Test Drive Meme 2.

[awashmods]

These are the mem’ries that last. These are the mem’ries that will never pass. And time waits for no one. It’s gone in a flash. And only the mem’ries will last.

Prompt 1: he forest looms, uninviting and full of menace, an unwelcoming place for sure. Time to go explore! It isn't as though there's anywhere else to go, now that you've looked around the Town. The trees whack at you with branches that have far too much mobility for normal trees, strange and mutated animals watch from the shadows and boughs, and there’s the constant, constant sense of being watched -- But eventually, nonetheless, you’ll come across a small house in the forest. It sticks out like a sore thumb, bright and colorful, which is probably the first warning that something is way off, and it’s...covered in candy. It’s a candy house! It looks delicious. (It’s empty, too, not a single soul in it, without even furniture, but everything is otherwise edible and utterly delicious.) But if you eat the candy? You’re going to have a terrible, overwhelming urge to do one of two things: Fight the first person you see Kiss the first person you see Unfortunate. Prompt 2: he problem with a Town like this is that now that color is starting to return, bit by bit? You never really know when color’s going to come back -- or disappear. Maybe you’ve made a delightful, delicious sandwich from handmade bread and tomatoes and deer meat, all of which have color now… and then suddenly, when taking a bite, you get only the taste of ash and bread and tomato as the deer meat loses color. Also, someone probably died for that color to fade away. Alarming! Or maybe you’re walking along when suddenly your makeshift clothing is a hideous mix-match of colors; it had seemed fine when it was all grey and colorless! Or perhaps, even worse, you’re walking out of a house when suddenly, the flowerbed in front of it has full color, bright and maybe a little blinding after so much monochrome. Damn those color mechanics. Prompt 3: he quest seems simple, on the Quest Post: Quest 33: Feed the Cockatrice. Requirements: 2 of any color Key word, of course, is seems. First, you have to find the cockatrice. Maybe grab someone to drag into the woods with you, since there needs to be at least two of you. Time to stomp through the woods in search of the elusive cockatrice. Of course, once you find it, the quest...looks a bit harder. The monster hisses, ready to turn anyone who approaches to stone, as cockatrice tend to do. What do you even feed that thing? How will you get it to take it without getting stoned up? There are so many questions. At least the stone will wear off...eventually… if you’re unlucky enough to get petrified. Prompt 4: ut hey, you did it! You fed the cockatrice, it seemed satisfied, and now you can go fetch your reward from your home. It must be something amazing, with the work that you put in. The only change in your home, though, is what looks like a...picture book. It's got a colorful cover (in your character's color shade), and has their name on the cover, so it definitely belongs to them. And when they flip it open, it's clearly full of pictures scribbled in, as if drawn in scribbly crayon. Unlike the rest of the Town, this book is fully colorful, every shade of the rainbow in those crayon strokes... which depict, page by page, your character's worst moments in their life. Every single last horrific experience or tragic moment -- it's all there, in colorful, cute children's drawings. Congratulations! Extra: Got something in mind? Want to play with the setting more? The sky's the limit, so feel free and make up your own prompts to play with! Welcome to Awash's second Test Drive Meme! Please check out the FAQ and rules as you test your characters out. The setting is yours to play with, so be creative and have a good time with it! Important dates to remember are May 1st, 9 PM EST, when Reserves will open, and May 7th, 9 PM EST when Applications will open. Keep an eye out for it! As a side note, TDM threads are not canon, so please feel free to assume established CR for the sake of the TDM if it will make threading or showing off your character's voice easier. If you have any questions about the TDM, feel free to ask us here. If there are any other questions, you can catch us via PM, the FAQ or the contact page. Thank you for your interest in Awash!

Comments

[dejerate]

So the grey was already a thing then. Wonder what's happened to make it lose colour this time then. Not sure that bodes well, whatever it is......?

[He's still figuring this out. But this is a long time to go without colour, without taste. Let alone however long it was before whatever happened to make this place so drab and grey in the first place. He's still not sure what date it is for that matter.]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

Vampire? ...No? [ Odd question. Not like it was the first time he was mistaken to being a vampire, though. ]

Ah, yeah, it's... rough here. But we're all working together to try and find a way home. We... seem to be making progress...? [ Although, new people showing up wasn't exactly a good thing. ]

[flortissimo]

... Grains? Grass? It, um... looks enough like a chicken?

[ and a terrible monster that eats human flesh, but Tsubomi isn't going to suggest that. ]

[robosmith]

[ yup. just sitting there in his puffy pantaloons, doodling and writing away seemingly without a care in the world and not even having the courtesy of looking surprised to see john. totally normal!

just how it's normal to give the dudebro nod of acknowledgment and casually carry on. ]

You should. Colors are pretty hot commodity around here. I'm sure people would be tripping all over themselves for the chance to add some color back into their lives through marker magic. I can trade you uh ...

[ give him a sec to mentally run through his own sylladex. ]

Some orange soda to borrow them?

[robosmith]

Thanks.

[ well, since she's so obliging he'll reach over and help himself to the blue pen so he can continue with his work. which he promptly does. he begins drawing a cutesy-looking horse between the lines of black text that seem to be rambling on about a 'Maplehoof' valiantly galloping onto the scene and saving the day as he speaks up to answer. ]

Yeah, you could say that. It's a little too one-note for my taste so I'm improving it.

[ and the blue is really helping the drawing stand out from the text which is all kinds of hell yes, but also brings up the question of: ]

You sure about the pens? It's hard to find ink of any color in this place.

[photoshooter]

[He's still trying to figure out what's weird, what's wrong, but even if Gladio's still missing (and that's definitely part of it--nothing good ever happens when one of them's missing, never), Prompto relaxes somewhat to hear Ignis say he's okay. He sighs and lets his hand fall away, nodding with his shoulders as much as his head.]

Good. I was worried, when it looked like it was just me...

[His eyes wander up again, and then stop.]

Uh! [He points, jaw dropping open] Ignis! Your eyes! You--what?!

[photoshooter]

Aw, man, I hope not. I think they're just sore, from--from stuff.

[Gonna swerve off that conversational track before it goes off the rails, so to speak. Prompto shakes his head and peers up at Dirk as he comes closer, and while he's still feeling kind of keyed-up and paranoid from... well, "stuff," it's kind of hard to be scared of a kid with funny sunglasses.]

How'd you manage to get here without the trees whacking you the whole time? Did they have it out for me personally or what?

[There, that's a plausible enough explanation for looking like a train ran him over, right? Right. The perfect misdirection.]

[photoshooter]

[Aw, fine, that earns more of a laugh from him.]

Oh, well, uh. Gotta count your blessings, right? ...Is decent food really that hard to find? I thought it was just me...

[photoshooter]

Oh! You sure? I mean, not about the name thing, you can have that for free. I'm Prompto Argentum!

[He seems easy to cheer, now that the book's gone.]

But seriously, you already did me a favor. I should be the one offering you a drink! ...Thouuugh I don't exactly know where to get anything good around here, haha. I'm pretty new still.

[photoshooter]

w h a t

w

h

a

T????

[robosmith]

[ he justifies going along with this as being necessary in his head. after all, they're stuck here in this strange town together and it's not that big a place. the likelihood of running into each other is pretty high so trying to play the avoidance game will just be an awkward bother. plus, team-ups for quests happen all the time and isn't it better to have someone you know you can work well with? it's efficient and logical.

so that's a good enough reason to try and patch things up between them.

(and maybe that tiny smile he caught a glimpse of just now also makes it worth it. god, he's hopeless.)

... even if his best bro can be kind of a dick. THANKS JAKE. ]

My bro— [ wait, is it presumptuous to call dave that? shit. ] Er, Dave happened to it. Turns out an unbreakable katana can be broken by a Welsh sword? Who knew.

[ but he's gonna brush right past that while surreptitiously checking to see if the collar of his hood covers his neck enough to hide the new scar with his free hand. their disaster of a relationship started with decapitation so that's a subject better left alone, he figures. ]

But it's fine, I got Lil Cal back.

[ he's switching to his secondary strife specibus and TADAA, now he's holding the c-man instead of his shitty broken sword. look at that delightful puppety bastard's grin. ]

[parodeity]

do you want fresh fruit
i planted like orange and apple trees
and technically we have tomato plants
which qualifies as fruit
unless youre on the opposite side of that argument

huh
okay
yeah i dont know enough about lobsters to know what qualifies as wide
so im just gonna assume his gender until proven incorrect

[kringlefuck]

Are you saying Dave is stronger than you?
<sub>[ Jake doesn't say it, but he finds that hard to believe. Then again, he hasn't really seen Dave in action so there's really not much he can compare with... but he knows Dirk is super strong! Probably the strongest he's seen. Before Dirk can really reply to that question, that shitty puppet appears and Jake quirks a brow. He's seen Lil Cal before, not really in person, but in pictures and such.

Something about the puppet is creepy. Not in a triple soul cursed kind of way, but just the way it looks. His eyes drop down to the puppet and he doesn't even realize that he takes a singular step backwards from seeing the unsettling smile on that fucker's face. ]</sub>

—Dirk, I forbid you to use that monstrosity.
_{[ ok??? he's laying down rules??
He doesn't sound afraid or mad, but he just sounds like a scolding mother instead. ]}

[robosmith]

[ right. stuff. dirk is skeptical and his skepticism isn't assuaged by that afterthought of a question. the trees can be nasty as shit, but to get someone so bad that they pass out at the nearest place they can haul ass to? they're still trees so ... hm.

he'll indulge for the moment though. ]

I'm fast. Like really fast. I don't give them the chance to hit me.

[ thank god for flash-stepping. ]

Did they gang up on you or something?

[kringlefuck]

_{[ She's a very??? Excitable person?? Honestly, he isn't sure what to think as he just holds the piece of desk in his arms awkwardly. ]}

I-It's not so much that I dislike peanuts as they pose a potential threat to me! The smallest trace, Jesus Christmas, it could really be a pain in the patoot. Have you not any food allergy yourself?

[kringlefuck]

Uhh i died prior to coming here? But then i came back to life with some neato kind of powers...
Idk i thought it kind of sucked but at least im still here.

Besides there are plenty of strange monsters where i come from! Im sure ill have the upper hand as ive dealt with them before back home.

[robosmith]

I would definitely not be opposed to trying out some fresh fruits.
Or veggifruits in the case of tomatoes.
I don't get why that argument exists.
But anyway, I've always been curious about what actual oranges taste like.
I get the sense that without the added sugar, it's not like the orange soda I've been drinking all my life.

If you can find some other lobsters, you can compare.
Or I could take a look at him.
If you want.

[parodeity]

[ HE CAN'T HELP HIMSELF...but dave laughs and is a little more helpful the second time around. ]

They're like...do y'all have dogs? They're kinda like chocobo-sized dogs but with bigger snouts. They have flesh and stuff? And you ride them. I'd draw you one but I'm just gonna be straight up and tell you that my art ain't the best way to learn what anything actually looks like, on account of my art skills are mostly all in my head.

[parodeity]

well if you want to meet up ill show you the garden
like whenever
also the oranges are technically blood oranges
but they like
still are oranges and taste orangelike
i think theyre way different than orange soda yeah tho tbh i am not the biggest fanta fan so i wouldnt be able to speak on that with any degree of nonfake authority
i can totally speak on it with fake authority though
but ill refrain

i know some other people didnt eat theirs but im not sure who
john i think didnt even sign up for one and keith im pretty sure either ate his or like didnt bother
so
if youd like to check him out that could be cool

[ m...maybe????? navigating dirk strider is still uncharted territory ]

[parodeity]

Well...we can like, wander back out of the woods, d'you think? Or are you dedicated to obliterating every last piece of candy, here.

[ grandpa harleybert sure is a Person ]

[robosmith]

[ he has no idea whether or not dave is stronger than him, his hero worship has him erring on the side of "probably in some way or another", but it's a moot point and it wasn't applicable to the situation anyway. the situation he was not going to get into and thankfully he doesn't have to awkwardly skirt around it because cal proves to be distraction enough.

good thing his plush guardian is here to save the day. sort of.

dirk is frowning at that reaction and the ... scolding? what the fuck? ]

What, why? What's wrong with the C-Man?

[ how can you not love that beautiful grinning face?? ]

[nipzips]

I guess it's not the worst thing that could have happened. [ Kamui could have been poisoned for real, and potentially in danger? So even if the guy acts a bit like an asshole and said something very concerning just now, Josuke is glad he's alright. He has to scold him a bit though, because dude. ]

But, you know, if you ever feel like kissing someone again you should really talk to them about it first. Doing this randomly can upset some people. You're lucky I'm a laid-back guy.

[ Even if easily embarrassed. ]

[youwillbeunequaled]

[That is progress! Given how the boy had been reacting a few minutes ago, he was wondering if he'd jump or not. (But he also seems to have a calming effect on some of his comrades- perhaps it works on humans as well.)]

I hope so. I understand, though. It is very difficult having few good things to eat here. Something like this will be a far-off luxury for a while yet, I suspect.

[There is a tinge of longing to his voice as he glances back at the house - he would love to try some of that candy as well! Such temptation. But too suspicious.

Walking towards the path that should lead back, he continues,]

I expect that you will avoid coming to the forest alone in the future, now that you know what it is like.

Which district are you living in? I shall escort you there.

[robosmith]

I can come over today to see the garden and possibly check out nauti buoy?
Or whenever suits you better, really.
I don't have a whole lot to do, my proverbial plate is pretty empty.
There's the quest, but there's likely plenty of people jumping on it so I doubt the cockatrice will be starving to death any time soon.
So yeah, point is: I have time.

Also, just curious, do you not like any orange soda at all regardless of brand?

[ because that raises so many questions for him. like why his apartment was stocked with a lifetime's worth of supply of it... ]

[athenite]

[ the number of people annabeth will put up with peering over her shoulder is fairly small, but percy makes the list. so she doesn't complain or do anything other than glance over in acknowledgement before he speaks, industriously keeping up her reading. ]

It was in the house I ended up in. As far as I can tell, it's the real thing - although I'm pretty sure this maybe isn't Tartarus.

[ maybe. ]