Test Drive Meme #29

[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 February 21st, and apps are open March 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: FRACTURED FUTURE?
[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 Door has decided to bring in some monsters who already have a taste of what it's like to win their war. Welcome to the Risen, from the Fire Emblem franchise!

Risen are reanimated corpses, dedicated to obeying their master's will. While they have some form of sentience, they cannot be dissuaded from their goal and attack all who oppose them with a singleminded desire to execute their purpose, which unfortunately for you is "killing indiscriminately". Still, they're not all bad and some of them may even be relieved to finally be put to death. Have fun!]

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

SCENARIO TWO: ONLY THE GOOD STUFF
[Tranquility has decided to take over Hope's food supply regimen and- well, if anyone thought he was a self righteous hipster before, this is probably what's going to seal the deal. All the food provided in the shops is now extremely vegan-only, from basic lettuce to the most bland fruit you can stand to look at.

None of it even tastes like anything, either- it's all like you're eating water. Maybe to Tranquility, this is a feast, but for you, it's difficult to register that you're even full. Better start prepping those salt mines- it's gonna be a long month.]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: YANDERE LIFE
[Unfortunately for you, you came at a time when Rage was very unhappy with everyone- and now you get to suffer for it. Is there anyone who catches your eye? Anyone who you might want to get to know a little better? Well, you're about to get to know them a lot better, because now you're obsessed with them.

It's not the innocent kind of obsession, either- this is a full speed ahead, breakdown, pull out the knives and rope kind of obsession, where your desire to be near someone is synonymous with stalking, being a creep, and overall just not really anything remotely approaching healthy.

Better look out and hope that nobody gets a crush on you either.

This is a mini version of our Kiss me Kill me event this month.]

Comments

Room for one more?

[soldier_blade]

He may've not seen the Risen behind him, but Sonya had. For all she could've holed herself inside her home, she couldn't allow herself to remain 'safe' while others were doing the fighting. Her senses were wired to the sound and smell of violence, so she was almost drawn to the sight of the young man beating the crap out of one of the fallen Risen-as well as the creature lunging forward behind him.

The young man was a stranger, but as far as she was aware, they all were. That didn't stop her from taking aim and shooting a series of energy rings towards the Risen, hoping that the blast would stun the thing before it had a chance to attack.

Her attack got it in the center of its back, surrounding it for a moment in what looked like pink electricity. It seized suddenly before collapsing in a heap, and Sonya smiled when she realized that, for all the demons might already be dead, they could still be stunned by energy blast. Had she left it alone, the risk of the creature regaining itself in a few moments would've been all too likely; she didn't give it the chance though.

Soon as the creature was down, Sonya rushed forward and stomped on its head, her boot crushing the skull. She'd seen too much to not believe that a simple blow would be enough to stop it.

the more the merrier!

[crippled]

Ivar only realizes that there's another of the creatures behind him when he hears her weapon discharging, and he throws himself on his back so he can see what's happening.

Seeing it doesn't clear much up. Eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, he just watches as the strange woman (witch? valkyrie? one of the gods of this place? She's dressed so oddly and his brain struggles to contextualize the magic he just witnessed when she fired her gun) takes care of the problem for him. Only after a few moments does he manage to scrape his wits back together and he pushes himself up on his elbows, glancing across the street to his fallen crutch before looking back up at her. It always stings to meet someone new while at eye-level with their ankles, now that he's gotten used to being on his feet or seated in his chariot...

But that's hardly the most pressing matter at the moment. He looks down to the creature, dead beneath her boot, something akin to excitement on his muddy, bloodied face. "What was that?" He means thank you.

Re: the more the merrier!

[soldier_blade]

Her adrenaline's up and she hardly notices the lack of thanks.

"Power gauntlets." She points to the power gauntlets covering her wrists and forearms. "The blast isn't fatal, but will leave you knock you out for a bit."

Her job sometimes required her to bring people alive. Having a weapon that would leave someone alive but unable to fight back was handy in that regard.

She reached to help him to his feet. To look at the Risen he'd turned to hamburger meat, he clearly wasn't that helpless on the ground, but atleast if he was on his feet, he'd have an easier time keeping an eye out for enemies.

[crippled]

Ivar stares at the hand for a split second too long. The wordless offer she's making is meant to be kind, he imagines, but all it is to him is humiliating. What will he do if she pulls him up but flop right back down onto his face, after all? "I cannot–" he stops short, jaw working, and then he gestures sharply towards his legs. One of them is encased in a metal brace that looks almost like a leg of plate armor, except it is clearly not articulated. The other is bound with leather straps to two metal splints.

Further explanation tastes like ash in his mouth, but he certainly owes her that much as she had just saved his life. And he's still not sure she's not some sort of god: magic gauntlets certainly sound like something a god might have.

So he swallows his pride and points across the street to the metal crutch he'd been using before the Risen had thrown it from him in an attempt on his life. Ironic, considering he is much less deadly on his feet than he is on his belly in the dirt. "I need my stave to stand." He can crawl over to get it himself, of course, but if she's offering her help...

[soldier_blade]

The look at his legs earns him a stern frown, reminding her of Jax and his metal arms. The design was different, but she'd been in combat enough to know their purpose. She could tell he wasn't from the same place (time or realm) as her own: that his gear marked him as a warrior, but belonging to no modern military or organization she could recognize. A part of her wished to know where the young man was from, but this was neither the time or place.

Instead, she only gives him a slight nod, before turning to retrieve the crutch, keeping alert for any other enemies; that things seemed quiet only made her feel all the more tense. The moments between combat, that was always the worst-the waiting.

She returned with the stave, kneeling and holding it in a way that would be easy for him to grab and pull himself up.

[crippled]

And now it all really does feel like a kindness. Her simple act of walking across the street and bringing his crutch to him without a snide remark or look of disdain appears to have shocked the prickly anger right out of him, and he is rendered quite speechless as he reaches almost cautiously for the handle.

When she doesn't jerk it away or laugh or play any other joke on him he manages to shake himself out of it, visibly steeling himself and then pushing himself off the ground with the strength of that one arm and the metal stave. A strangled, choked off noise of pain and effort claws its way out of him on the way up.

He breathes heavily for a moment once he's standing, like he's willing himself to be steady on his useless feet. Then his gaze flicks all around them, only able to search for new enemies now that he's done concentrating on forcing himself upright. "Thank you," he says, slowly, like his mouth is completely unused to forming those words in that order. It definitely is. "...What was that? Are there more of those?"

[soldier_blade]

The combination pained sound (something she knew all too well when she heard it) followed by how he says 'thank you'. She wondered if something happened that even common courtesy was new ground for him.

A question for another day.

She remained at his side, keeping an eye out while checking the readings from her gauntlets. "Far as I could tell, they're undead warriors called Risen," A rather fitting name, all things considered. "And I wouldn't doubt it."

Until they found otherwise, it was suicide to deem otherwise. "My name is Sonya Blade. What is yours?"

If they were going to be allies, they might as well be introduced.

[crippled]

Sonya Blade certainly sounds like some epithet that a valkyrie might have, and does she not look like one, too?

Ivar straightens himself up as much as possible, to his not-actually-unimpressive height, though there's probably no impressing someone who has already seen him on the ground like a worm.

But she hasn't scoffed yet, he reminds himself. "Ivar the Boneless," he returns: not particularly difficult to see where his own nickname might come from, but he moves on from that quickly. "I could use a bow, if you've seen one..." That might be the only practical way he'll be of much help in a situation where it's just them against many together.

[soldier_blade]

The name sounded familiar, atleast, she swore she'd heard or read about it at some point, though she couldn't recall where. With everything that went on the past several months, any names not relevant were shoved to the background.

The mention of a bow and arrow, that was something. While she had her own weapons with her, back up didn't sound like a bad idea; neither of them knew how long this threat would last or if there wouldn't be others. Stocking up now, or atleast having an idea of the geography of this place couldn't be done soon enough.

She looked around, trying to recall specific landmarks. Outside of just surviving, she had been working on a map for herself,but the work was incomplete.

"There's an armory just south of us," She looked in the general direction. "About a half hour's walk from here, give or take." Lack of anything else, the devices they were given did have clocks. "Along the line, it's possible to run into some Risen with archery gear that you could kill and take for yourself, but the armory's your best bet."

Taking weapons from the dead was hardly something she was squeamish about, but right now her mind was on the more practical means.