thetube | Test Drive Meme: August/September 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) HOUSE OF FUN. Whether it's your first time in London or you've lived here all your life, you hear that this is the place to be for someone like you. A place to let loose, have fun, and embrace your true nature, whatever that may be.

2) THE LION'S DEN. And this is not the place to be. This is the enemy's camp and if they catch you...

3) IT'S QUICKER IF YOU RUN. So here's the game: you run, they chase. You might even escape, with a bit of luck... or maybe some help.

4) THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF. Be inspired and make some cupcakes, attend a cake sale, or try home-baking with your friends. Who says supernatural creatures can't have a sweet tooth?

5) SUMMER = BBQ. Another great British tradition: the moment the sun appears, it's time to get out the barbecue and enjoy some slightly-burnt burgers and hotdogs. With summer fading, what are you waiting for?

6) THE CHEMIST. Even creatures of the night occasionally require a visit to the pharmacy. Bit awkward when you recognise a fellow supernatural being waiting for a prescription though...

7) STUCK ON THE TUBE. The Underground would like to apologise for the delay to this service. It's probably a signal failure. Not a supernatural trap or anything, nope.

8) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. Anything goes.

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Peter had noticed the mini-papparazi shooting photos out of the corner of his eye. He glances over to them, frowning, noticing their attention focused on the guy who was looking in his direction.

His sense was going haywire, picking up multiple supernatural beings at once. Probably because of the Redbright uniform the students were wearing. He closes his eyes, exhaling loudly through his nose, trying to filter out the noise...

...When he notices one of the signals start to approach him. The voice causes him to open his eyes and look up at Daryl.

"Hm? No, be my guest."

Daryl slid into the seat next to him, shoulders hunched and head titled down. His shoulder-length hair falling forward to further obscure his face. A grunted 'thanks' escaped him as he pulled one of his legs up to tuck against his chest and give his arm something to wrap around. It had the added effect of making it very difficult for the students to get a decent picture of him unless they moved to the other side of the car. Something they could do, but would mean giving up having all their seats together.

"First time in London?" he asked after a minute, eyes darting over to look at the guy and then down to his bags.

Peter's eyes flick back up to the students, his frown deepening for a second, before returning his full attention back to Daryl.

"Yeah. Just flew in from Boston." He replies, conversationally. His accent, whilst muddied into general "american", does have hints of Boston in it. He was definitely getting some supernatural vibes from his new friend. "You? You don't sound local."

He shook his head, continuing to keep it down, "Been here a couple years now."

After a beat and just to keep himself distracted, he added, "Georgia."

"I figured it was somewhere down that way." Peter remarks, looking up at the students again, as they were still muttering amongst themselves about how to get more photos.

"So, what's the deal? You some up and coming indie artist on the Camden circuit or something?" He nods towards the students to make his point clear.

Daryl snorted derisively and shook his head, "Nah. They're from a school. Run this uh... this website?"

He said it like a question, but it really wasn't. More he just didn't want to encourage anyone to go looking for shit about him if they weren't a part of the 'community'.

"Something about a photo project, I don't know," he was lying, but it was necessity. At least he didn't sound any more uncomfortable than he already did. "I didn't ask. Just know they been taking pictures of people. Usually they hang out around where I work. I'm a mechanic. Think they're trying for extra points by gettin' me in something other than work clothes."

Keep it vague, keep it normal.

"Hm." Peter gives the students another glance, almost as if he didn't believe what Daryl was saying...

...Before he shrugs.

"Kids, huh? Glad to see they're as weird here as back home."

He's fairly certain Daryl is hiding something, but, hey, not his place to pry. Not yet. He'll at least give him the courtesy of being the distraction.

Shifting in his seat, he offers a hand.

"Peter Bishop, by the way."

He stared at the offered hand a long moment before reaching out and taking it. Had to drop his knee to give himself room. Only gave it a single, firm, pump to be polite, then went back to tucking his leg up again.

"Daryl Dixon."

This time he let the thumb of his other hand drift up to his mouth where he idly chewed at the nail, "You staying a while?"

Okay. Private guy... very private. Peter would feel priviledged that he was being talked to if he wasn't being used for something.

"'bout a year, maybe more. Got a job prospect I need to check out."

He's going to start focusing in on the signature of the guy sat next to him. Mostly because he was just curious to what Daryl is. His fae sense will take a while to kick in, so keeping this guy in idle conversation will benefit him, too.

"So, mechanic, huh? Not usually a reason why people relocate to England. You get a lot of business?"

Daryl shrugged, nodding, "Decent amount."

His eyes flicked over to the students, then up to the ceiling. Train was a long way from being fixed. With a barely noticeable sigh, he added, "Didn't move here to do that. Just got an offer. They helped set me up with a work Visa, too. I build bikes, too."

Which was much more decent money than just fixing them. He didn't have enough of a clientele he could up and start his own business by any stretch, but his name was starting to get out there. Last few months, anyway.

Now that was interesting. You didn't just up and move across half the world on a whim... unless you were running from something.

Again, not going to pry, but Daryl is getting more and more interesting as Peter talks to him.

"Oh, yeah? Never been a bike kinda guy. Gimme a decent car or a truck any day." He fiddles idly with the luggage tag on one of his cases. "Self-taught, or did ya go to college for it?"

"Family," he answered with another shake of his head to indicate neither of the options offered. "My daddy made sure me and my brother, we could tear an engine down and put it back to rights. Merle was the one that got into bikes and when he wasn't around, I was the one who took care of his."

It was more detail than he'd given most people about his life, but it was all superficial stuff. Things he didn't mind talking about if he was actually asked. Most didn't ask.

"Merle's my brother," Daryl clarified after a moment, dropping his thumb away from his mouth and letting the hand rest in his lap for a second. Then ran his fingers in a nervous manner across the top of his thigh, going to the knee and back.

Ding. Good ol' fae sense finally kicks in. This guy's a shapeshifter. Something furry, that's all he got, but, that's all he needs.

Leaning back in his seat, he notices the nervous movement of his hand.

"Hey, man... You okay?" He asks, letting a hint of concern edging into his voice. "We don't need to talk about this stuff if you don't want to."

Daryl instantly went still, eyes sliding to the side to watch the guy with a wary, narrow gaze. Confused by what brought that on. He wasn't the sort to talk about something he didn't want, or wasn't willing to. Peter there didn't know that, of course. But he didn't need to.

"'m fine," he said in a firm, somewhat suspicious tone.

Okay, bad move.

"Right. Just ya seem kinda tense, is all. I was worried I was prying a bit too much." Peter replies, lightly, smiling slightly. "I can let my mouth run away with me sometimes."

Reel it back, Bishop.

Daryl's gaze darkened further and he snapped his words out, gruff with anger, "I got a bunch of asshole kids treating me like I'm part of the god damn zoo."

As if the reason for any discomfort should have been obvious. And really, it should have been. It was the whole reason why he'd come over in the first place. And maybe it came out ruder than it needed to, but Daryl wasn't feeling particularly apologetic over some stranger acting like he was having some nervous breakdown or something. ~~Way to mentally exaggerate there, Daryl,~~

"Alright. Fair enough." Peter replies, keeping his movements calm, but backing off a little bit.

He looks up at the students again, chewing the inside of his cheek for a moment. "I could... go have a word? It might not seem it, but I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be."

Sure, it might take a bit of effort, but Walter said to keep practicing and it should get easier.

If Daryl had been hostile a moment before, he was down right weirded out now.

"No," he answered, brows scrunching in both confusion and offense. Like he couldn't handle his own shit. He could handle it just fine. Didn't need a stranger to try and 'rescue' him from a bunch of college kids with too much time on their hands. It wasn't like any of them could leave anyway, so what would be the point. They'd just whisper among themselves more and probably try to take the pictures more discreetly. At best.

Talking to Peter here seemed more and more like a bad decision. Even if the guy was alright enough, he was nosy.

"Just shut the hell up about it."

They wouldn't. Peter would make sure of that. He'd get at least thirty minutes of peace, assuming he could correctly guess their true names. It shouldn't be hard; many people didn't know the meaning behind names anymore.

"Alright. No problem." Peter replies, raising his hands slightly, slumping back further in his chair. His eyes go to the map, and he sighs through his nose. 14 stations to go, and that's even if the train gets repaired any time soon.

"These things usually break down?"

"Regularly enough," he said with a shrug, not quite relaxing yet, but no longer completely still. Like a wary animal unsure of a human who had gotten too close and still getting used to their presence. "Usually don't take this long to fix, though."

Daryl's eyes went to the ceiling again, squinting at the auxiliary lights like he might be able to figure out what had happened if he just contemplated them long enough, "Something must've gotten at the lines. Usually it's just a popped switch or some shit."

"Never thought I'd say this, but I think I prefer the T." Peter grumbles, shifting to pull his phone out of his pocket to check the time.

6pm. He landed at 4. Another sigh as he locks the screen again, the image of himself, a blonde woman and a kid visible for a few moments.

"Starting to think this might've been a mistake, if this is how my first night's gonna go."

Daryl had no idea what 'the T' was, but figured it had to be something related to traffic. Maybe a bus route? His eyes moved over to the man and down to the phone before darting away as if he's witnessed something private he shouldn't have. His thumb drifted back to his mouth and he stayed silent for a minute or so.

Then he grunted and shifted his weight to get more comfortable, "First night's usually the roughest. Ain't exactly a good measure of how things'll go. Doesn't matter if you're travelin' or campin' or just movin' to a new place. First night's never gonna be easy."

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Test Drive Meme: August/September 2016

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