Test Drive #26

[godsoffortune]

TEST DRIVE # 26



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.

Volatile Vagrant

Ayakashi generally have a particular method by which to hurt humans. But an ayakashi has appeared that seems to be completely random in its methods, and anyone merely being near it becomes a target of its malevolence in a variety of ways. Dispatch this vagrant ayakashi before it harms far too many people.

Warm Wanderlust

Hitchhiking in Japan is rare. A friendly but lost-looking foreigner on the side of the road will attract fascination, concern and compassion. But a Japanese person doing the same likely won’t attract the same positive attention. Yet here is one Japanese person praying for a way to experience the adventure of the hitchhike. What to do for your follower? Well, going as a group of three sounds good, doesn’t it? Just be sure to attract sufficient attention to yourselves so that the drivers will properly notice you!

X-Games X-out


The X-Games, popular overseas, has suddenly become a hot topic with Japanese competitors taking top spots in skateboarding events. Burning to follow in their wake, young teens have taken to the streets, parks and basically anywhere with a strip of pavement to hone their skateboarding skills (which may or may not exist in the first place). While it’s good to see kids getting away from the computer screen, they’re also becoming a public nuisance: damaging handrails, narrowly missing pedestrians, and making noise right up to sunset. Answer the prayers of the kids yearning for glory? Answer the prayers of those wishing for peace in their neighbourhoods again? (...What’s a ‘skateboard’ anyway?)


Youthful Yente

An enthusiastic grade-schooler has started a new career helping people find love! She's hooked up teachers, classmates' parents, even random strangers… but it seems like all the matches she's trying to make this month have gone horribly wrong! Is she being stalked by an ayakashi or is this just bad luck? Either way, she needs help getting her mojo back.


Zodiac Zenith

In the trendy Ginza area, a mall has set up an elaborate indoor display of lights set to represent the real night sky. The key feature is the evening illumination show, where the various zodiac constellations are lit up to music. Strangely, there are growing rumours that those who view the show become even more focused on their horoscopes (much to the benefit of local fortune tellers). It’s even said that people’s personalities shift to become more stereotypical to their respective signs. Take in the show for yourself and see what happens?




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

[lightninglobster]

[It's fine, Ryoma's got nothing but time. He enjoys his tea and studies the crowd with a critical eye, looking for people acting strange (or, to be a touch more correct, people acting unusually strange, as Ryoma is approximately eighty years old in his heart of hearts and everyone else is just weird.) He glances up when his name is called, looking back to Sakura with an expectant tilt of his head--and giving an indulgent smile when she finally ends her conversation and comes scooting to his side.]

Did you find out anything interesting from the fortuneteller? For the mission, I mean.

[And with a playful little quirk of his lips, Ryoma takes a particularly swift sip of his tea, brows raising as he feigns looking back over the crowd once more.]

[festal]

( She can't help but duck her head when he smiles at her. It's not like's never seen him smile before but... it's nice to see him smile easily all the same. In response to his question, she nods and looks quietly pleased with herself, )

N-no but I learned so much! I'd always known about the twelve animals of legend in this world but I didn't know there were twelve other signs as well! A-apparently those signs are more common in other nations... but it was so interesting to learn about them! ( If she were actually a diviner and not a priestess, maybe she could appreciate these signs in a different way but as it is, she's simply interested in the legends and stories behind those signs. ... Though, the teenaged amateur diviner at heart is also intrigued by their meanings. ) I even learned the name of the stars I was born under.

Oh... ( And she laughs lightly, ) I don't think it suits me at all, though.

( And just recalling what the fortune teller had told her makes her blush and become quiet. )

[lightninglobster]

[He hides the rest of his smile in his drink, listening with an attentive tip of his head as Sakura bubbles with excitement over the things she'd learned. It's nice to hear her speak so freely--the young goddess tends to favor silent and shy, so having her be so excited about something is infectiously cheerful. Ryoma's certainly in a far more pleasant mode than he'd be otherwise, especially with a potential unknown adversary waiting for them at the end of... whatever this display is.]

Which stars are those? Maybe we can find them on the show arrangement and see if there's any merit to the rumours surrounding this place with you as our test subject.

[And since Ryoma is kind enough, once you get under the poised and somewhat cool exterior, he just sips his drink and declines to tease Sakura further... for now. He'll put that in the back pocket for when it's least expected.]

What do your stars say you're supposed to be like?

[festal]

The ram, "Aries." ( She's much calmer now that her earlier excitement has passed. ) Where I'm from... my sign is the sheep which is m-much more fitting, I think.

( Gentle, calm, and terribly shy. Everyone had told her it suited her, at least. She looks up at the illuminations and tries to find the right set of lights. If she recalls... she only needs to find one and count backwards or forwards so... She finds one, a pair of stars she recognizes as "the twins" and begins to count until--

She points up at the lights, )

There.

( Using her as a test subject, though? She knows she shouldn't hope for it. This place must have some sort of spell on it and it needs to be broken. But.... if she could become just a little braver... She looks at Ryoma when he asks for her divined character. Her smile is quiet but wistful as she looks away, recalling exactly what was told to her, )

Courageous and confident, determined and honest. ( And perhaps the last two can describe her but the first set? Not at all. ) Impatient and short tempered, impulsive and aggressive. ( Things that don't suit her at all. ) A leader that accepts any challenge.

( If anything, her reading has only told her of the things she isn't. )

... She must have misread me for my brothers.

[lightninglobster]

[Ryoma tips his head back as he looks, studying the pattern of stars and trying to find the ram in it with the intensity of a man who thought he'd find the answers hiding among those darkened lights. After a moment he looks away, focusing on Sakura instead as she speaks. There's a gentleness to his face as he lifts a hand to rest on her shoulder, squeezing gently as she watches off into the distance.]

Perhaps you just haven't found the opportunity that pushes certain traits to the forefront--determination leads to a lot of things.

[There's a pause, then, and then a bit of a chagrined look on his face as his thoughts catch up to his mouth.]

Not that I think you have a mean bone in your body, of course!

[Good job insinuating Sakura's going to go off on a barista at Starbucks the day she's pushed right to the edge of her near-infinitesimal font of patience, Ryoma. Perhaps it's better to change the subject--to, brothers. Those seem nice and neutral, right?]

What are your brothers like?

[festal]

( She jumps when he touches her, looking up at him with wide eyes. He has her complete attention as he speaks, like a child listening absolutely to someone much wiser. What a very niisama thing for him to say, even if he doesn't remember her at all. She takes his words to heart the way she does whenever he gives her advice and

Smiles.

She'll even laugh lightly when the meaning of his words catches up with him. She would have never read into it like that but since he has and feels the need to correct himself.... Well, she'll have a small laugh at his expense. How's that for a mean bone? )

Hee.... hehe, maybe you're right...!

( Just maybe. Which is less than "of course" but a lot more than a "never." But what is he right about? How right is he? She'll let him figure that out. As for his question, her smile remains and if anything, it only glows brighter and warmer as she speaks, )

They're the bravest and strongest people I know. When I'm with them... I never feel afraid. I-it's like... all of my fears just disappear! There are some people who... don't understand them o-or only know one side. So maybe they seem a little intimidating and can be difficult to get to know... but those people just don't know them the way I do.

[lightninglobster]

[Truth be told, Ryoma could use more people laughing at him. It keeps him humble when he thoughts tend to run lofty--honor, truth, justice, and all those good bushido things that he won't shake despite his situation because they're so carved into who he is at his core. He takes the ribbing in stride, meeting her smile with one of his own as he retreats back to his own comfortable space at her side, listening to her as she nigh on gushes with praise about her brothers.

It's good to see Sakura so happy. She wears the lightness well, and it eases some of the tension that Ryoma always seems to hold. He's guarded by nature, calm and calculated and very careful in what he does--but maybe he can be happy for a little while until the problem they're here to see to truly plays its hand.]

They sound like good men. They must feel so lucky and so proud to have someone as dear as you for a little sister.

[Men who'd hang the sun and moon just to see Sakura smile... how lucky it must be to have a sibling.]

[festal]

( They are. They're such wonderful people and she knows how blessed she is to be able to call them hers. All of her good fortune seems even greater now that she's faced with her greatest brother, feigning unfamiliarity and ignorance when inside, she can feel a cry, screaming how lucky she is to have him for a brother and how much his words really mean to her. He means so much to her and his words are so precious and important and she can't even let him know much she appreciates him for his everything!

All she can do is draw strength from the strongest people she knows. Like the big brother from her memories, she needs to be strong and steady. If she falters, others will see and everything will begin to crumble.

Whereas normally she would bow her head humbly and hide away, she manages to keep her head up and maintain her smile-- pleasant and light, much like the way someone else used to smile before they passed.... The confidence she gives off is much quieter and calmer, )

They are. ( They're the best. ) If anything... I'm the one lucky to have them.

( But this isn't a conversation they should linger on for too long. She's afraid she won't be able to keep her poise and so she moves on, )

Shall we keep investigating?

[lightninglobster]

[Maybe someday, there'll be more to his calm, proud smile--something more than a friend watching with happiness as their shyest companion eases out of her shell, bolstered by happy memories and the strength of her bonds. He matches her smile, chuckling quietly as he gives a decisive nod.]

See, there's some of that confident young ram!

[He teases, of course, but it's nice to see Sakura so fired up--in as much as anything stokes a fire in her gentle heart. He looks around the crowd, glancing between people and the as-of-yet unlit display, a thoughtful expression drawing some severity back to his features. It was time for a battle plan.]

You're right. We don't have much time--perhaps we should find a better vantage point? Or find a way to get closer to the display itself...

[festal]

( Some of that confident young ram? Sakura's eyes widen at the implication and she looks away, cheeks turning a shade pink because she knows exactly what that means. Brave and confident? Her? She dreams! But if Ryoma says it then... it must be true, right?

She looks up again, trying to see what he means by a vantage point. It's a shopping mall so there are several floors they can try to observe from. Looking around, she points to the escalators not too far away, )

There. ( At all of the people moving up, up, up! ) We can go to one of the higher floors!

... Oh! ( And an idea, ) We can look out for other fortune tellers!