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

[allweather]

[This always happens... That's so far beyond "alright" he's going to give himself an ulcer just thinking about it. The terrible dilemma: continue to fuss with what he believes is deserved concern, or be respectful of somebody else's wishes.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. Okay-- okay. He's not going to be that guy (yet).]

Well, if you insist... Will you at least take the handkerchief to wipe your hands?

[robitussin]

[She doesn't move away as he reaches for the fabric, though she does roll her eyes at what he says, sighing.]

Yeah, because coming here and having to deal with all of this was absolutely my choice. Call it trying to minimize the damage or something.

[Something about what he's said does make her curious, though, and she gives pause for a moment.]

What kind of stuff has happened here before? Just so I know what I'm in for.

[smaaaaaash]

Oh... Yeah, sure.

[He takes it gingerly, wiping his hands and any remaining blood around his mouth, hanging his head a little. Not quite in shame, perhaps, but he is unhappy at being caught out by a stranger.]

Thanks.

[allweather]

[Good, if Reim doesn't feel helpful every five minutes, his brain stops working. Or: hmm, ah... hold onto that, now that it's bloody.]

I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that, but... [well, you know.] Is it too late to say it's nice to meet you?

[umbraportation]

I feel like Annabeth should be here to make sure you don't leave anything embarrassing out. [ Definitely gently poking fun at Percy now. At the suggestion, Nico is more than happy to do just that so he nods once before falling into step next to the older demigod.

He only glances back once to ensure the hellhound is following. ] Except for the aliens, it sounds about normal for us. I'm guessing you've tried to leave by boat already.

[ With no results, obviously. ]

[onichan]

[What an absurd explanation. Who ever heard of contact with a flower changing one's behaviour towards extreme amorousness?]

So you were lured.

['For some reason' could be the coverup of a grown man embarrassed to admit to he had been struck by the mood to do something silly. But in context it made sense.]

Ah, you're forgiven. [Thank goodness he was not the emotionally fragile sort.] I can't imagine why someone would cast a spell to force others to make false confessions. Boredom aside, of course.

[umbraportation]

[ It would have been a joke if Nico hadn't lost his sister in one of those quests to save the world. Even without the sacrifice, he wouldn't want to see it destroyed which is why he's fought so hard to protect it already.

A glance at the board but it doesn't linger long. Damian says a couple things where Nico could help out. ]

Are there teams looking into getting everyone home? Or some place like a clinic for those who get injured? [ He's no doctor or healer but that's a job where he could lend a minor hand at least. Better than doing gardening. And Nico might need to look into the defense force. ]

[messianic]

... You're right about that.

[It's something that's pretty startling to listen to, but... he understands where she's coming from a great deal, he thinks.]

It doesn't bother you to listen to them insult you?

[inheritance]

N-no, it wasn't important! [Quickly, Izuku pastes on his usual smile, trying his best to put All Might at ease. If his mentor just got here, Izuku isn't going to burden him with something that's yet to happen in his timeline. Besides, can he really be upset when All Might is still standing there, still able to use his quirk?

No, he can't.

Looks like it's time for a topic change.]

Hey, since you just got here, I should give you a tour of the place! What do you want to see first?

[superwaifu]

[Hatoko lays her hands next to the saucer. She has a lot on her mind. Since the tea is very hot it's alright to let it cool first anyway. Maybe if you're a ninja that's reason enough to carry a weapon everywhere, but she isn't sure.]

Umn, Uchiha-san... Could you please tell me more about what you do here? When you said you had a student, did you mean back home?

[Or had he really picked one up after having only been around a few days. That seemed strategic, and too much as if he were settling in for Hatoko's comfort.]

[finalize]

[ true. mo' money mo' leather-- ]

I share that power?

[ yeah, miss aigis is better than just miss, but that's honestly completely gone from her mind now. admittedly, aigis's guess does not go immediately towards "persona"--it's such a niche jrpg thing, kei couldn't possibly mean that.

... right?

... ]

I see. This is an inspirational speech, is it not? "The power was within us all along".

[goldenwords]

Oh, please - I'm quite good at only blowing up what I want to blow up.

[...

That's kind of a lie, so she nods in the direction of the woods and starts to walk toward them. Is she worried about causing a wildfire? No... not really. Explosions don't necessarily mean incineration. Just sometimes.]

Let me know once we're sufficiently far away, and I'll get started.

[toughchoices]

[She has to admit it's resourceful of him. She'd like to try the same thing, but it's more difficult to take off armor than it is a jacket, and her missing shirt would be more obvious, too.

Reyna crouches down to pick up the shirt as Nico sheathes his sword, holding the edges and bunching them up carefully so they make a pouch without crushing it.]

Having one magical object usually makes it easier to track down others. [Do the flowers count as magical objects? Probably. They have magical effects, if nothing else. And there's definitely the potential to figure out some kind of use for them, even if they are only able to keep this one.] We could probably take a couple more with us now, even. Your shirt can hold a few more.

[bittybat]

Slow down. [He can't talk. He hit the ground running when he came, too? Shut up, Damian.] You have to find out where you "live" first. Your laptop will be there.

Do you even know--?

[One of the colorless flowers interrupts with, "As if the grandson of the Demon's Head can do anything but kill anyway!" and Damian snaps his head around as quick as lightning.

If he were inclined to powers, the flower would have been in flames just from the glare alone.]

Be quiet.

so cursed my work filter blocked the first site i found it on and i had to go to the wiki instead

[goldenwords]

[Unfortunately, confirming that it's the flowers' fault does nothing to calm Sadie down. As he reaches out for her, she glares at the flowers and shouts a word - ]

Ha-di!

[Hieroglyphic symbols blaze above her head, and a moment later, there's a small explosion among the plants. Luckily, the rest of the field doesn't catch fire - but there's a circle near the middle that is now devoid of them, and the flowers at the edges are looking a little battered and worse for the wear. There's a satisfied expression on her face as she turns back to him.]

There, that's sorted. I feel a tad bit better now.

[...at least she's not still threatening to kill things like one of his other explodey students?]

[goldenwords]

Weird enough to need blowing up? Because I can handle that.

[Please let her handle that. Before she can get too far along with the explosion tangent, however, he asks another question, and Sadie shakes her head.]

If he is, he's not bothered to make himself known. Quite rude of him, I'd say. [...huh. Percy's alone. Her expression softens somewhat.] Is Annabeth...?

[goldenwords]

[Izuku is a good boy and he doesn't deserve for his long, billowy cloak to get caught on the bush next to the one she's stuck in, but that's definitely going to be what happens, as they'll discover once they get her skirt situation sorted.]

It's supposed to rip the fabric. [She huffs.] Honestly, is it impervious to getting torn? I'd appreciate that normally, but it's just an inconvenience in this case.

ii

[goldenwords]

[Sadie hates her outfit. Oh, sure, she's confident she could pull off basically any look if she wanted to (and at least the dress doesn't clash terribly with the streaks in her hair, which are purple, the icon lies), but this skirt is such a pain to walk around in, she'd be quite happy if it were to spontaneously combust and leave her wearing literally anything else.

So she's already in quite a Mood when Magnus addresses her, thank you very much. That's probably why she's scowling.]

A person would have to be absolutely bonkers to wear something like this on purpose.

[finalize]

[ well, he said people, so there's that. plus he said they're similar, so it's simple to brush off the discomfort and insecurity that usually lingers after touching on her more... mechanical aspects.

she attempts to relax a little more, offering a small smile. ]

That is correct. Most of it is classified, but I am the last of my kind. [ a little solemn, but she moves from that quickly enough. ] I am Aigis. I forgot to say this previously, so I will say it now: it is nice to meet you.

[cutlery]

[ Sebastian has gotten the same impression, and as such, that makes him frown slightly. It's a bit disappointing, since it really does seem quite necessary, but before he can ponder that terrible oversight for too long, it's onto introductions. His thoughtful frown turns to a friendly smile, and he nods while extending his hand for a handshake. ]

Michaelis. Sebastian Michaelis, servant of the Phantomhive household.

[ He doesn't necessarily have to give that detail, but he's subtly looking for information. Whether there's recognition or not, that's valuable information for him. ]

Though that I certainly am. Perhaps we may learn a bit more about this odd town, since I have noticed that it does not seem terribly concerning to the people I have met thus far.

[kototama]

[POINTS!! DRAMATICALLY!!]

Whatever it is you choose to be, be the best of it you can be!

[notthatbutler]

[He looks at her for a brief moment...then sighs, shoulders sagging slightly, and nods.]

I guess I can't argue with that logic...

[umbraportation]

[ Nico's pretty much used to jumping in straight away when things like this happen. Most of what's happening here is normal for him so he doesn't need time to adjust or process it.

When he's about to respond to the housing situation, they're interrupted with more insulting flowers. Another pipes up with, "We should have known the son of Hades would make friends with a bunch of killers. The only thing they know is death." ]

These things are seriously starting to make me angry. I suggest you all stop before I show you what death is like.

[umbraportation]

Even so, we don't need others to come running with their weapons drawn because you were blowing things up close to their homes.

[ And really don't need things to be setting on fire either, he doesn't think there's an emergency Fire Department here if that happens. Nico nods and leads the way towards the forest but doesn't go that far. Definitely not into the woods but that area in between it and the buildings. ]

This looks good. [ He steps back so she can do her thing and he won't get caught in the blast. Hopefully it's enough distance. ]

[goldenwords]

I suppose you've got a point...

[She sighs, knowing that making enemies within her first few hours here isn't a good idea (though, really, that would make this pretty much an average day for her). Once they come to a stop, though, she grins and surveys their surroundings.

There's a rock on the path - not too small, not too big. That will do nicely. Sadie points directly at it and speaks.]

Ha-di!

[A hieroglyph blazes in the air above her. It should be gold, but she hasn't gone on a quest to restore its color yet, so instead it's grayscale. Which is actually pretty funny, but there's no time for her to chuckle about that.

The rock explodes, shattering into small, pebble-sized shards that scatter around them.

Sadie looks tremendously proud of herself.]

See? It's quite useful in a pinch.