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saveournumbers2019-02-15 08:25 am
ourearth) wrote in saveournumbers2019-02-15 08:25 am
Entry tags:
Third Permanent Test Drive Meme
Welcome to the SoE TDM!
Due to the premise of the game, everyone on this testdrive must be the modern day reincarnation of the characters we all know and love. Please take a quick look at our navigation to familiarize yourself with the concept and setting of the game before you jump in.
If you have a relationship plotting post comment for your character (which is NOT mandatory to play in this tdm), please link to it when putting up a toplevel on the TDM. That way, other players can easily get an idea of what kind of character they will be tagging.
Other than that, you know the tdm drill - when commenting, please put your character's name and canon in the subject line, and write one or more threadstarters so others can tag you easily. Below, you'll find some prompts that you can use or discard at will to write those threadstarters.
1. The mighty cat spawn
One of your fellow Numbered echoed the ability to spawn cats. They don't know how or why, and they have very little control over it. The problem is that all those cats are a little magic, and all of them like to escape directly after they spawned. So all Numbered have been recruited to find the cats and bring them back to their home.
Find a cat and bring it home really sounds a lot easier than it is... At least they are easily recognisable by the little gemstones set into their foreheads.
2. Winter Wonderland
This far to the south, in the very maritime climate of England, there rarely is snow. And if, it isn't much, and it doesn't stick for long. Not so this Christmas. Snow as thick as on Christmas postcards covers Mossgate Council. Public transport has shut down, the roads are impossible to drive on, stores have closed down, and electricity is down in many places.
In Folkton and Moss Manor, the church halls are heated and offer mingling spaces. In Mossgate, people go sledding on the Greens. And in Tarwich, whole roads are covered in giant snowmen. All corners of the council area are in a special state of existence, and to be missing it, you'd have to be in deep hibernation.
3. Halloween is a bit extra this year
As in, very extra. Not only does every household wake up to a bucket of water on their doorsteps in which scary apples are floating, complete with a sign attacked to the bucket that reads: Have fun bobbing!
No, the whole of the council area is also covered in cobwebs, and the graveyards are covered with the skeletons of those that should normally lie buried under their soil.
4. Summer summer SUMMER!
There is a summer fête and a Pride to enjoy during the summer months. But one can also just lie at the beach, wade through the rock pools at the bottom of the cliffs to catch starfish, tiny shrimp, tiny fish, shellfish, and anemones. Or you can take a ride on one of the attractions on the Pleasure Pier. Or enjoy a concert on the greens. ...Or return from a trip to Spain and suddenly have all echoes come back to one at once. That's also an option, but probably less pleasurable.
5. Past tdm prompts
Feel free to use a prompt from an earlier tdm!
6. Wildcard
And, of course, the obligatory do-what-you-want option.
Re: Ah, what a pity! XD
"... Yes."
He nods at Jan's second point, but he only barely glances at the other man once the questions start back up again.
"Not so much agile as extremely aware of the passage of time. My reaction time has sped up because my perception of time has slowed down."
Something goes a little odd about his cadance as he speaks; almost as if the mouth placements are rushed.
It's deliberate, of course.
"Being in shape has nothing to do with it."
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Likewise with Walter's work.
But what an interesting reply, as regards the agility! "I guess that makes sense. If time slows down for you, then you can fit more actions into the same time."
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"But then that changed, and it became more bearable."
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Walter starts moving forward again.
"If you were here for the aurora this past June - well, that's when it happened. I was already in a crowd, even though I'd gone off some ways by myself, but not being able to make myself react properly-
Walter shudders.
"It was like dissociation. And I know dissociation."
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He looks at Walter with concern.
"Dissociation? How so?"
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Aaand there's the reaction Walter hadn't been looking forward to, even if the negative anticipation had only existed for a few seconds.
"A natural consequence of feeling detached from your own body. Not 'just for a second', but continuously."
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Something about Walter's answer makes him feel sympathetic.
"You've had to deal with that state of dissociation before June 15th?" He's curious, but he won't press the matter if Walter doesn't want to talk about it. Still, it's something that Walter has trusted him enough to tell him this. Jan is conscious that that sort of trust is an honor.
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It was just the matter of there being more people.
"And that wasn't what I was implying, but yes. Long before I'd ever come back to Mossgate."
The day around them sharply contrasts the memory ghosts Walter can feel himself casting - fortunately he's not reliving them just because of this talk with Jan.
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He gazes at Walter. He doesn't know exactly what to say, but then, maybe not much needs to be said.
"Strange world, isn't it?" he says, quietly. "And it's strange being a human being in it. Don't you find it so?"
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"I was the same way, almost. Couldn't get back to my flat fast enough, in more than one sense."
Continuing to move forward, he nods where Jan can see.
"I learned that long before that first dissociation, even."
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"Only one safe place to be while contemplating the fact that the universe isn't what we thought it was. On a horizontal surface!"
He looks back at Walter with amusement, but under the humor there's a flash of the feelings he had in June. Fear, wonder, and a sense of acute dislocation.
"I'm sure you did. Maybe everybody does? Can a person be conscious at all and not see how beautiful and how precarious our situation is? Just because we're alive?"
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There's some cheering going on behind them - maybe someone on a float proposed? - but Walter doesn't look to check on the source of the noise this time.
"Most people don't linger on those thoughts for long, even when they have them. Being able to multitask like that isn't a trait most think to cultivate."
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"Most people don't linger on such thoughts, it's true. They either learn to pretend they don't have them, or they become artists and writers. But I've always had such thoughts, even while I was pouring my energies into study and work. It is a funny thing, to be down in the engine room minding the gauges and the readouts, or up clambering around on deck fixing a winch, and at the same time I'm miles away, feeling the absolute weirdness of being connected to the whole universe through this fragile physical body." He shakes his head a little.
"What about you? How do you manage such thoughts?"
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"Moving on to the next thing, usually. I do have quite a bit of work, and keep active besides. Biking's good for that."
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And he pretends to pump the pedals of an imaginary bicycle while gripping its imaginary handlebars.
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"Wouldn't be a fair time to trip, now."
He does sound amused, though.
"So, where were you planning on heading after this parade?"
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"True. The parade monitors would probably call an ambulance! And then I'd be carted off and miss the rest of the festivities." He's joking, of course. A scrapped knee wouldn't require that kind of attention, and anyway, Jan has excellent balance and wasn't really going to fall on his knee or any other part of his body.
"I hadn't decided what I was going to do after the parade. Maybe just wander around town, maybe go back to my flat and work on some engineering drawings. I thought of going to the bars, but I shouldn't get drunk. I have to get back to the ferry pretty early tomorrow. What were you planning to do?"
The cheering suddenly gets a lot louder, and there are whoops and whistles and shouts of encouragement. He turns quickly and cranes his neck to see what's happening. He grins, a big brilliant grin, and turns back to Walter. "There are some shenanigans going on back there! A troupe of gymnasts and actors have shucked off every bit of their clothing and are entertaining the crowd by leaping and spinning and throwing each other up in the air and catching each other."
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"Spending time with friends," Walter answers first.
"Not at the bars, however."
When Jan explains what's going on, Walter finds himself looking - and then immediately looks away, clamping down on any flustered reaction as quickly as possible.
"I hope they're not going to get in trouble for that. There are kids at this parade..."
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And he looks back again at the naked gymnastics team. The parade monitors have homed in on them already, and are insisting they put their clothing back on. The gymnasts stop what they're doing, and they don't bother to argue, since they know they'll be turfed out of the parade if they don't comply. But they roll their eyes and smile. Then they collect their clothes from the grass and the curbs and whisk them back on. Advantage of being theatre people: the ability to do a costume change in two seconds flat.
"Is the show over?" wonders Jan.
But it isn't. The gymnasts climb on top of each other's shoulders and form a pyramid that is five people high. The crowd starts to cheer again, clapping. Even the parade monitors clap, though they have looks on their faces that indicate they'll be back in a flash if the gymnasts disregard the regulations again.
Jan turns back to Walter. "Looks like nobody's getting arrested or anything."
Jim is another character that's since dropped.
Jim, at the least, would want to say hello.
"It is a relief to see things de-escalate for a change," Walter remarks, softly enough not to draw attention from nearby walkers.
You mean Jim Kirk? Aw, too bad!
He'd be happy to meet Walter's friends, if Walter is up for that.
"I agree. The parade organizers seem to have chosen their monitor team well. They know how to recognize a situation in which they must intervene, but they don't overexert their authority, and they keep it friendly. That takes skill."
Yeah. :< We had some nice shipping, but not all characters fit well in every game.
Much less stressful discussion territory, all told.
"It's quite a delicate balance, yes. Not something to take for granted."
Yeah, it's sad.
True, music is a sort of universal language, and it's definitely an antidote to stress. "Are you a musician, Walter?"
"I'm glad there is so much good feeling in the LGBTQ community and that Mossgate in general is supportive. I guess that kind of atmosphere helps create that delicate balance you speak of."
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Walter is impressed, and makes sure to look it.
"Can't say I listen to much Electro-Celtic; I ought to try it out."
In response to the question, though, he shakes his head.
"I learned piano in London, though I didn't have to keep that up for long. And I've sung for most of my life."
Though Walter makes no offer to do so right now.
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Icon is related to Curufn's vision
o7
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Nearing thread end, I think. Thank you for the character- and world-building!
You're welcome! And thank you!