So you wanna be a Vampire Representative? OTA

[emotioneater]

A. What Do Vampires Do Best?

So, Cooper had won the seat on the Night Council. He had to admit that he wasn't sure that he was going to win the election. The competition had been fierce. But apparently the vampires of London had their heads screwed on straight. When he found out the news, he immediately let out a whoop and holler. Then he remembered that he was now a representative and now had to act with more decorum. He'd accepted the position gratefully.

So how to celebrate? Well, there was the traditional vampire method. He was throwing a party in his apartment, which let's face it, was spacious enough for about three parties going on at once. Everyone was invited. Yes, everyone, even those from factions the Nest was in conflict with, or those people that Cooper didn't particularly personally care for. He wanted it to be known he wasn't just exclusively about vampires and was willing to work with other supernatural types for the greater good. It was as good a time as any to approach with any issues other vampires may have wanted him to approach the Council about.

While he is his usual cheerful self as he goes around greeting everyone, those who know Cooper well will notice that he seems a bit distracted. Lately, he's been picking up on the emotions of those around him. It's not entirely a surprise. These things sometimes happen to vampires when they sire a certain number of vampires, or in Cooper's case, reach a certain age. However, suddenly developing empathic powers can be hard to adjust to. Knowing when everyone's lying, feeling sad, or suddenly horny is not the best thing in the world.

B. With Great Power...

Despite his usual irreverent personality, Cooper is taking his duties seriously. Now they're double-fold thanks to being both a Marquess and the Representative. Only one thing to do when he's got a list of vampires who all want to talk to him about their grievances. Out comes the motorcycle and off into London he goes. First up was the lawyer who specialized in keeping vampires out of trouble. Getting some of them to obey the laws of London and actually serve their sentences when they were caught by mortal police was a pain. Occasionally, calling in for back-up in the form of the Marquess was required.

He went along his day, checking in on one of his favorite blood donors to make sure she wasn't being taken advantage of by the older vampires in the nest. After talking to Shady Heavens, the infamous drag queen and her tally of grievances that ran sky high, Cooper decided he needed a break. Stopping at a fish 'n chips place, he was perched on his motorcycle, gnawing away at his lunch, and occasionally drinking from a flask of blood at his hip. He was bracing himself against the brushes of emotions he kept feeling from different passerby. Oh, he would be so glad when he got this new gift under control.

C. Wildcard!

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Comments

A

[stauncherhearted]

When Cooper's name had been announced, Nancy wasted no time in wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, kissing him as her back-foot popped. She was so proud of him for this- he deserved it, and he was right- victory tasted sweeter knowing that they were together.

So she's spent the night on Cooper's arm, occasionally wandering around the party to say hello to her friends, and what-have-yous. She'd been drinking liberally all afternoon, as was customary, and now with so many rounds of shots in Cooper's honor, she was drunk. Drunk, but that didn't mean she couldn't tell when something was up with her boyfriend.

Waiting for an opportune moment, she slid in and took a hold of his arm, bringing him over to a relatively quiet corner of the flat. "You alright, love?" She asked him softly. "You look... not here. And you should be here- it's your party!"

[emotioneater]

Cooper allowed Nancy her indulgences. This was a private party and she could do what she liked. But he made a mental note to watch her at any public functions from now on. She'd made him aware that a vampire in his position would be watched more carefully than anyone else. He was still madly in love with her, of course, but it didn't hurt to be aware.

When she led him over to a quiet corner, he put a gentle smile on his face. "It's nothing." He was going to try and minimize his new powers, even though they would change the way he perceived people. "In addition to everythin' else going on, I just seem t'have developed a new power. Happens occasionally to vampires y'know 'n I am gettin' up there. Bully for me."

[stauncherhearted]

He played it off like it's nothing, but Nancy was on that immediately. She put her hand on his arm. "What? Cooper-! and you didn't tell me?"

They were supposed to be open and honest with each other, right? And if he got new powers and they were distracting him, she wanted to know. Her brow furrowed, her lips pursed slightly.

"What- what is it? What can I do to help you?"

[emotioneater]

Cooper held up his hands and shrugged. "Hey, in my defense, I only figured out what was going on about a week ago." The election had been going on and there had been bigger things for the vampire to worry about than the increasingly big headache he found himself with.

"I've been sensing the emotions of people when they're in close distance t'me. At first I was just pickin' up on your emotions, 'n since we're so close, I just thought it was me just naturally doing it. It was only when I started finding out things from people I had no way of knowin' that it all fell into place." Boy, that had been a load of fun when he visited Cesare, the paranoia dripping off of him in a steady stream.

He took up one of her hands and gently squeezed it. "Just stay by me. You can be my anchor." His smile showed off his canine teeth. "Still, pretty fortunate for a politician t'know when everyone else is being honest with him, huh?"

C - Knocking on Your Door

[knowntohisfriends]

He's heard, of course he's heard, an' it's sent him back round to the flat, fist hammering on the door. He reckons he's timed it right, that Nancy shouldn't be in, but it's got to be done.

[emotioneater]

Cooper answers the door, looking less than impressive as the Representative for the Nest as he wears a pair of fluffy seal slippers. He had been looking forward to a simple, quiet night in while Nancy was off working. Dodger gets a raised eyebrow. "Well, if it isn't the little slip-gibbet. What can I do you for?"

[knowntohisfriends]

After a brief moment of looking confused - what the hell was a slip-gibbet? - the Dodger glares up at Cooper.

"Heard there's congrats to be spread around. Only ain't the mood for spreadin' 'em. Nance thinks she's a threat to yer career."

A

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline was very excited for the party since A) she was happy Cooper had won and B) it was an event that she didn't have any hand in planning, so if things went wrong, it wouldn't bother her! Well ... it might not bother her, at any rate.

She spotted Cooper right away and made her way through the crowd to him. "Congratulations," she said with a wide smile.

[emotioneater]

Cooper was dressed down for the occasion, emphasizing his own casual way of doing things instead of the usual pomp of most vampires. He turned the collar of his leather jacket down as she came toward him. He could feel happiness coming off of her, though he wasn't sure whether it was directed towards him or something else.

"Thank you kindly, m'dear. Hope you voted for me." He winked at Caroline.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

She laughed. "Well, that's between me and democracy, but I wouldn't say it's outside the realm of possibility."

She glanced around the room. "Interesting crowd you have here."

A

[specifiercity]

Arthur's definitely not here as a hunter tonight. Maybe he's here as a friend of Nancy's or an associate of someone else at the party, but he's certainly not here in any capacity as the chief hunter of Hillingdon.

He's really here out of a desire to learn everything he can about the new representative and the people around him. Everything he knows is through Nancy, and he trusts her well enough to tell the truth, but love can be blinding and maybe she doesn't know everything about every aspect of his life. There may be other players involved here that should be watched if they have Cooper's ear. And if Arthur happens to use some of the information he might learn tonight to help direct Hillingdon in its dealings with Islington then so be it, but he's not here as their representative tonight.

In any case, he's on his guard, not just so he can glean any information he can, but because he is probably surrounded by vampires. He only has a couple drinks at most, and he works his way through those so slowly that he never even feels a twinge of alcohol. When he finally passes by Cooper and stops to congratulate him, he's alert almost to the point of paranoia, though he masks it well with an easy smile.

[emotioneater]

Perhaps some of the vampires at the party didn't care to have those from the likes of the East End Pack and Hillingdon mingling with them at the party. If they had any objections, they had kept them out of earshot of Cooper. He knew and didn't care.

If anyone objected, he wasn't above cracking skulls and tossing them out. The vampire had a short fuse and large temper. They had all heard the rumor about what he'd done with two of Raymond Harris' holdouts when he found out they were kidnapping humans to feed off of.

When Arthur approaches, Cooper gives him the once-over. Handsome, dressed sharp, and wound up tight, if what he was feeling was correct. For once, his newfound powers were a help rather than a hindrance as he felt out the emotions coming off the easy-looking face. Cooper, for his own part, is relaxed on the outside, and a little wary on the inside. "Now here is a one I'm unfamiliar with. State your name 'n rank. Can I get you a fresh drink?"

[specifiercity]

"No, thanks," Arthur says with a smile as he gestures with the drink he already has, "I'm still working on this one."

He's glad 'Delilah' isn't hanging off his arm right now. Eames has been very good at disarming people and asking the right questions, but Arthur needs to do some of this by himself, including talking to Cooper.

"Arthur," he continues, by means of introduction. "I'm a friend of Nancy's."

A

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

Thomas generally went to all the official vampire parties anyway, both because he enjoyed parties, and because he didn't want to seem like he wasn't supporting whatever vampire official was throwing it. For Cooper, he was glad to show his support.

And so he was at the party, generally drinking and enjoying himself when he spotted Cooper.

"Hey!" he said, making his way over to Cooper. "Congratulations on the election."

[emotioneater]

Cooper had been expecting to see some familiar faces and was gratified to see Thomas there. He was dressed, well, as Cooper had come to expect Thomas to dress. He made his way through a small knot of vampires over to the young vamp.

"Thank you. Turns out I'm the people's vampire. Who woulda thought?" He said with a self-deprecating laugh.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

"I can see it. You've been helpful with the younger vampires, and aren't quite as bloodthirsty as the previous leader." Heh. He made a pun. "Considering where the recent blood bath free for all got us...well, Jean-Claude and you seem fairly similar in that, but if Cesare's message of circulating power stuck with anyone, I'm sure they'd rather vote for you than a guy who tries to claim that what was costing us was our 'cordiality and goodwill'."

Because only an idiot would think that cordiality and goodwill were what they were offering under Raymond, and it was under Raymond that they lost their power and protection. Also, he suspected a call for people to 'listen to their elders' certainly hadn't rung with the young vampire vote as much as Cooper had. Thomas had considered Jean-Claude a serious contender, but he supposed being able to choose a representative who wasn't already the leader for the first time did have it's appeal.

A

[falsify]

Say hello to Delilah, she's here as Arthur's +1 for the night and definitely isn't here to poke around and see if there's anything untoward going on or anyone unsavoury already trying to get Cooper's ear. Strictly here in a dately manner which is why she spends most of the night on Arthur's arm, it has nothing to do with how she disarms people enough to squeeze information out of them without them noticing. Nope, not at all.

She seems to have a glass of wine in a perfectly manicured hand at almost all times, doesn't really laugh or smile but she doesn't have any trouble holding people's attention whenever she's away from Arthur. Flirts comfortably with anyone who seems responsive to that and definitely doesn't steal anything from anyone who annoys her. Look at that dress, where would she put it? She's not even carrying a bag, Arthur has her phone. Ridiculous.

It's on a poke around the flat that she spots Cooper and sidles up to him, everything about her is suggestive and distracting by design, but it's not what she's thinking about when she greets him.

"So you're the new vampire representative?"

[emotioneater]

Cooper had seen the woman who had arrived with Arthur. He would have had to be blind to miss her in that dress. Boy, does he suddenly feel underdressed at his own event. Oh well, Cooper's whole strategy for winning the election had been to be his own self and that wasn't about to change.

He sees her about while he's busy talking up a horse shapeshifter that was part of the Nest and then a group of fae that he has a strained smile for. He just doesn't trust the little buggers, and if he could've gotten away with it, he would have banned them from this gathering entirely. When she approaches, he gives her a cursory nod, offering a hand for her to shake. "That I am." He's not sensing much off of her, so she's got her emotions tampered down pretty well.

[falsify]

Delilah tilts her head thoughtfully and takes his hand with a soft spoken "Delilah" as introduction. There's a little bit of anxiety in her, not at this but being here with so many vampires, but he's right to assume she keeps her feelings locked down tight. They're a liability.

There's a thread of curiosity though, one that's strengthened by glancing out at the party and then back at Cooper, "quite the assortment of guests for a vampire in your position."

A

[outstandingbalance]

Vampires and parties—maybe they really are cliche? Natasha's been to more of them since leaving her old nest than in the decade before. She has good reason to turn up tonight, though. Cooper hasn't made a bad impression on Natasha up until now, but she's not sure what she thinks of him as a representative. She knows he's not as young as he seems, but at the same time...

She'd like to talk to him again. See how he feels about it.

She catches him in a moment between other well wishing guests, offering him a wry smile. "Seems like congratulations are in order."

[emotioneater]

Cooper's got a glass of blood in his hand and is busy being the dutiful host when Natasha greets him. He excuses himself from the dreadfully dull conversation of a vampire called Iona, who was showing him the thirteenth picture of her cats. If she hadn't voted for him, Cooper would have died of boredom five minutes ago.

He greets Natasha with one of his more charming smiles. "That they are. Took a lot of hard work, but it paid off in the end. Glad to see you could come."

[outstandingbalance]

"I wouldn't miss it." She puts on a good face, despite the way the blood around her gnaws at her. Socializing with other vampires must be a kind of masochism, keeping the edge of her thirst razor sharp. She can't let herself avoid it, though; there's too much she'd miss. For whatever definition of the word.

"Hopefully not too many people are—though I wouldn't be surprised if there's some older types holding their noses."

Which in her mind is not a bad thing.

A

[baisant]

Jean-Claude had opened the position for Vampire Representative up for campaign for a reason. If he and he alone had wanted the spot, then he could have easily taken it. But the truth is that Jean-Claude understands how much responsibility comes with the spot, and that on top of the position of Duke of Central London and therefore the most powerful vampire outside of the law-makers... He is happy with the way that things turned out. One on the Council, to represent them on the inside. On on the streets, to reinforce and perhaps be a little more vampire than the Council is really willing to be. As far as Jean-Claude is concerned, this is really for the best.

It's on him just now to make sure that Cooper sees things that way as well now, of course. Understands that he doesn't resent the fact that he didn't win, and that he will step away from the politics gracefully and look forward to working together with the other vampire for the betterment of their faction. What better way to have the other man understand that than to attend his party, and to bring a gift. The only question is what. Then again, if there's one thing that Jean-Claude loves as much as parties, it is gifts.

He greets the other man with a smile and the small inclining of his head, sweeping into a slight bow before presenting him with a smallish, rectangular box.

"Felicitations, mon ami," he greets, in his native tongue, as he has a habit of doing.

((ooc: i'm so sorry this is so late but so many rl things got in the way and in the end it is BETTER LATE THAN NEVER))

Re: A

[emotioneater]

Out of all the older vampires, Cooper has been most anxious for Jean-Claude to arrive at the party. The rest bothered him only a little. He would take note of and remember later on, but if the head of the Nest failed to show, tongues would wag about how it was a clear sign that he didn't approve of the new representative. Even if that wasn't true, other vampires would take note, and pick sides. Then they'd be working at cross purposes, exactly what Cooper didn't want to happen.

So he lit up like a candle flame when he saw the very flamboyant vampire approaching him. "Salutations monsieur," Cooper replies in heavily-accented, atrociously sounding French. He takes the box. a look of surprise quickly running over his features. "For me? Merci."

It might be better manners to wait until he's alone to open it up, but Cooper is curious as to what is inside. And if it has any magical properties, it's better to have Jean-Claude tell him what it is right now rather than discovering them for himself.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude flicks a wider smile at the use of his native language back at him. It does not matter how terrible the accent is, the other vampire has made an effort, and Jean-Claude finds it charming at that.

He nods towards the gift and offers Cooper something of a shrug. "It is only a little something. I hope you will make good use of it, and you do not think it is too... Old-fashioned of me," he adds, with the curve of another grin. For inside the box is none other than a genuine fountain pen. Obviously expensive, and obviously a very good choice in instrument, if one is so inclined to using such things. Which Jean-Claude is himself, of course. Cooper is old enough, he will have had some experience with them though. He hopes.