June 2022 Test Drive

[jigokumods]

MAIN NAVIGATION

1. CLEAN UP

The curse has broken, finally banishing the oppressive air around the city and the many sightless eyes of the accursed haniwa. Life will have to return to normal now but first there is lingering clean-up that must be attended to:

SHUTEN CLAN

The Shuten Clan is out in force to rebuild damaged storefronts. Eager oni appear in their festival happi, singing oni working tunes. You can pick up the words easily enough, join in and help out. The mood starts bright, but after a number of unlucky accidents there is less singing and more grumbling. The cursed energy left behind has made all of you much more prone to workplace accidents but the storefronts need to be scrubbed, broken glass needs sweeping, new furniture needs construction. There are any number of thumbs smashed by hammers, hands cut on saws, heads hit with falling debris or that board of wood you didn’t see someone carrying towards you. It’s a cursed day to be out on the job.

Rewards will come in the form of free drinks for a week from specific bars and a generous amount of chips for the casinos. If you aren’t of age to drink or gamble? Well… they’ll look the other way this time. Have fun.

It should be noted that the uniform -- a happi, a hachimaki, and fundoshi -- is required. The Shuten Clan is very traditional, after all.

TAMAMO CLAN

The bathhouses in Tamamo clan territory remain full of bloodied water. They need to be drained and scrubbed to make them new again. However, reaching the drains is a tricky business. You can’t simply reach in to pull out the plug, you will have to wade into the water to twist it free. Easy enough, right?

Unfortunately, residual curse energy has made this a very dangerous task. Phantasmal hands will reach out and try to drag you under as you get too close to the drain. The phantasms can be distracted, so you’ll need some teamwork to succeed. Your reward is a significant amount of free bath coupons. Some of the advertised baths even have “special” properties. Take the chance to relax, you probably need it.

Those that are rejuvenated in the newly purified baths will find themselves with seemingly limitless vigor. That vigor may sometimes manifest in the form of desperately needing to fuck the first thing willing to do so. Which might turn out somewhat embarrassing...

SUTOKU CLAN

The residual cursed energy in the Sutoku Alliance territory has congregated in their many arcades. The prizes in the UFO catcher machines seem off and they keep shifting around. If you happen to win a prize, the prize slot snaps shut on your hand with amazing force: the machine out for blood. To clear the curse, the prizes need to be removed from the machines and purified with the help of a local shrine maiden. Unfortunately, the key ring to open the machines has been stolen by some of the unruly prizes. You will need to use your UFO catcher skills to fish it back out.

Try not to lose any fingers.

Other machines are shooting tokens out of their coin slots at astonishingly painful speeds. A strange phenomenon, as even the machines that take swipe cards are doing it. Where are those tokens even coming from? You will have to get the machines open and give them a deep cleaning to get all the residual blood off the coins and mechanisms. You need the same keys that are stuck inside the UFO catcher…. Better hope you can fish out the one you need.

For your troubles, you will be given unlimited free plays for a month. Perfect for winning a totally-not-cursed prize for your sweetie.

ENMA DEPARTMENT

It’s the Department of the Enma’s turn to go begging for good will. They are considered to be mostly responsible for the way the cursed haniwa were handled in the first place. Enma souls should get out on the streets and see what the people need: Food, clean water, housing repairs and maintenance, as well as exorcisms. They’re all high on people’s priority lists and most people want it done pronto. Try not to get snappy with the angry people, the department’s reputation is on the line.

The Enma is slated to give a press conference at some point. It's up to the rest of the Department to assure that there will be reception to his words. They are likely to be of grave importance to the rest of the city.

A hard day’s work is its own reward, but you’ll also get a day pass to a theme park on the edge of the city – in the name of community outreach, of course.

2. GHOST SHARKS

The very streets themselves are treacherous with residual curses. The isonades may have been intimidated out of town for the moment but the anger of their ancestors lingers in the bloody puddles that still glisten in the streets. Come too close to these puddles and spectral sharks will lunge from beneath the surface: Blood for blood! Lives for lives!

While spectral in nature, the teeth on these sharks can still do real harm to anyone they lash out at. They don’t seem to take damage in kind, but will pop and disperse for a moment when struck. The ghostly sharks are being populated by a magic totem that has been partially buried in the dirt of a local park. Destroy it and the sharks will disappear.

Unfortunately, a pack of snotty local children have taken a shine to this magic totem. They are not keen to let you take it from them, nor break it. It’s theirs. It’s special. If you’re feeling brutish or cruel, you can fight the children or deceive them, but your boss would probably suggest you try to bargain with them for appearance’s sake. They’re entirely unreasonable though, as children can be, and it will be quite a chore to get them to agree to your terms.

3. CURSED CORNERS

There are certain corners and alleyways which are simply predisposed to gather cursed energy. These areas are still haunted enough to affect the reality around you. You may experience hallucinations or visions of lost loved ones, past regrets, personal failings. These visions are played out in the area for all to see. You will remain frozen in place until your moment is done, or someone brave comes to pull you out.

Now that the worst of it is over, some of the more morbid and voyeuristic members of the public may be lurking around these haunted areas, waiting to see what horrors will be unveiled. They have out their phones and their cameras to record the show.

The cruelest of the spectators provide commentary to their social media followings as they observe. Anything for that monetization!

The biggest of the streams is a kerakera onna who goes by her channel name: Lipsticki. She leans in over the rooftops to cackle loudly at people’s misfortunes and give petty, scathing commentary about their misdeeds and failings.

4. THE ENMA SPEAKS (PLOT RELEVANT)

Outside the hospital where the Enma was being treated, there is a huge press gathering. The judge arbiter has been deemed fit enough to release. Hungry for word, journalists from every publication swarm the area. Most press-outlets in the city are controlled by the Sutoku Alliance, who have a vested interested in interrogating the Enma.

A number of other onlookers have tacked on as well, including Lost Souls both old and new. Lost Souls may even find themselves ordered to attend the statement by their faction.

It is assumed that the Enma must have something of grave importance to say, after all.

The Enma approaches the podium. He is dressed in his usual suit, his crown, and his stern expression; it puts a hush over the crowd through its tremendous pressure alone. No questions have been asked, yet, but a statement has been prepared. He clears his throat:

"The cause of the curse, the enemy of Jigokucho, is... Haniyasu. The Department's focus will be shifting to determining our next action in regards to this entity. That is all."

Just like, the Enma's secretary and a retinue of armored shinigami move to flank the Enma and guide them to a waiting limo down the steps. The press yells their questions over one another, but are pushed back. The Enma doesn't even seem to perceive them, simply focusing on getting into the car.

Unfortunately, if you're a representative for one of the factions -- especially the Department of the Enma -- that makes you fair game to hound for questioning too. Do you stand your ground or try to run away?

[[banner art by s-tokimura]]

Welcome to the test drive meme!

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Comments

[fibrillate]

They don't catch military exactly, but there is a vibe coming off of this person that reminds them of some of the people they used to work with in the NSO, usually the higher ups. So they can at least tell that he's comfortable commanding some form of authority and that he knows how to make it work to his benefit. And that's comforting in its own way.

"I don't mind that you saw it," they say, and it's only partially a lie. They would rather have kept these things a secret for at least a while longer, but now that it's not really an option and the people they're meeting seem to be okay with it all, it's not... ultimately, that bad. "Please just call me Leviathan and we can begin from there. If, um. You do have any questions, at least." They pause. "I may have some for you."

[taikonogunso]

"Leviathan... Leviathan." He repeats the name a few times, trying to match the intonation he heard to make sure he has the pronunciation right. An imposing title to hold, certainly. Whatever deeper meanings they may have behind that moniker, though, aren't his place to pry. Not yet. "This one is known as Beat Knight. It's a pleasure to have met you, Leviathan... despite the circumstances."

There's an awkward pause as he considers what to say after the introduction; it feels as if they're both on the wrong foot. "All I will say... is that I am no stranger to self re-invention," he eventually offers. A tap on his metal facemask as an accompanying gesture. "I can only imagine you have your reasons to do so. That is all."

[fibrillate]

That is... wildly encouraging, really, though they don't show it very much on their face beyond a demure little smile. Reinvention is far from a foreign concept where they're from, but they have precisely no idea of what it looks like outside of New Gate City, and nobody quite so prominent as themself has done it.

"I appreciate your discretion," they say genuinely. "And knowing that it's not too far out of the realm of the usual. I think I'm dealing with enough things that are well out of my comfort zone already. But you seem like you're used to it—you actually remind me of some people from home. Do you have experience defending people?"

[taikonogunso]

His first reaction is to laugh a bit from under the mask, but not in dismissal. "Used to it? Perhaps, though... I am also far removed from comfort here," he confides. "All I can do is keep my own tempo without a conductor to look to." The Lost Souls are not called "Lost" for no reason; everybody's being thrown into the deep end and forced to swim.

The pause between his words speaks volumes, the weight of a few former lifetimes hanging off of it. How does he explain to a stranger who he was before dying, before being consigned to an unfamiliar hell? "... The armor is not ceremonial. Well-kept, yes, but still functional."

[fibrillate]

"That explains it," they say, knowing that it explains very little. But that does mean they're talking to a certified knight instead of just a cosplayer, and that raises their esteem for their defender a little more than it otherwise might. (Not that cosplayers aren't worthy of respect, too. There's a hierarchy.)

"I might not look like it," they admit with a slightly larger, more playful smile, "But I'm something of a hero myself, back home. I defend people from the system that keeps them where they are, however I can." They splay their fingers out and discharge a very small amount of electricity from them. "Usually by giving them free power. That little display we're ignoring may give you an idea why."

[taikonogunso]

Electricity... he saw flashes of a spark for a moment in Leviathan's confrontation. Seeing the way it plays between their fingers, even if it's weak, confirms that whoever this is, they have access to a magic that he certainly doesn't. The instinct is there to step back (even with his limited knowledge, he knows that electricity and steel shouldn't mix if there's a squishy human body between them), but it's clear that Levi means no harm in the little light show.

"Ah... and yet, you find yourself deprived of that weaponry here, too?" Because otherwise, Lipsticki would have been limping away with some brand new Lichtenberg scars. Beat isn't going to claim to know exactly what an Energy Company is or does, or how electricity factors into it, but the subversive, power-to-the-people vibes are crystal goddamn clear.

[fibrillate]

Yes, much like the faint Lichtenberg figures surrounding Leviathan's left eye. Not that they're drawing too much attention to them, since the scars about twelve years old by now and they barely even notice them in the mirror anymore. They've already compensated for the way the accident had shattered their eye. No reason to unearth old wounds.

"I wouldn't call it weaponry, but yeah. I don't know what happened," and whatever it is hasn't changed the way it's generated, "But it's going to make what I normally do a lot more difficult. I guess it's time for me to get better with my hands." They consider quietly, for a moment. "I wonder how much I really picked up about repairing machines..."