dankmemes | TEST DRIVE MEME #5

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!test drive

TEST DRIVE MEME #5

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 January 25th, and apps are open February 1st.

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: HERE KITTY KITTY
[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 on the rooftops watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to separate you from your group and tear you into pieces. This time, the Door has brought in coeurls, from the video game Final Fantasy X for you meet.

These cat-like monsters can use elemental magic to attack, as well as their teeth and claws. When injured, they can cast a spell that will drain energy from their attacker and give it to them - and they are even able to temporarily petrify you. So if you decide to fight, let's hope you can finish them off quick!]

SCENARIO TWO: BURIED ALIVE
[What a wonderful day to find yourself - or a friend, or a stranger - buried six feet under. Covered in thick earth, the sturdy oak walls of the coffin trapping you in darkness, all alone. Not a soul to hear any cries of help.

Either you're in a coffin yourself, trapped, hoping for rescue, or you've got a GPS, a set of coordinates, and a shovel. Will you try to claw your way out of your possible grave, using only your bare hands and pure terror? Or will you be the one digging, hoping that down below is someone you love, waiting for you to unearth them?

Just don't take too long. Their air - your air - could run out at any moment.

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

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: PET PEEVED
[Everything seems to be going just wrong enough to drive you right up the wall. Maybe your shoes keep coming untied, or you slammed your finger in the door while you were leaving the house. Maybe your friend keeps using the wrong form of 'your/you're' when they text you. Maybe that guy in the shop with you won't get off his damn phone.

Whatever it is, your day has been full of tiny annoyances, enough to leave you on edge and just about ready to explode. They're such little things, nothing that should inspire so much anger, but one after another - well, shouldn't anyone understand why you're mad?

And then someone else comes along, perfectly primed to push your buttons. Maybe they keep pronouncing your name wrong, or they won't stop staring at your scar, or they have hair just the right color to remind you of your last ex. You're already primed for a fight, and they seem just as pissed as you. What will you do?]

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[When he starts speaking, she opens her eyes. She glances in the direction he indicates and nods. There's a second where she hesitates -- should she go first into unknown dangers, or should she go second, closer to the creature whose presence she's aware of? The one whose gaze she's just escaped will have her scent by now, but anything ahead of them might not. Plus, she won't feel too guilty if it gets Chris instead of her.

Nodding at Chris, she steps away from the wall and starts walking, keeping the noise to a minimum. She glances over her shoulder at him, and to make sure the cougar thing isn't following them.

This isn't so bad, all things considered. Sure, there are things around here that could kill them, but it's not as dark or as cramped as it is in the mines. She can breathe here, and there are proper corners to hide behind when she needs to peek out ahead to make sure the coast is clear.]

I don't see anything. We should run if the house isn't too far.

[He's also unsure for a moment of who should go first, trying to figure out whether Emily being in front or behind would put her at most risk, but they both come to the same conclusion it seems. Chris has already come from there direction they're heading, so he knows it's pretty clear.

He glances back intermittently to make sure they aren't being followed, and it seems that for once they're fortunate and the cat decided they were too much trouble. At Emily's comment he nods, casting another glance back and then peeking around Emily and the corner they're behind currently.]

Yeah. See those weird looking buildings that look like drunk aliens thought they'd be cool? Ours is like, right in the center of the spiral of them.

[So a run for it should work.]

Edited 2016-01-29 02:04 (UTC)

[That raises so many questions. Who is living in 'their' house? How long has he and whoever else been here that they even have a house? How is he so nonchalant about the fact that the architecture here is weird as hell?

But with monsters prowling, she's not about to stop and ask quite yet. Instead, she nods. The house isn't far, and the way there must be relatively safer than what's behind them, if he made it from there to here unscathed.]

Stay close to me in case one of those cats tries to kill me.

[Much as she's serious, Emily is not as harsh as she could be.

With a deep breath, she glances at him, nods again and runs for the house.]

Yeah. Got it.

[He will totally shank a cat if necessary, though that would likely not go as well as envisioned nor be nearly as badass as it could be and they'd probably both get killed, but at least he'd try. That's important, right?

He's right behind her when she takes off for the house; he's been doing a whole lot more running lately than he likes, and even with his knee still a bit messed up he's gotten enough practice to at least stay with her. Nothing jumps out at them as they cross the distance to the house, which is unlocked and so the door should open easily enough.]

[Honestly, yes, trying is important. Matt may have been unable to save her from falling into the mines, but he tried, and that's what counts. Kind of like how you tried to protect everyone from a threat that didn't exist, and helped almost get her shot. Hmm. Funny how much trying matters.

But that isn't something Emily immediately worries about as she reaches the door of the house, her heart pounding against her ribs from fear and exertion both. She turns the knob and is immediately relieved they're not as cautious here as they were the front door of the lodge. Once inside, she gets out of the way so that Chris can follow her, and she slams the door shut behind him.

She doesn't look at the house quite yet, too busy catching her breath and stilling her shaking hands. She fights back the memory of escaping the mines, of getting bitten, of falling down the mountainside and finally finding her way back to the lodge, to tempmorary safety.]

Shit. [The swear is heavy with hours of fucked up pranks and legitimate monsters, of seeing her dead friend's head so preserved in the mines, of feeling alone and betrayed.

Chris, you have got a lot of explaining to do. But first, some practical things to take care of. She straightens, walking away from the door, and turns to him.] Where the hell are we?

[Yeeeah that was a thing.

Honestly the group would probably be locking the doors more often if they weren't always in and out, but considering how often they come and go for supplies or just to get out of the house or have time alone locking the door doesn't always make sense except for at night. Especially with how few monsters actually wander into the city, let alone right into the center of the spiral their house is located in.

He takes a moment to rest as she does, leaning back against the wall to put less weight on his leg and still just generally worn out from the last event. But they're safe for now, and ohman, Emily's here. Another person from home, which is both a good and a bad thing, especially considering the combo of them already here.

Chris glances toward her when she begins to move, and gives a vague shrug at her question.]

You want the short crazy answer or the longer, even more crazy answer?

Like anything could be crazier than all the shit happening on the mountain?

[But, to answer his question--] Short. I have a lot to say to you, but I want to know what the fuck is going on before I start.

[Well, okay, fair. This place is actually not crazier than the mountain, at least as far as he's concerned; it's more complicated, maybe, but at least everything is weird here. Back at home, everything had been normal and then suddenly at wasn't.

And her comment about having things to say to him is kind of terrifying, because he and Emily are usually on at least neutral terms and it takes a moment before he can place what she might be mad about and--

Oh. Oh. Yeah. Okay. Short explanation it is.]

Okay, so we're like... In another dimension. Full of monsters, because I guess we're just really lucky as far as monsters go. Time's all weird and messed up too, so though we probably saw each other like five minutes ago for you I've been here a few months.

[That's the basics, leaving out all the gods and how they got here and that all of them here from their world seem to be from different points in time. Though he should add...]

Ash, Josh, and Sam are all here too.

[He definitely wasn't lying about it being crazy. It's weird as hell hearing him say that so seriously. Not about some video game or a movie, no, like it's what's actually happening.

It's almost as crazy as the stuff on the mountain. An entire dimension full of monsters? Does that mean there are fucking wendigos here too?

Okay. Breathe. If there are, they're not a problem right now, because the sun (or whatever it is giving off light in this cave) is out, and wendigos hate that. So at the very least, she can berate him to her heart's content long before they have to start worrying about those things.]

Months? Months. Are you fucking kidding me. I guess that explains why you have a whole house. Oh, oh, so the bitch who got everyone freaking the fuck out over the wendigo bite is here too? Great! She's next. And Josh too, that fucker!

[But you first, Chris.]

What the fuck were you thinking? "Oh I don't want to see them do that again" -- you didn't even know what was going to happen to me, okay? Ashley fucking made up that thing about wendigo bites turning people, and you lapped it right up because you're so lovesick that you wanna be your crush's hero? Was that it? And now you fucking leave me behind again when you assholes come here? Sam is the only one of you with a brain!

[And in fact, the only reason Emily isn't slapping Chris right now is that he did her a solid and saved her from the cat. See? Trying counts.]

Where's everyone else? Did you leave them behind too? What'd they do to deserve you all fucking abandoning them?

[Wow. Chris is not a huge fan of conflict in general, and thankfully manages to avoid it most of the time either because he just naturally gets along well with people or because he can defuse a situation, so he's definitely not used to someone going off on him. Especially not for something that's actually genuinely his fault.

He raises his hands briefly in surrender, kind of subconsciously sinking further back against the wall, quiet while she talks and guilt twisting in his stomach. When she's finally done he isn't sure how to actually respond, because what the hell is he going to say to that? He can't for a moment stand behind what he did now that he can look back on it, and he can't even explain what he was thinking at the time because he doesn't really remember. Some things about that night are perfectly clear--more than they should ever be--but others are sometimes distant and clouded, and he'd already been in such a daze from what happened with the stranger and the wendigo by the time everything in the basement had actually gone down.

But that isn't an excuse, and even if he doesn't remember exactly what he's thinking it's pretty clear generally; he'd been more afraid of the wendigo and more concerned with protecting the others than he had been about protecting Emily. He was supposed to be--and is supposed to be--the voice of moderation and of thinking things through and not letting anyone get hurt without really good reason, and instead he'd let fear override sense and not only did absolutely nothing to step into a situation that he knew was wrong, but had actually made it worse.

He can't explain that, and he definitely can't justify it.]

I'm sorry, Emily.

[It's the only thing he can say and he knows it sounds hollow, even if he means it utterly sincerely. There are a lot of things words don't work for, and he'd be a huge hypocrite if he actually expects Emily to just accept a sorry for this; he wouldn't from Josh, not that Josh has said anything of the sort.]

I can't... I-I was wrong. Really, really wrong. I should've done something.

[He should've done a lot of things that night, and it's really fortunate that Emily isn't a third person he got killed because of making a wrong call.

He doesn't bother to answer her questions about leaving the others or her just yet, because he's pretty sure explaining that they didn't have a choice in that won't help anything at the moment.]

Edited (so many typos) 2016-02-01 00:44 (UTC)

You're damn right you should've. Do you have any idea what it feels like to have a fucking gun pointed right at you? You didn't even try, none of you even tried to help me. No, I take it back, Sam did. But the rest of you? God, I was Mike's girlfriend, we've all known each other for years, but all of you just-- take the first chance you can to get rid of me?

[She could go on. She could whip out the tiniest, most insignificant slights from the entire time they've known each other and throw them in his face. She could crush him, and it'd be easy. He's already caving, for fuck's sake.

But that's what starts to take some of the anger out of her, the sight of him looking so wounded puppy. It doesn't break her heart or anything, because she remembers that horrifying few minutes too clearly, but it does defuse the situation enough that she stops. Stops, breathes deep, sighs heavily. Her glare is as sharp as it's ever been, because she is still angry, but now she's reined it in, and she can think more clearly.

What good will it do to keep yelling at him? He already knows she's mad, and he's accepted how at fault he is here. There's nothing to be gained from going on, and as much as it would satisfy her need to hurt him at least some of the way he hurt her, she can't afford to. For one thing, if he's really been here months and the same fate is in store for her, it's going to be easier to get by if she sticks with him and the others, people she knows. Even if she can't trust them, she can predict how they'll act and react. For another, berating him and the others would leave her with only Sam to talk to, and while Sam's all right, she and Emily aren't exactly close. Without school to go back to, without Matt, without internship interviews and everything home has to offer her, she's going to be alone here, and she's had enough of that. She's had enough of losing people she thought she could trust, and of fucking up so bad that she accidentally gets two of her friends killed.

Crossing her arms, she takes a few steps towards him, close enough that she can look right in his eyes, so he can see the mix of rage and disappointment in her eyes. She's good at hiding how afraid she is. She's great at it, when she's not being chased by monsters.

She shakes her head, and when she speaks again, her voice is low and cold.] Don't you ever do something like that to me again. Got it?

[Because if they're stuck here with monsters and god only knows what else, she needs to be able to trust him. She's giving him this chance because he helped her out with the cat. But if he stabs her in the back like that again--

He'd better not.]

[Chris is silent while she continues, eye flickering a bit at her words, because just like her earlier ones they hit close to home. She's right; he didn't try, and turning on her so quickly without stopping to think about if it was even necessary had been an incredibly horrible thing to do, especially when they had all been friends for so long.

And it isn't only that; it wasn't the same situation, but he does know what it's like to think you're about to be shot. That's one of those things he remembers perfectly; the sound of the saws and Ashley crying and the coldness of the metal when he pressed the barrel of the gun against his jaw. How even though he made the decision about what to do very quickly, it had taken so much agonizingly longer to be able to actually gather the will to do it.

But at least he'd thought shooting himself would serve a purpose in saving Ashley. For Emily there had been nothing to gain, and it turned out no point in doing it at all even for the rest of them. The whole situation had been a mess and it could have gone so much more wrong, but just because she hadn't actually died doesn't somehow make it less horrifying an experience. He knows that all too well.

When she steps closer he's a little concerned she's going to slap him--it'd be warranted but he'd rather not get his glasses broken--but instead she gives him that look and somehow it's way worse. At her words he nods, just once, staring back at her as seriously as she is at him.]

I won't.

[It's quiet, unhesitating, and he means it just as much as he'd meant the apology.]

I promise.

[He can't change what happened, with Emily or Josh or the stranger or anyone else, but he can choose not to make the same mistakes twice.]

[The fact that Chris isn't flinching away from her as he makes his promise counts for more than she'll let him in on. He's almost as serious as when he joined Ashley and Mike in trying to throw her right into danger, his voice just as unshaking, his face just as stony. It's in his eyes that Emily sees the difference, sees a sort of calm resignation that confirms how sorry he really is.

He'd fucking better be.]

Good.

[She steps back, gaze lingering on his a moment or two longer before she looks around at the room they're in. Now that she's said her piece to Chris, the reality of this place starts to sink in. Everything about it is off somehow. It makes her miss home, her bedroom with all her things, her parents' house, the view from the balcony.

God, she wishes Matt were here. The last thing she wants is to sit around here doing nothing with only Chris for company. He'll probably mope and sulk around her for the next few days until he gets the fuck over being told what's what, and that'll just be boring. And as much as she has to yell at Ash and Josh too, she doesn't need to do that right now. Her rage will hold, that much she's sure of. It's the prospect of being here for however long that's got her thinking of what to do.

Still, even if she won't be seeing them for a while, she should find out where the others are, and learn what she can about this place and start planning for the next few days. At least there's shelter, and presumably food and water if they've been here so long already. God, what the hell is her life that all this crazy shit keeps happening?]

Where are the others? What's the long version of the crazy story behind this place?

[He can put off answering the first question if he wants, but she'll keep coming back to it until he tells her. If they happen to come back to the house before that, then lucky him.]

[Well, she seems to be calming down--at least for the moment--and so Chris feels it's safe to unmeld from the wall and step around her to lead the way toward the kitchen; if she just came from the mountain she's probably tired and hungry, and they have chairs and food.

He doesn't have a problem with answering the question about where the others are when it's phrased that way, as it avoids any need to correct her on the situation, and so he decides to focus on it first before the long story.]

I'm not totally sure, but they're around. Everyone's keeping kind of weird hours so they might be asleep or out looking for stuff or whatever else.

[Hopefully they're okay if they're out, what with the cats; he should probably send out some messages to check in on them and let them know Emily's here, but he's guessing a few of them at least might be sleeping. After everything that happened in the past few days they're all still pretty exhausted.

He's about to shift to answering the long question when he suddenly realizes something, glancing back over his shoulder at Emily as they reach the weird, alien kitchen.]

Uh, Em, what's the last thing you remember before showing up here?

[Obviously she at least got to the point in time where they're in all in the basement, but he's not sure beyond that and with everyone from different times, there's going to be a lot of confusion.]

[She follows him through the unfamiliar house, some part of her recoiling at how bizarre it feels to be here, in another dimension. His answer about the others sounds right, thougg, for what they've all been through. Sleeping by day seems like a good idea when you know it's the only time you're guaranteed to be safe from wendigos. She hadn't stopped to think about it before, given she'd only just managed to escape almost certain death twice over.

And she'd forgotten the thing he'd said about time being weird, too, so it takes her a second to figure out why he's even asking her that.]

You mean after Mike almost shot me? We were going to go find him. I had just walked into the tunnel.

[And then, after a brief pause--] What, do you remember more than that?

[Okay, well. She knows the important stuff, at least; but everything would be so much easier if they were all on the same page.]

Yeah. I uh... It was like 10 AM. We made it off the mountain.

[It seems surreal to say, even now, because he really hadn't had a chance for it to sink in at home either. They'd blown up the lodge, gotten into the helicopter, and then everything had been a daze of the flight and the police interviews.

And of course, what he says isn't entirely true either. Only most of them made it off the mountain.]

Sam remembers a little more than you do, but Josh and Ash are like... Way further back.

[There's a momentary pause before he looks back at Emily, briefly stopping in his attempts to find something edible that doesn't need to be cooked.]

Ash won't uh... She won't know why you're mad at her. It hasn't happened for her yet.

[So that's a thing.]

[Well that sure takes the wind out of Emily's sails for a second. Not that Ashley isn't chickenshit enough that she won't be cowering either way if Emily yells at her, but what's the point, if Ashley won't be able to think about that same moment, won't be forced to face her mistake and regret it?]

Did you tell her what happened? If not, I have no problem bringing her up to speed with what a bitch she turned out to be.

[Yes, that would be the point. It doesn't matter that Ashley didn't make it that far into the night before coming here. It happened. It still would've happened.

Just like how they all survived in the end.

Oh god. That means--]

Matt's all right?

[Matt made it back safely. He survived whatever he faced after trying and failing to help her as she dangled from the tower. Matt, the only person she can really trust anymore, after all the things she'd said to him that night.]

How-- How was he, after everything? Was he hurt?

Ash got kind of the quick version of everything.

[It had been difficult to retell the story, let alone all the details of it, and it had been most important that Ashley knew about Josh being behind everything and about the wendigos. She didn't need to know anything unnecessary that would only make things worse for her.

And at Emily's next questions he again pauses, though he doesn't look at her this time. There's no good answer to this.]

I don't know, Em. He wasn't with us, so...

[So he doesn't know. It's possible Matt is still alive; surely the police would be going back to look for him, and for Jessica and Josh even though he's pretty sure both of them are dead. Maybe Matt made it though, he just... Doesn't know.

Finally, he turns back around to face her, abandoning his search for food for the moment.]

You and me, Mike, Sam, and Ash made it out. That's... That's all I know for sure.

[He's quiet again for another few seconds.]

I'm really sorry.

[It's a different apology than before, because this isn't something actually his fault, but he really does wish he could tell her something different. Even just knowing for certain that Matt--or Jess, or Josh--were dead would be better than just being left to wonder.]

[And almost getting Emily shot hadn't been part of the quick version. Nice one, jackass. She'll fill Ashley in on that bit, don't worry.

The news -- or the lack of news -- about Matt drains away the brief influx of hope from just a moment ago. He has to be alive. He has to be. If he isn't--]

I should've-- [Tried harder. Been nicer. Treated him better. Told him how important he is, how much he means to her.

She will. She'll get her chance. He has to be alive.

Shit, Jess wasn't with them, either? Sure, Emily could fight with her forever for what she did, but they were friends. She isn't supposed to die until she's old and wrinkly. And Josh-- Josh isn't allowed to die or disappear until each and every one of them tells him his bullshit pranks had gone too far on the mountain. Maybe until everyone had been given the chance to slap him, too.]

Shit.

Edited 2016-02-03 12:20 (UTC)

[Chris watches her reaction, quiet; he wants to do something to help, but what can anyone really do in a situation like this? Again it crosses his mind--as it has often recently--that they shouldn't be in this situation. None of this should've ever happened at all.

But it did.]

Yeah.

['Shit' about sums it up.]

And um... Please, Em, don't tell Josh that we don't...

[Don't know if he's alive or not. Chris is pretty sure he isn't, after what Mike said; he's already accepted it, but hasn't said anything to Josh about it. They're not speaking all that much anyway.]

[Yeah, no. None of this should've happened. They shouldn't have come back to the mountain this year. They should've noticed Josh was a bit off in the last month or so.

They shouldn't have played that stupid prank on Hannah.

Chris's request pulls her from that train of thought, from looking back on things they can't change. Here and now there's a whole other mess to deal with, and there's time to think ahead.

And thinking ahead to seeing the others who made it here gets her focused again. Emily narrows her eyes, brow furrowed with the anger still burning inside her.]

The only thing I want to tell Josh is how much of a shitstain he is.

[Besides, she doesn't want him dead. And she refuses to believe that he doesn't make it through the night. He and Matt and Jessica have to be alive. They just have to be.]

[That's about as much of an agreement as he was expecting, and he just gives a small noise of irritation in response; not at her, specifically, but...]

Yeah, good luck with that.

[Josh is still his friend, and Chris doesn't want anything bad to happen to him, but he's also still angry. But it's not even anger, not really--it's hurt and betrayal and frustration--but it's so much easier to be quietly furious than deal with the real problem.

It would be different if he thought Josh was even slightly sorry for what he did, but he doesn't.]

What's that supposed to mean?

[Not that it matters. Pretty much nothing that anyone could say to her will deter Emily from telling Josh off. And Ashley, for that matter. She doesn't know which one of them she wants to run into first. It doesn't really matter.]

I mean I don't think it's going to be very satisfying. He's from like, before everything happened, and when I told him we all knew about it he just kept asking if it turned out as 'amazing' as he'd planned.

[Which had been simultaneously infuriating and nauseating.]

So yeah. Not gonna get through to him much.

[Okay, she's got to admit, Chris is right. Not right enough to change the fact that she's going to yell at Josh anyway, but still.]

I'll tell him exactly how amazing it all turned out.

[Because if anyone can get the point of a good fuck you, you asshole across, it's Emily. Even if it's not as satisfying as it could be.

All of this is what finally lets Emily start to feel how tired she is from last night, from winding up in this weird place with its magical cats, from yelling at Chris. She goes over to the nearest chair (the design of which is about as weird as that of the rest of the house), and sits.

It's more comfortable than she thought it'd be. She shifts a little, settling in for a long, relaxing break from standing and running and falling.]

So there's food and water here, if you've been here really long. What about first aid supplies? [The bite may not be infectious, but it can still get infected.]

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tw for mentions of suicide

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