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soddersays2020-03-25 05:21 pm
sodder) wrote in soddersays2020-03-25 05:21 pm
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APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME
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!
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.
no subject
She didn't bother to ask if Rogue was new here. That was pretty obvious. She reached up and tapped her chin for just a second before taking out on her phone.]
Watch your back around the locals.
no subject
She bobs her chin in her direction. ]
Did they try something with you?
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She chuckled silently, winking. They weren't going to try anything on her, in her opinion, if she had the kinds of tricks she did.]
sorry, got stuck here for a bit
But after a moment's reflection, she realizes that Mystique is far too fond of the sound of her own voice to try a disguise like this. So she takes a quick sip of her soda to wet a suddenly dry throat and nods. ] Nice trick.
The pastel -- everything -- is creepy enough as it is. I mean, fashion is one thing, but matchin' everything is just a special kind of hell.
No prob
Hmmm. She shrugged. Taking her phone and tapping onto it, she turned it around like a tablet so that Rogue could read at her leisure. Silence was all well and good, but this thought was more complicated.]
Born with my hair and eyes like this.
Figured I might as well just own the flavor.
The trick is to own whatever you do wear until you make it yours.
Confidence is better than any clothes.
no subject
Rogue smiles a little wryly. She gets that. ]
I didn't mean you. I meant... that. [ She gestures at an all pastel blue Townsperson, all the old fashioned clothes matching the hair in something that manages to be truly disturbing to her Goth soul. ] There's a big difference between owning a look [ she nods into Neapolitan's direction, because she certainly does that ] and being owned by it.
[ She tucks a strand of white hair behind her ear. ]
It's never fun, to be marked as different from day one. You're right, it's better to own it.
[ One of the reasons why she went Goth was to get people to shut up about her hair. ]
no subject
Her eye glanced towards Rogue and her lip thinned fractionally. She nodded once, curtly. It wasn't fun to be different. It wasn't fun for people to be unable to really understand, and the ease of it here? It felt... weird to her at times. Worst was having so much to say, but the one she wanted to say it to wasn't here.
She gestured up towards the white streak in Rogue's hair and gave another nod. She liked it.]
no subject
She nods back in response.
Then, realizing the conversation was probably about to lag, she takes another sip of her drink and decides to ask what she was curious about. ]
Did you always have that power?
no subject
She kind of wanted to be sick, sometimes, honestly. But she didn't imply that too openly. Instead, she focused on the question. A shake of her head. She focused a little, and as she did there was a tiny shimmer of green that seemed to flow around her skin before fading. She reached for her phone and tapped on it.]
Everyone has Aura.
A Semblance needs training.
no subject
Then decides to dismiss it as 'magical everyone is powered in Neo's world' land. But, like with most things, you need to build up your ability and power.
And... she can't help but be curious. ]
Feel free to tell me to mind my own business. [ She knows she would, if someone strange asked her about HER powers. ] But did you get to... pick your semblance? Like - decide how to train it into shapeshifting instead of... freezing things?
no subject
She shook her head, but then frowned. Her eyes narrowed and she felt a need to clear something up. But, this? This was harder these days, so she'd keep it small. She reached out her hand, touching the glass that she'd been drinking from. Shards of glass tinkled as she focused and soon, the glass was gone. In its place was a pipe that she held in the palm of her hand. She grinned before letting the illusion fade away, the act partially concealed by her body.
Not shapeshifting. This was illusion.]
no subject
It begins like this. I tell the light to bend
An expression of impossible fondness flickers over her face before she returns to the here-and-now. ]
I see - you work illusions. [ She nods, impressed, and smiling a little. ] You're very good.
no subject
Yes, she had it exactly. There was a moment's pause before she cocked her head and pointed at Rogue, her eyebrow raised curiously. Did she feel like sharing? Not that she'd fault her for not doing so. She was just curious.]
no subject
I have some basis for comparison.
[ And a shrug. ]
I've been in places like this before. It's amazin' how many other worlds have folks with all kinds of powers.
no subject
Wait... what did she say? Her eyes narrowed and she frowned, taking her phone and tapping on it.]
What do you mean, other worlds?
no subject
An Aura and a Semblance aren't terms that are used in my world. [ She glances at Neapolitan and shrugs a little. ] I've been in places like this before that are just kinda -- magnet hell holes. They pull in people from different worlds, different places in time, different versions of people you know... even people who have died. It doesn't make sense, but I've seen it.
no subject
I know nothing of any of that.
You haven't seen me before, in these worlds?
They say memory problems happen here.
no subject
This is the first time I've met you. An' whatever memory problems might have happened here, I can only tell you that it doesn't feel like I've got any gaps in my memories right now. [ She shrugs a little. ] So take that for what it's worth.
no subject
Be wary.
Death is strange here.
Not permanent, but there is damage after coming back.
no subject
She frowns a little at that information. ]
What kind of damage?
no subject
Horrible illness for a weak, pains for a month.
Major memory problems if you die more than once, for a couple months.
I haven't died, so don't know more than that.
no subject
no subject
good end?