test drive meme #13

[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 September 24th, and apps are open October 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: DON'T LOOK AT ME
[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 hop right on you and chow down. This time, the Door has brought in several Boos, from the Mario video game series.

These monsters can be menacing, but are also incredibly shy. When looking directly at them, they will cover their faces and fade into the background- however, when turning away from them, they advance on you until they're in the perfect spot to take a nice big bite. The only way to defeat them is to escape this part of the level- that is, run madly away and try to keep up eye contact while you do so. They may look cartoonish, but those ghost teeth can be sharp!]

SCENARIO TWO: YOU'VE GOT RED ON YOU
[Hadriel is home to many things- temples, irate gods, angry citizens and... well, zombies, apparently. Beware as they start to walk/stagger/generally kind of shuffle around the streets of the city, since where there's one or two, there's usually a hundred more just waiting for the right moment to strike.

Zombies attack Hadriel by the dozen for this prompt, and nowhere in the city is technically safe from them! While they're not necessarily fast or intelligent, they have an advantage on you in that they have a lot more friends and they can't feel pain. So saddle up, bunker down, and try to survive the infestation!

This is a mini version of our Dead Men Walking event this month!]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: CAPTURE THE FLAG
[Hey, what's Hadriel without a few mind-numbingly stupid games to forget the fact that you're in a murdercave that routinely tries to scare the crap out of you while also maybe killing you every once in awhile? You're not quite sure who came up with this particular mind-numbingly stupid game, but you seem to be playing, so get your running shoes on and grab that inhaler!

This is a game of Capture the Flag, and thanks to Rage, you're really starting to feel that competitive spirit. You're going to win- you have to. So what if you incur a few fouls along the way?

There's a red team and a blue team for this prompt, with both teams trying to protect their corresponding flags. Try to strategize to take the other team's precious flag, chase someone from the opposing team down, or just go all out and full body tackle that poor guy who got a little too close to your territory- it's all on you!]

Comments

Andros | Power Rangers | scenario 1

[awol_redranger]

Andros was flying around on his galaxy glider, near one of the many moons in Gratha system. There was so much that needed to be done. And no, that wasn't just paranoia or him trying to get out of some customary social event. Things had to be checked. There were bound to be leftovers from the United Alliance of Evil. It wasn't like they all had time to pack before they were destroyed by the Z-wave. So, he had to check. Like double check Earth's moon to make sure Rita and Zedd didn't leave anything behind. The last thing he wanted was an era of peace disrupted by some stupid human picking up some space junk. Again. And the oceans. Who knew what Divatox left floating around. In fact, he was just going to search the entire universe. Double check it. Triple check it. (Not like he had anything else to do now).

And then, Andros was not in space. At all. He was in some weird planet, except instead of a sky, there was a ceiling. No, not a ceiling. A cave? He was underground. Quickly stopping so he didn't plow over people and looked back behind him. Whatever had brought him here was already closed. Great. He'd have to find another way. Andros paused, considering parking the galaxy glider on one of these streets and exporing. So far, so good. The ranger stood still for a minute, listening for tell tale cackling, mocking or the old favorite 'KILL HIM!'.

BEGIN BITCH FIGHT

[majormalfunction]

The questions this raised were almost more terrifying than the implications. Aside from the target obvious fact that this wasn't where she's been only moments ago, there weren't any caves in the city--and there certainly weren't any this large underneath Japan. The sheet weight of the buildings would have collapsed the ceiling by now and the sinkhole would have been rather obvious.

Waking up in an arena hadn't helped her feel any safer, either. Not that she would have expected to be right at home after being ripped out of hers without so much as a warning. And no Net, either. At least, not one that had access to anything she needed. Like current news. Or her external memory. She was well and truly cut off. Cybercomms down, no way to call out, no external Net... it's like living in the stone age.

She hadn't been stopped when she left the colosseum, though, so she wandered, learning the layout. She wanted desperately to get higher--climb a building and get a top-down view, but she couldn't be certain which--if any--would support the weight of her cyberbody. Some of them looked downright condemned.

She noticed the surfboard first, followed by the outlandish outfit. Really, the lengths some people would go to just to get noticed...

"Going to a costume party?"

Alphys | Undertale

[sciencelizard]

i. she's bad at eye contact

[For someone who lived in the Underground her whole life, literally surrounded by monsters, being best friends with a ghost, you think she'd be more equipped to handle this properly.

Except, she's not, because prolonged eye contact is near impossible and running backwards is even worse, because she has a big tail that keeps getting in the way. But she is pretty frequently looking over her shoulder, so...

Maybe she's just totally bowled you over, or flung herself around a corner right on top of you. Whoopsies! She's very good at apologizing, at least.]

ii. THIS IS WORSE THIS IS SO MUCH WORSE

[Ha. Haha. Oh man! This is just like one of her animes. Except she's alone and basically the token scientist character and not the brawler, so she's probably going to die like a background NPC, which is really, really not how she wanted to go.

And yet, Alphys is huddled up as high as she can find herself, with a pile of scrap metal, building what appear to be little boxes that she's setting around her. Materials are scarce and she's working with what she can, but they're really nothing more than proximity sensors getting stuck to doors and windows, that send a signal to a little remote that's currently lying next to her leg. What's she gonna do about that? ... Well, that's a question for another day. At least she's gonna know something's coming.

Feel free to have triggered it and encounter a Very Scared Lizard! This is what you wanted, right?]

iii. wildcard

[Hit me up with a prompt if you have another idea! I'm open for all sorts of things!]

i

[beautyis]

[Papyrus is excitedly patrolling with his little city guard sash displayed prominently across his chest, paying careful attention to his surroundings. There seems to be strange ghosts that only move when your eyes aren't on them, which may be dangerous as it is impossible to harm a ghost to make a quick getaway! Especially if there are no grab blocks around. Papyrus is pretty good at avoiding them, thankfully, as he checks around for anyone that might need help.

As attentive as he is, however, when a yellow lizard flings herself around a corner, he doesn't see it coming and they crash right into each other.]

What is-- [he begins, worried he just ran into one of the dangerous creatures that are about, catching himself on the wall of a building to keep from falling. On second glance, though, he recognizes this lizard!] Alphys! Hello! I am so glad to see you!

[Completely oblivious to the fact that she's terrified and there's a dangerous ghost hot on her tail, he simply greets her normally.]

Jenny Holm | OC

[becomeone]

In the coliseum

Jenny at first fell for how harmless they looked, assuming they were some kind of mascots of... whatever this place is. It looks like a derelict theme part. She was to one of them, long ago, to train her absorption skills.

Perhaps that should have tipped her off.

The way it is, she barely avoids being mauled, but the thing still manages to put a deep gash into her arm before she can whirl around and press her hand to a slightly less dangerous part of it and concentrate.

Adrenaline rushes always aid this, and so the thing is sucked into the palm of her hands within moments and her hand. She throws a look around quickly once that is gone.

Are there more approaching? Are there other people who are likewise being approached by those? What the heck is going on?


In the streets

She managed to leave the coliseum without another incident (or at least, without another injury), but as she walks around the city, it is still obvious that she is hurt - she's holding her left arm with her right to support it and her dark blue jacket is soaked with blood at her upper arm.

While attentive to her surroundings, she also seems to be cursing quietly.

She's definitely cursing quietly.

As soon as she spots someone who might qualify as human, she approaches them.

"Hey, you! Where can I find a doctor here?"


Capture the flag

So you're on the red team, apparently. You also are just a bit too close to the blue team's flag.

And this policewoman here spotted you and is now melting out of the shadows a few metres away, gaining speed quickly as she's storming at you to take you down.

In the streets

[einselective]

Marian's anxious about everything so far, and although by all standards 100% human, definitely has the 'crazy-eyes' when she turns around at the call. There's a long moment of staring directly into Jenny's eyes, her lips pressed into a thin, worried line.

But after a couple very long seconds of staring without uttering a response, she seems to accept that it's fine and visibly relaxes a fraction. She looks down at her watch this time, nervously back up to Jenny, and back down to the watch. Getting right down to business, she asks in sharp, broken fragments of sentences, "Broken? Arteries severed? Any info that a doctor would find useful?"

thomasin | the witch

[curdle]

i. i can't believe i managed to wax rhapsodic about a fucking mario monster
   note: this prompt contains oblique spoilers for The Witch, and there'll probably be more explicit mentions of the events near the end of the    movie in future tags, so if you don't want that let me know in your subject header and i'll avoid spoilers.

[ There's a girl in the Colosseum! She's got fresh blood on her face and hands, spattered down the front of her unmistakably archaic dress and the apron attached to it, and a billhook in one fist, and she is staring at a Boo with the wide-set, unblinking gaze of a person who has recently Seen Some Shit. Her accent sounds strange, clearly British but with a pronunciation alien to any modern dialect, when she speaks quietly to herself. ]

What manner of creature...?

[ But does it matter, really? Regardless of the category, it is a devil for certain, because Thomasin knows where she is now. She is exactly where she belongs, damned soul that she is. She is in Hell. This is not how she has imagined it in her nightmares, nor how Father described it in his fiery readings of the Word, but is it not another sign of human folly to assume that the true torments of the pit would be revealed to any man in their lifetime?

She moves forward with slow, unsteady footsteps, watching the imp cover its face and knowing not what she will do or say when she reaches it. Her entire mind is fixed on what she thinks is the reality of her situation, of what she's just done and what horrors she has yet to face in consequence, and she doesn't notice even the slightest indication of any other monsters in the area. Of course there is one, it's flying at her back, and by the looks of her she's not durable enough to just walk off a bite -- bloody or not. Please... save her traumatized Puritan ass... or at least yell at her to run or something, that works too. ]

ii. no john thou art the demons

[ At this point, Thomasin has somehow managed to get the intro speech about what's going on and at least semi-accepted the concept that she has not, in fact, been cast into the deepest pits of Hell as punishment for her sins, so the desperate will to survive that's powered her through all the other horrors inflicted upon the farm has sparked back to life! On the other hand, there are now revenants on the loose, and all that separates them from her is a billhook, prayer to a God she no longer believes will hear her, and the upper body strength of a 16-year-old girl. It's a real benefits tradeoff.

She retreats to one of the houses, which initially she can't even identify as such -- the spires are vertiginous and far too terrifying to a girl for whom even the city streets of the 1630s are but a child's memory. It is not an operational house, which is probably good, because as soon as she gets her bearings inside the strange mound-shaped cottage she immediately starts moving its contents around. It seems the dead are not particularly quick, nor intelligent, but they make up for that in sheer force of numbers. The only way to avoid being overtaken, as unpleasantly reminiscent of her last terrible night in the stables as it is, is to barricade herself in. She can't find any boards, nor hammer and nails -- what she would give now for that stock of useless wood she had screamed at Father over -- but she does have her billhook, and she's busying herself moving furniture in front of windows and -- when the strange organic-looking material is thin enough to manage it -- hacking at pieces so she can maneuver it more easily. There used to be end tables in this house, freakish-looking and battered though they were. There are no end tables anymore. RIP.

She's finished blocking off the door to the deck and has started trying to find objects to place in front of the odd circular windows (this one shattered, making it the obvious priority) when Thomasin notices someone in the street she can only assume is among the living. Whether they're fleeing in terror, alone, or kicking zombie ass, the point is that they are a fellow survivor, beset by the same demons as her. She cannot simply close the door to such a person. I mean, she can, and she strongly considers it, but in the end the added manpower the two of them might have together, and her unacknowledged but crushing loneliness, outweigh self-preservation. ]

Speak, if thou livest! [ she shouts, dropping the table leg to brandish her weapon with both hands -- she knows making noise will alert the dead, if they're present in this scenario, but to open the door and make her voice heard would be more foolish still. ]

iii. wildcard

[ just hit me up, or pm the journal if you'd like to run something by me first! it's party time. ]

ii.

[notovelia]

[Ovelia has managed to keep ahead of the horde by virtue of her cleric magicks, but the charm will not last long. The voice, coming from one of the derelict buildings, is a godsend.]

Yes, I live! Where are you? Have you shelter?

[She hurries to the side of the street from which the call came, scanning the houses for a sign of one that might contain an ally.]

Tsubaki Yayoi | BlazBlue

[unsees]

I. can't see 'em when i'm blind

[The past hour or so has been... confusing, to say the least. Being (supposedly) teleported to an unknown place isn't exactly anything new, but this location isn't anything like any of the Hierarchical Cities she's been to before. As such, Tsubaki sets out to explore a little to familiarize herself with the area before making any hast decisions.

The problem is, she keeps feeling some sort of presence following her. However, when she turns around, all she sees is one of those weird, extremely shy ghost-like creatures. It doesn't look like it wants to attack her or anything, and yet she's kept on edge by it just being there.]

... Was that my imagination? It must have been...

[Since it's not aggressive, Tsubaki shrugs her shoulders lightly and turns her attention back to her surroundings. If you're the nice type, you might want to warn her about the monster that follows her...]

III. judge, jury and executioner

Halt!

[That voice that just called for you to stop? Appears to come from this girl behind you. The dead-serious look on her face suggest it's not to ask you for directions.]

You're a member of the red team, are you not? Then I'm sure I don't need to explain myself. I will not let you go any farther, even if it means stopping you by force.

[And just in case words aren't enough, she brandishes her short sword to make her point clear.]

I shall cast judgment on all sinners who dare trespass this territory!

[... It's all about justice and divine punishment with this girl, even when it comes to a simple game of catch the flag. Go figure.]

IV. wildcard

[Or come up with your own scenario. Hit me up with anything!]

Camille | OC

[notjelly]

I: oh boo hoo

[There is a twenty-something girl in the middle of the street, facing down a solitary Boo, arms folded across her chest.]

[Although at another glance, she's not exactly...all girl, or even all human. She's, well, primarily humanoid--bipedal, four limbs, a head and hair and all that--but there are ram horns curling out from red hair, one arm is a lobster claw, and there's a cow tail swishing back and forth behind her.]

[Her skin is also a bit bluish.]

No, really. How about, instead of this whole silly haunting business, you tell me how you achieved this sort of--this total lack of density you have, because I want it! Do you know, I've spent years trying to perfect the whole...ghost thing?

[She abruptly turns translucent and floats upward, about an inch off the ground. Then she solidifies again and lands with a heavy sigh.]

That's the best I can do! It's not easy at all, you know.

[She drums her human fingers against the lobster carapace of her other arm impatiently.]

Not a word, eh? Goodness, I hope everyone in this silly cave isn't so impolite.

II: zombles

[She's on a roof this time, and perhaps she's on a roof with other people, or perhaps you're on the roof adjacent. She's looking over the edge and watching the zombies below as they paw at the bricks, no doubt trying to figure out how to climb. Camille currently is part cat, part bird, part human, and part some other things, probably too many parts to make sense.]

And this is why I hate horror movies!

[She says it as if she was already carrying on this conversation with everyone in earshot.]

Sooooo boring! Look at this, it's Powers-awful cliche, isn't it? Not creative at all. And they're all meant to be human, ugh. Now, give me a zombie dragon, or a zombie polar bear, now that might actually be a bit of fun. And right scary!

III: go team sportball

[Capture the flag? Pfffft, nope, she doesn't think so. Running around fighting people and capturing silly pieces of cloth isn't exactly her scene, but it's also thirsty work. So, somehow, there is a little stand set-up somewhere in no-man's land, and Camille--partially human, partially giant cicada this time--is selling iced tea and snacks. All very high quality of course.]

[The menu board indicates that she's accepting any form of currency or trade. Or a handful of pebbles, you know, whatever.]

IV: wildcard, bitches!

[Go crazy, guys.]

i

[beautyis]

[Wow! This monster is exceptionally talented! She can float and look like a ghost, even though she isn't one? Anyway, there are very few monsters Papyrus doesn't know in Hadriel, so he is eager to meet this one.

So don't mind the tall skeleton as he bounds up to Camille, friendly smile on his face, city guard sash displayed proudly across his chest.]

Don't worry! Everyone here is very friendly!! These ghosts are not normal monsters, they are just among the wild creatures that tend to attack the people here. They cannot understand speech, so there is no use reasoning with them! At least, I think they can't. They might have their own? Language?? ...I do not know that much about them, now that I think about it!! Maybe they're the smartest of us all!!

Marian Tenebris | OC

[einselective]

I: DON'T LOOK AT ME (if you don't have eyes)

[Marian is anxious already, unsettled and uneasy, a bundle of crazed nerves and madness from recent events... and finding herself in an unknown city under unknown circumstances hasn't exactly helped her sanity.

Cartoonish or not, the black, empty eyes of the ghosts were seen for a flash, and they're too close to the darkened eye sockets of the emissaries she'd faced. Marian both wants and doesn't want to confirm what she'd seen, terror fighting the need to know, but the way they keep hiding their faces and fading out is only riling her up more.]

Get back here! Hiding?! Why are you hiding! What are you doing! You can't be here!

[Yelling a continuous stream of nearly incoherent invective like she's losing her mind (and she might be), it's clear she can't tell if she should try to chase down the Boo or flee in complete terror, caught juddering a half step forward, then a half step back, turning around and around and unable to make a decision in the midst of the fight-or-flight response.]

...just can't be here... LEAVE ME! Go on!




II: You've Got Red On You

[Marian isn't a fighter, not really. Not much of a runner, either. She's an academic, carrying what is effectively a heavy metal backpack.

So from whatever safe spot you might be hiding in, it's a bizarre sight to see her jogging from the horde... then vanishing in a brief burst of epilepsy-inducing flashes of cyan and white. Gone, the horde starts to disperse, and things are back to normal with the zombies milling in the street.

Exactly fifteen minutes later down to the second, she flashes back in at the exact position she left and makes it a few more meters down towards the door before flashing back out. She's making clear progress towards the door, that she might be able to barricade, in neatly timed intervals.

From Marian's perspective of course this is a matter of a few seconds, frantically mashing the button on the side of her heavy pack, triggering a quick-jump each time. But this time there's no flash -- only an angry but quiet "bzz-bzzt" and red light popping up on her watch.

She might just need a little help.]

one.

[mismanagement]

Over here!

[Maketh is balanced carefully on top of a pile of rubble, rifle aimed and ready. Thus far she hasn't had much luck killing the damn things, but they seem to respect pain. She's a good shot. They don't usually come close after she hurts them.

Besides, it's her job to protect the newcomers. This woman is in trouble.]

Ovelia Atkascha | Final Fantasy Tactics

[notovelia]

1. Don’t Look at Me

An unfamiliar street is already a rare and dangerous prospect for a princess without her guard. The feeling of being pursued, of seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, has Ovelia in a cold sweat, moving frantically down the street. A lady of Ivalice does not run, but she walks briskly, her soft-soled shoes making barely a noise on the stone.

Again! Something off to the side just moved, she is certain of it. She twirls to see it.

“Show yourself!” She draws herself up to her full height and prepares to look down upon whatever hooligan is playing such a cruel prank. A noble’s indifference is the only shield she possesses.

2. You’ve got red on you

The dead walk. Sheltered as she is, Ovelia knows to keep away from those corpses. She grasps her skirt as she walks to keep from tripping in her haste. Once again, she does not run, but she takes quick steps. If anyone is close enough to hear, she is murmuring a chant as she moves.

Once the words of the spell have been spoken, a white light flashes. When it fades, Ovelia is moving faster, and there is a faint golden glow around her.

3.Capture the Flag

This is war.

…this is war, isn’t it? Ovelia feels it is. It is easy enough to see the Atkascha house emblem on the red flag that flies on enemy lines.

“How dare they. They mock us!” She turns to the nearest person.

“Their impertinence cannot be suffered. We must attack, now.”
By ‘we’, she means ‘the rest of you’. Her role is to inspire.

[[ooc: prose or brackets are fine. I can switch to match as needed.]]

Will Graham | Hannibal

[feelslikeimspilling]

SCENARIO ONE:

[ It wasn't unusual for Will to see strange things but this was something completely new to him.

As he stood there, firstly simply looking at the smooth, milky transparent underbelly of the Boo. His mind in a state of total disarray. Focus Will. Focus. It was hard enough for the FBI profiler to keep eye contact with people at the best of times, let alone trying to look an unrealistic apparition in the eye. This is it. You've finally broken. Your mind is collapsing, Will. Dr. Hannibal's voice speaking inside his head, as it often did. ]

Am I... Awake?

[ Closing his eyes, a trembling hand raised and pressed to caress his knitted brow. Deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth and relax. His shoulders pull up before dropping down, limp and loose. Will opens his eyes. Only to see that the ghost-like vision is now only a foot or so away from him, covering it's own eyes with chubby little transparent stumps.

Of course, this made him jump, made him shake and then the sweating started. What mix of madness and memories was this? Taking a few unsteady steps back, this was when noticed he wasn't alone, there were others! People and ghosts alike. Some standing staring as he was, others running, the spirits taking chase.

His heart pounded in his chest, pulse thumping in his ears as he continued to step blindly backwards until his back came crashing flush against someone else. ]

SCENARIO TWO:

[ Will had seen more than his fair share of cadavers in his lifetime, call it an occupational hazard if you will. But the dead he was seeing today were walking almost upright, straight towards him. Again, nothing uncommon for Will, though normally, the dead only hung around him when he was either dreaming or lost somewhere in the depths of someone else's mind. So which one was it now?

Looking around at the carnage scattered in each direction, the mess and evidence left behind. Human remains, insides strew around the street, limbs left lifeless with signs of abrasions and lacerations made in the most sloppy of manners. He closed his eyes, felt himself moving backwards through memories that were not his own. Seeing the disaster on the streets appear as if they were about to happen, instead of the end result.

Will saw a young man coming towards him with a hatchet, yet he felt no fear. His arms reached out, grabbing and missing, he stumbled and fell. That was when he was struck. Looking down, through someone else's eyes, Will saw the hatchet slice into his leg...But there was no feelings of pain. In fact there was only one sensation he was experiencing. ]

Hunger. I am hungry. I can't control my urge. I crave... I crave meat. I'm... confused? Sick? My body is unstable. I'm frantic and you're scared of me. As you should be. You are my target after all. I clasp at your arm. Sink... Sink my teeth in. I want to consume you. Devour you alive. This is my design...

[ Gasping as he opens his eyes. Disgusted at what he was seeing and feeling. His hands slick with blood when he looked down at them. He'd done it again. Got carried away while channeling into the killers mind, or lack of in this case.

Jumping up and falling back into some crates behind him, drawing attention from the other corpse walking the streets. He must have blend in for a moment, what with the way he'd been straddling that dead body at his feet. Gagging, covering his mouth with a blood soaked hand to prevent him from throwing up.

Where was he? What crime scene was this? Was he dreaming or still at work? ]

Jack? ... JACK!?

two.

[scarletcast]

[ There are times one drowns. Wanda has been hungry for hours with not her hunger, feeling too much movement not her own. Will is standing alone in the street with the horde and she can't sense anyone else around for backup. She makes a beeline for him, ducking behind the crates. ]

Are you all right? Did they bite you?

Trance Gemini | Andromeda | Will match style if needed

[goodguess]

I. But it's so Bootiful
[ It depends on one's own tastes on which would be considered the stranger thing; A very circular apparition with hands covering it's face when trying to fade and blend in with the scenery, or the very purple girl, with a rather devilish tail, staring at it in curiosity. A couple of times the girl brings her face very close to where the thing was before easing up again, still regarding it. Depending on one's time, however, it might just seem like a purple devil girl watching and talking to a dirty brick wall. ]

Now, I'm pretty sure you're the same one from before. You don't have to be afraid.

[ Ah, but if she's watching this spot so intently, who's watching for the other walls and directions more apparitions could come from?



You've got some red on this bunker

[ At first it had started with a few stragglers- shambling and sick people that didn't seem to be doing more than looking for help. That's how it looked. Until they tried to bite off her hand off. Then more of them had shown up and was starting to surround her, until there was an announcement to get away from the... That person said zombies? Which just sounded like one of the stories Harper would talk about. They had gotten real close once, real grabby, as she had to push past a small crowd of the sick people to reach a clearer path to somewhere safe. Somewhere that was easily boarded back up, and the group was able to go to higher ground to get a bird's eye view on the horde.

The purple girl was taking a few deep breaths, as if to work through the adrenaline or recover from the chase. In spite of the dire situation, with being much higher Trance wasn't afraid to lean out of the window to study the people a lot better. ]

Those people don't really seem all that right... Some were missing part of their chest. See, that one there-

[ She points down at one of the many zombies that weren't fully intact. ]

How is it that they're still able to move, do you think?



III. Oh, did you want that flag?

[ The game could have only started recently, or quite a while ago. Either way you had managed to finally get that desired Blue flag. It probably wasn't easy, or maybe the rest of the Red team had distracted all the other members and left an opening. The important thing was that you were able to get the flag and started to head back to your base. All the sounds are a good distance away, and no heavy steps are in the immediate area. It looks like the path is clear with no immediate worries.

All that's needed is a brief moment of distraction or relaxation, then a mighty battlecry is heard from the window of a building next to you, a little ways behind. ]

Wahoo!

[ But nothing is coming down- instead there's the glimpse of a long, thin purple tail snaking through a higher window, retreating back into the window. It won't take long before realizing that the flag was somehow gone (through prompt convenience!) Trance hesitated at the doorway of the room she double backed into after the small heist- Just long enough to see if someone was about to follow, but ready to skedaddle at a moments notice. Because what everyone needed during this game was a small and speedy thief running away with the flag you were supposed to take and win with. ]

Astronema | Power Rangers

[princess_of_evil]

[Astronema had been in many strange situations before but this was one of the weirder ones. She still wasn't entirely sure what was going on but it was clear that this group needed a leader. And who better than the Princess of Evil?]

Listen, we need a plan.

[The purple girl is pointing at something and Astronema walks over to find out what.]

Does it really matter? We need to destroy them all.

Ishida Uryuu | Bleach | ALL OF THE THINGS

[repelling]

.one.option one. spirits are always with you?

[ Curiosity became humor became frustration.

He'd felt it hiding. There wasn't a bit of surprise in it. The reiatsu felt odd, unfamiliar, that particular concentration, but it was reiatsu and it was more than likely a ghost. Uryuu stood at the entrance t a narrow alleyway, which whether or not there are in fact alleyways in Hadriel, there are for these purposes. Entrance to a shadowed space. Roll with us.

Uryuu stood at such place at peered into the dark, his expression, if anything, clinical. ]

I know you're there.

[ And his tone bored. ]

So come on out. Or I'll shoot.

[ No response, which would make him feel a little silly, talking to the air in a strange city, but he can feel it. ]


.one.option two. very superstitious.

[ As Uryuu wasn't stupid enough to walk into said shadowed location, he eventually succumbs to the arrow. After ensuring no other reiatsu was near, no person to see, he concentrated his bow and fired a warning shot just to the side of the reiatsu.

Nothing. He'd like to just finish it, but on the off chance it's a terrified and innocent ghost, he yields, turning away. At which point it moves, because he feels it, and when he turns around, swift, gathering the spirit particles, reishi, beneath his feet to speed him further from it -- he trips, staggers, almost falls, on seeing it.

It looks like a cartoon ghost. It looks fake. Uryuu raises his eyebrows, a jeering smirk starting. ]

Ghosts aren't supposed to look like that. If you're a Hollow -- [ not that it feels like a Hollow ] -- I'd be embarrassed, too.

[ Yeah, now he's just standing there mocking the shy Boo. ]



.two. the fake ones are rotting to pieces.

[ Zombies.

At first, no problem. He doesn't totally get it, but as much as Uryuu would like to understand, he's adamantly not the mad scientist type, thank you. He'll assume for the sake of action that a mad scientist may be responsible -- this is just that Shinigami's sort of thing, and that Espada hadn't been too far behind with those clones, but he'd never have let their clothing go to such a state -- or some ridiculous bankai or ability.

Having spent years compartmentalizing away any issues that might reasonably stir re: Quincy arrows killing Hollow souls that could instead be purified by a tardy Shinigami blade (and so inadvertently somewhat abiding Ryuuken's command that he focus on the living, instead of the dead), he doesn't hesitate, despite the articulations, the human faces.

(What does unsettle -- there's no spirit left here. No reiatsu. Nothing. Yet, they move.)

One spirit arrow neatly through a skull, felling it, then another. Easy. Boring. Pretty disgusting. Only.

Because he can't feel them, he hears it first, the shuffling, the enormity of the sound. Around the corner and it must be a hundred. Uryuu pales, pausing as he thinks, eyes darting along -- when a hand smashes through a glass pane, how had he been so strategically moronic to stand by glass, followed by a hungry mouth. The hand claws at his arm.

Uryuu throws himself back, but a layer of rotting skin streaks down his sleeve. Which it tears, too.

He blanches. ]

As if the smell wasn't bad enough, I just finished this shirt!

[ His hand twitches toward his bag -- a portable sewing kit -- when he remembers.

Oh yeah.

100 zombies. ]



.three. why isn't there a white team?

[ It's mind-numbingly stupid, but it's also competitive teamwork of the sort that Ishida Uryuu a) had never had the opportunity to play as a child; and b) might, in fact, quite enjoy now.

Because the blue team is superior and must win.

Not at all like a creepy creeper who creeps, Uryuu has camped himself on the roof several stories up. He is not, in fact, quite near the flag. He is, however, observing the general vicinity for anyone approaching.

Too bad for you he's totally misusing his extreme spirit sensitivity and not relying merely on his eyes. Because, buddy, unless you're a corpse, you've got reiatsu -- spirit pressure. And if you're a corpse, that spirit that animated you is what's skipping around.

And he's waiting.

A little bit like a creeping creeper who creeps. ]

1.2

[scarletcast]

[ These things that come through the door are tame, but Wanda has formed the habit now of hanging by the colosseum. Watching, if nothing else. ]

They may look like nothing now, but that does not make them less nasty.

[ Fear'd never give them a break like that. She eyes him very critically, up and down, stops on the bow, then back up at him. ]

myia | oc

[flystrike]

i.

[A tall and purple young woman with fried cotton ball hair and bright red compound eyes glares at two Boos like they are the source of all her troubles. For all she knows, they are. There are insect wings protruding from her back, the tips visible beneath the forest green cloak she wears. Notably, she is wearing tons and tons of cheap painted gold necklaces and rings and bracelets.

Myia is very annoyed right now. She was finally safe, in the town of Maahi. Things were finally going good again. Everything finally made sense in the world. She was still a little banged up, one arm and one thigh bandaged, from the group's trek through the forest, but Willow had taken them in and the fishers seemed so nice. Not like normal harvesters at all.]

Ghosts!? After all that you show me ghosts?!

[Her short, white proboscis flicks out between her lips as she rants at the Boos, pointing a finger angrily at them.]

Bad!! It's bad!! It's bad and I hate it! This cavern-town! I do not want to be here! Take me back to the fish place! Maahi! Take me back, you awful ghosts! If you eat me you will be very sorry! I drink poison every day!!

[That's... definitely a lie.]

ii

[Myia barely arrives and already there is some kind of zombie invasion!? She still does not wholly understand what a "human" is, let alone this strange, undead variant of one that is currently banging its head against the window of the shop she's holed herself into. It's mostly just splattering blood everywhere for now, thank God. For a while she was just whimpering and clutching her golden dagger to her chest, the gift from Sapre. Sapre was always so nice, wasn't she? Too bad she's actually horrible.

But that's something to ruminate on another time. Myia has since gotten distracted from being scared and, instead, finds herself on a quest for loot from within the store. She hums contentedly as she piles plastic beads and forks and aluminum cans into a beanie she's decided to use as a bag.]

Hm, hm, hm! Going to be rich, rich, rich!

[Never mind that none of this could sell for anything, even if there was currency in place in Hadriel...]

iii.

[Myia is relatively tallish in comparison to the average human, so maybe she is actually managing to intimidate someone as she taunts the other team between plays.]

Blue team loses! Blue team incurs the death penalty! Blue team gets harvested for nothing! Blue team trips over rocks! Ahahaha! I am laughing because your team is so bad!

[Okay, maybe not.

The second play begins, though, she shrieks and runs in abject fear. Can't back up that trash talk.]

i

[notjelly]

Oh, you too? Same!

[The voice comes from a human-ish woman who emerges from behind some nearby trashcans. She grins, sprouting some insect wings of her own as she approaches, though hers are mismatched--one's a bit locust-like, the other is more like a dragonfly's, sticking directly out to the side. Look at this, it's a fly-spirit, maybe? Or something like it. All the usual animal spirits are well and good, but the insect ones are so much more interesting. All those weird buggy bodyparts.]

Or, well, not every day, but what else are you supposed to do with leftover apple seeds or peach pits? Can't very well serve them to most of the customers, no sirree-Bob. So, you're a fly of sorts, eh? Do you need some help? 'Fraid I don't know a Maahi--dear, I hope I'm saying that right--but I could eat a ghost or two if you'd like?

Maxim Novak | OC

[nocchirurh]

I. Don't Look at Me

[Maxim had been wandering around this new place for some time, feeling a little disoriented and just trying to get his bearings. He'd been getting the distinct feeling that he was being watched for some time now. He whirled around, catching sight of what was most definitely a ghost. It faded away as soon as he made eye contact.]

Huh. Not so bad.

[He turned back around, waiting to see if the ghost would continue following him. He kept getting that prickly feeling on the back of his neck. This time, he turned around just a moment too late. The Boo was on top of him, its teeth sinking deep into his left shoulder.]

OW! [There were muttered curses in Russian as he pulled away from the evil little ghostie. His shoulder had a fresh line of teeth marks in it, all bloody and torn. Well, this day just kept getting better and better.]

II. You Got Red on You

[Zombies. Lovely. This was like something straight out of his nightmares. Of course, that usually happened when he ate chili dogs at three in the morning after patching people up for hours on end. Experiencing this in real life was a whole other story.

Maxim had been successful in avoiding the living dead for a while now, but he was still getting used to the layout of the city. He'd taken a wrong turn and come across a giant group of them. They immediately turned and began shuffling his way. He cursed his bad luck.]

Der'mo! [Then he pulled out his Glock. It wouldn't stop all of them, but he could take a few down before he had to run for the hills. Coolly, he took aim and began to shoot.]

III. Capture The Flag

[Oh dear. Someone has gotten a little too into the competitive spirit of the game. Maxim was a part of the red team and had volunteered to guard the area where the flag was being held. He was doing his duties quite well, fending off anyone who so much as looked at him wrong.

Then along came someone from the opposing team who was getting just a little too close for comfort. They were summarily knocked to the ground with Maxim practically sitting on their chest. If they try to move, he'll take off one of his gloves, his hand pressed up against their skin in a manner that suggests he'll use his powers on them.]

Don't move.

[notovelia]

[Ovelia turned around a corner in time to see one of the strange creatures take a bite out of the man with the gun. He spoke words she did not understand, but if he had such a weapon, he was a Machinist, and they always had their secrets.]

Be gone from here, creature! [Facing them and scolding them has worked on the ones that have tried to assail her, and it is the best offensive action she has. Neither her build, her training, nor her personality lend themselves to her being able to fight.

At least the ghost in question releases its prey. Of course, while Ovelia faces the ghost in front of her, others close in from behind.]

Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock (BBC)

[deerstalkers]

[Scenario One]

[Sherlock Holmes is used to trusting his senses. The last time he doubted them, it turned out he was very, very drugged by some impressively experimental hallucinogenic. It had not been enjoyable. Now, though, as he finds himself staring at a cartoon ghost (which he has no pop culture basis for because for a genius, he's thoroughly ignorant of anything he deems beyond what is necessary to know. This video game falls straight into that category) he wonders if that is happening again.

It doesn't feel the same though. And for a long moment he stands, still, staring at the ghost, taking a few steps backwards. But it doesn't move.

Some decoration then? With a frown, he turns to go. He's not sure what makes him glance back, but when he does, he catches the ghost moving, catches it hiding once more.] Clever trick... [But he doesn't sound all that impressed, more entirely annoyed.]


[Scenario Two]

[By now, Sherlock is convinced that he's in some extended hallucinatory dream. Maybe caused by some external source -- drugged or poisoned. Or his own over-ambitious leap down the rabbit hole of drug use. Either way, he's not pleased by it. And for the moment he's playing along, at least in so much as he's trying to avoid the zombies. Even in a fever dream he sees no appeal in getting chewed on.

There are a great number up of the things ahead, and while he's tucked into a narrow alcove trying to observe and figure out his next move, the sight of someone else walking nearby (and towards the small horde he's aware is around the corner) catches his attention. Sherlock is quick, without even more than a brief glimpse, to recognize that there is no shambling or shuffling, that it isn't one of those things. Another fraction of a second has him reaching out without a word to wrap fingers around a forearm and drag them into the narrow niche between building's where he's hiding away, hissing out a low shh as he does.] Entirely unpleasant lot around that corner. I'd recommend another destination.

Two.

[mismanagement]

[She doesn't see him in time. That's the first problem. The second is that her rifle is unwieldy in close quarters, nearly useless as a defensive tool unless she feels like bashing someone's skull in. With the current batch of monsters running around, it would barely make a dent in the scenery.

The third, and more pressing of the issues is that threat registers before human. Maketh reacts exactly as trained, and attacks his center of gravity.

It only occurs to her afterwards that she probably shouldn't be trying to smash people's knees before even saying hello. It's horribly rude and unprofessional.]

TOTALLY Lian Shu (Ukoku Sanzo) | Saiyuki

[sanzo_games]

Scenario 3 - Sleeping victory away

[ Maybe you had to get through a whole mess of the Blue team, either fighting or outsmarting them. Finally you've reached the opposing team's base. There's only one person left in clear view and it couldn't be easier. Or perhaps you're also on the Red team and realize your flag guard is leaving the area wide open for the enemy.

Because this messily dressed man was sleeping along one of the stairs without a care or concern, despite the game spirit everyone has been feeling. Even more, after introducing himself as Shu, told everyone to leave this to him. Instead here he is, using a stuffed bunny as a pillow.

Man, that flag sure is easy to take right now. ]

[stepford_smiler]

[Hakkai gets over to the opposite side and notices the rather familiar crow priest taking a nice nap.

While his guard is rarely ever dropped, it's especially high now.

Capturing a flag isn't worth whatever trickery this monk might have up those wide sleeves and he's not willing to find out, either.

But what does he do now? This isn't the same situation with Kougaiji where they can be cordial to one another. This man has some unknown agenda.]

...

[He starts to move away from the flag, but his eyes don't leave the monk.]

ahsoka tano | star wars (rebels)

[fulcra]

scenario one, or "why this, little ghosties?"

[ maybe she shouldn't have wandered this way alone after all. generally speaking, ahsoka's used to doing her exploring on her own and knows full well she can work her way out of just about anything, but these things are giving her the creeps. evil things usually look as evil as they feel but that's not the case here and she isn't sure what to do about it.

she's not running when she comes across other people, but she is moving rather quickly, fully cautious, her headtails swinging a little as she turns her head back and forth, trying to track all of the boos that are so interested in her. if someone wants to help, she's sure not going to say no. ]

scenario two, or "slow enemies are fine, this is fine"

[ this... isn't so bad, actually.

comparatively, things could definitely be better, but ahsoka has her lightsabers - a pair of bright white blades - and lightsabers are amazingly good at dismantling enemies. she's efficient with the zombies: arms off first, then sliced through the middle or at the neck, paying attention to them long enough to make sure they're not twitching too much before turning her attention to the next one.

if you're around her and especially if you're frightened, she's putting everything in protecting you, though. so you've got nothing to worry about. probably. better hope too many zombies don't swarm your protector at once. ]

1

[dontleavehome]

[This guy definitely needs help. He's been backed into a corner - rather backed himself into a corner - and ...is he crying? Yes, looks like he's crying, and not even particularly caring. There's just tears running down his face as he tries to figure out an escape route and comes up blank.

He can keep those strange beasts away from him by looking at them, he's found, so that is why he is in a corner, but he's not an offensive fighter, at least not in the way that would be required here, and his body is here, which is an additional disadvantage.

Hopefully - someone passes by, someone who is ...wearing a strange hat? But who upon a quick scan feels entirely uncorrupted, so she will be safe. Well, she could still be a bad person, but she won't be a monster.

Okay... how to call for help. She's almost past him when he finally calls out with a:

"Hei!"

...Clearly that is how you do it.

ginger fitzgerald | ginger snaps

[bysixteen]

option one: i can see through you, see to the real you.

[ And here Ginger thought that becoming a werewolf was the weirdest thing that would ever happen to her. Boy was she wrong, because this place puts home to shame.

The first time she encounters one of the boos, she's just walking down the street, minding her own business. She's trying to get a better feel for the hellhole she's been brought to, trying to see if there's any redeeming quality, when one of them just pops up out of nowhere. ]

—the fuck?! [ She jumps back in surprise, the sound of her voice causing it to turn towards her. She's about to strike at it (with her bare hand since she doesn't exactly have a weapon on her) when it covers its eyes and starts to disappear. After staring at it for a few moments, Ginger goes to turn around and head the opposite direction, unaware that turning her back on it is probably the worst choice she could make. ]

option three: body-slammin' all night long.

[ It wasn't until the curse that Ginger actually started sort of giving a shit about sports, and that was mostly because it gave her a way to get out some aggression during gym. Especially when other girls were assholes to her sister. The sport itself she never truly cared about, and it was usually pretty similar in regard to games.

But for some reason, she finds herself overwhelm with the desire to kick the other team's ass in this capture the flag game. She's on team red, because red is way better than blue, and she's using whatever strategies she can to get her flag from the other team. From tackling people, tripping them, or just flat out hitting them, she doesn't seem to care much for the rules.

She's making her way to the flag when she hears someone approaching her and she turns, body tensed and ready for a fight if that's what it comes down to. ]

You better turn tail and run, buddy.

[ See, it's funny because she actually has a tail. Not that anyone can tell; she's carefully taped it down to keep it hidden. ]

option ???: choose your own adventure!

one

[snuggies]

[ Being suddenly and unexpectedly turned into a werewolf is a pretty weird experience, and Scott can definitely sympathize. (Though Scott could probably sympathize with a wet paper bag if he tried hard enough.) It is also incredibly weird to be transported to an unfamiliar city with a bunch of boos wandering around.

If he's being honest, it's a little cool at first, and Scott just forgets his panic and worry while staring at the boos in wonder. He might be an Xbox kid now, but he grew up with Mario and Pokemon, so seeing a real life boo is sort of like meeting a celebrity.

That is, until he sees a boo trailing a young girl, smile wicked and teeth sharp and—

Mario doesn't spontaneously appear out of the sewers to hop cheerfully on the ghost. ]

Hey! Watch out! Behind you!

[ So Scott tears a shout out of his tired body, running toward the girl and ready to tackle her if he needs to. ]

Rick | Rick and Morty

[wriggedywrecked]

i: ghosts aren't real, morty, there's no such thing as an afterlife

Ohhh, this is cute. Ghosts are annoying and stupid and fake when they're real, but yank them out of a video game and stick them on a street corner? Excuse me, do you think Rick hasn't played Mario before? Jesus Christ.

Sadly, Rick is fresh out of invincibility stars, so the next best thing is just shooting his portal gun at them and then snapping the portals closed, sending half of the affected Boo to another part of the city. Intangibility isn't much of a defense against being dimensionally bisected.

Rick is humming various Mario themes while he does this.

ii: from dicks till dawn, morty

Okay, but fuck zombies. Like, no, seriously, fuck zombies. This isn't the first time Rick has found himself randomly in an alternate dimension with his portal gun mysteriously on the fritz and there are zombies around. It gets seriously old after just one time. Hell, zombies in and of themselves get really super fucking old after just one time.

Fortunately for everyone, or at least for Rick, he's got a few guns on him and he's also absurdly sprightly for an eighty-something. After fleeing through the streets and shooting over his shoulder wildly, he has finally made it to a roof.

Is it your roof? Do you just happen to be here too? If so, I'm so goddamn sorry, because there's an old man with blue hair blasting zombies down on the street with some kind of stupid laser rifle. And yelling while he does so.

"Suck my fucking left nut, G-G-George Romero!"

lieutenant commander renée minowski • wolf 359

[minkowski]

1;

[Minkowski has seen many things in her career, but this is a new level of absolutely ridiculous. Emphasis on the seen part of that phrase--because seeing this goddamn thing seems to be the only reason it's not coming after her. Because, of course, that definitely makes sense. Loosely, she wonders how it's detecting her looking at it with its hands over its eyes. Hands? Are those hands? Why is it in the middle of this road, anyways? What the hell?

She stands, entirely unblinking, staring up at the monster with a look of extreme annoyance. And, like, really unblinking, too. Everything about her exudes military precision: from her straight-backed posture to her absurdly shiny boots to her...wait, is that a pair of handcuffs clipped to her belt? Maybe she's police, then, but it doesn't seem like she's ever played Mario.]

3;

[Okay, now this is something Minkowski can handle. Bullshit space station horrors? Barely tolerable. Broken bones? Can't beat the restorative power of the human body. However, she's an absolute beast at anything involving strategy, and nothing can hold her back. That condition even extends to, judging by her perch on a nearby...garbage can? Bench? Whatever it is, she's got some height.

And she's using that height very effectively to tackle whatever luckless sap decides to enter the blue territory--or, as she's nicknamed it, the Minkowski Thunderdome. Think you can handle one hundred fifty pounds-plus of pure Polish beef being launched at you? Think again...though, she is doing a lot of hollering, so maybe the more physical victim can fend her off with that early warning.

Probably. Let's hope, anyways.]

1

[fulcra]

[ working around and through and with military operations since she was fourteen has ahsoka pretty good at guessing a military officer when she sees one. that's her assumption here, at least, as she spares a second glance at the other woman she's just come across in her trip through the tunnels.

ahsoka's own posture is less military and more slinking predator, trying to look everywhere at once to keep the creatures at bay. they seem just as inclined to stalk an alien as a human, if that's any consolation. ]

Are you doing okay?

[ presumably, she's talking to minkowski and not the boos. ]

diego brando | jjba

[raptorcious]

i.

[It seems that whenever anyone takes their eyes off these creatures for longer than a second, they suddenly lunge forward with a great burst of speed and with no impediments. It leaves most people on the run as they steal quick looks for the path ahead in their attempts to avoid losing their footing or run into a wall unexpectedly. But not Diego.]

[No, Diego is taking this at a much more leisurely pace. Given that he doesn't know the exact path towards safety, he allows his horse, Silver Bullet, to act as the guide. It's a common misconception among novice riders that they must tightly control their horses, but Diego knows better. He knows there's far more give and take between rider and horse than that, and right now he gives plenty to Silver Bullet, assigning himself the duty of maintaining eye contact with the Boo (or Boos) in pursuit of him and his horse. To do this comfortably, Diego cannot be facing forward in the saddle. So, he's not. Instead, Diego's allowing his legs to dangle comfortably as he lays down on his stomach with his chin resting on his folded arms on Silver Bullet's rump. He couldn't look more bored and at ease even if he tried.]

[For those that care or have the time to notice, they might notice something a little more reptilian about his pupils just before he blinks. Usually the Boo starts to lunge, but then is immediately frozen in place without having managed to get much of anywhere as Diego's eyes return to normal.]

[But if you're even smarter, you'll just walk along side Silver Bullet and take advantage of this easier escape, but that certainly won't go without its criticisms from Diego.]

ii.

[The biggest inconvenience about all of this is that it reeks. Well, at least for Diego. How he managed to get a horse on the roof of a building is anyone's guess (though you might notice claw marks along the sloping spiral of a rooftop and figure it out from there), but he's quite secure up there. For the most part, he doesn't need to return to street level. He leaps from rooftop to rooftop with his horse, though Silver Bullet doesn't exactly appear to be a horse when making those leaps. No, instead, it appears this man is riding a goddamn raptor, and sometimes even the term man is a little generous as Diego transforms to a halfway hybrid between human and dinosaur with the corners of his mouth pulling back into a grotesque smile filled with sharp fangs, strands of hair clumping together for a crest atop his head, and sharp claws appearing as his gloves and boots begin to fade into scales. A long tail forms behind him with DIO repeating in bright yellow scales down the length of it. It's like this he will make a descent down from the rooftops to scavenge, though he tries to enter in through windows long before he actually touches down street-level. What he finds, he brings back and shares what he can with his horse.]

[When he's still, however, Diego watches the small herds move above from his perch. For the most part, he doesn't offer much if any intervention if he happens to spot someone trying to navigate the dangerous streets. Some are clever in the way they move about the streets, using sound to distract and making sure of quick and easy escapes. Others less so, and it's often the latter Diego finds actually rather amusing because luck won't be on their side for long.]

[But every now and again, he offers assistance from above. He calls down below,]

I wouldn't do that if I were you.

ii

[piamen]

[This is becoming tiresome. Not because of the zombies; those are annoying, but more of an inconvenience than anything. Hot Pants has no particular difficulty in dispatching them. The issue is more that it's absolutely filthy. There's blood and guts and rot everywhere. Disgusting. Untidy.]

[The secondary annoyance is, of course, Diego. Because what would life be anymore without Diego being aggressively obnoxious? Every time he leans down to "help", she contemplates sealing his mouth shut with Cream Starter.]

[Soon.]

Don't you have anything better to do?

Alexio Stravros | Original

[deadsinger]

one

[Cyrana is wise and clever, but truly, Alexio cannot fathom what he's meant to see with this vision. It must be a vision standing before him, some strange creature summoned by godly magic in order to impart wisdom on the mortals down below. But truly, he can't imagine what this one is meant to represent.

It's very strange looking.

Hello, Hadriel. You've got a paladin engaged in a staring content with a ghost.

Enjoy.]

two

[The goddess is quiet but Alexio sings her praise nonetheless, axe rising and falling to the tune. Bones crunch underfoot and his armor is well and truly stained by the mess. Alexio himself is content with his singing, a thin smile on his face and a contented gleam in his eye.

Oh, it's good to be alive and praise Cyrana. What a beautiful fight.

A clever watcher might notice how the blood seems to hesitate before hitting the ground, almost shivering in midair.

Pay that no mind. It's probably just a trick of the light.

Finally the last one falls and Alexio lowers his axe.] Who goes there? It's rude to make an old man dance alone.

connor walsh | how to get away with murder

[iustitiae]

SCENARIO ONE

[Connor is no stranger to fear. He tends towards it, tends towards anxiety and just a touch of being paranoid and as he's walking down the street he knows he's being followed. It's not something he has to be told, not when every fiber of his body is screaming that something is wrong.

He picks up his step, walking faster but trying to seem like he's Playing It Cool. Turning around would've been better, looking over his shoulder and seeing instead of just letting his imagination run wild with what it could be would've probably helped him more than anything else, but he doesn't, because that would mean facing his fear and confronting it. Flight response has always seemed a lot better.

Anyway, that's what this place teaches and reinforces, isn't it? Being afraid, understanding that there really were monsters under the bed that might kill you. Not just the ones inside of you, not just the ones lurking under your skin --

Connor takes a deep breath. (Perhaps more accurately, he attempts and kind of fails.) One foot in front of the other, Walsh, you can do this. He thinks of how the others would act if they saw him freaking out over shadows, how his less than calm gait would be so obvious.

He scowls - whatever, if they didn't want to be afraid of very real, very obvious dangers that was their problem. Surely if he just makes it home without letting this thing catch up with him...One foot in front of the other.]

SCENARIO TWO

Zombies. Right, of course. Why wouldn't there be zombies?

[He's talking to no one in particular, moving chairs from tables to bar the door of this building that had been (he hoped) abandoned. It seemed a little bit reckless. A dozen questions pop up, like every horror-movie audience in existence: why was this one unlocked? How do you know there aren't zombies in there? Couldn't this just be a trap? But his options right now are pretty few and far between so creepy abandoned building with ability to block the exit is going to have to do for right now.]

And not just one or two, no, of course not --

[The anger in his voice, the incredulousity is a really good alternative to, well, whatever other emotion he might be refusing to acknowledge right under the surface. Easier to be agitated than afraid. Easier to have hysterical laughter instead of hysterical sobs. Especially when he couldn't just give up. In times of crisis someone had to act, and there weren't any other someones here to hold his hand and pull him through a freaking Zombie Infestation, so he had to make do with what he had unless he wanted to be eaten and not in the hot way.

Now he just has to hope this place is actually Zombie Free, but hope was a dangerous thing, indeed, and it could be asking for far too much.]

SCENARIO THREE

Come on, red team, is that all you've got?

[while, yes, connor may be a privileged white baby lawyer he's still fit. he runs every morning and used to play lacrosse and while this place sucks and everything about it is awful, he can't deny that it is kind of fun to be out doing things for fun (is this for fun? is that really the point?) and competition.

he's got his eye on the prize, the precious red team flag on the other side of the field but he's got to dodge a lot of people to get there. it's a challenge he definitely accepts, making up for his lack of bulk with speed. he is a graceful, mighty capture the flag player. he is going to try not to be tackled to the ground like an idiot.

ready, go.]

2

[devilsavocado]

[ It took a while for Matt to actually believe he was being chased by zombies. Without his sight, he first suspected the lack of heartbeat to indicate that they were ninjas. But ninjas don't smell like death or shamble slowly like this. So... zombies. Well, at least he can easily outrun those.

He'd found a fairly quiet building (quiet before you arrived, thanks Connor,) and kept his body as still as possible. Were they attracted to people by heat signature or by sound? Matt couldn't know. He also never learned how to lower his body temperature. Shouldn't have skipped out on ninja training day, Matt. (Thanks, Stick.)

Of course, that's all well and good but what it translates to is Matt leaning on the far wall of this warehouse, in the dark. Being completely silent. But looking otherwise like an average dude in a suit who happens to be blind. Now seems like a poor time to keep quiet and hope his new temp-roommate goes away. ]

They might move on if you keep quiet.

preston garvey / fallout 4

[minutesnotice]

ii. you've got red on you

[ The upside is that they're not feral ghouls. They're neither as fast, nor as strong as a feral, slow and shambling, but that's about it. The problem is that after a run in with one of them, suddenly there's a swarm of them.

Not one or two, either.

Already feeling uneasy about the recent sudden change of surroundings, Preston hears the announcement with added trepidation. Don't get bit? Heh, just need to stay ahead of them enough to shoot a few and run until he can duck inside a building or find higher ground.

It's... easier said than done.

Nothing is ever as simple as he plans, he's used to that - but this is a far cry from going up to a neighboring settlement to help them build and establish themselves which is what he'd been planning to do today. The laser musket is a good weapon, if he can get a clean shot it's enough to reduce one to a pile of ash. The problem is he doesn't have enough shots left in it to take them all, and in the time it'll take to reload he'd be ripped apart or worse - bit.

This is bullshit. ]

Zombie bastards...

[ Somehow, Preston finds that higher ground, jumping on top a dumpster, away from rotting outreached hands - before pulling himself onto a balcony. He doesn't know who it belongs to, if any but... hopefully there aren't any more inside... he's in the process of trying to catch his breath, leaning against the wall when he hears footsteps from the inside. Backing away from the wall, he turns - musket ready. Please don't be more zombies, please. ]

iii. capture the flag

[ He's never really been a competitive guy. Maybe it's because sports really aren't as big of a deal where he's from. How someone could manage to put success on something as silly as a victory that has naught to do with little in the long run, it's a foreign idea to him. Preston never really had much time, regardless.

Yet. For some reason? He's really getting into this, perhaps it's because he's never really had the chance to do anything like this - play with a team of people, united in one cause, and that's to win. Whatever the reasons might be... it doesn't matter. He really wants to win.

You might see him, darting out of the shadows when you get too close to the blue team's flag, and he's not afraid to tackle anyone to the ground, either... but at least he'll apologize after. ]

Negan | Walking Dead

[makeamove]

001. THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
Negan wasn't sure where the hell he'd ended up, but considering what he ended up facing about ten minutes into it, might as well have been some kind of dream. Ghosts, and not the kind people actually believed in, floated around like some kind of screwed up carnival game, and if he was supposed to be scared over it he couldn't quite muster the feeling.

...well, at least until he stopped paying attention and one about took a chunk out of his leg. He swung his bat at it, which had about as much success as he'd expected, but at least it skittered away, gave him some breathing room while he cursed and taunted it, like he really expected it to do any lasting harm.

It didn't. He wasn't surprised. But he had some time to get some distance, at least?

002. DOUBLE TAP
"This the best you've got today?"

Now this was something Negan understood. Walkers. Would have preferred something else, of course, but they were at least a familiar kind of thing, and easy enough to deal with as long as you kept an eye out. Preferably a few sets. But for now, at least, he was on his own, so he kept one eye peeled for a good spot to hole up until he could get a better handle on the situation and one eye on the growing horde in front of him, swinging at anything that got within reach.

"I mean, Jesus fucking shit, it ain't like this isn't just another Tuesday. I thought you assholes were supposed to be creative!"

He grinned and laughed, at the whole damn situation, really; uproot him from the settlement where everything was just gravy, throw him somewhere that seemed civilized and 'normal', and just bring home to him? What the hell kind of plan was that?