dankmemes | Test Drive Meme #40

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 January 24th, and apps are open February 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: SLURP SLURP
[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.

What's that on the ceiling? Who's that skittering along the wall? Why, it's none other than the the Licker, from the Resident Evil series.

The licker crawls around on walls and ceilings and can easily avoid all attacks with their creepy crawly acrobatics. Watch out for those tongues, though- they can whip you with them and catch you off balance. They love waiting in dark corners to jump at you and slash you with their oversized claws, as seen here. Luckily, their brains are exposed and they're quite blind- move quietly and avoid their notice, or attack them in their weak spot to get away safely. Be careful though, they tend to travel in packs...]

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

SCENARIO TWO: CABIN IN THE WOODS
[It's nice outside. There's a heat to the air that permeates through the muggy interior of the cabin, but at night, it's cool enough that you can relax and see all the stars in the sky. The hot tub is a nice contrast to the chilly night air and the possibilities are practically limitless!

So cook something up on the grill, go hunting, or just relax and definitely don't get murdered, because you do happen to have a bit of an odd cabin mate. Why are the two of you sharing this cabin? Well, that's up for you to decide, but whether you're close friends who decided to take a vacation together or random strangers stuck together by circumstances, you're here for awhile so you might as well take the time to relax and get to know one another up here in these mountains!]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: MONSTER HOUSE
[It seems like you've just misplaced a few items at first- but after awhile, it becomes apparent that the items are misplacing themselves. Weird, right?

Maybe not that weird, because soon afterward, items of all shames and sizes start to move around, now well within sight. Their intent is clearly to annoy or even harm you, depending on how dangerous the item is... maybe a deathly pair of pants, to a set of keys that keeps running away from you, to a house consumed with the desire to- well, consume you.

Be careful of everything, be suspicious of items that may be trying to lure you in with their stillness, and have fun! This event is based on Hadriel's It's Aliiiive! event this month.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ...well, Drake was going to just let Ephemera handle it, but uh. That's not 'I need a minute to compose myself' crying, that's a teenage girl curled up sobbing in front of them and Drake's not really someone who can just stoically ignore someone in pain. Even if it's what they'd prefer. Hopefully this doesn't scare her off, but he's coming over to the couch too, claiming the seat on Chyler's other side and cautiously reaching out, stroking a hand between her shoulder blades.

He doesn't say anything, but if she wants someone to actually cry on, well. He's there. ]

[ It's not working. It's really, really not. If anything, she's crying harder.

Ephemera puts a hand over his good eye. Tips his head back and exhales. There's nothing to say. He doesn't know how to offer comfort to her. What would have worked with the twins isn't with her.

At least Drake is trying. Sitting down next to her and reaching out cautiously. Drake was always better at this part, he thinks.

Silently, Ephemera shifts so he can lean against Drake's legs. There's nothing he can think to say, so he doesn't. He waits. ]

[ Chyler turns toward the comfort without thinking about it, pressing her face against Drake's shirt and crying until she's left a wet spot, crying until her sobbing turns to a kind of exhausted shuddering.

She needs to get control of herself. It's a background thought, a desperate whisper, one that reminds her that these are people she doesn't know, that she's bawling in front of a soldier like some kind of civilian. There's no way either one of them will have any respect for her now.

Finally, it stops. She stays with her forehead against Drake's chest for a moment, too humiliated to look either one of them in the face.

Quietly: ]

I don't do this. I don't know what's wrong with me.

Nothing's wrong with you. You're working through it.

[ Drake's voice is low and even, his hand still stroking Chyler's back as he answers. He's unmoving, unhurried, just letting her take her time to calm down. Not pushing her away, not getting up like he's got better things to do, because he doesn't. Ephemera's weight is solid and warm against his legs, the fact that he's down on the floor instead of up here hugging their guest a reminder that soldiers don't do this. Don't let themselves show emotion even though they have them. Drake used to think like that. Used to bottle everything up, not let the pain show. Then one day it exploded, and he learned he had to change his ways. ]

It just means you're human, Chyler. Happens to all of us, sometimes.

[ Drake is better at this part. Better at seeing behind all the bullshit, to the truth of people. And he's never been cruel about it. People like Drake, they care about everybody else. No matter how hard it gets.

Silently, Ephemera reaches back and offers Chyler his hand. He's not wearing any armor, or his survival suit. There are several black rings tattooed across his fingers, one for each squad member he lost, and a smattering of old scars.

He's not good at this. But he wants to try. Maybe he can't say the right things like Drake, but he can be there. ]

[ It takes her a moment, looking at Ephemera, to realize what he's doing. She slides her own hand into his, squeezing a little. It's reassuring, that he would reach out instead of scorning her. It reminds her of Tom, asking her if she was okay, not judging her when she said she didn't know.

Between Drake and Ephemera, she feels a little more solid. A little more real. She's felt out of place in her own mind since before Ephemera found her, since before the invasion, even. Since she saw that ONI footage of Innies and UNSC fighting side by side.

She closes her eyes, still a little embarrassed, still not wanting to look either one of them in the eyes quite yet. She feels oddly like she's been assigned a new squad--if she thinks of it that way, being here can't be as awful, right? ]

Thank you.

[ They don't rush her. Drake settles his arm around her lightly -- she can pull away when she's ready but if she wants to hide a little longer that's okay too. Ephemera offering her a hand has the corner of his mouth tugging up, and he relaxes a little when she takes it and holds on. Okay. She's coming down from it, and not afraid to accept the comfort now. That's better. ]

Anytime. [ He sounds a little lighter now, too, less wary of how the things he says will be received. As Chyler gets more comfortable, so does he, it seems. ] You gonna help Ephemera with his armor while I make dinner?

[ Okay. That's something. Ephemera feels his shoulders drop a little, and exhales slowly. It's not quite like being back with his squad. Drake and Chyler are different. But they're here, and he wants to be here with them. Offer support if he can. More than that, he wants to be kind the way Drake is.

Not everything has to hurt. ]

You don't have to. Just thought I'd offer.

[ His armor is more advanced than what she was wearing. Might've been a good distraction. But if she doesn't want to do work right now, that's okay, too. ]

I do want to.

[ She takes a deep breath, drawing away from them both on the exhale. She doesn't entirely want to, but she needs to be able to stand on her own in this, too. And helping with Ephemera's armor--it's something to do, something to keep her mind busy so she doesn't fall apart again. Never mind the fact that she's curious. ]

[ Chyler will find her balance, Drake thinks. Somewhere between needing to lean on others and stand by herself. Where she's able to accept just the help she needs. She's young, she'd never had to navigate that before, but he has faith. And when she pulls back he lets her, straightening up to stand. ]

Okay. You guys do your thing, I'm gonna start cooking. Hopefully it'll be better than the mess stuff you're used to.

[ It feels a bit better now. Less fraught. Ephemera nods slowly, though he doesn't stand up just yet. ]

All right.

[ He gives Drake a grateful nod. ]

Always is. I can't cook for shit.

Test Drive Meme #40

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