Test Drive Meme #8

[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 April 24th, and apps are open May 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: DEAD FLESH BUFFET
[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 swarm around you and chow down. This time, the Door has brought in a group of rotfiends, from the video game The Witcher.

These unpleasant-looking creatures are necrophages, meaning they feed on the flesh of the dead, and if that flesh is in short supply they are happy to add to it. Normally found in groups, they are fast and difficult to corner. What's more, when on the verge of death, they have an annoying tendency to explode into a flammable cloud of poisonous toxins. You left your torch at home, right?]

R A G E
SCENARIO TWO: MMM WHATCHA SAY
[There you were, just walking along the street, minding your own business like a good underground hell-city citizen, when all of a sudden you saw someone. It was like love at first sight - if by 'love' you mean 'deep burning hatred'. You've never wanted to kill someone so much, and why? Well, you're not really sure, but there's probably a reason! You'll just have to figure it out. Or not. Who needs a reason for murder, anyway?

Or maybe you're the one someone else has targeted. Maybe you know they're after you and you're desperately trying to watch your back. Why do they hate you? You don't even know them. Or maybe you do, maybe they're your best friend. Either way, this is a super awkward situation, and someone might end up dead. Hopefully not you!

This is a mini version of our Assassin event this month!]


H O P E

SCENARIO THREE: SCRATCH OFF
[This morning, you received a scratch ticket in the mail (who knew Hadriel even had mail?), addressed to you. The instructions are clear enough - scratch off three matching icons, and you win a prize! Sure, okay. But here's the grand prize: a one-way ticket home.

Unfortunately, try as you might, you aren't gonna win that one, but keep hoping! And hey, just think of all the other GREAT PRIZES you could win: an inflatable duck, a plastic ring to give your sweetheart, an empty can of Red Bull, a cell phone charm shaped like a strange green creature with a boner.

So what if you didn't win that ticket home? You got something almost as good: a shitty prize! Thanks, Hope!]

Comments

Cardia | Code Realize

[adollnomore]

Hope

[The first thing Cardia had to ask when she recieved the strange parcel was this: what's a scratch ticket? She was familiar a bit about gambling and how Lupin was banned from a casino due to winning too much money but this...this was new to her. And if she won, she could go back to London? Why not try it?

Sadly the ticket she did get was a dud and her prize?]

...why is it green?

[Despite living in a house with six boys, Cardia didn't realize that charm creature had an erection problem. Dare you explain?]


Fear

What...are those?

[She whispered to herself as she peeked around a corner to see a group of strange creatures trying to look for something. Cardia wasn't sure what they were but there was no way she would fling herself in the midst of battle. They may be friendly creatures for all she knew and even then, she had to remember her lessons. Look for all possible exits and if it's possible to get away was the first thing but she accidentally moved a rock by her feet. And that made the group of monsters look up and straight to where she was.

Uh oh.]

Wildcard

[Got a scenario not listed? Hit me with what you got!]

Hope

[mismanagement]

[Of all the possible things the gods might throw at them, Maketh is a bit dismayed to find -- well. This. It's utterly childish and completely useless. She cleaned up four different tickets just to make sure, but of course it's a trick. Of course the gods are taunting them again. She comes up to the girl slowly, so not to startle her.] Hello? Are you all right?

[That's an, um. Interesting prize you've won there, kid.]

mello | death note | come at me y'all

[torrefied]

fear.

... This place is bullshit.

There are more than enough horrors in the human world to contend with; why would you ever consider coming to a place populated with monsters that look like they came straight out of one of Matt's stupid video games. Well - no one consulted Mello on this (incredibly inconvenient) relocation, did they, because if they had, he would've said as much (obviously).

So this is a fine mess. There's no telling how many of these creatures are milling about, and Mello may have a pistol on him, but (unlike Matt's stupid video game) what he doesn't have is unlimited ammo. This metal pipe he's managed to pry off some building somewhere will just have to do for fending off anything that gets too close (for now), but - help would probably not go amiss at the juncture, even if Mello isn't the sort to ask for it outright.

rage.

This place. Is. Bullshit.

Murder always needs a reason, even if it's simply I wanted to. Mello's never traded in wanton destruction, though - his brand of destruction is always focused, full of purpose. An extreme method put toward a very specific end.

He does recognize, vaguely, that this current impulse to kill is different, but it's a fleeting thought, quickly buried in the back of his mind as he stalks through the streets of the underground city. He's a fair shot, but replacement ammunition is in short supply, so getting close to his target is the best laid plan before him.

He's focused, attention resting solely on the task at hand. It doesn't occur to Mello that someone else may be targeting him, too.

hope.

THIS PLACE IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT.

If the wrapper to a bar of chocolate is the best you can do as far as prizes go, the least you could do is make sure there's still chocolate inside. Mello crumples the paper in one gloved fist and tosses it over his shoulder before storming off in a sulky huff.

rude don't litter

[adollnomore]

And where did that paper end up landing? Right on Cardia's head.

She squeaks in surprise as she sees the paper bounce off her shoulder next then to the ground below. Curiously, she picks it up and turns to the closest being in the area, which happens to be the grumpy man.

"Excuse me, did you drop this?"

EDI | Mass Effect Trilogy

[mobilityassistance]

Hope

[The card itself is innocuous enough, but it's the intent behind it that's curious. Organics' fascination with gambling is simple enough to understand (a controlled risk with promises of a chance of a returned investment leading to the activation of reward behaviors in the brain), but EDI is decidedly not organic, even if her synthetic silvery platform was designed to look that way.

Furthermore, why would she have been abducted and dropped here and then immediately given a chance to return to where she came from? Even given that the odds of her actually being released were astronomical, it's still another one of those illogical behaviors that she can admire, and yet not fully comprehend.

And yet, she still can't quite decide what to do with it. Throwing it away would solve the problem immediately, but... Even she can't deny that it's a little bit fascinating to see what she might get. How close they'd let her feel to getting home before telling her she was never going to leave in the first place.

If it's a mind game, she isn't much a target for those.]

How... intriguing.

[outwards]

The will not detonate upon being set aflame.

[Guess who distrusted those things enough to do exactly that without even try to scratch anything.]

From what I have seen of others who chanced their luck, all that will happen is the appearance of items with little value or use, but of no endangering potential, either.

tretij rebenok ( mgs )

[influent]

FEAR
[ maybe you were on your way somewhere, or just taking a walk. whatever the reason you were out on the streets, it seems as if it might have been a mistake, because suddenly there are monsters swarming you, reaching to bite and tear and eat.

at least, there were. just as suddenly as they appeared, there's a flicker off to the side, and there's a distant, heavy whumph! your ears might pop at the sudden change in pressure in the area. everything seems to slow, then stop, the monsters frozen in place for a heartbeat, two-- before being smashed violently to the ground. flesh tears, bones snap, and you're snatched into the air by an invisible force as the rotfiends explode into gas, then flames below.

off to the side, floating calmly a few feet in the air, is a child in a straitjacket and gasmask. for a few more moments, he's still, until his head tilts faintly to the side and he sets you back on the ground much more gently than he'd picked you up.

hello. you're welcome. maybe you should both get out of there before more come along. ]


WILDCARD
[ what it says on the tin. hit me with a different scenario if you like. ]


[ ooc; as a note, tretij speaks primarily telepathically, and tends to hear folks' thoughts even when he doesn't want to. if you don't want to deal with that or think it wouldn't work on your character (or just want to work out details), feel free to mention in the tag or pm! ]

Re: fear;

[liquid_serpent]

[Liquid saw the display of flames, burning flesh and bones snapping. The force wasn't delivered by any blade or bullet. That was something special. Liquid knew those special powers anywhere. The fire. Then, he saw the floating boy and gasped.]

Tretij!

[The blond ran towards his friend and looked up. He already felt his presence long before even clamping eyes on his long lost boyhood friend. It was the sense that he could feel him here within the city. Tretij was here.]

Is it really you?

just as i was being a sonicnerd | rage

[dedikated]

[ If you like rooftops, you'll probably come across a woman whose once pink hair is now a faded-almost blonde colour, with dark roots rather stark against the pale, dry lengths below it.

She skids to a halt after jumping the gap of two buildings, finally accustomed to Hadriel's strange architecture, and squints at the form in front of her. That... was not human. Which, by now, she was kind of used to. There were more than a few non-humans in Hadriel, but this one was unfamiliar.

And, honestly, without random beasts attacking, she wasn't sure if this one was friend or foe.

But she'll hope for the former. ] Hey- You new?

harold finch. person of interest.

[olivacea]

[ RAGE ]
[ This was not a normal day. It was definitely a decidedly not-at-all-normal day.

It started with being pulled into a strange place - which, for all his understanding of the world, of physics and artificial intelligence, should not be possible - and continued with someone suddenly pulling a knife on him.

Now, Harold was under no delusions that he'd made nothing but friends in his lifetime, but he didn't even know this person. So, after a very, very lucky escape - involving a nearby wooden beam and some very quick thinking - he manages to limp into an abandoned building, heaving for breath and dragging the nearest chair to block the door.

What on earth was going on? The few clues about this place he had picked up seemed to indicate that he was in another place entirely, with the strange architecture and the unfamiliar faces (and species) he had observed while hobbling to his safe house. He whips out his phone, but calling John results in nothing but an out of area message.

The chair against the door shakes, and he shifts back against a wall, grabbing the nearest metal object. ]

[ or wildcard me ]

ragin' if that's cool

[torrefied]

[Unfortunately, Harold, you're not the only one being chased by someone with murder in their eyes, and you're not the only one who's managed to assess that this building provides a favorable escape from said would-be murderer, either. That chair isn't too sturdy, and Mello is both surprisingly stronger than his thin frame might suggest and extremely determined to get inside. After a few hard shoves, the door flies open and Mello pushes his way in, quickly slamming the door shut behind him again.

... Oh. Well. Mello thought he'd be alone. This might be a little awkward.]

Bigby Wolf | The Wolf Among Us | let's go let's go let's go

[blowyoudown]

Fear

[He caught the smell of the monsters well before he saw them, but that still doesn't prepare him for the sight of them, or to brace himself when one decides to rush at him screaming. It doesn't take much for him to get rid of it, thankfully - not when he shoves it off him pretty quickly, to send it rolling as he turns half wolf and gains the claws to rip open its stomach in a single swipe - but he also wasn't expecting it to burst into noxious poisonous gas that completely blows his nose out and makes him stumble backwards, his lit Huff 'n' Puff cigarette falling from his lips.

The explosion can probably be heard through the entire cave and Bigby gets thrown flying away, coming to a very painful rolling halt and groaning loudly. That certainly won't kill a Fable as powerful as him, but like fuck was it fun.]

Rage

[He has a history, he's entirely aware of that. He's done a lot of shit, he's lost track of the number of people he's killed and eaten. But this murderous rage he's feeling is something entirely different. Not even dealing with the fucking Tweedles compares to this new, discomfiting anger that's threatening to push him right into wolf form to take out this person. He's a sheriff, he needs to be better than impromptu murder without rhyme or reason.

And yet he still stalks the victim of his rage, waiting for some kind of justification. If they resist arrest, that's grounds for murder, right?]

Or wildcard me!

!!! zips the hell in here - rage

[bluffed]

[ Unfortunately, was thievery on the grounds for arrest. Typical - but was it the grounds for murder? Gotta love how this place can be worse than Pandora at times.

Fiona had been sly enough to pickpocket someone from a pocket knife they had secured in their back pocket. With a tip of her hat downward, the con artist had slipped away into a small crowd of people, truthfully believing her task had been unnoticed. Okay, it wasn't as bad as it seemed though! To be fair, she sorta knew the guy. He had a million different weapons, was he really going to miss a switchblade?

She keeps it hidden in the sleeve of her jacket, trying not to draw attention.

Maybe she'll go bug Rhys for a bite to eat....

... or maybe fate was a much bigger bitch than she ever could imagine. Unknown of being stalked, Fiona was on a b-track to getting some grub. :( ]

sans | undertale | will match prose/brackets

[skelebro]

fear;

[Come on, now, he doesn't even have flesh. But maybe these things are jealous, easily riled up. Don't like another bony thing sharing a turf with them.

Well, alright. Sans can play a game of keep-away. He might not be very fast, but he has his ways around. Takes a shortcut down an alleyway, takes another to a more secluded part of town. Underground city, huh? That's nothing new.

Monsters aren't either, but he's not sure these things fit the bill for that one. They're a little bit less articulate than the monsters he's come to know.

The problem with taking so many shortcuts is it starts to tire him out pretty quick, sweat beading along the ridges of his skull the more he snaps himself out and away. All that he can run, but he can't hide business.

He's actually panting a little bit by the time he leans up against the nearest wall, sandwiched between two spire-looking buildings, smile a bit strained at the edges.]

You guys're given me a real workout here, huh?

[Apparently they heard that, because one of the wizened things lurches at him with a ghastly sound. Welp. Sans snaps himself out of that alley and...oh boy...right into the space available for him. Which may or may not result in him crashing right into some other innocent soul.

Whoops.]

hope;

He catches onto the caveat right after he gets his prize, a horrible little cheap plastic joy buzzer that looks like it'll buzz itself to an early death after one try. He's too amused to bother being miffed about the obvious joke at his expense. Looks like this place has a sense of humor.

It's not a whoopee cushion, but it'll do in a pinch. Sans ambles along unhurriedly, wedges the toy in his sleeve in just the right way, then parks himself right up against a wall and waits for a likely target.

When that target comes along, Sans waves them over and sticks out his hand in greeting. They'll never see it coming.

wildcard; exactly what it says on the tin

Fear les go 8D

[blowyoudown]

[Congratulations Sans, you found someone who's not overly concerned with how you look. He's a bit more concerned with himself; his shirt is half burned off and hanging by threads, and he has large patches of very raw skin. Not to mention that he stinks of burned fur. He catches himself pretty quickly after Sans crashes into him though, and can't stop a double take.

Overly concerned doesn't mean not curious, and the skeleton gets a long look before Bigby scoffs, somewhere between amused and confused.]

Does everyone look like you here?

jack | mass effect [3]

[psyiotic]

☢ R A G E

Stop.

[ Shitshitshit, Jack is thinking; accordingly, she follows up with a silent apology to her now-abandoned swear jar.

Oddly, whoever this person is, she isn't itching to send them flying halfway across town.

It's growth or maturity, some boring thing like that. She'll consider it later with the same half-minded thumbing that a person might utilise when prodded a toothless cavern with their tongue. Like, oh, things aren't what they used to be, here's the proof. Signed, dated, stamped, sealed.

Oh, right. Crazed attacker. The blue glow of active biotics surrounds Jack, making the air around her form swim and flicker.

Whatever the threat it, she's certainly not going to run. She'll look it straight in the eyes. ]

Look around, asswipe. We're surrounded by buildings I could smear you on.

[ She's shit talking. ... It's true, but it's not a threat she's eager to make good on. Yet. ]

☢ H O P E

Ughhhh.

[ Trailing off into a truly histrionic groan, Jack tips the Red Bull can upside down, trying to upend any remaining droplets of liquid.

Nothing. Shit.

With a flick of her fingers, she tosses the can over her shoulder...





...where it promptly hits your character in the back of the head. :D ]

Hope

[retiredfromhell]

[ Close, so close.

Despite being turned slightly to the side, he must have caught motion out of the corner of his eye. His hand snapped up, preternaturally fast to catch the can, enfolding it within long fingers.

Rather than appeared perturbed by the unintentional projectile, he turned with a smirk. ]

Got your 'Hopes' up did it?

Hime Shirayuki ♥ Happiness Charge Precure

[friendshiprocks]

fear: because it's thriller
Princess Twin Magnum Fists!

[ The person calling out the attack is very obviously a magical girl because of her outfit. And, aside from that, by her magical powers. As Cure Princess calls out the attack, two giant blue fists appear in the air then shoot out towards one of the rotfiends, pushing them back from whatever poor soul they were about to attack. Turning to whoever she was protecting, Princess just grinned...though a rather tense grin, as if she's trying to hide the fact that these things scare the bajeesus out of her. ]

See? No problem! Cure Princess saves the day again!

hope: what the duck
[ So, Hime's the type of person who canonically has a giant stuffed chicken. Her aesthetic is a tad bonkers. As such, when she does the scratch-off card and wins a plastic ring, she's a little disappointed. But when she sees that you won an inflatable duck, HELL YEAH homegirl just really wants that.

If someone's got an inflatable duck then nope, don't mind Hime just sidling up to them, looking super enviously at the duck. ]

I'll trade you my ring for your duck, [ said 100% seriously ]

Muscovy | Hetalia

[muscovy]

fear

[One day he will be big and strong and able to not only protect himself but also everyone else, so everyone can be happy. Including him. But today is not the day - today he is just really, really scared. Not only did he find himself in a completely foreign environment all of a sudden - again - there was a really sharp smell of rotting flesh not far away and it was clear within seconds that the thing emanating it was not nice.

And didn't react much to having a bullet lodged in its shoulder (at least he thinks that that is where he hit it, he didn't stand there facing it for long enough to see). So now he's running, as fast as he can, looking left or right for either a good place to hide or at least a good place to hide some of his belongings so he can run faster. This thing doesn't seem like it would be interested in them, but who says that there aren't more people around, people who don't have rotting brains most likely?

A. Your character sees a boy of perhaps six years, loaded with a big backpack, a second longish bag, a gun and a third large bag, run down the street, a small group of rotfiends following him. The loudest thing about this is the sharp, angry chiming of silver bells that seems to come from the two small fairies that are fluttering over his head, trailing him but staying too high to be a target for the monsters.

B. Said small boy has found an alcove that might be safe, a number of feet above the street, and is now quickly climbing up there. Are you already sitting in there? Is he climbing into your window? Or something else?]


rage

[While normally, a silly person would just need to be taught how to understand something properly, he just knows that this silly person will never, ever stop being silly. That they cannot be fixed, and that the way in which they are silly is bad for everyone. Everyone would be happier if this person did not exist, yes?

Muscovy is vaguely aware that something is strange about that train of thought, but something is strange about this whole place. Too many bad things are happening, and perhaps getting rid of this one person will make things a little less bad.

Which is why he is sitting here in a hidden spot where he knows that that person will walk past sooner rather than later, bow and a few arrows at hand, and waiting. If long winters have taught him anything, then patience.]


hope

[Muscovy is standing opposite an inflatable garden gnome almost as tall as himself and prodding it with a finger, almost expecting it to explode at his touch.

It doesn't.

It doesn't explode when his fairies settle on its hat, either.]

This shouldn't be here, yes?

[He's not asking anyone, more stating a fact. This does look completely out of place, and it wasn't here just a few minutes ago, before he scratched the ticket.]

fear

[circumitus]

[Rey's brain is arguably less rotted than the rotfiends.

[It's a difficult scene not to notice. She checks the Colosseum from time to time during this specific monthly anniversary in the event of new arrivals, and is often seen patrolling the streets otherwise. The new arrival of creatures along with the poor souls that came in with them is pretty much an expected event now.

[It isn't like Rey to always be a hero. She doesn't save children from burning buses or rescue cats from trees. Not in a long time, in any case. But she's also become a type of person who can't turn a blind eye when she sees a child being chased down by a gang of rotting creatures.]

Over here!

[She calls from an adjacent alleyway. If Muscovy doesn't move fast enough, she'll be taking him by the back of his shirt, yanking him out of the street and through the narrowed passage between buildings.]

Ai Ebihara | Persona 4

[outermirrors]

Fear

[ Ai never considered herself as one that would cower. At least not anymore, she made herself a promise to face life head on. Of course when she made that promise to herself, her family had just moved to a new town. To her mind this didn't so much count as a move as a kidnapping.

Especially when the new town is creepy and there's a constant rustling as she walks down the street. That really isn't making Ai particularly welcome and her skin is prickled with goosebumps as her pace quickens.

She'd really like to come across a person right about now. Before what's stalking her decides to close in. ]

Rage

[ It's a feelings she remembers a little too well. The burning anger in her belly demanding release and retribution for the cause. The only problem is Ai can't figure out what set her off.

All she sees is an endless stream of people passing her by and each makes her anger worse.

Of course with her focus drawn to her own need to soothe her anger, Ai is unaware that there might be another nearby looking to hurt her as much as she wishes to hurt the one she's looking for. Best to approach with care, she might be unarmed now, but she could put up a decent fight in the state she's in. ]

Hope

[ Ai reads the instructions one more time, it seems easy enough. There's no doubt in her mind that she'll win that ticket home. There isn't a challenge in her lifetime she hasn't met that she didn't eventually succeed at.

You can bet she'll keep trying until she gets what she wants. And she has a fairly impressive pile of obscene frog charms for her efforts. ]

Let's try again.

[ She tosses yet another charm into the pile. Could they maybe let her win something else? ]

Fear

[dogsanddaughters]

[Miriam is slowly getting the hang of this whole murdercave business. The key to surviving, it appears, is to team up wiht people much bigger and scarier than she is and let them do the heavy lifting. And monster hunting, whenever that's required. Which is often.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the same idea.

Miriam peers out from the broken window, Barnaby close at her side. His ruff is up, a straight line all the way down his back, so there's something bad close by. And there's a lady in the street who looks like she doesn't have a weapon.]

Hey! Hey, lady, you should get inside before something eats you!

John Druitt | Sanctuary

[borneinblood]

{Rage}

[The call to violence isn't anything new, nor the feeling of rage rising within him. Not when he lives with both on a regular basis, and it's almost a comfort to feel that old familiar anger pull into sharp focus. It's something familiar to hold against the newness of wherever this happens to be, and that's worth more than he really cares to admit, just at the moment.

But it's not anything he dwells on. Instead, he lets a slow - and not at all comforting - smile spread across his his face, as he sets about stalking his prey. This at least, he knows, and he can patient enough to find just the right point to let his target know of his presence. Delayed gratification is sometimes the best, after all.

It does not, however, occur to him even in the slightest that someone else might be stalking him, even as he stalks down his own prey.]

{Hope}

[Odd though the ticket is, even he can't entirely deny that it might be nice to be home. Or anywhere that happens to be close enough. True enough, there might not be anything much waiting for him back home, but what's the harm in trying?

Unsurprisingly, the ticket is not a grand prize winner, and so it that he's left with a plastic ring to show for it; a cruel reminder of how things could have been a century and change ago, for all that he sounds more disappointed than anything when he speaks.]

I had been hoping for something a little more interesting.

[By which he mostly means anything but this.]

hope.

[bekommen]

Well, hey man, don't stop believin'.

[Nick's own scratch card netted her a pack of cigarettes with only a single cigarette inside. It's enough to be shitty and mocking, but she's not too proud to smoke it all the same, leaning back against a nearby wall, savoring the taste of burning tobacco on her tongue. She's missed this more than she'd care to admit, having run out of her last stash months ago.]

Maybe that asshole Hope will finally decide to do right by ya if you just, you know - hope hard enough.

[If the sarcasm dripping from her tone isn't enough to indicate what she really thinks about all this, the punctuating roll of her eyes probably will.]

The Gray Man | The Raven Cycle

[wasntpersonal]

R A G E

It wasn't a feeling that was entirely alien to the Gray Man. In fact, it was something he'd lived with for a very long time. However, the intense burning hatred deep in chest rarely crossed paths with an intended target. It was the moment that was alien, the combination of elements. The individual parts he knew well.

One moment he was minding his own business, and the next, he's frozen. Gun in hand, pointed at someone he's never seen before. But his stillness isn't out of fear or shock. It's the stillness of someone who's done this before. The quiet stillness of a trained killer. It's the sudden surge of emotion that makes him hesitate. There was only one person for which he'd ever felt such hatred toward. But that man was dead, left at the back of a truck stop with two bullets in his head.

He said nothing, simply staring at his target with steel gray eyes over his steady weapon.

F E A R

These monsters weren't the ugliest things he'd ever faced, but he'd rather be facing off one of the cave nightmares right about now. At least he didn't run the risk of making one explode by shooting it. But if she shot from far enough away rather than waiting until it was right on top of him, it tended to not end with such a mess. His ammo was dwindling, but he'd rather take down as many as he could while he still had the chance.

He rounded a corner to see one ravaging something. He didn't stop to consider what it might be. He popped off two steady shots into the thing's back and it dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Only then did he see that it had only been attempting to ravage something. Or rather someone.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his tone level as if he hadn't just gunned down an undead monster intent on devouring human flesh.

Fear

[dreamkid]

As soon as the creature fell off of him, Matthew scrambled frantically away, his eyes round with horror and heart thudding in his chest.

"I'm fine-- I'm fine, I think. What--" He gulped, his own voice high and frightened. "What was that?"

His curls created a wild halo around his head, and his jacket was torn, but he'd fended off anything worse with a few decently aimed--and desperate--punches, courtesy of his dead father's boxing lessons. It would've been a lot worse if the Gray Man hadn't shown up when he did.

Matthew skirted anxiously further away from the body of the rotfiend and, without hesitation, closer to his rescuer, a man he didn't recognize. (Between these two, only one of them had ever spent a summer stalking the other's family, after all.) But that fell into line with everything else about the current situation. Matthew also didn't know how he'd gotten here, or where "here" was to begin with. Only that there were zombie monster things running around, and this guy had a gun, which he was apparently willing to use to keep monsters away. All these facts came together to make Matthew even quicker to trust than usual, which was already pretty quick on a normal day.

[silentbutterfly]

fear.)

[ clack, clack, woosh.

Quiet reloads her rifle seconds after she empties out the bullets into a group of the rotfiends. Her aim, being as perfect as it is, manages to get all of them in one shot. The unfortunate part is that she had not been prepared for them to explode like do when on the verge of death.

It only gave her a few seconds to jump away from them to avoid getting injured. The sound of them dying must have attracted more which isn't much of a trouble for Quiet, if she was actually in a better position and they weren't so fast.

Clicking her tongue at the roof of her mouth, she sighs in annoyance. Such a vulnerable spot she is in right now. She's too busy looking around to find a better position to be stationed at that Quiet doesn't notice that one of these monsters happens to be lurking behind her. ]

hope.)

[ You know those fake make up sets you get as a kid that are completely useless? Quiet happens to win one of those sets and she's just going to stare bluntly at it because what is the point of this??

What is she supposed to do with it??

Turning the lipstick so whatever instead it can go up, she runs it along her hand and -- nothing. Don't mind Quiet as she grumbles to herself about it. ]

fear

[dogsanddaughters]

[Miriam's been watching from inside one of the shops, ducked behind a window with her arm around Barnaby as the lady takes the monsters down. One right after another, bang-bang-poof and they're all dead. Except that she's missed one, it's creeping up behind her, and that's not good.

No sir, it is not.

Miriam nudges Barnaby and the dog is off like a shot, barking and snarling like mad before he goes in for a tackle, grabbing onto the monster's -- arm thing, and shaking hard.] Get 'im, Barnaby! Wreck him!

Aredhel | Silmarillion

[outwards]

hope

[She's turning the ticket over in her hands for now, careful to leave her gloves on to do so. Whoever sent it to her might not have had the best intentions if they did so anonymously.

It says to take a coin and rubble the grey field off, but what might happen if she does?

She turns it over once more, frowning. Maybe she should just burn it. In a safe distance.]

I wonder where one may find fire around here.

[She stands with the effortless grace of a hunter and Elf and looks around, trying to decide which direction to head into for this quest.]

[dogsanddaughters]

[Now this isn't something Miriam sees every day. A pretty lady with pointed ears frowning down at a scratch card like it's personally offended her. Which, maybe it did - Miriam doesn't know her life - but usually people don't start looking for fire right after that. Unless...

Ohhh. Is there gonna be destruction? Please let there be destruction.

Miriam whistles to the lady, one hand looped through Barnaby's harness. The dog watches the lady curiously, ears pricked.] Need a light, lady?

[Why not, Miriam's got one in her knapsack. Plus the lady's ears are cool.]

Lady | Devil May Cry | will match your preferred format

[patricided]

FEAR
[ She shouldn't be this relaxed. Shouldn't find the unfamiliar streets as threatening as her own. Simply Lady shouldn't feel like walking around a partial wasteland is completely normal. And yet she does. Her heartbeat is a little elevated but she attributes that to adrenaline more than actual nerves. She's been in scarier places.

And she's very well armed complete with several guns and a rocket launcher and pouches of extra ammo that she might have to ration if she can't find materials to make more before she gets home. And she'd really like to be going home soon, preferably before someone tries to start some sort of rumor that they killed her. ]

RAGE
[ Best watch your back, you're being stalked. There's a dark hair girl with mismatched eyes armed to the teeth keeping track of her target. It's familiar ground for her. Except she's not hunting a demon and for some reason she doesn't mind. Logically, she knows she should. If she were home she would never even think of hunting another person, but here she is hunting some poor possibly unsuspecting soul all because she can't stop the rage boiling inside of her. It's like she's ready to explode but there's not pressure release valve to keep her from doing something she knows she shouldn't.

Of course what she isn't realizing is she could just as easily be the target of someone else. Her focus a little too zeroed in on what she needed to do. It was careless and stupid but it provided just enough leverage for anyone hunting her to get the jump on her if they wanted it. ]

WILDCARD
[ Got another scenario you don't see here. Feel free to tag me with it. ]

fear.

[torrefied]

[Some people don't know the meaning of the word overkill. Mello's been accused of that on more than one occasion, but this gal - well. She looks like she's her own personal army of one, with all those weapons. They will probably come in handy, for the short term, until the ammo runs out - which is why Mello has opted to keep his pistol stashed away in favor of beating off these monsters with a piece of metal pipe he ripped out of some building or other, he doesn't remember where exactly because it doesn't really matter.

What does matter is that there's a trio of the things shambling towards them. He whistles to get her attention, then points at them.]

You want to aim one of those things you've got over there?

[He's been doing fine with fighting these creatures one on one. Three at a time, though - that's asking a bit much.]

Allen Walker | D.Gray-man | Will change format if you prefer

[innocenced]

Fear

[On a scale of human to demon, Allen's not sure where the creatures fall, but it's definitely closer to a demon. Yet, despite the inhuman appearance, his eye doesn't react. A hand goes up to cover the still normal eye, wondering if the door had somehow broken its curse.

As the hand drops, those eyes go to the gloves. Fingers on his right hand slowly peel the glove off, but once they are, Allen sees the same discoloration he had seen his entire life. Does that mean his Innocence still works?

Still against the corner, he reapplies the glove, and looks back to the monsters that seem to be roaming the streets, for lack of a better word. Their movements hardly seem so casual.

In the distance, too far to make out in the darkness, a figure appears, and Allen sees the rotfiends turn their attention toward the newcomer. The fear that had been lacking before appears now, his heart giving one too-strong beat. That person could be in danger! It was just as possible they couldn't see the monsters in the darkness, and with rotfiend's numbers, the mystery person could be hurt.

Instantly and without need for deliberation, Allen steps out from behind the corner he had been resting against as he works to figure out what was happening. If nothing else, he could be a distraction, he can lead the monsters away.]

You should turn back! [His words are at the distant figure, but it catches the fiends attention nonetheless.] It's dangerous here! [A step back. Allen can't run yet, not until he makes sure his words are heeded.]

Rage - A

[Anger isn't a new emotion. Despite being genuinely nice and friendly, Allen is no saint, he isn't emotionless. The Millennium Earl, the Noahs, his master, himself... the anger has been present in his life for a long time. When he looks at the demons that hold a human soul, someone suffering in silence without being seen by anyone but him, how could he be emotionless?

Never before has he felt so unbridled hate, especially with no reason. The person he passes seems normal enough, if a bit hidden. Normally, sympathy would have been his first reaction, should have been his first reaction but instead, instantly, he hates the man. The feeling is a shock, so foreign that it causes him to stop, causes him to gasp. W-what was he thinking? Why did he want to k--

His footsteps speed up, his head down to keep his eyes away from the man who stares cautiously around the corner. An innocent man, a scared man, and Allen isn't the kind to fault someone their fear. There needs to be distance between them, there needs to be space so that Allen won't accidentally hurt him.

As he walks, fingers clutched into fists and unaware of where he's going, that rage turns inward. What was he becoming? What kind of person would feel that kind of emotion toward a stranger?]

I'm sorry. [His words are low, a whisper. No one is meant to hear him, but the object of that anger deserves some kind of apology.]

Rage - B

[ooc: if you want to stalk him out of rage instead, please do!]

Hope

[Hope is a fickle emotion, with the potential for more downfall than most others. If hope is realized, it's beautiful, wonderful, one of the greatest feelings in the world. If it's not, if it's a false hope, it's crushing. Allen doesn't keep the losing tickets, but he does keep scratching the new ones, thinking this may just be the winner.

He does so now, moving the coin across the paper. Slowly, the results are revealed, and to his disappointment, it was a complete loss. This time, there isn't even a cheap prize he can save in case someone hasn't managed to get duck or cheap ring. The continuing loss earns a sigh of regret.

Hoping to win a trip home - either for himself or someone else; there were people less adapt at fighting here, Allen has to keep them in mind - in his own house would have been fine. Doing so in the street comes with the potential problem, and when he finds himself running into another body, he realizes that problem too late.

The ticket falls to the ground. It would be a symbol of lost hope if Allen himself wasn't so dedicated to moving forward, to just walking. Instead, it just means another day. The hope is still there.

For now, he has to apologize. He hits the ground rather heavily, but is quick to push himself up.]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry... [His eyes actually go to his victim, the ticket forgotten on the ground.] Did you get hurt?

Wildcard

[ooc: Open to anything here!]

fear

[unfollowing]

[This is really fucking stupid, but after being manipulated into wanting to commit murder, Emily is kind of feeling like if she dies, resurrection will reset her, kind of like a really intense purification. She knows she should just wait outside the colosseum to see if Matt shows up. Duh, that's the safe thing to do.

Yet, yeah, she's wandering around inside, senses on high alert as if she were back in the mines.

When a voice calls out to her, she freezes. (What was that about it being like she's in the mines?) Very slowly, she searches for its source and finds a figure clear on the other side of the wide open space, calling out to her again. It's not Matt, so she's not going to run up to him. In fact, she's tempted to do exactly as he says and leave him there to fend for himself.

But would that be like murder?

Emily slowly moves back to the door she came in through, her gaze fixed on the guy who is doubtless attracting any monsters here to him. Damn, she wants to tell him it's actually pretty easy to get out of here, but that would put her in danger. And yet, that death reset...]

Find a door and you're set!

[And now the monsters are aware of her. Great.]

Kiryuu Zero | Vampire Knight

[littlest_knight]

Fear

[His heart pounds rapidly in his chest as the 13 year old up high on a tree attempts to grab the branch of a neighboring tree as three rotfield's climb up after him. When one of them reaches his perch Zero doubles his efforts and before the thing can grab his foot he pushes off the branch and throws himself on the other branch. He makes it but a loud crack quickly has him scrambling for a better grip, but his movements only spread the cracks and the branch breaks under his weight sending him tumbling down to the ground.]

[fuwatokurage]

[Luckily Clear is quick and is able to catch the boy falling to the ground before he hits it hard. He doesn't fight the monsters ambling around since he is far too afraid of them, so instead, he just runs with the boy in his arms bridal style to get them the heck out of there!]

General Hux • Star Wars: the Force Awakens

[firstorders]

RAGE
[Hux had not been here long enough to know to be wary of things that went bump in the night or that sometimes it’s denizens went a little crazy. He was from a place far more sterilized and controlled and in truth, outside of limited forays onto Starkiller Base in the past couple of years, had spent the large majority of his adulthood being posted from one Star Destroyer to another. Sometimes it felt like he’d spent half of his life in the artificial gravity of space and anything else just felt vaguely annoying and oppressive.

This place seemed to have just the standard sort of gravitational force but his chest still felt as though it was being compressed and his limbs felt heavy. Not for the first time did he find himself longing for his beloved Finalizer but instead of wandering its impeccably polished corridors, he’d instead found himself absconded somewhere else, somewhere strange and honestly…a little terrifying. This world was so primitive by his standards and yet none of his advanced technology had allowed him the chance to contact anyone from the Finalizer or the First Order.

The more he considered his current situation, the more angry and resentful he became at finding his life so rudely interrupted. Him, a General of the First Order reduced to this! It would have been laughable it hadn’t been so blasted insulting. A scowl began to pull at his brow and that…that was when Hux first spotted them.

He considered himself a civilized sort of person but the anger that had been curling up in the pit of his stomach blossomed into a rage he rarely reserved for the likes of Kylo Ren. He didn’t even know this poor bastard but now all he wanted to do was stab them right in the face with the vibroblade he always kept on his person. All thoughts of recriminations, of moral quandaries were gone and he was setting off on quiet booted footsteps after his query.]

HOPE

You know, the least they could have done was leave the kriffing alcohol in the bottle so I could at least drink myself into a stupor and forget about this whole nightmare for a while. [He muttered to himself as he eyed the empty bottle of brandy he’d received with that stupid scratch-off ticket.

Hux hadn’t believe for a minute that there would actually be a ‘free ticket home’ no matter what the cheerful looking card had said. It was just the kind of psychological terror tactics you’d expect out of a place like this.

And he was far too much of a cynic to believe their captors would release any of them without a fight. But finding himself faced with a completely empty bottle of Corellian brandy was just plain mean-spirited. Especially when all he really wanted (aside from a way home) was a kriffing drink.]

[Wildcard option: Choose your own Adventure!]

Vaughn | Borderlands

[atlasio]

» FEAR

[ Exploring the colosseum is really the only course of action. Of course Vaughn could stay put, but in this overtly grim environment that seemed like a deathwish. As much as he doesn't want to, he admits to himself that he prefers Pandora; or more specifically, The Dome, which is the last place he remembers. It had trees! And a ganglord who kicked the shit out of him, but hey, you gotta take the bad with the good.

Except this is definitely bad, with no good in sight. Is that blood everywhere, splattering the walls?]

Um, hello...? [ Louder this time: ] Rhys? [ A beat. ] Fiona? Sasha?

[ He swears he heard something--

Sure enough, a low gurgle emits from from behind. It definitely doesn't sound like someone friendly who wants to offer directions, but Vaughn glances behind him. He has to know what's there. Aaaand he expected psychos, not whatever the hell those things are. ]

Aah!

[ He books it for the collapsed part of the wall, just trying to keep enough of a distance between him and the rotfiends so he doesn't have to consider the fact that if he trips, he's gonna die. But he is just a tiny man with little pigeon legs-- but there has to be someone else out there? Right? Anyone? With a gun preferably?

Reaching the lowest part of the rubble, he scrambles over it and-- is that a vaguely humanoid shape?? Okay he hopes so but he's also in the middle of a panic attack so calling for help doesn't. Really work. It's really just panicked, half-formed words. But hopefully the sentiment- no matter how jumbled - is clear: Please help me. ]

[bluffed]

[ It's like clockwork, right? Had it already been four weeks? With the lack of an unforgiving sun like Pandora's, she's gotten a bit turned around. Naps every 6 or so hours makes Fiona much more lethargic than usual. But.

She's on the hunt.

She waited for this damn day. For when she'll hopefully be reunited with Sasha. She gets her gun ready and hew newly acquired switchblade too. Dual-wielding? Hell yeah. Last time she had to deal with loot crates that tried to eat her What would you expect? She came prepared.

But, not exactly prepared for a rotfiend.

As fate would have it - Fiona was at the right place at the right time. A scream caught her attention and a careful shimmying and she was absolutely on the side of the wall, jumping from one rubble to the other with a teetering balance, Fiona sees a person first - and realizes who it was a little after. ]

V-Vaughn?! The hell is -

[ Not who she expected, but. She's extending her arm to a higher piece of rubble. ]

Take my hand if you want to live!

[ This isn't just a corny homage to a fourth wall cliche. It's because she sees more than him. The bulbous, rotting flesh quickening its pace forward. Like, seriously fast. If Vaughn didn't do anything, it would easily leap to tackle him to the ground. Fiona's giving him the chance to climb higher and away from the him on the neighboring broken walls and pillars. ]

Aymeric | Final Fantasy XIV

[onedrinkwithme]

(OOC: Aymeric is taken from the latest patch of 3.2 so if you wish to not be spoiled, I will do my best to not drop any major bombshells for Heavensward and beyond o7)


Fear

[The first thing that hits him is the gods awful smell. The young leader stops where he stands and scans his surroundings for any clue as to what exactly is going on. He certainly finds it in the pack of monsters further down the walkway and his first instinct is to bolt behind a wall so he doesn't get spotted for any unwanted scrummages. The other is to watch them carefully, seeing if there's a pattern or anything out of the ordinary that may set them off.

They're quiet for now but who knows if someone would really try something stupid. Maybe someone always has?]


Rage

[It starts with a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Since certain...matters, Aymeric has to keep a better eye on where he was and this cave city is no different. Either he was brave or very stupid when he stops and without turning toward them, speaks up.]

I know you're there. What is it that you want from me?


Hope

[He's known of the cactpot drawings at the Gold Saucer so he didn't think much that the prize would be a ticket home. Something that simple? Sounds too good to true but he's curious about what would happen if he decides to go through with it.

Big mistake.

Because when he does, a pair of lacy feminine black panties end up in his hands and he isn't amused. There's no screaming but he will be a bit red faced and throw the garments in the nearest trash can. Look, he has no use for them nor does he know anyone who would want them. It's a service really.]

Hope

[patricided]

[ She's just walking by, minding her own business. Well not entirely minding her own business she was paying attention to most everything she could at one moment or another. And she was missing her rocket launcher for once as well as several of her guns, stashed away for later. For when she was desperate and in trouble and needed the extra firepower with a mostly still intact cash of ammunition.

And then she gets pegged in the arm by a wadded ball of cloth. Picking it up she lets it spread out and raises an eyebrow at the pair of underwear, gaze shifting to whoever threw them. It had to be the man with the red face.

Lady stands and saunters over. ]

I think these are yours.

Geralt of Rivia | The Witcher (3) | will match format

[portalhate]

1. FEAR )

A noticeable amount of rotfiend body parts litter the ground in near vicinity to Geralt, and the count climbs higher with every swing and slash of the silver blade in his grasp; one loses a head and another is cut neatly in half as the white-haired man bedecked in leather and chainmail tangles with the fiends, movements so practiced and fluid he seems to almost dance amidst the gruesome monsters.

This is no time for figuring out where he is and how he'd ended up here, though the immediate reason requires no great leaps of intuition. Fucking portals. But everything else could wait until he's dealt with the necrophages.

His sword cuts into the creatures left and right like a hot knife in butter, nimbly leaping back to avoid the rotfiends spasming and gurgling in their death throes before exploding in a cloud of toxic fumes. He seems to know exactly what he's doing, and that's no lie. Rotfiends, among others, are a fairly common occurrence for a witcher and his silver blade to deal with.

"Watch it!" he calls out in low, rough voice to some unfortunate soul nearby about to get tackled by one of the fiends still left standing. Geralt is faster than normal humans, but not fast enough to intervene with his blade in this case, he knows. With a quick hand gesture aimed toward the charging rotfiend, he casts a sign; a simple form of magic witchers have at their disposal. A strong kinetic shockwave travels across the distance and knocks the fiend off its feet, throwing it back several feet.

"You alright?" he goes on a little gruffly once he's dealt with the remaining fiend, a hint of disgust passing across his otherwise impassive expression at the stench the things give off.


3. HOPE )

Geralt stares down at the scratcher he's holding in his hands like he's never seen one before. Spoiler alert: he hasn't.

"The hell are these?" he mutters mostly to himself, brows furrowing in baffled confusion.

YELLS INTO THE NIGHT i mean fear, of course

[ichaer]

[ She knows this smell. It's been a few months now but it's one that sticks with you, one you can't help but remember when it sticks in the air and she grimaces. Of all the creatures to bring into this world from her own, it had to be rotfiends? Her silver sword is drawn and she moves through the caves toward the sound of fighting. Whomever the pack of rotfiends had the misfortune of meeting in these tunnels is making quick work of them, their explosions echoing around her and the smell growing as she approaches the source.

Her hand grips her sword tighter and she's ready to throw herself into the fight when something catches her off guard. There's a mist of blood in the air but she can see the silver of a sword cutting through the air, slicing through their bodies and living the rotfiends as a pile on the ground. More than that, she sees the white hair and scar. It's unmistakable, her breathe catching in her throat and eyes widening.

Geralt. He's here, he's actually...

Watch it! His voice breaks through her thoughts and she snaps to attention, hearing the approaching fiends too late. She tries to twist, to pull her arm around and cut into the monster but she won't make it like this. She has to get out of the way, call on her powers but a blast of Aard causes her to stumble as it blasts the monster back and leaves her ears ringing.

Again, she grips her sword and scrunches her nose but looks back to him with a grin. ]

I'm better now.

Fa | Space Lesb--uh Android OC

[dohremi]

Rage.

It's not Fa's way to hate. She's cultivated a strict pacifist tenet that has been tested through what many would consider hell and high water. In fact, the android has never strongly felt rage in her long life. Regret, remorse, fear and pity, yes, but unyielding hatred is a new flavour that freezes her in her tracks. She doesn't know how to sit with it, but rather than outright attack this invader of her psyche, Fa begins to travel at a leisurely pace behind them, tailing them, watching them. They're disgusting, and she doesn't know why, and that in turn frightens her.

The moment that it appears she might be noticed, she tries to duck around a corner, but it's hard to mistake her tall, slightly unreal features and her strangely paradisian white suit as something that is just happening to be wandering along the same path.

Eventually she peeks out, unable to let her pique go despite every method she's employed to calm herself. "What are you?" she asks, doing her best to keep polite despite overpowering revulsion.

Fear.
It might seem strange that there's a woman standing in the middle of the street surrounded by rotfiends, holding perfectly still, casting a very soft glow on the cobblestones from her faintly luminescent holoskin... but then there's the notable difference. She isn't human, and nothing of her is edible, nor does it smell that way. That doesn't mean that Fa hasn't learned not to run, though; her clothing is ragged from a previous attack, especially up the back, revealing plain white plastic moulding that is at odds with what is visible on arms and neck and head.

When she sees another living soul (she doesn't know if these things are alive or not, but they resemble the worst of the Wildlife she's had to exorcise from her old domain) she shakes her head in short, frantic motions. Don't come closer, just lay low, for goodness sake. If she's afraid for anyone, she's afraid for those foolish enough to engage with one of these horrifying creatures for her own stupid sake.

SPACE LESBUN! also i choose fear.

[circumitus]

To Rey, it doesn't seem strange at all. It has become rather custom now each month to stumble upon a scene such as this. It was giant bats when she had first arrived. Now it seems that the Door has stepped up its game once again with these ugly creatures.

Fortunately, they're just as susceptible to burning, and Rey just happens to have come prepared. Her armor covers most of her body, with the hood shrouding her head, leaving her face shadowed under it. The light indicators on her armor start to glow; heatwaves gather around her body as she marches down the street. She doesn't stop to question the appearance of the woman that the creatures have gathered around. Instead, the nearest rotfiend simply goes up in flames.

And then another.

Then another...

Until there is just enough left for a direct path between the woman and Rey. That is, if Fa can handle running towards a little heat. The light indicators on her armor dims, and the heatwaves weaken just enough for that to be possible.

Ruby | Supernatural

[corundum]

Fear

[What kind of tacky bullshit is this.

Although not entirely threatening, Ruby still wants nothing to do with the rotfiends; she's not a fan of being injured, and although the monsters could only hurt her vessel that's still more than enough reason for her to want to avoid them. If she had a good weapon she might've just fought her way through, but at the moment she has nothing, because Dean has her knife, that--

Not the point right now. Right now, she needs to avoid the horror-movie rejects lurking around seemingly the largest cave in the world. There's a lot she doesn't get about this place, like how she's even here, but those will have to wait as she backs around a corner out of sight of an approaching pack of rotfeinds.

What are they so interested in? Is it another person? Or is there maybe someone who decided to hide in the same shadowy alley Ruby's chosen?]


Hope

[No, seriously, what's with the tacky bullshit.

Ruby is actually not too interested in the grand prize, but she does enjoy the consolation gifts. Especially the plastic rings, which she's collected two of; this is all incredibly stupid, but she's at least amusing herself for the moment by lining up her winnings on the bar as she enjoys her drink. It takes a ridiculous amount of alcohol to get a demon drunk but that doesn't mean she can't pretend otherwise, and her line of strange prizes might be doubling as a conversation pieces.

She needs to start collecting some information, and alcohol always helps with getting people to be a little more talkative than they might otherwise be.]

hope.

[torrefied]

[Mello seems to have the same idea about the bar - people plus alcohol equals looser tongues, which equals easier information. He doesn't drink much on principle, and he especially wouldn't in an unfamiliar place like this; that beer bottle in his hand is mostly for the sake of blending in, though with how he looks - head to toe black leather, rosary hung around his neck, mirrored sunglasses still firmly on his face despite the fact that he's indoors - there's really not much hope of him not standing out in the crowd, is there.

The rings set on the bar catch his interest, because they're an anomaly, and anomalies signify something different. He has a naturally curious mind, too, and so far he's only been observing the other people in the bar with a keen eye, but this seems like as good an opportunity as any to stop watching and start asking. It's a gamble, of course, but all good openings are.]

If those are what passes for sobriety chips around here, I'd say someone has an interesting sense of humor.