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seasonsgreetings2024-02-16 09:50 am
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsgreetings2024-02-16 09:50 am
Entry tags:
Test Drive Meme #7
Test Drive Meme #7
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
You arrive in an unknown space, dressed in white clothes (player choice what kind of clothes, as long as they cover everything). Whatever was happening to you before no longer happens. It's like everything was put on a pause and you were transferred away from the situation without you realizing it happened.
The space that you find yourself in is one of these four options:
An empty landscape filled with snow and ice, almost like a blank canvas.
A field with cherry blossom trees and spring flowers.
A sunny beach near an ocean that seems never ending.
A quiet forest with falling autumn leaves.
All of the spaces seem to continue endlessly. No matter where or how far you walk it almost seems like you're not moving at all. There are no animals here - just those who happened to wake up there at the same time, in the same place. Everyone is wearing the same kind of plain, white clothes.
Despite the possible rollercoaster of emotions you might be feeling, the place somehow feels familiar. Like somehow you belong there.
And it looks like you're not alone.
After half an hour has passed the surroundings change as everyone is teleported into a room with all the other new arrivals, no matter what space they woke up in. It's a large place with plenty of seats to sit in and beverages to enjoy. Medical attention is offered to those who need it and the doctors here are very prepared for any challenging situations.
Here, in this room, everyone gets an answer to where they are and why. A hologram of a man appears at the center of the room, waiting to be heard. He brings a message on behalf of the leaders of Ellipsa.
The Message [ Click to Expand ]
Hello, my name is Olwen. I'm one of the leaders of Ellipsa as it currently is. I'm also one of the four who summoned you here.
Our world is in trouble and we need your help. I apologize for tearing you away from your world and forcing you to come here but I hope you understand. The magic we used doesn't let us ask in advance, nor does it let us choose who we bring here.
This world is composed of four Seasonal Segments. All of them represent one of the seasons. They were the places we used to get our resources from, but now they're dangerous places no one should go into unless they have the power to fight back. All of them have their own sets of powerful monsters and natural catastrophes.
We used to have plenty of people here who could control the powers of the four Seasons. We called them Seasonal Power Holders. Unfortunately, due to a tragedy you can read about later, we lost almost all of them. Now only four of us remain and the world is in chaos. We have done our best to protect the world, but we need more power holders to do that.
That's where you come in.
All of you have been assigned to one of the seasons. Whatever space you were in just now is what season you represent. You will learn different skills based on the season and those skills are going to help you save this world.
These powers don't interfere with your own natural powers. They use a new energy that has formed inside of you. It's harmless to your health, but it's vital to your seasonal powers. Your own powers should still work, even if the dark energy outside the city might interfere with them.
Unfortunately bringing you here wasn't as simple as it sounds. We couldn't do anything about how to keep you anchored to this world other than making a simple spell that helps with it. That is, you need to touch someone else who is not from this world ideally at least once a day. It will help you stay in control of your powers and boost your magical energy. If you don't, the consequences aren't very good. But as long as you hold someone's hand or give someone a handshake, you should be fine.
That's all I have to say about the situation. The staff of the Research Center will give you more information about housing and other necessary things. I will, however, promise that you will be sent home once the situation becomes better. That's the least we can do.
The hologram can be viewed in private in a separate room later, should someone wish to look at it again. For now, the staff of the Research Center hands everyone their new smartphones with their small flower lucky charms (the flower is anything the player decides). They're also told that the building next door is where everyone can find a room assigned to them with some of their belongings there and possibly even any animal companions. Those concerned about their mount-sizes companions are welcomed to the stables downstairs to see if their friends are there. The mounts are allowed to stay there until you find a place more suitable for them.
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcome Center that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
Part 3
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcome Center that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
Nightwake City is now full of posters for a new place that has been opened recently. The Titanic Dome is accessible with a teleport crystal from any of the Guilds. It's specifically made for those who want a safe place to fight with their powers without worrying about harming their surroundings or others. It also has enough room for giant transformations to fit comfortably.
There are two different arenas. One of them is a private one that needs to be reserved beforehand, but the other one is a public one that has audience seats for those who don't mind people watching. It's here where there's an event going on to celebrate the opening of the dome.
Riki's Rewards has provided a free single dose of the Enlarge potions for anyone to use. These potions give the user a temporary boost in height and general body size (including clothes). Abilities will work the same as in "normal" size, but may appear bigger. When the potion is consumed, all the person has to think about is how large they want to become and that will happen. This limited version of the potion has a limit of 60 meters / 196'10 feet and only lasts for one hour at a time.
Using these potions, people are challenged to a giant pillow fight. All the pillows are very soft and fluffy and won't do any actual harm, but if someone is "defeated" by a pillow they will gain a bunch of feathers all over their body and hair for the next five hours as a silly punishment.
There's a scenic route you can also take from or to the Titanic Dome. It's a longer hike: the journey takes three days in one direction on foot (less with horses or snowmobile). The whole route is protected by barriers, so even natives sometimes find joy in just taking the longer route in the wilderness. There are even small gazebos for taking a break and dedicated spots where you can set up a tent.
Of course, sometimes natives do get out of the paths and might need rescuing from wayward winter monsters or wild fauna. Usually it's because something looks shiny and they go to investigate because "what could go wrong with a little visit outside the safe route".
Some of the "shiny things" the natives see are various frozen flowers that shine in different colors. The closer someone gets, the more tempted they are to touch the flower. All of the flowers give a different effect. Red flowers boost the feelings of love and will make someone show more affection towards people, platonic or otherwise, purple flowers make someone want to show their feelings through physical means (even negative, so a punch would also be included) within character's boundaries, yellow flowers will make someone (temporary) fall in love with the first person they see and orange flowers will make someone more giggly and more likely to make jokes, with the possibility to make others laugh with them. All the effects last 1-3 hours.
The flowers will melt after they're touched, only to grow back somewhere else later. They will also melt if they're brought to a warmer atmosphere. If one manages to put them in a potion there and then, they work as a highly potent ingredient in long term love potions.
All around Nightwake, a special festival is taking place. Even if the seasons are very fixed in all of the districts, they still want to host celebrations according to calendar, like this time: it's a festival to say goodbye to winter and to say hello to spring.
All of the districts have set up bonfires here and there that will be constantly burning. They're not at the centers of the districts, so they're easy to avoid, if someone wishes to. These bonfires are gathering places, where people come to dance and celebrate in costumes that are inspired by both winter and spring. Various masks are sold at the booths, for those who want to get into the mood but don't want to dress up. The masks represent devils, witches, goats, swamp fae, and other joyful and frightening characters.
Otherworlders new and old are also asked to act out the battle between winter and spring. One of them will be dressed up as winter: big sized (additional pillows stuffed in clothes if necessary), wrapped in various furs. The other one will be dressed up a spring: a scrawny person in much lighter looking clothes. The only advice they're given is: make it dramatic and let the spring win in the end!
Another important part of the celebrations is the pancakes. All districts have booths where people can either make their own pancakes or buy from others. There are various different toppings and fillings that can be added, as well as warm and cold drinks to enjoy them with.
Some of the districts may have slightly different views on how to make a proper pancake and what can and cannot be added to it. Especially the winter and spring related districts are constantly bickering over whose pancakes are better and will shamelessly promote theirs in the others' district. It seems Coldreach is the only one that falls in between their silly argument, considering it's in between the two seasons (and the alcohol they serve there might also have something to do with the peace).
Inspired by the friendly (?) competitions, a new mini event has appeared! It's called the Pancake Tours! The goal is to visit each and every district to taste each of their pancakes and rank them. This all doesn't need to be done on the same day, at least. Those who complete the tour and bring the results to the Research Center will get a spell that will make anything taste good, even things they would normally hate the taste of and 2000 Moon Coins.
Attracted by the smell of pancakes, a new creature has appeared in the city. These relatively small creatures are called jellycats, due to looking like cats that have jelly-like shells protecting them. The shells wiggle everytime they purr and they can retreat back into them whenever they're uncomfortable. Despite their appearance and name, they're not edible.
Jellycats come in a variety of colors and smell different to each person. A yellow jellycat, for example, may smell like lemons to someone, but flowers to another, depending on preferences. The scent becomes stronger the more a jellycat likes and trusts a person.
Befriending these creatures is rather easy: they really like anything and everything sweet, which is why the pancakes attract them so much. It is also likely for a jellycat to follow someone home.
- Ask your questions related to the TDM here.
- The TDM is available only to friends of the mods and their friends. If you want to play in the TDM, please leave a note here to inform us who invited you over. We will get to you as soon as possible.
- Test Drive is open for current characters to make a top level as well. New characters can add TDM on their subject line to indicate they're new!
- Current characters cannot access the starting area again to meet new arrivals. They can, however, be at the Research Center when the newbies are teleported in.
- The TDM is game canon so anything in the TDM can happen for your character(s) in the game as well.
- Smut is not allowed on the TDM. You can play situations leading to it, but if the thread is turning into smut, please move it to a private space such a post in your character's journal, or a locked post in the game's log community if you decide to app!
- Check Locations: City to find more areas to explore inside the city. Every place in the districts are open.
- Similarly, Locations: Segments is useful for outdoors adventures.
- You can find monsters to encounter on Beastiary.
- FAQ has information on characters' smartphones as well as general things about the world that might be handy.
B+C
[ He's still reluctant to actually buy any pancakes -- Erwin makes the best ones, anyway, as he's discovered -- when he spots someone familiar in the crowd, and for a few long moments, he's frozen on the spot. ]
[ Sasha's dead. One more in the long line of sacrifices, one that stings extra because Levi had been supposed to be responsible for her. She was in his squad. He saw her dead body on that airship. He saw Eren's there, too, even if he had still been talking and breathing at the time, but his eyes were dead. The kids shouldn't have had to die. Hell, nobody should have, but-- ]
[ She looks younger. Not yet weighed down by the truth of the world. Perhaps right before they find out, he thinks, as he watches her stuff her face with pancakes, and his expression shifts into something fond. Of course she'd find her way here, too. He can only hope she gets to stay and have the life that's been stolen from her. ]
[ He considers just leaving her be. The kids, especially the ones that look younger than he remembers, still tended to be tense around him, and he doesn't want to ruin her pancakes celebration. ]
[ But that's when he spots the sign PANCAKE EATING CONTEST further ahead, and that's an opportunity they clearly shouldn't miss. ]
Oi. Potato girl.
[ Levi's making his way to her side. He... looks a bit worse for wear than she probably remembers. Scars on his face, clouded eye, some sort of a contraption on his left leg. But his vibes have definitely not changed much, nor have his flat expression. ]
no subject
Captain!
[ she’ll just swallow that food now… as she gets a good look at him it’s undeniable it’s Captain Levi but… what happened to him? The questions are on the tip of her tongue but she manages not to blurt them all out just yet. ]
no subject
[ He gestures at her posture. Two of his fingers on the right hand look oddly dark, as if the originals had been sliced off and replaced with clones made out of shadow. As usual, his expression and tone betray nothing, even and mellow. ]
At ease, or whatever. I've got a job for you... something that only you can succeed in.
[ He's dressing it up as some kind of an important mission, but really he's just happy to see her and wishing she gets to enjoy her favorite thing to the fullest. Well, and the prize money isn't going to hurt her, either. Imagine how much more food she can buy with the wins from that contest! ]
no subject
A job for me? Really?
[ Okay maybe she's really easy to manipulate in some ways. ]
Wait. Captain... what happened to you?
[ She's never been good at keeping absolutely in order with authority and the fact she does in fact lose the battle and blurts the question out probably isn't much of a surprise. ]
no subject
[ Looking her deadass in the eyes: ]
A training accident.
[ As if he's ever even hit a tree during training. But hey, maybe she'll buy it if he distracts her with food fast enough. ]
Anyway, your mission. [ He reaches out toward her, and ]
[ pats her head? ]
[ No, wait, he's sort of using it to turn her face toward the advertisement reading PANCAKE EATING CONTEST. (There may have definitely been a pat too, though.) ] See that sign over there?
no subject
[ Sasha blurts out immediately. There is no way Levi got hurt like that from a training accident. Still, her attention is mostly redirected when he touches her head and well he's turning her head but also it kind of feels like the sort of headpat you get from an uncle or something when you're little. ]
There's an eating contest...?!
no subject
[ Damn it. Maybe if he just ignores that comment- ]
[ And yes, that's totally that kind of a headpat. Look, he loves them all, he's just awkward about showing it most of the time. ]
That's right. And if you can eat that stack of pancakes faster than the others, they'll give you money.
[ And money can buy even more food! The prize pool is something like 100-200 Moon Coins, not too extravagant but can definitely pay for a few days of ample meals. ]
no subject
And it’s my mission?
no subject
Yes. We're gonna rob them blind.
[ Captain??? Is that a competitive streak somehow? ]
no subject
[ She’s gonna bring it up later. You won’t escape Captain! But for now there’s practically stars in her eyes. Basically the opportunity to get paid to eat!? She’s definitely meant for this mission! ]
Alright! Let’s do it!
[ And when she wins you will have no excuses to get out of the interrogation that follows! ]
we can write a bit abt the contest or skip ahead to after-
That's the spirit.
[ There's a bit of muttering as he accompanies Sasha to the stage -- someone might recognize him from the time he and Eren took part in that blind cooking competition which was supposed to be done by strangers, giving them an unfair advantage, but it's not like anyone can prove it, so it's whatever. ]
no subject
So coming off the stage afterward and all she beams at Levi. ]
Mission accomplished!
[ Also, now, she can prod. ]
So, why did you lie earlier?
no subject
[ As they leave the scene of the crime, it seems his distraction attempt has failed. He sighs and glances at her wearily. He trusts her completely, yes, but she's four years younger than his last memory of her. ]
...because I'm not sure how much I should tell you. Some of your friends-- [ He pauses momentarily, not sure if it's fine to throw Jean and Mikasa under the bus. Maybe if he doesn't single them out by name. ] --don't want to know anything about what happened at home since they left.
[ There. No lies. If she still insists he tells her, well. ]
[ ...but there's one thing he's not sure he'll be able to say. How do you tell someone so young, so full of life that they won't see the future they've all fought for? ]
[ And yet, lying about it wouldn't feel right, either. ]
no subject
[ Sasha listens to Levi carefully and it makes some sense why he’d hold back. She doesn’t like it, though. ]
I just want to know what happened to you.
[ She can’t even begin to really fathom herself in the future. So she doesn’t have any curiosity about it really but his injuries are plain to see. ]
no subject
[ He considers for a while longer, then sighs, leveling her with a stare. It was an accident, though not in training, as she correctly figured out. ]
I was detaining an enemy. Got too creative with a thunder spear and it blew up in my face.
[ Close enough without going into harrowing detail why exactly he felt the need to torture the guy so strongly it cancelled out his usual carefulness. ]
no subject
It's hard to imagine you getting hurt.
[ It's kind of a sobering thought... Levi always seemed so untouchable. If he could be so seriously injured then... anyone could. ]
I'm glad you're okay now.
no subject
[ It's not like he's not used to fellow soldiers, especially the younger ones, holding him on some sort of a pedestal. It's true; he's exceptionally skilled, and oftentimes that translates to not getting hurt. But he'd gotten hurt plenty. Even back in the Underground, and then cracks and sprains weren't unheard of once he joined the Corps, too. This one was harsher than the ones before, but Levi supposes he always expected something like that could happen. ]
[ He wonders if it's bad for morale. Well, it probably doesn't matter so much, considering they're not fighting anymore. ]
Yeah. Same to you.