Test Drive Meme #3: Season of Budding

[royaldecreemods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to the Royal Decree Test Drive Meme!

If you're new here – hi, hello, welcome! This is your chance to give your potential character a little test run and see how they might fit into the world of Rosavelle. You can find all the relevant info over on our Navigation Page, so take a peek if you need to get caught up on the setting, rules, or just want to gnaw on the worldbuilding a bit.

This TDM is non-canon to the game overall, but feel free to treat individual threads or CR as canon between characters if everyone involved agrees. We've included some prompts and locations below to help spark ideas, but as always, feel free to go off-script and go ham!

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Not long after Budwake ends, the shift into Budding becomes impossible to miss. The last of Fallow's frost finally retreats, though early mornings remain chilly and the first weeks still bring occasional overnight dustings of snow. From there, Rosavelle wakes quickly. Fresh shoots push through newly turned soil, vines reclaim walls and bridges and colour steadily returns as gardens, trees and canal paths grow greener by the day.

The thaw also brings with it plenty of rain, usually just in passing showers that are chilly but surprisingly refreshing. According to locals this is a prelude to the rainy season that won't be too far behind. And as the Azurite Sea warms, new fish return to Rosavelle's waters, filling Marelys' markets and drawing seabirds back to the coast - another sure sign that the cold season has finally passed. Rosavelle is finally awake again!

By now you've likely found your footing in the ebb and flow of island life and you know how things go around here: when someone needs a little warmth, a little effort, or a little magic, the people of Rosavelle come together - and that includes you!

PROMPTS

Budwake Work

The first thaw has finally broken and that can only mean one thing: Budwake has officially arrived! Across Rosavelle, everyone’s pitching in to help the island wake up in time for the warmer weather. Volunteers are needed everywhere, whether they're tilling fields or tidying the streets - hauling soil, pruning stubborn vines, reorganizing tools, or just providing moral support while someone else does the heavy lifting. Once the work is done, the After-Till Feast begins! Castle kitchens and community halls alike declare it time to eat everything that won’t last another day: soups, stews, pies, fritters and casseroles made from odds and ends and whatever happened to be left in the pantry. Enjoy the fruits of your hard labor and tuck in!

A Stormy Situation

Storm clouds are rolling in earlier than expected and the docks at Marelys are suddenly alive with urgency. Boats need to be secured, sails tied down, loose cargo hauled out of reach of rising water and ropes checked twice before the wind picks up. The fishermen are grateful for any extra hands willing to help even if you’re mostly just holding a rope and trying not to get blown sideways by the gusts. Between the rain rolling in and occasional wave splashing a little too far inland, it's a pretty soggy affair - bit once everything’s secured, there’s something oddly cozy about ducking under an awning or crowding into a dockside shelter with your fellow volunteers, watching the storm roll in together while the sea churns safely beyond the harbor.

Secondhand Spring

Budwake has everyone in Menthward in a tidying mood and the market district has transformed almost overnight. What started as a few people clearing out cupboards has turned into a full-on swap meet, with rows of temporary stalls and plain old blankets rolled out on the street, all piled high with old trinkets, forgotten keepsakes, mismatched dishes, spare tools and plenty of things nobody quite remembers buying in the first place. Everyone's browsing with enthusiasm, bartering cheerfully and swapping stories about where each item came from - and if you're in the mood to be busy there’s plenty of opportunity to get involved. Help vendors sort through clutter, hunt for hidden treasures or even set up a stall of your own if you’ve got belongings ready for a new home. Just be careful what you pick up - while most of these items are perfectly safe and ordinary, there might be some magical trinkets with with surprising effects mixed in with all the clutter...

Freshwater Overflow

A rain-heavy week has caused the freshwater channels near Primavain to overflow, flooding nearby vegetable plots and washing nutrient-rich water straight into the fields. The result, somehow, is explosive growth well and beyond anyone's expectations... or, really, their imaginations. Greens the size of shields, root vegetables pushing themselves halfway out of the soil and herbs so fragrant they're making people dizzy - it's a blessing, truly, but also a logistical nightmare as the sheer volume of produce is at risk of going to rot before it can be properly harvested and preserved. Calls for helping hands have gone out across the island, with promises of warm meals, a share of the harvest and enough pickled and preserved produce to last you through to next Budwake. You can either help with getting the greens out of the fields or, if you're still sore from Budwake work, assist in the processing of already-harvested goods.

Primavain Food Tour

The Season of Budding always brings with it new fruit, fresh herbs and seasonal flora and tradition calls for these tasty treats to be spun up into experimental desserts. Many cafes and kitchens up and down the district are offering free samples of brand-new seasonal treats in exchange for honest feedback. Which is all well and good, but depending on where you go, you might have to be very honest. Some of these recipes look gorgeous and taste delicious but they might be a little too experimental - enchanted pastries that change flavor mid-bite, cakes that temporarily change your hair color, jelly-filled pastries that have a surprising amount of bounce, or candies that make you talk in rhymes for a minute... or an hour. It's up to you whether the free food is worth the risk, but maybe you can take a friend along - or interrogate those who have already done their dues to find out which desserts are safest.

Rainy Day Reading

With the weather turning unpredictable, the Amourian Library has become the refuge of choice for those in and around the castle - all that rain pitter-pattering against the windows makes for the perfect atmosphere to catch up on your to-read list. Claude, the librarian, is delighted (if just a little overwhelmed) by the sudden uptick in activity and as such, extra hands have been drafted in to assist with the day-to-day upkeep of the place. Depending on where your expertise lies, you might be found at the front desk checking books in and out, or maybe you've been tasked with reshelving returned tomes. If you've spent a lot of time in the library, you might be able to step in for Claude and point people to where they need to go. Or you could just go around aggressively shush-ing the people who are getting a bit too rowdy. Your call!

Pollen Problems

Budding has arrived a little too enthusiastically around the Castle Grounds. A burst of early blooms has coated everything in a thick layer of glittering golden pollen - statues, windows, unsuspecting passersby… nothing has been spared. It's harmless in the long term, according to the gardeners, but that hasn't stopped the sneezing fits, watery eyes and wounded pride of anyone caught walking through the worst of it. The castle attendants have organized a cleanup effort, armed with masks, brooms and enchanted cloths designed to gather the pollen without spreading it further. Unfortunately, the stuff seems determined to drift right back where it came from, reforming into lazy clouds the moment anyone turns their back. Volunteers are needed to help clear paths, keep the worst of it out of the halls and maybe figure out why the blooms are producing quite this much in the first place.

(CODE)

Comments

[bravechain]

No, you're right. Do they have those here?

[ Thanks to being a Heroic Spirit with autogenerated knowledge of the modern day, she knows of bras, but this place is a little.....well, it's not "mythological Greece" levels of old-fashioned, but there isn't exactly a Rosavelle's Secret, is there?

....oh gosh, is there? ]

[nightwild]

Yeah? Well, stuff like it. I have to get corsets from the castle tailors, since...

[you know. you've commented on it.]

[bravechain]

[ y u p ]

That's a start! If you know where I can get one, could you show me? I'll walk behind you, so you don't have to, uh, watch.....

[ Ugh, even her cheeks are all punipuni like this. She can feel them quivering when she blinks in self-consciousness. ]

[nightwild]

A mask might help, too...

[SIGH.]

Seriously, these guys shouldn't be giving these things away if they don't know what it'll do to you!

[bravechain]

I don't even think they knew this COULD happen, though? Like, nobody said "Step right up for the magic food!", it was more just. A free-for-all?

[ Huffing, she hugs herself in another futile attempt to not Sproing. ]

......Which makes me the idiot who tried unlabeled food, I know. [ And she's honestly kicking herself for that quite a lot. Maybe she can laugh it off. ] Some wannabe hero, yeah?

[nightwild]

[Well. That gets her to stop and turn, staring Andromeda over.]

... A hero?

1/2

[bravechain]

[ WH WH WH WH WHY ARE YOU LOOKING, SHE IS PUDDING ]

.....Yeah?

2/2 character development spoilers for this year's valentine's event ig? if you care??

[bravechain]

[ wait, this is a chance to GUSH. She brightens. ]

I mean, yeah! It might be hard to believe given [ She lifts an arm to indicate her chains, and when she drops it they clank against her hips, and, etc, etc. ] all this, but that's - my aspiration, or something? Like, a hero saved my life, we got married, had a tooooon of supercute kiddos, and we were really really happy! So I got to see close-up how amazing heroes are. How they live life on such a huge scale, but that means they get to help huge numbers of people too....

[ She's bouncing on her heels now, having completely forgotten The Curse. ] And now that I'm here, it's like: maybe this is my chance! Maybe I can be like him, too! And when we see each other again, I can be someone even closer to him, someone I'm really proud of!

[ Someone who can share those loads that only heroes could carry, based on the weight Perseus seemed to bear in quiet moments, sometimes. Andromeda loves absolutely everything about her husband. It kills her that she couldn't be there for him as fully as he could be there for her.

--BUT AGH. SHE'S DOING THE THING. WHERE SHE HUMBLEBRAG BABBLES ABOUT HER HUBS. WHOOPS ]

What about you? Do you like heroes, too???

i cant believe youd spoil me in this way... tragedy

[nightwild]

[Uhhhhh. Hm. She's listening and furrows her eyebrows.]

Married? Kids? You look like you're my age, though?

[bravechain]

Oh! That's because I'm a Heroic Spirit.

[ The definition of which, despite being one, she.......gets on a vibes level, but doesn't trust herself to do a good job explaining in detail. How to do this. ]

...Basically, think of me like a ghost that's affected by how people remember me. I'm mostly known in mythology for being a sacrificial maiden tied to a rock, so I've got....

Heave-ho.

[ From the wings(?) on her back, she draws out a rock on a chain. ]

This stuff. But I'm workin' with what I've got, so if you or anybody you know ever needs something hit with a rock, let me know!

[ Peace sign, while she twirls her rock-chain-mace-thing. When life gives you boulders, make range weaponry. That is definitely how the saying goes. ]

[nightwild]

You're... a ghost?

[Hold on. Her brain is working overtime. She's trying so hard to keep this working.]

A... rock ghost? Should I break those chains for you? Or the rock? It's shitty that people only remember you for that. Do you need help moving on?

[bravechain]

Hold up, I tell you all that, and that's your first thought? Freeing me? Are you some kind of super-good person???

[ She doesn't quite have Perseus's overwhelming Heroic Aura, but now that this girl's saying that kind of stuff, Andromeda can almost see it -

ARGH, SHE TOLD A REALLY GOOD PERSON THEY HAVE BADONKERS HONKERS ]

[nightwild]

Of course it is! Who wouldn't hear that and try to help?! I'm not good at exorcisms or anything, but it's not good for ghosts to be trapped like this.

[everyone should try to help her!!]

[bravechain]

I'm only "kinda" a ghost, though. I'd ask you to pinch me to prove I'm solid, but neither of us wants that right now.

[ Because. Ripples. ]

Seriously, you're sweet to worry, but I'm okay. I don't think I can take the chains off, and I don't mind them.

[ She runs a hand along a chain. ] There's something cool about taking what had once made you vulnerable and turning it into your power, yeah?

[nightwild]

... I understand that.

[She sighs, and looks Andromeda over...]

... I get it. Wanting to be a hero. But it's not that great in reality.

[bravechain]

[ Well yeah. Andromeda had a front-row seat to the bad parts, too. But when somebody makes a sad face like that, how can she keep making everything about herself? ]

Do you know a hero, too?

[ Or...even....maybe.....

Mrrrrgh.....it's hard to tell.....! ]

[nightwild]

... Yeah. I know one. A real one. Way more of a hero than anyone else.

[rip to ur husband but rin is different.]

[bravechain]

I knew it!

[ SO. INTERESTED. ]

While we walk, would you mind telling me more about them? They must be important to you if you're that worried about their hero-only problems, right?

[ th. this has become Girls' Talk. ]

[nightwild]

[oh. oh no. She looks so nervous about this...]

... I don't know if that's right.

[bravechain]

.......Which part?

[ That you're worried? That you'd wanna talk? It's definitely not that this hero isn't important to you. Andromeda is positive she would Never mistake that! ]

[nightwild]

[She's right about that part! And Yayoi walks, thinking.]

... Of course she's important. She saved me. But... Telling others about her like that feels...

... We fight in the darkness. Because heroes can't fight for recognition or thanks. Telling others about her just for praise as a hero feels wrong. That's not what either of us wants.

[bravechain]

Mmm.....I kind of get you.

[ Andromeda puzzles through this. (She also can't help but notice there's some "we" going on here, but she wants to be sure she understands what this person's trying to tell her before getting nosy about THAT. This is clearly super important, and she wants to treat it that way.) ]

You're doing good as its own reward. So even if people write epics or poems or plays later, to you, that was never the point.....

[ This scruple, in and of itself, is TOTES heroic, isn't it? ]

..........But if you're telling me what she's like as a person, not a hero, that's okay, right?

[nightwild]

It was never the point... It's the opposite of what we want. Once you start getting rewarded... If you want rewards or praise, you can't call it justice.

[She has to think, though. Is that... really okay? Or is that just a loophole? Is that hypocrisy?]

I... guess? Maybe that's okay. But what if she shows up here?

<--definitely someone you can trust to run the event chocolate exchange shop

[bravechain]

[ "If you want rewards or praise, you can't call it justice"? That's....definitely not how some of the heroes in Greece were. (Perseus ofc being an exception. While not a perfect human, he was amazing in nearly all regards.)

Andromeda isn't sure she agrees either - that people got helped is the part that matters, no matter why you did it, though being this intent on refusing credit is pretty awesome in its own way. But.

Butbutbutbutbut---!!

HOT GOSS SENSOR: ACTIVATED. ]

Why? You embarrassed?

Gosh, does she not know you like her.....?

[ Moving now to clap Yayoi on the back, chain-rattles and pudding-jiggles be darned. ]

It's okay! I'll back you up one hundo percent!! If she's that awesome a person, she'll definitely be happy you like her so much!!!

[nightwild]

Yeep-!

[She squeaks at the clap, jumping in surprise.]

It's not that! I just don't want to make it weird for her if she shows up! I don't want to spoil the secret identity or anything!