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

Re: 2

[ghostfromthemachine]

—wow! That's a little extreme, don't you think?

Re: 2

[nihilmancy]

Ah. That wasn't what you meant? Er, nevermind!

[She chews on her lip, embarrassed.]

What should we do, then?

[ghostfromthemachine]

I mostly meant— well, that's the problem, really. We could move them, assuming they wouldn't move back— or throw them into that pit, or smuggle them on board, or nearly anything, really.

[ side-eyeing her a bit ]

I'll absolutely take the freedom of choice over being forced to take a more violent option, but it does make it more difficult to figure out how to start.

[nihilmancy]

[Ah, she's not making a very good impression is she? She must seem like a monster right now. But somehow, a bitterness rose up inside of her, and simply destroying the infestation seemed somehow right and good to her. She shakes her head, trying to get her thoughts on a different track.]

Er, yes, of course. I should be able to push them with my magic, but I can't do it indefinitely.

[ghostfromthemachine]

Well, there's nothing wrong with doing it by hand instead? I was thinking in terms of where to put them, I suppose.

[nihilmancy]

I suppose the pit would be easiest, no?

[ghostfromthemachine]

Yes, but it's also a giant creepy pit. —actually, if they can't get out of there, it would even be kinder just to kill them.

[ considering their options, her nose wrinkled up ]

...let's just try tossing them out of the clearing and hope they don't come back?

[nihilmancy]

[She nods.]

Yes, that would be simplest. Pardon my earlier outburst. I wasn't expecting this today.

[Unsure how she should go about this, she extends her hand again.]