Voices from Heaven (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thespaceopera) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
driftfleet_ooc2017-09-02 11:55 am
thespaceopera) wrote in driftfleet_ooc2017-09-02 11:55 am
Entry tags:
SEPTEMBER TEST DRIVE
THE FALL TEST DRIVE MEME
(Or Spring Test Drive for you Southern Hemisphere folks!)
Got someone you want to try out before you app? Well this is the post for it! Feel free to use anything that fits in the setting of Drift Fleet! Want to play bumper shuttles? Want to go wild in a med bay? Play around with the current plot? Have at it!
Threads from the Test-Drive may be made game "canon" but DO NOT count toward AC!
FOR NEW PLAYERS: You DO NOT NEED an invite to participate in the TEST DRIVE! If you decide to APP into the game, ONLY THEN will you need an invite from a current player!
Helpful Info for Ideas!:
Test drives are posted SEASONALLY, so the next one will be in December!
no subject
Oh, well, that, [Matthew laughs, cane tip-tapping just a pace behind Justice as he keeps up with only the occasional misstep for appearances,] I'm learning that's a pretty complicated question, here. I imagine it's very different from yours.
[He sighs through his nose, giving the question honest thought.] It's, um. Crowded, noisy. For every person there are at least ten opinions. More ideologies and religions than I could possibly ever count, but the variety is...comforting. Affirming.
You?
no subject
He listens intently to Matthew's answer, nodding slowly as he takes it in. Crowded. Noisy. He's not sure how crowded and noisy it is compared to the mortal world he's only just become accustomed to, but he likes to hear about it nonetheless. The comment about variety piques his interest the most.]
You are correct. It is a complicated question. [How does Justice sum up a world in a few sentences? Especially a world he's not particularly familiar with? The Fade is his home, but it doesn't occur to him to talk about the Fade instead of the mortal world. This is a mortal and clearly he would want to hear about the difference in the mortal world. The Fade is probably the same in any world.]
I do not believe that there are many religions, at least not many that can live openly among each other. It seems the main religious conflicts tend to be within the Chantry and between the Chantry and the Qun, though there are many people who believe differently than the Chantry within Chantry land. The Chantry has done its best to snuff out different beliefs, and those who still hold to older ways only do so if they stay out of the Chantry's sight if they do not have their own land as the dwarves do. What little I know of lands under the Qun tells me that they don't tolerate those who believe differently even that much. [He thinks. He's actually not entirely sure about any of this, but his understanding from Kristoff's memories and what little mortal history he's learned has told him so.] I am given the impression that the world is terribly wounded, and it struggles to heal even as more injuries are inflicted. Despite that, it is wonderful. Joy lingers on the land just as much as sorrow, and the breadth of experience is...
[Words fail him. His voice changes as he speaks, becoming sincere and gradually awestruck, as if he's still not entirely certain how to take in the magnificence of the world he speaks of and talking about it only brings to mind its overwhelming wonder. He is silent for a moment, staring at the distance.]
It is beautiful. This world isn't so different in that regard. [No, it doesn't have lyrium, but it has mortals bursting with life and personality and it has gorgeous, unchanging scenery and fingerprints left behind by people everywhere. It is beautiful.]
no subject
Matthew relaxes, just a touch, and quickens his step just enough to match Justice's stride.]
I might have to retract my earlier statement; our worlds don't sound so different after all. From the problems to the beauty, even. [He lifts his cane to gesture with the handle at the crowds parting in front of them.] I said I was used to crowds because I grew up in a city a lot like this one; even busier, often busier. Watching how people's lives overlap like this, it gives you a sense of belonging I don't think I could've found anywhere else. [There are times he's never felt more isolated too, but Justice doesn't need to know that. They're talking about beauty, after all.]
no subject
If he notices that Matthew is relaxing, he makes no indication of it. Instead, he listens intently to what Matthew has to say, taking in every single word and considering it. Mortal experience is basically one of his favorite things to talk about. It's almost as good as discussing what constitutes justice and urging people to be better in their lives. Almost.]
Belonging. [He says the word slowly, like he is tasting it in his mouth. He thinks he knows what that feels like. In the Fade, he is never more at peace than when he is doing something to live up to his virtue. Spirits don't have communities the way mortals do, but one can belong even without a group to belong to. Belonging to a concept is also good.
But it is different in the mortal world. He is still overjoyed when he is able to perform justice, but he desires interaction with others in a way he never has before. Perhaps it is dangerous to feel that way, but he can see the attraction in a crowded space where you will always belong.] Yes, I understand. I have only ever been to one city in person. Life hummed in every corner--it would have been easy to become part of it.
[Justice considers Matthew, but he only halfway does it with his eyes. He mostly does it with that part of him that feels mortal presence, listening to the hum of Matthew and the way it's unique in a way only mortals can be unique among their own kind.] You appear different, but you do not sound different from the people of that city. What differences there are between our worlds, they do not seem fundamental.
[It doesn't occur to Justice that another world with recognizable humans may not have elves or magic or the Fade. He just knows that this is a human, and he hums like all mortals do.]
no subject
...'course, I never took philosophy in college. I couldn't tell you. [Shoots a smile in Justice's general direction.] You sound like you've got a lot of thoughts on it. Too much spare time, or not enough?
no subject
[Yeah, if Matthew didn't already gather that Justice might not be a regular human, this might be a tip off.]
I only recently began living among them. Prior, I met them rarely, usually in dreams. I have little time where I am not busy, but it would be hard not to have thoughts on their world now that I am spending so much time in it. Or perhaps I should say your world.
[His tone has slid back to his neutral sternness. This isn't him losing interest as much as him bracing for Matthew to react poorly to the implication that he is a spirit from the Fade. He knows that most mortals immediately assume that any spirit is a demon. He knows that he can only expect fear and unease when he reveals these things about himself--but he can't hide it. Being deceptive for the sake of his own comfort would be wrong. And he considers intentionally omitting this fact about himself when it comes up naturally in conversation to be deceptive.]
no subject
You could. I think it's fair to offer up a little division, similarities notwithstanding. [Matthew pauses, hanging onto his cane with both hands as he stops.] Actually Justice, I'd like to ask you something, if you're not opposed to my prying.
no subject
Justice stops with Matthew, watching with some undeniable curiosity.] Ask what you will. If I do not wish to answer, I will simply say so.
[It would be pretty unfair for Justice to ask mortals all the questions, after all. He doesn't mind answering some of his own.]
no subject
no subject
[He says it without hesitation, like he'd expected the answer to that question to just be obvious. Though this would explain a certain amount--not everyone may know enough about spirits to identify them even when he talks about meeting people in dreams. Does he even know about the Fade? Justice chooses to explain it just in case, since he would have expected him to know about spirits too.]
The Fade is where mortals go to dream. The Veil divides the waking world and the dreaming world, and I passed through it when a demon I battled was careless with its magic.
no subject
...all right. [Gestures before them for Justice to continue walking, should he so wish.]
no subject
[Good on you, Matt. If everyone reacted like this, Justice would be happy. Or however happy a spirit of justice can possibly be.
Justice starts walking again, keeping his pace steady and his eye on Matthew just in case he can't hear him moving.]
What do you do in your world? You don't seem to be a merchant or a farmer. [Or a knight or a noble or... well, any profession Justice knows of. Most professions in Thedas end up having their own dress code--armor for knights, fine silks for nobles, dirt for farmers, and so on.]
no subject
I'm a lawyer. I uh, I help to protect people using the laws of our justice system.
no subject
A... lawyer? [This mention of a justice system seems very relevant to Justice's interests, but he's not exactly sure what that means. Ferelden doesn't exactly have a well constructed legal system, much less lawyers.] How does that work?
no subject
[He bumps into somebody and apologizes, hand up before turning back to Justice.] As a lawyer, I'm usually on defense. I represent the accused. The burden is on the prosecution to prove the guilt of my client, but ideally, the goal of a trial is to uncover the truth of a crime and see to it that the appropriate parties are punished or set free.
no subject
He listens carefully to the description, nodding along. It all sounds... very sensible, actually.]
You have formalized a process for your society to grant justice on a large scale. [This. Is. AMAZING.] And everyone has access to this process? Regardless of who or what they are?
[Some of Justice's enthusiasm for the idea leaks into his voice, but it's still the understated shift all his emotions inspire in his words. A system intended to apply to everyone undoubtedly has flaws, but it's so much better than what Justice has seen in Thedas. In Ferelden, there is little infrastructure to deal with crime, and so local guardsmen will usually deal with it by putting people into gibbets or hanging them. Those without guardsmen to run to have to make do by finding their own justice, and not everyone has the physical strength or influence to do that.]
no subject
no subject
[That's weird. That's really weird. But never mind that--a formalized justice system where a group examines evidence and decides on guilt is much more relevant to Justice. It can't possibly be perfect, because no system created by imperfect creatures can be perfect, but it still sounds so much better than the near free for all Justice is used to.]
I wish to learn more of your legal system. Do you have a resource from which to do so? A book, or perhaps an object you use often while working? [Justice can read objects. He is perfectly happy pulling information from Matt's tie if it means he gets to learn more about this new way of delivering justice to the common people.]
no subject