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

[ let it be known that veronica lodge is still VERY on the fence and VERY confused about literally everything that's happening to her life right now. she's not buying into all of this, she refuses to just accept she's been ..mentally kidnapped in her sleep and brought to some dream world. and she's certainly not buying into the fact that she has a tattoo that she never okayed. no. all of this is completely insane. right up there with the g&g obsession going on in riverdale right now.

that being said, there's a party going on up in here, and she's not about to miss that. obviously.

so she throws together a stacy's department store new years eve outfit, somehow, and heads there. with purpose.

if this is a dream? then so be it. let's see what you've got, deerington. ]

better get this party started

[ she's got a drink in her hair pretty much immediately after she arrives, downing one of the flutes in one sip because that's how she's feeling tonight. like she's going to need some booze to help her make sense of all of this. sure. but all it really does is make her feel kind of silly, and giddy, and that's what leads her to taking a number to be matched up with a dance partner. ]

Seventy-four? I'm looking for lucky number seventy-four!

[ she seems pretty excited about it, at least! ]

happy new year! ( locked to jughead jones )

[when the countdown starts, veronica's already been through- a bunch. being stuck to people, literally, in a horrifying way, until a full song played out? not great. well, later on she'll realize it's not great. right now she's just kind of riding the high of the happy-bubbly-champagne. the countdown happens, and then it's over, and then she's kissing... reggie..? which was confusing and something she's very sure she shouldn't have done, but she can't bring herself to care. she actually feels pretty damn pleased about it. but the party's insane at this point though, in the worst possible way - people are running around screaming with weapons and

some part of her knows she should be scared, but she just can't feel it. it's only around now that she's realizing there was something seriously messed up about that drink. but again, realizing it is different than actually feeling the panic of what the hell did i drink? she can't seem to feel anything negative right now, despite the chaos and the rushing train of thoughts that are all pretty damn negative. she's heading out though, rushing past people who're fighting and screaming, which should be horrifying? but she can't really feel any of it. she just needs- what does she need? why does she still feel so jittery? excited? like she's waiting for a big surprise?

oh ]

Jughead!

[ she clues back into the real world right around the time Jughead shoves by some of the people fighting, and there's that- rush again. the same rush she felt before. only... it feels different this time, because she's more aware of herself? but that doesn't stop the overwhelming need to kiss jughead jones. this is so.. not.. good.

which she realizes right around the time she's crashing into him, having rushed to meet him halfway, her hand reaching out for the front of his shirt to drag him in close faster. man, she sure is.. kissing jughead right now. her best friend's boyfriend and her ex's best friend.

and it's awesome. ]

[ ooc totally down for wildcard/random party cr starters too, doesn't have to be a scary dance. she's drinkin' the bubbly, so talkative first meetings are a GO ]

Edited 2019-01-03 03:18 (UTC)

[ jughead unfortunately did not have the good fortune of drinking a happy-bubbly-champagne, so his current mood is anything but amused. aside from pulling poor peter into a kiss, he has now traumatically locked lips with reggie mantle and he can't even begin to describe how he feels about that, except for, you know, literally any negative adjective that can come to mind.

he has an entire list of them with both bone chilling and stomach churning at the very top, except he still inexplicably wants to kiss him more. actually, he just really wants to kiss someone in general right now. it's like the desire for it becomes increasingly more prevalent with each break in turn.

honestly, if it wasn't for the sudden disruption, he might still be with reggie at this moment and the thought is compelling him to fight his way past the chaos towards the door as quickly as he can. he needs to get out before he makes another mistake.

unfortunately, he runs straight into it. ] Veron— [ annnd there we have it. another mistake. mistake number three. to be fair, it isn't of his own volition. in fact, he didn't even have enough time to register or react to her sudden appearance before he feels her mouth on his and, honestly? it feels... great. his mind has blanked. all he can sense is her. her lips, her warmth, her scent — it's an intoxicating blend. so, he's kissing her back with an innate need he can't explain — deep, passionate, and yearning.

he is no longer thinking of escape. just one simple word: more. ]

Veronica? [ and it's like driving sixty miles an hour and crashing directly into a brick wall. or it should be? it isn't. archie knows those feelings are supposed to be looming over him, that they're there, inexplicably out of reach and waiting to cripple him. for now it's like he can't connect to what he'd felt, gripping that payphone tightly in hand and telling veronica that whatever she spent all day putting herself through to clear his name didn't matter.

so he just sort of stands there awkwardly, dance number card in hand ( it may or may not be 74 — dealer's choice ) with a grin that won't dim. she looks great — she always looks great. he cards his fingers through his hair, takes a breath and for as chatty as he's been tonight, he struggles to find an ice breaker. he can't apologize when he isn't sorry ( he meant it ) and the only thing he feels right this moment is an overwhelming joy to see her, standing there, looking all the world like nothing's changed and nothing will. ]

I can't believe you're here. [ wherever here is, if it's real, etc. ] It's nice to see you smiling.

[ maybe this is his dream. ]