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

[batsuits]

[ It's absolutely true and he's in for a Shocker. He's gonna be stressed so much, all the time.

But he looks absolutely unfazed when Guren slashes the wall, just waiting for him to get it together and eat another piece of candy. He needs to see what happens, needs to understand it. When Guren eats one, there's obviously a reaction there and he wants to know what it is, so he asks, blunt and to the point. ]

What do you feel now?

[batsuits]

[ they're the worst, forever. and hell yeah, time to bully josuke in real time!

give him a moment to consider the wording there. you can't heal yourself? most people can't, josuke. it makes bruce wonder what exactly is josuke's normal context if that's something he thinks is appropriate to say. he's just curious.

but he ate the candy, so bruce crosses his arms over his chest and waits. what's gonna happen next!! ]

So?

[batsuits]

[ There's going to be some pauses between his words here as he keeps getting pulled along in the dirt. Just, getting dragged over rocks as the cockatrice runs around in circles, screeching loudly. ]

I -- Will -- Try -- But it's -- not -- exactly -- cooperating.

[ He's going to pull back one of his hands to grab the grappling hook at his belt, shooting it out so it wedges in a tree. It makes both Bruce and the cockatrice jerk back and unfortunately, the cockatrice loses it's footing and they're both just gonna kind of... go... flying...

Eventually, they'll land in the dirt with the cockatrice collapsed on top of Bruce. ]

... Eurgh.

[robosmith]

Sure, works for me.

[ john seems like a cool dude who he actually had been wanting to meet so why not? he doesn't mind owing him a favor. he's gotten the impression that he's dave's best friend and that's good enough for dirk.

he watches the soy bean fall with vague interest, but doesn't question it. goodness knows his own sylladex is full of random shit. the bean probably has more merit than his smuppets or any of his plushies. ]

Did you feed the cockatrice? Because if so, then this book is your reward.

[ he's shutting it to show the cover, nicely personalized with his name and in the same pink shade of the heart symbol on his shirt. ]

[batsuits]

[ Oh, absolutely. ]

The biggest story with a candy house is Hansel and Gretel so... it's likely trying to lead us somewhere, in some way. Just not sure what or where.

[ Logic!! LOGIC!!!!!!!! ]

[girod]

[ He was trying to do this right, Bruce. Half-assing things with magic is how you end up 3/4ths donkey, and Clark has no interest in being affected by the magic for any longer than he needs to.

To Bruce's question, he frowns. ]

It's lessened, considerably. But I wouldn't say it's gone.

[ It's difficult, differentiating between the weird desire to kiss Bruce that's clearly from the piece of the house, and his usual desire to be with him, spend time with him; the natural affection between them. ]

[parodeity]

john can cook and is technically teaching me to cook supposedly
i like to think of myself as a glorified kitchen timer though

also why is that interesting
do you not like aj

[nipzips]

Oh yeah. That's definitely a requirement to be a wizard. [ Probably not, but Josuke is a teen and teens find beards funny. ]

But hey, if he learned magic all on his own he's gotta be a really smart guy. Why haven't you tried doing that? [ If Josuke had the chance to learn magic, he would be trying that shit out? ]

[batsuits]

[ Well, maybe take the hit, Clark!! You could deal with being 3/4ths donkey for a bit, couldn't you? Be a pal.

But at the response from Clark, there's a slightly annoyed grunt because if that's the case, there's little he can do to steer Clark a different direction. Because someone had to eat the freggin' candy house, huh.

There's a mumble here -- ]

This wouldn't have happened if you didn't... god.

[ He's so annoyed!! ]

Alright, go ahead. I need you functioning.

1/2

[nipzips]

I don't feel any different ... [ Josuke starts to look himself over, patting himself down to feel for changes. ]

[windeity]

[Give him a second to stop sorting so he can squint at the cover. That's definitely pink which is probably a color he associates more with Roxy than Dirk, but it's also not hard to see that it matches the symbol. There's a "huh" to himself before he nods, going back to his sylladex before he comes up with a blue pen. Apparently it's been sitting in there since he wrote a note for the group on the meteor.]

I have no idea what a cockatrice is. [But he hands the pen over to Dirk.] But this place is pretty infamous for shitty loot drops.

[nipzips]

[ The expression on his face then freezes, going blank, and it's like if he were a computer he would be rebooting right about now. Something's definitely going on, but of course, he's no longer in the right mind to realise what. ] Wha --

[ Then, without any warning, he throws a punch directly at Bruce's face. If Bruce is sharp enough he'll notice that the boy's fists are no longer his own, replaced by that of the pink ... swole ghost that was present earlier on. His strength is also triplefold, nowhere near that of a regular teenager. Whether he manages to land a hit or not will depend on Bruce's reflexes. ]

[photoshooter]

Whoa!

[His eyes shoot open, then narrow a little in a frown.]

Hey, that's not just 'being fast,' that's warping! Total overkill, dude, and not just anyone can do that.

[glorypunch]

[ nanami takes the whole gingerbread construction entirely, running her fingers over it and then snapping it in half. it's... tempting. it's very tempting, since it seems crisp and has color. that's a big deal in this grey town. ]

I bet they'd be really nice! You'd have to be, to want to live in a house like this.

[ she's just gonna... sniff this. ]

[glorypunch]

...did you want to eat it?

[ is that a good idea? probably not? nanami hasn't connected her own little bite to her sudden urgency to fight, but still...!! ]

It's too sweet to have with tea! You need something more delicate!

[photoshooter]

Well, I... kiiiinnnd of can, a little? But I'm not as good at it, I started training way after the rest of the guys. And even then, Gladio doesn't really use magic much, either. Iggy's just got a natural gift, probably.

[Because Ignis is awesome and can do everything.]

[theshowsover]

[Keeping it alive long enough to feed it is the idea here, though he knows it won't be asleep very long. Killing it would have made this situation safer, but then they would have just had to find another cockatrice.

He struggles for a moment, then stops when she tells him to, sitting back on his haunches. Normally he likes to think of himself as pretty strong, but it's clear that he isn't quite strong enough for a half-petrified Haru.

Time for a new plan. He looks around.]

What were you going to feed it with?

[girod]

"Go' ahead what?

[ Clark looks UNDERSTANDABLY affronted at the comment. Both because Bruce is mumbling to himself like he isn't perfectly aware Clark can hear him but also because of the 'functioning' comment. He's functional, all right? RUDE. ]

[batsuits]

[ He KNOWS you can hear it, that's why he's mumbling, Clark. You can hear him all you want, he still thinks you're a big dumb. But now he's pulling his glove back on and crossing his arms over his chest as he glares at Clark for asking him that. ]

You want me to say it.

[ This is stupid. If Diana were here, she'd hit them both. ]

[batsuits]

[ Well, that isn't what he expected at all but hey, he rolls with the punches.

Literally, as in when there's a swing coming for him, he's absolutely jumping backwards to dodge the punch. His reflexes are very good -- his fighting style is mostly hit hard and fast, be too fast to be hit back so he's not exactly worried, brute strength always fails against him. Still, it's a little unfortunate that this teenager suddenly wants to kick his ass.

He's kind of reminded of Billy for a moment? Or Shazam, rather. ]

Alright. Unfortunate. Can you still speak, boy?

[observitude]

[Parasites. Disgusting pieces of filth polluting an otherwise happy world. It would be better off without them and the distortion they bring.]

...I won't defend your hypothetical people. I hardly know them, just as I hardly know you, but that's why I can still say...there must be something. Nothing is ever just one thing. It may not outweigh their cruelties, but they can still give back.

[messianic]

I don't mind at all.

[Town names are kind of important? It's bleak to not have a name for where they're living!!]

I might not be able to answer all of them, but I'll try.

[asano_san]

[Fine! Judge him! He doesn't care about being judged on this.]

Yes, I have trouble with those things! I'm not weak. I'm from the modern world!

[robosmith]

[ dirk is both amused and bemused by all this, but he has (had?) a best bro/ex who's super into fisticuffs so he doesn't even think to truly question it. maybe she's just really into dueling and is desperate for a sparring partner, who is he to judge? he was going to fight things in the forest himself anyway, so ...

why not? he can oblige. ]

Well, I'm all outta cards so sticks it is. [ as if he ever had any cards or a dueling deck to throw down with?? poser. ] Uh, let me find a good one and then I guess I accept?

[ he's never been challenged to a formal(...ish) duel before so who knows what he's getting himself into here. he has no clue, but it's cool. he'll come over and move to the trees with the intention of finding himself a stick. ]

Are there any rules or stakes to this?

[robosmith]

[ if dirk wasn't so perplexed by this strong reaction, he might have been offended. offended on cal's behalf because that's a normal, rational thing to be, right? okay, so he has a certain attachment to his puppet guardian that even the knowledge of the other evil version of said puppet can't ruin ...

but c'mon. ]

What are you on about? You've seen Lil Cal before and this is my Cal, so he's not possessed or anything.

[ wow dirk, that's reassuring when jake doesn't even know about dave's cal. ]

And I only just got him back when I arrived here. [ so no he hasn't been getting his nap on with cal. he hasn't seen the c-man in months since he lost him right before entry into the game so he's been happy to have him back. why you gotta be a buzzkill, jake?? ]