overbox | The Lucky Queen Testdrive

The Lucky Queen Testdrive

All Aboard The Lucky Queen Olivia

It's one of the many ships that sail the River with Ten Thousand Names, and if it's not the most luxurious and most famous ship in the whole of the multiverse, it's certainly in the top ten. For what other ship can claim its captain to be the centuries old brain of Mark Twain in a jar? Or to have the ghost of John Henry "Doc" Holliday as the first mate?

It's an unusual pair they make, but together they've not just kept what was originally a steam ship right off of he Mississippi together as it sails across the multiverse, but upgraded it into something almost totally unrecognizable. The Lucky Queen is now enormous. Almost half a mile long. It contains everything you expect to see on a luxury cruise ship, from swimming pools to shopping malls (yes, malls. Plural.), from ballrooms to arcades. It also contains fabulous distant technology that lets it sail just as easily in water as in molten lava or currents of empty air. It is on this ship that you have found yourself. Maybe you got lost in a freak transdimensional portal and hitched a ride, hoping to find your way home. Maybe you're on vacation. Maybe you just work here. Regardless, the marvels of the multiverse are just out the porthole, and the cream of high society is right here for you to brush elbows with.

Pick an RP Prompt and an Environment and test out characters who you think would work well in this setting:

RP Prompts
1 - The Ball: The orchestra is flawless, the chandeliers are sparkling. Hobnob with the ridiculously wealthy, dance with the extremely attractive, or just wallflower in the corner and enjoy the view. You have a crossection of the entire mulitverse dancing in front of you after all.

2 - The Break Room: This isn't just a vacation for you, this is your job. You just finished a long shift, possibly as a maid tidying up the hundreds of cabins, or a blackjack dealer getting threatened by hulking aliens who's language the auto-translators couldn't quite make sense of, or an engineer plumbing the depths of the ship which is pieced together from dozens of different kinds of technology and trying to make sure none of them explode. It's a lot of work, keeping a ship this big in working order, but now it's finally break time and you can chat with the rest of the crew while you catch your breath.

3 - Gate jump: It's always something everyone gets onto the deck for, for this is the most reliable form of interdimensional travel anyone has ever found. One moment you'll be in one world, the next you'll be in another. The gravity shifts, the air smells different, the sky changes color, the landscape becomes completely unrecognizable. Is this the first time you've seen it happen, or is this you hundredth jump? Will you calm your neighbor or be excited with them? (Pick two environments for this one.)

4 - River Raiders: Raiders sometimes attack the wealthy cruisers along The River to plunder their amazing wealth, and while the Lucky Queen has forcefields that can defend it, they aren't always enough. Are you crew? Are you a passenger? For once it doesn't matter. Stand to arms mateys, yer being boarded!

5 - Casino: High stakes cards! Slot Machines! Roulette! There's even a fighting ring you can bet on, or participate in. Security SEEMS light, but rumor has it that the ghost of the infamous gambler, gunfighter, and dentist, Doc Holliday, has a tendency to join the games of people who cheat. Such games usually do not end well for the cheater.

6 - Tours: While the ship has docked, the passengers are free to step off and explore whatever world you're currently standing on. There are usually guides available on the ship about the more immediate dangers, but they usually boil down to don't try any local cuisine until you're sure its chemistry matches up with yours, keep an eye on your wallet, and for heaven's sake don't sell your soul to anyone.

7 - Wildcard: Make something up that I didn't think up here.

Environments
A - Earthlike: Blue skies, breathable air, cities full of people. Most of you will feel fairly at home on worlds like this, but they're never QUITE like home, are they? The trees might have an oddly blue tinge to the leaves. The people might be unusually tall or short. The cities might have strange looking architecture.

B - Open ocean: No land in sight, just endless waves all the way to the horizon. The ship sways a bit more than usual out here. Hope you don't get seasick.

C - Noxious: This world clearly isn't meant for humans. Without the Lucky Queen's forcefields that keep breathable air in and poisons out (They can't quite eliminate the strange chemical smells that seep in.), humans would quickly die here. Expect truly alien locals, if anyone lives here at all. Is that a shoggoth waving to you from the shore?

D - Infernal: Did you hear the rumors that the Lucky Queen sails through hell? If it doesn't, this world is close enough that you can't tell the difference. The waters of the previous world have been replaced by bubbling magma. In the distance, you can sometimes make out obsidian cities, gleaming in the red light. Is that sound in the distance the wailing of damned souls or just your imagination?

E - Gas Giant: There's no ground here at all. The river becomes a river of air, and the anti-grav impellers that were installed keep the ship sailing along just fine. Gaze upon pillars of clouds larger than smaller planets. Witness lightning bolts bigger than the Empire State Building. Thank that forcefield that keeps the horrifically potent rainstorms from washing you all off the decks. There are probably sky whales swimming across this world's skies somewhere.

F - Depths of space: Why does the river go through here at all? Who knows, but the view sure is nice. Ten times more stars than you'd see from anywhere on Earth, and also orbital commercial space stations trying to make a quick buck off of wide-eyed tourists.

G - Wild card: Make up your own planet. We're all creative people here, right?

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-1C-

Outside, the world is full of yellow fog and worse. INSIDE, The galactic president is far past the state where he can do anything resembling dancing. He's lounging at the open bar, with a different drink in each of his three hands and just generally looking deliriously pleased with himself. As you come up to order a drink or (possibly, stranger things have happened) to talk to the fellow with three arms and two heads, Zaphod leans at you and says "Did you know that life is like a...a wossname...A bathtub! Right! That's what I was trying to say. Life is like a bathtub."

-A3D-

"Oh you've gotta see it. Just you wait, right now we're on some boring 'ol dump the next we'll be on a beautiful tropical paradise!"

Zaphod grabbed you by the shoulder and held you next to him, as a captive audience. The Lucky Queen reached the end of this river segment. The forcefields came up. The sky shimmered, aaaaand...

The ordinary looking forested country side gave way to glooping magma and horrible craters as far as the eye could see. Someone didn't read the trip itinerary right.

"...That's not a tropical paradise at all. Why did we come here again?"

Edited 2015-08-29 03:24 (UTC)

"Hmmm... I suppose it depends on your definition of 'tropical' and/or paradise. Volcanoes ARE common in tropical areas after all." The young woman seemed bemused as she took in the sight, writing down some observations in a journal she kept before side-eying her, ah, "companion." "Wanna go for a dip?" she asked, smirking.

-6F-

There was no way Edgar would stay on the ship when he could check out a deep space station. He did the whole tourist thing, bought some souvenirs, went on a space walk, hit on some local girls, and generally had a grand time. When he got back though, he suddenly looked alarmed as he reached into his pocket for something.

"By the Goddesses, I've been robbed! They have my magicite!"

-4A-

A large bearded man hopped over the railing, holding a scimitar in one hand, and a bomb with a lit fuse in the other. Fortunately, Edgar was always prepared. Before the raider could cause any trouble, there was a shout of "EYES" and then a blinding flash of light. Edgar put away his little toy, while the raider staggered about, rubbing at his eyes with the bomb. "Well don't just stand there! Shove him off before he blows us all up!"

Okay, you know what? She's heard worse icebreakers. Say what you want about the Lucky Queen, but it's one of the few places Gatha's been where having a head covered in snakes barely merits a second glance.

"I can't wait to hear how you're gonna explain that."

She was joking. Probably. Hopefully. You could never be sure on this ship.

"Can't. I have a lava allergy. Hands are tied. But maybe if you wanted to try something with actual water in it..."

"It's cuz you get all your stuff just...like...swirling around with you. And it gets all lukewarm and gross...eventually you just gotta flush it all down the drain, right? Start fresh."

"I wonder how you figured out THAT allergy." She chuckles and closes the book. "I'm quite good, thanks. Still, I wonder if there's any actual civilizations in a place like this? This ship does take us to all sorts of places."

"Modern medicine is amazing."

He finally let go of her. Turns out he can take a hint after all. Eventually. Or he just wanted to focus on peering into the distance with one head while the other kept talking to her. "I think the guide book said something about a terrible city of bone and glass, but I might be making that up."

She folded her arms behind her and rocked on her toes a bit. "Sounds fascinating. Maybe they'll even have some interesting weapons there too. I'm sure one or two or them are bound to have a good story attached to them." Say what you will about her, she definitely knew what her interests were. "What about you? Surely there must be something you're looking forward to on this trip yourself."

"I heard they make a drink there that can kill cows at four hundred paces!"

In this way, she was like Zaphod.

Not in a lot of other ways, though.

It seems like Edgar wasn't the only one who realized they were a little lighter, as he rubbed where his silver bracer laid. "Focalor is going to be pissed about this." He mutters low to himself. The king glances over, rubbing his temple.

"Okay - we both got robbed, the ship is going to leave the next day, we better figure out who took them fast."

-2A-

Relaxing in the break room? Have some musical accompaniment!

Hibiki's off duty (janitor, hoping to promote to either ship musician or at least security), and the break room has a piano in it, so her choice of unwinding activity is pretty straightforward. The lounge is full of laid-back music, which should both help her relax and help anyone else around relax. She's not a professional, but she is working towards it, so she's pretty darn good.

As soon as she's done playing, she hurls herself all over one of the comically luxurious chairs around the break room, letting out a huge sigh of contentment. Sometimes this place isn't so bad, you know?

-7B-

[Ah, the open sea! The gentle rocking of the waves!

Hibiki is clinging weakly to the railing, looking quite thoroughly green.]

I'm dying.

I saved the entire world and I'm going to die because of the ocean.

When I die, bury me with one of Kanade's cakes so that I don't have to go to heaven on an empty stomach...

-1E-

[A party! Who cares about all that dancing and hot people, there's REFRESHMENT TABLES to be had.

Of course, she's been putting a seriously impressive dent in the dessert assortments, but now that she's slowing down a bit on that, she's eyeing the drinks instead. The drinks for grownups.]

...I mean, this is basically international waters or something, right? There's no minimum drinking age here, right?

[Hibiki tries to be good. But sometimes the world of bad is super tempting. Just a little one couldn't hurt, right?]

"I'm more worried that they're gonna blow up the station! If they had just stolen, like, Kirin, we'd probably be pretty safe, but Alexander can cause a lot of damage in the wrong hands!"

Still, no sense in panicking over it for TOO long. "Okay. We can do this. The thief could be anywhere in there by now, but our stolen stuff will end up with a fence, most likely. We just need to find some fences and lean on them."

"But until it all goes to hell, it's best to just kick back and soak in it for a while?"

"That sounds good too! That's why I like this boat. Great for kicking back and soaking."

He leaned back further on his barstool. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that, being a bar stool, it didn't have a back to lean on. Zaphod fell off his stool and landed flat on his back. Without missing a beat, he continued: "The barstools could use some improvements, though."

Dry chuckle. "Sometimes I think that barstools were designed for the entertainment of the sober friend."

He groans a little. "And that's more pressure, thank Solomon that Focalor will only work for me or else will things would be even worse." Sinbad considers - making a mental map of his path through the station.

"Some things are universal... multiversial, and I think I may know where we can find some of these 'gentlemen'."

[There's a glasses girl that looks just a tiny bit out of her element floating around the party; she found a pretty dress, but somehow she feels a little bit distant. Which isn't keeping her from checking in with people. It's just kind of how she is.

When she makes her way around to the refreshments again, looking to pick up a glass of what a waiter said was the juice of a fruit from a distant plane that she couldn't remember the name of, she catches Hibiki looking purposefully at what looks a lot like the kind of bubbly stuff she'd be told off for reaching toward. She doesn't want to do the same, but... hmm.]

I think interdimensional would be a little more accurate, but... aren't we a little young for something like that? Just because we're not at home doesn't mean we have to leave our virtues behind, right?

"But if that's the case, how does anybody approach the drink long enough to drink it?" She mulled this curiosity.

Aw, come on! One little sip isn't going to hurt anyone! What's so great about virtues, anyway?

[3]
[this is the first time Maki has experienced a jump.

of course, this is her first cruise aboard the Lucky Queen as well. her parents had been able to purchase tickets, and they'd told her the trip would be unlike anything she'd ever seen before. she didn't know what to believe.

but this? a cruise ship that went to different worlds? it's not possible! she's not sure what to think when the boat jumps from her universe into a completely foreign landscape. this was more than just sailing to other places around the earth. she was actually sailing to different worlds altogether.

you've caught her gawking. for the most part, she is a normal Japanese girl. she's never imagined this could be possible]

What is this...? I don't understand...!

[6]

[before exiting the boat, Maki promised to not sell her soul to anyone. that would have seemed like a silly rule back before she knew what was going on, but now she takes it very seriously. this world she is in now looks like it'd be fun to explore. but should she go alone?

Maki stands at the docks, twirling a lock of her red hair, looking for someone maybe closer to her age bracket. perhaps she can make a friend to explore with. if not a friend, then someone who has been to this world before, who knows what's safe to eat or if there is a place to go where they won't run into pickpockets]

[ 2-A ]
[ "Apply for this job" they had said, "it'll be good for your resume," they said, "see the world!" they said. They never said how many worlds she'd be seeing. At least she was taking a lot of photos - when she got back to Earth, Chloe was going to flip.

Still, it's been a long day of taking commemorative photographs for this ship's hundreds of ~~tourists~~ guests. Max could use this time to really unwind. She kicks back on the nearest sofa, pops open a can of alien-branded cola, and lets out a huge sigh. ]

Another day, right? Just gotta get through them. [ Max, you take photos, you don't even do real work. ] One day at a time.

[ 5-C ]
[ The world outside is toxic, and even if the forcefields kept out the worst of it, standing on deck is still something of a nauseating experience. So it's a good day for the on-board casinos to get hit.

Max finds poker is kind of... really easy. When you know exactly what cards are coming up next and what cards everybody has in their hands, at least. Which she does. And it's not... technically cheating, right? Just a little bit of time travel. At least, that's how management sees it, which is why they let her go wild.

So she has amassed quite the number of chips. Who's going to challenge her winning streak? ]

[ 6-D ]
[ Max doesn't know how smart it is to offer tours of what is obviously Hell, but she's also not management. She's the photographer. She just has to make it all look pretty.

Which is what she's doing. Mostly she's getting shots of the guests as they leave the boat (which will later be sold to them at outrageous prices,) although she's at least trying to make them look pretty awesome. Frame it by that lavafall in the background, or get the perfect shot of them stepping off the Lucky Queen Olivia. She's still a photographer, after all. ]

And remember, don't make any deals involving your soul. [ Management specifically told her to make sure she mentions this to the guests today. She can guess why. She's watched TV. ]

Edited 2015-08-29 17:55 (UTC)

[2B]

[once upon a time, Karkat might have thought visiting other worlds was impossible. but thanks to his whole teenage adventure, he is neither confused nor frightened of creatures from other worlds. the whole gate jumping thing? no big deal.

it might have been cool seeing even more new worlds and more creatures a while ago. but now Karkat is tired of it, tired of the onlookers, and the whiny brats, and the endless train of privileged customers that board the ship. how did he even get hired to work here? he doesn't care to tell you because he doesn't like to think about it. thinking about how he got roped into employment on this particular vessel makes him angry. there are so many people to blame for this shit.

and despite his winning personality, he's been working here for about two months! it's quite shocking, really. if you manage to come into the breakroom at the time he's in there, you will hear no end to his grumbling. proceed with caution]

[7F]

[today, the Lucky Queen is in space! Karkat tends to get antsy in space, because of all the crap he had to deal with, so he tries to spend as much time as possible keeping busy indoors. today, he is at the mall, cleaning up the food court. a horrible job. he hates it. let him tell you how much he hates it...

later! because something intrigues him. there's this new stand selling things called donuts. thanks to Dave and John, Karkat has heard all about these human donuts. but he's never had the opportunity to try one.

trying human food could be kind of fun because it didn't poison him. so he takes a look around to make sure no superiors are in the area, and then heads to the donut stand.

oh, but now which one should he choose? there are so many! brown ones, pink ones, white ones... this has a glaze, that one has a filling. he did not know donuts came in such variety! so now he's just staring, making the worker at the stand kind of uncomfortable. and if you get in line behind him, he's holding it up! move a little faster, kid!]

-1F-

[The ball this evening has been truly exquisite. Ky, dressed in his finest suit, has enjoyed the food and drink served thus far, and is now doing his best to socialize with the other passengers aboard the ship. You might find him gazing out the window at a galaxy visible off in the distance, or, for the women, he might approach and ask you to dance.]

-4D-

[Ky wants nothing to do with Hell. He's a religious man, and his spiritual loyalties lie with God and Heaven. The less he has to do with Hell, the better.

But he's also devoted to protecting the innocent. And when a horde of demon raiders breaks through the force field and sets foot on the deck, that's exactly what he's going to do.]

Get back! I'll take on this abomination myself!

[Ky then dashes in toward the nearest demon and runs it through with his sword. Demons are one foe that Ky is absolutely willing to go all out against without remorse.]

Edited 2015-08-29 20:43 (UTC)

-4B-

[Defending a ship is old hat to Ike. He still has vivid memories of the Kilvan corsairs attempting to raid Nasir's ship, as well as protecting Sanaki's ship from a band of Daein soldiers posing as pirates.

So when pirates board this ship while she is on the high seas, Ike is among the first to meet them at the ends of their gangplanks. Without wasting a second, he draws his sword -- surprisingly fancy for an ordinary mercenary -- and swings it once. A wave of black energy then surges across the deck and strikes the first pirate making his way across the gangplank, knocking him into the waves below.]

If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and sail off! You're not setting even one foot on this ship!

-6A-

You don't feel good about going by yourself, huh?

[Ike is talking to you at the disembarkation point. You're taking the warnings very seriously, and obviously looking nervous. Of course, having a ripped guy easily a head taller than you (if not more) might be contributing to that...]

How about I travel with you? I doubt anyone would try anything funny while I'm around.

[Again. The guy is over six feet tall and is practically made of muscle.]

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Page 1 of 11

The Lucky Queen Testdrive

Zaphod Beeblebrox | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A3D

Edgar Roni Figaro | Final Fantasy Six

1C

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Re: Edgar Roni Figaro | Final Fantasy Six

Hibiki Hojo | Suite Precure

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1; not sorry

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Maki Nishikino | Love Live!

Max Caulfield | Life is Strange

Karkat Vantas | Homestuck | warning for gratuitous swearing probably

Ky Kiske | Guilty Gear

Ike | Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance + Radiant Dawn