Test Drive Meme 023

[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!

Dio's Legacy

In an alternate almost exactly like the one inhabited by the Voidtrecker Express, fate went another direction. Instead of the first addition to the train's structure being the games carriage, this train's passengers voted differently.

What makes them happy?

Crocodiles.

The Crocodile carriage isn't a misnomer. It's teeming with reptiles of various sizes, basking under sunlamps or floating lazily in the raised tank built across half of the available space. To be even better for morale, they're all perfectly tame, and unnervingly friendly; it's rare that a passenger is able to cross the carriage without being accosted by some crocodile or gharial looking for attention.

Harvest Void

The greenhouse is a surprisingly bright room, its vaulted ceiling made of a transparent, incredibly tough material that shows the light of the Void along the entire length of the room. The single metal support beam is bedecked in roses. The aisle of grass running through the centre of the carriage is riotous with strange plants and flowers, small stone paths leading off to this patch or that of vegetables or closely clustered fruit trees.

And all of them are laden with produce. Whether a stray spell or a particularly good mood from one of the resident forces of nature, every plant in the carriage has matured at once. Shrubs overflow with berries, rows of stalks groan under beans and tomatoes, apples threaten to fall from overhead branches at any moment.

You may not normally be a gardener, but today it's all hands on deck!

Cold Iron, Warm Hearts

The duchy of Yipre is one of several close-knit factions on one continent, known for both her expansive clockworks and strong links to the Fey. Central to the capital is the Clocktower, the palace home to both the Duchess Stomen and her court of scholars, diplomats and engineers. Home also to a key point in the Ley, where the mundane world and the Fey intersect just enough that one may cross from one to the other.


But the Clocktower is sundered, entire sections of iron and brass sheared away in a great earthquake, and neither world is faring well in the aftermath.

Team One

The gear sprites of the Clocktower are missing, running amok in the streets and squares of the duchy. They're tiny things, fluff, metal filings and dust made quicksilver-fast, with small, glowing eyes and bell-like voices. While normally they keep the machinery of their home running, they aren't nearly as talented with anything else, and are causing general chaos with all devices and machinery they run across. Find them, and herd them back to the Tower. Maybe get them out of the typewriter first.

Team Two

The gateway to the Fey realm is torn, and dreaming magic is spilling out from the Clocktower. Finding the Voidtreckers' minds fertile grounds for its taking, imagined creatures and realms are conjured forth from all kinds of worlds and all kinds of lives. There are many ways to combat these - play them through until the magic is satisfied, for example, or find the Voidtrecker whose mind is the source, and stop them dreaming. It's up to the Voidtreckers on this team to decide.

Team Three

The Clocktower isn't quite in ruins, but large sections are crumpled like tin foil. In other places, steam and magic spill out into the air in a chaotic mix, burning and twisting the air into glittering leaves or long ropes of thorn. And through this, those that called the palace home fight to free themselves from the wreckage. Courtiers, servants, engineers… and, somewhere, the Duchess herself. Help who you can, but find her.

Comments

stardew void amirite

[darknessinzero]

Even - Vexen? - has been both one of the greatest helps and causes of internal conflict during Ansem's time on the train so far, but he finds his presence here and now welcome. He watches the blonde float, smile flickering just for a moment. And after another-

"I don't recall him with a passion for this sort of thing."

It's an unspoken question and perhaps even a request; is this another thing he has forgotten?

[thawed_pride]

He's done his best to help Ansem acclimate, though he has been slightly more awkward than even his usual, often avoiding meeting his mentor's eyes. He's well aware of the yellow of his own and what it means, who it reminds them both of.

But for now? For now he can focus on harvesting the fruits, eyes on his task and mind away from Xehanort.

"Perhaps not a passion, no, but it was among his regular duties. From what I observed during my too-brief time back home, he has been taking some level of comfort in reclaiming his old responsibilities."

[darknessinzero]

It's- a little painful. On multiple levels. But at least here they have an excuse to not look at one another, and to keep their eyes on the task at hand. And so Ansem does, the furrow of his brow as he tries to put foggy thoughts together hidden by green.

After a moment, he lets it go. It will come back in time- already, he tells himself, he has reclaimed much. Surely the rest will follow...?

"That, I am pleased to hear. This place...is not home, but this-" he gestures to the greenhouse at large, "-does bring me a familiar comfort."

Close enough, it seems.

[thawed_pride]

"It's a sense of normalcy that we have all been...long in need of."

A part of him does envy the others, settling back into their old home while he was working in a hastily assembled workshop in a barren wasteland. But he'd known what he was giving up when he chose to leave, and he does not regret sacrificing that return to the familiar for the sake of atonement.

"Lord Ansem, catch." It's a brief warning as he wipes off an apple, before tossing it in Ansem's direction. "Do you yet recall the taste of freshly ripened fruit?"

[darknessinzero]

A glance, and then a quick raise of his hand- Ansem catches it without much trouble, managing a quirk of a smile. "Not to where I don't appreciate a reminder," he responds, not hesitating before taking a bite of it. By the look on his face, it's far from unpleasant.

[thawed_pride]

If nothing else, you don't grow up in Radiant Garden without developing a good eye for healthy foliage. Nor do you spend years as Ansem's apprentice without learning his tastes, and he made sure to offer one of the sweeter apple varieties. The approval on Ansem's face earns a smile, glad as he is to be able to do something to make his dear master happier after how badly he hurt him in the past.

"A shame you didn't arrive two weeks earlier, we stopped at a popular vacation spot and the train provided all manner of picnic foods. It almost felt like we were simple tourists."

[darknessinzero]

Sometimes, it's simply the little things.

He takes another bite as Even continues, making a thoughtful sound as he chews, then swallows. "From what I understand, such stops wouldn't be only for recreation, would they?" Another question, but this one more obvious- and this having nothing to do with his memory.

[thawed_pride]

"Not ordinarily, no." He shakes his head as he returns to picking fruit. This variety is a little sweeter than his own tastes run, so he's not especially tempted to pause for a snack.

"The stop before that was to defend the last humans in a world from an opposing army intent on their destruction. It was...a difficult mission, though ultimately successful. I believe that is part of why we made an extra stop that month, solely for the purpose of stress relief."

[darknessinzero]

That...well. That has his brow creasing, and he lowers the apple to study Even for a long moment. "I see," he says. "I cannot say I am disappointed to have missed it- but it does make me concerned for your safety, along with everyone else's."

He trusts in their abilities, to work together- but still.

[thawed_pride]

"There...were injuries. Particularly on the last day, we faced difficult battles." He remembers the condition of Ken's clothes from that day. He, himself was injured multiple times, although never nearly so bad. He knows he had Lea to partially thank for that, as conflicted as the thought makes him feel. But maybe the presence of the bangle will be of reassurance to Ansem?

He stows the basket of apples in a swirl of shadows and frost, and lowers back down to the ground. He briefly dusts his hands off on his coat, then reaches under his sleeve to remove his Firaga Bangle and show it to Ansem.

"But we are not without access to supplies, here. I was armored, and had enough information on the mission to think to cast protective spells on my children. None of us were forced to fight, either, so any who were not comfortable with the risk had the option to simply stay behind."

[darknessinzero]

A slow nod. He won't say he wishes he had been there to help, for the wish is pointless- but it can be seen in his face nonetheless. He does not think that he has ever liked feeling helpless, fully reliant on others to carry the weight- even as he understands that the battlefield is not his place.

Nonetheless, the bangle does catch his attention. He glances up for permission, then reaches to take it, turning it over in his hands as he considers. Ansem has met some of those children, seen the reasons that Even would consider them his own- and, perhaps, has unconsciously taken them under his wing as well. However, Even's safety is just as important- and to know that he has taken steps to protect himself soothes some of Ansem's concern. With a nod, he offers it back.

"I'm glad to hear this. There must have been other roles, as well, for those who could not stay behind but could not fight- as I am sure there will be in the future."

[thawed_pride]

He hands the bangle over, confident that he isn't at risk of being set on fire in the garden. It looks fairly new, lacking any obvious signs of wear that would suggest having been used extensively, though a magical analysis might indicate that it has seen battle. It saved him a lot of pain.

He slips it back onto his wrist after Ansem hands it back, casually tucking it up where it fits snug around his forearm.

"There were, although my...particular circumstances meant that I was better suited to engaging the enemy. Others assisted with evacuating civilians and repairing the city's defenses, so that we did not drive the invaders back, only to find those we were defending already perished or else helpless upon our departure."

[darknessinzero]

Ansem nods, accepting the words as they are without pressing for more. "Everyone appears to have worked their hardest to protect others," he muses aloud. "It is something to be proud of."

There's a bit of a pointed look. Whatever could he mean by that? Surely he's not remarking on a few of the subtler ways he's seen Even acting. But he moves on before it can be addressed;

"It seems the rest you mentioned was well-earned."

[thawed_pride]

"And much needed. Portions of the battlefield were wholly inimical to life, and adaptation magic only went so far. Simply being there was tiring, much less fighting our way through to close the gates our enemies were using."

He shakes his head as he retrieves his fruit basket. Standing near him, Ansem might feel a brief gust of cold air from the magic released from retrieving such a large object. If he recognizes the meaning of the pointed look, he's choosing not to comment.

"Those of us who took that task were...quite thoroughly exhausted, by the time we won our victory."

[darknessinzero]

Ansem certainly isn't elaborating on it. If he meant to get something across, he seems confident he has; indeed, he's back to the harvest, pausing only to adjust the scarf about his neck and shoulders.

"Are such battles...common, Even?"

[thawed_pride]

"I haven't been here long enough to say for sure, only a month and a half at this point, but the impression I have gotten is that that was an exceptionally dire situation."

He floats back up to the branches of the tree he was harvesting from. The spell, combined with his much improved upper body strength, make it easy for him to haul himself up to reach higher fruits.

"The train called it a Catastrophe-class mission, meaning that the outcome without our intervention would have been anywhere from extinction of a thinking species, to the utter destruction of the world. It mentioned five other missions of such severity, and has promised to alert us in the future when a mission qualifies as Catastrophe-class."

[darknessinzero]

"Five others in the near future, or simply...?" The fact that they were present meant that they'd best be dealt with, sooner than later, but- Ansem frowns, watching Even for a moment before shaking his head as he refocuses on the task. "At least it has assembled quite a crew, but- it seems to me it is only a matter of time before tragedy befalls us." Whether losing an ally or a battle...

[thawed_pride]

"Five others in the past. We...do not get much advance warning on missions, as we seem to be operating as something of an emergency response team."

It's a nice change for him, really. After all the damage he's done, how many worlds he's played a role in plunging into the darkness...now he has a chance to save worlds he visits, instead.

"I do understand your apprehension. We...came very near to losing Demyx in our final battle on that world, and Ken only returned safely because I had both the ability and the foresight to cast Auto-Life on him before allowing him out of my sight. But we all knew the risks when we chose to take the battlefield, so we must assume that everyone who fought considered the cause to be worth the danger."

[darknessinzero]

Ah. Then another could come at any time- Ansem nods at the correction, though he seems both pensive and distracted. Perhaps by trying to remember his own experience with them, but...nothing comes. The only event where he worried about death seems seared in to his memory, of being hurtled in to darkness...

He closes his eyes for a long moment, trying to banish the thought. Focus on now. "Have there been those who have simply refused to contribute?" He'd hardly judge them, but- he's curious, if perhaps their selection has had some deliberate choice.

[thawed_pride]

That distracted look...he has a guess what that's about. He knows...very well what the first time Ansem would have felt true worry for his own safety would have been. He takes a deep breath, watching his mentor as if expecting something, or perhaps dreading it. But what he's watching for doesn't come, and he lets his breath out in a low sigh.

"Some did remain behind last time. Our participation does seem to be encouraged and rewarded, but it is not entirely surprising that some are not inclined to offer assistance, under the circumstances."

[darknessinzero]

Suffice it to say Ansem is glad he doesn't have to be holding eye contact at this moment. He is not sure he could take it without being reminded of and contrasting Even's face, then and now.

"I cannot say I blame them. Especially the younger ones; it must be terrifying, to be thrust in to such danger, regardless of one's capabilities." Someone like the boy in his memories - Sora - would charge in without hesitation, but not all of them are like that. Indeed, hearts like those are far and few in between.