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

[cadeuces]

I don't suppose I'd take kindly to any houses dropping down around my life, either. ( Wizard of Oz, anyone? ) I'm sure it's quite a shock to the senses to have something so much bigger than you just tromping around.

You sound as though you like them. ( Snakes in general, she means. It's something spoken with a little smile, prompting. And slowly backing away from the snakes, fingertips curled in his sleeve in a gentle tug to do the same. )

[hissoff]

Maybe a little. [ noncommittal hums. since they seem to be so much more gentle now... he stoops down a bit to brush a finger against one as it slithers past. ]

They're really quite cute, don't you think? It seems rather unfair that we should have to invade their space and uproot them from where they've chosen to make their home.

[cadeuces]

( Well, there goes that escape attempt. She's keeping hold of his sleeve at least, if only to keep them both safe. However that seems to be working. )

I'm inclined to agree, provided they don't try to bite me again. I wonder if there isn't somewhere safer to encourage them towards, away from the train and whatever this cube device is. It's drawing quite a lot of attention.

( Which is not something she's volunteering for, by the way. She would much rather admire them from afar instead of— oh god one's curling around her ankle as it goes past. She's losing a couple shades of color. )