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

Ryoji Mochizuki - Persona 3 (Native'd)

[dangerouslyinlove]

I

The tree has always been a curious thing to Ryoji, even though he can't totally place why. Maybe because gears and trees are really not things that normally go together, but who knows. Maybe it's the other trees that are weird. (He kind of doubts it, though.)

It's not the tree that truly captures his interest today, however- today he's crouched by the bench, looking over the initials and the date and examining them carefully. It just seems like the kind of thing that could serve as an anchor, and he hasn't heard anything about ghosts hanging around here, but...

III

Ryoji's mask is pretty cheap (he's a university student, what do you want from him?) but effective. Ish. It gets him in and actually does cover a decent part of his face. Mostly the dot under his eye.

Though he's old enough to get into this parties now, he's not old enough to drink, which... he's actually kind of ok with once he spots the red dots some people are sporting on their neck. Nooo thank you, he's sure that would be a terrible idea, and in the back of his mind Thanatos and his many distorted voices agrees. Those voices are also telling him to keep an eye out, since some people think Halloween is a great time to try and screw with the dead, and Ryoji will. But he's alive, so he's going to enjoy it before his time comes once again.

It might be a bit of both that inspires him to swing over to your character with a bright smile. "Hi! Want to dance?"

III

[chalicejoker]

Hajime's own mask may just be evidence the demon is dabbling in that whole "sense of humor" thing he's heard about...or he's just trying to hide in plain sight as he indulges his curiosity about this very human party.

Not that he'd been expecting to be asked to dance as he investigated. "...I'd rather not."

[dangerouslyinlove]

If he wasn't expecting to be asked to dance, then he clearly doesn't know enough about parties.

Thanatos feels like he's fussing (which... is not an emotion geists ever really display, Ryoji just projects a lot), but Ryoji can't tell if it's because there's something wrong or if he would rather Ryoji were out stopping rituals or something. Which Ryoji would do if he knew about anything happening, but he doesn't, so there. "Why not?" he asks the masked man, smile evident underneath his own, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

[chalicejoker]

He doesn't, that's why he's here in the first place. (At least he knows well enough not to let anyone else try biting his neck...) "I'm not a very good dancer. I do well enough just watching everyone else."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"You don't have to be good. No one will notice." Most people are too drunk to notice. "Come on, just a little bit?"

[chalicejoker]

"...your feet will notice." Hajime is still quite reluctant to get moving there. Demons don't dance. At least, he is pretty sure this demon doesn't...

...and he's also not quite sure what he's dealing with here. This kid doesn't feel human...

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji certainly looks human- though Hajime might know better than anyone that you can't trust a person's look. Even if they mostly just seem politely puzzled. "Why would my feet notice?" he asks, "They can't really pay attention to things either..."

[chalicejoker]

"I'll probably step all over them," Hajime points out. It's a lie; he's a demon and will step exactly where he means to, thank you very much. "You should probably save yourself."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Oh." He gets it now, and he just smiles again. "That's ok! It's just part of learning. Someone's going to get their feet stepped on in the process."

Thanatos is... not giving up, apparently. Huh. Clearly, that means he should definitely get this guy to dance and see if he can figure anything out in conversation.

[chalicejoker]

"...I don't need to learn, really. I don't go to many parties." Especially not if stuff like this kept happening...

[dangerouslyinlove]

Hmmm. You're no fun. But Ryoji can't well back off now. "Alright. Then... let's not dance!" But don't think that means you're getting rid of him. "What's your name?"

[chalicejoker]

...at least he's not dancing. He'll roll with that small mercy. "...Hajime." And there's quite notably a failure to ask for a name in return, because someone is just that terrible at socializing.

[1]

[modmachine]

They seem to be just mundane initials, at least as far as death sense goes. The letters MC and JM are visible, along with a date roughly ten years prior to now.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Hm. Well, not an anchor, probably (maybe), but cute all the same! He hopes they're still together, that would be nice. After sitting there for a few minutes and being very still and very quiet (just in case he'd missed something), Ryoji stands and moves over to the plaque on the table. He'd spotted that earlier, too, and it certainly seems more suspicious but. He liked the carved initials better.

[modmachine]

It seems to tingle to his touch. Though it appears to only be metal (probably bronze), it definitely exists on both the living plane and in the place where ghosts exist, if Ryoji investigates in that direction.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ah ha. ...Ryoji does still wish it was the cute carving. Sigh. But he can feel Thanatos's heckles raise in and behind his mind, the geist always on edge when something like this comes to light. This isn't really the kind of thing he can walk away from, now, so investigate he does.

gimme a roll or I can roll for you in the discord

[modmachine]

It doesn't seem that the plaque is affiliated with a specific death, at least. In fact, if it's ever been affiliated with death at all, it's like someone went over it really hard with an eraser.

i don't know where my dice are, please roll for me. xD

[dangerouslyinlove]

That's... odd. Not that it's not with a specific death, that happens with Gates (which he kind of hopes it's not, Thanatos'll be mad if he has to close it), but the way it's almost hidden. He doesn't feel like that's a thing that should happen. And naturally it makes him look closer.

a 2. sorry mate. xD

[modmachine]

As he leans in, there's a feeling like a breeze running up his back, accompanied by a sound like a very distantly rung bell. If he looks up, nothing much seems to have changed.

damnit. we can't even take twenty in this format. XDD

[dangerouslyinlove]

Hmph. That's... frustrating. There's something here, and he knows it- he just can't get to it right now. Ryoji would be content knowing it's here and coming back to it later. Maybe he needs to eat, or something. But Thanatos doesn't want to leave the thing unguarded until they know what it is exactly and if they need to defend it.

...He might be here a while trying to convince his geist that they need to take a break, basically.

Not on this roll. xD

[modmachine]

He gets to sit in peace for a few minutes, though a campus security guard does drive around the quad and give him a look over. Eventually, a young woman starts walking up from the other side of the tree; she's got black, slightly curly hair and pale skin, and a bag with the campus logo on it slung over her shoulder.

[dangerouslyinlove]

It's ok, officer, he's a student! He's allowed to be here! And he's sure there are weirder things campus security has seen than a freshman just sitting on top of a table. Luckily, Ryoji has a tendency to look more... foolish than suspicious. Which is a nice help when he's doing actual suspicious things.

He doesn't recognize the girl when she approaches, but... there's no he can't talk to her! Ryoji gives her a little wave. "Hello!"

idk what his major is but she's an art major and if he's a student he might have seen her around

[modmachine]

"Oh, hi!" She seems a little surprised to see someone here already. She's a year or two his senior, probably, and roots around in her bag as she comes up to the table, taking a seat on it at the other end. "There's not usually anyone else out here at this time."

I

[awitchdidit]

There's another there, staring at the tree. The blonde woman in a short skirt and jacket makes no attempt to hide her interest, since no one who couldn't see the oddness of the tree was likely to pay her much mind in the first place.

What does catch her eye, however, is the curious young man studying the bench. The rotten iron hadn't interested her much, but curious people always catch her attention. She has spells wrapped around her own senses to make sure they do.

She eventually walks purposefully toward the man, heels clicking on the pavement that leads around the tree's mess of fallen leaves. "I don't suppose you're here to finally fix that up, are you?" she asks with her most dissemblingly mundane smile.

[dangerouslyinlove]

There's a brief flash of Thanato's guard going up, and while Ryoji is very good at ignoring Thanatos's instincts and appearing likable even if he has a rather violence prone ghost hanging out in his said. But he never totally ignores it, and if Thanatos isn't sure about this woman, then Ryoji isn't either. Even if it doesn't show on the bright, sheepish smile lighting his face.

"Ah, no... but some people carved their initials into it! Isn't that cute?" And apparently not an anchor or anything. Sigh.