(no subject)

[godsoffortune]

TEST DRIVE # 07



Whether you're trying to figure out how your character would fare in this setting, trying to get some samples together, or just dipping your toes in the water, you've come to the right place! The Test Drive is here to make your life easy by letting you see what the game is like without actually joining it first. So here is how it works:

1: Post a starter with your character, including whether they are a god or shinki in the subject line.
2: Act like your character is established enough in the setting to allow your thread to go places.
3: Take on any god/shinki of your choosing, as long as they're not already in the game!
4: Comment around to the other people on the meme.
5: Have lots of fun!

To get you started, here are some ideas for thread-starters! Feel free to come up with your own ideas if these don't strike your fancy, though.



Echoing Endlessly

Many people in the area are complaining about a strange echo following them around. It never seems to go away and, in fact, collects more and more echoes with each passing moment, creating a cacophony of sound. There have been reports of a few people slowly going crazy because of this echoing. It's your job to find what's causing it and put an end to the echoes!

French Frenzy

The new craze has swept over the city! Everything French is so in right now, and everyone wants something newer and Frenchier to make them stand out from the crowd. Just your luck, you happen to have something very French you can peddle - or maybe you can convince someone just how French your very Japanese things are!

Gateway Guardians

A very strange old shinki has left you with a very simple request: guard this door and don't let anyone through. It looks like a totally normal door on a totally normal house! You might be curious to peek through it, but it's locked and you were told not to go through yourself either...

Helping Hands

There's an ayakashi roaming around that is literally just hundreds of hands that randomly grab people and things and move them around before disappearing. The odd thing is that they are... actually doing good things? Maybe it's a scheme to suck people into a plagued afterlife without being caught, or maybe they just really want to help people out.

Irksome Illusions

There's a certain street in the downtown area that has some of the craziest rumors being spread about it. Apparently going down this street will just bring you back to the entrance, but when you turn around to head back you'll only find yourself at the entrance again. Moreover, there are a lot of creepy things that whisper and appear as you walk, more with each turn you make...



If you're uncertain about anything, feel free to check out the Premise, Rules, and FAQ posts. And don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have on the FAQ!
When and if you're ready to join the game, check out the Taken Characters before throwing in a Reserve and starting on your Application
Have fun!

Comments

Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss | Shinki

[fontechnician]

French Frenzy

[Guy wasn't sure where exactly his god had managed to get his hands on so much junk in the first place, just that he wasn't around to ask and it was Guy's job to get rid of said junk somehow. As much of it as he could, anyway, which did turned out to be much harder than it sounded. Half of it was legitimate French imports, but stuff like trinket boxes and fairly uninteresting keychains and the other half was clearly Japanese-made knockoffs.

Still, he tried to catch the attention of anyone who came close enough and tried not to look too bored the rest of the time.]

Hey! Can I interest you in anything?

'Helpful' Ayakashi

[So ayakashi were bad, right? And needed to be gotten rid of, right? Unfortunately, this particular one didn't seem particularly bad, nor did Guy really have any way to get rid of it. It was simply hanging out on a small stretch of sidewalk like a strange multi-armed bush, occasionally stretching out an arm to...nudge someone away from an obstacle or pull an inattentive jaywalker back onto the sidewalk.

As an experiment, he draws a line, blocking one of the hands, which smacks against the barrier once, hesitates, and then shoots towards him instead. It's not a very fast attack and he sidesteps it, drawing another borderline.]

Okay, I get it, you want to help.

Helpful Aya--er

[blizzardrock]

I sure do! [He hasn't spotted the ayakashi yet. Somehow.]

... What did you need help with, again?

French Frenzy

[whowasfon]

[Well, he caught the attention of a fellow shinki. Ion hasn't been roped into selling things yet, but he is interested in what everyone is so excited about.]

Oh, are these more collectibles from France? They're really popular these days.

[He picks up one of the knock off Eiffel tower key chains.]

I've been seeing a lot of things in this shape. Do you know what it is?

King | One-Punch Man | God

[kingengine]

Gateway Guardians
[This sounded like a simple job on paper. Something he would take on back home for how not-dangerous it sounded, but with the added bonus of it looking like he was humble enough of an S-Class hero to take on small-time jobs and garner more praise and reputation from civilians and lower-class heroes.

Anyone that tries to approach the door will come across him standing as tall and silently brooding as possible. Arms crossed, face sour. They will hear a peculiar rumbling sound that's actually his heartbeat but is so outrageously loud it sounds supernaturally frightening--and maybe it was, now that he was technically a god? Either way, if his intimidation techniques don't work and someone tries to get past, they will find he is quite a pushover, even as a god.]


Irksome Illusions
[He hadn't come to this street on purpose. Well, he had, he was heading somewhere and this street was part of the route, but he hadn't come to this street for the purpose of solving the mystery. In fact, he had somehow entirely missed the memo about this street being haunted. If he had gotten that memo he would have avoided it entirely.

At first he's lost in a street that seems to never end, mysterious voices whispering incomprehensibly, making him more and more freaked out. He finally reaches his limit and starts running, trailing sweat and maybe a tear or two as he sprints in terror--

--then suddenly he's barreling out where he had entered. He is so startled to be out in the familiar open he trips and falls into a crouch, hands bracing him down on the ground as he pants heavily. He sees a pair of feet appear before him, and realizing there's a witness, he composes himself enough to stand up almost nonchalantly. He wipes the sweat off his face, but in a way he hopes looked more manly than anything, like he is just taking a break from fighting whatever was causing this illusion.

He warns you:] I would recommend not going down that street.

Gateway Gaurdians

[mybadhabit]

[People Sonic expected to show up from his world: not this guy. Everyone knows motherfucking King, his face is practically plastered all over and his shitty merchandise is in almost every shop. He'd been so glad to be away from the Hero Association's relentless advertising, and now the asshole had the gall to show up here?]

[U g h]

[He doesn't care much about what's behind the door, but maybe if he sneers disdainfully at King enough, he'll provoke a fight out of him. The guy's bulky enough that he could be interesting, anyway]

Gateway Guardians

[shigeo]

[The noise is unnaturally loud, and it's actually that "King Engine" that piques Mob's interest the most. He approaches, looking up at King. He seemed really tall and intimidating, but he wasn't actually doing anything, so Mob just stared back at him before glancing at the door.]

What's in there?

[scrap_metal]

Why? Is there something dangerous going on? [ Genos eyes shine and change shape as he scans the area, but he can't pick up anything. Sadly, his scanners weren't made with supernatural in mind, and are useless in most of the situations. He takes a glance at the big guy next to him. Looks like whatever is there wasn't easy to fight off. ]

Neji Hyuuga | Naruto | Shinki

[tuishou]

Echoing Endlessly
[The real question is, where the hell is the god he serves and why did they decide to ditch him for the day.

What that means, of course, is that Neji's now stuck with some stranger- because _{let's be real} chances are he's made the most minimal efforts to be sociable and knowing other people's names is... hard, probably. Not worth his time, most likely. And no, whatever poor Far Shore resident had been heading in the general direction of the latest complaint isn't just going about their day in lovely solitude.

There's a boy leaping neatly from a rooftop right to their side. There's a careful, respectable distance (don't even try to swing your fists at him, thanks) he guards before turning those white eyes to the other to plainly ask-] What have you found so far? [--that's specific.]

French Frenzy
[No.

That's basically it.

Give this job to someone else; damn the consequences or the very real possibility of going hungry for the next day or five or twelve, Neji refuses to let this nonsense consume him. He doesn't know what France is but he already knows he doesn't care for it and, worse, the fad is so quickly becoming irritating. He's been given (and suddenly, he hates being given things) the task of selling some trinkets in a nice little stand in a busy, cutesy market. The trinkets are blatantly Japanese. The day's revenue is basically zero. Nobody's even interested in approaching. And

seriously, Neji couldn't care less. If the sun could sink below the horizon a little faster, that'd be great. Otherwise, he's nearly inanimate and clearly lacking the enthusiasm he'd been tasked to have. If someone so much as eyes the stand for longer than a handful of seconds, Neji's gaze will unwaveringly meet theirs. He'll raise a brow. His mouth will still be set in its stubborn, thin line.

He's great at this.]

Gateway Guardians
[Does this very impassive face look familiar to you because it... it's supposed to. He wears it a lot. Get used to it. Anyway, it's at least lacking the undercurrent of irritability this time. Count your blessings. No, Neji's too busy trying to keep from looking like the idiot he's now pegged himself as being. His arms are crossed casually across his chest, he's standing dutiful in front of that door with all the purpose and confidence in the world.

He has no idea what he's doing.

It hurts him on a very, very personal level.

Whoever approaches gets a quick, short question along with a small tilt of his head. Please help him...] Have you seen an old man around? [He's been here for hours...]

Parles-tu francais?

[hyuuga]

[Hinata couldn't help it; she loved being around humans more than she enjoyed being away. The fact that they couldn't see her ninety percent of the time never deterred her. It was all so refreshing.

So when the newest fad hit, it was even more of an incentive to go out and see what all the fuss was about. No matter that she may be a God now, she still loves all the cute, kitschy things.

She stops at each vendor, 'ooh'ing and 'aww'ing over most everything, indecisive when it comes to buying though. She still has all her money, having not found anything 'French' enough to actually buy.

That is...

Poor Neji. She smiles when she sees him from a distance before shaking her head. If anything, she really has to hand it to his God for keeping him on his toes and tossing him out of his stuffy comfort zone. And yet, he was still very much her Neji. But better. In some ways. Sometimes.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she casually strolls up to him with her smile only growing.]

I don't think you'll catch many customers like that. ['Nii-san', she has to stop herself from adding.]

Shin-ah | Akatsuki no Yona | Shinki

[maskeddragon]

Irksome Illusions

[People said this street had no escape. That if you walked it, you would only find yourself at the entrance, whichever way you looked, and that creepy things appeared. Shin-ah wouldn’t know; he didn’t see them. There was something there, something unnatural that whispered and haunted, but the street was exactly as it should be to his eyes. He saw the beginning, and he saw the end.

He also sees another person. A soul lost inside the illusion, unable to find their way out, or a hesitant traveler who wishes to cross but fears the rumors. His approach is calm, quiet, and with an air of gentle sobriety. Wordlessly, he offers his hand. Take it, and let him lead you to the light.

Somehow, it feels like a familiar job.]

[razzledazzles]

[In this case, it feels more than familiar. From the moment Shin-ah had arrived, Jae-Ha had felt a pulling at his heart, very similar to when he'd first met Kija. It doesn't lessen, and his searching for it had brought him here.

Here, where he sees a hand, and it's all he notices first. Blindly, he reaches out to take it, mystified.]

Hinata Hyuuga | Naruto | God

[hyuuga]

French Frenzy

[Normally, this would be the kind of job one gives their shinki, but she couldn't bear to. If they needed some money and also needed to get rid of some things (that may or may not fit in with this new trend), then wasn't that really her responsibility?]

Um, hello. Won't you--

[And if she can't catch anyone's attention enough to actually be seen by them, then that's her fault too.

She sighs.]

Maybe I should have listened... And start changing my clothing when I come here, at least.. Or make signs...



Gateway Guardians

[Though the old shinki seemed mostly legitimate (can anyone who asks you to guard something without peeking or knowing why be fully legitimate?), and it seems like one of the easiest jobs she's taken on, guarding a mysteriously normal door was difficult.

Because while she takes her jobs seriously, trying to follow them to the letter, the curiosity is overwhelming. Why this door? Why this house? What is he hiding?

All questions that needed answers!

She sighs.]

Perhaps I should have asked more questions first. Before I agreed to this.

[She sits down, her back against the door. That's another thing she forgot: guard duty was the boring duty.]



Other

[Want to do a different prompt? Something entirely different? Feel free! I'm ota.]

omelette du fromage

[oathkeeper]

[Sora agrees with everyone he's seen today that this French thing is pretty hilarious. What's even more hilarious is the jobs they've been getting to sell stuff that's Nippon as Francais instead.

When he's passing by and sees Hinata struggling he decides to pop over and see if he can help.]

Hey there, you doing okay? Sometimes it helps if you use your really loud outside voice, then they start hearing you!

Fon Master Ion | Tales of the Abyss | Shinki

[whowasfon]

French Frenzy

[Ion has been told about the latest craze to hit the streets, but it still seems a little baffling. In the first place, France is not a thing where he comes from. And the array of things people are claiming to be 'French' are so diverse that it's difficult to work out what this mysterious culture is really like. But maybe one of those friendly 'salesmen' can help.]

France must be a very interesting place. Can you tell me anything about it?


Helping Hands

[It's encouraging to think there might be ayakashi that would rather help people than hurt them. Sure it could be a trap, but Ion prefers to be optimistic.

Still... this does seem to be a loose definition of 'helping.' Possibly it doesn't realize that mysteriously moving objects are likely to either frustrate or frighten people? At any rate, Ion is going to try to communicate with it.]

Pardon me, but could I have a moment of your time?

[He is literally talking to the hand cause the face ain't listening right now. He'll be lucky if the thing doesn't have him for breakfast.]

Need a hand?

[commoncurtissy]

[Jade sees him talking to the hands and wonders what he could think that will accomplish.]

I don't think it can lend you an ear. It appears to be all thumbs.

[Ha]

severa | fire emblem awakening | shinki

[ambivaliant]

gateway guardians
[This door was the most boring thing she has ever had to guard in her life, and this is counting some of the things she and her friends would play around with when they were really young. Ugh, an obvious lifetime ago, and Severa really doesn't want to let her thoughts stray back that much.

Spying someone coming her way, Severa gets up from where she had been resting and steps ahead of them, coming between them and the door and flips one of her long pigtails over her shoulder before putting her hands on her hips.]

Uh, no. Can't go there, try somewhere else.


irksome illusions
[Severa was in the middle of inspecting her nails by the time someone else showed up, foot tapping a bit impatiently, and she doesn't even acknowledge for the first few minutes until they take off together down the street. The dam finally bursts after hardly five steps in, when she turns to look at them with a scowl.]

Do you know how long I was waiting? I could easily have done this myself, but no, someone insisted that it's bad to go alone along this part because of the rumors! [o she mad. good luck.]


(ooc: if you would like to make your own starter, please feel free to go ahead!)

illusions!

[gentilitea]

[ Excuse you, are you implying that he’s late? Girl, please. ]

You are simply early. [ Ugh, why was he assigned to her as a partner to begin with? If there’s any exorcisms that need to be done he can damn well do it on his own. ]

And, in any case, you are still quite new at this. I have simply been instructed to make this an appropriate learning experience for one such as you.

Ren | Fragile Dreams | Shinki

[catpiper]

Helping Hands

[Here is +1 useless person attempting to do what they're supposed to and failing miserably. It's apparent she doesn't want to be anywhere near this place and she's hiding behind a nearby bench, peeking over the top to watch what the ayakashi does. It's good? It's bad? Either way, it's scary looking and her big solution to the problem is to throw her shoe at it before ducking behind cover again. Not bothering to aim before the throw, it may miss its mark entirely and hit someone unintended. Oops.]

French Frenzy

It's treasure!

[Maybe this started out with her having to sell French products, but it's ended in a very different differently. Instead of anything useful, there's a bunch of products that look like they came out of the garbage can. Half torn hamburger wrappers, a dirty sneaker and a broken bike chain. A nearby sign has a poorly written and nearly indistinguishable 'French Sale' on it. She seems more interested in displaying the product over selling it. With a look of pride, she stares down at her items like they're long lost children.]

Lots of treasure.

Mileena | Mortal Kombat X | god or shinki

[forgottenempress]

GOD // Echoing Endlessly

[ Hearing weird voices and echoes does nothing to Mileena on the creepy angle. When your earliest memories comes from flesh pits and Outworlds palace, weird sounds are things you're used to.

What gets to her is the duty to find and eliminate source of those voices. ]

I don't have time for this. [ She screeches with annoyance. Really, she has no patience for this job. ]

Show yourself! [ In one swift motion she draws the sais, from where they are strapped on her back. And turns around to face you, in combat-ready stance. ]



SHINKI // Helping Hands

[ This is curious. No one is doing anything about these little things, because they seem to do more good than harm, and Mileena almost expects it to be the smoke screen. She's perched on lowest branch of a massive tree and observing everything. That's until she gets enough of it, and jumps down. ]

What a boring spectacle, they're really just helping.

[ From her tone one could infer she hoped they eventually did something else. Like, strangle someone, or whatever ]

helping hands

[ex_savor573]

[Despite having some time to adjust to godhood, Kaneki remains planted firmly on the ground. He does remain near the tree, just in case this weird ayakashi turns out to be hostile. Up to this point, he's never seen one just going about some menial task, entirely docile...

Even so, he doesn't think it's safe to just leave it there]

It'll blight anyone it touches. So far, I've only known things like this to be harmful.

[There's some reluctance in his voice, because he would like to expect better, but he's seen for himself. The ayakashi in the school could've killed so many students]

Saïx | Kingdom Hearts | Shinki

[saikusu]

[[ooc: feel free to change style/tense to whatever you're most comfortable with. I'm flexible.]]

Desperate Doggy (from TDM #6)

He doesn't remember that he doesn't have a heart. He doesn't remember he's not supposed to feel anything. So when Saïx noticed the spirit of a dog following him around, there was an instantaneous feeling of warmth. Of happiness. He smiled and bent down to get a better look at the barking dog. He'd always had a soft spot for dogs - not that he was aware of that fact now. Though, he felt it was safe to assume that he might have always liked them, especially as its insistent barking would probably annoy most people.

"Here boy," he said, his voice softer and kinder than anyone who knew him in his past life had likely ever witnessed. Unless, of course, they'd been present when he interacted with a dog or known him as Isa. As the spirit dog closed the space between them, Saïx reached out and started petting it.

This seemed to do nothing to calm the dog. It continued barking and began nudging his hand, which quickly turned into insistent shoving. "Did you lose your master?" he asked. Not that he expected to get a clear answer out of it, or for someone to be standing mere feet away watching his interaction with the spirit pup.

[doestheickyjobs]

Axel paused, watching the guy scritch at the dog's ears, and squinted. There was something just a little funny-looking about that dog. Maybe it was the color on its paws? The way it just bounced right up to a shinki for attention?

The fact that he could kind of see the blue-haired guy's hand through its ear?

"I think that's a ghost," he said, crossing his arms and staring in bemusement. Ghost dogs. What next?

Fuu Hououji | Magic Knight Rayearth | God

[phoenix_temple]

Echoes

[Hunting down the cause of the echoes is certainly a priority. But probably the first priority is making sure that no one else goes crazy first. Which is how Fuu can be found looking at headphones before what she would consider a very important mission.]

Maybe if they're listening to something else, the affected people would find it easier to ignore the echoes.

France Everywhere

[Look she's really easily pleased as she looks over stock.]

Umi-san would've liked a lot of this, I think. [She sighs.] It would be much easier to sell things like this if she was around...

Illusions

[Be logical about this, Fuu. She can be seen tying a strand of red yarn to a post at one end of the street.]

We can't get turned around if we have something linking us to the start! And even if we do, it might provide clues on how we're being transported! I think this ought to work, don't you?

France!

[kagenonadeshiko]

Umi-san?

[Ayumu glances up from the cute musketeer figurines she'd been inspecting.]

Is she a friend from home, Fuu-san?

Shinobu Sengoku | Ensemble Stars! | Shinki

[narutorun]

[hands off!]

[As a dedicated Shinki there's no way Shinobu would turn down a request from his master! If only it was anything other than hunting ayakashi. The only bright side is that it's just recon right now so he's wandering the streets looking for a certain handy monster.

His hands are balled up, held tight to his chest, as he trudges forward slowly. It seems like he's encouraging himself by mumbling aloud.]

To be entrusted with such an important mission by my commander is an honor! A ninja lives in the night always surrounded by shadows, as such I shouldn't tremble before a simple ghoul. To turn tail in fright would be a disgrace! A ninja holds fast!

[Slowly, he peeks his head around a corner.]

Brr, brr! A chill runs down my spine- Does the fiend draw near?!

[It's the middle of the day in Spring so there's hardly any chill but he's definitely springing back and hiding behind the closest person. So much for not running away. Sorry partner, whether you're a fellow Shinki or a God he's going to continue to be a complete mess.]

[bested by illusions]

[Shinobu became lost on this street a while ago. Not because he was walking in a loop like the illusion intended. Nope. It's because he climbed a tree to try and gain the height necessary to see the other end and now he's stuck. It's been a while.

Every time another walks by he musters up every ounce of his courage to call out but they're gone before he can manage to say anything. Maybe someone spots him and calls out first, maybe they've simply passed by enough that he's used to see them and calls out, or maybe it's been over an hour and he really needs to get out of this damn tree. Anyway.

He whips his hand out dramatically as he calls out.]

Halt, weary traveler! I mean not to take any time out of your day but I must make a shameful request- Please help me down.

[Yeah, he gets real embarrassed real fast at the end there. He looks on the verge of tears.]

hands you more hands

[no_7]

[Or maybe Shinobu's alone, for the time being, and the monologue combined with the springing back earns a,] W-what? Fiend? [in reply. The voice is definitely, uh. Not fiendish. It's a young boy, by the sound of it.]

Please don't run away! I'm not a monster, I just, um... Look like one.

[The skeleton boy floats in place, keeping his hands to himself, like this will help his case. Very harmless.]

Elise| Fire Emblem Fates | Shinki

[lilys_poise]

French Frenzy

[Elise was sent to sell some 'authentic' French trinkets herself, but may have gotten a little caught up in the fad.]

Wow! So this is a traditional French dinner? With french fries? They look so tasty! And it comes with a real french good luck charm?

[Elise this guy is literally just selling you a happy meal for double the price. Not that she knows that. She's thrilled to be getting such a good deal.]


Gateway Guardian

[Elise was asked to guard the door, and very confidently promised she'd keep it safe from intruders. Maybe she should have promised to keep it safe from herself...

In her defense, she was told that absolutely under no circumstances should she ever open that door. Ever. That would make anyone curious, right? And really, what's the harm in a quick little peek?

Ugh. But she did promise she wouldn't open it....

Oh! Wait! As long as she doesn't open the door, it's okay. Right?

Which miiiight be why the door 'guard' is crouched low to the ground trying to peek through the crack under the door.]

Oh, drat. It's too dark in there....


[A+ guarding there, princess...]

gateway!

[gentilitea]

Might I ask what you are doing? [ Really, this is a very undignified way for a princess to behave. Not that he actually remembers her as such. ]

Emil | Nier (gestalt) | shinki

[no_7]

[standing sentry]

I guess I make a good scarecrow... It's one way to keep people away! I can't really blame him.

[Scarecrows usually aren't so chatty, but Emil is more than content to keep talking to himself as long as he has to stand there. Other company would be appreciated, though, if anyone wants to get close to the cloaked skeleton keeping guard.]

[handy ayakashi]

Are we sure...?

[There was no doubt that what they'd seen was an ayakashi, for sure, so that's probably not what Emil's fretting over. His bony hands wring together to match his tone, unnerving smile staying firmly in place.]

It just...doesn't seem right. It's not hurting anyone! Maybe it doesn't want to, you know?

[wildcard stuff]

[listen, I'm bad at tdm scenarios.]

Handy Ayakashi

[lienhearts]

[Teo has absolutely no qualms with being paired up with some kid with a creepy smile. He's got two feet and he speaks; where Teo's from, that counts as human, along with all the dog and cat and zombie people alike. So on that front, at least, Emil doesn't have to worry about any weird looks.

It's just, you know, the things he chooses to say with that power of speech. He gives a sigh, one hand going to his head in exasperation.]

Emil.

Do you remember what gods and shinki are supposed to do here?

[Granted, he'd only learned it recently himself, but he's an old hand at picking up knowledge and running with it. It's a necessary skill, in a line of business like his.]

Kiruko Otonashi | Shinmai Fukei Kiruko-san | Shinki

[cutepolicewoman]

[GATEWAY GUARDIANS]
[Yes! A mission! Sure, it may sound simple, BUT THAT’S JUST WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK. … Probably! Kiruko hadn’t had much luck getting the shinki to elaborate on what exactly she was guarding so her imagination was left to fill in the details. Whatever it was, it was clearly important and so she was definitely going to guard the HECK out of it.

She looks quite eager to test out her new position and seems to be almost expectantly watching people as they pass. Anyone who gets even remotely close (like you, for instance!) is going to get flagged down with a wave and a cheery shout, regardless of what direction they're might actually have been going.]

Excuse me, citizen! Please go around! This area is off-limits!!!


[IRKSOME ILLUSIONS]
[So in a spooky illusion street full of creepy sights and sounds, it might be easy to overlook hearing something a mumbling and crying girl. It’s a lot harder to overlook the actual girl, though, especially when she's crouched in a ball in the middle of said street, covering her head with her hands and whimpering.

When you approach, she lifts her head cautiously, just enough to get a peek.]

Who’s there!? A-Another one? Nngghhaa, just go away already! I...I'm warning you!! I wanna go hoo~ome...


[WILDCARD]
[Neither of those sendin' ya? Got something else in mind? Come at me bro. Let's make this happen.]

[dragon_blossom]

[ Umi is literally not paying attention to the door or Kiruko whatsoever. Neither of these things have even entered her thought process.

This is why she practically jumps with surprise at the very, uh, cheerful... woman... waving at her? ]

I am around.

[ She looks down at her feet. She's outside of arm's reach of Kiruko, certainly. ]

Zeno | Akatsuki no Yona | god... probably so far...

[eternalshield]

Echoing Endlessly

"Zeno says hello!"

Because the only way to stop the echoes is to find them, right? And since they can't be seen, only heard, Zeno is hunched down on his knees, hands cupped around his mouth, testing the acoustics between two structures.

"Zeno says HELLO!"

So Zeno doesn't know much about echoes, but he vaguely understood them to be related to mountains and canyon walls. So he chose a pair of walls and started shouting at the top of his lungs.

Probably he could conclude that there's no echo to be found by now, but he shouts again, liking the sound of his own voice.

"Go ahead and echo Zeno!" he shouted, wondering if this was just those ayakashi things repeating what people say like naughty schoolchildren, rather than true echoes. "Zeno doesn't mind!"

But then would the people have described it as echoes, or just repetition?

slams into

[razzledazzles]

[...What.

When he'd first felt the strange tug at his heart that told him someone like himself and Kija was here, someone different, he'd expected to go on quite the chase. After all, he'd been difficult for Kija, and who would decide to go so eagerly?

Well, but in this case, not only was it no struggle at all, but this guy was just... Hm. Was he shouting at alleyways? Jae-Ha comes to a stop just a few feet behind him, staring in confusion.]

Ah... excuse me? [He'd waited there long enough wondering if he'd ever turn around, but now he's just going to ask.]

Joker ☺ Kuroshitsuji ☺ Shinki

[jocularly]

[Echoing Endlessly]

[Curiosity has gotten the better of him or maybe it's just easier to concentrate on something outside of himself for awhile. Regardless, Joker can be found cocking his head and standing stock still as he tries to locate the direction of the echoes. They seem to surround him, but that can't be right...can it?]

A'right, a'right, I hear ye! Why don't you come out and tell me all about it? I'm a good listener.

[Irksome Illusions]

[Illusions, eh? Of course he will investigate this street. Grinning, he strolls up to the entrance and extends his wand, testing to see what will happen to it before he attempts anything on himself.]

What're ye gonna do to it? I like my wand - wouldn't be much of a Ring Master without it - but you're a puzzle I'd like ta solve.

[Wildcard]

I'm open to all prompts or if you have another idea, hit me with that too!

[very_goodman]

Echoing Endlessly

[This problem is right up Barry's alley. He can't remember exactly why, of course, but his time as a Mirage Master in his own world has prepared him to handle sound-based disasters. Fight fire with fire, they say.]

Hell yeah! All you gotta do is be louder! That's the way to win!

[That's the strategy, anyway. And so here's Barry in full death metal regalia, standing in the middle of the town square with an electric guitar hooked up to an amp. And you can bet that shit is cranked up to 11.]

Are you ready to rock?!

Gateway Guardians

Sorry, there's no way you're getting through here!

[Barry's got a job to do, after all. And there's no way he's going to let down that mysterious shinki that he's never even met before and knows nothing about.

Unless...]

...Actually, c'mere. I'll make you a deal.

[His voice suddenly lowers as he glances left and right, leaning in to whisper.]

There's this limited edition phone strap I've been trying to get...

Is it prog rock? You look like you do prog rock.

[whowasfon]

[Ion is all for trying different solutions to problems but... he's not entirely sure what Barry intends to do here. Or why he asked that.

He was asking Ion that, right?]

Um... I'm not sure. Ready to rock what?

Umi Ryuuzaki | Magic Knight Rayearth | Either???

[dragon_blossom]

Frenchification

[ It's really almost embarrassing, the 'French' products others are peddling. Silly trinkets, poorly made fakes, novelties that are almost without value, that a true connoisseur of the foreign would scoff at. Umi has nothing of the sort.

Umi has cheese.

Enough cheese to set up a gods damned cheese stand. Comte, Roquefort, Munster, Neufchatel, cheese that no one else here has heard of, cheese she hasn't heard of.

It's delicious, but there is a problem. ]

Get your cheese here! Authentic imported French cheeses, all shapes and tastes and - and - and smells!

[ ...she's trying to sell fine French cheese to people who have no idea what they're even buying, nor what they'd use an entire wheel of blue cheese for, and no way is Umi going to eat all of this. There is probably literally enough to kill her. ]

A Door

[ Umi is a good guard. Umi is standing there with her arms crossed, feet shoulder-width apart, staring straight ahead. Where did a dramatic breeze come from, just in time to blow her hair around in a really cool way as you approach? No one knows. All the same, she remains steadfast. ]

I really really really wanna know what's in there.

[ Because if she so much as twitches from her current spot she might not be able to resist. ]

Getting Handsy

So what's the protocol here?

[ Umi should probably have some idea of this, but while she's a good student when she has to be, she hasn't felt that kind of pressure to memorize all the rules and regulations of the Far Shore just yet, leaving her sort of tailing the hands curiously. ]

This is quite literally improving everyone's lives. We can't hurt it, can we? I mean, we can, I guess we're within our rights, but I don't wanna be the villain.

doors

[phoenix_temple]

It would probably be a poor decision to look. It could be dangerous.

[It could be a portal to hell, Umi.

Or it could be a bouncy house or something. You have to be selfish about those.]

Davesprite | Homestuck | Shinki

[redotiertwo]

{French Frenzy}

[Peddling junk to impressionable randoms might be fun to some people, but Davesprite's honestly having a better time going through everyone else's "French" wares. It's kind of sad how clearly not legit at least half of the knick-knacks going around are, and while he has no real idea how this craze got started in the first place, hell if it's not a spectacle to watch.

Picking up a weird jar in his talon-like fingers, he peers at the bottom with a short, dry laugh as he sees a not-quite-hidden "Made in Japan" label.]

What the hell is all this Franco-Japanese stuff doing in here? Or straight Japanese, since this thing looks even less French than one of those fake curly moustaches people wear when they're going out of their way to look like a posh chumpy asshole.

[Halfway through putting the jar down again, his gaze catches the sign marking the wares "Authentic French", and if he wasn't wearing shades, you might be able to see the wry look in his eye.

One thing anyone passing will definitely see is a bright orange, winged and ghostly-tailed boy eying off a nicely edited sign, orange glowing letters now correcting it to read "Authentic French-Japanese" in an identical font to the rest of the sign.]

Damn. Guys should hire me to do all their sign work.

{Helping Hands}

[Remembering pretty much nothing doesn't mean that Davesprite isn't aware he's accustomed to weird. When even this place wasn't really enough to throw him, it sets off certain alarm bells. Having random groping hands trying to "help" him with his moulting by plucking off loose feathers and bumping him just enough to make others fall off still feels like a new one, though.

From the way his brow is creasing over his glasses, it's pretty clear he's getting pissed off, even if it's not much of a show, and as the hands start appearing again, he starts batting away the ones that get close.]

Hey, whoa, no. Touching the wings is a sacred position that I'm not gonna hand out to just any creepy handsy demon ghost or whatever the hell spectral phenomenon you are that gropes its weird spidery fingers at them. I trust you to show them the proper respect about as far as I could throw you.

[Coincidentally enough, that's the moment he bats one of the hands hard enough that it sails across the street and into a wall with a high-pitched, attention-grabbing wail before the whole thing disappears again, leaving him staring blankly at the spot for a moment.]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna reconsider that line for next time.