TEST DRIVE MEME JULY 2012

[soul_mods]

Test Drive Meme

For the reserves period between June 22, 2012 to September 13, 2012.
[App Form] [Reserves Page]

This meme is here to let prospective characters mingle ICly with the characters already in the game and each other. It helps us introduce various scenarios that you're likely to encounter in Soul Campaign and the different places used in the game. Hopefully, this helps you figure out if the game is really suited to your needs or not -- otherwise, just have fun!

The scenarios for this cycle are:
1. The BREW summons you into the Kishin Chamber during a power outage, along with a bunch of other strangers.
2. You're trapped in a blizzard during a mission to Greenland, and must now huddle with your partner for warmth. Your partner may or may not be someone you know.
3. You've intercepted an important piece of intel about the way to enter the witches' realm. It's kind of really embarrassing, however. Maybe you should try it out first to see if it's true?
4. Shortages are not uncommon during wars, and this time around the entire city has run out of coffee/tea/[insert character's favorite substance]. What lengths will you go to to get your fix?
5. There's a perfect mission for you on the mission bulletin board! The problem is, you're required to crossdress as your opposite gender.

Just choose any one randomly, or make up your own, we don't mind! To make things simpler, please follow this subject line:

[CHARACTER NAME | CANON or FANDOM CHARACTER IS FROM | MEISTER OR WEAPON | SCENARIO# (or indicate if it's a new scenario)]

For example: [SPIRIT ALBARN | SOUL EATER | WEAPON | #1]

For OOC discussions and generally just chatting around, please head over here.

Here's the Soul Campaign Navigation Page for all the other information you need.

As an extra note, you may add your TD threads to your application although it is not a requirement to do so and will not count towards activity checks. Please place it under the Notes section if you do.

Comments

#5 soooort of. :|

[topgun_textiles]

[Hiding out in the coffea shrubs at a lakeside in Guatemala, surrounded in berries in shades of green and red, he'd found them: Very run-down, rusted cages filled with very dirty, very hungry, very frightened children. The lack of sounds of distress, save for the occasional sniffle, worried Kanji: Didn't their folks teach them to scream for help when it was needed?]

's too quiet here...

[He wouldn't dare lift his voice, but he would start cracking his knuckles.]

Don't see the Kishin Egg anywhere, though. Y'want those cages on the left, I'll take right? Let's bust 'em outta here.

[bloodinbloom]

[The ribbon tied around Kanji's arm slid off and landed quietly on the ground besides him. In a moment, Rosalia appeared crouched beside him, frowning.]

Well, think about it. Maybe if they made too much sound, the Kishin eggs would...

[She bit her lip lightly, stopping that train of thought] Or maybe they thought they might lure people into a trap?

[Rosalia didn't know. This was a frightening mission. Glancing over at Kanji, she nodded] Right. I'll do my best.

[topgun_textiles]

Countin' on ya. [He nodded, though what she said lingered in his head. Past agents had died doing just as they were.]

[But they wouldn't die here, nor would these kids. They just had to make this fast. When they emerged from the underbrush, some of the children pulled back from the bars and huddled together. Kanji did nothing to comfort them - they didn't have time, they were sitting ducks out here - but kept his senses peeled as he tested the strength of the bars first before checking out the doors. Jeez, it seemed like whatever this thing was just used whatever it could find, so long as it kept the cages shut. Grasping the cage bars for balance he gave one kick, two, three, and sent the first rusted lock thumping against the ground.]

[He ignored the looks he was getting when he pried open the first door and started work on the next. Even with freedom staring them in the face, the little ones didn't seem to want to move... she might be near.]

[bloodinbloom]

[She had to double check. With her white hair and pale skin, Rosalia stood out a little more. Maybe she should take to dying her hair for missions.]

[No time to think of what should be done. Her moccasins easily muffled her footsteps as she darted to the left cage, keeping low. This lock was just like Kanji's, but there was no way she'd be able to kick it off. The other kids were moving away; she attempted to reassure them] Don't worry. You'll be home soon.

[Glancing around, she tried to find something that could serve as a tool. Nothing of very much convenience, but the large rock would do. It was hard to pick up and swing, but several well-placed bashes broke the rusted padlock off.]

[topgun_textiles]

[He heard bashing from the left, but pressed on. The next lock fell, and he proceeded for the third. This last one was a lucky find- a newer lock that had yet to see worse days. With a sigh he fished in his coat pocket and grabbed two little somethings from a corner tucked into his sewing kit: Two paperclips.]

You a'right over there, Rose? [He bent one into an L shape, and twisted the second until it was in a shape that he needed before he started to pick the lock... almost effortlessly. ...Don't ask how he picked that trick up.]

[bloodinbloom]

[She's panting at the second already and her arms are shaking at the third. No, she's not going to give up.]

Ah! [She accidentally dropped the rock. Her arms are feeling like rubber, but she's not going to give up. She panted] I don't think I can get the last one...

[topgun_textiles]

[And there was that last one, popping free. Good, he hadn't become rusty- he hadn't done that in a while. Kanji stepped back and looked over to his current partner, shaking his head.]

Don't worry about it. Let's switch- they won't come outta the cages... you're better at talkin' to people.

[And he was moving all ready to get that last lock. Who the hell knows when this rumored 'La Llorona' would be back.]

[bloodinbloom]

[She frowned still, but nodded. There was a lot she needed to learn if she wanted to be of more use.]

[Checking around again, she hopped over to the cage's Kanji opened and smiled to the kids inside]

You don't need to be scared. We're going to take everyone home and make sure the La Llorona doesn't come back to hurt you anymore.

[topgun_textiles]

[Rosalia had that strange 'aura' about her, like a walking Calming Wavelength despite her being a Weapon. That was why not only did Kanji have an easier time picking that last lock, but the children seemed to see a kind big sister, finally arriving to pick them up from hell and take them home. There were many tears in many eyes, though the rest were so stricken with grief from seeing what happened to the children that weren't here anymore that nothing colored their faces at all, not even relief. With time and patience, they too will recover.]

[Kanji pried open the last of the cages and gestured to the girl.]

Follow her, a'right?

[They seemed to do as told. In the meantime, Kanji's brow line furrowed, and he lifted a leg, kicking the first two cages into the lake, moving along to do the same with the others after they were emptied. The kishin egg would have to fish them out if it wanted to use them again, if the water didn't corrode them beyond usefulness first.]

[As important as he felt the act was, however, what he didn't pay attention to was the noise level he was making...]

[bloodinbloom]

[Rosalia nodded as they came out, giving hugs to a few kids that really seemed to need it]

That's right. It's time to go home.

[She really didn't like seeing them this way, but the sooner they got home, the sooner they would cheer up. The Weapon held out a hand to a very small kid and took hold of their hand as she took the lead. She kept to the shrubs and shade, hoping to keep hidden]

[All the kids jumped at the racket Kanji was making. She hissed back]

Kanji...!

[topgun_textiles]

What? [Spoken at a grunt as he pushed the last one into the water and dusted off his hands. The water, disturbed, would settle in a minute or two.]

Didn't want 'em used anymore. I'm all set.

[A quick brush of his hands over his shirt, and he moved to join the group. It'd be a little bit of a walk, but as long as the children were taken to a village and they could contact the local Shibusen branch, they were going to be okay.]

[They walked for maybe five minutes before a piercing wail filled the air from whence they came, accompanied by a frenzied "Ay, mis hijos, mis hijos!" growing faster and more frantic. Most of the kids had begun to whimper and panic. They knew that voice very well.]

[bloodinbloom]

That was just really loud.

[Who knows he could've attracted. He could have even caught the Kishin egg's attention now.]

[The piercing wail made her look up and around. That really hadn't taken too long; they weren't even that far. She looked around at the kids and did her best to calm them down before shooting a worried look to Kanji.]

[topgun_textiles]

[He looked behind him. They were sitting ducks in the clearing, and they were definitely the same right now, even surrounded by the underbrush. As the frantic shrieking began to build, an unseen something wondering where her children had gone, Kanji breathed a short growl.]

If she gets here, we're all screwed.

[He looked back to Rosalia.]

...So we get to her first.

[Then to the kids.]

You gotta hide, okay? ...Hide? [He quickly covered his eyes to demonstrate, and a few of the older kids muttered 'ocultar, ocultar!' to the younger, who nodded quickly. They scattered.]

[Satisfied, he turned and headed back in the other direction, winding up a Soul Descent should this La Llorona decide to be sneaky.]

I got a bone to pick with this hag, anyway!

[bloodinbloom]

[Rosalia nodded and looked around at the kids as they scatter. She took quick steps to rejoin Kanji and assumed her Weapon form again, wrapping around his right knuckle and tying into a bow to hang on.]

[Okay, they would get her... somehow. Well, her abilities seemed to have recently change, but she hadn't been on a mission for a while. Maybe it would help against the La Llorona.]

[topgun_textiles]

[He kept his hand loose as she changed, and pulled his sleeve down without looking back. His pace picked up as he entered a run, moving right for those maddened shouts.]

[And there she was, an urban legend made reality and yet not: Children who misbehaved were carried off by La Llorona, a spirit forced to return to earth to search for the children she drowned. She looked for all the world like a normal woman, though her eyes were solid black against a tear-stained face. She wore a white dress, shawl, and hood, permanently water-logged. She tore through the underbrush after finding her clearing completely emptied, weeping openly for her lost children, mouth full of pointed teeth.]

We can't let her get past us! Let's crush her quick!

[His soul wavelength worked quickly to synchronize, and Kanji charged.]

[bloodinbloom]

[Rosalia would've been fooled until she saw the eyes and teeth. It was terrible to see and she felt a little sympathetic. Still, she was mad too. How could a mother kill her own children like that? It just wasn't right. And she would do the same to the rescued kids if they didn't stop her]

I'm ready...!

[She reaches back to synchronize with Kanji.]

[topgun_textiles]

[He always had a bit of a sensitivity to Madness, a bubble of temper in his mind ready to burst that he used nearly every bit of willpower to suppress in the worst of it. When their souls synched, it was like that weight upon his shoulders lifted, and his mind was clear. He could jump into the fight with everything he had now!]

[Had they encountered her before they took her food source, the kishin egg may have looked more convincing. Instead, they faced a creature hopped up on Madness Wavelength-tinged rage. When she spotted them, her body twisted into something spindly as she screamed, shedding most of its disguise for something more suited for its true purpose. She moved with ease, with the intent to make this kill quick and recover what she had lost. Kanji tangled with the thing and threw a fist, aiming into the stomach, following it up with a Soul Descent.]

[bloodinbloom]

[The Weapon was startled into silence at the ghoulish change and covered her ears at the shriek. No, she couldn't back down now. This creature was posing as a once human woman who killed her own kids for no reason in the end. Kidnapping and killing other children wasn't the answer.]

[Rosalia found herself being thrust forward as Kanji punched the Kishin egg. Kanji was using his Meister Ability and she prepared to heal any minor damage he received. It was a surprise when she felt some of her energy escape and push forward behind the punch. She felt it spread in the area she struck and sink in as the egg was knocked back.]

What just happened?

[topgun_textiles]

[As the kishin egg lay sprawling, a brow furrowed. He'd felt something really weird there, like something brushed past him and 'stuck' when he pulled his fist away.]

I dunno... didn't feel like anything from me. Lemme do it again!

[He couldn't see beneath the soaked layers of clothing, see a terrible bruise that bloomed as she rose to her feet, ready for more. Kanji moved in, not giving this thing any space to breathe. He blocked a swipe with an arm, ignoring the bites of pain as claws went straight through fabric and into skin, and swung in again. He'd done this before, in Norway, when Megumi discovered something new about her weapon form. If he could give Rosalia a hand in working out the kinks...!]

[bloodinbloom]

Okay!

[She had a smidgen of energy ebb out to treat the wounds that Kanji received, but felt the same amount escape when she came in contact with the Kishin egg again. This time, she saw it as the energy was brutally forced under the egg's skin. The bruise bloomed upon contact and fanned out in dark petals. Had she really done that?]

[topgun_textiles]

That thing... that weird feeling happened again! What'd you do?

[Didn't appear to be anything he could see as he was struck by one of the La Llorona's arms, sent backwards a few steps before he recovered his footing. With the kishin egg in his face like this, swinging and striking, he didn't have much opportunity to muster a defense, and drove it back with a weaker blast of his Meister Ability.]

Huh...?

[But the movements of the creature had begun to slow, and its eyes bugged a little in pain as convulsions moved through its body...]

[bloodinbloom]

I don't know... but...

[If only she could be of more defensive help to Kanji right now. All she can do is use her ability to heal the next round of injuries he receives.]

[Her eyes widened slightly when the Kishin egg changed again, but this time, it wasn't of its own volition.]

I... think I made it sick.

[topgun_textiles]

Sick? [Perhaps he's owed an explanation later.]

[As it was, nothing about the creature's behavior felt like she'd given her something like a cold, that's for sure.]

That's a leg up for us, then! [Counterattack time! He rushed in with a right-hook to the face, not noticing the black mark he left at first, turning his body to kick the La Llorona back.]

...holy shit... [Now he noticed.]

[bloodinbloom]

[She'll tell him. It's not that she meant to keep a secret]

No! Wait, Kanji! [It was not out of remorse for the egg as its health continued to quickly deteriorate. Again, coming in contact made that bruise appear and its wicked petals fanned.]

Don't get too close to it. This hasn't happened before so I don't know if you could get sick.

[topgun_textiles]

[The tone of voice caused his stomach to jump, but Kanji did not move. He couldn't take his eyes off that bruise as it spread, and he took a step back. He'd never heard of a Weapon Ability that inflicted illness.]

[But he'll take her word for it. Whatever was happening to this thing, he sure as hell didn't want it turned on him.]

So what do we do if it starts attacking again? We gotta hold this thing off!