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

[theperfectcrime]

Beyond looks up at Mello as he approaches, a little uncertain, but mostly fatigued from the loss of blood. Reading the name that displays before him. It's familiar. Though, he can't pinpoint why quite yet. He stares openly as he contemplates the information.

"There are some aggressive monsters, I was attacked." That answer won't hurt while he tries to figure out why Mello seems to be someone he should know. And maybe this guy has some answers, while he's at it. He still isn't sure how he was struck when he felt nothing at all. And the fact that the bleeding doesn't seem to be conceding is actually becoming a concern. He grips his sleeve, trying to tighten the cloth around one of the wounds, while still eyeing Mello.

Wait... The burn had completely thrown him off, and the years didn't help, but... Sure enough, one of Whammy's children was right before him.

"Well, colour me surprised, Mello. I almost didn't recognize you."

It's said flat and smooth, almost unimpressed. Yet, seeing Mello here, perhaps he's not as far from home as he thought. Perhaps. Though he still doesn't recognize anything of the surroundings.

He does glance past Mello momentarily to see if any of the monsters had found the urge to follow him this far. With so far no sight or sound of the beasts, he turns his attention back to Mello.

"Where are we?" Simple, easy, to the point.

[torrefied]

Aha - so it is you. The other man's recognition is all the evidence Mello needs that his suspicion regarding his identity is correct. It's strange to see him here, but it's not the strangest thing Mello has encountered. Matt and L were both brought here after their deaths. Near had spent time traveling to other worlds before his arrival. The convergence of time was much more fluid here than in the worlds where they lived before.

"It's been a while, B." He's close enough that he can keep his voice down but still be heard. "Or is it still 'Ryuzaki'?" The answer to that question will give Mello a clue as to what the timeline is, by the other man's perspective.

It's an important question, but it's less immediately important than dealing with the bleeding. "Sit down," he says, stepping forward, unwinding a long black scarf from an inside jacket pocket. "You'll need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding." Which Beyond already knows, of course.

"It's called Hadriel," he answers to Beyond's question, well versed in providing this sort of introduction after living here for more than a year. "You're not supposed to be here. None of us are."

[theperfectcrime]

"Ryuzaki, of course." Easily, readily. "It has been a while hasn't it? How many years?"

As if he couldn't recall that easily enough from the top of his head. He is, however, unaware that their timelines now vary. It's not like he's seen Mello to know when he got that scar, or anything else that would detect a inconsistency in the time shift.

He watches as Mello pulls out the scarf from his jacket, to offer as a temporary bandaging. A moment of quiet contemplation on his part before he crouches down and then sits on the ground, extending his arm. "Yes, very well."

"Hadriel..." he repeats a little slowly, parsing over the word. It's certainly a place he's never heard of. No, it sounds like someone trying to create a land for a fairytale. He observes Mello's face to see if he's trying to trick him. And Mello says that they're not supposed to be there. Just what did he mean by that? This is a little vastly open to be a kidnapping ring or a slave trade. Just why are they here, then? How do you mistakenly end up in a place you're not supposed to be?

"I see. Does that mean that a way out has not been discovered yet?" The information he needs to know the most - how to get home. And further more: "How did we get here?"

[torrefied]

"Nearly eight years since you left the House," Mello says, "and another year since I was brought here - Ryuzaki." Beyond's use of his alias gives Mello a good indication of the ballpark time for when he was taken; it's unlikely that he has already been beaten, since he would know that he would cede that code name to the victor of the detective war between himself and L, and he wouldn't continue using it if he knew he'd lost.

Mello kneels on the ground next to him, heartbeat thrumming in his chest, head buzzing with excitement - how often has he imagined what it would be like to meet Beyond again, to ask him the thousands of questions that L's story left in its wake? - and carefully wraps the scarf around the cut on his arm, then applies gentle but firm pressure with this hands. There's nothing in his expression or body language to indicate he's lying about what he's telling Beyond - and Beyond, like Mello, was taught how to tell when people are lying.

"If there was a way out, we would have found it by now - I would have found it." Mello too had important plans he was taken from. "You were brought here, like everyone else, by something called the Door. One of the entities responsible for our being here opened it, and none of them are willing to close it again, or send us back. We haven't discovered its location as of yet and the gods - for lack of a better term - cannot be convinced to tell us where it is."

[theperfectcrime]

"You are familiar with this place, then." He states the obvious, appearing satisfied with the fact that Mello doesn't seem to be lying. Having someone familiar with the territory could be very beneficial, and even moreso considering that this person is Mello. So long as Mello doesn't provide an opposition, of course. He absorbs the facts given to him as they come, about the Door and being pulled through it. All of it seems to be relatively easy to accept, except...

The fact that Mello says there's no way to escape is disconcerting, no, alarming, and Beyond has to fight not to tense up at that. He has a series of murders to commit, to finish, to create the unsolvable crime. He has to go home. No is not an option. He can't cease the murders right down the middle. It throws a wrench in everything. And while Mello is certainly not on the more idiotic spectrum of reaching solutions by any means, Beyond has to cause something to convince these deities to return him home. And he only has a certain number of days to do it.

"Gods, hnn? How interesting. And you say they have a refusal to release us. Does this mean that they are tangible?" He'll force them to make a way.

[torrefied]

"I'd have to be a great fool to have been here for a year and not be familiar with it," he replies, gaze flicking up to meet Beyond's, a faint smirk curling across his mouth. He's no fool; he is aware, has been paying attention, and is confident that he is knowledgeable about Hadriel - of which Beyond will likely see the evidence, once he's reading the introductory document Mello composed.

As for whether the gods are tangible ... that he doesn't know. "Uncertain," is his answer, factual, concise. "They're easily accessible to speak with, but as far a physical presence, I don't have any firsthand accounts of it. It didn't seem important."

[theperfectcrime]

"I don't suppose you would mind showing me all of the ins and outs, then. It would be greatly appreciated." That smirk Mello has; Beyond supposes he's rather proud of himself for getting in-depth information on such a place. But the information would be significant for future endeavours, regardless.

Beyond pauses a stare at Mello at that part. How does that not seem important? Wouldn't you need to be able to confront something properly in order to demand a proper way to return home? Or perhaps returning to said home wasn't important to Mello.

"So let me see if I understand this clearly: You have a preference for this world, then?"