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tdms

JANUARY 2019 TEST DRIVE

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.

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i prefer moët & chandon

[Amelie shows up to the party, and almost immediately picks up one of the champagne flutes. She sticks out, but seems careless about the fact, like it's something that can't quite touch her as she winds her way through the people present. There'd been a dress she'd pulled out of the basket, the one she's found in the kitchen of a house that seemed to be hers. If nothing else, there seemed to be a lack of anyone to tell her otherwise.

She still doesn't quite trust this place, doesn't quite know how she got here, and that's a sensation she knows too well for it to be quite comfortable. It doesn't upset her; nothing does, but it's an itch on the chill of her blue skin. For those that are very, very sharp, they might notice that she clocks the exits, the best vantage points, the location across the street that would be the best place for a sniper.

But little of it shows in her demeanor, and she just sips at her glass, taking in the sights, the people, overhearing snippets of conversation here and there before she eventually slides up the the green-felt card tables in the back. She gets herself some chips and her smile is enigmatic as she takes her seat and the next hand starts, and she holds her cards in slender ~~killer's~~ hands. Her voice is cool, her intonation almost a little flat, but with an edge of a French accent.]

It's been a while since I've played.

and the clock strikes twelve

[Amelie watches the countdown along with everyone else. The glitter ball, the numbers called out as the digits flash, everyone crowded around, with glitter and expectant faces, like all of this means something. But she doesn't feel anything at all. Her heart is still and her mind is quiet and she sips at another glass of champagne.

She knows she's been to parties like this before, but can't quite place when the last time was. With Sombra and Gabriel, maybe? She remembers the Eiffel Tower, the glowing lights, but she isn't sure if it was a mission or not. The memory makes her feel something, and so she thinks it must have been. But as the seconds tick down, she finds herself strangely wanting to be close to someone, some sort of contact.

She has a knife in her hand; not because she intends to use it, but because she finds it interesting, and the violence on the air, the way that people go after each other, the screams-- that's something, almost feels like something. Almost. She eventually gives in, putting her free hand on the shoulder of someone's shoulder, whether it's familiarity or something else.]

Come here, chéri.

[If you're brave enough to not be discouraged by the knife she twirls in her fingers, you might find out if her lips are as cold as her hands.]

just a little chat

un: widowmaker

So, tell me- are the parties here always so charming?

wildcard

[Want something else? Give me whatever strikes your interest. Hit me up if you want to plot or anything like that.]

[The girl seated across from her was exotic in her own way. A third eye stood out on her forehead, quite obviously very real given the way that it tracked and blinked when she looked over at Amelie. She leaned with an elbow, one hand glancing down at the cards while lifting them only a fraction, her champaign flute in her other hand, tilting and rotating between her fingers.

She looked comfortable and at ease while she spoke, the whole atmosphere leeching is way into her as she addressed the sniper.]

Mmmm, I am new to it myself, but I am told the rules of it are not too complex. [She winked.] You have lovely skin. It reminds me a little of home...

[She might look strange, but Amélie doesn't look at it too hard. When you come from a world with talking Gorillas, hamsters, sentient shadows and the strange variations that Omnics came in... Let's say that it takes quite a lot to make her question appearances.

Of course, Amélie is actually very good at cards, although it has been a while since she's played. But sharp eyes and quick hands, tactical awareness were all things that served her well.]

Easy to learn but difficult to master, is what they say, I believe.

[She hummed thoughtfully, picking a card from her hand and laying it down on the table. At the statement about her skin, she arches one delicate eyebrow, looking the other woman over with a quiet flicker of sharp eyes.]

Do you miss it?

[Vira-Lorr, still rather new to Poker, kept in mind that she'd gotten two of a kind and so offered three of her own cards. The best odds to make her hand a little better. She smiled over at Amélie and nodded.]

Any good game of skill must be so. The true game is learning to read another's opponent, wouldn't you say?

[And she was definitely having a hard time reading this one. Amélie was cool as a cucumber, and that made any sort of cold read very difficult at best. Vira-Lorr was enjoying the challenge even if it meant she lost her shirt metaphorically tonight.]

My home? Yes. More the people closest to me, but we worked hard to get what we did. I would like to enjoy the peace we had finally earned. And you? Do you miss your own home and friends?

[Reaper had mostly been avoiding social gatherings. This time of year was nothing more than a phantom to a life he used to have and had long ago shed. He could have watched from the rooftops, separated from the people that were mingling, cheering, counting down, but this was Deerington. There was always something bound to go wrong, and why limit himself to finding out what that would be from afar.

As the countdown began in earnest within the final minute, he caught sight of someone eerily familiar. He perked slowly, rising from his crouch to his feet and eased off of the building into the snow. His outfit stood out in stark contrast to the finery as he eased into the crowd of people to verify the presence he had seen. Could it be?

He came upon her as the fighting broke out. Ah, it felt like Maximillian's casino already. The bloodlust tickled at him, but he ignored it for his own curious nature, even as he turned away from where she was to disarm a man a little too enthused about trying to stab him. Shoving into a crowd of kissing people was enough to divert attention away from him as a light hand fell upon the shoulder of his jacket, and he turned to come face-to-face with Amélie, better known to most as their last breath from half a mile away.]

Widowmaker. [It wasn't often that his voice came out as a purr, but it did as he turned and caught her waist in his clawed hands as if they were about to dance.] Aren't you a little too in the thick of things to actually enjoy yourself?

[He was a familiar face, and they always worked well together, even if their record wasn't exactly spotless. He says her name, and there's a slow curl of her lips, catching the purr in his low tone through the mask as his gloved hands caught against he waist. Her hand moves from his should to the back of his neck, mostly touching leather, but there is one digit that slips beneath the fabric, a slight touch invisible to anyone else.]

Reaper. [She still has a knife in her other hand, and while she isn't immediately trying to slip it in between his ribs, there's a certain threat to how she holds it, keeping it close to him. Of course, she knows he can take it, that the threat of it is something that they both understand. With his hands on her waist, she sways slightly to the beat of the conflict around them. She still knew how to dance.]

Sometimes it is worth getting up close, even for me.

[She slips the knife up to catch under the bottom edge of his mask, tapping against the hard material, not missing a beat. Someone else, she would have just kissed them to sate the urge and been done with it, but with Reaper there was a game to it, steps and facets. She wouldn't call the people she worked with friends, but they were fixtures in her world that was elsewise very small.]

Don't you agree?

[Not all Talon missions were successful, and that was a fact of life. They could plan and prepare as well as possible, but if all the elements didn't fall into place, they would have to fight their way out on a retreat. Their track record wasn't nearly as bad as others might think, but more importantly was that they would work independently and find success. Mondatta was a prime example.

She wasn't afraid to touch, which amused him greatly. Outside of Moira, no one thought to see what was under the folds of his carefully designed disguise, if it was nothing more than mist or if there was actual skin there. He shifted one hand from her waist to grasp the wrist without the knife. It wasn't that he couldn't dance, he spent most of his life not wanting to. So he took her into the waltz to the sound of affection and violence mingling together.]

So teaching you to punch won't go to waste then.

[And now, now, she was dangerously close to his chin, but he trusted that she wasn't stupid enough to flick the blade in either direction, either to cut him or remove his mask. Well, only one of those would actually earn his ire. After all, they had appearances to keep up and better to let someone think he had fondness for someone who would give them such a rude awakening if they decided to take their issues with him on her.]

You know I'm a close and personal type. I can't say I've seen you often given the opportunity to make use of knives though....

Believe it or not, it was leagues above the last attempt they made.

A bit quaint. But I thought it was rather enjoyable, as far as such things go.

How long have you been here?

It seemed awful garish if you ask me. They're trying too hard to fit a theme this time.

Seven months. Going on eight, I suppose.

It was New Years Eve. The nature of the beast, is it not?

Interesting. I hope it stays entertaining, at least.

The nature of the decorations, perhaps, but the mental manipulation needn't follow such a cliche pattern. [ Someone's really bitter about the kissing. ]

Boredom is certainly something I've seldom had an issue with.

And who did you kiss to be so disgruntled?

[Really, now she's just more amused than she was before. It's not hard to figure out that it's the kissing-- in their line of work, what's a little stabbing here and there?]

[ It's true. She has zero issues with gutting someone, that's old hat. ]

Why can't it just the mere suggestion that I may have had to that has me disgruntled?

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