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

Dale Cooper | Twin Peaks

[intulpable]

A: Cards For Sorrow, Cards For Pain

[this is not where Coop expected to be, but one dream is as good as another, he figures. he may as well glean what he can from this one. he's settled in at one of the card tables, considering his hand, and looks over at the players around the table, reading them carefully.

be warned: he counts cards]

B: Happy New Year

One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[are you next to him? he's kissing you. once he pulls away, grinning, he blinks a couple of times]

I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.

[he doesn't look embarrassed, though. he doesn't believe in regrets.]

C: Unhappy New Year

[he sees the nearest person going for a weapon - maybe they're attacking you. maybe you're the murderous one. either way, he grabs their wrist, frowning]

Careful, friend. I've got a feeling you're going to regret this even more than any hangover come morning.

B.

[spectacularlyhighking]

[Why hello there. Eliot wasn't going to argue with a New Years kiss, but he wasn't expecting it to come from some random man with... very greasy hair.

He was cute, though. Eh, could do worse. He smiles at the stranger.]

New Years. It's tradition, isn't it?

[intulpable]

[excuse you, it's not grease, it's pomade. don't magicians use that? Houdini was very fond.]

I suppose you're right. Thank you for the perspective. Normally, the handshake comes before the kiss, but all things considered ...

[one crisp handshake is offered with precision and a smile]

Special Agent Dale Cooper.

[spectacularlyhighking]

[Tough to tell at midnight, sir.

He takes that handshake with a nod.]

Eliot Waugh. A pleasure. In this place things generally don't happen in the right order, so this is par for the course, as it were.

[intulpable]

Well, it is a dream, or so I've been told. In that case, it makes sense, and in that context, the right order may actually be the incorrect one. Don't you think?

[spectacularlyhighking]

[.......]

You're taking this entirely too well.

A: Cards For Sorrow, Cards For Pain

[oversight]

[ John's got quite the history with gambling, although that doesn't mean he wholly abstains. Clearly. With a glass of champagne nearby, it's easy to forget the way cards and bluffing and blinds make him feel, at least, and as he spends more and more time at the table, he's starting to notice at least one of his companions is a bit more savvy than some others.

He folds and Cooper wins the hand. Finding that he finally wants to make introductions, reaches across the table to offer a handshake after all the chips have been collected. ]

Name's John Blake, but most everyone just calls me Blake. You're pretty good.

[intulpable]

Special Agent Dale Cooper.

[he meets that handshake with the same zeal he's shown in every hand and with every sip of champagne]

You're not bad yourself, Blake. I'm having quite the good time, tonight.

[he taps his chips] And I'm not about to be a sore winner. Buy you a round?

[oversight]

Definitely, but let's do a couple more rounds first — gimme a chance to win some back.

[ Said with good humor, although he's mostly just hoping to make conversation over the card table where it's a bit quieter and less raucous. ]

Special agent, huh? For the FBI, or...?

[ He seems American enough John thinks it's a decent guess. In the meantime, he receives his cards and doesn't yet bother to look at them, although he antes, of course. ]

[intulpable]

But of course.

[he puts down his own ante and signals for another round for the table, dealer included]

Got it in one! I've been with the Bureau for a few years now.

[without skipping a beat:] How long have you been on the force?

[oversight]

Not long enough, and not anymore. Good guess, though. Got a specialty?

[ Some people are jacks of all trades, some are specialists. Some people don’t like to talk about work. He doesn’t care so much about how Dale plays poker, but he’s exuberantly interested in knowing how Agent Cooper works. And not just thanks to the champagne. ]

B. Because why not.

[newtralize]

[This is exactly why he does not do New Years parties, he thinks. Because he isn't sure how to feel about strangers randomly grabbing strangers to snog as a tradition. People are quite wild, aren't they?

He looks at the other with mild shock. He's only marginally less shocked because it was a tradition and people didn't seem to care who they ended up kissing. It's still a shock, because he doesn't expect it still.]

I, well- [He pauses.] I can't say it's all surprising. A tradition of some sort, right? N-No harm done. [Newt can be embarrassed for the both of them. It's fine.]

[intulpable]

Oh, good. [he shakes it off easily, and decides to offer a handshake to help cut some of that embarrassment and put him at ease]

Allow me to greet you in a less ... intimate manner. Special Agent Dale Cooper.

[newtralize]

[Newt gives the man a small smile, although it might look a bit more like a grimace. He takes his hand to shake.]

Uhm. Newt Scamander.

[Nothing is really going to save Newt from embarrassment. He's just naturally kind of like this.] I'm curious about the Special Agent part...what is it that you do that, er, makes you a special agent?

[intulpable]

What a very interesting name. Scamander - what nationality is that?

[he has enough smile for both of them, so it's okay. he doesn't mind at all]

As for my title? In the Bureau, agents can either make arrests, or conduct investigations. Once appointed as a special agent, they can do both.

[newtralize]

You wouldn't be the first to say that. [Something something, people questioning why they'd name their child Newt and then the conversation of it being short for Newton.] I'm British, sir.

[Bureau? So like the Muggle equivalence to MACUSA or the Ministry. Sounds a tad complicated since they sound like Aurors, but Aurors didn't really need to be a Special Auror to do both.] I see. I'm a little confused as to why a normal agent can't do both, since it sounds like they have the capacity to. Agents that make arrests and agents that conduct investigations, er well, they're both just agents?

C

[italianbeefstew]

[The catch is enough to shake Emily out of the daze those murderous urges had plunged her into. What had been an expression of anger crumbles into surprise, then confusion, and then --]

I...

[Her voice trails off as she looks lost. She feels lost. Her eyes fall on the array of weapons before her and her stomach twists in the cold realization of what she's looking at.

Weapons. Why so many weapons? At a party no less? And here she had been reaching for them. She looks back to the man with her wrist in his grip with wide blue eyes. Her tone of voice is quick and concerned.]

What's happening h--

[A whisper that's cut off by a shout elsewhere and the rush of movement as someone shoves her aside to reach the table. A rush of people seem to be flowing towards it in fact, all as eager as the other to reach those instruments.]

[intulpable]

Get behind me!

[Dale puts an arm out to one side to shield her, reaching out with his other hand to quickly grab the wrist of the nearest person, giving it a quick twist to disarm them with far less care and courtesy as they turn to attack her]

We need to get you to safety.

C

[mamabot]

[ She could pull herself free if she wanted to - even domestic assistant androids are stronger than most humans - his statement slash threat gives her pause. Kara can't get hungover, but she can feel regret. She feels... something, some kind of sadness, over shooting Todd, though the world really is better off without him.

But right now, the anger that had flared in her drains away just as quickly. Kara drops the knife, shaking her head as it clatters on the floor. ]

I'm- god. I'm sorry. I don't... I dunno what that was just now.

[ What a terrible apology. She's visibly embarrassed by it, simulated blush looking pink and perfectly humanlike, her cheeks warm. ]

[intulpable]

[Dale's keen-eyed, but the champagne has dulled his senses enough that he can't tell she's anything but human. he takes her by the shoulders and gently steers her away from the table]

Whatever it is, it isn't just you, by the look of things. I think maybe we should get out of here...

hella late but here with B and starbucks

[tagartist]

[ Chloe is more surprised by the fact that she kissed an older dude she didn't know back than she is by the kiss in general. Her eyes widen for a second after, before she gives a weak laugh and straightens out her shirt a little bit. ]

This place is good at that kinda shit.

damn fine coffee and a damn fine tag. you're forgiven.

[intulpable]

[he's gracious, too, and happy to move on to other subjects so she won't feel uncomfortable anymore]

You say that as though you've been here a while. Just woke up, myself.

[he offers a hand]

Special Agent Dale Cooper. I know, usually the handshake comes first, not to mention a greater level of personal familiarity. But maybe filling in the gaps is good enough. What do you say?

you're the best

[tagartist]

Eight months isn't something to blink at.

[ She stares at the hand for a moment before she reaches out to grab it, giving it a firm shake the way she'd always been taught to. It's apparently her agreeing to filling in said gaps. ]

Chloe Price. Special Agent is like... FBI or something, isn't it?

no u

[intulpable]

Certainly not, no.

[he nods a little, pleased that she isn't put off by him]

Got it in one. I've been working for the Bureau for a few years now. I was investigating something in Washington state before I woke up here, so: waking up in Maine was quite a bit of travel in the blink of an eye.

[tagartist]

[ FBI investigating things in Washington. That sounds awfully familiar, but... She’s more focused on the fact that she, a drug dealer, is getting to know a Special Agent. That wasn’t at all awkward. Definitely not the summary of some cheesy sitcom. ]

I was in Oregon, so I feel ya. [ Not that she doesn’t know how strange time and space can be, nor had she been too put off considering that last time, she’d woken up in France. ] Was it a murder? Or aliens? Because I feel like that’s all that the TV tells me the FBI investigates on the west coast.