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

Ei Sekigahara | 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

[considergun]

i. muscling in

[ Ei isn't actually part of this. No one had approached him about this gang war. He's actually got a completely different task on his mind -- he's mapping out cat cafes in his head. if you even care. -- when he's stopped by some gang members who seem to think he's patrolling. Then one thing leads to another... punches are thrown, swears are yelled, someone throws a bike at him, who DOES that--

...He might have a few bruises to show for it, but it's Ei who remains standing after that, with the look of exhaustion you know goes deep into his soul. ]

Who even are these guys...?

ii. jiguokucho's got talent

Like I keep saying--

[ How did he get himself into this mess? He hadn't actually agreed to anything. At least, he's pretty sure he didn't. It's a bit of a blur between getting accosted about performing and getting dragged backstage.

He only gets the token protest out before he's left alone, because they have more talent to get ready and his timeslot isn't for a little bit longer. With a sigh, he just takes a seat, rubbing his forehead. The sounds of people and booming music isn't helping his headache any and he looks predictably miserable about this predicament. ]

...I keep telling them I don't sing.

iii. sticky paws

[ Why be a victim or an investigator, when you can be both?

Granted, that was very much the idea. The crime spree doesn't seem to be the highest of priorities, but Ei is taking to it with the zeal one would sooner be expecting from some kind of junior detective novel protagonist. Here he is, wandering out of the cat cafe... absolutely covered in cat hair and a wallet lighter. ]

Looks like they're not clever enough to avoid a decoy... Now, then.

[ He's mumbling to himself more than speaking to anyone. He has a thoughtful look on his face even as he turns to go into the alley next to the cat cafe. All he needs now is a... ]

...Backdoor. Perfect.

[ And without even giving it a second thought, he's moving to start picking the lock. Hey, listen. All's fair in love, war, and amateur investigator shenanigans, right? ]

iv. wildcard

[ If you want another prompt, feel free to hit me up with whatever, so long as it isn't nsfw. Either just hit me with something or PM me if you wanna chat about it first! ]

You Know

[nmc0204]

[ When you spend a lot of time with someone, Ryoko finds that you tend to develop a sixth sense for when they're getting up to some nonsense. It's like the eerie quiet that alerts a cat owner to the fact that something is terribly wrong. Either that, or she heard all the yelling when she was on her own patrol and came running. Really, it could be anything.

Here she is, though – a few seconds too late to actually make any difference, but given that she's wheezing like a girl whose just run a one minute mile, that's not for lack of effort on her part. ]

What– how did–

[ Okay, you know what. Let her just lean on this wall here and get any oxygen into her lungs before she starts to lecture him. ]

I Know

[considergun]

[ Way to take the half stumbled words out of his mouth, Ryoko. Ei is having a moment where he's just kind of staring, doing a great impression of a particularly stupid deer in headlights. He should be saying something, right now, something with some meaning considering the situation.

He does not manage that. ]

Just take it easy a second. [ A dumb thing to tell Ryoko Shinonome. He's aware. ] Do you... need some water, or...

[ Somehow, it's him worrying over her despite the fact that he's the idiot with the bruises. ]

[nmc0204]

I'm fine.

[ ... she barks it out automatically, so it's up to you how much stock you decide to put into her words. In an odd way, though, she's thankful for the few moments of pause that getting some air into her body gives her. Looking right at him makes her head start to buzz unpleasantly and though she doesn't quite have a headache yet, she doesn't want to push her luck.

426. mutters a part of her mind, like it's sleep talking. She does her best to push it back down into slumber before she takes a deep, steadying breath and lifts her head. She's not talking to 426. This is– ]

... Ei-kun. [ She says it tentatively, uncertainly, like she's not quite sure she's allowed to be saying it. ] It... it is Ei-kun, right?

[considergun]

[ It's incredible how much relief hearing his own name brings him. He lets out a long breath, feeling a little bit more at peace, hell or not.

He doesn't really smile, face neutral as ever, but his expression is just a little bit lighter. ]

Yeah. You got it.

And you're Ryoko-san.

[ A bit more relief, establishing that. He's Ei Sekigahara. She's Ryoko Shinonome. And they both know who the other is.

The bar's low, but he's holding onto it for dear life. ]

I know I shouldn't be saying things like "it's good to see you" in a place like this, but...

[nmc0204]

[ It's... strange how reassuring it feels to be addressed by someone who knows her. Everyone here is a stranger – stranger still for knowing that none of them come from her tiny corner of the universe – but having Ei look at her and call her Ryoko-san makes her feel like some tightness in her chest has come just a little looser.

Her head still hurts, but it's tolerable – she can tell it'll ease soon enough and she blows up into her bangs, letting them flutter up and off her bandaged forehead. ]

Better you than someone else. [ Maybe that's a little unfair, but... ] At least I can probably trust you not to have been tricked into agreeing to come here.

[considergun]

"Probably", huh?

[ It's kind of amazing, almost, how she makes a vote of confidence sound like an insult. He should take notes. ]

I just sorta ended up here. But waking up places with no clue how I got there is starting to feel pretty routine.

[nmc0204]

Isn't it just. [ She's has a nicer greeting this time around, at least. Less cops, which is always a plus.

Her eyes narrow just a touch, though. Now that niceties (that was her being nice???) are done with... ]

Getting into this sort of trouble isn't part of your new routine, is it?

[ uh oh ]

[considergun]

[ UH OH SISTERS ]

N-No! Of course not. [ Well. Kind of. ] Things just sort of... happened?

[nmc0204]

What happened.

[ No question mark. She's not fucking around. ]

[considergun]

...I was just walking. Next thing I know, these guys are jumping me and yelling about "Shuten".

Seems to me it's a case of mistaken identity.

[nmc0204]

[ She holds what is getting suspiciously close to a glare for a moment longer before finally easing just a bit and giving a nod. ]

... That's how it seems. There are gangs like this all over trying to settle some sort of score with the Shuten clan. It sounds like you stumbled into a fight that was going to happen however you tried to work things out.

[ If she had been inclined to sympathize with any of the gangs before this, it's officially all out the window now. ]

What were you even doing back here, anyway?

[considergun]

[ . . . ]

Reconnaissance.

[nmc0204]

You got lost.

[ bullying him ]

[considergun]

I didn't get lost! [ big sis no bully! :( ] I was just... looking for...

[ see now he just feels embarrassed to say ]

[nmc0204]

[ what else are younger siblings even FOR ]

By the sounds of things, it was clearly trouble. You're not working for the Shuten clan, are you?

[considergun]

I was looking for cat cafes!

[ there it is ]

Nothing... Shuten related. I'm not with them.

1/i'm shocked it took this long for a face journey to happen honestly

[nmc0204]

[nmc0204]

[nmc0204]

Cat...

[nmc0204]

[ SIGH!!! ]

done LMAO

[nmc0204]

Cat cafes?!

[ HE GOT HIS ASS BEAT OVER THAT??? ]

I

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Though he's no Shuten, Soundwave eventually volunteered to act as an enforcer after seeing all the violence and trouble the gang members have been causing to the locals.

He's out patrolling when he hears a commotion nearby and hurries over to the scene - only to arrived at the aftermath. Hmm.]

Nothing more than troublemakers. [Ei would likely hear the mechanical-like quality voice first before the ten foot tall mech. Soundwave is deceptively quiet despite his size may suggest, even his footsteps barely make a sound as he approaches.] Are you hurt?

[considergun]

Guess that... [ He trails off a bit there. Sure, he'd noticed the odd quality of the voice speaking to him, but there's lots of ways to explain that. "Literally a mech talking to him" was not super high on his list. Probably his own fault. ] ...makes... sense.

[ He's trying to be normal about this. Or, you know, as close as Ei ever gets to normal. ]

They barely even hit me. I'll be fine. Some things never really change...

Pretty sure they're having a worse day than me right now.

[peacewithouttyranny]

[At least he isn't freaking out or anything. Fortunately most people haven't, so he'll take someone trying to be normal about it.]

Seems that they are.

[This human alone took all the gang member out and won, huh. Welp. Hopefully these people learned their lessons.]

It isn't safe here. There's a violent gang war happening in Shuten territory right now.

[Not that Soundwave particularly care about what he's doing in this violent territory, but best to warn him about the current going-ons regardless.]