test drive meme #28

[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 January 25th, and apps are open February 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: GOT ANY BREATH MINTS?
[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.

It looks like this time the Door is going for a little variety. You get to enjoy a couple kinds of chaos serpents, from the video game Hexen.

Chaos serpents are bipedal reptilian creatures with three horns, in two different colors. They can bite, as with most monsters, but the real threat is their breath weapons. The green ones spit powerful fireballs, while the brown ones spit clouds of poisonous gas. If you're lucky, they'll fight each other instead of you - but who ever gets lucky here?]

L O V E

SCENARIO TWO: ONE MINUTE IN HEAVEN
[Remember that first rush of infatuation, when your heart beats fast and your cheeks get red and you feel like you could do anything - anything - to get your crush's attention? Maybe you don't. Maybe you're too level-headed for that. Well, not anymore.

Now, whenever you meet a new person, you feel one solid minute of the most intense crush you've ever had. Their hair! Those eyes! Those incredibly attractive arm muscles! That tinkling laugh! Maybe you're the type to get nervous, maybe you'll swallow seven packets of hot sauce to show how cool you are, maybe you'll just lay down your very best pickup lines. Maybe more than one of the above - there are so many ways to embarrass yourself in 60 seconds!

But then time's up, and your insta-crush is gone, and now you get to deal with the consequences. What did you say? What did you do? That laugh you thought was beautiful and tinkling turns out to be obnoxious and honking. Also, you're pretty sure you just hit on your neighbor. But hey... maybe they actually are pretty hot, and you just made the first move. It's possible!]

C O N F U S I O N

SCENARIO THREE: THE PITTER PATTER OF LITTLE FEET
[There you were, minding your own business, when you suddenly fell into a deep sleep. Not that you remember that - now all you remember is being a child, as your consciousness has taken the form of your younger self. Here's your opportunity to run around and get into all the trouble you could hope for!

Or maybe you didn't become a child - maybe someone else did. Did some random kid just run up to you, confused and a little scared, or possibly just obnoxious? It'd be nice of you to help them out. Unless you hate kids, and hey, who can blame you? They're loud and somehow their little hands always seem to be sticky. Still. Make sure they don't run straight into the monsters outside the city, all right?

This is a mini version of our Hope of a Child event this month.]

Comments

[solase]

[It stings to have Rhy pull away like that, for in truth he's right. It hadn't been his choice to come here. Though to his credit, neither, as he understands it, had it been the choice of any. Not, he supposes, that that's any consolation to Rhy. For the fact of the matter is that in the younger man's eyes, the only reason he's there at all is because he hasn't the choice to be anywhere else. It hardly paints him in a decent light.]

Haven't you heard? [he asks, dropping his hand from where his fingers have laced themselves against Rhy's shirt because it's either that or reach for him again.] I'm a privateer these days. I go where the wind takes me, and the sea can be a cruel mistress, my prince. I wouldn't say that I have much of a choice in the direction at all.

[He reaches again for his abandoned glass, because it is easier to drink and to quip than it is to face the younger man without the armor. Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire never tells his secrets for free. No matter how happy he is to see the other man again. No matter how much he had missed him. No matter how much he had feared he might never see him again. There is a time and a place for Alucard's honesty but the look in Rhy's eyes tells him that this night, for all the times he might have dreamed of a passionate reunion, isn't one of them.]

[anoshe]

[He recognizes this. It's how he often faces difficult situations himself - lightly, turning the emotion that he can't deal with into light words and careless actions. He should do the same. He should make this easier for both of them. But some part of Rhy, even now, is hurt - is maybe even sulking a bit, that it's so easy for Alucard.

It isn't easy. Not really. Not for either of them, and Rhy knows that on some level. But it stings anyway.]

Of course. Who can command the wind? And who can command you? Not your prince.

[There is a tinge of bitterness in his voice, but it hasn't quite become anything real yet. The truth is that despite the pain, despite the long list of things he wants and can't have, simply seeing Alucard is - good. Painful, perhaps, and a little awkward, and more than a little uncomfortable, but.

Here he is, healthy and hale and as handsome and charming as he ever was. Rhy was not, and is not, immune to any of that. And his own feelings make it impossible to face this meeting with only bitterness, only pain - even if they also make it impossible for him to treat it lightly.

He doesn't reach out again, and in fact steps back, putting space between them. It's too tempting, having Alucard close. But he doesn't look away, his eyes taking in every inch of the privateer.]

[solase]

[Something in Alucard's chest cracks at the sound of Rhy's words. At the bitterness in them. He wants to step forward again, to be closer to the younger man once more. To take him into his arms and tell him it isn't like that. That it's never been like that. That from every achingly beautiful, dizzying, breathless moment they had spent together until now, Alucard's heart has ever been Rhy's and Rhy's alone. That it still does, if he'd have it.]

Rhy...

[The mask slips, a shadow crossing Alucard's face as the other man stands back to look at him. He supposes that he deserves the comment, in a way. And yet... He takes in a breath and another smile slips into place, his eyes still a little sad as he takes in the measure of the prince in turn. It is a private smile. He hopes it will convey everything he cannot bring himself to say. Not just yet. Not in this room full of strangers. A private smile for private conversation as he murmurs softly across the space between them, a gamble by any means of the word:]

Do you admit it then? The fact that you are mine.

[anoshe]

[It's frankly unfair, the effect that Alucard has on him. It's no less now than it was three years ago - if anything, the long absence has made Alucard's sudden reappearance hit even harder.

He can't be anything but angry that Alucard left him like that. He can't be anything but happy to see him again. It would be easier, certainly, if Alucard were not still so entrenched in Rhy's heart, if he were not still so very much himself. Despite the changes, this is still the man Rhy fell in love with, harder and more deeply than he ever had before or ever has since.]

You are incorrigible.

[There's the slightest hint of softening in Rhy's expression. He doesn't come closer - he won't, he knows better than that, even if he very much wants to - but he allows himself to be briefly honest.]

It is good to see you.

[No matter what else might be true, and there are many things that are true, that is as well. Rhy's emotions are mixed, confused, and for once he wishes there were someone there to tell him what to do - Kell, or his father, or his mother, though he fears they would all say pretty much the same thing. But despite all of that, he is glad to see Alucard. Here before him, in the flesh, real.]

[solase]

[There it is. Alucard's storm-dark eyes brighten in the face of the prince's fond exasperation, and he knows somehow that Rhy is telling the truth. And selfishly, he's glad, for though it is a terrible thing to know he has caused the other man pain, those three years apart somehow feel more distant, knowing he's happy to have him here again. Knowing that he's been missed.]

Among other things.

[He flashes Rhy the hint of another dazzling smile before it softens. He doesn't want to keep up the charade, not when the prince is offering him his own honesty in turn. But where is he, without his playful glances and teasing remarks? His lips quirk once before he offers Rhy a truth of his own. It's only fair, after all.]

I have dreamed of this moment perhaps a hundred times before. I think perhaps I am waiting for one of those outcomes to happen, and the dream to end. To wake up in my cabin with my cat and know you are oceans away. Perhaps with someone younger and less incorrigible in your bed yourself.

[anoshe]

Who is to say that isn't what will happen? I am quite in demand, after all.

[There is just the smallest edge of sharpness in his teasing. Perhaps, after all, Rhy is still sulking a bit - perhaps he will be for awhile. But the truth is that no one has been to him what Alucard was, for all the flings and trysts he's indulged in. He avoids it, deliberately. He was never ready to give his heart away again. He still isn't. He knows better now.

But, after all, he has already given it away. Alucard never quite gave it back.]

I am glad to know that I have been a feature of your dreams, though. I wondered -

[He stops himself. He'd wondered if Alucard had thought of him at all, after they parted. But maybe this is proof that he did, maybe this isn't just charming words and a smile that takes Rhy's breath away. Maybe he means it.

Does that change anything?]

I have seen you in dreams as well.

[solase]

[Alucard supposes that he deserves that. And there's no reason it shouldn't be true for that matter as well. Who's to say that it isn't? Just because Alucard himself hasn't moved on... Yet there's a part of him that hopes Rhy has waited for him nonetheless.

He isn't saying that it's fair of him to wish for as much. But he can't say that he doesn't nonetheless.

He offers Rhy another complicated, crooked smile.]

Good dreams, I hope.

[anoshe]

[There is a large part of him that has been waiting for Alucard this whole time, and will probably wait for years more if necessary. Rhy sometimes wishes that wasn't the case, but though he is known for being fickle in romance, that's never really been the truth of it.

It is impossible for him to see that smile and not be moved.]

Bittersweet. And some simply sweet.

[And seeing Alucard in person is leagues beyond any of those dreams.]

[solase]

[The longer he stands there across from Rhy like this, the more he wants to close the distance between them. To touch him, kiss him, something more than gaze across at him with this helpless yearning, churning in his gut, at once heady and sickening in the same breath. It's too much, a dangerous combination that has his tongue running away from him before his head has really though any of the words through.]

And how does the reality compare? Or shall I offer further practical demonstration first?

[Will he allow him a kiss, Alucard wonders, as he gazes into Rhy's bright amber eyes. Or did he forego those privileges the moment he left the prince's bed that night and had his world turned upside down. Will he hate him for trying anyway? He supposes that there is only one way of finding out, even as he hesitates. Three years of distance heavy in the air between them.]

[anoshe]

[It is not fair, Rhy thinks, that Alucard should still be so enticing. After everything that's happened, after their long separation, it shouldn't be like this, should it? He should have lost some of his allure, he should not have the ability to sway Rhy's emotions so easily. But he does, and Rhy can't seem to rein himself in.]

The reality is -

[He wants to say better, because in many ways that's the truth regardless. Simply having Alucard here, in person, is better than any dream, bitter or sweet. Even if nothing comes of it, even if Rhy doesn't allow anything to come of it, simply seeing him eases the smallest bit of the pain Rhy feels.

But that isn't quite enough, and Rhy allows himself to reach out again, finally.]

You'll have to show me.

[solase]

[Warmth blossoms in Alucard's chest as with a hand that has no business being as steady as it is he reaches forward to close the distance between the pair of them once more. Snaking an arm around the young prince's waist and tugging him close against his chest with a soft release of breath that leaves his head spinning as he lets out the deep rumble of a laugh.]

With pleasure... [Fingers reaching to curl around the corner of Rhy's jaw before he even realizes they are moving, meeting his eyes for a split second longer before he is crashing forward. Lips drawn to the younger man's as though he were a magnet meeting with his other half at last. In a way, that is rather how he feels.

Can Rhy feel how fast his heart is beating, he wonders, as he kisses him as though the world is ending and this moment may just be their last. Perhaps it may. If Rhy is to turn him away from here, he would like at least to give the prince something good to remember him by, this time. This time...]

[anoshe]

[Part of him did not expect it to actually happen. Part of him thought that for all his flirtation, Alucard wouldn't want to - or that he'd disappear, like a dream. Like too many dreams Rhy has had. But neither of those things are the truth, and before he realizes it, Alucard is kissing him.

It feels familiar, it feels new. It feels impossible, and it's something he's longed for. Just this, Alucard's lips against his again, the way it steals his breath and his thoughts and every bit of composure Rhy can normally claim to have.

His hand comes up, almost of its own accord, to tangle in Alucard's hair. He kisses back, of course, kisses like he's drowning and this is the only way to stay afloat, or maybe like he's perfectly content to drown so long as he drowns while they're doing this. He lets himself enjoy it, all of it. The slight roughness of Alucard's lips, the scratch of stubble, the scent of him. Rhy does not have words for how he's missed this.

He doesn't want to pull away, but he does. Practically, they both need to breathe. More than that, Rhy can't think when Alucard is so close to him. All he wants to do is kiss him again.]

That was - ah - convincing.

[He should not sound so breathless. It's embarrassing.]

[solase]

[It's intoxicating. The breathy sound of Rhy's voice. Rhy's hands in his hair as he kisses him. Alucard thinks he could write poetry about those fingers alone. He presses forward into the kiss, tightening his arms around the younger man, and again it's over all too quickly. Rhy stepping back from him and he supposes that he can't blame him this time but he wants to reach for him and never let go, only just barely holding himself in.

Alucard lets out the bright sound of a laugh and contemplates tugging him close again anyway. As it is, he reaches forward to run a hand through Rhy's curls, brushing them back out of his face and smiling at him. A smile that is meant only for him.]

Are you convinced, then? [he asks, his voice soft and low.]