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]

He knows how to solve it. Of course. But there is more than one path that leads to the end.

He nods to himself when they split. Yes, good. This is an actual game now. There is no hurry in his steps; his pace is calm and steady, winding through various convoluted turns that make it difficult to gauge progress. At any particular point, it will be difficult to tell which of them is further along.

Well. Near can sort of tell, when he glances out of the corner of his eye briefly. And his smile broadens a little before he makes another sharp turn. There. Back ahead again, just a bit. A close game so far. This is nice.

[torrefied]

It's a very close game, and it seems for just a moment as if Mello is ahead - then he hits a dead end. Frowning, he turns around and retraces his steps, taking the turn toward the left in the most immediate intersection. He glances up, checking for where Near is, whether he's ahead now and if so, by how much.

[solvethepuzzle]

The pace of Near's progress never changes, his little feet moving him along confidently, unerringly. He makes a quiet whooshing noise while swooping the toy robot through the air. Until he feels the eyes on him, anyway.

"You're falling behind. You'd better figure out the way soon or you will lose." Deadpan voice, but there is an almost beatific smile on his face.

The backtracking had been a good idea, though. Mello has gotten himself back on the way to a possible solution.

[torrefied]

Mello knows, distantly, that he should be angry about the being so openly goaded. He isn't, though - instead, he's strangely calm about it, calculating his next move, taking long strides through the maze as it twists and turns and he works to not only catch up but pull ahead. He's all but forgotten the robot in his hand.

[solvethepuzzle]

Near doesn't think of it as goading so much as just stating facts. But when one is always winning, factual statements come off that way whether it's intended or not. That can be fun sometimes, though.

There are a few turns left for him, but as far as straight distances are concerned, Near is only about fifteen feet from the end now. Better hurry, Mello. Time is running out.

[torrefied]

And here is where the dream turns strange, though in the true fashion of dream logic, it doesn't seem strange in the moment. Mello suddenly finds his feet too heavy to lift, his legs slow, each step increasingly more difficult, like attempting to run through wait-deep water.

He's going to lose. He worked so hard, and in the end, he's still going to lose anyway.

(Just like he always does.)

[solvethepuzzle]

Well, Near certainly isn't going to lose in what is clearly a happy dream for him, now is he? That would be silly.

His own steps are unimpeded, and he exits the maze after another series of turns. For most children, something like this would result in a crow of triumph or some other elated gesture. But Near is still Near, and his display is markedly more subdued, but clear all the same: that unsettling, satisfied smile he gets whenever he knows that he's right.

"I win." His tone isn't quite bland, but it's calm. "You're still coming, right?"

It would be disappointing otherwise.

[torrefied]

Mello should be angry. Losing always stings, and doubly so when it's to Near. He should be angry, should be feeling that familiar flicker of heat race up his spine, but he doesn't. He feels hollow, like a deflated balloon. Resigned to the fact that he is coming in second yet again, because it's the truth, and there's no sense denying what's clearly transpired. He lost. (He always does.)

"You win," he says, crossing the threshold of the maze's exit, then adds: "This time."

[solvethepuzzle]

At the addendum, his smile broadens.

"There will be more games, then?" That's what the statement implies, after all. There's actual happiness in Near's tone now, just a bit of it. Finding someone who will play at all is a rare enough thing, but finding someone who doesn't just quit after losing is rarer still.

[torrefied]

Something about where they've ended up is not only familiar, but comforting in that familiarity. Mello takes a long look at the toy robot in his hand - Mello-bot, Near had named it - and the faint curve of a smile traces over his mouth, replacing the empty feeling brought on by the realization of having lost.

"Aren't there always?" The implication in his tone is one of of course. Mello gently sets the robot on the floor at the maze's exit and turns toward the door, though not before giving Near one last glance over his shoulder as he leaves.