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

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?

[bakegarasu]

More like it wills the transformation to work. It's a powerful spirit since it's the spirit of a place, so I guess that's enough to make it work.

I don't know much about magic, I haven't been at this very long.