dankmemes | test drive meme #17

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test drive meme #17

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 February 22nd, and apps are open March 1st. Please remember that 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: SHOOTING HOOPS
[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.

There you are, calmly exploring this super cool cave city, when all of a sudden you see something roll toward you. What could that possibly be? Why, it seems the Door has brought in some hoop snakes, which are definitely real.

Hoop snakes are poisonous and aggressive reptiles, able to pursue fleeing prey by grasping their tail in their jaws and rolling after them like a wheel. Wow, so efficient! Hard to get away from, though, and kind of... terrifying? If you want to get away, you better be a fast runner. Or maybe you should climb something. Good luck!]

S O R R O W

SCENARIO TWO: YOU GOT THE BLUES
[You woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed. Not the angry side - the sad side. Somehow, everything just seems to be going wrong, and you don't know why. You were out of milk for your cereal, the fruit you picked just yesterday is already going bad, and instead of getting frustrated all you want to do is feel sorry for yourself.

Even the good things aren't going too well. Maybe your friend just told you your hair looks nice today - doesn't that mean it looks bad the rest of the time? Probably. They've just been too nice to tell you. And your crush smiled at you - that probably means they know about your feelings and are getting ready to let you down easy. That's the only explanation.

No matter what happens, your mind is giving you the worst, most depressing interpretation. You can try to fight it and be aggressively upbeat - or maybe you just want to cry on somebody's shoulder. Yeah. That sounds good right about now.]

D E L I G H T

SCENARIO THREE: PUCKER UP
[For once, Hadriel looks rather lovely, all covered in snow and seasonal! Sure, it's not quite the right season anymore, but who really knows what month it is? Not the residents, and certainly not the gods. But for whatever reason, Delight has decided there should be snow on the ground and ugly sweaters in the shops.

And, of course, mistletoe. On your wanderings around the city, you may find yourself under the mistletoe with a friend or a stranger or even an enemy. Regardless of who they are and how you really feel about them, the mistletoe will give you a gentle compulsion to plant a kiss right on those appealing lips of theirs. You can resist if you want - it won't force you - but don't you kind of want to go for it?

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

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[Well, Ned's not wrong. It is a rather unnatural magic trick. He'd like to say he wasn't supposed to have it but, well.... that's not how the story goes in his world, is it? Those records showed that much.

He gives another smile anyway.]

So, you got any plans on how we might get out of this? I don't carry weapons, so... that much is out of the question.

[He looks around at the cave walls, trying to see if there was another vantage point or an opportune place to cause a small landing collapse.]

I'm not that great at fighting, so, while we're certainly not getting eaten, there's nothing stopping us from dying here eventually, from starvation, thirst, or who knows what else.

Something tells me we're a little more resilient than snakes. But these boys are nothing if not persistent... [He looks over the ledge again, just to confirm - yep, still a ton of snakes down there, wheeling around.]

If you can find me a rock up here—maybe the size of a baseball, I can take at least one of 'em out. [Just pelt rocks at the snakes, that's his plan. He doesn't do nature.]

[Shuuya looks at him for a minute before busting into a snicker.]

Man, are you serious? You've so got to think bigger! [Amidst his laughter, he sees another ledge. It's a little higher than the one they climbed up on, but... It seems to have a fair sized boulder up there. Maybe he can push it off onto the pile.

He takes another minute to recover from laughing, and once he's good again he fixes himself to jump.]

Okay, stay right here. I'll be right back.

[If he misses, it's so going to suck. He takes a breath, runs as far as the ledge will take him, and jumps as high as he can, scraping his foot against the cave wall as he desperately clasps for the new ledge. He catches it only by his fingertips and scrambles a moment as he tries to get himself up.]

I'm doing my best with what I've got, here. [Leave his shitty plan alone, he thought really hard for five seconds about that...

But alright, he has nothing else to do but sit here and watch Shuuya try and get up to that other ledge. He flinches more than once - it certainly looks impossible, and he doesn't want to see what happens next if the kid just flops all the way to the ground.]

You alright, kid?

[Shuuya still scrambles a bit. He tries to pass the nervousness in his voice off with another laugh.]

Yea. ...Yea, of course I'm alright. Just a few scrapes. I'm fine~

[A little more pushing his foot against the wall and manages to succeed at pulling himself up. He takes a minute to lean back against the wall on the ledge and let his heart stop pounding. That was too close for comfort.

After a few more moments he moves toward the rock, standing up beside it. It's a fairly narrow ledge, but he's sure he can pull this off. He motions for Ned to press himself flat against the wall to stay out of sight. Then, he takes a deep breath, and starts yelling at the snakes.]

Heeeeere crittercrittercritter! Come and get it! I bet you want some real suppertime, right?! Come and get me!

[He knows he's all the way out of reach, but he would rather hope that the snakes are just that stupid and will come toward him as he presses himself between the rock and the wall, pushing the boulder with his feet to get it to drop down.]

[Well... he seems okay up there. It's not like Ned could do anything, anyway, so- lucky. He hums in some kind of acknowledgement, moving back even further against the wall accordingly and raising his eyebrows up at Shuuya for this fascinating strategy.]

You know, this works on hoodlums, but I don't think snakes are particularly well-spoken folks.

[But he's just going to stay here until that boulder drops past him, eyes shut until he hears it smack against the ground and roll. Then he'll cautiously move away from the wall to look—it... didn't go too terribly? Gross.]

[Shuuya snrks at Ned's comment.]

Hey, it's better than a baseball-sized rock! Judge your own game next time.

[Upon seeing the rock smack into several of the snakes he gives a cheer before dropping his way back down to the first landing.]

That was fun! Do you get into trouble like this often? [He surveys for the remainder of snakes, which seem to be a scattered few.]

[LISTEN... the baseball rock was a good idea. Ned shrugs with his palms up, like, let him live his life, okay.]

I've had worse, but never mind that now. [Remember when he just threatened to shoot people mid-conversation?? Snakes rank in weirdness, but not terribleness. Yet.] Time to make a run for it?

Sure, it's as good a time as any. [He looks Ned over with a humoured snicker.] Can you run in that outfit, or are you going to try to be as dainty as you were while I helped you climb the wall? I'll tell you right now if you hesitate, one of the stragglers will attack you. Buying you time is worthless if you won't pick up your feet.

[Shuuya drops himself down from the ledge, landing with a prominent thud on his feet. He motions to Ned with an arm.] Come on! The water is fine!

Dainty. [Flattering... He's a professional, alright, not a... whatever a dainty guy in a suit would be. Useless? He supposes. In any case, his drop to the ground is a lot less steady and involves just a little stumbling, but he's still on his feet! Not dainty at all.]

There. You didn't even have to catch me.

Well it's a damn good thing I didn't, because if you would have landed on me, we would have both fallen over! [Again, filled with laughter. Seriously, Shuuya is small-framed. Pulling you up is one thing, catching a dropped weight probably equal to, or possibly even greater than, his own, not so much.]

Come on before they get any bright ideas! [Kido would be so proud of him, a rescue mission without a hitch. Well... mostly. Being threatened to be shot at, although a fairly expected reaction, isn't what Kido would consider successful. He'd be so scolded for it.

Still, without further hesitation, he takes off at a run, doing his best to dodge any additional attacks. He glances over his shoulder to see if Ned is keeping up.]

They're snakes...

[Well he didn't get shot, so it's fine, probably. Ned is still here and willing to follow Shuuya away from these snakes - moderate success. He's here, anyway, following at a run. He's not as quick but that has nothing to do with his suit and everything to do with being markedly older and well out of his make-a-run-for-it phase.

But he's keeping up, okay.]

Yea, well, snakes are particularly bad news where I'm from.

[Namely, Wide-eyes Snake. But he's not sharing that.] New world means new rules, man. Are you going to learn them? Stop being Captain Mister Scientific and you can complain when we're home free.

Hey, Ned, you want to make a bet? If you get bit and don't make it out of this cave, you have to admit that I was right and I get to wear your face around town. If you get out alive, you were right and get whatever you want.

[He sounds more like he's going to enforce that, whether or not Ned agrees. So, you better keep up, Ned.

[Wow, rude. First Ned bristles—he's not going to fall for the bait and point out that obviously if he gets bitten and just fucking dies, he can't stop Shuuya from doing things with his face—but that doesn't mean he isn't prepared to break somebody's nose in an alley to get his point across, if he really has to.

But the second part—well.] Whatever I want? You'll find I'm a very agreeable man when I get out of things alive.

[So shut up and let him run, first.]

[He laughs lightly in between the panting of physical exertion.]

Yep, man, whatever you want. Whatever gets your kinks off. So show me what you're like when you get out of things alive.

[Come on, dude, run faster! There's got to be a way out somewhere.]

[God, what the hell, kids are so weird.]

Funny. I don't know who you deal with on your own time, but I don't do kids.

[It is probably the duty of the person in front to look for a way out, while Ned runs. Get with the program, kiddo!!]

[Not all kids are weird. Shuuya just makes it a point to go out of his way to be as weird as possible. If someone wants to hit him for talking shit, he finds it's a good motivator for them to keep up.]

Really? Man, I really misjudged you. Anybody tell you that you look the type?

[He's not sorry.

Hey, he's totally with the program. There's just nothing to indicate a specific path, like light. This place is dark with a weird luminescence. Anything he learned about basic survival as far as finding civilization, it's out the window in this place. Still, the snakes seem to become fewer and fewer the farther they go, so maybe that's a good sign. Wait, is that a cave opening? Oh, man, he hopes it is. He's tired of running.

As they breach outside, Shuuya's looking for the sun, but gets...]

... More cave? [He snrks and busts out laughing. At least the danger cave is behind them. He turns back to Ned to see how he's faring.] How did they get a city inside a cave?

Edited 2017-02-21 01:38 (UTC)

No. [And that's enough of that. Running, running, more running... When they reach "outside," Ned comes to a halt to stop and catch his breath, hunched over with his hands on his knees.

Cave city... Alright. After another moment he straightens up, looks around, and—yeah, okay, cave city. He adjusts his hat a little, turning to go.]

Not really interested. Take care of yourself, and remember what I said about the face. [peace.......out]

[Shuuya's face glimpses into something serious; just a glimpse though. As Ned sets to leave, Shuuya reaches out to grab his arm to stop him.]

Hey, wait! [Nope, Shuuya's not okay with this. He gives a slightly desperate laugh.]

H-hey, so I pushed a few buttons. I mean... don't you want to hit me for it? [Another laugh.] Seriously, man, I can take it. You have every right to be mad, so if it makes you feel better, you can hit me.

[Ned's not someone who gets involved in messy situations when he can just walk away, and that's what he's doing—walking away before this mouthy kid really does get a broken nose out of him. It's neater like this, or it would be, if Shuuya didn't come after him like he does.

He's surprised, first, and he doesn't bother to mask it in his expression. That surprise quickly morphs into something a little put off—the kid is... asking to be hit? That sure is a level of desperation teenagers don't usually have.]

You are really into being wrong today, kid. [He shifts to tug his arm out of Shuuya's grip.] You're a piece of work, but you got me out of there. We're even.

[So why doesn't it feel even? As Ned pulls his arm back Shuuya just... stands there a moment. He doesn't know how to react. His laugh is softer, more pained.]

Seriously, please hit me. I'm okay with it. I promise I won't even tell, if that's what you're worried about. I deserve it, so please. Just... please...

[Please don't hate me.]

[Ned just looks at Shuuya for a moment, before he sighs and turns to face him again, arms folded over his chest. Kids having - what is this, a breakdown? - kids having breakdowns in his face is way beyond his pay grade.]

No. Sorry, this— [He gestures out with both arms, indicating This, this moment, this weird interaction.] —really doesn't matter to me. You should've picked a fight with somebody else.

[Man... of course he blew it. Of course he messed up trying to make a friend. His mouth always gets him into trouble. He always pushes the envelope too far. And he doesn't know what to do when Ned refuses to hit him. Isn't there anything he can say? Isn't there anything he can do?

He considers using Ned's face to provoke a violent reaction, but he just wants to get hit, not shot. Not to mention that would probably make Ned hate him more.]

Come on, man. It's just a punch. A slap. Anything. I said I'd give you anything you wanted if you made it out alive, right? [A weak laugh.] You can't just sit there and tell me you don't want to hit me.

[Really, everybody wants to hit him at some point. That's a fact of his life.]

For real, man - Ned. This is the deal of a lifetime. You can keep hitting as long as it takes for you to feel better. Who offers that for free? Just take it out on me. It's really, really okay.

Look, [Ned starts, already bringing his hands up to rub his temples after listening to all of... this. There'll be no one lining up to defend the merits of all his deeds in life as kind and charitable by any means, but he doesn't do things needlessly. And certainly not because a mouthy kid mouthed off too much and seems to be suffering the consequences of not suffering consequences.

New twist, that. Ned sighs. Where was he going with that one-word start—] I don't know what you think this is or what you think of me, but look—no. Leave it alone. It's not my business to get wrapped up in whatever sad story you want me to get into with you. And frankly, since I don't appreciate the way you run your mouth, if it pisses you off more that I won't hit you, well...

[He gestures with both hands again. Tada.] That is certainly working out for me.

[Well, that just hits the nail on the head, don't it? Ned's driven his point home - he doesn't like Shuuya in the least. Not that Shuuya can blame him. And Ned is making it perfectly clear that he can't be bartered into this.

Shuuya feels his breath snag for a moment as that sinks in. When he finally draws that breath back in, he gives another smile - one of his best and brightest, trying to deter the lump in his throat.]

Right. Yea, okay. No, I totally get it. [He reaches out to pat Ned's shoulder.] Sorry for being an asshole. I'm just some stupid kid who doesn't know how to shut up sometimes.

[It doesn't make him feel any better, but he supposes he's just going to have to accept Ned's refussal for punishment as the punishment itself. Ned's right. Not hitting Shuuya is working out for him just fine.]

If you ever change your mind, give me a shout. No questions asked.

Edited 2017-02-21 03:43 (UTC)

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trainspotter - 2017-02-21 03:49 (UTC) - Expand

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