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

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.

[ 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.

Edited 2019-01-16 03:55 (UTC)

I have to say, it's been a long time since I was in Oregon, and that was only a brief stop cross-country. Beautiful country, though. Peaceful. Though I get the idea that's not exactly the best environment to be a teenager in.

[that smile is still there, until she asks him what he was investigating]

I was originally assigned there to solve a murder, but once that culprit was caught, there were a few other issues that came to light. Before I woke up here, I was preparing to go after a kidnapper.

[who was also a madman. and a murderer. and his former partner and mentor. but we'll get to that.]

Shittiest environment ever, if you ask me. ‘Less you’re in Portland, I guess. [ Which it was obvious by her tone she Was Not no matter how much her style might have blended in to the bigger city.

No, instead she’s in a town that could have fit the very story line he just described, and it makes her stomach knot unpleasantly because of it. She almost wanted to crack a joke about whether or not it was a fishing village, but she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to hear the answer. ]

Sounds rough. But I’m glad to know the TV wasn’t lying and that really is all you guys do.

Well, it's certainly not all we do. There's also the paperwork.

[he smiles at his half-joke, but can tell that something is making her uncomfortable.]

I'm sorry, my work isn't exactly the best party conversation, is it...? What is it you do, Chloe? There's got to be some way you've occupied the last eight months.

[ She snorts, at least appreciating the joke, and waves off his apology. ]

It’s cooler than anything I’ve got. I’m an event manager at the comic book store and I... deliver medicine to people who need it. [ Sure. Some of the people who bought the weed off of her were definitely using it for medical purposes. Maybe. ] Things get kind of too crazy here to ever really get bored, though, even if you don’t work.