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Test Drive - 002

TEST DRIVE 002

Welcome to Aterat!

Here is our second Test Drive Meme! There are a lot of areas of the city to explore, so please have a look around! In case you need a little help getting started, I've included a few prompts below, or feel free to start your own! Exploration and player initiative are the names of the game here!

NOTE: While you do need an invite to apply to the game, you do NOT need one to tag or top level on the Test Drive!

Helpful Links to Get Started

Arrival & General Information | Locations & Bestiary | Residences & Housing Info | Rules & FAQ (ask questions here!)

A. Free-Fallin'

Not exactly, but close enough. You have just arrived and received a strange satchel from a tiny, strange little man and are left more or less to your own devices (more information on what to expect upon arrival can be found here)! Follow directions to the north and check out the housing, or maybe have a look around the Historium and try to get some information from that giant glowing ball, see what you can waste your meager starter coin on in the Market District, or maybe just meet the neighbors.

B. For the Benefit of Mr. Kite there will be a show tonight on trampolines

Just to the north of the market district, a small carnival has been set up in a square. As the sun sets, the stalls around it come alive with callers, carnival games, roasted meats are available as well as sweet treats. The games have prizes, stuffed animals and the like, and there are musicians. It's almost as though it's all in celebration of something, but what is anyone's guess. You're welcome to attend and see what's what, and any performers among the gathered are welcome to take part. The whole affair is very mirthful and fluid.

C. Delve Down into the Dark and Deep

If you're a more adventurous type, why not see what all the fuss is about in the sewers, or, if heroics are more your style, maybe look into why people seem to think it's fine to have monsters living just under their feet. Or just use the opportunity to keep your skills sharp. The sewers are pretty vast, after all.

D. Tell Phone™

Why not give that phone a shot and see who answers?

If you have any questions at all about setting or what is or isn't acceptable, please submit it on the FAQ!

If you would like to explore any aspect of the setting more indepth, please PM the mod account OR comment here! All comments are screened!

» N A V I G A T I O N

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Jagger got the distinct impression there was an inside joke he was missing there, but he didn't press. Besides, she was right. None of the stuffed animals really looked that appealing. In fact, most of them looked as though they were handsewn by those still studying their craft. After a moment's thought, he realized that was most likely the case.

He chuckled at her question, though. "Fantasyland kidnapping. I like that. Uh...A month, give or take. Overall, it's not that bad, long as you don't miss the telly."

"Best description of this place I could think of. Feels like one of those places in a game a friend of mine would be playing," she said with a shake of her head. There was a pang of loneliness that washed over her for a second before she just shook her head. It was weak to miss them this much already.

"Never really been a fan of what's on tv. Too much false information gets out these days. At least where I'm from."

He nodded, a smile quirking the edge of his mouth. "Yeah, my first take was 'video game', too. Something like Minecraft." Only they didn't have the option of gathering resources and no one had anything to share with them in regards to what precisely they were to be building.

"That or they have the wrong idea. 'Unexplained' crimes are a lot less common than they think. People just aren't normally willing to see what's in front of them."

"Can't say I've heard of Minecraft. Hope it's more exciting than it sounds," she responded with a slight chuckle. She couldn't fully deny that some of the games were fun, especially when they'd done boys versus girls. But that was a trip down memory lane she didn't want to take, too many painful memories lurked around there.

His comments got an arch of her eyebrow and she titled her head. "Sounds like you speak from experience. Or just natural born paranoia."

"It is just as exciting as it sounds." And that was to say not at all. He rolled his shoulder in a shrug at her comment.

"A little of both, really. Course, the former breeds the latter, you know?"

"So, not at all?" She said with a chuckle. She shook her head with a tiny smile on her face at his response to that. "True. People aren't born paranoid, but the world sure does make them that way."

He grinned, nodding in confirmation. "Not at all. They made us muck about with it in school, to 'encourage creativity' and whatnot. Abominable really."

He scoffed at her commentary, nodding. "Tell me about it. Try having visions whenever you touch the wrong teacup. It'll put you off people faster than anything."

"Can't relate there. Never actually went to school," she said with a casual shrug. There hadn't been much choice for her in that scenario. Not that she wanted to actually talk that aspect of her past much. Besides, what he said next was a lot more interesting to focus on. She arched an eyebrow sharply at what he said and then folded her arms over her chest.

"Psionic?" she asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice that she couldn't quite hide. Psychics always gave her a hint of unease and, if she was honest, fear. It wasn't something she wanted anyone to outright notice though.

"Unless you were into social clubs, you really didn't miss much, love." It wasn't precisely an empty consolation, but it was delivered with a shrug. School had been a terrible experience for him. He was physically unimpressive, wore long sleeves and gloves all the time, and tended to keep to himself, usually under the stairs when between classes. He'd dealt with his share of bullies and jocks and he'd never really want to repeat the performance.

The body language from Shalimar told him a lot, though. Something he'd said made her intensely and suddenly uncomfortable, and her question explained it. She was familiar with psychics and hadn't had a good time. He understood. Sometimes his abilities disturbed him, too. There was a demon that one time...

"That makes it sound a lot more flashy than it is." He held up a gloved hand with a rueful smirk. "Ever heard of psychometry? It's the ability to read events and emotional ties in the auras left on objects. Sometimes I can get glimpses of things when I touch people, too, but they're too moveable to make any sense out of them, but I have to touch you to do it, so no worries, yeah?"

"Guess I didn't miss anything then. Never been much of a social person," she responded. That wasn't to say she had a strong dislike for people, she didn't. In most cases she even kind of liked people. At the very least she liked the fun she could have with people. The problem came with trust: she didn't trust people and she didn't trust herself. Suspicion was usually in the forefront of her mind. How could it not be after the shit she'd been through? At least she could take comfort from knowing she probably hadn't missed too much with her crappy childhood.

"Known a few psionics with it," she said with considerably less terseness to it than her previous words. She forced herself to relax her body and appear less uneasy about his revelation. "Not the most common form though." Though definitely a lot more pleasant sounding than the other kinds of psionic abilities. "Least the gloves give you some unique style points." Seemed like a good time to try to lighten the subject at least a bit. "Don't think you'd really like seeing my past though." Especially if he also ended up feeling it himself. She wouldn't wish the feeling of being feral onto anyone.

"Unique style points." He chuckles, shaking his head. Mostly they just got him weird looks and whispered words behind his back, at least when he'd been in high school. Really, Shalimar. You weren't missing anything.

"I'm not taking that as an invitation or anything, just so we're clear, but I do work with the police on occasion. I've 'seen' my share of nasty, and for the most part, I can sort it out."

"Trying to be nice," she said with a half shrug and tiny smile. Maybe she felt a bit bad for being so prickly to his revelation. Not that she wasn't still a bit suspicious of him, but she didn't need to be aggressive from the get go.

"What do you do for the police?"

That actually earns a wry smile from Jagger as he returns the shrug with one of his own. "It was a solid effort. Good show."

He looked down briefly, because he never knew what to expect from stating the honest truth, but he went for it. "Psychic consultant."

"Thanks," she said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. She watched him closely as he responded to her question and shook her head. "Surprised the police in your world will work with psychics. Then again, where I'm from, it's not common knowledge that psionics exist."

"Honestly, I think it's more they don't have another way to file 'occult consultant'." He shrugs. "Either way, they pay me for my work."

"Make a good living that way?" There was some genuine curiosity in her voice towards that question.

"I get by." Which was to say not really, but it was what it was. He was using his abilities to help people, and he supposed that was something. He wasn't sure what but something.

"What about you? What do you do to get by?"

"Little of this and little of that. I tend to move around a lot," she said with a shrug. It wasn't a complete lie, but it was pretty far from the truth. Not much else for her to actually say about the truth about what she did.

"Always nice to get to travel."

There was nothing wrong with that, though a hunch told him there was more to it than that. Still, there wasn't anything overtly dishonest in her explanation and he had no reason to question it, at least not yet.

"Planning on doing any traveling here? Seems to be there's quite a world beyond the walls."

She shrugged and then ran a hand through her hair. "Haven't thought about that much. Can't say I like the idea of being stuck here in one place. Especially not knowing much about what else is out there."

"I wonder if there are any scouts to be found among the populous." It was a thoughtful statement, made more to himself than anyone else present, including Shalimar. "Might be worth looking into."

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Test Drive - 002

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