Test Drive Meme 019

[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!

Winter Wonderland

Experienced Voidtreckers will be the first to recognise when the announcement of a stop comes over the speakers: “Arriving at world 9126110 in ten, nine, eight…”

The doors don’t open, the train doesn’t stop. Instead, it slows, and the garden carriage opens its curved, clear roof as though it were a convertible, both sides folding back until the carriage is open to the air. The world is a picture of snow-covered mountains and sparse conifers, and within minutes the garden’s fountain and streams have iced over, soft snow coating the cobbles and benches.

The stop lasts all day, the vending machines dispense free hot chocolate, and the dressing carriage is filled with thick coats, wooly hats, and warm gloves.

Void Santa Is Coming To Town

It’s a day like any other, except that the morning announcement has a rider.

“There are packages in the luggage car for all passengers. Enjoy. ”

And indeed, it seems that something has visited during the night - the carriage at the back of the train is unusually neat, the piles of empty luggage stacked carefully near the back to make room for a huge array of wrapped objects. Void Santa, maybe? The difference between Void Santa and, say, one of the many Earth Santas or the Gyueran Spirit of Generosity, is that Void Santa doesn’t give you what you asked for.

It gives you something you wouldn’t have dared to ask for. That nerdy figurine that you eyed in the window of the store, the dress you weren’t brave enough to try on, the device you decided was too expensive. The poster of your favourite holostar, the latest risque novel from the local printworks… the list goes on.

You’ve got a present in here, better find it before someone else does!

Animal at Heart

Seibairen, world #671155003, is a world of dualities. Technologically advanced but also deeply mystical, its population is currently suffering under the rule of a nameless arcanist, a genius of artificial intelligence and magecraft who seeks to elevate her own mechanical brethren above their biological creators. Unfortunately, she is far too powerful to face directly.

Team One

The arcanist holding the world of Seibairen in thrall is particularly skilled with polymorph spells, and her first move as the Voidtreckers enter the conflict is to cast one over a wide area, transforming almost half of the force into various animals. The spell seems to be mildly incompatible with void-travellers, as those affected have turned into creatures from their homeworlds, if possible, rather than the local wildlife. The fight is still on, no time to panic!

… Or maybe some time to panic, it’s looking permanent for now. Still, the civilians need the Voidtreckers’ protection, animal or not, and it isn’t like they’ve lost any of their abilities.

Team Two

The monks of the deep peaks, trained in anti-magic combat and able to counter the arcanist and her forces, are the best hope for turning the tides. Unfortunately, their remote stronghold is blockaded the moment the Voidtreckers arrive, trapping them under a shield of pale metal and harsh light. There are several ways they and the unlucky early Voidtreckers might be freed: the power sources of the barrier, held in the centre of the arcanist’s camps, could be destroyed or sabotaged. Alternatively, the barrier could be overloaded or even broken from the inside by an ancient artefact held within the inner temple. The monks are able to guide the Voidtreckers through a telepathic metaconcert, but hurry, time is running out...

Team Three

A thaumatologist somewhere within the capital is rumoured to be able to reverse the arcanist’s strange spells, which would give the Voidtreckers a fighting chance against her directly. Several different people are claiming to be this thaumatologist, and they all have a list of ingredients they’ll need for the protective ritual and/or devices they’re offering.

At least one of them is sure to work, but there’s going to be some experimenting before that happens. Alternatively, force would find the correct researcher fairly quickly, but it would also attract attention.

Comments

[bodyoftheseus]

V trusted that the others knew what they were doing, yes, but there was still a reason he was so widely known back at home. Few paid as much attention to detail as he did it seemed like.

"You're right." As she oft was. He straightened and almost started walking, but caught himself and stopped to turn to Saash. "Uh, it's pretty busy here. Do you want me to carry you through here? Entirely your choice." The silent option of riding on his shoulders existed as well, as she's done it before, but it was whatever she was most comfortable with.

[tortoiseshelltigress]

I would appreciate that, yes. I'm not sure it's the most normal sight they'll ever see, but... All things considered? She'd rather not be stepped on.

At least as cats went, Saash wasn't terribly heavy, being a somewhat delicate Person. She leapt gracefully from her perch on the wall to V's shoulder, digging her claws in lightly to his jacket to keep her new perch.

[bodyoftheseus]

Saash landed on his shoulder and it was a reflex that he reached up and helped stabilize her as he turned to start walking, but it dropped almost as quickly as he'd raised it.

"Eh, I've been getting looks since we got here. They wanna stare, they can. " V admittedly walked a bit slower than he normally did, taking care not to jostle too much with Saash on his shoulder.

He walked for a minute quietly, weaving through the crowd with an effortless experience, but he spoke up again. "So magic leaves traces? Sounds like tech."

[tortoiseshelltigress]

Don't most things, for those who can tell? I mean if you have a good sense of smell, you can smell traces of things that pass. Beasts. Vehicles. Other people. Even certain types of magic have scents. Gates do, for an example. Like ozone and the smell of scorched metal.

She did her best to balance so that V's own balance wouldn't be thrown off. Even these ingredients might, though only Iau knows what they are. I've never heard of any of them...

Even counting the fact that they might be alien goods of some sort...

henlo from okie land uwu

[bodyoftheseus]

While he appreciated her consideration with regards to her weight on his shoulders there was no need: he was used to carrying bodies over one shoulder. Her small frame was approaching negligible in the scheme of it all, and he seemed not to even mind if her claws dug in a little too deep.

He made a noise that sounded similar to “huh” as she explained scents and traces. He wondered if perhaps he himself smelled of ozone and scorched metal in addition to the human that made him. He had never really considered it before, but Night City always had the smell of city and food and trash and, well, people mattered less.

“Haven’t heard of them in their tongue, maybe. There might be things you recognize by sight when we get there.” Sometimes he was an optimist. “They talk about technology using words I wouldn’t but there has been some overlap.” A pause. “They also have these things here. They’re like crab rangoons? They don’t call them that and I imagine what’s in them isn’t crab, but it’s basically a crab rangoon and it’s pretty tasty.” He almost shrugged, but stopped himself given his passenger. “So maybe we’ll be lucky.”

He continued a little further through the crowd, eventually turning down an alley. There were not as many people here but there was still a bustle of activity.