awoosh | test drive meme 1.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Here's Okuyasu, looking at the piece of shit house and feeling homesick.

No, it's creepy and probably haunted, but there's a guy here asking about experiments, which is always... fun. Okuyasu gives him a look, then gives his armband a look, then gives the whole package (aha) a look and decides he'll stay and listen, but he's staying out of arm's reach of a weird guy carrying a rope.]

The hell are you doing with that?

[He did say... but he's also got a weird rope!!!!]

[ Spooky forests and creepy houses aren't familiar settings. But speaking of homesick, explaining things to idiots in uniforms reminds Akune of his own home.

Kinda.

School is his home. ]

It's simple.

[ He wraps the rope around his palm and pulls it taut. It's remarkably well made for something he whipped together by hand. ]

Have you ever seen Poltergeist? Or anything that parodied Poltergeist?

[None of this inspires confidence, not even Akune's winning smile(tm). Okuyasu gives the rope another critical look, uncertain.]

The one where the chick's head spins around? [No, Okuyasu.] I think so, yeah.

No, that's a different movie, but close enough.

[ The Exorcist literally has nothing to do with the point he's trying to make. Sort of like how The Exorcist Sequels having nothing to do with The Exorcist.

Akune doesn't let his expression shift from pleasant smile mode, though. Patience is one of his many virtues. ]

I'm hoping to tie this rope around my waist before I search the house again. I tried earlier and it made my memory sort of... fuzzy.

[ Meaning: it's not safe to go in without a safety net, so to speak. ]

You wouldn't have to do much beyond standing still, really.

[What does one do when a boy asks you to hold his leash?? Hmm. Okuyasu considers him for a long moment, seriously scrutinizing.....

yeah sure fuck it]

Okay! You want me to hold this? [He's already reaching for it, give him the rope.] Am I supposed to pull you out if you start screaming, or something?

I'm not going to start screaming.

[ Akune has never screamed in his entire life. Which is impressive, he'd suppose, if he was the kind of guy to think of himself as impressive. So he supposes it's quite impressive, given the shit he's seen and done. ]

It's more likely I'll forget the reason I went inside at all. So instead of tugging on the rope when I'm in danger, I'll tug on it every 30 seconds or so and you...

[ He trails off, eyes moving from Okuyasu's face to his grabby hands. ]

Are you following?

[His grabby hands are following... following the rope, that is.]

Yeah, yeah, stand still and hold the rope for 30 seconds.

[Ah, no, wrong-] Or y'know, whatever, I'll figure it out.

You don't have to figure it out. I'm explaining it to you right now.

[ Akune, against his better judgement, ties the rope around his waist and hands the loose end to Okuyasu. ]

The standing still part is important. But pulling me back out if something goes wrong is more important.

[ Wait. An unforeseen problem arises. ]

You can count to 30, can't you?

Hey, shut up, of course I can count! I'm not that stupid!

[He says this, and while he says this, he tugs obnoxiously on the rope he's just been handed now that Akune has tied himself to it. So the house exploration plan is going great.]

Just stop yapping and go see if there's anything useful in there.

test drive meme 1.

i'm here to learn the ropes

no subject

i had to look up when poltergeist came out

JoJokes on you, I already knew 'cause I love it

i've never seen it!

there's a scary clown toy in it. gave wee me nightmares!

go to bed!!

fine!!! for real

god cookie is so rude