takamagahara | TDM #19

Entry tags:

test drive

TDM #19

TEST DRIVE # 19

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.

Marriage Mystery

A brand-new wedding chapel in an upscale Tokyo neighborhood has a problem: both brides and grooms keep getting stood up at the altar! Help find one of the fleeing spouses, and figure out if it's just wedding jitters or whether there's an ayakashi scaring off would-be newlyweds.

Nervous Neighbors

This quiet suburb has been rocked by the arrival of a new family... or is it a rock band? They've painted their house purple with blue LEDs under the eaves, they loudly practice electric guitar and trumpet late into the night, and they put their garbage and recycling out on the wrong days. And now, they've invited the whole neighborhood to a barbecue. One way or another, this is going to be a party to remember.

Outrageous Owls

Something's gotten into the owls at Kamakura beach. Not only are they showing up during the day, but they're fighting off the seagulls and dive-bombing surprised beachgoers to steal their bentos... and are they a little bigger than usual, too? Could some of these angry owls be angry spirits instead? Oh no! Duck!

Putrid Piles

Performance art or gross prank? That's the question in Ginza this week, where giant heaps of household garbage are appearing on the sidewalks and even in the street overnight. For some reason, no one's been able to catch a glimpse of the prankster. Maybe what they need is a little divine assistance, or at least some help power-washing the sidewalk before the upscale shoppers arrive.

Quilt Quandary

A fiber art exhibit at the Tokyo Art Museum is having some very strange problems. At first the labels just seemed to be out of order, but now it seems like the dozens of gorgeously sewed antique quilts in the exhibit have a mind of their own. They fall off the walls, they drape over display cases and swaddle priceless statues, and sometimes they even tangle up visitors or security guards. The museum needs someone to deal with whatever's gotten into their quilts in a hurry, but be careful and don't break anything!

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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Marriage Mystery

[ The order was probably very simple- if she had seen someone dressed as either a bride or groom, then stop them. Either that would help them get down to the center of the mystery, and in case of ayakashi, stopping their prey would work for some effective bait.

What was probably a little unexpected, however, was that the tan woman was holding a young (and fashionable!) bride in the air by at least a foot.

Holding her by the throat that is. Not with a strong grip, but it couldn't be good for the girl's airflow either way. ]

Apologies. I'm not supposed to let you run away.

Outrageous Owls
[ There really wasn't too much that could be worse than a mass of oversized owls fighting both birds and beach goers. In fact, many would be too distracted by the flying attackers to really notice that there was someone in a full length maid uniform also out on the sand. Of course, even to spirits that are simply mimicking and acting like the birds they've shaped themselves from, some things are irresistible. Small animals, bento boxes with easy pickings, and something dangling at the end of a 'rope' of hair, gleaming in the sunshine.

As one of the owls dives down, Hannah stretches her arm out to stop someone that would've walked in the way. Mostly because, given that the bird grabbed the end of a firmly attached 'rope' of hair, it was about to get stopped mid-flight. Right along that person's path. While her voice was soft and serene, if not almost sounding like it asked for forgiveness, there's a stranger look in her eyes for anyone that was perceptive enough.

It wasn't quite amusement. ]

If you could, please watch your step. It's a little dangerous right now.

Wildcard
Come up with something and I'll follow along! Alternatively, you could use either of the prompts from the previous Test Drive

A - Nervous Neighbors

[Rika had been here for some time, yet still there were things that were completely novel to her. This was one of them. She'd never seen a house so colorful before, or heard the kind of music that these people liked to play. She even tried some food she'd never had before, or at least, not since arriving here. Had she had this kind of food before? Oh well, it wasn't important, she just knew she liked it.

She was having a really good time! She might have forgotten, or maybe she'd never been told why she and her god were supposed to be here for. It was to join the neighborhood party, right?]

This is so much fun!

[Not that she needed to speak the words; her bright smile already spoke for her.]

B - Outrageous Owls

Those birds are big!

[But rather than showing her usual joy at meeting a new animal, she frowned. A sense of unease blanketed her. Were those ayakashi? She looked down from the birds to look over the beach-goers instead, seeing if any of them needed immediate help before she looked back at the person she was with.]

Those aren't normal birds.

[She was sure of it now.]

How do we fight them? They're in the air.

[She looked concerned but determined. They weren't causing too much of a problem right now, but if left alone they definitely could!]

C - Wildcard

((Open for any of the other prompts too. Something not listed here is also okay!))

Outrageous Owls

[Owls during the day? Nina's seen a lot of owls, but not any that liked to fly around during broad daylight. Owls aren't scavengers, either. Clearly, the best thing to do is to bring one down to look closer. Notching an arrow, she sees one that looks like an easy target. She lines up the shot, and raises the bow.]

Get down!

Quilt Quandary

[Was taking a quilt herself to investigate sentient quilts a bad idea? Yep. Did she do it anyway? Yep. But she'd worked it all out with Mr. Quilt when she solicited his services, and so far it's going fine. But as she went by an exhibit, the quilt decided that it wanted to drape itself over it. It's all Nina can do to pull it away from the statue, and the quilt trips her as she tries to stop it. Down she goes. It's pretty undignified, but she's too mad at the quilt's betrayal to care. She isn't paying attention to anyone walking by to hear her.

Is she arguing with the quilt? Yes, yes she is.

Please don't step on her.]

Wildcard

[Come up with something! :) ]

Edited 2017-08-02 01:57 (UTC)

[Rika was startled at first. Quilts weren't supposed to do that on their own. So why did these ones? She would have investigated it for herself, but before she could, she sees what happens at one of the statues. She doesn't have to think twice before she moves close to help.

Her hands pull at the quilt where it's tangled up with the other girl's legs.]

Are you okay?

[At least she doesn't say anything about the arguing she heard. Maybe the quilts could hear it too?]

[It takes some more struggling - and at least one squawk - before they're finally able to get the quilt off her legs so she can stand up. She manages to ball it up. Save worrying about wrinkles for later.]

Been better. Thanks for -

[Before she can finish, the quilt decides to make another go at it.]

Nonono, get back here!

Edited 2017-08-02 03:48 (UTC)

Ah!

[Rika joins in, moving to grab the quilt too. The quilt, for all that it's supposed to be an inanimate object, is fairly strong.]

Maybe we can use some rope to keep it bundled up?

Oh no! That's no good!

[ A distressed six-year-old darts up to where the shinki holds the bride aloft, waving her hands in concern. ]

Umm. Excuse me? Could you please put her down?

[ Nanako giggles and glances over at the shinki she's with, happy she's enjoying herself, even if she's been watching the party with a somewhat puzzled look. There are other gods and shinki here too, keeping an eye on what's happening because it feels like there's a strange undercurrent of emotion beneath the partying, but Nanako's still not sure what that will mean for people here.

But for the moment, she just smiles back at Rika warmly. ]

It's a really big party, huh?

[ This... Was this the first time that a child had acknowledged her? The older woman blinked in surprise down at the small figure, still holding the bride where she was at the moment. For reasons beyond Hannah's understanding, this was having a stronger impact than anyone else seemed to have. ]

... I see. You're from the other Shore.

[ She lowers the human woman enough that her feet were back on the ground, though continues to maintain her grip on the throat. Not so dangerous, now that gravity was taken out of the equation, but there was an eerie contrast between the girl's struggles and casual body language that the darker maid seemed to have. ]

Is that better? You really should get going, before it gets particularly dangerous around here.

[ Did she care if it got dangerous for the little girl? ]

Oh yes!

[Rika is quick to agree.]

I've never seen so many people in one place before. The music is so lively and the food is wonderful!

[She gushes about her experience so far. She may not be sure if she's ever actually experienced it before or not, but she knew that she was definitely enjoying herself!]

A little, but you should really let her go. I don't think she will run away anymore.

[ Nanako still looks a little concerned but she smiles up at the shinki all the same. ]

I can't leave yet. I'm not finished here.

[ Nanako laughs and hops down off her perch to come stand with her. ]

I'm glad you're having fun. What kind of food did you try? [ She peers at where all the food is laid out, buffet style, taking it all in with wide eyes. ] Wow, they made a lot, didn't they?

Yes, it looks as though they've made enough for everyone here. They're very nice.

So far I've only tried this table.

[There were only two tables filled with food and Rika wanted to try a little bit of everything. But there was a lot of food, so she would have to wait before trying the second table.]

Have you had anything yet? Out of the ones I've tried, the chicken is my favorite.

Finished? I was not aware that they tasked multiple gods for something this small.

[ Just as she wasn't aware that there were such small gods, or shinki, in this area. It's not a thing of concern, so much as a detail that she hadn't considered.

The woman considers the order that she had been given against the child's request. Hannah's god would be displeased if any of the humans were injured, and while this was the safest place to hold the almost-runaway, there was no specifics on holding her the entire time. Just to stop her from running away. Which is why she adjusted herself so that the child could not see Hannah's face for what she was about to do. At least she kept her voice calm. ]

I suggest you return inside, for your own good.

[ Whatever the bride had seen was enough to make the most near-sighted person see the whites of her eyes. Waiting for a terrified nod, the dark woman's grip finally released, letting the young lady stumble back before scrambling inside. However, everything was back to the way Nanako had always seen the woman's face; right down to the mismatched blue eyes. ]

If there are ayakashi at the source of this, she would have brought them out of the chapel and right to us.

The kind with the sauce on it? That was really good! There's pastries over there that have meat in them that are really good, too! They're different than ones I've had before, I don't know what they're called though.

[ Considering that whatever they're here to watch for hasn't happened yet, she doesn't mind enjoying herself in the meantime. ]

[ Nanako watches in surprise as the shinki finally released the bride and she flees back into the church with even more haste than she'd run out. That was... odd?

But Nanako is quick to shake her head at the assumption, looking away from the chapel instead. ]

No, I don't think the ayakashi or evil spirits are in the chapel. Sometimes they don't like those, especially when they're really shiny like this one. [ What does that mean? She doesn't think anything odd about the observation, clearly. ] I think it was trying to scare people out where it could get to them.

Shiny?

[ She wasn't in the business of scaring small children, so hopefully those parts of her didn't have to come out in a way for this one to see. Not that Hannah quite understands why- she wasn't thinking much of any of the humans around. Still didn't think much of the little girl, either.

It at least causes the chapel to earn another scrutinizing look- she hadn't simply because the order 'stop any runaways' meant what was outside, or in for that matter, was none of her business. This didn't help her understanding, however.

Certainly a demon would count for this category of 'evil spirits', right? ~~Not that stopped demons in her world.~~ ]

I feel nothing of this 'shiny' sense that would stop entry for anything.

[ Nanako blinks for a moment then looks back at the building before looking up at the shinki. ]

You can't see it? It shines like this!

[ She holds out her hand in front of her to demonstrate, a faint glow springing up to encircle her hand with a warm, soft light. ]

[ It certainly is a kind of light that some would probably consider warm and pretty, though her interest is more in the small child goddess that was making it. The way that and the saftey of the chapel still lacked something to really seem sensible to the woman. ]

... And you believe that this stops dark and evil things from going in the church?

Outrageous Owls

[To be honest, the sight of a sunny beach full of people distracts Lucina for a good few minutes. The sound of surf crashing on the shore, the children laughing as they upend buckets of wet sand that hold their shape, families sharing lunches and smiling with such carefree expressions...it's enviable and beautiful at the same time. Part of her wants to sit down and watch this peaceful day pass, but-

A dark, large owl swoops in from above, slamming a seagull from the air and into a beach umbrella. The group sheltered beneath it shouts and runs away as the birds battle it out, and like a spring, Lucina is on her feet and unclasping her blue cape.]

Ah - no! Stop it this instant!

[Is. Is she trying to catch the owl in her cape. Oh, honey, no. That's probably not going to end well. You might want to pull her back before she gets hurt.]

Putrid Piles

[The smell of garbage in the summer heat, even in the early morning, is nasty. Lucina pulls the collar of her tunic up over her nose and fumbles with the large plastic bag in her hands. The material is foreign, slippery. How is it supposed to hold so much refuse?]

Incredible...where does it all come from? [Brow drawn in a grimace, she plucks out an empty fast food carton and drops it into the bag.] Surely one family couldn't create this much waste alone...

[While it might be more prudent to find the source of the garbage-leaver, she can't just leave this giant mess here to rot in the street. Care to give her a hand?]

Mmm, I don't know for sure. But I know that some ayakashi run away from the light. I've been trying to learn how to use it better because of that. And since the church is really shiny, I thought maybe that was why there was no ayakashi in there. but something still scared that girl. She wasn't scared inside - she was happy and laughing. And then suddenly she was scared and ran away.

L-Lady Lucina, wait!

[Even if she's royalty, even if she's a goddess, Prompto doesn't think twice before grabbing her arm putting himself between her and the bird.]

Don't touch it! It's dangerous! Use-- [Aaaaa this is so weird, but:] --use me instead!

[He can feel his name as if it's alive, there inside his wrist, ready for her call.]

[Takumi is looking at the mess like he'd rather be anywhere else]

It's not just one family, everyone living here throws SO MUCH away it's disgusting.

Edited 2017-08-06 18:15 (UTC)

Marriage Mystery

[One of the sorta-nice, sorta-not 'perks' of being dead is that no one really gives Prompto a second glance. He doesn't have to explain who he is or why he's there as he sidles into the chapel after another potential couple, one of whom seems decidedly nervous about the whole affair. She keeps glancing around, sticking close to her apparent betrothed, and several times her eyes almost land on Prompto--only to skitter away. He's left to take pictures of the chapel with his cell phone in peace, though the creepiness of the place hangs on him, too.

The venue owner's trying to explain away the spate of jilted brides with a nervous laugh when the bride-to-be tugs on her fianc´'s arm.

'Let's just go,' she says. 'This place is cursed.'

'Honey,' starts her man, but he sighs and gives in. 'Sorry,' he tells the poor chapel-person and escorts the woman out, an arm around her shoulder. Prompto smiles and snaps one more picture of them as they leave.

And then he sees the tiny ayakashi spidering down the back of the lady's neck and beneath her collar.]

Oh, crap!

[Prompto shoves his phone in his pocket and follows them into the street, whining sorries and excuse mes to people who barely notice when they bump into him--but then he hesitates and looks back up at the chapel. Spiders usually drop down, right? And a single ayakashi of that size couldn't ordinarily do any damage of note.]

There's... probably a whole nest up there, huh? ...Haha.

[He gulps. He hates spiders.]

Quilt Quandary

Aw, what a pain...

[Whatever's causing this mischief, it at least isn't living in the quilts--or at least not right now. Prompto sighs as he carefully undoes the knots of a fashionable quilt-toga from around an unrelated statue's marble curvature.]

Why couldn't it have been a photography exhibit? I didn't even know quilts were, like, a museum thing. Maybe a grandma museum. What's the big deal about MMPH--!!

[And that's about when a heavy blanket dropped on him from the ceiling.]

Wildcard

[Or hit me up with anything else! It doesn't have to be prayer-fulfillment.]

[Let's be real, only a specific kind of person actually finds joy in picking through trash.]

Is it like this everywhere? Could the families truly not think of a use for any of this? It feels so...wasteful.

[Is that a bunch of rotted-through bananas going into the bag? Uh-huh. Honestly, get a pot and use it for compost for herbs or something, what the heck.]

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TDM #19

Hannah Annafellows | Kuroshitsuji II | Shinki

Rika | Phantasy Star IV | shinki

Nina | Fire Emblem Fates | God

Quilt Quandary

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Marriage Mystery! >.>

Nervous Neighbors!

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Re: Nervous Neighbors!

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Lucina | Fire Emblem: Awakening | God

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Owls

PP

Prompto Argentum | Final Fantasy XV | Shinki

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