spacehorses | Test Drive Meme

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Test Drive Meme

Did you want to test your characters? Do you want something that you can use for an RP sample without digging up an old thread? Well, here you have it. Pick one or multiple prompts below or, if you want, make a prompt of your own. Just be sure to tag around so that everyone gets plenty of exposure.

1: Explosions in space! Space Bandits attacked the space colony everyone was visiting! Dozens of fighters and mobile armors fly through space, locked in deadly combat. Are you among those battling to save lives? Or are you watching from the windows, praying everything will be safe?

2: Explosions underground! You were part of a trading party, exchanging supplies with an underground penal colony when alien animals burrowed through the walls and started assaulting convict and Confederation member alike! What are you going to do?

3: Explosions over the city! The Colosseum is shooting off fireworks as part of a concert or a sporting event! Are you watching in the crowd, a main attraction, or watching the bright colors from the city?

4: Explosions on an asteroid! You're either observing, guarding, or mining an asteroid! It's rather dull, save for the explosions that rock the ground under your feet. It looks like it'll continue to be just as slow, but... was that something moving in the shadows there?

5: Explosions on a space station! As you approached a research station, you receive a distress signal! Fire's broken out and their systems aren't up to spec! Can you do anything? Are you a part of a scouting crew or out for a joyride in your new yacht? And is this an accident, or something more sinister?

6: Explosions at the gym! Explosive competition! Swimming, weightlifting, running, boxing, someone has just challenged you! Whether they know it or not, you're going to do your best to show them up.

7: Explosions in the past! A star has died! The Fleet is flying through the nebula it left behind, with swirls of beauty as far as the eye can see. If you're the type, you can watch it all you like.

8: Explosions on the road! Most of the traffic on the Teuberg is computer controlled, but some young showoff took his off the grid and promptly caused a wreck! Traffic has been backed up for almost half an hour now, with no way out for you and the people in your vehicle. Are you close enough to see if anyone needs help? Or are you just stuck with people who are as late for their appointments as you are?

9: Explosions in the marketplace! Explosive bargains! You're in a trading hub, surrounded by stalls of all kinds selling every type of merchandise you can imagine! Luckily, you've got enough money to handle a few purchases here. Will you buy one of those daggers on display? An incense burner? Some alien fruit? Or maybe you're on the run from the corrupt guards? Or perhaps you're the one doing the chasing, did someone just steal your wallet?

10: Explosions in your mind! The explosive inspiration that drives this world! Make up your own prompt!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hardly. Which is why Shiroe watches him watch the light show outside with mounting curiosity. Cookies and cocoa? What is he, 5?]

What a thing to celebrate. [He looks out the window again, weighing the pros and cons of abandoning his solitary post for... for cookies. Hmm.] This sort of thing isn't so rare.

[Boys that age are always interested in food, or so experience has taught him. ]

Oh? Do humans watch nebulas all the time nowadays?

[It is true that stars die all the time, but where does the kid come from?]

[He will deny it!! A pause and a strange look, though - do... humans... Well. The casual implication that this man isn't human doesn't make Shiroe less wary. He stares.]

I don't know. The calendar here is different from what I'm used to. [a beat; he is attempting to not be totally defensive] I'm from a place like this, only bigger. A space station.

[And yet this perfectly normal human didn't even notice his slip. He does, however, notice the not total defensiveness. With a warm smile, he turns around and starts walking towards the cafeteria. Then he casually pauses to look over his shoulder to check if the boy is following. A space station! And he thought moon travel was a bit too much..]

Dates are shockingly confusing, aren't they? Though I must confess my own confusion is helplessly permanent. Regardless of the exact date, I am afraid that this place will be always very different from England, 1888.

Edited 2014-01-29 02:37 (UTC)

[At first, he isn't going to follow, even though it's plainly obvious he's being invited to do so. He can get snacks whenever he wants, after all. But mentioning the calendar usually prompts people to ask how it's different, and instead- England. Right out of the ancient history books.

Alright, he's following now. His attention is grabbed.]

You're from Terra. [ah-] Earth. No wonder you're going to the celebration!

Even if the phenomenon only seems grand for those like me, it is still a nifty excuse for cookies, wouldn't you agree?

[It is only natural that the Peter Pan boy would be attracted to "ancient history". Kevin seems very happy to have company.]

Terra, you said? Did they change its name back? How quaint! Latin has always been such a warm language. I have heard they no longer teach it at schools. Ah, a real shame...

[Not to mention that young master is particularly good at Latin. He misses his rehearsals too.]

[Ancient history man sure is eccentric. Latin is the deadest of the dead languages, from Shiroe's perspective - although, most languages common to Earth are likely long since dramatically changed if not dead themselves. He hums, an ambivalent acknowledgement that, alright, he will have a cookie.]

You'd be surprised what they teach in schools now. It isn't literature by anyone's standards.

[He folds his arms and shrugs one shoulder, like hmph, he is definitely not bothered!!]

I always thought it was called Terra because it's so old and it's where people came from. [He's not... 100% sure on ancient etymology... but it's got that "origin of species" feel, so.]

[They totally ruined it, didn't they? God gives humans a perfectly nice planet and they keep making it uninhabitable and going to the moon and other unreasonably oxygen-deprived places.]

That far away? Oh my... Sir, may I ask what do they teach at schools?

[They arrive at the cafeteria. And it is as busy as expected. Cocoa is on the house, and one can find cookies in more flavors than necessary. Some of them completely mysterious.]

[They ruined it in so many ways. AI helped. Ruin it, that is, in Shiroe's opinion.

In the cafeteria Shiroe makes a beeline for a fresh mug of cocoa before he answers, which he does while eyeing an array of cookies thoughtfully. Decisions, decisions.]

How to fit into the role chosen for you. [He glances up, then goes on,] In the good schools, it all filters back to the military. I was in engineering.

[Ah, military. After his time in post-nuclear London, he can tell where this is heading.]

...Training the youth to better serve society does not seem like such a bad idea. [says the guy whose role eventually plunged him into a breakdown of biblical proportions.] Do you enjoy engineering?

[Kevin is very conservative in his cookie choice: chocolate and strawberries. Alien food still scares him.]

[Ooh, bad step. Shiroe rolls his eyes unabashedly, with all the airs of a teenager who can't believe an adult could be so willfully blind to some greater truth. A bit more serious than most, but all the same. He hates and resents the entire system and has never been shy about that much, but when faced with snacks and much nicer questions, he decides not to dwell.

So, as he plucks a frosted cookie of some kind from its tray,] I'm really good at it.

I can build all kinds of machines-- top of the class, you see. It's my hobby.

[is he oozing enough pride yet]

[Sometimes one needs to keep lying to themselves until something snaps. Oops.

He is more than happy to accept Shiroe's decision not to dwell. The boy's pride brings back memories and fills his feathery heart with sappy warmth.]

My goodness, top of the class? In the future, even. I say, you must be incredibly smart.

[Ins't free cocoa especially delicious. ]

[Flattery is even better than regular not-dwelling. He'd never turn down a compliment, even from someone who clearly has no idea what most of the things he could talk about even mean. Suddenly, cookies and cocoa and company seem much more welcoming.]

No one who doesn't have potential to be an elite member of society gets into the school I attended. Some people have more potential than others, too, of course.

Haha, that sounds incredibly familiar, though I am quite sure it couldn't possibly be the same.

[Competitive and ambitious boys struggling for power? Brattish rivalries? Certainly a thing from the past.

Being a lucky angel, he finds the perfect table for nebula viewing. With a pleased sigh, he sits down with his cocoa and forgets the light show once more to concentrate on the child before him.]

[His brattish rivalry gets him in a lot of trouble, let's skip that part for now-- Grabbing another cookie before following along to the table, and with just an ounce of future-boy smugness as he slides into a seat:] No, it's definitely not.

[Conversely, he is going to watch the stellar view, although he'll chance talking about something besides himself. (Very daring.)]

Are you thinking of your own school days?

[Doesn't it always?

He watches the boy watching the stars.]

Ah, not quite. My young master attends a prestigious school. A few months ago, I became the school's reverend in order to stay close to him.

[Sometimes the difference between the past and present tense is paramount to a butler's sanity. More often than not, young master is allotted the shiny and lively realm of the present tense.]

[Has William ever been arrested--

Anyway, more ancient history, it seems. Even for the elite of the elite, things like young masters and butlers are a think of the distant past. To say nothing of how religion has all but died out. Oops?]

Oh. [...] What do they teach in that school?

[N-not yet. Just give him some time.

Though seriously, Shiroe, how broken is your world.]

Well, the three Rs are very important, of course. [He raises his fingers to count each one of them.] Reading, WRiting and Dictation, and ARithmetics. But of course, good schools will also teach you such things as ethics, history, geography, science, modern and classical languages and, as we mentioned before, literature. ...Ah, there is much singing too.

Edited 2014-01-29 06:03 (UTC)

[Soon...

And it's really broken. It's obvious because only Shiroe and a couple old people seem to have a problem with it.

Those three Rs are really dorky...] They actually teach singing? And people participate?

[Students have fun in ways that aren't designed to make them better military drones? Oh, the Golden Age--!]

I can hardly imagine a school like that.

[Kevin finds it sad that Shiroe cannot imagine signing students. Such a critical part of a young boy's education!]

Church choir singing, no less. Religion is a very important part of our curriculum.

[There is also sports, which is an awesome excuse for betting, but he is leaving that out for the time being since demonic forces are involved.]

[The religion thing again... Nope, he's got nothing. To compensate, he focuses his attention on taking a good swig of cocoa, which has cooled enough to handle a swig without burning terribly.]

It sounds like a very dull place. But the kind of dullness that students can be relaxed in, so I suppose it's alright.

[The entire Victorian education system summed up by this brat kid: "alright."]

[He heaves a small sigh. Oh, the memories!]

Ahhhh, I fear one can never have that many children in one single place and still call it "dull". [Young master's surroundings are never dull. Not to mention the unnecessary amount of demons pretending to be students.] You'd be surprised at how creative our boys can be.

[Honestly, Shiroe should have seen the fag wars...]

However, it seems I have shown terrible manners in spite of all my talk about education. My name is Kevin Cecil, sir. May I ask yours?

[Until there is a secret lab full of clones in jars, Shiroe will think it's dull. And even then, he will still think it's dull--]

I don't think I'd understand. It's been a while, hasn't it? [Like, possibly, um, millenia. Maybe.

It's not clear. Shiroe makes good on his other cookie, meanwhile.]

That aside, I'm Seki Ray Shiroe. Just call me Shiroe.

[A while. The hand holding the mug is seized by an unexpected tremor. The first sign that things are not completely all right with this Victorian butler pulled asunder from his probably dead world. He uses the napkin to wipe up the spilled cocoa.]

It is a pleasure to meet you, Mas--Shiroe.

[Shiroe's gaze snaps to the mug, just in case cocoa sloshes across the table at him. But all is well, probably, and he watches Kevin wipe the spill before clicking his tongue and looking out the window again.]

Don't do that. I heard that. [He thinks: By now, his parents back home have likely replaced him with a new child, who they will read to and dote on and (if his selfish heart had its way) occasionally almost call Shiroe, rather than its actual name. It's hardly enough.

He does not want to be replaced by someone else, and he figures he would do well to squash any accidental similarities he just had to Kevin's master, for that absent stranger's sake.]

Do you need another napkin?

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