JANUARY 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to January’s Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: NEW YEAR'S.

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: Mind alteration, alcohol, options for self-harm, knife violence.

Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

YOU BETTER GET THIS PARTY STARTED

It's party night at the Grady Hotel and the hosts are pulling out all the stops. Champagne, funny hats, pictures, great music, and a wonderful countdown clock that let's everyone know just how much closer they're getting to the end of what has probably been a pretty crazy year for everyone. The glasses never seem to empty themselves and the citizens serving them out to people seem to be making extra sure that everyone has one for themselves. Regardless of whether or not you usually like champagne, anyone with a glass in their hands will eventually be tempted to take a sip, especially the closer it gets to midnight - the bubbles make you giggly, friendly, talkative in a way that you may never have been before. It lifts up just about anyone's spirits, no matter how rough of a time they've had before (or during their time in) Deerington. It doesn't seem to get you drunk, no matter how much you drink, but it definitely makes you more euphoric. Enough so that you might start to think you can do anything; tell someone how you really feel about them, compliment whoever you've had your eye on all night and see if they want to spend more time together, make up with someone you've been fighting with lately, do a magic trick you never were able to master, or even something as drastic as fly when you know you can't. Hopefully you start off trying to jump from a chair, but there is definitely roof access for those who are a little more daring - maybe someone a little more sober will have the wherewithal to stop you before it's too late.

There is also plenty of entertainment happening in various parts of the room. A table with beer pong for the adults who never outgrew their college days, a dart board, card games in the back, and a game called Guess the Candy for those who want to test their sweet tooth. Anyone who wins a round of any game will get rewarded with a small gift from home (no bigger than a toaster). Unfortunately will disappear once you leave the party, so make sure to enjoy it while you can.

The dance floor is also lively, the music upbeat and easy to move to no matter what your personal tastes might be. If you want a random dancing partner, take a dance card! Each one has a random, glowing number on it and it's your goal to find the person who matches. Once you do, no matter who it is, you'll find yourself literally stuck together (hopefully just by your hands, but it can be any body part) and will have to go through an entire dance (or maybe even two) with them before you come unstuck.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Everyone starts to gather around the countdown clock as it nears midnight, and when it's down to ten seconds, obviously you've got to start counting too! Everyone seems to be having such a good time as they shout out each number (10! 9! 8!) and you might not even notice the way some of the people around you have started to get a little... twitchy? (7! 6! 5!) Or the way some are starting to get more handsy, pushing themselves up close to whomever is beside them. (4! 3! 2!) And it isn't until they all shout 1! in unison that the room seems to shift in two very different moods.

If you're lucky, the person next to you will just have the urge to kiss you - and you might even have the urge to kiss them back! After all, sharing a kiss at midnight is supposed to bring you good luck for the rest of the year. And with the way everyone else is starting to act, you might need it. For some, the urge to kiss might be stronger than just a chaste peck. For those who find themselves wanting to get a little more intense, it might be best to try to sneak out the back and head back to your place. The moment you step outside into the cold air, though, the urges seem to disappear - unless, of course, you were in the mood all on your own.

If you're unlucky, there's a murderous rage that runs through you, and there seems to be a table of weapons near by to help encourage a messy time. Various knives, swords, machetes, and other blades are laid out, enough for almost everyone. You might find yourself driven to plunge your weapon into the closest person, or maybe someone you've hated for a long time, and even more - maybe someone you've loved. Whoever it is, the image of their face will be burned into your mind and you'll do everything you can to try and make them bleed. Hopefully they can fight for their life - or at least evade your attacks until they can trick you into going outside. Like the desire for love, the desire for murder will also disappear the moment that someone steps outside, regardless of whether or not they did so on purpose or just to try and hurt whoever they're after.

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

[A long time ago in Los Angeles, he'd had a friend who they had mocked for being small and skinny, too late on the growth spurt train of their youth. Kid was... soft, never liked to hurt anyone, but being part of the group, they defended him. When this kid raised his fists, they all took notice. When this kid was beaten down to the grass of the playground, he had admired the defeat with all the missing teeth that came with it.

Reaper hated sentimental thoughts and notions almost as much has he had grown to hate the pomp and fluff of high-to-do parties. He wasn't even supposed to be here, even if he knew something would happen when the counter went off. This place was too predictable and it seemed logical to watch the party with the most people to see just what Deerington had it store for the poor citizen. Affection and murder apparently. So predictable.

And a skinny kid sticking fists up like he had any chance of winning took him right back to that day in the playground where they had been so thoroughly trounced. Times changed. So had he.

Chivalry was dead. So was he, technically.

Maybe that was why he stood from the grounds, gathered himself and Shadow Stepped right into the middle of the party. A Death Blossom would have been so satisfying, but he wasn't about to gather himself quite that much for something so silly as brawling with knives. Instead, he raised his arm so the knife blade rattled off of his bladed gauntlet and then punched the current knife-wielding assailant away, likely damaging them with his super-soldier strength.

Slowly he turned to regard the small blond looking ready to jump into any fight necessary. What a waste.]

If you die, you're no good to anyone. If you're going to fight here, get a knife and put it to good use.

[It takes Steve by surprise, enough to catch his breath for a moment, and it takes him a moment to process that the tension isn't an asthma attack or chest pains and just surprise. He'd never seen anything like it before- the way that the man seemed to form out of smoke like a ghost. The knife that had been headed his way instead bounces off of the man's gauntlet, and he deals with him easily. Steve can't help being impressed.

Sure, the guy looks scary, but Steve thinks that he's on the good side, here, so he's not about to question his motives. Especially not when he can do things like that. Of course Steve's still on edge, about ready to jump into another fight if he sees someone in trouble, when the man addresses him. It makes him feel a little embarrassed, a little bit out of his element. But rather than admit that he doesn't really know how to fight with a knife other than the basics- he knows which end goes away from himself- he squares his shoulders and tries to suck it up.

He grabs a knife off the table, hoping that maybe he can at least use it to deflect a blade. This is a bit more than he's really comfortable with, but he tries to focus more on the people in trouble rather than his own discomfort. The fact that the knife feels strange in his hand is something he tries to put to the side, the fact that his grip on it is clearly more defensive than offensive. Sure, Brooklyn could be rough, but Steve's familiarity with it was more fight fights rather than... whatever this was.]

We need to get these people out of here before this turns into a bloodbath.

[Steve looks up at Reaper, seeming to have judged that he's someone that can be relied on, though that stubborn streak is still something he wears on his sleeve.]

[The kid looked to not know how to fight with a knife, if that hesitation and then hold was anything go by. There was a lot more finesse than sharp end goes in the bad guy, but it was a lot easier to handle than a sidearm. He didn't have time nor inclination to give a lesson on knife safety and how to properly handle one in tight quarter fighting situations where there were just as many enemy bodies as innocent ones.]

Forget it. This is going to turn into a bloodbath no matter what you do. People in this state won't listen to you anyway.

[Either enraged or enamored with one another as it went. He wasn't not about to stick his neck out for a knife fight, though it would be an excellent way to blow off steam. The hard part was that he couldn't allow himself to fall into the same press of emotion that they were part of as he was far more dangerous than most when it came to close quarter fighting.

After all, his keen eye was already drinking in the scene, the numerous fights breaking out, the chaos, the screaming, the yelling, the kissing and the stabbing. He slowly turned his head to regard the small blond whom he had protected and gestured with his chin towards the exit.]

Go. There's nothing to be done about this. This place addles the brain, and there's no saving people with little self preservation skills.