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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Reserves are open until September 5th.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ imagine how much strain that would put on the body.

she doesn't really have to imagine shit. she already knows a human who's dealing with that every time he sees red. kou's leaps, his landing from stories up, his getting shot... none of that is something a human body should have to go through.

she reaches up, patting levi's shoulder without asking. it's a weirdly genuine response. ]

Figure out your own limits first, yeah. Don't do anything too stupid. [ she grins, wide and toothy. ] But if you're not just human anymore... You'll get there eventually.

[ just like kou. she's got faith in that much for both of them. ]

[now, that is a surprise. it's like a complete 180 from what they've seen from nazuna so far. they take a moment to process it, their eyes widening before falling back into an expression just a shade off from neutral.]

...Thank you, Nazuna. I don't plan on doing anything too stupid, no—that's probably another reason I have this limiter on, you know? It wouldn't do much good to have a Lost Soul try something that leaves them unfixable. [that's probably the closest they've come to the real reason behind it, they think.]

I've never really had a need to test my own limits like that... I mean, I know what most types of electronics need without overloading them, and that's what I used my mutation for. Doing good for the people in my city instead of... zapping bad guys.

That's really cool, yeah... But both is even better!

[ yeah, okay. that's the nazuna levi knows and regrets. ]

You can even play games in a blackout, right? Ahh, sheesh, that's soooo useful... [ she turns, pointing directly at leviathan as she walks. ] You've got a pretty awesome set of skills, man!

[they laugh, at least in good spirits about that switch back to the better-known vampire.]

Maybe. It's gotten me pretty far in life. It might not be quite as convenient as some others' mutations, but... well, it makes people's lives better and that's all I'm trying to do. [and at the risk of learning more about nazuna than they're prepared for, they ask,] What kinds of things are you trying to do? Back home, I mean.

What kind of stuff...? [ a beat - and she laughs sheepishly, waving one hand. ] Ah, you know. Just... stuff, right? Cool vampire stuff, ahaha!

[ her hand drops back down to her side. she tries to keep up the smile - not very well, though. and after a moment, she just. exhales. ]

...honestly, it's not as cool as you'd think. [ simple. truthful. not ashamed, but not proud of it, either. ] I live in an apartment. I eat, I sleep, I play games. We vampires have a lot of time on our hands, y'know? I run a cuddle clinic when I run low on spending money, and that's pretty fun, at least.

[ she continues walking as she speaks, almost thinking aloud to herself. ]

...I don't know if I'm really trying for anything in particular. [ she reaches up, scratching at the back of her neck. ] A lot of stuff has happened in the past few months, you know? I started hanging out with a kid that wants to become a vampire. My old senpai tried to get me to kill her. My... My best friend got shot.

[ she sighs. and then she tries to laugh, pushing a smile back on her face. ]

With shit like that, is it really so wrong to want to just live each day on its own? To just... live, without having to worry about plans and goals and guns and hunters and all that crap?

Edited 2022-09-01 00:30 (UTC)

[levi feels the sympathy swell inside of their chest. they recognize what it looks like when someone is just trying to get by. when the world is placing expectations on them, or when someone else is doing it, and all they want to do is make it to the next artificial sunrise. leviathan has seen it rise again and again in the faces of the people they've helped on the streets, the new meta-humans they've mentored, the friends they've made in the NSO.]

[it's the main factor that causes their steps to slowly quicken so they can keep better pace with nazuna. when she starts talking about everything else that she's been through, levi's heart aches with that same pain. and it's the last line that crushes them.]

[it's what everybody has ever wanted.]

Hey, Nazuna. [they touch her shoulder, then her other shoulder. and with the distance already closed between them, they pull her into a hug close against their body. she can probably hear the way that levi's heart is beating a little faster, just as a result of any kind of intimacy even if it doesn't actually mean anything. but in this case it means... a surprising amount.]

It's not wrong to want that. That's the kind of thing that I worked for every day of my life at home. It's what I want everyone like me to have.

[ like this, with her defenses down, nazuna's expression is a little more readable than usual. there's none of her usual laissez-faire attitude, no laughter or bawdy jokes or half-assed flirtations tumbling from her lips. there's just a tired young woman there before leviathan, a bit of confusion in her eyes.

(she's small enough that she has to crane her neck to rest her head on leviathan's shoulder. "like a doll," some people had called her. they're not wrong.) ]

...that so? [ she finally moves to hug leviathan back. her arms wrap around the other's frame; she exhales, somewhere between fond and hesitant. ] Guess you get it more than I thought.

[ she steps back, that small grin still on her face. ]

I ain't in finance or anything like that, but... what's your thoughts on grabbing a drink with a beautiful vampire instead?

[the finance thing again. the tightness in levi's chest dissipates as the hug breaks, and they're left just standing there, not quite processing how vulnerable they'd just let themself be, looking down at the most human vampire they'd ever met. they breathe out a laugh.]

Let's go. I still have some winnings from tanabata saved up—my treat. What's your drink of choice, anyway?

[they really can't tell by looking at her, but they've never been able to do that anyway. one way or another, they seem in fairly high spirits now that they've had this kind of moment with her. speaking of 180s.]

Because I've never been much for alcohol, but it turns out Hell has some pretty amazing selections available.

Uweeeeeh, it's gotta be beer, right? Booze is good, but beer is better! [ she says it in a cutesy tone, intentionally lisping the words. like she's mimicking some party girl or something. ] Cheaper, too! And it lasts longer! It's all around the perfect drink, y'dig!?

[ y.... y'dig....... ]

[and levi, well. they aren't going to laugh outright again, but that answer does change the direction of where they were planning on taking nazuna. they shift away from the sort of classier little bars, the ones that they were a little more familiar with just from the kinds of things that ursula had spoken about. instead, they redirect towards the type of bar that one jill stingray would typically work at, which has its own kind of undeniable charm to it.]

I'll have to take your word for it. Here, I actually know a place near where I live—we're not too far from it. The beer is... mm, well, I don't know that I have a frame of reference, really. But I think you'll have a good time. I think we both will. Perhaps it can wash the taste of something else out of my mouth.

[they rub at their throat again. this is a joke. it is a joke meant to rile nazuna up, but it is a joke nonetheless.]

[ nazuna's vibing along with the conversation. how could she not? this is great! she's getting beer out of it, and this person actually doesn't suck. it's awesome. she's loving this place.

and then leviathan says "wash the taste out of my mouth" and rubs their throat, and nazuna just. freezes in place. she says, after a moment, in some combination of intrigued awe and utmost betrayal: ]

You did go for the Big Gulp?

[ please don't call it that. ]

Please don't call it the Big Gulp.

[they don't really know what else it is they can say. do they know nazuna well enough to explain things? —more importantly, does it really matter? they decide, ultimately, that it doesn't.]

That was a joke, what I said. [they pause, almost like that's the only thing they'll say, but.] I've had sex before, Nazuna. Just not here. [they wish they could say it had been some time, but they don't want to lie. so instead, they won't say much more specifically about that.] I don't know if there's anyone here I would be comfortable enough to do that with even if it were something I was... trying to do with somebody.

[there's a red creep to their face as the thought of the one person they would like to do something like that with comes into the forefront of their mind. their skin is fair enough that they think it's obvious, but they don't know how to politely ask nazuna not to say anything.]

Ah, sorry. Is "the hot dog eating competition" more to your liking?

[ but she does shut up and listen. she listens as levi explains that it was a joke - disappointing, but not surprising. and then she listens, her eyes going wide, as levi mentions they've had sex. hey, hold on, what was that about not being interested?! isn't that kind of a big difference?

she hears levi out. she understands their reasoning. and honestly, she gets it. it's a lot to adjust to, showing up here, you know? so she nods, and crosses her arms, and an uncharacteristically serious look crosses her face.

and then she says: ]

Leviathaaan... [ oh no. oh, that's an almost flirty tone - low and husky. ] I see, I see, so that's how it is... The bewitching meta-human, dragging a newly-arrived maiden out to get her drunk? My, what would people think?

[ she raises one curled finger to her lips, pouting in a perfect imitation of coy innocence. ]

Be gentle, won't you? It's my first time, you know...

[with all the affection that leviathan astrape can muster, they shove nazuna's shoulder in hopes to ever-so-gently knock her off balance. maybe if they can pretend they're being, like, playfully aggressive, they can act like it's all okay. like it's just friends talking to each other.]

I've dealt with pheromone-using meta-humans before and they don't behave nearly as nicely as I do, Nazuna. [and when both of them have had the chance to meet each other's eyes again, they lower their glasses and peer at their vampiric companion over the top rim.]

I don't know whether I believe it really is your first time. I think that a lot of stories about vampires say that you're very good at that kind of thing. Isn't that right?

[ nazuna barely budges at the shove - a vampire's balance is far beyond such petty interruptions. but not a vampire's sense of humor, as is evidenced by the enormous smile on nazuna's face. ]

Sure, sure. That's what they all say, right?

[ it's clear, from a moment's look into those ice-blue rings, that nazuna doesn't actually believe a word she's saying. it's jokes. it's play. it's what you do with friends.

though that won't top her from playing this little game of chicken to win. ]

Is that so?

[ it's all the warning levi gets. they're already close enough from levi's unexpected hug; there's barely any distance to cross from nazuna's own end. and yet, cross it she does. nazuna's own form, lithe and slender beneath the coat, presses against leviathan's fuller one; even through the fabric, the tiny ebb of curve and sinew is tangible, physical, felt in this moment. she reaches up, soft fingers caressing leviathan's cheek, and murmurs against their ear- ]

What do you think? Le... vi... a... than.

[ leviathan's neck is right there - right beneath that tantalizing strip of fabric. she could pull it back, if she wanted.

she doesn't, of course. she waits for the game to continue. it's as simple as that. ]

[nazuna may be able to sense leviathan's pulse quickening with each deliberate syllable. (they've never regretted not choosing "zeus" as a name more than in this moment.) it's echoing in their ears, their own heartbeat along with the entirety of their name that feels bizarre in a not-unwelcome way coming from nazuna's lips, in that tone.]

[they do not like themself for this reaction. they do not like themself very much at all. it would be wonderful if they could control their body the way they would like to. instead, they feel their carotid pulse harder, and the buzz begins again in their chest. their muscles stiffen, their brain stalls, and when they find the words it's hard to make them come out.]

I think... that you are very, very good at this.

Gyahaha! That totally got you going, didn't it?!

[ just like that, the illusion is broken; just like that, the glamour is dispelled. nazuna returns to her position from before, walking alongside leviathan as she honks with undignified laughter. ]

Ah, sheesh, don't feel bad about it! For real, for real. Of course we've got sex appeal, y'know? It's how most of us grab a bite in the first place!

[the casual nature with which leviathan has been approaching this conversation has evaporated, at least for the moment. their cool has been extremely lost, and they're silent for a noticeable amount of footsteps before the words even come to their head again. they feel warm and they hate it, because they know it's not because of the august weather. this, as they are eminently familiar with, is hell.]

[they breathe deeply, slowly, and for the first time in a while it actually works.]

If you're going to do that again please try to give me a warning next time. [they wipe at their forehead; sweat plasters their hair messily there. it's fine. it's fine if they get pushed out of their comfort zone as long as they have the chance to prepare for it. things can change quickly as long as they can expect the change in the first place. they add something else in a tone that lacks any of the teeth to be a threat, leaving its actual intent on a much smaller list of possibilities.] It's dangerous if you don't.

Huh? [ well, that wasn't what she was expecting. she nods, the mirth on her face evaporating for a moment. ] Ah. Sure. I can do that.

[ dangerous... a metahuman thing? is this about the electricity? can't be that, not with the limiters. or maybe it's just an old reflex.

huh. she'll worry about it later. she settles back into her original pace, ambling along without any real hurry. ]

You're gonna have to let me know when to turn. [ not complaining. just a simple observation. ] Unless you want me to choose someplace random.

[ the way she says it? she's probably not entirely against the idea. she'd just prefer levi's insights, y'know? ]

[they'll explain later. (they might not.) right now, they're just... they're grateful that nazuna is keeping them grounded, even if she is also the reason that levi needs that grounding element. they pay attention to the world around them again, letting it fade back in around them. and they take a turn as they realize that they're actually much closer to the bar than they'd realized, or maybe they had just gotten lost, or—it's hardly important.]

It's down this way. [they say it with just a little bit of that same hollow energy behind it, but the clarity, the character is returning to their words.] It's not too far. Let's just... let's get there, and we can focus on the drinks. [they press their hand over their front pants pocket to make sure the money is still there—good.]

I found out about this place from a friend of a friend who tends bar. She and I are from the same kind of world, with neon and steel and concrete... dark nights and fast motorcycles and alcohol. You know. [they're not sure if she does know.] The kinds of things that sound like they should be a lot of fun until you dig too deep into it, but... that's what living in it does to you, you know?

[levi shakes their head. it's easy to talk about things like this, to fall back on what they've explained before. but it can't be very fun. they know they're on the right path when they see a hell ampm that's staffed by an oni who they recognize; they wave at the oni from the open door.]

Anyway, it's just down this road here, and we'll be drinking before you know it.

[ she doesn't entirely get it. leviathan's strange, after all - a stranger in a strange land. but she's able to recognize stress and tension when she sees it, a lifetime of helping people rest and massages and sleep clinics having taught her well. so she walks a tiny bit ahead of levi, giving them a figure to follow; she brushes the other's arm every now and then, less sensual and more a reminder of existence; she walks in peaceful silence, a familiar sort of feeling even this earlier in the night.

when levi finally starts speaking again, nazuna chips in like nothing even happened in the first place. ]

Sounds like a plan.

[ dark nights and fast motorcycles and alcohol. those still sound like fun to her, honestly. those are what her best nights are, even if some of the worst nights feel that way too. ]

The city was kind of like that back home, yeah. [ she thinks for a moment, letting the silence echo out. ] But... there was plenty of time to sit around, too. Videogames to play and play again, yeah? You ever play any of those?

[ she doesn't need to be told twice. she's already making a beeline down that road - she hasn't had a beer since she arrived, man, she needs a little sippy! ]

[they have long since stopped believing in a god capable of helping them without hurting others, but all the same: thank god. this is something they can discuss, and the anxiety, the fear, any other emotions unpleasant for their heart but not their brain disappear. it's like a finely tuned engine starting back up.]

I'm not one to brag, but I've won a few eSports championships back home. Mostly in FPS games, things like Apex, but the occasional MOBA as well when I can find the time to make a bigger team. And of course, I try to play casually when I can to try to burn off excess energy... and because it's fun to do something I'm good at. If I weren't with the NSO, I could probably make a living playing video games professionally.

[they just sound genuinely confident in that fact by the time they finish. and as they turn their head to look at nazuna, they catch the bar sign and point.] It's right there. How about you, what games do you like?

Heeeeh? You're in eSports, is that right?

[ there's absolutely no indication of what comes after that: ]

So, FPS, FPS... ah, that's the stuff like Duke Nukie, right? [ duke. nukie. ] Ah, those are fun enough, but you get tired of playing them alone after a while, you know?

[ well, if that weren't the saddest goddamn thing nazuna's ever said. she ducks into the bar without even acknowledging it - like it's a perfectly reasonable thing and not kind of vaguely depressing. ]

I just kind of play whatever looks good. M*rio Kart, Street Fighter- ah, don't play the first one on that, it's trash, just skip to the second, you know? It's way better- you know, that kind of thing.

[ just... how old are her tastes? ]

-ah! Actually, I just got a new game the other day. Had to buy a whole console to make it work. [ she plops down at the seediest table she can find, immediately propping her legs up on a nearby chair. ] You start by punching logs, right? And then you make tools and start digging. There's no point and there's no way to win! It's great!

[ sorry, levi. not only is nazuna an older gamer than you...

she's a fuckin' casual. ]

[listen. listen. levi is in a good mood about their games, so they listen very politely to nazuna describe games that they have only heard about as archived software, they ignore the now third time that nazuna has censored something with her own mouth, and they just settle into the bar so easily they almost feel at home. it's not something, they think, that they should've gotten used to, and yet here they are.]

Oh, you're talking about the game that that one virtual singer made about a century ago? [they are talking about it so sincerely that there's no way they could be joking.] I've heard a lot of good things about it. I haven't actually played it myself, but people still like it even in 2120.

Things like Apex, though, they're team games. Three on three, mostly. They're fun if you have the patience for other people not being as good as you. [ah, yes, competitive gamer moments.] If not... well, let's say it's a good thing my usual gaming rig has a grounding rod attached to it. [a joke! not really.] I've tried fighting games, but I could never really get my head around them... they're complicated in a different way.

[see, the thing is that they're talking so openly and casually right now that it might well seem like a totally different person. nazuna really has gotten them into a comfort zone of theirs, whether she'd meant to or not. it's enough to take their mind off of almost everything else, and they're just smiling and talking and acting normal the whole time. (they do not notice this in the moment; they will later, when they replay this conversation a thousand times in their head.)]

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