APRIL - MAY TEST DRIVE MEME

[indigo_events]

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Comments

Drifter | Destiny 2 (possible Rocket)

[be_notorious]

Network

[Drifter is settled on a rock with the most generic woody backdrop he can find, just to add that specific 'non-descript' flavor he prefers when he can manage it. And he's got a Seviper slithering around his shoulders. It's heavy as hell but he's not complaining one bit.]

Looks like I made me a new friend. Well, ain't you friendly, huh? Probably the best encounter I've had with a fanged animal in a real long time.

[Honestly if he were back home? He'd probably eat it. But the good thing is, while he's still hungry most of the time it's not that sort of biting hunger that makes alien jerky seem like the best idea ever.]

So I'm lookin' for more snakes. I'm developin' a soft spot for 'em. Can anyone tell me where I could fetch an Ekans for a good price? [An egg seems the way to go here.] I'd be real obliged.

Action

[Stealing is nothing new to Drifter. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do to get by, and that might be engaging in some iffy business. But he's not in a place where he's gotta worry about escaping some ever encroaching darkness or listen to mysterious space gods talking in his ear or giving him damned comets with whole mini-realms in 'em or whatever hell else they're draggin' him into. Now, he can just sit back and enjoy himself.]

[And steal.]

[For someone else. Who wants something from him. Oh boy, does he love all of this. But it's good to pass the time and who knows, might end up making him some connections and could be fun.]

[He's watching some housewife too busy with her kid to pay much mind to her Ratatatawhatsit so that seems like a good lazy target. He's been standing here a while, just shifting a jade coin between his fingers, walking it over his knuckles, and now it seems like the right time to make his move. Except when he starts to step forward, he walks right into someone. He bites back a 'Watch it!' because that won't earn anyone any brownie points, and he's gonna play nice.]

Sorry, guess I better remember to check my right. Didn't do any damage, did I? [He plasters on his smoothest grin.] The name's Wu Ming.

Network

[thedifferencebetween]

Oh, you wanna talk snakes?

[Jack...doesn't have any of his own yet, but he has Opinions on them all the same. And is more than happy to share them with little to no prompting.]

You wanna get a real badass snake thing, you get yourself an Onix! Trust me, buddy, you won't regret it.

But don't limit yourself. You...you do realize there's dragons and sea monsters and dinosaurs and shit?

Network

[be_notorious]

Don't get me wrong, brother. I don't intend to limit myself to just a couple. Snake made of stone? Sounds right up my alley. Just sometimes you run across something that hits a soft spot, you know? Like this guy here.

[The Seviper slithers its big head right up under his chin and hisses a happy(?) 'Sev'. Thanks, Drifter. He likes you, too.]

Lookin' forward to those sea serpents. Best I've seen around the ocean is the half-ass goldfish. I hear they're supposed to grow into somethin' a whole lot bigger.

[But it was all he could do to not eat the one that he caught. He's not supposed to, right? He's assuming that's the case.]

[thedifferencebetween]

Nah, I get ya! I ended up collecting a metric fuckton of dogs, so... it happens.

[He never imagined he'd have so many damn dogs.]

Yeah, they do, but it's a pain in the ass training'em up to it. I've been working at it but my fish is freaking useless. I think it may literally be braindead, but how can I even tell?

[be_notorious]

Not many dogs back home, so might as well appreciate 'em where you can get 'em. It's a wild ride out there, where I'm from, don't know about you. This place is a piece of cake and you can afford to have some frivolous animals around.

[Anyone know where he can get a piece of cake?]

I did also notice that the fish seems to have a pretty severe affliction of 'idiot' goin' on with it. Do they at least get smarter when they evolve or would I be in possession of a leviathan-sized dumbass?

[thedifferencebetween]

You don't have dogs? What sorely lacking hellhole do you come from?

But you're not wrong, this place...I dunno what you're used to, but it's like a Normal Rockwell on drugs.

Dunno, maybe?

[be_notorious]

The sorta hellhole that had some "benevolent entity" show up to help the planet out. Then we got invaded by all that entity's ex-boyfriend alien species wanting to get their girl back and willing to fight for it.

There was a long time humans were in a bad place. Honestly, they still are. They're just used to it now, what's left of 'em.

[He rubs under his new snakes chin as he explains.]

So this place? Real differ'nt. Almost like how it used to be.

[thedifferencebetween]

Oh, alien bullshit. Yeah, ya just can't friggin trust aliens! They'll screw everything over. Weird ass energy bastards.

Sucks to be your dimension, I guess.

[be_notorious]

For the most part we don't got the energy kind. They do like their energy weapons, though. Sometimes they supe themselves up with it. Shields and junk? But nah. All of 'em got good big tickle spots that are real helpful to aim for.

[He makes a 'pop' noise with his mouth, making a finger-gun motion. Then that motion turns to him flicking a coin between those two fingers and walking it over his knuckles.]

Either way, this is a hell of a break. All the food I can eat [that's the most important], fresh air, nothin' tryin' to kill me if I decide to take a walk in the woods. Just a long dirt road that's actually got somewhere to go and a few beds here and there to rest in.

Haha. You'll have to excuse me. Hellholes set your bar for improvement pretty low, brother.

[thedifferencebetween]

Yeah, back home we got the kind that just are weapons. Like...explode your brain with a blink kinda deal. I mean not so much anymore, they mostly all yeeted off to some other dimension or something.

[It's...kind of vague on that, nobody was taking detailed notes or anything when the Eridians were around.]

But nah, this place is mostly pretty quiet. I mean sometimes time and space rip open and giant jellyfish aliens come pouring through, so...

Ya know. There's that.

[be_notorious]

See? That's real inconvenient... But honestly, we got a few of those, too. They can do it with a song or a hard look. "Necromantic gaze" kinda deal. Fucked up when someone given you the stink eye can put you six feet under... if you're the type to stay dead, that is.

[Drifter really... isn't.]

Time and space rip open? So uh... tell me about these jellyfish aliens.

[Though he's really interested in this whole time and space ripping open thing.]

[thedifferencebetween]

Nobody here's the type to stay dead, but you'll...figure that out. Or not! Doesn't happen too often around here, but it happens.

What's there to tell? Sky jellyfish from beyond space, I didn't exactly stick around to ask questions. Some Pokemon are big are terrifying and not exactly domesticated.

[be_notorious]

People have died here before? Didn't hear nothin' about that. You got me interested.

[His Seviper slithers then to rest it's head in his lap, and he gives up playing with the coin so he can stroke it. Though the coin just sort of seems to disappear rather than be put anywhere. Drifter's slight of hand game is strong.]

I gathered that, though. Not all the critters I have come by have had personable dispositions like this one. But I tell you, watchin' the fire breathin' ones get all riled up is a hoot.

[Drifter, for a very old man, is also easily entertained.]

action

[lyingheart]

[ Annie, thoroughly irate after being unconscious for a week because what are timelines on test drives, stares down at Wu Ming because.....................

......... she's sitting on top of Libera, the Gogoat. Annie flicks a glance over Libera, carrying Annie and her packing gear, then back to Wu Ming. An Absol and a Kirlia are trailing after, and a Sobble is poking their nose out of the packs, and ... well, that seems to be it. Two of a potential six on her are unaccounted for. ]

... I doubt you could do much damage to Libera without actively trying.

[be_notorious]

I figure I shouldn't be a judge of someone's constitution, sister. You never know who might have a fragile nature.

[But, dammit, the woman's getting her rat and heading off. Well, he'll just have to look elsewhere later. Not like he has a busy schedule at the moment. There went that idea. Anyway, he almost pats the neck of the Gogoat before remembering just up and doing that might get him kicked clean across the town.]

Mind if I-?

[He gestures loosely. Petting allowed, or petting gonna get him killed?]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie meets Libera's gaze, sliding off her back rather than answering his question. In turn, Libera looks at him, bringing her head in close and sniffing audibly. Then she nuzzles at his shoulder, because if nothing else, Libera's fond of getting cheek and base of her horn scratches. If her trainer and the rest of the team isn't in danger, or challenged to fight, then attention is great, please.

Annie pats Libera's shoulder from the other side, walking around front to comment offhand: ]

Seems like she gave you her answer.

[be_notorious]

[God, how long has it been since he just was petting things on the regular, and not just killin' to make due? Was it all the way back in that small little village of huts? Centuries upon centuries ago? Who'd think petting some sorta forest goat could make you feel so old.]

She's got a real friendly disposition. Probably makes a good mount, huh? [He says in his thick southern drawl.] Less likely to buck ya off and leave ya by the side of the road.

[He glances over at Annie. Honestly, she's got a good Hunter's build. He could imagine her being able to handle all sorts of weapons. Useless in this peaceful place, but it'll always be lingering at the back of his mind.]

Listen, I'm new around here. They say Pokecenters got places for you to sleep for cheap? [He's never needed much. A blanket and food, and that's it. Lots of food.]

[lyingheart]

Libera can be. Depends on her mood. Today she's relaxed.

[ She's as likely to headbutt just about anything if she feels its a threat, but there's no real need to mention that. Or how Libera, as a skiddo, had faced off against a hovercar... repeatedly.

Annie makes a noise of acknowledgement in the back of her throat, her Absol, Lute, coming to stand by her side. He gives Drifter a calm look, and a small inclination of his head. ]

Cheap to free, depending on if you're willing to do a little work or not. Details depend on the people running each Pokecenter. Cherrygrove's old couple will let anyone sleep there free, and the showers are always free. Sometimes they'll feed you.

[ She tips her head down the street, heading away from the residential section on the outskirts of town. ]

Welcome to the Pokemon Dimension, Wu Ming. May you enjoy your stay.

[be_notorious]

I don't mean to be presumptuous, but back where you're from, are you a fighter? I know no one does their own fighting here. But we got these three classes back home. Titan, Warlock, and Hunter. Hunters? They're the nimble ones. [Sly, too. Hit or miss whether they're also goofy madmen. He's known quite a few of them as well as the serious shadow warriors.]

You look like you coulda been a Hunter. I don't mean to offend, I just used to outfit a lot of 'em with armor.

Damn shame I can't do it here. Unless I started doin' it for the pokemon arenas but I figure they'd consider that cheating.

[Seems like the rules say Pokemon gotta do that themselves. Though maybe he could come up with a gametype where that would work? He always needs a game. As he's thinking about that, he pulls out a jade coin and walks it over his fingers. Two snakes intertwined on one side of it, on the other? The symbol seems to be changing each time the coin rolls over a knuckle (if she can notice an odd detail like that).]

[lyingheart]

It's no offense.

[ He's direct, isn't he? She watches him in her peripheral vision, the name Titan meriting a blink. ]

I was military trained. Titan would refer to monsters back home.

[ As well as a very specific class of fighters, which she finds amusing, in a dark way. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her hand reaches out to brush her fingers through the fur on top of Lute's head. ]

You can do your own fighting here. It's not standard, and not gym or casual battle accepted, but no one's going to stop you out in the field, or if you and another trainer agree to fight like that.

[ Biased audience here, considering she is one of those people, and caught her second pokemon by fighting alongside Lute and kicking a Hoothoot out of the air. Not... even close to standard practice.

The movement of the coin over his fingers pulls her attention. Something sinuous one one side, and the other, she's not sure. Curious. What's it even made out of? ]

Armour wasn't practical in the military back home. Could be interesting here. Set up specific competitions for it, or make your sales for travelers and explorers. If you integrate with what potions and equipment they have here, it could be a bigger success.

[be_notorious]

The armor I made? All about the fast movement. Plasteel reinforced with impact and energy protections.

[Though monsters? That's interesting.] I take it they're not the cute little monsters like they got here? The Titans I know are just a fighting class. Usually big broad folks. I knew one on the smaller side. She was uh...

[And there, there's the slightest break in his easy-going showman facade.] She was somethin'. [Before she became a doll for the Nine to just puppet around. Some marionette. The bastards.] Well, anyway, a good portion of 'em are bull-headed and stubborn.

Not a bad plan though, sister? Now I got it in my mind. I bet I could set somethin' up eventually. Being able to equip armor with potions? That'd be easy. [He flips the coin idly.]

[lyingheart]

Plasteel?

[ What in the worlds is that? Colour her just interested enough to show curiosity for a heartbeat, which in turn becomes a more considering look. ]

... She must have been. Size is one skill any fighter has. Doesn't mean it's used in the ways people expect.

[ Which is a nod to a mysterious woman who Annie will never meet: being smaller does not dictate one's abilities. Simply things like one's reach and weight. ]

Mm. Could be worth advertising near Victory Road, or see about using the PokeCenter boards in the same way. If you get around to it. [ She lifts her shoulders in a slight shrug. ] Same with the fighting with or against Pokemon. It's a smaller market, but still marketable.

[ If contests are marketable here, then things like that should be, too. ]

[be_notorious]

[He knows he can't say the parts of Orin that went very wrong, but there was a lot to her that was right before she became a damn dress up doll for the Nine and after she learned what kind of man Drifter was.] That woman was spunky, too. Had a heart a little too big for her chest and a sense of curiosity that mighta stretched to the stars. Generally good company, those are. Never want for a conversation because they always have a story, and if you need some quiet they know how to be alone together with somebody.

And plasteel a material light as plastic, strong as steel. Or stronger. You can use it in plates or you can weave it into fabric. I tend to use plated on Titans and woven on Warlocks and Hunters. They gotta be more mobile. Not so good at just standing there and being a sponge for damage.

[Titans must be a strange thing for her to keep hearing in that context, if they're monsters in her world.]

I do think I'll look into that, though, Sister. I was thinkin' the gyms seemed a bit run of the mill and people might wanna switch it up.

[lyingheart]

... Too much past tense involved with all of that. My condolences.

[ Annie's known people like that, and watched people like that die, or change to become something different than what they used to be. She sounds like she was this guy's friend, and as someone who has watched friendships and seen the good and ill that can come tied up in them... someone who hadn't wanted friends, for a myriad of reasons that boiled down to being afraid because she couldn't distance herself from caring like she'd been trained, like she was supposed to...

She doesn't understand. But she acknowledges it. ]

What kind of fighting are these classes handling? Military? Mercenary? Competitive?

[ Strange as it is to be thinking of only a class of fighters called Titans who were not, in any way, the Titan Warriors she knew. ]

It's Annie. Not sister. And send me a message if you ever do. Sounds more like what I'd be interested in than what runs as "outside the box" in most places.

[be_notorious]

She seemed pretty content last I saw her. Sometimes a body's just gotta go do their own thing.

[The part of the story he holds onto is that he is the one that caused all that bad to happen to her, but that's never a part of a story anyone shares out the floodgate. Pretend to be someone you're not and someone else might take it real hard.]

[That competitive talk? Always the better thing to key in on.]

All of the above, military, mercenary, competition. [It's bloodsport really, as far as he's concerned. Anyone that thinks otherwise is deluded.]. The 'Last City' has this thing called the Vanguard. A buncha idealists, a good apocalypse tends to leave a few of those scattered around. But they pay good, and they pay these fighters to go out and do bounties for 'em. So I thought, you know? I want in. Came by, started running bounties of my own so I could get some supplies. Team based competitive.

I think this place has a great set up already for some team based competitive. Just gotta figure out how to cook that up. There many arenas where you can go against other trainers in multiples?