modmachine: (Default)
Hᴇx - ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴅ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ ([personal profile] modmachine) wrote in [community profile] worldofmemeness2016-09-30 05:31 pm
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TEST DRIVE 01

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.


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 -


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.


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.


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.

wing_attack: (Default)

[1] Fancy seeing you here - I mean.

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-06 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Surprising him? You mean like by a sudden rustling noise from the tree? Something heavy's landed on it. Shortly after the noise, a teenager starts climbing down the tree, looking at Hajime.

... There's something weird about this guy... an odd sense that fluffs his not-actually-there feathers. He wants to take a closer look, but something tells him this is a very bad idea. And he's learned to trust his instincts over the years... so he just smiles a half-smile at the guy.
chalicejoker: (Suspicious)

why hello there

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-07 02:53 am (UTC)(link)
Something's not right here. The heavy noise, the fact that Hajime is fairly certain he would have noticed someone up in that tree earlier...he's instantly wary. "Looking for something?"
wing_attack: (uhh...)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-07 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
"Huh? Oh, no. I was just climbing trees. They're pretty nice ones... did you need something? You look like you're ready to punch someone."

Never let them know you're too keyed up. It's a basic survival skill. He has to know those kinds of things.
chalicejoker: (Normal Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-07 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Hajime considers his response carefully. "You must be very skilled at hiding in trees, then. I didn't see you."

Just...going to dodge the question of whether or not he was ready to punch something, at least for now.
wing_attack: (serious)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-08 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'd like to think I'm pretty good." To be fair, it's the one athletic thing he's been sort of decent at, even before his Devouring.

But he eyes Hajime critically, before shrugging. "You sure nothing's wrong?"
chalicejoker: (Normal Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-08 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't know," Hajime asks innocently, "is it?" There's no trace of the irritation and suspicion he's feeling on his face.
wing_attack: (neutral)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-08 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"I dunno. It's kind of hard to figure out what seems wrong, since some people are really good at Halloween decorations." He grins good-naturedly. He's just making conversation, right? Riiiight?
chalicejoker: (Creeper)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-10 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
Sure. Conversation. Right. "They're certainly very dedicated to their craft." He doesn't believe any of this, but he's too good a liar for any of it to show.
wing_attack: (uhh...)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-10 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, they are." He side-eyes Hajime, letting out an annoyed breath. He's not sure what he is... so he looks closely, feeling the raptor in him rise to the surface.

Hajime, for his part, will feel a very unsettling feeling of being watched - and Tobias steps back, before blinking. "Oh. I get it. You're like him. Don't worry, I don't plan on telling."
chalicejoker: (Irritated)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-11 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
That...that is not human power. Hajime's first instinct is to deny anything, but he can't just let whatever the kid did right there stand..."Like who?" The expression he's wearing on his human face is very annoyed right now, and he's tensing up in a way that suggests he may very well act on said annoyance.
wing_attack: (unpleasant truths)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-11 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
"A friend of mine. He's... around. Somewhere." That's the sense he's getting, but... well. It's not like he's going to betray Ax's trust and just tell this guy. There's a lot about Ax he still doesn't know, and even if he's separated from the others that doesn't mean that they can stop being careful.
chalicejoker: (Standard Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-12 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
Hajime's not too thrilled with the way this conversation is going. There's a quick glance around the area as though to make sure he's not going to get surprised by some friend of the kid's showing up. "Really." He's waiting for more of an explanation.
wing_attack: (serious)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-13 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Fortunately for Hajime, Tobias is on his own for right now. "Yeah. He's... well. He worked with hidden things." Look, he knows better than to say it outright. "But I was wondering why you didn't seem right, and that's why."
chalicejoker: (Standard Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-10-15 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm not the only one here who doesn't seem right." Fine, if they're going to play that game.
wing_attack: (Default)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-10-15 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're not wrong." He considers this guy, trying to figure out what information, if any, he should give him. "I'm not really human anymore. I'm not a vampire or a werewolf or something like that, but I'm not human. You might not understand, though."