dankmemes | 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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Luna!

[ It's her. It's her, unmistakably, and Noctis' thoughts are wild, racing at a thousand miles per hour as he warps to her side in a heartbeat. It doesn't take long to dispatch the massive beast that seems to have marked her as prey, but there is a spot of clarity in the moment of the kill, a brief focus that tugs him back from overwhelming emotions.

It's her, and she's not dead. This he says to himself over and over when he turns to her, uncertain but hoping. Surely she's not a figment of his imagination, prone to dissipate if he reaches out for her; surely this place cannot be that cruel. ]

Luna.

[ He says again, looks at her like she would shimmer into nothing, mouth dry as he thinks of his dream of her, fading into blue and black, how she had said goodbye and left him devastated. She had spent the last of her life saving him, and he owes her more than he can say. Reeling, he's struggling to form words -- funny now the giant murderous water monsters are a lot less complicated than this. ] I, uh -- are you really here?

[ The voice - that voice - his voice. Her heart rises like a balloon, swelling until it sticks, caught, in her throat. Lunafreya draws a long breath, turning to catch sight of him, all the while telling herself that it would be impossible for Noctis to be here, too, wherever it is. This is too vivid to be a dream, and yet there isn't any way that they could meet, not with the ever-constant threat of the Empire -

But Noctis is here, fighting to keep her safe. His abilities allow him to flit across the ground and air, to easily fell the crocodiles and stand again without any effort. As their gazes meet, she feels-... well, a lot of things, but certainly a kind of pride in the man who has grown so much since they were last able to speak properly.

And now? Now, they are somehow together, standing in a foreign desert among monsters. She's so overwhelmed by it that she laughs, surprising herself, even as she quickly brushes away one or two errant tears. ]

Noctis. [ She speaks on a breath, and he seems to be just as confused and disbelieving as Luna herself. The Oracle steps forward just a bit, giving him the chance to approach, should he want that, and... the chance to hesitate, if that is easier. ]

I hope so. At least - that is... [ There's a light clearing of her throat before, with an apologetic smile, she tries again. ] I believe that I am.

[ Whatever is happening, it has somehow brought them together. Thank the Gods. ]

[ He hesitates only for a moment, caught between the instinct to see, to feel for himself that she's all right, and the near-certainty that she could be a mirage, a trick of the light. There is no such thing as ghosts, although what with everything that's happened, Noctis isn't sure he can think in such absolutes any longer.

She's still beautiful in this light, up close like this, and soon his instincts to draw near overwhelm everything else, even, for the moment, the guilt that had been lodged in his chest, a heavy, inconsolable thing. Closing the distance between them in mere steps, he stops just before her. This is no dream; if it were, the last thing he'd expect her to be is in an arena surrounded by carcasses of dead monsters -- dreams are usually more poetic than that.

And in here, she's not bidding him farewell. ] Are you -- all right?

[ The words come out clumsy, and he grimaces. He expects a better showing than this, really; then again, it's not every day that you see someone you've failed so glad to see you. ] What's the last thing you remember?

[ Like Noctis, Luna feels this moment as a sort of strange possibility, a trick of the mind, perhaps, showing her something (someone) she desperately wants to see. Unlike Noctis, Luna doesn't think that the other had died, and their meeting is only as unlikely as it is that the Gods might allow them this moment of togetherness in the midst of - well, everything. ]

Yes. I am just fine. Really. [ He is here, and they're both safe, or seemingly so. Noctis stands before her and she wants to reach out, but doesn't, hands clasped tight in front of her middle. ] I have so many questions... This is not a dream, but I do not know where we are, or how we came to be here...

[ She may not always have the answers, but this is beyond even a guess. The landscape is hostile, unfamiliar, with two suns beating down on her from above. In the meantime, Noctis seems even more overwhelmed than she is, and so the Oracle softens her smile, her eyes, and waits until he's asked his question before she attempts to calm him. ]

I was in Altissia, waiting to speak with the the Hydrean. [ Despite the threat of the Empire and everything else. ] And you, Noctis?

I --

[ So she doesn't know. She doesn't know what happens to her, her life cut brutally short by a man Noctis should have killed earlier. A life he should have fought harder to protect. Seeing her now makes his heart ache, even moreso when he now knows how her path will unfold, how he never got to hold her in her final moments.

Even now, he notices, she marshals herself for his sake, her eyes and her smile gentle in a bid to soothe; he must be broadcasting his distress for all to see, which is a terrible showing, all things considered. He should be the one helping her, not the other way around. ]

Long story. [ He says, ashamed the moment the words leave his mouth. But her death is still an open wound, and he has no idea what to say to her when he's reeling from her presence here, very much alive. He turns towards where he's spotted the exit, holding his hand out to her instinctively. ]

C'mon, let's get outta here first. There's more where that came from.

[ Something is wrong. He cuts off, and though she would just as soon ascribe the reaction to their strange situation... Luna feels, too, that they aren't quite on the same page. Her lips turn downward, just faintly, and there's a touch of sadness that reaches her eyes when he diverts his own answer. ]

All right. I will follow your lead. [ She takes his hand, squeezing lightly - be at peace, Noctis - and hurrying away as he goes. Whatever is troubling the young prince, she'll have to wait to hear about it until they're both out of harm's way. That is the best course of action, but it still gnaws a bit at her as she tries to work out what it might be that he is loathe to tell her. There could be so many things that have gone wrong along the way, though when she'd spotted him among the crowds in Altissia, he'd seemed well, and happy...

Do I not know him at all, truly? ]

What is this place? [ Luna finally asks, quietly, not expecting an explanation, but perhaps just a name. ] It... is Eos, is it not?

[ How well can one possibly know another through snippets in a journal? Largely sanitised clips traded back and forth, Luna has only seen what Noctis has allowed her to see -- the best of him and little more. After all, who wants to put their flaws and weaknesses on display?

This is him as he is, older and sadder, struggling to find words. It's easier when they're not face to face, and his heart skips a beat when she squeezes his hand, a blessing in the warmth of her grip. It's a blessing he does not allow himself to feel -- he's profoundly unworthy of it. But she doesn't press the matter, and Noctis, leading her out of the arena and into vastly unfamiliar land, simply shakes his head. ]

I don't think so. [ The terrain is all different, for one. He frowns, looking around before deciding to set off in his chosen direction, still holding her hand. ] Have you seen creatures like that before?

I have seen something like it in books, but not that large. [ Crocodiles exist in their world, or so bestiaries will tell her, but none seem as massive and terrifying as the ones that had attacked her. Luna tries to remember what else she must have read about the wildlife of their world, but it isn't much, really, and it's a moot point if they aren't on Eos, isn't it? ]

How can this be? [ The Oracle questions quietly, light brows knit. ] This is not a dream, but it still seems impossible.

[ They were close together (more than usual, anyway), but to have been transported to another - what, world? The enormity of it makes her head spin a bit, and she has to breathe deeply to steady herself as they go. This is no time to panic; she needs to be collected in order to help them to safety as much as she can. ]

Test Drive Meme #27

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ILU

KISSU

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