test drive meme # 36

[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 September 24th, and apps are open October 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.

You don't want to ride them- someone already tried that. Near you is a horselike beast, one without any fur or skin or anything that might make it more palatable. It's a Nuckelavee, a Nordic mythological creature which terrorizes the Northern Isles.

This demonic creature seems to embody that of a man merged with a horse- but not in the cute centaurian way. They are natural swimmers and emerge from the deep to drag their prey down into the water with them- so terrible that even the scent of their breath can sap you of all will to live. Better hold your own breath and look out!]

L O V E

SCENARIO TWO: GET YOU SOME
[You don't know where you are or where you're going- or what you're even doing in this strange city on the ocean- but you do know that you need someone by your side to make it better. Even if you don't know them, even if you hate them, there's something comforting to having another person so close to you.

Closer.

Physical contact with another person seems to put your mind completely at ease, erasing all of your worries and doing better for your mind than a hundred meditation sessions. So it's time to get friendly, even if you're not really that friendly of a person in the first place.

This is a mini version of our A Little Touchy Feely event this month.]

SCENARIO THREE: 15 MINUTES LATE WITH
[Good news! Love has decided that since other liquids seem to be all the rage amongst you humans and they somehow learned about Earth agricultural crops, they've decided to open up a coffee shop!

Here's the space to live out all of your coffee shop AUs in a Hadriel setting! With a storm brewing over the island and a merry pink glowcloud somehow creating caffeinated drinks on the spot when you order them, get ready to tuck in and get nice and cozy for a few minutes.

But uh-oh! Your name is misspelled! Or it's someone else's name entirely, but it's your drink. Or something about your order is wrong- whatever the case, Confusion definitely wouldn't just stand around and let Love have their fun. Somehow, everything is wrong in this poor coffeeshop... what are you going to do about it?]

Comments

[originallutece]

[There's a lot to look at, and in other circumstances, she'd love to spend hours doing just that. Messy doesn't mean stupid, and from what little she's seen, Newt is brilliant enough to excuse his chaos. From the diagrams to the notes to the creatures, Rosalind's fingers itch to touch them all.

Soon, she promises herself. Soon, when she isn't also itching to run her fingers through his hair.]

. . . all right.

[Is it good or bad his roommate isn't around? Bad, in that it leaves them less reason to stay apart, but good, in that if she ends up making a fool of herself, the only witness is a scientist she's certain she can bully into silence.

Carefully, her hands fastidious, she picks some kind of sticky . . . thing . . . off a seat and settles in. One leg crosses over the other, and she nods expectantly at him.]

Go on.

[completelycrazy]

Right.

[Newt's more nervous than he should be. Not just because Rosalind is here, but because there's a strong possibility that he's wrong. If this was how the event worked, someone would've realized it by now, wouldn't they? He's fallen into the trap of not thinking things through again. This was a stupid idea.

But, well. They're already here. He sits down on the couch next to her, hunched forward so he can get at the keyboard. He touches a finger to one of the keys, and gives it a second, even though he knows having to give it a second means it's a failure. He didn't have to give it a second with Rosalind.]

Hm. Nothing. Hold on.

[Pressing one key is not making music, so maybe...? He starts a song, playing the first minute or so to really give it a fair shot at working. When it doesn't, he stops abruptly, collapsing backward onto the couch with a huff.]

Nope. Didn't work even a little bit. Laaame.

[originallutece]

Damn.

[She hisses it out quietly, glaring at the keyboard as though it's the instrument's fault. (The fact he can play it so well is interesting, and perhaps someday soon she'll pursue that, but not right now).]

. . . then we've little choice, I suppose. But I warn you now, I shan't-- this isn't an invitation for anything other than the barest of touches.

[completelycrazy]

[Better to blame it on the keyboard than on him, in Newt's mind. He glances at her in mild surprise, not expecting her to relent so readily.]

Yeah, of course. It's just a functional thing. Because of the event.

[He shrugs like it's no big deal. In a way, it's not. He's far from the type to make a fling out to be more than what it is. But this isn't a fling, is it? This is a utility, leaning on each other out of necessity because of this thing the city has imposed on them. That's all.

Though it does feel more than that, oddly. It's probably just the event talking, but it does ratchet up his nerves when he reaches for her hand. It's the event, or it's her tone, the way she sounds so disappointed that it's come to this, that she's reduced to relying on him for relief. This last resort status is not one he likes very much.

He stops short of taking her hand, wondering if that would break her "barest of touches" rule, and instead nudges his forearm against hers. Physically, it's not quite satisfying, but as far as the event is concerned? It does the job well enough. He sighs, settling more comfortably into the couch.]

[originallutece]

[It really is like a drug, she thinks faintly, and then the sensation washes over her once more. Like the hottest bath, like the sweetest sleep, and she slumps back herself, her eyes fluttering closed. Their forearms part for just a moment, jostled by the moment, and with an irritated noise she grabs for his hand.]

I appreciate the consideration . . . but this is more efficient.

[Ah. Her voice sounds terribly dreamy, and she thinks about that as their fingers slide between each other, gripping tightly.]

Isn't it?

[completelycrazy]

[His attention flicks to her as their arms part, worried that he has indeed overstepped, but then she takes his hand and he melts again. He tilts his head to rest his cheek against the back of the couch.]

Yeah, good call. Good call.

[He lifts their hands briefly in a lazy hurrah and then lets them drop onto the cushion again. He could fall asleep like this, if she'd let him, which she wouldn't. Instead, his eyes drift out of focus as he watches her breathe. The steady rise and fall is enough to distract him away from policing his mouth.]

You think it gets better when you do more with another person? Like, if this is what holding hands feels like... Y'know.

[It's, technically, an innocent question. He'd be lying if he claimed he wasn't thinking about the progression with her, but he's by no means suggesting they actually press forward with it. It's nice to think about, that's all. And potentially worth exploring in the future, when she hasn't literally just told him to avoid getting his hopes up.]

[originallutece]

[She gives him a look. It isn't as harsh a look as it would be otherwise, blissed out as she is, but it still packs an impact.]

Are you hoping I'll suddenly suggest we experiment with that?

[completelycrazy]

[The look, even tempered in its harshness, makes his blood run cold. He snaps his attention back to her. Crap!!]

No!

[...]

Not necessarily! I'm just spitballing. You know, trying to find some logic in this. You can't tell me that theory doesn't make sense.

[originallutece]

I suppose.

[Actually, it does make sense. She has no doubt he's also fueled by lust, but he's right: it would be interesting to see if their feeling of enjoyment only grew the more they touched one another.

Hmm.]

Roll up your sleeve.

obligatory sleeve rolling icon is a go

[completelycrazy]

Uh.

[It takes him a moment to realize she's going for it. Nice. Score one for Newt's persuasion skills, which are virtually nonexistent.

He obediently rolls up his sleeve, taking care not to let go of her hand in the process. He imagines he's in the clear regardless, but he doesn't want to risk letting go and then having her change her mind. Once the sleeve is up, he settles his arm back against hers.]

Hm. I think it's, like, slightly better? You getting anything?

[He's not discouraged by the lack of response, though. The difference between an arm and a hand is minute. This theory needs further experimentation to rule it out completely.]

*o jeez*

[originallutece]

A little.

[It is better. Barely, but the increased contact most definitely has an affect. Damn, though on a scientific scale she's fascinated. But damn, she thinks, because not only is he right, but he might be smug about it, which is tiresome.]

Other hand, please.

[completelycrazy]

[For the first time in recorded history, Newt does not take the smug route. It's not a conscious decision; he's just more focused on the further experimentation to realize he has something to gloat about. Though, really, the resulting relief is too minute to definitively state that it's caused by more direct contact. Random fluctuations could be natural, or it could simply be a placebo effect. He doesn't have enough data to say.]

Hm. Here, try this.

[He does offer up his other hand, but they need to take a more drastic measure than slowly increasing surface area. A more dramatic change in contact should firmly confirm or rule out his theory. He takes her hand and places it against his cheek.]