Test Drive Meme: Feb/March 2016

[undergroundmods]

"Pulp - Common People" (Watch on YouTube)

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 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) COMMON PEOPLE. What do normal Londoners do every day anyway? Sometimes you just want to blend in with everyone else. Make friends with humans. Talk about the weather. Go on, try it.

2) PENTHOUSE SUITE. But wait. Maybe you want to see how the other half live. The elite of the elite. You've been lucky enough to be asked to a meeting, or a luncheon, or a date. Find out what the most powerful people in London are really like.

3) GET OUT YOU FILTH. Supernatural prejudice is a regrettable fact of life in London. It doesn't matter what you are, there's someone out there who hates you because of it. They'll shun you, heckle you, even hunt you down and kill you. Of course, you're probably not immune to a few prejudices yourself.

4) SPEED DATING. Oh god. Why did you sign up to this. You should have known it was a bad idea when someone mentioned it was supernatural speed dating. Help.

5) THE REAL UNDERGROUND. Down in the darkest corners of the Tube, there are supernatural vagrants of all kinds, especially vampires. That friendly busker may well be a fae. That girl waiting for the next train is a ghost. Once you've seen it, you can't escape from it.

6) IN THE SUPERMARKET. On the other hand, you never know what you might find just walking around your local supermarket. You haven't forgotten how to do normal things like groceries, right?

7) A CURSED EXISTENCE. Maybe you literally are cursed. Maybe you just feel like it sometimes. There are things you can't do, weaknesses that normal humans aren't subject to, but they make everyday life in London that little bit more difficult. Try not to get too mad about it.

8) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. Anything goes.

Comments

[falsify]

As opposed to the endless cycle of despair and disappointment of the Madame? [S C O F F] If I'm suffering one author's miserable opinions for an eternity, I'll take explorations of fear and mortality alongside Poe's blubbering rather than the idea that joy is fleeting and we can never truly have that which we desire.

[Of course for an immortal, stories that centre on the inevitability of one's demise hold a... Certain allure that they probably don't for others.]

[iustitiae]

Maybe you're just being cynical. The inevitability is inherent in both, but the contrast is in how they handle it. While Poe fears death, Bovary embraces life. He spends all of his time worrying about the inevitable, figuring out ways to avoid it, exploring the darkness of humanity; she explores what it's like to have the things in life people say they want. Everything is excess, true, so the consequences are harsh, but her life isn't full of endless despair - her escapes from the monotony of life work while they last. She learns to live but is restrained by the world around her. Poe is restrained by himself.

[this speed date is off to a great start.]

judgin u harshly

[falsify]

[Is this... Is he arguing with an English student right now? Did he just accidentally stumble on the subject of his thesis? Eames stares at Connor in bewildered silence for a moment, fully disbelieving what's just happened. But he nods after a moment, conceding the point. It's not going to stop Eames thinking Madame Bovary is ultimately an incredibly depressing book, but the assessment is still apt.]

I suppose you'll be wanting a... Distinction, for that answer?

[The corner of his mouth quirks in a smirk.]

im so sorry forgive me father for i have sinned

[iustitiae]

[connor comes pretty close to managing to hide the blush he gets for eames' comment, a little embarrassed now that they're not arguing that he actually. just tried to argue literature on a speed date of all things. but for all he might be embarrassed, he's always been a sucker for praise so he smiles, too, ducking away to just barely mask the honesty of the two things.]

Sorry, I'm -- very passionate about nineteenth century literature, apparently.

im sorry my child but you are condemned.... to GRAMMAR HELL

[falsify]

No, no. It's fine.

[Eames waves off the apology with a dismissive hand. Honestly it's kind of endearing, both the passion and the embarrassment he's trying to hide. He leans back in his seat, watching Connor's face for a moment or two before he speaks with anoher airy gesture.]

Just a little more... Academic then I expected.

WEEPS

[iustitiae]

Law school does that.

[#humblebrag]

Probably doesn't help with the propensity to argue.

[falsify]

[Jesus dude. You don't see Eames getting all "I drank with Shakespeare" at people.]

You must be a real hit at parties.

[iustitiae]

[i mean he could. connor would be appropriately impressed.

instead he's just. he's not often out-confidenced by someone, but eames is doing a pretty good job of making connor feel like he's saying the wrong things (which he is, so, fair), which in turn just makes him feel embarrassed and weird because he doesn't usually feel this way ever.

thanks for nothing, speed dating. he's feelings things he doesn't usually feel and he doesn't like it. it's cool, it's fine, he'll aggressively cover it with humor and continued insults about edgar allen poe]

Says the guy advocating for fear and mortality.

[falsify]

[600 years of aggressively stroking your own ego will give anyone unfaltering confidence.]

[It's the same confidence that lets him laugh at Connor's comment, a slight grin as he takes a sip of his drink. And if it counts for anything, Eames is having a great time.]

I just think it makes for a fascinating read.

[iustitiae]

[aggressively stroking yourself for 600 years what a sad life]

So what we're saying is that neither of us are really great at being party people.

[falsify]

[It's not like no one else ever joins in okay.]

Speak for yourself. I'm pretty good.

[And literally incapable of lying, so...]

[iustitiae]

Oh yeah?

[please regale him with stories about yourself]

[falsify]

I'm incredibly handsome and personable. How could I not be?

[There's a winning smile to go with that statement too. Humbleness is clearly not a quality Eames ever developed.]

[iustitiae]

[connor laughs at the response. good for you buddy]

Oh, yes, I'm sure.

[falsify]

Do you disagree?

[C'est impossible.]

[iustitiae]

Well you've definitely got the handsome thing down...

[he's totally just teasing him at this point, though.]

[falsify]

[He laughs and puts a hand on his chest in mock hurt.] I feel like I should be offended.

[He's clearly not though, and he takes another sip of his drink with an easy smile and a dismissive wave of the hand.]

I could talk about my finer qualities for hours, but that'd no doubt boring for you. So how about yours? Law school, you said?

[iustitiae]

I might be able to find a way to make it up to you.

[hint hint]

But that's correct, law school. I'm not sure if it's enough to rival your plethora of fine qualities as a conversation topic.

[falsify]

Now, now. Don't sell yourself short. I'm sure we can find something worth talking about in all the legal nonsense. [A shrug] Have you decided what kind of law you want to practice?

[iustitiae]

[ok, if eames insists. truly connor has no problems talking about himself. he is both a ) confident and b )likes the sound of his own voice. he was just giving the out.]

Criminal Defense. It's a tough field - both in terms of work and emotion - but it's an important one, too. And about a hundred times better than sitting around drafting contracts.

[falsify]

[A handsome young man interested in the supernatural, planning to go into criminal law? That could prove to be very useful, assuming he's good. Eames nods and "hm"s in a way that suggests he's actually interested in all this, giving Connor a level look over his glass.]

Not planning to pad your wallet with corporate law? Or your conscience by going into the charities?

[iustitiae]

I have a soul. [that's about the first part] But I would like to make some money during my lifetime.