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

[runs]

Like you have a lot of mechanical parts in you.

Some kind of technology, anyway, though she cannot quite put her finger on what. It's strange and very decidedly not organic.

[chalicejoker]

Well, shit. "I've got a knee replacement. Blew it out playing soccer when I was a teenager." No, he didn't. But he's going to keep right on lying.

[runs]

Your hand smells of mechanics.

She's fairly sure that it isn't only his hand, but it is clearly that too, so even if that wasn't a lie it certainly isn't the full truth.

[chalicejoker]

"...I was working on my motorcycle earlier. Must not have cleaned off as well as I thought." He will keep right on dancing around the issue if he has to.

Unless he decides to cash in on that debt...

[runs]

Could he please stop trying to pretend that the elephant in the room isn't there, that would be great.

Not that she's ever seen an elephant, at least not in real life, but that is precisely the saying that describes this best, in her opinion.

It's not a motorcycle kind of mechanics smell, and it's inside of you. I'm just a kitten, so you can stop lying to me.

[chalicejoker]

"You're just a talking kitten," Hajime points out, crossing his arms. "And I believe there's still the matter of payment for services rendered."

[runs]

Most people can't hear me.

He's going to tell her to stop asking, isn't he. On the one hand, that would be an easy out of all of this. On the other hand...

She would grin if cats did that. Instead, she just stretches slightly.

..."Stop asking" and "don't tell anyone else" are two things. Because she says so.

[chalicejoker]

That's good to know. "Guess I'm not 'most people,' then." Hajime doesn't look quite so amused at the cleverness there as the kitten probably is. "Don't tell anyone else is a very important one..."

[runs]

Then you can pick that one.

It'll just mean that she won't stop asking. Or following him, probably, because he has piqued her interest now and she has no work to do here, or anything else.

[chalicejoker]

"Alright, then." Hajime nods. "And if you do tell...I'll know." He's just going to let that ominously hang.

[runs]

I never break my word.

She sounds as offended as she feels at this. Breaking your word just makes you look unreliable and while she can't get jobs by herself yet, she'd rather establish a good name where she can.

Well, she probably should amend. Unless the other person breaks theirs first. But that is neither here nor there, in her opinion. If someone double-crosses you, it is only in your right to do the same to them and serve the dish with some retribution on top.

[chalicejoker]

"If they break it first, then they're asking for it." Hajime approves of this mindset.

[runs]

Being on the same page is always good.

So now that you know that I won't tell anyone else you can tell me what's up with your body.

[chalicejoker]

"It's safer if you don't know." It's actually meant as a genuine warning more than a dodge, even if it looks like he's still dodging the question. "But I'm not human."

[runs]

"Why is it safer if I don't know?"

She is curious now and will bat at this question as long as it moves.

[chalicejoker]

"Because there are those out there who would destroy me without a second thought because of it." He shrugs. "You don't want to get wrapped up in that."

[runs]

That was the right thing to say. She has absolutely no interest in being caught up in the trouble that a complete stranger has with his past.

She would get up in the trouble that a very good friend has with their past, probably, she has in the past (though not necessarily voluntarily), but she'll generously allow this stranger to keep his issues to himself.

And jump off the carousel, turning to face Hajime one last time before padding away.

"Good luck with them not catching up with you, chummer."