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

aigis ☢ persona 3

[finalize]

[ i. emotions here, maybe ]
[ aigis wouldn't have been one to stop to smell the flowers in the past, and maybe it would've been in her best interests to have kept on that path. but, well, we can't all be lucky all the time and people have rp starters to write so--

--here she is, all metal arms and legs (ft. finger gatling guns) sitting on the ground (having previously stopped to observe the colorful talking complimentary flowers which were actually dastardly bait). the mood right now is bittersweet with a side helping of savagery.

please pass by to hear hit songs like:

"What is wrong with your everything??" and "I love your bow!" and "Jesus, where the hell are your feet?" (no, seriously, where the hell are her feet.) ]

Is this why flowers do not normally speak...? [ because they'd get MURDERED by everyone and become extinct? not that she's going to go japanese terminator on these things, but-- ] ... Maybe it is good that I feel... upset.

[ though she doesn't sound sure if the last word is quite what she's feeling? still it's emotions! she's feeling emotions!!!

please take them back. ]

[ iii. definitely emotions here ]
[ existential crises were not awkward enough. now, there is the peak of awkwardness. now: a girl... robot, flower stems in hand (after very efficiently having plucked the petals off of all of them with only some discomfort), is now looking quite intently at you. ]

Excuse me...

[ and now, over the flowers beginning to sing some horrible a cappella disney romance music in the background: ]

... I have something to say. I can't explain it, but there is something drawing me to you. This is only the second time I have felt like this...

[ wow that's a shitty confession. you're a rebound. but also: ]

Please... Please, take these! Gifts are appropriate in this moment, aren't they...? [ and without thinking, she offers the plucked flowers. and seems to realize her fuck up almost immediately, retracting them somewhat. ] --Oh. Um... Not those... I'm sorry--

[ give her a break this is her first love confession. the flowers continue to sing. ]

[ extra: wildcard ]
[ if you have any additional ideas, go ahead! ]

i.

[messianic]

[Well. Hilariously (or not) it's that "where the hell are your feet?" snapped out statement by the flower that actually catches Minato's attention, because how many people here...would be insulted by something like that...

Really, it has to be Aigis.

So he turns on his heel immediately to follow the sounds of that flower (!!!), and when he finally spies her sitting amongst said flowers, he just breathes out a soft breath, amused and concerned in equal parts.]

Aigis.

[He'll come closer, crouching next to her.]

Are you okay?

[finalize]

Minato-san...

[ feet are so precious and taken for granted...

but she seems to wander out of her slight pondering when minato makes his presence known. it's funny that she has to do anything like hide her discomfort because, well, imagine that, even feeling discomfort--

--but she does. for a multitude of reasons, she'd rather not worry him. so she nods quite easily, only hesitating somewhat over "It's white toast and a toaster!!" when he crouches down (wow, that one was lame). ]

I am. As the saying goes: "Sticks and boulders may break my bones"... [ okay that doesn't sound right, but she moves on from that as smoothly as she can ] Um, I understand I do not have bones... It is the meaning of the phrase that applies here.

[ so yeah, get bent flowers. ]

[messianic]

[You know, that's...close enough. Minato just shakes his head a little, expression settling into something a bit more properly concerned.

Aigis will be Aigis, after all. She can say things like this all she'd like, but he knows she understands her own feelings now and can feel things a lot more than she used to.

And the includes hurtful things!!]

Words may not physically hurt you, but they can still be painful to listen to. That's true for you too, you know.

[Insults are definitely still being hurled, though, so like--]

... Do you mind if we go somewhere a bit less noisy?

[finalize]

[ and there's minato, with the best plans, slicing through weak social link lies like butter.

(it's comforting--) ]

Yes...

[ to all of that. it's obvious no one wants to be insulted, right? and she'd rather minato not hear any more of this stuff, and she'd rather not hear any more of this, so... aigis is more than happy to take the out.

she gets up with minimal effort, ignoring the mixed insults and some miscellaneous "Oh my god I love your hair!!". it doesn't take long for her to extend a hand to help minato get up as soon as she's all upright. and.


she looks like she wants to say something.

........

............ ]

... Let us make like a tree and leaf.

[ !!! ]

[messianic]

[Oh my god, Aigis. Minato was definitely not expecting that one, and he blinks at her blankly for a moment once he's upright--

And then covers his mouth as he snorts, amused.

Oh....

That was good, look h ow far Aigis has come.]

... Right. It's time to retreet, I think.

[OH NO.]

[finalize]

Nature wordplay!

[ is what she continues with, because really that last one was all that was in her database... she's already been so human here, okay?? she hasn't evolved into horrible puns that aren't pre-prepared yet--

--and of course, the flowers all boo as she leads minato away from petal-y jerks and into an area of the town that is slightly quiet in the flower department.

or, well, hopefully leads him to such an area. she's not too sure if she can find one, given the flowers are everywhere she's looked..... ]

[messianic]

[There are a lot of flowers, it's true, but it's okay... they can always go indoors!! But Minato's also content to let Aigis wander around and find a place for now, following peacefully, so... good luck, Aigis.

He'll speak up if it seems like she's getting frustrated, but otherwise he's pretty okay with this.

She took the lead so decisively, after all.]

[finalize]

[ minato... that's cruel....

except it's really not. and he fortunately won't have to wait too long, because her vain struggle is... okay, it's going to continue, but she isn't going to keep at it forever. it should be an easy solution--"inside", that is--but she's admittedly got a bit of a one-track mind sometimes.

and, well, her mind is currently focused on finding the perfect spot, outside, devoid of flowers. which at this point she's beginning to think doesn't exist.

she glances backwards toward him, expression a tad puzzled. ]

They are everywhere...

[ aigis.

(help) ]

I

[totheno1]

[The flowers have been quite a pain. Between calls of 'hey richboy' to 'four-eyes' to 'why wear leather' his patience has run rather thin. He notices Aigis before the other begins to speak, and not because of how she looks...but what he can sense inside.

This is very confusing. How can she be a Persona user? Well he's not going to ask just yet...instead he'll just walk over, exasperated by both plants and confused by this...android.]

These aren't as bad as they could be, miss. We've had to deal with talking walls at one point. I might have a solution to at least get them to stop for a bit...

[finalize]

[ but really, why leather tho?

on a more serious note, aigis is a little bit less puzzled by kei's sudden appearance. she does look curiously up towards him when he speaks, as her polite method of acknowledgement and... well, it isn't like his words don't promise something that's really in everyone's best interests.

who could deny the opportunity for quiet flowers?

and new people to know. certainly not her. ]

I am Aigis. [ first. just neutrally, with a kind of friendliness (a little less than usual, as the flowers do have her somewhat frazzled). that's. a natural first step, right? introductions. and miss feels a bit odd to be referred by...

now: ] What do you suggest...? As the walls no longer talk, your abilities must be very effective. At least, I have not heard them...

[ (she is now just going to assume everything talks here.) ]

[totheno1]

[Survey says; it is a rich people thing.]

Miss Aigis.

[He'll be polite no matter what. Sorry Aigis you won't get away from it.]

The walls stopped talking about we completed a task but were the same sort of agitation as well. However, these...

Shut up for eyes!

...things could be quieted for a bit. Enough to get some peace and quite. [He briefly puts a gloved hand to his chin in thought.] As for how...you may have an idea of what I intended to do, since you share that same power.

[Trying not to be too subtle.]

[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".

[totheno1]

That's so dumb!

Neither of you are good looking anyway.

More like the shit was within you all along!

[One of Kei's eyes twitches slightly but he does his best to ignore them.]

I suppose it's better to show than to explain at this point.

[There's no gun, just bluish energy appearing from under him, exploding into the air, seeping into his body before reforming behind him into a humanoid spirit.]

Go.

[The Persona takes out a small card, before throwing it at the nearest flower. It glows briefly and then...there's no more sound from it. The other plants don't seem to pleased about it.]

Hey what the hell?!

Plant killers!

[He ignores them and just turns back to Aigis as the persona disappears behind him.]

I just muted him. It doesn't always work this well but...maybe I could go again until they all stop talking.

[finalize]

[ okay, so it isn't an inspirational speech. and every single one of the other flowers's words don't really reach aigis any longer, because that was what he meant by a power they shared.

she stands immediately. ]

A Persona--

[ ..... with no evoker.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" is squawked in the background, but again, aigis is mostly focusing on that earlier, familiar but unfamiliar display. ]

--My earlier observation was not incorrect... That power truly was within us all along. [ ha! ha! but now she buckles down, looking at kei carefully. ] Who are you?

[ admittedly she's a bit more tentative than when she began, but it isn't a threatened kind of hesitation. ]

Are you familiar with P2 at all?

[totheno1]

((If not I have this post if you head down to the LATER PERSONA FRIENDLY INFORMATION it will give you a bit of background to hopefully help you.))

It was not, no, and quite astuce in fact. But to answer your question, I am a persona user, like yourself. My name is Kei Nanjo.

[She might have heard that last name tossed around a few times by Mitsuru.]

I believe, logically that I should be from your past...[He pauses to word this carefully. How do even begin to explain what he's about to say. Maybe explain a little more about himself first.]...my powers are probably from a different source than yours. I've been a Persona user for the past three years, and our power were granted to us by Philemon. We are what you call...Wild Card users? Only in a more limited fashion.

[Hopefully she'll understand what he means.]

[finalize]

(( i am surprisingly one of three people ever in the world who played p2, but it was admittedly a LONG LONG TIME AGO. so the refresher helps, thank you! ))

[ kei nanjo... sorry, aigis needs a bit of time to get through the "nani the hell" of this entire situation, though it isn't as if this is any more odd than... well, everything right now. ]

Nanjo-san...

[ .... ]

... I'm sorry, there is a lot there that I must process. [ she pauses, collecting her words. ] Are you acquainted with Mitsuru-san? And you can wield multiple Personas as well...?

[ plus the whole philemon thing, because she's not acquainted with obscure references in the shape of save spots. new game, who dis. ]

i

[lavabend]

[ The nerve of some plants! Bolin is quick to come to the defense of this strange-looking but kinda cute girl, like a dopey knight in shining armor. ]

Hey now, you hydrangeas may think you're so pretty, but that doesn't give you the right to go around making other people feel bad. She's perfectly cute the way she is! And her feet are --

[ Now his gaze drops to her feet and his eyes kind of pop wider in shock. Where are her feet? In his surprise, Bolin makes a little sound but says nothing more, possibly coming off just as insulting as the flowers now. ] Uh.

[finalize]

[ bless your heart bolin. he tried(TM), and everyone should give him credit for that.

... although that still does not help with the mix of awkwardness, discomfort and slight? gratefulness? that spreads through aigis's mind. she understands the attempt... plus it isn't as if that kind of reaction isn't understandable.

the comments about her being perfectly cute are lost amidst all of that. weirdness. yeah. ]

Um...

[ s i l e n c e.

and then: ]

I have misplaced my shoes...

[ because this is the problem here.

godspeed, dopey knight. ]

[lavabend]

[ It doesn't think Bolin very long to realise he's just made the situation worse. The goal was to stop this girl from feeling even worse about herself! In his defense, it's not everyday he meets someone with a lack of feet. Or, someone who looks like they're made of one of those steam-powered mechas Asami's company makes. After he registers the situation, he's quick to accept it though, and tries to ... control the damage. Maybe a topic change ... ]

Your shoes! Yes. We can go find them together. I'm pretty good at moving stuff around, so I'll be able to help. Wouldn't want you to get a foot fungus because you stepped on something gunky!

[ Can she even? What is she? Oh well. His penchant for talking too much aside, he's sincere about wanting to help. ] Where did you ... last see them?

[finalize]

[ shoes are now their social saviour.

and he's genuine, so she isn't going to give him a hard time about his initial hesitation. again, anyone would. and his lightheartedness is a bit amusing, in a good way. ]

Near the well. They were soaked, so...

[ she didn't think it was a good idea to keep a bunch of complete soaked stuff on. she's waterproof, but it's still Weird. that being said, she attempts to relax a bit. no need to add onto bolin's discomfort by acting awkward and tentative, right...? ]

... Um. Please do not be concerned about being surprised, or wanting to ask questions. I understand my appearance is... shocking.

[ ... ]

Also, I cannot get foot fungus.

[ !! important. ]

[lavabend]

I figured. [ Her feet just look like metal chair legs. Of course, he won't say that because it's highly rude. Yes, he does intend to start heading over to the well, but she gave him a green light on questions and now he wants to satisfy his curiosity. ]

Sooo. Since you said I could ask. What are you? You kinda look like one of the mecha suits my friend Asami's company used to manufacture -- only, about a bazillion times prettier.

[ Just being honest. He likes pretty people. ]

[finalize]

[ following along! her gaze bouncing from the surroundings in search of her shoes to bolin.

talk about a very blunt question... but she adjusts. ]

"Bazillion times prettier"... The emphasis makes it seem like a good thing, so... Thank you.

[ for the compliment, first off, though it can't be said how valid that compliment is when you're basically being compared to a toaster. still. he said a bazillion.

now, she continues: ]

I am not certain what your friend Asami-san's mecha suits were like, but putting my own existence in its simplest terms... I am a "robot". My name, however, is Aigis.

[lavabend]

[ Wow, it's a compliment!!! Look, he tries his best. ]

Umm. It was her father who made them, and he kinda used them to do some bad stuff. [ Wow, he's really killing it at this 'make a girl feel better about themselves' business. ] But! I'm sure you're nothing like that! You look nice.

[ She does look nice, and nothing like a weaponized robot... ] My name's Bolin! I'm new around these parts. Nice to meet you, Aigis.

[finalize]

[ "you're like, better than asami's evil dad i guess" ]

I see...

[ nailin' it, bolin. but, again, he's trying. even if the "evil dude using machines to do bad stuff" thing is, like, A Thing.

it's just an aside and an innocent comment, however, so she tries to move on from it quickly. ]

If I may use your own words, Bolin-san, you are a "bazillion times" nicer than the flowers I have met here. Though perhaps I can compare you to the more colourful ones... [ ... ] That is a compliment. But, what I am implying is that it is nice to meet you as well. I will try my best not to betray your expectations of me.

[ like asami's dad. ]