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Royal Decree Mod Account ([personal profile] royaldecreemods) wrote in [community profile] royalooc2026-04-07 12:19 pm
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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.
boneafide: (pic#10123483)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-08 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
I didn't mean to surprise you, sometimes I forget how often I'm quiet as a mouse!!

[He says, while yelling.]

What do you see in the puddle?
retethered: (14.05 | saans le)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-08 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
Well, like, a twilight sky? Which is weird 'cause, y'know. [ She gestures up at the actual sky, which is a fairly clear afternoon blue. ]
boneafide: (4)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-08 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, let me see!

[He looks back into the puddle, and sure enough, it's a twilight sky.]

Wow. I could watch this for hours. It's like a TV, but flat and on the floor, and has only one channel.
retethered: (14.05 | sun on my skin)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-08 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ Simran nods sagely. ] I'm always saying this about magical puddles that show only one image that isn't the actual reflection they're supposed to reflect.

[ She gives him a look over and...man, that sure is a skeleton. And that means only one thing:

It's time to tease out his backstory by asking innocuous questions and trying to figure stuff out through context clues!
]

So, uh, what's your name? I'm Simran.
Edited 2026-04-08 03:31 (UTC)
boneafide: (pic#9770160)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-08 10:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Nodding sagely in return, she's making absolute sense to him.]

Well, given that you're a human, I'll forgive that you don't already know who I am. I am THE GREAT PAPYRUS. It's nice to meet you!

Since we're asking questions, I have a few too, like... "where is the Princess?" and "have you seen my brother?"
retethered: (14.05 | so poetic)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-08 11:45 am (UTC)(link)
Neat! I'm gonna just call you Papyrus for short. Um, the princess is in the castle—I mean, probably, I haven't checked, but they're there most days. And then I probably haven't seen your brother? Assuming he's also a skeleton man like you. If he looks like, more fleshy, then you're gonna have to get specific about his appearance. [ Papyrus is kind of an odd name for...well, for anybody, really. ] What's his name? B...Broadsheet?
boneafide: (pic#9770156)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-10 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
He's a skeleton like me, except shorter and rounder! Much easier to roll around!

[ Normal ways to describe a brother. ]

Broadsheet? No, that's a newspaper. That'd be ridiculous! His name is Sans.
retethered: (14.05 | saans le)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-10 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
What's ridiculous about being named after paper? You're named after paper, and you seem...

[ Simran stops. ]

Well, uh, no, I haven't seen a short round skeleton anywhere. Just a tall thin one. Who's you. What do you wanna talk to the princess for, though? Just to look for Sans, or something else?
boneafide: (pic#9728051)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-11 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not named after paper! I'm named according to a long standing family tradition!

They sent me fan mail! Of course, I had to find it buried under all my other fan mail I get, but they asked for my expertise on love and I couldn't turn down such a request!!
Edited 2026-04-11 12:04 (UTC)
retethered: (14.05 | sun on my skin)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-11 12:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, yeah, that's how all of us advisors got invited too. But they're kinda hands-off in practice? You'll get a quick intro, but it's like they want us to show our expertise by demonstration, like. Dating and having romantic experiences and stuff.

What kinda expertise do you have, actually? You dated lots of folks? [ What is the skeleton dating scene like... ]
boneafide: (pic#10122549)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-11 01:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I have tons of experience from the one date I've been on! It was very informative for lasting about seven minutes!
retethered: (15.09 | fikr nahin)

1/2

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-11 01:33 pm (UTC)(link)
retethered: (15.09 | phir bhi sawaal jayi)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-11 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Wwwwwwwhat did you learn? On this like, one seven-minute date?
boneafide: (pic#10123483)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-11 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
No matter how much you want it to happen, you can't force love. It has to spring forth, naturally, like a fish from a stream!
retethered: (14.05 | saans le)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-11 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
...you know what? You're actually so real for that, dude. That is good advice.

I think part of the princess' problem, though, is they feel like they have to have romantic love to like, be a good queen...so if you can't force love, then I guess Rosavelle will be forced to have a mid queen? Or Calanthe could abdicate, I guess, switch to a republic or something. But I haven't suggested that yet 'cause I dunno if it'll be offensive.
boneafide: (pic#9800218)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-11 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Hmmmmmm. This is... complicated...

[ He's not good at politics. ]
retethered: (14.09 | reh na jana gum re)

[personal profile] retethered 2026-04-11 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Hopefully your expertise can help them here, too... [ Simran pats Papyrus' shoulder in calm solidarity, and tries not to giggle too much. It's probably kind of mean to let him run away with the idea that he's a genius at this, but: it's so funny. ]
boneafide: (pic#9800225)

[personal profile] boneafide 2026-04-11 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ A little encouragement goes a long way, and he immediately cheers up. ]

You're right!! I'm an expert in love and romance, and I can be an expert in politics and government too if I need to be! That's what someone GREAT would do!