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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[He blinks at her as she waves her hand in front of his face. Who isn't going to notice something like that?]

[But all the same, he bows deferentially at the waist. There's no reason to go and get his god all displeased with him.]

...My apologies, Lady Hiyoko.

I was... getting carried away.

[Or something like that. "Carried away" might be a bit of an odd choice of wording, considering his calm, controlled demeanor...]

[Then again, with that odd little smile of his, it's entirely possible he knows that isn't the right phrase.]

Nah, you're fine. Do you even know how to get 'carried away?'

[It amuses her so much that he calls her 'Lady.' Hiyoko thinks that's waaay too fancy a title for her.]

You just seemed kind of...

[She makes a vague gesture toward the horizon with her hand.]

...out of it. Like you were a million miles away. Is everything okay?

Oh, dear. Was that not 'carried away'?

[If he were to explain it to her, would she understand, he wonders?]

[The sense of purpose he gets when he finds an ayakashi grown strong enough to make real trouble... it's the complete opposite of feeling "out of it". The razor-sharp focus, the odd rush of the hunt, the feeling like he's somehow exactly where he needs to be...]

[Everything else can feel annoyingly petty in comparison, sometimes. Like he's a tiger being kept as a housecat, and people somehow expect him to be satisfied with hunting little tiny mice.]

Don't worry on my behalf, my lady. I had only wondered...

...Why wait... for prayers?

[The prey is already out there, whether or not someone asks them to go after it.]

Not so much. Don't give up though. You'll master it eventually.

[It's tough to tell whether she's serious or teasing him. But her smile is decidedly amused.

Her expression does turn thoughtful at his suggestion. It's intriguing. There really isn't a reason to wait for prayers to go after ayakashi. This is just how everybirdie said it was done. But Hiyoko has been less trusting of the establishment lately. Maybe it's time to shake things up.

And she sure knows about the rush of the hunt.]

So... you think maybe we could bag something a little bigger if we took a freelance approach to this?

[It certainly sounds more interesting than arguing with some old guys. After a moment, she nods decisively.]

Okay, I'm game. Let's go hunting!

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

Such faith in me. I'll strive... to rise to your expectations.

[His poker face doesn't shift whatsoever, and his voice is still fairly expressionless, but there might be a hint of humor there somewhere. There's got to be, right...?]

[He hadn't completely expected that she'd take his suggestion with so little argument, but once it's clear that she's made up her mind, his smile changes a little bit in tone -- sharper, but perhaps a little more genuine for a moment.]

[Without a word, he turns away from the old man's house and begins to head towards the nearest heavily populated area. Anything you can hunt gathers where there's something for it to feed on, after all.]

[She flashes him a wink.]

Don't disappoint me~

[Not that she expects him to. Hiyoko sets out into the city with a bounce in her step. This promises to be an exciting evening after all. Now.... if she were a big mean ayakashi where would she be?]

Ayakashi like to feed on everybirdies' bad feelings, right? So we might have better luck in a rougher part of town.

Hmm.

[That doesn't necessarily sound quite right to him, though it's not as if he has any memories to tell him why exactly it doesn't. Whatever part of town you go to, people are still people -- still as prone, no matter how much or how little they have, to cling to things and ideas that they would be better served by letting go of.]

[But the universality of human nature aside, she does have a point. Desperation can exacerbate the worst side of people, and anyway, the population will be more dense in an area where more people are crowded together in smaller spaces. He pauses a moment, looking first up at the sky to see if any ayakashi are floating around and if they seem to have any particular direction in mind, then around at the buildings to get a sense for the feeling of the neighborhood.]

...This way, perhaps...

[And he's off again, letting his instincts lead them down seedier and seedier streets, still on the lookout for any ayakashi big enough to be worth bothering with.]

[That initial bounce fades a bit as they start getting into seedier neighborhoods. People tend not to notice residents of the Far Shore, so they keep going about their questionable business. Small ayakashi are abundant, whispering to people. Trying to push them just a little farther over the edge.]

I know it's sort of a chicken and egg kind of thing, but I wonder if the ayakashi are driving people to do awful things, or if they're just attracted to people who were already doing awful things...

[It's less a question than an observation. Either way the result is the same. Hiyoko is about to add something to that effect when suddenly she tenses. Her hunter gatherer instincts are on full alert. There's something nearby.

Something dangerous. She lowers her voice and quiets her movements. It's actually sort of surprising how quiet the girl can be when she's usually so boisterous.]

Careful. I think we're getting close...

[Ah, so she noticed that, too. The sudden shift in something intangible, the sense of a presence nearby.]

[The shinki reaches into his sleeve and draws out what looks like a simple slip of white paper. With a flick of his wrist, he sends it towards the nearest wall, where it flattens itself and attaches itself. For a moment, nothing happens -- but then with an almost electric hum, bizarre symbols begin to appear on its surface in red, shifting before their eyes before seeming to settle.]

It's definitely near.

[For a moment, he's still and quiet, just taking in everything he can of their surroundings... Then he gestures silently to a run-down, boarded up shop nearby. To say that it's seen better days would be a drastic understatement.]

[Hiyoko is more and more convinced every time he does something like this. Hakari was totally Merlin or Abe no Seimei or some kind of wizard in a past life.

Or in his actual life. Either way, definitely a wizard. Which is really cool, by the way. She follows his gaze to the shop, careful to keep herself as still as possible. The sign on the front is faded, but just barely legible. In better days long gone by it was a pet store. She nods her understanding.

There's definitely something in there. Moving slowly and carefully, she starts moving closer to the shop. It is boarded up, but some of those boards have broken or rotted away. It wouldn't be too hard to get in there. Of course, it would alert whatever they're hunting....]

Grrrr....

[That quiet growl came from within. Maybe it's already noticed them....]

[Sneaking in would, of course, be ideal. But if it's already noticed them...]

[Well, it's no matter if it has. The goal remains the same, even if the path there grows more difficult.]

[Surprisingly silent in his movements in spite of his wooden geta, he slips over to the edge of a boarded-up window, trying to get a glance inside through the uneven slats.]

[Hiyoko has a similar idea, and takes up a position on the other side of that window.

Peering into the darkened shop, it's hard to make out anything but shapes and shadows. For a moment, everything is still and silent.

Until a pair of red eyes flash from deep within the shop, and a low growly voice whispers....]

Smells niiiice...

[It may not have seen them yet, but it can definitely smell a tasty meal. And considering that, there's no reason to beat around any proverbial bushes anymore. Hiyoko nods decisively to herself. And then backs away from the window, and moves purposefully to the shop's decaying back door.

If he's spent any time at all with crazy bird girl, Hakari probably knows that she's about to kick the door in. She's good at stealth, but bad at patience. Sorry.]

Edited 2016-10-07 14:29 (UTC)

[He could try to hold her back from rushing in like that... but that would definitely get its attention, so it would be a bit of a wasted effort, wouldn't it?]

[Instead, he falls back to stand behind her, holding out his right hand with the forefinger and middle finger extended together. As she moves in on the door, he calls out the invocation for a Borderline, drawing it right on her heels with a single swift, confident motion.]

[It's best, after all, to keep this sort of fight... contained. It would be a shame to have their target escaping and making trouble out in the world, after all...]

[Hiyoko agrees and approves of her shinki's initiative. This does need to be contained. And with a deep breath, she raises one leg and delivers an impressive kick to the door. The rotting wood gives away around the lock and it slams open.

The bold approach does catch the ayakashi by surprise for a moment. Tasty snacks aren't usually so... decisive about confronting it.]

This is your last day of preying on innocent souls! The goddess of the hunt arrives! Face me, demon!

[The magical girl speech was totally necessary. Clearly. ~~She's really weird.~~

At any rate, the ayakashi is more than willing to accept that challenge. It was planning on eating her anyway. Now that they have a better look at it, the creature resembles a large dog with red eyes and several rows of sharp teeth in it's gaping maw. It roars, and then charges. Hiyoko crouches into a defensive stance.]

[This is the only thing that brings out this side of him -- the rush of adrenaline, the complete absence of any sort of doubt or hesitation in the face of how natural it feels. His expression doesn't change, doesn't betray the shift in his mood, but his heart beats harder, like it's only just remembered that it's alive.]

[He stands back behind the borderline, staring up at the ayakashi with his intense, blue eyes, keeping a peripheral watch on his goddess.]

My Lady.

[His voice rises above the creature's roar, though he hardly seems to have raised it at all, doesn't seem to have lost even a fragment of his composure. It's not a warning, exactly, so much as a firm request.]

[It's time. She needs to call for him.]

[With a roar, the dog like beast lunges forward. It's only very nimble reflexes honed by years of fighting wild animals that allow Hiyoko to react in time.

She jumps up, Only to land hard on the creature's head. Using that as leverage, she leaps off, landing behind it with surprising grace.

And yeah, he might be right. She can pummel it all she wants, but no goddess can defeat an ayakashi without a shinki's help.]

Got it! Shouki!

[Even as she's calling for him, the enraged ayakashi has shaken off the hit and is preparing it's next attack.]

[There's no real sensation of changing -- one moment he's in his human form, and the next he's disappeared, appearing instead in his goddess's hand -- a circular mirror backed by a golden disc with a sun pattern on it, only barely small enough to be held in one hand.]

[Though he can't move of his own volition like this, he somehow still gives the sense of being ready to pounce.]

Well, then.

Shall we... my lady?

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