jigokufever | June 2022 Test Drive

Entry tags:

June 2022 Test Drive

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!

Threads here can be considered game canon.
Characters can be recruited to do work for any faction until they're given their official assignment.
New characters can link their toplevels here!
If you have any questions about the TDM content, please ask them here! You can find information on the story so far here!
If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.
Reserves are open until July 5th
NEWBIE TOP LEVELS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's certainly not a nice job, but it's the sort that someone has to do. Nazuna didn't want to see what this place would look or smell like if this kind of thing wasn't done-- or even if it was done half-heartedly. Fortunately there seemed to be enough of them to get this place cleaned up without having to push themselves too hard...

Rolling up his sleeves, he'd been bracing himself for the job ahead when he sees another boy just...

.......dive under on his own. Some small part of him admires him for just going for it in this situation. The other part is watching anxiously to make sure he's alright.]

--ah?! H-hey, hang on!! Are you alright?!

[He drops to his knees at the edge, holding out a hand to help Lark out.]

[ He's not going to say no to being helped out here, so he grabs onto Nazuna's hand for some leverage to haul himself out of the bath tub.

...Laundering these clothes afterwards was going to be troublesome. ]

I mean, I'll take "not drowning" as an "okay", personally.

Edited 2022-06-27 13:10 (UTC)

...pfft-- sounds like you'll be just fine.

[He grabs Lark's hand firmly and helps pull him safely out of the bathtub. Although--]

Your clothes on the other hand... [It's a lot more noticeable now. This isn't exactly a smell that would be pleasant to carry around with them. But then-- it feels kind of funny, worrying about those kinds of things compared to the rest of their situation.] ...well, we'll worry about that later.

Ah, right. [ That will be a problem for future Skylark. ] It, uh...turns out the bathwater really is cursed?

[ Like, literally so. ]

Once we're finished here, let's make sure to clean them thoroughly. I'll help.

[He's not as good at that sort of thing as Hajime, but the reward tokens might prove helpful too.

...]

--mmn? What do you mean "cursed"? [...] Well... wouldn't anyone think that, looking at the way it is now?

[ Can't believe someone just offered to help him do the laundry just like that...

There's a beat as he debates if there is any way to say this without it sounding alarming before he realises that's impossible. It's cursed shit. ]

Well, yeah, it also looks cursed, but I mean, "there are phantom hands that try to drown you"-cursed.

[ ...Kind of like Loch Lo back home, when he thinks about it, but—well, Loch Lo is like that because of all the bodies that have been dumped there, and the water has festered with unfinished business and unquenchable resentment. Maybe the blood in the water right here was something like that?]

[Hands. In the water.

...

That sounds like something straight out of a horror movie or a nightmare. Something about just the sound of it makes his skin crawl. This wasn't the kind of task anyone should risk doing on their own. He just hadn't realized just how true that was yet. So it's a pretty big relief he was here at the right time.]

...guess I should be glad they didn't try anything weird. [Nazuna hums, disturbed yet thoughtful. In these circumstances he really can't leave this to someone else. He's not thrilled about it but...]

Mmmmm... well-- thanks to my training, my lung capacity isn't bad. So! Leave the draining of the tub to Nii-chan~

[ It is in fact some cursed horror movie shit! Which is why Lark is objecting right now. ]

Wait, my clothes are already wet and I know where the plug is, so I can probably get it quicker.

[ Sir you're not going to do it in his place! ]

Tha's 'cause ya jus'--

[Right. Breathe. Whoooo...]

--just ran off and did it on your own!!

I wasn't expecting the cursed bathwater to be this cursed!

[ It just seemed proper to try and get this done and over with quickly! ]

And I don't want you to get wet too when you don't have to be.

[Nazuna places his hand on top of Lark's head. Worrying about something like that... he's a good boy, isn't he? He smiles broadly, shaking his head.]

Mmn~ Don't worry about it! Compared to my mentor's old training routines, something like this is nothing~♪

[ It must be quite a sight to see since they're about the same height. ]

What does that say about your mentor...

[ Sir this is cursed bathwater with hands that try to drown people wading through it. ]

[He's just glad they're the same height. He doesn't even have that advantage usually. But he's definitely not going out of his way to ask exactly how old he is. He's not sure his heart could take it...

For a moment he allows himself to imagine it. What he would do in this sort of situation.

...as he thought, he'd definitely be useless when it comes to something like this. But the mental image makes him laugh. He can hear it now... Itsuki's insufferable complaints.]

Right? It's definitely better you don't have to find out.

[Even as he says it in such a plain and brutal way, there's a great deal of fondness to it. And also--]

Well... I'm certain that even now, he's working tirelessly chasing his artistic ambitions. [Pride.] So I can't allow myself to stagnate, even now. It would be an insult to all of our hard work~

[ Hm? Despite what Nazuna says, speaking in such a fond tone was... huh. He files that mental note away.

...Anyway, he assumed Nazuna was older than him (almost everyone he met was older than him), but he didn't seem that much older. What's with the head-patting, anyway? In fact, what was it with people doing that to him, seriously? ]

'Artistic ambitions'?

[ Some kind of artisan, then? ]

Even I don't know everything he's up to these days, although I try to follow his work when I can. Even though he's out of the country right now, he's still working hard to push Valkyrie forward.

[Nito laughs sheepishly. Well-- it's fine to say these kinds of things to people who don't know them better. But they're definitely the sorts of things that would be embarrassing if Shu ever found out.]

...compared to me, who suspended idol activities to go to college-- honestly he's a pretty incredible person. I probably have no chance of keeping up with him.

[ Lark doesn't immediately say anything, taking the time while Nazuna is speaking to try and figure out what some of those words even mean. "Valkyrie" seems to be a name for something (a person? No, that doesn't seem quite right...), and when he hears "college" he can't help but wonder what sort of family this guy must be from to be able to attend one.

There's also the question of what "idol" means here because he gets the feeling that the idol Nazuna speaks of isn't the same as what Skylark is thinking of, especially if it's related to creative endeavors.

But more importantly— ]

What makes you say that?

[ That he can't keep up this mentor, that is. ...Or rather, that he can't keep up with this "pretty incredible person". ]

[Even if Lark takes his time thinking about it, Nazuna doesn't seem to think much of it.]

...sorry, that probably seems a little heavy for a conversation like this. Besides-- I shouldn't complain when I'm the one who decided to do it. And I'm not just going to let him go rushing ahead without me either. It just... might be a bit before I can get there.

[Whether or not he really believes that isn't clear, because he's rather quick to put the conversation back on it's old track.]

If you're really interested in the things that guy can do... he was responsible for most of the details of our old performances. From the costumes to the choreography-- he was able to prepare all of those things himself.

[ Figures that Nazuna wouldn't really want to talk too much about it, especially since they just met. Skylark just can't help wanting to probe. But at least now he has an idea what an "idol" is. ]

Ah, so you two are performers...?

[Not everyone follows idols, so he doesn't seem to mind that Lark doesn't seem to know much about it. And he certainly doesn't mind offering a bit of insight on the subject.]

That's right. Idols are expected to hone a lot of different skills. Singing, dancing, acting... everyone has different strengths, but it's good to be flexible.

[ How long before they remember they have work to do. ]

Hmmm...I think I get what you mean.

[ It doesn't sound that much different from what his family does, frankly. Just...well,a little more above board. Its hard to imagine Nazuna getting involved otherwise. ]

[At least Lark gets a chance to dry off a little.]

I have to keep up with my voice training even now, or I won't be able to perform at the level I want to when I return to the stage. So if you want to join me sometime-- it wouldn't hurt to have someone new listen in~

Heh, you know you're basically offering a stranger to listen in on your practice, right?

Sure am!

I wouldn't be much of an idol if performing for others was a problem. I might have been out of things for a bit, but I'm still ready to go even at a moment's notice~♪

[ For someone who acted so modest earlier he still has his pride, huh... ] Well...I might take you up on it.

But first, we should get this job done.

[ And before Nazuna can object, he's climbing back into the bath! ]

A

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

Re: 2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject