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

[ Oh. Hey. Wasn't he supposed to have, like, given you your Big Hero Moment and then had the chance to go back and fix things up in his own dimension? Not that he isn't happy to see ya Miles, but he just got rid of you. What are you even doing. He has reconciliatory coffee with MJ in half an hour, he cannot be doing this rn.

Peter considers why his spidey sense didn't go blaring for a) the presence of one Miles Morales or b) champagne getting dumped all over him and the answer is most likely a) because ofc and b) because eff you that's what. ]

Ah ah ah. [ Thwip. Miles's glass zooms into Peter's on a web and a prayer ~~that may be a cold and broken hallelujah knowing Peter.~~ ] Leave it to the professionals, kiddo.

[ Downing the rest of the flute in one gulp totally counts as a superpower too, k. ]

H-ey! [ The offense of something being snatched out of his hands disappears at who he sees doing the snatching. And goodbye fake adult voice, because his voice is raising a couple octaves in disbelief. ] Peter? [ Sure, have that champagne, because Miles has a paper he needs to work on and he's heard tons of horror stories about people taking drinks from strangers. Did he want to wake up in a box on its way to some weird country? No, no he didn't.

Should he point out that Peter just implied he's a professional drunk? Nah.

Oh no, Peter are you prepared for this? It's happening. That certainly is Miles wrapping his arms around janky, old, broke, hobo Peter and squeezing probably a little too tight. And he's a hugger... ] You should have seen it! I kicked Kingpin's butt!

[ ... Wait. Miles pulls away slightly, arms still around Peter. ]

What are you doing here? You got sent home because your atoms were all... [ He's getting distracted... ] weirder than they are now -- [ Back on focus! ] What are you doing here?

[ Hey.

If the shoe fits wear it.

Like first of all that voice plus the short stuff? Yeah that wasn't convincing anyone anyway, sorry to break it to you like this. Peter could put his hand on your shoulder and give you the sober ~~in tone if not actuality~~ Don't Drink, Kids talk that he used to give all the time when he still had it in him to say a little somethin' somethin' to the young bystanders of the latest in small-time crimes.

Thinking that through is the only - the only reason that Miles gets the jump on him and no one else will tell him different and go unwebbed. Understood? ]

Whoa, okay, okay. Okay. [ Breathe, Parker. That is not a flicker of Emotion, that is a sign that your padawan has serious boundary and impulse control issues. ] That is

way too much stuff to reply to, so in order: good job on the butt-kicking, you'll make a fine Spider, uh, being yet, what's up with my atoms is between me and them, and - can I get half a foot or.

[ He missed you too but there's kind of this thing going on around them. A New Year's party, have you heard of it? Happens every year like clockwork. Peter hugs back for just long enough to smother the urge upfront and then leverages his one free arm to bar it across Miles's chest and push. Can they save the mushy stuff for the end of the world pls. ]

And that's funny because I was wondering what you were doing here, cuz I wasn't zapped anywhere like last time, yadda yadda, cogito ergo sum, you know where I'm going with this.

[ Luckily, for both of them, Miles has heard every version of the Don't Drink and Don't Do Drugs Talks like a thousand times now. It's kind of embarrassing when it's your Dad coming in to give the class the talk too. That was a whole lot of cringe that Miles was going to have to see a therapist about in a handful of years.

There's other people around??? Miles forgot all about them the moment he heard that familiar voice. Look, sometimes he gets too focused on things. But don't think he missed that compliment.

Miles lets Peter push him until there's space between them, arms falling back to his sides, and surprisingly not at all bothered by the demand of space. He's too excited to be seeing someone he thought he'd never be seeing again.

Local Small Spider Excited To See Fellow Spider.

Cogito ergo what??? His head tilts slightly in thought. ] I dunno, I just woke up here.... And then I sorta saw this party and was looking for anyone familiar. [ Self-preservation skills: wandering into a random party when you've awakened god knows where... ] I don't remember falling asleep -- is this some kinda super-villain thing? Were we kidnapped? [ Also, he had a really weird dream and he's pretty sure a deer was about to eat him in it??? Should he be telling Peter that?

Are his atoms gonna start wigging out? Don't mind him stepping back and patting himself down like he's looking for something... And then shaking an arm.... He's paying attention Peter, don't you worry... Shake, shake, shake. If he's in a different universe shouldn't he be... glitching out? Could another universe swallow him up while he was asleep? And seriously, when did he even go to sleep? ]