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

[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."

[larue]

The only response he offers is the quirk of one brow and a smile as he takes a leisurely drag from his cigarette. Girl's got snark. He'll honestly be looking forward to seeing where it gets her.

"Guess this means you're going to take classes at Balamb then." It tends to be standard procedure. Newly Awakened supernaturals needed to get the basics when it came to what was what in the community -- more so if they were inclined to be Keepers of the Vigil. And even if they weren't going to be hunters, knowing things armed you better.

[bloodsinger]

Sophie shrugs. "I don't know, I guess? Much as I hate academics, knowledge would come in handy about now. The fact I have to sit down for who knows how long before doing any actual hunting is a bit of a bummer though." Physical activities keep her mind off things. Books? Not so much.

[larue]

"Training's a part of what you'll be getting at Balamb," he leans back into his seat. He was personally grateful for the knowledge picked up under both Inquisitors Aria Skye and Gideon Reyes. Knowledge was that important to him, and paying attention in class had been, in one way or another instrumental in allowing him to get as far as he's gone.

"But I doubt you'll be confined to classroom learning." Initiates did patrol, and the mission boards were always open.

And now that he thinks about it: "How are you with people?"

[bloodsinger]

"Yeah I know." Still, it's not something that makes her particularly excited. His assurances out time outside a classroom do help though.

"Me? I guess it depends on what am I supposed to do to them. Why?"

[larue]

What am I supposed to do to them is an interesting way to phrase interpersonal interaction.

"Just curious." Saying that with a small smile. There's something about Sophie that's reminding him a little of someone that he knows. It's probably nothing more than certain similarities, but it was enough to get him to ask.

[bloodsinger]

There is confused blinking in your direction, Larue. "I'm really bad at PR, if that's what you're wondering. I usually find it easier to annoy someone rather than to make them like me."

[larue]

Okay, that makes him laugh -- apologetically, at that.

"Sorry, that did come out of left field, didn't it." It's not a question but an acknowledgement that his query really had.

"I guess it's just for a moment there, you reminded me of one of my best friends." Yulia Bostova was a woman of action rather than words -- action that was best left to the battlefield, that is.

[bloodsinger]

"Well, I'm already eager to meet that person." She's still a bit confused but her tone is lighter. "Hey, from one to ten, how difficult is to be at the top ten of the special cases class?"

The most innocent question, yeah.

[larue]

It is so not an innocent question, Sophie. But alright he'll bite.

"Pretty hard." He's grown serious now. This subject has Hikaru's mark all over it, and he can piece together why.

Bladians don't have as much time as the other supernatural classes, so gunning for the top ten will offer Sophie the chance to get really good, really fast. Offers like this only come around if one of the Kings gives their endorsement for the special case, since it means that the hunter-in-training is either incredibly powerful or someone within a given age-range and needs the crash course.

"Eight-to-nine is a conservative estimate."

[bloodsinger]

The answer seems to make Sophie relax, if anything. It is a challenge, all the way uphill. Close to impossible, but for the first time in pretty much forever she feels that she somehow ended where she should, and all the pain and loss can't take that away from her. Even if she doesn't make it- Sophie ready feels good with herself, and that just doesn't happen to her.

"I see...better show Hikaru just who he made a deal with."

[larue]

"You guys talked then?" He's watching the way she appears to relax, and the thought that she's willing to work her way towards a goal settles him. She really does remind him of Yulia, though Sophie's far more inclined to conversation than the Russian Bladian.

"I guess I should keep my ear to the ground for your progress then."

He's got an incredible amount of respect for people with goals and the drive to reach them. Call it something that actually resonates with himself.