thetube | Test Drive Meme: April/May 2016

"The Jam - Going Underground" (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 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"If your guess has something to do with something four legged and fuzzy, then you're probably right."

Well, technically that could be more than one thing. Still, it gave the general idea without openly talking about shifters on public transit. Roddy took a seat, looking to see where she'd sit down.

Edited 2016-05-24 01:13 (UTC)

Natasha takes a seat nearby. Not next to him, but close enough to continue the conversation without raising their voices, if he wants to.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." She's not sure what the furry, four legged shape is—she's fairly confident he's not a werewolf. A wolf would be more hostile with her. But shifter meant he could be almost anything.

"Or at least, more or less."

"Yeah. Got it in one, then." He paused for a moment, quiet. "I think my dad just worries because we're pretty low on the food chain, if you know what I mean."

And what he meant was...they were low on the food chain. Supernatural, social, and species wise, their family? Not exactly powerful.

Natasha glances over at him, gauging just to what degree he means that. Lower on the food chain tended to describe shapeshifters in relation to vampires, at least. But so were most species.

She got the feeling he meant a little more than just that.

"Your dad doesn't necessarily have the wrong idea. Sometimes it's best to keep your head down. There's always someone out there with sharper teeth. Not drawing attention is a good way to not get eaten."

Literally or figuratively.

"Yeah," he agreed. "My dad would say the same thing, pretty much. The whole, keep out of sight, don't even squeak thing, totally his strategy."

Roddy was just working out if it was really his, though. Sure, he wasn't going to be charging into battle anytime soon, he wasn't stupid, he just...wasn't sure if he wanted to always be hiding.

"But I don't know. I mean, I might be small in the scheme of things? But my teeth are pretty sharp."

But tiny. It didn't mean much to have a bite that could chew through walls if he could be defeated with the swing of a shoe.

"I don't doubt it," she smiles very slightly as she says it. "And maybe that's enough."

There's a moment's pause as she considers leaving it at that. She doesn't owe a random shifter she met in the underground any advice or encouragement. The best thing she could do for him was probably to tell him his father was right.

But instead, she says, "You know, the thing about food chains is that with enough luck and planning, some animals can change the order. A man on his own can't beat a bear or a wolf. Give a man a gun, and suddenly he moves to the top of the chain."

And give a hunter a clear eye line and a medieval weapon and he could kill a centuries old vampire. Where you are on the food chain was what you made of it more often than not.

"Yeah," he agreed. "And sometimes it doesn't even take fancy tools. Sometimes it just takes sheer determination. Like when people try to feed a rat to a snake, and the rat eats the snake instead."

A thing that was known to happen, if his random searches of the internet were any indication. Of course, rats had the same advantage as man in some ways. They were smart, innovative, and could work well in groups.

"But tools are pretty useful."

"They go a long way toward leveling the playing field." Natasha doubts a shifter would have a lot of chance against a vampire without something to give them a leg up, especially if they weren't turning into a tiger or bear, but she wasn't about to rule it out entirely.

"Hopefully that won't be necessary though."

"Well, yeah. I'm really hoping it's never necessary." Thinking that maybe, hypothetically he might be able to survive a vampire attack was one thing. It didn't mean he ever wanted to go through it. But of course, she was right. Tools went a long way in helping someone survive against a vampire.

"Lucky you. You're getting your wish," Natasha smiles just slightly. "At least for today."

That might not be the most encouraging thing that she could say to him. It wasn't like she could speak for any other vampires in London, though; she couldn't even really speak for how she might feel about things in another month or two if she fell off the wagon.

But for now...

"And you seem to be doing okay so far."

"Yeah, well, you're my first..."

The first vampire he'd spoken to. It was easy avoiding being food if you avoided what ate you.

"...you know."

"What?" She says, a little archly, a little teasing. "You're not going to tell me this is the first time you've talked to a ginger."

She knows exactly what he means though.

"I can't blame you. We have a reputation—some of it deserved."

Test Drive Meme: April/May 2016

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