(no subject)

[godsoffortune]

TEST DRIVE # 15



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.



Sneaky Snakes

There are a number of snakes that have become possessed by a bunch of very sneaky ayakashi. They are slithering around, silently, snaring unsuspecting passersby into their trap - their trap to steal money. That's right, these snakes are busy snatching bills and coins from whoever they can. Try to put a stop to their thieving ways, or perhaps get thieved by them yourself.

Tummy Troubles

Many of the customers of a certain restaurant are complaining of the fact that their stomachs hurt after eating there. It could just be food poisoning, but many of these people are winding up in critical condition after a couple of days. It's time to figure out what the heck this cook is actually putting in the food.

Underwhelming Underwear

A family run business has been selling underwear for generations, but the underwear they sell is super boring and bland. Nobody wants to buy from them when cooler underwear is just around the corner. They've asked you to help them bring customers back in - by making their boring underwear seem as cool and hip as possible! How you do that is up to you.

Vividly Violet

There are so many ayakashi making their way through the air that at sunset the sky is turning an absolutely gorgeous shade of purple. Near Shore residents are reacting to this in varying ways. Many are delighted by the beautiful sky, but just as many are terrified that it's a sign of the end of times. Try to take down some ayakashi to make the sky less purple. Or just sit back and watch the beauty.

Wonder Wall

Anyways, there's this college boy who won't stop playing his acoustic guitar. He's from the US and is trying to pick up Japanese chicks. By now he should've somehow realized that they're totally not interested in him. But the song just keeps getting louder and louder and all that the people near the campus can hope is that today is gonna be the day that he stops playing. Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves them.



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!

Comments

[killsthebuddha]

[ In the past week, he's been set on fire by Kougaiji and fired from his damn job by the Three Aspects. Even Hakkai's warning smile, the one he knows means trouble, doesn't get him to back down right away. ]

Damn right none of us should be. [ He's no stranger to wearing marks of divine meddling in his face. He's had his chakra on his forehead for half his life now.

And he's been fired. ] I'm not.

[ He's self-destructively stubborn enough to let that be a vague answer. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ He hadn't expected to feel so relieved to get an introduction like that from her. It makes him feel light-headed, or maybe that's just the fact that he'd jostled his injuries. ]

The 31st of China, Genjo Sanzo. It's the same for me as well. [ That he introduces himself is unnecessary, but it's a comfortable formality to respond with. Settling back down with much more care than he'd reacted, he conceals his revolver once again before picking up his dropped lighter. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Taking that lowering of speed as his cue to prepare, Shun opens up the lighter again, flicking the flame back into existence. By the time Kanade makes that warcry, Shun's practically on the same wavelength already, and in a quick, sweeping motion to make sure they don't get caught up in it themselves, he sets the drifting particles alight. In the next instant, he dips his weight towards the open air on their other side, to help Kanade get away from the blaze faster.

The flaming chain reaction moves quickly - it's not quite a flour explosion, but the spread isn't unlike it either. The ayakashi twist and shriek as the fire licks at them, hurting even if it doesn't have the power to kill them, and though the embers die as fragments of the ayakashi go ashen and fall away, there still seems to have been more than sufficient injury and distraction to make this easier.

Crouching low to Kanade's back in readiness, Shun pockets the lighter again and holds on.]

Let's make this quick.

[reformedsinner]

[I'm not could mean a few things. It could mean that he's not a shinki. It could mean that he wasn't going to answer.

It could mean that he's in a foul mood and, like Sanzo tends to, taking it out on everyone around him. But, in that case, it says something that he hadn't pulled his gun on Hakkai for speaking suddenly behind him.

Hakkai crosses his arms, looking back up at the wavering, variegated purple of the sky.]

Perhaps it would help if I told you that new shinki can remember parts of their past lives.

[It's deniable enough, he supposes: if Sanzo's sulking over his loss of memory, it's an offer of comfort, and if he's talking cagily around Hakkai to avoid hurting him -- well.]

I, for instance, remember a significant part of the past few years.

[declamando]

[It does take Maria a little while to try the bra on - she has to get both her upper layers of clothing off first, and that's before she even gets to removing the bra she already has on. She's just gotten the new one on and is turning in front of the mirror to see how it fits when Kanade opens the curtain. Though she doesn't quite look embarrassed, she does instinctively bring up an arm to cover her chest.]

No, I just took a minute to get undressed. [There's a somewhat sheepish smile.] I'm fine for the moment.

[thirdbeauty]

Eh?

[She blinks, looking surprised. Acchan is the latest in a long line of girls she's met that seem perfectly comfortable with innocent little affectionate gestures like that. But she never wants to assume, so she's equally surprised every time it happens.]

Um, sure...

[It's a little awkward, with someone she doesn't really know yet. But she doesn't seem uncomfortable with it. In fact, once she's moved closer and slipped an arm around the other girl, she seems noticeably less tense.]

Like this?

[bussounoshima]

[Relief, near-fatal injuries, who can tell the difference. A bit of tension leaves Sharak's shoulders when Genjo confirms her suspicion and returns the completely unnecessary introduction. These nerds.]

Good. [She holsters her gun and goes to sit down next to him.] The whole thing is bullshit, but shinki get the worst of it. What's the last thing you remember?

[kokuyoyo]

I thought it'd be interesting to watch. It's not my god's problem.

[Ice cold.]

[Still, he sighs as the ayakashi start to crawl along, and raises his hand. In a flash, literally, a borderline suddenly cuts through the room and shines bright- a mostly impenetrable barrier. At least, it should hold against low level creatures like this.]

What are you even doing...

[madcuriosity]

Alice looked about and gestured idly to the building that said "Theater."

"DO you think we'll find someone in there that can recommend it? We can't be too far from the music building, if they have such a thing." Should one of them pretend to be a lost student, perhaps? Well, in her case a lost child.

[madcuriosity]

Oh... um... sorry I didn't get it.

[She hadn't laughed, after all. She clapped.]

Oh splendid! And they stole money! I watched them pick several pockets!

[killsthebuddha]

Before I woke up to some lying asshole? [ He scowls, though it's not directed at her. That would be his vision graying out and hitting the temple floor, and the fuss that came after. He isn't about to admit that directly, especially since it was his own fault that he'd pushed too hard and collapsed. ]

We'd spoken to the Three Aspects, but I don't recall much after that. [ Hakkai had given him pain medicine, so it's little surprise. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ That's better than nothing. He looks more sharply at Hakkai as if searching for something. Maybe he even finds it as, apparently satisfying, he relaxes fractionally. Not entirely. Never entirely. He'll take what he can get for the moment, too damn tired to push for more. ]

That sounds like it makes it worse. [ He can see the immediate issues with such a thing, though that is interesting. If the people forced to be called shinki hadn't had their memories wiped, then he might be able to work with that.

Sanzo has never been a sentimental man, but a tight knot in his chest eases. It isn't just vengeance that he'll have to be after. ] But it's not my problem. Some wiseass decided I should be called a 'god.'

[reformedsinner]

Ah.

[A little of the tension in Hakkai's posture eases, too, at that admission. How had Gojyo managed it, with three of his friends as other people's shinki? Hakkai's failing badly enough to handle one. He's glad it's not two.

He's glad Sanzo's alive, although 'alive' is a debatable category for gods as much as for shinki.

Alive, he thinks, looking at the man again, and....

A pin-scratch of a line appears between his eyebrows as he considers Sanzo.]

... Well, the Heavens' judgment is questionable at the best of times.

Are you just sitting here to enjoy the show?

[Or has he been hurt?]

goddammit Koumyou get out

[killsthebuddha]

[ Hakkai is either poking at him or that's not part of what he recalled. That's going to be aggravating, not knowing which it was. It's well within Hakkai's nature to fuck with him when he's pushed himself past his limits. He grunts softly, looking away as if the conversation was somehow uninteresting.

It's keenly uncomfortable for him to have to come out and say anything about his weaknesses. ] Tch...

[ He shifts and sits up more, still careful of his arm. ] I'm not recovering any faster if I stay inside somewhere.

[ There, see? He did his part, and without risking any details. ]

[reformedsinner]

You're hurt.

[The pin-scratch frown deepens to a genuine crease for a second before smoothing away again, and Hakkai politely coughs into a hand.]

Well, I won't ask how that happened. [Since he doesn't know -- which means, if Sanzo's just arrived and it's not fresh enough to be accompanied by the smell of blood or damage to his clothing, that it's something he doesn't remember and therefore it's not safe to ask for details.

They all lived dangerous lives, and it could've been almost anything, he supposes. He might not even have been there.]

Did you know that gods and shinki are delicacies to ayakashi?

[It's in a helpful tone. None of the monsters coiling across the purple sky has turned its gaze to them yet, but, honestly, it could happen any time.]

a

[moonlitknight]

[ The scene has the Hunter stopping. ]

You can speak to them?

a

[moonlitknight]

[ From behind: ]

What are you doing.

[killsthebuddha]

Something like that. [ So he didn't recall it. He wants, absurdly, to press for information. Interrogating Hakkai is a terrible use of time, however, and who knew what it would open them up to.

Besides, Hakkai is using a particularly helpful tone. An "ah, Sanzo, I'm too much of a shifty bastard to directly suggest I think you're stupid" tone. It catches his attention, but his response is much too level for him to be anything but in rough shape. ] It figures that the inconvenient parts of this are true.

[goeshyper]

EEEEEH?! [When the older Lambo disappears in a puff of a smoke, Tsuna visibly frowns. It's not that he isn't happy to see the teenage Lambo, but he was hoping for some sound advice. He really didn't know how he should be going about this god role, so any insight would have been appreciated.

Though Tsuna figures it's something he couldn't ask about, he just needs to learn through trial and error, like everything else in life. If Reborn were here, he'll probably hit him for being lazy, and taking the easy way out.

The smoke clears and the younger Lambo is there looking confused. It must be hard being displaced to different timelines, Tsuna isn't sure he'll be able to keep up.]

Lambo, you're back. I didn't think the ten year bazooka would work here. [He pauses, considering something.] Do you still recognize me?

[usedperishsong]

We could stick to folks like glue till they buy somethin'.

[ And forgo this entirely. ] Or - if we go for a makin' a "bang!" --

Hey! [ She calls to the whole gathering, waving a hand above her head, then forming a circle with her hands. ] Anybody got a beach ball?

[usedperishsong]

[ Kanade keeps her head through the curtains to dog whistle what she sees. ] Hey, you're makin' that look worth somethin'!

...Ahah. [ Sheepish laughter. ] I'm a lousy salesman, aren't I.

1/2

[gottastaycalm]

[ The loud screech has Lambo cringing back for a second. That is, until he realizes who it is. ]

2/2

[gottastaycalm]

[ He's used to the older, more mature -- ]

Tsuna-nii.

[ The young Italian looks back at him with a careful smile. He's used to the older, more mature Tsuna. This younger version of him is a little odd and brings him back to his childhood days. ]

Yare, yare. This brings back old times.

[usedperishsong]

[ You're tellin' her? Kanade actually huffs a laugh at that, bird lungs and all, somehow, before flying straight at the conflagration.

She knows she doesn't have to yell this, even telepathically, for it to work, but she does so anyway - her "voice" as raw as if it'd been torn from her angry throat. This is for everybody you're scarin'! Everybody you might have already hurt, or were going to hurt---

This is for the god that she's never, ever, ever gonna let squander the life that he's still got, and that he's living with all his might even though she can tell he's carrying a lot of burdens that stiffen his shoulders too much--

This is for whatever killed her at seventeen. ]

REND!

[reformedsinner]

Of course.

[Always assume the worst, and it will generally be correct.

Hakkai casts another thoughtful glance at the sky, and steps around the corner of Sanzo's park bench in order to sit neatly on the end he's left free. He must be badly hurt to be sounding quite so calm, or badly out of his depth with too few questions answered, or, of course, both.

He produces his own packet of cigarettes and lights one, still with the slight care of someone to whom it isn't yet second nature. Awkward though it is, there's something calming about the ritual and the bitter smoke on his tongue, and Hakkai contemplates the irony that the little taste of relaxation makes it a very healthy habit for a shinki.

Sanzo doesn't want to talk about his injuries, and if he's not actually passing out, Hakkai's willing to respect that for now. They've presumably been treated by someone, after all. He deliberately doesn't think about who that person might be.]

I suppose you have questions.