takamagahara | Test Drive #34

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test drive

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

[ Berserker feels that annoyance, but he simply doesn't care. He looks it Irisviel without a strong expression. ]

I didn't ask you to accompany me on this task. You don't have to do what you're doing.

[ It's pointless to tell her this, he knows. There's a feeling she would've come along even if he specifically told her to stay behind. He would never understand her devotion. ]

[An Einzbern homunculus is meant to be nothing but a vessel, independent enough to defend itself and thus the grail, but to want nothing, to desire no self. But Irisviel is not a blank slate like the rest of her forgotten predecessors and discarded failures. Though Kiritsugu's upbringing is forgotten, her personality is still there and devotion to a cause runs deep, reinforced by the role of a shinki.

Her god is prickly, apathetic, uncaring, but Berserker is her god and she would rather see him unharmed.]

What would you do if you came across ayakashi? Strong as you are, you cannot rend on your own.

[She reminds matter of factly, putting on a smile, waggling the dropped sock she just picked up. Her annoyance abates into exasperation.]

And who would pick up the laundry you're leaving behind?

Edited 2018-11-04 01:47 (UTC)

[ Berserker can't even be disappointed in her attitude. He simply accepts it as a fact of his life. Her devotion seems pointless to him, but again, it's just accepted. It's easier than rejecting it or pushing her away. Plus she serves her purpose well. ]

Hmph...

[ She has a point about the Ayakashi, of course. He's used to being a one man war, relying on someone else in a fight to finish the job is still strange. The scolding about the dropped laundry gets an annoyed look, the most emotion he's showed so far. ]

No one, but it shouldn't be a problem for you, anyway. You may leave it where it lays, I doubt it'll be missed.

That won't do. If we're to help others, we should do a good job of it.

[Her voice is quiet and soothing, but no less chiding. Irisviel hikes the bundle of moist clothes up, squeezing it tighter. She'll need to wash her own clothes once this is all done, hopefully whatever spell or ayakashi or something doesn't carry to the Far Shore.

She walks ahead of him, her pace slow. It's as fast as she can go with the frailty of her body. It'll only take a few steps for Berserker's longer and faster stride to overtake her, but as she walks along, she enjoys the scenery. Everything is new and it's pleasant and exciting.]

This is nice.

[ Berserker doesn't push the point again, just resigns himself to the chiding. It's simply easier if he accepts what she says. Adjusting his own pile, he slows his stride to match her pace. It's not out of courtesy, but out of it just being the easier path. This way he doesn't need to wait for Irisviel to catch up or be chided for getting so far ahead. ]

You find such joy in simple things.

[ His tone implies he doesn't understand why. Berserker finds no joy in anything, much less in what he just considers a simple errand. There is only the task at hand that needs to be done, nothing more and nothing less. Paperwork. ]

[Irisviel would not call Berserker kind or even considerate, but she notices him slow down for her sake. It's efficient, that much she recognizes, but it's still nice.]

Is that wrong? I have no memories so everything is new.

[The point is as matter-as-fact as her others, but she smiles brilliantly at him. Everything is exciting where there's nothing to remember, and if it's a simple-minded view, so be it. Even as mundane as the task is, it still matters to her and she'll cherish it as a nice memory.]

[ He forgets that others aren't like him. Or is it that he simply doesn't consider it because it doesn't matter? There's no urge to truly understand why. Emotions he considered useless were forsaken to strengthen his body.

Her smile simply makes him furrow his brow. Anyone else may have been charmed by that smile and her selfless attitude, but the apathy within Berserker is just too strong. ]

I never said it's wrong...I don't understand finding joy in a task like this. It's strange, even if you remember nothing.

[If she remembered anything, Irsviel might have compared Berserker to another implacable man of steel she once knew, though even he softened with time. There are no such thoughts here that she'll somehow break through his apathy nor does she have plans to. He is her god and so he is how he is, just as she is how she is.

But it would be nice to see him smile.]

We're helping people, aren't we? Isn't that worth some joy? And we're doing this together.

I don't find joy in helping people. It's just what has to be done...Whether or not you're by my side doesn't change that.

[ Good luck with ever getting him to smile, Iri.

There's no harshness in his words, just that same indifference as ever. What a person for him to have as his shinki. She never seems deterred by his apathy, never expects to fix it, though. Maybe she could have a positive effect on him in enough time. ]

If you find joy in such things, I don't resent you for it.

It would be silly of you to resent me when you could have joy too.

[A shirt slips out of Berserker's stack of laundry and Irisviel stops to pick it up and add it to her pile. Her arms ache and she feels a little winded already, but she puts on a smile and presses on. The frailty of her body is a fact as plain as being a shinki and neither bother her any. It doesn't mean she wants to slow down or hinder her god any more than she does.]

I saw a cafe on the way to the apartments. Should we get food after the laundry is done?

[ Food. Berserker never really desires to eat or sleep, but Irisviel is doing him a favor by helping with this task. He's not entirely cruel and he notices how tired she's getting. He stops and takes the pile of laundry she's carrying from her to relieve her burden. Even in this twisted form, he still appreciates loyalty and she has been nothing but loyal. ]

If that's what you want. I don't want you to starve, after all.

[On cheeks so pale, the blush as he takes the laundry from her is unmistakable. She's embarrassed but thankful and her head inclines toward him. Her hands lace behind her back as she walks alongside him.]

I don't think shinki can starve. We're already dead afterall. But the food here tastes so good. You should eat with me more.

Why? I don't need to eat.

[ He knows he's not exactly the best company, either. Though eating helps him recover faster, he still rarely eats. The barest necessities for survival and nothing else is generally how he cares for himself. ]

...But if you wish it, I'll eat with you today.

[ A concession. He's not unappreciative of her, after all, and it's the least he can do. Literally the least he can do. ]

[It's the very least he can do, but for a man so indifferent, the concession matters. Irisviel's head snaps up, unabashed delight in her eyes and grin that settles into a mature warmth. It's perhaps wasted on him, but she sees no reason to hold back her feelings. Her mood reflects in their shared link, a warm glow of happiness.]

Thank you, Berserker, I'm very happy to hear that.

[ The emotion is...unexpected. He's still unused to sharing strong emotions with his shinki and it makes him pause for a moment. If that's all it takes to keep her happy, though, and for her to continue to be a useful tool for him, so be it. ]

Hm...You're welcome, then.

[Sometimes it's all it takes. Irisviel is simple in her wants; a place to rest her head, a goal to work toward and achieve, some kindness and warmth. Her hands unlace and she reaches up to hold onto Berserker's arm, stepping closer to him.]

[ Berserker allows her to hold onto his arm. It causes him no trouble and refusing the touch would likely upset her. He doesn't understand why Irisviel is so kind to him, why she treats him this way. The effects of his corrupted summoning have twisted him so far that kindness is alien. ]

We're nearly there...We'll see shortly if there's more work to be done or if this is just an errand.

[It's a miracle in many ways someone taught about the world and developed personhood under Kiritsugu's tutelage could be so kind and gentle. But also shielded from the world in so many ways, it's perhaps understandable there's a purity around her. A blessed vessel, the holy chalice given flesh and blood, it's fitting.

(A shame the Holy Grail was already corrupted by the time she gave her flesh to become it, rendering her death pointless.)

Free of her memories, her burden of being, why would she be anything but kind to her god, the person giving her a purpose? Irisviel holds his arm in a light grasp, hand so weightless.]

Is there an answer you would prefer over the other?

[ Perhaps her presence will do Berserker good, give him a sense of balance. It would take a lot to break him of his worse habits, to break through the apathy, but her attitude already soothed him. The strongest emotions he's felt have not been his own, but hers through their shared link.

It's alien, like so much else to him. ]

...Less work so this task can be done. So you can rest and we can eat.

[ It's only a concern for him so that his tool can continue to be of use. She doesn't need to know that, though. ]

So you do have a preference from time to time.

[She's facing forward, but a teasing smile plays on her mouth.]

[ He looks over to her and sees that smile. Strange. His eyes slide forward again and he just huffs quietly. ]

Only when it's the best choice to make.

[ Or when it's the easiest, the path of least resistance. ]

How do you know when it's the best choice?

[Her expression doesn't waver. She is loyal and devoted, gracious and kind above all, but she is not passive either. A shinki is a tool for their god, but tools can carry many purposes and one such purpose is being a moral compass. In words and deeds, but also through the shared emotional link and blight.

Berserker is an apathetic man, but Irisviel still believes there's something guiding his decisions.]

When it's the easiest and benefits the most.

[ He answers simply, as if it were the most basic question how could be asked. Truth be told, he appreciates Irisviel's patience and want to understand him. There's no way he would ever voice this, but the fact he doesn't scorn her efforts speaks volumes. ]

[A light, sing-song hum escapes as Irisviel turns her face toward the sky.]

So if there was work to do that benefited people weighed against the same amount of work that benefited less people... you would pick the former because it's the most efficient and serves the most.

But if it was more work to serve more weighed against less work to serve less... [Her brow furrows. She kicks a rock in her path, a giggle escaping as it skips and rolls ahead.] Ah, is it better to do a large amount of work at once or smaller pieces that may add up to an equal or greater whole?

[She speaks mostly to herself as she parses out Berserker's logic, but turns to him with a smile for his opinion.]

[ Berserker listens passively, his expression unchanging. ]

I would pick the former, you're right. [ There's a pause as he considers the second part. It's a challenge to his way of thinking, certainly. ] More work can be separated. That's why I have you and Avenger...to split the work. If I were to do it by myself, I would do less if only because it's simpler.

[ Again, all very matter-of-fact. ]

The situation changes depending on who is at my side.

Test Drive #34

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