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

[icarusalsoflew]

"You're a Bladian with an interesting history."

Saying that quietly and firmly. Yes, it's a big deal. Yes, it makes things a little more difficult. That doesn't mean, at least in Hikaru's opinion, that it makes things impossible, or that it's going to be a problem that none of them can fix.

"The people here can help you. I plan to, at any rate."

[bloodsinger]

"Why would you?" Her tone is a bit strong, but she's starting to regain control, the Bloodsinger lying down again. "If I read that right it could get you killed." She moves a hand to her hip without noticing; that's where her katana usually hangs, but she hasn't seen the blade since she passed out. Once again she thinks it probably got left behind, and that saddens her.

Sophie walks back to him and sits down. "I mean you can't just undo the curse, or else you would have done it ready, right?"

[icarusalsoflew]

"It's not going to kill me, and even if it was, I can't just ignore somebody who needs help."

He isn't shitting you. There are people who leap into things with all the recklessness that comes with good intent and bleeding hearts, and there are people who talk big.

Hikaru isn't either of those, at least not anymore. He knows precisely what he's capable of, and he also happens to have a lot of people who can help him get all sorts of jobs done.

[bloodsinger]

She stares at him for a good while, almost expecting to find a crack, to see him falter, but nothing of the sort happens.

"What do you want me to do, then."

[icarusalsoflew]

That makes him smile.

"Honestly? I want you to focus on whatever will make you feel better. We can work out an arrangement that suits you, given the situation at hand." He turns away then, to put out his latest cigarette and open his bento up. "I've got a tentative plan of action in mind in order to mitigate the effects of the curse you have on you while we're working out a solution."

[bloodsinger]

Sophie looks down to her food, only now remembering he mentioned it before. "I'm a Bladian now, so I guess the sooner I get good at being one, the better. That probably involves lots of training, right?" She wants to ask about that solution, but on the other hand, she might not like the answer. "And if you can keep me from ruining other people's lives while at it, I'll owe you big time. I already do, I guess."

[icarusalsoflew]

"You don't actually owe me anything," is his immediate and gentle response. "This is what Keepers like myself do. As for your training..."

Hikaru trails off, considering the options at hand. It would be logical, of course, for him to ask her if she was interested in hunting. He is, however, concerned about her well-being. She did, after all, just have her life turned upside down by things that she didn't ask for, and circumstances well beyond her control. Then again, what else was there? And he wasn't about to coddle her either. She didn't seem like the type who'd appreciate that.

"Would you be interested in joining the Vigil? It's quite different from what you're accustomed to, but it might just serve your purposes at the moment."

He's big on choice. Might as well discuss the option with her at length.

[bloodsinger]

In a way, Sophie knew he was going to say that, but it surprises her all the same. "A hunter? It would make sense...right? There are...things I need to figure regarding my life back home though. Most people might think I'm dead, and my family's company needs management...and I'm too sober to think of that. Fucking hell." She's going to help herself to that sake now.

"I mean, I don't want to run the thing, but I would like to know someone is trying to set it straight."

[icarusalsoflew]

"We could help you with that, regardless of whether you decide on becoming a hunter or not."

He takes a downs the contents of his cup on his own end, and looks right about ready to pour Sophie another serving once she's done.

"Might as well make sure your World of Light things are in order before we even begin to talk about the other stuff, right?"

[bloodsinger]

Sophie thinks for a moment (in which she drinks two more glasses and starts attacking her food) before she nods. "I need to make just one phone call to tell the family lawyer than I'm alive. I now own more than 60% of the company, so I can appoint whoever you want to run things for now; I guess there is a lot of cleaning up to do.

And I never really had affairs in the World of Light. I'm your regular filthy rich hermit."

[icarusalsoflew]

"Sounds like you fit in fantastically with us."

Inasmuch as he's joking, it's also at least half-true. He even has statistics to prove it, if she asks.

Enough of that, though.

"Anyway, Netsach may have been the ones who found you, but you've actually got a choice if you're planning on joining the Vigil."

[bloodsinger]

"Great."

A little bit dry, but she manages to smile wryly.

The next part gets her interest again though. "Come again?"

[icarusalsoflew]

"This group isn't the only conspiracy in town, right?"

He leans forward, folding his hands together, smiling at her.

"The Kaiser has already told me to let you decide and make all of the necessary arrangements once you do."

[bloodsinger]

That makes her rise an eyebrow. "That's awfully considerate of the Kaiser. So exactly what else is out there, then?" She has some idea, but assuming at this point would be silly.

[icarusalsoflew]

"Hold on."

Hikaru picks up his tablet again and opens up all of the primers on the different compacts and conspiracies. Then he's handing it back to Sophie.

"The Methuselah's the main controlling body of the Vigil since they're Pax Deorum's watchdogs... one of their most basic functions for the bulk of their operatives, though, is police work. The Midnight Riders work hand-in-hand with them by patrolling the roads and any space between two cities. Netsach's the supernatural army at Pax Deorum's disposal, and Zangyaku - my group - is their black ops equivalent. Aegis Kai Doru primarily handles the study, creation and acquisition of Relics, so hunting, for them, is more of a matter of self-defense than anything else. As for the others..."

He chuckles a bit, as he immediately begins to imagine what it'll be like to have someone like Sophie in the Dragon Spires, or doing the rounds in Vatican City.

"Well, you're not eligible for Rhiannon or the Thrones at this point, and I doubt that you're interested in being a nun or anyone even vaguely religious, so that knocks the Brotherhood of Violence and the Order of the Mani dello Spirito Santo out."

[bloodsinger]

There is just silence on Sophie's side, with the eventual nod or scoff as Hikaru speaks. That's a lot of important information coming her way really quickly and she doesn't want to miss one bit of it. Even after he is done, Sophie is still checking the tablet, eyes going from it to Hikaru's face, almost as if she were expecting him to start laughing and tell her it was all a joke.

"So," she says tentatively. "If I was interested in, say, Zangyaku...what would I need to do? From what I can gather it's pretty exclusive." And suddenly she felt like the kind to be excluded. She was a nobody after all.

[icarusalsoflew]

"I'd tell you that I'm very pleased by your interest, and that you're going to have to spend at least six months training here with Netsach at Balamb Academy first. If you graduate as one of the top ten students of the special cases class for your age range, then I'll let you join Zangyaku."

This one does, after all, really believe in choice. It takes a different sort of person to say, right on the fly, that they wanted to join his conspiracy.

"Does that seem fair?"

[bloodsinger]

Sophie smiles sofy. "It seems pretty damn fair, and more than enough motivation for the time being." It also sounds impossible, since Sophie is pretty sure she is already in disadvantage on account on being new and all, but she loves a good challenge.

And with That out of the way... "You mentioned something about managing this curse business? There is no point on doing much if I'm so sort of really bad luck hazzard for everyone around me."

[icarusalsoflew]

"Ah, right."

He pauses there, in order to go for his cigarettes. He is, indeed, a quintessential Keeper of the Vigil right down to the bad habits.

"The curse that you're under has a lot to do with levels of intimacy, correct?"

[bloodsinger]

Sophie shifts in her spot, suddenly uncomfortable. "If all the, how did you call it? Bad karma? If all the terrible stuff the Will did is royally screwing everyone around me I make emotional bounds with because who knows why it can't just give me a bad time..."

She waves a hand. "Then yeah, levels of intimacy sounds like a nice euphemism for lethal friendship."

[icarusalsoflew]

That makes him chuckle, both because he does find it funny and because the fact that Sophie is trying, in some way, to use humor to diffuse the situation and deal with her own sentiments on the matter means that she's probably going to be fine.

No. She will be fine, if he'll have any say in the matter.

"Intimacy determines one's sympathetic ties to people, places, and objects. In order to keep the curse from activating, all we'll need to do is constantly destroy the magical equivalent of the sympathetic links that you build to people. That will let you get as close to people as you like without fearing that you'll end up harming them."

[bloodsinger]

Using humor to deal with despair is something she's getting better at by the second.

The idea takes a moment to actually make sense in her head. "And by destroying that you won't also destroy whatever real links I make?" It was difficult to think of one not affecting the other.

"If you need me to be a bitch to everyone for their own safety... I mean, that's easier to maintain for as long as needed."

[icarusalsoflew]

"That's the beauty of it: it really won't."

The smile on his face is partially obscured, in the next moment, by him bringing his cigarette back to his lips and taking another drag.

"A sympathetic link in the Pattern is just the universe's way of recognizing that there is a relationship. It's kind of like how, when you get your passport, you have to declare that you're single, married, or whatever else. It's nothing but a formality that doesn't actually change the connections you've made with others. It's also perfectly 'legal' by the universe's standards, which does put it a step above the analogy I just used."

Pausing again, and thinking a moment.

"The only real consequence that this might have will be that future friends or comrades in the Vigil will be unable to affect you with spells at a distance, even if they're good spells. Either that, or it'll just be very difficult for them. Still, the same applies to anybody who's out to harm you through sympathetic links."

Which, by his estimation, isn't a bad deal.

[bloodsinger]

By the look Sophie is giving him, she feels the same way. A fair trade off is a fair trade off, period.

"Why do I feel this involves me sitting in the middle of a magic circle every weekend or something along those lines? Not that I have anything against magic circles; I guess you can't just dispel the thing and be done with it."

[icarusalsoflew]

"That might have been the case a few centuries back, but we've all gotten better at our jobs."

Even while he's telling you this, he's firing off another telepathic message. This one's directed to the woman working away on the fourth floor, peering at reports through horn-rimmed glasses.

Lia, I think we're good to go. You've been listening in?

(Of course. It'll be done in a moment.)

Thanks. I owe you.

"We'll just have to give you a Relic that'll work its magic 24/7. You'll need to keep it on your person at all times, but the one who will be making it for you is probably going to make that easy for you to do."

Liandrin Delacroix does, after all, like being thorough.