test drive meme #12

[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 August 25th, and apps are open September 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: O SHIT WADDUP
[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 hop right on you and chow down. This time, the Door has brought in several Doomed, from the Final Fantasy XI video game.

These strange undead creatures look somewhat froglike in appearance, but rumor has it they're actually made from a bunch of gross dead bodies all stuck together. Their whiplike tongue can hurt pretty bad, and if that wasn't enough, they can emit gasses that make it hard to concentrate, fight, and even stand upright. Have fun!]

SCENARIO TWO: PARANOIA
[Out of nowhere, you received a message on your phone. It's most likely from an unknown number - but not necessarily. It could be from someone you know, a number you recognize. A friend, an enemy, a trusted ally. But it's not who the message is from that matters, it's what it says.

Listen to me. They've been lying to you this whole time, and now they're coming for you. That, and nothing else.

So what will you do? Laugh and ignore this clearly missent text? Text back, try to get more details? Freak out? Or maybe you already know what it's talking about - who it's talking about. Maybe it's talking about that person who just walked by you. Didn't they look at you for a little too long? Doesn't it look like they might have a weapon?

You've got to protect yourself in whatever way you can. Who knows what they're plotting.]

C O M B I N A T I O N

SCENARIO THREE: LOUD VALLEY
[There you were, walking down one of Hadriel's rubble-strewn streets, when out of nowhere a cheery tune played. And then... everything changed.

Now there are rainbows along the cave ceiling, candy in the shops, walls painted in bright colors. Everything is cheery and happy and designed to lighten your heart. And if you walk around, you may just find your very own animal companion waiting to frolic and play with you! Sure, it'll all change back to normal Hadriel before long, but right now you might as well enjoy it.

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

Comments

[avephoenix]

[Off Faith goes ahead, knowing already what Alicia is pointing out.] Think I should light the way ahead? [A fireball lobbed forwards might alert monsters to their presence, though.] It doesn't look like there's anything more, though.

[designator]

I would hold off on it. ( or she could just burn the entire tunnel, but that might kill potential allies and Alicia doesn't see the point in the risk. those monsters are nothing they're incapable of handling, not to the point of further exposing their abilities. ) If we stick to the walls, we should be fine.

( the light would be preferred, but they're close enough, now they're inside. at least, she believes that. )

[avephoenix]

[Faith nods and keeps exploring. It's quiet, not a monster in sight in the tunnel, and soon she thinks she can smell air that smells somewhat fresher than the air in here.]

Ooh, Licia, I think we're clear! [She dashes ahead (just a few steps, Alicia, don't worry), beaming when she sees the glow of an unnatural-looking daylight.] Yeh! Come on!

[designator]

( oh thank ... something or other. she'll take the... odd looking daylight over tunnels and potential monsters. she was a fucking intelligence field agent, not combat. (at least, before they downsized, before the agency fell altogether, she was.) she can do without the needless expenditure of her mind control abilities - unlike some of their friends, her skills require actual energy to work. they have to be controlled and limited, not just fired off willy-nilly. )

The hell is this? ( but this place? no. what kind of low-budget dystopian tv show did they land in? )

[avephoenix]

[Alicia pls it's not Faith's fault she's OP.]

Hmmmm. [Faith taps her chin with a finger as she looks around.] Looks like somewhere underground. [Eep.] These buildings look so weird. Is there intel on this place?

[Lord only knows what information Alicia is privy to that none of the others are.]

[designator]

( damn phoenixes man. at least when Marc was still alive he could commiserate, needing to be careful with his telekinesis too.

sighing, Alicia scans the rooftops one more time, letting her initial shock dissipate and trying to find some sort of knowledge among the catacombs of her mind.

... nothing. ) I never even knew Undergrounds could be this spacious.

( back home they'd always been so cramped, allergic to the idea of light, with crumbling dirt from the top.

she's... a little unnerved. there's not much that should be completely unexpected to her, but unfamiliar monsters combined with a literal underground city, not just the communities they saw, destroyed, ranks on the list of things that are completely foreign.

she inhales. )

We're going to need to find a base.

( first things first. they need to find a building to research in. then do the research. )

[avephoenix]

[kanyeshrug.gif

Damn. If Alicia doesn't know, then it's truly a mystery.

Faith looks more closely at the buildings around them, at the one they've come out of, at the high ceiling of the cave. This doesn't look like home at all, and for the first time since waking up on that stone floor with those ugly monsters to fight, she feels a twinge of fear.]

Guess we can just go anywhere we want, yeah? Doesn't seem like anyone'll stop us. [No one had come to help them, after all.] I don't think we should be so close to this place, though. If monsters start stampeding out, our work shouldn't be in their way.

[designator]

( it certainly seems that way. (and really, even if it wasn't, no one stops Alicia from going places if she wants to.)

she doesn't like this, but it's not the time for being frightened. nor is it the time to entertain the thoughts that naturally creep up on being thrown somewhere like this.

they have work to do.

she nods at Faith and gestures to a painted sign on the wall, something indicating locations of nearby buildings. ) Spire housing?

( HUH. )

At least we've got directions. ( a clinic, a library.

a bar?

okay then. )

[avephoenix]

Ooh, a bar! [She shoots Alicia a grin.] I think I'm going to like it here.

[Later, of course. After they've settled somewhere and started doing their work.]

A spire's good, yeh? Higher up. [More to see from up there, the advantage of the higher ground.

Also, it makes her feel like an actual bird, kind of.]

[designator]

( oh, Alicia can definitely get on board with a bar. especially anything titled "Delight's Bar" - that can only be promising. )

If there's booze, there's food. ( which likely confirms the presence of wildlife more edible than those monsters, possibly also fruit and veg. a water source. there must be a water source. and if there's a clinic, there's some sort of medical supplies or healers. all of which means thst this place isn't quite as dilapidated as it looks.

it's a spot of hope. something that means they can certainly survive here if their only problem is occasional monster attacks. they aren't working to any clock other than the one that exists with regards to the speed of their own lives back above ground. no need to worry about starvation or dehydration. )

Works for me. We can at least use the rooftop to survey. ( depending on just how much a roof like that peaks. ) Do you see it? ( Alicia glances up from the directions and looks over in the direction of the supposed clinic.

actually. now that she thinks about it. the directions to the clinic are in sort of familiar handwriting. )

[avephoenix]

[Booze, food, lodging -- this place isn't so bad after all, then!]

Think so. [She looks at the map, committing to memory the path to take to the clinic, then nods.] Let's go see.

[She's off at a relaxed walk before Alicia even gets a chance to answer.]

[designator]

( well. they didn't have much worth investigating around here. Alicia would always rather have a base of operations - maybe not somewhere to call home, not down here, but somewhere she can return to and continue living as man was meant to.

(she has been in an awful lot of bad situations in her career, but never will Alicia ever believe that man should live outside of a building when there's the option for one.

who likes camping anyway?)

she quickly catches up to Faith - or, at least, as quickly as one can in a tight skirt and heels - and pushes her hair over her shoulder. ) There. ( yeah, the towering building that tapers to a point. that would be it. it still looks... off. not right. but none of the architecture here does. )

I feel like we're in a surrealist painting. Or a really bad TV show. ( why are the buildings this round? why are the streets? it's like everything is a damned country lane. )

[avephoenix]

[Camping is gross.]

Dalí, right? [The melting clocks? Faith forgets the specifics sometimes.] I dunno, Licia. I kind of like it? It's different. Everybody has a different style they like. Besides, I saw something on TV once, an advert for a show about people who go live in the wilderness. This man was saying how nature's full of round things -- the planet, the sun, the moon, the way the earth circles the sun. Well, ellipse more than circle, but you get me. Anyway, he said he realized we live in boxes now -- houses, cars, offices, beds, desks -- and it scared him right into living out there, in tune with nature.

That made me think a little different from then on.

[Faith likes modern conveniences, but she gets the sentiment. She wonders if maybe just a few superhumans living out in the world might've one day befriended Creatures and stopped all the madness from happening.

Probably not, but it's a nice thought.




ooc: it's either ax men or mountain men. or something to that effect. thanks, history channel.]

[designator]

Him, aye. ( she hums an agreement at that, lets Faith continue. it might not necessarily be bad, it just seems... strange. unnatural, even if it might indeed be more natural to have round things rather than boxes. ) You're not about to go and live in the woods, are you?

( she laughs, and then, while opening the door; ) Have you ever seen the work of Julian Trevelyan? ( no Dali, but still. the faded sketches are clinging to the back of her mind as they walk through this place. )

[avephoenix]

No way. [Faith shakes her head so hard her hair bounces around a bit.] I like my boxy bed. [Comfy, soft, smells nice. Heaven!]

No, I haven't. [She walks past Alicia, stopping once she's through the door, waiting for her friend to follow.] You know I'm not the artsy type like you and Di.

[designator]

( beds are fantastic. everywhere should be made of bed. that is one thing you definitely need to thank our unnatural civilisation for. )

There's an exhibit on in London. We should go when we get back. Fascinating stuff. Really made me appreciate reality.

( when. not if.

she follows, taking to the stairs and glancing at the doors for a moment. ) I would guess that... we just go in? ( unless they're locked. she doesn't exactly have the implements to pick a lock. never even learned how. that was always Carl's kind of thing. )

[avephoenix]

Sure. [Faith doesn't think she'll understand it, but Alicia will be there to teach her about the paintings, the artist, the style. It'll be fun no matter what.

Shooting Alicia a mischievous grin, Faith opens the doors and heads inside, once again leading the way.] This place makes me appreciate home. I'm pretty sure these aren't the round things that advert meant!

[designator]

( lead away, you always do. Alicia's job is supervise from the shadows, to push where necessary. and right now, it's not necessary.

instead, she's taking the moment to check out the items in this place. )

I doubt it.

( interesting that the place is furnished, though. )

Very... welcoming, for a place that tried to kill us.

( open doors? furnished housing? )

[avephoenix]

Hmmm. [Faith wanders aimlesslly around the house, peering down the hall and into the kitchen while Alicia makes a doubtless more thorough inspection of it all.]

Well, nothing's tried to kill us since we left that arena, yeah? Not that that was a good welcome, but I'm only saying.