royalooc | Test Drive Meme #1: Season Of Wilting

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Test Drive Meme #1: Season Of Wilting

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 Season of Wilting settles over Rosavelle with a pretty healthy chill. Early in the season, the snowfall is light – just enough to dust the rooftops, lace the bridges, and gather along the edges of the canals. It's cold, but not biting, with most days bringing crisp air and still skies. But as the weeks progress, the cold deepens, and by mid-season, snow is piling up and most of the kingdom's blooms have begun hibernating for the cold season.

Throughout Wilting, expect soft snowfall most days, with the occasional flurry sweeping in from the Azurite Sea. The canals rarely freeze completely thanks to the island's magic, but the bridges can get icy, so tread carefully. The skies tend to stay clear, but a few soft snowstorms pass through. By the end of Wilting, the cold reaches its peak. The days are short, the nights come early, and most people tuck themselves into warm taverns and candle-lit shops to escape the chill.

But that doesn't mean there's not plenty to do around the kingdom! It's been a little while since your arrival in Rosavelle - just enough for you to start settling into the comings and goings of life around the kingdom and you should know by now that when folks are in need across the island, everyone pitches in to help!

PROMPTS

Mind The Gap

Looks like one of the canal bridges is out of service for the time being! A decorative footbridge reacted particularly badly to the icy weather and collapsed. Thankfully no one's been hurt, but it does mean that easy access to the other side of this particular canal has been cut off. And the detour routes? Unsurprisingly, they're packed! Some handy helpers are trying to alleviate the situation, so it might be nice to contribute towards their efforts by giving strangers a boost across the canals or otherwise trying to organize a replacement bridge. Whatever you're up to, you'll have to deal with being stuck on this half of Menthward somehow!
Fruity Flotsam

Fruits on the loose! A boat full of produce tipped over, and now fruits and veggies of all kinds are bobbing down the canal like runaway balloons. Normally this wouldn't be such a terrible problem, but this deep into Wilting the water's way too cold to just dive in and scoop them out! It's up to you and a partner to chase them down – whether by boat, on foot, or even from the bridge with a net – and rescue as many as you can before they float out into the sea and are never seen again. Or maybe instead of teamwork, you'll opt to get competitive about the whole thing! In any case, once they’re returned to their rightful place, the vendor might see fit to reward you and your fellow helpers with a warm drink, a tasty snack, or even a discount on your next basket for your troubles!
Dockside Detectives

somehow.

By The Bonfire's Glow

It might be cold down by the water, but to warm everyone's spirits a bit, an impromptu bonfire has been lit up on the beach and everyone's invited! There's meat, fish, and veggies by the bucketful to roast by the fire, and some mulled wine in case the fire isn't quite toasty enough for you. There's gossip and local stories galore (some definitely less based in fact than others), and everyone's in high spirits, which makes it a perfect opportunity to break the ice a little. Challenge a friend to a contest of who can tell the most unbelievable story, test your skills to see who can roast the best goodies without dropping their food into the fire or team up to keep the flames fed with driftwood gathered along the shore. Whether you're competing, sharing secrets, or just quietly soaking in the glow, the night is alive with possibility!
Petal Panic

and

Paint the Town

A local painter is starting up a for-funsies communal mural project: help design, paint, or charm the flowers that will decorate Primavain's central square. If you're not the artistic type, you can help out with clearing the square of all the snow currently in the way or just wrangle supplies and keep the cocoa flowing for everyone else. However, once the canvas is clear, there's plenty of supplies free for everyone to borrow and use. Whether you’re painting seriously, messing around, or heckling your friends’ brushwork, it's a nice excuse to mingle.
Snowball Showdown

There's a snowy skirmish going up in the hills! What started as a playful snowball scuffle between some noble kids has snowballed (literally) into a Bellvine-wide winter free-for-all. The flower-draped balconies are raining snow, enchanted snowballs are flying through the air, and even some of the stuffier residents have been pulled in to defend their honor. With this many people lobbing this much snow around, the lines between playful rivalry and outright chaos are getting blurry! If you've got decent aim – or you really just don't want to lose – it's the perfect time to jump in!
The Errant Envelope

Someone's enchanted love letter got caught in a stray gust of wind - and unfortunately for them, the charm meant to guide it discreetly to its recipient has completely backfired. Now the poor thing is zipping wildly around Bellvine Hill, swooping past balconies, diving between flowerbeds, and expertly dodging every grabby hand along the way. To make things worse, the streets are icy from the snowfall, so chasing it means slipping, sliding, and probably landing flat on your back if you're not careful. The trouble doesn’t stop once you catch it, either - reading even a few words might stir up fluttery feelings and an irresistible urge to flirt with whoever happens to be in front of you! It's going to take teamwork (and maybe a little magic) to snag it before it blows right through someone's window – or worse, into the wrong person's hands.

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm pretty sure there's no motorcycle laws here, so hurry up and get on.

[COMPLETELY IGNORING THE FIRST PART]

We are going to jail. We are going to go to fantasy jail for driving a motorcycle without a license and they're going to kick me out of the country.

[ ...he's still getting on, though. firm commands tend to have that effect. ]

They'd have to catch us first. Keep talking and you'll bite your tongue.

[VROOM

The ride is, well. Almost impossibly smooth. This bike must have ungodly good suspension. And if Venus is looking at the dashboard, it... doesn't seem to have an ignition key? It's got a weird magatama-shaped indent where one should go. The dashboard also is lit up in a way that seems... pretty unique? It's got the normal meters and everything, but it doesn't seem to have a fuel meter. And it's got some other weird symbols.

Basically, this is a very unique, special bike. Which, no shit, she brought it out of a little trinket.]

[ well. yeah? no duh? she's obviously some sort of scout. like, one of the ACTUAL scouts, the ones with radios with accoutrements and crystodyne diodes and motorcycles evidently.

...he doesn't say a word. he really is trying. instead, he focuses on holding onto fauna with one nervous arm and fiddling at the radio in his lap with the other. shifting wires, changing spots, making sure it's active and ready to go. ]

[She can't tell exactly what Venus is doing back there. But if it's getting ready for whatever's to come, then it's helpful. Still...]

... I don't get the feeling there's a fight waiting for us. If things were dangerous, that princess would've said something.

Right! Right. I know that.

[ just gonna skip over the part where he may have met someone who was already the devil, or the way they moved without moving, and talked about cutting out memories and oblivion. obviously. ]

But, uh- I can't really do much to help without it?

Yeah, that's fine. Get ready with whatever it is you do.

[Good thing Yayoi can't read his narration!]

I can't swim, so it's gonna be difficult for me.

I.

Wait won't you just be another person drowning then.

I'm not going in the water.

Wait, you're not putting ME in the water, are you?

I dunno. We can't plan until we get there.

Can you swim?

If I say yes, can you promise you won't throw me in?

I'm not going to throw you in unless it's part of your plan.

Oh! Okay.

[ phew! what a relief. ]

...also I'm not very good at swimming.

Same here, so...

[VRRRRRM. She suddenly brakes, seeing the boat tipped over in the distance. And... Yeah, there's people in the water. Splashing in the freezing water. It doesn't look good!

Shit. What should she do? What can she do? Without giving away her transformation, nothing. Even if she does transform...]

Do you have anything you can do?

Oh. Oh, jeez, I'm not- I'm not really any good with this kind of thing? I... I guess I could, um...

[ he looks just. utterly lost. but second by second, he fidgets his way into a plan, and when his hands finally grip onto the coils of the radio he says- ]

I'm, uh... I'm going to try and enhance the wiring. So people can grab it. I don't want to call too much light, since it might hurt to touch, but if I just use a little...?

[Light... calling light? An idea starts to form.]

If you can make light, can you make darkness, too?

[ unfortunately for yayoi: ]

What? No. That'd be a completely different thing. [ after a moment: ] And also, probably evil? I feel like I'd have heard if any of the Scouts had dark powers by now...

It's not-

[It's not the time to be having this discussion! Yayoi grimaces.]

Extend your wires. As far as they go. I'll get people attached to them.

No, I mean. It'd definitely look evil, at least. You wouldn't be able to get any sort of TV deal like that-

OH JEEZ RIGHT SORRY.

[ it's strange, how quickly his hands move. one moment, he's thinking about tv deals, and the next there's a sudden flare of light. it's not much - not too bright, nothing painful to the eyes - but the wires coiled around his arm stretch, stiffen, reach forward towards the stranded seafarers. ]

Right. Um. [ what do you say in a moment like this. aren't scouts supposed to have a catchphrase. ] Just. Grab tight???

[ and then venus tries to toss the wires forward. it is an absolutely pathetic throw. just complete dogshit.

but at least it's close enough for survivors to grab, now. ]

And... Don't you dare say a word of this to anyone.

Awakening!

[Yayoi moves- Strange. A mirror on her wrist, she moves it to slot in on her belt. Was that mirror or belt there a second ago? It's hard to say, but... Now she's slamming in a purple magatama into that wrist device.

Two large mirrors materialize on either side of her. In one mirror, the image of an owl appears. In the other, the image of a ninja, brandshing a shuriken. And Yayoi herself is enshrouded in a cloud of darkness... and then, the mirrors shatter. As the mirrors shatter, there's vicious slashes, rending the darkness apart, and-]

[And Yayoi is gone. Like no one was there. But instead- There's a figure. Clad in violet, an owl mask on her face. Running along Venus' wires as though she weighs nothing- Then running along the surface of the water. Black wings spread from her back- Then she stands, only one talon from her clawed feet touching the water's surface as she drags someone's body, wrapping Venus' wire around it.

Then she rushes off once more, to the next one. Never swimming, but running along the surface of the water, attaching the lines to anyone who needs it.]

[ okay! okay, that's a lot to take in. the girl's gone, and she definitely had darkness powers, so he's probably going to need to apologize about that when they next get the chance, and none of that matters because holy fuck she has a transformation sequence holy shit oh my god and she's a ninja????? asian scouts get to do this???? ]

You can just run on water????

[ oh god people are starting to pull on the line. venus crouches a bit more, trying to set himself so that people can reliably pull towards him. ]

[She makes a bunch of Ninja Hand Seals (TM), before running again. Then she just... grabs the last one who isn't hooked up to Venus, and then leaps out of the water. She flaps the wings on her back, and ends up back on the shore, setting the person down...]

Forget that for now! Do you have the rest of them okay?

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