands on her hips, looking around like the lighthouse is going to just...magically appear.]

Japan can feel drippy because of the humidity. Never go in the summer unless you love sweating just for existing in a spot.

Oh! I would love that! [Being shown how to cook by a pretty girl, count her in!] Oh wow! You've even made lobster? You're incredible, Bella-san!

Then we should totally find one together! I mean, not today, but I don't see why we can't try and find one, right? Hopefully, it's not too spooky, I'm terrified of ghosts! [Which is hilarious considering she can so easily fight them.]

I'd love to go on an adventure with you, Bella-san. We should try and do things we can look forward to until we can get out of here.

I've never been out of the country, but I'll...make a note of that. Maybe someday I'll visit. In the winter? [If they ever get out of this weird place, of course.

Bella turns a little more red, shrugging.] I cook for my dad a lot. He likes steak better, but too much red meat isn't good for you and all.

...thanks. I mean, it's...nice to meet someone who's so positive.

I have, but I didn't get to really explore while I was. [What with... saving the planet and then saving the galaxy.] So we can explore together, Bella-san! And I hope you do, if you come, I hope we can find some way to keep in touch cause I'd love to show you around! All my friends would love you too, I'm sure! [Introverts attracting introverts and all, Usagi, their extrovert will just all ensure they all meet.]

I would love to try your cooking! I don't know what I could do in return, but I hope you don't mind?

Oh, that's me! I try to look on the bright side of things as much as I can! [Despite being the literal moon goddess, she is figurative sunshine.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

YOU UNCULTURED SWINE

GOOD ENDURES

Character Arrival

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