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]

"Kaz, then." She can ask for the full name later.

His babbling is appreciated though. "I'm new, yeah. Talk all you want, it will even us out." Even though Sophie is trying to open up and all.

[ktotheatothez]

The boy stretches out after he gets the go signal from Sophie. Of course, the logical thing to do is to just keep talking, self-preservation instincts out the window.

"How're you liking Falner so far?" he probes, mostly out of genuine curiosity, and also because today is the first day he's seen you here so...

[bloodsinger]

She's been here for all of a day and a half, so yeah. "So far, so good. It still feels like a temporal retreat, but I know that's not it. It's nice though."

[ktotheatothez]

"Well, trust me when I say that there are going to be days when you'll be bored out of your mind."

There's a smile on his face that clearly says that those days are far and few in between. He does fall silent for a second, and if you look closely, you can see that there's a pin on the hem of his shirt. A Wolf's Crest.

[bloodsinger]

"I don't like boredom, that was why I trained a lot before, and probably why I'll keep on training now. It helps to pass the time."

She then notices the pin. "I've seen that wolf before? On your pin. At least I think I did."

[ktotheatothez]

"Hm?" Kaz glances down at it. "Oh, this. It's a Wolf's Crest. Oni-tsukai of Zangyaku all have one. It's a direct line to The Blade King, and kind of a communicator for the rest of us."

He smiles and shrugs, still flopped on the mat. Kaz generally looks like a puppy... a very curious puppy.

[bloodsinger]

So a puppy is part of Zangyaku; maybe Sophie's initial assessment of him needs a revision.

"Cool, I'm actually hoping to get in there eventually. Only the top of the top gets a chance though."

[ktotheatothez]

Now that has his attention. He sits up, cross-legged and facing you, head tilted a little bit.

"That's true."

His protective tic over his third conspiracy has only increased since he saw his Aniki beat an unworthy member of the Searing Wind into submission. While it isn't rare for anyone to want into Zangyaku, all the people he knows who made it in are way scarier and more driven than he had been: Yulia, his beloved Nico and the Vucari, Taning.

"You do know that they take only the best of the best, right?" he asks, wanting to make sure that you know exactly what you get into. No intimidation in his voice whatsoever.

[bloodsinger]

"I just said that," replies Sophie, although she's not bothered by the confirmation. "Top ten of the special cases class is what I need, or so Hikaru said to me. Sounds scarier every time I say it out loud." Scarier and more exciting, though.

[ktotheatothez]

He grins now, and it is distinctly different from the smiles he's tossed you so far. It's like he went from a puppy to an actual dog, sniffing around warily at someone new. It's also a lot of hard work. But what Kaz takes away from the sentences Sophie looses is the fact that she's a special case.

"Interesting." he says after a bit. "Aniki said that. Hm. Special case? Do tell."

Wary, yes, but still very, very curious.

[bloodsinger]

Seeing him basically shift in front of her is pretty damn amazing; it goes to tell how appearances can be deceiving. She's not wary of him though. Kaz looks like the sort of person you can trust.

She frowns a bit at his request to hear more. "I'm a Bladian that didn't make a path. I sort of inherited my Bloodsinger."

[ktotheatothez]

Kaz lifts his eyebrow at that, but then, had he not chosen to become a Card when Hikaru came to the Velvet Room.

'Him or me...' Hikaru had said to him, still worried.

He'd chosen to stick by Roxas, and when he had asked about Hikaru's options, he would've supposedly inherited one of two Bloodsingers: Reck and Tsubaki. So he "shifts" back into a curious but well meaning puppy, although he can tell that it's not something you feel comfortable discussing.

"Ah. Well, I've heard of a Bloodsinger being bound to a weapon once. Inheriting a 'singer... Hm."

[bloodsinger]

"What, really? How does that work? I thought Bloodsingers need a living vessel to feed and everything." On the other hand, a weapon bound to a Bloodsinger...it sounded like a pretty powerful one, if anything.

"Pretty messed up, right? Usually you get a say in the whole matter, which would've been nice."

[ktotheatothez]

"It's... Complicated. Also very dangerous." He admonishes a bit. "But do tell about the inheritance, I'm very curious."

To be perfectly honest, he's moving in a way that is an acquired tic from his brothers, but mostly all on his own.

[bloodsinger]

His interest is a bit unnerving. Much as Sophie wants to believe she's over it, the truth is she very much isn't.

"Lets just say it's something of a family curse."

[ktotheatothez]

It's when you say 'curse' that he backs off, sheepish again like he'd kicked a dog or something. He also rolls away and stretches up, but still continuing the conversation.

"Sorry. I can't imagine what you must be going through."

[bloodsinger]

"It's okay." Not it's not. "I just need some more time to process it, and I've been getting help to manage this...condition. There's no point on obsessing over bad things, right?"

It's what she has chosen to believe, so it better works.

[ktotheatothez]

"No, no, there really isn't. Sorry if I ripped open old wounds."

[bloodsinger]

"Not your fault. Just...ask me later again?" When she feels more detached about it.

"What was that style you were training in a moment ago?"

[ktotheatothez]

If anything, Kaz knows when to drop a certain thread of conversation, so he picks up on Sophie's question easily, and tilts his head, as if that could help him explain it better.

"Well, it's a defensive style based off of Kenpo. I don't normally practice it unarmed, but then, it kind of defeats the purpose if I'm dependent on a weapon."

[bloodsinger]

Sophie nods in understanding, because that's one of those topics she feels completely comfortable with. "Yeah, I agree. I've trained under a bunch of disciplines and one of the most important rules is to learn how to stay alive without a weapon." Which was why she had trained in a bunch of other things, too. You could never be too prepared.

"If you wanna grab a bokken later, we can spar."

[ktotheatothez]

His eyes wander over to the rows and rows of bokken and other weapons before he smiles at Sophie, chuckling understandingly.

"Swords are my husband's purview, but tell you what: you grab a bokken and I'll grab a pair of tonfa, then we can spar."

'She's eager. I wonder if that's a Bladian trait.' Roxas quips.

'Well, I did touch on a rather... tetchy subject. But if she wants to spar, I'm good with that.' Kaz replies to his Persona, all while keeping his features schooled to not betray the mental conversation.

[bloodsinger]

"Tonfa, huh? Okay then." Sophie then stands and goes to pick a bokken.

{I assume you have already taken into account his apparent skills?}

Relax, Sigma; I can tell this kid's probably a couple of positions up the totem pole; all I want is a friendly sparring session.

Sigma seemed to ponder on this for a moment.

{Very well.}

It was nice to have someone worry about you, but Sophie was no fool when it came to physical engagements. Plus she really didn't mind to get her ass handed to her for the sake of clearing her mind.

Still...

"Do try and go easy on me, okay? Can't win me a spot on the top ten with a broken arm or leg."

[ktotheatothez]

"I wouldn't dream of beating you up. Not in my nature. This is a spar, not actual combat..."

He's already acquired a pair of tonfa and is languidly stretching over one one side of the mats. This is reminding him a lot of how it was like for him when he was a teen, though.

When he's done stretching, he takes his stance, feet apart, one arm low and behind his back. The other whips the longer end of the tonfa forward and holds his arm bent at the elbow.

"Ready when you are, Sophie."

how screwed would she be if we use rolls?

[bloodsinger]

"Good to know."

She takes a moment to pick the bokken, mostly because she wants to be sure to pick one she has already built some familiarity with. Once that is done though, she walks towards him, stopping at a reasonable distance. Sophie's stance is a lot less elaborate; she's simple standing with her legs slightly apart, bokken held down by the left side of her waist, much like a sheathed katana. She then crouches lightly.

"Any ground rules worth mentioning?"