![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
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!
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
jikan_rpg ⌛ jikan_network ⌛ jikan_oocRules ⌛ FAQ ⌛ Reserves ⌛ Apply ⌛ Taken
Auxiliary ⌛ Hiatus/Drop ⌛ Activity Check ⌛ Bonus
Setting ⌛ Housing ⌛ Kizuna ⌛ Flora/Fauna ⌛ Businesses
NPC Database ⌛ NPC Contact
Calendar ⌛ Code Directory ⌛ Contact
Xiao | Genshin Impact
[ Sure he’s been here for a bit though tended to keep to himself.
As of late, Xiao had taken to watching people from rooftops and the same went for the bridge. The cats were new but he knew enough that they were not normal ones, what with the tail and the aura they gave off but it was at night that he’d seen the most notable change. Not only did they get larger in size, but they required a sort of bowing ritual or there would be consequences.
On the second night, when there really isn’t many people around and one of the nekomata is perched on a nearby fence close to the bridge? That’s when he took his chance and ventured close, and the creature hopped down to greet him, bowing it’s head. He in turn gave a proper bow right back and that seemed to satisfy it.
They were probably super intimidating to most people, and here he was, walking up to this horse-sized cat and while it seemed cautious at first? It didn’t lash out at him, though it’s tails swished back and forth. When he didn’t appear to be a threat, it allowed him to reach out and pet it’s head gently and there was a soft look on his face for a few moments as it seemed to like what he was doing.
Sometime after this? Anyone passing by could see him sitting on the ground near the fence where the Nekomata is standing guard, as if he were keeping it company. ]
Flowers of Evil
[ It set his nerves on edge a bit, having been in Shitaya and eventually catching word of a monk speaking to another person about a strange presence having entered. He’d just been passing by, hesitating when the monk had asked the other person if they could see flowers as when he cast a gaze over towards the canal?
There were so many red flowers, it was like the color of blood.
He barely caught the words of the other person speaking with the monk, aware of the fact they said they could see them too. Xiao’s entire body froze, head bowed as the monk’s last words rang around in his mind.
Those who see these flowers will witness another death soon ]
...So it really has followed me here, then.
[ Slowly he walked up towards the canal and knelt down, a hand reaching out as if to try and touch it before shaking his head. ]
People are going to die here… because I allowed myself to become too complacent…
Culture Wars
[ Archons above. He didn’t know how he got here but he’d found his way to where they were holding that ‘game’ and so many people were all excited even though people were crashing into each other trying to get to that thing at the top. ]
Tch. What exactly about this is to be entertaining?
[ Really. He doesn’t get it. ]
WILDCARD
[ Don’t see anything you like? Hit me up with whatever or poke me @
FLOWER POWER
[Perhaps a bit lost in his thoughts, Xiao might find himself caught off guard when he feels something poking his cheek -- specifically, one of the talisman's being held out by the one who had been talking to the monk moments earlier.]
Come on, no one's going to die today-- hold onto this, and the flowers curse won't work! Or at least, that's what that monk was saying. Apparently they're hanging these all over the district to keep them from spreading. Seems like it just happened sometimes.
no subject
The timing just seems too convenient. Do they really think these talismans are going to stop the spread of a curse?
[ Forgive him for sounding so dismissive, Ranpo. He's just seen a lot and has SO much darkness in his past that it's hard to let things slide. ]
no subject
[Ranpo has no idea how these talisman's work, no. But it's more than just blind faith guiding him right now.]
The way that monk talked-- he wasn't spreading these around because he believed they would help. The way he spoke about the way they're dealing with the flowers sounded more like pest control talking about bugs -- like they're something that's been studied and that's predictable.
[It literally only sounded this way to Ranpo.]
And in any case, I'd sooner trust the words of someone who's lived here than someone new to this place. You're one of the refugees too, right?
no subject
[ His fingers brushed against the talisman quietly, seemingly thinking about it before exhaling a soft sigh. That monk had put it so ominously that it seemed like it was such a bad thing to experience once one has seen those flowers. Honest to god omens of death. ]
Unfortunately. [ Xiao nodded his head, brows narrowed a bit in distaste. ] I am. Was it not obvious?
no subject
[And evidently not Ranpo, for him to be pointing it out.]
I've been here a few months now, but you're probably newer than that, right? You chose a heck of a place to go sight-seeing. This district isn't exactly a good touristy spot.
no subject
I wish to get acquainted with every part of my current home for the time being. Not to sight-see because I enjoy it.
[ He straightened up, fully facing the other man. ]
Why are you here, then?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
(no subject)
flower power
[Taking off her talisman to hang it around Xiao's neck. You need this more than she does, buddy.]
no subject
[ Something he says with the utmost bitterness and a hint of disguised hurt, one hand reaching down to touch the talisman she'd placed there. ]
This is why I didn't want to involve anyone else.
no subject
[not that she's saying you think the world revolves around you
but you kind of think the world revolves around you]
no subject
The similarity to what i'm used to isn't anything pleasing, no matter what it truly is.
[ His tone sounds kind of weary for a moment, before he rose to his feet in a fluid movement. ]
Forgive me. It wasn't my intention to sound so selfish.
no subject
There is no need to apologize. As I have said, I will be at your side for what may come, be it of your world or not.
no subject
In a situation such as this, I suppose... allies are beneficial to have.
[ Which is Xiao speak for 'i'm glad you're on my side'. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Culture Wars
[ Says the woman standing off to the side of him by several feet who is also not actively participating in the game, but rather watching a number of kids that have been hanging off her since earlier in the day play and cheer. ]
Unless closed spaces aren't your thing.
no subject
[ He's just found himself here on accident and just... not understanding what the allure in this actually was. ]
Space is not an issue. It's putting myself in close proximity to lot of humans at one time.
[ Right now it isn't too bad, but still. ]
no subject
She finally turns her head with that, not that she needs to to concentrate her sixth sense on him, and finds herself pausing due to a couple of simultaneous realizations, canting her head just so in regarding him.
For one thing, he's almost exactly her height, almost. It's -- is he...? It's better than him being a whole inch taller than her like somebody she's imagining smirking at the moment -- and she'll have to fix that later, but she's fairly certain this person is just a little taller than her. Like... a centimeter?
Don't mind the oddly intense stare she's leveling at you, stranger.
For another, that energy, the sense she's getting about him -- well, she'd figured he wasn't human, but something like that, here?
Chuuya's been the biggest surprise to date. (Biggest --)
But this person feels different. The way he's standing, talking, carrying himself -- ]
You don't have the look of a man who's afraid of them.
no subject
[ Which was the truth. It was... more the fact he feared getting close to them, infecting them with the karma he'd incurred from all those deaths he's been responsible for. His karma would only make them suffer. ]
I never have been. I just have absolutely no interest in placing myself close to them when they gather in crowds.
no subject
And one-on-one?
no subject
[ Even then, they still run the risk of being corrupted and he just... doesn't want that. He's spent a lot of time keeping his distance. It's why he never went to the lantern rite all these years. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
2/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Flowers~
He can't blame the guy for being weirded out by the flowers. But he's pretty sure the monk wasn't implying that people were in danger just because they saw the flowers. More that the flowers served as an advanced warning of something that was already going on.
"Are you talking about the ayakashi?" But weren't those supposed to be native to this place?
oh my god i didn't even see this until now, i'm SO sorry ;;
"...For everyone else's sake, I hope it's just that and not what I think it is." Xiao murmured softly, finally looking over to the blond here with him. "I'm unfamiliar with the concept of these ayakashi. Are they a form of demon?" There were something he was still learning, and this was no different.
it's cool work ate me most of the week anyway
no subject
Xiao mostly said it as a affirmation for himself, thinking it over for a moment or two. "Something that followed me here that I dealt with from home. It's similar enough I thought it could be that, but I haven't seen living beings corrupted so it may not be that quite yet."
no subject
He goes quiet as the guy explains more about his apprehension, his eyes widening at that last bit. "What do you mean corrupted?" Is this like what the Heartless do to people?
no subject
"Tainted. Corrupted. Poisoned. Use whatever word you'd like. It comes as a result of the negative karma i've accumulated, mutating living beings and monsters alike and the only way to purge that from them is to kill them." A bitterness slipped into Xiao's voice now, a hint to how he really felt about having to do so.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
sorry this is so late; dramatic mojo loss
totally fine ^^ i've been there too so don't sweat it!
thanks