cityofsin_ooc | 🚕 TEST DRIVE 017

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!test drive

🚕 TEST DRIVE 017

Test Drive Meme

Considering apping to the City of Sin, but unsure of who to bring or if they'll fit? Feel free to give the setting a test drive here! These are a perfect way of getting your playing sample done for the application.

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Rules | FAQ | Taken Characters | Reserves | Applications

→ Comment with the character you'd like to test drive in the setting, with name and canon in the subject line
→ Choose a scenario or create your own!
→ Tag around!

Possible Scenarios
Please note that all characters will initially arrive in their assigned housing; they are free to explore the City to their heart's content after that!

01. A New Arrival: Hello, New Person! You seem to have found yourself on a sidewalk in the City of Sin with nothing but the clothes on your back and a stomach churning feeling of being displaced. Thankfully, the streets are full of people - Watch out that you don't get mugged!

02. Demonic Presences: You were just minding your own business, weren't you? But that's always when bad things seem to happen, and the City of Sin isn't really that friendly. Whatever bar or street you're hanging out in suddenly go dim, filling the area with an unnerving feeling as the shadows on the walls jump out into reality. We suggest you phone a friend for help, or maybe try running?

03. Party Hard: You've been invited to a massive, elegant party in the Tower District that spills out its doors in welcome. Obviously, this whole thing is weird and you don't know who your hosts are, but maybe you can get some free drinks and food out of it! This place might not be so bad.

04. Prominence: The City of Sin influences its population on a weekly basis. Too bad you came right smack dab in the middle of a heavy Prominence. Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, or Pride: choose your sin and be wicked.

05. Trouble: Not everyone is sunshine and roses here. Some people are violent and cruel, raised in the sludge of a sinful city. And they like to pick on people they think can't fight back. Are you that person? Or are you the Hero who can't stand to watch? Worse yet, could you be the person doing the instigating? Villain.

06. Carnival: The City has carnivals or festivals now and then; you're lucky to catch one! With its open booths filled with cork gun games and funnel cakes, how can someone not have any fun! Go win your darling a stuffed animal, or meet someone new on the spinning cup ride. You might even see someone you know being talked into sitting in the Dunk Tank.

07. Network: There's a network device in your pocket - or at least a familiar object that seems to work in mysterious ways. Perhaps you can take to that and ask for a bit of help? Or maybe you'd prefer to have a little fun with all of this. Surely someone will reply.

08. Wild Card:Choose your own adventure in the game's setting!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yes," she agreed. "They are."

Diana admired human beings greatly. She thought they were better than any other creature. Better than Cainites. Of course, that wasn't hard.

And yes, she was quite jealous of them.

But she had never really...wanted to go back. To be one again. Even if it meant wonderful things like being able to have children, or whatever. She'd been a crap human being and she knew it. She was better this way.

"I'm...Cainite, dude."

A blank look meets this statement.

"I'm sorry, you're a what?" he says. What the bloody hell was a Cainite?

Hoo boy.

Diana relaxed a little bit, the tension in her shoulders oozing away. Whatever else this guy was. Human. Angel. Demon. Something else... He wasn't...that was to say, he didn't hold the deed to her soul. Such that it was.

"A vampire," she said calmly, leaning over to walk her fingers along the treble notes of the keyboard. "A Malkavian, to be specific."

Really, humans had such the oddest ideas sometimes. Why on earth would he want anyone's souls? What did they even think he was going to do with them? Start a collection?

And at Diana's pronouncement, Lucifer laughs, an ungainly snort. "A vampire," he says, with the kind of grin that suggests that he doesn't believe her at all. Who says the Devil couldn't be guilty of a little hypocrisy? "Looking to take a bite out of my neck, are you?"

"No," she replied.

She started to play a treble section of Bach, wrong-handed and backwards. Not to be contrary, but out of necessity, since she was at an awkward angle to the keyboard. Now that she wasn't so afraid of this stranger, she couldn't see any harm in showing off just a little bit.

It had been a long time since she'd met another pianist of her caliber.

Or close to it.

"I don't drink live. You must be very new here, or you'd know that." She frowned a little, watching her hand. "Technically, I guess, I'm the vampire Prince of the City. Just because I'm the oldest. But there really aren't enough of us here for that to matter. Anyway, I hate politics."

Showing off pays off; there's a slight look of surprise, and touch of the impressed. "So she can play," Lucifer says, before shifting off the stool to allow her to sit properly. "Must be my turn to lounge attractively on the piano." And then he does just that; long limbs leaning off the side of the piano, one elbow propping him up as he looks at Diana with that ever present smile.

"Pity," he adds then. A bite out of his neck from an attractive woman who thinks she's a vampire sounds like great fun, in his opinion. "But you're not wrong. I am new around here."

Diana slipped into the seat effortlessly, without missing a note. She switched hands and started to play the bass with her left. For someone who looked as delicate as a bird, she had a knack for using her fingers in ways that made them look like they were going to snap. But, of course, they didn't. She played up and down the keyboard, like she was just going for a leisurely stroll. It came to her naturally.

God. She missed this.

For a self-indulgent moment she was silent. But then she glanced up at the stranger--maybe she would call him 'Lucy'--and gave him an absent smile. "You'd know me if you'd been around awhile," she said. "I run a couple of programs at the library. And last month, I hosted a concert in the park."

She'd finished her Bach. Without really thinking about it, she switched over to Hey Jude.

Well, she wouldn't be the first person to call him 'Luci'. His brother calls him that all the time.

"So a lady of reputation and talent," he says, still leaning on the piano. "Impressive." And he listens to her play attentively enough, nodding along and taking note of particularly impressive sections of the piece. He's taken a shine to a lot of the new modern musical styles, but he still likes the classics. He still remembers when they were new. He'd had plenty of fun with a few composers.

Then she switches to Hey Jude, and he laughs, appreciative. "Range too, I see," he says, before starting to sing along. He's got a decent voice, and the confidence of a performer.

Oh, he was a natural. No question. No McCartney, but then again, there could be only one. Diana smiled and played along, throwing in a few fancy trills to harmonize with his voice, where she saw fit.

She cut things a little short at the na-na-na-nas.

God, that was the thing, back in thee day. If you were stuck dancing with a guy you didn't like to Hey Jude, you were in for a world of hurt. Twenty nine na-na-na-nas. It could feel like an eternity.

When the song faded out, she nodded appreciatively. "One of the most beautiful pieces of music in the last century. And not a bad voice to go with it, dude."

"Why thank you," Lucifer says, with a smug expression that suggests that the compliment was pretty much what he was expecting. He did have a nice voice, of course, along with a nice everything else, thank you for noticing. "Now aren't you glad to decided to give in to your desires? Just think, you could still be there, sitting at the piano and not playing anything properly."

Really, it had been almost sad, seeing her hovering there and not actually playing. Clearly it was a good thing Lucifer was there, to give her a little push.

"Is that what this is about?" she asked, glancing up at him. "You were tempting me. Like the Devil."

He needn't have bothered. If he were the Devil, he'd know that he already owned her.

It was funny. She was Oprah's biggest donor. She went out of her way to respect the sanctity of life. She'd allowed herself to be shot in the face twice, rather than actually harm another living soul.

And she was still damned.

She knew it.

"I told you, I am the Devil," he says, rolling his eyes. "And of course I gave you a little temptation. You were sitting there denying yourself, out of some misplaced and misguided belief that a piano, this piano, shouldn't be played. You needed a little temptation. I helped you get what you want. Really you should be thanking me."

"Merci," she said, with a beautiful accent.

And an impossible-to-ignore air of incredulity. It wasn't exactly Diana's style. It sat on her like an ill-fitting shirt. But she couldn't help it. She simply couldn't believe that he was the Devil.

For so many confusing and uncomfortable reasons.

One of which, of course, was Sam.

Not that she would own to it. She hated even thinking about him, because it left her feeling so alone.

She started to play You Give Love A Bad Name. "Well, if you are the Devil, I like this vessel more than the last one."

"See? That wasn't too hard, was it? And you're welcome," he says, just a little smug. Nice to know that someone appreciates his efforts.

Even if she didn't believe him and kept coming out with the oddest comments.

"And I don't have a vessel. Really, I don't where you humans keep getting this idea that I go around possessing people. Honestly."

"Again with the 'humans' thing," Diana said. Not that she was offended. Quite the contrary. She thought of it as the highest compliment someone could pay her. To be human. To be ephemeral. Capable of change. Of creation. A bright and shining beacon of hope.

But no. She was just your typical Cainite.

"I'm not sure why you, of all people, don't believe me about being a vampire. What do you need to see? Fangs?"

That felt...well. Kind of human, actually.

"Well seeing is believing, of course. It's why you still don't think I'm the Devil, despite the fact that I've told you that I am. Repeatedly." And why Chloe didn't believe him either. He'd been intending to prove it to her - he'd promised her - but then those plans had all been rather horribly waylaid. First by the desert, then by coming here. It was beginning to vex him.

"But if you've got a pair of fangs you'd like to share, by all means - bring them out! I do like a woman who's not afraid to use a little teeth," he says, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. But he did have a point. Seeing was often believing. What bothered her, though, was that the Devil--in her book--really ought to believe without something as basic as seeing. With...magic. Or something.

Well. Whatever.

After wrapping up the song, she turned to look at him, her fingers still resting on the keyboard. And she let the Beast come out.

It wasn't like with vampires in the movies or on TV. There weren't black veins. Her eyes didn't turn red. No lumps or bumps or other alterations. The fact of the matter was that nothing changed about her physically, except that her fangs slid out of her gums. No. The change to her was more metaphysical. Instead of being a fluffy, white kitten, it was as if a flashing neon sign had appeared all around her, screaming the word 'PREDATOR' over and over and over again. An aura, if you believed in such things.

"Well hello," Lucifer says, leaning forward with complete and utter fascination to peer at those fangs. "Would you look at that. You are a vampire. Or at the very least, someone with a very unique dental plan."

He doesn't appear to be at all put off by that screaming aura. In fact, if anything it draws him in, and reminds him so very much of his favourite demon.

"Oh, how I wish you and Maze could meet," he breathes. It would make for the most magnificent meeting of terrifying predator women. It would be adorable.

A blink and it was all gone. The fangs. The aura. The danger. Diana was just Diana again. A pretty girl with lavender eyes and a few too many love beads.

His wasn't the reaction she was used to getting. But that was kind of okay. Because Diana didn't like people being afraid of her. That just wasn't the person she chose to be, if she could help it. Oh, sure, sometimes she'd scare away the random stranger, to keep them out of the line of fire. But this was different.

Everything in the City was always different.

"I'm not super popular with other vampires," she said, neatly closing the lid over the keyboard.

Oh, she's put them away. Lucifer looks almost disappointed.

"Other vampires? Are there many of you?" he asks. Apparently, having been given proof, he's accepted her claims without any further arguments or disbelief. Although he is admittedly still wondering where on Earth she's come from. Vampires didn't exactly seem his Father's style, except as another one of his punishments. But surely Lucifer would have heard about it, if He was going about dooming humans to vampiric life...

"Not in the City, no," she said, rising from the piano bench. "Only a handful of us, really. But back home there are tons of Cainites. Especially in LA." The irony wasn't lost on her. A world of sunshine, filled with creatures cursed not to live in it. Sometimes, she wondered if LA attracted so many vampires because it was about as far away as you could get from Enoch.

And Eden. If you believed in such things. Which, of course, Diana did.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, nipping down on her lower lip. Her two favorite nervous ticks in one go. "Probably just as well that your friend isn't here."

"Really," he says, and now that incredulity is creeping back into his expression again. "Because I've lived in LA for the past six years, and I've never met any." And he would have noticed something like that by now, he's sure.

"And whyever not? Maze would love to meet you." For what was likely to be a highly violent encounter, but well. That was the fun of it.

He was arrogant, wasn't he? Then again, what did she expect from the Devil? Diana started to glide away from the piano. "It's called 'The Masquerade,'" she said, looking back over her shoulder. "You're not supposed to meet us."

And if he did? He wasn't supposed to know.

"Welcome to the City of Sin. All the rules are on hiatus."

He looks at her, eyes narrowed. They thought they could hide from him, did they? Well. He'd have to deal with that once he got back.

"And my siblings," he says. "Do you hide from them as well?" Because it's rather hard to believe that none of them would have noticed an entire community of immortal blood-sucking humans, really.

"And - well. As much as a City of Sin is right up my alley, I can't say I'm keen to stay too long," he says, following along behind her. "I have business I need to get back to in LA."

Edited 2019-01-14 01:50 (UTC)

Who among them didn't? He was really fresh off the boat, so to speak. And Diana wasn't equipped to explain things. Especially not to someone so...irritating.

Yes. He was irritating. And Diana didn't irritate easily. On the contrary. She soothed some of the most brutal immortal egos there were.

So why was he getting under her skin?

It was probably her own fault. So she took a deep, centering breath. And tried to be pleasant. "I'm afraid it's not so easy to leave the City," she said. "People try. It's just...impossible. Until the City is done with you."

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