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

2

[whichend]

[ Arya's woken up in more strange places than she can count. Once she realizes this place isn't Westeros or the House of Black and White, she tenses. Her hands reach for her side. It's a reflex, but it leads to nothing. Needle's not with her.

Her gaze falls on the corpse. Those are common enough. Not the corpse she wanted to see, but not one she didn't want to see, either.

She doesn't need to turn toward the voice. She knows she's hearing ghosts. ]

Robb?

[ But she has to check. Can't be too careful. ]

[needsnoheadsman]

[He hadn't taken a good look at the person with him, before standing up and trying the door. He probably should have, because when he hears that voice he freezes in place. It can't be. It can't be.

He turns, just a little, just enough to see who it is.]

Aye, Arya, it's--it's me. [It's painful, seeing his little sister, knowing what he knows now, knowing how close they were at the Twins. And now here she is, a little older, and all Robb can think is stay this time please stay. He steps closer, holding his hand out tentatively.]

[whichend]

[ It's him. It's really him.

She begins to smile, hesitantly, before frowning again. It might not be her brother. This might be a test of the Many-Faced God. After all, they made her blind. They can probably make her see things, too.

She takes his hand out of curiosity. It feels so real, but then again, that could just be part of the test. Better play it safe. She's not Arya of House Stark. Not anymore. ]

I'm not - I'm Nobody.

[needsnoheadsman]

[Well. That's new.]

What are you talking about? [What do you mean you're nobody, does he need to kill somebody, who made his sister think like this, there will be blood.] You're not nobody, you're Arya. You're my sister, and we're going to get out of here. Somehow. [That last word is far more uncertain--he's not actually sure how they're going to get out of here, because he checked and the door's locked. But they will.]

[whichend]

[ She nods, never taking her eyes off her brother. Tests don't usually want to leave, and they definitely don't want to stop being tests, but she's not sure if she can be Arya yet. Arya killed the Hound. Arya has her prayer, her list.

Somehow, she doesn't think Robb will approve. ]

I've been looking for you. [ She squeezes tighter, makes sure he's not going away. ]

Maybe we should try to find a door? Better be sneaky though. Quiet. Like a shadow.

[needsnoheadsman]

I tried the door already.

[It's locked, and here they are in a room with a corpse that is going to stink up the room the longer it's here. Yeah, Robb doesn't want to spend one more moment in this room than he has to. He squeezes back--hey, tiny victory! He'll take it and be glad for it, it's something he knows how to do.]

But I suppose there might be another way out. [He gives Arya an assessing look.] You're a lot better at that than I am. [He could try though, but it's a very different sort of sneaking than, say, planning an ambush.]

[whichend]

[ Arya's eyes dart around the room, small, sharp, and focused. That pedestal's oddly shaped - as if something's supposed to go on top. But that's not a way out.

She looks down at the corpse, at the person who came before. She kneels down and takes the note. She interacts with the corpse without nearly a second thought. Her time in exile changed her in that way. ]

You were always too big and loud. [ She shrugs. ] We need a heart.

[needsnoheadsman]

[Big and loud, that's him. He snorts out a soft chuckle, but doesn't actually protest--she is right, after all, and he sees no point in contesting it. He does feel a little bit disturbed when she kneels down next to the corpse without a second thought, but that's mostly because this is his sister, and she shouldn't be so used to this.

And--oh.

A heart. His stomach ties itself in uncomfortable knots--they have to cut up a corpse to get out of this room, really, he'd almost prefer the faceless maid--but he lets out a breath and kneels down next to Arya and the corpse.]

We need something sharp first. [He says this in a grimly resigned tone--if he has to cut a dead man's chest open, so be it. It's not as if he hasn't done worse, anyway.]

[whichend]

[ So they have to cut up the corpse. That's fine. It's a task, nothing more, and Arya's practically a woman grown. She's not afraid. It's worse to make a corpse than cut one, after all. Now it's just like cutting meat.

Wordlessly, she slides a small dagger out from underneath her sleeve. Of course they need something sharp. What does Robb think she is, stupid?

And then she sets to work. ]