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!
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Threads here can be considered game canon.
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If you have any questions about the TDM content, please ask them here! You can find information on the story so far here!
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Reserves are open until September 5th.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As shocked as he seems at the sight of Mikey, that name just about has him keeling over.]

Kench-? Draken?! Draken's here?!

[Michi fumbles his way back to a proper balance and hovers at the edge of Mikey's reach just in case he needs help. He knows he won't, but still. Mikey talking to him at all is a miracle. He's desperate not to lose that.]

You're both... [breathing? decidedly not homicidal?] okay?

(ugh. enough's enough. the kicks come without any warning, and down the other two go without mikey even giving too much thought. he'll even step on the back of a knocked-out thug, hopping on it as he finally takes the treat he has been munching on in his hands.

what the hell does takemitchy even mean? of course they're okay. a couple of thugs? it's toman's president and his treasured vice. why wouldn't they survive something like this?)

Heh? Of course we're fine, why do you look so surprised? Did ya hit your head or somethin'?

Edited 2022-08-26 14:24 (UTC)

[Aaaand the thugs hit the ground. No surprise there. What continues to surprise Takemichi is that he's not on the ground with them. He watches Mikey hop on the poor loser's back with bewildered humility.

Then Mikey opens his mouth, and he jumps to attention.]

No, that's not-! I didn't hit my head or anything, thanks to you, I just... I thought I was here because I can't solve anything on my own.

[That's not the case with Mikey or Draken, not at all.]

(once mikey hops off from the man's back and returns to his original height, he looks up at takemichi for just a little second.

his hand pulls the other into a hug, as he has done to others and the boy in front of him.)

You're better than thinking that way, Takemitchy. Wipe that frown from your face.

[It takes Michi's brain a minute to catch up to the warmth of Mikey's arm around his shoulders. Even after he comprehends what's happening, he still can't believe it. The embrace is painfully familiar, transporting him back to that fateful day when he stood his ground in Mikey's place. The day when everything was supposed to end.

Relief washes over him, and with it, a river of tears. The person standing before him is Mikey, the real Mikey. Mikey with his heart still intact. Takemichi doesn't have to fight him. He doesn't have to save him, not anymore.

Mikey's back.]

Sorry.

[He tries to pull out of Mikey's embrace before he completely soaks the poor guy's arm.]

You're right. I...

[He wipes at his face, desperate to plug his stupid, leaking eyeballs. Then he shoots a toothy grin Mikey's way. His eyes are still red and puffy. Just ignore it.]

That was totally lame of me!

(mikey isn't back, because he hasn't been anywhere yet. the darkness looms around him, a relentless cloud, and he sometimes doesn't think he can win. he doesn't know even if he should fight it - like the imp of the perverse, the more he resists it, the stronger the urge pulls and pushes in his soul... but right now? right now, it's not so bad. there are people who keep him on his feet. shinichiro and baji have gone, but he has emma. she's fine, isn't she? she was still talking as mikey took his steps towards help.

izana, he doesn't know yet. he'll fight him, and he'll see from there what can be done, if anything can be done.

all in all, things could be much worse, even as the obscurity inhabiting his mind is a necessary end. he'll protect what he loves with it - as strong as he can get. so, takemichi's tears, as meaningful as they are as they soak the fabric of his toman's uniform, go over his head as takemichi's faulty tear duct control. he can't see it any other way.

while the hug is undone, mikey's hand runs through the other's hair, undoing the work that went into the hairdo.)

Come on, Takemitchy. Let's go find Kenchin. ♥

[Emma is not fine. Emma died on Mikey's back that day. When Takemichi realizes that Mikey doesn't remember it, he's going to start crying all over again.

Until then, at least, he's determined to not let Mikey down. He'll get stronger here, and smarter too, and the next time Mikey thinks about Emma, it'll be because she's standing next to him, alive and smiling.

A playful hair ruffle ruins the mood, and Takemichi's attention abruptly shifts to his messy do.]

Eeeh? Mikey?! [His hands shoot up, assessing the damage. About half of his hair is still slicked back, but the rest is unsalvageable. It has succumbed to its natural fluffiness.] You did that on purpose, didn't you? Now I'm gonna look stupid when we find Draken!

(it comes, it goes, it eats him inside. it pushes him towards light and quicksands him into the worst parts of his own prison of a mind.

pay no attention to those details, though, because mikey is clearly in a good mood as he skips a little, shit-eating grin gracing his expression before his palms rise.)

Don't worry, don't worry! You def can't outlame the shit stuck on your head that day! He ain't gon' think nothing of it!

[Michi is far too relieved to think about Mikey's looming darkness right now. And when Mikey reminds him of the dreaded poop hair incident, he even forgets to ask what Mikey's wish was.

Embarrassment heats his face as he races after his leader.]

Stop talking about that!!! He might not remember if you don't say anything!

[Who is he kidding? He knows he'll never live that down.]

(ah, takemitchy. never change. this exchange brings such joy to him, that the grin turns into a much softer smile as he walks... and promptly stops, only to tip-toe to check a store from the inside.

his stipend is gonna start running thin. bottomless pit.)

We should sit down for a moment, actually. You feel different.

(uh-oh.)

[Michi stumbles at the accusation. He feels different? Mikey's the one who's different!

But... It's true that he hasn't stopped to think about why Mikey's different.]

Um... Okay. [Gulp.] We can get something for Draken too.

Then you're paying for the three of us.

(being mikey's bitch is a lifelong commitment and takemitchy printed and framed the contract. good on him.)

[Ah. He probably should have expected that. His wallet is going to cry for this, but honestly... Keeping Mikey smiling might be worth it.]

Yeah, yeah. I get it. [He sighs.] Maybe I'll just have a drink....

Anything sweet'll do. I'mma wait at a table.

(and he'll leave takemichi with that very hard mission in mind, wandering in his own thoughts while the other orders.

once he arrives, and has a false sense of security as he sits, mikey starts his statement.)

You know, Takemitchy. Draken's said he's eighteen now. Are you older too?

[After he orders, Michi brings two big slices of cheesecake - one loaded with chocolate and nuts, the other with fruits and cream - and a cup of cola to the table. They're all lucky that he sets the tray down before Mikey opens his mouth, or all of it would be smeared into Mikey's shirt.

Not knowing what else to do, he plops down in the seat opposite of Mikey.]

Yeah. [He finally breathes.] I'm in high school now.

Does that mean... you're not?

Edited 2022-08-28 05:59 (UTC)

(and both are for him right

takemitchy will definitely let mikey have a taste if he asked, and that'll be his greatest mistake.

either way, the dessert is going to wait.)

Me? No. I'm dealing with Izana, still.

[One slice is for Mikey, and the other is for Draken! But if Mikey eats them both, Michi will just have to buy another for Draken when they leave.]

Izana?! Really?

[Michi's face contorts with surprise and confusion. Sure, that wasn't a full two years ago for him, not like it was for Draken and the others, but still! That's so far back! So many things have happened since then... Mikey hasn't even disbanded Toman yet.

Then... Is this why Mikey is still able to smile and joke around with him? It's not that Mikey no longer needs his help, it's that Mikey doesn't need his help yet. Michi's eyes level with Mikey's, and he can't help but stare.

This is frightening... but isn't it also a second chance?]

What were you doing before you ended up here?

(no emotion from mikey, despite takemitchy having displayed enough for both of them. he said what he said, izana still being a very complex issue to be solved at home, and one mikey won't be solving so soon. with his contract, shinichiro would never have died. kazutora wouldn't be arrested. baji would live and breathe. none of this shit would have happened.

in a way, he's solving it.)

Taking my sister to the hospital. I'm sure she must be recovering well, so I'm not particularly worried. You were there, Takemitchy.

[And there it is. The bomb has dropped. Both in the conversation and in Takemichi's chest.

Yes. Takemichi was there. Mikey had entrusted his precious little sister to him, and yet he hadn't been able to do anything when Kisaki struck her. He'd walked with Mikey all the way to the hospital, even though her body had grown cold partway there. He'd seen the look on Mikey's face, the utter defeat that had clouded his eyes.

Emma is dead.

Michi's hands clench beneath the table, squeezing the color from his fingertips. He decides his course of action.

Emma is dead. Draken's dead too. Izana and Kaku-chan... They're all gone, but if Takemichi succeeds in this new mission, they don't have to be gone forever.

Mikey can be happy this time. Takemichi can protect him from those deaths.

He never has to know.]

Yeah... [He mumbles under his breath before catching himself, sitting a little straighter, forcing the energy for a smile.] Yeah! I just didn't know how much you remembered. I didn't really know how much I remembered. It was two years ago.

Then- You don't remember winning the fight, or even stopping Kisaki? That's pretty weird. I don't think anyone else in Toman could ever forget the way you saved us!

(and ignorant he shall remain. mikey isn't observant in the means of noticing each detail, each little change in takemichi's expression, but he's intuitive, and his intuition says takemichi, as per usual, is hiding something from him.

from all the ways he spoke of the future with certainty, with all the desperation he begs for mikey to stand down when his mind is already made.

an eyebrow rises. whatever it is, it must be related to that, and for now, it's unimportant.)

... I did? I don't remember any of it. What happened?

Ah, well. Tenjiku was targeting all our strongest captains unfairly, [Not Takemichi, of course.] so you and Draken couldn't make it to the fight on time. I took charge of everyone who was still willing to fight. All I could do was keep getting up, but... I was still standing when you and Draken made it.

With you there, it was an easy victory!

If Kenchin and I weren't there from the beginning, and we won, it's because you refused to go down. Otherwise, we would have lost in that case. As expected of Takemitchy...

Good job, and thank you.

(FEEL WARM, MOTHERFUCKER.)

[It's true that he'd held out long enough for Mikey to arrive. It's true that he'd managed to change the future because of it. But it's also true that he squandered the picture-perfect future Mikey had helped him create.

To hear Mikey praise him for it once more, to see that warmth again after being met with nothing but cold and cruel beatdowns for so long... It fills him with pride. Pride in himself, in Toman, and in Mikey too. His face is flush with it as he scratches at his cheek.]

Everyone else helped too. Even Peh-yan was amazing.

The only problem was... Kisaki.

(look at him, that little blush. it makes mikey smile, a hand on his chin, fingers tapping his cheek as he watches the boy in front of him. it's not something mikey is wholly unfamiliar with, that look towards him, but when it's takemichi, it hits just a little bit differently. like a ray of sun shining on skin after a cold morning.

but then, kisaki. oh. well. fuck. he should have expected that, and he shouldn't have done what he's done. he sees that now. his smitten expression turns into his usual emotionless features.)

Explain.

He brought a gun.

[Four simple words that will bring any conversation to an abrupt silence. Takemichi's gaze drops to the table and he takes a deep breath before rushing onward.]

He shot me in the foot, but just about everybody was ready to turn on him by then, so he ran. I chased after him, but... he got hit by a truck.

[He swallows before looking up again, braving a glimpse at Mikey's expression.]

He died.

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tokyo revengers spoilers here

more tokyo revengers spoilers here

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god just don't read this thread if u don't want tokyo rev spoilers

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