Test Drive Meme #4: Season of Ripening

[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!

---

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)

Comments

Noelle Holiday | Deltarune

[holigay]

[ For the uninitiated: Noelle is, in fact, a teenage reindeer girl. She's rather tall for a teenage girl - a bit under 6 foot, but taller if counting her antlers. She has short brown fur and long blond hair, and a red nose. ]

[ P. Puddle Predictions ]

[ The rain has only just finished pouring down, but it has, at least, finished. The puddles left underfoot reflect a stormy gray sky only just beginning to clear up.

Except... one of them doesn't. Instead, it shows a gentle snowfall coming down within its reflection.

Noelle is crouched down next to it, pausing to look in the puddle, then up to the sky, and then back down, as if trying to puzzle this one out. Around her, people are finding other puddles with odd reflections, but Noelle is still on hers until somebody else approaches. ]

U-Um, excuse me...? [ She flounders here for a moment before finally just gesturing to the puddle. ] Do you see it too?

[ C. Canal Critter Convoys ]

[ The rain-swollen canals have left the streets... livelier than normal.

Noelle can be found near a market stall, one that seemed to have been selling sea shells. But there's a new addition to the stall - a rather large and intimidating crab.

Noelle seems to be trying to gently suggest it exit the stall. The crab seems to have other plans. ] N-no, not that way... Come over this way, please...! Back into the water?

[ The crab sidesteps, then seems to turn to look at Noelle. She hesitates and reaches for it, but quickly withdraws her hand when the crab snaps a claw menacingly.

This is around when she notices somebody else nearby. Her face flushes, but she looks mortified. ] Fahaha... it's... not listening.

[ W. Wet Waiting Watching ]

[ The downpour came fast, and without warning.

Noelle stands just under the protection of an overhang, watching the rain hammer everything from the tarp overhead to the streets around her. There's no chance of heading out there without becoming absolutely soaked in moments - and that's doubly annoying when you have fur.

After a few moments, she seems to realize she's not alone here. ] O-Oh, um... Sorry, I didn't realize anybody else was here. [ She gazes out to the rain for a moment before turning to her new companion with a weak smile. ] It looks like we might... be stuck here for a while.

W

[2001nights]

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhh.....

[NiGHTS apparently had tried going out into the rain, but from the looks of things it didn't go well. Their whole body is soaked and dripping onto the floor beneath the overhang, ruining however dry it could've been with the looming moisture out there.

Before they respond, they grip one half of the jester hat(?) they're wearing and wring it out onto the floor with both hands.]

This is so boring. It's not even the good kind of rain you can jump around in.

[holigay]

[ Noelle had NOT thought anybody would actually... go out in that rain. But, well, this person is obviously a monster, and some monsters were weird like that. Or aquatic. But apparently this one wasn't?

You know what? She's not going to try and figure this one out. ]

Y, yeah. It's, uh, pretty bad rain.

[ A slight pause. ] Are you gonna be... okay?

[2001nights]

I'm fine, I'm fine...nothing-[Wringing out the other half.]-nothing wrong with me. Except I'm drenched.

[They also shake off their whole body and feel

a little better.]

Any idea when this is gonna stop?

[holigay]

I, uhh...

[ Noelle glances outside, and tries to channel her inner weatherman....

. . . . . . . ]

No idea. Sorry...

I'd offer you an umbrella, but... I guess if I had one, I'd be using it anyway....

Puddle Predictions | Akane Tendo | Ranma 1/2

[mahjongheart]

See what--

[She pauses, and kneels down into the street to look at the picture.]

[Given it's months in advance, most likely, Akane sees...]

[... A guy in a dragon-themed outfit and his two buddies?]

... Huh.

[holigay]

[ Noelle is peering at Akane, curious. Congrats, Akane, have one tall, awkward, anxious reindeer girl. ] You, uhh... You do see it, right?

I'm not going crazy? Please tell me I'm not going crazy...

[mahjongheart]

I do, but... why is there a weird man?

[She looks around. Thankfully the streets are Herbless.]

[holigay]

[ Noelle nods for a moment, then abruptly stops, turns, and stares at the human. ]

Weird... what?

Are... are you seeing things...? It's snow...! [ She gestures futilely at the puddle. There's obviously no snow around, though. ]

C

[uncommonsense]

[ haruhi's starting to learn that crabs in rosavelle kinda suck! the frost crabs stealing stuff, now this one deciding it owns this booth?

hrm. ]

I have an idea. I'll go get a broom.

[ the obvious answer. ]

[holigay]

[ O-Oh, another human...?

She blinks at the offered solution. A broom is... well, it certainly is a solution.... Maybe too much of one? ] Y-You're not going to hurt it, right?

[ She glances back to the crab. It SNIP SNIPs with its claws, making Noelle cringe back a little more. ] I mean, it's not... hurting anyone...

And besides, I think it already doesn't like me very much...

[uncommonsense]

[ haruhi blinks, shaking her head. ]

No, just give it a small push. Like, telling it to move along, but not being extra forceful about it.

[ simple. right? ]

[holigay]

O, oh! Right. Of course. That makes sense!

[ Assuming the crab plays along... well, it might be ornery, and a little bit big, but it's still only a crab, right? ]

Let's do it...!


. . .

Where do we get a broom?

puddle

[nightwild]

[Yayoi barely bats an eye at the giant reindeer. Instead, she looks at the puddle, and...

Lifts one foot, and stomps on it as hard as she can, sending water flying everywhere.]

Doesn't seem like it's some kind of mirror dimension or something, so it's probably fine.

[holigay]

E-Eh!? A mirror dimension!? Was that, was that even a possibility???

[ This isn't like that... Dark World or whatever.... which was just a dumb dream anyway. ]

[nightwild]

Maybe?

... Actually, probably not in Rosavelle. There's nothing dangerous here, just weird.

w

[peacewithouttyranny]

[She's forgiven for not noticing the 5'1" small human, huddled with his arms folded across the chest, shivering. There's a scowl on his face - less directed at Noelle, but more towards the heavy rain that forced him to stay under a protection. Soundwave chooses not to say anything until Noelle notices him. Even when his presence has been acknowledge, he simply lets out a small grunt in response to her apology.

Not a very talkative one, evidently. That said, he does speak more after her comment on the rain.]

Likely so. Infuriating... And this body of mine is too weak that it couldn't handle the rain.

[Which might just be a strange thing to say.

He sniffles. If she takes a closer look, she might notice that he is utterly drenched and dripping from head to toe, a puddle gradually forming under him, nose just as red as his crimson eyes. Someone here thought he could go up against the weather and win.]

[holigay]

[ "This body of mine"... "too weak"....? Noelle blinks at the phrasing, but puts it together wrong - it reminds her of the way some people with health problems talk about themselves at the hospital, so that's where her mind goes.

But... well, it's not really her business to push. Especially on something like that. ]

Oh, it's really bad right now, I don't think anybody is going to handle this kind of rain very well...

[ Still, she looks over this human and her heart aches, they look so miserable and wet.. ] Would you, um, like to borrow my sweater? It's dry, and probably warmer than... you know... [ Wet clothes. ]

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Wet, cold, trembling. He'd rather be anywhere warm right about now, but that's impossible to do until the rain calms down. All he can do now is quietly huddle and seethe in place.

But then he gets a nice offer, which... surprises him? It's rare to see such kindness, but maybe that's just how it is in this world.]

No, I will be fine. I can at least handle this.

[No, he can't. It's not particularly convincing with how much he's shivering and sniffling, too. He's simply too stubborn and proud to be asking or accepting any help, even when he knows he's still unused to a human body.]

P

[kriskross]

[ sometimes they like the rain. they tend to have trouble sleeping, and that steady tapping against the windows and roof helps lull them to their rest. it's not like the floral sun, revealing so much it's hard to see. and after, the comforting smell of petrichor. they carry an umbrella and wear sturdy boots as they traipse through the town, just taking in the atmosphere.

but then they see her, the girl who brings with her years of guilt and complicated feels and mourning for what they've both lost. their eyes go saucer-wide. their voice is soft and almost disbelieving. is this even real? ]

...N-Noelle? You're here? You're... wow. Uh... um.

[holigay]

[ Noelle is simply looking at the snow from within the puddle, marveling at how it's possible, or at least idly curious. So it's no surprise she doesn't notice somebody approach, even with their sturdy boots.

It's impossible to ignore that voice though. ] K-Kris??? [ She basically shoots up, turning in surprise. ] You're here, too!?

[ ...Does that mean Kris also got a letter?

..........Does that mean the princess wants Kris to help them understand relationships better? Huh... well, that's an... interesting choice! ]

[kriskross]

[ yeah, they see the snow. snow falling from a starry sky. they can almost hear their dad and rudy competing to see who can sing carols louder between sips of hot chocolate. (and somehow it was always dess that was the winner in the end)

they scratch their head, and shrug. ]

Been here a couple months. Free vacation, right?

[ and for once they aren't wearing their brothers baggy hand-me-downs. they're in jeans and a pale blue cable-knit sweater, with a newsboy cap over their shaggy mop of hair. fashionable! they look a bit less tired than usual. no eyebags, clear complexion, slouching a little less. has kris actually been taking care of themself? ]

...Didn't expect to see anybody from home.

[ it feels uncanny, seeing somebody who belongs to that world. much less somebody that's been hard to talk to for years now. ]

W

[roundofavalon]

Hm? Oh! Aha, yeah, it sure came down hard, didn't it...

[ Noelle can be forgiven for not noticing Artoria at first... because Artoria hadn't even noticed Noelle joining her under the tarp, since she's currently focused on something else. Specifically, waving her big glowing staff so that the tip traces a circle above her head... ]

Well, you might just be in luck! I might have a solution! As soon as I can finangle this spell into working, that is...

[ Artoria herself is similarly soaked. She has a spell for protection against the weather, sure, but only for a specific area... the kind of spell you use for when you're camping outdoors, not on the move. Now tried to improvise a spell on the spot that'd keep the rain off of her, but it didn't work and she had to run for cover instead. ]

Mnn... it's not really working the way I want it do... maybe I should just brute-force it...?

[ What does it mean to "brute-force" something in magic? ]

[holigay]

A... spell? As in, like, magic? Like in Dragon Blazers?

[ She watches Artoria work her craft in awe. At least until- ] W, wait... What do you mean.... "Brute force it"....?

[roundofavalon]

Mmhm, magecraft! Sure, there's bloomcraft here, but I've been practicing this my whole life, so...

[ What's Dragon Blazers...? Eh, not important. ]

Well, I'm trying to give myself a protection against water, but it isn't lasting long enough... but if that doesn't work out I could always just make a barrier above my head and try booking it! Sounds simple, but I feel tired just thinking about it...

[ She'd use up a lot of magical energy and she'd be running at the same time. ]