TEST DRIVE MEME (8)

[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
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
Whether you've just arrived or whether you've been a longstanding resident of the Aurora Express, you are asleep in your bed when it happens. A flash of light-- and then the sound of tiny objects hitting and bouncing off the roof of the train, abrupt and more solid than rain. Hail? Except it begins and ends too quickly to be hail. It's almost as if the sky opened up and dropped marbles on everything below. Weird.
Whether you wake up in the middle of the night or later on during real person hours, when you step outside... you will find hundreds of tiny star-like objects reminiscent of candy littering the ground. If you touch one you may feel a lingering sense of longing... as if this is something that "belongs" to you, but somehow is out of your reach. An emotion perhaps, or something that you buried deep inside... someone you love, something you covet. Whatever it is, the feeling consumes you until you decide to do the inadvisable.

Should you decide to consume the mysterious sky candy you just found on the ground the feeling that drew you in washes over you like a warm blanket... or a cold one, depending on the flavor of the candy.

Pink: Affection. The desire to love and be loved, or simply the desire to be close to someone. It feels like soft bubbling warmth or a burning need.
Orange: Anger. You've been wronged somehow. Who wronged you, do you remember? It feels like poison that bubbles just beneath the skin or a burst of fire that threatens anyone that comes near.
Yellow: Happiness. Inexplicable and bright, nothing can bring you down and everything is exciting. It feels like a burst of sunlight on a cloudy day, or a rush of energy that can't sit still.
Green: Covetousness. Jealousy and envy, what they have belongs to you, or at least it should. It feels like a painful longing that twists your stomach, or a fidgety itch in your fingers.
Blue: Sorrow. You can only be strong for so long, sometimes you need to break. It feels like a sharp stab in your chest, or a well of emotions that threatens to burst.
White: Wildcard. Go wild?

How long these effects last is up to you... or up to how much candy you eat. Let this be a lesson to you; do not eat things you find on the ground.

☆ 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 June 8! In the meantime you're free to join us on Discord.

Comments

Penric kin Jurald | World of Five Gods

[learnedfool]

[OOC: Open to any team in the test drive, but since I play Cat/Aphra, I can't app Pen to Thyme. Also for people who can see souls/things like that, Pen has a normal human soul... but also a roiling mass of chaos sharing space with his soul. (And two minds, or at least two personalities, since both of the need Pen's brain to do the thinking.) Also going with powerloss, because memory loss is not our friend under these conditions.]

One

It's new teammate day, and this gawky dude in PJs is going through his new wardrobe and talking to himself before making his entrance "Bastard's tears, is it all the same color? No, I'm not wearing that, no matter if you think it feels nice. We'll get something else later."

Is he talking to you? Himself? Who knows?

Two
Of course, Pen had to look over the edge. And now he has Desdemona screaming in his head about the fall, because having a demon who is terrified of heights made actually confirming that they couldn't see the bottom a wise decision. After an internal conversation while it looked like he was frozen in fear, he briskly turned around and approached you. "Right. Secrets, then. Then we can leave this very dangerous room and go back to the train."

1

[purrtylittlewires]

New teammate day all day here. Though this one is a brickhouse who looks like he could use more sleep. He's just left his own room after raiding the closet to not be naked even if he's not sure he's a fan of the clothes. But he can hear the voice in another room and he listens for a few moments.

Someone's talking. Maybe to someone else? He doesn't know, but still. They seemed to be adjusted enough to complain about clothes.

Mmmmmaybe safe to get attention?

There's a knock. "Hello?"

Re: 1

[learnedfool]

Meanwhile, this dude is tall and lanky and appears to be alone in his room as he answered this door. "Hello. Is this your house?"

Penric hasn't figured out he's in a train, let alone what a train is; coming from a society that considers wood-block printing to be the height of sophistication can limit you.

Re: 1

[purrtylittlewires]

"No. I was kind of hoping it was yours," Wash said. Though keeping on the other side of the hall from the door, in not so easy range for grabbing. Just for his own heightened nerves. "You didn't happen to just wake up without any clothes, did you?"

Re: 1

[learnedfool]

"No, I had these," Penric gestured to the pajamas he was still wearing. "Not what I was wearing when I was heading to sleep last night."

Agent Washington | Red Vs Blue (CRAU) | Memloss

[purrtylittlewires]

1
[Have a brickhouse of a dude covered in scars, some bags under his eyes, and premature gray hair.]

[On one hand, he's probably shouldn't just take things. On the other hand, he hates feeling so exposed so grabs the most covering combination of clothes he can from the closet. Still feels eerily exposed, but. Better.]

[Then he'll venture out into the team carriage. Eyeing the tea with a frown. He's read the message on the phone, but it sounds suspect. He grabs a tea cup, enjoying the warmth. Enjoying it...a lot, actually, and that's weird. He sniffs it, debates taking a drink, before simply putting it down.]

[He'll continue looking around, opening and closing cabinets in the kitchen, shifting things around, but he's also very careful to not leave a mess, putting things back in their place. Keeping an ear out for anyone else to show up.]

3
[He knows better than to eat things off the floor. He does. But he's always been a little weird about food, and the impulse is strong, so he ends up eating some of the candy.]

[And unfortunately it's yellow and when he's happy, he's....well, he's kind of a goof.]

[So he might be making a game of tossing the candy at the doorway of the lounge car to see if he can get candy into some unsuspecting person's mouth. Or hits them in the head. One of those.]

4
[Or something a little more relaxed. He's sitting in the lounge car, leaning back in a chair, feet up on another chair, tossing a knife up into the air, watching it spin and catching it by the hilt, or managing to catch it by the flat of the blade between two fingers.]

3 and oh snap hi

[voreaciously]

[80H enters the lounge as a piece of yellow candy flies her way. Instead of catching it in her hand--a feat she is easily capable of doing with her eyes actually closed--she instinctively catches it in her mouth.

It's a habit.

But it nearly falls out of it when she catches sight of the pitcher.]

...Leo-san?

Hello!

[purrtylittlewires]

Ha! Two points! [Raising his hands in victory and looking quite pleased with himself.]

[Though she's kind of staring. And he chuckles because there is no paranoia when he's happy. Well, not enough to deter his (drugged) mood.]

Leo? Whose that? [He paused and he sits forward eagerly.] Holy shit, do we know each other?

[voreaciously]

...No, it seems we do not.

[she won't mind that in a second once the candy kicks in. but also--]

Two points out of how many?

[This is important.]

Black Hound/Fog of Incense | Exalted OC | Powerloss

[hiddensun]

Two

[ In the short time since his arrival, this newcomer has one, managed to pass himself off as an amnesiac when someone inevitably asked if he remembers anything; two, picked out a different name for himself (something like Horizon or Sky); and three, tried to get on work on the 'mission' of 'bringing joy back to the Stars'.

The keyword is 'try', considering that one and two is kind of counterintuitive to 'making bonds'. He knows this, but old habits die hard. Trying to convince himself that there's no real need for anyone here to know about Fog of Incense, let alone Black Hound.

...And of course, it gets tested in short order with something like this trial. Good thing he's now sitting on a fancy stockpile of secrets of his own creation. ]

Oh sure, ask something like this when some of us don't remember anything.

Three

[ You're probably just trying to go on your way or do your own thing nearby the train when a star candy comes flying right at you. Maybe it misses, maybe you dodge, maybe you get beaned in the head by it or maybe it even ends up in your mouth, bless you. If you go look for whoever threw it, the perpetrator can be found sitting on the roof of one of the cars. You know, picking some of the candy that didn't bounce off to the ground and throwing it at people because he's bored.]

3

[purrtylittlewires]

[Gosh, that candy is going right for that guy's mouth, he was even yawning as he was walking outside and everythi-]

[His hand shoots up, catching the candy on reflex. He even looks pretty startled himself because what. Something had been....flying at him?]

[He opens his hand to look at the candy.] Oh. [He looks up to see where it came from. He chuckles, tossing it up and catching it again.] Bored?

[hiddensun]

[ So close and yet so far! That said, he recognises those quick reflexes, if only because that was something he had (and now didn't, thanks people responsible). He smiles down from where he's up on the train. ]

It's not like there's much to do here other than explore and talk to people.

[purrtylittlewires]

Fair enough. At least until those trial things.

How many have you gotten so far? [Holding up the candy.]

2

[learnedfool]

[guess who is also in the powerloss boat? It's this guy. Well, the chaos spirit who shares his body, technically; Penric is otherwise a perfectly ordinary human]

Maybe something like 'I didn't like today's lunch, but didn't want to be rude' would work.

[hiddensun]

Oh, probably. I can't imagine it's a secret that's worth much, though.

[ He imagines considering their well-beings are apparently hanging in the balance (literally), the less you want to share a secret, the more it's worth. ]

[learnedfool]

Let's see.

"I forgot to refill the salt shaker after breakfast, and didn't tell my team."

[The scales are not impressed by this piddly secret]

Perhaps you're right. But I would feel better if I wasn't the only one offering my secrets.

jusis albarea | trails of cold steel

[asteion]

ONE.

[sometimes u wake up in ur undies and take a look at ur team's outfit choices and decide to walk outside still in ur undies, it's fine]

[WHICH IS TO SAY, there is a new guy in the lounge, wrapped up in a bedsheet, sipping at a cup of tea and shivering and just looking extremely unimpressed by everything]

[why is this happening to him]

THREE.

[finally dressed, sir new guy has taken it upon himself to procure a broom and a dustpan and is. . . well. sweeping up the star candy for disposal. if you happen to be nearby holding onto a piece of candy, you might earn yourself a slightly judgmental look]

Don't tell me you're actually going to eat that.

[what kind of animal eats candy right off the ground???]

[hiddensun]

[ Walks out.

Sees this new guy wrapped up in a bedsheet.

Hm, ]

I don't think you get to look unimpressed when you're in your underclothes.

[asteion]

[immediately, flatly]

You wouldn't be saying that if you took a first hand look at my options.

[. . .]

[ker-sip]

[hiddensun]

That's assuming you know what mine were. You've got stones to walk out when you're only a couple steps above 'naked', still.

Re: jusis albarea | trails of cold steel

[awakenerd]

[Honestly he's trying to figure out why mini-Rufus is judging him here.

This is what happens when you put two amnesiacs together.]


...Do you not feel it?

[asteion]

[who the fuck is Rufus]

[also he's probably judging everyone]

Feel what, now?

[said with mild exasperation; he obviously hasn't touched one yet, he's just. cleaning up]

Re: jusis albarea | trails of cold steel

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow wiggles a piece of candy in his general direction. ]

Haven't you ever heard of the five-second rule?

[asteion]

Yes.

When I was five.

[POINTED STARING]

[bad_crowmance]

[ This grin says that the glare is rolling off him like water off a duck's back. ]

What works when you're five can still work when you're an adult.