TEST DRIVE MEME #8

[fairyfoes]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you not with mirthful revelry, this time around dear friends. There is a seriousness in the air, though the food is still hearty and the imps still mischievous. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket! Be mindful, though -- the monarchs are watching and cross court communication should be done with the utmost secrecy.

Comments

[ragnarock]

Did you pull it off? [ She sweeps a hand over the castle, turning the you into a broad, all-encompassing you. Her lips are slightly upturned, almost in a smile, in a brassy, bold way that makes it pretty clear that she expects the answer to be "yes, total successes." ]

[andallbite]

[ His expression subtly pinches together in response to her expectant grin. Much as he hates to admit it, their side hasn't exactly been going through a winning streak lately. But he's learned the hard way, a long time ago, that sometimes you have to manage to hold your head up and admit everything hadn't been smooth sailing. ]

Sometimes. [ Nothing that ever had them succumbing to defeat, however. ] I was busy in Leathann when they asked us to go after the citadel, so I've only heard that they managed to wreck some of it.

[ragnarock]

[ The almost smile turns into a thin, unimpressed line; she folds her arms across her chest. ]

I would change that, if machines worked here.

[ Yes, I, singular. She is quite confident that her giant robot could beat up a fantasy realm. ]

[andallbite]

[ He might even believe it, if he had any idea what a mecha was in the first place. As it is, though, Eren gives her a curious look, rather than a skeptical one. ]

Do you build stuff, too?

[ He's friends with a one Hiro Hamada, so Eren's been on the receiving end of that particular woe very, very often. Machine talk as well, but he very rarely fully understands that mess. Nonetheless, Eren is an inquisitive sort, so. ]

[ragnarock]

[ She literally can't do basic repairs to save her life, but she doesn't see that as a problem. ]

Of course not. Mechanics fix Paramail; I'm a rider.

[ It occurs to her, belatedly, that she might have to explain this from the beginning, the way that Jill and the First Squad had explained it to her when she had first arrived from the peaceful world of Mana. Alright, what has she seen in this castle that could give context? She frowns for a moment, lifting her hand to her chin thoughtfully. ]

Like... a suit of armor, that flies. Eight meters high, and even though it's big, you control all its limbs and weapons. [ She mimes gripping the controls and pressing buttons with her hands, and lifts one foot to mimic adjusting the acceleration. ] For speed and distance, it transforms into -- [ This stumps her. A plane? No. ] -- a giant bird.

[ Her frown deepens as she struggles through the details. Describing a Paramail without a good frame of reference surprisingly difficult. ]

[andallbite]

[ Difficult? Probably. But her explanation gets her point across, surprisingly enough. As she talks, Eren gradually straightens his posture, eyes going slightly wide in mild surprise. He doesn't quite envision exactly what she means, but even what he has in mind amazes him enough. ]

That's— [ Eren stops himself short, expression going back into a thoughtful frown as he attempts to figure out his words. ] A machine like that really exists? What do you do with that?

[ragnarock]

We used to fight dragons.

[ Some of her customary confidence wavers here a moment; she turns to gaze south, and her next sentence is quieter, her boldness giving way to a measure of quiet regret. ]

So that bastards across the sea could carve out the crystals in their flesh.

[andallbite]

[ He notices, of course; the features of his own face soften as his eyes settle back on her, quiet in the moment where she admits to a small hint of her life. That for all the confidence she exudes, there's something she isn't proud of, too.

Eren doesn't know a thing about dragons, truth be told, beyond what stories get passed around. They've been extinct for ages, apparently, or so they say. He never thought about it much; Eren's grown a reputation for slaying monsters among the soldiers around Caer Scima, but he isn't very knowledgeable about what kinds exist throughout the drabwurld. There is, however, clearly a story behind the kind of dragons she's had to face in the past.

Much as he wonders, there's no outright asking from him. Instead: ]

But you don't anymore. [ Right? ] Could you use it to fight anything?

[ragnarock]

We haven't fought dragons since we found out that bullshit world was using them for.

[ Using us for. But she doesn't have to dwell on that much longer, because, well, this story has a happy ending. Her smile comes back, her eyes gleam. ]

They can fight anything, anywhere. We used them to kill god, or whatever that pervert stalker was. Now we're using them to build our own country.

[andallbite]

[ A... pervert stalker god? Well, okay. The important part being, though, is that things seemingly turned around for the better thanks to whatever she called her machine. It sounds so fantastical, more than anything else, but it sounds so useful, too. ]

Well—I'll believe you when you say somethin' like that could change things around. Too bad we can't use it.

[ragnarock]

Mm.

[ She holds out the hand with her ring on it, letting the large green stone catch the light. ]

Villkiss can travel between worlds as well as those imps can. If it would work here, it would come.

[ There's an audible note of tenderness in her voice for the machine that's looked after her all these months. ]

[andallbite]

[ Now there's something he's never heard before, he thinks while studying the glistening ring. ]

You've traveled to other worlds before?

[ragnarock]

Right. Our world, the dragons' world, and a weird pocket in space-time.

[ She says it totally blase now, like world travel, no big deal when you ride has a space-time drive although she rolls her eyes when she mentions the pocket world. ]

But they were all different versions of the same place. Nothing like this.

[andallbite]

[ "Weird pocket in space-time" flies right over his head, but the rest makes sense. You don't spend this long in a sort of meeting point of different worlds, if a sudden and unwilling one, and not learn a thing or two about it. This piques his interest however, because she's the only person he's come across who speaks of dimension traveling as easily as one does the weather. ]

No, this place is pretty different from most. [ He guesses, anyway. No one talks about the drabwurld as if there's anything familiar about it. ] I never heard of anyone who's gone world hopping before, though. I was starting to think that'd be impossible without... [ Eren trails off, vaguely gesturing in the direction of the castle. ] the monarchs or whatever magic bullshit's floatin' around here.

[ragnarock]

Villkiss isn't magic. It's --

[ She pauses, frowns, considers, and realizes that she can't explain how her machine works, at all. Fuel goes in, propulsion comes out -- but does it even need fuel? And how does it regenerate parts? And why could a world-hopping, apocalypse-inducing machine be stopped by shoving underwear in the engine, anyway? ]

It runs on super-symmetric particles.

[ Okay, that might as well be magic. She runs a hand through her hair, annoyed, and takes a deep breath to work up back to her usual confidence. ]

But it means they're not the only ones who can jump between worlds. Humans can do it, too, with the right tools.