spaalonebabuguuscooties | ♠ | OPEN MEME

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♠ | OPEN MEME | MULTI-PURPOSE JAMJAR

the multi-purpose jamjar meme

it's fun, it's easy, and it's free. top-level with your preferences and then roll or pick from the settings/prompts listed below. fly with assumed cross-canon cr or toss some canon cr into some new and rocky situations. go hog wild.

I - SETTING

i. horror: you've been yoinked from your own world and thrown into a new and terrifying situation. roll with horrible monster transformations, hostile set-pieces, sadistic npcs, and more. all that matters is making it through the night.

ii. survival: through some twist of fate or another, you've been allocated into a resource-poor environment. basic amenities like food, water, and shelter that you might have once taken for granted are suddenly either outright absent or require significant labor to attain. you're not just a stranger in a strange land - you're a stranger in a strange land with only your own wits to help you survive.

iii. slice-of-life: ordinary cityscapes and peaceful suburbias are all very well and good, if you weren't stuck in them without a clear means of escape. the most you can do now is try to adapt to a peaceful life that you might have never had. you've been given a chance at normalcy, but not everyone's cut out to acquiesce to the ordinary day-to-day demands of schools, jobs, picnics, and what have you. relaxing can be tough, but here, you've got all the time in the world for it.

iv. fantasy: not only are you stuck in a pre-industrial revolution hell, but now you've got these fancy new magic powers and special weapons, maybe even at the cost of whatever abilities you might have once had. now go forth and destroy the one ring or kill some giants or something.

v. sci-fi: maybe you're trapped on a spaceship or on some newly colonized planet in the far-flung, distant future. maybe you're being drafted into a corrupt army, or trying to escape the nigh-omniscient artificial intelligence that monitors everything in a dystopian future-opolis. the setting's whatever you want it to be.

vi. au / memory regain: your name's not the one you had and your life's not the one you lived...but it's not like you know that. maybe you're plagued by strange dreams of who you actually are, or someone from your world's been dropped into your new life to try and jog your memory. either way, you've always felt that something was off about this world and this life you've had. you could never tell what until now.

vii. prison: some all-knowing or interdimensional or corrupt law enforcement has finally snagged you, and decided that you are unquestionably guilty. of what? who knows. maybe you're a legitimate criminal, or maybe you're genuinely innocent and imprisoned under false pretenses. no matter what the case is, you're being kept under lock and key and put under heavy surveillance. plot an escape with fellow inmates or sway a security guard to your cause - or maybe a friend of yours has managed to sneak their way in to try and break you out.

viii. merc-work: you've been snatched from your home so you can do some high-quality work for some higher power. you're an assassin, a spy, a thief, or some other shady agent. tormented by the moral quandaries of your work? in it for the money? salty that your captors are responsible for forcing you into this? but then again, maybe playing along is your best chance of getting home...

ix. wildcard: idk man do what you want i'm not a cop

II - SITUATION

i. first impressions: hey, i just met you, and this is crazy, but where the FUCK are we (so handle my stress-induced breakdown maybe)?

ii. second impressions: hey, remember when we first met? nostalgia's really a trip, huh? when you're in a brand new world, you've got to hold onto whatever familiarity you can get.

iii. an Event™: SOMETHING is happening and y'all have to deal with it. how are you coping? have you run into each other by chance, have you buddied up willingly, or are you stuck together in the middle of some hellish happenstance?

iv. living conditions: congratulations, you're now being housed with a complete stranger. or maybe not. maybe you're friends back home or you've met before. regardless of how you generally get along with your new roomie, the stress of adapting to a new situation doesn't always make for a fun teething period.

v. mysteries & conspiracies: what's a jamjar anyway? you're not about to take this lying down. whatever's going on here, whoever's abducting people from their worlds and whisking them away again, you're going to get to the bottom of it. no matter what it takes.

vi. crau hijinks: hey, don't i know you? what, you don't remember? what are you talking about? we were best buds in that [unrelated previous game experience wherein you confessed your love or some shit]! don't you remember me?

vii. grudging teamwork: for whatever reason, you're being forced to work with someone you don't know or can't stand. fight a monster, solve a puzzle, break out of confinement, find your way home, get unstuck or unlost, etc. you just have to work together to do it.

viii. violent ends, violent means: got stuck facing each other in gladiatorial combat? facing off against a violent threat together? or maybe you ran into this absolute dipshit on the streets and decided you didn't like their face or whatever. look, i'll save you some time and just say that this is either going to be a magnet for some prime angst or hurt/comfort.

ix. play the hero: swoop in and save the day from...whatever the heck's going on here. play the hero or the damsel, whether wanted or otherwise.

x. network tomfoolery: idly commenting on proceedings, bored and spamming people's inboxes, figuring out what the heck this shiny thing and all the buttons do, etc. maybe there's an internet here. maybe you can send someone airbrushed ted cruz. i'm not going to say what you can and can't do.

xi. inbox'd: leave a message after the beep! just kidding, they picked up. what'd you wanna chat about in private, champ?

xii. wildcard: once again i ask do i look like a cop

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Barefoot. Does this kid have anything on hand? A tablet. Clothes. Nothing else they can tell is distinctly hers.]

[She sounds sure about it. They're not about to question that - not yet, anyway. They take that into consideration, quietly, before groaning, rolling their shoulders in their joints. It's not gonna be an easy climb on their joints either. For all that they might not look as much their age, they certainly feel it.]

You and me both. I'm way too old to be climbing mountains all the time.

[Maybe they could manage it all in one shot if they pushed it. But...they really don't feel like pushing it just now.]

How 'bout we both take it slow?

[ Her thin smile grows a little fuller and warmer. ]

That's probably a good bet. Maybe we'll get lucky and meet someone on the way there before we have to start climbing.

[ But she doubts it. She's already been lucky enough to not land here alone, wherever they are, so she's not going to push it. The rest, they'll have to do themselves. ]

We can always take breaks if the going gets a little too hard.

Maybe there's a gondola. That'd be nice. We'd get to see the sights, the scenic route, and we'd save ourselves the trouble of climbing.

[Not exactly optimistic of this, but hey. A hollow can always hope.]

[Racto squints at the distant peak, shading their eyes for a moment as they regard it, then sigh. No putting it off any longer. It's time to start walking.]

Damn, it's bright. Hope this kinda light doesn't last forever.

[ And Rin falls into step alongside them, doing her best to keep pace. It'll be a tough trip, but Rin likes to think that she's good at pretending to be tough, and that's almost as good as the real thing. ]

Bright?

[ She sounds a little doubtful as she parrots their words back to them, but then Rin tilts her head back a little and squints at the sky overhead. To her, it simply seems like an average sunny day... but then again, she has sunshine and bright blue skies every day, so long as that's what she wants. So maybe she's not the best judge.

She looks down at her tablet in thought then after a moment of hesitation, she holds it out to Racto. Loathe as she is to let go of her tablet for even a moment, it's not as though it's going to be much help to her right now. ]

Um... I know it's not really much, but I thought... well, there's not really anything else to use for shade, so...

[ At least the tablet could shade their eyes a bit? Their head??? It had sounded like such a good idea, but now she actually makes the offer, she feels her cheeks burn with the embarrassment of having said Something Deeply Dumb. ]

[That takes them off guard a minute, evidenced solely by their blink and the moment it takes for them to respond. Does she have anything else on her? It looks like a data pad or a tablet of some kind, though they're not sure why that's all she's got.]

[They can't talk. They've got nothing but the clothes on their back and whatever's in their pockets.]

Ah, you don't have to. I'll get used to it, no trouble.

[They try for a smile that they hope comes across as self-effacing and apologetic, and not unsettling.]

[They're too accustomed to their smiles being unsettling.]

[ After a moment, Rin's own hesitant smile slowly returns and she gives them a little nod. You can get used to anything, so long as you spend enough time with it, she thinks, though she certainly hopes they won't be here long enough to start getting used to much of anything.

But that sounds ominous as all get out. So she'll keep the thought to herself for now. ]

It's just a shame that we'll have to, I guess. [ There. That sounds slightly less like a veiled threat. ] I'm sure we can't be the only ones here, but... it's still a really empty kind of place to end up in.

Might be we can run into someone else if we find a landmark. Civilization, or something. Maybe a town.

[They're not sure how reasonable this is. This certainly feels like a big drop in the middle of the wilderness, though they're doing their best to tamp down just how much they're out of their element here. The wilderness where they're from is comprised of vast wastelands and harsh weather conditions and megafauna - not this quiet, peaceful woodland and a distant mountain range that's feasibly reachable.]

[No point in panicking. Even if they were, Racto's panic and concern generally doesn't assume a recognizable shape. They remain more or less as placid as ever, even now.]

Not sure how likely that is out here. More used to big cities, myself.

Mmm.

[ Her monosyllabic response is the result of her almost saying something else and then catching it at the last second. The words she'd almost spoken had been I've never seen other people around, so I don't know where they'd be likely to be and she'd realized a fraction of a second before actually saying them that... well, that was a little ominous sounding too. It's true, though. This is the first time she's spoken to anyone for... well, as long as she can remember and she's floundering, just a bit. ]

I'm... more used to places like this. But I never really see people in them.

[ There. Nailed it. ]

Live all alone, huh?

[Sounds a bit too much like fishing for information, maybe. They adjust the route they're taking. They dunno this kid, and they dunno how liable she is to take being pried at all that well. From a logistical standpoint, it'd be...easy. It'd be way the hell too easy. They know that the way they know how to slit a hollow's throat from behind.]

[They also don't got any call to go prying just now.]

You don't have to say if you don't wanna. Just making conversation. I get it if it's...y'know, stuff you don't wanna talk about with somebody you just met.

It's okay.

[ The answer comes a bit too quick, because – well, there's not really much they can pry into, is there? It's not like she has many interesting answers to give. It's only a fraction of a second after she says it that she realizes... hm, that's probably a bit weird, right? You wouldn't want to spill all your personal details to a stranger you just met. Even in a situation like this. She's pretty sure that would be a bad call. ]

Um, what I mean is... it's not like we really have a whole lot else to talk about right now. [ She says it with a rueful smile. ] Nothing that's not "wow, a tree... hey, look, another one"... you know?

[ It's a weak attempt at humor, but she's doing her best. ]

Hey, where I'm from, trees're on the rarer side of things.

[But Racto laughs a little, a short huff of sound that leaves them shaking their head. Maybe not very helpful in the way of lightening the mood, they don't think.]

All pretty new to me. Guessing that's a sun up there. Never seen one before. And look at all this - normal-sized trees that aren't megaflora? If I weren't in a hurry to figure out what's going on I'd have way more questions about this kinda thing, trust me.

[ Rin's initial response is a slightly suspicious little squint. For a second, she wonders if maybe they're making a joke to break the ice a bit, but after a second, she decides... probably not. Maybe it's a bit presumptuous of her to make a judgment like this so early, but Racto just doesn't come across like the sort of person to make a joke like that.

So it's probably not a joke. But that's kind of worrying. ]

Have you really never seen trees like this? [ There, that sounds like a safer way of approaching the topic. ] They're not that small.

Maybe not where you're from. Back home, most anything that isn't big gets wiped out by these massive dust storms.

[It's a little bit like opening up, even if they're not really talking about themself. They're talking about where they're from, which is far from the same thing. Easier. Also, hopefully, more likely to help this kid ease up a little and feel like they're a bit less of a stranger.]

You see anything like this where you're from?

Yeah. Uh, well–

[ She hesitates, on the verge of elaborating, but then realizes that saying too much is going to open up a whole can of worms in terms of questions. She's not a fool – she knows the VR is a hell of a thing for her to occupy all by herself and she doesn't have all the answers. So, for the second time, she opts for an answer that feels safer. ]

Not all the time, I guess. But now and then. This size is definitely way more common than giant trees.

[That's a cagey answer if they ever heard one. Now and then. They're not about to push for a response that might distress her or lead to information she doesn't wanna give out. That's not their style.]

Can't say the same, myself. [They squint vaguely upwards again.] You think the sun's gonna be out all the time, or do we get a break from it once in a while?

... That's a really good question, actually.

[ Rin looks up as well, lifting a hand to shade her eyes as she squints up through the trees. ]

I sort of guessed that the sun would set at night... but I have no idea when night actually is, here. Or if the sun even sets at all. There's places where that never happens, right?

[ She's certain she remembers a movie or a documentary or something about the sun not setting on the North Pole. She very much doubts that this... wherever they are is the North Pole, but still. ]

Oof.

[Racto rubs at their face briefly with the butt of one scarred palm.]

There's places where the sun never shows itself, either. [Kinda like where they come from.] Gotta say, I got no clue what the solar cycle's like here. Got no clue where we even are, which is definitely a first for yours truly.

... Are you going to be okay? It's really bright out.

[ She's looking up at them now, her brows knitted with concern. She was worrying about herself before, but now it occurs to her that they're probably just as out of their depth here as she is. Which is comforting and discomforting all at the same time. ]

If it gets too bad, we can always take a second and find somewhere for you to rest. It's probably going to be a whole lot brighter when we get out from the trees.

I dunno yet. This is the first time I've been out in the daylight for this long.

[They say it with an easy grin, like it's no big deal. Look, of the two of them, she's definitely the one that's more worry-worthy, right? They're an old hat. They're a creaky old asshole with a lot going on in their life. This person here's just a kid.]

Look, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. No need to worry unless it gets to be a problem in the long term.

[ Rin gives them a careful look, gauging if they're actually as breezily confident as they're coming off or not. Eventually, she settles on yes and her shoulders, hunched unhappily up near her ears, relax a bit. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to share in a little of that confidence too. ]

Mm. You're probably right. [ Her frown of concern makes way for a thin smile. ] Maybe we'll be really lucky and there's a place selling sunglasses up there. You never know.

[ She's 99% joking. With how surreal this day is turning out, she's not sure it would surprise her all that much. ]

Ah, civilization. Wouldn't that be something? I'd say let's make a wager, but I don't think I got any money on me.

[They're pretty sure they do, actually, but they're not sure where. Their coat's full of all sorts of old odds and ends. It'd probably be ideal to make an inventory of what they've got on hand, just in case it turns out to be necessary, but...eh. They can get to it eventually.]

[They haven't felt a genuine urgency to get something done immediately in years. Not about to start now.]

[ Her smile turns a little easier. Humor is much easier than talking about the not so great situation they're in, after all. ]

Maybe we can just make it an IOU until we've got some money. Maybe they'll have a job opening and we can make a name for ourselves, selling sunglasses. It's pretty bright out, so everyone's going to need some.

[ Is this silly? Yes. Is it much less distressing than thinking about being in the middle of nowhere? Also yes. ]

Sounds like you're quite the self-starter. [Doesn't miss that "we" in there. They're alone in this, so it stands to reason that there'd be that presumption of teamwork. It's...kinda refreshing, actually. It's different from what they're used to.]

I like it. Business of selling sunglasses on a mountaintop. Enough to afford a zeppelin home. [Would that make any sense? Probably not. It's a fun thought experiment, don't @ them.]

Yep. And with a zeppelin, we'd get a way better view of the land. You seriously can't beat a bird's eye view anyway.

[ She says it idly, without thinking but then... there's a thought, huh. She slows down as she walks, eyeing one of the larger trees they're passing, and then she comes to a full-on stop. ]

Actually... I wonder if I might be able to get a good view from one of these trees...

You any good at climbing?

[Racto, for their part, certainly isn't. Buildings? Sure. They can scale buildings with enough handholds. It's painful as a motherfucker, but they can handle it. Trees? Haven't climbed nearly enough of those to feel remotely confident in that. Racto stops to study one of the nearest trees speculatively.]

Might be a long drop down if you get too high.

[Not that they're about to dissuade her. If she thinks she can handle it, then they'll defer to that.]

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