there is no place quite like this place if we get it on the go

[herotypical]

the luceti test drive meme

Reserves have just opened and apps are right around the corner. But are you still on the fence about any of your would-be characters? Well -- here is your chance to take them out for a spin!

▣ TAG IN or reply to others with characters you would like to test drive for Luceti.
▣ ONLY add top-level comments for characters who are not yet in the game. You're free to reply to others with Luceti characters (because that's half the fun) but remember that the whole point of this meme is for potential characters.
▣ PLEASE do not post duplicates of characters already in Luceti.
▣ GO AHEAD and give us a brief description of your character in the top-level comment, along with one or two possible ways to run into your test-driven character around town.
▣ YOU MAY use these threads for your first person samples on your app -- just make sure that you link threads of a goodly length (i.e., threads with at least ten comments from your character).

Need a little help getting started? Remember, you needn't post here as though your character is still brand-spankin' new. It'll probably be more fun for all involved if this isn't a simple dress rehearsal for showing up. Here are a few scenario ideas:

o1. The grocery store is out of food. What do you do?
o2. Wing injury! Call for help or stagger your way to one of our fine clinics.
o3. It's a busy evening at Good Spirits, one of Luceti's local bars. Do you dare try the drink specials?
o4. Have a talent for playing music? Try Cloud Nine's open mic night!
o5. Beach party? Snow party? Leaf-raking party? Gardening party? YOU DECIDE.

Okay. So my examples are pretty non-exciting. But they're really just suggestions. I'm POSITIVE you kids can come up with more creative things.

Above all? HAVE FUN. Oh. And don't forget to RESERVE your characters.

Comments

Bring it on!

[makethembelieve]

[Now, here's a familiar face.

Not the man himself, no. They've never met. But he might as well be the dearest friend of her fictional brother for how happy she is to see him his carriage, the sound of his voice, even the look to his face. She has known a hundred men like this. He may never have been to Gibraltar, but his kind has.

And Charlotte is happy to know that there is something close to the world she knows here.

Her soft smile is well-practised. She drops into a polite curtsy and lowers her gaze, every show of a proper society lady. She can't yet be sure how she fits into this place, so she is cautious.]

Sir.

[greenjacketed]

[ with a hard swallow and a stiff bow, he struggles to present a decently composed facade. ]

I...[ he couldn't simply tell her that her method of attire had caught his eye. that wasn't decent talk. not at all. ] A-are you meeting anyone, ma'am?

[makethembelieve]

[To her credit, Charlotte manages not to laugh.

Not that it would have been meanness, but it's wonderful enough to speak to someone who reminds her of her home. To be asked after in this fashion is a treat.

He smile remains.]

No, sir. I'm afraid I'm quite alone in this place.

[greenjacketed]

It's settled, then -- [ he says in a building rush of confidence. she hasn't turned him away, yet. that's a good sign. ] You'll sit with me. A creature such as yourself shouldn't be without company in an establishment such as this one.

[makethembelieve]

You are too kind, sir.

[This is perhaps the safest place of this sort she's ever been alone in, but Charlotte is not one to dissuade acts of chivalry. That will disappear soon enough, once he knows what she is.

For now, she can enjoy herself.]

I am still very new here, and it is a great relief to know there are gentlemen such as yourself present.

[greenjacketed]

[ he laughs -- gravelled and wry but friendly. ] I'm no true gentleman, ma'am. But a soldier can try.

[ sharpe gestures at the seat across from him with an empty hand, though he'll remain standing for as long as she does. ] And it's kind of you to say so, by any means.

[makethembelieve]

More of a gentleman than I've yet to meet since coming here. [She laughs softly, a sweet sound. She'd have been better off on the stage, really.] And more of one than I've seen for some time before I found myself transported.

[She takes the seat across from him, folding her hands in her lap as she looks about.]

I have heard incredible things about this place in the short while I have had to grow accustomed to it.

Oh! [She smiles again.] How rude of me.

It is so strange to make the acquaintance of a gentleman directly that I forgot entirely about introductions. My name is Charlotte Pryce, sir.

[greenjacketed]

Miss Pryce. [ he greets her breathlessly -- very much in the mode of a man who desperately hopes he's correct in applying the title miss to this elegant face. anything else would be tragic. disappointing. truly.

sharpe lowers himself back into his chair. ] Richard. Sharpe. Richard Sharpe. [ his own introduction is garbled and clumsy. as though he forgets the order. as though he forgets himself. ] Major, miss. South Essex.

[ his throat feels tight. he's not often a prattler, but he feels compelled to keep talking. ] Incredible, it is. Been here for months. It ain't getting any less incredible as each one passes.

[makethembelieve]

A major. What fine company I have found myself in!

[She makes no correction to the 'Miss.' It's perhaps inaccurate, but using 'Missus' is bad for business. And is one really still married with a husband dead these last ten years?

It doesn't really matter. It hasn't for some time.]

I was in Gibraltar for many years before I found myself here. I haven't been to England in some years.

[greenjacketed]

Gibraltar! [ he responds with such enthusiasm. ] Never been so far south on the peninsula. Never by land, at least. I've spent far longer with my feet on the Spanish and Portuguese portions.

[ he made a vague wave at the bar, hoping to call the server forth for more drinks. only afterwards did he realize he should have checked with the lady.

ah well.

in the meantime: ] Though, I confess I was last in England the moment they brought me to this place. Still -- it had been my first trip back in...[ christ ] years.

[makethembelieve]

[She beams.]

Oh, how wonderful. I mean, of course, the reasons could not have been truly pleasant, but I should think it would be so wonderful, getting to see Spain and such.

Is it as beautiful there as it sounds? I've heard men describe Spain before, and it always sounds so very breathtaking.

[When the server brings drinks, she delicately takes one without batting an eye, sipping at it.]

[greenjacketed]

Beautiful?

[ it's this word that catches him the most off-guard. a small, preemptively jealous voice in the murkier places of his mind tells him he should be wary of something else: i've heard men describe spain before. however, sharpe's more present faculties are too busy trying to decide whether he dares to label the harsh spanish countryside as beautiful.

but then -- of course -- he thinks of teresa. and almost smiles. ] Breathtaking, Miss Pryce. Galicia would've been awe-inspiring under different circumstances. Salamanca...

[ ah. salamanca. what memories are locked up in that city. good and bad. ] But I'm afraid my job ain't to see the sights.

[makethembelieve]

Ah. Of course. I'm sorry.

[She chuckles faintly, ducking her head.]

I must sound quite foolish. Talking about a country being lovely when you've seen war there.

I have seen [so very much in a few small places] so very little of the world.

[greenjacketed]

...No need to apologize. I can't fault you for not thinking first on battles and seigeworks. [ ... ] Perhaps I envy you your ability to do so.

[ he takes a self-conscious glug ] Just England and the rock, then?

[makethembelieve]

Raised in Liverpool and then my [husband] father thought to go to Gibraltar. It suited me quite well.

A very small world most of the time, I'm afraid. It makes me terribly dull conversation for anyone who's actually seen something, but I do love hearing about what is happening.

[greenjacketed]

[ he knows how this place works. so, carefully: ] I could share some of the news I know, but...it depends on one vital question, miss.

[makethembelieve]

And what question is that, Major?

[greenjacketed]

The year? For you, that is. What's the year?

[makethembelieve]

The year, sir? [She smiles.] I suppose that does matter, doesn't it?

1803, sir. War has come again.

[greenjacketed]

Oh-three. Lessee, now.

[ he makes a show of tipping back on his chair. tabulating the years. but he finds himself mildly surprised at his conclusion. ] Christ. In 1803, I were still in India.

[makethembelieve]

India? [She leans forward at the table, smiling.] That sounds absolutely wonderful, sir.

[greenjacketed]

It weren't so bad. Vicious hot, you see. But a soldier could do well there.

[makethembelieve]

That is encouraging to hear, certainly. A man ought to be where he can do well for himself.

[greenjacketed]

You truly believe so?

[ ... ] Ah, well. I left that country soon after. For it was back to England with me and a post with the 95th Rifles. England might not be so kind to soldier as India was, but the greenjackets rarely did me wrong.

[makethembelieve]

That, sir, I am glad to hear.

Did you stay long in England?