dankmemes | test drive meme # 35

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 August 25th, and apps are open September 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: GET YOUR RED CAPE READY
[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.

And they sure are big boys. Big and easily angered and ready to run right over you. This time, the Door has brought in Brontos, from the video game Dragon Age.

Brontos are large oxen-like beasts, though more sure-footed due to spending all their time in caves underground. There are domesticated brontos, bred to haul and be ridden and eaten... but these aren't those. These brontos are wild, one and all, and they are skittish and large and perfectly capable of running you over. Maybe just keep your distance.]

SCENARIO TWO: DESERTED
[You're alone. Completely alone, as far as you can tell. Nothing here works - oh, there's food in the stores, sure, but the water's not running, the electricity isn't working. There's not a soul on the streets, where you would normally expect to see at least a few people here and there.

So what will you do? Smash windows and grab food from the stores? (Well, the doors are all unlocked, but hey, who doesn't love smashing windows.) Shout in the streets in hopes someone will hear? Curl into a ball and cry? All valid choices. But then, what will you do when you do find someone, after thinking you were all alone? Someone you like, someone you hate, a complete stranger?

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

S O R R O W

SCENARIO THREE: ONE MORE CHANCE
[You can't stop thinking about the one who got away. They've been on your mind - well, it feels like forever, but maybe it's only been a few days. A few hours. But you can't stop thinking about them and regretting what could have been.

Maybe it's a failed romance. Maybe a broken friendship. Maybe a family member who walked away - or who you walked away from. Even a business partner who things ended poorly with. Whatever it was, you regret how things went down. If only you had another chance, a chance to fix things!

And then, there they are. The person you've been thinking of. What will you do? Beg forgiveness? Make amends? Run away? Make your decision and take action, because as soon as you do it you might realize it was never that person at all. You might have just poured out your heart and begged forgiveness from a complete stranger.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ A man can, if needed, walk on a broken leg. Can fight with one. Ephemera's fairly certain the bone is intact and the bullet's just stuck in muscle, but it hurts and the pain is starting to worm its way into his head. Back in the day, he wouldn't have minded so much. Sharkface lived with the pain. Liked it, sometimes. ~~Most of the time~~. It kept things simple.

It's not useful right now. He doesn't want it there, rattling around his skull.

Breathe, asshole. You're fine. ]

You can't. Keep moving.

[ The armor's too heavy, or at least Ephemera assumes it is. Besides, he's fine. He just as to get back up. He grits his teeth and shifts his weight. It's a matter of willpower, he's sure. He just has to suck it up. Stand up a goddamn soldier.

He stands. He wobbles, but he fucking stands. ]

[ Now see here, young man. If there's a chance of both of them getting out unscathed, why not try it? DiMA huffs softly, reaching to steady the man as he hauls himself back to his feet. ]

Don't be so stubborn. I'm old but I won't break if you lean on me.

[ He doesn't think so, anyway. The armor is obviously heavy but DiMA gets a grip on his arm and tries to hustle him forward again. ]

Pretty sure you might.

[ The Enforcer model is lighter than his old gear, but that doesn't mean it isn't heavy as all fuck. Only there's a hand on his arm, surprisingly strong, and so unexpected that Ephemera actually goes along with it for a moment. ]

....or not. Okay.

[ DiMA gives a little grunt of approval as if to say, "Are we done arguing, son? Good." but doesn't actually speak. With as much hardware as he's got on his torso he can't put the soldier's arm over his shoulders, so instead he supports him with that hand, stepping in beside him to get a grip around his waist as well. He feels the old joints creak a bit as he bears the weight, but they don't have all that far to go.

...they do need to move now, however, as one of the brontos still seems interested. ]

You can make it. We only need to get into that tunnel, then if you need to rest I can go look for help.

[ Assuming there aren't more creatures outside... one obstacle at a time. ]

[ Of course he can make it. Ephemera grunts and doesn't shake the hand off. Not so long ago he would have taken offense at the contact and rebuffed it violently. That was Sharkface. He's trying to be better than that, now.

So they move. He keeps his feet under him. ]

There's a clinic. Be real awesome if you could get one of the healers out here.

[ Boy, you are shot to hell, accept some help. DiMA supports him as they make their way out, and luckily something else attracted the bronto's attention in the end and they didn't have to try to sprint. His memory bank is awkwardly cradled between their arms, and DiMA needs that intact. Especially once they do emerge from the colosseum and a town of some sort stretches out before them, architecture strange and unfamiliar.

Hopefully he did just offload the wrong files, because he has absolutely no clue where they are. But this man does. ]

A clinic? I'm sorry, but I don't know where we are. Can you direct me?

[ Ephemera squints, swaying a little. He can't verify with his HUD now that his stupid helmet's gone, but things look different. Off.

Great. That's fucking great. ]

That way.

[ He points in what he really hopes is still the right direction. ]

Shouldn't be far. Monsters usually don't go past the city limits.

[ That way it is. DiMA doesn't hesitate or question if he's sure, just urges him along. It would be faster to go on his own and bring someone back, but "that way" doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things and he might not recognize the building. So he'll get the soldier across as much ground as possible. ]

You're familiar with this place... what is it called?

[ Actually, hold up. Now that they have a moment to discuss something besides their immediate predicament: ]

What are you called? My name is DiMA.

[ Ephemera's still on his feet, so he'll take that as a victory. He shrugs. ]

Hadriel. It's fucked up. Lots of stuff wants to kill you.

[ More than usual, is what he means. ]

Ephemera.

[A pause. ]

Okay. Izzat a name or a designation?

Hadriel... sounds a lot like home already.

[ But he's never heard of it, which is odd. DiMA really doesn't seem phased by the fact that things want to kill them, since that's... just the state of the world. Mutated creatures everywhere, and then the intelligent creatures trying to kill each other, too. He's more thrown off by the question, especially coming from someone who goes by "Ephemera." ]

It is a name, what I call myself and how others refer to me. I have no designation.

[ Never did, he was just an experiment. They didn't call him anything and DiMA can't even remember the scientists giving him and Nick unique identifiers. But those memories, so old now and probably affected by Institute failsafes, aren't everything.

Still, he knows "DiMA" sounds odd to most. ]

A dear friend chose it.

Edited 2018-09-03 02:11 (UTC)

Join the club.

[ Nearly everything wanted to kill him back home too, but there wasn't nearly so much variety. No literal monsters. Just aliens and mercenary fucks. People, they were the dangerous ones. Here, it's open season. Anything and everything goes.

Ephemera closes his good eye a moment, trying just focus on moving. If he tunes out the rest of the world, that'll help. Give him clarity. ]

Okay. That's good, I guess. Names are important.

[ In DiMA's world, it's very much anything and everything. Including the environment itself... the radiation is in the earth and the water, basically all animal life has mutated into dramatically larger and more aggressive forms, and the Island has both the fog and the horrors it conceals. Then it's not just humans and various types of synths. It's another dozen variants of robots, robobrains, ghouls, supermutants... all of them potential threats, though DiMA tries not to think of anything sentient as an enemy. The only group he struggles with that mindset for is the Institute, and even then he would never strike first.

He notices Ephemera close his eyes, but as he's still moving simply makes sure to keep guiding him in the proper direction. ]

If you want to interact with other people, yes. I did not have one for a long time.

[ As the smaller buildings up ahead come into better view, DiMA notices something. One of them has a hastily-made sign and he can make out the letters C L from here. ]

Is that it?

[ Ephemera grunts. He can't think of anything to say. He doesn't know much about robots or AIs, besides that they exist and sometimes they go strange just like everyone else. ] What's it mean?

[ The name. It's unique. Kinda like his.

He cracks his good eye at the question, then nods. ]

Yeah. Looks like it took a beating since I was here last.

test drive meme # 35

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