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

[It's something like a cry for help, at least.]

Apologies if I frightened you, Tomoe-san.

[Claudine is still holding the sword just in case, but it's pointed down, towards the ground.]

I'm Claudine Saijo, and I am definitely new. I thought it was all a very realistic nightmare, until -

[She turns, rolling up her sleeve and pointing out the tattoo.]

Not to worry. But... ah...

[ Mami holds up her hand to show her own tattoo. ]

This is a dream but also a horrible reality for those why this mark. I don't mean to alarm you, Saijo-san, but I find it's better to be upfront about the dangers in this place.

There's no need to apologize. I would rather know what I'm facing - what we're facing - without it being sugarcoated.

[She takes a closer look at Mami's tattoo. Sure enough, they're both of the same thing.]

I suppose the most obvious question is where we are. I got enough information from the maps to infer that we're in Maine, in the United States, but other than that, I'm drawing a blank.

[ Mami nods and drops her hand. She glad this girl understands even though it's a lot to take in. ]

I'll be truthful: we don't have all the answers yet. But this town is called Deerington, and we were brought here by a powerful girl named Sodder. She seems to be in dange, but we don't know how to find her.

This town is very dangerous. There are monsters, and things are constantly changing here. But- [ She gestures to the sword. ] You can fight?

[Claudine nods, making mental notes as Mami explains the situation. Part of her mind - a part she immediately chastises for being too hasty - immediately jumps to ‘how do we even begin to find her’. She knows this won’t be an easy or a simple mission.]

I just hope we can find her before it’s too late to help her.

[She raises her sword just a little, being careful not to point it at anything or anyone nearby.]

That’s right. I...

[Claudine trails off, thinking of the best way to explain what was going on at home.]

...back home, there are monsters attacking the things that are most important to my friends and I. While I may not have originally learned to use a sword for that reason, it’s why I wield it now. I want to protect those important things.

We all want to find Sodder, and eventually I think we will.

[ Mami can tell she's being vague, but it's okay for now. There's no need to pry. ]

Then that will be good here. There are a lot of people who need to protection here, including yourself.

[ Her expression softens into a smile. ]

But we don't need to worry about that right this moment. For now we should get you settled in. Would you like to get some tea?

I'll do whatever I can to help with that.

[Claudine's being vague, but it's because she needs the time to think of how best to explain the situation. She'll take the time to write it out before trying again.]

Of course. If there's anything I can do, just say the word.

[Her expression also softens, and she nods.]

That would be lovely. Thank you, Tomoe-san.

[ Mami smiles and nods to her. ]

Then I know a place we can go. We can discuss more there.

[ She motions for Claudine to follow and takes her further into town. They stop at a cafe named Jane Dough, and she steps up to the counter with her wallet out. ]

Feel free to order what you like; it's on me.

[Claudine nods.]

Lead the way, Tomoe-san.

[She smiles when she sees the cafe. It’s very cute.]

Are you sure? Thank you. I’d like a cup of Earl Grey tea, please, and a slice of whatever cake you recommend.

Not a problem! I'm glad to be able to treat you. The same was done for me when I first arrived, so I try to do the same for others. Go ahead and find a seat while I order.

[ Mami goes ahead and orders a pot of earl grey for them to share, along with some strawberry cake. Once they're settled in, she smiles at Claudine. ]

You must have a lot of questions. Feel free to ask them; I'll do my best to answer.

I'll be sure to pay the favor forward, then. I appreciate it very much.

[Claudine nods, finding a seat. She takes a moment to run over the basic questions that she has, narrowing it down to the ones she thinks are most salient.]

- does anyone know why we were chosen?

That's the spirit!

[ Claudine seems to pick up on things quickly and that makes her glad honestly. Hopefully that'll only help her here.

Mami shakes her head at her question though. ]

Not as far as I've been told. Sodder does seem to believe in us, though, so maybe that's part of the reason. I think... one day we will be able to save her.