archishellago | Test Drive Meme #003

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test drive meme

Test Drive Meme #003

KHU IODUAN; TEST DRIVE MEME #003

I. AROUND AIFARAN - Getting The Perfect Shot!

This month in Aifaran, there's a contest being held on the popular social site Xa Xa, which Earth-based Dreamfolk may recognize as vaguely Instagram-like -- it's all about the pretty pictures! With a top prize of 500 Rhinn per category, lots of people are getting into the game. Prizes will be handed out for awards like Best Composition, Most Creative Angle, Best Use of Lighting, etc, and this means that it won't be uncommon to see people in unusual places (even some risky ones) trying to score the perfect shot. Maybe they're bumping accidentally into you on the street, or slipping off the edge of a rooftop, or not paying attention to that train heading their way??

II. BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR - Surprise Petsitting?!

Success! You've scored a quiet day, and you're just about to settle in for a marathon of your favourite Tears of the Ocean Heart episodes when there's a knock on your door. A very distracted looking Castian is standing there, talking away on his yimo, and beside him, a very fancy Inan on a glitzy harness and leash.

"Right, right," the Castian says to whomever he's talking to. "I'm just dropping Ruqhina off at the sitter, I'll be there in ten." Shoving the leash at you, he announces, "Thank you again for agreeing to watch my darling Ruqhina, I really appreciate it. Don't forget to exercise early in the day, she likes eating energy of active people only, I don't want her on a lazy person diet. Did you change your hair, I thought you had blue hair? Well nevermind, I have to get going, I'll be back in a week. Goodbye sweetheart, Daddy misses you already!" And then he's gone.

III. TALENT IS A MISNOMER - You Didn't Need That Wall Right?

There are a lot of Dreamfolk in the city, and all of them are dealing with their own newly gifted Talents in their own ways. Some, especially those who are used to extraordinary abilities from their own worlds, have some idea of how to train on them safely, learning the ins and outs of their new gift. And then you have some whose only exposure to "magic" is through stories, fairy tales, or really entertaining TV, and pointing a finger-gun at a target and saying "boom!" has never actually worked... until now.

"Uh," the other Dreamfolk says, staring dumbly at the car-sized hole in the wall, and then glances at you who just happened to be the closest person. "That's... new. Yikes. Should we run? Wait, I've got a better idea--" Cue loud voice and frantic pointing in your direction. "IT WAS THIS ONE! THEY DID IT!"

IV. SHADY BUSINESS - It's A Shakedown

You're in the right place at the right time (or the wrong ones, depending on your point of view) but you're entering a shop just in time to see some Beika punks accosting the shopkeeper, demanding protection money, which they owner is stammering that they've already paid this month. Upon your entrance, the shopkeeper looks over at you with help me plainly written on their face, while the Beika thugs look very unhappy at being interrupted...

V. BEACHFRONT CLEANUP - Oh That's Nasty...

It's not a pleasant task, but it does pay volunteers pretty well: following a massive storm, several dozen dead Giant Jellyfish corpses have washed up on the shoreline, and they need to be cleaned and disposed of before they start to decompose. It's dirty, smelly, and slimey work... but the promise of two weeks worth of rhinn for one day's work is hard to pass up! You're assigned to teams and given some shovels and a wheelbarrow, but as you reach the latest jellyfish body, you're surprised to see that this one appears to be covered in... burns?? Is this something you should report?

VI. WILDCARD - Because You're Not The Boss Of Me

Anything else that doesn't fit the above prompts is welcome, just keep it within the game setting please!

Applications • Reservations • Taken List • Game Navigation

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The question is so like one he'd hear at home that he's halfway pulled his red flip phone from his pocket to offer to her before Yato realizes she probably means the yimo, especially considering his regular one was basically useless here. Sheepishly he exchanges it for the device given to him upon his arrival, and holds it out to her.

"Sure," he answered. "Forgot to call someone?"

Ilda grins, taking the yimo. She’s taken to referring to it as a phone, if only because she thinks it sounds cooler. “Nope,” she answers as she activates the camera. “Selfie time!”

She holds the yimo up - she’s had a lot of practice by now - and snaps several shots, not waiting for Yato to be ready.

Then she giggles. “We should put the masks and gloves on, and pose with the shovels! What do you think?”

Yato knows a thing or two about selfies, so once he realizes that's what she's up to, he's quick to join in with silly faces and a big grin. "Definitely a better idea to do it now than afterward," he agreed, getting two sets of everything and donning his own, though he pushed the mask to one side so he wouldn't sound muffled.

"Aiming to be the new Xa Xa queen?" he teased.

Ilda notices Yato’s silly faces, so she snaps a couple more shots, trying to mimic them. Then she pauses to put on her mask and gloves. “Yeah, but we’re still gonna have to take an ‘after’ picture! With a wheelbarrow full of those stinky things! That’ll show them we’re a good team!” she exclaims enthusiastically.

At his teasing, she grins. X has told her about the Xa Xa. “Oh, can I? I’ve never wanted to be queen of anything – not even back home, where I actually have a chance...” she trails off suddenly as Yato’s innocent comment sets off an idea in her mind.

Aim to be queen. Can she, really?

He's about to answer the first part, pointing out that getting paid just as good an indicator that they've completed their task, when the second part sinks in.

"Where you actually have... you're some sort of royalty, back where you're from?"

Yato’s question brings Ilda back to the present moment. She holds up the yimo again to take a couple more pictures, but it’s mostly to pull herself together.

“I’m not,” she answers a short while later, handing him back his yimo. “But whenever it’s time to choose a new queen, all teenage girls in the land are given the chance.” She shrugs. “It’s a dream for a lot of girls my age, but I... I never really thought about it much.“

Queens don't usually get 'chosen', Yato thinks, curious but reminding himself that it was plainly evident there were people from all kinds of worlds here, and that not everything would be alike to what he was used to.

He also doesn't miss the shift in her tone, and after he pockets his yimo once again, he does what he does best: distraction and humour. Yato gives her a playful little salute, a dumb grin on his face.

"Well, you're in luck anyway! Your partner today is a bonafide member of the gods, and helping clean up this mess," a sweep of his arm to indicate the beach. "Is the wish I'm granting right now, so you get to be part of it!"

Ilda lets out a tiny sigh of relief. While Yato feels like the type she can talk to about anything, she’s not quite ready to dump her life problems on him. Especially when they’ve only just met, and he seems to be someone she could actually be friends with.

But she boggles at his enthusiastic declaration. “Wait, what? You’re a god?” She looks him over, from head to foot and back several times, but she still can’t believe it. “No way! You’re too... fun!”

She realizes, a little too late, that if he’s really a god he could smite her for her insolence or something. Whoopsie!

He gave a dramatic "GAH!" at her words, ever a drama-queen himself. Yet in a flash he'd seemingly recovered (because that's honestly about the best reason someone could doubt him - most people's opinions were far less flattering.

He jabbed a thumb into his chest, standing proudly. "Yes, and there are plenty of fun gods. The Yato god at your service!"

And he even has a business card, which he presents to her with a flourish.

Edited 2018-03-30 19:20 (UTC)

Ilda just stares slack-jawed at Yato. He certainly has a flair for the dramatic... but not the kind she’s come to associate with royalty and deities. Then again, apparently there are plenty other worlds out there, with catpeople and cities in the sea and places where humans don’t exist. So it must not be at all impossible to have a world where the gods are fun and they actually go out to do mundane things, like a beach cleanup.

At that realization, she blinks, only to find herself being presented with a fancy business card. She blinks again, then slowly takes it with both hands - almost a little reverently, but really only because she’s still processing the information.

“You’re the fun god of... deliveries?“

"Heh," Yato said, rubbing the back of his head, then flashed her a fresh grin that didn't jive with what he explained.

"Well... formally, I'm a War God. But you can't really put that on a business card and get the kinds of believers you want. Besides, I'm sort of... up and coming right now. But just wait, I'll have a big shrine before you know it!"

Ilda pocketed the business card and picked up one of the shovels, taking the time to collect her thoughts. Yato did not look like a god, much less a war god, so it was all very strange to her. Even the fact that he was ‘up and coming’ and he didn’t actually have a shrine...

“I thought gods came pre-packed with magic and followers and temples?” The question was out before she could stop herself; realizing that, she then brought the shovel up in a feeble attempt to shield her face. “Sorrypleasedon’tsmiteme.”

He blinked owlishly at her for a moment, until he deciphered what she'd said from where it was distorted by the shovel in front of her face, then emphatically shook his head. "Come on, I'm not that kind of god. I'm not smiting anyone."

He picked up his own shovel and moved toward the nearest of the jellyfish creatures in the sand, thinking over what she'd said before musing aloud, "Is that the way it works with gods where you're from? That they get everything already done for them? Maaaan... they're lucky."

She followed him to the nearest jelly carcass, lowering the shovel at his reassurance that he wasn’t smiting anyone. Not that she really believed him to be a god (or maybe she just didn’t want to?), but it was better to be safe than sorry.

She pursed her lips together at his question, burying the tip of her shovel into the sand and leaning against it. More strangeness from his world or whatever: gods having to work for things. Huh.

“I don’t know if that’s how it’s always been from the beginning - my family’s not quite religious - but, yeah, pretty much. There’s a temple in every town, and offerings every day. But we just have one goddess. And the reigning queen’s like her current incarnation, or something.”

"One?" Yato sounded slightly strangled by the revelation. "That's just-- there's no way any single god could grant everyone's wishes effectively. Even with 8 million, shrines get overflow all the time."

Which was good, that was where some of his business came from.

Adjusting the mask over his face again, Yato used his foot to push the end of the shovel into the sand beneath the dead creature's body. "Besides, it makes more sense to have gods that handle different things, right?"

Ilda initially looked amused at Yato’s reaction to her world’s monotheistic setup, but then her expression turned thoughtful. There's no way any single god could grant everyone's wishes effectively, he’d said - and could that just be it? That her sister, poor little Ingride, simply happened to be one of those their goddess failed to notice, despite all the Pilgrimages and the offerings?

Following his lead, she adjusted her mask and moved to the other side of the dead creature. “How would you do it?” she asked, genuinely curious. “You know, if you were the only god and everyone’s got a wish. Who’d you answer first? What’s someone got to do to get your attention?”

The jellyfish was large, but without bones, it was more bulky than heavy. Hopefully they wouldn't need to break it apart to get it into the wheelbarrow, because there was no way that was going to be pleasant.

Yato seems to be giving Ilda's question some serious thought; sure, he'd daydreamed about being Japan's top god for centuries, but the only god? That was an entirely different concept.

"I guess... I'd just have to use my best judgment. And hope that people were bringing me prayers they really needed answered."

He leaned down and picked up one of the slimy tentacles with a grimace, dropping it into the wheelbarrow.

"And sometimes you just know. Which... probably isn't helpful, but it's hard to explain."

Ilda was quiet for a while as she focused on lifting her side of the jellyfish to the wheelbarrow, eyebrows knitted in concentration. She didn't want to take chances; she knew her sea creatures and the Aifaran variety, in particular, seemed even nastier than most.

She gave a triumphant cheer once they finished, even though they'd only taken care of one and had many more to go.

It seemed as though she'd forgotten what they'd been talking about, but then she looked back at Yato, her expression serious. "Fair enough," she commented. "I mean, the bit about people praying for what they really need. That can really get lost in the rituals and litanies they're making us memorize."

She lifted her shovel again and sighed. "Too bad for my sister, then."

Edited 2018-04-02 10:10 (UTC)

When Ilda had seemed done questioning for the moment, Yato had thrown his full attention into the task at hand, and only when they'd leveraged the dead beast into the bucket and he was picking a few stringy bits from his gloves did she resume speaking and he looked back at her.

He was about to inquire which rituals she meant - academic curiosity, he supposed - when he last sentence sank in.

"... your sister?"

Ilda nodded absently. "Her name's Ingride. She's thirteen. And sick since she was seven." She made a face - both at the thought of her poor little sister, and because she'd noticed that her gloved hands were now covered in sticky slime. Reflexively, she started to wipe her hands against her pants, while continuing, "The healers don't know what's wrong with her. We've done everything we've been told, and everything we could think of, but... nothing."

For several seconds there was just the sound of the waves and the other volunteers chattering on the beach; she didn't say anything more, turning her head away from Yato as she struggled against the emotions that were trying to escape her. Then she straightened, looking back at him and smiling sheepishly. She held out her hands in a helpless gesture. "Ew, I'm stinky now. Sorry, I'm awfully scatterbrained today."

Edited 2018-04-03 04:57 (UTC)

"I'm sorry about your sister's illness," he said quietly, following her gaze toward the other people working on the beach. He hadn't expected that her questions about wish-granting might stem from something so personal.

"Want to go to the water and wash before we start the next one?" he said, more as an offered distraction for her than the need to stay clean when they'd just get dirty again.

Ilda smiled, but it wasn't her usual lopsided grin; rather it was a soft, sincere one. "Hey... thanks. For listening. I mean, you know, you're a god, so you're not obliged to listen."

She nodded gratefully at his offer to clean up, and began to make her way to the water. She was still barefoot, having left her shoes... somewhere. Hopefully they were still there.

"Yeah, well... maybe some gods have the luxury of picking and choosing who they listen to, but I'm not one of them. Besides, I'm not an asshole."

He takes his boots off and stands at the shoreline, letting the waves lap over his feet. It's nice; reminds him of home.

She stands beside him and does the same, wriggling her toes. The beach reminds her of home, too.

“I’m glad,” she says after a while, resuming their conversation. Then she tilts her head to look at him, her smile turning a little hesitant. “I’m sorry I’m not... big on the whole gods thing. But I can still be your friend...?” she offers.

"Sounds like you've got a good reason for that," he returned, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "I'd like that, Ilda."

((ooc: wrap this up and get something in the main comm for this month?))

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ilda - 2018-04-07 14:16 (UTC) - Expand

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