jigokufever | (OVERFLOW) AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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(OVERFLOW) 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!~~ 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.

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[Sylvain props his chin on his hand, grinning briefly for that threat—promise?—but letting it slide. If he ends up where he hopes to, there's no way Felix or Dimitri would be willing to drop by his work to give him a hard time. Not that he doesn't have his own motivations for putting in a more than serious effort, but no way in hell—hah—is he admitting that.

His expression sobers again as Felix starts summing things up. That's kind of a lot to take in, and knowing Felix, he's barely skimming the surface of things.]

Wait, what's that about senses?

[And monsters, but he lets that pass with just a brief flicker of chill in his eyes. This place is already full of monsters, but that sounds like a distinction.]

So if you think the point wasn't killing him, what were they trying to do? Stir up trouble between the clans? How'd you hear about the tower stuff?

[He's trying to keep his questions to a moderate amount, but the more Felix says, the more he knows how much he doesn't know. And Felix might be brusque, impatient, hotheaded, and short-tempered, but he's always had a good head for practical tactics. Whatever he's observed already is a way better start than Sylvain is going to get just wandering around the city and listening to gossip.]

[ Felix might just suck it up and try to do so if necessary because he is willing to suffer changes in surroundings...not that he hasn't been in all territories by now. Funny that. When he originally came to this city, all he intended was to keep to only the Shuten clan area, and not head anywhere else unless it was under orders. Now, he is admittedly more familiar with the city layout to an extent—others certainly know it far better than him, granted.

But, he can't claim ignorance to having not been on a point of another clan's territory before. Though, of course most of his time is spent in Shuten, minding his own business, and keeping his social net tight. Anyway... ]

You heard me. To put it more simply, there was some kind of accursed effect from the curse that affected everyone's mental state to a point depending on where you were.

[ At least, that's how it felt to him... ]

Create chaos and disorder, affecting the faith in the Enma's power and position. Probably even lessen the confidence in even all of the clan heads all at once. But, that's what I think, so naturally stirring up trouble with the clans is a part of it. We'll figure it out at some point.

As for how I heard about the tower? I was on the mission to infiltrate it alongside some others.

[ ...so yeah he is basically stating he was one of those who went into the heart of all that. Sorry not sorry if he concerns you some, Sylvain... ]

[That makes Larcei raise her eyebrows--I know what you mean.]

Sounds like you know from firsthand experience.

[It's an invitation, although one he doesn't have to take if he doesn't want to.]

[Rhea'li's laugh is quiet but he relents.]

My apologies. 'Tis odd to talk about myself when usually there are many who would do so for me. Some far more fantastical than the truth.

[Where to even begin? He never said much of his time before the Scions, even to his friends, and G'raha likely already knows the various tales of the Warrior of Light, albeit with a different face and name. Rhea'li drums his fingers on the table as he considers options and considers G'raha's own interests.]

Know you the lost Allagan art of summoning? 'Twas happenstance that I met one interested in reviving that art, Y'mhitra, Y'shtola's sister. She worked closely with Rammbroes and the Sons of Saint Coinach to recover and interpret the Allagan artefects, and I was merely the one in the unique position to learn the magic.

[Rhea'li reaches into his robes and pulls out the summoner's job stone, setting it down on the table so G'raha can examine it himself.]

Edited (TYPOOOES) 2022-09-28 05:12 (UTC)

[Future adventures for Felix: visiting the host club Sylvain is going to get himself employed at very presently. Truly, an overabundance of new experiences. Unless he's been getting up to a lot of antics in Sylvain's absence, anyway.

Also, Felix's explanation isn't making things any clearer to him without experiencing it for himself. Sylvain pulls a face briefly, but he'll let that one go too. Just mentally filing it under "if strange things feel like they're affecting your mind, maybe there's precedent."]

Weird magic not like what we've got in Fódlan. Got it.

[Ah, creating chaos and disorder. That's a refreshing change of pace from all those Flame Emperor shenanigans. It's nice to land somewhere so familiar.]

If they're going to that much trouble, they must want something worth the effort. Displacing the Enma, maybe. Or getting at whatever they're using to grant the terms of our contract...

[He doesn't really have enough information to guess yet, honestly. And he's more than willing to file that away for later even before Felix drops that little surprise.]

...You've really just been dropping yourself right into the middle of things here, huh?

[Not like they haven't been on a few dangerous missions back home, or that Felix and Dimitri haven't seen battle without him there. Worrying about it now is definitely closing the stable door after the horse is long gone.

Good thing he's for certain not worrying. This is fine.]

That all depends on your own karma, doesn't it? [The smirk remains; but it's hard for him to completely call it a true hell, knowing the sorts of souls he knew were here.]

Besides, no one's ever really innocent, hell or not.

Pretty much.

[ this is nice. and bittersweet, although only mitsuya is aware. ]

So, you finally get your own place now, huh. Want me to get you some pink towels to make it more homey?

[Fukuda's literature brain: oh huh. But maybe that's a common name in Russia?]

Then it's good to meet you, Mr. Gogol! You're one of the new arrivals, right?

That I am! It would seem that I've been brought here to make a unexpected guest appearance.

[ Fukuda gets to be a recipient of the elegant bowing. ]

Honestly I'm just as confused as anyone else... and now curious to know whom am I speaking with.

[ fedya

dostoevsky blinks, face arranged in the most 'unimpressed, but go on' expression he can muster. there is something carefully placed here in the open beneath the projection of 'unimpressed', that additional 'go on' a further invitation. nothing would deter gogol from what he wants, and that is a similarity they shared and the reason why dostoevsky considered gogol a solid member of the decay of angels. ]

Your fondness and desire make for an interesting contradiction. How splendid to see you trying to overcome God even from hell, Kolya.

[ another little trap. ~~homicidal gay chicken is on~~ ]

[ Felix is being too brusque (even if it is honest) in his explanations...surely not something that is coming back to bite him in the bum. Because why would it ever.

Anyway, Felix stumbling into a host club sounds absolutely hilarious. He is bound to make an ass out of himself...rip. Stay tuned until that date.

At the very least, he does add: ]

Weird, dark magic that can get into your head.

[ Not that there aren't any that can't in Fodlan, somewhere, probably. Though he hasn't heard of anything like this and he hopes there's nothing like it back home because fuck's sake. Anyway it's been dealt with so no worries for now.

At the speculation, he doesn't say much and leaves it because it is mostly what they now. Guesses, until the answers come out. As for the question... ]

Not always. I don't care for this place or the monsters or demons. But regardless, it was a mission and the disaster affected everyone. Turning tail wasn't an option. And it won't ever be.

Anyway, we still don't know their true goal, so we'll see what this entire group wants. No one can resist spouting out their entire motive eventually. And I can't wait for their hubris to end up with them eliminated for this foolishness. We've other things we should be concerned about.

[Firsthand experience is one way to put it. It's hard not to think about things that are still somewhat fresh in his mind: the attempted coup in Viscint, Almeidrea's trap in Niez... It's not something he wants to talk about in detail, but he nods nonetheless.]

That's how I'd describe most of the people in charge, where I'm from.

[But not for much longer, if he has any say in it.]

[But, Mitsuya, they're convenient.]

I can cook! A little. Sorta. [He winces, looks away guiltily.] I heat stuff up on the stove sometimes.

He straightens up rather proudly, and flashes Emet-Selch the little pin on his lapel. "The Sutoku Alliance! Led by the Daitengu. We're something of the underdogs, apparently, but everyone I've met so far seems quite talented. I'll have to introduce you to a few of them."

They reach the building, and Hythlodaeus lets them into the lobby with a key. Once they get up to his actual apartment, however, he just opens the door. Azem told him to lock it, but he hasn't really gotten into the habit yet.

It is indeed small, with what can only be described as a kitchenette leading into the main room; but there's a nice balcony on the far end and Hythlodaeus has gone to some lengths to decorate in a mostly tasteful fashion. And there's only a few empty cans laying around.

Hythlodaeus has quite a few things he wants to say to Emet-Selch, but he keeps quiet for a moment, to see where the man would like to start.

[ CONVENIENT is not HEALTHY. ]

...You for real? Reheating ain't cooking!

[ He runs a hand through his hair, not even bothering to suppress his groan. He's forgotten pretty much all of these guys had people to do the cooking for them. ]

C'mon. I'm not gonna cook every meal for you guys, but I'm not lettin' you live off ramen noodles and convenience store bentos, either. Feels like an affront to myself, seriously...

[ooc: Sorry for the huge delay! Have family visiting and then I got sick! u_u]

It's a rather strange way to go about it, but he can empathise with that sort of feeling. Rhea'li nods, threading his fingers between each other.

"If that is what draws your heart, then by all means." A small smile. "Are dreams not meant to be chased?"

He shoots a surprised glance towards Rhea'li. Neither of them have much money right now and he's loathe to spend it on drink. But he does not object when another bottle is placed before him and gathers it closer to him.

"Don't some of you do the same?" he asks in a low tone. "You gravitate towards another who reminds you of someone you lost. If they need help, you offer a hand. You know they aren't the same, but you cannot help yourself because the memories are too strong and--"

He tips his head back for a gulp and the sweet sourness of the drink stings his throat. He lowers the bottle. "What does it matter if you remind me of them? Memories are all that I have left."

[ Ah yes, the endearingly deadpan face Fyodor likes to give him whenever he acts up in a way that's particularly heinous. That face makes Gogol's feelings twist and thrash and get all gross! This time it actually manages to make him experience a shiver of anticipation. ~~The start of homiecidal affection chicken bodes well for absolutely no one.~~ ]

I'm relieved to hear you also think it's so thematically appropriate because that's exactly what I was thinking!

[ Ahhh, I feel you. ]

"They sure are," Kou smiles, "What about you? Do you have any dreams...?"

I'd be interesting to test the limits of this place, don't you think so?

[ no fyodor please do not encourage the clown. ]

Perhaps you'll find something interesting to share with me.

[ then he'll give you attention. ]

[Tobacco is indeed an unfamiliar word to Larcei ~~depending on how strictly we are taking the distribution of plant taxa of places that are Made Up but still Basically Europe, Except the Bits That Aren't~~ and so is the habit of smoking. The smell of the smoke is distinctive, not at all like woodsmoke--it has a sharper edge to it.]

What is it for?

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(OVERFLOW) AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

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my tags have terrible typos how do you cope

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