thetube | Test Drive Meme: April-May 2017

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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 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) STRANGE TOWN. So this is London. You're in the underbelly of the city, the shadow of the Underground where the vampires and the ghosts and other strange creatures come out to play. Still, at least the Tube staff take it all in stride.

2) NO ONE CARES. You're out on the streets and you're in trouble. Maybe you don't have a bed for the night, maybe you're injured and in need of aid, maybe you just missed your train. But that's the thing about big cities: people walk past. They don't listen. They don't help. Will some kind soul take note of your plight?

3) DON'T BE WEIRD. You may not be quite an ordinary human, but that doesn't mean you can't do your shopping or order a coffee, right? No accidental magic, no letting your fangs show or whatever supernatural appendages you've got going on. Just act normal.

4) WEAR THE RIGHT CLOTHES. You're at a fancy event with black ties and finger food. Fund raising for some supernatural cause or other? Better look smart.

5) FIND A FRIENDLY FACE. Go to one of the local supernatural haunts and sit down for a well-earned drink with a friend. You earned it.

6) BURN IT UP. (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.

7) LOOK IN THE MIRROR. (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.

8) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. Anything goes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Cars are all well and good, but she's forgetting something about the city: traffic. Ghoul grins to himself, keeping that ace up his sleeve for the time being because he's a dirty little cheater like that.

He hums noncommittally at her question, shoving his hands in his pockets and pretending to study the menu. "I used to watch the travel channel all the fuckin' time, I know a lot about the desert." He watches her out of the corner of his eye, and after a couple seconds he adds, "And I guess I kinda lived in one for a while. Lotta birds out there, though." It's something that would sound like utter nonsense to someone unfamiliar with Crows. Luckily, he doesn't mind coming across as weird to strangers.

The kid probably doesn't know what he's talking about anyway- there's actually quite a bit of desert in North America, which is just fine by him. It's nothing but nasty business.

"TV wouldn't tell ya 'bout half what really goes on anywhere." For one, their kind are conveniently left out of the nature documentaries. "Yeah? Where 'bouts?"

Even if he'd lived near home, it didn't have to mean anything. Many visited the region without having a clue as to what really went on there. Even people liked them could feasibly live there without hearing the rumors, let alone having an encounter for themselves. Maybe he just really likes talking about the wildlife.

"Plenty," she says, openly staring now. Chances are slim that someone she found halfway across the world would had run-ins with BLI's cronies too. But she's dealt with worse odds. "Most weren't worth worryin' over. 'cept that damn crow infestation. Makes it worth crossin' a sea to get away from 'em."

"Yeah, we had 'em bad in California," he says, frowning thoughtfully. He could be wrong. It could be a complete coincidence, but it certainly sounds like she's from the same sort of situation he'd come from. If she's willing to cross an entire ocean to get away, then maybe things are getting even worse. It's a little worrying- he hasn't even been gone that long.

He's got his own sources to check in with, though. No need to hassle a babyfaced teenager for information.

However, he has no problem hassling one for his own entertainment. Ghoul clears the troubled look off his face and glances over at her, an eyebrow arched in a questioning way. "They let thirteen year old kids fly outta the country by themselves now?" Fine, maybe he's fishing for information. Just a little bit.

"Tryin' to claw into Nevada, last I heard," Girl says darkly. Not far yet, she'd lived too close to the state border to say that. But any growth could be dangerous, for all she'd seen from the group.

The jab at her age isn't what she expects when the conversation starts on a dark turn. It startles a snort out of her, even as it makes her frown.

"I'm not a kid." Spoken like a child, pout and all. "I'm fifteen. Didn't come by myself either. I wasn't the only person wantin' to leave."

Any growth is dangerous, which is why he makes a face like he's seen something disgusting when she says it, but he keeps his comments to himself. They're nothing but vulgar words, anyhow. Between them and this business with Samantha, he may end up spontaneously combusting from anger.

At least the kid gets him to crack a smile, what with her whiny denial. "Fifteen? God damn, you sure don't need to be gettin' anything from in here. Shit'll stunt your growth. You wanna be a runt forever?" Like he's one to talk.

Part of her wants to press it. Ask what he knows, ask if it's why he's here. But it feels like a loaded topic for strangers, and too sensitive for a crowded coffee shop surrounded by normal people. There'll be time for that later, if they run into each other again.

"You're gettin' some," she points out, surly. She didn't have much of a problem with her height, she still might be lucky enough for a growth spurt, but she hated being a kid to everyone. "They give kids younger than me soda. How's coffee gonna hurt?"

He knows the feeling. He's definitely got more questions to ask, although they'll have to wait. Possibly once they're out of here. He's considering walking her to wherever she needs to be, partly due to his own curiosity and partly due to concern. If she's still new around here, then she won't know what areas to avoid. It'd be for her own safety, see?

First thing's first, though. Coffee.

He moves forward, claiming the empty spot behind the only other customer at the counter. "It'll hurt 'cause-" Hold on a minute. Ghoul cuts himself off and squints back at her. "Wait, the fuck d'you mean by I'm gettin' some?" That better not be the implication that he thinks it is. He is a grown adult (pfft) who can get whatever he wants! Which he expresses non-verbally by briefly mean-mugging her and slowly turning away to place his own order as soon as it's his turn.

Kids. Ugh. Such disrespect.

She shuffles into line after him, staring at the display boards behind the counter. Half her attention still somewhere across the ocean, on the situation she left and how to bring it up now. It takes her a moment to react to his annoyance, a smile slow to bloom over her face. It drops far quicker. Her expression gets caught between trying to look contrite, he's older and she doesn't know what he'll do if she's really pissed him off, and annoyed herself, adults always think they can get away saying what they wanted to her.

"I'm not that much shorter than you," she says slowly. "Just, if you're gonna say I shouldn't have it-" She cuts off an shrugs, flushing a little up her neck in anticipation that she might get yelled at. Not enough to take it back though.

Ghoul is basically a badger masquerading inside a human-turned-werewolf skin, sure, but she's fine. The most he does is grumble, "You're mean as hell," before stepping up to place his order. Once that's done he moves to the side, making room for her to get her own sorted out.

His doesn't take long to make, being a simple order and all, but he still lingers. Waits for her to scoot aside as well before asking, "How well d'you know your way around? If you're still pretty green I can show you how to get wherever you're wantin' to go after this. Can't have you wanderin' in to a fuckin' nest." She's not part of his pack as far as he knows, but she still doesn't deserve that shit.

"I'm not," she says under her breath. She steps up after him, ordering the sweetest thing she spots on the menu. The caffeine won't have time to affect her. The sugar will have taken her out long before that.

Her face shows her surprise that he stuck around. She leans on the counter while waiting for her order, picking at the hem of her shirt. "Pretty much just know how to get to school and home. Not been here long enough to do much explorin'," Girl admits. "You got a lot of nests sprung up 'round here?"

She's curious. Her former hometown was simply to small and out of the way to invite many members of the supernatural community, let alone vampires. She's supposes she should be wary and would be if it didn't seem so interesting.

"You really want to spend an afternoon showin' 'round some kid?"

She made height jokes, she is so mean. Even if he did start it. Whatever.

He's in the middle of taking a sip of his drink when she asks her question, so he shakes his head until his mouth is no longer occupied. "Not a lot, no. There's just one, and it's a big one." Which is pretty weird, now that he thinks about it. He's never seen or heard of so many vampires working as one unit like that before. Huh.

The concept of playing tour guide doesn't seem to bother him, at least. He shrugs. "If nobody's told you none of this stuff yet, fuck yeah I'll do it. Got some real important stuff goin' on lately, and there ain't no reason for you to end up payin' for grudges that got nothin' to do with you." The vampires certainly won't care that she doesn't know any better. Same likely goes for the fae, too.

She's a teenager. Height jokes are bottom tier when it comes to being mean.

She's quiet as she accepts the drink that finally arrives, cupping it between both hands. "Sort of thought they would be more like, uh, loners. Not stickin' together." She cocks her head to the side. "Didn't think they were all that loyal to each other."

"Grudges?" Her eyebrows shoot up toward her hairline. No, of course no one had told her anything. Maybe she should have tried the smart thing and researched a little more before bullying her uncle into moving. And here she'd been so sure that London would be better than home. "Yeah. I think I'd like to hear what's goin' on. I don't want part in any trouble I ain't forced to be in."

She takes a step toward the door, stops and gestures for him to lead.

"Right?" He breathes out a quiet laugh against his cup as he continues to sip at it. The vampires here are just weird. They almost act like pack animals too. Or maybe they're all suckers for power, and that's why they're piled in to the same nest.

Probably that.

He takes her cue with a nod, making his way to the door. He even peeks out and makes sure her dog stalker has wandered off before leading the both of them outside. "This place ain't as bad as it was before but there's a lot of history and shit, and a lot of these fuckers won't die on their own, so yeah. Grudges." Ghoul's got no problem with giving her a brief history lesson, but first... "Who all'd you come here with? You really need to tell 'em all this too."

It's strange, but she doesn't know nearly enough about vampires to decide whether to be concerned about it or not. She just nods, filing it away as something to think about later.

She follows him outside, relieved that she doesn't have to go round two with the mutt. She takes a drink as he talks, frowning. It's not a lot to go on and she's about to ask what that history is, but first- "My uncle. He's used to this kinda shit, 'course I was gonna tell 'im."

The last thing she wants is for him to walk into the wrong territory and never be heard from again.

"Not as bad as before still sounds like there's somethin' bad happenin'." She gestures nonsensically with her coffee cup. "They got problems with some specific pack? Territory disputes? That always seems to cause shit. Is it just the blood suckers to worry 'bout?"

Just the two of them? Yikes. Ghoul's face scrunches up distastefully. Well, maybe they'll be okay if they keep their heads down.

"There's only really one pack around here. East End. Real old too, apparently." Simple enough start, right? Ghoul begins walking, because it'll be more difficult for them to be eavesdropped on if they're moving, making sure she's following along before continuing, "Alpha fuckin' hates vampires, and 'course nest territory is right next door to ours. We're kinda on a kill-on-sight order there, and they were makin' a competition out of skinnin' wolves not too long ago, so, y'know, I don't figure most of 'em are gonna be all that nice if you go out of bounds. Don't matter whether you're pack or not."

Sadly, no, it's not just them she'll have to worry about. One thing at a time, though.

"Is that who you're with?" That at least gives her a place to start looking. She'd come here to join the community and there being only one pack made it easy to choose what she was going to do.

"You're set up right next to each other? Fuck. No wonder ya'll are at each other's throats." She shakes her head, groaning. It was just her luck that her apparently only choice would mean walking into yet another mess. "Where's the nest? I don't wanna walk into that by mistake."

"And, uh, might not be, ya know, not part of the pack. If you're Alpha's willin' and all." She shrugs, watching the ground as they walk. She's not going to beg to be part of anything but she's not going to stay a lone wolf. Especially not when there was hostilities to worry about.

"Yep." To both of her questions, actually. "You don't know all the boroughs yet, do you?" Probably not. They're kind of tricky- there are still a few that he mixes up, even. "Well, basically- uh, anything from Islington to Newham, you wanna stay away from. They got more on the other side of the river, but if you stay above it you won't have trouble." She doesn't need anything in that area, anyway. Nothing but fae and Daybreak down there.

Ghoul glances over at her, grinning at how timid she looks all of a sudden. "She ain't gonna turn you away." Katherine's always looking to grow the pack. She'll probably be thrilled with the new addition(s), but... "You know there's safer places you could go too, yeah? There's a school on the other side of the city. Redbright?" He doesn't know if the name means anything to her yet, but hey. "It ain't a wolf pack, but it'd be your best bet if you wanna keep outta mess."

"Not really. But it can't be that hard to learn 'em." Rather, she can just keep being a lazy teenager and check the map on her phone. "But, right. Stick away from the river. That shouldn't be too hard. Is everything on the other side of it runnin' with vamps?"

"You guys just take in anyone who asks?" She tries, and fails, to cover the relief crossing her face at that. Traveling so far only to get turned away is the kind of embarrassment she doesn't know how to handle. "Not that I'd complain."

Girl makes a face at the mention of the school. It's not a terrible idea and running from trouble had been her modus operandi for a while now. But he'd already ruined the idea of it for her. "It's not a pack. I don't think it'd ever feel right. Could you imagine bein' without a pack, when you've already experienced one?"

The phone thing's a good idea. One he should really try for himself sometime. "Other side's mostly fae and witches. We ain't in too good with the fae right now, and witches are complicated." And complicated, of course, means they aren't to be trusted.

Ghoul makes a sound of agreement, chewing at the rim of his cup while he thinks. Redbright really would be the best place for her to be, but it's her choice in the end. Or. Well, her uncle's, he supposes. He sighs after a few seconds, shrugs, and mumbles, "I dunno. Ain't been in one until now." But she's got a point. It's hard to imagine living outside one again, and the thought alone makes him wrinkle his nose.

Yeah, he'd probably pick East End too if he were her.

"No one's ever in good with fae." Her knowledge of all things magic might be somewhat lacking, but even she knows how tricky fae can be. "How are the witches complicated?"

"Bitten?" Girl asks absently, sipping at her drink. This is far more in line with the kind of small talk she expected. What are you, how did it happen; the sort of conversations she'd been on the periphery of when she was younger. "How long? If ya wanna share."

"But now that you have been part of one, bet ya understand why I'm not keen to run off to somethin' else. No one else is ever gonna treat ya like pack will." She believes that firmly, if only because she has such little experience with anything else.

"The witches are..." Awful. Okay, no, that doesn't explain anything. He makes a face, trying to piece it together in his head in the simplest way first. "So, the boss-witch of that group brought fae binding back in to style. We're s'posed to be allies. They help us with vampires, we help them with fae. But they ain't very good allies so far." Not only does he find them untrustworthy (how can anyone trust a group that forces another to be their battery packs?), he thinks they're incredibly selfish. They've done a lot of taking and no giving. "You keep away from anything Daybreak. Especially Samantha and her little white spy-cat, hear me?"

He gives her a pretty stony look after that, because he is very serious about this, until he's sure she understands the importance of the situation. Then he sighs, his expression softening in to something dangerously close to sheepish. "Uh, yeah. It's been a little while, I guess." This is still weird for him to talk about, so of course, he works out that awkward feeling by looking down and beginning to tear pieces off of his hotcup lid. "Some years." He shrugs.

Thankfully he's only started shifting semi-recently, because he has no idea how he'd have kept that shit under control by himself. Probably would've ended up just as crazy as the lone motherfucker that bit him in the first place. Pack's definitely the way to go. "I think you guys'll like 'em."

"So they haven't done anythin' about the vampires?" She asks, frowning more at the face he's making than the information. Part of her bristles at the obvious command, but he's been here longer and knows a lot more of the situation than she does so she bites down on the snark. She nods. She doesn't want to go looking for trouble and she'll probably heed his word, stay far away from this Daybreak group. "And Samatha is what? Their leader?"

"I wouldn't call years a lil' while." She says lightly, watching the way he turns his attention way. She bites her lip and shrugs, awkward herself for bringing up something he clearly doesn't want to talk about. "You don't have to tell me anythin'. It's not a big deal. Just, uh, small talk."

She stares at him from the corner of her eye for a few moments, shaking her head. "My uncle's not, ya know." She gestures between the two of them. He's entirely human, she means. "So, just me unless you guys are okay with that. They were back home, but I'm not gonna assume."

He shakes his head. They haven't done much that he's seen, but he may be a very biased source. "Yeah, Samantha's the Daybreak leader. Mother of Witches is her fancy title, I think." Ghoul rolls his eyes at that one. Witches and their prissy titles...

He easily lets the topic of him being bitten slip away- it's not, like, horribly sad or traumatizing (even if it was pretty fucked up and not one of his favorite memories), but he just finds it uncomfortable to talk about himself at all. As if giving anything away is risky, although it's improbable that such little information would out him. And it's not like she's a threat anyway.

Still. Old habits. Who wants to hear about his boring life anyway? She's got a lot more interesting stuff going on, such as her uncle being... human? Ghoul gives her an odd look. "For real?" That's not at all what he expected. "Well, uh- it's worth a shot? I mean, there's other people in the pack that aren't wolves. Couple metas and shifters, so it might not be an issue." Surely it won't be, not if he's in the know as far as the supernatural goes- and besides, he's presumably her legal guardian. "He might not wanna be around during a full moon, but yeah, otherwise it'll probably be okay."

...Speaking of full moons, now that he's thinking about it... "The fuck do you do with yourself when you gotta turn?" He's mildly surprised her uncle hasn't been eaten up yet.

"Mother?" She repeats under her breath, a hint of laughter to it. It's an utterly ridiculous title. "I'll steer clear of 'er."

"Yeah, for real. We all got normal relatives, right?" Her lips twitch into a little grin. Well, maybe some from the bigger families don't but he'd just admitted he was bitten. "Don't think he'll be too bothered if they don't let 'im. He's used to stickin' to the fringes since he's been doin' it a long while. His lil' brother was like us." Her father, technically. "And he knew my mom and all their friends for ages. He knows to be out of the way when the moon's right."

She rolls her cup between her hands for a few moments. "I've only been, you know, for a few months. And we had a basement back in the States. Rope and stuff helps too." She's insisted on the extremes since activating the curse, terrified she might accidentally hurt him. It had worked so far, but she can't say she doesn't look forward to having someplace safer to go to.

Ghoul just smirks. True, his family is painfully boring and still ignorant of the supernatural, which is exactly how he likes it. It'd be pretty awkward for her to try and hide something like that- it's good that her uncle is familiar and comfortable with the idea. "Still, he's gotta meet us. He might not even like us or want you hangin' out with us," he says with a shrug.

And then, a moment later, "Dunno why he'd think somethin' like that, though. We're pretty fuckin' impressive." Yeeeaahhh right.

Test Drive Meme: April-May 2017

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