AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

[jigokumods]

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1. SHUTEN TERRITORY - Muscling In

art by tohdraws

In the aftermath of the curse crisis, the Shuten Clan forgave a bunch of protection payments in the region, and helped cover the costs for rebuilding. Unfortunately, some of the street gangs in the area are much less civically minded. They have used the Shuten's relaxed policies as an opportunity to turn their own screws on the local business owners. These unaffiliated youth gangs have been much rougher with the locals, and have been asking for even larger collection fees. This has pissed off the folks who are just trying to get their lives and businesses back on track!

Unfortunately, the opening of Sai no Kawara in the underground drew so much of the clan's focus and manpower, that the issues up top just slipped through the cracks. Until now! Toraguma is in a bad mood and is looking for people to take it out on: the youth gangs will do just fine.

Volunteers are being solicited to join the regular Shuten enforcers in driving these interlopers out of Shuten territory. The gangs are wise to the usual Shuten tactics, though, and they're prepared for a fight. They are also appealing to the influx of Lost Souls: they act as though they're the victims of the factions' power struggles! They propose that taking up arms against the Shuten Clan will win them favor with the other groups in the city. (It will look less good with the Shuten Clan, should you be assigned to them.)

Fight with the Shutens, or with the gangs. Either way, a fight is coming.

2. TAMAMO TERRITORY - Throat Goat (NSFW)

at by akai riot

This prompt is overtly sexual in nature. Please use the proper NSFW labelling in your top levels and threads.

While the Palace of Sai in the underground is doing well, that doesn't mean the other businesses in the Tamamo Clan's collection have been slacking. One of the least "classy" soaplands has decided they're going to hold a contest to drive up business for themselves! They are partnering with some of the other sex clubs in the area for the sleaziest of events.

The Hyottoko Cup is looking for volunteer participants! The competition is pretty straightforward: a ruler is drawn on the throat of each participant and an array of members is presented to swallow. Whichever contestant can take the guests deepest and longest will take home the "coveted" Hyottoko Cup! Ok, there's a little judge favoritism involved too, so put on a show.

The guests have likewise been pulled in as volunteers, with instructions that they don't have to make this easy on the participants. Guests are provided with special seals that they can use for the length of the competition to enhance their natural assets. For those lacking the equipment entirely, there's a seal for that too.

Have fun and play nice.

3. TAMAMO TERRITORY - Strike a Poise (GEN)

Other businesses looking to jump start this month's earnings are also getting in on the spirit of competition! Businesses less oriented towards sexual service have come together as a means to draw in the high dollar clients, and one local club has proposed something old school.

Sign up for the Poise Contest, where contestants are placed into more and more ridiculous geta while tasked with serving drinks to the guest. Spills are expected, and the guests are cheerfully kitted out with cheap club-branded ponchos to protect their clothes. (Marketing, am I right?) While spills are expected, the contestant will lose points for each of the spilled drinks. Try to keep your balance as you attend to increasingly absurd drink orders. The intensity of the traditional footwear will only make your job that much harder.

Do you have what it takes to pour a champagne fountain while wearing teetering tengu geta? Prove your balance and dexterity is the best and the take home prize is some sweet cash. For Lost Souls freshly in the city, the chance to win some extra money can't really be passed up, huh…

4. SUTOKU TERRITORY - Jigokucho's Got Talent

Ever since Moonday's beloved singer – Ringo-chan – was kidnapped at the Tanabata festival, the band has had to cancel all of their scheduled gigs. Unfortunately, they were a hugely popular act, booked solid in most of the Sutoku Alliance's various nightclubs. This has left a ton of empty spots that need to be filled quickly, before the crowds get upset and demand… refunds.

That's where you come in, Lost Souls! Desperate promoters and talent bookers are literally grabbing Lost Souls off the street and begging, pleading, with them to perform a set for the night. They just need to have something to fill the space Moonday would have otherwise occupied. At least give the crowd something to see!

Acts do not need to be of the musical variety. Any performing talent is accepted, no matter how esoteric or bizarre! If it can fill out a 15-30 minute set, the club owners will be happy and the customers will at least see something interesting; even if it's a bad kind of interesting. So get on stage and show this city what you've got!

( Help us fill our time slots, please! We're desperate! 😩)

5. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENMA - Sticky Paws II: Outta the Bag

The Enma Department is busy: they have a kidnapping to investigate, a primordial god to pin down, and the crisis of their ever-shifting public image to manage. However, crime never sleeps and is always there to add to the troubled Department's workload. Worse still, we thought this little crime spree was over six months ago! But here it is again, much to the Enma's chagrin.

Cat cafés are a popular tourist attraction all across Jigokucho. About six months ago, a gang of bakeneko infiltrated several of the cafés to rob customers occupied with kitty bliss. Wallets, jewelry, and anything else those sticky paws could snatch away were being picked in droves. The cat capers are afoot once more!

Are you a hapless victim of these furry thieves, or are you helping the Department of the Enma track down these cat burglars? Unfortunately, the bakeneko are exceptionally clever and are using a seal to disguise their secondary tails. This makes them look just about like any normal cat. Better make sure your lead is good, or you'll be chasing down an ordinary Felis Catus. Soft to pet, but not going to return your pilfered cash.

Of course, the café staff might be in on this caper too… It's never easy to tell who's getting a cut of the profits. Be careful who you trust out there.

6. ALL OVER - The 100 Billion Yen Man (PLOT RELEVANT)

The local TV news has been announcing that Kaberou Kannazaki – the legendary finance wolf and the father of kidnapping victim, Ringo-chan – will be making an announcement this week. People have flocked to television sets throughout the city; at the squares, around TVs in bars, electronic stores, each other's phones, and any other venue with a connection. The kidnapping has been a highly public ordeal and the talk of the town. Many of the locals were present at the festival and witnessed the crime. They want to hear what the word is!

The public doesn't have to wait long. Wolf-eared Kaberou sits at a press desk, surrounded by microphones, and dazzled with flashbulbs. He clears his throat and, as he begins to speak, he is direct and to the point; not unlike a wolf lunging for the throat.

"As of today, I am issuing a bounty on the man known as the Iron Bear, who has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of my daughter, Ringo Kannazaki. The payout to the party responsible for bringing me Iron Bear, dead or alive, is 100 Billion Yen. Individuals or groups, I don't care. Just bring my daughter back to me, and the money is yours."

Well! The Department of the Enma's hopes of an orderly investigation have been dashed, but this is certainly an opportunity for anyone brave enough – or, more accurately, stupid enough – to traverse the Wasteland. Maybe one of you out there will find the legendary Iron Bear and bring him to some form of justice.

Local businesses are quick to leap at this opportunity, too. They begin to aggressively push sponsorships at would-be bounty hunters. Weapons? Armor? Survival gear? All at discount prices! Each faction has their interest in collecting the massive bounty as well. They will all be putting a lot of pressure on recruits to get ready to head out to the Wastes.

If you just got here? Well, it would definitely be in your interest to start finding gear, and finding people willing to collect that bounty with you. It could mean a big step forward toward your eventual contract, after all.

Welcome to the test drive meme!

• First of all, big thanks to our discord chat for the "Throat Goat" prompt idea. Stay golden, gang.
• IF YOU'RE TOP-LEVELING A NEW CHARACTER, post it here!
• Characters already in the game can top level as well.
• Threads here can be considered game canon.
• Characters can be recruited to do work for any faction until they're given their official assignment.
• 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 September 5th.

Comments

[empression]

Ah, I see. Then, can you wait a moment, Tenkuubashi-kun?

[ Haru offers him a little smile-- and it's time for a placement swap. She's hurrying inside the building to speak quietly to the owner, who points her to the counter. A few more minutes pass and she returns, carrying what looks to be two neatly wrapped sandwiches, one of which she offers him. ]

This area can be a little confusing and if we're fighting anyone, we'll need to keep our strength up. Here you are.

[dissimilar]

[ when she'd reentered the eatery, shou hadn't been watching after her too closely, thinking it was none of his business if she had something to attend to there. she did come here for a reason, after all. but when she returns to present him the sandwich, he perks, expression softening at its edges. ]

I agree it would be best for us to maintain our energy in this case. [ he reaches out to gently take it, voice lowering. ] ...thank you.

[ giving their surroundings a glance, he spots a bench. ]

Shall we sit?

[empression]

Please, think nothing of it... you've already been helping. [ And Haru gives him a warmer smile in return, pleased that this isn't going to turn into a "no I don't want your charity" argument, as it can go in some cases. But she also nods and heads for the bench, taking a seat on one side of it. ]

Are you a new arrival? Or is that being presumptuous? There are still a lot of people I don't know...

[dissimilar]

[ his gratitude is real — pride doesn't fill one's stomach. especially not his. shou takes a seat, giving a sidelong glance back to the shop he'd just chased one of the gang members out of when haru mentions helping. once sitting beside her, his gaze drops again to the sandwich as he thinks his answer over. ]

No, you're not being presumptuous. I arrived not too long ago, so I thought I'd take a look around. That confrontation you witnessed was coincidental.

[ unwrapping the sandwich, he takes a bite. ]

Or lucky, I suppose you could say. Have you been here for a long time?

[empression]

Not a long time, no. [ She's also methodically unwrapping her sandwich. ]

Only for approximately two months. So I know a bit about this place, but not so much as some people who have been here for half a year. I can try to answer any questions you might have, at least?

[ This has to be overwhelming for him. She'd certainly felt that way when she'd wandered around on her own and ended up cleaning bloody pools, among other things. ]

[dissimilar]

[ it does take him a minute to think about the implication of so much time passed. or so little, in some cases. he hadn't been the only one waiting in line at the demon DMV. ]

That's a significant difference in time. But if it's true that our souls come from the Sanzu river, then it makes sense.

[ he's taking it in stride, at the very least. ]

Were you also given a contract when you arrived?

[empression]

I was. [ She nods, firmly. ]

From what I can tell, all of us were. It was a bit of a lengthy process, but it does kind of make me feel as though I have a bigger purpose, one I can work towards, no matter how long that might take.

[dissimilar]

[ listening to her, there's a spell of silence and concentration that digs deeper in him than his middling gaze might suggest — his goal still hasn't changed. his contract is proof of that. ]

Do you suppose being here makes your goal more achievable?

[empression]

I think regardless of where I am, that goal wouldn't change, but it does seem that they can make it more of a likelihood here... if I can fulfill my side of things.

[ And that's very important. ]

[dissimilar]

[ "if"... ]

Have you had difficulty with it? [ he's just getting his bearings, but he's noticed the order to the chaos here, the way they start from the bottom up. ] I understand it's still early in his process for you too.

[empression]

Don't worry about me. Like you said, it's still early, and I'm not ranked yet. So it's only natural that it would be difficult, starting out.

[dissimilar]

Understood. [ he inclines his head. ] I hadn't meant to ask something so personal.

[ he's not the most gifted with conversation and he knows it; his curiosity happened to get the better of him. and it still gets the better of him for one more moment, piercing gaze rising and leveling on haru. severe, but also searching. ]

But if you'll allow me to ask one more thing... [ the way he pauses indicates he knows it's a bit loaded. ] Do you believe we're dead?

[empression]

...

[ That most certainly is loaded, and Haru hesitates, an uncertain shadow clouding her eyes. Shin had said it so decisively, that they were dead, but hearing the question phrased like this, or even being questioned about it at all...

She dearly wishes to look away, but she forces herself to meet Shou's gaze and that fog slowly lifts. ]

I think that... depends entirely on the person. From what point they were taken.

But no, I don't actually believe that all of us are dead.

[dissimilar]

[ to be confronted with morality is no easy thing, he knows. with that, he's the one to actually look away first, an unreadable softness on his face that almost looks like indecision. ]

Thank you for answering me truthfully. I also have my doubts.

[ rather than pursue that line of thought, he takes a bite of his sandwich and switches gears. ]

You're likely aligned with a faction by now, correct?

[empression]

[ Well, if he's not going to clarify or elaborate, Haru won't ask anything further. She just nods, quietly, and returns to her sandwich. ]

Yes, that's right. I was selected to join Shuten, which is why I've been aiding on this search to find unruly gang members and encourage them not to cause problems for the businesses here.

[dissimilar]

[ shuten... strength. there's a moment where his eyes pin on the back bag she carries, pointed. yet while she speaks, he makes short work of the sandwich, fishing it off quickly and balling up the wrapping in his palms. ]

It seems like this area has recently experienced some hardship. It's not surprising to find that others view it as an opportunity.

[empression]

[ She doesn't so much as glance at the bag, taking a longer time to finish her sandwich. ]

It's not surprising, no... but it's a little disappointing, that people would take advantage of it. Still, maybe they can be reasoned with.

[ Doubtful. ]

[dissimilar]

Perhaps they can. [ he thinks on it a moment. ] Shuten didn't seem like the type of organization to favor reasoning, though.

[empression]

Be that as it may, it's not as though everyone who works in that faction is a brute.

[ case in point. ]

[dissimilar]

[ case in point indeed. ]

I didn't mean to imply that you were. I apologize.

[empression]

Oh no, you didn't! I think I can just speak from the viewpoint of someone who isn't quite what people seem to expect from Shuten...

[ She's hardly offended. ]

[dissimilar]

It's true. [ she isn't what he'd expect based on the information he's gathered. ] But I know better than to judge someone based on how they appear.

[empression]

... Have you had to experience that yourself? Being judged initially?

[ It's a very softly worded question, with the encouragement behind it that he doesn't have to actually answer it if he'd rather not. ]

[dissimilar]

[ he understands she's giving him a way out. he thinks, briefly, he ought to take it. but adrift in a new place on his own, where nobody knows who and what he is: ]

...in a manner of speaking, yes. I have.

[empression]

I'm sorry. [ quietly, sincerely. She'd touch an elbow or something, express solidarity through physical contact, but they've only just met. She doesn't want to risk invading someone's personal space. ]

It's not something I'd ever wish on anyone.