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

[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.

[ 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. ]

[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.]

[ 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.

[A nervous little chuckles escapes his lips. Here they are, spooky forest town outside, and they're talking about... heartfelt things. Just like old times. Just replace spooky forest town with spooky Archive filled with worms.]

It... pretty much is?

[His hand goes to his pocket and he pulls out his mobile to flip through the pictures. He comes up with a selfie featuring himself, Jon, and a very fuzzy cow in the background.]

Here. We took this when we were moving in. I-I know it's digital, so it's harder to believe, but- [But it's what he has offhand.]

[ The smile in Martin's voice is still making something incredible and delicate and complicated happen in his chest. Jon holds his gaze, for a second, and knows it's all over his face: something like dawn breaking, slow and cautious and bright.

He feels it in another way, too. The knowledge is there, soul-deep and certain, as natural as breathing. This feels— right. This feels... he Knows this has happened.

It's almost-but-not-quite like a word on the tip of his tongue, like knowledge just beyond his reach. And it's building.

The photo is familiar. ] Yes. I... Martin...

[ The cow. The green, rural roads. Breathing properly for the first time in— in far too long, and the warmth of Martin's hand in his— the warmth of Martin's hand even in that endless cold fog—

He Knows about the fog. He can see Martin's eyes, the moment the spark came back into them. Recognition. Love. It twists something so beautiful and painful in his chest, too sweet and sharp to hold.

He Knows about tearing Peter's mind to pieces, snarling with it, hungry with it. The way it felt to break him.

He Knows about the Panopticon. The desperation. The mocking lilt of Not-Sasha, calling for him. Melanie with bandages over her eyes. He— ]

Martin, I... I can see it. All of it. [ Jon can parse very little of what's actually around him, right now, and the drag of strain-hunger-exhaustion makes him stagger. His hand lands on Martin's shoulder, and he latches on, clings there. He... he can See it all. Is this what drowning feels like? It's so much, all at once. ] I remember.

[The tight band of tension in Martin's chest finally snaps as the other man says he remembers. He sighs shakily, then wraps his arms around Jon, engulfing him in a hug.]

Okay. It's okay. [He presses a kiss to the crown of Jon's head.] I've got you, Jon. Just... stay with me here, okay? We're here. It's okay to remember, but come up for some breath, all right?

[With Jon in his arms, Martin's realizing this is something he needed just as much. This place is strange, frightening. He'd woken to an empty bed and light that filtered through the windows with eerie shadows. He needed this hug, too.]

[ Jon clings. Martin is solid and steady, a counterpoint to the vast detail crushing in. He is distantly aware of warmth, and he gentles into it a little. Relaxes by degrees. He might be fainting? Jon can't quite tell. But it doesn't hurt, it's just... it's so much.

He might also be crying. Hard to be sure. ]

Yes, I... I'm... I'm alright. I'm fine. [ He'll just. Stay here a minute. Clumsily getting his arms around Martin for a proper hug, as he begins to find his bearings again. Oh it feels good. ]

[Martin squeezes the other man gently, propping him up through it all. When Jon starts to hug him back, Martin drops his hands down a little to make it easier. And he just breathes. Slow and steady, something for Jon to match, if he needs it.]

I was really scared there. I thought-I thought this was really a nightmare. If you didn't remember, I- [But he has remembered.] Are you sure you don't want tea?

[Look, he has his go-to comfort activities and fussing over making sure Jon has a nice cuppa is one of them.]

[ He falls into Martin's pattern of breathing before he's fully realized it. Slowly, things stabilize. Jon knows where and when he is again. (He's with Martin.)

Not that he didn't know— but now he can narrow things to just one experience. To here. ]

Tea would be lovely. [ It has the tone of both thank you and whatever you want. ]

[Tea does, of course, require letting go of Jon. Martin seriously considers just picking up the other man and carrying him along to the kitchen, but that would be a little much. So, he lets up on the hug and finally cups Jon's cheek like he's been wanting to do.]

Stay here. I'll have it ready in just a bit.

[He leaves Jon to the sofa and steps over into the kitchen, which isn't terribly far away.] Where did you wake up, anyway? I never did ask. I just sort of... thought you'd woken up here and left while I was sleeping.

[ He leans into that hand, drunk on the feeling of it. He doesn't even have to think about it. Martin is so warm, so solid, so real.

For this one, small moment, everything just about makes sense.

Then Martin asks that question, and he focuses again on where they are. Where they shouldn't be. ] Um— a few doors down. It looks identical, near as I can tell.

[ His tone is stabilizing to something normal. Jon has more or less finished rebooting, now. ]

Right. We can grab your things and bring them back here on the way back after we look around the town.

[It's said with certainty and the soft clatter of a kettle going onto the stove. He grabs the little book of rules from the basket that's sitting in his kitchen and comes back out to lean in the doorway and read it.]

I don't see anything about it being illegal for people to live together. Um...

[Hold on a minute. Martin looks back at the basket. His mobile had been in there along with his glasses this morning when he'd pulled himself together to answer the door.]

Jon... did you have a basket with a letter and things in it at your place?

[ He nods slowly. The idea of trying to sleep apart, separated by houses and whatever might lurk between them— no. He's not letting Martin out his sight for a while, if he can help it. Overbearing, he knows, but it feels good that he can. ]

Yes. A phone, a keychain, and [ a hollow little laugh ] a tape recorder. And the jar of berries.

[ He'd waited to eat the berries until his fingers had started fading away. It had been, from a certain perspective, a shame not to see what would happen if all of him were to fade. He can't help but be curious.

But he is also, contrary to popular belief, not an idiot. ]

[There's a jar of blackberries in Martin's basket, as well. He returns to it and picks it up, curiously. He takes a look at the letter while he's at it. And then he sees he needs to eat this or he'll start fading away? His eyes widen slightly.]

Did you... eat one of the berries?

[Because this has 'this may be poison' written all over it. But if Jon did it, it should be safe, right?]

I did. If you don't, you'll begin to... dissolve.

[ a beat. with their background, that sounds much more graphic than he means it. ]

That is, you'll... fade away. I'm not sure what will happen then— if it would take us back to where we were. But, ah... I doubt it.

[ So. He took the risk. There's so much to figure out about this place, anyway— surely there will be some way out. Jon has, at this point, escaped from worse. ]

[Dissolving sounds horribly graphic and even as Jon's speaking Martin's getting a berry out and stuffing it into his mouth. It tastes... fine, really. Juicy and tart. He breathes a sigh of relief and closes that up, putting it into the refrigerator. The kettle starts to whistle and Martin rattles around getting tea--there's some in the cupboard, thank goodness--prepared. He doesn't have milk, but there's some sugar, and he puts some into his, fixing Jon's as best he can to the other man's usual tastes with what he has.

He brings a pair of plain mugs out and offers one to Jon.]

So. Sodder. I... don't remember seeing a name like that in any of the Statements. Or any of the books I read in the library. Ringing any bells for you?

[ He takes the mug gratefully, just enjoying the warmth of it in his hands and the calm rhythm of Martin's movements. ]

No. I don't know it. [ He sighs. ] Nothing here is familiar, honestly. I can't... I can't Know about this place, even when I try. I can't see the shape of it. Even the Eye feels distant. It's... a bit like being in the Buried.

[ Which is. worrying. ]

[Martin purses his lips for a moment, thinking.]

Is that... a good thing or a bad thing?

[Because in his book, anything that dampens Jon's connection to the Eye is probably a good thing. But at what cost is really the question.]

[ He grimaces, a little. ] Both?

[ Jon takes a sip of his tea, for something to do with his hands. They're shaking a bit, and he watches this dispassionately. ] I still... I don't feel— [ another little huff of a sigh. ] It's further away, but I do not feel less hungry. Maybe I'm just... tired.

[ He's not sure how well he can really distinguish between eldritch hunger and general exhaustion, these days. ]

[Concerning. Martin shifts his tea to one hand and wraps his arm around Jon's shoulders.]

We'll figure something out, whether it's one or the other. I can... I'll get some statements for you. A place like this? There are people who're bound to have all sorts of stories, right? If it's... really a dream. I just need you to hold tight for a little while, okay?

[He will make sure Jon has enough to manage. There has to be enough.]

Edited 2020-04-08 21:50 (UTC)

[ A little bitterly: ] Oh, if there are, I will be able to find them.

[ All right, that's. Probably not the best thing to say. Martin is making an incredible effort to be strong and comforting for him, and he should try to return the favor— or at least be worthy of it. Jon relaxes into the one-armed hug and offers a tired smile. ]

Yes. Yes, we'll find something. I'll be alright— I know you'll see to that. Thank you, Martin.

[Martin's lips thin a bit at that first comment, but he holds his tongue, letting Jon think about it and reassess for a moment. He just sips his tea.]

I'll have to see about getting a few things in writing. We can start a little private collection for you here. Just until we get back home.

[By hook or by crook, Martin will make this work. He won't have any more... mistakes that come back to haunt Jon. He has enough on his plate without all that.]

And if it is really weird here, maybe that'll be enough? Just-just experiencing it, right? That helps?

[ He nods along, too tired to protest. A private collection. Surely they'll find scraps enough here to keep him going. He doesn't presently have the energy to worry about what will happen if it's not enough. ]

Maybe. I hope so.

[ He is so, so tired. John leans his head back against Martin's shoulder— and frowns when this gives him a clear view of the new patterns ringing the man's throat. ]

May I... look at this? [ His fingers hover over the tattoo, a little crease of worry forming again between his eyes. ]

My mole?

[Martin's brows knit in momentary confusion as he tries to crane his head to see where Jon's reaching. He knows he as a few moles here and there.]

Um... sure?

APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

YOU UNCULTURED SWINE

GOOD ENDURES

Character Arrival

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HERE PLEASE FINALLY TAKE THIS

TAKES IT. COVETS IT.

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