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!
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!
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Reserves are open until September 5th.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[ He's not.. that big, but his wings are! And maybe he'd like to show them off a little too. Yuuji's explanation makes some sense; Akira isn't certain there's anything like that back home to fight demons (also, there is the question on how different a cursed spirit is from a demon, but that's a discussion for another day.) The point of the matter is there's a lot of stuff happening in Akira's world right now that could be considered similar to what Yuuji was dealing with before they arrived here.

Akira has polished off both his drink and his meal and he's feeling rather pleasant, but not quite intoxicated. It's probably for the best considering he's going to transform. He finishes his meal with a thanks and slides out of his chair. ]}

Yeah. Let's head to the roof top.

[ a part of him was tempted to leave the mess on the table and walk out, but — he knew they shouldn't burden megumi with their own filth. with a sigh, he gestures for akira to give him a minute, in which yuuji was quick to clean up their used plates and glasses, rinsing them with soap before drying them. he gives the surface of the table a swift sweep, and ... ta-da! it's done!

it takes them another few minutes to leave the apartment; sneak through any prying eyes, then manage to reach the rooftop. while the building itself seemed like it was barely holding itself together— the view up here can almost make up for the shitty interior.

they're alone and out in the open space. yuuji threw his hands up, grinning. ]

Do it!

_{[ While Yuuji decides to clean up, Akira decides to bypass helping with that. Cleaning up was never part of his interests anyway, even if he was a kind person. After all, he’s a guest so he shouldn’t have to.

Yeah. He could totally get used to this.

He sneaks off on his own, probably to the restroom again, and undresses, not wanting to tear clothes that he was given. For now, he’ll halfway shift to censor himself, allowing his lower half to become a demon and cover himself with fur and give himself a tail to boot. When he surfaces onto the rooftop, Yuuji will see him in this half form and he laughs lightly. ]}

Okay, for some reason I’m nervous.. but I think that’s cause I’ve never done this just to show someone before. Anyway, here it goes—

_{[ Akira steadies himself, and the transformation starts at the crown of his head, shifting into the bat wing ears and giving himself more of a muzzle than a mouth. The rest of his body expands, both in muscle and in height, and since he’s on the rooftop, he allows his wings to expand out at the end of the transformation, the wings shaking to reach their full length at one point before folding back against him. Akira settles his hand on his own chest once he is finished and exhales. ]}

Behold, Itadori-kun! Look at my alternate form. Yes, it is scary and a monster, but I assure you, this is the body I have that is used to protect others. I don’t mean anyone harm.. anyone who does not deserve it. If you see me on the streets like this, I want you to be rest assured it is just me.

[ he lost him after 'behold, itadori-kun' — the rest is gibberish words that were easily muted down into utter silence.

was it scary? it was, but not in a sense that startled yuuji. the slow transition was an interesting sight, and his gaze followed that drastic shift in akira's features, noting the height between them became more evident; almost towering over him. for a brief moment, the vivid lights throughout the city were concealed behind wings that seemed to expand endlessly, somewhat giving a sinister chill of being immersed by darkness, only to crease behind the devil's shoulders — sobering yuuji back into reality.

and breathe.

the thought of this creature being 'scary' rings in the back of his mind again, but this time yuuji's lips curled up. ]

... and it's that easy?

[ to get possessed, survive somehow, and now he can use this new body without any obstacles? how could someone earn such powers without any given risks? there is no way his 'good heart' is in control the entire time. ]

_{[ cont. ]}

AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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