Test Drive 018

[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.

Happy testing!

Heated Debate

The spa carriage, the newest addition to the train, boasts sunlamps and loungers, massage tables stocked with fluffy towels and a variety of oils and lotions, an enclosed sauna… Soothing birdsong fills the warm, scented air, and the terminals offer several masseuse courses or a playlist of relaxing music.

In pride of place, a three-tiered heated bath in the centre of the room, each tier able to fit five people comfortably.

‘Comfortably’? Well, it could definitely fit more, but it might get a little awkward, depending on your feelings on personal space. Ditto with the sauna, really. But the important thing is, you got here first.

Didn’t you?

Getting Draughty In Here

The lower floor of this carriage is open and sprawling, with two wide, low tables and plenty of cushions and beanbags. The walls are lined with shelves and wooden chests, both filled with games. Board games, card games, you name it, though train themes feature heavily. On a shelf of its own sits a case of Duel Monsters cards.

The upper floor is split into two. One half has a pile of oversized games - lawn jenga, twister, giant connect4 - and the other, sectioned off with soft rope barriers, hosts a screen, a console, and a variety of video game controllers, including four VR headsets.

Perhaps you’re testing yourself in one of the VR Crisis simulators. Perhaps you’re learning the rules of a competitive card game a little too well, and your friendships are suffering accordingly. Perhaps you’ve convinced someone to play twister with you..?

Shiver Me Timbers

You are aboard the PNV Vexation, a first-rate ship accompanied by several escort vessels currently halfway through a voyage across the Sunsea of Yarra, AKA #59352110. The cargo she carries is of utmost importance, and must reach the Shining Port intact.

The pirates who sail the Sunsea have other plans.

Team One

The Vexation has several sloops in tow - the best of which are the Gemstone Heart, the Fallen Lord and the Duckling. Team One is split across the three sloops, and can use their greater speed to good effect in boarding actions. Your job is simple - sink every unmarked ship that approaches the Vexation. The captains are cooperative and daring, and happy to lend out boarding axes and pistols. The pirates are less happy.

Team Two

Back aboard the Vexation, it seems that either the crew are playing tricks, or something more sinister is going on - whispers of spirits roaming the deck at night, strange screams or whimpers in the hold. Lights off the starboard bow. The day holds no such terrors, and shipboard life is mostly ropes, deckwork and stints on the masts, but as the mission continues, the crew are getting more and more restless… Team Two needs to figure out the source of these strange events, before they incite the crew to mutiny.

Team Three

Unbeknownst to the crew, on the second day of the mission, the precious cargo is loaded onto the fourth and fastest of the Vexation’s escorts, the Sun’s Edge, and sent ahead, while the fleet remains as as a decoy. Team Three are sent aboard the Edge to crew the ship and keep the treasure - something sealed in a large, padded steel pyramid - safe. The pirates don’t notice the deception, but the sea serpents definitely do, and with just one serpent able to wrap its entire length around the Edge, the third day is a harrowing one.

Comments

Wen Ning | The Untamed | OTA

[deadwenwalking]

i. heated debate

There is a very pale man in the middle of the room, towel wrapped around his waist and black lines crawling down his chest from his neck. He seems incredibly uncertain, staring at the tiered bath as though it's a thing that shouldn't exist, holding his towel tightly in place with one hand.

Maybe he shouldn't have accepted the offer of a bath after all. There has to be somewhere else he can go - somewhere less... complicated. A bucket, some water, and a small bit of soap. That's all he needs. Scented oils are for the wealthy, and those who won't be throwing back on old raggedy robes once they're clean.

This is too much. But now he's here. If he walks out it will look as though he didn't want to get clean in the first place, which is simply not true. So he continues to stare at the bath, but doesn't move. He can make it brief, he tells himself. Just in and out. In. Step forward. Just...

ii. getting draughty in here

Wen Ning has a controller in his hands, though currently it's upside-down. He's not sure what to do with it, or how to get the game to work even though he thinks he's turned on the power button. The VR headset is on the floor beside him, untouched.

Perhaps he should try something easier to understand. Like a card came. All of this machinery is beyond him.

iii. shiver me timbers - team two

When one is referred to as the Ghost General in fearful, hushed voices as though saying it too loud might summon him into being, the fear of actual ghosts isn't much of an issue. At least it isn't in Wen Ning's case. Hardly considered human anymore, thriving amidst the resentful energy of the damned, a few restless spirits should be able to be handled without much difficulty.

If that's indeed what they are. He has his doubts.

At the same time, he's thinking that perhaps he might not have been the best choice to be involved in this particular part of the mission. If the crew is already worried about ghosts, then why bring along someone who already appears to be a little cursed?

He keeps his neck covered with a high-collared shirt. It's something they didn't have in his era and its surprisingly comfortable for being so close-fitting. Without it, he's sure he would have been thrown overboard right away.

"Anything?" he asks a teammate as they approach.

iv. wildcard

(Anything else! If you're unsure you can PM me or contact me at laverinth.)

ii

[deferences]

He himself has only played a few of the actual console sort of games and definitely not anything where one needs to wear a headset alongside wielding a controller. When Lan Sizhui peeks into the game room, his eyes widen almost comically at the sight of Wen Ning, mouth dropping open with surprise. How many people is this train going to take from his homeworld for immortals' sake? (Too many, it would seem, but he can't deny being happy to see someone he actually knows.)

“Uncle Ning?” comes his soft inquiry as he steps further into the car, head slightly tilted, considering. “You... you're holding it upside-down.” Because what else can he say at the moment?

[deadwenwalking]

"A-Yuan!" Wen Ning's face brightens, though he doesn't seem to surprised to see Sizhui there. After all, they'd been together at the time of his capture. In a way it's a relief, since if he wasn't here he'd be left to fret over what had happened to him in his absence or wonder if he'd been injured in the process.

He motions for the boy to come sit beside him, patting the spot with one hand. "Come show me, then. There's all these... these knobs?" He flips it over so that the buttons are up top, but also turns it around. It's now right-side-up one way and still upside-down another way. "I heard this would be a fun way to improve my hand-eye coordination." As if that needs improvement.

[deferences]

Sizhui's heartbeat jackhammers the moment Wen Ning uses his nickname, a wide, enthusiastic grin momentarily overtaking his expression. The last time he saw his uncle, they'd been seeing Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji off before heading out on their own adventure to honor their ancestors. It was both a bittersweet reunion and a promising goodbye, reassurance they'd all see each other again soon, but with the pledge to branch out afterward.

Without hesitation, he moves closer, sits down beside the older male, reaching to take the controller to flip it right-side-up properly so he can help position his thumbs on the ‘knobs.’ At least he tried and trying is what matters. “It can be, yes, but it takes some getting used to. I've played ‘Knight Quest’ quite often, it takes practice to not die.”

[deadwenwalking]

Wen Ning lets Sizhui take and readjust the controller without any argument. He stares at it in his hands afterward, letting the image of the correct position settle in his mind so he won't get it wrong next time. It makes sense, now that he looks at it - though it doesn't bring him any closer to figuring out the game itself.

Then the boy mentions dying, and Wen Ning's expression shifts to one of horror. The controller drops from his fingers.

"This game is lethal?" He wants to reach over and grab Sizhui by the shoulders, but he doesn't. They might be related, but he doesn't actually have any say over what he does. It's ultimately the boy's choice whether or not he wants to get involved in deadly video games, but he would very much like him to reconsider further attempts at them.

[deferences]

Once he's settled, the boy casts a glance around them, locating another controller that he can hold in his own hands. Not for playing – unless Wen Ning wants him to? – but feeling the device mostly helps him remember what buttons to push and how he should move the knobs for control.

Thud goes the controller from Wen Ning's hands and his head whips in that direction, eyes widened with astonishment at the reaction before he realizes— “Ah! No, no, not an actual death.” Honestly, it takes some willpower for Sizhui to not laugh at the thought, but in Wen Ning's defense, he didn't actually explain it all that well. Although, had the man grabbed him, he would've been absolutely surprised by such an outright gesture. Meanwhile, let him explain a little better to help ease the sudden panic.

“In the game, the character you're playing can die, but nothing happens to you outside of it. There are also magical healing items that keep you from expiring.” Sorry for the mild heart attack, uncle, he didn't mean to!

[deadwenwalking]

The relief shows on Wen Ning's face immediately. His shoulders relax and he allows himself to look embarrassed, even though he had no way of knowing what playing the game really entailed. He should have guessed from Sizhui's calm description.

"O-oh good. Sorry." Death in game terms only. Harmless. How silly of him. He picks up the controller again, following the boys' example in regards to holding it. In hindsight, this position makes the most sense. Or does he only think that because now he knows what the right way is?

"Not that dying in the game would be much of a concern anyway... I can't seem to get it started." The controller has to control something. So what is he controlling? Are there more knobs he needs to press?

[deferences]

Sizhui shakes his head, “It's alright, no harm done.” Maybe it should've been realized, but he could have also just explained better. Acting so nonchalant about death of all things shouldn't be something he's used to, even with a game, but especially since it's something his uncle doesn't understand.

Frankly, it's more than likely the latter rather than the former, although neither of them has anything like this back in their homeworld to make proper sense of it. If it'd been something created there, maybe positioning would make more sense? But as it stands, this was how he was taught, so Sizhui's guessing it's the only way to teach others, too.

Ah, of course. That's why they aren't doing anything yet. “Right, uhm, we should probably turn the game on.” He shifts, moves toward the console and the screen, turns both of them on before scooting back to sit beside Wen Ning once more. “Now, we might get somewhere.”

Re: Wen Ning | The Untamed | OTA

[only_one_wei]

1.

"Wen Ning!" Wei Wuxian grinned and surged out of the tier with the hottest water. "Come on in! Did you get a suit?"

Now that he was out of the water, his own suit, a pair of black swim briefs could be seen. His own skin, normally almost as pale, was pink from the heat. It had taken some time for him to be okay with the strange clothes on the train, but for something like the spa, he embraced the local traditions.

[deadwenwalking]

"A... a suit?" Wen Ning stares at the other man, confused and wide-eyed. Has he done this all wrong? He'd assumed this place was like a bathhouse and no one would be wearing anything at all. If it didn't take extreme circumstances to get him blushing in this body he would be just as pink as his friend.

He shakes his head, his hands tightening around the towel protecting his modesty. He could back out now, make some excuse. If he's going to embarrass both himself and Wei Wuxian by not being prepared he'd rather not be there at all.

"I'll go find one," he says hastily, feet already taking him a few steps in reverse.

[only_one_wei]

"No, no, not that way," Wei Wuxian said with a smile. For all his bravado, once out of the water he quickly wraps himself in his inner robe, hanging nearby.

Once covered up properly, he beckoned Wen Ning over to the nearer of the two closets. "They have suits here. I know, it is a little odd, but it is a cultural thing. Something about the children?" He really didn't understand it himself, but if it kept the peace he would wear the briefs into the water.

"Would you prefer something like I'm wearing, or something longer?" he asked his friend.

[deadwenwalking]

The quick glance at what Wei Wuxian is wearing was all he needed to see for him to decide he wanted a different option if one was available. And he most definitely doesn't want to be the only one not wearing anything in the room. Respecting other cultures is important! With a body like his he'd like to show off as little as he can get away with while still getting clean.

"Something... something longer." He pauses, then adds: "Please." He only hopes the other man doesn't take his preference as an insult to his own choice in bathing wear.

Even if he's new, that isn't going to keep him from being embarrassed about being unprepared. He should have asked in advance, and that's on him!

[only_one_wei]

He had been pretty sure that Wen Ning would opt for more coverage. Bold and in-your-face was not his friend's style.

He pulled out a couple of pairs of 'board shorts' as they were called by some others on the train. One was bright purple, the other was black and red, but the pattern reminded Wei Wuxian of the lines on Wen Ning's skin.

"First, do you like either of these?" he offered.

[deadwenwalking]

There's an odd expression on Wen Ning's face as he looks over both options. It's somewhere between confused and... something else. Disgusted? Insulted? But also trying not to appear that way because this is Wei Wuxian.

He wants the red and black one, but it also makes him mildly uncomfortable with how fitting it is, so he points at the purple one instead. It's just something to wear while he's bathing, it can't matter that much.

"Th-that one's fine."

[only_one_wei]

Hiding his disappointment, because he wanted Wen Ning to look as awesome as Wei Wuxian thought he was, he handed him the purple pair.

"Excellent. Do you want me to hold up the robe and stand in the closet door so you can change?" It completely eluded him who would design the spa not to have any changing rooms, but there was a lot about the train he didn't understand. But he was fairly certain that if he suggested his friend go back to his cabin to change, he might not return.

"Do you want to soak in the water first, or try the sauna?" he asked over his shoulder, as he moved to the door without waiting for an answer.

Heated Debate

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea too had hoped to take a dip, though he paused at the edge as he noticed the way the pale man next to him was staring at the water. He couldn't see anything that would particularly warrant such hesitation, but waited a moment to see if the other guy would do something.

When it eventually became clear that that wasn't going to happen any time soon, he spoke up. "It doesn't bite, you know," he said.