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

[itknowsyou]

[ Tightly, craning his neck to peer through the windows: ] Not yet.

[ He turns, and— OH ALRIGHT WE’RE SHIRTLESS NOW. That’s. Better than going to meet their death in pajamas, possibly? But it might have merited some warning. He makes a noise of general indignation and turns hurriedly back to the window. ]

Did you dream of a deer? Do you remember anything else?

[ Agitated as he is, there’s the faintest hiss of power to it, an unconscious edge of compulsion. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[Well, now Martin's feeling self-conscious. He didn't think Jon would mind him getting dressed. His cheeks heat up as he hurriedly pulls on an undershirt and flannel. His trousers... should he go and change in the bathroom? No, that's stupid. This is-]

Yeah. And something dragging me. A voice said I could help?

[The words burst out without thought, and that earns a sharp frown at the Archivist's back.]

You didn't need to do that. I'm not going to lie to you.

[He shucks his pajamas and pulls on some jeans, buttoning up quickly.]

There. Let me just...

[A weapon. Maybe? Just in case. He sees the hatchet he'd been using for firewood leaning near the door and moves to pick it up.]

What do you remember?

[itknowsyou]

[ He winces, shoulders drawing up, and turns again to fix Martin with a genuinely apologetic look. ]

Ah— I'm sorry.

[ He turns back to the room, eyes still studiously anywhere but Martin. The awkwardness just rolls off him. Martin keeps telling him to keep away, but— well, if they've been kidnapped, it stands to reason that would change things.

The question then is why Martin has been kidnapped too, and where the thing responsible has gone. Unless they are... inside the thing responsible, but the geometric logic of this place seems entirely too straightforward. ]

The same. I'd fallen asleep in the Archives, I think.

[lonelynotforsaken]

No you didn't. [Martin can't help the incredulity in his voice. His expression is confused.] Jon, we haven't been at the Institute for weeks. What are you talking about?

[itknowsyou]

[ Ohhhkay that's cause to turn around and blink at him again. ]

Wh— for weeks? Where... [ Did Peter send him somewhere? But, but Jon had seen him only— a week ago? Two? And Jon hadn't been away— or did the 'we' mean Martin and Peter? But that doesn't explain Martin's confusion.

He just kind of. Stares haplessly. This is about the most open conversation he can remember having with Martin in... in ages, and it makes very little sense. ]

I... I don't know what— where you might have been, lately, [ he's trying to say it! delicately! not accusatory! ] but I have been in the Archives.

[lonelynotforsaken]

[There's a dawning realization with that confusion on Jon's face in return, his harrumphing at Martin changing clothes, his... agitation. Something cold settles into the pit of Martin's stomach, winding its way up to his throat. It's familiar, icy and jagged. He tries to push it away before it can take hold, but his expression falls to something neutral, far more closed.

Jon doesn't remember. Is this a nightmare? It must be. Jon would remember what happened. Unless Elias did something. Or... the rest of the Lukases?]

Hmm. [It's so easy to fall back into what was. He could do it, let the cool fog wrap around him, dull the pain and the confusion.

But he won't. Martin grits his teeth, grips the hatchet more tightly and looks to the door.]

Let's have a look around. Might give us more of a clue to what's going on.

[itknowsyou]

[ When the closed-off look settles over Martin's face again, Jon's stomach again does something— complicated. A frantic sort of distress and a rush of recognition, both at once. What— what did he do to make Martin look like that again? (What had he done to make him stop? Can he repeat it?)

Jon just sort of... stares, and finally nods. ]

I, um— [ ohh boy here goes, he's going to talk about emotions, he can do this ] —well, I'm not glad you've been kidnapped. Martin. But I'm, ah... glad we're... [ together? away from Peter? no, that'll sound like a criticism of Martin's mysterious plan. and he's made it clear he has no desire for an ally. Jon lets it trail into a sigh, starts again. ] —I'm sorry. Yes. Let's look around.

[ He follows Martin to the door, eyes a table lamp as a possible weapon, decides against it. Seems rather pointless. ]

We should stay together. [ That's only logical. But he sounds hopeful as he says it, like he thinks Martin may not grant him that. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[It hurts, like Martin's being raked across every mistake he's ever made. It had been necessary, he tells himself. He'd needed to protect Jon. It had hurt, but it had protected him from Peter. It was... doing what Elias wanted, but sod Elias. So, he just needs to show Jon that he loves him again. That's- it's not difficult. If Jon will let him.]

We should. [It's a firm agreement as they head out. Martin looks to the signs, to the woods around, and then heads in the direction of what looks to be more buildings.] It's better we're together for this. Don't worry. I'm sure we can figure it out. [He looks at Jon and tries to remember waking up after their first night together, fled from the Institute, just them. He tries to let the warmth in that memory shine through with a small smile.]

So, you're the expert on being kidnapped. Any tips?

[itknowsyou]

[ It's embarrassing, the way Jon lights up in response to that smile. He hasn't seen Martin smile like that— smile any way other than distant and bitter— in... months? Many months? He can't remember the last time.

Does this mean Peter is doing something to him? That getting him away from Peter's influence— it's bringing him back into himself, somehow, keeping the Lonely at bay? Or does this place simply make it feel distant, the way the weight of the Eye is now muted?

The questions itch at him. Wanting to know itches at him. Jon fights to focus on investigating the mysterious forest town instead. ]

Right. Right. [ He scans their surroundings for anything that might be trying to kill them. It is genuinely eerie that nothing immediately occurs. ] The danger is usually a bit more... overt than this. [ The Web, maybe?? His bet is now on the Web; no other power seems terribly skilled in subtlety. ] I'd be less surprised if this place were a horrible maze.

[ But it looks... fairly normal. Trees, townhomes, and not even eerily-identical ones. It just looks like a town.

The neighborhood they've woken up in is, of course, the one named Blackwood Run. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[And of course, Martin feels himself melt at that little smile from Jon in return. The cold that's been threatening is pushed away. Maybe he should just... tell Jon? That he's forgetting somehow. But that would frighten him, wouldn't it? But maybe it's important?]

Mm... The people don't look... wrong.

[In fact, as they pass by a couple walking along the pavement, Martin finds himself feeling self-conscious with the hatchet in his hand. He reaches for Jon's hand without thinking about it, lacing their fingers. The other people give them a look that's not terribly friendly, and Martin flusters, tugging Jon along faster.]

Okay, so... not a horrible maze. Just... a town! And dreams. This isn't the Lonely. Deer are- I don't remember deer featuring in any statements. Maybe... the Hunt?

[itknowsyou]

[ Jon startles at the hand on his, and looks to Martin in blank surprise. Then follows his gaze to the couple across the street, and you can see the mental math in his head: are they expected to be a couple? are there only couples here? Is this inappropriate?? How did Martin go from wanting nothing to do with him to holding his hand?

And, with a cold shock of suspicion: is this Martin even real? The things he says certainly don't add up. The behavior is inconsistent.

He's opening his mouth to form a question when he sees the sign that reads Blackwood Run, and Martin says Hunt, and his stomach seems to drop out. ]

The Hunt. [ Deer and a nearly-empty town in the woods— he should have realized— this would be an enjoyable arena for a chase, wouldn't it, and them trapped here like sitting ducks. His voice has gone breathless. ] Yes. Yes, that could be it.

[ He looks back with mounting apprehension at the glaring couple. And at the sign with the name that could be a horrible joke. Or a warning?

He drops Martin's hand, looking at him with an awful tangle of confusion and distrust. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[Martin remembers those sorts of looks. They're the ones Jon had given him after Prentiss' attack. The sort of look he'd given everyone in the Archives. Martin casts about as his hand is dropped and sees the sign.]

Let's just file this under... ominous. Maybe there's an information center in the main square?

[Every little town like this has to have a main square, right.]

It's okay, Jon. If anything happens, you run. I'll- t-take care of it.

[Martin's aware he needs to stop as he raises the hatchet to show Jon his weapon. His voice is too bright. But he's growing increasingly nervous. The woods are dark around them. There's no sense of the Lonely, but he does feel like he's being watched. That's just par for the course, though, and something he attributes to Jon's ambient... aura. If something is about to start chasing them, Martin sorely regrets giving up his connection to the Lonely. He could shroud himself and Jon, keep them safe.]

[itknowsyou]

You'll take care of it?

[ The incredulity is plain in his voice. Is this Martin real? Is he alright? Maybe something about this place has affected him; maybe it is the Hunt, swaying him more violent and more confident, and Jon is protected only because he is too much the Archivist.

He takes a step back, puts a little space between them. In case. ]

Martin, if either of us should face the Hunt, it— I'm not human. Not entirely. I can... survive a great deal, apparently.

[ Martin wasn't... there for the failed finger-chopping attempts, but he was there for Jon walking away from a six-month coma and a staggering quantity of plastic explosives. If anyone should be left to deal with Hunters, it certainly shouldn't be Martin. The idea is absurd. And substantially terrifying. ]

Where were you, before you were here? [ Where did you get an axe and a smile?? ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[Martin's cheeks color and he starts to bluster just a little bit.]

Just because you can survive doesn't mean it's... good. And the Hunt's different. I've read the Statements, too, you know? And I was there when the Flesh attacked. Melanie wasn't the only one fighting.

[Melanie was doing a lot of the fighting along with Basira, but Martin lifts his chin. He'd... flung boiling hot water on a few of them with the electric kettle in his hand. But if he could save Jon, maybe...]

And I'm fine. I was- we were- I think you've forgot a few things. I can fill you in, but I don't know if you're going to believe me. Unless you... ask.

[itknowsyou]

[ It hurts to be reminded of the great gap he'd missed, the danger he'd left them all alone in. It's... possible he's not giving Martin enough credit, yes. (Possible, but maybe not likely.)

At forgotten a few things, his speculation kicks into overdrive. The promise of missing information aches at him. He bites back the immediate interrogation, because Martin had looked— hurt, before, and rightly so— ]

I, ah... may I? Ask. [ None of this makes sense, and he would very much like for it to. (He is still acutely aware of the warm places Martin's fingers were laced with his.) ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[Martin hesitates for a moment and then nods.]

We might want to move somewhere you can sit down, though. Maybe not into the creepy woods?

[itknowsyou]

[ It is profoundly not comforting that Martin thinks he should sit down. ]

Back into the house? [ He looks back that way with trepidation. It does feel a bit like they're just... broadcasting their whereabouts to whatever might be hunting them, wandering out onto the street and back again. But the alternative is... an alleyway? Is that better? ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

Yeah.

[Yeah. Martin looks back toward the house and he can see the couple they passed just rounding a corner.]

Back to the house, I'll answer a few questions, and then we-we'll figure out where to go from there. Okay? Let's just go. Those people didn't seem very nice. And did it seem like they were dressed... oddly? Not like too off, but it's just- they were really old-fashion and they didn't look that old.

[itknowsyou]

[ Jon nods at this, and something else clicks for him. ]

Look at the cars. [ The extravagantly classic parked cars, of which there are a few standing silent along the road. They seem to drive on the right, here. ] It's all... not quite right.

[ This does little to ease his concern that something terrible might descend upon them. He falls into step beside Martin again, and... tries not to be incredibly conscious of his hands at his sides. Tries to be patient. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

Maybe we came the week they're doing the classic auto show?

[That's absolutely not what's happening, but Martin doesn't have much explanation beyond the absurd or the eldritch.]

The house looked sort of dated, too. On the inside, I mean.

[Time travel briefly crosses Martin's mind, but he dismisses it as just a little too out there. For now. He does his best not to press for any further closeness or intimacy. If Jon doesn't remember what's happened, then that's not going to make sense to him, much as it pains Martin. Jon should be comfortable, though. They make it to the house at a quick clip, and Martin motions Jon to sit down on a sofa in one of the rooms.]

I suppose there's not really time to make tea, but if you... wanted?

[itknowsyou]

We don't need tea, Martin. [ Snapped, exasperated. But he regrets it, just a little, as soon as he's said it; how long has it been since Martin fussed at him, made him tea? It's much better than... well. He prefers it to the recent state.

Jon sits. He does not fidget. But, well, the restless energy kind of rolls off him.

He does, at least, no longer eye Martin like something that might come at him with a hatchet. ]

If I may? [ He is trying so hard. The buzzy pressure jumps readily to his voice, stronger this time, thrumming with how badly he wants to know. ] What do you want to tell me?

[lonelynotforsaken]

[Martin just frowns faintly at the snap. He's too used to Jon's abrasiveness to take terribly much offense there. When Jon asks, the power in his voice, there is a momentary terror that grips Martin, though. He's removed from the Lonely... more or less, but there's still a part of him that lingers there and the 'terrible ordeal of being known' doesn't sit well. He's a man with secrets still, and while he wants to be open and honest with Jon, forcing it still gets under his skin.

No matter; he begins to speak:]

It's over, Jon. We won. Sort of.

From what I can tell, you've forgot that the Institute was attacked. There were a pair of Hunters--I never saw them, but you told me about them--and the... Not-Sasha that was trapped in the tunnels. Peter took me down there, said it was time to finally do what he'd been preparing me for. He used one of Leitner's books to let it out and it went after you.

He took me to a place at the center of the tunnels called the Panopticon and asked me to kill the decaying old man sat in a chair there. It was Jonah Magnus. His body, anyway. Elias was there, as well. He'd broken out of prison to come and watch because he is Jonah Magnus, Jon. His eyes in Elias Bouchard's body, and the body of every head of the Institute before that. He's been alive for two hundred years.

Peter and Jonah had made a bet. Peter needed to get me to his side and have me kill Jonah, take his place in the Panopticon, and he'd have it. All the power Elias does to see whatever he wants. He'd have that power through me. I said no, and Peter threw me into the Lonely.

I don't know how long I was there, but then you were there, too. [He's been standing up to this point, but at that, he has to swallow and sits down beside Jon.] You were there. You got Peter's story and killed him when he wouldn't answer your other questions. And you... showed me that you... that-that you loved me. [His brows are knit together.] It- I came back, snapped out of whatever Peter had done to me. Then you took my hand and led us out of the Lonely.

We've been on the run together ever since. So many people were dead at the Institute, the Hunters were still after you. And Daisy... had to give into the Hunt- to save everyone. We were worried about her coming to kill you, too. We'd just moved up north to Scotland, to a safehouse Basira arranged for us. One of Daisy's places. I'm sorry I've been so- I didn't realize you didn't remember.

[itknowsyou]

[ His eyes go so, so bright and hopeful at the words we won.

He listens. Startles at the claim that— that Elias is Jonah Magnus, that this is how all those puzzle pieces fit together— it makes his brow furrow and his expression go distant, for a moment, trying to comprehend the shape of that. What it means, what it explains.

What snaps him back immediately are the words Peter threw me into the Lonely.

Jon is half-rising from his seat, a frantic edge to his expression, like he needs to check Martin over for harm— but the rest of it stops him. That he killed Peter. That he walked in, like he'd walked into the Buried, but for Martin, and—

And he—

The rest barely processes. The pang of Daisy's... relapse... is distant. Because there's a building flush across his face, now, something searching and vulnerable in his eyes. ]

This all— this really happened? We went on the run together? Just... us? [ There's another prickle of compulsion in the words. It feels... right, but it doesn't quite slot into place in the way of something he Knows; there's something there, but it's just beyond his reach. The static fades, and now he just looks... lost. ] I... don't know why I can't remember. I'm... I'm sorry.

[ He swallows. Fumbles for words. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

[Martin wants so badly to reach out, to cup Jon's cheek and draw him into a kiss. He's uncertain, though. Jon doesn't remember, and while some feelings might still be there, Jon might not be ready for them, yet. Just how far back is he? So, Martin twists his own hands together, just looking at the other man. He offers the most reassuring smile he can manage.]

Just the two of us, yeah. Basira was staying back in London to take care of things. She was getting together a box of Statements from the Archives to send up to us, too.

You don't need to apologize or-or do anything. I know this is probably- I-I don't know what I'd do if you told me all this. It's... a lot. I'm not expecting anything. Just getting to be with you is more than enough. Really.

[It's not really enough, but Martin can be patient, and it's reassurance Jon needs. So, he'll deal with it.]

[itknowsyou]

[ There are certainly feelings here, and they are an awful, complicated, tangled mess. There's... a sweet, rising thrill of hope, if he can just extricate it from the muddle of shock and confusion. He's getting there. ]

But— [ Getting to be with you. If Martin has taken to holding his hand, and getting undressed in the same room, and... well. He tries to think about how that would be. On the run together, without Peter, or Elias— Jonah Magnus, really?— or anything else between them. Just... him and Martin. And Martin smiling like that, warm and real and within reach, for the first time in months.

He has missed Martin. He has missed Martin so much.

Jon inspects his own hands, at a loss for what else to do. He is acutely aware that he needs to say something, anything, worthy of this news, but he doesn't have the faintest idea how to start. But he— he can't have Martin go away again, behind that closed-off expression. Absolutely not. ]

Martin, I... I don't know why I can't remember that. I wish I could. [ He looks up, with the tentative start of a smile. ] It sounds... well, completely mad, but... also lovely.