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

[divisors]

Yes, I could tell.

[He says, flippantly, to her first comment. EXTREMELY rude.]

Mm. Yes, you got that right. A mystery to capture the imagination. Though, I do wonder if whoever the culprit was was pleased with having gotten away with the whole thing. That person, whether it was the writer or another, threw down a riddle no one could solve.

[recluserose]

Good for them.

[Her tone is flat in return. She's trying to gauge what this young man's game was because if there's one thing Amelia Steinbeck does not like, it's getting lip from someone who doesn't know her and vice versa.]

The culprit, a couple of decades later has inadvertently helped a poor Lost Soul in Jigokucho who has been tasked to put on a performance at the last minute.

All in all, it worked out for someone.

[Her green eyes regard James carefully.]

Will you be performing or are you grading from the sidelines?

[divisors]

...Ohh?

[The snide tone slides away, coupled with a raise of the eyebrow, an interested and piercing gaze with eyes dark as sin.]

Hm! [And now he's smiling.] Sidelines for me. I'm more of someone who likes to see things from a distance than be the main man on stage.

[recluserose]

[To be quite frank, Amelia did not particularly care for that piercing gaze. Had she been a weaker person who had not gone through the Witch King's trials and instruction, she may have returned his look with uneasiness.]

I see.

[Instead, the witch crushes her plastic water bottle without breaking her gaze. And if nothing else, they can move on to another subject (just to subtly deflect from her own person too).]

Normally, I would also prefer to observe from a distance or collect information directly. And it is to my understanding, that the Sutoku Alliance, for whom I just worked for, value intelligence in whatever form it may take.

[divisors]

[The water bottle's fate only gets a flick of his gaze, before it fixes back on her, seemingly unperturbed.]

"Worked for" in the past tense?

[recluserose]

Well, "just now" would be more accurate. They own this venue as well as several others in this area.

I haven't actually received my official assignment yet, so I've been involving myself in various activities to get a feel for this particular type of hell.

[divisors]

I see, I see. How coincidental. We're part of the same club when it comes to a little window-shopping.

[He's smirking again, leaning an elbow against the stage.]

Is this hell worth your liking, Miss Culprit?

[recluserose]

Well, if I can rest somewhere with a good non-fiction book and a bottle of Merlot all for myself...

[Is she serious? Is she joking? Is it both?]

... Then I'd say I'm set. Bring on the flames of supposed damnation and continuous work.

[divisors]

Now you're just making me want a bottle for myself. But you don't seem like the type to share, perhaps. Especially not for a stranger like me.

[He says, dryly, adding a little hum at the end.]

Oh, what a positive outlook, sarcasm aside. I wonder if it'll keep on in this world, or be snuffed out. This does seem like the type of place to do the latter.

[recluserose]

[Her reply is delivered rather flatly.]

When it comes to drinks, I only share with people I like.

[She'll move off of the stage now as she continues to speak with him.]

I'll have you know, that I'm hardly a pure optimist. More like, I have the resilience and grit to stand up against any waves that come crashing my way.

[The stubbornness has to be useful for something.]

[divisors]

And you have yet to know if you like me or not! How exciting.

[Dry, dry, dry. Its like the sincerity isn't there. He's simply amused.]

Oh, now that's commendable. Optimist earned rather than simply accepted. Not really glass half full, just...wanting it to be full, hm?

[recluserose]

I'm at least being civil, aren't I? [Is she though??] We all have to start somewhere when it comes to good graces or ill will.

[This silver-haired and dark-eyed youth is really something. It's easy to say she disliked him upon interacting with him; it'd be accurate even. But sometimes things aren't so simple and she finds herself continuing their conversation after she's off the stage and has thrown away her bottle.]

What about you? Looking around, do you see things through a half-full or half-empty lens?

[divisors]

You are. That's just polite of you. [Saying it in a way where he obviously knows she's not being that polite.] Meeting someone and working out impressions is like a game, huh?

[A game...what kind of game, though? Only he knows. He steps after her, but not getting too close, tapping at his chin thoughtfully.]

Ooh. Good question. Actually, I'd have to say neither. It's all about probabilities to me. The glass can be half-full, it can be half-empty. But what matters to me is whether there's a likelihood of it toppling over in the near future, for example.

[recluserose]

[Amelia is... Well, there's a time and place for everything so normally she has an appropriate amount of a reserved and demure nature (except when it comes to her students and school administration). Due to her current circumstances, the "I'm old and don't give a damn," side of her is more apparent.]

Ah. You're a mathematics and statistics sort of person then. [She's at least inferred from him mentioning probabilities.]

No wonder there's an incompatibility here. I teach literature.

[divisors]

Yes. That's me. You got it.

[He shakes his hand a little, as if to say "ta-daaaaaa" without saying it.]

Oh, I wouldn't say so. Wouldn't have one without the other. I enjoy a good read of such things myself. I'd just be limiting myself if I didn't.

[recluserose]

You got me there. I've studied a good amount of mathematics though I suppose not with the rigor I had for fiction and non-fiction.

[The Witch King's residence had plenty of arithmetic books to look at. She recalls a time she filled out every single one she was able to find so that the hours would pass less painfully.]

Well, introductions are in order.

[She's danced to the tune of this conversation long enough, it seems right by now.]

Amelia Steinbeck.

[divisors]

As a teacher myself, I would recommend you should have gone for it a little more. But...ah, well.

[And he glances at her, taking in the name, and pauses. A time to reveal identities. And yet...well. An identity like his has its own weight, doesn't it?]

[He murmurs a bit to himself.]

Name time. I suppose I should be traditional about this, even if it isn't really a...mm. Yeah. I think that's right. [And then he raises his voice, sticking out a hand.] You can simply call me "Ruler". And I'd rather you not suppose I'm being arrogant. That's just my Class, you know.

[recluserose]

... Ruler.

[Really now. It's as ostentatious of a title as is his attire, but she'll let the look on her face say that instead of saying that aloud. And he said it was a 'Class' so that means he was never normal, to begin with. Magic-related most likely.

And really, she has her own ostentatious title even if it wasn't needed. She won't make a mountain out of a molehill out of his.

She accepts his hand and gives it a shake and draws back just as swiftly.]

Hm. I'll ask questions later if I see you around. I'm going to need a notebook first.

[So many notes to take. Ruler may take up more than one page.]

[divisors]

[He nods at the repeat of his class name, smile widening, before leaning up on the balls of his feet and falling back. It's a bit of a boyish gesture - he's in a good mood.]

[The attention, throwing out riddles and mysteries in return, allowing someone to make sense of who and what he is - isn't that thrilling, in a way?]

Ooh, are you saying you're planning an interview? How exciting. I went through a few of those in my day.

[recluserose]

Well, there are a lot of Lost Souls aren't there? And many from different worlds at that.

[Amelia shrugs.]

I couldn't very well call myself a scholar if I didn't pursue that sort of information that's right in front of me.

[divisors]

And that includes you, too, yes?

[A little hum.]

An interview for an interview. How about we make that deal? I'm sure you'd like for a chance to sing your own story for a change, outside hiding it in mysteries of little old lost writer ladies.

[recluserose]

[Amelia's eyes narrow with suspicion.]

... I won't make a deal, but I won't disagree with it either.

[As a witch, making deals is tricky business even if magic isn't involved; it's the principle of the matter that counts.]

[divisors]

Handshake, then!

[And he sticks his out.]

An agreement instead of a deal.

[recluserose]

[Will she shake the hand of yet another devil that's appeared in her (after)life?

Eh, she's done it already what's a second time]

Alright then, Ruler.

[Amelia accepts his hand and gives it a firm shake.]

I agree to an informal interview with you about myself, preferably after I learn something about you in some sort of informal line of questioning on my end.

[divisors]

Nice, nice, nice. Deal!

[And a nice, firm shake in return. The smile is certainly cheerful, like that of an excited youngster, but it doesn't reach his dark eyes. There's barely any light in them.]

Man, I'm kind of hyped. Hehe.