thetube | Test Drive Meme: April/May 2016

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Welcome to the Underground test drive meme! This is where you can try out the AU version of your character, start some potential CR and get a feel for the world of the game. Choose your character's species, read up on the available factions and you're ready to go. Put your character's name and canon in your subject line when you post, tag out, and have fun!

Note to current players: Activity in this meme counts as game canon! So you can use it for activity check. If you end up playing anything that you can't or don't want to use as game canon, it's fine to ignore it. (In that case you shouldn't submit it for activity check.)

Here are some prompts to inspire you:

1) GOING UNDERGROUND. For some people, London is an escape. A place to be anonymous. A place to be themselves. Or a place to hide. Steeped in ancient magic, it attracts supernatural types from all over the world. Of course, that doesn't mean its inhabitants are always friendly to newcomers.

2) CHOOSE YOUR LEADERS. The Night Council election campaign is in full swing and on 5th May the supernatural community votes for its leaders. Visit any supernatural haunt and you'll find people arguing about who to vote for – not to mention the volunteers handing out badges and flyers in an effort to win your support. Try to keep it civil, folks.

3) THE PUBLIC WANTS WHAT THE PUBLIC GETS. (29th April) The Night Council candidates gather in a town hall in Westminster to explain why the supernatural community should vote for them. Traditionally a noisy and raucous event, it's your last opportunity to ~~heckle~~ question the candidates before the election. There are four separate Q&As: first up are the candidates for Shapeshifter/Meta Human representative; then candidates for Witch Representative; then Vice President; then finally the candidates for President will take to the stage. They each make a short speech and then take questions from the audience. Or if you want, you could just turn up for a free meal: in the room next door there's a sandwich buffet plus tea, coffee and fruit juice, so it's a good opportunity to mingle.

4) FIRE FESTIVAL. (1st May) The fire festival of Beltane is a time of celebration for witches, marking the beginning of summer. Come along to the bonfire for music, food and drink, flower crowns and fertility rituals.

5) SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. (1st May) Beltane is also a time when the barrier between the human world and the Other Realm is at its thinnest, making it easy to pass from one realm to the other by chance. You might even have an encounter with the mysterious and mischievous fae.

6) WHAT'S DONE CANNOT BE UNDONE. You've gone too far, done something you know you'll regret. Maybe you ran away, broke a promise, even committed a crime. Maybe you've been supernaturally transformed. Either way, there's no going back.

7) WHAT ANGEL WAKES ME FROM MY FLOWERY BED? Oh, sweet mortal. There's an enchantment on you that makes you suddenly, devastatingly attractive. Especially to more magical types.

8) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. Anything goes.

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a) Going Underground

They always run.

Gretel thinks it as she hoists herself up a partially down fire escape. She takes the rungs two at a time, desperate not to lose sight of her quarry. Thankfully, she's just trying to outrun a human tonight. A witch, specifically. One who saw a shadow on the roof, stopped, pulled out a wand, and let loose a spell.

Behind Gretel, something had turned to stone and clattered to the ground, hit by the magic that had passed through her.

She took a knee and removed the crossbow from her back. She loaded a bolt and took aim. One deep breath, a mental count, and she fired.

The girl below her ran a few more feet, lunged forward, and fell to the ground. She didn't get up or even move in the slightest.

"Another one bites the dust," she murmurs, almost musically, smirking. Then, she puts the crossbow onto her back again. "Gonna have to get that cleaned up."

b) Something Wicked This Way Comes

[Beltane. Crap. She hated Beltane.

The fae were bad enough on a normal day, but on Beltane? They always did way too much damage. Too many people being too stupid. They liked to think they could mess with the fae and get out unscathed.

Fucking idiots.

But she was following the sense of magic, of a thin spot between this realm and the other. Which meant a fae had to be lurking somewhere nearby.]

Where are you, fucker? [Her voice was low, an irritated mutter.] You're not getting anyone on my watch.

[Because that was the name of the game: luring mortals into the Other Realm. And she wasn't letting it happen. Not where she was, at least.]

c) What's Done Cannot Be Undone

Move.

[She almost growls the word.

This fae needs to be killed, and she has her gun out. Bullets made of iron are just as effective as crossbow bolts tipped in them. The silver medallion around her neck glints. But she's not talking to the fae. She's talking to the human standing in front of the woman she's really after.]

Five. Four. Three.

[The count is methodical and even.

The man? Doesn't move.]

Two. One.

[Still nothing.

So, fires twice. Two shots, two targets. And both are struck in the head and fall. Thank God for silencers.]

I warned you. Fucking idiot, throwing your life away for a fae.

d) Choose Your Own Adventure

(Want something you don't see? Hit me up with a starter or for one!)

It could be called luck that Natasha notices the hunter, if the smell of blood in the air—human and fae—can be called luck. As hungry as Natasha is from feeding on animals, she smells it from a block away. It takes her a moment to get control of her instincts, but it's faint enough that the stab of thirst from her throat isn't overwhelming. Another few seconds before she decides whether or not its safe to investigate.

In the end, though, the fact there's blood being spilled on her patrol is enough of a reason to investigate. Even with the risk.

Hesitation and all, she's still in the ally quickly enough that the bodies haven't been moved yet. The scene she finds makes her jaw clench, her eyes going from one body to the other, then to the hunter. Seems safe to assume that's what she is.

"I get why you killed him," she says evenly, her eyes skittering away from the silver pendant reflexively. It's not hard to tell which body is the source of the fae scent. "But what'd she do? Wrong place at the wrong time?"

For a moment, Gretel's ready with another shot. She still has a few bullets. Not that she wants anyone innocent to die tonight, but witnesses who can't be reasoned with have to be quieted in other ways. It's brutal, but it's life. And death. But this witness... knows what's going on.

Though Gretel doesn't miss the reaction to her pendant.

"He was fae, and she wouldn't move," Gretel replies with a shrug of her shoulders. "I wasn't going to spare him because some deluded woman wouldn't let me do my job."

"You killed an innocent person because you weren't willing to wait for a better opportunity," Natasha says. She ought to to focus more on the moral failing, she's sure, but she's done the same too many times herself to feel comfortable with that. It's not that she doesn't recognize that it's wrong or feel it on some level, but that is a level she has trouble addressing.

On the other hand, it was easy to judge her for her sloppy execution. It was a kind of messy work that she'd felt comfortable looking down on well before she admitted to having compunctions about killing humans freely.

Two things that often seemed related to her now, though.

"That kind of thing will get you in trouble."

"She wasn't an innocent," Gretel replies. "I gave her a chance to save herself. Several, actually, but she insisted on protecting him."

'Love.' It was more likely some enchantment the fae had over her, but it was deep, and she'd only had so much time to get it done. Her client wasn't willing to wait much longer, and that, well, she could handle that.

Without another word, she walked over to the bodies, removing the cash from the wallets, tossing the rest onto the ground, and taking the man's obviously valuable watch. A mugging gone bad. Old story, easy to believe.

"Funny. I've never heard that not running away was a crime." There's judgement in Natasha's voice as she says it, but it still doesn't have the weight of moral conviction.

"I get the feeling you're not new to trouble with that attitude."

She spoke, her expression closed, while she considered how to handle this. The scent of blood in the air suggested a fight, but that was an impulse she tamped down. Fighting wouldn't make either victim less dead. Plus, there was something to be said in favor of not starting a fight with an armed hunter if it could be avoided.

With in reason, at least.

"If that's the case, I suggest You take it somewhere else."

"Protecting a criminal is," Gretel replies coolly.

Innocents didn't get hurt. But thone who helped the hunted? They implicated themselves. This woman could have stayed home -- she'd had advance warning. Or she could have moved two minutes ago.

But she's not looking for a fight. Not when she's not getting paid.

"I did my job." The gun gets holstered, and Gretel adjusts her jacket to hide it. "So, I'll go now."

Even if she wants to know who and what this woman is. Hanging around a crime scene isn't good for either of them.

One corner of her's mouth twitches at Gretel's comment, but she's not here for a debate over the finer points of law.

There's no sign that Natasha relaxes when the gun is put away, which is odd. Most humans, even those with training or good would react on some level to that. Natasha wasn't worried about iron, though; the silver, on the other hand, was a constant irritant.

"If this is how you do your job," the vampire says evenly, unblinking, "then don't let me catch you at it again."

The lip twitch becomes an almost-smile.

"Call it a chance."

"Then keep out of my way."

It's just as even as Natasha's remark. Because, well, this is what she does. What she's always done. And she has no real concern for if someone else -- human or not, and she thinks 'not' given the instant reaction to her necklace -- disapproves. If this woman wants to make it a problem, then Gretel will handle it as a problem.

Natasha tips her head slightly and shrugs, hands spread in mock surrender. Her smile is slight and fake, which combined with very real confidence could make her expression and her gesture seem condescending.

If all that was left was posturing and threats, then there wasn't anything left to say. She'd made her warning and it didn't seem that either of them was going to be cowed with words alone.

[Annie didn't like Beltane, either. Too many witches, far too public and loud. So she'd been taking the back routes to make her way to Finnick's, and was walking the last few blocks.

So that's how she found herself hearing someone mutter something in a dark alley.]

Hell-hello? Did- ah, did you say something? [She asks the wind, because otherwise, that meant she was hearing things.]

It's not safe down here.

[Someone alone and afraid, from the sounds of it. Easy picking for a fae. Or a good act to draw in the unsuspecting. Until she knew more, she couldn't be sure which it was. So, Gretel would treat it as both.]

I'm- I'm okay, [Annie said, looking around. She had a knife in her boot.] I'm just trying to avoid crowds. It's, ah, really busy right now.

[Gretel let herself be seen, flicking on the torch she had with her. Her gun was still tucked into her jacket, hidden out of sight. Tonight, she wasn't worried about vampires, so she didn't bring her crossbow.]

Taking these back ways is pretty dangerous.

[Annie relaxes when she sees the person behind the mysterious voice. Alright, no voices in her head today.]

I'm okay. my boyfriend lives up the street.

How far?

[And, she wanted to ask, why was this girl going to visit her boyfriend on Beltane? Was she a witch? It made Gretel's palm itch just thinking about it. But she had no way to know, and questioning someone who might just be out tonight was weird.

So, she'd bide.]

Uhm- just a few blocks- why... why are you asking me? [Annie's hands began to toy with the edge of her hair.]

[The girl's not too bright. Which is almost painful. Because those? Make the easiest victims.]

Because I don't want to just leave you to the wolves.

[Don't say that out-loud.]

Oh. Uhm. I'm not worried about my boyfriend. Or, uhm. Anything else. Trust me.

[She tugs at her hair a little bit. She knows she looks like nothing much, as small and frail as she is. But she's armed. She hardly ever is.]

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Test Drive Meme: April/May 2016

Gretel | Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters | meta-human -- will match format

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