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

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. :( ]

AWW YEEE

[blowyoudown]

[Darling please, he knows Jack Horner; he's had hundreds of years knowing that asshole to pick up the more subtle signs from Fiona, and he makes a beeline towards her when he sees her pocket the knife.

Ignoring the crowd and how obvious he's being, he grabs her by the shoulder and has to make a concentrated effort to not rip it off like a doll's, and even then claws still come out.]

You get one chance. Hand it over, or else.

be gentle (no pls don't)

[bluffed]

[ Fiona, by that standard, is still a baby thief. Pushing 30 and she's pretty damn good at her job, but trained eyes could pick her off. Imagine her surprise when she hears a scoff from behind her and - nope, too late. He clutches onto her shoulder from behind and instinctively, her form twists.

Nothing about having a chance hits her ears, she defensively snaps her forearm forward, crashing the brunt side across his face. He's lucky her elbow doesn't meet his nose, but it's close. The movement would hopefully be enough to get him free of her, but given how hard his squeeze is, maybe not. ]

The hell?! Who died and made you sheriff?!

[ Little on the nose, but when there's a bandit-killing sheriff famous in Pandora... that's the only law enforcement she knows of.

....... Maybe a rumor of a Meriff (mayor+sheriff). But, even that sounded lame. ]

>8D

[blowyoudown]

[Well that's one way to greet someone. The movement knocks his head back, and goddamn does it hurt, but his claws sink in automatically to avoid letting her go. At least he manages to hear her question, and it gets a very dry smirk.]

Old King Cole. But last I heard he was still kicking.

[His smile drops very quickly though. Fight the murderous instincts, Bigby. It wouldn't be the first time.] Hand. It. Over.

[bluffed]

[ OKAY, but he was legitimately grabbing onto her and scaring the shit out of her. It was almost well-deserved. Almost. Fiona's plant firmer into the ground, her form doubling over a bit more from the amount of force onto her shoulder. It actually hurts. ]

No clue who that is and - ugh - don't care!

[ This ain't Fabletown, pal. Fiona isn't going to break character so easily, even with her safety on the line. ]

What are you even - ugh - [ Yes, she will groan again, damn it. There's a struggle to wiggle her shoulder free - his claws nearly shred her coat (if it did she is going to be so pissed...) in the process. ] Are you seriously going to make a big deal about this when people are two seconds away from causing a civil war?

[ And an impromptu: ]

You don't know me, man!

[ It sounded cooler in her head, honestly. ]

[blowyoudown]

[The claws loosen enough that he's not actually hurting her yet, but his grip isn't about to release entirely. And he's so sorry but he just had to deal with three dead prostitutes in as many days, he's run completely out of fucks.]

You think I give two shits about your "civil war" when I just had to try and solve my own? Don't change the fucking subject! I saw you pocket that knife. Hand it over and I might be merciful. Last chance!

[bluffed]

[ Look, she went on some big shitty space adventure for some mythological vaults and promise of riches - they've all had bad days.

Fiona has been 'training' to rely more on action, a task Athena thrives on. Her? Not so much. She's been taught to play smart - to value wits and chance as opposed to brute force. Felix taught her to stay alive, so hesitantly, she's letting the switchblade dwindle from her fingers.

A harsh whip of her hand and she flings the switchblade down and to her right. If he wants the shit so badly, he can go get it. ]

There!

[ She isn't losing her attitude, but she knows how to use words instead of fighting. ]

Take it back and let go of me.

[blowyoudown]

[The sharp movements make him tense up again, ready to attack all the more, but, somehow, he manages to contain himself enough to reach into his back pocket, still not letting her go. He is an adult, he is a sheriff and he will do his damn job regardless of how much he thinks someone deserves to be killed.]

You're under arrest for petty theft.

[And his hand comes back with handcuffs at the ready.]

[bluffed]

Are you serious? You have what - ugh.

[ Would she be killed? Maybe back on Pandora, but she sees how intensely he looks at her. As if he wants to kill her. She's not clued in on the entire details of what's going on, but she knows something is up - people were too tense, herself included. The lump in her throat is swallowed, spit gone and drying her mouth out. Nervousness? Sure, because she was going to do something incredibly stupid.

His claim for an arrest was met with a harsh slam of her hand. She tries to push him off of her, but a knee to his sternum would hopefully suffice in a further attempt to get away. If she was able to escape Bigby's grasp, she'd fucking book it (and scooping up the switchblade in the process) away from him. ]

[blowyoudown]

[The slam makes him drop the cuffs, and he snarls.

Alright. Fine. Fuck it. We'll do this the hard way.

And then the knee catches him off guard and forces him to let go as he doubles over, winded. He might be big and bad but a rib shot is still a rib shot and he's not exactly young.

Still, he's let her go, and it takes him a good few seconds to recover. But when he straightens up, he's a lot furrier and a lot angrier, and he's off like a shot in the direction he saw her flee.]

[bluffed]

[ Alright, unlike Rhys who is proficient at the zip and zag - Fiona is easy to follow. She books it straight and to the left around a building. Bigby was definitely able to see where she came from.

Her boots did their best to give her the speed she needed - a few more moments to really get a headstart, honestly. She nearly loses her hat a total of three times as she's carefully looking over her shoulder. ]

Steal a - hah - weapon. Best idea ever, Fi.

[ Ignore her as she tries to run for her god damn life, make a scene, and talk down to herself all in one go! ]

[blowyoudown]

[Nope, no ignoring the subject of his very close attention. Bigby comes into the corner hard and ricochets off the opposite wall, but now that he has a straight his muscles bunch up and he's almost bent double again as he speeds up.

He's not gonna bother wasting breath on words, he's just gonna try grabbing onto Fiona's shoulder as soon as he's in range, and that might be faster than she expects.]

Rage baby

[murderpotato]

[Turns out that Gren doesn't need any help from the angry god-bitch to hate Bigby Wolf on sight.]

[This is the fucker that tore off his arm while Holly and Woody watched, who didn't give even the slightest shit that he was down and out. He'd wanted to put him in his place, to make him hurt. And it worked-- it hurt like fuck, and now Gren was maimed and it was Bigby's fault and every time he put on his fucking belt all he could think about was Bigby. Goddamn. Wolf.]

[Who does that? Who tears off somebody's arm in a bar fight? They weren't supposed to be monsters anymore.]

Oh, hell fuckin' no.

LET'S GET FUCKED

[blowyoudown]

[What the actual fuck is Grendel doing here? Doesn't matter. Bigby is riding a sudden wave of overconfidence fuelled by rage. He's already beat Gren once and he sure as hell isn't going to lose now that he's the one with an even limb count.]

Well, what do you fucking know.

[He won't even need to turn wolf. He'll just go straight up and punch Gren in the face, consequences be damned.]

COME AT ME BRO

[murderpotato]

[Gren isn't expecting to get punched hello, so the impact of Bigby's fist against his face sends him staggering back several steps. His jaw throbs and, for a second there, he almost literally sees red.]

[He drags the back of his hand across his mouth and tastes copper.]

So this is how we're gonna fuckin' do it, Wolf?

[He can't take Bigby. Maybe if he had both arms and managed to keep him from getting cheap shots on his weak spot, he'd be able to hold his own for a while, but Bigby's stronger than he is.]

[Right now, though, he doesn't really care.]

Fine. We'll do it your fuckin' way.

[But this time, he can't risk dropping the glamour. Not when he's in a city full of mundies who kill monsters, right out in the open. So now he has to return that punch with the limited strength of his glamour and... well.]

[Get his ass kicked, probably.]

(ง •̀_•́)ง

[blowyoudown]

[To Grendel's credit it's not a bad punch, but Bigby lets it hit him without flinching. He rolls with it, because he's not so blinded by rage that he'd risk a broken jaw, but he goes to grab Gren's wrist before it gets out of range.]

Like there's any other fucking way that works with you.

[His way or the highway, asshole, and his free hand swings in hard to sink into Gren's stomach.]

I'LL KICK YOUR ASS. I'LL KICK YOUR DOG'S ASS. I'LL KICK MY OWN ASS.

[murderpotato]

[Bigby's not pulling his punches and Gren sucks wind around his fist; it's a cheap shot, sucker-punching somebody in the gut, but he doesn't expect the sheriff to fight fair. His knees buckle and he's left in the awkward position of trying to get his breath back while Bigby's still got hold of his arm.]

F--fuck you--

[It's not the first time somebody'd got him by the arm, and Gren twists his wrist sharp towards Bigby's thumb and pulls to break his grip. After that, it's a matter of getting his arm around Bigby's knee and pulling to topple him, get rid of his advantage from still being on his feet. Let's take this fight to the floor, motherfucker, see how good you fight there.]

Float like a brick sting like a taser

[blowyoudown]

[He'd been bracing for Gren to punch him again when he got his hand free - but then he forgets that Grendel knows how to barfight better than him, and gets caught offguard by his leg getting hooked, and trying to step out of it just brings him down faster. He lands hard on his back with a grunt; his turn to get winded.

On the plus side, Gren's arm around his leg means his face is near Bigby's feet, and these boots are made for stomping. His free leg comes down hard, heel aimed at Grendel's nose.]

The hands can't hit WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE TWO HANDS, ASSHOLE

[murderpotato]

[Gren jerks back when he's got Bigby's foot at an incoming trajectory towards his face. He isn't fast enough to avoid it completely, but it catches him on the chin instead of right in the nose. His teeth clack together hard enough that it's probably audible, but at least he doesn't have to deal with a broken nose.]

[Seasoned barfighter that he is, he knows better than to let himself get too distracted by a hit like that. Besides, he can't lose the high ground here if he wants even a little hope of making it out of this scrap with his ass unkicked.]

[He forges ahead, out of kicking range and more into face punching range. His knuckles are just itching to get split on Bigby's teeth and he doesn't hesitate to let his fist fly once he's close enough.]

Fuckin' hypocrite piece of shit!

Ain't brawls just a BITCH

[blowyoudown]

[He's two for two for being punched in the face now, and that second one's hard enough to make him taste blood. Gren sitting on his chest makes it very awkward for him to try and land a punch in return though, so instead he reaches up to grab Grendel's upper arm to keep another punch at bay, but also to pull himself up so that his other hand can go for his throat. No claws yet; he just wants to make Grendel suffer.]

Well aren't you one to talk!

Second only to Bigby

[murderpotato]

Me? Me?

[He jerks his arm in Bigby's grip, but the sheriff's got a pretty good hold on him and he doesn't have quite the right angle to bear down hard enough to force his way down. He's at a severe disadvantage with his lack of an arm, so he's stuck trying to keep Bigby's hand away from his neck with his shoulder and by moving his entire torso.]

I ain't the one walkin' into bars saying how they care about fuckin' Fables and then feelin' justified about beatin' the shit outta people! Fuck you, Bigby, you're worse than all rest of 'em, you actually think you're fuckin' different from me!

OOOOOOH

[blowyoudown]

[His face wrinkles at that, an ugly scowl that's borderline a snarl, and suddenly it's very easy to tighten his grip on Gren's jacket and throw the other Fable off him and into the ground, bad shoulder first. But he doesn't follow through with an attack, instead rolling onto his side so he can move into a crouch (that immediately becomes a kneel. Two head punches is not exactly forgiving for one's balance) and glare furiously at Grendel.]

And you think you're better than me? You're the one who's always fucking starting something - either that or you just sit there getting shitfaced! I'm the one putting my life on the line to make sure pieces of shit like Bloody Mary and the Crooked Man don't fuck over other Fables!

/shots fired

[murderpotato]

[Gren hits hard on his bad shoulder, and the shock of it rattles right through his rib cage. The wound's long since healed over, but it aches sometimes and a good hit to it will still make it throb like he's torn it open again.]

[He has to use his good arm to push himself up and shakes his head to clear it. Some of his hair's escaped the grip of all the pomade he uses to slick it back, and he pushes at it ineffectually to keep ti out of his eyes.]

It ain't about better, you stupid fuck. What were you doing a couple hundred years ago, Wolf?

[Killing and eating people, just like Gren used to do. They were, the both of them, monsters, and the only thing that made Bigby barely tolerated among the so-called polite society of Fabletown was the whim of one woman.]

Tell me it ain't arbitrary that you're the sheriff and I'm the guy in the bar that you feel all fuckin' fine about maiming.

those are some fucking mad shots

[blowyoudown]

[Gren's not wrong, and that's probably the worst part. He's tempted to snipe back, but Grendel isn't really the guy to make an 'I actually have a sense of control' snark at right now. The murderous rage is still there, but the fact that Grendel is being the rational one is a very good method of keeping it in check.

He pushes off, getting back to his feet with only mind swaying, and one hand rests on his waist while the other goes to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose.]

Never thought I'd see the day when you were the reasonable one.