test drive meme #21

[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 June 24th, and apps are open July 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: A LITTLE FRENZIED
[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.

Do you hear something weird? Some kind of strange, constant humming? Hopefully by now you know enough to know that it's probably not nothing, and maybe you should run. If you don't, well- the Door has brought in some Winter Lanterns, from the Bloodborne video game.

Winter Lanterns are rather hideous creatures that hum constantly and glow orange when they detect someone's presence. They can grab you with their tentacles and take a nice bite out of you, which is super fun, or they can mess you up just by looking at you too long. Yep, hanging out in the gaze of a Winter Lantern for too long will end with you being afflicted by Frenzy - blood shooting out all over the place. Not great for the health, really, so maybe don't get into a staring contest. Maybe just run.]

S O R R O W / L O V E

SCENARIO TWO: HAUNTED
[You thought you might never see them again, but now they're here. That person you loved - that person you miss terribly. Except that you seem to be the only person who can see them, and you also seem to be getting steadily weaker.

So that's what it comes down to, then. This ghost that's haunting you will take your life so it can live, even if it doesn't mean to. Do you have the ability to stop them? You'll have to kill them to do it, and you love them so much. Now's the time to make your choice - but be careful. They're strong enough to be visible now, and one of your friends or even a passing stranger might have something to say about your decision.

This is a mini version of our Ghosts That You Know event this month!]

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

SCENARIO THREE: SLEEPING SICKNESS
[For some reason you can't quite put your finger on, you're tired. Like really tired. Like slurring your words, stumbling over your own feet, nodding off if you stop for a second tired. You can't seem to get enough rest no matter what you try - because it's always a light sleep. The slightest sound or movement will wake you up, leaving you just as tired and irritable as before.

What are you going to do? Try to find a quiet place to nap? Good luck. It seems like a lot of other people have the same idea as you - it might be hard to find a truly empty place. Or maybe you just can't take it anymore, and you're going to lay down and take a nap right in the middle of the street. Or maybe you actually feel fine, but everyone around you is falling asleep - and they glare at you when you make the slightest sound.

Maybe you should wake them up? Sleeping in the middle of the street isn't exactly safe. But then, maybe you just want to join them and argue over who gets the most comfortable bit of road.]

Comments

[claritatis]

[For a moment, he isn't certain if he should be more concerned about the new power that arrives than he is about the creatures following behind him. The situation seems dire, but then one of the creatures is struck, dissolving into sizzling ash, and Ignis finds the source of his salvation in the form of a figure that he flashes by before he can take in any of their features.

This magic is familiar - tantalisingly so - and he wheels 'round on the ball of his foot with a javelin materialising in his hand, not so far behind the man that he can't be seen.]

I can assure you, it wasn't intentional.

[Ignis' voice is not quite so calm - it's tense, and he can hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears. Something about his rescuer pricks at a familiar feeling; something in the voice, the way he holds his posture, the power he uses. The pieces fall into place in the young man's mind but he denies it, shaking off the possibility as impossible until he hears his name spoken.

He looks closer then, and feels his heart jump into his throat at the same time as his stomach drops to the ground.]

Your Highness..?

[Regis isn't the only one staring. 'You're dead' along with a hundred questions bubble up in Ignis' throat, but his ear catches the sound of low humming, and his grip tightens on his weapon.]

... We can speak in a moment, sire, if that suits you.

[kingslight]

[Regis could almost hear the questions within Ignis' confused tone. He realizes how baffling this must be for the youth. News of his death spread across the kingdom like wildfire, even passing through Altissia's borders and beyond. The former monarch knows he's suppose to be dead but somehow he lives yet still. Memories of Glauca's blade is still carved into him as a reminder of his final moments but Regis looks as if he claimed a new lease at life.]

Such a suggestion suits me well enough but the fiends shan't hear of it.

[He comments once he focuses his gaze towards the shambling horde. Just what manner of beast are these? They seem particularly more fiendish than some of the other monsters he encountered prior. No matter. Regis hoists up his sword and gets into stance. Ignis might note the lack of his cane here but he notice the slight differences between father and son?]

[Regis forsakes magic for now in favor of brute force. What he lacks in speed, the man makes up in sheer strength and precision. While he doesn't doubt that Ignis could defend himself, Regis feels the need to protect the man however he can.]

Be quick!

[He shouts quickly slays one of the hideous fiends. The Winter Lanterns are bizarre looking creatures. It's difficult to tell when they're facing forward because of the overgrown tendrils upon their heads. The beasts are almost shaped like men despite the many tentacles and too many eyes. Regis doesn't know what to think of these monsters but they can be killed like any other.]

[claritatis]

[That the fiends don't hear of anything suits Ignis well enough, too. He has questions, certainly, but they can be put aside until the danger has passed and he does not need instruction before he darts forwards.

Ignis is quick. His skill lies in pinpoint strikes and works well with the brute force of his new companion. He can't recall a time that he ever saw the king fight like this, nor a time when he would need to, but he would have been foolish to think that Noctis' father would allow himself to become incapable. The young man feels no need to run now, not with a partner at his back, and his javelin is dismissed for daggers as he examines the situation and where he might best strike to cut into weak points.

His evaluation takes only a moment.

Working in tandem with Regis he hits quickly, cutting at knees, ankles, anything that slows them or brings them down for a final brutal assault. When there is finally time to stop for breath, he's panting quietly, and speckled with something that he would prefer not to know the nature of.

There are still many questions, but he has one that has pressed at his mind more keenly since the attack began.]

... What is this place?

[kingslight]

[This marks the first time either had seen the other in combat. While Regis knew that the Scientia could defend himself, watching him in action is entirely more impressive than he's willing to state. He'll sing the young man praises eventually but for now they must dispatch the fiends before they multiply. With great strength and clean execution, Regis cleaves right through one of the beasts Ignis managed to stun momentarily with those daggers. Red-black blood stains his glaive as he rushes forth as sweeps his broadsword at the fiends' legs with brutal skill. With this weapon, his swordsmanship is somewhat likened to Gladiolus or Clarus but without the reckless abandomement that follows with the Amicitia name.

The two manage to make some head way against the horde long enough to slow their numbers quite significantly. This moment of reprieve is not to be squandered and Regis is quick to hoist his sword out of the shambling flesh of one of the many corpses that lie at his feet. His gaze turns to Ignis once the youth spoke.]

Hadriel. [The former king answers as he flicks the blood off his sword with a hint of disgust.] This den of woe and agony is none other than Hadriel.

It's plagued with many depravities, some of which I hope you shan't have go experience-[A pause.] Again.

[With that said, Regis signals for the other to follow once he decides to take his leave of here. He walks much faster and better these days since his leg has been healed by Carlisle but he still has that slight limp. Regis has no need for a cane anymore but eventually he might. Until then, the old king stands as tall as he did in days long forgotten.]

Do you remember anything?

[claritatis]

[In travelling with Noctis since the fall of Insomnia, Ignis has had many opportunities to put his skills to use and hone them into what Regis now sees. It's easy to work with a fighter of the king's skill - one that reminds him so much of Gladiolus - and they fell more of the things than he could count before they have the time to talk.

Hadriel. It isn't a name he's ever heard, but he has the feeling it isn't one that he will grow to have any love for. Ignis falls into step beside the king, his weapons lowered, even as the unearthly noises behind them begin to rise again in earnest. Perhaps he could have left all along, and he feels a faint, personal exasperation at this realisation.]

Remember--? [He begins, realising suddenly that Regis moving far more quickly than he can recall. Lengthening his stride, he keeps pace.] Noctis, Gladiolus, Prompto and I were at Cape Caem. We were to take a boat to Altissia tomorrow.

[They had taken to one of the spare rooms to rest, and between Prompto's sleepy mutterings and Gladio's snoring, he had fallen asleep. The next thing he knew...]

To speak with Lady Lunafreya.