Test Drive Meme # 1

[hadrielmods]

Welcome to Hadriel's very first 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.

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!

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: ANYONE GOT A LIGHT?
[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.

Watch out as you explore the streets of Hadriel, because you're not alone, and there's always something on the rooftops watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to separate you from your group and tear you into pieces. In this instance, the door has managed to grab something truly horrific, and it's definitely out for blood (and brains) tonight.

Smokers are enemies in the video game series Left 4 Dead, who use their prehensile tongues to capture unwitting people and either drag them away for consumption or hang them up to strangle them. With all of the activity of characters trying to find out what's going on and where they are, there are more than a few of them, lingering in the shadows and waiting to try strike at anyone who may be lagging behind.]


SCENARIO TWO: YOUR HEART WILL GO ON
[You awaken in a windowless room, the walls strangely curved. The door, when you try it, is quite firmly locked. No amount of force is able to break through, so it seems to be sealed by supernatural means. Next to the door stands a slender pedestal, about as big around as a large man's thigh. At the top of the pedestal is a indentation, as if something were meant to go there.

But you're not alone in this room. There are two things with you: a person and a corpse. Pinned to the body is a note: Place a heart on the pedestal to leave. Tucked neatly into the corpse's pocket is a letter opener, small and not particularly sharp.

Did you have weapons or tools on you before? You don't now. But look at it this way: what better form of bonding is there than helping a friend or stranger dig a heart out of a corpse with nothing but a letter opener and your bare hands?]


H O P E

SCENARIO THREE: HAVE YOU HAD YOUR BREAK-IN TODAY?
[You're standing outside a storefront, colored glass set into intricate designs. It's beautiful, artistic, but more importantly - there's definitely food inside. Good food, too, by the glimpses you can see through the window. In fact - wait a minute - isn't that your favorite dish in there, just waiting for you? You've been searching for food for hours, it seems, and the city is bare. Your tummy is getting awful rumbly. What luck!

You try the door. Cruelly, it is locked. The food taunts you, just out of reach.

The glass is lovely, intricate, but it's just glass. Or maybe you know how to pick locks. Or maybe there's a back way in. Or maybe some passing friend will be able to help you. There's a lot of options here, if what you really want is a mouthful of the finest... whatever it is you like.]

Comments

[greywaren]

[Ronan nods at Adam's caution, too familiar with this sort of situation now to not trust the paranoia. They've both learned in terrible ways that it's sometimes easier to avoid or attack than it is to try to help. If Gansey were with them, he'd insist, but he's not- it's the two of them, and Ronan will protect him like he couldn't in the dream- he's sure of it.]

Yeah, probably. [A pause, and he reaches up, a protective hand over Chainsaw's back, pressing her a little more firmly against his shoulder.] Stay close.

[He says it more for her benefit than his, but the sentiment is mirrored for the both of them. Ronan looks away for a moment, ready to speak again, when the coughing sound echoes through the narrow street and suddenly, something comes lashing out toward them.]

Shit- !

[It doesn't give him much time to react- much time to do anything, except to reach for Adam's arm, as if he could try to pull him away from whatever is being shot toward them. Not much of a chance of that happening, but hey- he tries.

Looks like it's time to run.]

[unknowable]

[The coughing sound alarmed him, but Adam had no reason to expect this. He was looking at Ronan, at Chainsaw, letting himself be distracted for a brief moment by a boy and his bird, or a bird and her boy. It was stupid, and he knows it, but not even Adam can be wary all of the time.

So he isn't expecting the thing to come out of the shadows. Ronan reaches for him, and Adam stumbles forward as best he can, but it's not quite enough. It's time to run, and he's ready to. But whatever it is - a limb, a tongue, an appendage? - wraps itself around Adam's leg, and as he begins to run, he stumbles and falls hard.

The first thing he feels is panic, and he can't reach for Cabeswater because of the fear. All he can do is try to scramble away, but it's pulling him towards it. He shoots Ronan a terrified look, trying to dig his fingers into the ground, an instinctive reaction.]

[greywaren]

No!

[Ronan doesn't hesitate before turning, his shoes grinding in the dirt as he scrambles back toward Adam and the appendage dragging him back. Chainsaw takes to the sky to avoid being unseated by Ronan's sudden movement, and he darts back for him. Was there ever a thought that he wouldn't?

Adam is being dragged too fast for Ronan to get a good angle to try to grab at him, and even if he could, he's not sure if he's strong enough to pull him to safety anyway. Luckily, Chainsaw is smart, and she dives for the appendage, raking it with her claws. The thing convulses and then stops for a moment, allowing Ronan to finally grab hold of Adam's arm and pull him back.]

There- come on, kick it, get it off-

[unknowable]

[He kicks at it, sharp movements, almost uncontrolled in his panic. When Adam is truly, genuinely frightened, he retreats into himself, into Cabeswater, pulling away from the world, going still and silent instead of fighting or fleeing. He's not there yet, or maybe his rational mind is still working too hard. His hand fumbles with the knife at his belt, the only weapon he has on him and not a particularly formidable one. But it's something, at least.

Ronan's pulling him back, and that helps. It helps Adam's courage more than anything, reminds him he's not alone. He can't depend on Ronan to save him - one of the first lessons in Adam's life was that he can't depend on anyone to save him - but Ronan is there, and he's trying, and that goes a long way for Adam.

He gets the knife out, finally, and bends to cut at the thing, movements still more wild than focused. His other hand flails at the air for a moment, then grabs hold of Ronan's arm in return, an anchor, as if it will keep him safe.]

God - what is this-

[greywaren]

[His heart surges when he sees the knife in Adam's hands, yes. He's stupid for not bringing a weapon, for expecting there to be nothing that he couldn't deal with by his own fists, but of course Adam brought something.

Ronan tries to steady him as Chainsaw flaps hard in the stale air, circling around for another attempt to free Adam, her focus razor-sharp with an intensity that only Ronan can really match. It's important to her that Adam is alright, just like it's important to him, and- and none of that really matters in the end, because the knife slices thick through the appendage and Ronan scrambles backward with Adam in tow as soon as he's free.]

What the fuck was that?

[There's footsteps, coughing. Chainsaw circles lower toward them, and Ronan tries to locate the monster in the shadows, watching as the un-severed part of the tongue is whipped back.]

Give me your knife.

[unknowable]

[In a different situation he might argue, might point out that it's his knife, that whatever Ronan wants to do Adam is probably just as capable of doing. Except he's not sure that's true right now, and he's shaking a little as he steadies himself on his feet, as he stares at the thing that had been wrapped around his leg a moment ago.

Knife or not, Adam's not a fighter, at least not yet. He hasn't had nearly enough practice, he hasn't had the time to develop proper reactions instead of the ones that have been ingrained in him for years - go still. Try to protect anything important. Try to protect your face, so no one will see, later. Try to think of what you can say to calm him down, what you can do to end this sooner.

This is nothing like that. Adam doesn't know what to do, not really, so he holds the knife out to Ronan, hand shaking almost unnoticeably.]

We need to get away.

[greywaren]

Are you kidding me? It'll just try to drag us off again.

[He takes the knife swiftly, wiping the residue from the creature's tongue off on his jeans as he looks at it, mentally measuring the length and deadliness of the weapon. It won't be very effective unless he can get close- but does he want to?

The obvious answer is no. Adam has a point, running may be the best option right now, but that monster- whatever it was- had attacked them. Had tried to drag off Adam for god-only-knew-what. Who's to say it wouldn't happen again when they're less prepared?

His jaw is set as he looks back toward the other boy.]

I'm going after it.

[unknowable]

Are you insane?

[The question comes out in a rush, and he stares at Ronan, taken aback. There's no way he can let Ronan go running off after some monster armed with only a knife. Ronan is tough, but he can get hurt, he can die like anyone else, and Adam is shaken and frightened already. The thought of Ronan stupidly throwing himself into danger like that twists Adam's stomach into a knot of anxiety and fear.]

You'll get yourself killed. Let's just - let's get out of here, get away from it, find somewhere safer. Find the others.

[Anything besides let Ronan put himself in that kind of danger.

He's afraid that Ronan will just go, that Ronan will turn away and stalk off and leave Adam alone, so he reaches out, catching hold of Ronan's forearm. There's no way Adam can keep hold of him if he really wants to go, but it's the best he can do.]

[greywaren]

[Typically, Gansey is the only person who can make Ronan immediately reevaluate an action like this. Once his mind is made up, it's difficult to change, regardless of what a stupid action it might be. And this- well, it's not the smartest thing he's done, but he also thinks that Adam is underestimating him a little too. He has Chainsaw, he knows how to fight, and if he doesn't try, then it might come after them again- come after Adam.

He's already pissed that it tried to drag him off once already. The obvious solution is to stop the threat, permanently.]

You really think it's just going to leave us alone?

[Ronan challenges Adam because he's not Gansey, because he thinks that his idea would still probably work. His eyes are hard, mouth set in a savage line, but Adam is touching his forearm, holding onto him like that's all it will take to stop Ronan from giving into the flurry of anger and protective urges.

Maybe it is. They can't stay here for too long, not without risking another attack, and Ronan looks behind them again, toward where the tongue had whipped out of, and growls low in the back of his throat, indecisive.]

We won't be safe if I don't try.

[unknowable]

We'll be safer if we get away from here.

[He knows Ronan won't obey him without question. Adam doesn't command the same level of devotion Gansey does. All he can do is try to say things that will make sense to Ronan, try to give him logic and plans and things that he might agree with. He's followed Adam's plans before, when they made sense to him, but there's no certainty that he will now.]

There's no way to know how many more of them there are. We don't know how intelligent they are, either. If you go after one, it might be a trap. Even if it doesn't leave us alone, if we get away from here we can find somewhere it can't hide so easily, and maybe more people.

[He hasn't let go of Ronan yet. It's hard to focus, too, when he doesn't know when that thing might come after them again. His eyes keep flickering to the shadows next to building, to open half-destroyed doorways, to any possible hiding place. His leg hurts.

He doesn't know what he'll do if Ronan runs off and leaves him alone, but he doesn't know how to stop it, either.]

We'll be a lot less safe if you get hurt. Or killed.

[greywaren]

[Ronan stares at Adam for a long moment then, his gaze fiery and challenging. He wants to protect them- of course he does- but he's also pissed that the monster could get so close to them, could hurt Adam the way that it did. The only solution is to find it, hurt it back, make sure it knows better than to attack him or his friends again.

Because he's angry. He wants to retaliate. Ronan turns back, looking into the darkness behind him, listening to the echoing choked breaths of the monster, and his shoulders slacken, just a little.]

...fine. But you stay fucking close to me, you got it?

[It's a surrender so much as anything is with Ronan. He flicks the knife open and doesn't hand it back, instead moving closer to Adam, relenting to stay by his side, just in case something tries to grab for either of them.]

[unknowable]

[He wants to protect them, too, and all he can do for that right now is try to keep Ronan from going off on his own, try to keep him close. They'll be safer together, even if there isn't much Adam can do. If nothing else, he'll watch Ronan's back. And there's always Cabeswater.

He doesn't back down against Ronan's stare. He's used to that, his anger and his frustration, and though things might have changed between them, Adam is no more likely to back down. Especially not when he thinks it's important.]

I won't wander off.

[He doesn't ask for his knife back yet, though he will later. And frankly, he feels safer with Ronan by his side like this - and it means that he can be sure Ronan is safe, too.]

Let's go back towards that amphitheater. There might be more people there.

[greywaren]

[Ronan is still tense, but he nods when Adam promises that he'll stay close. He doesn't want to go back to the arena, not when they're already so far out this way. They'd been making good progress on mapping out the area when the attack happened, and the idea of turning back feels too much like a defeat for him to be comfortable with it.

He spits on the ground, grim as he turns and looks back the way they came.]

More people doesn't mean safer, you know.

[unknowable]

No, but it does mean more targets for the monsters to choose from.

[Adam isn't looking for people to save them, just for things to distract whatever's coming after them. It's safety of a sort, he supposes, but really the only people Adam has any interest in depending on are Ronan, Gansey, and Noah.

He turns, heading toward the arena, making sure to stay close to Ronan.]

And maybe we'll be able to find the others.