memewara | 「 TDM 01 」

Entry tags:

* tdm

「 TDM 01 」

i. Arrival

There isn't any strange feeling or sudden blackout to warn someone of what's to come; it simply happens. One moment they're in their own world attending to their own business, and the next they're underwater. Specifically, the dark, cold waters of the Sumida River. With air temperatures in the high 40s it's not a pleasant experience and the sudden shock leaves new arrivals at risk of drowning.

Luckily, they aren't alone. The crews that constantly patrol the river are quick to fish the newcomers out, dry them off, warm them up, and explain the situation. Maybe the names mean something to said newcomers, and maybe they don't. No matter the case, they're the same for everyone: you're in Yoshiwara, near the city of Tokyo in the country of Japan, and you're here to stay.

New arrivals that feel up to the task are encouraged to help with retrieving other newcomers. Those that don't welcome to huddle under blankets until the boats return to docks. Once there everyone is given directions to their faction headquarters, where they can receive their housing and job assignments - and maybe a change of clothes. Those that still feel overwhelmed are permitted to mingle on the docks. There's not much to do but sit around and shiver, but at least there are friendly locals that are willing to answer any questions for them.

ii. Loose Change

It's easy to drop things in crowded areas and hard to retrieve them. Luckily that doesn't seem to be the case this time. The sound of a coin hitting the ground is quite clear and the coin itself is easy to locate. Considering that single coin likely represents a distressingly high percentage of any given newcomer's wealth, picking it up is highly advised. The supernaturally inclined might sense the faint magical buzz around the coin, but nothing significant.

Maybe two people reach for the same coin at the same time. Maybe one of them realizes it's not theirs and turns it over. Whatever the case, the second they're both touching the coin they find themselves stuck to it. No amount of tugging or prying can get it to detach, even though there's no sign of any sort of adhesive holding them in place.

Upon closer examination the coin isn't a real one and is instead inscribed with the words 'Pinky Swear', along with an image of the act in question. And that's the only clue to the method of escape: the two parties must link pinkies and make a solemn oath to one another before they can let go of the coin. Fortunately is seems any oath will do, even one as simple as 'I solemnly swear to give you a high five'. They shouldn't take their newfound freedom for granted, however. Breaking the oath or leaving without trying to fulfill it will result in the two being stuck together again and a new oath will be required to escape a second time.

iii. Hot Chocolate

Despite their reputation the people in Yoshiwara can be generous. Anyone who looks appropriately cold, bored, or just plain unoccupied will find themselves approached by attractive young men and women bearing sample cups of hot chocolate. The beverage is rich, warm, and expertly crafted, and even comes in dark, milk, and white varieties. If someone wants more, they're in luck: the cafe Lazy is running a special promotion in which all newcomers can receive a full serving for free.

Anyone who accepts will find themselves whisked into the cafe, seated at one of several kotatsu (which are all partitioned off with thick curtains), and presented with a tall mug of the hot chocolate of their choice. They won't be alone, either. Everyone is seated with at least one partner and encouraged to make idle chatter while they drink. The socially awkward might find the small book labeled 'conversations starters' helpful, and if that doesn't work there's also a small box of goodies on each table. It sure is a friendly atmosphere.

Perhaps too friendly. It turns out that the hot chocolate is laced with aphro, a variety that causes both arousal and mild giddiness. The thick, nearly soundproof curtains might make more sense now: they're clearly meant to muffle the sounds of lovemaking from other patrons. Visitors don't have to mingle so extensively, of course. But the 'conversation starters' book goes from fairly innocent subjects to ones likes 'describe your ideal sexual partner' in a hurry, and the box's goodies consist of lubricant, sexual position guides, and bullet vibrators. Sex is clearly the intent here.

On the way out customers will be told that the whole process is an advertisement for the cafe's 'couples service', thanked for their participation, and sent on their way with a smile. Maybe it's a good idea to accept Yoshiwara's generosity with caution from now on.

iv. Later That Night

No one would call Yoshiwara safe, but the dangers are predictable. An actor might end up with a stalker, a prostitute might have to deal with a violent client, and a business owner might have to deal with a criminal extorting protection money. There aren't really surprises when it comes to the sort of threats one can expect to face. The rigid control exerted by the four factions ensures that.

But there's money to be made in Yoshiwara, especially when it comes to visitors from off world. For some groups the reward outweighs the risk. Newcomers in particular tend to be disoriented and there's rarely anyone to miss them, which makes them ideal targets. Any new arrivals alone on the streets after dark run the risk of being kidnapped by a group of shady individuals prowling the town. Their methods range from snatch and grab tactics to luring targets into dark alleys, but once caught everyone is given the same treatment: gagged, hands bound, and left in a dimly lit room to wait until they can be removed from Yoshiwara and sold to a third party.

But the kidnappers are hasty and prone to mistakes. Victims may get a chance to shout before they're subdued. Their bindings are often loose. The rooms they're left in often have one or more other occupants. Escape is quite possible, especially with a little teamwork. The police are on the case, as well, and they're not picky about the help they'll accept. Newcomers can assist the cops in tracking down and freeing people as well, and help from already escaped victims is especially valuable.

But not everyone is opposed to this operation. Sufficiently motivated newcomers may also be recruited to assist the kidnappers. It's dangerous work, but the profits are high and the connections one makes in the process are invaluable.

Between the police and the assistance from newcomers most victims will be freed shortly after they're kidnapped. For those that aren't, the kidnappers will be stopped as they try to leave town and any remaining victims will be rescued at that time.

OOC

Hello, and welcome to the very first TDM for Yoshiwara Nights! Use this post to voice test characters, decide who you want to app, and get a feel for the game and your fellow potential players.

Events of the TDM may be kept as game canon. Once you're accepted you can submit a five comment thread of your character pulling people out of the river (Arrival), assisting the kidnapping victims (Later That Night), or assisting the kidnappers (Later That Night) to gain bonus reputation with your starting faction, the police, or an unknown third faction, respectively.

Reserves will open on February 3rd! Our schedule for the next few weeks can be found here. If you haven't already please make yourself familiar with our information pages.

If you have any questions about the TDM prompts please direct them here. You can also follow us on Plurk at

yoshiwara for further updates.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1) ARRIVAL

[As she was just coming to terms with the fact that she was human (and not a literal octopus as she deluded herself to think for a very long time), finding herself struggling in a river in near freezing temperatures was pretty damned shocking as she last remembered being in battle, somewhere in South America.

Once she's pulled onto the docks, she spends longer than the average person coughing, truly looking like a fish out of water as she begins to recover from getting everything out her lungs. While this was going to be startling for most people, LB was more than overwhelmed in finding she was somehow placed in an area that was considerably more (at least seemingly more) peaceful than what she was used to. Anyone nearby was quickly going to realize that this woman laughed a lot. Not because she found her predicament funny, but because she literally had no idea how to stop (she really wished she knew how to stop).

Wide-eyed, she tries to take in her surroundings, beginning to calm down as her mind tries to analyze the situation. It's not long, however, before panic spreads on her face, as she quickly crouches down, wildly looking over the edge of the docks into the water.]

Where– hahaha... where are my tentacles? I need my tentacles!

[While she wasn't a true octopus, she wasn't speaking complete nonsense, as she last remembered having a metal suit with tentacles. But it's not like any passerby was going to know what the fuck she was talking about. And no, LB was not going to make any effort to try to clarify it either.]

2) HOT CHOCOLATE

[Having started to gain her bearings here, LB is considerably more stable than she was before as she begins to wander the town. Trying to integrate herself with civilians still seemed like a hard task right now, but at the very least, she was more like an octopus than she wanted to admit – she was very good at adapting, even from attempting to mimic the behavior of the citizens around her.

However, this wasn't completely foreign to her, she did have a relatively normal childhood before shit happened and changed her life drastically. So while she's a little suspicious of anything being offered for free, LB still can't help but accept a sampling of hot chocolate – it had been a very long time she had last gotten a taste for it.

She's, of course, a little caught off guard as she's brought to a kotatsu (well that was certainly something she hadn't seen before) where another is already seated. LB certainly wasn't shy, but was very rusty in the art of conversation that didn't involve direct threats.

Spotting a book of conversation starters, LB savors the first sip of her hot chocolate, not able to hold back the smile as some nostalgia from her childhood fills her mind.]

Ah, hello, heehee! [She addresses the other at the table, looking a little embarrassed as a laugh passes. Opening the book to a random page, her head tilts curiously as she looks at the words. Huh. These seemed rather lewd in nature. Asking something like that where she grew up would be looked down upon, but perhaps it was different around here? Or maybe times had changed, since she was last in civilization?

Either way, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, yes? So, without the slightest hint of shame, LB looks to the person as she asks the first question on the page.]

So, uh, what's the craziest place you've had sex before?

[She was a virgin herself (if only because she just didn't get the chance to do anything about it until now), but if nothing else, it would surely be an interesting story, wouldn't it? LB was just going to assume that this was absolutely something you asked a stranger around here, yep.]

3) LATER THAT NIGHT

[Unfortunately, before she could get too comfortable in this new town, LB found herself nabbed by a group of strange people. If she just had her Octopus suit in working order, this wouldn't have happened and the very fact that this was all too similar to what happened a long time ago was enough to send her into a state of panic.

She didn't have her suit, or even a gun, but there were other less conventional powers she could use here. With enough struggling, LB was able to get the restraints on her legs loose, which was all she needed. However, the method she had in mind was going to take a while to work before she was safe.

So, if anyone should happen to come across the area she was being held in, one might find LB with a crazed look in her eyes, the tape on her mouth muffling her compulsive laughter as she's... seemingly trying to hug someone? Her wrists are still bound, but she still makes do.

The craziest thing, though, was that the kidnapper seemed to actually be weakening in her hold. One can feel free to stare or stop her before the offender actually dies from it, because she sure as hell didn't look merciful at that moment.]

4) WILDCARD!!!

[She's 21, more or less a mercenary, recently managed to come out of a 10ish year spell of thinking she was a literal monster and trying to figure out how to do the human thing again! Also, she literally can't stop laughing.

She is a virgin, but extremely comfortable with her sexuality (yeah go figure), so smut isn't completely off the table here. She's going to vastly prefer men over women, but aphrodisiacs could work for girls too. But please no one under 18 for smut!

But I fucking love gen, so hit me with whoever for that and feel free to toss any other scenarios at me!]

Edited 2019-01-31 07:25 (UTC)

[ He's by the docks again, watching people getting fished from the frigid waters. Ky doesn't know why he keeps coming by to stare at the river. Perhaps part of him believes it'll answer his own questions about his arrival. A clue into the reason for him being here.

But his attention breaks away from his thoughts when he sees the woman struggling on the docks. She looks like she needs help, but her laughter interspersed with her coughs gave him pause. It's difficult to gauge if he should step in or not. Once she leans dangerously over the water, however, he rushes towards her without a second thought. ]

Please calm down, miss! You still need to recover!

[ He doesn't understand what she's talking about, but he reaches for her shoulders to pull her away from the water. ]

[LB is so immersed in trying to find her suit, that the approaching voice gives her a spook, causing her to whip around in a more aggressive motion than she intends. At the very least, she’ll bump into this stranger, if it completely knock them over on the floor. Either way, her expression immediately changes from desperation to something more along the lines of embarrassment.]

Ah— ahaha?! [It takes her a couple of moments before processing that she should probably do something about the accidental bump. So she still looks a little sheepish as she offers a hand.] Sorry... I’m sorry!

[Before she can go too overboard with the apologies, she takes a deep breath before continuing again.] I just need my armor...

[ Ky is effectively knocked backward. He stumbles to catch his balance after the sudden collision and fails terribly. There's a stunned pause after he lands quite firmly on his rear. He didn't expect such sudden strength from her. ]

I— it's all right. [ He says once his senses return. Ky takes her hand and hoists himself up. ] I should apologize for startling you.

Do you fear your armor is still in the river?

[Maybe if LB weren’t so disoriented, she would genuinely laugh at the scene before her, but for now she still seemed a bit too dazed to process much of what was going on. She at least looks a little relieved as he didn’t look too angry at her for the accident, or anything like that. Coming off the battlefield, people didn’t tend to be so patient, unfortunately.]

It’s, ah, it’s fine. Haha, I probably should have watched where I was going.

[A deep, worried sigh passes as he asks her the question, causing her to cast a gaze at the river again. This time without crouching over.]

The last thing I remember was still having it on — eheheh — though it might have been dysfunctional?

[Her head tilts to the side thoughtfully as she tried to recall the rather strange turn of events.]. You haven’t seen any tentacles or anything of the sort?

[ Her laughter continues to confuse him. He briefly wonders if it's a sign of nervousness of some sort. He couldn't blame her if that's the case. Arriving here was shocking to him as well. For many, many reasons.

Thoughts pressing on, his brows furrow as he tries to imagine a set of armor with tentacle-like features. It's incredibly difficult to imagine. Incredibly. After a moment, he ends up shaking his head at her question. ]

I haven't seen anything like that, unfortunately. This river seems to produce more people than objects.

[He wouldn’t be entirely wrong in his speculation about her laughter, but it was unfortunately a lot more severe than that. She’s aware of how crazy it might make her seem, but as much as she wanted it to stop, it just didn’t seem possible.

She watches him try to remember what she described, but ultimately looks disappointed in his response. Not that she really expected him to have actually seen it, but LB was grasping for straws here. It had been a very long time since she last lived outside the suit and it was intimidating to think about being without it.]

Oh... I see. Eheheh... [She frowns a little, her hand raising to rub at her neck briefly.] Have you been here long?

[ She looks so disappointed. He gives her an apologetic look, feeling sorry for being the bearer of bad news. He's not too certain she'll be happy to hear what more he has to say, either. ]

No, [ he answers, shaking his head. ] I was pulled from here earlier today. I'm afraid I don't have many details about our situation, either.

[ He had time to dry off and change out of his damaged uniform, but that's about all he's done. Once they let him wander about the town, he ended up right back at the river. It's probably not the most productive thing to do, but his emotions are still in turmoil right now. He doesn't know what else to follow but his heart. ]

Have they mentioned anything to you? [ He gestures vaguely towards the crews patrolling the river. ] Any instructions?

They— haha, they told me a little, but even that small bit seems like... a lot. [Particularly because she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was actually human and not a literal beast. To wake up from some battle in a fucking river in a country she’s never even been in before made things a lot more confusing. Closing her eyes, she sighs, before looking back to him.] I guess I’m indebted to some people?

[That part didn’t bother her as much as it might others — somehow that still seemed better in comparison to what she was used to. Though LB still worried what they wanted from someone like her. But she supposed it was at least better than possibly dying in battle.

Hugging her arms around herself, LB starts to feel the cold set in around her. The nanos in her body and plug suit did a surprisingly good job of keeping her from freezing to death, but it still didn’t make her completely immune to the chill either.] It’s the same for you?

Yes, [ he answers, nodding.

Noting her chill, he looks around for a blanket to offer her. Ky remembers receiving one when he was first fished out. He's sure there's one somewhere— there. He steps away to grab a thick, dark, scratchy-looking blanket from the docks. ]

It's almost too much to take in, isn't it? [ His voice is gentle, hopefully comforting. He understands how confused she feels. ] Here, please take this.

[ He reaches over to drape the blanket over her shoulders. ] Whenever you're ready, I can escort you to where you need to go.

[LB nods quietly, in response to his question, smiling in a bit of an awkward fashion. When he offers the blanket, she’s initially a little startled as she’s unsure of what was being given and tenses her shoulders until she feels the comforting pressure of the material around her.] Hmm? Ah— thank you.

[Glancing over to him, LB tries to read if he needed the blanket more than her (as she could definitely survive, at the very least), but decides that he seemed fine walking around and relaxes a little. Still, his next offer has her in speculation again, arcing her head to the side as she looks directly at him.]

Why— eheheh, why are you helping me? [He seemed nice, but it had been a long time since anyone had done anything for her and not expected someone in return.]

[ Ky tilts his head to the side, looking a bit puzzled by her question. It takes a moment before he realizes she's sincerely asking. Helping someone is second-nature to him, a part of himself that never changes. By all means, he should be more hardened and cynical due to his own experience in war.

But he doesn't have it in him. Others have called him naive and weak. Yet still, he can't stand the thought of being the opposite. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Ky gives her a small smile in sympathy. ] Because you seemed like you needed help.

[ And that's it. His only reason for helping her. His words are as honest as ever, without a hint of underlying meaning. ]

Laughing Beauty | Metal Gear Solid 4 | OTA

1) ARRIVAL

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

3) LATER THAT NIGHT

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

2

no subject