Test Drive Meme # 2

[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 October 25th, and apps are open November 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: THE LAUGHTER OF A CHILD
[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. This time, the Door has brought in some little friends for you to play with.

Grey Children are enemies in the video game Silent Hill. They usually move in pairs or groups of three, clinging to your legs and pulling you down so that they can laugh as they stab you to death. They're not particularly sturdy, but since they hunt in packs, they can kill you just the same. Let's hope your group is bigger - or that you can get away before they get ahold of you. But don't be too mean. They're just children, after all.]


SCENARIO TWO: FEAR ITSELF
[You turn a corner, and there it is. The one thing that terrifies you more than anything, that turns you into a frightened child, that makes you want to run or scream or fight wildly. It could be anything. That person you trusted, who betrayed you. A monster that haunts your dreams. Spiders, maybe? Whatever it is, it's exactly what you fear the most.

And then there are footsteps next to you, and someone else is there. Maybe they can help you. Maybe they can save you. But everyone's afraid of something, and the moment your savior gets close, their fear will manifest as well - and if you're really unlucky, combine with yours to make something even worse.

It's not real. It can't hurt you. Not unless you let it. But if you let it, it will destroy you.

This is a simpler version of October's Fear Event.]


H O P E

SCENARIO THREE: THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE
[A moment ago, you were making dinner. Not alone, but with someone you care about nearby - your beautiful spouse, or your amazing child, or your beloved sibling. Then, in an instant, you look at them and you know: this isn't real.

This perfect house, this perfect family, it's not yours. You can remember your real life now, and that person you care for? You might not even know them. A moment ago they were your world, and now you know this isn't actually your life. Your life is something else, somewhere else.

Above the fireplace sits a painting of you and your happy family. You know that if you destroy it, you'll return to your life. But do you really want to, when you've never felt this contentment, this happiness before? You could have it all, if you wanted. And what about your companion? This is a decision you should make together - if you want to.]

Comments

[unabatedly]

[ Neria glances over at the dog for only a moment, a pang of guilt washing over her. It's quickly tampered down as they continue, no time for her to begin contemplating all the questions and concerns she has. Survival is their priority.

Slowing as he speaks of the towers, she tries to give them a better look before they continue on. The set of her brow suggests it's an idea she isn't keen on, but nonetheless, she gives a firm nod. ]

It's our best bet of finding someplace stable to make a stand, if necessary.

[ Height might give them the advantage of seeing enemies before they're spotted themselves. It might also expose them to all other manner of trouble. She's willing to take the risk, frankly; staying out in the streets and in the dark isn't doing them any favors. ]

Lead the way. I'm right behind you.

[ She signals her mabari to take up their side flank as they go and she keeps her eye on the rear. ]

[smited]

Right. [ that's not odd at all.

it's a relatively short jog to where three spires stretch into the sky. one of them looks much cleaner and structurally sound than the other, so cullen makes a bee-line for that one. it'll be a shame to dirty it up if they have to fight, but he'd rather that than duck into one of the other ones and have the ceiling fall on their heads.

once inside, cullen stops abruptly. whatever he was expecting, it wasn't something as pristine as this. especially when compared to the rest of what he'd seen outside. that--is slightly concerning, but not enough to keep him from trying the first door he comes across. and, of course, it's locked.

he plants his hands on his hips and lets out a small huff. before he ended up here, he'd never wished he'd trained as a rogue instead of a warrior. but this is probably the fifth time in one day he's idly found himself thinking that. ]

I don't suppose you can freeze the lock?

[unabatedly]

[ There's near immediate relief upon entering the structure, some protection in case they're set upon by any of the creatures following, and Neria keeps her eyes on the entrance while Cullen looks for a door. She casts a glance over her shoulder when he stops and eventually goes to join him, a hand carefully on the blade at her side. ]

What's wrong? [ Her eyes fall on the door and the lock, and she lets out a quiet sigh that echoes his own. Nothing can be simple here, can it? ] I can certainly try.

[ Stepping up to the door, she presses her hand to the lock and casts, the ice spell coating the metal tightly. She looks it over, hoping it's covering enough of the locking mechanism to weaken it, and steps aside. With another glance at Cullen, she gestures, and actually manages a small, wry smile. ]

Your turn.

[smited]

[ a quick flick of his wrist switches his grip on one of his throwing knives and allows him to bash the pommel into the lock. it takes a solid three hits before the lock is dismantled and he can shove the door open, but it works. in another situation, he might usher neria in before him, but given that they have no idea what's beyond the door, he and his small knives duck in first. ]

I'll take the doors on the left, you take the doors on the right?

[ there are no more grey children to be found inside the apartment. but the space itself is strange and filled with objects that cullen can't help but frown at. he recognizes the bed, the chairs, the tables. almost everything else is foreign. but it's safe for now, and that's good enough for him.

he relaxes slightly and looks back at neria. ] Do you think we should wedge the door shut for now or keep it open?

[ every decision is run by her first. questions are, in this case, more comfortable than commands for all that he's used to the latter. the more differences there are between this interaction and the last time he encountered the warden, the better. even thinking about the tower makes him want to cringe or apologize unexpectedly. ]

[unabatedly]

[ For all that he is a warrior, he has some varied skills that show off his expertise in other areas, and she's all the more grateful for his strength here. Mana wasted on more spells would have tired her; having her dog try to bash in the door would create a larger distraction than she would have wished. She lets him go first, her hand tightening on her staff, and she steps inside with caution in every step. Neria has to fight herself not to try to bring light to their surroundings, if only to give themselves a small element of safety should they encounter graver concerns within these walls.

Her mabari sets about sniffing around and she gives Cullen a nod, stepping quietly towards the other doors. She turns back only once, glancing at the front door. Her lips press down firmly into a thin line and she stares at it, uncertain. ]

I... Possibly. If we have to leave the way we've come, we'll at least know how to get out quickly. Let's see if we can find something to keep it closed for the moment.

[ A chair, perhaps, or something to wedge into the hinge, as he had mentioned. Neria pauses, settling her hands on her belt and taking it off, scabbard, blade, and all. She holds it out to him. ]

Here. If there's something else here, you'll need it more than I will.

[smited]

[ there's a moment's hesitation before he takes the belt and sword from her with a quiet word of thanks. she is... much smaller than him, so he doesn't actually try to buckle it on, but having a blade similar to the one he's more used to wielding does a lot to help him feel less on edge.

at the end of the apartment opposite the door are a few large chairs. cullen nudges one with his hip, and when it slides a few inches across the floor, he smiles. ] This should work.

[ ... of course it's large enough that it'll take a few minutes to move it to the door. especially since his dog seems to want to stick so close to him that cullen is liable to trip over him at a moment's notice. ]

[unabatedly]

[ Once he's taken the blade, she goes to see about the other doors on her side of the hallway. One is locked, the other has a broken knob and leads to an empty closet, empty but for a few placements for clothes or coats. But she finally finds one that is unlocked, leading to a hallway with a few plain lights inside, enough to give them something to go by.

She closes the door and returns to him, chuckling quietly at his progress. She hides her smile with the back of her hand and awkwardly clears her throat, her mouth crooked as she attempts to keep her grinning to herself. ]

He's, ah...very attached to you. [ Smoothest talker in all of Thedas, right. ] Do you need a hand with that?

[smited]

[ while she looks around, he's frowning down at the mabari and steadily moving the chair across the space. but it's a fond sort of frown. the dog is large and ridiculous, and cullen has only had him for all of a few days but he already loves him to bits. ] I get the feeling his former master didn't let him do much. Shame, really. He's very eager to help.

[ he has essentially adopted a doggy version of his younger self. don't tell him. ]

Thank you for the offer, Neria, but I think I've got this. [ a chair will not get the better of him! no matter how awkward it is to move it. in fact, it only takes him another two large shoves to push it against the door. if he didn't have a sword in one hand, he'd dust his palms off with a proud look. as it is, he turns to her and--pauses.

well this isn't awkward at all. ]

[unabatedly]

[ There's a quiet sound in her throat like a 'tsk' and she shakes her head, watching the dog carry on with Cullen, attached at the man's hip. ]

That's terrible. But he likes you, that much is obvious.

[ A new imprinting, she imagines, with the way the mabari acts. It's awfully endearing and if they were in better circumstances, she might have said more about him or rattled on about her first meeting with her own dog, but decides against it. Instead, she's left to ruminate with her own thoughts until he finishes, looking up as he turns to her.

It takes her several moments to find her voice where it had been there minutes before, because this is very awkward and all around strange. He isn't the sort of person she expected to find here and hardly thought she'd ever see him again after so many years.

And yet.

At last, she simply sighs and shrugs, as if there's nothing to be done. ]

I suppose it's...a little late for greetings, isn't it.

[smited]

[ by his count, it's been over a decade since they've last seen each other. much has changed over those years. and some things haven't. like the way cullen ducks his head and rubs at the back of his neck as he smiles ruefully. ]

Yes, I suppose it is.

[ it hasn't happened often, but he has wondered in the intervening years what he would say should he ever meet neria again. most of his thoughts had involved ways to apologize for the things he said to her when he was caged. but now that he actually has an opportunity to say something, words fail him.

isn't that just typical? ]

I, uh-- I hope you've been well? [ that's not as terrible a place to start as it could have been. ]

[unabatedly]

[ He ducks his head and it gives her a moment to look at him. To really look at him. He doesn't look like the same person to her, not really. He's gotten a little taller, hair straighter (and that can't be natural, no matter what he might say), and doesn't look quite so haunted. And upon closer inspection, she realizes he is not, in fact, wearing Templar armor. That's...odd. It isn't her place to make assumptions but she remembers being told he was no longer in Kinloch Hold when she came back years later with Ariane and Finn.

Rubbing briefly at her arm, she gives him an almost embittered smile, glancing at the door. ]

Well enough, thank you. It's been a rather...tumultuous few years for mages everywhere, even in the Wardens. But I can't complain.

[ She's been away from her post for some time now, out west. To be dragged away from her work is frustrating. She expected needing to come to Skyhold eventually, not to...wherever they are. ]

And you? You've been all right?

[ As if he'd ever be after what he'd witnessed years ago. She bites her lower lip just thinking on it. ]

[smited]

I-- [ don't know how to answer that question. ] Yes.

[ it's not even a lie. not really. ] I was stationed in Kirkwall for a time and that was... Well. It was Kirkwall. [ read as: a complete shithole. ] But things recently have been good.

[ the way he stands tall and the calm expression on his face show just how good it has been. yes, there are perpetual shadows under his eyes. yes, his body doesn't quite work how it used to thanks to the lyrium withdrawal. what happened at the circle will always haunt him, but he's found some measure of healing during his years with the inquisition. the pain isn't quite as immediate as it used to be. he doesn't feel the memories pressing in on him as often anymore.

seeing neria makes it hard to avoid thinking of what happened. but he's able to focus more on how she rescued him more than what happened to necessitate the rescue. the mabari leaning hard against him helps with that. ]

I should apologize. [ he says it somewhat abruptly as his gaze falls to the floor. ] What I said to you when you returned to the Circle--it was... [ cullen trails off and pinches the bridge of his nose. it was terrible. untoward. the kind of thing he's embarrassed about now and regrets quite a bit.]

[unabatedly]

[ Neria's brow furrows at his answer, both surprised and blatantly concerned. ]

Kirkwall? You weren't there when...

[ The explosion. Anders. No matter how far she's traveled, she has enough ties to the Wardens to gather information, and Anders' name had been on so many lips after the explosion. He couldn't have been there at the same time, could he? The idea is...absurd and incredibly coincidental.

As he speaks, she watches him, her expression falling as he brings up the Circle. Neria lifts a hand and shakes her head. ]

Cullen, what happened was-- [ There isn't a word strong enough. The incredible loss of life there had been meaningless and cruel and she has tried, as he has, to move past it. She hadn't even been present for the worst of it. ] What happened then is nothing you need to apologize for. What Uldred did was...vile beyond comprehension.

[ With another shake of her head, she looks back at the door, gathering herself. She doesn't even know how to talk about what happened that day. It'd been too important to move on and keep going. ]

...What you said doesn't matter. You-- Maker, Cullen, that was ten years ago. We were children. You understand that, don't you? [ She looks back at him at last, waiting for him to meet her gaze. ] Should I have expected you to welcome me back with a smile after what they had done?

[smited]

[ a shaky exhale whooshes out of him. ]

I was. [ he was there for everything. it sucked. and that's all he's going to say about it right now because--well, because he's selfish.

his words to her when she found him in that cage were the start of every bad decision he made. his years of willful blindness and prejudice began when he was nineteen and fearful. and she's standing here and telling him there is nothing to forgive.

neria doesn't know everything he's done. cullen is aware of that, and he knows she can't absolve him. in truth, he's not sure he'd want her to. his guilt is a necessary thing that reminds him of why he's been trying so hard over the past few years to change. there is much he has to make up for.

but it feels... not good, but reassuring to be able to look her in the eye and know that, to a point, she understands why he said what he did. he had suffered. he still suffered. and it's only to be expected that it has left a scar. ]

Thank you. [ it's not really an answer to her question, but it's a response. a quiet one. and one that necessitates him looking up at the ceiling after a moment because the tips of his ears are beginning to turn red in his discomfort.

it may be time for a small subject change. ] I... hear you managed to disappear quite thoroughly. Leliana had quite the time trying to find you.

[unabatedly]

[ Cullen gives her more questions than answers and perhaps that's for the best. Bringing up Kirkwall will inevitably bring around to asking about what she's heard, if he'd met Anders, and that will lead to even more unfortunate confessions that she really isn't keen on giving to him or anyone. Not now.

Her gaze remains scrutinizing for a few more moments until the tension seems to abate somewhat, and once he's able to look at her, she simply nods. If it had been years ago, she might have had kinder words for him, or perhaps she might have still have been wary of him. She doesn't know. Ten years have changed them both. Neria doesn't see the point in holding him accountable for things he said to someone younger, someone more foolish, when she was lost as well.

And she's about to let it rest when he switches the subject and. Well. ]

I didn't want to be found.

[ The truth of the matter is that she hadn't wanted to be taken away from her work. She only has so much time left. To wrap herself up in politics would shave off months or years of the research she needs. She couldn't afford it. It was selfish of her, she won't deny, but necessary, especially in light of Corypheus' hold on the Wardens.

Her smile is wry. ] You spend a year stopping the Blight and people start thinking you're a savior. Leliana needed a miracle to stop the Mage-Templar war...and the Inquisition seems more capable of handling a talking Darkspawn magister than a single woman, don't you think?

[ Because they don't need to talk about the Architect, either. That, too, is a past long buried. ]

[smited]

[ oh, he can't help but smile a little at her question. they wouldn't have defeated corypheus without the inquisition as an organization. but the inquisition wouldn't be half the organization it is without cecily trevelyan. what came first, the chicken or the egg? ]

I think we did a good job, yes. [ he's so proud of his men and what the inquisition has become. even with the world not being so thrilled with them at the moment. after all the blood, sweat, and tears poured into it, how could he not be?

and the resolution of what the inquisition originally set out to do does beg the question-- ] You were on a quest of your own, weren't you? [ at least, that's what the letter the inquisition had gotten hinted at. ] Did you find whatever it was you were searching for?

[unabatedly]

[ That gives her pause, but a smile lights up her face almost immediately afterwards. ]

So you succeeded? I had a feeling things would be all right.

[ Leliana put her faith in the Inquisition. If she believed, then so did Neria, without a shred of doubt. The sky hasn't opened up again to her knowledge and perhaps this is why. She almost regrets not keeping in touch with Leliana more. She would have known all of this before now. Ah, but that's for another day.

Neria's smile falls just slightly and she shakes her head, stepping away. ] No. Not yet, at least. I'm...hopeful I'll find something eventually.

[ She gestures back to the door she had tried earlier. ] Perhaps we should move on? [ Two can play the deliberately obtuse game, Cullen. ]