dankmemes | test drive meme #12

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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, I suppose it at least doesn't hurt.

[Dorian is generally confident in his ability to defend himself, and so often people see niceness as an excuse to walk all over someone. He's cultivated tactical rudeness like armor, since in Tevinter an excuse to walk all over someone was not to be tolerated.]

[He gives Miriam an actual smile while the dogs introduce themselves, each one sniffing the others ass in a way that Dorian is trying very hard to ignore]

Dorian Pavus, a pleasure. Have you been here long?

[Because as he hasn't had anyone tell him yet where he is or how they got here, he wants to know. She looks like one of those bright, precocious teenagers, and much less egotistical than he had been at that age. So hopefully Miriam can help him]

A while. [She flashes her most charming smile. Look how cute she is! Oh so cute and harmless. He should be nice to her, yes he should.] You'll probably be here a while too. Sorry. But it goes like that.

[The cute harmless ones are usually quite lethal, but at the same time the smile reminds him of Eliana, and he can't help but feel himself warm to her just a bit. It would also be amazingly rude to be mean when she has been nice so far, and he tries not to be rude to those who don't deserve it.]

[He shrugs]

If previous experience bears out, I shall be here precisely long enough to feel comfortable, then something terrible will happen and I'll be whisked away somewhere else. I'm starting to see a pattern emerge in all of this.

Though I would like to know who is in charge here... or, barring anyone in charge, per se, the being or person responsible for my arrival.

[He knows they're not always the same person. Usually, even.]

[Miriam peers up at him.] You've seen this kinda thing before?

[Huh. Weird.]

The gods are in charge. They eat emotion and fuck with people.

[Dorian nods]

Twice now. The first time I was pulled from my world by a coven of soul-stealing witches, the second I was pulled from that world by what I can only presume was a god for reasons which I was never able to decipher.

I'm getting quite tired of it.

[Seriously, he's starting to wonder if he's ever going to get back home at this rate. Why him?]

Wonderful! I can't decide if this is a step up or not yet. Do please elaborate on the fucking with people part.

[So long as the "eating emotion" isn't too terribly literal and doesn't involve leaving him an emotionless husk or the gods eating his heart, the second part seems more important.]

Guess you would.

[Seriously, that sucks.]

Oh. They do things, to make you feel certain ways. [Miriam shrugs, as casual as she can manage.] Make your nightmares come back, made 'em real. Made people really mad so they wanted to kill each other, that was really awesome. And a while back they buried people alive. Left 'em in coffins and handed out shovels. But that was before my time.

[There's a small shudder at the nightmares bit, a mage's nightmares were... creative to say the least. He'd hate to find them true. At least the emotional manipulation isn't new, but the last has both eyebrows arching up.]

Definitely a step down. I think I might miss holes in the roof if that's what this place is like. Lovely.

[he looks down at the girl]

Please at least tell me there's wine here.

[Or liquor, mead, he would even settle for *shudder* beer if it meant he didn't have to tolerate this place completely sober.]

[Miriam grimaces, before turning back to watch the dogs playing.] There's a bar. It's pretty cool, actually. Almost makes up for all the shit.

Excellent! Even halfway decent wine makes up for a large variety of hardships.

[It doesn't occur to him that Miriam is really too young to be drinking. He started drinking when he was younger than she was, and even as a small child he'd been given watered down wine.]

[The presence of booze cheers him up enough that he gives Miriam a polite bow]

Would you do me the courtesy of escorting me there? You have no idea how desperately I need a drink right now.

[Miriam giggles. She likes him. He's like her friend Gilly. Except that Gilly's dead.] Sure. I'm nice like that.

And we have already established how important it is to be nice.

[He offers her his arm, as if she were a lady at a ball, instead of a slightly grubby teenager in a large, dank cave. But Dorian was grubby too, and he liked her. She didn't seem nearly as insufferable as some of the teenagers he had met. Like himself.]

Lead the way, my dear.

[Aww, that's special. Miriam giggles and loops her arm through his. That's how it's done in the movies she's seen.] Awesome. C'mon, Barnaby. We're going to the bar!

[Barnaby barks happily. He loves the bar.]

He gets whipped cream if he's a good boy. Ain't that right, buddy?

[Barnaby chuffs. He's always a good boy!]

[It's close enough for the cave they're stuck in, perhaps an etiquette teacher would correct her, bur Dorian is hardly going to bother. It's been months since he's escorted anyone anywhere, and this is hardly any sort of court or fancy ball.]

[Oh yes. The dogs. He'd almost forgotten. He looked back at the mabari that had been following him.]

Well, you can come along too I suppose. I'd hate for Barnaby to get lonely.

[But this didn't mean he liked the thing.]

[He might give Dog some whipped cream he supposed. If he was good.]

Shall we?

test drive meme #12

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