test drive meme # 39

[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 December 25th, and apps are open January 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: HE MADE HIS LIST
[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 were hoping for something seasonally appropriate, right? Well, the Door doesn't know it's December, so this must be a coincidence - because this time, it's brought in the Krampus.

This creature is the opposite of Santa, and if you've been bad (and let's be real, who in Hadriel hasn't), it'll be all too happy to punish. Maybe you'll get lucky and it'll just scare the crap out of you and give you some coal... or maybe it'll decide your punishment needs to be much, much worse. Don't you wish you'd been good this year?]

R A G E

SCENARIO TWO: HADRIELITE VANDAL
[Last night everything was fine. You went to bed happy and content - well, as happy and content as you ever are. But this morning, as you stepped out of your house, something was wrong. Maybe you didn't notice it at first - maybe someone had to point it out to you. But there it was, in big bold letters: someone had painted an insult across the front of your house.

Maybe it's a rude name. Maybe an insulting comment. Maybe just a picture of a dick with an arrow pointing to it that says your name. Whatever it is, someone did it specifically to fuck with you. But who? And why? Maybe you already think you know who, and all you need to do is hunt them down. Or maybe it's time for an investigation. Or... maybe all you want to do is clean it off before someone sees.

Good luck. That paint is already dry.]

C O N F U S I O N

SCENARIO THREE: ALL FLIPPY-FLOPPY
[You didn't realize there was anything wrong, not until you saw that person you've always thought was your best friend. They seem the same as ever, it's just - you really don't understand what you saw in them anymore. They're kind of whiny, they're way less cool than you remember, and that hair? Ew.

It's not just that. You ran into your worst enemy earlier, and maybe... you were wrong about them? It really seems like they have some good points, and that annoying expression they always make actually seems kind of cute now. Maybe it's time to kiss and make up, possibly literally!

This is a mini version of our Your Best Enemy event this month.]

Comments

[naturaltwenty]

They're muttonchops. [ He sighs and puts his back to a part of the wall not bearing graffiti and slides down against it, looking just. Tired. ] Great. If they're gonna try and make fun of me, I'd rather it be somewhat accurate. This is just insulting.

[ More confusing than anything, actually. He pauses before glancing back up at it, and at her, and asks: ] Do you think there's any way this could actually be about someone else?

[madamdirector]

[ Lucretia watches with a concerned frown as Magnus sinks down to the ground, then lifts her eyes to study the graffiti again.

The thing is, while the drawing may not be good, the caricatured sideburns make it very, very obvious who it's supposed to be.

The words, on the other hand...She steps forward to brush her hands across the paint, mouthing the words to herself, trying to figure out what they might be referring to. ]

'Took the guards with them...' [ But the only guard on board the Starblaster is Magnus himself. And besides, she's seen him in action. ]

Magnus, you've never left anyone for any monster. Not...not when you could help it.

[ Yes, they'd had to abandon world after world to the wrath of the Hunger, saving themselves to fight another day. But Magnus has stayed behind countless times, fighting to save as many lives as he could, to delay the inevitable as long as possible, even when they all knew it was futile. He'd never hesitated. Never chosen the easy way out.

She sinks to the ground before him, hands on her knees, and peers at him earnestly. ]

I'm sure it's about someone else.

[naturaltwenty]

I hope not. [ He sighs. They've had to leave people - too many people - behind, when escaping worlds to live to see another Cycle. Still, he hopes he's proven more than enough that he'd happily give his life if it gave them a better chance to stop the Hunger. If it spared even a single resident of that world who needed help. ] I do try.

[ Very, very hard. It's easy enough to remember that very first world, to remember the baby animals and their families as he fought the incoming darkness to try and save their lives. ]

If it's about someone else, then - why here? Why with that?

[ He flings an arm up toward the drawing, the one obviously of himself, no matter how much he'd like for it to be of someone else. ]

I wish they'd come back and explain it. And then get rid of it.

[ Dick. ]

[madamdirector]

You do more than just try.

[ But it's harder to answer his question. Why would they draw Magnus, if the words were meant for someone else? She tilts her head back, looking up at the graffiti again. ]

Maybe they got you confused with someone else?

Maybe...you have an evil doppelganger from another plane?

[naturaltwenty]

I guess it's possible. [ He studies it a bit more, looking peeved, but a tiny bit relieved that there might be an explanation. ] We've seen weirder than that.

[ With all the worlds they've visited, it's not so hard to believe that they may have evil twins out there. Right? And...that he's here, in Hadriel. ]

Well, we obviously need a system in case you run into the guy. Can't have anybody thinking I'm my evil doppleganger. [ Hopefully the guy just looks like him and doesn't quite have the hang of acting the part. ] Maybe, uh...hmm.

[ A secret handshake? A code word?? A duck-carving contest??? ]

[madamdirector]

[ She doesn't really believe that's what's going on here, but it's not as though she has any other explanation. She can't imagine meeting Magnus' evil twin and not immediately spotting the difference, either. But if it makes him feel better... ]

A - like those spy stories, you know - [ She gestures with both hands, the idea coming to her before the words do. ] You say, 'The red sparrow flies at midnight," and I say "The raven rides at dawn - "

[naturaltwenty]

Oh. Yeah! Something like that! [ He glances over at her and grins, nodding. ] You've always got great ideas. [ beat ] Do you read a lot of spy novels? I wouldn't have pinned that kinda genre on you.

[ It's too fantastical or something, right? Too unrealistic? Too...eh. Lucretia's a more complex person than most people give her credit for, though, so he's not about to start stereotyping her, himself. ]

That sounds perfect. I'll remember to say that the red raven flies at...hang on.

[ ... ]

I'll definitely remember.

[madamdirector]

[ There's no way he's going to remember. Lucretia just nods, trying to hide her smile. ]

That's our code, then.

[ She shrugs, leaning her head back against the wall. The place may be new and unfamiliar, but it really doesn't matter, with Magnus here. ]

I've read a lot of everything, by this point. Not everyone gets to live as long as we have. Or see all the places we've seen.

I just think...well, it would be wrong, wouldn't it, not to take the opportunity to try new things?

[ Even if her idea of trying new things is as tame as reading a book she might once have never looked twice at. ]

[naturaltwenty]

Fair enough. Wish I had more time to read. [ Maybe he would if he wasn't training with bears or jumping out to scare their friends. As it is, he just sighs loudly and gazes upward. ] I'd like to learn how to do my woodworking better, but I'm hoping that'll just happen when I do it more. Not sure how much I could get out of a book for that. ...Unless it was a really good book.

[ Practice is what makes perfect, right? And if she finds something to read that seems like it'd help him improve, he trusts that she'll tell him. ]

[madamdirector]

[ Lucretia kindly doesn't point out that Magnus has already had decades more time to read than many humans could ever hope for. It's not his thing. That's fine. ]

Mmm...yeah, I think that's more of a hands-on...thing.

But I like your woodworking already, Magnus. [ Even if it is 99% ducks. ] I think you have a natural talent for it.

[naturaltwenty]

Really? I'm glad. I do work hard at it. [ Even though they're all ducks. There's nothing wrong with perfecting his technique, right? ] I'd like to be able to create other things someday, though. More complicated things. ...After I can make a ginormous duck.

[ One large enough to house all other ducks! One that Fisher will love!! ]

[madamdirector]

Of course the ginormous duck has to come first.

[ It wouldn't be Magnus otherwise. She giggles, turning a little to look up at him. ]

What else do you think you'll make? After the ducks.

[naturaltwenty]

Uh... [ He tilts his head a bit, tapping a finger against his chin as he considers all of the wonderful, wooden possibilities. ] Well...it'd be nice to have a house full of stuff I made. So...I guess that? Y'know, fancy chairs and tables, a solid bed, obviously...and maybe some statues, or something? Like a bear mid-roar, or one of me, but made from a nice chestnut.

[madamdirector]

[ He had her in the first half, not gonna lie. Lucretia smiles up at him, imagining Magnus' beautiful someday house, filled with elegant, one-of-a-kind handcrafted furniture. Glossy oak tables, intricately carved desks...

And then he gets to the statues, and her jaw drops briefly before she starts giggling again. ]

You'd have a statue of yourself?

[naturaltwenty]

Well, yeah. [ He replies, blinking, as if this hadn't been obvious from the start. ] Maybe I'll do one of everyone. They can hang around and, uh...hold our coats and hats and look nice.

[ They'll all be extra-good looking, naturally. ]

Maybe I'll combine some of these ideas and just carve me riding on the back of a giant duck. Could be cool.

[madamdirector]

That sounds...charming? Not at all, you know, horrific and unsettling.

[ He has her grinning again a moment later, though, shaking her head. ]

You can't do that. All the other ducks would get jealous.

[naturaltwenty]

Why would it be horrific and unsettling? C'mon, Lucretia, you'll love them! You just have to get used to their cold, dead eyes.

[ He wiggles his fingers here, making "ooooooo" sounds as if to spook her. ]

Nah, the ducks don't get jealous! They all know I love them equally. Don't you, duck. [ He's produced a tiny, wooden duck in the palm of his hand and is cooing at it, poking it gently on its miniature, wooden beak. ] Yes you do. Yes you do!

[madamdirector]

[ Lucretia giggles, leaning away from Magnus' fingers. She leans back in almost immediately, though, resting her chin on one hand and quirking an eyebrow at him as he coos at the duck. ]

So what's this one named?

[naturaltwenty]

Duck Norris. [ He replies promptly. ] He's got a mean, uh - roundhouse tailfeather to the face. Don't mess with Duck Norris.

[ Good job, Lucretia! You've more than distracted Magnus from the graffiti. ]

[madamdirector]

[ She's distracted herself pretty well too, the graffiti all but forgotten as she laughs, delighted at the prospect of Duck Norris. ]

I wouldn't dream of it. [ She looks seriously down at the tiny duck. ] He looks very tough.

[naturaltwenty]

He's not even the toughest one I've made. [ Magnus admits in a stage whisper, eyebrows raised in an expression of seriousness. ] D'you wanna see some of the others?

[ The collection is inside, so before she even responds, he springs to his feet and waits. ]

[madamdirector]

[ She opens her mouth to respond, but before she can get a word out Magnus is jumping to his feet. Lucretia blinks up at him, then smiles, standing a little more sedately. ]

I would love to.