justhugalready | Test Drive

Test Drive - October Edition

The October Test Drive!
Trying to see if a character will fit or work in the setting? Need some interaction samples? Well this meme is for you!

Make a post, tag around, and most importantly, have fun! Here's the setting page for those who want to learn a little more about the city itself.

~~And don't forget to go reserve your character, GO GO GO.......~~

Here's some prompts to help you get started, if you need it:

Option 1

[ With the return of fall comes somewhat cooling temperatures and the phasing out of all summer clothing from the shops. There's an assortment of colder-weather clothing being put up; sweaters, jackets, scarves, gloves, boots - you name it, and it's visible in the mannequins out on display. With the return of fall also comes the return of the fall sales - all store managers are offering discounts for those that come in to purchase in pairs. ]

Option 2

[ With the changing out of the summr clothing to fall also comes the shift from the fresh fruits of summer to the gourds, apples, and warm spices of the season of harvest. Cinnamon and nutmeg can be smelled wafting from cafe's and coffee shops, tempting anyone passing by to come in and sample the wares. Like the clothing stores, they are offering a discount for those that purchase in groups of two or three. ]

Option 3

[ There seems to be another festival in the works, if the stands being erected in the Fourth District are anythign to go by. There still seems to be a lot of work to do, and the citizens would love it if a helping hand or two were to be offered.

One stand that seems to be fully erected and hard at work is one dedicated to carving what looks to be the Saeng Seong equivalent of a pumpkin into traditional lanterns. There are still a number of these gourds waiting to be carved, and once again the citizens would be delighted to have any number of volunteers aiding them with the task of carving. ]

Option 4

[ Fall in Saeng Seong also means rain; lots and lots of rain, usually from out of nowhere. Luckily, the city is used to this phenomenon, and has had several small awnings built in strategic locations around the city for waiting out the wet spells that hit so frequently.

They're only big enough for two or three people to take shelter under with moderate comfort, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone. Hope you don't mind sharing the space with a stranger for the duration of the weather, unless one of you had the foresight to bring an umbrella. ]

Option 5

[ Whoops. Looks like you haven't taken the cautionary words of the other NPCs to heart, or maybe you just wanted to take your chances. Either way, the withdrawal symptoms have started and you need to find someone to hug quickly before you get even more sick.]

Option 6

[If there's something else you wanted to play with, that you didn't see here, then have fun with that. You've just arrived in a strange city, after all. There's got to be plenty to explore out and about, not to mention people to meet.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's cold outside and Euniska doesn't like it one bit! Her species is adapted to a savannah climate, after all, and she'd lived all her - currently fairly short - life on a perfectly temperature-controlled space station. Fall weather has her positively shaking on her hooves with the chill.

Unfortunately, she only came to Saeng Seong with one outfit and that's only suited for the comfortably warm temperature of her home station. And well- Now she's staring disconsolately around a clothing shop. Everything is all... made for humans. With feet and arms and stuff.

Dejectedly she wraps a fluffy scarf around her neck. That's similar enough to Laheyla fashion, but it doesn't exactly cover enough to keep her warm.

Yeah, so, Spinister kind of gets to enjoy the cold weather without needing any kind of clothes. It's pretty rad. Temperature controlled internals were pretty rad.

Weird armless aliens were kinda rad too, although currently more weird than rad. Wow, that's definitely one of the weird looking aliens Spin's seen.

Spinister kind of just stares. This is possibly a bit rude.

Euniska can feel someone watching her and it makes her sparse mane bristle and her tail fluff. You don't just stare at a herbivore and not expect them to get nervous!

Turning around with a huff, flipping the end of the scarf she's trying on imperiously, she fixes the source of the stare with her grumpiest little girl glare. It's... it's some kind of robot. That's not especially abnormal to her, but this one is awfully chunky! Kind of ugly.

Sticking up her trunk, she's demands, "What, haven't you seen a Laheyla before?"

Her ears fold down a bit when she remembers that it probably hasn't.

Spinister would be the first person to realize that staring was rude- when it was being aimed at him. The rest of the time, he's somewhat socially inept despite his occasional perceptiveness.

"Nope," Spinister answers with a shrug. "Never even heard of them! Bet you haven't heard of Cybertronian either, have you?"

Pursing her mouth, Euniska looks away, not wanting to admit her lack of knowledge. She's almost a teenager now, that means she knows everything! Except this.

She gives an indignant sniff, "Well, no." Then to cover for her ignorance in this matter, she adds, "But I know about robots! Are you a simulated intelligence or an actual intelligence?"

She's guessing the latter, but some service-bots have really convincing simulated personalities even though they don't pass personhood tests.

"Uh," Spinister rubs the back of his head. "Well, have sparks, so I guess we're and actual intelligence? And it's not only robots that are simulated intelligences you know, that's kinda rude. Also robots is kinda rude but I didn't know about laheylas neither so I guess it kind of balances out."

One of Euniska's ears twitches up while the other flattens to the side in confusion. Then she starts talking, "What's a spark? And I've never met a simulated intelligence that wasn't a computer or a robot!"

She bounces a little on her hooves, tail swishing from side to side. "And why is robot rude? If you're a machine the moves you're a robot, if you're a machine and organic you're a cyborg, and if you're just organic, you're a... a..." Her trunk flicks out of her mouth to rub her chin. "You're a lifeform?"

Nearly a teenager. Knows everything.

"Wouldn't an organic simulated intelligence just be the same thing but squishy?" You could make machines out of organic stuff after all. A lot of animals were pretty simple in regards to behavioral programming. Well, the ones he knows about anyways and xenobiology was not exactly his field of expertise.

"And a robot can totally be a life form too!" he puffs, crossing his hands.

Euniska purses her mouth again, squinting slightly at Spinister. "I don't think animals work like that. They're either smart or dumb, and the dumb ones can't pretend to be smart." Her brow furrows and she rubs at her forehead in thought. "Unless, you like, make an organic computer and program it? That would be kind of gross, though, and then it'd still be a computer, not a life-form, just one made out of different stuff..."

Well, now she's going to have to ping her computer later for information on organic computers.

She tugs at one of her tusks - what little there is of it - and matter-of-factually states, "Robots can be people, but they're not life-forms."

"What if it's a sentient organic computer? Wouldn't that technically be a life-form?" This was a lot of philosophical debating and Spinister is getting very, very confused.

"I think this criteria for life form is very organic-biased!"

Euniska is also looking pretty confused at this point, but that's not about to stop her from making definitive statements. "Nuh-uh! Computers are computers, it doesn't matter what they're made of. And computers aren't life-forms."

She gives a firm nod to emphasize her correctness.

Flipping her tail about, she says, "Well, that's just how things are! Science decided it. At best robots can be artificial life-forms!"

She knows these things because that's what the encyclopedia tells her, yes.

Though Freya is somewhat lucky on the clothes-front, she does have some issue finding anything for her feet or head, and human pants don't exactly make way for her tail. That's why she feels inclined to approach the girl when she sees her frustration at the clothes. Given her appearance, it's no wonder why.

"Having trouble finding something?" the Burmecian asks.

"Oh!" Euniska says, hopping in a circle to face the person addressing her. Not a human and not a species she's familiar with, but whatever she is her species fits well within the averages of the Morphological Singularity Phenomenon (bidpedal locomotion, upright posture, 4-6 limbs, a tail, and such and such...).

"Hi!" she greets, then pouts at the floor and nods at the question, self-consciously tugging the scarf up to cover her chin with her trunk-tongue. "All this warm human stuff is all thick and baggy and... and... made for arms. Wearing stuff made for arms when you don't even really have shoulders is... a bit awkward.

"I imagine that must be frustrating," Freya remarks, bring a hand to her chin. This place doesn't seem much suited for people without arms, in the same way it's not suited to very tall robots.

"There is a local clothier that may be able to make something that suits you better. I often go to him when I need adjustments to my own garments."

"It is," Euniska says, with the sheer amount of frustration with the world that only youth seem to be able to muster. Her ears poke right up at the mention of the clothier.

"Oh! Like custom clothes?" She gasps slightly and bounces a little on her hooves. "Do they make them all old-fashioned style with strings and stuff? Can I watch?"

Sewn clothes are sooo retro and fancy! Most clothing where she's from is printed.

"Strings?"

Freya looked confused for a moment. Was she referring to thread? She didn't know of any other way to construct clothes. Then again, she was aware that the technology of her home was not as advanced as that of others she knew. Perhaps there was a newer way of making clothing.

"Well... yes, I suppose so. As for whether you can watch, I don't believe that would be too much to ask. They would be taking your measurements and making adjustments, after all."

"Ah! That'd be so cool!" Bouncing with even more vigour, Euniska let's out a few high whistles of excitement. "Take me, take me-!"

Suddenly remembering that she is totally an independent young Laheyla who don't need no adult and also that she's no longer among her adoring extended family, she quickly settles on her hooves and straightens her posture. "I mean, if you would be so kind as to give me directions, I shall visit poste-haste!"

That's definitely how adults speak. Very mature.

Freya chuckles quietly to herself, glad to see the previous frustration has been replaced with excitement.

"It would be my pleasure to guide you there," she says with a bow of her head. She turns to leave, only glancing back once to make certain that the girl is following. Thankfully, the clothier is only a couple of blocks away, so it shouldn't take them much time to get there.

With a happy whistle, Euniska bounces after Freya... Then promptly rushes back to the store counter to pay for the scarf she tried on. That at least fit her fine.

Then she trots back to Freya's side, shivering as they go outside.

"Thank you!" she says, remembering some of her manners. "My name is Euniska. What's yours?"

The scarf doesn't seem to be much of a shield against the cold for the girl, but it's a start, and certainly better than nothing. Freya thinks she must be used to much warmer temperatures.

"You're welcome," she replies. "I am Freya. It's a pleasure to meet you, Euniska. I imagine you must have arrived recently?"

Euniska bounces and flicks her tail as she follows Freya with the nervous energy of someone trying to build heat through activity.

"Mmhm," she says, nodding fervently, following it up with a sniff of disdain directed at the city in general. "And let me just say that I think kidnappings people for help is very rude." Her imperious look dissolves into a pout. "Especially when they don't even have proper clothes ready for them."

"I believe most would agree with you on that," she says with a smile, amused at the very adolescent indignation Euniska is displaying. "Hopefully we will solve that particular issue soon. I will argue that we have been more fortunate here than most kidnapping victims, however."

As far as prisons go, Seong Saeng is more like a place one might visit on vacation. It's helped her come to terms with some of the things that happened prior to her arrival, somewhat, though she does occasionally get restless.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Test Drive - October Edition

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sorry for the delay! school suddenly buried me