(post-mingle) text; un: UEHARA

[metafictions]

Good morning, everyone. I hope you're well.

[read: he hopes that you're not too hungover and that none of you died out there last night.]

Despite the different clans to which we've been assigned, we all find ourselves in strange territory in Jigoku-cho. It may look close to what several of us recognize as Japan, but as you might've already discovered, familiarity does not guarantee similarity. The other day, I met a man who could have easily been from my world, perhaps even my continent or country-- only to discover he hailed from a completely different planet.

So, I'd like to begin gathering information. [He's no Sutoku, but this is important to all of them, and-- as he's been taught-- there are no shortcuts when it comes to investigation.] The more that we know about our fellow lost souls, the more we will have to work from as we learn more about this place and why we're here. We can start with something simple. If you would like, please share where, and when, you are from.

I'll start. I am from Tokyo's 25th Ward, in Japan, on Earth, in the year 2005.

(ooc: feel free to threadjack around! ✌️)

Comments

text; un: blekksprut

[fuckinghysterical]

good morning!

i never had been to japan, as far as i remember, so i don't even have familiarity on my side. i wonder what was so familiar about the man you thought was from your world, but i'm sorry you were wrong in your assumption.

but, to answer your question, i'm at least from the same planet. however, it was 2014 in my time. i suppose i was in south america at the time, though i think i was just shipped off to wherever my employer thought i was needed too.

[metafictions]

It's fine, I should have known better than to assume anything here. In part, it was his appearance, but what struck me the most was his accent: it sounded European.

[sorry kim he's trying his best not to identify you too obviously on the network]

So, from my future, and on a different continent. That's good information, thank you. [But... he'd just jumped to another point before he'd arrived here, hadn't he? Perhaps the traveling is related?] Do you recall if you were en route before you woke up here?

un: flowery

[everblooms]

would it be completely out of the question to assume we aren't in some version of japan? i mean, this is some kind of mythical place in japan's lore, right?

as for me, i'm from midgar! bet you never heard of it. am i right?

[metafictions]

Not out of the question at all, flowery. Anything is possible. Though I did see a chain restaurant or two that I recognized from home...

[You better believe he already got a hell frappucino!!]

You're correct: I never have. It does sound close to Midgard with a D, which is also associated with mythical places. What is it like?

text | un: tequila sunset

[horrifictie]

im from revachol, insulinde isola, and it's year 51 of the current century.

[ side note: he is very proud of knowing all of this and sharing it accurately! knowledge of basic reality is important to him. ]

so we're in not in japan (which I have never heard of but that's beside the point) but jigoku-cho resembles it? is it only surface level, like how the city looks, or more than that?

un: midnightmocha

[nerine]

From my limited experience and from our Japanese customers at the cafe
No, the youkai with multiple eyes do not in fact walk the streets.
At least in broad daylight anyway 😏

un: midnightmocha

[nerine]

Southern California, late 2010s here!
I'm not too surprised about other places and times
More on the side of, being surprised at being here at all.
That's what I get for napping while on the clock I suppose! 🤷‍♂️

[metafictions]

[There's no use in assuming anything off the bat, but Earth is starting to look suspiciously popular here.]

Really? A good friend of mine is originally from Southern California, too. [AND the late 2010s, but that's neither here nor there.] Have you heard of a city called Santa Destroy?

Hmm... so, you were sleeping before you arrived, do I have that right?

un: cantseeme

[camyoflage]

terra, 1097
never heard of a japan in my life but the stuff here looks a lot like the things you find in higashi



anyone heard of originium?

[metafictions]

Maybe it's a similar situation to what I encountered with the person I met? That's a Japanese word, too.

No idea, unfortunately. Is it some kind of element?

text; un: offtheclock

[fuben]

2005? That makes me a bit nostalgic...

It sounds like we're from a similar place, Uehara. But it was 2018 when I left.

[metafictions]

Interesting. Everyone from an Earth like mine seems to be a bit further along than I am. If your phones are anything like the one I'm using here, they've gotten a lot nicer...

[Privately, he's wondering whether the last point in time he'd jumped to is related to this pattern, too-- just before finding himself here, he'd been in the late 2010's, too. But it's way too soon to say anything for sure.]

Offtheclock, are you Japanese, too? Or just from Earth?

text; un: UMAI

[enbashira]

( this child does not understand texting. thus, everything comes, predictably, in caps lock, because how does one turn this strange device's screaming off..... he'll learn at some point.... )

GREETINGS, YOUNG UEHARA

MY NAME IS RENGOKU KYOJURO

THE LOOK OF THIS PLACE IS QUITE SIMILAR TO JAPAN, WHERE I HAVE COME FROM! BUT I AM AFRAID THE TIMELINE IS MUCH DIFFERENT.

AH, wAIT, THE tEXT can be changed!

I am from the Taisho era!

( he feels quite proud now. he's being helpful! )

[metafictions]

[WHY ARE WE YELLING......]

Ah, you figured it out. Good job.

[He can't blame him-- even he took a little bit to figure it out, and he had a flip phone. Also, he's gotten actually yelled at for less. At least Kyojuro was friendly??]

The Taisho era was a long time ago for me. Not quite a century, but close. It's the Heisei era for me. How are you adjusting?

[after that, he's guessing... not so well to the tech.]

text; un: rk

[trueorder]

Doing some detective work?

[metafictions]

We have to begin somewhere.

text; un: rider

[kaientai]

[ ryouma thinks this is a good idea! but he doesn't mind someone else getting there first, it means he doesn't have to offer so much himself as an opener, for one thing. ]

I'm also from Japan! [ not that he's going to be so specific. ] When might be saying a little much, but I've been to 2019, for what it's worth.

[metafictions]

I suppose it makes sense to find a lot of Japanese souls in an apparently Japanese hell.

[But that second part is interesting. Maybe he’s not the only person who’s been doubly displaced in time.]

When you say you’ve “been”, does that mean you weren’t in 2019 before?

un: majima

[no_kyouken]

Japan, Earth, 1988. Raised in Tokyo, been in Kansai for a while though.

When I wasn't in Hakagemachi, anyway.

Phone's sure get smaller in the future, that's a relief. Things are a damn brick in '88.

[metafictions]

I was just a kid in '88, but I remember how big they were... Don't worry, you only have to wait until the 00's until they can fit in your pocket.

Hakagemachi doesn't sound familiar to me. Where in Japan is it?

un: yharaskrik

[psionicmolotov]

[ This device wants him to choose a 'screen name' for himself, some kind of moniker to obscure his identity. He deliberately chooses someone who is long-fled to another plane; even if the mind flayer might come here, it likely wouldn't take offense to the use of its identity. It owes him, after all.

He browses the responses and finds a great deal of commonality, which makes him raise an eyebrow. ]

Is this Japan of yours all humans

[metafictions]

[That's... a tricky question. Kamui has to think about it for a moment before he replies, in fact-- he certainly wouldn't consider a man like Kosuke Kurumizawa, now an existence far beyond the bounds of his corpse, to still be human.

To say nothing of whatever it is that he himself has become.]

Mostly. But there are exceptions-- like spirits, and other beings that live 'next door' to reality.

un: trickshot | text

[demonrebel]

[He doesn't really get hangovers anymore but he certainly had a brush with death after picking a fight with some of the Shuten dudes. Fun times.]

Gathering some intel, huh? Smart idea, I would've done the same if I wasn't nursing a broken nose.

[While his nose is indeed a bit bloody, it's far from broken.]

Unlike most of you guys, I'm not from Japan and it's 2019 where I'm from.

[metafictions]

[He'd spent his time at the Shuten party observing all the fights-- it's not his style to go out and kick one up on purpose-- but Dante had definitely put on a memorable show last night.]

I think I saw that, if you and I are members of the same Clan. Red coat?

[He'd actually done a double-take at that brawl, seeing that familiar flash of red... Maybe he's being a bit too optimistic, hoping for Travis to show up here too.]

But you do match the timeline of the bulk of the people here. Are you from an Earth?

un: daylit.

[sunborne]

Oh wow! :O Most of everyone replying to this seems to be from the past for me. It's 2238 for me if I have to use Terran time units. And if I did the conversion right...... It's been a while since I've been around humans-humans. Sorry! >_<

I'm technically from Earth! It's my stated homeplanet in my identification records if I had them. I was heading towards the Imortal-8 Centers that's found in the Hyperion Cloud Galaxy, Stellar Sector to support a friend of mine. :)

[metafictions]

That's much farther than anyone else has mentioned... I've never met an alien either. Though I suppose we are all technically aliens to each other here, in a way.

[laughs in "haven't canon updated to the alien invasion part of the series" yet]

Is intergalactic travel commonplace in your reality? Humans haven't yet stepped foot on Mars in mine.

un: snaps

[camerastraps]

japan seems to be a pretty popular place
never heard of it, though
i'm from insomnia, which is a place on eos and it's, like, 732

[metafictions]

Conversely, I've never heard of Insomnia or Eos. At the very least, all the Japanese people could help you adjust a bit more easily.

Is the technology familiar to you at all, snaps? 732 seems far behind from my perspective... the world's first novel wasn't written for another few hundred years.

text | un: hardcore.

[deathrespect]

Hakagemachi. Don't know the year there.
Yokohama before that. 2017? Feels like twenty years ago. Goddamn.

[metafictions]

You're the second person to mention Hakagemachi. [And it could be a coincidence, but with the circumstances in which Majima had arrived there, then here, in mind...]

Were you possessed, too?

un: oneflower

[kikuichi]

A pleasure to meet you!

I'm from Japan, in the year 2205. It's quite interesting to find myself here instead of relaxing with tea in my room. I worry the youngsters might wonder where I went.\

[Stating the year would be safe enough, plus it would give an idea of how varied their numbers are.]

[metafictions]

It's nice to meet you too, oneflower. I hope you can return to them soon.

That year's a surprise. You're the second furthest along: daylit just above you is from 2238. Does Jigoku-cho look familiar to the Japan you know, or is it far behind in history?

un: dancebattle

[lonelinessloop]

I'm from Japan, in the year 2017. I grew up near Tokyo, but I'm living in Okinawa now.

[metafictions]

[Wait, hold on. He's putting the investigation on hold for just a second, because this is very important--]

I've never been. How good is the food?

un. dimitri.

[stubboarn]

Kindly pardon the speed. I am still getting my bearings with technology.

I come from the Kingdom of Faerghus, and to my knowledge I am the only one here from my country. The year is 1180.

[metafictions]

You're doing rather well. Perhaps you and UMAI can share tech tips.

[Seeing as Dimitri didn't hit capslock off the bat, he's doing GREAT in Kamui's book...]

That's quite far back from my year. It must be quite the shock to see all the electrically-powered devices, pun not intended.

un: sanctuary

[peacewithouttyranny]

I originate from Cybertron, however, my last location was on Earth, in Zambia. I believe, in human year, it was.... 2018 in my time.

Does anyone recall that they have died or dying before arrival?

[metafictions]

The late 2010s continue to be popular for those with an Earth. I don't believe my universe has a Cybertron, though-- I assume you aren't human?

blekksprut and tequila sunset mentioned that it's possible that they died before arrival. However, I don't think anyone has said that they concretely remember the moment of their death yet. I, myself, cannot be dead-- while I did face a life or death situation shortly before arriving, I clearly remember surviving to the next day.

[Kamui should've died then, as he had in countless timelines before, and yet... Travis had been different. He'd never have invented it: the idea of someone sparing his life in a fight to the death-- much less for friendship-- had always been an impossibility. Until it actually happened, of course.]

text; un: stitches

[deadtective]

[a very interesting post, and definitely one that Hazel's finding useful just skimming through. instead of adding to the pool of helpfulness, however, she instead tosses in a question.]

How many people you think've lied on this so far?

[cynical, but, you know...someone had to ask.]

[metafictions]

Almost certainly a few.

[Even Kamui isn't being completely straightforward here: sure, he's from 2005, but the last year he was in was actually 2019.]

But it’s unlikely that everyone is lying.

Text; un: abbil

[nevercaught]

[It takes some time for him to settle on one of these delightful pseudonyms for replying to these messages. Indeed, he even contemplates impersonating Drizzt once more. In the end, however, he settles for the drow word for 'friend'—for he does intend to charm these people who he has been placed with.]

Do you know, I've never even heard of such a city? I fear we are from two very different planes, my friend.

No matter. I am originally from Menzoberranzan in the Underdark, but now from the city of Luskan on the Sword Coast, although immediately prior to this I was visiting the fair city of Waterdeep. In Faerun, on Toril, but of course. And the year was 1492 by the Dale reckoning.

un: yharaskrik

[psionicmolotov]

Wait

1492

That year is later than my own

[ what do you mean you're from the future ]

Audio; un: sharkconcept

[starshepard]

[ She's barely played with the phone and texting seems cumbersome so she'll stick to speaking. ]

I've never heard of this Japan and for an afterlife, this place is vastly different from the Lifestream.

In any case, I hail from a star we call Etheirys.

audio;

[metafictions]

[Text was the first option Kamui had worked out, so it takes him a moment to change it back to audio. When he does, the voice is a little softer and quieter than all his determined info-gathering might imply.

Obviously, he hasn't heard of Etheirys, but--]

You've... seen your afterlife? Really? What is it like?

un: chiefjustice

[perfectlytimed]

London, 1900. I trust that's a familiar name to most of you, at least.

I do have several acquaintances in Japan, but I've yet to encounter any of them here.

[metafictions]

Yes, very familiar to me, though you’re a century behind me.

By the way, does your username mean you’re truly London's chief justice? It’s good to see those who might be considered colleagues— I'm a detective, actually. [If the nosiness didn’t give it away.]

text | timaeusTestified

[givehead]

Hard to say specifically, but I'm from somewhere in the ocean that used to be Texas around the year 2409.

Not too sure about the technicalities after that.

(What does that even mean, Dirk.)

[metafictions]

[don't worry, he’s old hat when it comes to weird shit, too: the fuzziness doesn’t seem to faze Kamui at all.]

That’s a shame. I really liked Texas when I went…

Was America destroyed completely? Or just Texas?

text | un: kitsuragi

[aceslow]

You certainly didn't waste any time gathering more information. It's me you were talking about here, yes?

It seems you're surrounded by your countrymen. Odd that they didn't bring people exclusively from Japan, considering the strong similarities.

[metafictions]

You caught me. It was indeed our conversation that got me thinking about all of this.

As I've discovered, we aren't even from the same Japan: the Ward I lived in doesn't even exist in some worlds.

[Whether it hasn't been built yet, or whether the circumstances behind its development will ever exist at all in those different Japans, is another question entirely.]