Test Drive Meme 016

[voidtreckermods]

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!

Silence in the Library

The library is a double carriage. Downstairs is brightly-coloured, with cover posters across the walls, tables and chairs in the strong colours of the team uniforms, and a wooden model train placed as though winding its way through the carriage with carriages of shelves in tow. The walls are shelving, and beanbags litter the floor. Upstairs is quieter, rows of nonfiction shelves with private desks at the end of each row; the sound up here is muffled.

You don't know who, you don't know why, but someone or something has had a bad power day. How do you know? Well, the fact that the characters of any book you read keep coming to life as tiny versions of themselves and running riot around the carriage... that might have been a clue.

You just wish you'd picked a different book before realising it.

An Apple a Day

Medical is another double carriage, though it boasts one of the few person-sized lifts on the train as well as stairs. On the bottom floor, two of the three rooms are examination rooms, with simple beds, equipment and first-aid capacity. The third is a surgical bay, albeit a simpler one than some passengers may anticipate. All three rooms have ICPs with instructions and manuals for all equipment and a number of medical procedures.

Upstairs, there are four private recovery rooms, with a medical bed and an accessible en-suite. It's possible to check a passenger into one of these rooms, at which point they cannot leave until discharged by the person who checked them in.

Which, unfortunately, you are entirely aware of. You've been here for three days, and you're climbing the walls. But that'll teach you to get injured in such a stupid way. Or so they hope.

Sprockets and Skysong

In which a train arrives among the smokestacks of Little Underpool with some unexpected visitors.

Little Underpool is a township on Void world #30630687444. Caught up in the middle of what appears to be a series of industrial revolutions, the world is in a state of constant, chaotic innovation. Currently, that means that there is a power struggle going on between the skywhaling megacorporation Scrimshaw Inc and the Zephyr Company, an airship manufacturer, over control of the skies above Underpool, and the rapidly diminishing population of skywhales, whose bones are used in most modern airships, and whose blood is a key fuel source for a great number of new devices and engines. The voidtreckers are, this mission, to rescue the whales, rather than any humanoids.

Team One

Infiltrating Scrimshaw Inc, this team's job is to sabotage the tracking drones used to locate the whale pods, to allow the great beasts to migrate successfully away from Underpool. The offices of the corporation are in a series of spiralling brass and bone towers in the centre of the town, connected by exposed cable bridges that run to dizzying heights. Their clockwork guards are numerous, but often faulty, and highly vulnerable to tinkering.

Team Two

This team's job is to hijack some of the Zephyr Company's airships, and use them to defend the whale pods closest to Underpool. Several pods contain whale calves, and cannot evacuate as fast as the larger bachelor groups. The airships are light, and handle well, but their oddly organic design can be rather unsettling. The primary weapons are harpoons and short-range bomb slings, both as deadly against other airships as they are against their original targets.

Team Three

The final team's task is less direct - they must go among the populace of Underpool and spread unrest, redirecting the attention of the people towards the plight of their nonhuman neighbours in the sky, and the wrongdoings of their resident megacorporations. The people are not aware that the whales are an entirely sentient species, which appears to be a deliberate obfuscation by the town's council and sponsors. Your job is to change that.

Comments

[recurrens]

[ Homura’s not overly fond of lying if she can help it. And so, over time, lies of omission have become her forte. It’s easy to say nothing, when she knows people will react badly to what she has to say.

And, she has a feeling, being in possession of guns while in an infirmary would definitely make at least some people react badly. She’s willing to play along, for now. ]

Perhaps. Is that normal?

[ She’s new, so she wouldn’t know. ]

[consider8]

Well, the last time I was captured like this, the ones in charge seemed to consider most everything their captives could do and see what they were capable of. [She sighed inwardly that this was starting to become a thing they were used to.]

[Eight's attention returned to Homura, looking her over again.] I haven't been around here long either, too. Its hard to say what "they're" intentions are.

[She leaned forward giving Homura an appraising glance.] Are you alright?

[recurrens]

[ Well, Homura certainly hopes that’s not what’s going on. Because if so, she kind of showed her entire hand to anyone mysterious who might be watching. But she nods in thanks anyways, grateful for the information.

She blinks at the other girl, a little thrown off by the question. ]

I’m fine.

[consider8]

Mm... [Are you sure? The Octoling gives the girl a look over... no, she seems alright. But just to be safe.] Well, this is the medical area.

I was brought here because I threw myself against a window. They said I broke my shoulder. That can't happen. [No bones, but there's no reason to go into her physiology.]

They may be wrong with you too, but if they were right I can try to help you. [A hand raises to stiffle a chuckle.] Although all I only know is basic first aid...

[recurrens]

[ It’s a kind gesture, but one that’s ultimately unnecessary. She shakes her head. ]

I was injured even before I came here. [ Here, as in, to the train. Fighting a witch of near apocalyptic power levels will do that to you. ]

I heal quickly. [ For many different reasons. ] I’m fine, now.

[ And then, after a moment, almost as an afterthought: ] Thank you.

[consider8]

[She doesn't mind. Though she had never met the girl before, her mannerisms, purpose and drive reminded her very much of another girl from home. Eerily so. She wouldn't be surprised in the least to find out that Homura was fending off an apocalypse.]

Well, you seem pretty sure. [Eight wasn't convinced of her healing, but was convinced that Homura wasn't going to let her help anytime soon. So, fair.]

[Instead she returned to the bed she was resting on and flopped back into it. She pulled out a pink octophone and started to type on it on how she has met someone new.] Well, there's nothing to it but to get comfortable. They'll feed us eventually, which is nice of them... [There was an ever-so-slight tinge of sarcasm.]

It's nice to be with someone though. Helps pass the time a bit. Hehe...

[She set the phone down and returns her attention to her fellow inmate.] I go by Eight, if it pleases you.

[recurrens]

[ Food isn’t her biggest concern at the moment -- though she hasn’t really tested it, theoretically she should be able to go a while without food. She nods anyways. Maybe when they come to give them food, whoever’s keeping them here will realize they’re no longer injured and they’ll be free to go.

At the very least, Homura can always stop time and walk out the open door.

She gives one last glance at the door in question. Now that she has an audience, she’s not exactly in a rush to continue her assault. She wasn’t getting any results, anyways. She follows Eight to the set of beds, claiming one of the ones nearby as her own. ]

Akemi Homura, [ she introduces herself with a nod. ]

[consider8]

Akemi Homura. [Eight nodded, making a note of it on her phone.]

Where are you from? Your clothes are really fresh! [Was a compliment, though perhaps not one really widely well known beyond the world of Inkopolis.]

[Shell, two years ago, Eight wouldn't have known what that meant...]

[recurrens]

[ She looks down. She’s still in her magical girl clothes. There hadn’t been enough time to transform between shooting bullets at the door and Eight’s appearance.

She supposes that they are… fresh, in some meaning of the word. She wears it pretty often, but (thankfully) it never seems to get dirty. ]

Mitakihara. Japan, [ she feels the need to clarify. ]

[consider8]

Mi-ta-ki-ha-ra, Japan... [She let's the words roll across her tongue. It was fun to say, but she supposes she'd be polite and not mention that. Of course, she has no idea where it is, or even if she was from the same world. But that was the most interesting part of being displaced: getting to meet people she never would have otherwise.]

I'm from Inkpolis. [She didn't ask, but she answered anyway.] Its the home of the Inklings.

[The momentum of the moment was losing steam though, and Eight didn't want to come across as too pushy to the new girl. Something about her bearing made her seem like the type that would close up if she tried going too fast.]

[So, rather than make the situation awkward with unwanted socializing, she would instead elect to keep her eyes on the new occupant... forgetting, perhaps, that a pair of tracking eyes may be unsettling in their own way...]

[recurrens]

[ She hasn’t always been the best at talking with people, even before everything started. But lately, she’s come to the realization that it’s easier, keeping people at a distance. It doesn’t stop the bad things from happening, but she does get less hurt, when they eventually do.

She tilts her head to the side, matching Eight stare for stare. Her gaze is intense as she assesses the other girl for a moment. If they were back home, it might be easy for Homura to mitake Eight for a witch, or even a witch’s familiar. However, the girl possesses too much self-awareness for that to be true.

She’s never heard of Inkpolis before. Though she won’t deny that “Inkling” seems to be an apt name for Eight.

Eventually, Homura turns her gaze away. ] We don’t have Inklings in Japan, [ is the nicest possible way she can think to put that. ]

[consider8]

[Eight was used to being looked at... being an Octoling in Inkopolis made a casual glance seem like a dangerous evaluation. One time she recalls a pair of Inklings looking over her, only to mention that they liked how she did their tentacles... sometimes it wasn't easy living among what used to be considered an enemy, but she knew she couldn't go back to Octopolis either.]

[Her gaze breaks only at the mention of not there being Inklings. How to phrase...] That's okay. We don't have humans in Inkopolis, either.

They all died out, a long, long time ago. I'm one of the few who has even seen a statue of one. [...that could have probably been a little less blunt, Eight...]

[recurrens]

[ It’s okay. Homura is also pretty blunt, when it comes down to it. She’s certainly not offended.

Instead she stays silent, thinking over what the other girl has told her. She can’t even tell Eight that she’s met a real human now -- for all she looks like one, she’s not entirely sure she qualifies anymore. She is a magical girl, after all.

That being said… she’s not entirely sure how to respond to that. ] I’m sorry, [ is what she finally ends up on. ]

[consider8]

Hmn...? [Eight tilted her head, not entirely sure why Homura was apologizing.]

Why do you apologize? Don't you think that this is a good thing?

If we were back in my world, I would never had the opportunity to meet you. And now I have lots of opportunities with lots of other humans! So that's good, right?

[Even though she is a little worried when an AI that they designed decided it was going to destroy the world, she also knew the dangers of jumping to conclusions. And so far Homura seemed alright, if a little terse and quiet.]

[recurrens]

[ Homura diverts her gaze entirely, letting her bangs cover her eyes. Though she’s not dismissing Eight's words in full, Homura still shakes her head. ]

I’m not exactly the best example of a human.

[ Because, well… she’s not. She’s done a lot of things that she wouldn’t have done if circumstances were different. But they’re not -- bad situations are happening, and they continue to happen again and again. So she will continue to do what she must.

She doesn’t regret it. She can’t. ]

[consider8]

[At that Eight tilted her head and utters a curious "Whoopee?." There's a... heaviness to those words. Eight's curiosity makes her want to pierce through and find what is hidden within. Is this a thing? Do humans get caught up in such dark moods?]

[Well... the statement was not without some measure of discourse. Otherwise she wouldn't have phrased it in that way. Clarification, at the very least, was appropriate.]

What do you mean?

[recurrens]

[ And she… remains silent.

It’s not really a question she knows how to answer. Especially to those who don’t know about magical girls, wishes and magic. It’s not even that the story itself is unbelievable -- it’s just that she’s been through, and done, so much.

But it is easy for her, specifically, to get wrapped up in these dark moods, considering the constant barrage of danger she’s lived through in the past… who knows how long. ]

[consider8]

Chyuu...

[Eight looks on, and is at ease within the silence. She herself was no stranger to adversity and hardship, which is what made these new places and people so exciting. The further away she went from home, the more she could experience.]

[It seemed that the girl had a lot on her mind, and a nagging feeling made her want to push... But another part of her felt that she had gone far enough as fast as the other girl would permit. Sure, she could force the issue, but like a tentacle-trap, she would likely only tighten up more if pressed.]

[So instead she returned to her phone, ticking a few small words on the device and looking Homura's way every now and then. A soft hum begins to rise from her side of the room.]

[Before a shift in her weight returns to Homura.] Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad to have met you, Akemi.

[recurrens]

[ Well, she is certainly right about that. Homura’s been pushed to her limits -- Eight is lucky Homura didn't get up and leave the room entirely.

Some things are just… hard to talk about. Especially when it’s as big as time travel.

She continues to not say anything. Her eyes glance over at her when the music starts, but otherwise, she sits silently until the other girl speaks up. ]

You can call me Homura. [ Eight’s been nice enough so far. No reason for her not to call her by her first name. ]

[consider8]

Mm! [Eight nodded, and continued to work on her phone. She wasn't lying when she said she was glad Homura was here. Though she probably didn't find herself interesting, Eight was used to highly regimented military quarters. At times the barracks was lively with conversation and jokes... and other times it was as quiet that only the hum of electricity broke the silence.]

[For now she slid down over her bed, humming the same song and typing on her phone. Today's was a light person of how she met a quiet and serious new girl in the infirmary.]

[Eight wondered if she would add to this entry sometime in the future. That would be nice, she thought.]

[recurrens]

[ Homura’s not used to being around people. Not like this, anyways. Back home, she’s gotten used to showing up when she is needed, and leaving when the situation has been dealt with. Just sitting here, in silence is… strange.

But not a bad kind of strange.

Eventually, she shifts from sitting on the edge of the bed, to laying on the bed, listening to the song that Eight is humming and slowly relaxing. ]