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

A bad time to get whisked away from our home, huh? Funniest thing is that you were still around before they kidnapped me too! Makes me wonder if I had a clone of you this whole time!

[ He speaks so lightheartedly, unaware of how many bombshell he might be potentially dropping right now. Things were just the "normal" wacky sort in Akatsuka land. The clone thing wouldn't even surprise him if it were true. ]

[CLONES? WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT CLONES?

Osomatsu's expression becomes blank, wide-eyed for a moment]

I was... still around?

Ayup! You were there, being the same Osomatsu-niisan as always! Selfish, greedy, annoying, all that!

[ HE COULD HAVE SPARED THE INSULTS but every little brother of Osomatsu is a shit and Jyushimatsu is brutally honest to a fault. ]

Weird, huh?

[that bad feeling is getting worse. not because of the insults. those are standard. but... there's something else]

Yeah... Though, lemme ask you this. Where were we when you got kidnapped?

In our futon, sleeping! Like normal! We all bickered before that, but it's nothing we don't do everyday!

[ He chuckles, though on the inside he's at least a little "what the fuck" about this. ]

[their futon... back in Japan? Osomatsu's expression falls for a moment.

this must be... the real Jyushimatsu. a brief look flashes across his eyes, but he covers up the uncomfortable feeling quickly. he can't let Jyushimatsu know about him]

I-I see... It was the same with me! I was sleeping. In our futon.

[ That makes Jyushimatsu realize something, his mouth and eyes rounding wide like he's just gotten the greatest idea. ]

Did nii-san also dream of deers before appearing here?

[that, he could at least answer without feeling nervous]

Yeah, I did. The deer around here... well, I think they're running everything.

... eeeehhh?

[ The sound he makes is a rather intrigued one than shocked. ]

How can deer run the place? They're deer! They've got hooves, not hands! They can't even talk?!

Hmmm. I don't know how they're doin' it yet. There's some kinda magic happening around here, I think. I mean, we're in a dream. We come back to life after we're killed. A bunch of deer running everything is, like, the least weird thing here.

[ EYES NARROWING AND STARING INTO OSO'S SOUL. ]

Wait a sec. We're in a dream? So what I had at the start was a dream within a dream?

Are we actually stuck in an Inception storyline?!

[squiiiiiints at that]

We could be? I’m not putting anything past whoever brought us here.

In fact, what's with the numerous references to fictional stuff we already know about? Are they fanboys disguised as deer? Secretly, they must be furries that somehow got the power to kidnap people through dreams!

[ He's wandering too far with his mind... bring him back. ]

[well, normally, Osomatsu might fall right into these conspiracy theories, or would go along with Jyushimatsu's weird thoughts. but... he's different now. at least, a little different, because of what he's been doing the past few months]

I don't think they're furries.

[still, a part of him is glad that Jyushimatsu is around because he's helping Osomatsu calm down quite a bit just by being himself]

I firmly believe they are! I wanna get to the bottom of this now!

[ He'll have to wait for that, because now his stomach takes on the duty to stop him and growl loudly enough to be heard by Osomatsu as well. Jyushimatsu deflates, very much disappointed he got interrupted like that by himself. ]

Ehhhh... can't think with my stomach crying like this!

[ahahaha! cute! Osomatsu can't help but reach over to try and ruffle Jyushimatsu's hair]

Now that you mention it, I'm gettin' pretty hungry, myself! Let's go find a place to eat.

[ At first he huffs a bit in annoyance, but before Osomatsu can take his hand back Jyushimatsu will grab the wrist with both his yellow sleeves and keep it on his hair for a bit longer. He likes being spoiled by the eldest brother at times like these. It's also comforting to know he's not alone in this weird dream world.

It takes a minute before he finally allows Osomatsu to retract his hand. ]

... Let's go, nii-san!