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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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1. Party

[ In Peggy's world, the opportunities for attending a party for no reason except for enjoyment are few and far between. More often than not, the only reason she might find herself at a party is because there is someone of importance there that she needs to speak to, which tends to involve some sort of undercover work.

Now, however, Peggy is not in disguise, nor is she here on a mission as far as she knows. This appears to merely be a party, and from the looks of things everyone is enjoying themselves very much.

She's accepted a glass of champagne, which she is currently working on as she makes her way through the crowd. There are no familiar faces that she's spotted as yet, but that doesn't mean she isn't going to look.

At one point, she even finds herself on the dance floor with a veritable stranger, but as luck would have it, he turns out to be fairly capable. And it helps that the drink she's been working on has steadily been lifting her mood until she's practically all smiles. Perhaps it's unlike her, but perhaps the festive mood has finally gotten its hold on her.

When the dance is concluded, she resumes her weaving through the crowd, taking in the various faces (all of them unfamiliar, of course) and occasionally stopping for a bit of small talk. ]

2. Happy New Year

[ For Peggy's part, she's relatively happy when the countdown ends, but that happiness quickly dissipates when she sees people around her reaching for weapons of the pointy and sharp type. ]

Hold on a moment. Where do you think you're going with that?

[ She keeps an easy smile, one that she hopes is calming and placating, as she addresses the nearest individual. ]

I would ask you to reconsider; surely you'll come to regret making this decision if you go through with it.

[ She knows she has about a 50/50 chance of either getting them to listen or making their murderous urges worse. But she likes to believe she can be fairly persuasive, and that's what she's counting on here. ]

3. Wildcard!

[ Peggy can be found anywhere, either on the dance floor, lingering by the drinks, or just making a circuit around the room. She's also available for a kiss or two, or a brush with the weapons, whatever tickles your fancy. I'm open to just about anything! ]

[ Steve watches the dancing couples with both longing and confusion. While he might steel himself to the notion that he's not meant to be one half of what's in front of him, there is a part of him that wanted that. The confusion comes in the form of genuine disbelief. After their arrival here and the circumstances surrounding such, he doesn't understand the mood.

Everyone, for the most part, acts as if they're okay with being here. It's possibly a matter of do this or wallow but he can't be sure. He catches a glimpse of Peggy and stops beside her, a warm smile on his face. ]

This is a surprise, Agent Carter.

[ The last time they'd been together Steve had been climbing into Howard Stark's machine. ]

[ Peggy's noted that as well: how more often than not, the people here seem to be fairly content with the circumstances at hand. She does have questions on that score, but now, with the festive mood, doesn't seem the time to bring up those questions. Still, she's never been much for propriety, so that's not to say she wouldn't raise them if the opportunity presented itself.

She turns when someone says her name, and she can't stop the wide smile that spreads across her face. ]

Yes, it is, isn't it?

[ She gives Steve a once-over, noting that he resembles the young man she knew before he gained all those muscles and was put to work as something of a figurehead.

It's an interesting, if not unexpected, development. ]

How are you?

[ That smile was a gift Margaret Carter was choosing to give him. Steve's own widens. It was a pleasure to find someone he knows in all of this chaos and for it to be a strong and passionate person like Peggy only multiplied the good feeling. ]

Well, ma'am. How are you?

[ He doesn't know of the gaps in time between them or anything that happened during the war, but she was kind to him. He's happy she's here. ]

What are the odds we'd both be brought here?

[ Was something sinister going on? ]

[ It was a gift she was happy to give. Steve was special, and what's more, she was rather fond of him. Perhaps she was even a bit more than that, even though there was quite a bit of time and distance between them. ]

Very well, thank you. This gathering is quite impressive, wouldn't you say?

[ Even with the gaps between them, it feels as though no time at all has passed, regardless of the truth. ]

I'd say they aren't very good odds at all, and yet here we are.

[ The gathering was... something Steve couldn't put a word to. As someone new in town and not quite having come to terms with the situation, he couldn't support the party as nice as it may seem. There was missing information. Too much to ignore. There was the underlying threat of danger. He was uneasy. ]

Can't recall the last time I was at a gathering like this one.

[ Being near Peggy was easy. ]

Here we are.

[ What a way to put it. Steve wouldn't actively want her in a dangerous place but the more intelligent and capable people, the better their chances. ]

Have you come across anyone else, ma'am? Doctor Erskine? Howard?

[ Peggy was thinking along those lines as well. As festive as the mood seemed to be, she couldn't help but wonder how many strings were attached. ]

Yes, it's been awhile for me as well. But I find that however long it's been, it's still possible to enjoy oneself, if one is inclined to do so.

[ Being around him was easy as well. It was one of the things that had endeared him to her in the first place. ]

Have you had a drink yet?

[ She appreciated the concern, but she'd been in dangerous positions before, and from the outside, this didn't seem too threatening just yet. But then again, threats could be concealed, and she couldn't help but wonder if something like that was going on here. ]

I have not, not yet. I assume you haven't, or you wouldn't be asking.

No, ma'am, I haven't.

[ Steve would have mentioned it sooner had he come across anyone else that they might both know. For a town that may or may not be based on dreaming, all the people Steve would choose to have here in a situation like that weren't around. ]

I can grab us a drink, if you want?

[ Where were his manners? It's a party and Steve's out of his element, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to make up for it now. ]

(no subject)

myorders - 2019-01-11 21:05 (UTC) - Expand

[ Bucky spots Peggy in the crowd looking just as he'd remembered her and he moves with purpose before he can think any better of it. For his part, he looks nothing like what Peggy might remember, broader now with a hell of a lot more stubble and hair and with his left arm replaced with a metal one he'd acquired in Deerington that has a starkness to it in relation to the shape of his other arm. ]

Didn't expect to see you here, Agent Carter.

[ She likes to believe she hasn't changed all that much in the intervening years, but that seems a bit like a fool's way of thinking. Bucky, though, looks as well as anyone could, even with the metal arm. ]

I certainly didn't expect to be here myself, much less encounter you, Sergeant Barnes.

[ She can't stop the wide smile from spreading as she gives him a good looking over. He must have some stories to tell, and she plans to see if he won't tell her some of them. ]

Oh, you know me. Life of the party.

[ There's a part of him that's thankful she hasn't gotten an eyeful of him in the years between, when he'd still been scared and haunted and empty in ways that made him dangerous. Now, at least, there's a miserable sort of peace about some things. It's calm enough that he can cover it all with a smile and sometimes he even means it. ]

You look good.

Of course. It's nice to know that some things have not changed.

[ She does wonder what's happened to him, but she figures he'll tell her when and if he's ready to do so. Probing him for information so soon after meeting again isn't her style. ]

You do too. Older, of course, but good.

[ He's a sight for sore eyes, although she won't be saying that. She's moved on with her life, but there's a part of her that still misses Steve and Bucky, as she knew them all those years ago. ]

[ That makes him laugh a little. He looks a few years older, but not the seventy that he is. ]

Dance with me?

[ He remembers how to do that, at least, and he holds out his hand for a friendly dance if she'll take it, though he half expects to be turned down again. It's okay, though, because he's not nearly as serious about women as he used to be and he'd never really go after someone who was interested in Steve, anyway. ]

[ She'll grant him that much. He does appear older than she remembers, but not old enough to pass for seventy. ]

Of course. I'd love to.

[ She accepts the offered hand without hesitation. Begrudging him a dance when he's asked for one seems rude, but more importantly, she realizes she does genuinely want a dance with him. Neither is she as serious about relationships as she once was, so what's the harm in a dance between old friends? ]

[ Bucky's hands stay in respectful places, something he might not have bothered with if a lady had been into him back in the day, but this isn't that kind of dance and anyway, it's been years since Bucky himself really danced with anyone.

Still, he's smiling at her like she's some lost treasure and it's not some odd, misplaced crush. It's just that she's a relic from a much simpler time in his life and she'd been so dear to Steve. That counts for a lot. ]

How long have you been in town?

[ You know, this won't be the first time John's lost his control at a party. Hell, it's not even been a whole month since he'd tried to strangle a friend just because he'd gotten it in his head the guy was someone else. The fact that he immediately picks up a pair of scissors should be a sign that something's amiss, but instead that laser focus is turned on Peggy who appears to be impeding his advance on some unsuspecting prey. ]

Y'know, I'm just gonna make sure I put the 'happy' in my Happy New Year.

[ Who says those scissors are nefarious? Just because he grips them like a goddamn Bowie knife doesn't mean he's going to use them that way, right? ]

[ Peggy would wager it's neither the first nor the last time someone will lose control of themselves at a party. John is a stranger to her, so she can't speak to his own record, but it's hardly a brilliant first impression that she's being presented with at this moment. ]

And you'll stop someone from ever having another Happy New Year again, I assume. Is that what you want?

[ She supposes it is, because these murderous types aren't exactly thinking about other people's happiness. Still, regardless of what he wants, she wants to put a stop to it by any means necessary.

And the way he's holding those scissors means nothing at all, of course! ]

What? You don't know what you're talkin' bout—

[ He's dismissing her, waving her off in such a way that's very disrespectful. (When he finally comes out of this, he'll be mortified.) But John's got a singular mind and he's dead set on making someone... well, dead. Or at least deeply regretful. By making holes in them. ]

S'pose they deserve it, huh? Mine been ruined for— for too long and you wanna just sit there actin' like that's okay for me, but not okay for them?

What kinda double-standard bullshit is that?

[ The agitation has him tugging at the collar of his dress shirt, and in a vest and some slacks, it's clear he'd made an effort to dress up a little for the party, that he hadn't come here to pick a fight. ]

Don't I?

[ Dismiss her all you want, she's not going anywhere just yet. Besides, the disrespect doesn't bother her very much. It's something she's received before, and while it makes her frown, she knows how to let it slide. ]

Perhaps they do deserve it. I understand there are those out there who deserve punishment.

[ This isn't about grandstanding or being holier-than-thou. ]

Whatever double standards there are, I don't think they'll be addressed by you taking matters into your own hands.

[ You know, she's making sense, which is probably the absolute worst part about this whole scenario. John's angry, the wash of red obscuring his vision, but there's truth to Peggy's words that speaks to something deep within him. ]

No. You don't understand...

[ He tightens his grip and his resolve, the whole top half of his body pushing out like he's ready to bump chests with Carter, like he's challenging her status as top dog. He's probably more bark than bite, right? But then again, he'd stabbed Arthur in September, and nearly choked Jean-Paul not one month ago, so it's a bit hard to say these days. Not when Deerington starts getting up to its shenanigans again. ]

Now get out of my way.

[ That is one thing she's good at: making sense. Still, she didn't expect him to be swayed that easily. He hasn't been swayed yet, because he still has that weapon in his hand, but baby steps. ]

I don't, but I'd like to. Something tells me you aren't the type to shoot first and ask questions later. [ Or stab first, in this case. ]

Still, we are very much strangers, so I can only begin to guess at how you work.

[ She does take a step to one side, as a placating gesture, but she keeps talking. ]

Perhaps you could enlighten me, if it isn't too much trouble.

(no subject)

oversight - 2019-01-07 06:43 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

myorders - 2019-01-07 19:15 (UTC) - Expand

[thankfully, Dale's so strong-willed that it doesn't take much more than that to make him see reason. his eyes focus properly, and he looks down at the knife in his hand as though he'd picked up a dead rat]

Thank you.

[he puts it down, then offers her a look of gratitude so genuine that it might just hurt to look at]

It's amazing how quickly a dream can turn a corner into a nightmare. I don't even think these were here a moment ago, were they?

[ That comes as a relief. Peggy could be strong-willed herself, but she didn't fancy getting into a shouting match about not stabbing people. ]

You're welcome.

[ That look is surprising, but she's grateful for it herself. ]

I wasn't looking forward to having to talk you down. [ Or doing something more drastic to stop him. ]

Isn't it, though? I've seen that happen a few times myself. And no, I don't believe that they were. That is another question in itself.

I'm very glad you didn't need to.

[he offers her a hand]

Special Agent Dale Cooper, ma'am. ... Theoretically, it does make sense that things could appear and disappear suddenly. This is, as far as we've been told, a dream world, after all.

[the briefest of pauses, as he looks over the table of deadly weapons]

Which just begs the question: who's really the dreamer, here?

Yes, I am as well.

[ She takes his hand and gives it a firm shake. ]

Agent Peggy Carter, a pleasure to meet you. And as for that, yes, I suppose that is fairly reasonable, although I would prefer it if the things that appeared and disappeared were not limited to weapons. But who is to say they're limited at all? Perhaps the sky really is the limit.

[ Which is equally concerning. ]

Do you have a theory on that score?

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