takamagahara | (no subject)

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test drive

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TEST DRIVE # 09

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.

Old Officials

There's a business that is desperately wishing the older members of their workforce would bow out. They've been sitting on death's door for so long and are doing little to help the company. The younger managers only want to step up and take their place! Help convince these ancient businessmen to step down.

Peanut Party

A celebration for peanuts is sweeping through the city. Peanut butter, peanut cookies, even just plain peanuts are being sold, thrown, and praised all over. It's your job to help spread the peanut love, either by helping to make the tasty treats or by buying more peanuts from the next town over.

Quiet Quail

Oddly enough, a request has come in from a quail, of all creatures. It thinks very highly of itself and knows that it's super mega important, but it has such a hard time being anything but quiet. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to draw attention to this quail - make it stand out like not other quail has done before.

Roaring Riders

A rowdy motorcycle gang has been plaguing the streets for a few weeks. Every night, at midnight, they make their engines roar out in unison, waking everybody in town. The riders themselves are good guys, they just have this one nasty habit that they refuse to give up because it pays tribute to their patron god. Do you have the heart to get them to quiet down?

Slick Sevens

The newest tourist stop is a large casino. It's said that everyone who enters the casino has their luck stolen from them at the door. That might just be silly superstitions and bad gamblers talking, but there is definitely an ayakashi there who seems to feed on people's luck. Maybe that's what's causing everyone to lose so much.

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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[ Seeing Yamanami's figure run out from the cover, the ayakashi turns its attention to him. That's a mistake, because the next moment has the table Yamato used for cover colliding right with its mass. ] Over here!

[ She... could don her own "armor". Bring out her guns and equipment so that she'd be more suited to fight in this compact place. But that would be a disaster as well, even if she only used her 13.2 mm guns. Any stray bullet that could ricochet off the walls of the ship would mean bad news for any bystander.

Another tendril whips past her, and she leaps to the side. Picking up another piece of debris, she tosses it back towards the ayakashi. As Yamanami rounds up the straggles to evacuate, the ayakashi's attention is drawn back towards him. His calm demeanor is placating the effects of the panic and chaos that serve as its food, and it doesn't seem to like that. Looks like Yamato will have to abandon leading it outside.

Rather, she'll force it outside. Picking up another piece of debris, she tosses it at the monster, throwing it back against the wall and windows. Touching it is out of the question, but ramming it is within her capabilities. She rushes at the bast, dodging one limb after the other. Along the way she wretches a tables off from the ground and slams it into the ayakashi. The force breaks the wall behind it, pushing it outside onto the top deck.

The crisp night air is a nice alternative to the steaming fire inside the casino, but now she has to deal with a monster on deck and all the people evacuated onto it, clamoring for the lifeboats. Out in the open and surrounded by more panicking people, the ayakashi grows in size, becoming a giant and upturning the deck wherever it rolls.

Yamato is still holding it back, digging her heels into the deck and causing just about as much destruction with her opposing power. Unfortunately the small table between her and the ayakashi is breaking between them with her efforts. Soon she'll be touching the giant's slime herself-- but that's alright. So long as the others can get to safety, she'll endure. Somehow, she knows that she's endured a lot more of an onslaught than this. ]

Yamato-san!! [And here's her god, scrambling out onto the top deck to join his shinki.] Yamato-san, are you alright--!? [His question is drowned out by an explosion coming from the casino, and Yamanami grabs the railing and crouches down as the boat rocks violently from side to side. He can hear screams and yells and crying, and in his heart he begins to worry that they won't be able to prevent any casualties. On his mad dash up her, he'd already heard the loud arguments about how many each lifeboat could take, a man screaming that there's not enough for all of them.

But here he's not useless. Or rather, she's not useless. Yamanami draws himself up and calls for his shinki once again, this time with a calmness that's almost at odds with the chaos around them.] Yamato-san, it's time to blast this ayakashi out of these waters for good.

[But in truth, he's angry. A rage roars in his head, a storm that's threatening to compromise his judgement. For a brief second he thinks quickly, wondering if his shinki's vessel form could be a tad too destructive for the task at hand. But then the ayakashi screeches, and out of its mouth spews a black tar that's bubbling its way towards the people. That settles it for him.]

Go forth, Kanki!!

[ She feels herself pulled away from the area before she has time to register that her name has been called. Fortunately he's commanded her before the ayakashi can wrap one of its sharp limbs around her, and the tentacle swipes at the table she had been pushing up against it, pulverizing it into splinters.

Yamato feels herself consumed by a white light-- no, her body is turning into that light, and then the light morphs and becomes larger, greater, as a newfound strength overcomes her. A battleship appears out of that light at least five times larger than the casino-ship, with each main turret weighing more than the casino itself, and longer than the the channel is wide. Fortunately for everyone present, the battleship she transforms into doesn't need to sit in water to be useful, but as a shinki she instead hovers right alongside the casino for all of those spiritually-inclined to behold.

She can't explain it, but she always feels more herself whenever he calls her name and she transforms. That this form is right. And with that rightness comes confidence. She's strong, far stronger like this, and she feels she can blow away just about anything she can put her mind to. Needless to say, Yamanami isn't holding her in his hand, but standing on top of her deck. Around him, phantoms of the past sailors appear, officers barking commands and sailors rushing towards their posts. They remain silent apparitions maintaining the ship. ] Starboard-side cannon 2, prepare to fire! Loading Type 91 shells...

[ Type 91. Armor-piercing shells, each weighing about 1.5 tonnes-- more than a medium-sized car. As if anticipating a hard hitting attack, the amorphous ayakashi begins to harden its outer layer, forming a shell around itself. Yamato makes no move to speed up the process of preparing her cannons, because she knows that it will take only one shot to wipe this ayakashi out, and the delay will give Yamanami time to prepare for the rend. ] Cannon 2 prepared.

[ Firing to an elevation lower than herself is unusual, and normally she'd be at least five miles away from any given target. But she knows at which angle to prepare the cannons to bring about the best trajectory for the shell. On the battleship an alarm is horned, and the phantom sailors cover their ears and brace against any sturdy structure. ] FIRE!

[ The deafening shot shakes the ship itself, and the aftershock pulses violently across the channel, knocking away ships and breaking windows. But the shell is fired, zooming towards the ayakashi at a rate faster than one can blink. ]

[The Yamato. Each time he's on her deck, Yamanami is much in awe to be in the presence of such a gigantic ship...and a little bit of amusement, that the Yamato's alternate form was that of a well-mannered young lady with a voracious appetite. There was nothing dainty about this huge hulking warship, but those canons she had would do well to protect humans from ayakashi.

He's not going to sit around and do nothing either. They're going to have to be careful with how her shots go, otherwise they might end up hitting the casino ship as well. But that's where his new...abilities come in handy. Touching her railing, he takes a deep breath and his palm begins to glow a faint gold.

A "rope of right". A moral guide. He still does not think he's capable of being a god, especially with the name he now bears as his own. But all he can do, just like in his previous life, is to try.]

You, who would desecrate this land of the rising sun. With my advent, I, Guan Yu, lay waste with this Kanki, and expel thy vast defilement.

Rend.

[The cannon fires, and her single shot is "guided" by him to hit the ayakashi, aiding her already sharp aim to ensure minimum risk to the casino ship and those on-board.]

[ The shell breaks through the ayakashi's armor as easily as slicing through butter. The pressures spikes dramatically up on the inside, turning it a molten red. The armor expands and buckles, and then finally explodes spectacularly. The fire and lead from the shell burst outward, tearing the body of the ayakashi apart, and the rend is completed when a light shines the center of the explosion, pulling in the ayakashi's energy and then dispersing it.

It is done.

Part of the casino remains on fire, but without the ayakashi to add to the negativity and panic, the people are able to evacuate more steadily than before. ] My lord. [ She says, going back into the habit of addressing him properly. ] The target has been eliminated..

[ The phantom crew does not cheer at their posts. It was a tiny target, it came as no surprise that they beat it. ] What do you wish to do now?

Just "Yamanami" is fine. [And he'll never tire of telling her that either.] The ayakashi has been killed, so our job is technically finished...but what will those people do now? Surely they aren't going to row back to shore on those lifeboats.

[As much as he'd like to ask Yamato if they could give them a ride, he imagines no one wants a ride on a ghost ship.]

Is there anything we can do for them?

[ There's a moment's pause as she "listens" through the radio. Even after 80+ years, some things never change. ] The captain has called a mayday. A rescue ship will be here within ninety minutes.

[ She's aware of what's going on even as a giant ship with no physical eyes. And as she "looks" to the smaller vessel that's on fire, she can't help but think of why it remains silent. That's an odd thought, however, to believe that it would have a voice at all to ask her for help even as it begins to keel to port. Within the white soul realm she stands and shakes her head, pushing such thoughts from her mind.

In the end, he'll hear a small smile in her tone. ] I am sure that they will be fine. With your aid, there would have been more harm.

Oh no, I can't take the credit for today's good work! It was your astute observation at the gambling table that flushed the ayakashi out, and your strength that kept it at bay while the people evacuated.

I have one last favor to ask of you though. If you don't mind, could we wait until the rescue ship is here? [He just wants to make sure that these people are all safe.]

[ Oh there he goes again, giving her credit in return. She's not worthy...! And not to mention, it's quite the overkill for that little ayakashi compared to her true shinki form. Not that they had any choice in the matter; big or small, the ayakashi must be destroyed. She's only thankful that the hit was precise enough. Instead, the shockwave of the shot being fired caused more collateral! ]

Of course. [ She obliges, and then falls silent. She doesn't have a lot to say now that the battle is over, and she waits patiently for the arrival of the rescue ship. One by one, the phantoms manning her begin to fade from their posts. A few will salute Yamanami before they disappear, but the majority fade into the shadows of the night, very much the crew of a ghost ship. Although the Yamato only floats above the channel, she can't help but want to settle into the water itself. To feel the waves upon her hull once again, the tickle of the salty ocean and the spray of the sea. Her eyes move from the ship and the tiny life boats out towards the delta where it opens into the ocean, and that strange tug pulls at her heart as she sees the moonlight reflect upon the waves.

Another blast draws her attention back to the casino-ship. Something inside it has exploded, probably a faulty design rather than anything intentional. The ship tips towards its side, and Yamato has to "look" away as that longing in her heart is replaced by an unsettling feeling in her stomach. She feels... sick, seeing it begin to sink like that. ] My lord, I-- [ But before she can say anything, she hears two horns from an approaching vessel, illuminating its flood lights upon the water surface. Help has arrived, and Yamato breathes a sigh of relief. A distraction helps from this nauseating feeling. ] Modern ships are quite the marvel--... it arrived faster than I anticipated.

[And she's too humble...!

Yamanami remains on the deck, keeping a vigilant watch over the tiny boats bobbing in the ocean. The occasional ghost sailor that salutes him receives a small bow in return, and soon enough it's just him, Yamato and the waves.

It's a relief to see the life boats down there, but he can't help but wonder if there were some that he couldn't save. It's a terrible death. To die in the fire or drown in the waters below. He'd done a quick search of the main casino room before he'd gone up to help Yamato, and it certainly looked like no one had been left behind, but...He hopes no one was sleeping in their rooms. Should he have at least checked one floor, maybe he could jump back and do a quick look around--

--no. The explosion ensures that he will have to stay with his shinki. Yamanami watches the boat slowly tip over, thinking sadly to himself that it's such a waste, all of it is such a waste. But Yamato's unease hits him before she can breath a word.] Yamato-san...? What's wr--

[The horns blasting out from the rescue ship interrupts him, and both he and his shinki breath a sigh of relief. But as the casino ship finally, finally begins to sink, realization hits him on why she's feeling this much nausea. She may not have her memories, but her body and her heart remembers what her mind cannot.]

...thank goodness it's arrived. The people down there will be alright now.

[He doesn't know where his shinki's face is, or if she even has physical sight as a warship. But he knows she'll be able to see him bowing to her.]

Thank you for your patience, Yamato-san. Let's go home.

Edited 2016-10-04 07:03 (UTC)

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