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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iii
And then she'll float over to him,
take the chicken,
and in a swift motion break its neck.
Then she hands it back to him. Flatly: ]
Hi Dave.
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okay he has no further idea what to do with a dead chicken...............
what if
he just shoves it in his sylladex to be a problem for future dave, after staring at it for a few seconds. yeah that seems okay. ]
Sup. You know what's goin' on? [ she's been dead longer than he has, after all. ]
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[ all ... very flatly.
... ]
Did you just shove that cluckbeast into your sylladex.
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[ also, he shrugs. ]
As to the chicken what the fuck else am I supposed to do with it? It ain't really a microwaveable situation. If there...are microwaves around here? Shit. Whatever. I mean, theoretically I know you cook a chicken by like, skinning it and cutting it up and whatever, but I've never done that, and I feel like Caledfwlch is hella too unwieldy to use to slice it down to size. Also I've used that on shit I wouldn't want to eat, so?
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[ her tone drips ice, brittle and stiff.
a pause. ]
God, why did I ask. I honestly don't give a single fuck what you do with that chicken, it was just kind of weird in the moment? Like if you're so uncomfortable with cleaning it then why did you catch it. Ugh, whatever.
[ ... ]
Who else. Is here. [ just. like, her sentences aren't hard, just short and tired. ]
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[ goddamnit dave stop just doing random shit for other people? he's more stubborn about things than john sometimes, but he's still pretty willing to do dumb shit.
see: sitting in a pot of soup. ]
But about who's here? Dunno. Not even sure who did or didn't make it after things went south. Haven't seen anyone else so far, though.
[ tho tdm isn't canon so maybe he HAS seen john but for the purposes of this conversation nah ]
Well. I know Jade for sure didn't. Make it, I mean.
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[ vriska registers, at most, a kind of mild surprise. ]
I am sorry to hear that. I mean, I never really got her whole ... thing, [ twirls a hand ] but it really sucks to lose someone like that. I don't really know what's going on with your session anymore, to be honest. I kind of tapped out a long time ago.
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[ his voice is calm, and so is his expression. vriska doesn't really know him well enough to see any signs to the contrary, anyway. ]
Basically shit went straight to hell. I guess I kinda tapped out too, or was tapped out, but this ain't like any dream bubble I've ever been in, sooooo. I guess we've been tapped back in. To a different game entirely, probably. Thanks, though. For the sorry, I mean.
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[ she looks somewhere between interested and uncertain. ]
Uh, that's ... okay, I guess that happened? Uh, sorry. Being dead sucks. I should know.
[ A pause, and she waves him off. ]
Don't, uh, don't mention it. God. [ she wraps her arms around her middle, glancing off to one side. ] ... I don't understand what the hell we're doing here.
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[ unless someone does something DRASTIC that's just how it was meant to be? dave saying he's "pretty sure" about that probably holds a little more weight than other people saying the same thing, given the fact he's still wearing the big red gear on his front that indicates he's in charge of that shit. ]
So... [ hm. ] Well, are you hungry or anything? [ when in doubt just go with basic needs and see to those and...figure out the rest later. ]
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very quietly: ]
I thought I was the alpha timeline me, too.
[ Vriska swallows, and then glances at him, given away only by the slight tilt of her head. ]
Not ... really? Ghosts don't really get hungry. I'll help you find real grub, though.
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[ it's time player bullshit.
and it honestly doesn't matter any longer, so he makes a face. ]
Hm. I'm not that hungry either, I guess, but I can't tell if it's a ghost thing or just a "haha what appetite, Dave" thing. It just seemed like a thing to ask? When you don't know what the fuck to do, secure food and a place to stay and be on the lookout for people who know what the fuck is up. Standard operating procedure.
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... what does it matter? None of this matters.
[ a long pause, and without moving she asks: ]
You said something changed. What?
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he'd mind more if it wasn't john doing it. he trusts john implicitly, and if it's john it'll...probably work out. ]
So that might be a thing. But yeah, it doesn't currently matter. What does is...honestly, I don't know? I guess whatever people decide matters. I personally find it important that this place look less boring if I am goin' to be here for any length of time. It's something to do.
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[ she actually goes over to him and takes hold of his upper arms? there's no force in it, but the way she's looking at him is really intense. ]
Who was it? Was it John? You're sure it wasn't me, right?
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but it takes a while for him to work up to it, for some pretty specific reasons.
his expression closed off the second her hands touched him, but now he cocks his head to the side, eyeing her. ]
If it were you, I'd be actin' a little different. It feels fuckin' heretical to go messin' with the alpha timeline. Bet your time player would say the same damn thing. But I'm not about to enforce that with him.
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S-Sorry.
[ .......... ]
I'm just ... I'm asking because I met myself. I met a version of me that's alive and didn't get killed by Terezi? I don't really know anything about what's happening anymore. She just showed up, took the weapon, and left. And I ... just ...
[ she threads her fingers into her hair and tugs ]
She was so mean, but she was so much better than me? I, I can't believe how awful I used to be, was I really like that all the time? Just mocking people for no reason, just to hurt them and make them hate themselves? She's -- she's horrible, and she's, she's just ... out there, fixing shit. The shit I couldn't fix.
[ her mouth opens. closes. opens. ]
And just-- like, if she exists, and you're saying all this stuff about the timeline changing, I just...
[ ........ ]
... why do I even care? What does it matter? It doesn't matter.
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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.
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[ 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. ]
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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?
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[ 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.
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[ this is not how he planned to spend his deathday, fuck. ]
I'll leave if you want?
[ he's so bad at this. ]
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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?
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Kinda, sometimes. In the game, sure.
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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.
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