Test Drive

[uploadedmods]

TEST DRIVE 001


-TDM threads can be considered game canon if players involved agree & if it suits any roles you may decide to choose for the current plot.
-Any reserving player that does not submit an app by Saturday morning will be subject to challenging applicants.
-Participation in the Test Drive is worth a flat 10 points per month rather than per thread, and you must have a minimum of 5 comments in that month to qualify for it.
-This TDM is good for the duration of the Mist setting. A new TDM will go up before the next setting.

The NETWORK for this setting is a voice-only walkie talkie system that can be used to communicate between all locations. The default channel will be open to all walkie talkies, but characters can change to an unused channel for private conversation.
of note: There seems to be something strange about these walkie talkies, in that there is no static. The quality is disturbingly crystal clear, like the person you're speaking to is right next to you instead of miles away.

CONTENT WARNING: Some prompts contain gore, character death, and substance abuse.

Reserves will open on Saturday, September 8 until Saturday, September 15
Applications will open Saturday, September 15 until Saturday, September 22

General Prompts


The lights above you are a blindingly, pristine white. The walls around you curve up into the ceiling like the inside of an MRI machine. Your hands, feet, and midsection are strapped to a clinical table, and minutes seem to tick by, with no clear course for escape presenting itself to you.

The curved white space above you flickers with color, and a perfect square like a television screen expands before your eyes. It pans over what appears to be a town, something small and simply populated.

“Hello, and welcome to your first setting,” a neutrally cadenced feminine sounding voice begins, riding the line between human and machine. As she speaks, captions of the text type themselves in neat and perfect Arial font. “The location is loosely based off Bridgton, Maine, United States of America, Earth. The year is 2007. You have been selected to participate. Obedience ensures an enjoyable and immersive experience for our audience. If you have been granted a role, instructions will follow. Do not talk about the role. Do not attempt disobedience. If you have not been granted a role, your objective for this round is simple: survive.”

After that, the shackles may release promptly and allow your character to roam free. Or perhaps not — perhaps they've been given a role to play, and if so, further instructions will play out upon the screen. Once suitably briefed, characters will be released to their own devices. Beware the mist.

CHECK OUT THE CURRENT SETTING PAGE FOR DETAILS ABOUT THE LOCATION.

learn from the mistakes of others

A pair of unperturbed mall inhabitants decide to chance the mist. They're the first of a handful to trickle out the front doors, and they seem to get by just fine. About a minute ticks by, and they disappear completely into the dense fog that presses in from every direction. It's so anticlimactic that for a moment it almost seems stupid to feel uncomfortable by the sight of it.

Until precisely one half of a body is hurled abruptly and with great force from an indeterminate point in the obscurity. It's not a top half or a bottom half; no, it's a cleanly sliced left half, head to toe as though a neat line were cut down the middle. It slams into the transparent glass doors and crumples before them, still and obviously unmoving, slowly leaking.

After a few seconds, a dark tendril of something reaches out, curls around the jutting left ankle, and drags it with painstaking slowness back into the fog.

At least the rest of them probably made it, right?

Right?

Hopefully you weren't one of the others to follow their lead. If you were, that dark shape seems to be closing in awfully quick.

eff this, let's bounce

A pair of car keys can be found discarded or perhaps dropped in their owners' haste. Braving the mist when it's at its lightest and pressing the key fob will cause a car to beep politely, flashing lights to indicate its location in the fog. Take anyone willing to go with you and pile in. Try to get the hell out of dodge!

An excellent idea....

Within five miles of the car's journey the battery will die and the engine will stall. Consider yourselves effectively stranded and with no one but yourselves to blame. Perhaps help will come if you wait long enough? Hours, surely no more than a few days... Maybe you should consider braving the fog to get back? Five miles can feel like a hundred in conditions like these.

Either way, it seems like you're trapped in the car for about as long as R. Kelly got trapped in the closet during that one unfortunate CD.

radio chatter

Characters in the library and the church will be able to communicate via walkie talkie radio chatter immediately! Characters in the mall will not have this ability until later in the month, so any network style threads with a mall character will take place during Week Two of the October plot or later, after most people have already been fully introduced to the setting and given time to adapt.

Roles

Employee of the Month (Multiple)

Some characters will be printed wearing a designated kiosk uniform, their name sloppily stickered in slightly crooked letters onto a Dippin' Dots badge, or whatever store they may happen to be assigned to. The cool voice that introduces them to the mist will carry on to tell them that they'll be playing employee # _____ in this month's immersive experience. Their motivations and objectives are simple: go to work.

Except the role seems to be bugged, because they can never not go to work. If they leave the five or six foot radius of their designated post they'll begin to experience consequences, which worsen in severity based on distance and duration. The role doesn't end at mall closing, it doesn't end on Saturdays, it simply doesn't end. Hopefully next month's code push will have a bug fix; we apologize for the inconvenience.

(If choosing to keep these threads as game canon, the role will wear off within the first in-game week)

Aggravated Assault

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing the role of a CONVICTED FELON having recently been released on parole. Your motivation for this month's immersive experience is frustration. Having undergone hard time, you'll find that we have increased your aggression and temper characteristics, and lowered your inhibitions. Your objective is to find and begin an altercation with Snuff the Rooster, who will be playing the role of the person who turned you in, NARK. Your altercation must take place in a public space with witnesses, and may not stop until Snuff the Rooster is unconscious, evicted from the mall, or someone intervenes.

Thank you for your participation!

Consequences for not completing the objective in this role can be moderate to severe.

Snuff the Rooster

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing the role of NARK. Formerly a close friend and ally of CONVICTED FELON from Aggravated Assault, you were quick to roll on them during police questioning in exchange for your freedom. Your motivation is to turn over a new leaf, and get your shit together. Your objective is to survive the altercation.

Thank you for your participation!

The Lovers (Duo Role)

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing one half of a partnership role! Please seek out (character 2). Your motivation this round is love, and the need to protect your partner from threats both inside and outside of the mall. Your objectives is to greet your lover with a kiss and place them above all others. Do not act like strangers.
Consequences for not completing the objective in this role or failing to present a convincing couple can be mild to moderate.

Pathological

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing a background character in our current setting. Your motivation is to tell lies; at least one third of what you say must be unarguably untrue. Your objective is to keep these lies from being discovered as false.
Consequences for not complying with this role can vary from mild to severe, with the compulsion to tell larger and larger lies growing as time goes on.

Scared Speechless

Congratulations, participant! You will be playing a background character in our current setting. You may choose one person, stranger or otherwise. This is the only person you may communicate with, either verbally or through writing.
Consequences for not complying with this role are severe.

Glitches

potency error

Someone seems to have miscalculated the relative strength of intoxicants; all inhibition-altering substances seem to have been cranked up to eleven. One shot has the strength of three, though the taste seems to stay exactly the same. One or two drinks will quickly creep up on you. One of the joints found discarded in the bathroom trashcans will easily green you out. God forbid you've got anything stronger.

greatest movie of all time

Settling in to the relatively nice theater found at the far end of the mall is a decent way to make the time go by. The projectors are automated, and there are six different theaters that show flicks at scheduled times.

Except that every single one of them is showing Spider-Man 3. Every single one, every single showing, no matter what is advertised, becomes Spider-Man 3. That's how you know this is a horror game. Hope you didn't wander in by mistake because the doors will shut behind you and leave you to watch the entire showing. Please keep your feet off of the seats.

please replace toner cartridge

It seems there was an error in printing someone this first time around; everything came through but the visuals somehow. Your character is flesh and blood, fully formed, wearing tangible clothes even, but are completely invisible. Donning additional clothing causes it to clip out and then promptly disappear. Taking clothes off will cause them to reappear. Hopefully this gets fixed in the next lite patch.

(If choosing to keep these threads as game canon, the glitch will wear off within the first in-game week)

code bases by tricklet

Comments

QUESTIONS

[uploadedmods]

Diana Abel | Vampire: The Masquerade | OTA

[middlechilde]

A - Arrival Shenanigans

Diana didn't mind being naked. She owned a mirror, she knew what she looked like. Her body was a temple and she had the face of an idol. That really wasn't the issue. What bothered her more was the theft. Clothes were material possessions, easily replaced, but her ring, her necklace? She felt a stinging pain along the back of her neck, as if the chain had been forcibly ripped from her. The tether that connected her to her sisters, back to her father, was gone. And that, more than the loss of her clothes, made her feel truly naked.

But again, she didn't mind. There were, after all, more hilariously strange problems to deal with. The super weird message came to mind. The slasher-movie-style bondage? Setting? Maine? 2007?

A little line formed between her lavender eyes as she tried to assess the situation. Everyone always told her that she was stupid and, for the most part, she believed it. But she reasoned it didn't take genius-level intellect to recognize a mall. Only a few swaying steps. In LA, malls were more common than fire hydrants. And that was definitely a food court. But...

No. No something was very, very off.

"Merde," she muttered, pursing her lips. At least there were other people around. Walking up to a complete stranger--stark naked--and asking 'Hi, so, how did I end up here?' didn't feel like a solid plan. But from the expressions on other people's faces, she got the sense that they were all in the same boat. That was bad news. So she turned, sweeping her hair off of her shoulder and asked, "Is everyone all right?" An American accent, with the faintest hints of Valley Girl. "Is anyone hurt? Do you need help?" She was a vampire. Ultimately, she felt she could handle Weird, better than most.

At least, that's what she decided for the moment. It was entirely possible she'd change her mind, though. Diana was pretty good at that.

[OOC: Happy to switch to action spam if you prefer!]

B - Exploring the Mall

Shoplifting wasn't exactly Diana's style. It wasn't like she was sticking it to some fat cat corporation. The person most likely to be hurt was the minimum wage shop worker. How many times had she rebuked the teenage girls on the compound? But she had to admit, she could see the appeal. There was a bit of a giddy rush, almost like a heartbeat, when she snabbed a flowy, purple paisley dress from one of the shops. Anyway, if she was going to get in trouble, better for that than for causing some kind of accident walking around in her bare skin. She had once, quite literally, caused a car crash back in the 1960s. It had been at a bra burning. The guilt haunted her for weeks.

It was nowhere near as unsettling as this place, though. The glossy-eyed, phrase-repeating patrons of the mall reminded her of Invasion of the Pod People. And not in the groovy, nostalgic sort of way. She tried coaxing information out of a couple of them, but finally gave up. The straw that really broke that camel's back was when she tried to use her Awe on them and got...nothing. Not that Diana traded on her looks above all else, but she wasn't used to getting...nothing.

She wanted to get out, but any time she came near one of the doors, she was sure she could still see sunlight. It made no sense at all. She was perfectly wide awake. But...well. She didn't know what the light was. All she knew was that it was definitely holding her prisoner.

Fortunately, the frustration was interrupted when she found the shop with musical instruments. It had only been a few hours, but already, Diana's fingers desperately itched for her guitar. None of the guitars on display were as good--they weren't her guitar--but she tried them out, one by one. And almost by reflex, she started to sing. First a few French arias. Then Bon Jovi. The Beatles. Selections from Children of Eden. Now she was on American Pie:

"Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?"

Complicated songs. That's what she realized. She was going out of her way to fit in as many notes and lyrics and chords as she could. As if to prove that she was real, unlike the zombie-ish patrons going through the motions around her. Malkavians always looked to self-understanding before they tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle that was the world around them. This was, probably, a little more literal than her usual mind trips. But she needed to start somewhere.

[OOC: Happy to switch to action spam if you prefer!]

C - Radio Chatter

[Diana's voice is a little bit like a pure drop, falling into a smooth pond. The ripples ring out, richer and fuller. Or something like that. She's always been musical and even a dire situation isn't going to change that.]

Um...hi?

[Nor is it going to change the unmistakably American accent of the Cainite. It's tinged with Valley Girl. A voice she's worked to perfect over the years.]

I don't know if anyone can hear me. Uh, my name is Diana. Diana Abel. A-B-E-L. As in "Caine and dot, dot, dot..." Listen. I'm not sure what's going on here but...I don't suppose Alan Funt and a hidden camera is an option right now?

Can someone tell me what's going on? That would be totes groovy.

Uh...over?

D - Wildcard

[OOC: Seriously, throw any of the prompts at Diana! She's a LARP character. She runs straight into the fire every time.]

Yoarashi Inasa | My Hero Academia | OTA

[blowshard]

A; ARRIVAL (MALL)

[ Disorienting. That's the only way that Inasa can describe it at first: it's incredibly disorienting. Inasa can just feel something wrong about himself, like someone has put a wet rag over him to smother something out.

It doesn't take him long to figure out what that something is.

Inasa can be found not too far from the creation bays, near the exit of the bowling alley into the mall proper. He's crouched down as though staring at something, but it mostly just seems to be his hand. His eyes are laser beam focused, finger pointing at a piece of crumpled up paper on the ground. The paper wriggles, lifts just a tiny bit, before falling harmlessly back to the ground again.

A frustrated noise leaves him and he drops down to the ground completely, legs curled up as he keeps trying to do... whatever it is he's trying to do. ]


B; Barely a Provisional Hero

[ Well, now that he's figured out he can barely make even the tiniest amount of wind, he might as well go embrace the whole teenage lifestyle and venture out into the mall proper. He doesn't really go to them all that often, and this place is foreign on top of everything. And... kind of bizarre, honestly. Every now and then he gets a glance toward an exit, and he can't help but think that the fog out there is starting to roll in thick.

Boy, it sure would be nice to be able to conjure up a couple of gusts right about now!

Inasa eventually makes his way toward one of the exits, following a crowd of what looks like gawkers. He's right about one thing: this fog is dense. Almost unnervingly so. Inasa tips his head to the side, trying to ignore the quiet mutters of the crowd around him to try to figure out just what it is about this that's so upsetting. And then he realizes it: the only sound he can hear is from the people around him. Even through closed doors, they should be able to hear something. Cars going by. Horns. Anything.

His gaze follows a couple of people who decide to venture out, his lips pressing into a thin line. When nothing happens, he starts to wonder if maybe he shouldn't go get them back, just to be safe--but then the decision is made for him. The body comes hurtling at the doors and he, and everyone else in the crowd, take a step back. He hears screams, can sense people running; he's almost certain he can hear someone throwing up off to the side. But Inasa is fixated on the sight, a coldness settling onto his skin.

He should... he should do something. He doesn't see any pro heroes around here. But. God. What can he do? Against something like that? Whatever that is? Inasa is used to the tangible, the physical, being able to see his opponent and take them out. But he doesn't even have his quirk. He's... useless.

Or maybe not...

Inasa turns and grabs the first person he sees that isn't running away screaming, crying, or throwing up, and places his rather large hands on their shoulders. ]

You! I am recruiting you to assist me!

[ Oh. Oh, he's loud. ]

We need to try to calm everyone down! A panicked mob is a danger! I am going to try to gather everyone's attention so that they are no longer paying any mind to the--[ body. ]--events transpiring outside! We shall then usher them to the food court and try to regain some sense! Are you with me?


C; continued
( wildcard option! inasa can be found anywhere inside of the mall, trying to enjoy its perks before Shit Goes Down. come at me with any roles you may want, though i haven't decided on any myself. if you want to plot something first, feel free to pm me! i can also match to prose if you desire. )

Steve Rogers | Marvel Cinematic Universe

[unshielding]

Glitching
Steve wakes up strapped to the table. It's not wholly unfamiliar, but it's been a while. It sends him down memory lane, distracts him from the thoughts he'd had before he'd opened his eyes, but they quickly win his attention back. Thanos. Whatever this place is, he has to figure it out and get back to the others.

He ignores the suggestions and rules and steps away as soon as he's released, but when he steps closer to the big mirror, he realizes that while everyone else who's waking up seems to have a reflection, his is missing.

"What is this?"

Into the Mist
Steve has no reflection and no one seems to be able to see him. Once he gets his wits about him and he takes stock of his surroundings in the mall, he isn't afraid of the heavy fog. He's faced far worse in his life than the unknown and even that isn't something that will slow him down. He sees no reason not to face it head on, especially after he sees half a body hurled back out of the haze. Whatever is out there, it's hurting people.

Whatever this place is--a trick from Thanos or physic illusion--Steve will power through it because he has no choice. He's managed to remember enough to remember who he is and that this isn't right. That's a good start. He knows enough to fight back. He can't take a chance that it's not real. He can't leave people out there to get hurt if there's even a chance that they're real

He runs back into the sporting goods store he'd woken up in and he grabs a baseball bat off of one of the displays before he heads back to the glass doors that lead out of the mall.

"Stay here!" He yells back over his shoulder to anyone behind him. Then he's heading out into the dense fog after whatever had grabbed that body back. It's too bad that no one else can see him.

Go for a Drive
Steve's managed to find a car and he's driving slowly through the mist, keeping an eye out for anyone else who might need help. He's alone in the car with his thoughts, but at least he can cover more ground this way. With the poor visibility, he has to move at a snail's pace, because it's only a matter of time before he hits something between people, creatures and objects. At least if he's slow, he won't destroy the car or kill anyone.

He catches sight of what he hopes is a person and he cracks the window.

"Over here!" The headlights flash at them, but when they look over, Steve's still invisible and it looks like no one is driving the car.

Wildcard
[ Hit me with something else or plot with me at blauren. ]

Osomatsu Matsuno || Osomatsu-san || ota

[relieable]

I) no longer in Kansas... or Akatsuka Ward

[it's a church. a quaint, little, run-of-the-mill church, like the kind Osomatsu has seen in movies. he's probably never been in a church his whole life. until now. he checks to see if he's alone, then makes his way over to the window to look outside. it's completely foggy beyond the glass, and he doesn't hear anything. it's as if the church is just floating in the middle of nowhere.

he draws away from the window]

Where the hell are we? [and why? what happened to that technical-like place with the creepy robot voice? why is he suddenly in a church now? and what is the meaning of being given a role?

well, Osomatsu's played tons of roles before. he can probably play this one. hey, yeah, maybe this is just a play, or something... yeah... let's explore the church, shall we? or are we going outside?]

II) easy listening

[so Osomatsu's found a walkie-talkie. the most obvious and logical thing to do would be to reach out to others in this harrowing time. but Osomatsu decides to take... an entirely different approach. he turns on the device, and leans in to talk]

Yo, yo, yo. What's up, guys and gals? This is Smooooooth Pine, bringing you the tunes you love and the hits you wanna hear when you're fearing for your life. Let's check in to see how everyone's doing. Caller one. [that's you, apparently] You're on the air.

III) he nyoom

[okay, enough of the creepy church, enough of the walkie-talkie. Osomatsu's going crazy. he wants out of here! he slowly pushes open the doors and steps into the fog. almost immediately, he finds the set of car keys lying on the ground right outside the church's steps. cautiously, he clicks the button, causing the car to beep at him. it's not that far away, still in the parking lot.

he wonders what happened to the owners.

...anyway, he pokes his head back into the church]

Guys! I found a car! [and just what is he going to do with this car? he doesn't know how to drive! he's not saying that, though]

IV) wildcard

[want to do something different? put it here, or poke lovebakery to plot! also, i am happy to change formats if you don't like action spam]

Date Masamune | Sengoku Basara [OTA; brackets or prose, all good here]

[vengaboy]

guess he's not all right

[It's been one hell of a day for Masamune and the game's only been running for, what, a couple of hours? Waking up in a strange new environment full of the kinds of technology and aesthetic that were a few centuries ahead of anything he'd ever experienced, being given a role to play (ha ha, yeah right), and now finally finding a way out of this ridiculous building just in time to see half a carcass slam against the glass.

He's seen plenty of corpses before, some cut just as cleanly. But this is different. It's all wrong, and he can tell it isn't the work of any blade even before the ... something pulls it back into the mist.

Masamune takes a step back from the doors, his hand twitching with the automatic habit of reaching for something at his hip - something that isn't there. Well, damn. Okay! Ha ha! Wow! Guess that's not happening today. Time for a new plan. He spins on his heel and addresses anyone who happens to be nearby, stance upright, voice loud and clear as any leader's ought to be.]

Listen up, guys! We need a barricade right now!

[Please, please let these people be more useful and responsive than the weirder folks he was trying to demand answers from earlier.]

how's the pie?

[Basically your wildcard option. Maybe it's earlier in the day and Masamune's still trying to get his bearings. maybe he discovered hot topic and is losing his mind Maybe he's trying to approach random NPCs to figure out what the hell this is all about. Maybe he's trapped in a showing of the greatest movie of all time.

By the way. He's also playing one of the lovers. Good luck.]

Dean Winchester → Supernatural

[righteously]

the lovers

Dean Winchester is not a happy fucking camper. He's not a particularly happy consumer either, because he's pretty sure he went to sleep in god damn Montana and woke up in an MRI machine in Maine. He missed about the first half of the speech Microsoft Samantha rattled off to him, and only tuned in during the latter half where he's kindly informed he's got to hunt someone down a plant a wet one on them, or else...?

He scoffs. Or else what? Yeah, okay, like that's gonna happen.

Except fifteen minutes into wandering the mall his stomach starts to ache, a deep and unavoidable pit like he's gonna hurl his guts up. It spreads to aching in his joints, to a burning fire in his chest, and a singular thought consumes his brain- play your role.

"Okay, okay, Jesus Christ-" He snarls and no one in particular, and stalks through the crowd until he finds the face that matches his other half. Whether they're interested in participating in this god damn charade or not, it doesn't seem to matter. He whirls them around by the shoulder, announces a rather spiteful sounding, "Mornin' honey!"

And plants a firm smackeroo on their mouth.

Then looks up to the sky and barks out a pissed off, "Happy now?"

Judging by the fact that the pain's gone he's gonna say yeah, they're happy.

learn from the mistakes of others (or don't)

So, yeah, okay, he's seen people wander off in the mist. And he saw that half a body get slung back, but if they think for a single second that's gonna phase him they obviously haven't read the god damn novels, right? Winchester heads toward the sporting goods section and hunts down a machete from the camping gear.

And then he realizes there's a veritable god damn arsenal in there ranging from shotguns to crossbows, and he can't help but murmur, "Merry Christmas."

Catch him loading up a small army's worth of weapons, or catch him stalking out the front doors like he's ready to put down whatever the hell's out there waiting for them.

go for a drive;

[freightcars]

He woke up in a god damn library. He's not so sure what's more unsettling about the whole thing- the fact that he's been kidnapped, the machine he woke up in, or the desolate, all-encompassing fog stretching around them in every direction.

Ten minutes into trying to walk somewhere, he's decided it's the latter. He'd started hearing things, whispers around him coming from nowhere.

Sergreant Barnes...
...Howard!

Distant, dim things like they were a mile away but somehow right beside his ear. It got him nervous, twitchy, whirling around like he was losing his god damn mind, one second away from bolting until-

Headlights.

"Thank god," he mutters to himself, jogging over to the passenger's side, hand on the doorhandle, only to see-

not a single fucking soul in the driver's seat. He doesn't open the door, can only stare, can't seem to stop the involuntary, "What the hell?"

[unshielding]

The way the figure is moving at least seems more human than monster. Steve knows that monsters can look an awful lot like humans sometimes, so he watches the figure move closer with a sharp eye. It's not until they're right at the door that he can see who it is and he can't decide if he should let himself feel relieved or get angry all over again. If this is a trick, it's a damn cruel one.

"Bucky!"

His bat is in the passenger seat and he shifts it out of the way before he remembers that so far, no one's been able to see him.

"I'm here!" Except that he can't wave. He can't do anything that Bucky can see, so he flashes the headlights again and lowers the window. "Get in."

Before they attract something else.

[freightcars]

Yeah, this is absolutely not helping with the whole hearing voices, seeing no one issue. The window rolls down and Steve's voice comes out, and-- Bucky's jaw drops, head cocks in utter disbelief.

"W-" He starts, stops, glances around into the fog as if to ask it are you seeing this shit? Obviously, the fog isn't interested in confirming or denying, so he's left to just flatly state, "I'm losing my god damn mind."

But he could, at least, be losing his god damn mind in the passenger's seat of a car instead of the middle of... wherever, so reluctantly he tugs the door open and clambers in. Stares at the empty driver's seat like it's a ghost or like it's going to suddenly bite him.

Lovers!

[majormalfunction]

A raised eyebrow. Stellar reaction from Motoko. Not that she's opposed to the whole thing, but it seems like this stranger is and had she not gotten the entire debrief before they'd dropped her in a backwater and took away any method she had of communicating with anyone beyond whoever was standing in front of her. She felt deaf, almost, without her cybercomm, even if there wouldn't be any Net for her to jack into anyway.

"There are better pick up lines, you know." Maybe he didn't have a choice, but he could at least put in some effort. Something told her whatever force was holding them here under whatever pretense this was wasn't going to remain happy for too long if he kept yelling at it every time he had to do something.

"You're not being very romantic, are you?"

A

[myorders]

To say that Peggy's nerves are currently jangling would be understating the matter by quite a bit. A lot has happened in a small amount of time, and although she prides herself on being quick on the uptake, her mind is reeling a bit from the rapid progression of events. All she knows at this precise moment is that she is in a mall, there are people milling about, and- there is another woman speaking to her.

"I'm alright, I believe. Nothing appears to be amiss, although I would appreciate a bit more of an explanation than what I've received. I don't suppose you happen to know anything more about what is happening here?" It seems like a very long shot indeed, because she supposes that the other woman has received the same message she has. "Can you recall what you were doing before you arrived here?"

[righteously]

Okay, so, yes, now that he's getting a look at his- what, his fake wife? There are definitely worse things in the world. He seems to come to that conclusion visibly, with a sort-of impressed looking good job etched in the tilt of his mouth and the bob of his head.

And then he promptly shakes it off and goes back to being the pissed off asshole he's always meant to be.

"Yeah, well. It's been a long day at the office," He answers flatly. See, look, this is him playing along. Technically passing, just like every other test he's ever taken in his life. Skating by on the skin of his teeth.

B

[myorders]

[ When someone's hands grab onto her shoulders, Peggy's eyebrows all but shoot off her face. ]

Excuse me! I would appreciate it if you did not lay hands on me or shout.

[ She's as rattled as the rest of them appear to be, but this is not helping her mood nor her confusion one bit. Once she manages to calm herself, however, she nods in agreement with his words. ]

I agree, we don't need a panicked mob at this time, or any time for that matter. If you succeed in getting their attention, then I'm all for helping you direct them to the food court.

[ But then again, there are only two of them and quite a fairly large number of people milling about. Despite her agreement, Peggy isn't certain at all that they'll succeed in this endeavor. ]

I do hope you're very persuasive.

A

[vengaboy]

[Yeah. That disoriented, incomplete feeling is catching on around here, isn't it?

Masamune may not be missing a proper Quirk (can't lose what you never had), but there's some kind of nagging hollowness in the back of his skull and the pit of his stomach that he can't quite place and it's only making him even more agitated than this situation already was. So there's only one thing for him to do and that's to figure out what's going on around here so he can deal with it and leave.

He doesn't get very far before he sees the sitting figure, and he makes his approach casual and audible enough to make it clear he's not trying to sneak up on him to stand right behind him. And just kind of LOOM IN HIS PERSONAL SPACE. What is he looking at, anyway...?

I should be looking for someone too, nags a thought he isn't sure is his. Shut up, role. You're not the boss of him. He knows who he'd rather be looking for anyway.]

You. Find something interesting there?

B

[crou]

[The novelty of this place wore off after about a half hour, and Kogarasumaru had drifted to where most of the people were gathered about, staring off into the murky grey that seemed to encapsulate them in this place. He'd seen a lot in his long life, he'd even seen heavy fog like this, but at the same time, he'd never seen anything exactly like this.

Perhaps it was simply the unsettling nature of not having his sword with him.

Perhaps the fog itself gave off a sense of permeating unease.

There's a loud bang, a neatly bisected body slams against - and slides down - the window, and in the spark of abject panic, he settles on that latter option, even if he does only continue to look out into the gloom with distant curiosity.

At least, until very, very large hands clap down on slim shoulders, and a very, very, very loud human begins speaking(???) to him.]

Oho? I believe that this father will be of little help to you. You must see there is already panic, and your voice carries much further than that of a little crow.

[Don't involve him in your silly human matters, god!!!]

III

[myorders]

Congratulations. You found a car.

[ Peggy's deadpan, slightly unimpressed tone is unmistakable. ]

Are you able to drive said car? And where would you suggest we go, assuming it is even functioning?

[ Yes, she knows anywhere is most likely better than here, but they should have a plan, or a destination, in mind before they just go driving off into who-knows-what. ]

[majormalfunction]

"What a charmer." Probably why they'd stuck the pair of them together--she was the only one who could put up with the crap. He seemed like the type to dish it out.

She gave a soft, pitying, and still somehow entirely sarcastic smile and reached out to thread her arm through his. Why not? If something was looking, they'd be covered and maybe they'd move on to watching someone else.

"Oh? It sounds like you need a drink."

[myorders]

[ As luck would have it, Peggy here prides herself on being useful and responsive when the situation calls for it. And she would say that this situation absolutely calls for cool heads.

She's seen some very unsettling things since her arrival into whatever this place is, and the corpses that she's encountered are quite a bit off-putting. Luckily for her, she isn't the type to lose her lunch, so to speak, but she does press one hand to her mouth in disgust.

Like Masamune, she reaches for her nonexistent gun, and its absence makes her very put out indeed. ]

Oh, bloody hell.

[ She looks up just in time to hear him shout about constructing a barricade, and without hesitation, she steps up. ]

I'm with you. The sooner we construct a barricade, the better.

[relieable]

[oh, the lady is giving him sass. Osomatsu just grins right back at her. it's not every day he gets to talk to a pretty girl that isn't Totoko!]

I'm just gonna drive where the wind takes me! ...At least until I'm outta the fog, yanno? [he jingles the keys at her] Wanna come with? Or would you rather stay here in hell?

Motoko Kusanagi | Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex | OTA

[majormalfunction]

learn from the mistakes of others

Understandably, the screaming starts immediately. There's barely time to mutter an incredulous "my god" before her own thoughts were drowned out by the yelling of civilians who'd never seen anything atrocious before. Really, she can't blame them--she's had time and opportunity to develop the cynicism and stomach to handle the most depraved sorts of violence.

Like, for instance, coming across half a body. She didn't like it, but she didn't run screaming in a panic either. She definitely couldn't stand by herself against a mob, though, and she half-wished that Batou was around to be large and intimidating for her. Instead, she frowned and pushed her way forward to the glass, glancing around for anything that she could use to block the view and coming up empty. And...was something dragging the body off?

"You there! Get me something to cover this up with! Now!"


greatest movie of all time

Motoko has never been one for movies in the first place, but eventually she just runs out of places to explore, and she wanders her way in, chooses a theater at random, and stands there watching for a few moments and--

--that's definitely not the movie they're calling it on the marquee outside. Unless she's ended up in the wrong place? After a moment to make sure, she turns and heads for the door to check only to find it locked and swears under her breath and is immediately shushed by a patron sitting nearby. She would truly love to glare at them, but it's too dark to see her disapproval. After another few futile moments messing with the door trying to get it open, she gives up and flops down into an empty seat, heedless of whoever she's sitting next to.

Yes, this is definitely not the kind of movie she enjoys.

"This is ridiculous."

wildcard

[Network/actionspam/anything else! Hit me up at scattershot]

[unshielding]

"So you can't see me either?" It's said with a small amount of resignation. Maybe some silly part of his had hoped Bucky would be able to see him, even when no one else has been able to. Bucky's always seen things in Steve that other people hadn't. Why not take it more literally this time?

He puts the car back in drive and starts rolling slowly forward again once Bucky's securely in the passenger seat with the door closed.

"You're the first person I've found out here in hours, Buck."

Those words are easier than what he wants to say. Bucky's the best looking thing he's seen all day, even if it's all some trick. Steve's lost Bucky too many times. No, he's failed Bucky too many times. He's not sure how he's going to take it when it turns out this Bucky isn't even real. Will he crumble away again or just disappear?

Maybe it's Steve who's going crazy.

[blowshard]

[ Oh. Oh! He didn't notice he had grabbed a woman in such away. Inasa immediately lets go of her shoulders, takes a step back, slaps his hands to his sides and bows so deeply his head very nearly slams into the ground. ]

My apologies! I will try not to yell so much!

[ It won't work, but he's earnest enough that he'll at least give it a shot.

When he straightens back up again, however, something shifts minutely in Inasa's face. It goes from the brightness it had a moment before to something more settled, more serious, as his eyes go from panicked face to panicked face. Another quick glance around and he finds a bench nearby that he can climb up on to. He's already taller than a good portion of the crowd, but standing up on the bench puts him up even higher.

One more quick look around, a thumbs up to the poor lady he accidentally assaulted, and Inasa brings his hands up to cup around his mouth. One deep breath later and-- ]

EXCUSE ME! COULD EVERYONE LOOK AT ME, PLEASE?

[ ...Well. Bellowing at a crowd certainly works. Those still standing near them stop all movement and stare, as though observing a strange new beast at a zoo. Inasa glances over to his new friend (they're friends now, he's decided this) and gestures for her to join him. ]

[righteously]

Would you look at that? She earns an immediate ten points to Gryffindor. The tight, almost pained smile she gets in turn probably says about a thousand more words than he ever could on the subject, but still he settles a pointedly polite hand on her arm and gives it a nice, approving pat.

"You know me so well, dear," he agrees, with maybe just a hair too much ham. He's never been a good actor, like... seriously. Seriously bad. "You know a place around here, sweetheart? Lead the way."

[myorders]

[ If there's one thing Peggy has a lot of, it's sass. And yet she can manage to dial it back as needed. With that sassy retort now out of her system, it's time to look at the situation and the facts as they are. ]

I suppose that's as good a plan as any, at least to start with. I could do with less of this fog.

[ Right, then. Peggy makes her decision and announces: ]

I'll come with you, if you'll have me. This may not be a literal hell, but I would rather not stand around here.