TEST DRIVE 01

[modmachine]

Test Drive meme Welcome to the first Test Drive for Hex! Unlike most test drives, the scenarios included here also feature things that you can investigate with mod interaction. If at any point in your test thread, your character(s) want to investigate something further, please put a "HEY MODS" in your subject line to make it easy to find. Don't feel limited to the scenarios presented - make up your own prompts as much as you want! Reserves will open on the 7th and Applications on the 15th. scenario one - the tree In a grassy square in the Central District, wedged in between dorm halls, there is a tree. Far wider than it is tall, its leaves are just beginning to turn from yellow to orange, with a few green stragglers near the top and a growing carpet on the grass beneath it. At one end of the tree's reach, there is a picnic table, the sort with benches built in to either side. Anywhere under the boughs, a distinct ticking, like the sound of a clock, can be heard. Moving about makes it clear that the sound is loudest nearest the trunk. Numerous small gears stick out of twists between branches, though they do not appear to move to the naked eye. Someone has hung a string of orange lights in the branches for Halloween, along with some cotton spiderweb. No matter how closely you look, there doesn't seem to be an end where the lights plug in to anything. Otherwise, there is nothing unusual about the decorations. In the center of the table, half-covered by leaves, there is an iron plaque that has not been particularly well-treated for rust. Some of the writing on it is almost legible. It is chill to the touch. Someone's carved their initials and a date into the end of one bench - scenario two - the wrecking yard Abandoned vehicles are by no means an unusual sight in the Sixth District. Abandoned buses are slightly more unusual. This particular bus has boarded up windows, a black light string hanging over the windshield, and the words HAUNTED HOUSE written along the side, where the old inoffensive public-transit advertisements have been painted over. The front door serves as the entrance; the back leads into the wrecking yard and the haunted "house" proper. A girl in her late teens in slightly unsettling gothic lolita sits in a cheap folding chair around the front of the bus. She doesn't charge admission, though there is a candy bowl labeled for Donations on the card table next to her with a few bills and some change in it, in the center of a group of candles that burn in skull holders. She reminds everyone who passes her to please not touch the actors or props inside. Occasionally, mist from a smoke machine on the other side of the wooden fence billows around her ankles, almost seeming to form caressing fingers running down her legs. Across the street from her, two men sit in a beaten up old pickup truck, the much taller man smoking cigarettes with the windows open. The shorter man fidgets almost uncontrollably, constantly glancing in the direction of the girl and her bus. Their voices aren't loud enough to hear distinctly from the haunted house side of the street, but the woman at the bus entrance shoots them occasional looks none-the-less, alternating between pleased smiles and blank stares. Painted along the sides of the truckbed, in much dirtier letters than those of the haunted house, is the phrase NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH. scenario three - the party downtown In a bar downtown, it's not much different from any other night of clubbing, except that everyone is wearing masks. Ranging from the elegant custom work of a nearby boutique (conveniently open even after sundown tonight, if you need to pick one up) to cheap colored paper held on with elastic handed out at the door of the bar, masks are the must-have accessory tonight. Indeed, many of the parties won't let you in if you don't have one. Those paying careful attention might notice little dots of red on the necks of some of the partiers, especially those who seem a bit pale and have called off drinking for the night. Aside from that, though, it doesn't seem like anyone's really getting hurt; it's just a fun time for everyone. Except for the poor guy who made the mistake of wearing an owl mask and yellow contacts, anyway. Just within hearing range of the beating bass of the clubs, a young woman in a red jacket holds a mask in her hands, turning it over and sometimes holding it to her face to look at in a window reflection. The long face of it calls to mind some kind of black dog, perhaps a Doberman or German Shepherd. She isn't dressed at all for an evening at the clubs, and has a canvas bag slung over her shoulder with the shape of heavy books straining the fabric at the bottom. scenario four - the playground Not everyone seems to be getting into the spirit. A playground near the center of the city has precious few decorations - save for a spiderweb on one of the swingsets that seems to be natural, not man-made. A pumpkin or two have been left near the edges, but they're all smashed, the orange guts running along in a streak that seems to blend into a thin line surrounding the entire perimeter. The see-saw looks like the board's been freshly painted, but otherwise all of the equipment looks almost lonely and old. The rust on the metal stains everything an orange-red, and the slide in particular seems the worst hit. Still, everything is at least standing, and those who attempt to play on it will find it sturdy and warm in the cool night. ... Except for the merry go round. That one seems to be bent, as if someone very heavy sat on the edge. It still turns, but it wobbles dramatically, with horrible squeaking noises. Still, it's usable, for anyone who would like to play.

MADE BY TESSISAMESS

Comments

Haseo | .hack//G.U. | Native AU

[betterlogoutand]

[Scenario Two]

[Haunted houses never appealed that much to Ryou, and he only became harder to impress after he died and started seeing ghosts. Now the idea of a fake haunting seemed rather childish—and not just in the "I'm too cool and mature for this stuff" kind of way. More like the "I glanced outside my window last night and saw something ten times more terrifying than a guy in a spooky mask covered in fake blood" kind of way. It's tough to compete with the real deal.

Still, it's fun to watch other people's reactions, and it gets Skeith to shut up for a little while in a non-lethal way, so it's an activity worth wasting time on.

There's no point heading in on his own so he lingers by the entrance, waiting for someone else to show up. He's not in costume, but he is wearing a hell of a lot of black leather and a dramatic cloak, so he probably looks like some kind of weird goth. He eyes the truck across the street while he waits.]

[hedophelianist]

[O had been thinking about going out tonight, so she's all dressed up in something short and tight and designer, but something about this little haunted house seemed to draw her when she drove by. So she parks her car a little ways down the block and across the street, then trots back to the entrance of the house.

There she pauses, seeing Ryou.]

You in line?

[betterlogoutand]

[He watches her pull up, paying less attention to the suspicious truck now (it's probably not important anyway, as long as they don't try to pull anything weird). He crosses his arms over his chest and sizes her up as she approaches. She's older than him, but that doesn't tell him much about her personality...

When she addresses him he responds with a shrug and the obligatory teenage sarcasm.] Nah, I just felt like standing here for fun.

[svensk]

[Taking everything seriously all the time is as overrated at wanting to be taken dead seriously, in Thorvald's opinion. Both those ideas kind of influence his sudden decision to redirect his steps towards the little haunted house, but he stops in front of it to dig through his pockets and see if he has change on him to pay with. He heavily doubts that a place like that would accept a card.]

Hey, [he adresses the other guy standing there near the entrance] are you going in, too?

[betterlogoutand]

[Ryou watches this guy fumble around in his pockets for awhile, idly wondering what the hell he's doing.]

Uh, yeah? [Obviously. Why is this guy asking a dumb question like that?] What, are you too scared to go in alone?

[svensk]

No, but if you were to stand here and waffle about if you want to go in much longer, I would have asked you to keep an eye on Jenny while me and Emil go in there.

[He first gestures to the German Shepherd and then the other dog that looks like a mix of a wolf and a corgi why frame him, obediently standing on either side of his legs.]