test drive meme 1.

[awashmods]

Her Pa committed suicide By biting off his head. Her mother saw her uncle's ghost And died of fright, she said. So her unpleasant habits Seem most curious to me, Because she seems to come from such A happy family.

Prompt 1: he forest looms as ever, colorless but not at all dead. The leaves are full, fluttering in the silence, but there's no scent to them, no color. The effect is eerily hard to navigate, almost like an optical illusion, leaves, branches and trunk blending together with the small path -- which already disappears and reappears at a whim. But even so... If you brave the path, it seems as though there is something leading you onwards. A trail of... something, crumbs, maybe, the same shade of colorless as everything else, almost impossible to see. Following those might be a bad idea -- your chances of getting lost, tangled in random underbrush, or wandering aimlessly for hours are pretty high... to say nothing of what you might encounter if you stray too far (hint: even the small, fuzzy things have nasty bites). Still, it's there, and if you follow them... eventually you will come to a small house. It's decrepit, falling apart and in shambles... do you really want to go inside? Perhaps armed with one of the many convenient tree branches that have probably smacked you thus far? Prompt 2: hould you enter the house, you'll be greeted with a creepy, creepy doorman. Aw, how cute! And in that doll's hand, there's...a message. On a slip of paper, it reads, simply and plainly: The more you take, the more you leave behind. Curious! (And yeah, you can destroy the doll. It's just a normal doll. You may even come across said doll already crushed by an intrepid explorer.) Of course, it's a riddle, and the answer's a warning -- the longer you walk around and about the house, the less you'll remember about yourself, until you forget why you were there and why you should leave, and who you are at all, doomed to wander forever. Or someone saves you, that's fine too. Prompt 3: roblem: There are no fresh eggs in the Town. Solution: Catch a feral chicken, and keep it for eggs. That seems simple enough, right? You're totally up for the task... right? But why do all of the animals look so strange in the forest? Mutated, with teeth, or wings that don't belong, or claws. That's... a chicken, right? Catching it will allow you to get some eggs, but that beak looks pretty nasty -- it might be harder than it looks. But you're intrepid and clever, right? Why not demonstrate your Chicken Wrangling Skills that won you the championship so many years ago? Or try to serenade the savage beast? Or wuss out and form a coalition with which you draw lots to see who has to do battle with the chicken? There's safety in numbers! But the prize will surely be worth a bit of blood loss and fowl-related trauma. Do it for the eggs. Prompt 4: here's a new quest on the forum today, and it looks awfully easy! It's listed simply as: Quest XXII. Talk to someone you've never met about their childhood. Quest will be completed when you have reached an acceptable level of knowledge. On the other hand, that's a little vague, isn't it... ? How will you even know when you've completed a quest like that? Still, it looks easy! Maybe go give it a try. You could respond to the forum post to try to find people, or just go on outside, go harass someone about their past. If you're lucky, you'll drag it out of them with very little hassle and it won't take you a good chunk of the day. If you're unlucky, that's what highly persistent stalking is for! But don't forget, you'll likely have to return the favor. And your new friend might not be the only one listening. 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 first 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! Important dates to remember are March 1st, 9 PM EST, when Reserves will open, and March 7th, 9 PM EST when Applications will open. Keep an eye out for it! 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. Thank you for your interest in Awash!

Comments

[jokered]

[it sure doesn't, so—]

Let's surround it first. Block the escape route.

[so seriously! this is a lot of serious work to get eggs, but akira knows he'll have to get in front of it so they can try and corner the little sucker.]

[messianic]

[She is helping.

Did you know that Minato is kind of... uncertain what to do about that information, in fact. All of the eggs he gets are from the supermarket...?]

Ah...

How can you tell if it is?

ouni | children of the whales

[worlds]

I.

[Preserving nature isn't exactly one of Ouni's top priorities, especially as this isn't home and so he has little reason to care, meaning that in response to all the branches and whatnot that're getting in his way?

Using dark symbols that whirl around him, he'll be slicing away anything around him.

... The downside is that he doesn't have great control, so if you get too close (and especially if you're outside his field of vision), then... uh, well, they might be cutting at you too. Sorry (not sorry)!]

IV.

[This is a terrible quest and he hates it.

Should you try to approach Ouni, he's going to assume the worst (read: that you're here to, ugh, socialize) and PROMPTLY WALK AWAY.]

No.

[Bye!!!]

ii.

[messianic]

[You know... Minato is also not looking all too sure about that doll, but isn't fifteen feet back a little much?

He just kind of blinks from at Dave's side, hands shoved into his pockets.]

... Think we should just keep going through the forest, then?

[subvassal]

I learned in school, um...

[ Silly Anri, no one learns anything academic at Raira. ]

"If it crows, it's a rooster. If it lays eggs, it's a hen."

[ Anri looks thoughtful, considering the implications of this fact. ]

Maybe we should see if we can get it to crow? That way, we'll know either way.

four!

[jokered]

Maybe they're listening. They're watching.

[he doesn't know if this is actually the case. he doesn't even know who "they" are, and he's just about as lost in how to actually accomplish this very strange quest as izuku is.

it's not the ideal answer, and it's probably unsettling, but there's something about the dry tone he uses to say it that at least seems to imply that he's not too serious about it. probably. maybe.]

four!

[salutations]

[Prepare for one big, loud,]

Salutations! [Which appears to come from his side. If he turns he'll see a bird, a large bird, a bird that appears to be about three feet tall and wearing a pair of orange glasses that pop loudly compared to the gray scenery around them. He only waits a beat before continuing, really not leaving any time to react to a giant, talking bird. Sort of rude of him, really.]

A little bird has happened to hear your worries, my excessive mumbler! If you're so wound up about the means and the ends, surely the truest way to uncover the mystery is to participate, yes?

[the bird winks; can birds even wink? holy shit]

lady maria | bloodborne

[cainhurst]

one;

[She walks through a line of trees, the breeze fluttering at her clothes. There’s a path here, she knows — Maria follows it, her step light yet purposeful all the same. Even though it threatens to slip out from under her, as if it were made of shadow, a transient thing. But it is less curiosity that drives her forth, than it is necessity. What is the alternative, other than roaming a forest with no end in sight?

There are… crumbs, or something shaped like them. She follows, and there’s a house; seen better days, long ago. She stops, looking up at it. Her sheathed sword swings at her hip at the sudden lack of momentum, easy and slow.]

Is it foolishness to enter, or is it hope — born of wanting to find direction in this colorless place?

[Shall they enter, o nearby stranger?]

four;

[An ashen-haired woman walks up to you, silently, almost without expression. And yet there is a softness to her features, and nothing particularly harsh in her gaze, when she asks with no preface:]

Will you tell me about yourself? What you were like, when you were but small?

[And then she chuckles, adjusting the glove of one hand, tugging it downward to fit more snugly.]

Please, tell me a story.

wildcard;

[Anything goes! Hit me with any prompt you like!]

i.

[messianic]

[Uh... Minato looks down at himself. He's got his headphones, which kind of blend in since they're grey, and his mp3 player, and leaving those behind are a no go...

... ... ...]

Ah... no. I don't have anything. Sorry... [It's a good idea, too.]

iv;

[jokered]

...No?

[he definitely was not making he way toward ouni with that motivation specifically in mind, since he's not really about forcing people to tell him things. they usually just kind of do, which...is vastly different than the strange demand for people to share their childhood with strangers. and since that's not on the forefront of his mind, he's just mildly bemused by that reaction.]

Are you psychic? [...

dry as the desert, really. he knows that ouni is preemptively refusing him on something, which is mostly just presumptuous right now! rude!]

iii.

[messianic]

Normal chickens, or that chicken...?

[HE HAS TO ASK...

Even if, well.

Minato then has to admit, hands still tucked into his pockets:]

Though I guess I don't really know for either.

IV

[scooptimistic]

[ ... Ah. The tried-and-true method of approachability that this boy is showing off is actually pretty impressive. Maya's well-versed in it after this long, and has pursued many an editorial lead by smiling winningly and maybe breaking a few property laws in the long run, if need be--

But.

Well, he's got potential. ]

It's a little primitive, but easy enough to navigate. [ Baofu could probably hack it in under ten seconds. ]

But this is probably more about that quest, isn't it?

[messianic]

[... Well.

You know...]

Do you think it'll crow if we get closer?

[He's not really relishing that possibility.]

[worlds]

[Ouni is rude as heck, yes.

...

Though he pauses, and now he's just staring at Akira with the blank look of someone who has no clue what Akira called him. ???]

2!

[scooptimistic]

[ What a creepy-looking house that is full of things like... well, dust and dirt and things Maya's own room is no stranger to.

But at least her room looks lived-in and doesn't have dolls with ominous messages and... some poor unfortunate soul wandering around aimlessly and muttering??

Something she might not really want to get involved with, but Maya can't turn down someone in distress, and especially not someone who needs a big sister.

... Even if it's been far too long since she's heard that. ]

Hey.

[ gently, but firm. ]

If you're looking for someone, you're the only one I've seen in here. Maybe try looking outside?

i.

[messianic]

[Holy shit.

Yeah, that was a little too slice-y and a little too close for comfort; Minato immediately stumbles back (hands still in his pockets, loser), and then proceeds to fall on his ass (probably because of the aforementioned hands in his pockets).

Oops.]

one!

[jokered]

[akira's much less of a city boy by upbringing, but it doesn't really mean he has that much of a fondness for creepy grey forests. not that it matters, he's here anyway, because much like a cat—he is curious and unable to resist the call of a little exploration. so he's off—and not quite expecting company.

headphoneless, he can hear the crunch of leaves nearby, and he's following that sound—whether he'll find friend or foe, he isn't sure. if it's the latter, he might be in some trouble; if the former, then it would probably be a good think to travel in a group, right? not knowing where the path could lead makes something like that possible. but when akira rounds past a pretty large tree, he spots two things just barely out of arm's reach—minato, looking distracted, and a stream with a slippery rock.

annnnnddd....

there he goes?

almost, but only because akira's swift enough to leap in and grab minato by the arm to keep him from breaking his face on some rocks.]

Whoa—careful, there.

Yuuya Sakazaki | Hatoful Boyfriend

[salutations]

prompt 3

[The feral chickens are quite an ornery bunch. And, on top of everything, they've got terrible manners! Truly, a poor representation of birdkind. He knows he should really feel for them, the less fortunate, less civilized avian comrades, but really... they've ruffled his feathers the wrong way!]

[So, rather than conversation, he's left to try stealth. A three-foot-tall dove, trying stealth.]

[He doesn't seem to realize that... he's out in the woods. Alone. And while the bright orange glasses and bright orange tie around his neck should indicate that he is a so-called civilized bird, a nonnative to this gray place, an otherworldly hunger for eggs does things to people's sensibilities. Also, he looks far less dangerous than feral chickens running around which may be enough to merit a pounce by itself.]

prompt 4

[So, unsuspecting fellow jamjar resident, whatever your plan was in going outside and trailing along the black-and-white paths, it's not being interrupted.]

Salutations! [It's- a bird. A large bird. He speaks with dramatic gestures of his wings that- probably shouldn't actually be possible with wing structure. The words also shouldn't really be possible with a beak. There are a lot of strange things about this bird.]

If you'll pardon me for being so bold, I'd like to chat with you about my Sexy and Suave childhood. Now, I know what you may be thinking: Sexy really shouldn't be applied to one's childhood but recall that doves are sexually mature within a year!

[He seems pretty carefree about the whole task set in front of them. If he's not interrupted, he might just start waxing poetically about it.]

wildcard

[for all your generic "holy shit a giant talking bird?" or whatever needs, hit me up]

[messianic]

[Minato was definitely expecting to possibly break his face there--but instead, he's caught! Which is kind of nice, actually, and a lack of pain is always a good thing.

He blinks, and then slowly straightens as Akira steadies him.]

...Thanks.

[Huh.]

I didn't realize it was slippery.

[Since like... it's not shiny? There's no color? Help.]

[jokered]

[well, that's a look her can read—such is the life when you have friends that are either a little dumb or a lot eccentric. so without even being fazed, he just explains it in simpler terms.

rude as ouni may be, akira is just rolling with it for now.]

A mind-reader.

i

[bufudyne]

...No, my apologies.

[Yusuke looks thoroughly put out for some reason... Maybe it's the lack of colour all around. Yeah. He's a little miffed about that.]

Would that I had the foresight to have paints with me.

[But he's a fool, A FOOL.

(Yusuke no-one can really anticipate this kind of thing.)]

[worlds]

[Huh.

As Ouni's power fades away, he eyes Minato coolly.]

Be more careful.

[... Says the guy who nearly accidentally attacked him.]

4.

[messianic]

[That's... that's definitely a talking, large bird. Which is probably at least in the top 20 strange things that Minato's seen this year. Still, he can cope pretty well with strange, so instead he focuses on the words. Hm.]

... Okay.

[S u r e. Doesn't that mean it'll be a really short chat?]

Can we exchange names first, though? [Maybe Minato is hoping this fever dream will become less fever-dream-like if he learns the talking bird's name? It's really hard to say.]

[subvassal]

M... Maybe?

[ Anri doesn't look too happy about it herself.

Then, taking a page from an old friend's book, her expression brightens just a bit. ]

Why won't we play rock-paper-scissors? Whoever loses can check.

[ PRAYER CIRCLE IT ISN'T HER

(it'll totally be her.) ]

[worlds]

[All right, put in those terms, he can understand.

Flatly,]

No. What do you need?