test drive meme #14

[hadrielmods]

Welcome to Hadriel's test drive, and thank you again for your interest in the game! As always, our reserves page is here, and our applications page is here! Reserves open November 24th, and apps are open December 1st. Please remember that starting in December, there is an app cap of 20 apps.

Two quick points here as well:

1. Any thread made in Hadriel's test drive will be accepted as the sole Action Log sample in the application.
2. All threads made in the test drive can be considered game canon, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

Test drives will be broken up into specific god mini-events, during which your characters can see how well they fare under the watchful eye of one of the gods. Choose wisely or just simply pick 'em all, and have fun!

F E A R

SCENARIO ONE: HOW SAUCY
[The Door brings in all that is chaotic and evil in the world. This may include you, may include the person next to you... and may include the monster behind you.

Watch out as you explore the streets of Hadriel, because you're not alone, and there's always something lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect chance to destroy you for your vegetarian ways. This time, the Door has brought in a large group of Killer Tomatoes, from the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes movie.

While it is not immediately clear how these odd creatures can kill you, rest assured that you should be quaking in your boots. They can bite with their weird little tomato mouths, they can roll after you surprisingly fast, and they can even explode! Truly terrifying. But if you manage to defeat some of these agents of terror and chaos, you could make some mean salsa.]

D R A G O N A G E

SCENARIO TWO: VACATION IN THEDAS
[While you're exploring the city, perhaps you'll run into another creature that's slipped through a rift and is exploring along with you - or perhaps hunting would be a better term. Yes, Hadriel is teeming with demons straight from Thedas.

Perhaps you'll run into a desire demon, who will offer you your deepest wish - in exchange for your body and soul, of course. Perhaps you'll find a pride demon, who will play upon your strengths and weaknesses until you give in to them. Or maybe it'll be a despair demon, there to crush all your hopes and dreams.

Or maybe, if you're very lucky, you'll just find a nug.

This is a mini version of our Fadeout event this month!]

C O N F U S I O N

SCENARIO THREE: SWEDISH MANUFACTURING
[You're in luck! You know that thing you've always wanted? Doesn't matter what it is - a cool weapon, a nice dress, a well-made bedstand, a rare magical invention. Whatever it is, you just managed to find it! Whoa!

Or, well, you managed to find a box with a picture of the item on it. When you open the box, you find all the necessary components for making that item, along with illustrated instructions for putting it together. There's no written instructions, just pictures, but you're smart, you can figure it out! And it'll look just like the photo on the box. You're sure of it.

Better get building! Okay, the instructions don't entirely make sense - did you screw that part in upside down? Wait, are these pages out of order? Maybe you can ask that person nearby for help, or maybe you'll just sink into the depths of confusion and despair. But keep trying! Just think of what you'll get if you succeed!]

Comments

[benumbing]

[Jack looks like he's ready for another mission to Gath, dressed in drab colors, a pack on his back. His boots are scuffed, and look like they might be half a size too small for his feet. He looks more like the soldier than the polished prince flaunted in front of the cameras and the public. It's probably for the best. They are most definitely at war here.

He thought he'd at least made peace with himself. But Shepherd appears and a new battle rages.]

Having never set foot on one, I wouldn't. [Jack stays where the bullshit is more metaphorical than literal. He shoots David a fleeting smile. It's not especially friendly, it's more the way an animal's mouth stretches when it's about to show teeth, but decides not to at the last second.] It's called a nug.

[This bitch is being deliberately obtuse, because he knows that David's not really asking about the animal. Jack lets one strap of his backpack slide down his shoulder, scooping it up before it really can switch allegiance.] I would say that you're standing in my grave, but it's actually a better afterlife than I could hope for. [He'd certainly thought that at first, and in short order he decided that he'd rather die in this cave than go back to the life had left. Jack looks at him for another long moment, feeling some strange longing that he pushes aside. But his surprise has faded, and with it Jack's edges are just a little less sharp.] Welcome to Hadriel, Shepherd.

[reges]

[ Being obtuse for the sake of spite is something David's come to expect from Jack, but now he's watches his superior, and future sovereign (well, maybe) stuff the ugly critter into his bag with brows gradually arching higher and higher up his forehead. ] Your nug?

[ endearing as it might have eventually gotten to be in all its bizarreness, the nug looked like something entirely too hideous for Jack Benjamin to ever associate himself with, let alone claim as his own. Then again, David's started to learn that trying to predict the whims of Gilboa's prince is an exercise in futility. In the end, Jack will be what Jack will be, and you either accept it or get run over. Either way, the entire train of thought is abruptly derailed when Jack breathes the word grave, followed directly by afterlife, and the color drains from David's features. Of course, he says it in a way that'd negate the statement one might take as Jack being currently dead, but the fact he's talking about himself as if he's already well on his way is enough to have David's blood run cold. ]

Silas, he didn't-- [ Just shoot his son in the middle of the palace halls? Who can even say what Silas is willing and ready to do, now, but even that seems beyond thought. But Jack's right here, living and breathing, so that can't be possible, can it? ] You weren't the one on trial, Jack.

[ More protest made towards universal justice than anything else, at the prospect that Jack, beloved Prince of Shiloh, might be stood right next to him on the firing squad. And yet, and yet, knowing this, Jack had put his neck on the chopping block to save him, when Michelle, of all people, left him there alone. That alone is enough to make his head spin, but add on top of it the fact he's here, now, a place that couldn't have stayed hidden in the packed city, with strange faces all around, and Jack calling it 'Hadriel', which means... what? Eyes lifting, David scans the area again, mind in a mess. ] None of this makes any sense.

[benumbing]

I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't eat it.

[And that's the truth of it. It's like he's been caught doing something shameful. Kindness was never something he could afford, and even months removed from everything, old habits do indeed die hard. Like the way he still winces at his father's name, the way his eyes dart about like he expects the man to come marching into the colosseum amidst thunder and butterflies.]

Maybe not formally. [Even when he should've been. It ended up being a test for him too, and Jack passed it only to fail later. The only thing David was guilty of all along was being a good man in the company of bad ones, an Jack's own desire to be better is the very thing that made him worse.] Is that the last thing you remember?

[He tilts his head, eyes widening again. David is the first that Jack's been reunited with from his world; hopefully he'll be the last. But he has heard from others about people from the same world showing up from different points in time.

Jack takes another step closer, demanding his attention.]

You were brought through the Door, just like we all were. There are gods here, unlike the one that you believed in, the one that my father believed in. Their voices are heard by all when they speak. [Jack pauses there, ending with the worst of it, at least for many.] There's no way out.

[reges]

Your father, calling for our heads. Being cuffed and led out of Unity Hall. Then, this. And your... nug. [ That thing being Jack's new pet isn't going to stop feeling deeply weird any time soon, David's thinking. But, before that, why had Jack made a point to as what he remembers, exactly? Was there supposed to be doubt in that? ] Why?

[ The explanation he gives is something strange and convoluted, and pocked with a kind of bitterness he isn't terribly surprised by, but has yet to hear so outwardly professed from Jack. He's telling him this in past tense, and David's frown, unsure what he's supposed to be taking from that. ]

Believe. What do you mean 'gods'? [ while jack's never struck him as deeply spiritual, he'd thought, given his father, his sister, there was something of it in him. Even so, location doesn't negate faith, nor does betrayal by a single man. God may have brought David through hardship after hardship, but it was Silas that put together a cruel farce just to condemn him. Lies and schemes and people made into simple uses for selfish ends. It's a lot he still has to process - a man he'd once devoted everything of himself to serving, revealed as something ugly and twisted. David's mind is a mess of bitterness, despair and confusion, and he isn't as disappointed in the sentiment of 'there's no way out' than he ought to be. ]

I'll take it over a firing squad. [ David mumbles, wry, as he pulls at his uniform jacket, feeling uncomfortable inside it for the first time since he'd first donned it. If nothing else, this gives time, for the both of them. They're enemies of the state now, as Silas is the state, and while he still doesn't understand what Jack had done for him or why, the fact remains the same that they're in the same point. ] How far are we from Shiloh?

[benumbing]

[Is this serendipity, or did things just become that much more complicated? So much happened in such a short span of time between them, more than Jack can bear to explain. He still alternates between thoughts that David is responsible for condemning him and saving him from his uncle's puppet strings and a neverending war that would've scarred his rule, but he's had time enough to give his own actions some thought.

That said, David Shepherd will always be an enigma.]

I've been here for months. I was curious if that time had moved on without me. And that's what they call themselves, but instead of prayer and sacrifice, they feed off of emotions. And there is no shortage of those here. [Jack presses his lips into a thin smile as he pats David's shoulder.] I'm glad to hear you say that. It would've been a waste of a good man, and we need those here.

Impossibly far. [Jack turns and takes a few steps while continuing to speak over his shoulder.] Now let's get moving before any monsters wander through.

[Did he forget to mention the monsters? His bad.]

[reges]

Months. [ Months. Jack, are you okay? Do you need to sit down? Take a nap? Have some anti-psychotics? Something to sober up from that acid trip? Maybe David needs something to sober up his own acid trip. Though he looks like he's trying to make sense of someone yammering at him in a foreign language the entire explanation, he is, at least, quiet and listening intently for it. Months, time not moving on, gods feeding off emotions, and lastly, Jack's hand on his shoulder, calling him a good man. He hadn't forgotten what all he'd said in the court room, and yet, after so much tension between them, it's still so bizarre a thing to witness.

David's never thought of himself as particularly good, just someone decent, perhaps. He does what he thinks ought to be expected, and finds difficulty in ignoring when he's making excuses to do only what he wants himself. He believes Jack has the same sense of right and wrong in him, and while the man has his flaws, David's considered him more a product of his environment than anything else.

All in all, the entirety of his reaction to the jumble of confusion that he's having laid on him right now, is summed up concisely: ] Huh.

[ yep. that's it. you know what? he's just going to follow jack, because really, where the hell else does he have to go, and who the hell else does he have left on his side? after all, jack had put himself in front of death for the sake of trying to save david from it, so, really... jack, in a surprising way, is his closest ally right now. it is what it is, and despite their scuffles during the mission in gath, jack has a good head on his shoulders, and a talent for leading. david takes off behind him, frowning at the mention of monsters. h u h . ]

Monsters like your hamster? [ now he's just doing it on purpose. ]

[benumbing]

[He's actually too sober for this; Jack could use a drink. But then water is wet, the sky is blue - is the sky still blue? They have light here in the cave, but not exactly blue sky.

As for whatever this is with David Shepherd, what it will become... Fake it til you make it. Jack's doing exactly that as he leads him, while trying not to think of how much his mother would approve of that strategy. David has arrived fresh from one of Jack's most shining moments, in spite of the sharp slap of his father's words that echoed through that room and reached too many ears. But he could cover up greater shame. The temptation to continue from that moment is strong. Who would know any differently?]

Monsters like dragons and the undead. [Oh, he's not going to miss this. Jack looks back over his shoulder at him, while the nug pushes past the zipper to wiggle its nose in the other man's direction.] The same force that brought you here brings in less welcome sights from other worlds. Trust me, Shiloh is dull by comparison.

[His footsteps slow, and then halt completely as Jack turns to one side. The sigh that escapes him suggests fatigue. Can that be blamed on David too?]

You're going to need all your skills. [It looks like he wants to say something more, like he's chewing on emotion again or just threw up a little in his mouth. It might be both.] But. For as long as we're here, I'm someone you can count on.

[reges]

Dragons. Uh huh. [ the mental picture of Jack fighting legitimate dragons seems very bizarrely appropriate. However they got to this place, David's sure their God is somewhere laughing. And what had David taken out? A tank. Half on accident. For the heir to the divine thrown, surrounded by that tale of butterfly crowns, it seems to just fit that Jack's here fighting zombies and mythic beasts. Sure.

His eyes land in the nug, poking it's head out of Jack's bag curiously, and any other day David might've tried to play with the thing. For now, he only gives it a small, understated, half-smile. He's too wrapped up in what Jack's telling him, in the reality of recent events at home that David's still trying to process. Jack Benjamin is a complicated man, that much is sure, but he's a fiercely intelligent man as well. If nothing else, David's learned, now, of how dangerous it is to overlook kindness from one of the royal family. Jack had done something unbelievable for him, that's true, and even if it ends with his execution, there's still gratitude he owes him. The cost for him was high, and David wasn't so distracted that he'd missed what Silas had called his son and heir, televised across the nation.

And yet, perhaps because of that steep cost, he has to ask. ]

Why? [ David asks, in that straight forward voice of his. He's never excelled at the games they play in Shiloh, and he certainly has run out of patience for them now. ] You committed so much to selling the trial. Standing against the King ruins everything you've been working for.

What changed, Jack?

[benumbing]

[Well hopefully it won't burst his bubble too much if he finds out that Jack didn't actually fight dragons. Unlike David, Jack isn't that heroically stupid, and the better strategy was to leave the dragons to others who had flight and fire of their own.

He blinks in disbelief at the question, and it feels like something is poking at embers in his chest. It stirs up a fire that could warm him from the inside, but it also consume him. His jaw tenses, and Jack strides back in David's direction in a quick way that suggests violence. It would hardly be the first time.

But he stops, toe to toe with him instead, but still leaning into his space.]

I could ask you the same. All that time, professing your innocence and then you confess. Why? [Except Jack knows the answer. It was for him. David swore that he only served his king, and he was prepared to do that no matter what it cost him.] It's one thing to watch a lamb be led off to slaughter, it's another thing entirely to watch it draw a line on its own neck. I couldn't stand another second of it.

[He backs off, retreating a step as the color and anger drains from his face.]

Not you. Not for him.

[reges]

[ Jack wheels on him, and David's chin tilts up, proud but passive, a quiet, though unconscious, statement that he's ready and willing to take what punishment he'll be dealt, and weather it. The same way they'd stood in Gath, Jack a whirlwind of emotion and will like wildfire, and David, attempting to remain standing through it. True to what's always been Jack Benjamin's talent, he cuts through all the bullshit of it, straight into the heart of the issue. David had been ready to throw himself at the King's feet, and simply give up. The shame of it put so precisely stings, David's brows tugging together, as he blinks, focus unconsciously straying from Jack's eyes. ]

I thought-- [ Thought he was doing what was right, that his sacrifice was a necessary, final act to keep the country he loves so much prospering and peaceful. To make his dad's and his brother's sacrifice mean something. Regardless of the kind of man Silas was, God had chosen this path for Gilboa, and he had to follow it, for love of his people. But no - like Jack seems to see so clearly, he'd just been a blind fool. ] I don't know what I thought. About anyone.

[ Silas, Michelle, his country, Jack himself. They'd all been shown as something he hadn't expected them to be, time and time again, and there he was, standing stupidly in the middle, oblivious to all that was changing. And yet, it doesn't escape him that this is still a non-answer from Jack. Helping him out of sheer annoyance of watching David crumble? David's naive, but he isn't stupid. He knows what all Jack forfeit in standing up for him. ]

You know, I think you're the only person who'd actually get mad at someone for surrendering to you. [ A dry sort of commentary, but not without it's morbid humor, a corner of David's lips smirking upward. Let's be honest, David never had a chance against Jack on a battlefield of tactical political maneuvering. He doubts anyone would. ] You probably could've convinced the country I'm a kangaroo if you wanted to.

[benumbing]

[Jack isn't a stranger when it comes to manipulating people, David included. But God, his father made an art form of it. When it played out right in front of him, he couldn't savor the sweetness of victory over the taste of blood in his mouth.]

More like an ass. [The corners of his lips also tug up at the kangaroo comment.] He wasn't worth it. He never was. [Jack's voice is uncharacteristically soft with the words, like he's reminding himself of that fact as much as David.] And I didn't save your life just to watch you die here. That's why I'm going to help you.

[reges]

[ David lets out an amused snort, lips quirking up at the corners. Yeah, ass would've been appropriate, wouldn't it? And definitely something Jack could, and seemingly has, pulled off. Hearing Jack's voice soften, if feels like he's met some part of Jack he'd suspected for a while, but hadn't had so much opportunity to see. Born and bred to inherit a throne, his personality seems built like a fortress, but there's a man in there as well. One Silas couldn't choke out for all he's tried, it seems. ]

Thank you, by the way. And, I'm sorry, for what it cost you. [ He wants to tell him that Silas can't be mad at him forever, that he's smart and he'll find a way out of it, but David understands so little about power plays in Shiloh, that much is now clear. So he keeps his damn mouth shut. Jack's always been good at self-motivating, it seems. He doesn't need to hear it from David. Instead, he tucks his hands into his pockets, glancing around the city inside a cave, and thinking about Jack living here for the last few months, apparently. Something he'd suspect Jack knows how to survive, because he survives well, but bizarre all the same. ]

So, monster fighting, huh? Sounds fun. [ hard to tell if that's sarcasm or not. But soldiering does, and has for months, sound infinitely better than Shiloh. ]

[benumbing]

[Jack wishes he could feel deserving of that gratitude, but one time of doing the right thing when there are so many times when he didn't doesn't magically balance everything out. That was always the real threat of David Shepherd; he could do the things that Jack couldn't, even when he knew that he should.

He doesn't acknowledge it, but a smirk does cross his lips again at the mention of monsters.]

Oh, it is. And some of them taste better than others.

[It turns into a full-fledged grin. He can hardly wait to watch him field dress his very first.]