JANUARY 2019 TEST DRIVE

[sodder]

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.

Comments

sarah manning | orphan black | ota

[coppelganger]

i. arrival

[ Sarah comes awake with a gasp and instinctively reaches around to feel the spots on her back that she's sure must be bleeding after she was raked across the ground. It seemed so real, and yet she feels unhurt. Only very, very confused, not to mention pissed off. She follows the music to the blessings basket and stares blankly at what's inside—remnants of her life, some food, a typed letter. The letter ends up crumpled in one hand as she makes her way to the front door and looks out onto quiet streets. The scenery looks familiar enough: small town, northeast, it could almost be a Toronto suburb. But it isn't. It isn't, and she begins to panic. ]

Hey! [ She walks down the front steps and out onto the sidewalk, looking around for something, someone. Her voice is low and rough, working-class English. The leather jacket and tight black jeans don't exactly look like they belong on this suburban street. She begins to half run after the first person she sees, reaching out to yank them roughly around to face her. ] Hey, what the fuck's going on!

ii. party

[ It's been long enough for her to calm down, a little bit, and the party atmosphere is certainly helping her relax. Sure, she doesn't know anyone, but she's never needed to know the people she's hanging with. The champagne's helping a lot. She's never exactly been a bubbly girl, she prefers harder drinks, something she can really get lost in—but the champagne seems to be doing it for her tonight, and she's grinning, laughing even, as she enjoys the party atmosphere. ]

This is... this is amazing. [ The way she says it is almost like a question, like she can't believe herself, and it kind of is. How can she be having such a great time when she's just been ripped away from her family, her kid, everyone? And yet here she is. She even raises her glass to whoever's nearby. What the hell, right? ]

iii. midnight

[ Sarah's got her arm thrown around someone's back, loose and comfortable, as the countdown starts. She has no idea who they are, but what the hell, right? She can kiss someone. It's midnight, innit, the new year, so who cares what she does? Who she does? She deserves to have some fun. Some time off from all the bullshit.

As the countdown finishes, she's ready for the real party to start, but she's interrupted by a scream coming from just a couple feet away as someone grabs for the nearest knife and plunges it into the shoulder of the person they'd been dancing with up until that very moment. Sarah reacts before she can consciously think about what she's doing, taking several quick steps back and almost bumping into whoever might be standing nearby. She can hear more screams coming from different points around the countdown clock, and there's a table full of goddamn weapons sitting right there that somehow she never noticed. ]

We need to get out of here. [ Said to whoever's around and looking, you know, sane. ]

iv. wildcard

[ Throw a comment up here, or hit me up at errorchord if you want to do something else! ]

iii

[intulpable]

You're absolutely right. The authorities need to be notified. I'll cover you.

[Coop is already scanning the room, seeing which of the exits he noted upon arrival is most open and safe]

[coppelganger]

The authorities? [ Excuse her if she sounds a little bit skeptical. ] You think some small town cops are going to be able to take control here?

[ Look, she's not planning on sticking around to fight it out, but it seems like more than any suburban police force could handle. ]

[intulpable]

In my personal experience, it depends entirely upon the temperament and capability of the individuals themselves. But in any case, I'm a Special Agent with the FBI, so. I won't let anything happen to you.

[he draws his own weapon but doesn't release the safety yet, keeping it down in the safe, ready stance he was trained to use at Quantico]

[coppelganger]

Oh, you're a Special Agent.

[ She doesn't follow up, but her tone sounds less than believing. What the hell is a guy from the FBI doing in small town Maine? Granted, this is a fucked up situation, but still. ]

[intulpable]

[his tone is steady and calm, but clipped: the tone of one used to taking charge of a situation without being overbearing or condescending. the kind of voice which talks people down from ledges and ends Mexican stand-offs]

Yes. I woke up here in the middle of a very involved investigation. To say it was inconvenient would be a gross understatement, but as I had no control over the situation, it's best to focus on what I can control. And in this moment, that happens to be our safety.

[coppelganger]

Right. So you gonna cover me with that [ and a nod to the gun ] while I run out of here?

iii.

[oddbod]

[The stranger next to her, hooked under Sarah's arm, doesn't seem to have come out of her trance quite so quickly. She looks up, eyes glassy and pupils wide, and gives a lazy, drugged grin.]

I'll say we do.

[Her fingers hook against Sarah's ribs, trying to push what the last few minutes seemed to be leading to. The flash of a knife just two feet away doesn't even shake her.

#yike]

[coppelganger]

[ For all her alarm at the sight of weapons and the sound of people screaming, something about the other woman makes Sarah want to say fuck it, just ignore the chaos and kiss her and touch her and—and what, stay in some blissed out trance until they get stabbed? For the split second the thought occurs to her, it doesn't even seem that bad. What a way to go out, eh? But then she thinks of Kira and feels ashamed. She tightens her grip on the other woman's shoulder and tries to lead her toward the exit, keeping her eyes out for anyone who seems to be taking an interest in them. ]

That guy's got a knife. Let's go.

[oddbod]

["That guy's got a knife" is probably the least enticing statement that anyone could throw at her, but Clara just seems to roll with it, trying to tilt her head to catch Sarah's jaw, or at least her neck. It's too warm in here, and everything's so loud, and she just wants someone pretty to make her forget how much her life sucks, and-

.... And all of the sudden, there's a knife in her back. A knife. No- not a knife. Four knives? A fork! There's a fork in her back, and that snaps her right out whatever enchantment the midnight hour brought. She whirls around, elbow already swinging to retaliate, a shrill curse on her lips.]

What the hell?

[Only whoever decided to stick a bloody fork in her like a holiday ham seems to have already been pulled back into the fracas, and the elbow swings right around to strike Sarah hard in the middle of her own back.]

[coppelganger]

Jesus— [ is all Sarah manages to say, before Clara's elbow slams into her back, and before she sees there's a knife sticking out of her back. ... No, not a knife. A fork. Still fucked up, and Sarah is torn between trying to help Clara and trying to just get the hell out. The quiet urgency is gone now, and she's just starting to freak. ] Jesus!

[oddbod]

[Okay, alright. Bearings coming back, one by one. Clara grabs Sarah's shoulder, trying to steady them both.]

Nah, my name's Clara.

[Bit of awkward crisis humor for you. Trying a smile, Clara finally reaches around and tugs that fork right out. It comes away clean.]

Alright, we're good? [Rhetorical question. She blinks the last bit of moony haze from her eyes, looking about the room with rising alarm.] Time to leave.

[coppelganger]

You shouldn't... [ pull that out, is what she's going to say, before Clara does just that. Sarah cringes, waiting for the spray of blood, but there doesn't seem to be any. Even the fork looks clean. Must have gone in more shallow than it looked. Sarah takes a deep breath and nods toward the exit. ]

Let's go.

i

[magnitudes]

( Her head feels all mixed up. She's been here— well, truth be told she ain't got much of a clue how long she's been here, because she was feeling fucked up before she drifted off, and time in dreams is all fucked and weird, isn't it? And this has to be a dream, because it's fucking surreal as shit.

Thing is, though, she's scrappy, and she's had a real shitty few months (mafia, mercenaries, you know and while she might look a bit whimsical - has a red wig hanging from her hand, is walking barefoot and has roller skates hanging off her shoulder by their laces which she's tied together in a bow - she's very, very tense. Especially given this whole waking nightmare, or whatever.

Point is, when someone grabs her shoulder and jerks her around, her reflex is to swing a fist, twisting low and driving a jab towards the stranger's gut. Except— )

What the fucking fuck?

( Quietly, as she stares at this weird version of herself. Dreams, man. )

[coppelganger]

[ She darts back instinctively at the swung fist, then takes a second, slower step back when she sees the face of the person who'd swung at her. ]

Jesus, not again. [ Her tone is more weary than shocked, and she runs a hand through her hair, the movement both aggressive and yet somehow showing pure exhaustion. Another one. Fucking hell. ]

[magnitudes]

Uh.

( She takes her own step back, body language a strange mix of tense and lazy, deception woven into how she moves. )

Yeah, that's a real fucking charming attitude for my evil twin to toss out. What are you, the rocker Lestat edition?

( She may still be slightly drunk. ) The English accent is stupid, by the way, Australians can be weird punk vampires, too. We don't gotta try to be English to sound more authentic, dickhead.

[coppelganger]

[ Okay. Admittedly. Despite all the strangeness going on, the jab about Lestat hurts her deep, deep down in that "but I loved him when I was thirteen and went through a vampire phase" way. Her jaw twitches. Minutely, but it happens. ]

So if I'm the evil twin, what does that make you, the hick? [ And what the fuck, what's she done to be called a dickhead other than grab this person's shoulder and seem less than enthusiastic to share a face with her? ]

[magnitudes]

( That is so offensive, but perhaps not for the anticipated reason. )

Have you ever heard of a "hick twin"? We're in some weird nightmare my brain created, and I'm pretty sure I ain't ever heard of a hick twin trope, thanks, Lioncourt.

( Muttered, almost to herself: ) Get your shit together, Theron.

( And more deliberately intended for Lestat: ) And in Australia it's redneck, thanks. You really are the evil version. Hick, Jesus Christ.

[coppelganger]

[ There's a pause while Sarah takes a couple deep breaths and tries to get her temper in check. It's hard, because this woman's a bloody moron, but she manages it. Mostly. ]

You think I'm some figment of your imagination? You conjured up some dream twin who's fucking evil and British? Like we're in a cartoon or some shit? That's... so stupid.

i. arrival

[thenovice]

[Diarmuid had been walking back from the bookstore, with his replaced satchel dragged back over his shoulder, a figure that is all curls and dark robes. Perhaps not the most settling image, someone who looks almost cultist in appearance, as if the woman had been dumped into the settlement of something straight out of The Village. But as she grabs the teenager and swirls him around, he looks at her with panic and shoves backward instinctively, nearly tripping himself trying to get our of her grasp.

He doesn't run, though, hands trying to come between them and eyes wide.

A new arrival! It does not take a true scholar to see it.]

I — I mean you no harm, miss! Do not be alarmed, you're safe—!

[coppelganger]

[ Oh, Christ. It's a kid. A kid who could have just walked out of some fucked up cult, by the look of him. Sarah isn't scared, but she is pissed. She doesn't reach out to grab him again—she doesn't believe in hurting kids, even if they are cult members—but the frustration is coming off her in waves. ]

I asked what the hell is going on.

[thenovice]

[He finds it in himself to not shrink back; she's hardly as bad as Brother Geraldus had been, yanking him by his cloak and spitting words in his face. She's just panicked or confused, and for that, he cannot blame her; it's a trying time when you awake in a strange land. His hands are up to be placating.]

Did you find your basket? With it comes answers, even if they seem too impossible to be so — you're in Deerington, in the midst of what we... believe to be a dream.

[coppelganger]

Yes, I saw the basket. I took the letter.

[ In fact, it's crumpled in her other hand as they speak. She skimmed it, okay? ]

You know you sound insane. You do know that, yeah?

[thenovice]

[The boy swallows hard, and gives a slight nod.]

I thought myself mad, too. But what the letter says has some truth to it.

We're captive here in this town — I do not know if we're truly dreaming, but there are things that happen in this place that cannot be so in awakeness. [He sounds completely sure of this, because he is.] There are creatures. In the woods. And strange happenings no one can explain...

[coppelganger]

"Creatures"? What sort of creatures? [ This is starting to sound like they've been kidnapped and thrown into some eccentric billionaire's real life version of The Village. Which she hated, by the way. ] Have you tried leaving, or do the stories keep you here? Are we gonna walk out of here and find out we've been running around a national park the entire time?