Date: 05/31/23

Weather: Spotty clouds, Rain fall.

So. How do I start this? Do I write a "Dear Diary?" I guess I'll do that for consistency sake.

Dear Diary.

I like to think as an individual I've made pretty major choices in life that would leave a permanent impact on the rest of my life's outlook. Stuff like becoming independent, out in the adult world fending for myself, fulfilling adult obligations and duties. But I honestly think this pales in comparison to what I've roped myself into... I'm currently writing this entry and will be continuing to write future entries to catalogue my thoughts. And to help me rationalize? Cope? With my decisions. And in the probable chance that I don't survive, someone could retell the tale of one fool who decided to jump into a metaphorical rabbit hole feet first.

So what is all this? Well it all started earlier today. An uneventful routine of a day where I was slaving away at the chores and errands that life threw at me; the weather being semi-gloomy didn't really help in the morale department. Then out of the metaphorical blue I was given a literal once in a life time opportunity. A chance to visit a land that I've never heard of. A land of real magic, wonder, and danger. Presented by a real mysterious woman. She told me that her "world" was becoming too peaceful and stagnant. Which according to her was a bad thing, and I was chosen to come rile things up. Like any sensible human being, I was very doubtful at first. I've had to deal with countless phone scammers on a daily basis, and her offer sounded something straight out of some generic movie, game, shows. Take your pick. But something felt off about her.

How do I go about explaining her? Well for starters she called herself Yakumo Yukari. Which at first also sounded real made up, like one of those Japanese Animes. Her appearance looked like she was cosplaying some anime character too. If looks and possibly fake name was all I had to go off of, I would have simply walked away, but as an old saying goes "I shouldn't judge a book by the cover." There was something about this Yakumo Yukari, the way she carried herself the way she spoke. Now that I'm writing this, the way she spoke felt off too. Like she was moving her mouth and I was hearing English but the shape of her mouth forming words didn't feel like it was matching the word she was saying, kind of hard to explain. Which only adds to the other 'vibes' that I was getting from her. Suffocating, sickly sweet, Eldritch are the closest words that I could use to explain her demeanour and everything about her. I felt uncomfortable, almost suffocating the longer I stuck around. Just thinking about her feels fills me with dread... More than the daily existential dread that I feel... Let's change topic...

Since I'm writing this means that I said yes to the offer. Looking back I don't know what made me say yes. Was it Yakumo's presence? Was it me subconsciously wanting to break away from my borderline meaningless life? Regardless of the reason I committed and over committed to her offer, but I did manage to ask some questions. Like "What is this place like?", "Do I get paid?" "What are some dangers on this offer?", "There's obviously a catch, so whats the catch?" "This is a bit sudden can I get at least a day to pack?" And Yakumo Yukari answered them with ease, as if she knew I was going to ask those questions. The place in question is called Gensokyo. It has a very old school Japanese aesthetics which also means no electricity, internet, modern day plumbing... Or modern day anything for that matter. Doesn't matter much though since I'm already here... Yakumo also said that I won't be compensated financially but other ways. Out of fear I didn't press on that answer. She also mentioned that there would be dangers but I should be fine. Once again out of fear I didn't press her, though I really wanted to... Regarding my question about the "Catch" Yakumo said that other than me losing out of the modern comforts of life there wasn't a catch. And finally regarding me packing my belongings. Yakumo did oblige that I can take the day to pack my goods. She said that she will return tomorrow at my residence, and in a blink of an eye she vanished.

Before I go into what I actually packed, I need to do a little back tracking. Personally I think the concept of human memories are unreliable at best. Our memories are formed from our perception, personal biases, and can be easily be warped based on our current emotion. But my memories on the encounter with Yakumo Yukari feels different to say the least. It doesn't feel like my memories for starters. It feels like I'm watching and re-watching someone else's objective memory. It feels ultra vivid every time I close my eyes. It feels invasive...

Alright. My list of packing stuff for this trip. I don't know how long I'll be gone for so I guess I'm packing for long term. First is my 40L camping pack to stuff my other effects in. Nothing too massive but it fits my build well. Second is my inflatable sleeping pad, sleeping quilt. Honestly I haven't had much opportunity to use these in camping due to life weighing me down. Guess I'll be getting my money's worth now, which applies to everything else that I'll be bringing along. Next is a couple my my cutting tools. A single fixed combo blade for medium to heavy duty cutting and a multi-tool for light duty stuff. Next numbers of items are other camping essentials. Multiple different fire starters, water filter, container for cooking food, steel water bottle for boiling water, a flash light, basic hygiene products, spare clothes, basic first-aid, spare foods in case I have to live in the wilderness forever, stuff like this stuff like that. I also thought of bringing a tent for shelter, but decided not to. A tarp should be plenty for shelter. Now for some quality of life stuff. My music player for well, music. Kindle for reading, my phone as an electronic multi-tool, And my camera. I'm thinking of actually not bringing this just because its so big and heavy, but I do have time to think about this. Now I know what you're thinking. 'That's a lot of electronics and I'm heading into a world with no electricity.' I'm half a step ahead of you. I have 4 separate items that can charge my luxury items. First is a power bank, it can probably charge all my goodies at least once. Second one of those little folding solar panel chargers, not the best option but on a sunny day it can keep like one thing topped off. Third is one of those emergency radio. It also has a tiny solar panel and a hand crank if I get desperate to listen to some music, on a single off chance I get some sort of a signal, well that's a bonus. Last is my BioLite camping stove. Now THIS is straight magic. Burn some sticks in the stove plug in the electronic in the respective port and BOOM electronics get charged. Oh and I decided to also pack a little note book and one of those Bic multi coloured pens. The four different colours are a secondary benefit, I just wanted a single pen that could last me a long time. And what better than a single pen with four separate ink cartridges? Granted if I lost this one I would be out of luck... Better pack one more.

Well... I guess this is it. I'm all packed up and almost done writing out this entry. My last night in the modern world. The rain's falling pretty hard as if its crying that I'm leaving... Hah as if. Jokes aside this is happening all so fast and I don't know what to think. So, I think I'll just head out for a bit and enjoy the night's fresh wet air one last time in my world. Until next time.

-R.F.

Author's Note: Hello everyone, Well this is it. My character's first entry in the Scarlet Devil's Part timer: Redux. This and the next 3 entries "Entry 05/31, 06/01, 06/02, 06/03" will act as a prologue. And all subsequent entries will be posted weekly as weekly entries. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Til then, take care.