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voidtreckerooc2020-12-16 06:00 am
voidtreckermods) wrote in voidtreckerooc2020-12-16 06:00 am
Entry tags:
Test Drive Meme 019
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.
No worries, mate!
She's mulling over it, finding herself wondering not for the first time, what's brought her here. How long she'll be here. When she'll be able to return to Ylisse. Olivia suspects that none of these answers will be particularly easy to obtain. Maybe that's the whole point of things, however.
V's question garners from her a pause before she looks over herself. Right. Of course! It's a little inappropriate for the addition of the snow, isn't it.]
W-well, it wasn't snowing before...
[She weakly explains before she makes a mad grab for one of the coats that's hanging up before she pulls it on.]
I would have dressed more... a-appropriately if I'd known what to expect.
[Maybe. Maybe not.]
^^
It's not a problem, truly; I expect most would have reacted the same.
[Short of this being a usual trick of this train... Which doesn't seem to be the case, either. Hmm.]
There are some places in the world where snow doesn't fall at all, after all; for those people, this must be an even more unexpected change!
no subject
Does it snow where you're from?
[Surely it must. V seems familiar with it. Of course, all it'd take is reading a book on it to know about it. For all she knows, V is an avid reader.]
I-I mean, it must. I'm sure it does.
no subject
[Pinelocke - not quite 'land of ice and snow', but certainly of the mountains and the colder weather that brought.
They'll leave out much of the details, though.
V smiles again, reassuringly.]
You do not need to doubt yourself so much; compared to many of the places I have been, this place is also much... calmer, I believe is the word.
[V is used to chaos, 'organized chaos', and
most detestablyempires in motion. A place like this, where people could complain and express themselves without punishment?There were far worse options.]
no subject
Olivia thumbs at her chin as she hooks herself onto the very specific way that's phrased.]
You travel a lot then?
[It's a lot easier to ask questions than to address the idea of her doubting herself, or being bashful, or whatever equally observant remark someone wants to make regarding her demeanour. She isn't a good liar. She isn't a good actress. She knows these things. As a result, when she gets cornered or put on the spot about something, there's just no smooth transition away from it.]
What is it that you do where you come from?
[Because she just can't tell by looking. Not a dancer. Probably not a soldier? Maybe a mercenary. Who knows.]
no subject
[They admit, shrugging.]
But, here - it's still traveling, isn't it?
[So it doesn't sit the same.
There's a more distinctive pause when Olivia asks her next question - the 'mercenary' answer isn't too far off, however...]
I run salvage. It's a sort of archaeology, though we restore some of what we find as well, if we need to.
[They don't say what they'd need to for. Some context V will gladly keep buried.]
no subject
At the answer, Olivia only feels like she has more questions. Salvage. It takes some discipline for her not to unload every single question all at once, knowing very much how likely that'll overwhelm V.]
What kinds of things do you salvage? Is it like a little bit of everything or is it very specific stuff? You said archaeology, so maybe... artefacts? Relics?
no subject
How wonderful that these questions can safely be answered!]
You've got it in one, though most of the relics I specialize in are technology.
[And people, not that V would say it that way. Perhaps a bit too morbid even out of context...]
no subject
That being said, the moment 'technology' enters the conversation, she's largely at a loss. Ylisse and Plegia aren't exactly known for their technology. Unless that's something like...]
When you say 'technology,' you don't mean something like 'magic,' do you?
[In a world of pegasi and knights and princesses, there's a surprising lack of computers and other things that might pass for technology.]
no subject
No - the place I'm from deals with both, but magic isn't my specialty. I know of it, but only in a general sense.
[Meaning Olivia would likely have the better on them if the Voidtreckers ever end up dealing with more...]
no subject
I don't really know anything about technology. [After a pause, she continues.] I don't know much about magic personally either, but! Well. I'm familiar with it. It's pretty prominent back home.
[Folding her hands together, she awkwardly fidgets, shifting her weight between her feet.]
What kinds of technology do you work with? Anything you can share with me?
no subject
Security, by and large. Protecting people and what they value most. Automated machinery as well - drones work a bit like birds, and if you treat them right some people can keep them as pets.
And - [how to put this?] - self-aware machinery comes up often. Have you heard of magic bringing things to life?
[What sorts of uses of magic is Olivia familiar with?]
no subject
[Heavens, what do they call that. Something like... necromancy. It makes her think, for just a moment, of the Risen. That's not necessarily what they were, but they were creatures that should have been dead and very much were not.
She frowns for just a tick and then tilts her head.]
Yes. I'm not personally familiar with magic like that, but I know it exists. It's not really something that... That is, I don't think people would be very happy if it were used so openly.
[Corruption and all of that. It gets dangerously close to trying to bypass whatever the rules and laws there are involving death.]
I'm not really a magic user. I've known some, though. But this... machinery where you come from... It's a bit like animated magic?
no subject
I meant more in the vein of 'bringing things to life that aren't normally thought of as being alive', rest assured.
Not... things previously alive.
[Though if the occasional AI or synthetic that was uncovered in the ruins wasn't dead yet, they deserved to be restored too. Such went V's philosophy on the matter.
And if they are dead: funerals.]It's a reasonable comparison though, once given that. Both have specific rules and capabilities, and can be put to work to create tools or as a tool in themselves.
no subject
[Because that's what it sounds like they mean. She seems to sink down with a segment of relief. Anything that reminds her of the Risen is likely not a good adventure in the slightest.]
I get it now. So what's the purpose in bringing these things to life? Is this for helping get things done? I can't imagine that animating them is really the same thing as them having personality or thoughts of their own...
[If they do, then wouldn't mean that essentially someone would be killing them by deactivating them?]
no subject
[Though perhaps more awkward. V busies themself with snow instead, building a ball before powdering it and making it drift down in patterns.]
`And yes, usually for that. Not all droids are built to develop personality, though some do whether they're designed to or not.`
[There were definitely ethical issues that came up along the way, however. Olivia is right to pick up on that.]