February 2022 Test Drive

[jigokumods]

MAIN NAVIGATION

1. ENTRY

It feels like a dream as you wake up in what appears to be a government office. It is remarkably mundane: white walls, small screens with the number that is being served and at what desk, chairs along the perimeter of the room, and pleasant music playing from unseen speakers. There's nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Then you take a look at the inhabitants in the office: Lost Souls and youkai alike make up the ranks of a never-ending line in front of a desk manned by an akaname in a suit. However, another youkai, a hyakume, is your first contact in this world. You're instructed to take a number and stand in the queue. Take a seat if you want– but you're reminded to be quick when your number is called or you'll be passed by.

Congratulations: you're in Hell.

If you're lucky, you're in line behind a fellow Lost Soul. If you're less lucky, you're stuck behind any number of youkai that may be disturbing to look at or ones that may actively try to harm you. The ones with long arms may even try to steal your ticket from further back in the line.

Make small talk, try not to freak out, and keep your ticket safe (or maybe try to steal a better one) as you make your way up in the line.

2. THE CITY

Once you've been processed through the line, you're given your assignment to one of the four possible clans with directions to their respective clan offices. The city itself looks remarkably similar to a modern Japanese city, complete with narrow alleyways connecting wider streets. Glaring neon signs advertising various businesses compete for your attention, even the most mundane businesses.

Once you tear your attention away from the myriad distractions, your task is to find your way to the office. The akaname didn't exactly give you clear directions, just a piece of paper with an address printed on it. You’re on your own to find your way there.

• Those assigned to the Shuten Clan are directed to the gambling district.
  
• The Tamamo Clan members are directed to the red light district.
  
• New members of the Sutoku Alliance are pointed to the entertainment district.
  
• Those assigned to The Department of the Enma are sent to the administrative district.

Ask your fellow Lost Souls for directions or stubbornly find your way to the office all on your own. No matter how you get there, once you've made your way to the office you're given your lodgings (for rookies, it’s always the cheapest inn or apartment block in the area) and told to go out and get a feel for the city.

3. STREET FIGHT - SHUTEN TERRITORY

Scuffles break out all the time in Jigokucho, especially in the district dominated by the Shuten Clan. Whether it's a rival clan posturing over someone being on the wrong turf, shakedowns of all sorts, or just someone with a chip on their shoulder picking a fight: it always draws a crowd of onlookers.

No matter what street you're going down or what you're on your way to do, there always seems to be a fight to block the way. Take a look, take bets, or maybe you're the one caught in the brawl. Maybe someone decided they didn't like the way you looked at them or maybe they're trying to catch you in a petty scam. You may also feel the need to step in when fights are looking particularly one-sided.

Get used to this happening.

4. STICKY PAWS - SUTOKU TERRITORY

One of the more adorable features in the city is a cat cafe. Located within Sutoku territory, it always draws a steady crowd. If you're lured in by the adorable cats in the window, you're welcomed into a pleasant, cat-friendly environment with cats of every shape, color, and size lounging on various surfaces while being doted on by patrons. Of course not everything is as it seems: these are no ordinary cats. They're bakeneko in disguise and this cafe is a clever way to spirit away a few more coins for the Sutoku Alliance's coffers.

You may notice your wallet is a few (thousand) bills lighter at some point during your visit or your wallet may be missing entirely. Maybe it was one of your fellow patrons helping themselves while you were playing with a cat or maybe it was one of the cats. Who's to say? You quickly realize this place is not on the up and up; you have to do something about it.

Chase down one of the cats, confront your fellow patrons, or maybe try to shake down the owner for information. The latter won't get you very far, but maybe it'll make you feel better about losing your cash to a cute scam.

5. HELP WANTED - TAMAMO TERRITORY

CW: potentially NSFW, optional aphro

If you find yourself in the red light district, you might find yourself pulled into something else entirely. A scout in front of one of the numerous clubs drags you in off the street, assuming you're from the Tamamo Clan. It doesn't matter if you are or not, the scout is not listening to your protests. They say something about staffing shortages as you're shoved into the employee area of the club. The club manager then pushes some clothes at you and tells you to get out onto the floor once you're dressed. It might be a host club, it might be a bikini or banana bar, or maybe something even more salacious – whatever it is, you're working there for the night.

There are also barkers aggressively recruiting clients for these clubs, promising a good time for anyone who wants it. Whether it be the company of a pretty host or hostess, the lurid appeal of a strip show, or perhaps even other pleasures of the flesh: there's plenty to tempt even the most resistant.

Work at a club for the night or partake in the pleasures. Drinks flow like water, some with a little something extra to help things along. Everything is transactional here. As you have the money, you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy.

Welcome to the test drive meme!

• Threads here can be considered game canon.
• If you have any questions about the TDM content, please ask them here!
• If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.
• Reserves are open until March 5th.

Comments

Sobs forever

[moondregs]

[ The question catches Junpei off guard, the realization dawning on him that he actually doesn’t remember how he got here. He starts to go back over his memories, brow furrowing in confusion.

The school. The fight with Itadori. The both of them holding hands on the ground. Then Mahito ...

He gasps, taking a few steps back and accidentally bumping into the dark creature with hanging eyeballs that was in line in front of him. There’s a few seconds of panic as he’s glared at (as best a creature with hanging eyeballs can glare) but in the end the youkai just grumbles quietly to itself and turns back around.

Junpei’s expression remains horrified as he looks back at Nanami, wrapping his arms around himself as he trembles and does his best to stay standing. ]

I ... I died ... I’m dead ... this isn’t just a dream ... I’m really in ...

[ Tears have started to well up in his eyes, the reality of his situation finally sinking in fully. Keeping his composure is impossible, and he’s looking around the place with new eyes. ]

They ... they’re going to judge us, aren’t they? That’s why we’re here? I ... I’m going to be punished ...

[fuben]

( He'd anticipated a few different reactions to his question, though none of them involved this level of panic. The boy does confirm a suspicion he'd had, though it hardly answers any questions about the afterlife they've both found themselves in. And certain things that he says have Nanami immediately questioning just how judgement has or will be laid down for the people—and others—who have found themselves in this line. )

I doubt very much it's a dream, but perhaps it's a little premature to start panicking, so try to keep your voice down.

( His voice is gentle but resolute, and he keeps his eyes fixed on the youkai Junpei had disturbed far longer than Junpei does. He knows well enough to always be on his guard, but considering the circumstances they are in, not to mention the ones that had led, at the very least, Nanami here, he's resigned to remain vigilant for the both of them for now. )

It's entirely possible we've already been judged, and that's why we're both here. This feels like a waiting room more than a courtroom.

( He pauses, trying to find at least something reassuring to offer, if only to stop the tears and the fear from going any further. A white lie seems best, since it reassures himself as well. )

And if that's the case, then there shouldn't be anything to worry about anyway. I very much doubt either of us have done enough wrong to warrant suffering, eternal or otherwise.

[moondregs]

[ The reassurance is phlegmatic enough to at least bring Junpei down a few levels of panic. He wipes the tears that already spilled out with his sleeve; Nanami is right, causing a scene in a room filled with unpredictable youkai isn’t a good idea.

However, in a low whisper he confesses: ]

I did something really bad.

[ Granted, he hadn’t actually been able to go through with killing Shota, but he’d certainly intended to. Was seconds away from doing it. Yuuji stopping him couldn’t possibly count in his favor if sins were tallied, could it? Not to mention just casually observing all the people Mahito had transfigured on display in the sewers and doing nothing to stop him.

Not that he has any idea how he could have stopped him.

But if this is the afterlife, they know all and see all don’t they? What’s the point in being vague now? Letting it out might be a relief. ]

I tried to kill someone.

[fuben]

( While he's never prided himself on his ability to judge another's age by looks alone, he can't imagine the boy beside him is any older than his former students. It's a realization that he'd been subconsciously trying to avoid, one that squeezes his chest a bit too tightly, even as those tears do subside. As such, Nanami is hardly braced for Junpei's confession. Children have a skewed perspective on what's damnable and what isn't, but there isn't much room for comfort or argument against an admission of attempted homicide.

Nanami stares down at him through those tinted lenses, brow furrowed with concern of many kinds: worry for the boy, worry for himself, and worry for those around them. He seems remorseful enough now, but the way his emotions had so quickly gone from shyness, to tearful panic, and back again was enough to arouse his suspicions. Yet unsteadiness did not correlate to unkindness. If anything, it only made Nanami want to help him more. )

I wouldn't advise trying that again, especially here. Retreat isn't cowardly if it saves lives. ( Did such a thing matter to either of them anymore? ) And violence isn't the thing that makes you a man. Or even respectable.

( He finally lifts his gaze to the room at large again as the line shuffles forward a meter or so. His ticket is still clutched tightly in hand, and tighter still as he sees something not quite human striding down the line in the opposite direction. )

Of course, it isn't really my place to lecture you, especially when we've just met. ( Another pause as he gently shifts Junpei beside him, away from that strange woman as she approaches. He only glances at the boy, not wanting to lose sight of her. )

My name is Nanami Kento. I died, too. Trying to kill something.

[moondregs]

[ Nanami’s wariness is noticed before Junpei spots the source, and he doesn’t protest to being shifted. An adult that isn’t his mother showing real concern for him is such a rarity that it distracts him briefly. Sure, he’s been lectured by authority figures plenty of times for not meeting their expectations of normalcy, but this isn’t anything like that. Even though they’ve only just met, there’s a level of respect in Namami’s tone that differs from what he’s used to hearing.

While Junpei likes to think he’s totally disenfranchised with the human race, the reality is it doesn’t take that much to earn his trust. It’s simply that the past few years nobody really showed any interest in getting to know him ... until Mahito.

Maybe he should learn from that mistake and be more guarded with Nanami, but he is a stoic presence in this situation where grounding is badly needed to keep him from totally hyperventilating in panic. ]

Junpei Yoshino ... so it wasn’t another person?

[ He wasn’t killed by a human either, of course. Is it just a coincidence the two of them share that, or is that somehow connected to why they’re here? They have so little information it allows his racing mind to go in countless wild directions. ]

[fuben]

( That name rings a soft bell of recognition, enough to divert Nanami's attention back to his half-covered face as the woman slinks past them. If she takes anything, he doesn't notice yet, fist still curled as he conjures up a memory from what seems like a lifetime ago—and, perhaps, it is.

He knows this boy. More as a name on paper than from the flashes of him on security cameras quickly sealed as evidence by police.

It is a bittersweet feeling to meet him like this, knowing everything they went through, everything Itadori went through, to keep him safe. To say nothing of the aftermath of that day, and the way it continued to haunt Itadori in a way Nanami understood only too well.

Disregarding their surroundings for now, he faces Junpei fully, both hands laying over his shoulders and squeezing lightly. )

I know a friend of yours. Itadori. ( He pauses, wondering if they really were friends, in the end. And he wonders if it's appropriate or not to say what he wants to say next. In the end, his guilt wins out, and he simply hopes that it won't cause another scene. The opportunity for apologies comes rarely in life, and there is one person he will never get to give one to. He figures that, if nothing else, he should take advantage of this chance in front of him. )

I'm sorry for what happened to you.