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

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Koumyou wags his cigarette at him, before taking another long drag. ]

If I wanted to dance alone, I could do that anytime!

[ So instead, he reaches with his free hand to try to snag one of Devero's, intending to haul the other man downstairs to the first level of the carriage. ]

We're going to need music!

[subcircuits]

[Devero seems a little surprised to be touched, but he doesn't try to pull his hand free. In fact, the obvious startlement on his face morphs to delight as Sanzo starts to pull him down the aisle. He laughs.] That we are!

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Down the stairs they go, then, and then to the front of the car where the screens are. Koumyou lets go and starts poking around in the various menus as he smokes. ]

Let's see...

[ There's tons of music, and he's never heard of any of it. But song names can usually hint at the general vibe, at least, so that's what he's browsing through. ]

How about... this one!

[ Beep! The priest has picked something suitably fast and pop-ish, with brightly colored cover art and all. That ought to be fun! ]

[subcircuits]

[Devero listens for a moment, smile widening as he starts to get a feel for the beat of the song. He doesn't know it either, but it's got a strong beat, and that's what matters the most.]

This isn't going to be any waltz. [Is that a warning? He takes Sanzo's hand and pulls him out into the open floor of the practice space, already bopping to the beat as he does.]

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Koumyou's turn to be pleasantly surprised at being handled! He allows it with a laugh, letting himself be pulled along. Bopping side to side, cigarette hand up, a little bit of a twist here and there to make the long cloth belt at his hip flare out. ]

Good! Your 'waltz' looked sad; no one needs help to feel that way.

[ Just gonna drop that wisdom out of nowhere, and then try to encourage Devero to do a twirl with their linked hands going overhead. Spin! ]

[subcircuits]

[Well, doesn't that little editorial give him a moment of pause? A little stumble, an uncertain look at Sanzo. But-- he decides consciously to release that and focus on the moment.

He spins! There is, in fact, something almost balletic in his twirl, if hampered by his totally inappropriate footwear. He whirls out, then back in, stepping into Sanzo's personal space to put a hand on the other man's hip. He pauses again, this time to look down into the other man's face with his eyebrows lofted. Without words, his expression asks, 'this okay?']

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ If anything, Koumyou seems pretty amused at this turn in events. His brown eyes all but sparkle with it above his smile, and he takes another deep drag of his smoke, finishing it off down to the filter.

Just gonna drop the cigarette butt on the floor and step on it to snuff it out, mid-dance. He might remember to clean it up, later.

But he probably won't.

No complaints, though. His official Sanzo robe is thick silk, and going by the feel of his hip there's definitely jeans on under it. ]

That's some good footwork! Are you a martial artist, perhaps?

[subcircuits]

[Devero is a little relieved that cigarette's finished, actually, but he doesn't say anything. Everyone has their vices, and he smokes too; he's just never been a fan of tobacco.]

Something like that! Think you can keep up? [He grins, and starts to lead Sanzo into the opening steps of a dance he learned while he was still in the Guard.]

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Koumyou drapes the wrist of his free hand over Devero's shoulder, because why not. ]

You lead, I follow, is that it? I suppose there's only one way to find out.

[ The priest was pretty easy to lead into even an unfamiliar pattern; he is a martial artist, of some renown. Reading another person's movements, footwork, and coordination are just parts of the package deal. ]

[subcircuits]

That's the idea.

[And the dance that Devero leads Sanzo into is, considerately, a fairly simple one. Fast-paced and energetic, sure, definitely spicier than his waltz on the deck above, but easy enough to get the hang of nonetheless.

Damn if he isn't tempted to ramp it up, though. Sanzo is a joy to lead.] You're quite good at this!

[its_dad_sanzo]

Why, thank you.

[ Koumyou wasn't even staring down at their feet, instead smiling right up at Devero's face. ]

Is this the best you've got?

[ CHALLENGE! ]

this is so delightful

[subcircuits]

[CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

His eyebrows arch; then he grins again, this time with teeth.] Well, if you think you're up to it...

[And that's all the warning the other man gets before Devero, well, steps up his steps. This new dance is related to the first, but obviously a more advanced version, with fancier-- and even faster-- footwork.

Devero's confident enough, even, to go for a flourish. Up for a spin of your own, Sanzo?]

a+ you should app so they can have ongoing cr! :>

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Koumyou laughs breathlessly as the movements get faster and more intricate, absolutely delighted. He could never replicate this from memory later, but matching it in the moment? It's simple enough for the priest.

And he's spun! His long braid whips out behind himself, and then at the end of the 'line' he whirls back in again, crashing into Devero with a solid thump. ]

Whoops!

working on it! :>

[subcircuits]

Whoa! [Devero catches him, staggering back a couple of steps as he absorbs the impact. Underneath his unremarkable train uniform is a body in remarkable condition, rock hard and strong. Admittedly, given the athleticism with which he dances, that's probably not a massive surprise.

Laughing breathlessly, he sets Sanzo back on his feet.] All right?

yes good

[its_dad_sanzo]

Restraint's just never been a strong suit of mine! [ Koumyou laughs, because it's true. His fellow students from over twenty years ago could have attested to that, had any of them been present. ] Sorry, sorry!

[ Twirl Koumyou Sanzo at your own peril, Devero. ]

c:

[subcircuits]

No apologies necessary! [Devero reaches for his hands and leads them back into the dance again. As they get back into the groove:] I'd love to teach you one of the toss dances I know, if you'd be amenable. [He grins slyly.] I think it'd be right up your alley.

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Koumyou allows it, of course, setting back into the rhythm as quickly as could be expected. That last bit from Devero gets a hard blink, and then an enthused smile in return. ]

Toss dances?

[ Is that what he thinks it is? ]

[subcircuits]

[There is pure mischief on his face.] May I show you?

[its_dad_sanzo]

I think you must!

[subcircuits]

[Without further ado, Devero stoops and seizes Sanzo around the waist. He brings his feet under him and then--

Up he goes!

Okay, so Devero doesn't fully release Sanzo, like he would with a practiced partner. But there's a weightless moment at the apex of the lift where Devero only has one hand on him, the other shifting position to catch his legs as he starts to fall. Devero guides Sanzo down and around to the ground again, pivoting them around in a spin as he does so-- hopefully with some grace! But. He's not the only one involved in the trick, is he?]

[its_dad_sanzo]

[ Throwing and spinning and otherwise whipping Koumyou around is easy. For one thing, he doesn't weigh much, only 143 pounds of sharp bones and wiry, dense muscle. And for another, he moves like water. A lifetime of combat -- much of it unarmed -- has made his sense of balance and momentum hard to beat.

So even if Devero had been less practiced at this move, Koumyou made it easy to pull off with full grace and style! ]

Wow! [ Koumyou applauds once he's on the ground and not being actively moved around anymore. Big fan! ]

[subcircuits]

That was incredible! [Sanzo's not the only big fan. There's an open joy on Devero's face as he steps back from that fantastic landing. He's danced with other trained dancers, and he's danced with enthusiastic but unskilled Guards, but he's never danced with someone else with martial training like Sanzo's. Very big fan!

He reaches out to catch Sanzo's hands for a squeeze, once he's done applauding.] You're a natural!

[its_dad_sanzo]

It was!

[ There's a bit of a high in something like that going so smoothly, isn't there? Especially on the first try. ]

If a mission ever requires competitive dancing, [ Koumyou laughs, letting Devero take his hands again. ] You'd better pick me! Promise!

[subcircuits]

[There absolutely is. Endorphins for everyone!

Devero squeezes his hands again.] I promise. Though I hope we can dance together again before some mission requires it?

[Ever seen a 6'4" musclebound ex-soldier make puppy-dog eyes? Actually, there's something a little bit guarded in the way he asks, as if this is a man used to having his requests turned down.]

we can even keep this scene as having happened if you want, once your boy's in

[its_dad_sanzo]

Of course!

[ He even gets a returning squeeze back from Koumyou's own bony, calloused hands. Instant buddies! ]