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

Steve Rogers | Marvel Cinematic Universe | Open

[weakman]

happy new year:

[ Twelve. Eleven. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four.

Steve’s no stranger to the urge to kiss another person. It comes over him the same as it does anyone else. Acting on it is another story altogether. The dames are never interested and fellas aren’t something he’s allowed to consider. But the clock ticks down in this new town, so far from Brooklyn and home, and he’s overcome with how much he wants to kiss the person beside him.

Three. Two. One.

Does he do it? He’d have to ask first. Steve... can’t. He shouldn’t. They’ve never spoken. He adjusts his tie, it’s too tight. ]

Excuse me.

[ What are the chances they’d feel the same? ]

network; un: srogers:

Steve Rogers.
Brooklyn, United States.

Looking for an explanation on how and why we’re here.
Thank you for your time.

wildcard:

[ Find Steve anywhere! ]

ooc:

[ Steve is from First Avenger right as he’s about to be given the serum. I’d love the chance for canon updates so I’m starting early! Tag me or send me a message through pm or on discord @ rae#1351 to plot. ]

new year

[bantam]

[ the person at his side is, in fact, a fella. he's only got a few inches on steve, but he's dressed to the nines, and the smile he shoots the other man is sly and charming and flirtatious. there's also something.. other about him, not quite human, though it's doubtless difficult to put a finger on how. ]

Darling, [ he says, accent odd and impossible to place, voice warm with pleasure and amusement. ] I certainly hope you're about to ask for a New Year's kiss. I love this tradition.

[weakman]

[ Steve can't see beyond a two-foot perimeter. There's a man wearing an expression on his face while looking at him that nobody's pointed his direction Steve's entire life. No man or woman. Sly and charming and flirtatious as if Steve's a treat to be gobbled up and he'd be overwhelmed if he didn't want to kiss him so damn much.

Here's a 40's boy experiencing a man calling him darling. That same man had expressed the desire to be kissed and given him permission.

He twists his fingers in the man's collar and tugs him down to kiss him. A few inches feel like a mile but he's stronger than he looks and there's something thrumming in his veins that's more than the one drink he'd had earlier. ]

[bantam]

[ oh, that's much better. for faeries, moments like this--the turning of a new year--are auspicious, and what better way to celebrate and revere them than by letting himself be pulled down into a kiss that tastes of champagne and determination.

marigold is-- well, there's no two ways around it really: he's old. he's old enough to remember when human civilization was young and new, old enough to remember creatures that mortals call myths now. he's danced with gods and lain with demons, and yet.. a first kiss with someone new will never, ever lose its appeal and its beauty. he takes the memory of this one and seals it inside a little box, to be taken out and treasured again and again long after the lips beneath his own are dust.

but that's in the future. for now, mari slides his hands up over steve's shoulders, letting his wrists cross neatly at his nape. his lips part, softening the kiss, deepening it, tongue flicking against the young man's own to coax it in. ]

how did this even happen

[weakman]

[ Fumbling. Inexperienced.

There were a few choice words Steve would pick to describe how he kisses the taller man. He's smart enough to know what to do in theory but in practice, he's completely lost. Kissing someone else was crossing personal boundaries and climbing walls people might not realize they have built up. It's a lot. Marigold's lips taste like champagne. Sparkling and effervescent.

The normal version of himself, uninfluenced by the spell cast over them, would be mortified. There are people around. They're both men and they don't know each other's names. This version of Steve.. well...

Steve wants to climb him. He opens his mouth and yanks him closer. ]

network, un: betweenlodges

[intulpable]

Hello, Steve, Dale Cooper, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Apologies if this is a silly question, but have you read the letter in that beautiful basket you received? Beyond that, I'm afraid I can't offer much. Yet.

[weakman]

It's nice to meet you, Dale Cooper.
I have but I'm interested in what you'd have to say about it.

[intulpable]

Well, Steve, for several years now, I have been a firm believer in the strength of human intuition and the power of dreams ... so to find myself in what I'm told is a dream world may be surprising, but at the same time, it makes a particular amount of sense. A colleague of mine, Sherrif Hawk, once told me that his people believed that human beings had two souls: the waking soul, and the dreaming soul, which wandered from world to world. Given what I was doing just before I awoke here, I would not be surprised if it turned out that somehow, my waking soul and my dreaming soul have switched places.

network; un: spider-man

[nerded]

[ TIME TO GO ALL PROFESH.

Except not even at all. ]

Hey!

Cap?

Captain America?

It's me! Spider-Man!

[weakman]

I'm sorry but you have the wrong man.
Steve Rogers.

[ Who is this Captain America that Pete speaks of. ]

[nerded]

Whoa, really?

I could've sworn --

[ He's definitely not wrong here. He's got all his facts, he'd studied up on Cap and his conquests and adventures, which can only mean one thing.

Spidey isn't always one for subtlety so, uh. Sorry for the barrage of questions. ]

You know what, it's my b

Hi Steve

I'm Spider-Man

Welcome to the weirdest adventure of your life

What year are you coming from? Just curious

text; un: barnes

[lednikovyy]

Bucky Barnes.
Brooklyn, United States.

looking for a punk with a big mouth who's been missing for months
if found, please return to 202 Dorian Circle

[ And whether Steve texts him back or just shows up, Bucky really doesn't care, but it had better really be Steve this time. ]

[weakman]

Looking for a jerk with a big head who's been

[ He accidentally sends the message before finishing it. He's confused. Who's been missing for months? Bucky left for war and wouldn't know about Project Rebirth yet. ]

Give me half an hour, Buck.

[ Steve is good with directions but is in unfamiliar territory. ]

[lednikovyy]

or I can come find you if you tell me where you are

[ Bucky, meanwhile, is changing out of his work scrubs, pulling back his hair and trying to make sure the goat hasn't eaten so much of his couch that he can't offer Steve a seat, because he hasn't seen the guy in months and last time he saw Steve, he'd been in a rough state--far rougher than Bucky, who's straight from Wakanda with a less than smooth replacement arm he'd had built for him here and what probably constitutes too much hair by anyone else's standards.. ]

wildcard

[lifleifthrasir]

[Up until now, she's refrained from eating or drinking anything at the party. Purely a soldier's instinct born from landing in a strange place...but she's painfully aware of how strong of a sweet tooth she has, as well. It is difficult for her to look away from the Guess the Candy game tucked away in the corner of all the festivities.

It's only to sate her curiosity, that's all. And asking some questions about the candies is also to do that.]

Are these ones meant to resemble worms?

[weakman]

[ Steve hasn't played the game. Going by first glance, he'd say it's geared towards children but that didn't mean they couldn't give it a chance. It might be fun. He gives the bowl of candy a good once over. ]

I don't know, ma'am. That's certainly what they appear to be.

[ Brightly colored worms. ]

And those are small bears.

[lifleifthrasir]

[The wings at her hips ruffle as she steps closer with him.]

I've never seen the likes of them before. They call to mind some of the potions I've brewed in the past, and those certainly are not meant to taste like candy.

[She picks up one of the gummy bears and turns it between her fingers. Really, now that she looks at them more closely, they look like some concoction thought up by those dastardly Wizards.]

Will you sample one, sir?

New Year

[morethan084]

[Ringing in the New Year without any hitches so far was, well, nice. Skye had dressed up in a dress of hers that had shown up last month, and while she hadn't tagged along with anyone to the event, she was happy to just go around and socialize. And, occasionally, grab a flute of champagne. Moving to where everyone else has gathered to ring in the new year, Skye had set down her empty flute of champagne and starts to count down with all of the others. Completely elated, but not in the tipsy way she expected to feel after her third glass, Skye turns to the person who was trying to get her attention.]

Holy shit.

[Probably not the reaction he was expecting, but Skye knew exactly who he was. Except he was a lot shorter and a lot skinnier.]

[weakman]

Pardon me?

[ Steve pauses at the language and tone of the vision in pink. He's had some intense reactions to his appearance in the past. The passing remarks on his height or ill-health. Bullies came in all shapes and sizes. He won't assume that's what's happening here but he doesn't want to bother her. He takes a step back to offer her some space even if he still desires to kiss her. It would fade, he was sure of that much. ]

I'll be on my way.

[ There was no reason to stay around if she was offended. ]

[morethan084]

[As soon as she realizes that she’s made it uncomfortable, Skye is reaching out to try and grab his arm.]

No! No, I’m sorry. You just—

[It would be weirder to tell the truth, right?]

You just look a lot like someone I know.

new year.

[oddbod]

[In all honesty, Clara hadn't noticed Steve standing there at first, not until he speaks up. She'd been looking up at the ceiling, dazzled by the decor, buzzed on the euphoria from the champagne. Even once his voice breaks through, it takes moment of blinking through the party's haze to look over and find the source. When she does, Steve might recognize a familiar face.]

Hmm?

[Despite Steve's small size, it's still a sharp look up for her; Clara's as small for a woman as he is for a man.]

Sorry, did you say something? [Despite her distraction, her focus now seems genuine.] Bit loud in here.

[weakman]

[ It wasn't uncommon to miss Steve. He didn't stand out in a crowd unless he was causing a ruckus. Which did happen here and there, unfortunately. What Steve hadn't expected was to meet Bucky's date from the Stark Expo. He nods his head. ]

Do you remember me?

[ That might not be all that helpful. He clears his throat and extends a hand. ]

Steve Rogers, ma'am. We've met. Through James Barnes.

( network )

[wingmans]

did you shrink in the wash?

[weakman]

[ Well! ]

Did you lose your manners?

[wingmans]

[ steve is gonna lecture him about manners? . . . steve? ]

It's a legitimate question because you're a couple of stones missing from when we last saw each other.