Test Drive Meme 3.

[awashmods]

Mary, Mary, quite contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells, And cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row.

Prompt 1: t's probably been at least a little while since you managed to climb out of the well, so hopefully you've dried off by now and are enjoying poking around the Town. But who cares about all of that? More importantly, the Town has a new feature this time, for reasons entirely unknown to everyone. The flowers...seem to be talking. They have no faces, but they will definitely turn to talk to you, and if they have had their color restored, they will very brightly and contentedly compliment you, or your clothing, or wish you well. If they haven't? Prepare yourself for all sorts of horrible, horrible insults, because that's all that's coming your way. Prompt 2: ow are you settling in? Is the Town treating you well? It's not as bad as it used to be; some of the houses have color, some of the food has color and taste as well. It's been polished up a bit since everyone first got here. Granted, when you wake up that morning to find yourself in full fancy wear of many different types (all colorless, and gender has nothing to do with which you might end up in), you'll find that the Town might not be as well put together as it seems. You can't get out of the formal wear. It just won't come off, no matter what you do. Which wouldn't be so bad, but... it seems like these clothes will snag on just about everything in the Town, which is far from smooth. Try not to trip over those loose cobblestones, or your dress snagging on a nail sticking out from a door frame. This is really not the place for this sort of clothing. Prompt 3: e loves me, he loves me not... that's a pretty familiar game, right? For some reason, the urge to pick one of those flowers and casually pluck the petals from it while playing that game is going to grow stronger and stronger the more flowers you see. Eventually? You're just going to have to cave to it. (Certainly it doesn't help that the flowers scream a bit when you pull their petals; they still can talk right now, after all!) She loves you, she loves you not...and by the time you've picked the last petal, you've forgotten who you were even thinking of originally -- instead, the very next person you see is going to be the victim of a very impassioned declaration of love. Don't worry, you'll come back to yourself...after you declare your undying love for everyone to hear. Prompt 4: ut no matter how many people tell you not to go into the forest, however, it's still rather enticing, isn't it? It's sitting right there, waiting for you to explore it, waiting for you to just step a little bit out of the Town... And soon, you're surrounded by the dark boughs of the trees, the twisty, turny paths of the woods, where it feels like you're wandering in circles for hours upon hours -- And then, after ages of tree branches yanking at your hair and roots tripping you up, you find a clearing. And in that clearing? There's a field of flowers. They're colorless -- strangely eerie because of it, but still distinctly recognizable to the flower familiar as Asphodel. And touching any single one of those flowers will suddenly give you vivid memories of one of your precious friends -- so long as they're dead. Anyone around you is going to experience that flash of memory too, so be careful! 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 third 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! An important date to remember is September 1st, 9 PM EST, when Applications will open. There will be no reserves for this app round or any future app rounds, so it will be first come, first served applications. 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. You are of course welcome to use prompts from the previous two test drives. Thank you for your interest in Awash!

Comments

[spiria]

[ Even if she did, she'd chalk it up to being super hot. And not in the attractive sense, in the actual "these clothes and this weather are terrible" sense. She nods again, as best as she can, and begins to walk beside him. ]

So you cook, then? What kinds of things do you cook for the cafe?

[ Small talk, small talk. Kohaku has made a friend, now she wants to make sure conversation keeps happening! ]

[kyokai]

You? Really?

[ He can't believe she's a demon, but then again, appearances can be deceiving. What terror is that cute face of hers hiding... ]

That's just people being mean, whether you're a demon or not— unless you did something to make them say it.

[ Then yeah, she's a demon, but not the sort that makes him worry. He can deal with punkbutts just fine. ]

[tropism]

[ what, like abbacchio? anyway. ]

Time and work. Work depends on different things. The longer you stay here, the more you'll get a sense of how the town works and how colours are restored.

That being said, it's not entirely something one would hope for - especially if you have someone or somewhere to come back to. But for most of us, it's a reality you'd have to settle for.

[ giorno observes his hand carefully. he lets him see his hand, as well - and the gold that comes out of it as he calls gold experience close to the surface of his skin, not quite enough to reveal. just enough to show jonathan the same thing. ] Curiouser and curiouser. And the ability to give life -

[ giorno takes a pin from his clothes, and the ladybug transforms into a flower. just like the ones on the ground. ] Parallels across worlds.

My name is Giorno. [ let's start with that. ]

[tosa]

You were just speaking from the heart if ya know what I mean.

(Look, he won't lie!!! He's going to tell the truth about what happened but he won't tease Terra about it. It's as embarrassing for him as it is for Terra.)

[trepidate]

I promise~?

[ But do they mean it? Not likely. Anyway, friendship!]

Phosphophyllite. Are you always this protective of flowers, Guren?

[satanslash]

[How in the hell did people in the past put up with these things? Was everyone just uncomfortable and crabby? Is that why wars were started?!]

Uhuh. Just... whatever we can get our hands on, really. It was pretty rough at the start, all the food not havin' any color or flavor, but between all the quests gettin' color back and people helpin' with the garden and the supply depot it's gotten way better.

i

[osuni]

[the well summoned anime spiderman, huh

Okuni was on her merry way to the well just to observe as many people Struggling to get out as possible (ENTERTAINMENT!!), so she is also understandably surprised when Shinya shoots out of it like some kind of human rocket.

Though not as much as she'd be if she wasn't familiar with the various skill-sets of all the weirdos in CHroma, smh.]

Eh, you got out so fast! [she's disappointed....] You could have at least flapped around in there for a little longer...

[tosa]

(This is True Fear. He'd honestly rather be chased down the streets of Kyoto with swords drawn right now, thanks. He freezes, recognizing this exactly as a kabedon moment. Maybe it's just because he's so tense right now in general but his cowlicks appear to be particularly on edge too.

Let him go.)

Really? Ya know, there's something I really wanna tell ya too.

(Carefully, like he's dealing with a bomb, he tries to slide Horikawa's arms away. All he needs is the smallest little opening and he'll weasel his way out of it. As soon as he has it, he exclaims,)

I gotta go!

(And he books it, thanks. But Horikawa can probably still grab him by his sleeve

or his hair

or fake tail.)

[swordfucker]

[I can't believe Guren is a vampire slave now. He looks so irritated by everything, but he's not about to try running again. Hhhhhhh]

Don't call me that. [He's out of ideas, though, and after a heavy sigh:] What do you need to do?

[umbraportation]

[ He watches her as she debates the answer. ]

Your life must be interesting then.

[ That isn't his way of asking because if Nico asks, she might ask back and that's not something he wants to get into at the moment. Maybe if they knew each other a little better but he figures no one spills the secrets of their weird relationship with a complete stranger. Either way she doesn't question his blaming of a god and even goes along with it. ]

Not unless they want to hear the story too but most gods aren't that interested in sitting around that long. [ Except for Eros. Nico looks at the proffered hand and takes it after a moment of hesitation - still doesn't like to be touched. His touch is light and brief, letting go after a single shake. ] Nico. You new here?

[hydrokinetics]

[There's a nod and he stops for just a moment to whistle rather loudly. The hellhound will arrive momentarily, the ground barely rumbling beneath their feet as Percy takes in that information.]

And Apollo's companions showed up at Camp? [He remembers Leo and Calypso dropping in, remembers conversations after the attack on camp, and remembers a few other things. The mention of Annabeth renders a light frown though.] When I first got here Annabeth and I were together so I wouldn't really count that as "missing" either.

[spiria]

[ Probably? In her experience, wars have been started over the silliest of reasons. She wouldn't be surprised if a protest over fashion was one of them. ]

Oh, right, the color is still coming back to things ... I'm still getting used to that.

[ Her world was very colorful. The least colorful place she had ever been to had been Quartzia, and it had reasons for being very one-note in color. So did this place, obviously. ]

How long have you been here?

[swordfucker]

[...Sweet. Guren didn't look like he was going to dodge that punch, interestingly enough, but then a flower distracts Yuu, and Guren can only watch quietly before he's reaching to put a hand on his shoulder, no longer gripping his fist.]

Don't bother with that. Killing everything here that does that is going to leave us in a wasteland. Ignore it, and eventually, we can bring the color back.

[Ideally, at least. He drops his hand away.]

You're going to get to make new friends, again.

[foxslittlehelper]

Kogi laughs. "If anyone would have that power, Mikazuki would." Is he just letting this girl believe that Mikazuki complains and his clothes get on him? Yeah. He might. ".... I wonder if we can raise the hems with something."

[swordfucker]

I dunno. Are you usually this violent towards them?

[This sassy brat. Anyway, what a mouthful of a name... He'll call them Phos, he's lazy like that.]

If you destroyed everything here that tried to trash talk you, we'd end up in a wasteland. They'll stop in time, so leave them alone.

[tosa]

"What kind of curse is this supposed to be?" He asks, coming over and tugging at the the sleeve of the outermost layer, trying to see if he can get it to budge even a little.

"There's gotta be some sort of catch to get out of 'em..."

[averagemedium]

You don't have to call me sir, or anything...

[Why is this a thing, why is this guy not the first to do it, he's absolutely not used to it. That throws him off for a second before he remembers why his attention was caught in the first place, and he perks back up a bit.]

Oh, but-- this is actually for research purposes, if you don't mind? Seems like there are a few kinds of people here that I never really ran into back home.

[goldenwords]

[This time it doesn't take her very long at all to answer his question - she nods.]

Just climbed out of the well not too long ago. It was a right pain in the butt.

[This is where she would blow a bubble and pop it, except the gum she was chewing when she got pulled here is lacking color, so she spat it out back down in the well. It's probably stuck to some poor sap's shoe by now.]

What about you? You been here longer?

[spiria]

TO BE FAIR. Stranger things have happened in her life. Kohaku would not be opposed to thinking that it was a legitimate ability. The way he said that made her believe that this was not quite the case, though, so she finally thinks logically about the situation.

"Oh! Does he have servants? That would make sense, he complains and his servants do the work!"

She would be more proud of figuring this out had it not taken her so long to do so. She looks down at the skirt of the dress she was in. Or, well, she tried to. Corsets make bending over at any angle very difficult.

"I would love that, really. I've already tripped over this skirt once, and it was really hard to get back up."

What's a troll, Aruji?

[youwillbeunequaled]

That's not quite what he had in mind, but sure!

"If it will help you, I would be happy to." He starts to roll up his sleeves then pauses. "Or I could fetch Mikuniguro. He would be best suited to carry you wherever you need to go." Even if you have to ride side-saddle because of the kimono, a horse is a sure bet, right?

(Please help this guy being a touch too honest for his own good...)

[umbraportation]

[ He'll be glad to see the hellhound here, Nico had gotten used to seeing her around the camp while Percy was off doing his school thing. While they wait for her to show up they might as well continue the conversation. ]

Yep, they were headed west last I knew. [ It seems their memories match up for the most part so he doesn't have to be the one who tells Percy they came to camp and then left again. With nothing else to really focus on, Nico doesn't miss the frown or the way it's phrased. ] She's gone now? How long has it been?

[ That could be a vague question - how long has Percy been here, how long has Annabeth been gone? ]

[foxslittlehelper]

Yeah, he might be faster than you'd expect, but faster in this much cloth that was more likely to be faster to fall on his face.

"Some of it would see use, some of it to get passed on." .... Like majority of what he's wearing atm, or, maybe if he needed something and didn't want to put more effort in than Iwatooshi.

[fistofthejoestar]

That must have been quite a feat for them to pull off!

[given that, you know, from his perspective all films were still in black and white. he can only imagine the sort of effects a director would have to conjure up to give the audience the impression of color in a world of monochrome.

much like the intrigue Jonathan feels when he suddenly sees another hand hovering above his companion's. leaning in a bit closer to ascertain that he wasn't seeing things, he can't help but ask about it.]

I'm sorry, but...what was that just now?

[satanslash]

It was way weirder when we first got here. The whole place was just... nothin'.

[So was his. Even the cities with their cramped populations and shoved together buildings of gray and concrete were still speckled with every color imaginable. The forests surrounding the academy, the cherry blossoms in spring...

He missed it.]

About... five months?

natalie goodman | next to normal

[robitussin]

prompt two;

[As you wander the town today, it might not be surprising to see a young woman in formal wear. For whatever reason, it seems to be affecting the entire town, after all. What might be more unusual is the fact that she's seated on the ground, trying to rip off the skirt of this dress from the knee down. It's in vain, of course, and she's muttering to herself all the while.]

Fuck these clothes, fuck this place, fuck this fabric in particular...

[When she notices anyone come close, though, she picks herself up and dusts herself off.]

Hey, you wouldn't happen to have, like, a really sharp pair of scissors, would you? [A beat.] Or a knife? A knife works too.

prompt four;

[Once her journey through the woods is through, she takes a moment to straighten her dress and pluck (most) of the leaves out of her hair with a series of frustrated sighs. When she sees the sight that awaits her, though, she can't say that she finds it worth the trip. Crossing her arms and looking out at the flowers, she turns to whoever happens to be close by with a frown.]

They're kind of creepy, right? Like, I don't think I'm being paranoid when I say that these are extra creepy as far as flowers go.

[As expected, given that concern, she doesn't seem to be making any kind of move to go closer or touch them just yet.]