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

(why so much gentleness? wouldn't it be cleverer and swifter to just take the cat by the collar and recover the missing items? what's the point? curious, however lifeless eyes keep scanning the scene, his tongue dancing with the spoon as he finally hears something that calls his attention.

mikey isn't a pit of intelligence, but his intuition is always on point - and to his eyes, it feels like the conversation is remarkably one-sided like the man had been discussing to a mirror rather than a, well, cat.

ah, he feels like engaging.)

Are you talking to the cat or to yourself?

[ those words descend on him as if dropped and there's a visible shift to his body language that may be difficult to to pinpoint for most — a tightening of knees and shoulders, a rebalancing of sinew, muscle, synapse. shou's expression cools instantly and the cat, once calmer, tenses in kind. ]

Of course I was talking to the cat. It understands human language at its current stage of existence.

[ prim, smooth, and almost a little, well.

too on the nose. he took that question very literally when he knows what the real question was. ]

Though it's currently pretending not to.

(now, mikey isn't the smartest man in the world. forgetful to extremes, doesn't think ahead so well, but those little things? those, he sees bright as the sun. shou's back looks like a weight dropped on it, unexpectedly, uninvited.

intriguing, isn't it? enough to make mikey leave his sugar behind as he walks to the other, standing behind and bending to look at him upside down, blonde locks cascading in front of the other.)

You're full of shit.

[ still crouched on the ground, shou is stone-still even as a pair of eyes level with his, a veil of playful blonde following suit. his expression schools, the gaze that was once a piercing and intelligent blue now mellow and flat. ]

I'm human and therefore full of organs.

[ you know, "human". still, he tips his chin upwards in a hint of defiance, undaunted by the close physical proximity.

in front of him, the cat now sits on its haunches, equally curious. ]

Is this angle comfortable for you?

Some of us are incredibly flexible.

(like he's really made of jelly, with how far his leg can go without a single popping sound, no pain, nothing. but he'll quit that pose, for the time being, crouching next to the other to check at him and the cat.)

And some of us are human, full of organs, and liars.

[ shou knows this type of posture, that forceful liquid grace that can sharpen in an instant. it's a fighter's bearing. shou casts his gaze back down at the bakeneko who also now seems invested in this new confrontation, wondering if it might get the chance at two wallets and whatever else.

shou continues to offer his curled fingers to it, but the act is more cursory now. unfocused. ]

It's not a lie. I was talking to this cat.

[ that much is more sincere. ]

But I also understand it as well.

(he's not going to pet the cat from hell, but he won't discourage shou from doing it - it's his wallet, anyway. at least, for once, mikey used his brain and only brought what he was going to spend. everything else, he can get takemichi or draken to take care of and he'll pay later. if he does. probably not.

there we have it.)

Which is why?

[ ... ]

Nothing of note.

[ with the cat's curiosity getting the better of it, as the saying goes, shou takes the opportunity to swipe the wallet it's guarding in a flash of nimbleness, a dexterous touch. he flips it between his fingers and pockets his own, leaving the bakeneko to gawk. ]

Thank you for helping me provide a distraction.

[ quietly, he rocks on his heels and pushes himself up to a stand. ]

(... except he really wasn't helping. 'nothing of note', what a subjective term, avoidance, swift in nature. either way, it provides him a more silent encounter with his dessert should he return to it, and while he craves the sugar, he's a little intrigued.

so, he'll come to his feet as well, fixing the jacket on his shoulders.)

What's your name?

[ halting, he shifts to face the other boy with a liquid cool gaze. while he wasn't so keen on discussing his... discussion... with the cat, who is now trotting over to swat at his ankles, he sees no reason to deny this request. he even adds some interest: ]

Tenkuubashi Shou. High school first year. Here, I have no faction affiliation yet.

Sano Manjiro. Mikey's fine.

(and ah, he's just a year older than mikey, then? well, he'll keep that in mind.

with a nod of his head, he'll motion for the other to sit with him, parfait between hands that tap the wood... before he takes a spoonful of the desert.

it's a sweet expression on his face for someone who looks pretty dead inside.)

Order one of these, they're good.

[ sano-san sits on the tip of his tongue, ready to go

more or less cursed than mikey-san? but that internal battle remains internal when he realizes he's being invited to sit. there's no reason to obey the motion that looks as though he's already decided that shou will sit, but then again —

there's also no reason not to. ]

They do look good. I heard these items were seasonal...

[ got him with the food, also like a cat. ]

(with his mouth full, and now chocolate smeared on his cheek, there's a shrug from mikey's shoulders.)

Parfait? In Tokyo, I could get one any time I wanted, any day. 24/7 places were great. Gonna have to rethink my whole snack routine now, so that's just fucking great.

Specifically, this one.

[ putting the menu down on the table squarely, he taps a finger against a peach and seasalt flavor with all manner of cookies and whipped cream and other toppings thrown in.

...yeah, maybe he looked at the menu before taking on cat duty, what of it? ]

It is a little troublesome to have to canvas a new area for places to eat, but by the same measure, I don't mind it...

[ he is also dedicated to snacks. ]

(... that sounds good. mikey's eyes take a little trip around the store, looking for an indication that this will get off the menu soon. maybe he should order another. goodbye, money.)

Order, I'll order one, too. And, I guess. I'm just used to a routine.

[ here they sit, blowing their newbie money on sweet things. shou is pretty careful, but he figures there's no shortage of odd jobs being offered around the city to make ends meet, if necessary. he's a strapping young lad brimming with inexhaustible teen energy, he doesn't need to sleep. ]

Alright. We'll order two.

[ with that out of the way, shou looks up over the table at the other boy. ]

You said you're from Tokyo.

(mikey'll work. his gang life has never been revolving around money, never about wealth, and he wouldn't have it any other way. meaning - he won't be shaking others down, earning honest money because he needs to be responsible, and provide for the ones who look up to him. they need to know mikey's got them, in any way possible.

even if he sucks handling money, as we see here. he definitely won't think twice about ordering yet more sweets. a wave, and the server comes, all for shou to order.)

I am. In my version of Tokyo, the Manji controls Shibuya, and that's where you'll find me.

(he'll tap the 'leader' kanji on his sleeve.)

[ with the server, shou is polite and well-spoken as he orders the two seasonal parfaits, waiting for them to leave again for his gaze to become somewhat sharper, as if there is a part of him that drifts in and out of his demeanor like a shadow. ]

Your version... [ he repeats, finding the words odd but plausible. ] Indeed, it does seem that those of us who are brought here remember different versions of our homes.

[ but his attention routes elsewhere. ]

A gang?

Considering my Vice-President, Mediator, and First Division Captain are all older than me by two years and last I checked, they weren't - it feels less and less impossible that we're all just from all over.

(there's a smile on his lips, a bit of smugness coming from them before he nods.)

A motorcycle gang, correct!

[ that much he hadn't considered and something unreadable crosses his expression in that moment. ]

People you know arrived with you?

Apparently so.

(with him... he isn't sure? he found them going around his day, but that doesn't change what the other meant.)

Things to keep in mind, Tenkuu. All's possible here, or so it seems.

(don't argue with the nickname.)

I suppose it is. [ no arguments from him on either point; he ought to be prepared for anything, though it's natural for him to be on the front line alone. that honor is all his, as it usually is. ] Discrepancies in time must allow follow the same logic.

[ well.

"logic"... ]

What logic? Come on. Just because it exists, it doesn't mean it makes sense.

(just accept it, tenkuu. things come and go, and logic doesn't always explain everything. he's not that good on that. intuition instead guides him in his path.

doesn't matter. he's met by the server with his parfait, and what could have been a very happy expression on his face is sour.)

... Why don't we have cherries? The picture had cherries. This is bullshit.

(what a big pout he has on. oh, no. the server apologizes, to no avail.)

Unforgivable...!

Edited 2022-09-05 01:37 (UTC)

I agree that many things about this place make no sense. But I don't believe that they'll make no sense forever.

[ context helps and he is sorely lacking that right now, but luckily he has a parfait to distract him from that.

...and a powerful pout. ]

Perhaps they ran out.

I don't want it anymore. I want his money back.

(oh, you thought mikey was paying? absolutely not.

eventually, maybe, shou'll know that these things just happen. exactly why kenchin has several little flags hidden within his cardigan to put on top of mikey's rice when they forget it in his kid's meal.

because he's mature.)

Or go get us cherries.

AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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