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

[Their eyes narrow slightly, by increments. That's too abrupt a shift to count as anything but what they're going to safely interpret as - a latent threat.]

[They shift on the spot, slightly. Edging backwards, as if there's anywhere to go to.]

And if I do not? [They're not armed. They don't have anything to defend themself, should it come to that.]

[At that, Mary pouts.]

Then I won't know what to call you here... oh, maybe I have to guess? Does it start with an M like mine?

[Not skewing things to a less desirable road, then. The child lifts their chin, silent for a fraction of a second too long as they consider their options.]

[There's an easy way to go from here. All they require is the strength to take the leap.]

[Chara smiles, abrupt and insincere, a plastic overlay across teeming uncertainty.]

Yes. It does.

Oh! Okay, that helps to know... Macey? Or no, maybe it's something like Michael, or Mabel, or, Morgan, or Maddie, or...

[... A pause, and then--]

Wait, your name isn't Mary too, is it?

Of course not.

[They settle on a number - six. Six letters. It's a good number for a name, and theirs is only five, so really, it's the perfect cover. The inherent ridiculousness of making someone guess their name notwithstanding.]

I'll give you a hint.

It's six letters long.

Oh... so it's not Mary, or Macey, or Michael or Mabel...

[Mary's gonna have to think about this a little more, trying to come up with names that she's somewhat familiar with.]

There's still Morgan, or Maddie... or maybe it's something like Marley? Minnie? Merlin? Melody?

[... Is she seriously gonna let herself be here all day trying to guess a name?]

[They could honestly watch this all day. It's not even all that funny; it's just that the sheer devotedness of her attempts, the fact that she keeps pushing gamely on instead of abandoning the game for a lost cause, it's very...]

[It's human, isn't it? She looks human enough. She probably is one, Chara suspects.]

It's also a noun, if that helps.

[She certainly tries to be--]

A noun? So... [Huh] Mister? Madame? Maiden?

... Mallet? Magnet? Mouse? ... No, wait, that's five letters isn't it? Macaroni? ... No, that's more than six...

[this is never going to end]

You're really not any good at this, are you?

[There's no mistaking it; the other child is amused at these poor efforts.]

The last letter is "r," if that helps.

Oh! So then... Marker? Meteor? Mirror?

[Your amusement must mean we're getting closer to discovering the answer, right?]

What sort of person names a child Meteor?

[They're the one making this poor child guess their name and purposefully misleading her, but go ahead and draw that arbitrary line, Chara.]

You're really not very good at this, are you?

Someone who wants to name a person with something starting with an "M", ending in an "r", and is a noun?

[Look, you're the one who set up these parameters, buddy.]

It's not my fault that your name is hard to guess!

Edited 2019-01-06 15:05 (UTC)

It's not my fault that you're too stupid to guess.

[They're smiling. It seems they're enjoying this, watching her struggle against the strictures of the rigged game they themself set up.]

[And now she huffs, stomping a foot down against the ground in frustration.]

Hey!! I'm not stupid... you're stupid for being so mean and difficult!

Edited 2019-01-09 17:29 (UTC)

Mean and difficult do not equate to a lack of intelligence. An inability to guess a rather simple word, on the other hand - very much is.

[It seems to be frustrating her, which might be sufficient to make her stop pestering them. The insult is just to add to injury.]

Yes it does! You're being too stupid to realize that you're making it very hard for us to become friends here!

[Mary... sweetheart, that's the point of what they're doing.]

And I feel just sick about it.

[They lift their chin imperiously, issuing with airy nonchalance:]

I don't need friends. They disappoint me. [They're confident that she's likely to miss the reference they're making there.]

[At that, she goes from indignation to shock.]

What? But... that can't be right. Friends are supposed to be a good thing to have...

[That's what the books said about them, at least. And books can't be wrong, can they?]

Sounds to me like you don't have any.

[Their smile hurts their cheeks. It pinches them. It hurts. They don't care. They smile anyway, because that's what they do. They smile.]

So you wouldn't really know, would you?

[And right back to pouting indignation she goes--]

I do have friends! Like... like my friend, Ib! She's nice, and super smart... she's not just my friend, she's my best friend.

[And maybe there's a hint of possessiveness there, but it is true. So far, Ib has been a good person to be friends with.]

[Chara folds their hands in front of them, their expression one of absolute, saccharine diplomacy.]

And is this Ib a real friend, or the imaginary sort?

Of course she's real! She's the realest person I've ever met, and we're gonna do all kinds of great things together once we meet up again!

[... I mean, sure, there's Garry too, but they're an adult. She likes Ib more.]

Hm. She doesn't sound very real to me.

[Their tone is one of projected, exaggerated disinterest. Their eyes flick to the side, vague and vacant.]

I suppose you'll have to prove it. Where is she now, then?