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

Robb Stark | ASOIAF + memories from asgardeventide

[needsnoheadsman]

[2: not this again]

[Robb is far too used to waking up in strange places by now, and when he realizes this is not, in fact, his house in Odin, the sole reaction he has is to scrub a hand over his face. Great, hooray, here he goes again. Isn't he done with this already? Hasn't he done enough? Because he'd been tired after fighting that last battle and he just wants to sleep, for maybe about three days or so.

Then his gaze falls on the corpse. Well, he thinks, the thought detached from that creeping feeling of rising panic bubbling in his chest, that's new.

But there's somebody else inside with him, who's probably just waking up, so he can't afford to panic. He lets himself have that small moment, then sucks in a breath and straightens up. They don't have anything that could help them fulfill the task presented to them, and honestly Robb is not about to carve out a dead man's heart anyway, so:] Let's get out of here.

[3: a feast for crows and starving kings]

[Ordinarily, Robb wouldn't give such an extravagant feast much more than a short, passing glance. All right, that's a lie, he'd look at it a little, but usually he's willing enough to just let things be and move on. Not so right now: he's hungry, and there's food, and the door is locked. He aims a good kick at it, and comes away with nothing but a stubbed toe for his troubles.

Usually, he wouldn't even consider this, but desperate times call for desperate measures and he really needs food, so Robb glances around, as though checking if there's no one else around, then he slinks away into a back alley to search for a back door and try and shove that down through brute force.]

((ooc note: Robb here is an import from asgardeventide, which means that he might recognize your character if he's interacted with them before. if this is not ok, let me know and we can say they didn't leave a significant impression for him to remember them beyond vaguely recognizing them!))

collapses into, also 3

[freezerburned]

[Isaac notices the dark shape in the shadows of the building and he almost jumps out of his skin when it moves to ram a shoulder against the back door- but when he pulls back, it brings Robb's face into the light a little and Isaac hesitates for a moment before allowing himself a smile and taking a step toward him.]

Robb, yeah?

[It's been awhile, but he remembers his name. How could he forget?]

Trying to break in?

[needsnoheadsman]

[He recognizes that voice. It's a voice he didn't think he'd hear again, and Robb grins back, rubbing at his shoulder.]

Aye, it's me. I hadn't thought I'd see you again, Isaac. [He missed you bro. And as for the breaking in, he at least has the decency to look slightly ashamed about it.] Was it that obvious? I suppose not being seen was too much to hope for.

[freezerburned]

[Robb looking sheepish is actually pretty endearing, so Isaac grins and steps forward, shouldering the other boy aside so he can tug at the handle to the back door. Of course it's locked, so Isaac grips it a little tighter, pulls a little harder. Hm.]

You're really not that great at this breaking and entering stuff, are you?

[Not like Isaac is really getting the door open either, but hey.]

[needsnoheadsman]

Not very, no. Mayhaps I might be able to say the same for you.

[Maester Luwin didn't cover Breaking and Entering, why do you ask. Robb leans against the wall and watches him trying to work the handle for a bit, clearly a little amused by this whole thing, before he straightens up again.]

We might be able to break it down together. [It's going to be hell on his shoulder, but there is food inside and he is hungry, if there was a dead horse around Robb wouldn't even bat an eyelid before carving it up for meat.]

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. ]