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March | 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 a country called 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, 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, it appears to be magic capable of distorting reality itself. But by the time they realized this was the case, they had already begun the process of rescuing others from similar worlds using that very same magic.
Until they find the means of resuming the flow of time back in your home world, you'll just have to make due with this one. But not to worry, because Nippon is fully committed to taking care of the refugees!
A Place to Call Home Tokyo, Kanto
Once orientation is over, characters will be given one of three options for housing. Housing will be paid by the government of Nippon until they decide to move elsewhere, with NRL providing a stipend for food expenses.
In lieu of providing transportation, all refugees will be granted an unlimited rail pass that they can use to travel all across Nippon!
But it seems there's something weird about Tokyo this month...
For those living in Nihonbashi, they'll find the bridge practically covered in... cats? Or at least, they look like cats. In reality, the entire district has become overrun with nekomata, a type of ayakashi that possesses cats, causing their tail to split into two. While harmless during the day, those hoping to go outside at night will find the creatures have seeming quadrupled in size, perched atop lightposts and fences and watching. While they seem to remain peaceful, it's definitely eerie, and the Samurai Guards have their hands full escorting people safely across the bridge.
Over in Little Edo, things are far less peaceful. Curses, it seems, are on the rise this month. Most recently: the rivers have become practically flooded with kaoseki, their human-like faces staring up at passerbys as they try to cross. Signs have been placed warning people not to touch them, as those who fail to heed that warning may end up with a week of facial paralysis.
And finally, over in Yoshiwara, things are... pretty normal, actually? But there is one things residents are sure to notice: it seems all the brothels in the district have switched to using a new variety of incense provided by the neighboring region of Chubu. The smell is far stronger than their usual aphrodisial blends, and seems to be having an odd effect on people. Rather than invoke feelings of arousal, it seems to be invoking deep, deep feelings in general. While none of the supernatural things occurring around town will be happening in Yoshiwara, you might just find yourself feeling moodier than usual, manifesting Kizuna effects at the drop of a hat.
NRL Time Refugee Support Network
Once they've received their housing assignment, all refugees will be given small handheld devices called magi-tech comms, 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. 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
Just as the linked "website" states, once a character clicks the provided link, they'll find a message on the network seemingly posted under their name, stating exactly what was on their mind twenty-three minutes earlier. Clicking the link again will repeat this process infinitely, but it will not work if shared by anyone else. Did you know magical computer viruses exist?? Because apparently magical computer viruses exist.
(As a note, this prompt has been edited so it displays without a need to scroll within the dialogue box itself, since the scrollbar didn't appear on all browsers!)
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.
What Lurks Down Below
Those who visit Nihonbashi often enough may be curious about the streets that run below the massive bridge that makes up the entire district. There's no clear way to get down there, despite the fact that people can clearly be seen moving about their lives on the lower streets. But that's all about to change.
During the first week of March, large signs will be placed around Nihonbashi indicating the subtle entrances located here and there that lead to the lower district in question: Shitaya, the lowlands of Tokyo. Once considered the heart of the city, the ever growing Nihonbashi soon overtook the entire district, forcing developers to move underground instead. The result is a complex network of underground tunnels, some more refined than others.
While the citizens of Shitaya generally keep to themselves, right now, they have a reason for wanting visitors to stop by. Because maybe if it comes from someone in the upper districts, their recent concerns will be taken more seriously.
A Thorny Situation Shitaya, Tokyo
On the upper levels of Shitaya, sitting just below the bridge that makes up Nihonbashi, is a vast network of waterways and city streets. To cross these water ways, both manned and unmanned boats sit docked at the end of each street, ready to ferry people across who need it. But it seems the streets are even more chaotic than usual right now.
Looking out across one of the major waterways, strange vine-like plants can be seen coiling over the water. But unlike other vines, these are more than just a mere plant: they're tsutsumi-bara, a type of plant-like ayakashi that takes the form of a creeping vine covered in painfully sharp barbs. They're known for growing unnaturally fast, particularly in wet areas lacking in sunlight. But even for tsutsumi-bara, these ones are particularly aggressive. Large walls of thorny vines appear to be intentionally blocking streets, and even trapping boats in the water, creeping over the edge to coil around the passengers. While the citizens of Shitaya have pleaded with the samurai guards for reinforcements, for some reason, it seems they aren't being taken very seriously. Of course, those whose grew up in similar slums might understand why.
In any case, the few guards who do show up could certainly use some help. The vines are easily cut, stopping their growth. But with the roots settled underwater, they'll just keep coming back. And anyone whose been snared will need medical attention to get the tiny barbs of the thorns out of their skin. If not immediately removed the barbs will break off and travel up the bloodstream, causing chest pain and a sharp pain when breathing out. A Yokai is capable of performing a spell to draw the barbs out, but given how few live in Tokyo, it may be a bit of a wait before the few volunteers living in Shitaya can treat them.
Ordinarily, invasive tsutsumi-bara are extremely rare in cities... did something happen to cause this?
Flowers of Evil Shitaya, Tokyo
Even after the vines have been dealt with, something still seems very odd about the district of Shitaya. Monks garbed in robes with their faces hidden by a wide-brim hat can be seen walking around the district, giving prayers to each individual shop, and setting strange talismans around particular streets and corners. If asked-- they'll say a strange presence has entered Tokyo through the waterways, and they're working to keep it from spreading.
The monk then points out towards the water, where patches of strange red flowers have begun to bloom along the side of the canal. Or at least-- some people will see the flowers. Only those who have witnessed someone die will be able to see them, and should they inform the monk that they can, he'll give them a warning: something bad is going to happen in Tokyo soon.
Much like the tsutsumi-bara, these are no ordinary flowers. They're blooms produced by the higanbana ayakashi, whose true body rests far underground. And while they're typically harmless, seeing them is considered a bad omen. Specifically: they warn those who see them that they'll be witnessing another death very soon.
The monk will provide anyone who talks to him a special talisman that wards off ayakashi curses -- but he warns that they're only effective against passive curses, such as those caused by the higanbana. If they piss off an ayakashi and get cursed for it, they're unfortunately on their own.
Culture Wars Shitaya, Tokyo
It doesn't take long to realize that Tokyo is clearly not the beautiful and peaceful city it presented itself as. Walking just a bit further down will reveal Shitaya to be Tokyo's slums, with makeshift housing crowded around the entrances of various tunnels. But it's not all just housing -- there's businesses down here as well, and those running them seem rather tickled that people from the upper levels have come down to explore. But even so, there's a sense of apprehension as well, uneasy about their motivations for coming down here.
But as many are sure to quickly pick up on, almost all of the residents of Shitaya look like Yokai. But they aren't: they're Hanyo, half-human, half-yokai hybrids who look similar to Yokai, but without a natural aptitude for magic. If asked, they'll explain that many of them are refugees as well, who fled the Western Kingdom after experiencing heavy discrimination. While some manage to learn enough magic to hide their Hanyo heritage, others aren't so lucky, and seek out a new life in the Eastern Kingdom instead. One shopkeeper muses out loud, "Perhaps if more people like you come into this country, things might change for the better someday?"
Of course, as easy as it is to think of this district as gloomy, the people here are far from it. With so many immigrants from the West, many have brought their culture with them as well, including a rather popular game called Kabe-Skate. Taking place in a tunnel that's been carefully carved to resemble the inside of a pipe, two competitors don roller skates to see who can reach the goal first -- the goal in question being a short flag attached to the ceiling, requiring a high enough speed to circle up the walls without falling. Given the tunnel isn't very long, they'll have to make tight turns to avoid crashing whenever they reach one end, all without losing speed or running into their opponent.
Of course, crashing might actually be the main draw for the game itself, as that seems to be what the crowd of on-lookers most excited. At least they provide a helmet?
OOC Notes
Welcome to Jikan's March 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!
• Current players are more than welcome to top-level, or take prompts from the TDM and use for their own logs! This may change in the future depending on how busy TDMs become.
• 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.
• More information on the ayakashi mentioned in this log can be found on the Flora and Fauna page!
• A friendly Inu Yokai is available to appear in any thread involving the removal of Tsutsumi-bara barbs. The process involves a chant and specific hand motions to guide the barbs out through an open wound. Characters may be sore for a few days afterward.
• Thanks to the monk's talisman, characters who see the higanbana ayakashi will not be effected by the ayakashi's curse. However, should they look at the flowers without receiving a talisman, they'll witness a death anytime within the next week, be it a car accident, a speeding ambulance that suddenly slows down, or someone drowning in the canal.
Please leave any questions about the TDM prompts in the thread below! General game questions can be directed to the FAQ!
Reserves and Apps are always open!
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What followed, was how the air then sparked with static electricity that almost resembled the activation of Rashomon, as Akutagawa nearly shook with anger. ]
Not after everything I realized about you. [ His eyes are almost red in color now as he continues, but one may note there's a bit of pain reflected in them beyond the anger. ] With what you've done, you expect I'm just going to greet you with just a simple hello?
no subject
[his own gaze is cold, apprehensive, examining. hmm]
Or is it literally everything? Because what good has that done you before?
no subject
I came to realize that you never once intended on fully acknowledging me. Never once did you truly give me any real, kind words and always expected I would just blindly do what you wanted me to.
[ He raised a hand, blood dripping from his palm onto the ground now. ]
How long is it before you discard the weretiger once he stops being useful to you?
no subject
[he rose to his feet]
Everything you said is the truth. But I thought you knew that by now. Whatever sympathy I have in me to that degree, it's reserved for specific people. I'm a bit better with it now, so I don't plan to 'discard' him. That wouldn't be what a good man does.
But I don't think you'll believe me when I say it. So. I'll tell you what you want to hear.
The more you try to prove yourself, the more pathetic you look. I'll never respect that.
ahahaha... spoilers ahoy!
...A good man? Tch. Don't make me laugh.
[ Atsushi was foolhardy but he worked hard. In the end, even HE had seen his worth to the extent where he'd done something so selfless for his sake. For someone else. ]
Pathetic?! [ He set his jaw, tension in every muscle of his body. ] So my death truly meant nothing to you, then?! Saving that damned weretiger's life and ensuring he could escape that man's clutches...
[ Okay so he has a lot of this that'd been bottled up for some time. ]
That's what you think my efforts amounted to? Doing the right thing and for someone else still isn't enough to have you respect me?! [ Akutagawa scoffed, taking a small step backwards but not leaving the situation. ] If you ask me, it's YOU who's pathetic here.
no subject
[So, that sentence strikes him. It's visible for a moment - he DIED? - and then it fades. He presses it down. He speaks, finally, when he feels Akutagawa is done.]
Last time I checked, you were alive. Breathing. We were going to fight in 6 months time. I don't remember any of that.
[He shuts his eyes.]
But I would do whatever it took to save Atsushi's life, yes. I need him safe. But I didn't know of any of that.
I don't know if that changes anything. I don't know why any of that went on. And you're right to be furious. I have no value for my own life, but that's the exception, not the rule.
And there's your fatal flaw. You're trying to gain my respect.
Why do you need it? Especially if I somehow let you die?
no subject
Dazai didn't remember or know that he'd died? Just like Chuuya had no idea about it when he'd said brought it up two months ago. This place and it's damned unpredictability in where it brought people in from was infuriating, almost on the same level the man's words was making him feel. ]
...I was trying to gain acknowledgment before. Proof that maybe I was good enough and had some worth to you.
[ He deflates a bit, some of the anger ebbing away surprisingly enough. Even looking away now, there's something almost defeated starting to show on his face. ]
You didn't let me die. It was you who asked me to go and assist the weretiger if he needed it and knew I would save his damn life. [ Akutagawa closed his eyes, trying to find words. He's never been good at that. ] ...Just once I wanted to hear you tell me I've done well. Even if it means nothing once I return home.
no subject
...I don't know why you respect me that much. I've never known why, not completely. I've never wanted you to respect me. Or like me. When I was training you, it was to make you stronger. To be strong, I had to abandon my principles. I had to have that hatred inside me. I looked at you, and do you know what I saw? Do you know what made me not care?
[there's another beat]
Myself. You weren't supposed to look up to me. Want my approval. Why would someone I built to be better than me want ME to tell them I respected them? There should only be animosity. Animosity and loathing and strength. But you've never given that up.The difference is that I don't see myself in Atsushi.
And I don't want you to be me.
If I gave you that satisfaction, I would've failed. I'm empty inside. My desire to be a good person was fueled by someone else, and you're going through the same. If I died, I didn't want to be that to you. And now apparently you died. Which is even worse. Because then I failed even worse than before.
[The wind rolls past his feet. His coat blows in the breeze.]
If I say I'm proud of you, that means I did something right. And I can't accept that. Even if I'd like to, I can't. I'm not a good man. Not yet. Maybe I never will be.
But I suppose it doesn't mean much, if you're dead, anyway.
[it's quiet, but]
Good job. You gave all you had. You shouldn't have. Not for me. But you did. You shouldn't have listened to me, though. I'm not your superior. I'm not guiding you. You've always had more potential than me. I just never wanted to spell it out because realizing it yourself meant more.
...
[He lets out a sigh.]
I'm...
I'm sorry.
Apologies for this novel of a tag ;;
'Built to be better than me'? Dazai not only saw himself in Akutagawa but had deliberately done all of that to make him better? This man... didn't want him to be another carbon copy and he also felt like he failed? These words were ringing around his head, eyes open and wide as he looked up at Dazai.
All these years he'd spent, thinking he was never good enough and here it was the opposite. ]
...Dazai-san...
[ His age is showing right now as well. Mostly in how his guard had fallen and he truly, honestly looked like the young man he really was. Not the Port Mafia's attack dog or a murderer. Just a twenty year old who'd been forced to grow up too fast and without a proper childhood.
Dazai was a man who did not lie about things, so he knew that what was being said was honest and truthful.
So it meant that all at once it felt as if a huge weight was being lifted off of his shoulders. This man he spent years chasing after his acknowledgment for? Saying HE had more potential? It almost felt like a dream, to hear Dazai say these things and at the same time it was making things click in his mind regarding that last mission he'd been sent on. Had he already been on the path to become a better person all this time? Dying to save someone else, for a greater cause other than himself?
I'm sorry.
That's what hit him. Harder than any attack. The literal tipping point that drained every shred of anger in his entire body, and he sank to his knees with his head turned downward. Shoulders trembling just a bit as he tried to let everything completely sink in. ]
...You... gave my life a purpose when I could have died in the slums. That's... why I did everything I could in order to have you see my worth.
[ His voice was soft and quiet now, breaths soft and almost shuddering. ]
All this time... I just... wanted to hear you tell me that. Just once. I... [ It's so hard to form words right now, his throat feeling tight and his head reeling. ] ...Thank you.
no subject
It wasn't the first time he'd asked himself that. It wouldn't be the last.
But he looked down at this former 'attack dog' that had been so brutal, shrinking into the weakness he so often hid, his voice probably softer than he'd let anyone hear in years, and he crouched down next to him. And he heard him thank him, and he couldn't help but laugh softly.]
I got you killed. I'm not exactly a person you should be thanking, you know.
[But the smile on his face was more like some that he'd shown Atsushi more before than Akutagawa, and he had to accept in his mind...he'd failed. He had to live with that. This was what he'd wrought.
And he asked himself, what would I want from Odasaku if he were here?
He reached over, slowly, carefully...and he wrapped his arms around him.]
But you're alive right now. Makes it feel like I did a little better.
[This was probably something Akutagawa never expected from him, but it's what he thought was right. Not a hit. Not cruel words.
A hug.]
You're at least damn strong. But that's not because of me.
You're you because of you alone. And that means as much to me as it does to you.
no subject
He was very tired, and while normally he had all that strength, edge and power? In this moment it was temporarily forgotten as his weakness caught up with him, no longer hidden but bared on display so openly. The only other person who'd seen him this low had been Chuuya, not able to find words in this moment as Dazai spoke to him.
Akutagawa did at least look up at him after a couple of seconds, and what got his attention was the smile on Dazai's face. It wasn't cruel, harsh of belittling. There was something soft in that smile, filling that once empty hole in his heart with a long-forgotten warmth. To be given such honest words and an actual smile like that? It felt so much like this was some dream he'd wake up from and it wouldn't have happened. ]
Even so. I needed to say it..
[ Anything he would have said following that would have stopped short, what with those arms wrapping around him and he realized it was a hug. Actual affection from the one person he'd been striving so hard for, the very same he'd initially intended to fully tell he was done and no longer needed his acknowledgment.
His breath caught in his throat, eyes wide as he processed what was happening.
Everything Chuuya had said was right. He was here today on his OWN merit and the initiative and drive he took to get things done. Even now, he was being told he was strong and it was all finally beginning to sink in that while Dazai had set things in motion, it was him who'd gone out and done everything. Without him, Atsushi would have perished while dealing with the Guild, or would never have been able to put an end to the Cannibal crisis. He chose to go ahead and step in, and the same went with the last time against that man on that ship. ]
So it was only me who saw myself as not good enough. Second best to others when it never was like that at all.
[ At this point it's spoken aloud more as a realization alongside with everything else. He could almost laugh at the absurdity of it, knowing now that Dazai and Chuuya acknowledged him as strong as well as others and that Atsushi too had been right with the things he's told him in the past.
He really had been his own worst enemy here. It's probably why he's actually kind of reaching up to try and tentatively hug Dazai back, the gesture gentle and hesitant; like he was afraid it would disappear if he did so. ]
I'm... relieved you truly see me as strong.
no subject
[that's a gentle return of the hug. He softly pats his back. It's alright. He's not going anywhere.]
You might've gotten even stronger, since I haven't been here. I don't know much of anything. But. If I ever forget, it's also your responsibility to remind me. I'm getting up in years, you know? My memory wanes.
[dazai, you're 22]
But hey. I'm just glad that didn't lose you entirely. Full disclosure, I'm really glad someone I know is here.
[and now as if on cue, two fox ears pop up on Dazai's head.
He does not even remotely notice.]
no subject
I... will do my best to remind you if you do forget, Dazai-san.
[ Akutagawa does pull back after a moment, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to respond but blinked when he noticed the ears. It was enough to distract him for a second. ]
You... are? After how I... treated you before, I expected I would be the last person you would want to see here.