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

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.]

ii

[hydrokinetics]

[People who are used to wearing things that are a little unusual: Percy Jackson. People who aren't used to wearing a legit cape though: also Percy Jackson. As such, he's a little distracted with the billowing of his clothing as he walks through the town which is why he hears Natalie before he actually sees her. She's suddenly in his line of vision and he blinks in surprise to try and figure out why she could possibly be asking that.]

Uh. I have a sword? Would that work?

[robitussin]

[...Hm. She pauses for a moment, probably longer than she should, to think about this.]

How big is it? Like, are we talking fencing sword or gladiator sword?

[hydrokinetics]

Three-foot blade and decently thick I guess? [What a weird question.] What do you need it for?

[robitussin]

I hate this entire dress and I keep tripping over the skirt, so I'm cutting it off, but it won't rip no matter how much I tug at it.

[A reasonable explanation, clearly.]

[hydrokinetics]

[...to be fair, he can buy Annabeth having a similar idea and excuse so he doesn't think it's weird. Instead he nods along before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ballpoint pen.]

How short do you want it?

[robitussin]

[After a brief pause of surprise, she raises one eyebrow, looking towards Riptide and then back to him.]

Uh, before we get to that - you realize that isn't a sword, right?

[hydrokinetics]

[He looks at the pen, looks at Natalie, and looks at the pen again before he wordlessly uncaps it and reveals the celestial bronze sword that extends and morphs from the pen itself.]

You were saying?

[robitussin]

[It's not difficult at all to see the alarm in her face, especially given how she instinctively takes a step back from him as the sword appears.]

—Okay, more importantly than literally anything else in this conversation, what the fuck just happened?

also two

[cutlery]

[ Continuing his explorations, Sebastian eventually finds Natalie, and he's immediately rather surprised by her language. It's hardly anything he hasn't heard before (far from it), but more it's a surprise to hear it coming from a woman in fine dress. It was considered unladylike, wasn't it? Human customs are ever-shifting, it seems... ]

Oh, dear—

[ His accent is the sort of polite and upper-class British that sounds stereotypical, but he's at least kind in his politeness. He's clearly coming forward to help, but the help she asks for surprises him. ]

Not scissors, no, but... [ Hm. Does he want to give her his knife for this...? ] Do you really intend on cutting it up?

[robitussin]

Not scissors, but...?

[The accent throws her for a few moment; it's almost too perfect, like something she would see in a movie. Still, she glances down at the dress as she nods before responding.]

I can't count on one hand the number of times I've almost fallen on my face since this weird and annoyingly mandatory clothing change, so yeah, I sure do. If I can at least get rid of part of the skirt, I'll call that good.

[cutlery]

[ Her question goes distinctly unanswered, since there's clearly a more important one to be addressed first!! ]

I can see the inconvenience, but... It is a rather fine thing, and that seems quite rare in this odd little town. Are you certain you wish to destroy it?

[ Look, even if it sucks, you gotta be about #aesthetic ]

[robitussin]

[Looking away from the dress, she glances back at him. There's only a small shrug in response to his concern; she is, unfortunately, not committed to the #aesthetic.]

I mean, yeah, I'm pretty certain. If I could just take it off, I would, but apparently that isn't an option for some stupid reason.

[She tilts her head slightly, though.]

Does it really matter how well made it is if all you can do while you're wearing it is try not to fall over? Seems pretty useless to me.

[cutlery]

Well, it is but a matter of learning how to navigate with such unruly garments...

[ How disappointing... Though ultimately, not technically his problem, he supposes. He can recommend manners and poise, since it's what he truly prefers, but it's hardly as if he's going to assert himself enough to push the issue. Which is why he reaches into his own tailcoat's jacket, and pulls out a knife.

Not like, a normal knife, though. It's styled like cutlery, but if she has sharp eyes, she'll notice that the blade of it is considerably sharper. It's beyond even a steak knife's sharpness. But it also definitely looks like a fine knife you'd put on a fancy dinner table, so that's just as easily overlooked. ]

But if you insist, you may use this. Do be careful with the blade, though. It is quite sharp.

[ And actually... ]

If you prefer, I can also assist you in cutting it away.

[robitussin]

[She notices that it seems different, but she's not well versed enough in cutlery to notice exactly how, other than the general way it seems more fine than what she's used to. As such, she's giving it a curious glance.

As soon as he's given her that offer, though...]

Nah. I'd rather do it myself, if that's cool.

[After another moment, she holds her hand out for the knife.]

[cutlery]

If you insist.

[ He deftly flips the blade in his hand so that he's offering it to her by the hilt instead, as is polite. Though a thought does occur to him, so as she's likely hacking away at her dress, he asks: ]

...Forgive me, but if it is not any trouble to you, may I keep the fabric? Considering how derelict this places seems to be, it occurs to me that it may come in hand to craft something.

[robitussin]

[She takes the knife as she offers it. She's not very experienced with using knives, or with this kind of fabric, so her movements are cautious and imprecise as she starts to cut away at the dress.

Her progress is halted when he speaks, though, as she looks up at him.]

...Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it's not going to be in the best shape after this, but go for it. What do you think you're going to use it for?

iv

[moonlands]

Well, it's not like I can disagree with you... but if they're all the way out here - maybe there's a reason why? They could be important...?

[or poisonous

he's not quite sure yet, but he is gonna go out and look just because - ]

It'd be a shame if we came all this way for nothing though!

[robitussin]

...Okay, yeah, you do that.

[She says, watching him with an air of Judgment without moving towards the flowers.]

I'll just be over here, far away from them and any shenanigans that might occur. Good luck.

[That being said, she doesn't make a move to leave entirely, in case something a) interesting or b) legitimately dangerous happens, in which case she'd want to intervene to make sure nothing serious happened to this stranger.]

[moonlands]

Good call!

[he honestly doesn't mind]

I'm sturdier than most so you don't have to worry too much - but in case something actually happens, just run to town and ask for a guy named Lupin, okay? He'll figure something out.

[hE'S SO CONFIDENT]

[robitussin]

[A beat, as she raises an eyebrow.]

Sure, if you get attacked by flowers I'll just run back to town and wander around in search of some random guy I've never seen. Do you at least have, like, a description I can give to people?

[moonlands]

That guy's probably made a name for himself - you could probably find him with just that. He's not very good at laying low, you know?

But he's a gentleman from London - or France? Uhh, either one - and dresses pretty snazzy! Top hat, walking cane, perpetually easy-going... you'll find him, no problem! And he can't turn down a lady who would need his help, so he's super reliable!

[this is impey's great back up plan if anything happens to him just run and get his best friend]

[robitussin]

Cool. I'll just look around for some famous old dude who may or may not treat me weird because I'm a girl while you try fight a flower.

[Or at least that's the situation she's imagining, somehow.]

Anyways, is it doing anything?

[moonlands]

Yeah, exactly - if he treats you weird, punch him!

[THIS IS FRIENDSHIP

but regardless impey's going to put on his goggles just in case? idk he might need them for Science even as he wanders closer to the flower and tilts his head]

Don't think so. No weird gas or pollen, flowers aren't my specialty or anything but it doesn't look like a really famous poisonous one... What if...

[he'll reach out to touch it though -

and there it is, the flash of a memory. a little boy playing with an old man, talking about the Cannon Club as they both seem to have their attention entirely transfixed on a model train that's puffing out little bursts of steam, chugging bravely along a train track]

[robitussin]

[Once the memory ends, she speaks all at once in a rush:]

—Holy shit what the fuck was that?!