May/June Test Drive Meme

[sphererpmod]

May/June Test Drive Meme

All you need is love.

So the Sphere heard that some of you guys are lonely. It doesn’t want you to be lonely so it has decided that even though it’s not really February the people within its confines and connected to them deserve to have a sort of Valentine’s Day anyway. Celebrating love (all sorts of love, definitely not merely the romantic sort) is on display. Think pink and red and white and loads of hearts and rainbows.

all you need is some kind of love.

In the middle of the merchant dome, some of the stalls pushed aside a large pink and white stripped tent is set up. Inside is a series of small tables, each set up with numbers and two seats each. When people go in and register to receive the number, they are given three initial options. Option one is romantic dating with further subcategories based on gender preferences (if any) and orientation. The second option is for friendship. The Sphere wants you to make friends! A third option only open to the adults within the Sphere is for hooking up and no strings attached sex. That is also sectioned by orientation and preferences.

Each option you pick allows people to talk for five minutes before people move onto the next person. At each station is the option for ice breaker cards. Think would you rather or describe your perfect date (date date or a friendship date. Whichever you’re working on.) Should players wish it, there are various unnamed NPCs around for people to chat up, hook up with or whatever. Go a little bit nuts with it.

it's all for a good cause

John put a post up that calls for the option to sign up for (or to be signed up by someone else) for a date that’s auctioned off. She somehow managed to convince Max to host said auction (but don’t ask how. You don’t want to know what she had on him) so he is your MC for the night.

The gala takes place in the same tent as the speed dating, but it’s been made over to look rather gala like. There’s fairy lights and silk on the tables and an open bar with circulating free champagne. And everything else of course. As always with the sphere there’s food in abundance, things that typically one might think of in a romantic context: strawberries and oysters and chocolate and finger foods. It’s that sort of party. None of it has any effect though. Too many people imbibing for that.

There’s a small band playing for people who are interested in dancing, and various NPCs are currently using it. It’s a good party, lively and inviting.

i get by with a little help from my friends.

So, you know how the people within the Sphere tend to force festivals on you? Well, a big part of those is always food and gifts. These particular foods and gifts tend to come in the form of small valentine’s cakes or candy, or flowers for those not inclined for food. The flowers are yellow however, because this isn’t about love. This is about friendship. There’s signs for free hugs, and random people have been hired to go about telling folks that so and so is their friend. Even if they’re not. But they’ll still follow you down the street and spout things like poetry and cheers in the honor of epic friendships. Even if they’re not really all that epic--the friendships or the poetry.

let's go to the movies, let's go see the stars

Some people may remember a few months ago when Alex badgered Max into letting them have an open area movie screening. This time she didn’t need to do it! In the middle of the rec dome, a large screen has been set up, and there’s space for people to have blankets or chairs from home set up in front of the screen. Various vendors have set up carts or stalls here and there, selling the sort of foods that one would expect at the movies (popcorn, homemade candies, soda, juice, wine and beer, nachos and that sort of thing) along with some that one may not expect: (full curry dinners, burgers, basically a bit like a food truck festival. If you can imagine it it’s there.)

Before the movie, there’s cartoons running, some familiar, and some not, and this is an event that people have seemed to have taken to well. Children run around here taken with the idea for the movie, and it’s a fun, summery festive sort of atmosphere with a community vibe, despite the wine and beer for sale.

we're heckling! it's good to be heckling again!

The movie is a buddy movie double feature, and both of them are rated R, but there’s no one checking IDs so go nuts. The movies that are being shown are Hot Fuzz and The Heat because that’s just what buddy comedies happen to be. But movies aren’t to everyone’s taste and there are some people who have taken this to go full on commentary about them. Do you join in or shush them? It’s entirely up to you!

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Jeyne Westerling • Game of Thrones / ASOIAF

[prumia]

A • i get by with a little help from my friends.

A brunette stands awkwardly on the side of the street, holding an assortment of yellow flowers in her hands. She's tried to move away from her spot for several minutes now, but to no avail; every so often a random passerby would stop to give her something, usually offering her some form of cake or candy, but she's not really had any appetite since she's arrived. Flowers seem to cheer her up a little, though, and somehow all these strangers — claiming to be friends! — have caught on and now she just has so many.

"Thank you," Jeyne says to everyone with an incline of her head. She's timid, polite. But very sad.

B • let's go to the movies, let's go see the stars.

Jeyne's found a spot out back to settle with her blanket, just watching the people going about their businesses. She's set aside her recently acquired bouquet of flowers, though a few remain on her lap and she seems to be absentmindedly stringing them together into some sort of crown.

A child with red hair runs right past where she's seated, laughing as he's chased by two other, younger children, and suddenly her expression crumples, one hand sliding to her belly as she stubbornly blinks back tears. Then she purses her lips into a thin but determined line and forces herself to look up at the screen instead. She doesn't really get what she's seeing there, but it's not like she's really looking, anyway.

C • wildcard.

[ hit me with anything or PP me at notanybunny for plotting! jeyne is jeyne but she follows talisa's storyline in terms of being at the red wedding and pregnant then because angst lol. ]

A

[kingnamedstark]

He has been seeing her so often in his nightmares and in the shadows at night that it isn't a shock at first to see her standing in the street. His gut seems to know before he does, sinking and twisting painfully as everything sinks in. His legs want to give out, but his feet overrule the decision, moving in her direction as, what seems like a sick joke, becomes more real before his eyes.

He stops short of reaching her side, losing the momentum as everything came back to him quickly. The Red Wedding, losing her, the pain and guilt that twisted in his heart like a knife. Because of him, she died, because of him, they lost their child. Facing her was like facing the Old Gods, waiting for their judgement and punishment. He wouldn't fault her for being angry at him, hurt as well at what he'd become in his grief.

"Jeyne?" Somehow he found the breath to speak that blessed name, struggling to keep himself composed.

[prumia]

She feels rather than sees him first — as impossible and strange as it might sound — coming out of the shadows of the street and walking towards her. She can sense her legs wanting to give out, too, but she wills herself to be strong, and her hands tighten around the stems of the flowers she'd been given. She doesn't even realize a few of them have thorns.

If the Red Wedding had been their only obstacle, she wouldn't have hesitated at the sight of him, despite the pain and the grief of losing their child, of losing him; of course he was lost, they'd all been lost, she lay there dying with the realization that they had been completely, utterly betrayed. But the other, smaller betrayals are so much harder for her to process. So she just stands there, staring back at him even as he calls her name and looking like she wants to bolt.

She manages to hold her ground for a moment longer, at least, and with an incline of her head, she greets him, "Your Grace."

[kingnamedstark]

It's formal in a way that sets off warning bells. They hadn't been married for long, but he knew her well enough to understand her mood. She never spoke to him as king first, never. He can only assume that her coldness is in response to what happened in the Twins, the anguish, the pain and all of it stemming from his foolishness and trust in men that betrayed them.

He doesn't step closer, now afraid that she will bolt and once she turned a corner, she would be gone for good. Better that she be alive and angry with him than the specter he had seen so often in the night. The last image of her as she bled to death on the floor. "When did you arrive?" And was she truly here? Could he let himself believe it?

The longer though she stands apart from him, the more worry gnaws at him. "You're angry with me?"

[prumia]

"Not long," she answers, hanging her head. She looks at the flowers in her hands; how did she end up with so many? she feels the same about her arrival, about their separation, about what happened at Lord Edmure's wedding, about that incident in the tavern. How long has it been? How did she get here? Where was she?

It's only when he asks if she's angry that she peers back up at him, his worry echoed on her own features. She never did like seeing him upset. She'd promised to be patient and understanding and kind and true, and to be a good wife to him. "I..." She falters, because is it even anger she feels? She doesn't know. There's so much she doesn't know. She's not even sure she knows him anymore.

She looks away, unable to meet his eyes. But she knows they're blue, and it will break her heart even more if she lets herself drown in them again. "The Mother has been merciful and kind." She glances at his face, then away again. "I am glad to see that you are... well."

[kingnamedstark]

She was the epitome of kindness and gentleness. It was what he'd been imagining during the long nights when sleep would not come and drink had not yet helped him fall into the void of darkness. He wanted her arms, her soft presence and that smell that had drawn him in at the height of his grief. He had given in that night, but it was one that he treasured and held to, even at the moment of death.

She didn't look at him, she still kept at a distance, less formal but still not his wife. "Do I look it?" He highly doubted it. He never slept, not without drink and not without a companion who staved off the nightmares. Sansa had taken him to task, and while he had tried to do better for her, he hadn't exactly recovered. "You...how are you? Are your..." were her injuries still there? He couldn't ask and he feared looking.

He finally reached for, touching her arm as his eyes welled with tears. He was choking with grief. "Do you blame me?" He feared her answer, trembled at the possibility but he couldn't keep from asking.

[prumia]

She doesn't answer him, still doesn't look at him — until he touches her. And in that moment everything fades away and nothing else matters, for how could she possibly ignore the tears in his eyes and the grief that's weighing so heavily on him just like his crown? Then for him to ask, of all things, if she blamed him—

She moves her flowers to one hand and reaches up to run her fingers gently through his hair; is it just her, or is it longer and more unkempt than she remembers? She smooths the curls the best she can before she cups the side of his face, her thumb brushing across his cheek. "You look like you have not been taking care of yourself," she chides, but it's gentle. She's always gentle with him. Even if she could feel her heart twisting from what she'd discovered earlier today. But she'd promised his lady mother that she would be patient and understanding, and she'd promised their gods that she would be a good and true wife. She hasn't forgotten. "But you are alive, and for that I am grateful."

She could feel her own eyes stinging with tears, but she fights to hold her ground yet again. In this moment, at least, it is she that he needs. "None of it was your fault." Except perhaps putting her honor over his and marrying her. Has he finally realized the mistake he's made? "Do not blame yourself, Robb. For I do not."

[kingnamedstark]

That gentle chiding is so in character for her. He had heard so many different arguments and reprimands from Sansa, but it was the soft worries of Jeyne that shook him. He hadn't wanted her to see him like this or even have a glimpse at how far he'd fallen in his despair, the sort of man that he had become. Anything to help protect his mind at night, to keep out the shadows, the guilt and the memories. He could imagine the toll it had taken on him and how he looked now. "Are you?" He stared at her, the tears falling slowly, as surely and freely as when his father died. "I want to believe it."

She said it wasn't his fault, but it was in the end. He didn't regret the woman he married or that choice, but he knew it was foolish to trust Roose Bolton as much as Theon. One betrayal after another lead to the utter destruction of his army and his family. First the King who lost the North and then the King who lost his head. "I've needed you, Jeyne. I prayed..." what few prayers he could, though he feared seeing her as much as he feared seeing her disappointment.

His arms wrap around her, pulling her close to him as he surrendered to the emotions. He didn't think of how he managed to survive since his arrival here or the choices he made, his thoughts were solely on her and the life they had before all of this. "I didn't think I would see you again."

[prumia]

Is she? Alive? "I did not think I was," she admits quietly after a moment. She remembers waking up and finding herself alone, without any of the injuries she'd thought she sustained. She would've shrugged it off as some terrible dream — until she realized she was holding the crown he'd made for her and that she couldn't feel anything in her belly, and she'd cried and howled like a wolf as people she didn't know tried to explain things to her. Until they finally left her alone. She's not sure how long she just... lay there.

But now he's crying, and it hurts her more than anything. She wipes away his tears, still gentle and kind and understanding. Her feelings can wait. Her pain can wait. He needs her. "I'm here, Robb," she murmurs into his shoulder as they embrace, clutching the front of his shirt. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner..." As if she had any say in the matter.

C, before Robb.

[jondrette]

It seemed that one of the more popular first stops for people upon their arrival here was the local tavern, Le Gavroche. A perfectly weird blend of Westerosi and French, there's always a good drink to be had, some food, and a skeletal bartender wearing her own Westerosi vestiments.

But it's clear from the way she speaks she's from somewhere else entirely, the way her face seems to split in two as she laughs at a patron and hands him a shot. "Yes- The Grey Wind, drink up!" She tells him, before giving him a saucy wink and waltzing down toward where a new woman had come to sit.

"Ah! Bonjour, welcome to Le Gavroche- what is it that I can get for you? It's only me tonight I must apologize, my boyfriend is not here to help." She'd started using that word more and more, loving the modern language, and the implication. Robb was off with his siblings doing something, leaving Eponine to run her bar.

"We have much to drink- beers and ales and mead and wines, cocktails, and there is food as well, if you hunger!" She smiles, having no idea just who she is speaking to.

operation how do we make robb's life even more miserable

[prumia]

It's purely out of coincidence that Jeyne stumbles into the Le Gavroche — the door's wide open just as she's passing by, and the words Grey Wind bring her to a screeching halt. Surely that couldn't be what she thinks it might mean? All the same, her heart begins to race at the possibility, and she brings herself inside, even though it's a place she would normally avoid.

She sits, fretful, and it's almost in a daze that she glances up at Eponine. It takes her a moment before she finally answers, "If I may have some wine, please." She doesn't have an appetite for much these days, but maybe a drink can soothe her nerves a little.

[jondrette]

"Of course, madame!" Eponine says with a curtsey. It's a messy curtsey, as much of what she does is. "Would you like red or white? Oh! And then there is a pink wine, too. Perhaps you would like that?"

She waits for an answer and finally looks over Jeyne's clothing. It's the familiar, similar to what she had seen Robb's sister wearing, and what she herself had been given. She was told she'd looked like a fine lady, and that alone was enough reason for Eponine to wear them as often as she can.

"I certainly like the pink."

[prumia]

It's endearing, in a way, the messy curtsying, and it brings a small smile to Jeyne's lips at least. "Pink sounds lovely." She's never had pink wine. Never even heard of it until now.

She folds her hands on her lap and gives Eponine her thanks, brown eyes scanning the tavern for... well, she's not sure what she's looking for, what she's hoping to see. But that had been what she'd heard, hadn't it? Grey Wind?

[jondrette]

"then you will have pink!" Eponine makes quick of work of pouring the woman a glass. She slides it across the bar, watching her as she looks about.

"Are you looking for something, madame? Perhaps I can help- it is my tavern."

[prumia]

Well what do you know, it really is pink. Jeyne takes a cautious sip, but it's sweet on her tongue and she drinks a little more. She's thirstier than she's realized.

"Aye, I was..." She hesitates, because she doesn't quite understand the circumstances she's in and where she really is. So she settles for what she feels is a safe enough question, not wanting to throw names around: "Have you perhaps sighted a wolf around here? With grey fur and yellow eyes...?"

[jondrette]

“A wolf?- oh I have seen one here with white fur and eyes red as blood. Ghost, he is called. But my boyfriend, he once had a wolf, and himself is one. As much as I am the daughter of one.” she smiles wolfishly.

“He had one, as well but Grey Wind has yet to arrive.”

[prumia]

Jeyne blinks when Ghost is mentioned, because while she's never seen the direwolf for herself, she's heard the stories — white fur, eyes red as blood, eerily silent.

Then she nearly drops her cup at the girl's casual mention of Grey Wind. So she hadn't misheard? But how... even if it weren't an uncommon name, for it to have been mentioned in the same conversation? "How..." She sets her drink down, and since her hands tremble so she pulls them back to her lap, clasping them together. "How do you know that name?" Mother have mercy, could Robb be here?

A

[king_inthenorth]

Jon doesn't notice her at first. He'd never met her, so to him she's just another face in the crowd. A face he hasn't seen before, to be sure, with an undeniable sadness about her. But it's not until his second or third time scanning the crowd that his gaze lingers at all.

He doesn't know why, but now that he's noticed her, he feels compelled to talk to her, to make sure she's okay. She seems overwhelmed, and he knows what that's like, too.

He might not know who she is, but there are hints as to his identity. The Westerosi clothing with the embroidered direwolf sigil, the real live direwolf padding along at his side, and finally his similarity in appearance to Robb. And when he speaks, the undeniable Northern accent.

"Is everything alright?"

after Robb maybe?

[prumia]

She's startled by his approach, as though she's forgotten that she's still standing out there on the street, and she hastily wipes at her eyes with the back of one hand. "My Lord, I—" And then she falters at the sight of the direwolf sigil, her gaze lingering on it because of course she knows it, before it moves to the large white wolf at his side.

She lets out a shaky breath as her eyes lift back up to his face, and the words leave her even before she can even think to say them. "You must be Jon."

[king_inthenorth]

He's the surprised one now, at being recognized by someone he doesn't know. It happens often enough in Westeros, what with his name being Snow, and looking just like Ned, and the common knowledge of Ned Stark's bastard son. All he can figure is that she much be from Westeros, but that doesn't help him know who she is.

"I am Jon. I'm afraid I don't know who you are though."

[prumia]

It hadn't been that hard to figure out, really, considering all that Robb's told her about his family, and the fact that she had seen Robb earlier. Plus the direwolf is impossible to miss. She does, however, still duck her head shyly, thinking that it might have been a little too forward of her anyway.

"Apologies, my Lord. But Robb has spoken much of you..." Brown eyes peer up into Jon's grey ones, then at the white wolf by his side. "... and Ghost. My name is Jeyne. I'm his... wife..." She trails off, however, her hesitation and uncertainty clear, biting her lip before she corrects softly, "Was." She's not sure what to call them anymore. She'd died, hadn't she? And he has found another in this place?

[king_inthenorth]

"Jeyne!" His face immediately breaks into a smile at meeting a member of his extended family. Especially one that he knows means so much to Robb. "Robb's mentioned you. Have you just arrived?"

[prumia]

It's hard not to smile at the way Jon's face lights up, especially since Robb has said several times how broody and serious he usually was, although it doesn't stay on her lips for long. Robb's mentioned you. Merely mentioned, of course. In his grief? Who's to say?

"Aye. It has been..." She looks around uneasily. "So strange." Between dying and waking up in a foreign place and having to forcibly come to terms with what she's lost, and then that episode in the tavern and meeting Robb here... "I am rather overwhelmed, and I do not know what to do or where to go. But it is a pleasure to meet you at last, Jon."

[king_inthenorth]

Robb isn't wrong about that. There are some things that bring a smile to his face though, and it's been happening more often now that he's here in this place, away from the cares of Westeros.

"You should have been assigned a place to live. I can help you find it, if you'd like to go there. Or...have you seen Robb yet, or met Sansa?"

Sansa would be better at taking care of Jeyne than he would, he's sure/

[prumia]

"Aye, I have. I just... needed some air." She looks like she needs more than air, not that she seems to know what she wants or needs at all. Overwhelmed had been a good way to describe her.

"I have not met Sansa. I would love to meet her sometime, if it please her." Is it telling that she'd deliberately skipped Robb, despite Jon mentioning him first? Only after that does she say, "Robb and I have spoken." Her expression closes up, and it's oddly reminiscent of the way Catelyn's does whenever the subject of Ned's bastard comes up. "But I asked for his leave to take a walk. This place is... intriguing." Lies, lies, and more lies.