didn't someone post this yesterday?

[itsthememes]

 

GROUNDHOG DAY: THE MEME
or: timeloops and you

You just woke up, and something is wrong. The radio is playing the same song from the day before. The weather is exactly the same. Your dog is sleeping in the exact same spot, your mom just burnt the same waffles. Today is yesterday, and you've already gone through everything that's about to happen again. Nothing you do carries over from day to day, no one else remembers a thing that you or anyone else has done. Even death has no permanence in this world. Will you get out there and find the key to breaking your time loop? Will you surrender to the despair of being forever stuck in time? Or will you embrace the fact that there are no more consequences in life and you can do whatever you wish? Let's find out.

the rules

• Comment with your character information and preferences. Let people know whether you'd like to play the character trapped in the loop or a bystander caught up in the madness around them. Pick from the prompts below, or let your taggers decide.
• Keep in mind that this meme will necessitate clear communication if your characters are close or are assumed to have been in contact before during the time loop! OOC planning before playing out threads is a great idea.
• Tag around, have fun, don't be a jerk.

prompts

1. the second go-around: What's going on? Why is everyone acting like yesterday is today? This isn't normal, someone explain all this!


2. it's been a while: You've got a couple loops under your belt now. You don't know everything about everyone, but if you go about your usual day, you know exactly what's going to happen. Maybe it's time to start switching things up?


3. forever and a day: How long has it been? Months? Years? Decades? You lost count a long time ago. You know how every moment of every day in every location you can reach is going to go down. All that's left to do is find ways to mitigate the endless tedium.


4. something's different: You've been at this for a while, but this is the first time anything has changed. Today isn't exactly like yesterday. Is it a glitch in the loop? Did you do something to change it? Is this a one-time thing, or will every day be like this now?


5. you aren't alone: There's someone else trapped in this loop with you. Maybe several someones. Are they new to the repetition? Did they start at the same time as you? Will they remember any of this tomorrow?


6. the answer is right there: You know what you have to do to end this, it's simply a matter of setting up the dominoes to pull it off. Will you stop an apocalypse? Save a life? End one? One day at a time, you get a little closer to having a tomorrow.


7. the end: You did it. It's over. At long last, it's tomorrow. How long has it been since you woke up to a brand new day? How will you adjust back to a normal life? Can you go back to the way you were?


8. wildcard: Got another idea? Make it happen, you've got all the time in the world.

Comments

[bowrettes]

[ her small shoulders continue to shake as she squeezes out the last of her tears. she's calmed some by the time naruto's frantic rambling starts to peter off, so that by the time he finishes, she's lifting her head with a face only slightly blotchy thanks to her sobs. the furrow in her brow has less to do with her frustration and relief, and more to do now with her confusion. ] You're sorry...? [ it doesn't make sense to her. what is he apologizing for? she shakes her head, straightening up somewhat, though she keeps her hands firmly on his arms. ] How could you have known? [ neither of them realized the other was just as trapped as they were, after all. she gives another shake of her head, short and — not quite dismissive, but resolved. adamant. ] None of this is your fault, and feeling sorry isn't going to help either of us. [ she sniffs, straightening up some more so that her back is rigid. posture pristine. if it weren't for the way her eyes still shined, and her cheeks still bright pink, it wouldn't have looked like she'd cried at all. ] Right now, we've got a strategy to figure out. Help me down, please. [ she holds her hand out towards him, attempting to step down from where she's perched on the ladder. ]

[thinhammer]

[ Naruto still doesn't feel quite right about all this. He didn't know, like she said, but he'd wondered. Hoped, dreamed maybe. He's so used to being the one with his head foolishly in the clouds and so often continues to be so despite being told at great length what a blind idiot he's being... it's terrible luck, then, that this is the one time he chose not to believe in himself. If he had, maybe he and Lilina could have been out of this before all those horrible loops where it felt like they were doomed to live heartbreak over and over again.

But nevertheless he presses his lips together and nods. She is right, after all. Feeling sorry won't help right now. ]

Watch your feet this time, huh? I don't want ya to go tumblin' down and messin' up your wrist like ya did the first time.

[ He takes her hand firmly, focusing on her feet as she steps, making sure to hold his other hand out. Just in case. ]

[bowrettes]

[ her lips purse at his word of warning, less annoyed and more wry. considering three out of their eight loops had ended with her injured in some way, she knows his words are quite warranted. but still. once she's on her feet, she's dusting her skirts off after giving his hand an absent-minded squeeze. ] Right, [ she says, seemingly all to herself. her hands come to her waist as she surveys the empty gym before them, but it's clear she's not really seeing any of the scene in front of her. ] Right. [ she turns to him then, so quickly her hair nearly slaps him in the face. she's holding out her cell phone in one hand now, tapping on the screen. ] Give me your number.

[thinhammer]

[ Naruto gets distracted with watching her, his free hand absently cradling the one she's squeezed, the pad of his thumb pressing into the palm as if attempting to recreate the way that quick moment of pressure had made him feel. He can't, but he never really expected to in the first place, because it wasn't a feeling in his hand.. it was in his heart, or the area surrounding his body, or the area surrounding the two of them. It was a feeling of rightness, like finishing a jigsaw puzzle or finally successfully completing a skateboard trick; the last item in a collection. Belonging. Only Naruto can't describe it because he's never felt it before.. except for briefly, in the first time he and Lilina were together.

He doesn't have enough time to flinch away from her hair, so he gets a waft of air and scent thrown at him that makes him jump, and therefore leaves him a little starstruck as she holds her phone out to him. ]

Uhh, okay. [ He says, taking it and tapping the screen with his finger like an elderly person might; his pointer finger straight out, his taps a little too forceful. It takes him a little time to get the contacts page up, then to input his number, but once its done he hands it back to her. He hopes she doesn't want him to input hers in return, because that would mean dragging the half useless hunk of plastic out of his pocket and... well, things are almost going well right now, he doesn't want to ruin them by getting embarrassed over his phone, if it can be called that. ]

What do ya want my number for?

[bowrettes]

Because, Uzumaki Naruto, [ why, yes, after eight loops together she definitely knows who he is by now ] we're not just unfortunate victims in the universe's seemingly cruel joke anymore! We're partners, now. [ she holds a single, small finger up, her eyes sparkling. ] We now have the advantage. Whatever it is the universe had planned for us, we've foiled it! We've taken our own fates into our hands, and we're solving it! [ just. don't ask her how. she hasn't gotten to that part yet. she's too busy turning back to her phone, happily pulling up his contact information to add some emojis to his name: ✨🦁✨ obviously it'll make it easier for her to find his name. also because it's cute. once finished, she tucks her phone back into her pocket, hands on her hips, chest puffed out with renewed hope and motivation. it's not as hopeless as it had seemed. she isn't alone in this after all. ] Now, the next step is to figure out a battle plan. [ she turns to him, leaning in conspiratorially. ] Tonight, we'll go home and come up with a list of things to try. Promise me you'll answer your phone if I text or call?

[thinhammer]

[ Naruto is typically a font of inspiration and faith, but it seems that continually being beaten down does take it's toll on even a bright soul like his, particularly when it hits as close to home as a girl he might be developing a crush on continually either liking or disliking him. Thankfully, though, it turns out that Lilina surprisingly has just as much faith as he does when prompted. The shift from her uncertain or prickly demeanour to this one full of determination seems to rekindle something in Naruto's chest, and with every word she stresses and every movement she performs, looking around the room as if it's the dawning of a new day, he feels more and more inspired to feel the same way.

She's right, after all. They're one step closer to beating this monster, to overcoming it, to getting out.

But the minute she mentions texting and calling, the realisation that they'll have to split up hits him, and he's grabbing for her hand again before he's really even processed what he's doing or what he's going to say. ]

Don't ya think we should stick together? If we separate, an' go home an' text or call, one of us could fall asleep an' then tomorrow everything will have reset an' there won't be anythin' we can do about it. [ He hopes he doesn't look as desperate as he feels, holding onto her hand like a child trying to weather the storm by clinging to their parents coat. ] The only time stuff changes is when we're together, right?

[bowrettes]

[ to say she's startled by the sudden contact would be a vast understatement. to her credit, she doesn't visibly show it as anything more than a slight jump, and a fresh rosy blush that spreads across her pale cheeks like wildfire. she's certain if his hand were to move up along her arm any higher, he'd be able to feel how her pulse practically jumps at his touch. ]

I — I suppose you're right...

[ she strives to think practically here, despite how warm it suddenly feels in the air-conditioned gymnasium. ]

It would be prudent of us to make the most use of our time... We could go to the library and do some research together. [ she's still staring at their joined hands lakjsla ] I will just have to tell my parents I've decided to go to the dance.