dankmemes | Test Drive Meme #27

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!test drive

Test Drive Meme #27

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 December 25th, and apps are open January 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: DON'T FEED THE WILDLIFE
[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.

This time, the monsters are very large and very scary, with the crocodiles from Lake Placid, a 1999 movie that was about... well, giant crocodiles.

These critters are massive, measuring over 20 feet in length and full of raw power. They're capable of taking down bears, eating full cows, and decapitating unsuspecting victims. Despite their size, they are quite fast and could definitely take someone by surprise with their quick movement. Look out for those formerly-still ponds, they back a serious bite...]

A L L

SCENARIO TWO: SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPLASHING
[Everyone's gotta drink sometimes and when you're in a new environment, that dehydration is kicking in double. Unfortunately, the water in Hadriel right now is... tainted. Nothing about it tastes particularly off, but one drink of it and you'll find yourself with strange and unusual powers. These abilities aren't necessarily gamechangers, and they aren't the full power, but they're definitely there at your fingertips.

Give your friends nightmares, give your enemies a super strong punch to the jaw- the sky is the limit, but be careful for when it wears off and those you've affected seek their revenge with their own water-powered abilities. Maybe you should find the memory erasing pond...

This is a mini event, based off of our shining, shimmering, splashing event going on this month!]

S O R R O W

SCENARIO THREE: HAIR OF THE DOG
[Were you partying last night, or are the gods just exceptionally cruel? Either way, you have what seems to be a killer hangover. Stomachaches, headaches, and general feeling like the undead- it's all happening and you're feeling the worst of it.

You're welcome to try and attempt your own hangover cures, but little seems to alleviate this. It just takes time, and maybe a friend or two to rub your back and make some food for you- that is, if you can keep it down. Or maybe your friends are in the same boat as you are and you need to commiserate. Either way, you're in for a hell of a day.

Maybe just take it easy for awhile.]

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[The Guard is a regular sight during the arrival of each new group through the door and Ignis, as ever, arrives with them just moments before people - and monsters - begin to be thrown out onto the sandy ground. He directs two of those with him to spread out while he heads forwards, fingers curled firmly around twin daggers to face one of the colossal crocodiles head on.

The aim is simple - find the people who, in their bewildered states, make easy prey for the creatures thrown in along with them, and get them out before anyone gets hurt. Giant crocodiles are by far not the strangest thing that has come through that door and the young man remains entirely unfazed as he cuts through them--

Ignis!

--he stalls mid-step, and it's almost fatal as a pair of enormous jaws come snapping down on the empty air he barely manages to pull his hand away from.

That voice. There's nowhere he'd be able to mistake it, and it's a few moments of frantic sweeping of the coliseum before he sees--

He sees him.]

Noct!

[And then--]

Behind you!

[He's not close enough. Everything falls away in that moment, nothing visible to him but Noctis and the two creatures closing in on him. Without thought he abandons the daggers in his hands and summons the ones connected to Noctis' power, the comforting familiarity resting in his hands only a moment before one of them is thrown forwards, slicing through the air to embed itself in the eye socket of the crocodile behind his friend.

'I will not lose you. Not now. Not to this.']

[ There he is.

Noctis can pinpoint the sound of his voice almost immediately, the crackle of familiar magic sparking to life. He can feel it when Ignis draws from him, fluid and elegant and just as deadly, and in that instant he doesn't question that impeccable aim, only turning to drive the heel of his boot onto the hilt of his chamberlain's favored daggers, pushing the blade deeper into its brain.

It takes moments for the thing to die, but he doesn't wait as he lunges toward the second one, bringing down his sword right between its eyes, landing on its snout. He twists the blade with a grunt, the life bleeding out of the massive beast before he steps off of it.

He doesn't miss the fact that Ignis has just about saved his bacon again, but when he manages to take a good and proper look at him, he realizes something markedly different: Ignis can see. It's clear glasses that sit on his nose instead of the opaque ones he remembers the other having chosen. Clear glasses, piercing, focused green eyes, unscarred face, and a definite lack of a walking stick.

What --

Despite the fact that he'd been yanked into what should be another world, right smack in the middle of some kind of fighting ring, it's the blatant difference in Ignis that leaves him gobsmacked. He had seen him hurt, the light gone from his eyes. He had seen the scars that span that face, and now it's as if none of it's happened. As if Ignis hadn't gotten hurt because of him.

What the hell is going on here? ]

Hey, uh. You're... okay?

[Ignis doesn't realise just how much he missed the sensation until the magic is flowing through him again, until the familiar daggers are clasped in his hands. He closes in, retrieving the thrown blade with a messy spray of blood, and behind his outward composure he is anything but settled.

He hasn't seen Noctis for months. Months of being separated from his friends - from his best friend - his lifelong duty, and everything that came along with it has burned a deep sting into his entire being that he had barely begun to be able to fully ignore. Now, it flares up in full force, searing across him like a fresh brand.]

For the time being.

[His answer comes in his usual clipped, calm tones, but when he looks at Noctis it's as if he's wondering if he's actually there, or if he might simply disappear in the next few moments.

He plants a hand on his friend's shoulder, and the solidness of him is like a shock up his arm.]

I'm afraid that questions will have to wait.

[ Questions waiting. Yes. They have bigger problems right now, even if so many questions are churning in the back of his mind and Noctis cannot shake it; chief of it just what the hell is happening here and why Iggy seems to be much more adept to this, like he's been here longer than he has. Or is that just his imagination? Also where are Prompto and Gladio? He pats Ignis' hand briefly and nods. He's real. He's very real and he's not about to disappear anytime soon. ]

Yeah. Come on, let's kick some ass.

[ Right. Waiting questions. They have to deal with a whole bunch of murderous daemons first, and it's the easiest thing in the world to fall into a comfortable rhythm with Ignis as they fight back against a growing host of them, cutting the creatures down.

Eventually, the bodies of the daemons litter the arena, and Noctis finally manages to catch a breather. ] What is this place, Iggy?

[He has missed this.

Ignis easily falls into place beside his prince and friend, moving fluidly with him without thought and cutting through every creature that dares turn its attention on them. Fire, ice and sparks fly from his daggers, his speed almost like warping itself, and he finds himself refreshingly out of breath when they finally get a moment to stop.]

Hadriel.

[The word does not feel as foreign on his lips now as it once did.]

You were drawn here - along with these... unfortunate creatures - through that door. [He makes a small gesture over the crocodile corpses to the portal through which all new persons and beasts fall into the city.] I arrived the same way, several months ago.

[ Hadriel. The name is alien to him, unheard of even in the texts he had studied as part of his royal education. But that's not the most troubling thing. The most troubling thing is Ignis telling him that he's been here several months he had only just been with him scant minutes ago.

Admittedly a different Ignis -- the Ignis back home has significantly more scarring, and there's still that little matter of him not being able to see. As always, a development that could probably be traced back to fault on Noctis' part, no matter Ignis' assertions to the contrary. ]

Several months? [ He echoes, confused. ] But I just saw you.

I understand, it's confusing.

[Ignis, ever alert, knows that the peace around them will not reign for long. The smell of blood and death is already sinking into the air, and like attracts like - the remaining crocodiles will be on them soon enough if they remain.]

--Come. [He says quickly, gesturing for Noctis to follow him. Certain that he will, and doesn't look back over his shoulder to be sure of it, but tracks a path through the newly grown swamp to where he knows the nearest exit to be.]

This place exists outside of Time, in a way that I cannot explain. I have met you here before, but... [Here, he hesitates - trips over his words in a way that isn't common to him.] ... you were much older, then.

I -- what?

[ There is absolutely nothing in that last sentence that makes sense to him chronologically. So Ignis met another him, an older him before, and he was much older? And this Ignis somehow isn't like the one he had left back in Eos. He follows after him without question, racking his brain to at least put some semblance of order and logic that he can follow.

Outside of time, what the hell. And then it occurs to him -- ] Where were you when you were taken?

[ First things first. He'll ask about the older version of himself later; he hasn't missed just how Ignis hesitates. ]

Cape Caem. We were readying ourselves to set sail for Altissia.

[As they grow close to safety, Ignis' steps slow. He waits for long enough for his friend to catch up, to fall in beside him, and he nudges his spectacles up slightly as an excuse to give himself half a moment to think.

Ignis had thought about this more than once - what would he do, should Noctis reappear? No matter what the man's state, no matter what his age, Ignis was entirely dedicated to his safety and the tumultuous course his life swept them both up in. What would he do, he had thought, and the answer had always been the same. He simply can't see himself doing anything else.

Even now, his heartbeat thrums in his chest along with the familiar thread of magic granted to him by the presence of his prince. He had missed it all, but one thing above all.

Ignis had missed simply being at Noctis' side.

They leave the coliseum together and he lifts his hand to shield his eyes against the sun. It's hot - hotter than Lestallum ever was.]

... Noctis. [The young man stops walking. He turns to his companion, and very gently places both hands on his slim shoulders as a small smile curves his lips up.] No matter what happens, I will remain at your side. [The smile breaks into a quiet laugh.] It has been strange, all these months spent without you.

[ Altissia.

Of course. Of course, he should have known, should have gotten it quicker. It hasn't happened yet for him, the day when everything irreversibly changed; for Noctis and for Ignis. The covenant had been forged at such a high price, tragedy wrought upon them in one fell swoop. He still doesn't know just how Ignis had lost his sight, but Noctis isn't stupid; the extent of his injuries suggests a specific occurrence, targeted, not collateral. And if someone had hurt him on purpose, if he had come for Ignis the way he had gone for Luna --

-- it's hotter than Lestallum ever was, but Ignis' gentle, heartfelt words leave him cold, his chest impossibly tight. Ignis doesn't smile or laugh like this anymore, after that day. He doesn't get to see again, no matter what he tells them to make them feel better.

He looks up at him, at those impossibly clear green eyes, so warm and bright and full of life, and he raises his hand instinctively, briefly, before he lets it fall. The words catch in his throat, and something burns behind his eyelids. Funny how he hasn't just stopped to really look, before. Funny how he has a second chance to recognise just how much Ignis had sacrificed for his sake. I'm sorry, he wants to say. Sorry for so many, many things. ]

Yeah. [ He says instead, and thinks that maybe, maybe he can prevent this. If Ignis stays here in Hadriel, this place outside of time -- if he doesn't leave, he will stay safe. Unhurt. Noctis tries for a smile, but it doesn't come easy. It's strained, slipping away like water. ]

Sorry. [ He continues, because he's sure his emotions are written all over his face and he knows he needs to come up with an excuse, and quickly. He's not like himself, he knows. He's not the man that he was in Cape Caem. So he lies. ] Just a little tired.

Edited 2018-01-01 16:28 (UTC)

[What happened to Ignis to rob him of his sight is a mystery even to the man himself, but the presence of the older Noctis in Hadriel, for however short a time he was there, did not pass without leaving its mark.

He knows Noctis so well. All the years spent together, the number of times he'd taken the fall for the prince's mistakes and missteps, all the laughter and good times... and the bad. He can read the younger man like an open book and he doesn't need to hear it out loud to hear the guilt crying out from behind Noctis' eyes.

There had been a faint hope that perhaps this Noctis would not be carrying that guilt. That perhaps their timelines would be in sync. A vain hope.]

I know, Noct. About what is going to happen to me when you face the Hydraean. [His smile wavers, just a fraction, but he holds it in place.] Not how, but that it does. I've had some time to come to terms with what the immediate future holds for me. If it's the price I have to pay... I will gladly pay it.

You --

[ How can you say that and look at me that way, and -- it will haunt him, the way his smile wavers just a little. How does Ignis even say that to him with that kind of smile and tell him he's glad to pay it? It's anger that rises in him, swift and sharp like the summer storm, like grief given purpose. His hand comes to rest on one of his, fingers curling over it as if to make sure that he's listening, and listening well. ]

You can change that. Now that you know, you change it. [ His is not the destiny that's set in stone; there is a chance that if Ignis knows here, now, he can do something different if he returns -- he can make sure it doesn't happen. It is guilt that makes his voice rough, Ignis' injuries another heartache to add to the growing pile. ] Do that for me instead.

[ Sea foam, he decides, when he meets his eyes. His are the colour of the sea on a sunny day. (In this moment, Noctis bears the weight of what has been taken away.) ]

[He would pay so much more. Anything. His life if need be to ensure that Noctis reached the culmination of his. That, and many other reasons are why he can stand there with that smile and say it's a price paid gladly - because losing his sight, yet still being able to continue with Noctis on his journey is better than failing him.

Ignis shakes his head, and with that small gesture the smile finally wavers and falls from his face. He moves his hands from his friend - touching him feels like fire in the forefront of the denial that spills from his lips.]

I don't know that I can. [No one has ever reported remembering this place on leaving it. No one has ever said that they were able to change their futures. He knows why Noctis asks, why he tries to demand it.

He pushes his glasses up carefully with two fingertips.]

And I'm sorry, that of all things, I have to deny you this one.

[ Noctis can only stare at him, silently flabbergasted. How had he convinced himself to come to terms with this? He's tempted to ask this, but ah, doesn't he already know the answer? That devotion, the loyalty -- Ignis' dedication is second to none, and a part of him aches because how is he possibly worthy of this, how is he worth the price Ignis pays, that Luna paid for his sake?

Then stay here, he wants to say. Never leave. But he knows Ignis better than that, how the man would follow him to the very ends of the earth until he cannot, and he can barely swallow past the lump in his throat. Noctis can't fail him, too. ] Of all the things to say no to, Iggy.

[ Why did it have to be this one? ]

It gives me no pleasure, I assure you.

[But the thing is, Ignis knows that he wouldn't change a thing even if he could. If he was blinded for a reason, and if that reason had something to do with the young man standing with him, he knows that he'd face it again with full knowledge of what was to come and go through with it all the same.

The silence between them in the following moments is heavy. Ignis lets out a soft breath and brings up one hand to pat Noctis' upper arm.]

Come, let's keep moving. This isn't the most hospitable of places to linger and I'd rather not risk one of the welcome party following us out.

[ Moving. Right. He can deal with this later, figure out a way to make sure what happened won't actually happen. Surely there's a way around this; all his life, Ignis had been the one to care for him, to protect him -- surely it's come time for Noctis to return the favor, given so unconditionally to him for as long as he can remember.

He nods silently and allows him to lead the way, following tight on his tail. ] I don't mind it either way. [ He says grimly, because at least the welcome party gives him one hell of an opportunity to work off his aggression on them. ] Do you know why this place dragged us here?

No. That is something that no one seems able to fully confirm.

[He's glad to turn the topic of conversation to something else. Lingering in thoughts of what is going to - inevitably - happen in his future has not served him well so far and he doubts that it will do at this juncture.

Not that it doesn't deserve thinking about, just not now.]

Those native to this place have styled themselves as gods, though I do not believe that description to be entirely accurate. They did not bring us here purposely.

Gods.

[ Noctis echoes, filing that information away. If anything, Ignis' judgement is trusted -- he has spent several months here, after all; the intel must be solid. If these gods are anything like the Astrals back in their world, he has an idea of what they must be like. It's easier to change the subject to this, to have Ignis by his side as they navigate a wholly unfamiliar landscape. ]

Guess not. Who do you figure's pulling the strings?

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Test Drive Meme #27

one; / JITTERS IN HERE OMG

jkhaskdhf HELLO YOU

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