![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
OPEN PSL ❖ paradoxium fragment.
- At some point in your day, whether you're working on a school project, have found yourself tuckered away after a long battle, or even if you're just already dead - you find yourself falling asleep, even if you may not have the normal capacity for it.
The world turns pitch black, darkness overtaking their sight.
In this world of dreams, filled with nothing but the void, all there is left is a light.
It's distant, sparkling. You can't help but want to reach out for it -
But it is simply out of reach. Too far from your outstretched hands. You try to run, to get closer... but it never does.
And eventually, a voice can be heard from the depths.
"Please," it begs. "won't you help us?"
The voice, strangely enough echoes familiarity in your ears. But you cannot seem to place the voice in your memory. You just get the sense that this is someone kind, gentle. A person you can trust.
Regardless of whether you respond to the voice, it continues.
"If you help us, we will grant your one true desire. A wish."
While many may have doubts, you get the feeling that what this voice speaks is the truth.
"There is a curse that plagues our land. We offer you a choice: to come and save our land. To help us. We are the kami that reside over this land. But fear not, child of man. We will not leave you alone in this journey. We shall make sure to protect your soul as you traverse each Fragment until our land is cleansed of the evil that befalls it.
It may be difficult.
However, we believe that you will be able to help us."
Just as you open your mouth, trying to answer back or protest -
You find yourself submerged completely into water, hearing the sound of ringing chimes as you finally open your eyes.
- You blink awake as the sunlight hits your eyes - ending up on a stone pathway. For some strange reason, you find yourself feeling a little uncomfortable, as if you had been sleeping on solid ground for quite some time.
The chirps of the hummingbirds can be heard in the distance, loud and clear, as you find your bearings.
The weather is nice and temperate; typical for a spring morning in the city.
When you check your person, you find that most of your items have gone missing, but in its place are three mysterious things that you swear are not yours: a sleek, silver touchpad cellular phone, a striking red debit card with the symbol of a hummingbird that graces it, along with your full name that denotes that it is yours, and a key. And regardless of whether or not you have knowledge of these items, you find yourself intimately familiar with their basic workings.
Looking around, you notice soon enough that you have awoken at what seems to be a shrine. And while the building is mostly intact, it seems to be old and worn down. Dried leaves pave the entire area, too.
There also seems to be a small garden nearby, but all the plants there just seem to be withering away.
It takes a couple of minutes before someone finally arrives to greet you, but you get the feeling that leaving the shrine grounds immediately is a very bad idea.
The doors of the shrine eventually open up -
Who they see revealed depends on the person. They may be familiar face, or perhaps a stranger. But what is clear, regardless of who this person is that they seem to be wearing the typical shrine garb, that of a miko.
Eventually, they speak up:
"Welcome, everyone, to Yawara-cho.
Many of you may have questions, and I am here to answer many of those that may be plaguing you, as well as any additional ones that may come up.
I am the temporary miko here at this 'Tokimoto' shrine, and I, like many of you, am not from this world. I simply act as the mediary between all of you and the kami, so any questions you have for myself personally or the kami will go through me.
All that the kami wants is one thing: to get rid of the curse that plagues these lands, and in exchange, they will grant a single wish.
That is the gist of it. I will now open the floor to any questions."
[ OOC: Welcome, everyone to a long form PSL in the form of Paradoxium Fragment! This is a timeloop horror mystery PSL that has elements from the When they Cry series and Iwaihime, but will also loosely incorporate other series as well.
Horror elements will primarily be psychological, but body horror may be incorporated depending on the player.
In terms of moving things along, I will try to make sure that things move smoothly at least once a month. If you need to contact me for any questions/comments/concerns, please ping me either on plurk (
Locations can be found here for any investigative purposes. ]
no subject
[...right. Knowing they're not exactly home right now,]
...we should at least find a place to stay.
[That is, unless the Miko has already arranged for a place for them...]
no subject
[She's never even moved before??? She's lived in the same house all her life so she's never even heard her parents talk about trying to find a new place to live??]
If they gave us a card and phone, then... they had to be prepared to give us somewhere to stay, right?
no subject
Eventually, she nods, somewhat slowly as if trying to be more sure of herself.]
It should be fine. If there is a place for us to stay... maybe there's something to guide us there.
[Mafuyu's formed some habits that are a bit difficult to break, from having kept up an act for so long. So, naturally, a map is the first thing to come to mind. There's just a matter of finding one, whether it's pasted on a board or on offer for people new to the area...]
no subject
[Not that she really wants to impose on a shrine. But she wants Mafuyu to be safe and comfortable...]
... Either way... I'll still stay with you, Mafuyu.
no subject
...I never doubted that you'd stay.
[How could she? Kanade had tended to her when she was ill in one time, guided her out of Phoenix Wonderland in another, and found her in the rain that night. Gave her a place to stay. A home, where she could simply not worry about anything, about making her mother happy -- and while Mafuyu can't bring herself to hate her, even now...
It feels so raw, still.]
We should at least go and see, before we jump to that... I don't want to impose on the shrine owners, either.
no subject
[It's not right to say that Kanade is flustered, exactly, but... there's a strange sort of fluttery feeling in her chest at Mafuyu's words. It's not unpleasant.]
Even if this whole situation is a bit troubling... I think we'll be okay, as long as we're together.
no subject
['As long as we're together', huh...
...something in her heart feels like it's bleeding at the thought of that.
...
She doesn't want to linger on it.]
Mm...
[They've survived the past year despite everything seeming out to get them. This might be a bit bigger than what they've dealt with... but it'll be fine, right? Kanade is right here, after all...
Even so,]
...doesn't it feel a bit... strange, here? [Mafuyu looks around more properly, now that she feels a little more secure. And she can't help being slightly uneasy at how empty everything feels. If it wasn't for the fact this place was clearly at least somewhat lived-in, it would have been convincing to say this was part of the Empty Sekai.]
no subject
Strange.... y-yeah, a little. Like something's pressing in around us.
[It isn't quite like their Sekai. While it was empty, a void of nothing save for a few crumbling structures and the echoes of her song, there was still something comforting about the silence and the lack of anything.]
This... it's like those movies where someone wakes up after some kind of apocalypse, and realizes they're the only one for miles around that's still alive.
no subject
Mm. Like we've been abandoned... [It's not a feeling Mafuyu doesn't like to think of too much.
As it stands, it's difficult enough to think...
...
Mafuyu shakes it off again.] I don't think we're the only ones here, if we were called to this place by someone. But it doesn't feel safe.
[The Sekai gave them that comfort. An escape from harsh reality. This place had none of that.
She starts in a direction; she doesn't quite know where she's going, but anywhere was better than standing still.]
no subject
[Kanade can sense the way Mafuyu's words kind of... hang in the air at the mention of being abandoned. After everything they've gone through, after all the music they've made together, Kanade thinks she can read Mafuyu a little better than she once did. She still doesn't know everything about how she's feeling, but...
... She knows those words must weigh heavily on her heart. So Kanade does what she's always done when the dark starts closing in - she reaches out and takes Mafuyu's hand in hers.]
Yeah... if someone wants our help, then they have to be around here somewhere.
[She'll let Mafuyu take the lead, but she keeps herself barely half a step behind her. Just in case.]
no subject
Kanade...?
[Any further pursuit of their current train of thought is put on pause for a moment as she realizes their fingers are intertwined. Mafuyu doesn't hate it by any stretch; the warmth contained in that small hand had carried her all this way. It's just... sudden, at a time like this. Hardly an unwelcome feeling, all the same.
...Kanade will feel that gesture reciprocated as Mafuyu keeps going, some of the tension going away as she sets their pace for them.]
...even if we don't find anyone... we could at least get used to things here. I don't think we'll be going back home anytime soon.
no subject
After everything with Mafuyu meeting her mom again, maybe... maybe Kanade needs to pay a little more attention to her like this.]
... I hope everyone else is going to be okay.
[Will her dad be okay, if he has nobody there to visit him...?]
no subject
[There's no hurt in her tone as she says that. If anything, there's some lightness to it hiding under the monotone. It's true she still has so much to deal with, still needs to find closure, now that she's made the decision to return. And, really... who knows what will happen in the future?
But they're still here. She's still here. Even when she thought she'd never be found... Kanade shed a light in all the dark she was fending for herself in for so long. And that's not even getting into everything with Mizuki and Ena recently.
She's not good at assurances, but... she can at least say this much--]
We'll get through this too.