Test Drive Meme #8

[hadrielmods]

Welcome to Hadriel's 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 April 24th, and apps are open May 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, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

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: DEAD FLESH BUFFET
[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 lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect chance to swarm around you and chow down. This time, the Door has brought in a group of rotfiends, from the video game The Witcher.

These unpleasant-looking creatures are necrophages, meaning they feed on the flesh of the dead, and if that flesh is in short supply they are happy to add to it. Normally found in groups, they are fast and difficult to corner. What's more, when on the verge of death, they have an annoying tendency to explode into a flammable cloud of poisonous toxins. You left your torch at home, right?]

R A G E
SCENARIO TWO: MMM WHATCHA SAY
[There you were, just walking along the street, minding your own business like a good underground hell-city citizen, when all of a sudden you saw someone. It was like love at first sight - if by 'love' you mean 'deep burning hatred'. You've never wanted to kill someone so much, and why? Well, you're not really sure, but there's probably a reason! You'll just have to figure it out. Or not. Who needs a reason for murder, anyway?

Or maybe you're the one someone else has targeted. Maybe you know they're after you and you're desperately trying to watch your back. Why do they hate you? You don't even know them. Or maybe you do, maybe they're your best friend. Either way, this is a super awkward situation, and someone might end up dead. Hopefully not you!

This is a mini version of our Assassin event this month!]


H O P E

SCENARIO THREE: SCRATCH OFF
[This morning, you received a scratch ticket in the mail (who knew Hadriel even had mail?), addressed to you. The instructions are clear enough - scratch off three matching icons, and you win a prize! Sure, okay. But here's the grand prize: a one-way ticket home.

Unfortunately, try as you might, you aren't gonna win that one, but keep hoping! And hey, just think of all the other GREAT PRIZES you could win: an inflatable duck, a plastic ring to give your sweetheart, an empty can of Red Bull, a cell phone charm shaped like a strange green creature with a boner.

So what if you didn't win that ticket home? You got something almost as good: a shitty prize! Thanks, Hope!]

Comments

sam | until dawn

[sedula]

fear; in the park.

Oh ... this is just not OK.

Sam's hardly had time to process the fact that she just barely escaped the wendigo problem on the mountain by blowing up the lodge (much less the fact that most of her friends died horribly, bloody deaths, thanks to said wendigo problem), and she's already on the run again, trying to put as much distance between herself and ... she's not sure, exactly. They're not wendigos, but they're definitely not human, either, and it's obvious they mean nothing good.

She just hopes they can't climb up after her, since she's decided to scale one of the vicinity's larger trees in an attempt to find safety. She may end up stuck there for a while, but honestly, she's been in worse situations. At least she still has clothes on, and at least it's not snowing and cold here - wherever here is.

hope; by the shops.

Sam's scratch card nets her not the ticket home, as she'd hoped, but instead a garishly-colored inflatable baseball bat covered in smiley faces. She seems less than fully amused by her prize but gives it a few experimental swings through the air anyway, pausing when she spots a passerby to ask:

"Any idea what kind of balls you're supposed to use with this?"

fear

[unfollowing]

The relief and excitement of seeing Sam again takes a backseat to how she is seeing her.

"Oh my god. Sam, you are taking this vegan shit way too far."

Emily stands a few feet from the tree, her arms crossed and her eyebrows arched, her smirk less sharp than it normally would be because goddamn, miracles can happen. Maybe Matt will end up here someday after all.

hope

[pighead]

"Pretty sure you're just supposed to smack people with it."

Josh grins, seeing who it is, though there's an element of wariness too - he doesn't know what she knows, he knows some fucked up stuff went down back home, it's all a big question mark and he has no idea whether she's gonna hate him or be cool. But that's just how things seem to go these days.

"Hey, Sam. How's it going?"

fear

[thechoiceisyours]

On one hand, this sucks.

On the other hand, things here have sucked more, and since Carlisle had helped him out he can actually avoid the monsters when they get too close, and fortunately they seem to be... Not bright. Not like wendigos.

So staying out of sight is simple enough, and even when sighted by the monsters he's been able to get away from them without suffering any injuries more serious than a scrape on his forehead which may or may not have been caused by gracefully running into a wall during an escape.

Chris is really not cut out for this sort of thing.

But he's avoided monsters for now, keeping careful watch for the next batch of them to show up when he spots something red in a tree. It takes a moment to realize what--or rather, who--it is he's seeing, but then...

"Sam!"

It's selfish, but he's really glad she's back. But if she's back then she just came from home, and so--

"Hey, Sam, are you okay?"

wanda maximoff | mcu

[scarletcast]

→ fear

[ Irritation, more like. She has already cleaved her way through a small group of these things and they're everywhere she turns as she tries to get her bearings. The toxins are simple enough to dissipate -- it's the crowding. She's looking over her shoulder, moving around on foot first. ]

[ if you have a torch or a lighter, or any other immediate means of fire, ]

Here, this way, we'll lure them into a trap.

[ If you don't, well, ]

Move. Quickly.

→ hope

[ There are scratch cards scattered on the table. Wanda has two rings with her, silver-plated, one with a red stone set into it. She's toying with it as she works at one more scratch card. There's little point, of course, but it's something to do, and the card comes out two the same, the last picture different. She pulls a light face. ]

What now? A stuffed bear?

[ at you, dryly, ]

I do not suppose you want to trade?

[ She holds up one more, unused card. ]

→ wildcard me

[ anything else; go wild. ]

Fear

[themightykamina]

[Kamina's learned the hard way about the flammable gas these guys leave behind, as evidenced by the pink weals and charred remains on cloth on one bare arm. That doesn't stop him from holding the torch, though, or from swinging it as much as he does the sword in his other hand.]

[He's doing pretty good, clearing a path that he hopes is in the direction of the tower, when he hears the voice behind him and risks a glance, tossing blue bangs out of his face.]

I hope you've got a good plan, lady, cause that way's a dead end!

[scarletcast]

[ He falls into line. Wanda strides ahead, not fast enough that the creatures lose them. ]

Push them into the corner here.

[ They're on opposite sides of the path, the dead end looming on the left. If they set the fire around too late, the creatures may not come here at all. She fumbles, for the broken lighter she found, and quickly pours the remaining liquid in a straight line, from him to her. ]

How high can you jump?

[themightykamina]

[Generally speaking, Kamina's a leader, not a follower. But never let it be said that he doesn't occasionally follow someone else's lead, particularly someone who looks like they've got an actual plan. His own was mostly more of the same--keep chopping things up, try not to get roasted. She dumps lighter fluid on the ground as he slices another of these things across the legs, driving them back and into the corner, like she's said. Hopefully whatever this is works; there's a lot of them in one place now, and that's gonna get real messy, real fast.]

Huh? Pretty high, I guess--why?

[scarletcast]

Wait.

[ She deflects them, red flicking off her fingers and the creatures groaning as they hit the far wall. The whole group's pinned. ]

Light it up, now!

[themightykamina]

Here goes!

[God, he hopes she knows what she's doing. Hope can bring people back to life, or whatever they are here, but he's already died once and he's really not keen on trying it again. And what's with that weird red light on her hands? Is that doing something to the monsters? He's so out of his depth here. Nothing left to do but what she says--so he drops the torch, flinging it onto the line of lighter fluid she's placed.]

[scarletcast]

[ Fire is difficult to manipulate. She doesn't — she adjusts the air above and around them so a wall of flame erupts. Wanda moves back, looking over her shoulder, careful not to trip. ]

[ Red glows around the torch handle as she fetches it. ]

Let's go.

[themightykamina]

[Yeah, the red stuff definitely has something to do with her, and with everything else. The fire doesn't react the way it's supposed to, and neither does the torch, all but jumping into her hand, but he's perfectly happy to let her carry it, gripping his sword hilt in both hands as he covers their retreat.]

Hey, that's a pretty handy trick you got there, with the glowy hands. How the hell do you do it?

[scarletcast]

[ Dryly, ]

Magic.

[ Witches are feared and widows are despised. Natasha was maybe the only one not surprised by the codename Wanda settled on. ]

My name is Wanda.

[ Yes, this only just now became relevant. ]

[themightykamina]

Magic? You're the second person I've met here who's said that. Whatever you call it, we sure could use some talent like that back home. You think magic could lift something the size of that building over there? [He points one heavily-tattooed arm across the street at a single-story building about ten feet tall, squat and imposing. He also seems completely genuine.]

[One might think puffing one's chest out while jogging briskly is impossible, but one has probably never met Kamina before.]

The name's Kamina! When people talk about the badass leader of Team Gurren Mark II, they're talking about me! Remember that when you hear our name, alright? Did you just get here?

[scarletcast]

[ There is such terrible, overwhelming sincerity radiating from him and deep pride pouring from his mind as he thinks about his team. Wanda smiles. ]

Yes, I just got here. How many more of those things are there?

[ Truthfully: she's never tried. Telekinesis seems limitless and she's not used to how much concentration she needs. ]

[themightykamina]

[Kamina's pretty much an open book, even for someone that isn't a mind-reader or empath. His heart's on his sleeve 24/7. And when he screws up his face to think about it, that's all that's reflected in his head.]

Mm, they're not too hard to kill, so probably at least twenty or thirty? Seems like Fear at least tries to keep things even. Maybe because he doesn't really want us dead, just pissed and terrified. Joke's on him, though, I'm never gonna be scared of that loser! We can probably lose them if we head for the temples, unless you wanna try that trick again?

[scarletcast]

[ She has no desire to be near these things, but between her and Kamina they might be able to thin the numbers. No doubt there's people out there. ]

We'll go here, and help who we come across.

[themightykamina]

Sounds like a plan to me!

[There's always people out there. That's why he doesn't hide, when this time of the month rolls around and new monsters invade. He's always here, fighting, helping out the new guys. Or girls! Even the ones like who who seem like they mostly have things under control.

[Coming to a brief halt at the next intersection of paths, Kamina holds out a hand in an attempt to pause her, stepping out to look both directions before bringing his sword up and facing left.]

There's more coming, get ready!

[scarletcast]

[ Always people to help. She knew that before Ultron, but the drive is more acute. Watching a city fall, feeling it. ]

I have no more gasoline. Perhaps try to cram them against that wall.

[themightykamina]

Do my best!

[The monsters are on them in a second, and Kamina relies more on wounding than killing, trying to herd the crowd of seven or so towards the wall in question through a combination of sword slashes, kicks, and roundhouse punches. It doesn't look like a cohesive fighting style, and it doesn't look like it should work at all, but he's quick enough (and lucky enough) to make it work. Punching another one in the jaw and shaking his hand, he risks another look over at her.]

What's the wall gonna do? I'm trying here, but it'd help if I knew what you were trying to do, ya know?

[scarletcast]

[ There's some old plumbing pipe sticking out from the wall, long enough to bend around them. It flickers red, creaks. ]

I will trap them. Until we can find more gasoline.

[themightykamina]

[He sees the pipe, and it only takes a second for her plan to click. Maybe it won't work, but hell, they've gotten this far, right? And he's the last person to question any kinda plan, as long as it doesn't involve running away. So he starts angling his blows to get them lined up, in places it'll be easier for her to wrap 'em up. Once he shoulder-checks the last one into place, he quickly rolls backwards, coming up in a defensive stance.]

Do your thing, lady!

[scarletcast]

[ She traps as many of the arms, too, who knows, they might be strong enough to bend metal if they were hungry. She exhales harshly, with the strain. ]

Are there any more?

[themightykamina]

[He's already looking around, checking the street in both directions, scanning the rooftops nearest him. Nothing visible, and he lets his shoulders relax just the slightest bit, resting the blunt edge of his sword against his shoulder.]

None I can see, looks like we're clear. Hey, you okay? I got this, if you need to rest. I can get you to a safe place!

[...He says, completely ignoring the fact that she seems perfectly capable of defending herself. Whatever, she looks tired.]

[scarletcast]

I'm fine.

[ Clipped, a bit quicker than necessary. Wanda blows out a breath just to prove it. ]

These things don't multiply, do they?