jigokufever | AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. SHUTEN — NOTHING CAN BREATHE IN SPACE.

[ well, shou has questions. it's not every day you take a tumble out of your own reality and fall into what appears to be a new one, bureaucracy and all, but in general, his tolerance for weird shit and red tape surrounding weird shit is pretty high. call it a perk of being mauled by an alien at age six and becoming some unhinged weirdo's pet project as a result. whatever the case may be, shou is a creature of habit. red tape generally comes with the territory of being law enforcement, and though he's playing a little fast and loose here without supervision, a request to keep the peace is a request to keep the peace.

which is why, on this nice afternoon, the door to a local eatery blows off its hinges when a whole ass body comes careening through it, hitting the pavement outside with an ugly whack. the party responsible is a stony-faced teen who stands on the other side of the doorway, looking at though he's barely broken a sweat. he bows deeply to the shop owner, who'd almost been shaken down by an opportunistic gang. ]

I apologize for the damage I've done to the door. I can arrange to have it fixed for you. [ can he though ] If you'll excuse me —

[ glancing back up towards the door, he pauses. the thing about local gangs causing problems is that there's usually more than one person, and the guy he just cold clocked now has backup. oops. he squares in the doorway, gaze nonchalant. ]

Can I help you?

[ with? against? just spectating? ]

2. TAMAMO, GEN — LOOKING AT YOU, LIKE A STAR.

I'm just required to wear these without falling, correct?

[ shou is asking even when he's already in, quite frankly, absurdly high geta. did he go straight to those? work his way up? it's truly a mystery. a club might not be the first place you'd expect to see him haunting, but it's not like he's here to drink and get spicy himself — he heard about an opportunity to make a little extra money and decided to give it a shot. his "welcome to hell" stipend isn't going to fill the singularity where his stomach should be.

so, here he is. fortunately, he's pretty and a big hit with the current partygoers: bright eyes, smooth hair, a bit of collarbone peeking out from the summertime blue of a yukata. a can-do attitude that stems mostly from hunger. with an assessing hum, he actually balances on one foot to lift the other, testing the height.

were he not so stoic, it might seem like he's showing off. hell, it might seem like he's showing off regardless. ]

Understood.

[ to his coworker: ] Shall I go first?

[ or to his client: ] What would you like?

3. ENMA — I'M A CASTAWAY.

[ really, shou is fast enough and dexterous enough to catch a cat or several, no matter how fast or demonic. however, what he is not doing is chasing cats around just hoping to stick the landing by the grace of his good reflexes. he's crouched down with his knees tucked primly to his chest, a polite and gentle hand extended to a cat guarding a wallet. there's something both fascinated and unfocused in his gaze as he waits to see if it'll come to him. ]

According to legend, you were just a cat once, were you not?

[ he definitely has the vibe that 1. he identifies with that and 2. doesn't often get to be soft about it. cats are safe confidantes, right? ]

4. ALL OVER — IN THE MOONDUST.

— no, there's no need.

[ a polite rebuttal from the offer of combat gear and weapons because someone still isn't that swift on the uptake. he lifts his left wrist adorned with a smart watch up to his face like he's going to simultaneously ask siri a question and also take place in a brawl right in the middle of these bounty hunting proceedings: ]

Combat W, on.

[ ...and then just stands there for what is probably a few seconds too long. his face doesn't change much save a slight furrowing of his brows. this time, he amends: ]

W, on.

[ again, nothing. except this time shou reaches behind him to check that there is truly nothing that appeared behind him

at ass height? hello? there is something missing here?

please pull him away from furthering embarrassing himself like some kind of weird chuuni. ]

WILDCARD ME, BABY.

(emp here & info here! hit me with anything or let me know if you want a different prompt or personalized starter!)

[ Haru honestly looks like any polite young lady who wouldn't dare get herself caught up in trouble. There's a black bag hanging over one shoulder, containing something very long - whatever it actually is - and she's just looking down at the fallen individual before lifting her gaze to the teenager standing there looking like he would be fine snapping her like a twig. ]

Excuse me.

[ Let's start there. ]

Was that man troubling this establishment?

[ a proper greeting begets a proper response and shou lays a hand on the doorway with a curt nod towards the newcomer. as of now, nothing too serious has broken out — and he looks as though even if the worst were to occur, he'd be prepared for it. ]

That's correct. He [ a tip of his head to single out the guy on the ground clutching his gut like he'd just been cracked with a baseball bat despite shou being unarmed ] is under the impression this shop owes him money. I've discovered that isn't the case.

[ stated like he's giving a mission report... ]

My apologies if I've disturbed your walk.

tenkuubashi shou | tokyo aliens

shuten

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4;

im crying

what's up boo 4

ay gurl

4

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3

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3

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wildcard of the century xoxo

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