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

Thanatos | Hades | OTA

[controlsthedie]

[[ OOC: While I will generally try to do so, I will gladly avoid spoilers for the game. I'm taking him from around the middle. ]]

A: Winter Wonderland

[ The cold doesn't bother Thanatos. He usually runs with a lower body temperature anyways. What does bother him are all the other sensations and bright light reflecting off the snow. He comes out of the dressing carriage wearing a coat with the largest, deepest hood he can find. He cares more for the hood than the size or look of the coat, so it's likely he chose something far larger than he needed to. (Which says something given he's taller than the usual human.) He also dons a thick wooly hat to pull over his ears.

Then he stands off to the side and just watches whatever's going in the garden. Those who look his way will see him quickly turn his head... almost like he's embarrassed to be caught staring. He's also hovering about a foot off the ground. ]

B: Void Santa Is Coming To Town

[ A small rectangular package bearing Thanatos' name sits on a table near the God of Death himself. He's staring at it when he notices someone coming closer to him. ]

Does this Void Santa expect something in return?

[ He's completely serious about his question. He knows Olympian and Chthonic customs, but this is a new one. Thanatos doesn't have anything to give some stranger, so he's considering... leaving the package with the others for Void Santa to take back.

Someone help him understand Santa. ]

C: Animal at Heart: 1/3 (This mouse controls the die)

[ Blood and darkness... what is this now? Having turned into a small grey mouse proved to be completely unhelpful to fight, even with his powers still intact. All it would take is someone hitting him to send him across the battlefield. He'd end up being a projectile.

Additionally... more importantly... Thanatos is the God of Gentle Death. He dislikes the more violent deaths his sisters or Lord Ares would employ against mortals.

So, Thanatos flies over to the group trying to reverse the spells. His efforts to fix this problem will be better with this group. If a character ever wanted to see a flying, talking mouse who is actually Death Incarnate, now is the time. ]

Winter Wonderland

[bakegarasu]

[Otoha hasn’t bothered with a coat more than just his trenchcoat, the dark material hiding numerous blood stains. Some are his, most aren’t.]

[He’s wandering around when he spots the figure. Curious, he makes his way towards Thanatos. He stops a few feet away, looks pointedly down at the floating and back up into the guy’s face before speaking.]

What are you?

[(Oh my god, Otoha, you can’t just ask people what they are.)]

Pfffff omg I'm laughing so hard

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos is silent for a moment, half in disbelief that someone would so blatantly ask him such a question. "Who are you?" is on thing, but "What are you?" is completely another. He's unsure how much of his expression is visible under this hood, but he still furrows his brows. ]

I'm Death.

[ He isn't trying to be an edgelord (though it probably seems like it). Such an answer would have made sense back where he's from. But, he quickly realizes his mistake, gives a frustrated grumble, and tries again. ]

I'm a god. Thanatos.

He’s not good at tact...

[bakegarasu]

[... Huh. He puts a hand in his pocket, squeezing the amulet that contains his soul protectively.]

Mm. Not the one from my world.

[Or there’d be recognition there. Near misses, at least. Except he’d be encountering the Keres, but he doesn’t know that.]

Otoha. Karas. ... Guardian of a city. Will of the city chooses us.

Who needs tact when there are laughs?

[controlsthedie]

[ Otoha, Karas... the names are unfamiliar, but that's to be expected by now. He's not in Greece anymore. If they were from the same world, Thanatos hoped he'd have some sense or inkling of familarity, even if through the Three Fates and their demands. ]

It would appear not. Is it Otoha or Karas that you go by?

[bakegarasu]

Otoha. Karas is my title.

Though I guess it's not a title that means a lot here.

[controlsthedie]

[ Neither is being the God of Death if Thanatos is honest, but he's still a god and needs to act like one. He can't just denounce it like it doesn't matter. ]

Otoha.

[ He repeats, name still odd on his tongue. ]

Why did you ask what I am?

[bakegarasu]

[He raises an eyebrow and then looks down at the ground and the feet that Thanatos isn't touching to it.]

... You're floating. I've seen that on yokai, but that's not a normal human thing to do. So I was just wondering.

[controlsthedie]

Ah....

[ He looks down towards his feet and the space he hovers over. ]

No, it's not something a normal human can do, but I didn't think it would be so out of place on this train.

btw your username is fabulous

[bakegarasu]

It's not, but I was still curioius.

[He's getting better at asking questions. The tactfulness of them is more difficult.]

I can hover when I'm in my armor and transformed into a plane.

[This is a totally normal sentence.]

Thank you! There was really no other choice

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos looks Otoha up and down, like he's trying to imagine what kind of armor could transform into... whatever the hell a plane is. ]

That must be some impressive armor. The inventor sounds talented.

[bakegarasu]

It's not... like that. No one invented it, the will of the city lets us transform into it. It's probably changed over the years since cars and planes are from the last... century?

[History isn't his thing.]

[controlsthedie]

[ If anything, history is more Thanatos' thing given that he's part of it from Otoha's perspective. ]

The city itself creates the armor? Or wills it into existence?

B. Hope you don't mind!

[springforth]

[Persephone wishes she knew, to be honest, because she has a present in her own hands. It's bigger than a book, wrapped in green and utterly impossible to discern beneath the paper. There's a childish impulse to shake it that she barely refrains from. Mostly because she's seen some fragile things in these packages.]

What--Oh, I don't really know. I don't think so. If they did, wouldn't they have made something clear to us about it? Given it to us face to face. Hard to reciprocate to a being who doesn't make themselves known.

Not at all! They should be interesting

[controlsthedie]

[ His present is very small compared to others in the car, wrapped in black paper, gold ribbon, and a purple butterfly tag. It's very obviously supposed to be his. No mistake about it. He slowly tilts the box from one side to the other. Something is moving around inside of it.

He gives a small sigh, hoping this doesn't become another case where he's gifted thing after thing and tasked with finding a place to put it all. ]

Then, we just open them and accept them. Shall we?

[ It feels a bit of a waste to ruin the wrapping job, but the intention is to open it... ]

[springforth]

[She looks down at the box in her hands and over at his.] ... Well alright. If you promise to do it too. [Her unwrapping isn't neat, though she keeps the ribbon, a shade or two lighter than her skin, and the tag, a rose. But the wrapping paper, fairly demolished. It reveals a sleek laptop, top of the line at home, printed with Pomegranate X 500.] How did they even get that? This is from my world--what did you get? [She peers at his, curious but trying not to get into his space]

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos is much more careful with his wrapping, peeling it away by the seams with minimal tearing. The paper comes off mostly in one piece. The box contains a pair of sunglasses and earbuds. ]

Is this some kind of mask? It looks like something Daedalus would create.

[ He holds it up before his face. The earbuds don't make any sense to him, so he'll leave them in the box. ]

As does your gift.

[springforth]

[The name he drops sounds familiar but not enough to ring any bells. Either way, she's pretty pleased to be the one who recognizes technology, given her mortal world upbringing] Nah, mine is Underworld tech, a laptop I saw once but couldn't afford. These--[She taps the frame of the glasses, smile brilliant] These are for protecting your eyes from the light of the sun. Useful in the summer.

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos puts on the glasses, and behind the shades, his eyes open wide. Possibly for the first time since he arrived on the train. ]

... The light of Helios' chariot always hurt my eyes. Just another overwhelming sensation on the surface.

[ But now? The Chthonic God thinks he might be able to bear being on the surface instead of feeling ill all the time. ]

[springforth]

[Persephone's smile turns soft, as pleased with his reaction as if she'd gotten the gift herself.] Sensitive eyes? I'm no good with cold myself. [She takes a step back to admire them] And they picked a good shape for your face, if you care about that sort of thing.

[controlsthedie]

I can't say that I do. Most of the time I'm mistaken for others, but if I had these back home, I'd at least be able to do my job easier.

[ It's good to know that they look nice, however, because these aren't leaving his face until it's dark out. They help more than he could have imagined. ]

[springforth]

Well at least you'll be more comfortable among us, the kidnapped. Every little thing helps. Now those--the ear buds, they help play music in your ears, just for you to hear. [Hesitates] Though--uh, I'm not the one to ask about getting them to work with your SCA. I'm not that great with technology.

[controlsthedie]

[ How did Void Santa know? Although, anyone could see he's not been feeling well even if he doesn't seek help on the matter. Thanatos hadn't really thought there was a way to make surface life easier for him.

He'll ask around for someone to help him with the earbuds. Eventually. Some day... or night. ... Maybe Santa should have just gotten him earplugs. ]

What exactly did you get? You said it was Underworld tech, but I've never seen anything like it.

[springforth]

Oh it's just a laptop. The newest one. Computer? I don't know if Hades owns the company personally or just... You know...[Persephone waves her hand back and forth] Vaguely owns it. In that way the big important gods so often own things.

[controlsthedie]

[ Who knows how visible the expression is behind the sunglasses, but Thanatos just... blinks at her for a long moment. A third of those words didn't make sense, and over half the sentences made even less sense. ]

Gods can seem to rule over another's domain if mortals don't understand. It sounds to be the same with companies.

[ Like the difference between the God of the Dead and the God of Death. Or that he's not Ares. Or Eros. Thanatos really hopes that the Fates have somehow allowed the natural order of life and death to progress without him there.... One month behind was a nightmare to catch up with. What if he's gone longer? ]