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takamagahara2018-11-01 10:38 pm
godsoffortune) wrote in takamagahara2018-11-01 10:38 pm
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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!
Feel free to come up with your own ideas if these don't strike your fancy, though.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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!
Waver Velvet/Lord El-Melloi II/Zhuge Liang | Fate/ Grand Order | Shinki
Christ, you're a slippery little shit, aren't you?
[Huffing, as Waver traces the claw marks left in the wood of one of the shrine doors. It looks like this particular ayakashi has been a problem for a little while if what he can get off the local shrine keepers is accurate. It's not the first time the birds have disappeared into this creature's gullet; thinking it was a natural predator, the keepers erected barriers to protect the coop.
Judging by the smashed debris, bloodied paw prints, and feathers everywhere, coupled by a few stray bits of fur snagged on splintered frames and gouges in floorboards, natural unfortunately was the wrong call, and that's when it was time to turn to prayers, and his turn to answer.]
But lucky for me, you're also a messy eater and I can work with that.
[A little bit of fur and blood is more than enough for a tracking spell or two to hone in on the beast. All the physical evidence of its passage, now that the shinki figures he knows what to look for, would only help him zero in on his prey.
And then...?
Waver both quails inside while a funny flutter of - anticipation for the fight? - of some strange emotion floods his veins and makes his heart dance. Visibly he just grits his teeth, steeling himself, because, yeah, when he finds it, then...]
This is going to be a fucking pain.
[... especially if he can't rope in some help to corner it.]
Puzzled
[Of all the tasks Waver could have been assigned, this one is proving surprisingly soothing and meditative. Enjoyable, even, though he had griped up a storm when he had seen the sheer mess they had left them to complete.
(Seriously! Was anyone thinking when they put this together? Did no one even check over this order before it was to be shipped?)
The puzzle pieces are snapping together alarmingly fast, as if the man can see how the scattered patterns fit into the whole despite the bigger picture being so raggedly incomplete to almost incomprehensibility. Yes... meditative. It allows Waver to wallow in the subconscious confusion at the way the currents of his thoughts are unfolding. The metaphors they're choosing. Pieces like soldiers marching into formations, puzzle patterns like troop movements unfurling to bring a grand tapestry of victory - what? Memory is dangerous, the shinki knows that, but he doesn't understand how foreign his thoughts feel sometimes.
Like pieces of him aren't him. Like those pieces are still him. A soul both strangely doubled and singular.
(But what is a Pseudo-Servant but a fusion? Even if Zhuge Liang is dormant, he's still there. Even if Waver Velvet originally wasn't meant to be a Servant, he is now.)
He doesn't understand why. There's something about Japan that makes him feel like he's walking over graves and even his own name feels ill fitting at times.]
Can you believe they want this done by this weekend?
[Complaining just to shake himself from the nature of his thoughts, because he needs to stop thinking about this, has to stop analyzing. And, well, even if Waver's speeding through what's passing through his hands, well, it's still a twenty thousand piece puzzle, okay?
... it's... okay, what the fuck were they thinking?! Twenty thousand pieces! By the weekend! This is insane.]
((Voice testing Waver here. Let me know how I do, since this my first time trying him out.))
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[Fret not, boy! Help is on it's way. Still that help would appreciate a tiny bit of previous notice. Not of the I-can-handle-this-it's-only-a-cat kind. Your god can sense your feelings, Waver.
Yet Iskandar is not here to berate him. It's a bit his fault anyway. They could have gone together from the start if only Iskandar hadn't dismissed this prayer as petty. Well, joke on him that only-a-cat turned out to be this monster. Still you live, you learn or so they say. He's here now and that should suffice.]
So you found the cat.
[Iskandar materializes a small distance behind Waver's back. He's just standing there, arms crossed, letting him finish whatever spell he's currently working on.]
((the_OOC_train_of_excuses: I'm sorry for taking so many assumptions here but the thing almost wrote itself I swear... Having said that I'm totally stealing Clock Towers' best lecturer for Iskandar because he would be so happy (a little frustrated, yes, but happy). Last but not least: worry not! Your Waver is awesome))
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This is better. Though...
... change in tactics. Find it and magically bell it. The environment's still not advantageous, so cutting down its ways to sneak up on them is an absolute must.]
Yeah. Got to say it wasn't exactly the puss I was expecting to find.
[TO BE FAIR, there's a bunch of wanted posters for another wayward cat in the area. Waver hoped they'd be killing two birds with one stone with this one. Alas, this is undead monster cat instead of Fluffy the cat.
He groans when he figures out where it's gotten to. Riiight. Of course it went there. This? This will be fun.]
You remember that high rise construction area right in the middle of the border between the nearest residential and commercial zone? [Excuse him, he's busy casting that 'bell' now. They're going to need all the advantages they can get in that sort of terrain.] It's hiding right in the middle of that mess.
[And worse, the area is heavily populated. Granted, being what they are, people's attention will flow off them like water, but if the battle happens to spill out into the open, people could get caught up in that and that could be a disaster.]
((Please steal him, Iskandar. Waver would want only his king grabbing him - you know, if he could remember - as, well, he's perfectly okay with helping others but he only serves one man.))
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Cunning monster knows where the food is.
[Even though their presence might lure the beast out that's still something close to thirty floors to search. He would hate to have run through them all.]
How much of the area can you block?
((Consider him stolen then. Iskandar would not suffer Waver being some other god's shinki. This could mean open war.))
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[Especially if the ayakashi is still hungry. They'd know for certain if they heard any screams. Fuuuun. Bugger would probably play with its food, too.
Waver brings his hand to chin to consider. Good question. They don't want their 'fun' to get away. He can enhance and supplement his borderlines with Bounded fields, and with his A ranked Territory Creation Skill and A+ Magic Stat, enclose the entire area without too much trouble.]
I should be able to lock it within the site. If we need a bigger area, my ability to keep things enclosed gets a bit more questionable.
[The shinki's hand drops away as he nods slowly.]
Are you going to want bait to draw it out?
[Offering, but that's Iskandar's call if he needs Waver to stretch his reserves any further to dangle something tempting in front of the beast.]
((Sometimes you got to fight a little to get what you want. :) ))
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[No ayakashi can resist a god's presence. Add a shinki for good measure and you need no bait whatsoever. That's the whole point. Keep the thing focused on them so it won't be trying to take a bite of anyone unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.]
I was actually thinking about making it smaller. As in trying to isolate it from all the poor souls that might be there and thus in danger. It depends on how precisely you can track it's current whereabouts. [And how close to the thing Iskandar can teleport them. Which is bit trickier to ascertain. He's good at many things but not actually master of precise teleportation.]
Though being trapped could make it angrier.
[Iskandar grins.]
Yet it's nothing we can't handle, don't we?
[The cursed thing fully deserves it's own demise. It might have been only the bane of pigeons up to this point but simply assuming from its current location it's dead set on an upgrade to the menu.]
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The knots in Waver's stomach take this as the best time to remind the shinki of their presence - hello, there - even as he nods. Killing the ayakashi is going to require them to get close and personal with the beast at some point, and frankly the only defense and offense outside his vessel form Waver has is his magic (and something bone deep tells him that's a major step up from something else) and whatever dodging skills at his disposal. Otherwise, aside from that, his combat prowess isn't much. He's frail (though again, that feeling - a major step up). Still, crazily, he's still anticipating the fight to come.
Then he puts the feeling aside, because he has a job to do, and picking apart dual running feelings of nerves-stomach twists-anxiety and bizarre almost but not quite excitement when it comes to battle can be done later.]
Tiptoeing around its feelings won't be necessary.
[Yeah. They can handle it. Precisely because Iskandar's in the fight and Waver has utter faith that the ayakashi is toast faced with him.
A wry sigh, coupled with the slightest smile and raised eyebrows as he adds.]
We're going to deprive it of dinner. That'll be enough to drive it completely around the bend.
[As for the rest of that...]
Hmm...
It's on one of the lower floors. That's all I can tell until I get closer with this spell. But... the cat shouldn't be able to ambush us once we get there unless we're very unlucky. I... 'belled'... it, for lack of a better word, with a curse.
[And this is why you never leave behind parts of yourself for a mage or a Caster. The ayakashi's fur and blood give Waver options when it comes to what he can inflict on it.]
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I doubt it would reconsider it's behaviour should we try to reason with it.
"Oh, excuse me gentlemen, I shall forsake my devious ways, refrain from eating people and become herbivore for the rest of my life. I may even consider joining a covenant on a later date."
No, I don't think this could work.
[If anything this mockery shows he's in a suspiciously good mood. Answering to prayers is all fine. He can always use some more followers and not only for the ego boost, as if he ever needed one. In truth, he was just itching for a real fight for some time now. So, dear kitty, you are most welcome.]
Let's get closer then so you can get a better reading.
[One of the more useful perks of Iskandar being a god not a Servant is that he can now just teleport in front of the construction site. So that's exactly what he does. Saves a lot of walking. Or riding for that matter. In short: useful.]
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Puzzled
[A can of coffee lands on the floor before Waver interrupting his laser focus for a second.
Iskandar can't help but whistle out of pure amazement. Here he's been gone barely for a few minutes and yet Waver have made quite a progress with this hellish jigsaw. That is truly impressive. They way he just puts the pieces in their places with no hesitation. As if he knew beforehand where each one belongs.]
That's why they need divine intervention, I suppose.
[From the place, not to mention the height, where he's standing Iskandar can see the full picture slowly but surely emerging. He is going to make it. And with some time to spare.
Of that Iskandar is sure. He can't be of any help himself. He haven't even tried. He'd get bored out of his mind in first minutes of the task and then be more of a hindrance than help. Still watching somebody do it properly is mesmerizing. Especially, someone that good at what they're doing.]
((the_OOC_train_of_excuses_continues: sorry for the double but I just couldn't decide.))
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godsoverworked and overstressed professors facing final grading hell everywhere. Or in this case, totally tunnel visioned shinki who are facing hours of putting this godforsaken mess (and ssshhh, secretly enjoying every moment of the challenge in front of them, bitching beside) together with a rapidly approaching deadline.Though said shinki might want to work on situational awareness outside that laser focus, because...]
AH!!
[That sudden divine caffeine blessing startles him right back on his ass. Face red, Waver looks around wildly for a second or two. What?! When did he get back? What's the time?
... coffee time...]
Uhh, thanks.
[Thankfully Waver's tendency to flail has decreased over the years, even if he's remained at a fairly even level of crankiness. He's still blushing, looking away in embarrassment, because that was a moment of utter fail and also Iskandar got him something nice. Geez, you didn't have to do that for him at all, you're going to spoil him at this rate.
Thankfully, scolding will save the day, or at least keep Waver from showing too much dere, and that comment of divine intervention causes him to snort.]
And they wouldn't need any if they had properly planned out this project from the beginning. [Rant's going on hold for a minute so he can crack this cold one open.] A project like this must have been in the planning for months - you're telling me none of the designers had the oversight to check their piece even once to see if the design was finalized and everything was properly numbered?
[And back to putting everything together. Waver presses together his lips grumpily. That goes there, and that goes over there, and that... oh, he can link together these big sections, wonderful.]
Someone's ass might still get reamed even if the display's ready for the event opening. This could have cost them more than a few yen.
[When money's involved, close calls due to accidents like this usually don't pass by completely ignored. Waver's job is to get this up and keep someone from being fired. ... he doubts they'll be so lucky to escape some kind of dressing down.
Then again, Waver's not so tolerant of fools in general and sometimes (a lot of times) it shows. Management might be a little softer in their outlook.]
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Instead he just laughs.]
One would think I brought you a cauldron of ambrosia! Though I believe at this hour coffee might indeed posses much greater appeal.
[Iskandar sits on the floor careful not to disturb any of the already assembled pieces. Waver can save his situational awareness for some other time. His laser focus is in more demand now. Yet in one thing he's absolutely right. The sheer fact they were needed at all here is testament to some glowing incompetence on behalf of the museum. Which is utterly appalling considering they are the Art museum in the capital city of this country.]
They do seem to miss some crucial managerial oversight.
[Iskandar can understand just fine that mistakes happen. This is why you always need to have people to check after you. That's absolute foundation of logistics. No one sane would just embark on campaign without ensuring they've got all their supplies in order! This applies to any endeavour of substantial degree of complexity. Those people here? They don't do complexity very well. No wonder all they could do was to pray.
It might also be internal politics of this institution. Sometimes it is as pleasant, if not outright beneficial, to see your opponent fail as it is to win yourself. As much as Iskandar despises such underhanded tactics he must admit: this is exactly a kind of situation one could expected such a behaviour.]
We're probably saving some poor sod from dying of shame homeless on the street. That's a good thing.
[He is exaggerating and he knows it. Still sooner or later someone is going to get hit by the fallout of this disaster. Even if the worst part has been averted. The only hope being this was an honest mistake of a person far too absent-minded for their position and not actual ill will.]
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His dignity and his laser focus thank you for your noble sacrifice, though! Precious time won’t be lost spluttering. Instead, one finger raises as he gulps down at least half the can in one go..]
It's pretty much the same thing!
[He jests. Or commits heresy, because he has the strangest feeling he’s just done that as an image of tea flashes to mind.
Waver watches Iskandar settle, then turns his attention back to the pieces. One hand darts out to grab a piece painted with flowers lying near the god's knee, head tilted as he listens and nods.]
Among other things…
[Brains, common sense, organizational skills… Waver could go on, but for Iskandar’s sake he’s going to curb the complaining a bit. At least try, anyway. One noble sacrifice deserves another, and this is his.
He snorts a bit at that, hiding a smile. Bantering with Iskandar feels natural, good, just like slipping into a warm bath. Maybe he enjoyed that in general in his previous life or maybe it was the people (person) he was with.
It's no good to dwell. But he can run with that exaggeration.]
You say it like the irony wouldn't do them in first. [He waves a puzzle piece towards one of the exhibit's fundraising banners. The cause of the community charity being sponsored? Helping to end homelessness.] But perhaps the near miss will inspire them to treat this as a learning experience.
Hopefully.
[If not, Waver would argue against fixing the next fuck up. Sometimes you just have to fail spectacularly for the lesson to get through.]
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[Iskandar has no special fondness of coffee but he can understand. The beneficial effects of keeping one awake and alert in the middle of the night are in themselves commendable. Though the medicine is a little too bitter for his tastes. That's why his own drink is not coffee but some local beer.]
Sadly they don't sell wine in those nifty cans here. Alas! I can live with beer for the time being.
[The vending machine on the back of the museum building had very wide selection of different coffees, some sodas but very poor of anything even resembling proper liquor. Frankly, there was this beer and one other strangely looking brew with flowers and sparkles on the can. Settling on beer was evidently the safer option. Though Iskandar did hesitate for a moment. He was curious what this other concoction is.
He can't help but chuckle at "learning experience" part of Waver's comment.]
Yes, let us hope they indeed do. For if they don't I'm inclined to consider them beyond help.
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[Absently as three puzzle pieces click together. He's sure he's seen wine in cans. Somewhere.]
You'll have to let me know how the beer is. The ones I've had from the vending machines have been hit or miss. [Though Waver prefers wine or scotch himself, he's not one to turn down a pint or two.] ... the last one I had was only a few steps up from piss.
[And not one to hold back his Opinions on the quality of it. Or Opinions of anything. When it's not certain to get him killed, that is, and even then...
Waver goes 'heh', ducking his head, and scattering one or two pieces as the ends of his hair sweep along the floor. Good to know they're on the same page about that. It briefly occurs to him that tying back his hair might be helpful, but he shrugs, instead pushing back the mass back behind his shoulders to drape against the red of his coat.
Keeping all that contained in a ponytail sometimes was a real pain. He slightly smirks, and though the tone's teasing, Waver's completely serious about going through with this if Iskandar wants.]
In other words, if they fuck up this bad again, any prayers from them go in the trash. Can do.
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Then I have yet to see it. For all I've encountered up to this point was beer. Even this one funny machine that doesn't give you a can but pours a glass which then you have to wrangle out of it's clutches without spilling the contents everywhere. The beer was awful but I find the idea interesting. Impractical but interesting. This one...
[He finishes his beer in one big gulp then flattens the can to a small disk of aluminum.]
It's not terrible, I had worse. Not exactly great either but it's better than nothing.
[Said like a true alcoholic he is. Still in all fairness what he is supposed to drink? Water? Like animals?
Iskandar watches the hair incident with slight amusement. He even manages to catch one of the flying pieces and return it to it's original place. Still he's not going to criticize Waver on his fashion sense. Far from it! Especially when the said fashion sense is actually so spot on. However impractical they can be at times, long hair really suit Waver. Not many men can say that about themselves.
So does the red coat. Though Iskandar can be biased about the color scheme as black, red and gold is actually his own favourite set.]
Maybe. They'd better show some improvement if they want my attention. I have no patience for lazy.
[Though this strongly depends on the situation. He can be quite compassionate if he wants to. Quite inconsiderate also.]
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Animal control
Have you found anything aside the general mess?
[That is, if the stranger doesn't mind the snark.]
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In other words, the usual
heart attackfriend or foe assessment of one Servant recognizing another for the first time. Even if Waver is somewhat of a special case in that regard.Then the tension seeps out of his frame and Waver takes a moment to push some of the long hair hanging like a curtain over his face back over his shoulders. Okay, not friend but not inclined to be foe based on his words.
Hopefully. Depends on how shit his luck feels like being today.]
Some fur. [Waver holds up a small tuft.]
Some of the beast's blood. [Exhibit B - a splinter of wood covered in blood that couldn't have come from the pigeons. That goes pinched in his fingers along with the fur.]
One noxious energy trail. [Ayakashi energy is... distinctive to say the least.]
And... [One eyebrow raises finely.] Someone who's hopefully here to help.[A beat.] Unless you're just here to check out what all the ruckus was about.
[Mind the snark? Waver runs on snark, minding it or not. He can take it. Hopefully Archer doesn't mind it being dished back.]
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and feeding all of them.Thus Waver is merely classified as another ally from the same world. A bit odd in sense of energy, but that's just a detail.Not that Archer's luck is much better.]
I hope you're good at following energy trails. [his own magic focuses on completely different area, forcing him to rely on human senses.] And that you don't mind if I tag along. Can't really leave such lost looking fellow all alone.
[Archer can dish it back, so it's going to be a regular snarkfest.]
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Gentlemanly of you. It's a rare thing this day and age. [Waver's brow raises a bit more. Put like that, is he saying Archer can't track it?] But, sure, I'll help you out. I can track the cat down.
Is your partner on the way?
[Important to know if they are going to be able to kill it or if they are going to have to contain it until a god-shinki pair arrived to kill the blighter. Waver rather hopes it's the former. The sooner the ayakashi is disposed of, the better.]
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I'm touched. [Archer does nothing to confirm Waver's suspicion.]
I'll call him once we find our prey. He enjoys a good hunt. [he glances at the signs of carnage and smirks.] Looks like it's going to be fun. Lead the way, mister caster.
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[Waver frowns even as he shrugs, mind starting to shy like a spooked horse. Caster. He rationalizes - probably referring his magic and it's a common word - and the feeling eases.]
My name is Waver, actually. [Just so Archer doesn't continue to refer to him by that title.] And you?
[But in the meantime, time's a wasting, and while they're away, the cat will play. Who knows what its potentially gotten into now.
Let the hunt begin! The shinki has a rough sense of where the beast has ended up, but pinpointing it means getting closer, and Waver uses the cast off energy of the ayakashi like that of Theseus' guiding thread, patiently following it through the labyrinth of Tokyo's streets and keeping an eye out for any physical sign of its passage. Hopefully he can glean further information about what it's been doing.
It occurs to him, that it's not the only thing he can do with the connection. Perhaps he can slow it down, or at the very least 'bell' it.]
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Puzzled
It is a very ambitious project. Although it is not unusual for exhibits to face some hectic times, they should have asked the artists creating the pieces to perhaps be finished at least a week earlier, then this would not have to be done in such a rush.
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[Waver is... being Waver, in contrast. Give the man an inch to bitch about and he'll go and seize a mile instead.
It doesn't seem to affect his ability to put together the puzzle, though. Instead he seems to thrive on griping, snapping pieces together faster and faster. Maybe it's a superpower of his?]
I'd love to know whose grand idea to do it this way was in the first place.
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Ambition does not always go hand in hand with competence, after all. The miscalculation this time around is almost amazing.
[ His pace might not speed up, but conversation doesn't slow it down at least. He does have a few centuries of experience by now. ]
I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find out whose idea it was, if you really want to look it up.
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[Strangely, Waver can and can't say the same. While the man has a few decades of life on him, the Heroic Spirit he's fused with is nearly two millennia old. Not that it matters, Waver can remember none of it in his unlife and Zhuge has, for all intents and purposes, washed his hands of everything being as dormant as he is.]
Even if we save their arses here, what brought them to this point had better be addressed. Divine intervention should be the last resort and doled out sparingly, especially in cases like these.
I don't intend to bail them out again if they cock things up due to their own stupidity.