Test Drive Meme #36

[godsoffortune]

TEST DRIVE # 36



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.



Testy Testers
Welcome to being part of the test market! Here, in this small room filled with other volunteers, you will be asked your honest and unfiltered opinion on any number of products. Potato chips made only from the peel (clearly the best part), candy themed after the latest fashion trend (zippers), gloves made from 100% recycled paper (just because we can)... the list of odd and fabulous items goes on.
Conversation brings out more opinions, so you’re free to discuss your thoughts with other testers, but just don’t get in a fight over it, okay?

(Real-world inspiration for items can be found here!)


Umpire Usurp
Recently, one baseball umpire has been making headlines for an unfortunate reason. His calls at the plate have been getting progressively worse, calling obvious balls strikes and vice versa, to the point where the fans are livid and ready to riot.
Protect this umpire and get to the root of his problem? Join the side of the raging fans? Or maybe dig a little deeper and find out that someone stands to benefit from this umpire’s fall from grace.


Violence vs. Violin
After the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in East Japan, a violin maker made a violin from the driftwood. The sound of that violin is incredibly beautiful and soothing, touching the hearts of all who hear it.
Turns out, the power of the “tsunami violin” extends to the Far Shore as well.
At this concert, a grouping of small chick-like spirits that resonate with positive wishes have gathered. Unfortunately, that group attracts a pack of snake-like ayakashi that would love to devour those positive spirits.
It’s an unseen battle that will hopefully go unnoticed by the concert-goers and performers, if you do your job of dispatching the ayakashi well!


Wandering Whippoorwills
Traditionally, the Whippoorwill bird isn’t found outside of the Southeastern United States, but now astute birdwatchers are reporting seeing them in the vicinity of temples and shrines to Amenohiwashi-no-kami. Nature professors, veterinarians, auguries, and many others curious about the event have flocked (!) to the area to see for themselves if this is true.
The congestion around such a minor god’s temples and shrines is a little much for the caretakers to handle, though - from birds and people both - if you’d care to help out. For starters, there’s garbage collection, crowd control, rinsing off the sidewalks, or restocking some of the temple and shrine supplies that visitors want to take with them.


Xièxie
There are plenty of Chinese restaurants all over the globe, and they draw in crowds for many reasons. A less common one growing in popularity is young students trying to practice their language skills by reading the menu and ordering in their clipped Mandarin.
At the threshold of some Chinese restaurants, small pig-faced ayakashi are loitering, waiting to catch a ride in on a student’s shoulder. Then, no matter the student’s natural personality, they become progressively more brash and insulting as the ayakashi affects them.
The ayakashi are nimble despite their pig-like look, and if threatened will run around between people’s feet, making them difficult to catch.




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

Atem ☆ Yu-Gi-Oh! DM ☆ shinki

[puzzlingly]

( Testy Testers )

「It seemed like a good idea at the time. He may not be able to remember being this hungry before in his life but he now constantly seems to be, more than once his own impatience had driven him to burn his tongue whenever he got a hearty plate of udon or ramen. Which is why this chopstick fan seemed perfect! Strange, yes, but who knows, it might be what the future might be like.

It is how he's now sitting down in front of a rather large ramen plate, chopsticks in hand, ready to devour it without having to wait an eternity for it to cool down—he turns on the fan and

the noodles fly right from his chopsticks to the person sitting right next to him.」

Ah—

( Wandering Whippoorwills )

The Whippoorwill aren't the only unusual birds that can be seen gathering at the temple. Anyone observant enough might notice the rather small falcon eyeing the birds from the top of the gate's torii, bobbing its little head without taking its sight from them.

If it is hunting, it hasn't really moved from there for a long time. And, why aren't those from the Near Shore noticing it?

Vesta - Testy Testers

[flutteringprince]

[Okay so, that is a pretty cool invention but, but, how the hell does it have that powerful of a fan?! Ryuu flailed when noodles went flying at him, although he needn't bothered because they just splashed into his own big bowl of ramen.

He sighed, thankful to not getting burned from hot broth (although his shirt was another matter) and glanced over at the guy with rather obviously shonen hair. can you even chopstick bro?]

You're probably better off just cooling it down the old fashion way, y'know.

[puzzlingly]

「Ah well, that's much better than he was expecting. Crisis averted, not that he's slightly ashamed about it. He puts aside the chopsticks after turning off that devious fan.」

The old fashion way it's rather messy.

「Slurping noodles? Him? No way. Although, if hungry enough...」

[flutteringprince]

[Thankfully, Ryuu was about to test a new broth, rather than some new invention. Some sort of vegetarian blend, or was it vegan? He wasn't sure, but he figured why not.]

Well, I mean, I guess you could just use a fork like some foreigners do? But it's really not all that messy if you know what you're doing.

[Slurping was the only way to do it! Besides, the noodles don't go flying if you do it right.]

Just make sure you got the noodles within the chopsticks space, or bite into it if you don't think you can slurp up the whole thing. See?

[He gave his a go... and then stopped halfway to stare at his bowl disapprovingly, biting and using the chopsticks to put the noodles back without splashing. He swallowed and frowned.]

That was the plainest bowl of ramen I've ever tasted.

[puzzlingly]

「Atem listens despite looking a little bored (he's not very keen at people telling him what to do), truthfully he could use more practice with the chopsticks, however. He takes a meticulous stare as the other eats his noodles, taking in the little details of how he's doing it, his brow arching at the disappointing countenance on the other.」

That bad?

「Maybe it was good he hadn't tasted his to begin with.」

Wanna go get real food? Maybe you can keep telling me how to chopsticks.

[flutteringprince]

Yeah.

[With a sigh, he pushed the bowl a way. Plain ramen was even worse than bad ramen. But he perked up at the invitation to go elsewhere. He grinned.]

Sure! What did you have in mind? We don't have to go to a place with chopsticks.

[puzzlingly]

You like burgers?

「It's not like he finds them familiar or anything, he just seemed to have gained certain degree of likeness towards that food.」

[flutteringprince]

I do!

[Burgers were great, a good alternative to ramen! It was still something warm in the somewhat cooler weather.]

You want to hit a fast food place or a restaurant type? I could go for either.

ww

[timeforpink]

[ Why aren't they noticing it? Jen half frowns, half smiles at the falcon. ]

I don't think intimidation's gonna work on them.

[ Just saying. ]

[puzzlingly]

「Intimidation? Far from it! But he can definitely notice that this one is talking to him! The pair of little bright black eyes focus on her. So she can see him! It's not entirely strange but it kind of is! What is she? Is she like him or is she a spirit?

He gives her a bit of a chirp. He's only watching over the birds, lady.」

[timeforpink]

[ She's dead, and she's getting what he's saying, sort of. ]

I don't think they can hear you, either. [ She means the humans. ] But if you swoop down on anyone throwing trash wherever, I'm sure the shrine's god and caretakers would appreciate it.

xso She knows she would. Less trash to pick up, you know? ]

[puzzlingly]

「He seems pleasantly surprised that she seems to be having an actual conversation with him, he could just ask his god to call his name but the truth his, he doesn't mind being on this form for long time and he doesn't want to bother them.」

I can do that.

「Maybe she cannot hear him, but she maybe can understand anyway. It is when he notices the smoke of someone's cigarette, why would anyone be smoking at a temple's grounds!? It happens to be just a passerby that got curious about the amount of people, but at the disappointment of the fuzz only being about some birds, he took a long drag from the deadly stick and tossed the butt carelessly onto the ground. How rude!

Atem gives the woman a quick look, as if saying "watch me". He plunges down aiming towards the cigarette's butt, picking it up and taking flight again, only to toss the thing on top of the guy's head. Of course, the guy is startled and annoyed but Atem does it a couple of times more, he won't stop until the guy gets it!」

You'd think they learn fast!

Wandering Whippoorwills

[mysticadventure]

[Sakura really wasn't that concerned about no one noticing the little bird. After all, it didn't bother anyone! But what she did notice was the way it watched the other birds. She also sensed something from it. Magic, perhaps?

She was dressed in a traditional miko kimono, as she was working their to figure out who made the prayer about the unusual sighting of these American birds. She had been there a couple days and so far, the only common thing she found was that small falcon.

With no one really noticing her already, Sakura made her way to the gate and, checking to make sure none of the patrons were looking, released her Star Staff and pulled out the Jump card.]

Jump!

[With the cards release, wings appeared at her ankles beneath the hakama and she jumped easily to the top of the gate. She crouched down and held her breath. Did she scare it off?]

[puzzlingly]

「People seem too entranced by the view of the whippoorwills that it is rather easy to notice the one little girl noticing him. Ah! He tries very hard not to let his excitement show, but he puffs proudly anyway. It's always nice to meet those that might actually remember him later!

What he wasn't expecting was the girl spreading some kind of magical wings and jumping all the way to the top of the gate, more than scare the little falcon he seems to widen his little black eyes at her.」

That was impressive!

「Can she hear him, though? It's common knowledge that shinki can only talk to their gods when in their shiki form. Either way, he makes a melodic whistle, acknowledging her abilities.」

oh no atem is a cute birdie

[mysticadventure]

[She smiled brightly when he seemed to not fly off, even puffing up all proudly. But then, it was her turn to widen her eyes when she heard his voice.]

Hoe?! You can talk!

[Wait, did that mean...! She gasped and scooted a little closer, mindful of her footing.]

Are you a shinki? Or a god?

･▽･ glad you approve!

[puzzlingly]

「When you're a bird it's a little hard to make expressions, they are rendered into little jumps, wings flapping and tail fluttering, it's his tail which spreads, pleased to listen that he can be heard.」

Of course I can. I'm a shinki, and you?

<3

[mysticadventure]

I didn't know shinki could become animals! I'm a god, although I don't really feel like one.

[Sometimes, it was hard to believe she was a cardcaptor as well. She adjusted herself, sitting down properly so her feet hung over gate. She returned the card, pocketing it and sealed her staff, tucking the necklace back under her kimono.

He was free to hop on her lap if he liked!]

How are you taking being a shinki?

[And the fact that it meant this person had died. It was something she was familiar with but nonetheless felt sadness over it.]

[puzzlingly]

「It takes Atem a moment to speak again, taking in what she's doing. Was that a card? He seems to have taken interest in that, but would it be too rude to ask? He's supposed to behave in front of other gods, after all, they are all mysterious in their own way and asking would be rude. Maybe.」

I didn't know either.

「He's not exactly sure if it'd be nice to perch on anyone that's not his god, though, but it surely feels awkward to hold a conversation from such different heights. 」

I... don't really know how to answer that. I don't have anything to compare it to.

「More like, he doesn't remember. There is no sadness in his tone, however, he doesn't remember his death being painful or sad, just that he died.」

I wouldn't call it a second chance at life but, it sure feels nice to be able to be useful and help people despite it all.

「He gives a little jump.」

... What kind of goddess are you?

[mysticadventure]

[She does notice his intent look and she gives him a sheepish look, flushing. She was not entirely sure how to explain it herself, not many knew of her gifts at home and those that did had already been familiar with the magic from the get go, Tomoyo aside.

Although, it made her miss her family and friends back home. She sighed softly, resting her hands on her lap and looking up at the sky.]

I suppose it would be difficult without memories. But, as long as you're happy and you have friends by your side, then I'm certain that everything will surely be alright.

[She smiled at him, tilting her head. She could always depend on her invincible spell.]

I'm Sakura, by the way. Sakura Kinomoto. And, hm... well, I'm a goddess but I represent a powerful magician from legend instead. So, I don't know what kind I am. But I'm going to do my best to be a good goddess!

testy testers

[icecreamchampion]

[What an awful tragedy! Cynthia lets out an exclamation of disappointment as she watches the noodles go flying. Such a horrible waste of good food.]

We need to let them know about such an outstanding flaw! After everything they put us through, you deserved the reward of a good meal!

[Coincidentally enough, this woman has had passionate things to say about every eating-related product up until now.]

[puzzlingly]

「There is nothing left to do for the noodles, Atem doesn't make much of a fuzz either way, apologizing quietly to whoever can hear him. But he wasn't ready for the enthusiastic speech. He actually looks around, is she really talking to him? Yeah, she is.」

Ah, sure, I was going to write a review since they would likely forget if I told them. It's alright though, don't worry about it. I'll get something else once I get out of here.

「He walks away from the booth and meets her halfway.」

Have you tried anything good?

[icecreamchampion]

That makes sense. [Forgive her, young man, she's just so shook.] And I suppose, but... it's a true shame that your ramen went to waste like that...

[She has to think for a moment about his question.]

Well, I suppose the super-elastic hair ties were of respectable quality.

[puzzlingly]

Hmm? You think they'd work on my hair?

「No need to even specify why! Is he kidding? He doesn't seem to be kidding, keeping a bit of a half smirk.」

[icecreamchampion]

Hm? Well, I suppose so, but I simply assumed you had it styled in such a way by choice.

[She seems to be taking it seriously.] Is it hard to manage? I have to admit, mine can get in my eyes rather easily.

[puzzlingly]

「He shakes his head slightly.」

Believe it or not, I don't do much to it. It just sticks up that way.

「It probably was normal where he came from, but apparently here, it's not.」