TEST DRIVE MEME (1)

[trainmasters]

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
Outside the train, a large, strangely spinning cube floats over a pedestal, hissing discordantly and shedding strange black light onto the surrounding area. Beyond lies only shadows and slithering noises, a landscape of tangley thorns and eyes that glow in the dark. Your phone says it's noon, but out here it's midnight under a starless sky. As you step into the dark, an alarm blares -- your phone is sending you an alert.

"Goal: clear the area of snakes," it says. "Remember to use the buddy system!"

Soon you realise that the ground just a few feet away is actually writhing in black snakes with crimson eyes. They'll bite if you approach alone, but as long as you're touching another passenger, they're totally docile. You could easily move them away from the clearing, or toss them into the spooky-looking pit at the edge of it.

★ Three
You've been here awhile -- at least, long enough to have made some friends. Currently the TV in the public lounge is playing a weird puppet show, where all the puppets look and act like exaggerated versions of you and other passengers. What kind of person do the puppets think you are? Dramatic? Over-affectionate? Surly?It's all in good fun but it's definitely painting you in a light that, if not unpleasant, is certainly embarrassing.

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

Comments

[bowtiedbones]

2.
[she's fetched a broom from her team's carriage— Thyme, Ginger, or Licorice — and is trying to sweep a snake away from the seething, hissing mass]

No, stop biting! Just come here, I only want to look! I said no biting...!

4.
[HELLO TEAMS, someone is knocking shave-and-a-haircut on your carriage door]

[or wildcard it ☆ anything goes]

[energizer_bunny]

No mean no, Mr. Snake!

[Carrot charges up electro and gives the aggressive snake a jolt. It backs off quickly.]

Are you okay?

[bowtiedbones]

[yips, skittering back a step away from the electricity herself]

Oh! Oh gosh, yes, I'm fine, thank you!

[energizer_bunny]

That's good.

[She lets the electro fade but keeps a suspicious eye on the snakes.]

What's with these snakes anyway? Why are they so grumpy?

[bowtiedbones]

I don't know what kind they are, but um, I don't think their behavior is unusual? They're crowded and we're intimidating.

[energizer_bunny]

Hmm... when you put it that way, I feel kind of bad for them. Buuut we still have to get rid of them, right?

[bowtiedbones]

We don't have to get rid of them. We only have to get them out of this area.

[energizer_bunny]

Where are we gonna put them?

[bowtiedbones]

Anywhere! As long as it's not the clearing, technically even two feet away counts, doesn't it?

4

[purrtagonist]

[someone ELSE is waiting until she knocks out the "shave and a haircut" portion before he finishes off by knocking "two bits" from the other side]

[. . .]

[also: not opening the door. rude?]

[bowtiedbones]

[A PAUSE... while she tries to remember any other knocking refrains]


[hm nah]

Hello?

[purrtagonist]

[no answer]







[and then whoever is on the other side knocks again, this time to the tune of this]

[bowtiedbones]

[lightly drums applause on the door when the Overture ends...!!

and starts knocking the Can Can]

[purrtagonist]

[ooooh very nice!! he knocks out his applause as well, before playing some mozart]

["playing"]

[again he's just knocking on the door so like. . .]

[bowtiedbones]

[it's guess whether she recognized the song or not, but applauds nonetheless!]





[SCRATCHES on the door. scratches Mary Had a Little Lamb.]

[purrtagonist]

[oooooooh]

[this time she gets actual applause! and an open door--]

Have you ever thought about conducting your own orchestra?

[bowtiedbones]

[he opens it to her curtseying, thank you thank you]

Can't say I ever have. Hi!

[purrtagonist]

Hi.

[a casual wave]

You're not selling something, are you?

[bowtiedbones]

Do space trains get soliciters? No, I'm just trying to get looks at the other areas. They're all pretty fancy so far.

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

[steps back to show her a view of Clover's train car, decked out in pink and rainbows as it is]

Right. Super fancy. They call this aesthetic "fancy chic," or something.

[bowtiedbones]

[she's in Thyme's tidy uniform but THERE IT IS, THERE'S HER AESTHETIC]

Oh no! Oh gosh, but I love it, that's way cute!

[purrtagonist]

[TIME TO VISIT CLOVER MORE OFTEN]

Isn't it? It makes me feel like I can be seen all the way from outer space.

[taps the toes of his sneakers against the ground. HE IS ROCKIN' THEM]

Good thing I'm not trying to blend in.

[bowtiedbones]

Well, yeah! With fashion that eye-catching, you've got to lean into it.

4

[howlsitgoin]

[Hazel's door opens to reveal: some guy with wolf ears!]

...Do you want something?

[bowtiedbones]

Yes, actually! Hi, can I see what your carriage looks like?