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

[villainously]

( let's just get this over with.

that seems to be the story of their lives lately, isn't it? bounced from one derelict, hopeless situation to the next. he's had a lifetime of hopelessness, so it's funny how much this wears on him now. perhaps drudging through unhappiness is simply easier when you don't have any hope for the future. foolish as it is, Killian does have hopes for the future, he even has them with the woman he's with. so starving slowly in a demonic hotel and now carving a cadaver open for its heart? really not what he was hoping for.

he's not insane, he knows a happily ever after might be a stretch for Captain Hook and the Savior. villains didn't get happy endings, after all. still, a bit of a break. a happy occasion or two. crazy talk, but some sailing would be lovely. perhaps some more tropical weather! more nights like the bittersweet date they'd had, before everything seemed to go so horribly downward. ups and downs seem to come with the Storybrooke way of life, he'd just like a bit of an up.

the only up he has is her, and gods knows she's a hell of an up. he'd rather have her in misery than be alone in paradise. it might be selfish, but it's undeniable that he'll walk into any situation if he knows they can be together. that doesn't exactly make him eager to face another set of draining, exhausting challenges. he doesn't want to see it, and he's tired of seeing her suffer, and he doesn't have a choice.

she's not the only one that considers the fact it'd be easy to simply take the heart with magic. he's seen it enough times to know how easy it is. that doesn't mean he'd like to see it again, and he's not going to suggest it. ) I'll do it. ( he's not squeamish, and he's been a pirate long enough that he's sliced and diced a few men in his time. so there's no hesitation in the offer or holding out his palm for the blade, but it does come with the unwelcome reminder that he's still injured when he reaches out with his left. he tends to not think about it, the blasted thing is more numb than practical these days. Emma is never so lucky, though. she's not likely to ever forget. )

[sheriffing]

[ Happily ever after is a stretch for anyone stuck in these places, not just the Savior and Captain Hook. She doesn't know if any of it comes down to who they are, or if it's some terrible coincidence. She has hopes for the future that involve getting home, being with Henry, seeing her parents. She has hope that somebody she'll get her old life back and Killian will be a part of it, that they'll face the inevitable (and sometimes insane) obstacles of living in Storybrooke together. The one night they did get to sit down for dinner was nice, but bigger steps in their relationship happened in a setting that was a hell of a lot more bleak.

The result is that they're experienced with the horrors of other worlds this time. She isn't expecting anything good to happen here, Emma already knows this is probably the least unsavory thing that they're going to be asked to do. If she had to guess, she'd say they were just getting started. And it doesn't matter; none of it does, because they still need to get out.

She looks down to his hand at the offer, grateful that he'd suggest it and momentarily relieved that she won't be the one to have to take out the heart. It's then that she thinks the better of it, because she knows he's still struggling with his ability to use that hand. He'd do it for her, but he shouldn't have to. Give her a chance and she can do this. She just doesn't want to.]

It's okay, I've got it.

[She's nervous, and uncomfortable, yet she'd be more worried if she wasn't. If she'd been through enough that something like this didn't effect her, that might be cause to worry. As it is right now, she just has to think about how she wants to go about it. Hopefully she's watched enough medical trash over the years to know what kind of cuts to make.]

Just... give me a second.

[villainously]

( all of this just makes him wonder. how many challenges are they going to have to outlast before they finally see the sun on the horizon? now, normally, he does not tend toward an optimistic creature. that had been brow-beat out of him a very long time prior. still, perhaps it is a part of the mystical and magical world he'd been raised in, but he does believe that heroes get their happy ending one day. that doesn't really mean that hitching his buggy to Emma's fortune means he'll get one by default. he just has to wonder, when are they going to get the opportunity to fight their way back home? one hopeless situation after the last, new and different and traps of escalating complication, and so far no promise of returning to the place they wanted to be.

he's not giving up. he can't afford to do that, neither of them can. surely it's not a crime to be at least slightly worn down by the process at this point, though. grabbing the bolts of light in the dark is the only hope they have to make it through the storm, and it's also important to try and do their best to avoid the worst of the stains that threaten. Emma refuses, and he's not surprised that she would. he may even have taken her at her word if it weren't for the hesitation.

he steps closer, hands at her arms to catch her eye. ) Emma. ( he knows she is stubborn and much stronger than she looks. the fact of the matter is, he has no doubt she can accomplish this. he just doesn't see why she should have to. she's never killed before, never really known what it's like to take a life, and well... he has. he was a pirate before he was ever a villain, and that was not a sport for pacifists. it doesn't bother him as much as it could to imagine cutting into the dead flesh, and it clearly bothers her. )

I don't doubt you can do this, love. ( and he doesn't. he knows she could. he just doesn't want her to feel obligated to stain her hands just in a hopeless bid to protect him. his hand isn't what it should be, maybe, but he's managed to do all sorts of things one handed before. ) You shouldn't doubt that I can, either. This might not be the worst of what we end up facing, but I've already lived worse than this.

( it isn't a delight, that's for sure. but it's also not something he has no experience with. or something that draws very much hesitation. he could spare her this, and he wishes that she'd let him. )

[sheriffing]

[ They've both lived worse than this, she couldn't explain why she feels like she should be the one to do it. He's capable of it, Emma does trust him to get it done. Maybe it's more that she doesn't trust herself.

Getting trapped in a hotel, going home to discover her parents' betrayal, ending up back in that place and then arriving here? It's enough to make a savior doubt herself. And it's not like she's taken any of it in stride, either. She's supposed to be the savior, but she hasn't saved anyone in a while. She just wants to know that when the situation escalates to something worse than cutting open a corpse, she's going to be able to get the two of them out alive. Surviving used to be what she did best.

Now, she's not so sure.

In the end, she decides to hand over the letter opener, keeping her eyes on Killian instead of the body. He thinks she could do it, and she thinks she should be the one to try, but Emma's seen Killian torture himself over the things he isn't able to do for her. She's seen him heal from the wounds of trying to cut off his own hand with the thought that it was evil. He's not in that place anymore, there's enough understanding there for Emma to know that he wouldn't do it again. The problem is that they both want to feel like they can protect the other, and this is some small burden he wants to take off of her shoulders.

She doesn't agree with it, but she has to let him. It's been a while since she's felt useful, but it's been longer for him. He doesn't know that he's one of the few people she still trusts in Storybrooke. When she went back, he was stuck at the hotel. All of her memories go to more than first dates and kisses at the office, yet the things she's certain she experienced feel different. A hotel with ghosts and exploding surprises, people who only fed them when they felt like it.]

Tell me if there's anything you want me to do.

[She's here, it's not like she wants to stand around and watch. It might be easier if he lets her do something.]

It doesn't seem like a one-person job.

[Not with that thing and his injured hand.]

[villainously]

( there's no doubt in his mind that she's the savior, though he knows Emma seems to struggle with it of late. it's true, he doesn't remember what she lived back home without him. it's hard to know how to feel about memories when he spent the entirety trapped in the ghastly hotel. Emma thinks they're real and he wants to believe her, because she seems certain... a part of him just wonders if it wasn't another trick. what better way to discourage her than to show her pictures of the place she missed most, and tear that apart too? at the very least, he can't really see himself in that future, even though she says he was there. he didn't live it, didn't feel it — all he's known for the last few months was the slow deterioration of the place they'd been trapped.

it's true, he's probably feels more determined than usual to prove to her he's not useless. his track record is less than keen, considering there was nothing he could do to help her in the hotel, and the only thing he might have proven — a stability she truly needed — he hadn't managed even that. he's trying to prove that she can trust him when she needs him, and it's easier said than done, when Emma wants to spare him as much as he wants to spare her.

in the end, if this place is anything like the place they were last? they're going to have to come to terms with the fact they can't really completely protect each other. the best they can manage is to be there for the other in the aftermath. )

All right. ( and he means that. she might be right that this isn't a job for one, but he'll give it a go anyway. he knows he's going to be at messy work so hopefully she'll forgive the quick moment he steals to press a kiss to her temple, a hopeless attempt to reassure in a situation that probably couldn't be calmed. there was some comfort in the fact that they were together, wasn't there? at least, he hoped so.

he doesn't take the letter opener immediately; he's still got a jacket on and it'd be better to try and spare his clothing. this is likely to follow him in memory, no matter what he does. he'd rather it not follow him in smell and stain, too. he abandons it on the floor away from the body. )

It might not be. ( if he was at his best, he'd be better off, but... ) I think we'll have to split the ribs, that's not easy work. ( it's a rather bland thought, as he tries to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. he doesn't mean to sound so impassive and detached about it, but it's easier to dissociate the task if he means to accomplish it. he's had plenty of practice putting unsavory tasks in the back of his mind and pretending they don't much bother him. )

[sheriffing]

[ He's had her trust, but he never seems to believe it. She isn't waiting for him to snap anymore. Emma's seen enough to know that he has no interest in finishing what he started in the hotel. Being able to give him the truth seems to have put him back on track. Even in moments of doubt, she can hope that he trusts her enough to understand what Rumplestiltskin was trying to do. It was never about him or an evil hand, just another one of the Dark One's tricks to use what Hook wanted against him. She's put the blame where it belongs, and it feels like Killian's been able to do the same.

Although when he struggles with the hand he has now, she thinks he might've been better off with the hook. ]

We can do that.

[She doesn't manage to sound as disconnected as he is, the best she can manage here is grim resignation. They need to get out, and there's no doing that without getting through this. It's the sort of obstacle they'll give in to because there's no alternative, and whoever built up this task knows as much. This is the same sort of game she's dealing with back home, to the point that she almost expects Rumplestiltskin to pop out and start cackling. How are they supposed to get through this without tapping into the darkness in themselves?

Sometimes it feels like it's already there, building under the surface where no one else sees it. Killian thinks she's the savior, but that isn't a title she deserves anymore. Her parents made her what she is when they shifted the odds, and it's to the point where Emma doesn't know or trust that she's good. For a while there, she was starting to have some faith in herself. And if not herself, she still had faith in the people around her. In her mother, in her father, and in the hope and absolute belief they shared with her. It all feels hollow now.

Maybe they were trying to do what was best for her, or maybe they didn't want a daughter who wasn't good. If they were here, what would they think of this?]

Any guesses as to what's waiting for us out there?

[He might be inspecting the corpse, but Emma's eyes are on the door. She'll help, that doesn't mean she's going to watch his every move. It seems like he's trying not to think about it, and she would like to do the same.]

[villainously]

( he might have that advantage over the Charmings, in the end. he's seen the best of the world and he's walked the darkest, too. Killian doesn't really see the world in bold whites and dark blacks, not anymore. he thinks the best of people have darkness inside of them, he's seen Emma's darkness before she ever came back and informed him of the cat and mouse game the Crocodile was playing with her heart. he's not afraid of the idea that she might have darkness in her heart, in fact, he likely couldn't identify with her if she didn't have any at all. no, he knew Emma had darkness, and when push came to shove she always turned away from it, instead of toward it.

Emma might have decided that magic had set her on that course, but if he knew the whole story? the pirate wouldn't have agreed. she'd spent too long on her own, and even the most blemishless good could find darkness when they were on their lonesome. she was far from perfect, and yet she pulled back from the wrong choice. chose the best one for everyone, even if it wasn't easy. it was the mix of both that drew him to her, not the absence entirely. to him she was just as much a savior, despite her past and her occasionally destructive present.

if she doesn't have faith in that any longer, well, he'll be here to remind her until she finds it again. he's seen her grasp that confidence enough times that he has no reason to doubt. he's seen her in action enough that he has no reason to doubt.

she doesn't watch and he doesn't blame her. it's not exactly delightful work, after all. He tucks the blade in his pocket and moves an arm away from the body's side, aiming to break the ribs before he sets at cutting. it won't be as messy that way. ) Could be some new trick to the hotel. I wouldn't be surprised if it were. ( it's been escalating in horrors, has it not? why not add a corpse to cut through in a macabre test of their willpower?

though that does make him hesitate. ) What if this is a test? Just like the food, and the ghosts. Might be we wait it out, they'll let us free sooner or later. ( their easy willingness to play the game not even moments after arriving shows how desensitized they've become to this sort of madness. oh, sure! cleave out a heart and get free, no problem! maybe that was indeed a problem. )