jigokufever | (OVERFLOW) AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

Entry tags:

(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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Now he's seen fights that look hopelessly outmatched before... but Baji really felt you could tell the direction of the tide based on the fighter's faces. In this case? This red-headed guy had a grin that could cut metal.]

Hah...

[Snorting a little, he'd rotate his shoulder and turn his head right, then left, stretching his neck and warming his body up as he'd step up to join the stranger.]

Looks like you got this handled, sorry to step in on your good time, but...

[Fishing into a pocket, he'd find an elastic band and start to pin his hair up out of his face with it, eyes trained on the pissant little 'gang' that thought they had the upper hand here.]

Mind if I join? Pisses me off to see guys like this who don't fight one-on-one...

[He's ready to hand all of their asses back to them in short order when the stranger joins him. Heizou is not someone who turns down this kind of assistance when it offers itself on a silver platter, so to speak, and nor is he too proud to accept it.]

Don't mind at all. You can help yourself to the ones on the left. Or the right, if you prefer.

[Heizou's eyes glint faintly in mixed amusement and curiosity at the man who has chosen to join him. The thugs they're facing down don't look fazed by the addition of another person, still viewing their opposition as clearly wildly outnumbered.]

And we can leave the introductions until we've dealt with these miscreants. Come on, you don't want to miss the action. [The young man's frame tenses, his centre of gravity dropping before he darts forwards to meet the first assailant who makes a move towards them. A kick and two well-placed punches has the man on the ground, wheezing for breath, and Heizou shakes the ache of the blows out of his hand as he lightly bounces on the balls of his feet.]

Oof, I'm a little out of practice. Who's next?

[Heh, this guy was a gentleman, to boot! What else could you call someone who gave you first dibs on who to knock into the pavement first?

Now he knew he'd chosen the right side.

Still, despite the kind offer, Baji would hang back and watch his newfound 'friend' go first. He was curious what his style would be. And sure enough, what a show stopper it was-- he moved with control and had real smarts.]

Three strikes, they're out...~

[Called, in praise, before he'd move in. This was the best combination of elements, and he was feeling a little giddy for it. Teaming up with a seemingly capable guy against a bunch of bullying self-styled "gangsters"...

Baji was less speed and control, more brute strength and boundless energy. He'd take the right flank, putting an elbow into a nose on one man, a fist into a cheekbone on the other, and, not to be outdone by the strikeout, grabbing the hair of both and slamming their heads into one another to send them off their feet.

Then, good-naturedly, he'd turn to look at his companion over a shoulder, teasing,]

Who uses a lame word like miscreants, by the way?! [Laughing, not seeming to mean any harm by it. Sounded like his favourite detective show!]

[Heizou generally prefers to not use his fists in a fight if he doesn't have to. Such things are brutish and there are so many other ways one might solve a problem. When a problem comes at you with its own fists raised, though... there's really nothing else that can be done about it, and the young detective does not need the power usually contained in the currently defunct green-blue bauble hung from the back of his clothes to be able to knock somebody out.

He gets the measure of Baji's fighting style from the moment the other man steps into the ring. Energetic, uncontrolled, but powerful none the less. Heizou puts his own foes down without drawing much blood at all, preferring to hit weak points and sensitive spots to send them down gasping for air or groaning in pain as their nerves are set on fire.

And he doesn't seem to be losing breath with it, keeping his back to Baji and any targets in front of him.]

Hah, and what would you call them? [He replies as he easily knocks out another thug. He knows his vocabulary choices can be a little... eccentric, at times. The humour doesn't bother him.] I can think of a few other choice descriptors, but I might hesitate to use some of them in public.

Spineless cowards. [Comes the instantaneous reply. There was nothing else for it. He might have gotten a little more flowery with the curses he'd furnish that sentence with back at home, but if his mom's pulling on his ear and banshee screaming had taught him anything, it was to try not to be vulgar around helpful strangers where you could afford it.

He didn't have to call a bastard a bastard for Heizou to know they were bastards. Even if that would have felt just a little bit better.] And a few other choice words that I'm only hesitatin' on 'cause I don't know you yet. But they start with "Little"--

[He did well in a back-to-back style. As he settled in, his hits would become less erratic; he'd go for function over form after making that first impression on their enemies. A life spent in a dojo, up against Mikey of all people, meant that he'd take out his next target with an especially nasty right hook to the right spot at his temple. Done in one.]

--and end with "-hits".

[The meaning behind the word is clear even if he doesn't say it. Heizou doesn't curse often but that doesn't mean he's going to begrudge others their choice of words and though Baji wouldn't see it, a smirk briefly crosses his face.]

Don't feel you have to blunt your vocabulary on my account. [He replies with a laugh. Between the two of them the group they face are dropping like flies and Heizou has already seen a few of them turn tail and run after realising just what they're up against. Something to deal with later, perhaps, but right now they have more immediate problems.

Problems which are quickly dwindling with the way the two of them fall so easily into complimentary fighting styles. It seems to only take seconds before any thug that Heizou got a hand on is lying groaning on the ground, and though he doesn't like to kick a man when they're down he does give one of them an idle nudge with the tip of his shoe.

He sighs with the air of someone who has just been incredibly put out.]

I would have much preferred to talk it out, but you really did insist...

...what got them on your trail, anyway?

[Asked, as the rest would flee, leaving their wounded and unconscious behind. Some team, huh?

Turning to eye the one Haizou had under foot, he'd narrow his gaze a little and smirk at how futile their efforts had been. Didn't even land a hit. They hadn't picked their target well. Aimless thugs never did.]

They shoulda seen you weren't someone to mess with. They tryin'a jump you or something?

[He'd dust off his hands, and turning to his companion more fully, would give a short, friendly bow.]

Name's Baji, by the way. Nice to meetchya.

Shikanoin Heizou. [He gives a short bow in turn, then steps over one of the fallen thugs as he moves to get out of the street before someone else comes along and decides to try and start something with him. Honestly, he's punched enough people for one day and these young gangs just don't seem to know when to call it quits.]

And my guess is that they didn't like my pointedly calling out their clearly ulterior motives in front of some of the Shuten enforcers earlier today. They've been trailing after me for hours.

[A dogged bunch, certainly, and Heizou had known they were following him almost immediately. They tried to be subtle about it, but he notices when the same faces keep on showing up around him and the stares could have taken him out if looks could kill.]

So, I'm afraid it was only a matter of time before they managed to corner me. [And what a pity. For them, anyway.] But we should move on, before any enforcers arrive here and get the wrong idea.

[They'd been following him all day...? He barely had a scratch on him, clothing looking pretty much unruffled.

Heh... what an interesting guy. He had Baji's respect, anyway.

Thumbing into his back pocket, he'd step over the goon on the ground to start trailing his way after Heizou, untroubled by the the note that another gang of idiots might try to soon approach.

Some guys just didn't know they were cast as typical PS4 mafia brawler NPCs up against those who could actually level the hell up, and it showed~]

You must be tired. Wanna find some place to sit? I can take care of the next wave, give your arms a rest.

[Fighting all day, even at his skill level, had to be exhausting. Nothing warm food and cold water couldn't cure.]

I'm not, but I wouldn't mind relaxing for a minute.

[It takes more than a quick fight to tire out Shikanoin Heizou. Having a sit down doesn't sound too bad though, and maybe a drink as well? He's already looking around for a likely spot that they could both head over to.

Then he chuckles, giving a little shrug with his palms turned upwards.]

And I'll be avoiding any more fights if I can. It's not really my preferred method of dealing with any situation. [But in the end they hadn't left him much of a choice. He rarely starts a fight, but if he has to defend himself then he certainly will.]

I'm a detective, not a brawler.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(OVERFLOW) AUGUST 2022 TEST DRIVE

i

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject