royalooc | Test Drive Meme #4: Season of Ripening

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!

The shift in weather Ripening brings to Rosavelle is impossible to ignore. The air grows heavy and thick with humidity that clings to basically everything and unlike the passing showers of earlier seasons, rain now arrives in frequent and stormy bursts - sudden downpours that sweep through the streets and canals with little warning, soaking everything in their path. It rarely rains without pause, but clear skies offer little relief. As the weeks pass, the rising heat turns each shower into lingering mugginess, leaving the whole island feeling stifling. Hope you enjoy being overhheated and damp all the time!!!

It's not all doom and gloom, thankfully. True to the season’s name, fruits begin to swell and sweeten on their branches, with the first harvests ready by midseason - a sure sign that Ripening is well underway.

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

Honey Downpour

The beekeepers of Primavain are in a panic: the relentless rain has driven their hives into overproduction and now thick, golden honey is starting to pour from the combs in a tremendous waste of hard work and delicious treats! The bees themselves are docile (if a bit reluctant to exit their homes), but the situation is rapidly getting out of hand. Volunteers are needed to help harvest excess honey, redirect curious crowds and maybe convince a few stubborn bees to relocate. Or, if you're less helpful, you could always sample a bit… purely for quality control purposes, of course.
The Drip-Drop Duel

Somewhere in the Castle Grounds, an extremely niche and equally petty disagreement has escalated. Two scholars, both convinced they have perfected the superior rain-deflection Bloomcraft, have taken to demonstrating their work in increasingly dramatic fashion. And now there’s a localized "dueling" ground where rain refuses to fall normally, instead redirecting itself in arcs, spirals, or suspiciously targeted torrents. Spectators are gathering, bets are being placed, and volunteers are being roped in to test the limits of each spell. Step in to assist, sabotage, or simply survive the increasingly creative ways water is being weaponized.
Puddle Predictions

Something odd is happening in the streets of Bellvine Hill: certain rain puddles have started reflecting things that aren't actually there. A clear sky where there should be clouds, a stranger standing just behind you when you’re quite certain you’re alone or fleeting glimpses of moments that haven’t happened yet but will do in just a few moments. Naturally, this has drawn a crowd. Some are treating it like a game, trying to find the strangest reflections, while others are attempting to interpret what they see. Pair up to compare visions, test which puddles are the most reliable (if any) or dare each other to act on what you glimpse. It’s probably harmless. Probably.
Runoff Relay

With the heavy rains feeding into the canals, the water flow through Marelys has picked up speed, carrying with it all sorts of debris from upriver-driftwood, stray fishing gear, and the occasional very confused fish. The dockhands have organized a cooperative effort to intercept anything useful before it's swept out to sea, forming a chain of volunteers along the canal's edge to catch, grab, and pass things along. It's efficient! It's practical! It's also turned into a slightly competitive relay, with different teams trying to outdo each other in speed and quantity. The victor doesn't seem to get anything more than bragging rights, but isn't that what competition is really about at the end of the day?
Canal Critter Convoy

The rising waters have displaced more than just goods - small canal creatures have started turning up in all the wrong places. Tiny fish in fountains, curious crustaceans in market stalls and at least one very indignant waterbird refusing to vacate a bakery doorway. A coordinated effort is underway to gently relocate these wayward critters back to their proper habitats. You can help catch and carry them, guide them along flooded pathways, or simply keep them calm (easier said than done) until more help arrives.
Leaky Greenhouse Blues

The Everbloom's Greenhouse is not supposed to leak. It is, in fact, famously not supposed to leak. And yet, with the relentless rains of Ripening bearing down on the glasswork overhead, a series of suspicious drips have begun appearing in the most inconvenient places possible. Now the gardeners alike scrambling to catch the leaks before delicate plants get overwatered (or worse, offended). Volunteers are welcome to help patch things up, hold buckets in increasingly awkward positions, or attempt to soothe particularly dramatic flora that have decided this is a personal slight. Just try not to track mud everywhere - some of these plants hold grudges.
The Overripe Affair

The Season of Ripening means abundance but someone may have gotten a little too enthusiastic. A Primavain orchard has produced fruit so perfectly ripe that it's started to… burst. Not rot, not spoil - just gently (and sometimes not so gently) popping open under the pressure, releasing sticky-sweet juice and an almost intoxicating fragrance into the air. It's drawing crowds, insects, and more than a few opportunistic snackers, and the orchard keeper is at their wit's end. Help harvest the fruit before it explodes, find creative ways to contain the mess, or just brave the chaos and see how many you can catch mid-pop. Fair warning: you will get sticky. There is no avoiding it.

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Can't they see he is walking?! Whatever it is that Soundwave has to say gets trapped in his throat the second he sees a face eerily similar to his own new face. Similarly, Soundwave is taken aback, face twisting to one of involuntary surprise. Ack, he needs to have a better grasp of this body's facial muscles. Something to work on later...

That aside, Soundwave is staring at his... doppelganger? No, is he actually looking at a body double? Or is this the original person? Or does Calanthe have multiples of this exact body? Cybertronians with the same mold aren't uncommon at all. It's not something he's unused to, but normally they'd have a different paint job.

Silence stretches between the two for a long moment. Until--]

Who are you?

[He asks in a complete monotone voice.]

Identify yourself and I will do the same.

[Answered in a very similar even keel.]

[Also speaks in a monotone... Different inflection, yes, but still somewhat uncanny.]

Soundwave. A Cybertronian.

[It isn't hard to make inferences from that. Soundwave doesn't sound like an organic name, sure, but the big blaring siren that is CYBERtronian is as subtle as a brick to the face.

But he'll leave it aside for a moment.]

My name is Sonic. [Not in the sound sense, but still a funny little coincidence.] I will be direct: is this your form?

[Despite the question, he doesn't gesture to Soundwave's body but rather his own, as if to ask if he himself is an imitation of Soundwave, not the other way around.]

[His thought definitely goes towards the sound sense, so the similarities just keep piling up.

Sonic... Could be an organic name. Or it could be a codename like some of the humans he knows. Regardless, he doesn't have enough to infer that the other could be a mech like him. Though, judging by the query and how the other gestured to himself instead of the other way around...]

No. I woke up in this body. I've considered the possibility that you were the original, but...

[He hums.]

I assume you were given this body as well, then?

Yes. Prior to my arrival, I was a mechanical entity. But this body is now entirely organic, for better or worse.

[100% worse as far as he's concerned.

.........well. Food and hand holding is okay. He guesses. But not admitting that to a stranger.]

As much as I prefer my mechanical body, I believe this organic form is a better fit. I was right to chose so.... This place looks hardly accommodating for giant mechs.

[If he was forced into this body instead, then he'd be more upset about it and be on full agreement with Metal. Right now, he's just treating this as a temporary novelty experience.]

What sort of mechanical entity were you, Sonic?

I-

[Wait, wait, hold on a second. Did he hear that right?]

You had a choice in the matter?

Yes?

[His head tilts to the side.]

When I agreed to come to Rosavelle, I told Princess Calanthe I'd need a smaller vessel. I did not get a choice on the vessel's appearance, however. [And that's how he got himself this fleshsuit and apparently a twin.] I suppose you did not get a choice in the matter?

No. This feeble organic form was thrust upon me.

[He's so fucking mad what the hell.

It's completely necessary however.]

I understand from how you have described yourself it was an issue of scale, but I would not have encountered the same problem.

Then, it is not a scale issue. Perhaps the princess saw a different issue and deemed it necessary to put you into this form...

[A safety precaution, maybe? He doesn't know what type of mech the other is, but he can list other potential problems with a Cybertronian on this world aside from scale. Maybe he's giving her some grace because she's nice, but she has a duty to protect her kingdom, he thinks.]

Regardless of the reason, you have the right to be angry about it.

I am...[A pause.] It is irrelevant. It does not interfere with my objective.

[But he is mad. He just doesn't want to look like anything bothers him, ever. But boy got a lotta feelings.]

To answer your previous inquiry, I am a multipurpose robot primarily designed for combat. I was built by a human.

["Primarily designed for combat". Yeah, maybe he can see at least one reason why they must've stuffed him into a fleshsuit. But again, he doesn't blame him for being mad.

His lips drop into a frown the moment he hears "built by a human", though. He may have a positive view on humans nowadays, but his experiences with human-made robots has been nothing but negative.]

I see. [He has opinions on organics who built sentient robots, but he keeps that to himself for now.] And what is your objective, Sonic?

[And so he looks soundwave right in the eye and says, without a hint of irony:]

To obtain the "power of friendship".

[.....

......

.....

....

Oh, he's not joking. He was waiting for the punchline that never existed.]

I... see. There is certainly power in having deep bonds with others, true.

[Unironically, Soundwave does know the "power of friendship". See his cassette friends. It's just not how he describes it because that sounds corny.]

Is that objective given to you by your creator?

My creator desired only a mindless puppet with which to enact his will. That I am conversing with you at all runs counter to what he wants for me.

[But don't worry, there's no shame or fear in his voice, as if he cared at all what Eggman would think. There's just a clear disdain and maybe even a little pride in the fact he's defying his creator by being here at all.]

Even if I return to my world, I have no intention of returning to him.

[Oh. It's not readable on Soundwave's face, but he is approving of Metal's disdain towards his creator. The idea of building a robot with sentience or gained sentience and then tell it what it was made for is revolting to Soundwave.

The fact that he's already found his independence is a good thing.]

I see. That is good to hear, indeed. This conservation wouldn't be happening if you were a simple, mindless puppet.

[In other words, he respects him as another living being.]

Continue to defy him. It doesn't matter what you were originally built for. All that matters is how you want to live your life...

Test Drive Meme #4: Season of Ripening

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

oh as a heads up the princess is they/them!

ooooh, i mustve missed that. thanks!

np!

no subject

no subject

no subject