voidtreckerooc | Test Drive Meme 015

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Test Drive Meme 015

Welcome to the Test Drive Meme! Here is the place to see how your character might fit the setting, grab samples and have fun!

1. Post with your character, including their name and series in the subject. We’ve written out some prompts but feel free to make up your own, you have a whole train to play with!

2. Assume they've been around long enough for threads to jump right into the action.

3. Have lots of fun. Mandatory, mod-sanctioned fun.

Happy testing!

A Quiet Place

A double carriage with a staircase at each end, the quiet coach has five booths on each floor. With frosted glass doors, locks on the inside, and a pair of comfy benches each, they’re luxuriously private on a train that’s anything but. There are no ICP screens, and each booth is completely soundproof.

Granted, two of the rooms downstairs have been merged in an act of vandalism and are now a workshop-slash-forge, but that has its own attraction. Plenty of things to mess with, plenty of boxes of scraps. The main tinkerer’s not home. Hey, isn’t that a welding torch?

No? Well, you were early enough to snag a room for yourself. Perhaps you’re not alone, or you’re expecting company. Or maybe you forgot to lock the door, and now someone’s in here with you. Awkward.

Too Many Cooks

Once a single room, the kitchen now sprawls over two floors. Banks of industrial electric ovens, a long, steel countertop facing them. Cupboards full of oven trays and pans, racks of implements and appliances. On the first floor, sinks and modern appliances, and cupboards full of crockery.

This month, the month of Harrow, the recipes are centred around chocolate. Chicken Mole, chocolate ravioli, cocoa chilli… it may begin to taste a little sickly sweet after the first week. Fortunately, there’s plenty of room for experimentation as people start to beg for other meals. And a lot of chocolate going spare.

And when the preparation is finished, and the meals have been sent over to the dining carriage… there are stacks, and stacks, and stacks of plates. Pots. Cutlery. And no dishwashers.

Well, no, that’s not strictly true. You’re there.

Allegorical Devices and Other Foes

The world of Torcera, designation #450720816. With a civilisation level roughly equivalent to the medieval ages, the train has deposited its Voidtreckers in a castle town, in which several kingdoms have assembled for an annual tournament. Banners fly from every roof, chattering squires and servants tug mounts this way and that. Some resemble horses with trailing antlers and four lidded eyes, others great flightless birds, and a third popular choice is a species of lanky winged dogs, albeit for the sake of fairness their wings are strapped loosely to their saddles. As a world ignorant of Void travel, you have all been given access to the dressing car’s voluminous stores. Dresses, chainmail, jerkins, or even a few suits of full plate… and plenty of hooded capes. Evil is afoot at the tournament, and you are to root it out.

Team One

Courtiers and their adjutants have travelled from all corners of the planet to assemble for the tournament; the empress herself is said to be participating, and stakes are high. Your team has been tasked with determining the identity of the empress in the tourney, and the identity of her foes, so that Team Two can move in. To this end, you are to mingle with the court and, if necessary, break into personal quarters. Brief instruction in protocol will not be provided.

Team Two

Once you know the identity of the Empress, you can move to defend her - you’re relatively sure she’s either the helmed hedge knight of the crested monlion, or the masked outrider with the seagoose crest and a mount with plumage of deepest blue. But you can’t be sure, and until you are, you’re to sign up for the tourney and look for troublemakers. The melee will be held in the afternoon, and tomorrow the individual lists. Mounts are available, as are a staggering number of weapons. Ideally, the final round would be a number of Voidtreckers, and the Empress. How to arrange that?

Team Three

Team One is in the court. Team Two in the lists. And you, Team Three, are amongst the common folk. Rumours abound, the atmosphere is festive, and several events are open to ordinary citizens on the second day, including one bohort with a single wish of the Empress as the prize. No great problem, perhaps... if not for the tales of a younger brother, long lost, looking to usurp the throne. Unrest is stirring in the town behind the colourful stalls and laughing children, and it's up to you to determine where, and why.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He blinked, assembled pieces of armor and padding held awkwardly in his arms. Start with the basics, he'd figured. "I'm sorry, what?" Trunks thought he maybe understood if he was being asked if he was nervous. But that accent...

Okay, that kinda threw her off, she hadn't expected him to not be able to understand her ~~awful~~ attempt at Shakespearean. Pausing a moment, and righting herself she reached up to scratch her head. "Between our combin'd eff'rts we'll beest vict'rious?" It came out more as a question than a statement.

"....are you...trying to say something about potentially fighting beasts? I thought we'd have normal opponents."

No, sadly- that was not what she was trying to say at all. Maybe she should abandon this speech pattern altogether with people that were clearly from the train. "I- ha.. well.. no. Not actually." Suddenly sounding a little more unsure of herself as she mentally tried to alter the character she was attempting to play to fit the situation. "I was just trying to fit in." like usual, really.

".... I said we should be able to pull this off... you know- together. Heh."

Oh! "I think you should just talk normally." Looking at her own costume up and down, Trunks nodded after a moment. "You look the part so far."

Something about that headtilt as he inspected her costume added to her mounting nerves. No- it was fine. She could do this. It sure would have been a lot easier if Gabby was here for moral support.

".. You don't think the locals will be weirded out?" The vernacular did change overtime. Just how medieval was this place supposed to be? Then again, she was parading around as a female knight, so that might not be in keeping with their culture either. " Thanks." It came out a bit softer than intended, and she swiftly shook her head, balled up a fist and tried for a full recovery. "You should do fine with what you've found so far too." Said more for politeness really, since he didn't have all of it on yet, so how could she tell for sure if it was adequate. Small talk with strangers was hard.

"I don't think it'll matter if they are or not. And you're welcome." Trunks replied with a smile. "I'm more concerned about how do I wear this stuff. The armor I have already stretches, whereas these pieces have more buckles and stuff."

No need to point out what little bit of awkwardness he noticed after all.

A part of Sylvia wanted to argue with that, to list why it might be better not to stand out and draw attention to themselves- but she couldn't bring herself to voice it. He did have a rather disarming smile, and she wasn't one for confrontation when it wasn't necessary. "... It.... stretches?" Looking down briefly to his chest plate. "It looks so solid though."

"I can help you figure it out, I'm actually used to more complicated fasteners than these!" Ah- a subject she could handle, that helped.

"It's an advanced polymer thing. My mom copied, reverse-engineered and then improved my father's armor." A pause, and then the smile turned slightly sheepish. "He's not from Earth."

One arm coming up and rubbing at the back of his neck, he looked grateful for the offer. "I'd appreciate it. I'm sure I learned about this stuff growing up but I can't seem to remember any of it now."

That part about polymer was all well and good, but it still prompted further confusion. Instinctively Silvia raised her hand first then proceeded to speak,"Question. Why did you need armor in the first place?" I mean as far as she knew, everyone here hadn't been called upon here to accomplish these odd tasks until after boarding the train. "Huh?" The thing he said next just stupified her. She started envisioning something more like a space octopus or a xenomorph than anything that would resemble Trunk's reality. "Ha.. you're putting me on, aren't you?" Giving him a playful shove. "I know I might not look it but I'm actually not that naive!" Or so she would claim. The truth was she could be.

"No problem." Giving him a smile and a nod. " I go to a lot of conventions and getting the costuming just right requires creativity." And sometimes double sided sticky tape if you wanted to be more authentic. She usually opted for slightly less authenticity in lieu of modesty. ~~why yes she is a nerd~~ "Guess it doesn't matter which piece we start with..." Eying the pile.

"I came to the train straight from a martial arts tournament." It was the simplest answer he could give, and while she tried to playfully shove him--she didn't move him very far. "No, it's true. You can believe it or not if you want." Trunks shrugged one shoulder, not in particularly bothered.

"I appreciate the help....conventions?"

"That makes sense- it wouldn't be much of a competition if the combatants didn't prepare for it." That answer seemed to satisfy her query quite nicely. When he responded to the next part he sounded so sincere about it that it had Silvia questioning herself. ".... I'll probably need to get used to hearing about things like this, won't I? This whole thing has been going on much longer than any dream." It was a gentle reminder to herself that she couldn't keep clinging to the hope that this wasn't real and that any minute her younger sister would come running into the room, spring onto her bed, jostling her awake in order to get some undivided attention. Funny, that this was something Silvia was missing since it was a bit of an irritation on most days. "... so...... in that case.... Where is he from?"

"Yeah, you know conventions." Silvia repeated searching his face for any flash of recognition. There was none. Honestly, that wasn't all that surprising, it was still kind of a niche interest. "How can I put this? It's where a bunch of people with like interests gather to indulge in those interests, or purchase merchandise related to it.. or go to panels on various things."

"I know it's not everybody's thing.." Wondering if she said too much.

"He's a saiyan, and sadly this isn't a dream." Trying to let her down gently though, with a hand out on her shoulder for what comfort it would do. Still genuine, but trying to be kind about it.

A moment's pause, before there was a hint of smile. "It sounds fun. Maybe when this is over you can tell me more? What kind of interests?"

Should she ask the obvious follow up? What's a saiyan? I mean- it was clearly a humanoid species that was compatible with humans, just judging from his existence. Maybe not. She'd keep that one to herself- especially because there was now a hand on her shoulder. A guy's hand. on her shoulder. Somehow this was different from when she was trying to seem more like a brash knight with her shoves, etc.

After just staring at her shoulder for longer than was necessary, she looked up and realized his lips had been moving.

WHAT DID HE SAY?!

After internally agonizing over it for a spell she had to fess up. "I'm sorry, what?" ~~So smooth~~.

Don't worry that hand is leaving her shoulder, with the smile returning more fully. Mostly because he knows this is all a lot to take in--aliens, and that this isn't actually some dream. "It sounds fun. what kind of interests?"

The retrieved hand does make it easier to function again. This time she hears him clearly. "..." That doesn't make it any easier to answer however. " Oh- you know.. like just about anything." Just how much of a nerd does she want to be labelled as? On the other hand, he is into martial arts, so he might be into anime too? "Some people are really into sci fis, or others are into animation, and conventions give them a chance to really open up about it."

"Still sounds fun." Trunks replied sincerely. "I've had...an interesting life, but nothing like conventions in it."

Still baffled that a guy like him was even still talking to her about something like this, and he thought it sounded fun. Renewing her smile she reached out a hand and waited for him to deposit some of the armor into it so she could start explaining the straps and buckles.

"You should really try going to one if you ever get the chance. You might enjoy it." This wasn't so bad. She could handle this. "Interesting how?"

"It's...complicated. Let's just say I didn't have a lot of time for fun things, and was kind of sheltered while growing up until I hit my teens." Because how did you explain something like his world to someone who thought the train was all a dream at first?

Then again, if he wasn't who he was, he might've thought it was a dream too.

"I think I can guess about these, but would appreciate help anyways." Passing her the leg armor.

"That's a shame." Puzzling over the implications. Silvia wanted to ask more but maybe he didn't want anyone to pry. "So have you ever been to the movies, or a carnival, or anything?" There was the martial arts deal, so did his parents just make him sit in a dojo all day learning discipline? Some parents are harsh but even that seemed like too much.

She could be more flippant about the train now, but when she first arrived it had felt anything but fake. The knot of fear that had coiled itself tightly within her core hadn't been an illusion. Something about it was real, the danger had been genuine. What would have happened had she not boarded she didn't want to think about.

"No problem." Accepting the first piece it looks fairly straightforward. The straps were meant to wrap around and fasten facing out. The fastening part could be a trick if you weren't used to it since it wasn't always easy to keep a line of vision on the buckle. "They go like this." Demonstrating it in the air. "This one is designed for the right leg. You just slip it on, tighten the belt to fit, then slide it through the buckle and use the little metal hook to fasten it."

"That's about what I thought." He murmured, taking the leg armor piece back. "I'll prolly need help with the arms and maybe the chest piece though." Easier conversation than the other.

"I saw movies at home, but no, I've never been to a carnival." And he really didn't want to think about the amusement park.

Her cheeks lit up slightly when he said that first part. It was as if she had given him way more information than he needed there. "Sure thing." Looking to the arm braces next she had to give them a quick once over before adding the following,"These will need to be re-laced. Whoever used them before made them uneven and even missed a few holes." Not expecting him to do it, she took it upon herself to start making the corrections.

"Least they let you do that much.." Strictest.Parents.EVER. Luckily she hadn't asked about an amusement park since that would have been an unintentional landmine to set off. "Maybe the train will stop on a nice world sometime."

Busy putting on the leg-armor, now that he'd had it confirmed how to wear. "Depends on the world. This place might be nice, despite our mission here." Although his brain had just processed what she'd said--she probably assumed it was his parents being strict. He'd heard Bulma and Gohan talk enough about how Chichi had been super strict and education-focused when the other half-saiyan was younger.

"It's...not my parents." Because if she was going to have trouble with aliens, and even just the concept of the train, he'd have to be careful. "My world isn't very safe really. Two" Androids--but would that word even mean anything for her? "--two monsters run wild over it, and have for my whole life. Playing with people at best, doing only what amuses them, and no one can stop them."

Trunks made himself take a deep breath to keep calm and relax. Otherwise he was going to break the strap of the greave he was putting on. "That's why I grew up, kind of sheltered."

Edited 2020-08-21 11:36 (UTC)

"You have a point, I guess I should have phrased it differently.," Pausing for a moment to consider. "More like maybe we'll end up on a world where we aren't on some kind of mission." The thought that they were being deployed here was still strange to think about. Like, none of them had signed up for this so why were they going along with it?

"It isn't?" It was all just a bit much at first. Sure, she liked to think of herself as being open-minded but to have it all thrust in your lap simultaneously was kind of crazy. She was silent as he explained, frowning at the mention of danger. Androids and aliens were something from the movies, she hadn't met any real ones before. "Only two- and the whole world is at their mercy?" An incredulous note in her voice.

She grew silent again, looking towards the floor because she really didn't know what to say and it made a lot of her own troubles feel minuscule in comparison.

"Hey, it's okay. I mean..." Oh no, he didn't exactly mean to make it awkward. Sighing, one hand reached up to rake through his bangs before he straightened, holding the other greave. "Like I said, it's...complicated."

Pausing, and then offering a hint of smile. "I'm Trunks, by the way. Nice to meet you."

A Quiet Place

Too Many Cooks

Allegorical Devices and Other Foes

Team One

Team Two

Team Three

Re: Team Two

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