takamagahara | (no subject)

Entry tags:

test drive

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TEST DRIVE # 12

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.

Daring Drinks

A couple of local bars are going out of their way to make new and interesting drinks for their customers to try, in a long-standing war between the two bars. Of course, they're going a little off the rails, so there are some very interesting - and somewhat scary - combinations popping out of the woodworks. And they want everyone passing by to try them.

Electric Eels

An odd ayakashi is causing some of the eels at the local aquarium to become literally electric, causing the eels to shock the other inhabitants in their tanks. This is causing a pretty big uproar and if it isn't fixed soon, someone could die or the aquarium might even just shut down entirely.

Frog Friend

Large frogs are popping up all over the place and following people around. They don't seem malicious in any way, but they are kind of creepy to look at, brightly colored, and leave trails of slippery goo wherever they stand. Oh, and they like to jump at people and knock them over, just for fun.

Gaseous Grandpas

A local home for older men is having a problem with a number of their inhabitants where they literally cannot stop farting and belching. It turns out this is the work of an ayakashi that just thinks farts and burps are funny and knows it's easier to get those sorts of things out of old people. Help the poor old guys out, would you?

Horrifying Hentai

Many known otaku in the area are dealing with a rather terrifying problem - every hentai they watch lately comes into reality very suddenly. Sometimes this means cute, begging girls, sure, but it also means tentacles and aliens and a whole rash of other things too. You'll have to stop the ayakashi that is bringing these 'fantasies' to life in order to save these guys.

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

You don't need a stage!

[He hissed that out after her.]

We're just supposed to come in here and stop the sparking. It's not a production number!

[Clearly, this god had no idea how these things worked in real life. He shook his head and let her go do her thing. He headed around to the ladder that was on the side of the tank for the aquarium staff to do their feeding and climbed up. He was pretty fast getting up there to the platform. Surprise, surprise.]

It was a figure of speech!

[ Genius huffs. You're up here already? ] Explaining myself to you is a waste of breath.

[ And that's that.

Anyway, they're both here, which means she can start. The surface of the water beneath them is crackling ominously with electricity, but Phantom Thief Genius ignores that. Instead, she sweeps a hand out over the tank, tossing a single red lily onto the surface. ] Now, troublesome spirit. An offering to you.

[ When the lily hits the water, sending out ripples, a figure appears shimmering above it, seeming to swim in midair: a gigantic eel, undulating and swimming about in the air. It coils around Genius and Duo, eyes gleaming in the gloom.

Behold, mischievous ayakashi! The very greatest victim of all has appeared.

Won't you come out to investigate? ]

[He just glared at her, and then grumbled a little. Sure, a spell. Toss the flower... whatever.

But, then the giant eel appeared and started to wind the two of them together.]

Hey!

[He squirmed against the slimy skin, and really hoping they weren't about to get electrocuted...]

[ Duo's in luck - any brush-ups he has against that eel will result not in the cold clamminess (or the electric shock) to be expected if an eel were actually here. Instead, his body will pass through it, leaving a ripple in the image for a moment before solidifying itself again.

Genius continues to smile calmly. This is all, it seems, part of the plan.

Even the part where a ball of lightning is beginning to gather on the surface of the pond, darting out from within the other, real eels.

That smile begins twisting into a smirk. ]

[Once free of the illusory eel, Duo sighed.

As much as he hadn't wanted to just be a weapon earlier... he knew that was where this was going to end up. So, time to tap into that.

He'd only recently gotten the hang of it. Ignoring the growing electric ball as best he could, the shadows around him in the darkened aquarium thickened and grew darker before he shifted into his vessel form.

Congrats, Hibiki. There was a scythe on the ground next to you. It wasn't very fancy, sorry. But it could make the wielder invisible...]

[ Ah, well. "In storms, any port", as a former teammate of Hibiki's might say.

Not that Hibiki is here at present. Phantom Thief Genius is. Of course.

Keeping her eyes on that growing lightning cluster, Genius kneels to pick up the scythe. Whether or not she was expecting the invisibility, it's a convenient perk. She'll take it.

The lightning begins to rise off the surface of the water, headed for the eel now coiled around the ceiling. Genius slides one foot back, preparing to jump.

Anything she should know about using this thing? ]

[Of course...

Either way, for its size, the scythe is quite maneuverable and well-balanced. If Phantom Thief Genius knew anything about using one, she could wield it with ease against her foe. If not, then there might be something of a learning curve. Luckily, because it was well-balanced, it would be easy to figure out and hard to mess-up.

She'd feel the god-shinki connection, of course, and would be able to focus energy along the handle and blade, which would emit a green glow and enhance the blade's attack power. She could also cause it to shift forms just enough that it would make a nice pike or spear-like weapon instead of a scythe if she preferred.

Though, it still wasn't super fancy looking, which might clash with her aesthetic...]

[ Scythe works. It's suitable for sweeping out of the darkness, after all, and that's what Genius intends to do. Just as soon as that ayakashi is done taking the bait.

And there it goes, heading up towards the "eel". Genius knows she only has a limited time frame between when it's in position for her to strike and when it'll realize it's been tricked, so she waits. And waits. And waits--

Her gloved hands tense on the scythe's handle. ]

And now, the curtains descend on Masquerade Time.

[ The ball of lightning crackles, confused, outraged - but Genius is already airborne, sweeping the scythe across. The eel vanishes. ] Rend!

[Inwardly, Duo winced, bracing himself for impact. He wasn't exactly used to this kind of thing, yet. So frickin' weird.

The blade hit the lightning. Good thing it was magical lightning, because metal scythe and electricity don't really go together well, and Genius might have just electrocuted them both if she hadn't been careful. Not that Duo was being pragmatic and pessimistic at all... really.

But, it did elicit a response from the ayakashi they were tracking. It made it mad.]

[ -- that didn't destroy it? It'll take more than one hit? Genius falls towards the tanks, surprised, but manages to do a backflip and land on the rim instead of ~~electrocuting her fabulous self~~ waterlogging her fancy thief costume. ]

I see you don't let yourself be stolen so easily. Then -

[ A swirl of her cape, and there are six Phantom Thieves jumping down and fanning out around the room. ] We dance!

[ Skipping right to the encore. What a disturbing creature.

Or, perhaps, what a disappointing weapon? ]

[That was mildly disturbing. Of course, so was being manhandled by someone more interested in flair than effectiveness.]

When you're done fooling around, could you, yanno... actually defeat this thing?

[He wasn't sure if she'd hear him, but he could try, right?]

Don't hasten the rising action!

[ She totally meant for all of this to happen. Now. That she has replanned her plan. Of course.

Either way, she's blending in with those fakes she's created, buying time to watch their enemy. It seems to dwindle in size after each charge of electricity it lets off, which leads her to hold onto the scythe with one hand while shooting another rope at the ceiling with the other.

Up we go, getting in position...cloaking ourselves again, and waiting....waiting....

When will their foe deplete itself for her next? ]

The security guards are gonna be here before you're done!

[She didn't have to wait long. It shot off another charge at the swarm of illusions, leaving itself vulnerable!]

[ You can't rush Art, buddy. And everything she does is Art. Get with the program, already.

As is, Duo's concerns only make Phantom Thief Genius smirk more arrogantly. Now that she's decided to rend this ayakashi, it's as good as dead. All that remains is simply to seize the ideal moment and strike according to her aesthetic. Magnificently. Gracefully.

Right now, in fact.

Out comes the scythe, whirling with a vengeance at its opponent. Genius is used to matching her timing to ad-libbed partners. She strikes exactly when the lightning is at its ebb - and this time, slices multiple times. ] Rend!

[It was a good thing he didn't get motion sickness...]

If I could just...

[There had to be something more to this whole vessel thing, right? Weapon thing? Whatever? He wasn't even sure, as it was all still pretty new to him. But he was determined to get this over with as soon as possible.]

...make this do something...

[As she came down for the impact, shouting out her special little power word (whatever that was all about... sheesh), Duo found what it was he was looking for. The blade came to life with a bright green energy, lashing out as they made contact with the ayakashi and, well, "rending" it to pieces.]

[ All shinki "rend", or so Phantom Thief Genius has been led to understand. Trust her, if she didn't think the phrase was a requirement of the genre, she'd have improvised. "Ebony Revolution! Pure Wild Dance!" has such a nice ring to it.

As the ayakashi disperses, Genius lands, twirls the scythe, and plants it on the ground next to her. Right, that's done. Time to go. ] Revert, Deux.

[ You're just going to have to put up with her using that for your name, too. ]

Oof...

[Did she have to plant the handle so hard? Ugh... Plus, all that twirling... he was starting to feel a little dizzy. The green energy on the blade dissipated with a flash, and shadowy tendrils swirled around the entire scythe for a moment before Duo reappeared in its place.

With his arm still gripped by her hand...

He frowned and yanked it free.]

It's Duo... Due-OH... with an 'o'.

[Get it right!]

[ Yes, yes. Genius turns with a sweep of her cape and begins walking away. Having successfully stolen the ayakashi - or that's how she's going to think of it, anyway - her work here is Done. Curtains. Final bows have been swept. ] We should hurry.

[ Very matter-of-fact, very flat. How could you focus on trivialities when there are practical matters to discuss? ]

Oh... now you're in a hurry.

[Grumble grumble...

No worries, though. He was fast and agile. He got out in plenty of time.]

[ As does Phantom Thief Genius.

She leaves some red casablanca lily petals behind, however. To confound the authorities. ]

[Once outside and away.]

You left something behind?

Why would you do that?

Do you get all your examples from cheesy crime dramas?

[ Why, would that be a problem?

Genius sighs and dissolves the illusion surrounding her, even mimicking removing the mask before blowing on it to make it disappear.

Surprise! It's God of art and music, Shikyoin Hibiki! NOBODY SAW THAT COMING. ] Keep walking.

[ Which she does. Slowly, casually. As if she was just passing by.

Nothing to see here in the slightest. ]

[He rolled his eyes, pulling off his jacket and draping it over his arm as they walked.]

Question. Have you ever done something like that for real before? Like... without magic powers and shit?

Where is this query headed?

[ She doesn't see how it matters, keeping her eyes forward instead of on him. ]

Because... that was some major showboating that could have gotten us caught. In the real world, infiltration means secret, quiet, and unnoticeable.

[He huffed.]

You were lucky this time... but luck runs out.

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I have no idea what I'm doing lol

me neither

Good. It means I'm not alone. LOL

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