takamagahara | Test Drive #34

TEST DRIVE # 34

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.

Jingle Jeans
The fresh new spring fashion trend is accessorized denim. Super-accessorized! Bells, chains, beads, zippers, belts and more drip from every inch of this season's hot styles, and the stores need someone to model their new stock -- and bring in the buyers. It's your job to convince the fashion-savvy residents of Tokyo that these new jeans are exactly what their wardrobe needs, without getting your five chain belts tangled.

Kitty Kibble
A huge, panther-shaped ayakashi is haunting the streets of Asakusa, and the pigeons at the local pigeon shrine have disappeared! Take care of this feline predator so the surviving sacred birds won't end up as dinner on the wing.

Lagging Laundry
The residents of an Ikebukuro high-rise have an unusual problem: no matter how sunny the day or how long it's been hanging, their laundry just won't dry! Do they have a moist microclimate? An ayakashi of mold and despair? Or do they just need someone to get all that wet laundry to the nearest laundromat with a dryer until the weather warms up?

Melon Mania
A gardener in Ueno has planted a brand-new strain of muskmelon in his window boxes, and this plant is going wild! Vines have taken over the exterior of his apartment building, and beach-ball-sized fruit are popping up all over. He needs help bringing in the harvest… but his neighbors are begging for this plant to wind up in the compost heap so their lives can go back to normal. Whose side will you take?

Nice & Neat
A community art project is being hosted at the Tokyo Art Museum! Jigsaw-shaped pieces of wood about the size of a hand have been handed out to artists and crafters throughout Japan, and the pieces have just been shipped back. Now, they have to be assembled into one giant jigsaw puzzle for display. There's just one problem: someone forgot to number the pieces before they were shipped! Now they've got a 20,000 piece puzzle whose pieces don't match, and it has to be finished this weekend for the grand opening. Help!

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

[Yeah... Zelda can't carry nearly as much as Ruler apparently can, and so she has taken to making herself useful mostly by cutting away at the vines crawling up the apartment complex. She has a decent sense of balance and no fear of heights, so it seems like the best place for her, even if Ruler seems to be much more adept at every step of this process...

From her place on a ladder, she listens to her conversation with the neighbor, generally ignored as denizens of the Far Shore are by mortals when they aren't directly interacting with them, and some time after Ruler finishes, she makes her way down.]

I must say, you make for quite the diplomat, Ruler.

[With the dispute settled between the residents, it's back to the physical labor. With all the help between the humans and other gods and shinki, it's relatively quick work, but Ruler still takes her time to avoid spoiling any of the produce. So it takes a moment for her to respond until all of the melons she'd gathered are in the crate.]

You think so? [It's hard to tell if the compliment flattered her or embarrassed her, but either way, there's an almost nervous sort of flutter in her hands as she brushes the dirt off of them.] I just... didn't want to see them angry at each other. This is troublesome, but still something absurd to fight over.

[Her compliments tend to cause a bit of bashfulness in those she gives them to (or, more accurately, she tends to surround herself with people who take a compliment about as well as she does), and so the slight fidgeting goes unremarked upon. Instead, she tilts her head as if to ask if Ruler is really trying to downplay things right now.]

I agree, but sometimes it is the most absurd things that bring out the stubbornness in people. [She... might sound like she speaks from experience. Very exhausting experience.] From what I could see, you diffused that man's agitation with the situation quite well.

[Whether it's helping the citizens of the Near Shore with mundane problems or fighting off ayakashi, Ruler's always downplayed all her achievements since awakening as Zelda's shinki. Her humble attitude has never once wavered in that time, so... it can't be anything but genuine, right?]

All I did was calm them down. The solution I offered... I think they would've come to it on their own. They just needed to listen to each other.

Well, you certainly expedited the process. You cannot be call that much into question.

[Ruler is definitely a counterpoint to Minako in many ways, from her humility to her patience. Not that she doesn't care for the other blonde shinki deeply, but she imagines Minako's handling of the situation would have involved a lot more yelling and thrown fruit.]

In any case, what is the next step here? I am afraid I am a bit out of my depth in regards to all this.

[who even asked a goddess of wisdom to deal with the melon menace, who foisted this prayer upon her--]

[Maybe the beings higher than even the gods of the Far Shore took pity on Zelda and decided to gind a good balance to Minako? It certainly helps when she receives prayers like this, at least?]

Hmmm... [She looks to the remaining vines; with much of it pruned down and the fruit harvested, the excess vegetation will probably die on its own. They've done a decent enough job, but still...] Perhaps... trim down the rest of the vines and move the box to the roof? That way, all those who wish to help the man have easy access to the plants, and the melons have room to spread out without inconveniencing anyone.

Edited 2018-11-03 20:48 (UTC)

[Zelda's not sure if she wants to give the Higher Powers That Be that much sense of charity, but yes, Ruler is definitely the best of them when it comes to the more domestic prayers.

At Ruler's suggestion, the princess follows her gaze up towards the last few vines crawling up the apartment building, her hand going to the handle of the knife sheathed at her hip. Why is she not using more modern garden sheers? Because fuck you.]

I believe I can handle the remaining vines. Would you want help with transporting the box?

[Honestly, Ruler can probably carry the thing on her own, but it seems rude not to offer...]

Would it be too much for you?

[Ruler had the utmost belief in her goddess's abilities, and this is nothing compared to some of the scraps against ayakashi they've been through... but she doesn't want to make it seem like Zelda is obligated to help her. She'll never try and make the other girl - her friend - take on any duties Ruler herself has no problem with.]

I can handle it on my own, if you'd prefer to focus on the plants.

I admit, I do not know how much assistance I would truly be. Your physical fortitude seems to be much greater than mine.

[Much, much greater. Gosh dang Servants being OP. How's a squishy wizard/fragile speedster supposed to compete with that?]

But I do not wish for you to feel as though you are doing all the work here yourself, so... I thought I would ask regardless.

[It... does sound a little silly when she says it out loud though, yes.]

Test Drive #34

melon mania

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