awoosh | Test Drive Meme 3.

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Test Drive Meme 3.


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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Maybe... not... harmless completely... Damn.]

Mm. [He's also thinking. And watching her begin burying the flowers, smothering out their attempts at insults. The effort is childish, but earnest, and not something most people would think to do.

Most would cut them down.] Are you going to cover all of them in the town?

[She pauses her work at the question. This is an inefficient way of going about it but there are only a few flowers in this spot, and she doesn't mind getting her hands dirty.]

Should I?

[Honestly, a large-scale project wouldn't be so bad! But she doesn't know if it would be a good idea. Hatoko continues moving the dirt, beginning with a flower that just called her an airhead.]

It wouldn't be very convenient, but it would get the job done. [Look... at least she's trying something rather than sitting around and crying? He can respect that... as, uh, someone who use to be pretty determined.]

You have a lot of work to do if so. [The left side of his mouth twitches into a faint smirk, but it's thankfully hidden under the long fringe.] They're only words.

There's other ways to handle what's happening. Think about it.

[Hatoko associates long hair on a male adult with playing the guitar. Any non-conformist attitude is chalked up to ROCK N' ROLL and arouses no suspicion.]

Words hurt.

[She says this matter-of-factly, without a clue in her intonation that she had dealt with bullies in her childhood. The suggestion to 'think about it' sounds like a teacher's instruction. Find the answer on your own, do the work.]

Burial would be easy. For me, anyway. [She leaves the explanation at that, if he wants to assume it's because she has a lot of free time or because she's young and spry, sure.] And they need dirt anyway.

They don't deserve to be destroyed. [Which is what most insult-sufferers are doing.] Returning colour, uhm. I don't know. Maybe?

[Maybe J-ROCK Sasuke is better..............]

Restoring color seems to be one way, based on the ones that have color. But there's another way. It doesn't have anything to do with the flowers at all, not really. [She at least admits they don't deserve to be destroyed.

That's promising.] You can talk to the people they're insulting and reassure them.

You said words hurt.

[ROSE OF PAIN performed by ~~X Japan~~ Sasuke and the Uchihas (there is no one else on stage, rip.)]

That's treating the symptom instead of the disease.

[She had listened attentively to every word and smiled more sincerely when he explained the answer he had been looking for. He was right, but Hatoko saw the situation with a narrower outlook.]

I don't know anyone here, yet. [Apologetic for making an excuse, but she does have a reason for not offering a sympathetic ear to everyone affected.]

Sometimes, the insults are too painful to talk about with someone you don't know. [She hints, just a little in her voice, to what they'd said about him. Violent words, a terrible accusation. Would he really want to talk about it?]

Sometimes, the disease can't be cured.

[He hears her, at least, even if he's being stubborn. Thankfully. He probably wouldn't have given her the time of day if he had been younger, especially not near the end before things changed.]

They'll always be painful. For everyone. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't try to talk about them.

[She isn't wrong. He wouldn't want to talk about them. Even now, he wouldn't want to talk about them. But he's thinking less of himself and more of a certain blonde boy, equally as stubborn, who wouldn't ever take no for an answer.

The one who wanted him to realize he wasn't alone. He had two friends.]

It doesn't mean they wouldn't like to hear someone understands.

[Having never seen an episode of Naruto: Lonely Ninja Children in her life, Hatoko has no idea that Sasuke is speaking on behalf of an entirely different series of events than the one on her mind.

He sounds pessimistic af and has clearly Seen Some Shit but most pressing of all is the impression his words give; after the mean flowers said he was a terrible friend, he wants to hear that someone understands his suffering!]

Mh! People's feelings are the same. We want a place to belong, with others. No matter what.

[She straightens up from the dirt mound she's created to force the nearby flowers to quiet down, and looks on towards Sasuke with gentle eyes.]

Do you want to tell me what they meant? About...you.

[She doesn't repeat the accusation. Maybe 'killing' had been a metaphor.]

[Boy, he wishes.]

When I was around your age, I did some things I'm not proud of. [It's... an easy way to both answer and not answer completely. Though having flowers says "kill us" coupled with "when I was young" is not a very... boding well sign, huh.

It's fine. This is fine.

He's had thirteen or so years, giving or take, to Find Himself and come to terms with things that he still probably won't ever forgiven himself for. The least he can do is talk about them in a way to discourage others from following a similar path.]

[It's happening.]

Ooh. I'm sorry.

[She doesn't know what else to say without the details but her expression of compassion is sincere. Frankly, she hasn't done anything to dishonour her pride, her family or her cow, but she may have been forced to by circumstance outside her control. So she understands, at least how difficult his past may have been.]

But you made it up to them, right?

[His friends, or whomever the flowers (who were psychic? idk) were referring to. Hatoko's voice shows full faith in him. She's just that type of girl.]

[regret]

I'm not sure I can. [He can't say for certain if he has, as much as Naruto and Sakura and the others insist on forgiving him. It doesn't feel right. Redemption is not something he can simply earn with a few good deeds. Not redemption from the things he has committed. Nevermind sins. Nevermind stealing a life.

The crimes against friends, against the ones still having to live after seen it, known it.

He may never make it up to them, and he supposes that's okay, in the end. He'll live with that. Being a flaming hot pile of garbage sucks.]

But I hope so.

You definitely can!

[Encouragement! Blind optimism! ENDURING FAITH. Hatoko overflows with these trademarks and more. She might never know the depth of tragedy he's referring to but second chances are allowable to a person who feels bad about what they did. He seems to be genuine in that, as far as she can tell. Maybe he's a great liar but she doesn't have those types of doubts, and she wouldn't see a reason to bother gaining her good opinion anyway.]

Kuchikawa Hatoko! I'm sixteen and I love to cook!

[She bows, introducing herself. She knows way too much about him not to ask his name now!]

[Nevermind all that shit. What's more important than anything else is she has a (normal) Japanese name. Thank God.]

Uchiha Sasuke.

[He's so....... old now, wtf. Sixteen. It feels like years ago. Had he really been that young, doing the things he did? She's too pure. Is this what normalcy is like? Loving to cook.

Why is he here? Is this purgatory? He misses Sarada.]

Why do you like cooking?

[Sudden realization that she wasted the opportunity to give herself a super-cool new name -- Drat!]

Tasty food makes people happy. Seeing my family and friends smile a real smile from the heart, nothing beats that feeling.

[Yep, this is purgatory. Listen to that cinnamon roll reply roll off her cheerful tongue that has probably never said a swear word nevermind hate and meant it.]

What do you like to eat, Uchiha-san?

I see. [It's wholesome, and he's going to vomit.

Oh... Not many people bother to ask what he likes to eat. Understandable, he doesn't exactly hang around long enough usually for people to get the chance.

There's a short, thoughtful pause. He didn't even have to consider it really.]

Onigiri. Preferably with skipjack tuna or bonito flakes. And tomatoes.

Oh! I can make that.

[Like, so can anyone, it's just balled up rice for heck's sake. But when Hatoko makes simple dishes they taste like ambrosia. The answer makes her like him more; an easy-to-eat food, uncomplicated and demanding nothing extra. Also, tomatoes are cute!]

Cooking maaay be more challenging here, this place is weird. But! If I can, will you eat my onigiri?

[He guesses it would be rude to decline after he went through the trouble of telling her what he likes to eat best. As long as it's not natto or something insanely sweet... it's doable.]

Alright. I'll try it.

[And not regret it, hopefully. She doesn't seem like the type to be sly... but he's Sasuke, so. Never Trust Anyone, Not Even Your Friends.]

There's a cafe here. There's a board in the middle of town with a map on it. A cafe is labeled, but I don't know who owns it.

[Don't worry, Hatoko's menu strictly follows the serenity of a balanced taste experience. Sasuke is in no danger of being presented with a cake buffet. But he doesn't know that, so really it's pretty brave to agree. She's overjoyed to have his promise.]

Really?

[She had no idea.]

Let's go!

[You wouldn't say no, would you, Uchiha-san? What kind of HORRIBLE MONSTER would do that, huh??]

[Wait a minute... He neither agreed to a cafe date or a cafe inspection...]

Typically, I'm hired for an escort.

[Weird, he seems to be following all on his own?? No contract, no money, no prestige. Okay, maybe a little prestige in helping a girl to a cafe.]

[Escort. Escargot?]

I don't have any money, haha. Do you like kanzashi? My friend taught me how to make them. Your hair wouldn't get in your eyes if you let me give you one as payment!

[She's an excellent talker, very healthy lungs. There's no telling how long this walk will take so she's determined to fill the silence before it becomes the awkward atmosphere of two people who don't know each other. She decides he really must be nice since he's using his free time for her benefit.]

[Jesus Christ.]

No thanks. [Unfortunately, if she just went ahead and stuck the kanzashi to his hair, he wouldn't even get mad. Maybe he'd be a little exasperated by the soft pastel beacon maring his Hot Topic aesthetic.

And the fact his eye wouldn't be hidden, but that's another can of worms.] There are some girls here, however, who might like them.

[Oh, don't worry Dadsuke. Once she's more comfortable, she'll braid your hair without asking first. Look forward to it!]

Really? Do you know them? Maybe you could introduce me.

[Shyly. She isn't the greatest at making friends. Look how much they have in common!]

I can point them out, but I don't know them very well.

[RIP. He doesn't spend much time talking to girls? Hell, he doesn't even hang around to talk to his own daughter!! HE WAS GONE FOR TEN YEARS! World's Semi-Okayest Dad.]

You would be able to talk to them easier than I would.

[Boo. It's nerve-wracking to meet kids her own age by herself. Their opinion of her counts for more than an adult's. Hatoko is lost in thought for a moment, until the faint disappointment fades.]

Uhm, are there more people somewhere...?

[If he can't offer personal introductions that's fine, but she'll fish for as much information as she can get. Maybe they can work together fighting crime! SUNSHINE GIRL AND DARKNESS MAN. Hehhehe perfect. An idiotic smile unrelated to what she'd said aloud, and she giggles to herself.]

Yes. If you explore a little, you'll find them. [Chroma already has enough disappointment. It doesn't need any more...]

What's so funny?

[He looks completely straight-faced when he glances over at her as she giggles. He doesn't understand. He hadn't said or done anything funny? He hadn't even made a joke, he didn't think...]

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