![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
April | Test Drive Meme
Jikan Test Drive MemeMinimize
You've seen this before. The thought strikes suddenly, during whatever it is you were doing. Having an important conversation? Running away from home? Dying in the midst of a fierce battle? Where ever you are, one things is true: you're certain this isn't the first time you've lived through this. But upon realizing this, that's when it happens. Like someone hitting rewind on the VCR, you're back where you were ten minutes ago. And it happens again. And again. And again--Until finally, something is different. A door stands in front of you. Will you go through it? Nothing else seems to be working, so this might be your only chance.
Upon opening the door and heading inside, a strange feeling overwhelms you. It's comforting and warm, like being enveloped in a soft, heavy blanket. You hear a voice murmuring in your ear, but it's unintelligible.
And in the next moment, you've appeared in a laboratory, surrounded by the unfamiliar yet worried faces of people in lab coats, speaking in a foreign language that doesn't sound so foreign to you anymore.
Nanjikan Research Laboratory
There isn't much time to process what's happening before characters are ushered out of the arrival room. They're passed between a medical and a psychiatric team, checking them for injuries and psychological trauma. Their every need is met: food is offered, injuries are tended to, and questions are answered. "You're in the Eastern Kingdom of Nippon on a planet called Gaia," they explain. "You were brought here because you became aware of the timeloop... we'll explain everything."
Orientation Nanjikan Research Lab, Tokyo
Everyone is brought to a large auditorium, where dozens of other people looking similarly out of place are seated around them. The scientists and doctors from before file on stage, thoroughly explaining the situation. What they experienced back home was a timeloop. While the loops in their home worlds are smaller and likely to resolve on their own, the fact that such a small amount of time is being repeated is what makes them so dangerous for those who become aware of it. And they've been working around the clock in collaboration with the neighboring Western Kingdom, checking adjacent universes for others who've become aware. While the technical explanations may go over the heads of most, that's not the reason they were all brought together like this.
And they continue to explain: their own world was trapped in a year long loop for decades, if not longer. Through the use of an ancient form of bonding magic, they bound their world to the present flow of time, allowing it to progress past the timeloop. Or at least, that's how they thought it worked. In truth, Kizuna is very powerful reality-warping magic. And thanks to the powerful bond all refugees now share with the country of Nippon, the magic surrounding them will only continue to evolve.
Until they find the means of resuming the flow of time back in your home world, the refugees will just have to make due with this one. But not to worry, because Nippon is fully committed to taking care of everyone!
A Place to Call Home Tokyo, Kanto
Once orientation is over, characters will be allowed to choose housing in both Kyoto and Tokyo, enabling them the means of easily living between both Kingdoms if they please. These housing options will be fully paid for by the government of Nippon, with the NRL and MRU providing a stipend for food expenses in Tokyo and Kyoto respectively.
In lieu of providing transportation, all refugees will be granted an unlimited rail pass that they can use to travel all across Nippon! Thankfully, express routes connecting Tokyo and Kyoto will be running at all times of day, allowing refugees to freely travel between the Eastern and Western Kingdoms as they please. While this TDM and its prompts are focused on the Eastern Kingdom, you are welcome to have your character arrive in the Western Kingdom instead.
For those bound for Nihonbashi, be careful not to board the train too late at night. Because on Friday nights, the Loop Line's final train of the night is a party train! Every train car is set up with its own theme and decor, with this week featuring the return of the ever popular sexy maid cafe in the rear of the car! Dress up in a surprisingly demure maid outfit (this is 1921) and take customer orders, or have a seat and peruse the menu. Aside from a small bar, there's no actual food service or exchange of currency going on here, so it's all in good fun! The train will loop endlessly past the same station until sunrise, so hopefully they weren't planning on an early night's sleep.
In Little Edo, a Great Nippon Salamander has been spotted wandering the streets in search of clean water. While this may not seem like a big deal, these creatures range in size from that of a large dog to that of a large house. To subdue the creature, the local hunting clan, the Hanzaki, are searching for volunteers to help coax the salamander back out into the swamplands of the Tokyo Outskirts. While the safest method is to lead it using a hose or another source of water, those looking to get the job done quickly may instead choose to fight the creature, causing it to flee in whichever direction they point it in. Careful, they move faster than you think!
Over in Yoshiwara, the Tokyo branch of the refugee-owned nightclub, Club Hexxx, has finally opened its doors! Enjoy a dark and spooky atmosphere while listening to the latest jazz hits. And best of all, refugees will be offered a free glass of Club Hexxx's signature drink: Kinklist, a coffee-flavored drink that turns white after one sip, and causing the drinker's deepest sexual desire to appear written on their cheek in black ink. The text will remain until they finish the rest of the drink.
NRL Time Refugee Support Network
Once they've received their housing assignment, all refugees will be given small handheld devices called magi-tech communicators, or magi-comms for short. They're heavier than a conventional smartphone would be, but far sturdier, and powered by the ambient magic that flows through the city. Now available with limited sepia-tone color, and video cameras! They don't need to be charged, but they won't work outside of cities at all. Upon booting it up, they'll find a message linking them to a special channel for refugees.
#nrl_time_refugee_support - online
Use the following code for your top-level if you'd like! This is how network communication will look for characters in the game until more advanced magi-tech comms become available for characters.
Springtime Flowers
With the changing of the seasons, the cherry blossoms have finally bloomed, painting the landscape with dashes of pink and white on nearly every corner. Not even the busy citizens of Tokyo can resist stopping to smell the flowers, or even enjoying picnics underneath them!
And those looking for the best place to view the flowers need look no further than Little Edo, a suburb in south Tokyo that borders the vast wetlands that separate Tokyo from Yokohama. And between the lush parks, interesting shrines, and mysterious ruins, there's no shortage of things for those settling in to explore!
A Very Special Festival Kanayama Shrine, Tokyo Outskirts
While most residents are celebrating the spring season under the cherry blossoms, a different sort of celebration is taking place at the Kanayama Shrine, located just south of Tokyo on a tall, narrow hilltop that juts out of the flooded landscape. Once more, it's time for the annual Kanamara Matsuri, and all refugees will find themselves invited to the little island to see the festivities. And what sort of festival is it, you may ask?
Why, it's the Festival of the Steel Phallus! According to legend, there was once a plague of a type of ayakashi that was known to live in the genitals of humans, whose vicious bite caused the birthrate of a certain city to drop down to zero. To combat this, an afflicted young woman asked a blacksmith to forge a steel phallus in order to break the ayakashi's teeth, freeing her of the curse. It's said the original phallus remains enshrined in the innermost chambers-- and in honor of this most venerated dildo, a festival is held every spring to celebrate sexuality and fertility, all leading up to a procession in which a giant steel phallus is paraded around the island.
(And no, I didn't make this one up.)
Refugees visiting the shrine will find no shortage of phallic-shaped foods and merchandise. Outside of the wide array of oddly shaped dildos to choose from, in terms of food, there are stalls selling lollipops, popsicles, sausages, grilled squid, octopus balls, cream-filled dick waffles-- but there's more at work here than a simple theme. Those who choose the popsicles will find themselves with a temporary oral fixation, causing an urge to have something between their lips at all times. Now, is this a naughty trick, or merely a marketing ploy to sell more popsicles? It's hard to say.
But the real treat is inside the shrine itself, where a single dildo stands tall among gilded offerings and flowers. The inner chamber is only ever put on display once a year, and for good reason. Anyone whose eyes fall upon the majestic phallus will become overwhelmed with a desire to fill or be filled - which might just be why viewings are done in groups of two or more, with the outer doors of the shrine closed behind them for privacy. There's a nice pile of pillows and no shortage of lubricating oils available, so why not get into the spirit of the season with a friend or two?
Flowers of Evil Little Edo, Tokyo
Festivals aside, many people are coming out to Little Edo to enjoy the array of cherry blossom trees for Hanami, or flower watching parties. Of these, the refugees will find themselves invited to a special gathering, taking place under the shade of a massive cherry blossom tree that was planted in their honor the year before. And yet despite it's young age, it's the largest tree around, continually growing since the initial growth spurt when it was planted. Although most understand that it was likely Kizuna that caused its sudden growth, locals have begun treating it as something sacred, leaving offerings and making prayers beneath its branches.
And should the refugees decide to take part as well, they may be surprised to find that whatever they wish for comes true. These wishes are rather limited, and some may only exist for a few minutes. But for those wishing to meet someone from home, the may be surprised to find that the person in question will appear beside them in Nippon... (See notes below for details!)
But while everyone else is enjoying the cherry blossoms, a certain park in Little Edo is drawing crowds for a different reason. After last year's outbreak of jubokko ayakashi, the cherry blossom trees in this area were permanently stained by the jubokko's red pollen, causing the pink petals to develop distinct red veins.
However, unlike the jubokko's pollen, these petals carry a very different effect. Anyone who stands under the shade of these trees will feel an irresistible urge to confess something. This can be something minor, like a strange food combination they are particularly fond of, or something major, such as the name of the last person they had sex with. This urge will linger even after leaving the flowers, until they've either confessed enough to appease the tree, or until the trees go bare when the blossoms fall.
Underwater Mysteries Tokyo Outskirts, Kanto
Those who are familiar with some version of Nippon may find the changed landscape to be rather confusing. Due to a massive time surge many decades ago, the entire region of Kanto was flooded, leaving many cities underwater or transformed into swamplands. As nature took over, the flooded region surrounding Tokyo came to be known the Tokyo Outskirts.
Ordinarily, exploring this area can be rather dangerous, given both the presence of dangerous Ayakashi and the unstable landscape that's peppered with the ruins of drowned cities. But this week, those looking for a little adventure can take part in special boat tours exploring the ruins and viewing the cherry trees from a unique vantage point.
Up to four people can fit in a single steamboat, which is preprogrammed to follow a path that will take passengers past the top of a large hill that's almost completely covered in cherry blossom trees, with the ruins of a few old buildings just barely visible beneath the overgrowth. But beauty aside, the real marvel is within the water itself, which is clear enough that one can look down and see roads, trees, and even entire buildings still mostly intact beneath the surface. You'd think the water just appeared one day, given that nothing seems to have been destroyed when the flood occurred.
But not every trip will go as smoothly as planned. Hidden beneath the pink petals that pepper the surface of the water, unlucky refugees may spot the long, long body of an Ikuchi, the sea serpent ayakashi. Thought to be the longest Ayakashi to exist in Nippon, these thick, snake-like creatures may take entire minutes just to pass under a boat. Spotting the body is simply distressing, and thankfully not of much concern. But should someone make eye contact with the third eye on top of its head, the Ikuchi will climb over the side of the boat and coil around it, attempting to drag it beneath the surface. And for the one who initially made eye contact, they'll find themselves affixed with a curse that temporarily makes it impossible to float in the water.
Thankfully, this ayakashi isn't interested in attacking those who fall overboard, and there's plenty of spots where the water is far more shallow. But those who fall in will have to wait until another tour comes by to ferry them back to shore.
OOC Notes
Welcome to Jikan's April TDM! The TDM is considered game canon, and also serves as the intro log! That said, whether you choose to carry threads over to the game or not is up to you!
• For this month only, please include in your top-level if you are a new player without an invite! Those seeking an invite can do so here!!
• CRAU characters may start regaining their CRAU memories one month after the TDM. However, vague feelings of familiarity are allowed between previous game CR! For more on this, please read the FAQ!
• You do not need to sign-up for housing! Choose whichever style you prefer. Roommates can be chosen by the characters or can be random. If you want to switch housing later, your character has the option of moving at the beginning of each month.
• Despite everything, Kanamaru Matsuri is considered an all-ages event!
• Wishes can be anything, from food items to items from home. All characters in the game will be allowed to redeem one item, magical or otherwise, from home using this prompt! However, for new character apping into the game, you have the option to have your character join the game by being wished into the setting. The wish can be anything from a direct plea to see a certain castmate again, or even just a wish for more friends that goes awry. These characters will still remember a time loop, but will not remember seeing a door, instead appearing in Tokyo after hearing the wishing-character's voice call to them. These characters will then be encouraged to visit the NRL for orientation, and will be offered an explanation that Kizuna saved them from the timeloop directly.
• While characters may attempt to fight the Ikuchi, it will not fight back, and cutting its body will cause it to grow another head and become another separate Ikuchi. This new head is also capable of cursing people, so it's probably best to leave it alone.
Please leave any questions about the TDM prompts in the thread below! General game questions can be directed to the FAQ!
Apps are always open!
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
jikan_rpg ⌛ jikan_network ⌛ jikan_oocRules ⌛ FAQ ⌛ Apply ⌛ Taken
Auxiliary ⌛ Hiatus/Drop ⌛ Activity Check ⌛ Bonus
Game Timeline ⌛ Code Directory ⌛ Contact
Setting ⌛ Housing ⌛ Businesses ⌛ Kizuna ⌛ Flora/Fauna ⌛ Magic
NPC Database ⌛ NPC Contact
no subject
[And she went to poke again... But instead of doing that, she found herself lightly brushing a finger across the inked words. And then pulled her hand back, using it to take up her glass again.]
This place is a strange one. I think it may be teasing us with these things...
no subject
Well?
no subject
Still there.
It's annoying, isn't it? Having something on your body you didn't know about and having someone else tease you.
[Is she making her point, Sephiroth? A brow rose, the corner of her lips twitching into an almost smile. Almost she felt bad. Almost. But he'd started it!]
no subject
To possess...
[ Sephiroth stared at his reflection and pondered that for a moment before he decided that, yes, it was accurate. And since he never cared what anyone else thought he set the glass back down on the bar and directed his gaze at Aerith once again.
Sephiroth slid the glass her way without breaking eye contact. One corner of his mouth was slowly curling up but he didn't know that. ]
no subject
He was... smiling? Oh god. He needed to stop doing that. Now. Immediately.
Aerith glanced away down to the glass that had been pushed close. The intent was clear enough... so she took a breath and let go of her drink to take the glass. She lifted it and tilted her head, eyes on the reflection in the glass to try and read what was there...
And flushed darkly.]
Um... well...
[No wonder he was smirking. She almost wished it was something more... anything really. Aerith sighed and put the glass back down.]
Doesn't everyone want to belong somewhere?
[Or to someone.]
no subject
Is that what it means?
[ Sephiroth knew better. His cheek would have mirrored hers if that had been the case because it was a feeling he knew all too well. Seldom acknowledged and never voiced, of course, but always in the back of his mind. ]
no subject
[Aerith shifted in her seat a little, not quite nervous, but feeling awkward over what this could all mean. The way Sephiroth was looking at her was both terrifying and thrilling.
Her heart was beating fast. She brought a hand up to her chest and gently rubbed, as if she could ease that feeling somehow.]
no subject
[ And if Sephiroth turned his face so that the words written there were a little more visible, it definitely wasn't on purpose.
He still wasn't certain why he enjoyed this so much, just that he did. So that's what he was going to keep doing. Analysis would be for later in this case. ]
no subject
The meaning was clear. And when paired with the words on her own cheek? Aerith wasn't stupid. She could work this out, she could read between the lines. But at the same time it was all so very strange that it was Sephiroth! Even if he wasn't the same man she had known, he was... well... he wasn't her type, was he?
He was so... stiff and didn't talk much and he... was stupidly handsome and she couldn't help liking his eyes on her. There was just something about him that made her want to get closer to him. And Aerith knew she was fighting it, because she didn't understand where the desire was coming from.
So she thought about it. Thought about what was written on them. She thought about tat smirk, the light in Sephiroth's eyes when he teased her. "You tell me", he'd said. Alright...]
I want you to possess me.
no subject
And then he moved.
One arm wrapped around her waist as he stood. He stroked her cheek, thumbing over that tantalizing phrase, and then his hand was in her hair and he was kissing her. Sephiroth had no idea what he was doing. It was his first kiss and also the first time he'd ever even been remotely interested in anyone. But his body seemed to have a will of its own and he was content to let it lead.
There was just something about Aerith. It went beyond her obvious beauty and the light she seemed to carry around inside. This was only their second meeting but Sephiroth already knew.
He wanted to possess her just as much as she apparently wanted him to do it. He did this now with his eyes as well as his mouth, laying claim to the woman who had taken over his thoughts for over a month in whatever way he could. ]
no subject
The words had almost left her lips when she realised Sephiroth was moving. Her eyes widened as she was caught up in strong arms and pulled off of the stool she'd been sat upon. Her breath caught, her body stilling when he stroked her cheek like that. He was so gentle...
And then just like that he was kissing her. And the world seemed to stop.
Aerith should have pushed him away. Should have pushed him, screamed and ran as far away. But she didn't do any of that. Instead her arms rose and she threw them around his neck to pull herself flush to him. Aerith closed her eyes and gave herself completely over to that kiss with the softest of happy sounds.
Why had she been denying herself this? This was exactly what she had been wanting. What she needed.]
no subject
Sephiroth wouldn't have it any other way. Something in him had shifted since he met her. It was a small but palpable change and right now with Aerith giving herself over to him almost completely, he knew he could never go back.
She was his, and he would make sure they both knew it. However, the opposite was just as true. His intense desire to possess her was a double-edged sword.
Sephiroth drank Aerith in with his eyes and lips and if he was really being honest he wasn't the best at the latter but it didn't matter because she was his. To further emphasize the point, he wrapped his arms just a little tighter around her. ]
no subject
The kiss was intense. Like nothing she had ever experienced before, and yet somehow, like with so much now, it had the taste of the familiar. The way the leather of Sephiroth's clothes creaked or rubbed against the bare skin of her arms, the soft feel of his hair between her fingers. The touch of his lips, his tongue, his taste... It was all new, all strange, but all so strangely familiar.
And yet she knew one of them needed to be in control here. So with a force of will, Aerith made herself break the kiss.
She looked up, dazed, to see Sephiroth looking down at her... and she smiled at him. Warm and sunny, her cheeks flushed red, lips a little on the swollen side. She looked happy. Utterly delighted with the outcome of her evening.
But...]
I don't think... this is the right place for this...
[Standing at the bar and being kissed senseless in a club full of people was not the most romantic of places.]
no subject
Aerith was certainly having an effect on him. ]
If that's what you think.
[ He traced her smile with one gloved finger, his eyes promising they were just getting started. ]
no subject
She went to speak, but before she could Sephiroth had a finger to her lips, touching her in a way that both surprised and excited her. Her eyes fluttered closed, lips slightly parted.
What she'd said before had completely left her mind.
She would stay right there. If he threw her to the bar and had his way with her, she wouldn't care. All she knew she wanted was more of his touch, more of his attention. More of his possession.]
no subject
That was why he very simply picked her up with his arms under hers and cradled her to him. He would take her from this place as she wished, but he wasn't about to let her go. ]
no subject
And there she would softly kiss. Ghosting little kisses and sucking lightly at the pale skin. Little red marks would appear, delighting her. He trailed that line of kisses to his jaw, trusting he wouldn't drop her, wherever he was taking her. She had no idea. Hadn't asked. Knew she probably should but so long as she was with him she didn't give a damn.]
no subject
It would seem like flying to the regular person, but it was really just a truly enhanced form of jumping. For whatever reason, Sephiroth performed with much less speed than was normal for him. If asked he wouldn't have been able to say why, just that he knew this was the right thing to do. And soon enough (just a little later than it would have been) they were in front of his lodgings. He pressed her against the wall and kissed her again. His eyes were still open and he was still drinking her in. ]
no subject
Aerith nuzzled into the side of his neck and closed her eyes.
And then they were on the ground again. She felt the little jolt of the landing and expected to be lowered to her feet. What she didn't expect was to have her back pinned to a wall and to be kissed again.
It was fine though. No one was around here. So she melted into it hands lifting to cup the back of Sephiroths head, fingers tangling within his hair while her other hand cupped his cheek. She kissed him deeply, with a passion she never knew she possessed but somehow he brought out within her.]
no subject
no subject
A soft gasp left her when she felt a strong hand on her waist, pulling her closer, flush against Sephiroth. A low moan came a moment later as the fingers within Sephiroths hair gripped tighter, holding him in place as they kissed.]
no subject
And Aerith wasn't doing anything to discourage him.
Sephiroth didn't hesitate for long in that moment of indecision. He plunged ahead by grabbing his door with one hand and wrenching it just slightly from the frame. There came the sound of wood tearing but he didn't even pause before guiding them both inside into his space. All his now.
Sephiroth's hands went under Aerith's blouse as he continued to kiss her and if she wasn't careful that would be next. ]
no subject
If Sephiroth expected any kind of discouragement, he would not find it with her.
Imagination or reality, Aerith had never felt more alive. Had never felt more desired, more needed... And then she heard a crack. Aerith finally did break the kiss then, gasping and looking at where the sound had come from, only to find the door had been pulled off of it's hinges! She did laugh then, breathless and amazed as they entered the home... And then before she could say a thing, Sephiroth had his lips on her's again. And more than that, his hands were on her skin. Aerith shivered, softly moaning into his kiss. His hands were cool, rough in the nicest of ways, and she wanted the same. She wanted to touch, but there was so much leather and straps in the way she had no idea how to even start!
no subject
Just as she seemed to want him.
The thought and her questing hands sent a thrill through him and he placed his own over hers to guide her inside his jacket to the hooks that held everything in place. His was doing his best with his other hand to feel as much of her as possible while they continued to kiss. ]
no subject
Pealing off the layers was all well and good, but Aerith eventually was forced to break the kiss. As much as she hated to do so, she needed to. She looked up at him and grinned before she reached up and pushed his jacket off of his shoulders. Aerith would let him finish letting him take that off, because she soon pulled her hands back so she could grab the hem of her own top and pulled it up and over her head before Sephiroth could tear it. It was pretty!
That left her in a bra and her skirt and with hands that reached out to smooth up Sephiroth's chest and to his neck, hands resting on the sides gently.]
What is it about you...? I can't help myself. Why can't I keep my hands off of you?
[Was it just this world? Or something deeper? Because as much as she wanted this man, there really was something else running below the surface. That feeling of belonging. This felt right, more than anything else in her life had felt right. Being here, in his arms, was her home...]
(no subject)
(no subject)
he is so unoriginal I am sorry
(no subject)