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

[braveoff]

[ Obediently, Drake freezes when he's told. He doesn't even breathe, just holds himself motionless while Ephemera takes the gauntlet from him, wondering what the hell was about to happen. Luckily for them both he isn't the random-button-pressing type, but he's half expecting something to explode in his face any second.

Once the other man is holding the gauntlet instead his shoulders ease a little, and he breathes out. They're cool? Okay good. ]

A flamethrower? [ Well, he would have survived it, but it would not have been fun. ] Shit, I guess that answers my question. That works against the armor too?

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera checks the gauntlet quickly, running his hands over the seams and connection ports. Nothing's leaking, couple dents and such, but so far so good. Crisis averted. He flashes Drake a grin.] If I get close enough, yeah. Fucks up the sensors in the helmets, too. Plus, it's fire. Primal fear shit.

[Aim a blast at somebody and they usually lose their cool, trained soldier or not.]

But that's me. I'm the fill in guy. Do a bit of everything. I can shoot, I can probably kick your ass with a knife, I'm not totally useless as a medic, and I can fly a pelican. Little bit of everything.

[braveoff]

[ A nod; that makes sense. He'd definitely freak out if he was suddenly surrounded by fire, and he's spent years working on being chill under pressure. Fire was indeed scary in a primal way, not a learned one like having a gun pointed at you. (Something that had gotten way less scary since he'd become a zombie, as well.) ]

Is your first name Jack? [ His tone is teasing, but he's also genuinely impressed. ]

[requiemshark]

It's Terrence, actually.

[Not that anyone's called him that for years. He grins, waving his gauntlet at Drake.]

'sup.

[braveoff]

You prefer using your last name, though?

[ Since that's how he introduced himself. Could just be a military thing... doesn't matter to Drake what he wants to be called. He was used to being called Holloway at work, himself, before he went undercover. ]

Right now, you. Lie back down, you're supposed to be resting.

[requiemshark]

[Oh. That. He hesitates a moment before lying down, trying to think of something to say. Count the lines on the ceiling until the pain goes away.]

Names are complicated.

[Understatement of the century. But this isn't the same as lying. This is just shifting away from the things that can't be answered easily.]

Ephemera's good for now.

[braveoff]

[ ...interesting. Complicated how? But again, he doesn't ask, sensing that there's something deep and painful involved in the answer. ]

It's kind of a mouthful, but I can roll with it.

Hey, are you hungry? I can go scrounge something up.

[requiemshark]

[Good, okay, no more questions that have long and winding answers.

He rolls his eyes.]

God, I know. Foster parents had a sense of humor. Ephemera, ephemeral. Hilarious.

[Wait. He brightens.]

Holy shit, you have actual food?

[braveoff]

[ Foster parents, huh? Another piece of the puzzle. He huffs in agreement at the sarcasm -- it's not a great joke. But if Ephemera has claimed the name, then that's all that matters.

As for food... ]

What do you consider "actual" food? It's not gourmet but I found a store earlier that had pantry type stuff. Let me grab it.

[ Drake stands up, vanishing back into the other room -- when he'd thought this was an empty apartment he'd dropped his bag in the kitchen. He comes back with it, sifting through the contents. It's all canned and boxed stuff, not as good as fresh but probably a sight better than MREs and prison food. Stew and crackers, cereal, peanut butter, rice and beans and vegetables. ]

Anything jumping at you?

[requiemshark]

[Oh god he has actual real food. Peanut butter and rice, stew that probably won't taste like it's made out of rubber and spite. Ephemera's grin threatens to split his face.] I will literally kiss you for that soup. I haven't had real food in forever.

[braveoff]

[ That grin is contagious; Drake laughs softly at the other man's enthusiasm, pulling the can out of the bag. ]

I won't tell my girlfriend.

Lemme see if I can heat it up at least. [ And see if the kitchen has anything like bowls and spoons -- it's a long shot but worth a look. He leaves the bedroom again and there's the sound of rummaging, cabinets opening and closing, then Drake's voice calling out from the kitchen. ] Rice or crackers, man? I found a pot.

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera just laughs, resting his head on his arm.]

Buddy, she is free to join.

[It's been forever since he's laughed like this, been able to joke with anyone besides Felix - who does not fucking count because he's a tiny psychopathic asshole - and it feels good. Weirdly relaxing, like falling back into a pattern he'd missed but never quite forgotten. He likes Drake. The man's easy to talk to and he's not bad to look at, either. (Ephemera's only half blind, okay).

All things considered, this moment's going pretty well.]

Crackers! I'd help, but I'm a shit cook. One thing I'm not good at.

[braveoff]

Yeah? You'd like her.

[ He rinses the pot out and pours two cans of stew in, setting it to heat and continuing to rummage around for a bowls and spoons. They're dusty when he finds them so he rinses those too, hoping the water's safe and wondering what the hell happened to the people who lived here. In the city in general. Drake's got a ton of questions, really -- they'll have to find someone else soon, someone with answers. But for now, food. He calls back out as the soup heats up. ]

My ma insisted I learn before I moved out. I'm glad I listened.

[ This isn't really cooking, though, it's opening and pouring and stirring. It's not long before he's coming back in with food, two steaming bowls and the box of crackers tucked under his arm. He waits for Ephemera to push himself up to sitting again before passing one over. ]

...I should probably go after this, it's getting dark. [ He has to find another place for the night. ]

[requiemshark]

's a good thing to know.

[His own culinary talents are limited to unwrapping ration bars or, more importantly, handing off the actual food and prep work to Rodriguez, who might have been a little fucked in the head when it came to shooting birds but could work legitimate magic with some pepper and a little time over even the shittiest of fires.

Goddamn, he misses that crazy fucker.

But there's food in front of him and time for memories later. Ephemera inhales the steam. It feels good on his face, warm against the rising bruises. He'll be a mess in the morning, as per usual. But there's food - real, hot food in front of him - and Ephemera really can't find it in himself to care.]

There's a couch.

[He's busy devouring the food, barely pausing to breathe. Because food.]

You made me dinner. I'm not that much of a bastard.

[braveoff]

She's really something else.

[ His voice is wistful, longing. He misses Liv. Knows he'll probably never see her again, if he winds up back where he came from. And she never knew the truth... with a little sigh Drake sits back down and digs into his own meal -- he can hardly taste it and it doesn't satisfy the cravings, but it's warm and something in his stomach. They hadn't fed them in the lab.

He's going to need to figure out where to get brains real soon. ]

...thanks. I'll take it.

[requiemshark]

Yeah? What's her name?

[Look at them being normal. Eating canned soup and crackers and talking shit. It's good food, the best he's had in years, and - sad but true - the same goes for the company. It's nice just to talk with someone just for the sake of it. No hidden agenda, no games, no mission objective.

Just--this.]

Awesome. I'm keeping all the pillows, though.

[braveoff]

Liv. Olivia Moore. She's a doctor, she would've done way better with your... all of you. [ He tried, though. And done okay. There's a beat, then Drake's expression changes a little, the smile less sad. ] That's how we met, actually. I'd been shot.

[ ....you and the pillows, bro. ]

Fair enough. I've slept worse places than a couch without a pillow.

[requiemshark]

She sounds like a cool lady. [Plus somebody who can put you back together is always good to have on hand. Ephemera might have hit on a medic or two in his time, more to get them to laugh than any real attempt at flirting. People who'd seen your insides hit the open air were either family or an uncomfortable memory; nobody he was in the mood to sleep with, at any rate.] Shit, that sucks. And you didn't have any armor.

[He whistles. Goddamn.]

That's nasty. But the couch is nice. Ish? I've been sleeping on the floor for like...three years.

[Prison sucks, news at 11. Pillows are awesome and he will horde those things like a motherfucking dragon.]

[braveoff]

She's awesome. Smart and funny and hot as hell. I've never met anybody like her before. [ He's perking back up talking about Liv, eyes bright. ] And no armor, no. I almost died.

[ Drake lowers his spoon and tilts his head curiously -- even prison gave him a cot. It was a shit cot but it wasn't the floor. ]

Three years, huh?

[requiemshark]

Damn good doc, then. [And she sounds like a bomb-ass lady too, which is just a bonus.

Ephemera pauses over his soup.]

Not like we didn't have any cots or shit. But you sleep on the floor and you can feel the vibrations when somebody's coming up on you.

[He grimaces.]

I was kinda in prison for a while.

[braveoff]

[ His survival had everything to do with Liv but nothing to do with her doctoring -- but Drake doesn't want to lie so he just nods and has another cracker.

He didn't expect Ephemera to actually talk about prison. Like he told Liv once, the ex-con talk is usually for the fifth, sixth date. Drake chews slowly, giving himself time to consider how much he wants to say. It could be a problem to confess his past here, if Ephemera doesn't keep his mouth shut. But weirdly, he trusts the other man already. So he shrugs casually and replies, ]

...me too. Two years, when I was nineteen. But I slept on the cot.

[requiemshark]

Huh.

[That explains a few things. Knowing how to fight, for one. And not freaking the fuck out when somebody threatens to kill him. Ephemera shrugs and goes back to his soup.]

You probably slept better than I did.

[He doesn't ask what Drake did or offer up an explanation for his own fuckups. Prison is prison is prison, and it's not right now. And he doesn't really want to dwell on the events that got him sent kicking and screaming to the Tartarus, or what eventually got him out of it. And it's probably not a good idea to tell somebody you just met about your adventures with treason. Among other things.

And he doesn't want to talk about that, or Chorus. Not right now, when he's being Ephemera.]

What'd you do on Earth for fun, anyway? Bet Doctor Moore knows how to get down.

[braveoff]

Maybe.

[ Drake doesn't offer up an explanation either, just lets the conversation move on. They can talk about it later, after they know each other better, if at all. Fifth date conversations.

What does he do for fun? He blinks, realizing that he actually has to think about that. Since going undercover his life was kind of the job, before Liv. He couldn't see his friends, couldn't go to his usual haunts, had to live the new persona 24/7. It was hard to really let loose. ]

Uh. I don't get much downtime these days, between two jobs and my ma and Liv. Past few months I've been spending all my free time with her. [ He presses a finger to his lips. ] Doctor Moore is plenty of fun.

[requiemshark]

[Two jobs, huh? Drake only mentioned being a bouncer. Ephemera shrugs. It probably doesn't matter. Either it's criminal or it's just work; nothing that needs discussing, anyway. People do what they've gotta do.

He grins, finishing his soup and then going to town on the crackers. Real food!] Yeah she is!

[Sounds like a pistol. Ephemera probably would like her.]

And you still got family. That's cool.

[braveoff]

[ Drake laughs at that, setting his bowl down. The truth is Liv is fun, and he really hopes he'll get the chance again to take her out. Really do things with her, without fear of being seen or found out. Just... be the boyfriend she deserves. He looks back at Ephemera, thoughtful, and plays it off. ]

I should take her out more. We tend to stay in, if you know what I mean.

[ But that's enough of that. ]

It's just me and ma... she's a handful but I wouldn't trade her. You said you were fostered?