JANUARY 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

JANUARY 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to January's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: OCEAN HORROR.

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.

PLEASE NOTE FOR CHARACTER ARRIVALS: This month, all players can choose to have their characters wake up in the town of Deerington or on the Titanic.

CW: Ghost of a child, rotting corpses, drowning, hallucinations, paranoia
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

WHERE FEET MAY FAIL

For those who were left behind in Deerington while everyone else was whisked away in the flood during the New Years Eve party, they will find that the town is a little more wet than usual. The streets are still flooded, houses are damp, and the chill of winter isn't making it easy to deal with. Your hands can feel like ice any day of the week and it's hard to focus with how badly you may find yourself trembling from the cold.

But it's almost preferable to the visions. They start off while you're sleeping; large sea monsters roaming the ocean, waiting to pull you down into the darkened depths; or maybe it's a strange, ghost looking girl with glowing eyes and tattered clothing, her skin blue and rotting the way a body does when it's been submerged in water for too long. She's calling out to you, beckoning you down, and all around her are the strung up, floating corpses of the people who were foolish enough to listen.

It's just a dream though, right? Slowly you start to see the girl around town. She's still calling to you, watching you, waiting for you. If you get too close, she'll even be able to grab onto you, pulling you down into the waterlogged streets, and into what you thought was only a puddle of water. It's as deep as an ocean, and just as dark and cold too. Someone near by can grab onto you before she can drag you under and the vision will disappear. If no one does, maybe if you're a strong swimmer, you'll be able to struggle free, but when you resurface, there will be a bruise forming on your arm in the shape of a hand – something to remind you that maybe these visions are a little more real than you gave them credit for.

The only way to stay safe is to travel in pairs. The girl seems to keep her distance when there's more than one person around, but it doesn't mean she won't try to find the means to separate you. Whether it's increasing the flooding in certain areas of the street or trying to distract one of you long enough to put some distance between you and your comrade, she'll do whatever it takes to try and grab onto whoever she can.

GHOST SHIP

Those who are on the boat might find that life is a little easier, depending on what class you've found yourself in. The struggles between first, second, and third are certainly rough on everyone, but many seem to find themselves thinking this is just the way of things. Maybe your mind has been altered to just accept the class differences or your memories completely rewritten and you think you've led a completely different life so far; either way, only a handful of passengers seem to fully understand that this isn't the way things are supposed to be.

There's nothing anyone can do to change things, though, and so many find themselves getting lost in day to day activities. Whether it's working on the ship, enjoying the finer foods in the first class dining halls, or enjoying the rowdy parties in third class storage after hours, everyone seems to be finding something to keep themselves occupied. As the days pass, even those who know full well what's coming seem to forget the looming doom, and you might even find yourself feeling lost in the monotony of day to day life.

But those who stare into the water too long, who look at the strange, large shapes swimming just under the surface might find a sense of dread filling them. The paranoia will shake you to your very core, leaving you with a sense that all is not right with this journey. You can try to tell people, but most will look at you as though you're insane. Eventually, your fear will become so heavy that you start to see destruction all around you. Whole sections of the ship will look flooded, rotting wood and rusted steel taking over every inch of the once proud ship, and every section is covered in algae. You might start to realize it looks uncannily like an old shipwreck.

The ship is still floating, though, and the coarse steady. So it's all in your head, right? Staying away from the water will make the visions and paranoia eventually ebb, but any glance at the floating shapes will cause it to come back tenfold. Maybe just stay inside and away from the ship's edge. It seems a lot safer that way.

Character Arrival

You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.

NOTE: Character's this month can wake up in Deerington or on the Titanic.

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.

Comments

[wronganswer]

[ Look at that, her correct form of address. It's stupid to find that small piece of familiarity comforting, but she does. ]

Have to admit, my investigations tend to feature questioning perps and witnesses, not going to the library. Maybe we should split up and meet back later, sir. See what we find separately. [ She's not afraid of book work, but Anderson knows what she's good at, and it's getting information out of living people. ]

[thepunshow]

[ huh. yang hadn't even introduced herself yet. maybe her reputation preceded her...? she grins, easy and polite. ]

Whoa, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. Never thought I'd see you drop anything, Blake.

[ she blinks in confusion once, twice. shakes her head. this person is a stranger, right?

no. no, that wasn't true. they were part of a team: her, blake, ruby, and weiss...oh, gods, weiss. she would kill her if she knew yang had momentarily forgotten her. all of them were on a mission to do--something. something big. her head ached with the weight of memories just right out of reach.

but she knew without a doubt that she and blake were partners. more than that, maybe. how could she ever forget the person who knew her best? the person who chose her? kept choosing her even now?

the magazines flutter to the floor as she sweeps blake into a bear hug that lifts her right off the couch with a joyous whoop of, ]

BLAKE!

[kintsugambol]

[ there it is. blake's smile widens as she sees the recognition dawn--it's the same kind of thing that was done to them, that's for sure. she laughs with relief and surprise as yang lifts her up like that, throwing her arms around the blonde. people are looking, but who cares? her books are forgotten as she presses her face into yang's neck, breathing in deeply. it's her. the girl who looked past everything she's done to see her, intact despite it all. who lost a part of herself for her. who forgave her for leaving.

the girl who blake swore a promise to.

she laughs softly against her skin, hugging her almost as tightly. ]

You really kept me waiting, Yang.

[thepunshow]

[ extra bonus points means that yang is currently winning this non-existent competition and she is more than okay with that.

she glances at the girl out of the corner of her eye, but doesn't slow her pace. whatever she is, she just screams bad news. ]

If we keep moving, there's less chance she can do whatever it is she wants to do to us. There's no way we move fast enough on foot.... [ wait, idea! she tugs on ruby's hand. ] Hey, can you use your Semblance?

vaguely backdated so that him being in Deerington makes sense

[capturethemoment]

[ If he hadn't already spent a few months in Deerington, Jonathan might be surprised by a kid coming up to him and asking him about Hawkins. But there's only one kid left that might do that. She's...smaller than the last time he saw her, just like Will and Mike are smaller than he remembers. Somehow, they can all come here from different times. He's used to this. ]

El? Eleven?

[ He's more used to her after spending a couple months with her, but she's older in his memory. She speaks a bit better, she's more outgoing.

He wonders if Mike or Will has seen her yet. ]

We're...not anywhere near Hawkins. It's hard to explain. You're freezing. We can't stay out here.

[thepunshow]

What can I say, I know how to make an entrance. [ yang laughs in return, twirling them around in a circle. she hasn't been this happy since...well, she can't remember when. literally can't remember. still, she's sure it wouldn't compare to this. ] Besides, you know I wouldn't leave you by yourself for long.

[ she puts blake down and pulls away just enough to give her a smile full of unabashed joy. ] Have you seen anyone else? Ruby was with me, but got shipped off somewhere else.

[ eh? eh? get it? yang is hilarious. ]

[clickclickbloom]

[Yang should be proud of that. Being Ruby's beloved sister has brought her far today, clearly.

Ruby notices how Yang declines to actually move her head in the girls direction. That was probably a good call that Ruby will mimic from here on out.]

But how are we going to do th-

[She feels the tug on her hand and the gears start grinding. However her sister is quicker to the draw and beats the light bulb going off in her own head.]

Oh yeah! That would do that trick!

[Ruby gets herself ready to dash and activates her semblance, aiming to propel both her and Yang to a nearby rooftop in a burst of speed and rose petals.

...Unfortunately while normally she'd be able to make this sort of move with no problem the power cuts out sooner than it normally would. Ruby let's out a gasp as they find themselves just short of the roof's edge before they start to fall.]

Y-Yang, Grab on!

[Ruby's grip tightens around Yang's hand as she herself tries to grab onto the ledge before it's out of reach.]

[tagartist]

[ She's not used to these kinds of dances in the slightest, but she's at least able to follow his lead and sort of peak at what everyone else is doing to get the general idea. ]

The only one that was. Though I bet the parties up higher aren't nearly as good at this one. Rich people don't know how to have fun.

i'm so glad to have an excuse to use this icon

[gaylic]

[ Moira couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes, but she does as requested and goes to look again. She might not particularly care for being talked to by someone lower, but his sincerity at least makes her mildly curious, and she's never been one to give up curiosity.

Dr. O'Deorain looks bored for a moment, until the strange shape resurfaces and her eyes widen a fraction. She stumbles back a bit, like the thing was going to come up out of the water instead of swimming under the ship. ]

Bloody hell. [ That's about all she's got for the moment. ] That didn't look like a whale.

[angelic_archer]

The kiss had been an affectionate gesture given without thought. The two of them touched regularly, especially when one or the other was hurting. Simple gestures like holding hands or chaste kisses had grounded them in a world that had seemed to be falling apart. Just like the touch to his cheek that settled his thoughts. Leaning into the contact, his eyes briefly closed until Magnus spoke.

"It is my responsibility, Magnus. Even if you weren't my boyfriend, I swore a sacred vow to protect others." He was more protective of Magnus, dangerously protective depending on the situation, but even if they weren't together, Alec would defend him. Other Shadowhunters might believe that they should only guard the lives of Nephilim and Mundanes, but Alec knew he was meant to protect all beings who might need his help.

His heart gave an odd lurch, cold settling in his chest as Magnus suggested that he hadn't experienced any of the events that Alec knew were true. Magnus remembered him, but he didn't remember dating him. Magnus knew about a kiss in front of the Clave, but not the one that had changed Alec's life completely. "I don't understand," he said slowly, carefully pulling away from Magnus. "You're ..." My boyfriend. The being I love most... "How can you remember me, remember the kiss, and not know about the rest of it?"

[sscuriosity]

Okay, but I need it back. I only have the one - I'm still working with the two-way.

[There's really no use in arguing with Eleven, and he can tell that she's scared- frantic, which isn't a look he's seen from her often and each time there was a very good reason. Dustin passes the walkie over with a curious glance shot her way under the brim of his hat.]

Yeah, of course, you can meet Will. You can see all of 'em, but first, we gotta get you outta this mess and back to the house.

[sscuriosity]

For all I know, there could be. The good thing about Pterodactyls is that they're much more likely to go fishing, right?

[Like any carnivorous bird of prey. It's not like Dustin had ever encountered one but this place could churn up anything and his blatant comment about biological imperative makes that much clear.]

Not one anybody's found yet.

[kintsugambol]

I know you wouldn't.

[ she says it earnestly, like it's a matter of course. a constant. and of course, blake laughs a little at yang's awful not-joke, lightly pushing a hand against her cheek. no, bad yang. unfortunately that's still very much positive reinforcement. ]

I've seen Ruby and Weiss. You were the last holdout. Have anything to say for yourself?

[angelic_archer]

[Alec nods in agreement, trying to remember all the legends that he'd read about Downworlders that lived in water. Now he wishes that he'd focused on more than just the ones that lived in rivers or near the shore.]

They may not. [Alec hopes that's true, but he'll still be watchful.] We'll need more information to figure out what they might be. Have any of them been close enough to see any details?

[Even something that might seem unimportant might help determine what they are.]

[dividingline]

It's interesting to Abraham how much trust this man is willing to give to a stranger, especially one met under such secretive circumstances. As Jean-Paul leads the way back into the bowels of the ship, he wonders what inspires that trust. Carefully disguised strength, perhaps? The Frenchman seems healthy enough, but slight, not widely built, and a little shorter than Abraham himself. Money, then, enough to convince him that nothing in the world can harm him. That seems more likely, especially given the man's apparent lack of concern when they meet the group of First class passengers.

Abraham doesn't miss the way the ladies and not a few of the gentlemen look at him, appraising him as if Jean-Paul has brought in some mangy dog that might, if fed correctly, be persuaded to perform a few tricks. He meets their eyes and smiles, deliberately, and touches his forelock, earning more muttering and, he knows, glances at his back as he and Jean-Paul make their way towards the man's rooms. He thinks this is perhaps not Jean-Paul's first time bringing back someone below his station and finds a little respect for a man who cares so little for what others think of him.

He steps into Jean-Paul's room with undisguised admiration, pausing to drag his callused fingertips across the hangings of the bed before turning to look at the man who has invited him here, studying him with patient interest for a moment before he turns his attention to himself. Without preamble and with a certain amount of matter-of-fact economy of movement that suggests it's not the first time, he shrugs out of his jacket, folding it and placing it neatly over the back of one of the chairs. His waistcoat gets the same treatment and he pushes down the straps of his suspenders until they hang from his hips, then starts unbuttoning his shirt, exposing the ink scrawls across his chest, a pair of deer antlers under his throat and a single word, strangely, in English along the line of his collarbone.

its such a good icon

[green_cyborg_ninja_dude]

[He's sincere in his comment, and genuinely wants to know if he's seeing things or not. Needing someone else to confirmed that he's not, in fact, insane.]

[He looked from water to the man beside him and raised a brow. Then he sees the moment the man sees it, and they both back away from the railing.]

You saw it too then. It doesn't look like a whale, but I can't tell what it is either. I am glad to not be the only one to see it.

[green_cyborg_ninja_dude]

Exactly! [he laughed, and she would see that he too is having to make up steps or try to mimic others. In other worse he doesn't know the steps anymore than she does, but that doesn't get him down. It's just for fun.]

They may have their parties with their tea cakes and wine, but we know how to have fun! [He said, joining in a move that required spinning, grabbing her hands and spinning them around a moment. He seemed to genuinely have fun. And the more SHE seemed to have fun the more he enjoyed things too.]

[peakydevil]

[ At her refusal, he places the cigarette between his lips. He lights a match in cupped hands to protect the flame from the wind with the practiced ease of someone who has done this a million times. Had they been in an encloses space, he would have asked if she minded, not being a smoker herself, but the open air will carry the second-hand smoke away from her. ]

My brothers are below, making merry with new friends, no doubt. But I have a sister about your age back at home. She'll be sad to have missed all this.

[ Ada had been peeved they had gone without her, but to be fair, she was already on the outs with Tommy for other reasons at the moment. She'd come 'round by the time they returned. ]

What business are your father and brother into? [ His tone is conversational. Making small talk with a first-class young lady on deck and trying not to let his mind settle back to where it had been before she spoke to him. ]

[speed_of_snark]

As Abraham disrobes, Jean-Paul moves to an already open bottle of red wine he's had tucked away, producing two glasses as well. He pours, watching the other man with cool blue eyes that miss exactly nothing.

He steps close to offer a glass, a finger pointing delicately at the tattoos. "What does that mean?" he asks. He pauses, considering his phrasing, and adds, "Why?"

[obeir]

Or a gilded cage. [ K replies mildly, a warning borne from the knowledge of what fate ultimately befell the Titanic. What will befall it, here and now, presumably. With the added bonus of some kind of sea monsters lurking in the water below, doggedly following the ship in hopes of dining on its passengers, if he had to guess.

And maybe his time would be better spent preparing for the worst. But how? Direct access to all the medical supplies is certainly beneficial, and he has had the foresight to liberally pilfer from the stocks already, but against drowning or hypothermia... they're going to be all but useless. ]

Your first time on a ship? [ He wonders, his tone becoming more conversational as he turns to fully regard the other man for a moment, before looking back to the shelves. ] Noticed you people watching. As though they're actually interesting. [ The latter's said with more than a hint of humour — and likely reveals his own lower class status; there's no putting on of airs here. ]

[dividingline]

Abraham doesn't mind being watched. It is, after all, the point of his small show, a little extra line for the fish to dart at beneath the ice. As Jean-Paul moves closer, he lets the wings of his shirt fall aside, revealing a torso bisected by a thick fur of dark hair like a forest marching across the tundra, as well as not a few scars, the thin white lines of knife cuts and the puckered skin of bullet wounds.

He takes the glass from the other man, eyes it thoughtfully, then throws it back with the careless disregard of a man more used to drinking spirits. It tastes like grapes and sunlight and summer, distracting him a little until the Frenchman speaks again, his gesture and expression saying as much as the question itself.

Abraham looks at him with a moment's confusion, then glances down at himself. The sight of the tattoos, what he can see of the cursive script that describes 'boundaries' across his skin, doesn't surprise him. As if he has long since made his peace with their presence on his body, so much that he barely notices them. But when he gropes in his mind for an answer, a reason or a design for them, he finds only emptiness and the sensation of something obscured, a doorway hastily boarded and painted over. A headache spikes suddenly behind his eye, making him wince.

« I do not.. I do not know. » The words are murmured as much to himself as his companion, but the moment of vulnerability is fleeting as he abruptly remembers why he's being asked in the first place. He reaches out with his free hand to take the fingers of his would-be benefactor and tugs him closer, setting Jean-Paul's palm against his chest beneath that unknown English word. « Perhaps you can help me remember, sweetness? »

[wwrench]

Walter feels it and relishes it now -- the knowledge that they have entered a space that unequivocally "belongs" to him. Despite the aching in his belly from the man's unforgiving fists, he straightens his posture and assumes his role with nearly four decades' worth of experience in the management of such spaces. It is largely a facade; he exists here as strong and certain and worthy only in as long as he keeps his mouth shut. Something of the illusion will fade when he's made to speak, but for the time he looks happy to lead them as he directs them to a table amid far fewer passengers enjoying their meal on a covered but open air section of the promenade.

They catch a few eyes as they settle, but Walter is happily defiant in his own space. He gestures to Abraham as though he understands the tipping of the scales and the mercy of his own repayment. "See? Isn't this better anyway?" When the waiter comes he orders himself another vermouth before signaling at Abraham. "I think it's soup he wanted? Nothing too complex."

[tagartist]

[ Maybe it's because she isn't clouded by disappointment in not being recognized, but the spin actually gets a laugh out of Chloe for the first time since she woke up on this stupid ship. Even when she stumbles as the twirling ends and she has to grab onto his arm to steady herself, she's still got a small smile in place. ]

Funny how that works. You think they'd be able to afford to relax.

[dividingline]

There's a strange familiarity in letting the taller man lead, an almost instinctive suggestion that has Abraham trailing in his wake like a dog on a rope before he even knows he's moving. He doesn't try to avoid the narrow glances that follow them across the room, but meets them instead, chewing on his papirosa, and wonders what dark secrets they're hiding. Every man has at least one, in his experience.

The rich goy seems to be in his element now, the tense lines of his body language relaxed. Abraham drapes his jacket across the back of the chair and sits down across from him, watching his face but not entirely convinced of his own safety yet. The fresh air off the water is welcome, though the place still manages to feel a little confining, and he touches the heavy silver cutlery already laid out with reverent fingertips.

He glances between the waiter and his companion as an order is put in on his behalf, recognising the request if not the qualifier. Before the waiter can turn away, he dredges up a little more English and catches at his sleeve, tugging him back to add a footnote of his own.

"Chicken." He motions to his glass. "Vodka."

That done, he settles back, eyeing the other man thoughtfully. Then he shifts in his chair and sticks out one hand decisively across the table.

"Abraham," he offers. "Es freyt mir dikh tsu kenen."

[kintsugambol]

Something's wrong about all this... you feel it, don't you? I mean, since when are you a janitor? [ since when does ruby clean anything at all. ]