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

miles morales | into the spider verse (spoilers-ish!!!)

[mileages]

YOU BETTER GET THIS PARTY STARTED

[ Miles was still reeling from the fight he'd managed to win -- holy crap, he'd done that!!! He was Spider-Man? Holy crap. One minute he'd been there, and the next he'd been waking up here. His web shooters were still on his wrists, his suit was still on... Had he passed out? Hit his head? Either way, he managed to stumble outside, heading towards all the commotion. ] Uuuuhhh. Why do I get the weird feeling I'm not in Brooklyn anymore? [ Man, he really needs to work on not narrating things to himself. As he gets closer to the party, a glass of champagne is pushed into his hands. ] Woah -- I mean -- [ He lowers his voice, trying to sounds like an adult, and really just sounding ridiculous. ] Thanks. I love champagne. I drink it all the time....

[ He backs up and bumps into someone, causing champagne to go down the front of his suit, and if the wet on his back is anything to go by, the back too. He spins around to face whoever he's just knocked into, fake voice still in play. ] Sorry!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[ Miles had retreated to the ceiling pretty quickly after he noticed people were being kinda weird. Ignore the black and red Spider-Man in the ceiling guys, it's okay. His eyes scan the room as he looks for some kind of explanation to what he's doing here, what's going on, and why people are suddenly chanting like a robot on self-destruct. It's actually really creeping Miles out. Then he sees them. The weapons on a table, and people heading toward them.

Miles is moving before he can really think it through, sending webs out to cover the weapons and lock them to the table. Then he's thwipping over to land on the table in an attempt to get the attention of those that grabbed the weapons already. ] C'mon, guys, I don't think you need those. [ Following his words he's sending webs out to yank weapons out of people's hands. ]

WHAT'S UP DANGER?!

( Feel free to wildcard it up with seeing Miles around anywhere, either in his suit or looking kinda flighty. If you want a starter for something else hit me up at susrien )

[gwennie]

No worries, du- [ de. it's just a crazy random happenstance that the person he bumps into is an older version of someone he just met. sort of. they're not really the same person, but-

whatever. the multiverse is real.

but she gets bumped into and there's champagne on her hand and she's already had a glass or two so she's feeling too Good to be concerned about that, but- ]

Miles? [ oops. luckily the music is loud and her voice was kind of quiet from shock ] I mean- Spider-Man. Hi. You're- [ she doesn't mean to laugh ] -shorter than I remember.

[ the last time she saw miles they had agreed that dating just wasn't in the cards for them, and this. can't be that same guy. it totally isn't. and her wide eyes probably make it super obvious she's Very Confused. but it's hard to feel anything but Good because of the damn champagne. so. that's fun. ]

[mileages]

[ Miles stares at her wide-eyed from behind his mask. Yep, there's no mistaking her. That's Gwen alright. Well, she looks kinda different. But knowing his name? Definitely Gwen. ] I'm not short. [ Is he short? ] Uh. I mean, hello citizen that I've never met before. [ Look, he's not earning any awards for acting any time soon.

He lowers his voice conspiratorially. ]

You're taller than I remember, and your hair... [ God, is he really bringing up the hair incident? Bad move, Miles... ] I mean, it looks good. It looked good before. And the haircut and... -- Where are we? [ She knows him, or at least a version of him, maybe? He's not entirely sure what's going on here. But she seems friendly enough... ]

[gwennie]

[ her hands move out in front of her, an oh, right, my bad gesture. of course he isn't short. she said shorter. but. that's obviously not the point here. this is some ridiculous multiverse shenanigans going on, but luckily!

she's well v e r s e d in that.

she'll see herself out ]

Well, superhero that I've never met before either, we are- in a universe that I'm still not sure exists in our normal multiverse. [ her brow furrows and her head tips, like she's hearing her own words for the first time instead of being the one saying them. look, it didn't sound that weird in her head ] There's the verse where your taller, and the verse where my hair is different, apparently, and then there's this place which I've been told is all a dream but seriously, who's going to believe that?

[ just.. telling it like it is. she doesn't sound too upset by it though, and she takes another sip of her champagne. all very casual ]

This place is a horror fest, but it's nothing we can't handle. Just, y'know, if something makes you wanna quip "what is this, an Alfred Hitchcock movie?", chances are it's actually as bad as it feels, even if your spider-sense doesn't know it just yet.

[mileages]

But isn't the whole point of the multiverse to be like... infinitely expansive? [ Does he feel like he's dreaming??

Yeah... Her hair is just........ different.... he had nothing to do with that... at all..... ]

Uhh, I'm pretty sure I'm awake right now... I think. [ He sounds a little less sure about that by the end there. ] So we're being grabbed from our original universes and put... here?

[ He eyes her champagne keeping the "are you old enough to drink that" to himself, because god, he doesn't want to sound like his dad. ]

Is this some kind of weird bad guy thing? Kidnap us all in this weird horror universe and let it pick us off? [ He refuses to fall into the black guy dies first trope if that's what's going on here.

... So he should just always expect the worst possible thing? Great... That's what he loves to hear... ]

Let's Get this party started

[onerthes]

[The woman that he'd bumped into was laughing, quickly replacing one flute with another. This one? She was legitimately and fully familiar with the joys of a little bubbly if her demeanor was to be believed. She took a sip from the new flute and winked down at him with her third eye.

...yep, definitely a third eye winking at him.]

Oh, you're fine you're fine. It's a party. Why shouldn't there be a little shoulder bumping, mmm? New here are we?

[That fake voice was totally not fooling her, but she thought it was amusing and cute.]

[mileages]

[ Forgive him for staring, woah, three eyes. That's kinda cool and freaky. Is there a word for cool and freaky? Coolfreaky? Frool? Creaky?? Does he say something? Is that rude? He's not gonna say something, that's definitely rude. His mami would kick his ass. He tries to wipe off the champagne from his suit halfheartedly. Great, he's gonna smell like champagne until he washes this thing. What even are the washing instructions? ]

Yeah, actually. You know where here is? Cos one minute I was in Brooklyn and now I'm pretty sure this isn't Brooklyn.

[ He's gonna keep trying to sound like a Grown Up, okay. ]

[onerthes]

[Creaky. Creaky worked. Well, it was still rude, but it worked. Least Mami had good advice for him in the meantime. She chuckled as she looked at him and took a sip from her own drink, shaking her head.]

It is some place called Maine. I am told many people from Earth know it, though it may only be a dream of Maine, or a nightmare of Maine gone horribly wrong. [She was trying very hard not to laugh at the attempts at sounding older.] Mmmm, but I wouldn't know a great deal about that.

I'm not from Earth after all.

[mileages]

What?! [ Don't mind his voice raising way too many octaves. ] No, no, I can't be in Maine! [ Oh god, his dad is going to have a freak out. And what about school?!

Wait, record scratch, rewind. ] You're not from Earth? Like you're an alien? [ That... explains... the eye..... ] No! I'm putting my foot down, this isn't allowed to happen! [ Come on!!! He just became Spider-Man!!!! Sure stuff has already been beyond weird, but the whole waking up in another state and talking to an alien??? That can at least wait until a week in!!! ]

[lifleifthrasir]

[With a quiet exclamation, Gwendolyn's champagne goes down her bodice and all over the wings at her hips, dripping down from them onto the floor. It will be a considerable challenge to clean up later. But since she thinks she's in a fever dream right now, on top of drinking some of the euphoria-inducing champagne, she doesn't pay it any mind. She only stretches her wings a bit to flick off the liquid before settling them back down.]

Kindly mind your surroundings, masked man. Such movements might be better suited for the dance hall.

[mileages]

[ Does she have wings??? Woah!!!! ] Yeah, sorry, I will definitely do that - mind my surroundings. [ The idea of dancing in front of people though, in this weird place, he's not sure. Usually he is all for jamming out, but... uhhhh... ]

It's Spider-Man by the way. Masked-Man is my brother. No, no he's not. I don't have a brother that was a dumb joke. [ Is he tripping or something? This place feels almost as weird as school had when he'd first gotten bit by that janky spider. ]

HAPPY NEW YEAR

[quipsandthwips]

[Hey, you're doing it, you're —

Wait, there are four spiderwebs thwipping around. Two from Miles, and two from the ceiling? Once he looks up, he'll find the other Spider-Man crawling along the top of the room, attaching any and all weapons to the ceiling as he goes. He's definitely seen This Other Other Other Spider-Man, and boy is he curious where this one comes from. How are they all so teeny? Like, he's not even a big guy! Thor totally towers over him! And yet all these Spider People are so petite in contrast.

Is he the fat one? Is that him? Totally overdoing the pizza.]

Hey, man! Nice wrist flick! Love the dark aesthetic.

[mileages]

Pet-erman??? [ #nice save.

Wait, that's definitely a... well, he's not sure if it's a better looking suit or not. But as far as Miles can tell, there's no spider-gut or sweatpants... Is this another multiverse thing again? Did the goober not work?

Miles looks up at him. His Spider-sense alerting him to what he'd thought, this guy is like him, and it doesn't feel like the same thing he'd felt with either of the other two Peter Parkers. He shakes his head, trying to get rid of the weird feeling. Even after all the other Spider-People and ham it's not something he'll ever be used to. ]

Thanks...? I mean, thanks, I designed it myself... sorta... Your suit's pretty cool too. [ Is he weirdly pleased over the wrist-flick compliment??? Yes he is, let him live. Learning from Peter B. Parker had kind of been a horrifying experience. ]

[quipsandthwips]

[... He would facepalm if he wasn't so concerned with the situation at hand. But make no mistake, kid, he's sighing internally at that slip-up (and hey, he knows my name, that's... something). No problemo, nobody's paying enough attention to catch it anyways! But as he leaps down to Miles' level, he gives him a once-over. He's way tinier! Like, sure, he's all muscle, but he's twiggy. It's precious.

Anyway, he's gonna just web someone to a table.

They wanted those appetizers, right?]

Thanks! Designed it myself, too — sorta.

You got a name? Since you seem to know mine already.

[mileages]

[ Look, he thinks he patched that slip up flawlessly, okay. Speter-Man. Peter might give him a once-over but Miles is staring like he's trying to solve a complex math problem. Yeah, and definitely not janky, old, broke, hobo Spider-Man. He looks more like the Spider-Man he'd seen die, maybe even more muscular, but not in a totally Jason Momoa way, just a dude that clearly works out or something sorta way.

He may be tinier, but he... No, there's nothing. He's definitely tiny. ]

Uuuuhhh. You're not like. Opposite World Spider-Man, right? [ Is that his way of asking if Peter is a bad guy??? Yes, yes it is. Though, he's willing to bet that this one is a good guy too. That seems to be a constant. That and the fact that he was webbing weapons up too. Miles sends another web out past Peter and yanks a gun out of someone's hand, a second later it's in Miles' hand and then tossed up in the air to be glued to the ceiling. His attention finds Peter again. His voice is a little quieter when he answers. ] My name is Miles. I know you. Well, -- okay this is gonna sound weird. I know like ... a bunch of different versions of you...

happy new year.

[delincuente]

Dude!

[Alex turns on her heel, following the wand that's just been snatched out of her hand, rude! Sure, in the chaos it probably looks like just another weapon, but she doesn't have time for other people's stupidity.

... Especially when they're wearing spandex, and shooting silly string.]

I was using that!

[mileages]

I know that was the -- what is this? [ His mission of tossing it in the air and sticking it to the ceiling is aborted to allow him to actually look at the wand. And then he pauses again to actually look at the girl shouting at him. ] Is this like a pen or something?

[ And now he's trying to get it to open like it's a pen. Oh god, stop him before he breaks it on accident. ] I know they do it in like all the spy movies but murdering someone with a pen is really not that smart. I mean, murdering in general isn't smart.

[delincuente]

It's not a pen, oh my god!

[She steps forward, reaching for the wand just as Miles' movements start to make it shoot out tiny sparks. It's getting a bit seasick.]

Hand it over before you get yourself turned into a frog, or something.

[mileages]

[ Miles keeps it out of her grasp, eyes going from it (yikes are those sparks???) and then to her. Sorry, he doesn't understand anything about wands. ]

Turned into a frog?? So it's a weapon?

[ He stills, looking at it. His spider-sense isn't going off. Maybe it should get the ceiling treatment just in case. Better explain before he decides to thwip it up there with all the other weapons him and Peter have confiscated. He clears his throat and tries to sound... serious. Really he just sounds like a kid trying to sound like an adult. ] Who did you plan on hurting with this, ma'am? [ Ma'am??? Eurgh, that's going to be something to facepalm about later. It sounds so much cooler when his dad does that stuff. ]

happy new year

[toile_daraignee]

[Amelie is not ignoring the spider on the ceiling. She is a strange one, with blue skin, casually sipping at a glass of champagne as the party shifts from excitement over ringing in the new year to a questionable mix of violence and kisses. She herself is more interested in finding someone to kiss, which is strange sensation. She didn't want things. Hadn't in a very long time, the moments where she felt something were the ones with her finger on the trigger. Not because she wanted company, touch.

But here is this strange creature, and she smiles up at him, vaguely predatory, but it's more east you alive than something that presages violence.]

Well, look at you. What are you doing up there, petite araignée?

[There's a tattoo of a spiderweb on her forearm and where her dress exposes her back is a stylized tattoo of a black widow spider. She seems more interested in him than the chaos, almost eerily unphased.]

What's your name?

[mileages]

[ Miles notices her after she notices him, and for a moment he's not sure if he's glad that his spider-sense isn't alerting him that she's like him or not. No weird mind-meld feeling here, just nervousness. Which could mean a million things. Spider-themed villain? Fellow spider-themed hero?

Wait, she said words and he was too busy staring at her like a deer caught in headlights. ] Oh, y'know just hanging. [ Oh, god, he didn't mean to make a lame pun. That wasn't even on purpose. ] But, I don't know what you just called me but I hope it was nice. [ He can use Spanish context clues and feel pretty confident in what she'd called him, but that's not the point. It was French, and he doesn't know French. ]

Me? My name? Uh, Spider-Man. [ He is definitely not moving from his spot on the ceiling yet. Almost without taking his eyes off her, he sends a web out past her to glue someone's hand to a weapons table. ] What about you? [ #nailedit ]

[toile_daraignee]

[She can tell that he's flustered, and she arches an eyebrow at that pun. It's definitely horrible, but there's not really any clear revelation of any particular sort of emotion as she watches him. At least, not until he admits to not knowing what she said but that he hopes it was nice. It's so clearly childlike, almost makes her think of the boy at the museum, a child stepping into a grown-ups fight.

But her dark lips quirk slightly, almost a smile.] It was nice. I promise.

[Not that promises mean much, really. But she's not lying, either. He gives his name as Spider-Man and she doesn't seem surprised, or think it's strange. Her eyes track the webbing that he shoots out, but in such a way that she doesn't take her eyes off of him, either.

A few moments later, someone tries to stab her and she kicks them without looking behind her, sending them to the floor. Then she reaches up, and the line that shoots from the bracer on her wrist is more fiber and metal, but it pulls her up to the ceiling, leaving her holding on casually her fingertips. She's not someone that would be particularly concerned about someone looking up her dress in the first place, and even if she was, most of the crowd seems rather distracted at the moment, one way or the other.]

My name is Widowmaker. [Which is a very questionable name for a hero, isn't it?] Do things like this happen often?

more like peter b PARTIER amirite??

[releap]

[ 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. ]

peter b lame u mean

[mileages]

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?

uh i believe you misspelled "awesome"

[releap]

[ 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.