takamagahara | (no subject)

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Who can't take a joke now?]

I'm fairly sure I've already established that I've no idea how currency works in this day and age.

[Of course, he could figure it out quickly enough. But he really has no reason or desire to. What use does he have for money?]

Of what, corporate piety?

Everyone's got their niche.

[Shrugs. He's the god of pleasure, so.]

The Norse have a god of snowshoes. Let's not be too hasty.

[Julian's been researching since he got here. Not because he has any particular amount of faith--though he has seen some incredible things--but because...well, it's where he's found himself.]

Not only snowshoes.

[Hunting, bow, and shield. Sensible, for a society like that.]

Have you even tried talking to them yet, before we go running back to Amaterasu to solve our problems for us? She doesn't exactly speak with many of us one-on-one.

No, have you?

[Not waiting for an answer. Just gonna start strolling into the boardroom like a boss.

Clears his throat. Ahem. There's the board. They look surprised to see us.]

Have we got a retirement package for you.

[...have we?]

[wait they haven't even figured out their actual plan ye--oh god dammit.

Julian follows at a leisurely pace, looking at the paper at the head of the room on which is printed the last quarter's finances. He picks up a packet from the man sitting closest to the door, ignoring his protests and leafing through it quickly enough that it's a wonder he's getting anything from it at all--but he is.

His mind instantly starts running scenarios and calculations--he might profess to not understand finances, but he understands numbers, raw data.]

Oh, don't mind me, go on.

[Give him a minute.]

[Great, improv.]

I have to believe, one of you, at least, misses your wife.

[Where is he going with this? Why is he hitting on that?]

And if not your wife, then your mistress. What the hell are you doing here instead, ignoring them?

[Don't worry, he'll chime in where appropriate. Such as, having heard the change in breathing cadence of one of the men and presuming that jab hit home:]

Assuming, of course, that they're not in the process of seeking divorce. Unfortunate, really, but the courts would certainly see her position.

[His dry, bland delivery is probably more than a little unnerving. So is the fact that his eyes barely flick up from reading the financial reports from the last three quarters.]

Edited 2016-10-10 00:53 (UTC)

"Seeing her position" is a rather polite way of asking you to pay her legal fees.

[He rests his hand on the boardroom table.]

You'd have to keep working until you died just to afford that, depending. Might be time to enjoy yourselves without all of this [thumps the table forcefully] in the way.

Edited 2016-10-19 04:34 (UTC)

And perhaps...alimony, is it?

[Which is probably just the right amount of ridiculous--of course, if parties divorce in the glorious space future, they mostly amicably part and there's no hardship on either side.]

How does that usually go, anyway?

[Aiming for casual, he flips another page of the report, scanning the numbers on it and adding them to his mental calculus.]

[Is all that reading toward an end, or just a fantastic display of studied indifference? Because if the latter, it is fantastic.]

The company's continued profit doesn't help you if you can't keep it. And if you happen to have a younger wife, well. She won't have any trouble finding someone to share it with.

[It's both.

Though now that he has a perfect opening, Julian closes the cover of the financial report and stands up.

Despite having said he has no idea what he's talking about, raw data is easy enough to process.]

Though it seems that you don't have continued profit to worry about. Profit in the last quarter down 5.74 percent, before that, down by 2.43? It may not seem like much now, but that is a truly unfortunate trend.

It seems to me that the company isn't evolving to meet the market's demands. Your younger friends proposed a new product that was fairly revolutionary, but the board, at your recommendation, decided not to pursue it. Their initial estimate of production costs is what put you off, is it not?

[The last question is almost gentle, but the effect isn't one of concern, it's closer to thinking them feeble-minded.]

It's too bad that a competitor had the same idea and their profits for the quarter are up dramatically, so now you're forced to play catch-up.

[A very slight double-take. The improv seems to have stalled successfully.

He laughs, slight and mocking.]

Really, at that point, the only dignified thing to do would be to step down. I mean, they had another option in the old days, but we're rather more civilized than that now.

It's a wonder you haven't been asked to, already. Perhaps they're thinking of... publicizing this? Whatever will the shareholders think?