dankmemes | test drive meme #12

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!test drive

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!]

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oh shit waddup - phoenix in the house

[Faith very quickly discovers that these monsters are weak against fire, and so she very, very quickly abuses the fact that she can burn them to the ground.]

Watch out, fire coming your way! [she says to the person who is standing between her and a Doomed. If they move, she'll shoot fire at the monster. If they don't, she'll make a running jump and rain fire down on it from above.

Either way, she will enjoy it, and when she's done, she'll say,] Gross.

loud valley - two phoenixes in the house

[This girl is on fire.

Well, no she's not, but there's a flaming bird perched atop her head, lighting the way as she walks down the city streets. She's drawn to the less restored places, because she's used to danger and excitement, and run-down places mean there is or could be trouble, and she can help. Faith is a helper. A doer!

The phoenix on her head occasionally flies off, swoops by a person or an intereseting building or thing, before coming right back to Faith. Hope you like fire. And birds.]

( having faith here has made kate's murdercave days far brighter, although kate is about as likely to admit that as she is to drink starbucks' idea of coffee.

she means that figuratively, but - well, the woman is literally a phoenix, and shines brightly enough through kate's shades even without the giant flaming bird that goes soaring around kate's head (making her duck because, well, she's lived through a phoenix fire burn and nearly ten years later, the scar still fucking twinges).

kate raises her sunglasses onto her head to prevent the headache that will surely come from wearing them in faith's presence for too long, and hops off the half-destroyed building she was perched on, surveying possible running routes. she likes this area, if only because it forces her to use agility and skills that repaired rooftops, whole buildings don't. )

Not surprised. ( she nods to the bird and almost, almost forgets that there is a small, stripy kitten nesting in her hair.

well, it's quickly remembered when it jumps out of her bun and gracefully scoots over to faith, all unabashed affection, crawling around her ankles. )

This sweetie!

[Sorry, Kate. Before answering you, Faith has to pick up the kitten and hold it close, very much cuddling with the cute, purry little thing it is.]

I like it. The phoenix. [She absently scratches the kitten's ears and glances up the phoenix it as it approaches her.] Nice to see one that's not-- well. That's not me. I wish I could fly.

[She looks genuinely wistful as she says that. Wouldn't it be nice to fly, to have that kind of freedom.]

( hello, bitches )
( some people, on entering a strange, underground city with monsters breathing down their necks would scream, or panic. or fight.

if you're alicia quantrell, you're more concerned with the dirt on your skirt from the patch of ground you woke up on. if anything, she looks incredibly bored here.

that might have something to do with the fact that any monster getting within a few feet immediately stops, turns around, and attacks the next monster it finds. but who really knows.

alicia, meanwhile, finishes dusting herself off and wanders to the nearest person. ) Hi. Are you able to fill me in?

( for as crisp and unceremonious as her attempt to gather information was, she sure seems friendly enough, her voice pitched and the twang of a girl raised in the highlands of scotland clear in each word. she even offers a smile. )

( do the unnie )
( well. this is certainly a change from the things she's seen here so far. everything looks so... cute. it's overwhelmingly bright, practically the same shade as kate's hair. it's going to give her a headache.

... if the sweets don't rot her teeth first. but oh god, she is not complaining about turning taps to get chocolate or finding her favourite pastries in the shops instead of badly tinned tomatoes.

when not gorging herself on all the things she knows have no nutritional value, alicia can be found accompanied by a pretty hummingbird and frequenting the bar, ordering equally sweet cocktails and chatting to whomever comes close enough. ) I could get far too used to this. What about you?

( it's one of those things they've always agreed on - the ability to fly through the sky, unhindered and swift, would be beautiful. kate exhales for a moment - okay, she sighs, because damn, jumping from rooftop to rooftop only does so much for a girl. )

Nice to see the origin story? ( the kitten mews, quite happy to stay in faith's arms and receive affection - and give it too, judging by the way its head lightly nuzzles against her hand - as kate watches the bird peck at its flaming wings from its perch on faith's head. these things had always been stories, their name a word used to define people like faith - the rare, genetically odd few who could mimic so many of its supposed abilities.

if alicia were here, she'd be lecturing the both of them right now, even though kate's long committed the talk about phoenixes, about their uniqueness among superhumans, to memory. )

[This kitten is so distracting. Faith lowers her head, booping its nose with hers.]

Hmm? Oh, yeah! Weird, but nice. D'ya think they were ever real back home, though?

[Faith knows that she is real, that she is rare enough that some superhumans believe she should be served. That's weird, and it makes her uncomfortable. If she were like Rosenberg, she might use that to her advantage -- hell, she might make herself out to be like one of these so-called gods here. But that's ludicrous, in her mind. Why? Why crush people for your own amusement? For your own survival? Faith would rather die than be that cruel. No, she gets so much more out of helping people. Everyone gets more.]

( okay, for a thing that kate spent the first day trying to get rid of - help, why is a tiny, fluffy thing following me why does it want to touch me - she can't deny that watching it play with her friends is absolutely adorable.

she's definitely hiding a smile with her hand as she rubs her cheeks. )

No idea. Would be something if they were. ( she'd wonder why they died out. or if they did. there were many a strange thing back home, like the fact that only themselves and Creatures seemed to have any unnatural powers. )

They do say everything has to start somewhere. ( so maybe there's a grain of truth in the stories. maybe their world, as it is now, was formed on phoenix ash or something. maybe superhumans used to be more like these mythical creatures.

she doesn't know for sure. but it would be interesting to find out, to see what they originally were. the months here, if they've taught her anything, have taught her more curiosity about such things - about other worlds, about her own. with so many questions about her own world she's never bothered to think about, so many she ends up thinking about when talking to others-

well, maybe she's being a bit more thoughtful than normal. )

fear 2: a day in the life tbh

[The message on her phone is so dramatic that it can only be the work of one person.]

John Jnr. [Brady rolls her eyes, swiping to delete it.] Fuck off.

[Her voice is sharp even as she murmurs that, so it's entirely possible it sounds like she's saying it to you, whoever you are, whoever is unfortunate enough to be sitting next to her at the bar.]

loud valley: news at 5

[Brady has never been so happy in her entire life.

As she strolls through the city streets, she listens to the same news stories on the little radio in her hand. They play over and over, an unending cycle, like a recording on a loop.]

"Vivian Hunt Truebridge was found dead in her home in Auckland early this morning. Sources say she was handcuffed to her bed and believe her death is the result of unsafe sexual play."

Oh my god. [Brady laughs every single time. This has got to be the eighth time already.] Who's the whore now?

[The news stories are all more or less along that vein. Sir Douglas found covered in wax, with bruises and scratchmarks on his skin. John Jnr killed by an autoerotic asphixiation mishap. Alan Griever, murdered by the young girl he tried to get to undress for him -- never mess with a third-degree blackbelt, you disgusting, perverted prick.]

Oh my god. All of you had it coming. [If only it were true.]

ONE. o shit waddup

[On the one hand, Abdul is an excellent fighter. Really hard to catch, let alone kill, which is evident from the bullet scar on his forehead if nothing else. On the other hand, he's a little shaky on his feet due to recent events — being swallowed by a chaotic abyss will shake up even the strongest constitutions — which means he's less responsive to danger than he ought to be.]

[Danger like a squat little frog zombie gremlin. Which is why one manages to get close enough to snag his wrist with its tongue — then immediately regret it as fire shoots from Abdul's fingertips to toast the thing to a crisp. The tongue sizzles, blackens, and drops from his wrist to the ground with a little crunch; Abdul frowns down at it, then peers at the Doomed. There's a frog legs joke in here somewhere, he's pretty sure, but he's too tired to make it.]

[After the fire dies down a little, he crosses over to inspect the corpse in a little more detail. His wrist is still slightly on fire, but he doesn't appear to notice or care.]

THREE. loud valley

. . . This seems a little ridiculous.

[As far as judgmental mutterings under one's breath, this one could be significantly more caustic. All the same, Abdul is genuinely unsettled. It's weird, right, to go from Hadriel as it was yesterday to this, which seems a parody at best and mocking at worst. The bizarre technicolor calm before the storm, maybe.]

[Whatever. The point is: he doesn't eat the candy, looks at it like it might be poisoned, and generally regards the whole event with a fair amount of suspicion unless someone strongarms him into having some manner of fun. The only exception to buzzkill mode is when he runs across a puffball that is allegedly a bird and which doesn't seem to want to leave him alone. His reaction to this is to set her on his shoulder. Given that chickens aren't the most exquisite perchers in the bird world, her balance is awful and she slaps him in the head a few times with her wing in an effort to remain on his shoulder, but such is life. Again, he doesn't seem awfully bothered. There is a 100% chance she'll have a name by the end of the day.]

( she knows that voice, that fire. she's nowhere near stupid enough to get caught by it, so Alicia channels her strength to her legs - and there's a lot of that, she hits hard rather than fast - and jumps out of the way, keeping the monster pinned in place with her own power before it gets singed into the pieces. )

I didn't dress for this. ( she really didn't. she's quite clearly dressed for a date - dinner and clubbing, thanks for asking - and weaponry was the last thing on her mind. not even a gun to conserve her power with.

god, she'd kill for her shortsword right now. )

Excuse me? ( it certainly did sound like it was directed at Alicia, who responds with equal parts confusion and laced venom. she is reasonably sure she's never even spoken to this woman before.

rude, much? )

[There'd been tears yesterday.

Lots of them. Lots of hugging, too, and desperate apologies, and later on, a talk that had gone on late into the evening. He'd clung to Abdul, gripping both his hands, breath coming out shuddery as he'd listened to his friend speak. Polnareff had been terrified to leave Abdul's side, certain that once his friend disappeared from view he'd be gone for good-- but of course, that hadn't happened. They'd slept in their separate rooms and woken up to each other, just as healthy and whole as they'd been before.

And this. They'd also woken up to this.

If Abdul is grudging and suspicious, Polnareff is delighted. This is like the reward at the end of the trial, right? They'd all gone through some shit, and now they get this. It's only fair, and he sees absolutely nothing wrong with indulging. He'd run off to get some candy, and there'd been a dog, and he'd flirted with some girls-- but Abdul is the most important. He doesn't leave him for long.

They separated just long enough for Abdul to acquire that chicken, which is the stupidest looking thing he's ever seen. But out of consideration for her, Polnareff throws his arm around just his free shoulder, gripping him tightly.]

Come on, cheer up! It's like Disneyworld!

Not you. [There's acid in her tone. Why the hell should this stranger think Brady is speaking to her? Talk about self-absorbed.] Just some arsehole who keeps trying to play me.

[She picks up her wine glass and takes a drink. Not bad, for a magical supplier.]

( maybe because she randomly said fuck off like she was talking to the person passing her by?

but the explanation has Alicia perked, has her folding her arms and considering it for a moment. )

You received an odd text.

( it's almost a question. )

[The look he gives Polnareff is highly dubious. Is it like Disneyworld? Is it really? He is pretty sure it's not at all, but whatever. The chicken, annoyed at his proximity, stares at his encroaching hand pointedly.]

Disneyworld doesn't just show up out of nowhere, Polnareff.

[It's probably not an enemy Stand, but it might be. Who can honsetly say.]

[As nice as the idea is that way, way back, there may have been an actual phoenix ancestor in Faith's family, she pouts as she scratches under the kitten's neck.] Yeah. I wish we knew. I wish this place would tell us. Oh, what if this is where it all starts? Emotions rulin' us, creating things for us to give 'em what they want. Isn't that how things get invented? That's how Gramps knows what to put in his shop. What do people want? What'll they come back for? What's so important they'd give him money for it?

[The phoenix stretches its wings atop her head, flapping them once or twice as it settles, its flames a soothing warmth against Faith's scalp.]

Neither did I. [At least Faith looks more appropriately dressed than Alicia.]

You look good though, Licia! I bet Di loved it.

[Yecch. If there's one thing this place has in spades, it's unusually gross monsters. Rashid almost yearns for the days of Shadaloo soldiers and possibly undead fighters. He fought a couple off earlier and now he feels strangely disoriented.

As he's stumbling, he comes across another person and is his sleeve on fire??]

H-hey, I think your arm's on fire.

[It's not nearly that bad, but to Rashid it looks dire. He starts to summon some wind to put it out.]

[It's fine. Animals love him. This chicken definitely won't hurt him.]

Yeah, okay, but it has? So we might as well enjoy it!

[And anyway--]

You can't pick up an animal and then look down at me for eating the candy, you can't have it both ways.

Always thought things got invented because we were too lazy to live without them. ( cars, to get to places faster, to carry more things. washing machines, to prevent the effort of actually handwashing your things.

man, that cat is never going to move if faith keeps petting it, but it's nice to watch. almost as relaxing as it must be to get those scratches down its neck. kate lolls her head back and looks up at the ceiling of the cave for a moment, pauses in thought as the movement works a crick out of her neck.

could this be where it all begins? with gods that eventually become... what, exactly? with people underground that eventually-

she'd rather not go there. )

[His sleeve might be a little on fire. And he still hasn't noticed it, not until Rashid points it out . . . and then it's just oh, yep, that sure is on fire. Huh. Isn't that something.]

Oh. Thank you.

[And just like that, it's gone. Not even a puff of smoke or anything, just: no more fire. Abdul dusts off his arm, then gives it sort of an odd look, like he'd forgotten it was there. Which he kind of had.]

[The chicken gives him a look like: bitch. So she might hurt him. Maybe. A little.]

Technically, she's the one who decided to start following me around. I had no choice about this. Anyway, I'm not looking down on you.

[Mmmmm . . .]

[Yeah, okay, buddy. To that, Polnareff has no verbal response, simply an auditory one: he blows a bubble in his gum and pops it, the noise satisfyingly loud.]

Want some candy, then?

( paranoid much? )
( the message comes when he's out looking for new clothes, for something that isn't marred by the effects of the falling fire tower. it's simple, but anonymous.

and weird as fuck.

matt glances up from his phone, looks around the store for signs of anyone, and pockets his phone in the still beaten sweatpants he wears.

They've been lying to him - it makes sense, with all the things he's heard. nothing makes sense, everything sounds like it's made up. he accepted it, because nothing else he could think of made sense.

but if they're lying... what is the truth?

he doesn't notice that his feet have brought him to the store's front door, where he nearly walks into someone. )

Whoa! -- Sorry, dude. Didn't see you.

( uncanny valley )
Who's a good boy? ( Yes, that cooing voice is one star linebacker, tall derp and lean, mean luggage lifting machine, Matt.

he's definitely, definitely loving this event. especially the big, fluffy dog that comes with it, always following him with a wagging tail and a bounce in its step.

the only problem- ) Man, I'm outta treats. ( Yo, passer by, do you have any? )

[The delay in her response is again attributable to the cutest kitty Faith has ever met.] That's a negative way of looking at it. Normal humans need all those things to get around faster. An' then there's medicine! I think it's nice.

[What if it were, though. What if the people here... what if the ones before them became Creatures? What if everyone brought here are the first superhumans? What if--

Oh, none of that matters, does it? Kate and Faith and all the others, what they did, that's what matters. Save the world. All of that.

The phoenix picks at her hair with its beak.

Faith laughs.] Go eat something! There's a whole cave to explore, silly bird.

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test drive meme #12

Faith Carr | OC | ota!

LOUD VALLEY BECAUSE FUCK IT IDWIW

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| alicia quantrell. original.

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Brady Truebridge | Filthy Rich | ota cw for slightly graphic sex-themed deaths I'M SORRY

mohammad abdul | jjba | ota

tags you with everyone.

stuffs up ur inbox also 2

3

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One!

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| matt. until dawn.

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