test drive meme #13

[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 September 24th, and apps are open October 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: DON'T LOOK AT ME
[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 Boos, from the Mario video game series.

These monsters can be menacing, but are also incredibly shy. When looking directly at them, they will cover their faces and fade into the background- however, when turning away from them, they advance on you until they're in the perfect spot to take a nice big bite. The only way to defeat them is to escape this part of the level- that is, run madly away and try to keep up eye contact while you do so. They may look cartoonish, but those ghost teeth can be sharp!]

SCENARIO TWO: YOU'VE GOT RED ON YOU
[Hadriel is home to many things- temples, irate gods, angry citizens and... well, zombies, apparently. Beware as they start to walk/stagger/generally kind of shuffle around the streets of the city, since where there's one or two, there's usually a hundred more just waiting for the right moment to strike.

Zombies attack Hadriel by the dozen for this prompt, and nowhere in the city is technically safe from them! While they're not necessarily fast or intelligent, they have an advantage on you in that they have a lot more friends and they can't feel pain. So saddle up, bunker down, and try to survive the infestation!

This is a mini version of our Dead Men Walking event this month!]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: CAPTURE THE FLAG
[Hey, what's Hadriel without a few mind-numbingly stupid games to forget the fact that you're in a murdercave that routinely tries to scare the crap out of you while also maybe killing you every once in awhile? You're not quite sure who came up with this particular mind-numbingly stupid game, but you seem to be playing, so get your running shoes on and grab that inhaler!

This is a game of Capture the Flag, and thanks to Rage, you're really starting to feel that competitive spirit. You're going to win- you have to. So what if you incur a few fouls along the way?

There's a red team and a blue team for this prompt, with both teams trying to protect their corresponding flags. Try to strategize to take the other team's precious flag, chase someone from the opposing team down, or just go all out and full body tackle that poor guy who got a little too close to your territory- it's all on you!]

Comments

[mismanagement]

[There's been nothing from her world in Hadriel except for nightmares and - briefly - General Hux. For a while that had been a relief. No one had known her and she could be, however uncertainly, whatever she wished in the aftermath. Maketh should have known that wouldn't last.]

I have no rank here.

[It ought to be said. Maketh shoulders her rifle and stands at attention. There's no point in threatening this woman, known only to her as Fulcrum. She's a Jedi, or the closest surviving thing to it, and that is the end of the matter.]

Has it been explained to you?

[fulcra]

[ no rank doesn't mean much to someone still chronically guilty of using titles for everyone. too much military in the formative years can do that to a person. but she'll make an effort. maybe. ]

Not exactly. [ ahsoka shrugs, looking around them again for zombies, then shifting closer to maketh, angling herself so she has a good view of approaching trouble. but this means her lightsabers can go back to her hips. ] It's mostly just been getting lost and fighting these things.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh holds herself very still, hoping her uniform is presentable. It's not of Imperial make, just borrowed clothes that she's ironed half to death, the lines nearly sharp enough to cut, but this is less about the fabric and more about how one wears it. Presentation is important. If this woman decides to kill her, then she'll be dead.

That will make four times now. At least it will likely be quick.]

You've been brought here by a device called the Door. It brought these creatures as well. [There's gore on her boots, likely digging into the leather. Maketh resists the urge to scrub them clean.] We are underground. Containment measures have been enacted to ensure that no one leaves.

[fulcra]

I see. [ it's not all that surprising, considering what ahsoka's already been able to pick up on, but hearing words put to it is somewhat reassuring. she folds her arms across her chest, frowning thoughtfully. ]

You've been here longer than a few hours, then. Does this Door have a known reason for bringing us, this, the creatures here? Any sort of pattern or common thread between everyone? Or are we left wondering?

[mismanagement]

The ones in charge claim that it's attracted to chaos. They're using it to gather power. [Maketh's face hardens.] They call themselves gods. All we know for certain is that they feed off emotion, and the ones they keep are somehow...better, for their purposes.

[She's quiet a moment.]

You're not the first from Lothal. There was another man, briefly. But the others have been strangers to me.

[fulcra]

[ taking that all in, she's quiet a moment, looking away from maketh. keeping an eye out for trouble, sure, but also not needing to school her face for the moment. some part of ahsoka wants to be disbelieving of this whole thing, but there are too many strange things to be explained away. it's sad when the ridiculous explanation makes the most sense. ]

Chaos I can believe. [ zombies and someone she'd always thought was a diehard imperial. not her typical company. and quieter- ] Who else was here?

[mismanagement]

A general. He called himself Hux. [Maketh is quiet for a moment.] He claimed--to be from a time after the Empire's fall.

[fulcra]

[ hux sounds like a name she's heard before - an officer somewhere else in the empire? - but that isn't the important part of what maketh has told her just now. she's been devoting years to trying to tear the empire down with no end in sight; even if she doesn't have a finite date on it, hearing that it happens gives her a renewed sense of purpose. ]

Well it's not like the Emperor's got a regime that was ever going to last.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh hesitates.]

This man said he served what rose in the aftermath. His uniform had a variation of the Imperial seal.

[It ought to be said.]

[fulcra]

If we can take the Empire down once, we can do it twice.

[ there's no sense of immediate threat to ahsoka's tone - she's too civil for that - but her pride and belief in the rebellion is clearly intact. ]

[mismanagement]

[That's an odd way of putting it. Maketh frowns slightly.] There are others here? From the rebellion?

[fulcra]

Not here. But back where they need to be. [ she almost smiles. it might not be a terribly reassuring expression, given the context. ] If you're the only Imperial in this cave, I don't think we're gonna have a problem.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh almost says she's not an Imperial. Not in this place, at least. But really, the truth - if it must be said - is more complicated than that. She merely nods.] I'm afraid you will face other enemies. But if you help to protect these people, you will find no trouble with me.

[fulcra]

That was the plan. I'm glad we could come to an agreement.

[ she holds out a hand, offering it for a shake. protecting people is always her number one goal and respecting maketh while she does that doesn't bother her. ahsoka isn't exactly about to leave her to the zombies, either. ]

[mismanagement]

[Of course she hesitates. This woman could kill her in an instant. Maketh watched the Inquisitor do as much to her own men. She remember the sound his lightsaber made. How he'd smiled.

She shakes Fulcrum's hand. It doesn't matter. She has a duty to protect the people here, no matter the cost.] Of course.

[Maketh hesitates.] What--what should I call you?

[fulcra]

[ after a firm handshake, ahsoka leans back, folding her arms across her chest and looking amused. ]

I'm curious, actually. Has the Empire ever come up with a nickname for me, or did you just get lazy and co-opt my codename?

[mismanagement]

[Maketh huffs.] We didn't assign 'nicknames'. That would be childish.

[Though really, it's not that surprising that Fulcrum is an alias.]

[fulcra]

Are you kidding? We used to do it to the Separatists all the time. [ we here being her and the army of literal ten year olds. childish might apply, but it gave them spirit.

she considers maketh a moment, debating whether to share her name or not. fulcrum has come in handy time and again, but outside of the fight between the rebellion and the empire, maybe it's just not necessary. ]

My name's Ahsoka.

[mismanagement]

Of course you did. [Maketh just sighs. The Old Republic fell for a reason. But the name--

She's quiet for a moment, thinking.] ....Ahsoka Tano?

[fulcra]

[ there's a moment of genuine, but brief, surprise on ahsoka's features before she frowns slightly, one white-patterned brow arched. it's good that there's no reason to think that her real identity is associated with the persona of fulcrum, but still. ]

I'm more popular than I thought.

[mismanagement]

You were a commander during the Clone Wars. Of course we know about that. [Perhaps 'we' is no longer the right word. Maketh pushes that thought away.] And your--trial. Well. That was known as well.

[It's probably not wise to bring that up right now.]

[fulcra]

The trial was a mistake. [ a setup is the better word and one she would have used in the past, but it's been well over a decade. she tries to be kind to barriss's memory. ]

And I'm never sure how much the Empire scrubbed its history, especially when it comes to the Clone Wars. It must be hard to acknowledge Jedi for the officers they were.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh just watches her for a long moment.] On the contrary. Cadets are taught to honor the memory of the Jedi for their process in combat and the great service they provided to the Galactic Senate. You supported a weak system, but that was hardly your doing.

[Maketh exhales roughly.] Don't think me a fool. My mother served in the Clone Wars. I know very well what you faced.

[fulcra]

I've had less than reasonable conversations about this before, considering the government's official stance on how the war ended. We did our best. So did our men. [ she pauses a moment. ] But that war was a mess and the galaxy turned out much poorer for it. So I appreciate you have some respect for that.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh nods just once.] We haven't forgotten. But there were reasons so many went to the Empire, the stability he promised.

[She meets Ashoka's eyes briefly.]

We were hungry. I hope you can understand that. It doesn't excuse what happened, but---that ought to be understood.