testdrive | welcome to the new age.

[geistnet]

testdrive meme.

1. First Day At Falner
You have just arrived at Falner Estate, a sprawling, beautiful, 400-hectare co-located space between Britain, Germany, and the Philippines, and the main base of Netsach. The flora and fauna in the area gives both a sense of familiarity as it looks at first glance like things you’ll find on Earth, and a weird sense of otherworldliness. Given the size of the place, the Estate is less of a compound and more like a town unto itself. The older buildings within the estate are gothic in their construction, and clear throwbacks to 19th Century Europe. The newer facilities, however, sport cutting edge contemporary designs that were clearly inspired by Fourth World architecture and technology.

If you want a better idea on what can be found on the estate, you can refer to this link.


2. A Day On The Job
You are pushing papers at Methuselah, doing research at the Arcanum, or going out on patrol -- whatever it is that you're doing, it's just another day for you as a Hunter of the Vigil.


3. Let's Head Down to Haven
Find yourself itching for a night out on the town? Why not head over to Haven, the classy nightclub that looks like a large, monolithic black building with no visible windows from the outside and the name of the club emblazoned in bold, white letters on one side.

Haven is located in Makati City, and is open to the public (especially the local supernatural community), but you might want to prepare yourself to wait in line for a very, very long time – unless you’re a Hunter, of course.

Falner’s Maenad Division holds office on top of Haven, as does Ordo Daywalker. Some of Haven’s staff also live above the night club.


4. The Awakening
Want to tag out your character's origin story? Set the stage and let's see where things go.


5. Choose Your Own Adventure
If none of the suggested premises hit the mark, feel free to set things up and let's do a tag round.


Instructions for the Testdrive:
1. Specify your chosen scenario number on the subject line.
2. Should you wish to tag with a specific character already established within Waking the Dead, indicate who. The current list of available NPCs can be found over here.

Comments

[bloodsinger]

"Uh, Hikaru Shinta? He obviously tries to play it down, but that guy is..." There are no words, actually. Weird doesn't just cut it. "I think I once saw a TV show on him or something, but there's nothing like meeting someone in person."

She also takes the chance to get her jacket. The idea of taking a shower before doing anything else was there...but Sophie doesn't feel as completely filthy as she thought she would. Plus this might be actually good for her. "You aren't like, a shrink in disguise right?"

[larue]

He's chuckling in response and shaking his head. Josh doesn't slip on the Netsach coat, and instead chooses to drape it over that bag as soon as he's got the strap slung over one shoulder. "Not my style."

As he's walking you towards that door though: "That's The Blade King for you. He's something of a character, if I were to choose my old mentor's words." He's saying that with a clear amount of fondness.

[bloodsinger]

"Huh, okay." He's sincere, or a psychopath with excellent lying skills. Sophie is willing to go with the former.

"Yeah that title got thrown around. So I guess I'm a bit like him, only not impressive at all and completely out of the loop." It's been a really intense couple of days.

[larue]

"Don't beat yourself up over it -- Hikaru's kind of a class all his own where it concerns being a Bladian." He's offering Sophie a sympathetic look. "In all seriousness though, he's a good teacher. If he's taken an interest in checking up on you then there's no better person."

It's no lie, there's no need to dress up things when facts are so much better.

"He saved me and two of my blademates awhile back."

[bloodsinger]

She can't help but to make a face. A sort of 'I didn't even ask for this' face, if there is such thing. "I don't even know if I'm going to meet him again. Wouldn't say no to have the best possible, eh, mentor? But I'm sure he has enough on his plate already."

Then she turns to eye him again. "You do know him. Now I feel like I could've said something horrible and you're here just...being nice to me."

[larue]

"I'm... willing to bet that there's about an 80-20 chance that you will."

And yeah, he's going to laugh again -- it's not humor at your expense though. "A lot of people say a lot of things about that one. But that's telling of them and not so much of him."

A shrug. "I didn't want to say anything because, alright, I'll come clean -- I was curious. People are sometimes less honest about their take on things if they feel like it's better if they filter themselves."

[bloodsinger]

"Oh, okay."

It's not as if they had kept information from her, but that she doesn't understand most of it. They did tell her that as well, and she can't be mad at them for not knowing as much as they. She does know that even within the realm of what's considered normal in this place, she's a bit out there. And Shinta is...well, ridiculously out there. Maybe that's how it makes sense.

But to Josh it would look as if Sophie is kind of staring at him intently for a moment, almost looking past him. "Ask me anything, I'll be honest. I hope I've been honest so far, for better or for worse."

[larue]

"I believe you." He says that gently and offers her an encouraging smile. Moving wholesale to Falner, away from what your life had been is something he can relate to.

"It's a bit overwhelming at first, but you eventually find your feet. Netsach's big on the whole 'we're a family' mindset, so there's a high chance that you'll always find someone who can relate to your situation in some way or form."

[bloodsinger]

The way she has left things home...her phone has been ringing nonstop for ten hours straight, even after she called back and made all the arrangements needed. There was now a clear division between that life and this life.

"Well, I just lost all of my own, so." That's probably the first attempt at humor she has made ever since they started talking, although it couldn't be darker.

[larue]

There's a pause from Josh's end at that, because it feels trite to say that he gets it, when he doesn't know enough about her situation to actually comment on it.

He'll try to match the humor in turn and see where they go from there.

"If you like, I draw up formal adoption papers." A beat, and then: "Would you prefer legal guardian, elder brother or really young dad?"

[bloodsinger]

"Wouldn't a really young dad raise all sorts of questions? Plus I never called my own dad dad, so you sure aren't getting that sort of treatment from me."

She sounds relaxed, which surprises her a bit because the loss of her family is still fresh in her mind. To realize the ties she had with them were to weak hurts more than not having them around.

[larue]

"You'd be surprised at how much physical age doesn't really matter when it comes to some things." He could tell you stories, but those can wait.

He's leading you up the steps of the Great Hall now. As always, there are people scattered here and there and the food is always hot and ready. "You want coffee? The have some great stuff."

The rest of your conversation can pick up once you've gotten some food in you.

[bloodsinger]

"If half the things they say about Shinta are true, I can believe it."

She just nods as her stomach grumbles again. Coffee is a start. "Food now, chitchat later."

[larue]

"What have they been saying?" Josh says that with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he starts to lead Sophie towards the buffet tables. There's an array of food laid out, varying cuisines ranging from the familiar to more local fare.

He's going to also go ahead and fix up a pot of coffee enough for about five people -- he probably looks like this is habit.

[bloodsinger]

"That he's old as dirt," Sophie says, casually. "Which doesn't make sense since he's... like me, I guess?"

Sophie is just going to fill her plate with an assortment of everything on top of everything.

[larue]

Have a snort, Soph. Old as dirt pretty much sums that one up accurately.

"He is." Does he sound like he's thoroughly amused at your choice of words? Uh-huh. "But he's also a Bladian. Kind of like the Father of All Bladians."

[bloodsinger]

"Well I don't really understand that, but I guess he lucked out or something."

That's the easiest way to put it right? "So he was like, the first?"

[larue]

'Luck', he might tell you had absolutely nothing to do with it. Especially since luck denotes something more positive and what made Hikaru the way he is is... complicated.

That second statement gives him pause though. "I... I actually think that he was one of, if not the first." Because that was a long, long time ago, and it's entirely possible that there were others.

[bloodsinger]

Sophie doesn't push, because the concept of living forever (or just a lot) is too alien for her to think of it as natural, especially when she knows her own life is going to be shorter.

"Wow. That old? So do you like, work with him? Because I'm not sure I can just up and talk with someone else I don't know out of the blue for at least a week. You did say you know him."

And as she waits for an answer she sits anywhere without people and starts wolfing down her food. No time to waste.

[larue]

He'll slide into the seat across from you and light up a cigarette as he sets his coffee down. There's a shrug from his end because -- LOL -- the subject of how he knows the Blade King was something he was sure was going to pop up at some point.

"He's my boyfriend."

Straightforward and succint. A couple more days in Netsach and Sophie was bound to hear about it anyway.

[bloodsinger]

Excuse Sophie while she chokes on a piece of meat three times too big for anyone in their right mind to eat in one go for a moment, tears appearing in her eyes as she forcefully swallows it before taking a breath. "What, seriously?" But she looks at him and knows he's serious.

"That's...cool, I guess? I've dated all kinds of people and genders, so it's not like you need to worry about me judging or anything." She coughs and downs the orange juice she had brought with herself in one swing. Is her face getting red? "That was just a bit unexpected, and strangely more surprising than other things I've heard so far."

[larue]

He's doing his best not to watch you with too much amusement. Hey, you asked and he answered.

"Don't worry, I've had enough time to get used to reactions along the same vein." It's not that he and Hikaru hid who they were to each other, there just wasn't any real need to broadcast who they were to each other. The people who mattered already knew, and those who needed to know would get around to hearing about it.

He does look apologetic though. "Sorry about that."

[bloodsinger]

"I guess some people would be surprised? But maybe me not knowing a lot about anything will help me procress it easier than others." Having no reference point was a good thing now and then.

Sophie just shrugs. "Choking to death is not how I want to go, but I'm okay now. So I am going to be seeing you around."

[larue]

A sheepish smile from this one. "If it's not going to bother you, yeah."

He has a concept of boundaries ( even if it has tripped him up in the past ) so he won't really poke his head into your business if he's not welcome.

"There's also the fact that Falner might be big, but familiar faces become a thing eventually."

[bloodsinger]

"It doesn't bother me; I might be incapable of not smirking at Shinta next time I see him though. He certainly lucked out." Very smooth, Sophie.

"I hope so? I wasn't really thinking about leaving anyway."