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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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Free Fallin'

He's...not confused, really. He understands what has just happened here, in theory. He understands everything in theory, and that many things are theoretically possible, if not practically. Someone seems to have worked out the practicalities of whatever just happened.

So he's not confused. He's displaced. This is no longer Paris in 1881. Which, honestly, is perfectly fine with him. The mob won't find him here.

He takes a few moments to look around him, but doesn't linger long. He might dressed in fine clothes (minus the jacket, which had been left behind in Paris), but he'd left his mask behind, which had been fine at the time, but if he's going to have to live among this many people, he'll need something to cover the deformed side of his face.

To the Market District, then. He has a little money in his pack. Some cloth, some basic sewing supplies, and a wig if he can find one. That's the place to start, before he worries about any of the rest of it.

[ooc: If your character is coming across him without a mask on and you want a reference for what he looks like, here's an image. The deformity covers only half of his face.]

There Will Be a Show Tonight

He's been here a few days now, and has started to get settled in. He'd noticed the carnival stalls set up near the market when he was here a couple of days ago, but they hadn't been open yet and he'd had other things on his mind. He's back now though, this time with a mask and a wig. The mask is hand-sewn from dark cloth and covers half of his face.

He's not participating in the carnival, though. He's just standing at the edge of it, watching, with an unreadable expression on his face. He's torn between revulsion for the whole thing and a desire to join the musicians and singers.

Tell Phone

[The technology here is beyond what he's used to, but he's able to pick up how to use it quickly enough, especially when there are instructions. Even so, it might take a bit of practice to learn everything there is to know about this strange communication device. Bear with him.]

Hello? This is how this works, correct? You can hear me?

Wild Card

[Choose your own adventure.]

Edited 2020-07-28 16:28 (UTC)

To his credit, Vincent does his best not to stand out in the crowds that gather here. He's left his signature crimson opera cape in his room, but the leather reinforced suit and the holster at his hip did little to hide his otherworldliness. His red eyes, too, were strange to most, and his long hair, unruly and unrestrained didn't help him to blend in at all.

He also kept to the outskirts, curious about this strange gathering, but wary as well. "A celebration?" It was a question posed to no one in particular and murmured rather than spoken loudly. "But of what?"

[For his part, Thomas never wanted a flashback to the early 2000s, much less in a weird city in another dimension. Still, he's not a complete jerk and he'll give a guy a hand.]

Yeah, you've got it working. It's fairly straight-forward, really.

AROUND THE CITY

Jester was an odd sight for those who weren't used to the world in which demon blood intermingled with that of human. Her skin was a lovely sapphire blue with dark blue hair and glowing purple eyes. Freckles spot her cheeks, there are horns on her head and a long tail curling out from the base of her spine. Despite her demon-like appearance, she was bubbly and happy. There was a weasel poking its head out of her hood and a dog sniffing out curiosities only to blink back to the girls side.

The city was very neat and Jester was exploring but also trying to send a message to her friends, which she was pronouncing loudly out to whoever happens to be walking past her.

"Hello Fjord. It's me Jester... just wondering where you are and where everyone else is. Sprinkles and nugget are with me but I can't find..." She paused and silently counted out the words on her fingers. "Darn it."

Jester sends message again. "Anyway, I was cut off before. I am in a strange city and I don't know where it is. A gnome said that I was..." Her message was cut off again.

Another message spell was sent. "Anyway! I was cut off again. They said I was brought here to rebuild something... like the city." She spots and counts out to eight fingers. "Where..." She put down a finger. "Are..." Another finger. "You..." Another finger. "Guys?"

Jester paused and looked at her last four fingers before quickly speaking. "Kay, thanks, I will find the pastry shop now!" But her voice is cut off before she can finish... "That worked, I am sure. He can reply. He will reply."

Except there was no reply.

NETWORK; VOICE

Hello. It's me, Jester.

[Her accent is thick and while it's difficult to place, it sounds Slavic.]

I'm looking for my friends? Has anyone seen them? We're sometimes called the Might Nein. It's Nein like the word but it also sounds like a number but there aren't nine of us so it's okay if it isn't nine people. There is Fjord and Nott and Beau and Caduceus and Yasha and Caleb.

If you're here then say something right now!!

[There is a brief awkward pause.]

Okay, thank you.

Bye.

Yuna was making her way around the market district when she spotted someone in a distinct set of clothing. It wasn't that she hadn't see clothes like his before but she found it curious and she wanted to know more.

She approached with a smile, not bothered by the lack of mask or the deformity. There weren't such scars in Spira. Magic cured those who needed it and if someone couldn't be cured, they often died as a result of their wounds. Even so, it didn't bother her. Everyone was a little different.

Her clothes, for example, were a little different.

"Hello." Her expression was warm and open. "Did you just arrive here? I've never seen clothes like yours."

Erik doesn't care a whit about not blending in. If he did, he wouldn't have added sequins to his own opera cape (basic black, unfortunately also still in Paris) or feathers to his hat (ditto). The mask tends to make him stand out anyway, whether he wants to or not.

"I wouldn't call it a celebration." He has more reason to dislike carnivals than most do, though. "Some people enjoy them though. As entertainment."

It did seem that way. It's just unfamiliar.

[He might have already tried taking it apart to see how it works.]

He's not expecting to be addressed by anyone, so he doesn't realize at first that she's talking to him. Once he does, he turns to look at her, a little quizzically. He's not used to people approaching him so calmly, or being so friendly and helpful.

"Yes, I've just arrived."

Thomas was a planner. It was much easier to get on with all the terrible decision-making if it meant you made them all before you got started, at least. Paranoia wasn't unknown to him, quite the opposite in fact, but unlike his little brother, he was raised in paranoia, it was a quite, ever-present thing that allowed him to look around this strange place and actually believe everything they were told. There was clearly something otherworldly and powerful beyond description about their weird hosts, and while he wasn't stupid enough to assume they were telling him everything, he was also keen enough on the mechanations of beings way more powerful than him to know they usually didn't have a reason to lie.

So, he and the others were here to help rebuild the world, and however they chose to do that, or not do that, were all permitted. It didn't make any sense to him exactly how that would work, but he'd never tried to understand the wills or methods of gods. They just weren't his perview. The Hunger was an ever-present pressure in his mind, and from what he could tell, the beast was excited at the prospect of new conquests in new realms. Oh, goody. Still, excited demon wrapped around his soul or not, he needed to get the lay of the land and that meant having a walk about. Business had been good at the Coiffeur Cup recently and the demon was well-fed. At least he had that going for him on his trip.

The disjointed conversations caught his attention as he walked before he rounded a corner and came up short, blinking at the strange creature on the phone as he did so. He'd seen some weird things, had met a lot of them, but he'd never seen anything that closely resembled Jester, that's what she'd said her name was, wasn't it? Jester? He frowned in sympathy for the girl, though. He had a feeling nobody would be calling.

"Looking for someone?" Nothing about the teifling's demeanor suggested she was dangerous, but then again, nothing about his did, either.

"No, but you aren't the natives." And he's been watching them since he arrived here nearly a month ago. It seems festival-like to him. If Erik's mask gave him pause he didn't indicate it. He's seen far stranger, after all.

"Mmm." It was a subtle sound of agreement as he crossed his arms. He wasn't a fan of crowds himself, but any movement of the people were was a curiosity. "You don't seem like the type."

Yeah?

[You know, it isn't until this very moment that it's even occurred to Thomas that someone might be pulled here from a different time.]

What would be familiar?

He hasn't figured out yet that in this time, and especially this place, his face is hardly the strangest thing people have seen, although even if he had, he would feel much more comfortable hiding it.

"I'm not," he agrees. His history with fairs and carnivals and the like is unpleasant. "This one seems harmless enough though." Everyone seems to be participating willingly, at least.

A telegraph.

This one seems to have the ability to do the same thing, just through a different mechanism.

Edited (got the word right this time) 2020-07-30 02:30 (UTC)

Vincent understands. There are parts of him he'd rather remain hidden as well, scars both internal and external. There are several reasons for the leather suit.

"Things aren't usually what they seem." Or he could be paranoid. He'd been accused of it before. He lapsed into a silence for a moment before he realized he should be polite. Arkady would chastise him.

"My name is Vincent."

A telegraph? [Seriously?] What year is it?

[OOC: No worries ♥]

Jester turned towards Thomas and paused as if she was considering his question. Except that she wasn't really thinking about whatever he'd just said, she was staring at the gorgeous man standing in front of her. She couldn't see the contours of his shirt but she was sure that he had a rippling chest hiding beneath that fabric.

Her hands came to her sides and Thomas might notice that she wasn't holding a phone. Instead she'd decided to cast sending to try and reach her friends. Except that the spell didn't jump between the various planes.

"What did you say?" Was he speaking to her? Was this the start of her own smutty romance novel? Beau said that romance wasn't like that but Jester really didn't have a good frame of reference for that sort of thing.

Her accent was Slavic in nature though it was hard to pinpoint an exact location that she might be from.

"I see. Well I've been here a month myself." She smiled and clapped her hands together in front of her chest. "Is there something I can help you with? I know my way around town." Yuna also didn't have a lot to do in the city outside of her various explorations.

"Erik." It's a strange syllable at first; it's been so long since anyone called him that. So long since he'd even thought of himself that way. At least he hasn't forgotten it.

"Even if it is as harmless as it seems, I'm no more inclined to participate."

[Seriously.] 1881. Although, given that this is decidedly not Paris, I suspect the year isn't the same, either.

He just stands there for a moment, watching her warily. This is the most normal conversation he's had in years, and things have never gone this well when he wasn't wearing a mask. How serious is she even being?

Finally he seems to decide that it can't hurt to ask, at least. "There was something about a market district? I could use a few things."

To spite her odd features Thomas recognized the glint of lust in her eyes. Lust was universe, and it was delectable. The Hunger, the demon inextricably wrapped around his soul, pressed against the bars of the cage he'd built for it within in thoughts. Pure. Untouched. OURS. His eyes lightened in color to a dull silver but he didn't move toward her. He kept his footing, somehow, kept from approaching her more closely, somehow.

He'd heard her question, in fact it was focusing on mundane language that was keeping the demon within him in check. Aside from a smoothing in his voice, nothing seems to have changed besides his eyes.

"I asked if you were looking for someone."

Vincent couldn't argue. He had no intention of participating either. He crosses his arms, nodding.

"Erik." He glances in the other man's direction before looking back to the spectacle. "What do you make of this place?"

That's a fair point. It's probably not the same year it was in Chicago, either.

"Yes." Yuna inclined her head in an excited nod. "The Gullwings are on the case." She giggled a little and then turned and gestured for him to follow her. "It's this way. You're nearly there. It is a big area but many of the shops are empty. Luckily, I can show you where most of the open shops are."

Otherwise, he might be searching around for a little while. The city was only just beginning to grow into something that resembled a thriving city.

Show Tonight

Shalimar should have avoided the carnival. That was the first thought that came to her mind. Avoid it. It was too similar to the circus that had nearly cost everyone their lives. Besides, she was alone and barely knew anything about this place. The smart thing to do would have been to avoid it and try to learn more about this place and the other people here. Unfortunately, Shalimar had never been known for making the smart decisions. In fact she was usually known for making the opposite kind of decisions: the ones made from instinct or curiosity alone. They said curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction always brought it back.

Shalimar was always a curious cat. That curiosity led her to the carnival which eventually led her to a game of strength. The carny working the game seemed insistent that nobody could possibly have the strength to hit the bell. Never in his entire career had someone ever been able to beat his high score and ring the bell.

"Sounds like a challenge," she said to him with a smirk that could definitely be considered over-confident. The woman was athletic, but still petite in size. The carny looked her over and then stepped aside with a clearly skeptical glance. She took the hammer up and then casually smacked it down. An observant person might have noticed that for a split second her eyes flashed to look almost exactly like the eyes of a cat before returning to their normal brown. The bell chimed and she tilted her head at the carny.

"So, what did I win?"

Tell Phone: Voice

I'm almost impressed this thing can actually connect to anything. [ Not really. And her tone is dripping with sarcasm to indicate that she's not really impressed with the phone. ]

Kinda curious about the housing situation. Anyone figure out how they go about assign them yet? Might be nice to know if there's a reason. [ Or maybe it's all just random. She has a hard time believing that though for some reason. She doesn't say anything again for a few seconds then adds on: ]

Just a warning for anyone that goes into the sewers: giant cockroaches. Wasn't a good time.

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Test Drive - 002

The Phantom | The Phantom of the Opera

There Will Be a Show Tonight

Tell Phone

Jester Lavorre | Critical Role

Free Fallin'

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AROUND THE CITY

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AROUND THE CITY

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AROUND THE CITY

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Shalimar Fox | Mutant X