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! |
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no subject
he feels bad for the flash of sadness, but isn't really willing to reach out and fix it; he's not john or jade, who might have. ]
Look, I don't know you all that well. So I don't know how you used to be, or how you are, really? Like, not enough to form a solid opinion beyond what 'Rezi told me. [ so, confused and "probably bad news". and then whatever john said, which basically only told him john liked her. ] And John.
[ he's scrupulous, sometimes. ]
But I do know that comparin' yourself to other versions of you is a game that no one ever wins. There's a hell of a lot of Daves, including whatever one came post-scratch, and Davesprite, and like - every other version I've ever met. And believing that one is inherently better ain't gonna do any of us any good. Especially when the same start point can hit so many different end points. Maybe it kind of depends on your definition of "good" and "worthwhile"? Like...
[ god, he sucks at this. ]
Do you like not bein' like that all the time? Do you like your personality now, I mean.
no subject
[ she cares.
she cares so much.
vriska keeps tugging at her hair, visibly growing more upset by the moment. ]
You don't get it. She took my girlfriend, she took everything from me! She's cool and capable and really mean and Meenah went with her and I was just alone! Again! All alone! I don't want to be alone anymore, I'm scared, I hate it!
[ down she goes, crouching on the ground, still tugging at her hair. she's crying, by the way. ]
I -- I did like myself! I was happy! I really felt good, not doing any of that shit anymore. Killing or plotting or being anything other than a stupid kid having fun. Like, fuck, it was nice to just be a kid for once? We're fucking kids and the fucking game put all this shit on us like we're supposed to grow or go on some amazing personal journey, but it's bullshit!
[ actually she's sobbing. wow. sorry dave. she tries to keep speaking and ends up just pulling in big sucking breaths instead. unsteadied, she ends up falling back onto her butt. and she just stays there, crying and crying and crying. ]
no subject
oh my god. he can't even handle alcoholic rose or...sodaholic? terezi? (TROLLS ARE SO WEIRD)
he can't handle this? what the fuck? oh my god. ]
Okay, that's kind of bullshit, John likes everyone and if I had to guess at most he was uncomfortable with the army thing. I seriously doubt it would impede him in bein' your friend or anything, if you asked. He's like. Ridiculously, ridiculously nice. Literally I don't think he gave a fuck Terezi killed him that one time like at all. Which is stupid? Goddamnit Egbert, care about that shit a little bit, but like...yeah.
[ yeah. he doesn't know what to say about being kids. because #can't relate. he was only ever a kid with the others, and even then there was always everything else lurking. ]
But if you liked yourself and you were happy, maybe that means something. And maybe you should like...focus on that shit. On being someone you like. Don't...make yourself kill and plot and whatever the hell if you don't want to, even if some other version of yourself is still all about it. You were her, once.
Is she actually happy that way?
no subject
[ more sobbing. she just can't stop crying. ]
And even now all I can do is talk about myself... how selfish am I?
[ ... ]
Just ... leave me alone. You don't want to deal with me anyway.
no subject
[ this is not how he planned to spend his deathday, fuck. ]
I'll leave if you want?
[ he's so bad at this. ]
no subject
and then she pops to her feet. still crying. angrily. but she's not sobbing anymore. ]
Fuck it. Just fuck it! I might as well find something new to care about since moping about how my life is over is both pointless and irritating. You!
[ She marches over to him, reaches out -- pauses, withdraws her hand, roughly shakes her head, and MARCHES AWAY, gesturing for him to follow her?? ]
I'm pissed off so I might as well channel it productively! Dave, have you ever fucked shit up before?
no subject
Kinda, sometimes. In the game, sure.
no subject
God. No, I'm sorry. I don't actually want to like, really fuck shit up? I mean more like, I don't want to play by whatever spooky scary narrative is going on here, I want to find out what's going on and why we're all here. So.
[ She pauses in her walking, turning to face him, frowning a little bit. ]
... I mean, if that's something you want to try and figure out, then yeah, I'd like it if you came with me, I guess. We've never really gotten a chance to talk all that much before.
no subject
[ let's go unscripted, maybe. ]
And yeah, sure, why not? It's usually easier to work out puzzles in a group rather than solo runs.
no subject
Well, if we are actually going to get shit done, that's the right attitude to have.
[ a beat. she opens her mouth, thinks for a second, and then closes it, giving her head a small shake. ]
Well, let's keep going, then. We can shoot the shit along the way.
[ could it be clearer she doesn't actually know what to ask him. anyway hey let's keep walking wherever the hell we're going ]
no subject
he kind of wants to ask about meenah, but even though he's curious he also knows he didn't really enjoy people bothering him about terezi post clown breakup.
so. she's spared that as he racks his brains. ]
So...what kind of music do you like?
[ god. small talk. kill him ]
no subject
Oh, god. Are we seriously this lame that the only thing we can come up with to talk about is totally inane shit like that? Not that I'm like, judging you for it, I appreciate that you're trying and I sure as fuck couldn't do any better. Just, yikes.
I dunno, I haven't really ... thought about that kind of thing in a long time? Fuck, I dunno. What about you?
no subject
you know what, he picked the topic. may as well try to be honest about it. ]
All kinds. I mean, I'd usually - used to - give a spiel about like, a ton of shit no one else really had heard of you? You know, the hipster first on the scene bullcrap. And honestly, I did like a lot of that stuff. And rap. But I like other shit, too. Like, the popular songs I'd give John and Jade crap about enjoying - and actually, I kinda like instrumental stuff best. Good associations.
[ sharing isn't exactly second nature to him, but he tries to clarify: ]
They used to send me instrumental tracks a lot, and I'd remix 'em. So if I had to honestly pick a favorite genre...classical, I guess. Don't tell anyone, it'd ruin my image.
no subject
Yeah. Looking back, some of the stuff we used to think and say was pretty bullshit, huh?
[ with something almost approaching humor. ]
Classical like, what, you'd be into Troll Tchaikovsky or whatever?
no subject
[ ....................
that aside,,, ]
But yeah. Kids say stupid shit. Adults say stupid shit. I don't think it ever ends. You just find new stupid shit to say.
no subject
again, vriska just kind of lets him ramble. except the look on her face is more "what the fuck is wrong with you" than curiosity.
but then she kind of frowns thoughtfully at the ground,
before shrugging expansively. ]
Search me. I guess the great master architect of our fucked up gaggle of universes has a crappy sense of humor.
[ ♬ metaaaaaaaa! ♬ ]
... that sounds pretty on the money, though! While you're growing up you keep thinking the stupid shit will go away once you get older, like one day you'll just magically become this capable badass version of yourself that can actually handle their life. But it's not really like that at all! You just keep fumbling through different kinds of shit, like an infinite shit ocean where the chunky diarrhea currents just toss you to and fro on endless waves of liquid excrement.
no subject
haha? nah? he never thought he'd magically become capable and badass, although maybe he'd entertained some quiet hopes he'd become competent.
he shrugs and laughs, like that changes anything. ]
Dunno. I've spent a lot of time thinking about how I think about things, the past three years. Wasn't a whole hell of a lot to do otherwise, besides expand can town and occasionally watch some truly terrible romcoms with Vantas at the tail end of that fiasco. Not that can town wasn't a worthy venture or anything. Fuckin' best years of my life went into can town. Long live democracy.
no subject
[ .... ]
You never like, thought about what your life would be like when you grew up and picture yourself as this more awesome, more mature version of you?
no subject
[ but no he figured he'd fuck up a strife enough one day that he just wouldn't survive past whatever. ]
no subject
[ gives him an odd look. ]
no subject
I had way better things to do with my time, I guess? Mix tunes, update my various blogs, keep SBaHJ on the up and up. [ stop saying acronyms fucking christ ] Give my friends a hard time about shit, etc.
[ he will never stop, and it pains me, personally, ]
no subject
[ ... ]
Do you still care about any of that stuff now? Like, the blogs and whatever the fuck "sbahj" is.
no subject
[ the world is his oyster. he can force everyone to read the worst webcomic known to man. ]
no subject
God, you are so weird. Like, I kind of already knew that, but seeing it up close and personal is different. [ A beat, and she just ends up kind of shrugging to herself. ] Whatever, I can't really judge you for your hobbies. If I'm really stuck here I don't actually know what I'm going to do with my time? It's weird to actually, like ... be somewhere, that isn't just endless dream bubbles and the weird horseshit you find in the Furthest Ring.
no subject