APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

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.

Comments

oliver queen l arrow

[kapiushon]

YOU UNCULTURED SWINE

( This isn't Oliver's first multi-layered multiverse rodeo. With Mar Novu nowhere in sight, and, likewise his friends and team, he supposes this is yet another lesson he'll have to learn on his own time. It has nothing to do with his past that he knows of, as he's visited small towns before, but none named Deerington. The letter is a specific touch and it gives him pause, as does the Blessings Basket and the vodka awaiting him in the jar nearby. He's not normally one to partake this early, especially when he has a mission to -- decipher -- but he's compelled to drink its' contents anyway.

By the time he explores the home he's woken up in, a vehicle left for him and the general property around it, whatever he drank has made its way through his system. His metabolism always was something to behold. That, and his extensive training.

He's hungry and realizes he should get something to eat. Nothing like a time loop has happened yet and he still hasn't run into anybody from back home.

Pork is on special and everything is better with bacon, so he does accept an order of bacon and eggs. He waits for it to be made, scrolling along whatever device had been provided him. it's only him and one other guest, which Oliver does pay attention to. With everything that's happened, every single mission, he knows every detail matters. The other person pays the check and the waitress disappears into the back. It's when that person elicits a noise - one familiar to him and one he's not expecting, that Oliver takes notice. )

Hey. Are you okay?

( He's sliding out of his booth, slowly approaching the person as he witnesses first hand what eating pork is doing.

Oliver Queen has seen it all.

And now Oliver Queen has watched a human being turn into an honest to Sodder pig. He frantically looks around him and watches as the pig attempts to scamper over and out of the raised boot but Oliver swoops in and catches him before he falls to the ground. He's a little at a loss with a squealing pig in his arms, and one that used to be human. )

Um. Help. Out here. Someone - come! ( Nobody is coming, and so Oliver... rushes the pig out of the diner, forgetting the bacon and eggs that are set down for him as he passes the window outside. Timing, right?

He stops on the corner. What... does he do?? Now??

A little later in the day, he's accepted responsibility for the NPC pig and has found an outdoor cafe and something that resembles a leash. Feel free to pass by as he casually eats not pork while the pig below laps at a dish of water. As far as lessons go, he's got zero idea at what he should be learning. But, the pig is kind of cute. )

GOOD ENDURES

( With pig still in tow, Oliver wanders the shops along one of the main streets. He stops at a window, catching sight of an antique mirror. He finds himself in the reflection and part of the pig he's claimed at the bottom. Huh. Someone, you, sidles up next to him and he congenially gives them a smile. His lips remain together and it's in complete politeness.

It's then that suddenly Oliver feels compelled to match their gait, their steps and their walk. It's a bit odd considering he has a pig in tow, but his demeanor and posture completely changes.

And then if they speak, say anything, he just repeats it. At first it's only repeating, and it's under his breath, but pretty soon he tries to overlap and even beat them to what they're saying and how they're saying it.

It's probably not fun to be a part of.

Believe him, it's less fun for him to be doing. )

NETWORK SPAM

un: queen

Is anybody else on this thing having the strangest day they may have ever experienced? This includes accidentally switching lives with one of my close friends and traveling to different universes. This wins over both of those experiences, and they happened at the same time.

Does the name Mar Novu mean anything to anyone here?

Also. Does anyone feel like adopting a pet pig. He's also a person, though, he isn't right now. He's very well behaved.

network.

[webshoots]

—@ webs

[ it's almost funny how much of that peter can relate to his own life, as long as he swaps out the 'switching lives with a close friend' for 'having my body stolen by my (number two) arch-nemesis', and replaces—

yeah, no, mar novu means nothing to him.

(it does beg the question of: so what is the strangest thing that's ever happened to him, and honestly? peter's not sure. this is up there.

probably.) ]

You know, I've had a spin on the Freaky Friday experience myself, and I can tell you that it only sounds weirder coming from someone else's mouth.

[kapiushon]

I can assure you it was weird enough living through it.

[webshoots]

Oh, trust me, I can believe it.
What I'm struggling with is the idea that this is weirder.



Did you have a heartwarming life lesson to learn at the end of it?

[kapiushon]

Not quite. Maybe, there is such thing as too much power in one person's hands. I didn't need to learn about the grass being greener. I know how good I've had it. John Deegan, I don't think he learned anything.

( Nothing wrong with putting a multiversal villain on blast. )

text. un: hardsell

[oldhound]

[ Finding himself grateful for this stupid bloody Fluid is something he didn't expect. It means at least Oliver can't see the look that passes over his face. That he doesn't have to wonder if his voice shakes. ]

mate, i've been having the strangest month nevermind just one day.

but you---it is good to hear from you.

what do you mean also a person? like transmogrification? or did they change in front of you?

[kapiushon]

( The last time he'd seen Constantine, he'd helped Oliver defeat Damien Darhk. That's before Adrian Chase, before the Dragon, before going to jail. And before Mar Novu. It seems like it's been 84 years...

He smiles to himself. )

John Constantine.

That's exactly what I mean. He changed into a pig right in front of me. He won't change back.

[oldhound]

[ It hasn't been nearly that long for John but a lot has happened. A lot has been lost. With everything, throwing himself into work, he hasn't had the time to--- Nevermind all that. ]

the one and only. least so far as i know.

must've been something he ingested. magical transformations aren't as simple to undo.

[kapiushon]

( Don't get him started on other Earth's, John.

Is it this simple? )

He ate the bacon.

[oldhound]

[ Him started? It gets more barmy than all that.

Could be? Part of the fun of being an occult detective. Okay, so it's not always fun. A lot of times there is absolutely no fun to be had. Honestly, this is why he drinks. ]

he ate the---

is there nothing bloody sacred in this town?

un: barnes

[lednikovyy]

I have a goat the pig could graze with in the pen in my backyard, but I've never had pigs. how is he a person, exactly?

[kapiushon]

He was a person before he was a pig. Unless, he's always been a pig and he was cosplaying as a person. Honestly, I have no answers. All I know is, someone ate a sandwich in a booth near me and then the next thing I know, a pig is crawling out of a pile of his clothes.

[lednikovyy]

well that's new, but he can hang around Lefty's pen for now as long as he doesn't mind being with a bitey goat. she's pretty harmless, but she plays rough with others.

you new around here?

[kapiushon]

Lefty is the goat? Thank you for the offer, but two friends and I are going to walk it up a hill so it can drink from a river. And one of us will be singing to it.

You could say that. It's been a long time since I've felt "new" anywhere, but, for your intent and purpose. Yes. I am new. Oliver Queen. And you are?

[lednikovyy]

Bucky Barnes. Lefty is the goat/demon that lives in my back yard and eats my food and also things that aren't food.

make sure you don't sing any songs about bacon.

un: thawne

[hsalf]

Mar Novu?

If he's responsible for this then I'm ringing up the Anti-Monitor.

[ oh, and, hi oliver guess who. ]

[kapiushon]

( Does he... recognize that name? )

The Anti-Monitor?

[hsalf]

The very same. I'm sure he'll have fun wiping this world out. It's his hobby.

[kapiushon]

Is the Anti-Monitor the threat we're going to be facing?

Who are you?

good endures — not apping for anyone prospectively interested but YEETS

[smoakshow]

( family is complicated. no, scratch that. family isn’t supposed to be complicated but considering she comes from a long line of recovering and relapsing liars, it is. hers is. mia’s feelings toward oliver in particular? she’s spent so many years resenting him for abandoning them ( her ) that she doesn’t know how to reconcile the memory and the emotions with the man she has come to know. in the wake of her losses, she almost doesn’t want to bother getting attached but none of it accounts for the way one word ruptures from her lips. )

Dad?

( she wants to _____. hug him, swing at him, leap at him like a wild banshee and walk away, not necessarily in that order. he has a pig. why does he have a pig? no, you know what. of course he has a pig. he's oliver queen. he does what he wants, he goes where he pleases, and obviously, this farm animal is now a part of that. sucks, man. her heart goes out to him. that whirlwind fills her and yet, she still takes a step towards him, measured but thoughtless. she doesn't permit herself to do it. it just happens to her. she barely stops herself from scrambling for him, catching herself at the very last second by crossing her arms and holding herself instead. right, yeah. strong, independent woman over here. he's muttering something but she misses it at first, too invested in her own turmoil. )

Um. ( think, mia. ) Friend or food?

[kapiushon]

( Oliver is done his mimicking, luckily, by the time Mia approaches him. He hasn't yet met up with Barry, he doesn't know Constantine is also here. He's just taking it one minute at a time. When one minute a person is a pig and the next minute that pig is at his feet on a not too tight leash.

And then - Oliver turns. Her joke - or lack thereof does not land. )

Mia. ( He's not alone. Mar Novu included her. More swirls around him, memories of Laurel and - getting tranq'd. But, it doesn't matter because he's enveloping his daughter in a hug, arm pulling her head into him. He'll let go eventually. But, even while hugging her, he'll speak up. ) He's neither. A stranger ate food. ( He leans back finally. ) And became a pig. It's not time travel... ( He sighs, bringing an arm down. ) Are you okay?

( network | un: mrs.s )

[aeva]

It's not the strangest day I've ever had.

( but she also used to be an angel. strange is a little different to her )

[kapiushon]

Please. Indulge me with your tail. I've got nothing but a leashed pig and time.

[aeva]

( oh. she hadn't actually planned on sharing a story but-- )

I suppose something strange might be the first time I travelled.

( to earth )

The landing wasn't that nice.

( that's not why it was strange )

[kapiushon]

And what was the catch?