takamagahara | (no subject)

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test drive

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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!

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[It's hard, having to tell Ion these things, because he'd like to believe better too. But everything he's seen and heard makes it pretty clear that even if this ayakashi is acting docile now, it's not likely to last.

He casts a lingering glance in its direction and puffs out a quiet sigh]

I'm not sure why it's doing this, but...it'll probably hurt people. If we leave it here, we're risking other people getting hurt or attacked, because that's the nature of ayakashi.

... [Ion glances back toward the ayakashi then to Kaneki. She really can't argue against what he's saying, even if she doesn't like it. Her voice is quiet when she finally responds:] ...Okay. I'll belive in you, Kaneki.

[It's then that the ayakashi stops sorting and immediately grabs onto Ion's arm. She yelps from the burning sensation, but instead of trying to devour her, it merely sets her aside to move her out of the way. Then it's back to the trash.]

[He jumps when the hands pick Ion up, starting forward... And then she's set down. While it's not an overt attack, she is getting blighted, and that's a problem. Kaneki's eyebrows knit together and he steps forward, uncapping a water-bottle]

Let me see your arms, okay? We need to treat those.

[His statement is punctuated with a nod to the livid purple marks on her arms]

Mn. [She holds out her arm to him while watching the ayakashi, feeling useless all of a sudden. It's funny how she can push the pain out of her mind with just that feeling too.]

Sorry, I must seem really silly. [And useless and careless...]

[As her god, those feelings seep into Kaneki as though they're radiating off of her. He doesn't comment on the fact, concerned that she'll worry more if he does, and he doesn't want to cause that]

It's not silly to look for the best in others.

[They're soft words as he pours the water over the blight on her arm. It's a good thing purified water can be bottled — otherwise, they'd have needed to get to a shrine]

[Ion falls silent for a moment except for a small hiss at the purification process. At least his words seem to soothe her thoughts, and there's a vague sense of happiness for being acknowledged.]

...Thanks. But you're right, it's best to keep it from hurting others. I just find it unfortunate that it can't change. [Maybe there will be some way in the future, but not now. And with most of the blight gone, they should focus on it again.]

Don't worry about the rest. We should stop it before it disappears. Call my name and I'll keep it from running away.

[It's a compassionate thought, and knowing what he does of Ion, he doesn't think it surprising. In an ideal world they wouldn't have to destroy these things in order to keep people safe, but they were born of negativity. If they had minds of their own, whatever thoughts they contained were best left a mystery.

Still, he hesitates for a moment, wondering if perhaps Ion was pushing herself too soon. Her feelings about this are mixed.

But he supposes he shouldn't question her. After puffing out a tense breath, he speaks her vessel name]

Renki.

[The transformation is quick as Ion shrinks down into her Sharl form and sprouts wings. Her feelings ARE mixed, but she said she would believe in Kaneki. So it's easier to set her mind to the task as she flies up and starts to sing . Robots shaped like vice grips and wrenches form around her in midair before rushing at the ayakashi. It's when they attach to and lock down on some of the arms that the monster's eye begin to appear and focus on Ion.]

Smells good.

[It's angry now, but the robots are doing their job in restricting it's movements, and it really has to struggle to them off.]

[And there it is, the hostility that Kaneki would've expected. He wishes it weren't the case, but it's not much of a surprise. Since Ion's abilities are more of the supporting variety, from what Kaneki understands, he needs to be the attacking force with Hana.

So he rushes forward, reeling his arm back and focusing on hitting hard. His arm is instantly plated with what looks to be red armor, almost like a koukaku (or so he imagines), just as he throws a punch at the ayakashi]

[Despite the magic robots' efforts, there's still enough hands for the ayakashi to try and block the punch. There's enough padding to prevent a one hit kill, although it does suffer damage. The arms that received most of the impact end up drooping afterwards as the creature let's out a horrible screech. It's a disturbing sound, but that isn't the reason the robots falter.

There's hesitation in Ion's song as her conflicted feelings rise up again. At the most, she had hoped it wouldn't have to suffer so much.

Noticing the weakened hold, the ayakashi begins to thrash wildly with what functional arms it has left. Some of the robots go flying and disappear.]

[Ion's emotions filter in and they sting, but Kaneki does his best not to let it show in his expression. It helps that his back is to her as he fights the ayakashi, but it does reinforce the notion that jobs that involve fighting might be really hard on her.

The best he can do is try and end it quickly, so she won't have to worry about it anymore...and so it won't go after her. When new arms appear, he dispatches them as swiftly as he can, though he fumbles and has to catch himself as he goes.

Kaneki wasn't exactly the strongest fighter back home, much less here. But it helps that his body seems to reinforce itself when he needs to be stronger, red armor only spreading more extensively as he puts more effort into finishing the fight as fast as he can]

[Luckily it takes only one more hard hit to finish the ayakashi off, and it explodes in a burst of light. It's mostly a relief that it's over, even if somberness still clings to her. It's why Ion hesitates to come down, but she eventually floats to Kaneki's side and lands on his shoulder. Her voice is weak:]

I'll try not to hesitate next time. [More like 'I won't get attached', and she's not oblivious to her own magic either.] I'm sorry, Kaneki.

[It's strange, the way a shinki's feelings seep into him. Hana wasn't like that, and now he wonders if that's what it means for her to be soulless. She isn't the same, even if she walks and interacts to some degree with the world around her. Kaneki can only wonder if he'll become accustomed to it, in time.

He shakes his head at her apology, his body reverting back to normal with the threat dispatched]

Don't apologize... [His voice is soft, watching the half-sorted items arrayed around them] You didn't do anything but show compassion.

[Ion's quiet for a moment, but a small sniffle breaks the silence. She may try to cover it up the sound and rub her face, yet her emotions are still laid bare. Sadness that there was no alternative, frustration because she wavered in assisting Kaneki, and shame that she's having trouble holding it together. It's hard imagining herself becoming dependable if she's so stuck on one seemingly-helpful ayakashi's defeat.]

I want to go home. [An incredible need for sleep is growing quickly. She needs to wind down or at the very least leave the scene.] Let's go home...

[It's a great swell of painful feeling, and Kaneki sets his jaw against it, not wanting to react and add to it. If Ion knew that he felt all of these things radiating from her, he can only imagine that it would make her feel worse, gentle as he nature is. He doesn't want that for her, not on top of so much else.

Not when her death was as sad as it was]

...Let's go back then. I'll fix some coffee.

[He can add something sweet to hers, she'd probably like that]

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