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jigokufever2022-08-25 05:44 pm
jigokumods) wrote in jigokufever2022-08-25 05:44 pm
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AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE
MAIN NAVIGATION
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 riotThis 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.
no subject
Except rather than Shinra grunts or Sahagins, it's a trio of kids who don't know any better.
His question gives her pause and belatedly, Tifa realizes that there's something... different about him. More different than when she found him hunched over at Sector Seven's train station, or when those flecks of mako struck fear within her.]
Just today. Been quite the welcome party so far, [she answers, affording herself a brief glance at him over her shoulder, gaze catching on the sword that isn't his between his hands.
But it was the shock on his face when he'd recognized her is what gave it all away, and then the question that followed. Longer for him, Tifa wonders...? She's almost too afraid to ask, so there's a very notable pause before she finally does with a crack in her voice.]
... You?
no subject
Couple three months? Maybe four. Hard to say. Your lessons sure came in handy. I'll tell you that much.
[ There's something in the way he says it... seeing Tifa is a breath of fresh air he didn't know he needed. Getting used to how this place operates, and then finding her here — it was like he was jolting back to his senses after being half-asleep. Even if it wasn't the greatest situation they found themselves in, he can't help but feel a little selfishly relieved she's here. ]
I can give you a rundown once we're done. The punks here aren't exactly Shinra, but they're their own brand of stubborn.
[ He's glaring back at the man who had briefly held the pipe now. If nothing else, Cloud doesn't seem to be willing to bring his full strength to bear against them, and his stance reflects it. It might be hell, but Cloud's softened up a little, in his own way. ]
no subject
Thankfully, she has something else to focus on. For now.]
Yeah. I see that.
[She'd rather the Shinra grunts. At least with them, she had her own reasons to fight. She wouldn't have to deal with her own guilt later, or stew in whether or not she could have approached this differently. They're all just a bunch of kids, and maybe with the right words, things could have been solved without the throwing of fists.
The problem is that they seem all too eager to throw down with them, despite Cloud's sword and his imposing figure, and Tifa's balled up fists ready to go, all that confusion coiled up tight in her fingers.]
Let's make this quick, but... [A beat.] Try not to hit them too hard.
[Between the two of them, that shouldn't be an issue. It helps that the gang members are the ones to try to strike first, all three of them coming in from all angles at them—one at Tifa, one at Cloud, and the third leaps into the air to aim from above.
Tifa trusts that he'll have her back—he always has, and so she leaves the two on the ground to him, instead aiming a kick upwards to block the pipe that's coming at her, knocking it out of his hand and in turn, sending him to the ground several feet back.]
no subject
[ Cloud's at least made some progress since he tried to nearly execute a certain red-headed blowhard back in the Sector 7 slums. Still, it was good to know Tifa was still Tifa — still willing to be that bleeding heart even as she makes the poor fool who tried to come down on her from above eat her boot. Ouch. ]
[ Of course, Cloud doesn't slouch, either. As the two on the ground try to pounce on them, he brings the flat of his blade up, letting them bounce off it, before swinging it in a wide arc. Letting the weight of the blade carry him first forward toward his attacker, and then off the ground and back, as it slams into the punk trying to intercept Tifa. The force of the blow causing both to slam onto their backs and go skidding away, but, true to his word, Cloud's pulling his punches at least a little. Enough that so far the punks are going to walk away with bruises along with bruised egos. ]
[ As Tifa lands, Cloud figures it's about time to actually put some fear into these thoroughly thrashed kids, planting his sword in front of him and leaning forward as he watches them scramble up. ]
Last warning. Keep wasting our time, and it's going to end messy for you. Walking away now's the smartest move you'll make all day.
no subject
She's new here, and she doesn't feel like she has a place in this fight—or any, for that matter—and here she is, towering over three boys who likely got caught up in the wrong crowd.
Their eyes move up that sword to connect with Cloud's, meeting that menacing look in his, and if he meant to strike fear in them, it's certainly worked. They scramble backwards first and then up onto their feet, and one of them spits at the ground while another salutes with a middle finger, all of them shouting about how they're going to regret this later, they'd better run and hide, and any other threat that they think will work on them.
But Tifa stands her ground and watches them as they try to make a quick escape, sullied by their limps.
Finally, she can turn to him with the most crooked of smiles, her shoulders dropping and her hands folding behind her back.]
Showed up right in the nick of time... Thanks.
no subject
[ Her turns away, a small smile flickering across his lips for the hint of a second, as his shoulders slump just a bit. Now that they're not in the middle of battle, Tifa might be able to see he's less on edge overall. Even if he wanted to deny it, it's hard to argue that the slightly less breakneck pace of Jigoku-cho hasn't at least allowed him to let down his usual omnipresent guard. ]
[ Of course, the elation is very brief — there's more than enough reason for both of them to worry. Cloud tries to pass off shaking out his hand a bit as he puts the sword on his back. ]
Guess it was only a matter a time before you ended up here, too. [ He can't really find the words to express how much her absence has been painfully felt, especially in a new place like this. ] Glad to see you're okay. Current situation uh, excluded.
no subject
[Now that she's with him. Terrified as she is of everything this means, she's never felt safer than when she was at Cloud's side, and her expression shows it as she tries to connect her gaze with his.
It won't take much for her to notice the differences in him—the changes that this world has brought about, and she already had when he'd made that quip about her lessons. It takes her back to those days in the Sector Seven slums when things felt light-hearted and fun and bit by bit, she could see the cracks starting to form in that cool, collected persona he tried so hard to construct around himself.
The memory draws a breathy hum, a chuckle, out of her but not even she can disguise the strain within it.]
Guess it's your turn to give me the grand tour, huh...?
no subject
The sector of the city I'm most familiar with is this way. [ He gestures with one hand, trying to put on a brave face, if nothing else, to help ease Tifa into the situation. ] Come on.
[ He's leading her down side streets easily enough. The narrower side streets soon giving way to neighborhoods that — were it not for the youkai of all shapes and sizes bartering with each other, and the more intentional infrastructure — might remind her of Sector 7. Small communities of wildly different people, working together in something resembling cooperative harmony. The more homogenous Shuten trappings of their sector of the city gradually being replaced by the eclectic mish-mash of cultures that comprise the Sutoku Alliance's territory. ]
You said you just arrived. That means you don't have a contract yet, right?
no subject
She follows obediently like a lost duckling until she falls into stride beside him. Her eyes go wide as they step out into the wider streets, revealing a space that isn't so different from the place she came to know as home. It makes her heart ache for it—she never thought she would look back and miss Midgar after she left it, but it doesn't take Tifa long to see that even the people don't seem all that unalike.
It almost feels wrong to smile, but there's the ever subtle quirk of her lip as she looks on, only pulled free by Cloud's question, and the reality of it all sinking in all over again.
Tifa folds, withdrawing back into herself with an arm around her and a shake of her head.]
Not yet... They told me to wait, and someone will contact me.
[She's a patient soul, but even she's been a nervous wreck on the inside about it since she left that line.]
no subject
[ He sees her retreat inside herself, and he slows a bit so that she can stay beside him, rather than behind him. He knows better than most how easy it is for Tifa to pull inward, and this is all new territory. If Tifa's observant, they might even catch some of the people in the street catching sight of Cloud and whispering among themselves. He is, after all, a known commodity here, these days. Whether he wants to be or not. ]
The groups that control the city all work together... for the most part. They all have their own goals, but they've come together when it matters. Thankfully.
[ Cloud's words are still guarded. He might trust the various factions more than he trusted Shinra, but that doesn't necessarily mean he trusts them completely. It'd be hard for anyone who found a life in Midgar to do that. ]
Sutoku mostly controls the day-to-day stuff. Convenience stores, arcades, cheap bars, that sort of thing. They do a lot of the live entertainment, too - singing, dancing, theater. They kind of share that space with the Tamamo Clan, mostly. Their group also does a lot of the maintenance work on the city.
It's... not much. But they did alright by me, when I first showed up. [ He'll let that hang in the air. He's sure Tifa has questions — both about his stay here, and about this place. He wants to make sure to answer what he can. ]
no subject
Tifa can't help it, and it's been that way since that strange night they reunited at the train station, but she's making herself even more obvious now.]
What happened? ... When you first showed up, I mean.
[Might as well start from the beginning. It's the easiest way for her to sort through whatever else she might want to know... which is everything.]
no subject
When I first arrived, the city was in a turf war. Sutoku's leader was presumed dead — only to be confirmed not to be, later. Shuten and Tamamo took the opportunity to claim Sutoku territory and fight over it in the meanwhile.
Soon after that, these... cursed clay dolls started showing up. Causing a lot of problems. Everything seemed to get worse with them around. It wasn't a coincidence.
no subject
And a perfectly arched brow shoots upward at the mention of clay dolls. First a turf war, which doesn't seem all that out of place in a world like this—there were plenty that took place in Midgar's slums—but it's such a sudden shift that it's a bit jarring for her processing mind.]
Wait...
[She shakes her head, and a confused, awkward smile blossoms over her lips.]
Were the clay dolls part of this fight?
[What in the world kinds of things has Cloud gotten up to down here?]
no subject
[ He takes a moment, trying to compose his thoughts. He looks back at her as she steps back, before looking away and down. ]
More like... the turf war was a distraction, in some ways. The clay dolls ended up being connected to something worse. A huge... 'curse' that befell the city. It was...
[ There's a beat. The kind of beat Cloud only takes when he's trying to reckon with something after the fact. Like the first Reactor bombing. ]
It was pretty scary stuff. And the one behind it all was trying to kill another leader of the city, while everyone else was trying to deal with how far these dolls had spread the curse.
no subject
And here she thought the slums were bad.
There's a flicker of guilt that crosses her eyes, and she drops her own gaze to her feet as they walk. He had gone through all of this, likely not on his own and likely not without people he could trust to have his back—they were all stuck in this same predicament after all, weren't they?—but even still...]
Sorry I'm so late.
[The apology is offered with a small, shameful laugh.
She could have been there to help, and to be another person he could have watching his back. She didn't think there were a lot of things that Cloud would call scary...]
no subject
...Don't be. You're here now. And that's what matters.
[ He'll stare up at the sky for a moment, trying to sort out his thoughts as his gait comes to a stop. ]
It's a lot like Midgar. But... in every way it's the same, there's a way it's different. Having another familiar face— it does a lot.
[ It grounds him, in its own way. Tifa's been there to keep him from teetering over the balance beam. And here she was, now doing the same. ]
no subject
Tifa's finger nudges upward before she's turning on the balls of her feet to look at him.]
At least the view from the ground's better here. Haven't seen a proper sky since Nibelheim.
[Even if this may not be an ideal one to reunite under, it's still one all the same.]
Doesn't really make me miss the plate.