jigokufever | February 2022 Test Drive

1. ENTRY

It feels like a dream as you wake up in what appears to be a government office. It is remarkably mundane: white walls, small screens with the number that is being served and at what desk, chairs along the perimeter of the room, and pleasant music playing from unseen speakers. There's nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Then you take a look at the inhabitants in the office: Lost Souls and youkai alike make up the ranks of a never-ending line in front of a desk manned by an akaname in a suit. However, another youkai, a hyakume, is your first contact in this world. You're instructed to take a number and stand in the queue. Take a seat if you want– but you're reminded to be quick when your number is called or you'll be passed by.

Congratulations: you're in Hell.

If you're lucky, you're in line behind a fellow Lost Soul. If you're less lucky, you're stuck behind any number of youkai that may be disturbing to look at or ones that may actively try to harm you. The ones with long arms may even try to steal your ticket from further back in the line.

Make small talk, try not to freak out, and keep your ticket safe (or maybe try to steal a better one) as you make your way up in the line.

2. THE CITY

Once you've been processed through the line, you're given your assignment to one of the four possible clans with directions to their respective clan offices. The city itself looks remarkably similar to a modern Japanese city, complete with narrow alleyways connecting wider streets. Glaring neon signs advertising various businesses compete for your attention, even the most mundane businesses.

Once you tear your attention away from the myriad distractions, your task is to find your way to the office. The akaname didn't exactly give you clear directions, just a piece of paper with an address printed on it. You’re on your own to find your way there.

Those assigned to the Shuten Clan are directed to the gambling district.
The Tamamo Clan members are directed to the red light district.
New members of the Sutoku Alliance are pointed to the entertainment district.
Those assigned to The Department of the Enma are sent to the administrative district.
Ask your fellow Lost Souls for directions or stubbornly find your way to the office all on your own. No matter how you get there, once you've made your way to the office you're given your lodgings (for rookies, it’s always the cheapest inn or apartment block in the area) and told to go out and get a feel for the city.

3. STREET FIGHT - SHUTEN TERRITORY

Scuffles break out all the time in Jigokucho, especially in the district dominated by the Shuten Clan. Whether it's a rival clan posturing over someone being on the wrong turf, shakedowns of all sorts, or just someone with a chip on their shoulder picking a fight: it always draws a crowd of onlookers.

No matter what street you're going down or what you're on your way to do, there always seems to be a fight to block the way. Take a look, take bets, or maybe you're the one caught in the brawl. Maybe someone decided they didn't like the way you looked at them or maybe they're trying to catch you in a petty scam. You may also feel the need to step in when fights are looking particularly one-sided.

Get used to this happening.

4. STICKY PAWS - SUTOKU TERRITORY

One of the more adorable features in the city is a cat cafe. Located within Sutoku territory, it always draws a steady crowd. If you're lured in by the adorable cats in the window, you're welcomed into a pleasant, cat-friendly environment with cats of every shape, color, and size lounging on various surfaces while being doted on by patrons. Of course not everything is as it seems: these are no ordinary cats. They're bakeneko in disguise and this cafe is a clever way to spirit away a few more coins for the Sutoku Alliance's coffers.

You may notice your wallet is a few (thousand) bills lighter at some point during your visit or your wallet may be missing entirely. Maybe it was one of your fellow patrons helping themselves while you were playing with a cat or maybe it was one of the cats. Who's to say? You quickly realize this place is not on the up and up; you have to do something about it.

Chase down one of the cats, confront your fellow patrons, or maybe try to shake down the owner for information. The latter won't get you very far, but maybe it'll make you feel better about losing your cash to a cute scam.

5. HELP WANTED - TAMAMO TERRITORY

CW: potentially NSFW, optional aphro

If you find yourself in the red light district, you might find yourself pulled into something else entirely. A scout in front of one of the numerous clubs drags you in off the street, assuming you're from the Tamamo Clan. It doesn't matter if you are or not, the scout is not listening to your protests. They say something about staffing shortages as you're shoved into the employee area of the club. The club manager then pushes some clothes at you and tells you to get out onto the floor once you're dressed. It might be a host club, it might be a bikini or banana bar, or maybe something even more salacious – whatever it is, you're working there for the night.

There are also barkers aggressively recruiting clients for these clubs, promising a good time for anyone who wants it. Whether it be the company of a pretty host or hostess, the lurid appeal of a strip show, or perhaps even other pleasures of the flesh: there's plenty to tempt even the most resistant.

Work at a club for the night or partake in the pleasures. Drinks flow like water, some with a little something extra to help things along. Everything is transactional here. As you have the money, you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There are a lot of things going wrong here so the oddity of her name mostly registers for the absence of a last name. Everything else can probably be explained by simply assuming that she isn't British.

Van Zieks is quickly distracted by the distinct lack of a face on the shop proprietor, but his stoics face does well at masking how unsettled he feels inside.

Letters, then. Sure. And not even a cable in sight. ]

I am prepared. Go ahead when ready.

[ He is staring down at this phone as though he's trying to get it to confess to a crime... ]

[And with that, her fingers start immediately tapping the screen.]

Annnnd send! There we go!

[The message she sends to him in the text message application is as follows:]

Hello!

As I said, you can call me Monts. This isn't so much a letter as it is a short-form version.

[She glances at van Zieks before sending another message.]

In general, there's a choice between sending letters or speaking with our voices using this type of phone. It makes coordinating plans a little easier or at least it gets things moving along at a more rapid pace.

[ This is very practical, but that does not wind up being van Ziek's first thought about it. His first brief thought is that it feels impersonal and anonymous compared to a handwritten document. Typewriters have been popular for some 20 years now and still, handwritten documents play a large role in his daily life. Something like personal correspondence, he'd routinely write by hand. Huh.

He looks over at Monts and nods. ]

So to respond, I likewise tap this device?

[ He does and, lo and behold, the little keyboard shows up. That's convenient. ]

Please forgive me for taking a moment.

[ And a moment it is. He's not used to typing on a phone and the error margin is accordingly high. This frustrates him for a moment until he figures out backspacing is a thing and... starts over. He looks deeply lost in his thought as he focuses on this. ]

It might be more appropriate, then, to refer to this as a middle stage between a telegram and a letter.

[She nods in response to his actions, indicating that he's taken the right steps. After looking at his text, she types again.]

Yes! Think of it as a regular conversation, but you know, just typed out. Pretty good to have when you're at a distance or you're trying to keep a talk private between or among parties.

[Monts pauses mid-sentence considering her next words. Shrugs. And goes with it anyway.]

It's also a given, but you can change your language settings for when it's appropriate and needed. Like so!

Hola y bienvenido al infierno.

[Ah, charming.]

[ A regular conversation typed out? It is a very foreign concept. Thinking of it this way helps van Zieks understand just what unsettles him about it though - he does not understand its nuances. Letter-writing is an incredibly codified process and every part of a letter's presentation is a status statement or indication of the sender's intentions. These words are clinical and so informal that all his carefully studied writing etiquette threatens to be useless in interpreting or even formulating these little messages. Huh.

Somehow, the matter of language settings seems a lot less important in the scheme of things here. He frowns down at the message. 'Infierno' indeed. ]

Gracias.

[ Do not expect any more Spanish than that from him.

And now, out loud again: ] I believe I have understood the basic function. Instant remote communication is certainly a useful tool.

How far apart do these devices need to get before they stop working?

[That singular text makes her lips curl into an amused smile, but she won't comment on it any further.]

You can be as far as possible as long as you're in an area where your device can be active. Oh, and you need to make sure its battery is fully charged or has some charge left in it. They're only meant to run for so long on their own energy.

[She waves her borrowed phone in the air casually.]

A disclaimer on my part though: I won't proclaim to be an expert on how these work, just that I understand how I've been using them in my everyday... Past life? I guess that's what we're going with here.

If anything, I'm surprised this sort of technology is in a place like this or that it's urban at all. Well, it'll be useful for when people start to network here, especially since I'm assuming most of us aren't too happy that we'll be here for a while.

It is certainly nothing like the hell that is described in scripture. In fact, I refuse to think of myself as deceased simply because some demons of highly suspect origin proclaim me to be.

[ This feels like a hell alright but not necessarily the hell. Van Zieks isn't sure if that makes sense either, but that can remain his little secret.

As much as all of this appears to be punishment tailor-made for the wrongdoings he's committed in his own life, he is both too strong in faith and too logically minded to accept it as part of his belief system. ]

The most I can confirm of this place is that sin, indecency and wrong-doing do indeed run rampant in it.

[Scripture is it? Marianna's godfearing grandparents would probably feel similar to Van Zieks right now.]

Mm. [She taps her cheek thoughtfully.]

I suppose as an ex-Catholic, I can agree with you on the first part. The second part, I can also agree and I regret to inform you that where I'm from, sin, indecency, and wrong-doing are probably just about as rampant.

Less demons with no faces though.

[ There is a huff of dark amusement at that. ]

Large cities do attract all types, including the worst of the worst. Despite the tireless work of the London judiciary to bring order to the city, I cannot claim that the views I am used to are the pinnacle of virtue either.

Complete absence demons with no faces, however. Or demons of any kind, except the one that grows in the hearts of humans.

[ And those are the worst ones. The no-face ones or the many-eyes ones or the big-nose ones all at least have the decency of showing plainly what they are. ]

February 2022 Test Drive

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