Test Drive Meme #9

[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 May 24th, and apps are open June 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:
I'VE SEEN ENOUGH HENTAI TO KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING
[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 malboro, from the Final Fantasy video game series.

These plant-like monsters are essentially comprised of long, tentacle-esque stalks- sometimes with eyes on the ends- and large, gaping mouths. Their breath can be poisonous and literally make you sick to your stomach, and- just your luck- they're carnivorous. Happy hunting!]


C O M B I N A T I O N

SCENARIO TWO: DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME
[You're so tired- at least you've got a reasonably safe place to rest your head at while you recuperate, right? After all, nothing can go wrong when you're asleep.

Aaand that's where you're mistaken. For this event, all characters who fall asleep will either be Hosts or Visitors in their, or someone else's dreams. All dreams are inflicted by one of the four gods (Hope, Delight, Rage, or Fear), and will have their presence influencing the events within your dreams in order to harvest their desired emotion from you.

The sky is essentially the limit, so long as your dreams correspond with one of the four gods. Happy sleeping!

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


D E L I G H T

SCENARIO THREE: JUST SAY NO
[On your kitchen table the next morning is a blue pill. Just the one pill, along with a glass of what seems to be water. There's a note in elegant script next to the pill that merely says 'TAKE ME'.

If taken, the pill can have a variety of effects. You can hallucinate, you can get uncontrollable giggles, you can feel drunk, you can feel like colors all have textures and shapes and the world is looking at you through a kaleidoscope! The drug can have whatever effect the player desires, as long as it's pleasurable or fun.

So: do you take it? Can you hear someone who already took the drug, stumbling down the street? You, uh, might want to help them, and do be careful. There's no telling what kinds of monsters are still out there.]

Comments

[solvethepuzzle]

It's the chanting that catches his attention first, coming from his left. By now, he's experienced enough for him to automatically assume that it must be a spell. Whether aimed for him or the creature . . . More likely the latter. Why bother sending something else at him when he is already at a massive disadvantage to the first problem?

The light from the blast is harsh against his eyes, but he is far better off than the monster. The blast lashes through a few tentacles, severing them from the creature's body and missing Near by inches.

His eyes briefly flick over to the source of the blast. Not a Traveler, or at least not one he recognizes. That could mean nothing or everything. Still no time to consider it.

Outraged, the monster turns its focus onto the woman, sucking in a deep breath. Curious move, and as has almost come to be an instinct of his own, he mutters a few words under his breath. And the brief, soft indigo glow he sees around the creature confirms the suspicion.

The focus is no longer on him. He could run. But if the woman is taken down here, he becomes a target again with no support. That isn't an acceptable solution. Her safety for its own sake isn't his concern, but for his own, he will help.

"The breath is poisonous." It's delivered far too calmly for the situation at hand, but this is how he works.

[rectificare]

"Poison? Goodness," she remarks, also quite calm in the face of danger, and in an airy voice with an accent that places her in upper- or middle-class London, for anyone with an ear for that sort of thing. She seems completely unperturbed by the boy's response - or lack of it, as the case may be. "How did you manage to uncover that?"

Questions about his methods are probably not the most well-timed, but Eliza has never been able to let her curiosity about something go unfulfilled. She barely manages to evade a lashing from one of the monster's remaining tentacles as it reaches for her, though she stumbles and falls to the ground in the process. No matter - she places both hands on the ground, palms down, and murmurs a different Latin chant, this time sending a shockwave through the earth itself in the creature's direction, aiming to knock it off balance.

[solvethepuzzle]

He certainly does have an ear for that sort of thing. It's noted, but filed away as it is currently irrelevant. Her question is indeed ill-timed, and he will not dignify it with a response. Later, perhaps. There are far more immediate concerns.

The tremor does knock the creature off-balance, sending the spray of poisonous breath harmlessly into the air as it's involuntarily released. Near takes advantage of the moment to hurry behind his impromptu partner, eyes still scanning the arena for any avenue of escape.

"If you can cast the first again, this would be the time."

He may not be able to fight and may not specifically be a battle strategist, but this is a common-sense tactic to him. But given how this woman had asked an irrelevant question in the midst of a battle, common sense hardly seems to be a thing she has in abundance.

[rectificare]

It's not that Eliza lacks common sense - her overabundance of curiosity just tends to overwhelm it. And it does get both her and the other Society members in trouble, sometimes, yet they always seem to claw their way out of it somehow.

For example, Eliza easily allows Near's suggestion to take precedence over having her question answered. "Oh! Yes, of course," she says, turning her attention back to the creature and once again summoning a burst of energy funneled in its direction with a murmured Latin chant. See? She's not so empty-headed.