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

[fernbeleafer]

[ another yip! of course it's keyleth silly why wouldn't-- oh. oh right! duh.

a green shimmer and the faint smell of ozone precipitates her return to form. she has to shove her long hair out of her face (fortunately the antlers on her circlet are short and it doesn't take too much picking). she can't help but laugh nervously as she rambles her apology: ]

Sorry! Sorry-- I was just trying to see if I could find not-terrible food, and I got excited about jerky and you know how I get carried away with the whole beast form thing. I can't help it, I just go method sometimes... [ breathe, kiki. ] But, uhm-- hi?

[othlir]

[ There's an overwhelming relief as the dog poofs into Keyleth — who's still in his lap. Vax doesn't mind, though, just lets her ramble as he stares at her instead of responding. His hands touch her cheeks, her long hair, before settling on her shoulders. Just, y'know, making sure she's real.

And then, antlers be damned, he pulls her into a hug, as tight as possible. ]

It is so, so good to see you, Keyleth. [ He laughs, shaking his head a little bit. ] Hi. I've missed you.

[fernbeleafer]

[ oh that's a lot of touching wow ok yep she can just be chill about it and freeze up and let it happen yep that's fine it's good. but hugging! hugging she can do! she returns the embrace in kind, relieved both to have found vax here in the chaos. ]

You too! I've just been wandering around trying to get my bearings. It's wild here, right?

[ she pulls back, realizing her hair is still in a bit of a state and her staff has clattered to the floor and rolled away and they're both just kinda on the floor in a shop in the middle of a bunch of people.

her cheeks are never not going to be red, huh? she gestures around them and then reaches for her staff, suppressing an embarrassed chuckle. ]

Maybe we should, uh...

[othlir]

It's pretty ridiculous, I'll give you that.

[ He glances around when Keyleth mentions it, meeting the couple of stares they're getting with a sort of embarrassed laugh. Vax pats Keyleth's shoulder as he stands, then offers a hand to help her up. ]

How long have you been here? When did you get here? I..

[ Honestly, he's kind of at a loss for words, just smiling at her. ] I'm so happy to see you, Keyleth.

[fernbeleafer]

Thanks! How long? Uhh-- not long at all, really...

[ she's up and at 'em in no time, thanks to vax's helping hands. and keyleth looks around as she moves with vax out of the shopping crowd, but not yet into the heat of the sun. ]

Let's see. I blew my highest spell getting us back to Greyskull through the Sun Tree before I got here and I couldn't sunbeam those undead bitches back to hell when I woke up, so-- not even a day? Why?

[ she asks, because it's natural. but then she starts to really look at vax. at all the little things that don't quite match up. keyleth frowns, worry taking root in her chest. ]

Vax, how long have you been here?

[othlir]

[ Separately, it all sounds normal. Sun Tree? Keyleth always claimed they were friends, so sure. Greyskull? It's been a while, but he remembers it fondly. Undead assholes just seem to be their daily — or seemed to be, so okay.

But all of them at the same time makes little to no sense. Vax studies her face, then notices her hair again — her long hair, that he'd touched with his own hands. That's not the Spire of Conflux she's holding.

Okay. Ooooh-kay. ]

I've..been here for a few months, now. But you... Keyleth, tell me in detail: what do you remember? Of..anything. Which undead assholes couldn't you sunbeam? [ There's a bit of a laugh. He's trying! ] You have to agree, we've run into a lot. It's kind of important to be specific.

[fernbeleafer]

[ after the word months, keyleth feels like she's trying to hear his words from below the surface of a pond.

then there's a beat. a moment of nodding and congenially smiling back despite not knowing what the punchline is, she gestures back in the direction she thinks the Door is. ]

The undead back in the Coliseum. [ another beat. another nervous laugh. ] ...Months? That's impossible. You were right next to me on our way to see Uriel.

[othlir]

[ Of course. The one time he doesn't hang around the Door is when Keyleth shows up. Guess he's just going to have to hammer home this habit he's building.

It still doesn't tell him much, though, until she mentions Uriel. All the color drains out of his face, eyes gone wide. And it takes a moment, before Vax finds his voice again. ]

Keyleth, Uriel's dead. He has been, for— For over a year, now. What d'you mean, we were going to see him?

[ The last time he'd seen Uriel, even a trace of him, had been just as the Chroma Conclave attacked. He'd heard of folks not remembering things, but... ]

Do you even remember the dragons?

[fernbeleafer]

[ keyleth frowns. and then it deepens. and her eyebrows threaten to overtake her eyes entirely.

as far as she can see it, there are two options: overreact because vax has clearly lost his damn mind or assume he's just messing around. ]

All right. Uh huh. Look, I know I'm gullible but I'm not Grog! [ she swats his shoulder lightly because she super duper means business. ] I mean, thanks for trying to lighten up an otherwise sort of terrifying and incomprehensible situation or whatever but you can stop showing off your acting chops, now...

[othlir]

Keyleth, I—

[ There's a cold dread that starts to creep through him as she speaks, a frown drawing low over his face. In all the time he's known her, Keyleth has never been very good at lying, or hiding anything, from anyone, even worse at pretending. So it doesn't cross his mind for even a moment that she might be messing with him; he knows her far too well.

Shit.

Shit.

Vax pauses, reaches to set his hands on her shoulders before thinking better of it. She's not wearing her mantle. She's not carrying the Spire of Conflux. Her hair is longer than it's been in months. The Feywild has been on his mind recently, after a conversation with someone — maybe this is the same thing? It's the easiest way he can explain it.

So instead, he gestures to himself. ]

Look at me, Keyleth. Am I someone who would joke about something like that? [ A pause. Well. He's joked about worse, though mostly at Grog. ] Never mind that; do you trust me? You know that I would never lie to you, don't you?

[fernbeleafer]

[ his assessment is palpable. and the nonstarter, too-- even though his hands don't find themselves on her shoulders keyleth can't miss his initial instinct toward contact. his initial willingness to hug, to touch-- it catches her attention for a moment. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I know that. It's just... [ the best in everyone-- that's what she strives to believe. she reassesses vax's confusion and finds herself hugging her ribs. quietly, as if speaking it too loud might make it too real: ] The Sovereign?

[ dragons, those are a far-off threat found at the end of a slayer's take contract. a bogeyman. but uriel. a man with a family, he's real. maybe not close, not their family. but he was a part of vox machina, as much as they were a part of the council, in a way. she's got no idea how to go about figuring this immediate mess, and she certainly doesn't want to confront grief at the prospective death of a sort-of friend.

and what do we do when shitty feelings and hopelessness crop up? ]

The Briarwoods. They survived, and arranged something-- we have to get back. [ it's easy to jump to action, easy to turn hopelessness into anger. who needs logic or patience? they never lead to anything good! ] There's gotta be some sort of magic to that Door we can reverse...

[ and she turns to head back in the direction of the coliseum, her exhaustion forgotten along with her depleted spell slots. ]

[othlir]

[ Honestly, it breaks his heart to see Keyleth look like that, so unsure and lost. His heart swells, and this time Vax does set his hands on her arms, just above her elbows — not an embrace, but just enough so she knows he's there with her. ]

Sovereign Uriel.. He passed away, killed by dragons. You really don't remember?

[ Vax's voice is soft as he says it, thrown back to the moment they'd found Salda and the children in the ruins of Gilmore's home. Gods, that had been a difficult time. No matter how long it's been, he'll always be haunted by the state they'd found Gilmore in.

And then Vax pauses. If Keyleth doesn't remember the Chroma Conclave, if she still thinks Uriel is alive.. What else does she not remember? The Raven Queen's temple? Vecna? Their time together in Zephrah? He's quick to release her, then. She can't know. None of them could have done anything before; Keyleth can do even less now. She can't know what's happened.

When she turns to head back toward the Coliseum, it's a good snap to get him out of his own head, and Vax doesn't stop her, instead keeping pace beside her. It's something he's been thinking about for a while now, and the prospect that it might work — ]

I'm not sure how exactly the Door works, just that it's only open once a month. But, Kiki. Do you think you could Planeshift us out of here? [ Wait. ] Do you— Do you have Planeshift, right now?

[fernbeleafer]

[ she's bolstered enough that vax's voice forming that word again isn't what stops her. dragons, briarwoods-- whatever it is, if she can raise a fist against it, she will.

but he's never been unsure of her power before. it's a point of contention that she doesn't dare speak aloud, that he's always so sure of her abilities. that he looks at her the way he does when she does what she does. is she worthy of that? ]

Planeshift? [ and stop she does, turning back to face him and shielding her eyes from the light. her head starts to shake, but then she shrugs. ] I could try it? I'm not sure what it takes, or how much power I need...

[ natural magics are tricky, even having learned their paths from such a young age. she can usually ballpark when she gains access to something, but it's not always a guarantee. ]

Wait. How do you know about planeshift? That's a higher level spell, pretty specific stuff.