jigokufever | 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

[ Despite the pleas for backup, Yuri has vehemently resisted all attempts to drag him on stage. But he's stuck around to lend a hand to the Sutoku nightclub, helping performers pick out costumes or dash on makeup so they at least don't look like last-minute acts plucked right from the streets. He rolls out a rack of clothes in front of one hapless-looking recruit. ]

If you've got time to whine, you've got time to bail... or get yourself ready. What will it be?

[Mayoi nearly jumps out of his skin with a small shout, but that's not. Unusual. He's a very jumpy guy, Yuri will soon learn. His eyes scan across the costumes and for a moment, a little tension eases out of his shoulders. Ah ...costumes. That's something, at least. That's better than walking out on stage as himself.]

[He was no good as himself, after all. A despicable phantom. But- on stage as an idol, he could be something more, and that is always where he found his courage.]

...Oh. S-Some of these are very nice...

[He will hesitantly reach out to touch one of them.]

Take your pick. If you want my opinion, this one complements you.

[ He motions to a dark suit, less glitzy than the others, with a purple vest to match Mayoi's hair.

Yuri side-eyes the talent agent, busy wrangling another performer. He leans closer, voice lower and conspiratorial. ]

...If you want to walk out, I won't tell.

[ He'll even cover for him. Mayoi's discomfort is quite clear and Yuri wouldn't wish someone on stage who didn't want to be. ]

[Oh, yes. That one is very nice. He reaches out for that one, specifically, and glides the fabric between his fingers. Hm...]

[He glances up when Yuri leans in, eyes going wide with surprise. He ...flicks his gaze to that talent agent and then back at Yuri. It looks like for a moment, there, he is seriously considering the offer.]

[But- that doesn't sit well with him, does it? No, something about running like this ...as cowardly as he is, it feels very wrong. He agreed and got this far, and the people are depending on him to fill the spot. If he left, it would cause trouble for more than just him.]

[He shakes his head. He doesn't look ...determined, exactly, but he does look sure.]

Thank you ...but. No, I'll perform. I-I agreed to the work and it would set a bad precedent if I ran away.

Let them eat the cost. That they think begging for performers is any way to do business sets a worse precedent.

[ In his blunt opinion, which he is bold enough to say within earshot of the agent. They're not even paying participants for the gigs! Yuri unhooks the outfit from the rack for Mayoi and looks the timid man over. Hard to picture this one on stage... ]

So, what sort of act do you have in mind?

[Well. He's got a point there. This sort of thing doesn't happen back home, really. There's so much bureaucracy wrapped up in Idol business that the idea of someone begging on the streets for performers is ...honestly kind of lunacy. Knowing how much money tends flow in and out of large scale performances, the logistics of negotiating contracts and jobs...]

[This feels like an underground live house. It's very strange.]

Mm. That's true. Perhaps in that case, they should consider that I've done them a favor.

[Mayoi is timid, but he is, actually, shrewd enough to know what position he's in.]

I'm... [Right. He's been trying to figure out what to do about that.]

I'm an in an idol unit back home, so I can sing and dance. I'm not ...used to performing alone, however.

Why not ask for a cut of the ticket sales? Line your pockets while you're at it.

[ Moonday seats aren't cheap things, and even substitutes deserve to be paid. Though...idol, did he hear that right? He's been here long enough to have learned idols are something like the divas of the olden days he hails from. Professional entertainers. Which the timid man doesn't strike him as. ]

Don't overthink it. There's no need to treat it like one of your old concerts. The riffraff out there won't know the difference.

Y-Yes. I'm ... a little astonished that isn't ...somehow a given. Back home that sort of thing ...it wasn't exactly negotiable.

[But he has gotten the feeling the entertainment scene here is way less organized than what he's used to. There were systems in place. Complicated ones. You filled out paperwork for permits for performances, secured venues and paid entrance fees, and then of course if you turned a profit you hopefully got it back. This was ...something of a wild west to him.]

Ah... I suppose that's true. It's ...almost more worrying, knowing none of them are hear to see m-... to see ALKALOID.

[In fact, something just occurs to him. The reason walking out there alone is such a nightmare for him is ...a little more complex than stage fright.]

Eyes like those ...scrutinizing and passing judgement on something they may not understand or like. The awe and confusion could turn into hatred so quickly and then-- [He stops, hands covering his mouth for a moment. Then, something catches his eye. On the bottom of the rack is a mask. Dinged up and cracked, but a full face mask, nonetheless. He will ...reach and pick it up.]

[Hm...]

[ Applause rings out from the stage, another act concluded. No pressure, but the clock is ticking down. ]

Have some confidence. You're an idol, aren't you? Charm the audience like you always do. Turn their awe and confusion into adoration.

[ Yuri might not be a professional, but he'll say so as someone who's sang siren songs in the past. His eyes follow Mayoi's gaze to the mask on the rack. ]

You want to hide such a pretty face? [ He teases, shaking his head in mock disbelief and chuckling. ]

[He raises the mask up, stopping just shy of his eyes. He pauses, giving Yuri's words some careful consideration.]

[Turn it into adoration... Yes, that is what he's always wanted, even when he thought he'd be better off living in the darkness away from other people. That his existence was so awful, it was better that way.]

[Despite his self-condemnation, he still wanted something more, and that is why he got so far, performing with the others. To let go of it now--]

[He lets out a low, little chuckle.]

The last time someone asked me thaaaat I wanted to climb away into the ceiling forever. I told him that I was just like the wretched phantom of the opera, a face only worth hiding.

[He will offer Yuri the mask, and then if he takes it from him, Mayoi will drop into a low bow.]

Thank you ....for your kind words. I hope- that you will support me as I do my very best on this frightening and uncertain stage.

[Time to speedrun getting this costume on.]

AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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