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! |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
For a long moment, he just stands there, a quarter of the way in the house, listening and watching. Nothing else moves. Nothing else--there is nothing else, and he's more than aware that's just as strange.
Carefully, he picks up the note out of the dolls hand.] There's a riddle.
"The more you take, the more you leave behind." [Well, that's ominous. He looks again around the front room with renewed caution.] Don't wander away.
no subject
[ Because Tita's a good kid, and someone had to be the sane, none-troubled one in the party. It doesn't make her feel any less uneasy, though, so she keeps her gaze focused on Damian's back. ]
Maybe... try not to pick anything up?
[ He probably already knows this, but she thinks it's better than just standing there mutely. ]
no subject
Unlikely. That's too easy.
[What's equally easy is taking several steps to the middle of the room and forgetting he has a home of his own. No matter. He's not thinking about home, right? What he doesn't know won't hurt him.]
What makes you leave things behind when you take some of it? [And why does a creepy doll and old house have anything to do with it?]
no subject
[ the immediate answer is wanting to delve into the intricacies of orbments and the trails they left if the septium crystals weren't properly fiddled with, but--
No, that wouldn't be right. A question like that is something her father would have come up with, though. A pause. ]
... Footprints?
[ but why would a doll be warning about that-- ]
no subject
...than knowing the name on the plate at the gate of a mansion. W n e. W. Looming and expensive, and he's certain he knows--the person who lives there.] When you "take" more distance, footprints are what you leave behind.
[But moving forward isn't just about distance. The equation is distance equals speed multiplied by time, and he can recite it verbatim.
Time. It's about time, too. D equals... D. There's something he knows that starts with D, right? Something... important.]
Memories. [He freezes a foot or so from the gaping, doorless way into another room, then jerks his head back over a shoulder.] The brain purges unnecessary memories to make room for more the further in time you exist.
We need to leave right now.
no subject
That was something she'd seen her mother do-- her grandfather, too. And her eyes are wide as she studies him for a minute, a little startled by how abruptly he'd come to that conclusion with no real way to know how his thought process had hurtled along-- but then her lips firm together and she makes a hurrying gesture with her hand. ]
Then, come on!
no subject
How much had he forgotten in that time? He can't--forget. He makes a list, quick:
Damian, Father, Alfred, Gotham Academy, Batman. Damian, Father, Alfred... An academy, a G. Started with a G. Start over--Damian, Father, A... Al. No. Something about pennies. Who was his father? The mansion. The W from the nameplate, and he can't remember.] What's your name?!
Say it! [He grabs her by the hand when he finally reaches her, flying past at a sprint.] Keep saying! [Damian. Damian. Damian.
Who was the old man in the mansion in the black and white suit? Who was his father? Who was--the dark one that fought crime during the night? He can't forget. B. A bat.]
no subject
But the thought about not remembering her parents, or her grandfather, or Estelle and Joshua, or Renne or what her goals were, or Zeiss... that alone sends a bolt of panic down her spine. ]
Tita! [ She gasps it out the minute he grasps (grabs) her hand, head turning towards him first before the rest of her body is forced to follow or be dragged along. She does stumble, because going from 0 to Sprint will do that to those non-heroes, but she'll catch her footing within seconds. ]
It's Tita! Tita Russell!! What's your name??
[ He'd been in there, after all, while she'd waited. He's probably the one who needs it. ]
when?? you forget she didn't even come in?? don't look at me kia...
Robin! [is what comes bursting forth the moment his feet his the ground on the outside, but he doesn't stop hauling ass until there's at least several yards between them and the house.
Robin. Because his father was--Batman. Bruce Wayne. And he was Damian. Alfred, Dick, Jason... Yes, he remembers them, all of them, even though his brain feels foggy, like he has been under anesthesia.] Robin.
[Oh--
As quickly as he realizes it, he lets go of her hand as if hers burned him.] It was a trap.
I LOVE YOU, ANNA
Nice to... meet you, [ she ends up saying automatically, a tad unsteadily because that had been a lot to process immediately, the hand he just released just sort of hovering there before she carefully draws it back and down to her side. If he'd let go of it that fast, he probably doesn't want her trying to touch his shoulder or anything like that. ]
... Are you okay now?
aaahhhh
But there is a gilded-looking emblem on his chest, proudly proclaiming R, so it fits.] I'm fine. Getting out reversed the effects.
[He glances back toward the looming house, glad she didn't really get inside to experience the sensation of losing pieces of oneself. He almost... forgot everything.]
We should look for-- [What? What exactly do they look for here?] A town. Civilization.
I'm sorry she's the only 13-year-old that listens
Um, we can head back through the forest... I've got an orbment that ought to be able to find water sources, since a town would definitely need one. But if that won't work...
[ Well. Just walking will probably accomplish the same thing. ]
damian: thank god, me: too pure!! i'm too stupid to play this genius boy!!
Look, he's only asking because he's a stupid Bat, and he's covering his bases.] We should find a way to mark the places we've been, or we'll start walking in circles because the landscape is greyscale.
He's perfect and I love him
As for orbments, they're like... devices? Depending on how they're wired and what they're equipped with, you can use them for pretty much everything. Since I have to go out to fix things from time to time, I made this one just in case.
[ it's a small metal box she pulls from her pocket, but she cradles it carefully. ]
no subject
His eyes fall to the box she gets from her pocket.] You're an engineer?
no subject
My family are all researchers, so I've been doing this ever since I was little. I'm still learning a lot, though.
no subject
We don't have "orbments" in my world. [He would say "as far as I know," but that just makes him sound uncertain and stupid. And he... doesn't want to be uncertain and stupid!] What's the name of the place you live? [Just for clarification.
The batarang comes out of a pocket on his belt. It's stylized, but anyone that knows what bats are can tell it looks like a bat. Which... aren't robins at all.]
Your family researches technology?
no subject
Tita hums thoughtfully in reply, glancing with clear interest at the... bat-shaped... boomerang?? Robin might just be flying animal-themed. Which is sort of a comfort because anyone who likes animals can't be bad. ]
I'm from Zeiss, in Liberl-- but yeah, my grandpa's brought about a bunch of changes, and if I'm, um... stuck here, maybe I can at least be useful.
What about you, Robin? Where are you from?
no subject
A planet called Earth. [So perhaps they aren't even from the same world much less timeline.] There's a continent on it called the United States, and I'm from one of those states. It's called New Jersey. [At one of the trees closest to the path, he engraves a crude R where they can see it, and then he joins her again in walking.]
Our city is called Gotham.
no subject
But Tita will continue to look non-terrifying (hopefully), only pausing to slightly alter her direction, according to the box, or hop over a log. ]
I've never heard of any of those places... but I guess that means a lot of us really did come from different worlds.
I hope there are people you know here, though.
no subject
It's better if they're not. If they're still in Gotham it means they're safe. [Though nothing had really seemed dangerous here--except for that single house back there they (he) almost got stuck inside.
Gotham is safe--r.] Batman will protect them while I work on a way to return.
no subject
[ IS THAT... A PHANTOM THIEF, she knows they have pretty absurd names-- ]
no subject
Yes. [He doesn't know if superhero will mean a damn bit of anything to her, so:] He helps the police protect Gotham from criminals, both normal criminals and criminals with special powers.
no subject
That's amazing! So he's kind of like a bracer.
[ Except ten times more dramatic, so maybe not, Tita. ]
no subject
What's a "bracer"?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)