aurorastation | TEST DRIVE MEME (4)

test drive meme

Your character wakes up in a neat bedroom in their team carriage, in nondescript underwear. They might be missing their memories, or their special abilities, or they may just feel a little queasy. Next to them is what seems to be a smartphone, which they know how to use even if they never had before, even if they don't know if they have before. On the screen is a simple message:

Welcome aboard the Aurora!

You have been selected by the Star Prince as a potential hero, tasked with saving the universe from Malice. As a passenger I, your Construct and Conductor, will attempt to provide you with quality lodgings and safety. In return, we ask that you join your fellows in making bonds and doing your utmost to bring joy back to the Stars.

Due to the process of restoring your body, you may find some things are missing. We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to return them to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.

★ One
Upon investigation, you'll find some basic clothes matching your team's theme in the storage provided in your room. Or, perhaps, you're wandering out of the room still undressed. Either way, downstairs you'll find someone has left a tray of cups of hot tea on the living room table. Drinking it may be simply pleasant, or it may cause you to feel a sudden need to warm up to the others in your carriage -- emotionally or physically. Welcome to the team, newbie!

☆ Two
Shortly after your arrival, you find yourself wrapped up in some monster NPC's Game. You're inside what appears to be a stone temple, with a massive golden scale on one wall. Suddenly, on one side, a heavy metal weight is dropped. As the scales tip out of balance, the floor begins to slowly disappear, brick by brick, ready to drop you -- and whoever is with you -- into an abyss. Your only hope comes in the form of an inscription on the altar:

How much do your secrets weigh?

Every secret you tell causes a weight to fall onto the other side of the scale. The bigger the secret, the bigger the weight. If you can collectively tip the scales, the floor will quit dropping bricks and a door will appear to allow you back to the train. If you can't, you'll fall, seemingly forever, til you pass out. When you wake up you'll find yourself unable to lie.

★ Three
You've been in aurora for awhile -- long enough to have recovered a memory/power or two, if you lost any. And it's lucky for you: today, the area around the train has been surrounded in a strange mist that makes you feel dizzy and overly warm. Left alone, your condition will slowly degrade, with increasing lethargy and shortness of breath until you lose consciousness. The cure is easy enough, though -- touch another person and they'll see one of your memories, experiencing it as if it's their own. The effect is mutual -- you now have a piece of eachother, and you're safe from the illness... at least until you take another big breath. Good thing there's no mist inside the train!

☆ Four
Wildcard. Make up your own prompt! Check out the setting and team pages for info on the train. If you have any questions, ask on the q&a page. Otherwise, apps open on February 8! In the meantime you're free to join us on Discord.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...Well that's just rude. I didn't choose them, I'll have you know.

I don't like that this girl is being a Judgy Jessie! Oh, but that's not a secret.

I put pickles in ice cream! [AND THE SCALE MOVES A LITTLE.] Oh. Weird.

[She squints. He sort of looks offended, but does he sound offended? Is this how offended sounds? Chatty?]

Was that a joke? I can't tell.

[She isn't even trying to spill a secret this time, but thud! A little weight drops anyway.]

[Actually laughs at that!]

Well that explains a lot. And I mean it was supposed to be a joke, but here we are, slowly making progress. Maybe too slowly.

Let's think bigger! Maybe I got... plastic surgery! Yeah, these horns are totally implants! [The scales... don't move at all.] Well damn.

[Shooter doesn't appear particularly pressed for time. The danger is there, it's just not dangerous enough to rush over apparently. Rather, she spends her precious seconds considering why her last admission worked when the prior one didn't.

Also watching this horned weirdo laugh.]

Those horns are not human. I'm not human either. I am not whole enough.

[Aaaaaand bam. A whopping weight drops. She may not have anything to hide, but sometimes it would be nice if she could hide things. Maybe. As long as it gets the job done, Shooter is fine with sharing though.]

[He pauses to stare at the weight drop like that. That was a big one, huh...? Then he reaches up to feel his horns, too. It wouldn't be a secret if he said he wasn't human, unfortunately.]

Oh... I don't know if I've got any big ones like that... But hey! It's slowing down quite a bit now.

Uh, I stole from my parents??? [Nope, another nothing. Guess he didn't do that.]

[She cocks her head silently. That's probably the biggest one she has. She's not sure what else would work.]

How do you... feel [Yeah, that's the word.] about not knowing your answers?

Not good. Pretty bad, actually. I'm... I don't know if I'm usually secretive, but just not knowing my own secrets is... hard.

[AND A WEIGHT DROPS ONCE MORE.]

I don't really like not knowing who I am, and I... really don't like showing it, you know? I feel like I have to be responsible.

I don't know.

[What is tact? She only knows how to shoot things.]

Responsibility has nothing to do with memories.

[In her defense he's kind of wrapping his mind around her situation, too, so. He's TRYING to understand her not understanding.]

Yeah, but I mean FEELING about my memories. I don't like people to know it bothers me!

[What a good horned weirdo.]

That is what makes it a secret?

Well.

Yeah, I guess. Something you don't like people to know. Something you'd like to keep to yourself, if possible. It doesn't have to be anything crazy like "I'm a double agent" or "I'm a spy or assassin", or "I stole a painting from a museum".

[Aaaaaand another weight drops, causing Akira to turn. And stare at it.]

...Shit. Which one?

I don't think you are an assassin. You don't have the skill to kill me.

[Helpful process of elimination.]

...You don't know that! I could be really skilled at killing!

[He doesn't feel like an assassin, though. He feels like he'd probably cry if he killed someone. Maybe even if he killed a particularly big spider. Maybe.]

[..................

It's true. Maybe he just doesn't remember those skills. She nods.]

Mato defeated me. She isn't skilled either.

[Hmmmm! Interesting!]

Well, I guess luck has to account for some things.

...Does that mean you've... died?

[Another nod. Perhaps a bit stiff.]

Her emotions remained, so I did as well.

[.......Oh.]

Sorry to hear that.

...Not!!! Not the uh!!! The remaining, but the dying!

I don't think anyone has the right to take the life of another. So I guess you're right. I can't be an assassin.

[Why are you sorry, horned weirdo? Shooter is the one who instigated Mato in the first place. Did she not explain that part? Oh well. It's not important.]

It's fine. I was able to teach her. I was... useful. That is what I want.

[Another small weight falls, and her gaze follows it curiously.]

[He's a horned weirdo who likes people to be alive and happy, alright?]

...You want to be useful...? I can understand that. You don't seem that inhuman, you know? Maybe a little, but not... not THAT much.

I feel like I've learned a lot about you, and I don't even know your name yet.

[Yes, well. She doesn't usually talk this much. Not since... that one time. It only happened one time. Hm.]

Black★Rock Shooter.

[Her name. That's her name. Don't question it.]

Black Star Rock Shooter...?

[He's not able to pronounce the symbols right yet.]

Uuuhh. You can call me Kiryuu.

No. Kiryuu.

[For the first time since they arrived, she appears mildly irritated. Apparently the ★ is silent. Roll with it.]

Just Black Rock Shooter.

[Except not. The star is important. DON'T FORGET IT.]

Oh.

Okay, Black Rock Shooter. [That's a mouthful, but you know what? That's okay. Some people are particular about their names! He will try to be respectful????]

Well, it's nice to meet you!

[She eases up immediately. Kiryuu is not at all like Mato, but also he is, just a little. It's interesting.

She nods, then she bows. Just for good measure.]

[Oh, are they bowing now? Okay. He bows back, even if he thinks that's a little formal. Black Rock Shooter seems the formal type, and there's no reason not to have some manners anyway.]

Looks like we'll probably live, at least. We dropped a couple big secrets there to do so, but I can't say I regret it.

(no subject)

bombedcolortheory - 2019-02-03 06:41 (UTC) - Expand

crimeboy - 2019-02-03 17:25 (UTC) - Expand

bombedcolortheory - 2019-02-05 09:01 (UTC) - Expand