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

yukine | noragami

[kyokai]

i.
[ It's dark.

The darkness was the first thing Yukine noticed, and it wiped out all other thought— he needed to get out- he needed to get out now. However he managed to do it, he's out now, drenched with water, throat hoarse from what he imagined must have been him screaming, fingertips bloodied from clawing at the walls of that well he's leaned back against, heaving breaths that do nothing to calm him down.

"Crybaby. Are you scared of the—-" ]

—A line!!

[ The flowers' words cut off immediately, flower heads falling to the ground as if something had sliced straight through their stems with a sword.

Yukine lowers his hand, two fingers pressed together, trembling, scowling. ]

Shut up.

iv.
[ This whole place unsettles him. The strange colors are something he could get used to in time, harmless as they are, and the talking flowers he can accept just as easily so long as he doesn't listen to them and pretend they don't exist. What's unsettling is people not pretending he doesn't exist- is people being able to see him- is people speaking to him.

There's a little flame of happiness when he realizes this, a hope that he tries to hold onto so he can focus on that instead of being scared or confused or anything that might show weakness. It's because of that, that he tries to be careful, his hand always up and at the ready, but the field of flowers he eventually comes across makes him lower his hand, lips parting in wonderment.

He stops before the nearest one, the flower swaying near his feet. ]

Not going to say anything? [ He mumbles under his breath, holding back from stomping it into the ground. ] ...Suzuha would have loved to see this...

wc.
[ For any other scenario you want to play out! ]

i

[sagishi]

That certainly was an interesting trick.

[ Yukine might be startled by the deadpan drawl that suddenly pipes up from a few paces behind him.

Kaiki's standing there, looking exceedingly sinister (as he always does), though his gaze is directed down towards the decapitated flowers. He pays absolutely no attention to the flowers at his own feet that are screaming insults at him, instead cocking his head as if in thought. ]

But to lash out like that against some innocent flowers ... were you that frightened? I take it this isn't just a hobby of yours. This unorthodox method of weeding.

[kyokai]

[ He's definitely startled, standing up as straight and tall as he can and still feeling so small in Kaiki's presence. For Kaiki to see him, he must be a god or otherwise dead, but Yukine can't tell which and doesn't know if he can afford the time to figure it out. ]

Like hell they're innocent... Who are you?

[sagishi]

[ There's something odd about this child, he can tell. Odd in the way that an exorcist or 'ghost buster' would find interest, he thinks. But what would he know about that? It's not like he's an actual exorcist, he's just a conman claiming to be one. ... or is he.

But if he's thinking Yukine is at all strange, it doesn't show on his face. Kaiki's expression remains blank. ]

It's impolite to demand another's name before you introduce yourself. [ But he pauses before canting his head slightly, continuing flatly. ] But perhaps you've forgotten your manners in your fright.

My name is Kaiki.

[ And he's gonna stop right there, as if to ask, 'what can you even do with that information?' ]

[kyokai]

[ There's a lot he can do with that information, but like the "line" he had used against the flowers, it's something he wants to keep for himself until it's absolutely necessary for him to show his hand. He's alone here, after all, so he has to be able to hold his own, and that means holding onto anything that will give him an upper hand, even if that means being rude, even if that means withholding his name. ]

If I'm wrong about you, I'll apologize for my rudeness then. Look, I just want to know what's going on here. Who's the one in charge?

[sagishi]

If you're 'wrong about me'?

[ He gives a brief, humorless laugh before stepping forward right past Yukine so he can crouch before the decapitated flowers. Kaiki picks up a cut flower-head, observing it as he continues speaking. ]

You really are quite a rude child. Making such assumptions about someone when all they've done is witness you committing an act of violence. Let me make it clear -- I know nothing of what's going on, and I've done nothing wrong. I've done nothing to you. [ Yet. ] Will you apologize now?

i

[liven]

What a sharp little boy.

[ shijima's suddenly right at yukine's side, cat-quiet as...well, a cat. but she's wearing her little-girl human form right now, eyeing the sliced flowers with something akin to interest. ]

How did you do that, I wonder?

[kyokai]

[ People need to stop sneaking up on him like that, the silence coupled with the sudden appearance making him nearly jump out of his skin, never mind people normally not being able to see him. ]

—I'm not a little boy! [ is the first thing he blurts out after his mind stops reeling, because you, little girl who looks around the same age as he does, are not allowed to say that. ]

[liven]

[ SHE TOTALLY IS, because she thinks so. ] Hm...you're pretty short, though.

[ she's. easily shorter than him at four foot six. ]

[kyokai]

I'm not that short! I'm still—-

[ but he's not. He's dead and he won't grow anymore, and he knows this, clenching his teeth and shaking those thoughts away. ]

A-anyways! What are you?

[ Who are you? No, what. ]

[liven]

Just an old woman...

[ shijima, u look 12 tops ]

And what are you, then?

IV

[osuni]

[Okuni's wandering near the flowers of Death too, though she's not actually aware of their effects yet. Still, they're just colorless flowers that aren't even talking!! Boring!! So she switches her attention to Yukine instead, cupping her hands together in her best mimicry of a mean flower voice.]

Little boys shouldn't be alone in the forest! That's just downright careless and reckless and stupid!

[This would work better if she wasn't literally standing like five feet away.]

[kyokai]

[ Yukine takes a step back from the flower- not to heed Okuni's warning or anything, but to take a better look at who's speaking to him, a woman standing before the flowers and not even amongst them to better pretend they're the ones speaking. He's not a child! That doesn't fool him!! ]

I'd say women shouldn't be alone in the forest either, then. [ It's always women and children grouped together, like they're defenseless and in need of protecting, but from what? Mean flowers? ]

I can take care of myself! I wouldn't come out here unless I could!

[osuni]

My, you sound a lot more confident than I thought you'd be.

[Okuni has some Doubt, though even if Yukine was a big hulking muscular fighter she'd still express Doubt.]

Seeing as we're both the kind of people who shouldn't be here, we might as well leave before a mutant fire-breathing bear shows up.

[She says that, but all she does is scoot closer to Yukine. He looks like a child, but perhaps he's like Ruva -- an old man masquerading as a kid...]

[kyokai]

[ He straightens up a little at that, because confidence is the one thing he must always remember to have. Confidence, pride, belief in himself that he'll be able to pull through and nothing will bring him down, all those necessary qualities for somebody whose job is to lead the way, and he won't make an exception now just because his god isn't here. ]

If there's mutant fire-breathing bears around here, I'll be able to keep them away, so don't worry and stick with me!

[ He probably wouldn't be able to cut them down as neatly as he would as a sword, but he isn't defenseless, and he puts a smile on his face to quell Okuni's worries— or at least, fear is what he takes her sidling up to him to mean. ]

[osuni]

[YUKINE.... pure...

Okuni's eyes crinkle at the corners in amusement at his reassurance. She thinks it's funny because she's a punk, but she also thinks it's brave of him to do... Maybe he is actually an old geezer pretending to be a kid? Maybe she should put her trust in him?]

And how exactly will you do that?

[she scoots closer.... and then she starts nudging his shoulder with hers, hey hey, TELL HER YUKINE]

on(i)on

[ecure]

( After evacuating from the well, waterlogged and fuming, Chocolat also happened to run into these chatty flowers. Girly flowers aren't exactly her thing, but that's not why she decided to focus so much attention on them -- Hey brat! What puddle did you fall into, you clutz?.

Let's just say she's not going to take lip from some damn plants. A 20 minute long argument has ensued.

However, this interesting method of dealing with their harassment catches her attention. These plants are obviously magic, but this is another magic user!!! Interesting! )

Hey! Kid! ( She shouts and prances over, not giving a single f*ck about the aggravated, swearing flowers she's stepping on in the meantime. ) What spell'd you use to chop 'em up like that?

[kyokai]

[ If he weren't so shaken about being shut up in the darkness for so long, Yukine might have appreciated the thought of talking to the plants instead of his immediate reaction to cut down what he believed to be demons, which by his experience spare no time in attacking. He's shaken enough that Chocolat's shout startles him into raising his hand again, and he's this close to drawing another line through the air before he grabs his wrist with his other hand and shoves them both down to his side.

What the hell is he doing? Stupid, calm down. ]

It's called a line. [ Of the sort of people who'd be able to see him, any god would know that, as would any experienced shinki, so she mustn't be either...? ]

My name's Yukine. Who are you? Are you— [ ... ] ...dead or alive?

[ecure]

( If Chocolat was more vain, she'd be a little more insulted -- which is saying something because wow, what a Rude Dude. )

What? Do I look dead to you? ( Dead? No. Drowned rat? Yes. Again with no concern for the magical, colorless plants, Chocolat wrings her school sweater out on top of a particularly loud specimen, quieting its quips for a moment. ) It's just water, nothing major -- just annoying.

But I'm Chocolat. ( And she'd also love to nyoom away from this place, but she's already tried flying...this ain't the Magical World, though. ) Where the heck are we?

[kyokai]

[ If he were a real Rude Dude, he might laugh at that name and ask her to tell him what her real one is, but it looks like he's already pissed her off for some reason with his question, and he's quick to shake his head, emphatically, to clear that up first and foremost. ]

I don't know, but the living usually overlook me and can't see me, so that's why I had to ask! I thought maybe you're dead like me!

[ And, if she can tell by the inflection in his voice, he was just a little hopeful that she were dead, as terrible a hope as it is. ]

4

[thisucks]

Nah, these ones aren't that nice!

[After his initial run-in with the memory-flowers Lawless has taken to perch on a nearby tree, swinging his legs from the branch he is sitting on as he keeps watching other people who are coming and going like a spectator of a play.

He should probably just go, but the off-chance of getting a pleasant fond memory locks him in place.]

I wouldn't touch 'em if I were you, nyahaha~ Unless you like bittersweet or don't have any dead relatives, of course!

[kyokai]

[ It's of Yukine's opinion that so long as the flowers are quiet, they're much nicer than the ones he'd run into in his first introduction to the town, but he heeds the warning willingly enough, pulling back both hands and feet away from the field and scooting a little closer towards the tree Lawless is in. ]

Uh- I don't know if any of my relatives are dead. Or alive...

[or anything about them, actually, which makes him pause for a second, before he raises his hands again. ]

What happens when you touch them? Do they fight back?

[thisucks]

You don't know? That's cold~

[Lawless flashes him a lopsided grin that betrays his words and hops down to him.

He bows with a flourish, the tail-ends of his ragged-looking black scarf billowing behind his back to empathize his movements dramatically even though there is no wind. They look a little like black wings if you add some fantasy.]

'Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow' - from Shakespeare's Macbeth. These flowers make you remember nice things when you touch them! ....under the condition that it's something both held dear and already incorrigibly lost!

[Dropping the antics he cocks his head to the side, half of his face looking amused while the other half shows a hint of a smile that promises some regrets should he ever get his hands on the ones responsible for this.]

Those flowers are poisoned honey that attacks the soul. Quite a nasty trap if you ask me, but... [He shrugs his shoulders.] I'd say it's the work of some Subclass, but since I haven't seen neither hide nor hair of one around it's most likely some Magician thinking this is funny instead. What's your name, kid?

[kyokai]

[ This guy sure talks a lot for somebody who doesn't clearly explain anything- or maybe it's just Yukine who can't follow most of what he's saying, from Shakespeare's fake English to subclasses and magicians, the latter of which concerns him the most. ]

My name's Yukine. [ He supplies his name first, as it's the least important part of this entire conversation, dipping his head slightly in greeting.

Trying to parse together what Lawless is saying about the flowers... they bring back memories of something important, something lost, and from that previous question about dead relatives, that more or less spells out what memories they are, once he puts the thought into it. "Poisoned honey," Lawless calls it, and Yukine can see why he says it's honey; his gaze turns back to the flowers, curiosity alight, no specific dead relative he wants to see in mind, but the urge to see any of them for the first time. ]

When you say "Magician," you don't mean "Sorcerer," do you?

[thisucks]

Yukine, huh? Well, nice to meet ya, Yukine-chan~ My streetname's Lawless, although my current E- Master calls me Hyde.

[Three guesses why, there's clearly something off with this guy's rocker. But he's pretty well-versed making the best of it by now thanks to some interventions.

Catching Yukine's curiosity he casually moves a little closer - just enough to be able to make a grab for the kid in case he'll try anything stupid. Twisted as he might be Lawless doesn't actually enjoy people's misery unless it's self-created and of a very specific kind.]

Magician, Sorcerer, Wizard, Witches... Call them whatever you want. They're humans who can use magic and use it to make the life of those they labeled "nonhuman" hell. As if anybody has a say in what they're being born as or whether or not they end up poofing into nothingness after their death! I can't stand those guys!