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

Yeah. Um, there's a really dangerous magic in my world. Like- can tear the world apart kind of magic. There's a scroll that depicts the incantations that can control the aforementioned magic.

[He's being deliberately vague. He doesn't want to put Cass into a tricky position if she comes here. He knows from Rapunzel they can come from any point in time, and he categorically doesn't want to nuke any chance of pace Cass might find here if she arrives sans the moonstone. ]

I'm the only one that can translate it. It took me months, it's deeply encrypted. I've been trying to help them figure out how to get a hold on everything before it all goes... real bad.

[ She listens, her focus on him, not evaluating or trying to piece things together, just giving him the full weight of her attention.

There's a moment's pause as she processes all that before giving him a small smile. ]

No pressure, or anything.

[He lets out a soft 'heh', shrugging his shoulders.]

No pressure. There one more incantation I can't quite get. Which is, naturally, the most important one. I was in the middle of... all that when I came here.

[He just leaves the kidnapping part out. Minor detail.]

[ She tilts her head slightly. Life was never fair, was it. ]

Yeah, I can see how this place would be a mite distractin'. Different things take priority in different places.

[Life is the worst, he wants a refund.]

Oh man, it's so distracting. Every time I think I have a spare minute to try and research it, something else comes up and diverts my attention. There is always something more important.

...I mean, I guess if this is all a dream and I won't remember it when I wake up, it hardly matters anyway. But still.

[ ...he had a loyal heart, this kid. Listen to him talking about the concern from his world when he's been dropped into -- this. ]

You've got anyone from your world here?

[Once it was considerably less loyal. These days, it's as much about trying to fix his mistakes than anything else. Trying to undo the damage he'd done. At her question, he visibly tenses. ]

Yes? But... also no. [He frowns, rubbing his arm.] It's... complicated. We're from the same world, but she's from a different point in time than me. She hasn't even met me yet, while I've known her for about two years.

[And it hurts, having all that familiarity torn from him. Sure, it means she doesn't know about the bad things he's done to her either- but all the bonding they've shared? It's gone. She's still her, still doing her best. But she's building from the ground up, while he has an empty gaping void between them. ]

...She's one of the most important people in my life so it's... not great.

Yeah, that always sucks. [ She knows what that's like. Does she EVER know what that's like. ]

It doesn't get less painful with practice, but it does get easier. [ She hesitates and then adds. ] I can tell you something I've learned about that, if you like. It's true, an' it could help, but it's also hard.

I'm sure not loving it.

[Because he once planned to erase her memory and now she's come to him like this is feels like it's karma laughing at him.]

...At this point, I'd take any advice you've got to offer.

People always change. You're never gonna get back exactly what you had with the people from back home. Not while you remember what you've got here, because you're different. Ya gotta build somethin' new. [ She smiles at him a little. ] You would, even if she remembered you exactly how you remember her. There's no point in looking back.

[ She knows. It hurts. She's let some friendships with people go completely, rather than deal with the differences and the constant reminder of what was and no longer is.

Other times, she's built it all over again. Something different, but still good.

The whole thing just sucks. ]

[He's quiet, mulling that over. She's right of course. He's only been here a few months and already he's changed. He's not exactly himself- people he's met have changed him and that's only likely to continue the longer and longer he spends here. It will change Rapunzel too.]

...Yeah. That- that's actually really good advice. And honestly, there's a lot of stuff I'd rather she not know about. But... but it also feels like lying to her- not telling her the truth.

[He frowns, glancing downwards.]

I... uh. I did some things I really regret. Back home.

[ She tilts her head slightly, looking at him and listening.

She's not sure what kind of bad things this little... basement gremlin scientist brat could have done, but it doesn't really matter. It's not her business. And she knows what it's like to live under the shadow of regret.

She gives Varian another small smile, brief before it fades again into focused attention. ]

Sounds complicated. [ She gives him a very direct look. ] You're trying to make up for it? Back home.

[He's glad she doesn't pry. Those are cards he keeps close to his chest, only sharing the vaguest of details when he really has to. He nods, clutching his arm with his hand.]

It is complicated. And yeah... I am. Much as I can, anyway. It's probably never gonna be enough.

[ She watches him fold in on himself and she hates it, because she knows what that's like from the inside out. And he was -- okay, if not twelve? Then what? She was 15 when Cody'd happened, and she hadn't known, but she'll blame herself for that forever.

And how much worse if she had known, and done it anyway? Like the other things that she's done which still get her to curl in on herself exactly like that.

She wasn't going back on her assessment of him: He had a loyal heart. Something had turned it, maybe? And then turned it back? It sounded like a whole lot of pain.

And he was so young.

But she wasn't good at gentle. And kindness... kindness was something she was trying, but wasn't particularly good either. The truth? That, she could share, from her point of view. Was the truth kind? Maybe not. But it was all she had to offer. ]

It might not be. [ Quiet, no recrimination in her tone, but no escape either. It might not ever be enough. ] But it's all you can do. And you're doing that. A lotta people don't.

[ She hesitates and then sighs, running a gloved hand through her hair. ] Ya want some more advice from a total stranger? I can tell ya what I'd try to do, if I were you. But you don't need to hear it, if you don't wanna.

["A whole lot of pain" would be the most accurate assessment of Varian's life that anyone could think up. Most of it self-inflicted. He keeps still, his gaze focused on the ground. He's heard this before, of course. That just trying is more than most do. But it never provides much comfort. He still did the things he did. He still caused so much pain and anguish. How can just trying be considered a good start?

He lets out a noise that might be construed as a chuckle if it wasn't so sad. It was a choked sigh at best. ]

I won't say no to some free advice. Can't promise I'll be any good at taking it, but you don't turn down stuff like that.

Sure you do. [ But that was a fight for another day. Telling people that it's okay to tell other people to shove their advice and to trust themselves seems counter-productive at the moment. ]

All right, look. It doesn't matter if you wanna do it for you or if you wanna do it for her - because you are allowed to do things for you. But - if it gets too much - let her choose. Tell her you've done stuff you regret, and that you're trying to make up for it, but if she wants to know, you'll tell her. And if she doesn't want to know, you won't. [ Her manner becomes a little more tense; firmer. ] But if she does, and you do, you tell her all of it. You don't leave out anythin' that will make you look better or worse. You're fair about it. And that means the whole thing.

I had a feeling you might say that.

[Because it's the fair thing to do. It's the right thing to do. Rapunzel deserves to know what he did to her- the reparations he's trying to make. She deserves to make her own, informed choices on him. But god, if it's not scary. She forgave him once before, but that was after she experienced it- after she felt the sting of betrayal herself.

...What if she doesn't forgive him this time? He doesn't think his heart could take that. ]

....I'll think on it. It's good advice.

Ya can't fight shadows, Varian. What ifs an' worryin' only get worse, never better. [ She shrugs. ] 'Course, it's easier to say than do. And I don't think you're doing anythin' wrong if you don't say anything. Ya just need to figure out what ya wanna do.

[But he has his best shadow-punching gloves and everything. ]

I don't think it helps that there's a lot she doesn't know about herself yet, either. She was lied to for the first eighteen years of her life. Right now, she still believes that lie. Thinks the person who stole her is her mother. I can't really tell her any of my stuff without blowing that out of the water. So she'd learn she got betrayed twice.

[Tehcnically three times, but he sure as hell isn't mentioning Cass.]

[ ...well, she sure knows what being lied to for the majority of your life is like.

And mother issues -- awkward.

But she's already given her advice and this information doesn't change her mind. If Varian's friend wants to know what's in her future, then Varian can and should tell her. If she doesn't, then he should suck it up.

...the one problem being... ]

That does sound really hard. [ ...sigh... ] What do ya think would happen if the person she thinks is her mom showed up here?

[It's a whole goddamn awkward, unhappy mess. But he looks up at Rogue's comment. Because this is one question he can answer with zero hesitation.]

I'd make sure she'd never hurt Rapunzel ever again.

[ ...well, that was sure a name.

And a response. ]

What I meant was considering what you'd tell her. [ Pause a beat. ] But. Cross that bridge when ya come to it, right?

[Sure is a name. No one has told Varian about the fairytale yet, he's remained blissfully unaware. He can't even CORRECT people on it.]

Oh. Well, in an ideal world she'd never even know Gothel was here.

[He'll just drag her to an underground bunker or something it's fine. It's fine.]

[ ...okay. She makes note of that name as well. ]

Because we live in such an ideal world. [ Rogue shakes her head. ] Do you know a place around here to get food that isn't poisoned apples?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

APRIL 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

YOU UNCULTURED SWINE

GOOD ENDURES

Character Arrival

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