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

[americanclassic]

No thanks necessary. We're both stuck here, it seems, and it'd be a shame to lose a potential conversation partner and be stuck with those... whatever they are.

[Gross is what they were, okay? Tentacle tongues? That's just unhygienic. But he lifts his shield to hook it onto his back again, then comes over, giving her a nod at the name.]

Steve Rogers. I don't know about you, but I think getting somewhere safe is probably a good plan.

[64th]

[ so gross. even if they manage to kill every single one in the city they're still going to haunt her dreams. ugh. ]

I'm with you on that one. [ she turns and gestures behind them. ] I came from that way. Not a lot going on, but not much to see either. But something tells me anywhere I go with you is someplace safe.

[americanclassic]

I'll do my best to try to keep it that way.

[He'd marked her as a civilian, planned on keeping her in his line of sight until he could get her somewhere out of the combat zone. Somewhere they could barricade or lock down and keep safe.]

If you're game for it, we can try up ahead. Keep going until we find something better?

[64th]

[ oh Steve, bless your heart. she usually has a good deal of confidence in her ability to protect herself but she's more than a little out of her element here. if he wants to watch her back, she won't say no. ]

Deal. [ and she walks off, confident that he'll follow close behind. ] So where'd you learn how to use your shield like that?

[americanclassic]

[He hadn't expected her to take the lead, but he'd stay close, in case something came at them from either side. The question took him a little off guard. It wasn't one he'd really had asked before and he gave her a half-shrug.]

Practice. Usage. It just sort of... happened, I guess.

[64th]

Natural talent, then. Impressive. [ she means that truthfully. a lot of people couldn't find their way out of a paper bag, much less handle a pack of mutts as though they were nothing.

and she's just going to keep asking questions unless he tells her not to. ]

Are you from here, then? Wherever here is.

[americanclassic]

Yes and no.

[What he did was just Steve, but the power behind it came from that singular experiment. He'd had the will before, but not the power. Now? He was practically unstoppable. Or... so he liked to think.

That had him letting out a short laugh, shaking his head.]

Not even close. Not unless 'here' is some subterranean nightmare in my world, but... those creepy crawlies are giving me thoughts that we might be in a different 'realm', as a friend of mine would say.

[64th]

[ so it is a bit like the hotel, then. different people from different worlds, dropped in together and left to figure it all out. she's more relieved than she expected to be about that. then again, there's always the possibility that he's lying, that this is an attempt to get her to let her guard down and then he'll - do what? she can't think of a reasonable motive after saving her from the creepy crawlies (as he put it). it's much more likely that he's an unlucky and unwilling participant like she is.]

Good. Not good that you're here. Good that I'm not the only one wondering how I got here. [ and different realms sounds spot on. after all, this isn't the first time it's happened to her. ] Is your friend here too?

[americanclassic]

Not that I've seen, but... if he's here, I'm sure we'll find him eventually. Just... keep an eye out for any lightning.

[No, that wasn't at all vague or kind of weird. Just, don't ask, Cashmere. He didn't want to have to try to explain Asgardians and their supposed godhood.]

[64th]

[ o..okay? lightning? she shoots him a quizzical look but decides not to open that particular can of worms. ]

I'll keep my fingers crossed. I think we're going to need all the friends we can get here. [ which probably means not just letting other people get ripped to bits by mutts. why is it that she always regrets doing nice things? ]

It's weird how empty this place is, isn't it? All these buildings but no one in them.

[americanclassic]

[She'd get it if she saw Thor in action. It had impressed him the first time, even if he'd been a bit too busy at the time to truly appreciate it.

But she was right and he just hoped that whoever they came across outside of the pair of them could be trusted. Or, hopefully, useful in keeping each other safe.]

Feels abandoned, but with those... things around, I can't exactly say I'm surprised. Maybe they were the previous tenants.

[64th]

Ugh. [ she doesn't want to linger on that thought, that this city was once filled with people like her and Steve, and something turned them into more monster than human. she'd rather be dead than be turned into that. ] I'd say it was sad but it's actually just disgusting.

Somebody had to make them like that. Probably the people who brought us here. I guess the next question is are we food, or are they looking to repopulate. [ she might be a liiittle paranoid and bitter. Cashmere smirks at him. ] You'd be some sort of super strong creepy crawly. On the bright side they'd probably make you president. [ dark humor is the best way to handle this terrible situation, right? ]

[americanclassic]

I'd make a horrible president. I've never been great with politics.

[Too wrapped up in 'the right thing to do' to actually be able to do the wrong thing sometimes, even when needed. But he gives her a sideways grin to hide the fact that the idea of himself becoming one of those things was... worrying. They weren't exactly babies with candy and if he turned into one? He could only imagine the damage he'd wreak.]

Whatever the expectation is, I don't plan on being food or winding up as one of those things. I say we make our own game plan.

[64th]

Hmm. [ she takes a moment to consider that, or really, she takes a moment to pretend that she actually needs to consider the suggestion. Cash can't help taking a glance around them, looking for the hidden cameras that (probably) aren't there. this might not be the games but it's clearly someone's idea of a game, and she'd be an idiot to not make an alliance. especially with a guy like Steve. ] All right. We'll stick together, find some other people and figure this place out. You mentioned someplace safe - is there a specific place in mind or is that wishful thinking?

[ for the record, she would be a great president. mostly because the majority of her morals fall into a grey area and most of her niceness is calculated. also she has great hair and loves lying. ]

[americanclassic]

[Steve, of course, isn't thinking about how handy she can be to him, but how she's someone that needs to be kept safe. American or not, or wherever she came from, she's an innocent party and doesn't deserve to be dragged into this sick game. A soft shrug and apologetic smile at the question.]

Wishful thinking, but one of these buildings has to be safe enough to barricade. Make a home base, of sorts.

[64th]

[ if she knew him well enough, she'd say Steve was too nice. there's a benefit to being selfish, but there's a benefit to doing it his way, too. even if she can't see it.]

That I can handle. [ she wishes she had a weapon. she'd feel more useful. maybe they'll find something that passes for one wherever they decide to hole up. ] I can help. I'm stronger than I look. [ he can take that at face value, or as her trying to save face and be brave. it is true, though. ]

[americanclassic]

I'm sure you are.

[There wasn't even anything condescending in the way he said it or the look he gave her. He'd been raised by a single mom. He knew what women were capable of. And even if that hadn't taught him the lesson, Peggy, Natasha, Hill... He knew women weren't all fragile little flowers. Some had some very effective thorns. Or right hooks.]

But we'll have to find a face first before we can make it safe. Something big enough in case we come across others.

[64th]

[ smart man. she's pleased by that acknowledgement, and it shows. ]

But not too big, since we'll have to keep the perimeter secure. Not too many windows, though it'd be nice to have more than one way out. Just in case. [ might as well try to get everything on their list, since they might be there a while. ] That could work. [ there's a squat little brick building just down the way, on their right. ] You wanna check it out or should we start further out?

... PLACE, OMG. NOT FACE. /smashes own face on desk

[americanclassic]

Why not check it, clear it, then try to barricade it up as a rabbit hole so we can keep looking elsewhere, but have somewhere safe already set up?

[Best of both worlds, Cashmere.]

your fingers are working against you

[64th]

[ seem reasonable. she nods. ] Deal. Let's do it. You get any of those weird things and ... I'll have your back and get anything that doesn't look like it could toss me across a room.

[ she's gonna need a bat or a flamethrower or something. this place is ridiculous. ]

This does not surprise me.

[americanclassic]

Sounds good to me. Ah, can I ask if you're... I mean, if you've used anything before? Guns or anything?

[Natasha he wouldn't have to ask, but this was an unknown possible civilian. But, even civilians where he came from had basic knowledge of firearms. Most ten year olds seemed to know how to clean and load a weapon. It was a little on the scary side, to be honest.]

[64th]

[ fair question, but she laughs in response. he's probably not going to get the answer he's expecting. not that she could blame him, it's intentional that she looks much more gentle than she is. ]

Yeah. I've been training since I was about eight. My specialty is throwing knives but I've had training with most weapons and hand to hand combat. A gun wouldn't be my first preference but I'll take one if you have one.

[americanclassic]

[That had him giving her a curious look. Sounded a bit like Natasha, though she didn't have the same vibe the assassin did. Maybe it was a different kind of training...?]

Throwing knives, huh? Well, I'll keep an eye out for anything like that. No gun on me, sorry, but it's good to know you've got some weapon proficiency. You good with hand to hand combat?

[Might as well figure out just how much she knew so he could be aware of what sort of situation she could handle.]

[64th]

[ she catches that look and winks back at him because she's Cashmere and considers a wink an appropriate response in nearly any situation. ]

I like to think so. With humans, anyway. Don't know about creepy crawlies and wasn't interested in finding out after I saw what they could do. [ who could really blame her? Cashmere has a strong sense of self-preservation and far less interest in doing good for others than Steve has. she might be kind of a jerk. ]

[americanclassic]

[That was... Cashmere. Don't do that. He flusters easily.

So moving past that...]

Then how about we leave the creepy crawlies to me, if we can manage it? And we'll keep looking for something you can use as a weapon.

[If she could handle herself and knew how to use some sort of weapon, he'd feel better with her having one -- just in case.]