seasonsgreetings | Event #7: Knocking on the 4th Wall (Inside the Metaverse)

Entry tags:

!4th wall

Event #7: Knocking on the 4th Wall (Inside the Metaverse)

Knocking on the 4th Wall
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION

Prelude (Pre 4th Wall)

On March 14th, everyone received a message. The Research Center is ready to try another test to find ways to beat the Darkness. This time the test is not done with the robots that were previously used, but instead everyone who volunteers will be participating in a virtual reality simulator. They're asked to come over to the Center on March 15th.

The researchers will explain that the purpose of this simulation is to see how several fully powered power holders fair against the Darkness. They have gathered enough data on it and the dark energy in general to determine the effects it will have on nature, monsters and wildlife if the barrier is taken off. This is the only safe way to actually test their theories.

After all the necessary explanations, everyone is asked to log in to the metaverse. Anyone logging in may notice that there are a lot of glitches as they enter.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, anyone looking at any kind of a screen (their own device, television, a digital advertisement, etc.) will have their mind sucked into the metaverse, due to the virus residing in the program. Their bodies will be left in a sleep-like state wherever they may be.

Wrong Turn at Albuquerque

The Research Center staff intended for all otherworlders to start near the Research Center so they could get used to the metaverse in peace. There are no natives in the simulator, so testing out powers around the city would have been safe as well. However, because of the glitch, people can appear anywhere, either in the city or anywhere on the segments (save from the one closed off location).

Sometimes the scenery and items in the world glitch a little bit, reminding anyone that this is the metaverse. Except the glitches weren't meant to happen. Luckily they're all mostly aesthetical, but some items may work differently than they should. You have a spoon? It actually works like a fork.

Luckily, this doesn't mean they will be without any items. They can open a menu with the device on their wrist that lets them get anything at all from Riki's Rewards during the simulator without any cost. They can think of this as special opportunity to test out all kinds of items before buying them, as they work exactly the same as they would in normal space.

For some reason, the Shady Shop also appears in the menu. That was not anyone's intention as the items are, well, shady.

Other than the two shops there are basic potion and magical item menus that people can use where needed. Even vehicles, such as airships can be summoned through the menus for easier traveling in the segments.

Some might find the glitches concerning and wish to return and tell the researches about them. The problem with that is is that clicking "Log Off" won't do anything at all, even if it's supposed to boot someone out of the metaverse. But that's not the end of the strange things going on.

You're in the Metaverse Now

Along with the otherworlders that were participating in the test, others start to join in as well due to unforeseen circumstances. Luckily, they have the same "settings" as everyone else, so they're not completely without aid wherever they end up in. They also have all of their powers unlocked for the duration of their stay in the metaverse (including all animal transformations).

As part of the strange glitch going on everyone also has access to any powers from previous worlds, if they have experienced other places before. It would seem the powers can also be shared through the item inventory, should anyone want to temporary use another world's abilities. This is possible with even a person's native powers.

And as if that wasn't enough, people who weren't on Ellipsa start appearing as well. Anyone who doesn't currently have a body on Ellipsa has a mark somewhere on their body, signaling that they're just data. This mark is somehow related to the characters that has it and emits a faint light.

All of the people who are just visiting will also be able to enjoy the metaverse the same way as anyone else. They have been sorted into a Seasons and have access to full powers - and the same item inventory. All that's different from the others is that they have no physical body to return to in this world.

Communication is the key

During the metaverse adventures, people are able to communicate through their devices, but the messages will not go out to the "normal" network. So the messages are only between those in the metaverse, but at least the network works the same way as it would in the "normal world".

Happy communicating.

It's Getting Dark, Too Dark to See

The goal of the metaverse is to have a safe environment to test powers against the Darkness. All of the barriers have been taken out, except for the one surrounding the city of Nightwake. The city acts as a safe haven to anyone who needs a break or doesn't want to fight.

Everyone is encouraged to go to where the barriers used to be and use their full, unlocked powers against everything and anything the darkness throws at them to see how well they can fight against it.

Thanks to all powers being unlocked, destroying enemies powered up by the Darkness is a lot easier, but pushing back the approaching darkness still needs something more than just raw power. Though with enough power holders of different seasons working together and ~~crossing the different seasonal element streams~~ fusing together different elements from each season in a single attack, it's possible to halt the advance, much like a barrier would, for 24 hours.

Due to the barriers being off, all creatures are stronger due to the Darkness's influence. Even creatures that normally have no danger level can now at least do Dark damage. Some Slime especially may seek vengeance.

Unfortunately, due to the weird glitch in the system, everyone inside the metaverse is able to feel pain when they originally weren't supposed to, to make the experience safe. It feels very real, and there's a chance any non-lethal wounds will appear on the person's real body.

Effects of "The Darkness"

The Darkness is slowly expanding from all sides. Very slowly, at a snail's pace. Everything it touches turns into black sand, before transforming into something different. Some may even recognize the things that rise from the sand, as they're monsters, fauna or people from their own world, made into more twisted forms. They may even be creatures from a popular media from back home... or at least, someone's home (players').

If a Power Holder walks into the Darkness, they won't immediately turn into anything. Instead the transformation is slow and painful. Leaving the area will stop the transformation, but any damage already done remains. If the person changes completely, they might lose their sense of self completely and attack anything in their sights.

What they turn into depends on the individual (player's choice) and the only way to reverse the changes is to die. Luckily that isn't permanent even in the metaverse. The person just gets booted out, but can re-enter anytime they want to (or in this case; is forced to). This was told to anyone before entering the program, so they could go all out and test limits as much as they want.

Wait... Did I Save?

A screen appears either when someone dies or gets forcefully booted out of the metaverse. It has two options: Remember or Forget.

Clicking "Remember" will automatically save everything that happened into a person's memory and proceed to boot them out. Clicking "Forget" will lead the person to a series of "Are you Sure" pop up windows. As the very last resort, the window suggests an option to only partially forget events that transpired in the metaverse. Choosing to still forget everything will make the person wake up from a long, dreamless sleep. The memories erased cannot be found later on, as they have been completely erased from their metaverse-selves. Even someone telling them what happened won't sound familiar.

This option is also available for any visitors during the time they're visiting. Whenever they die they get booted out and can be immediately returned to the metaverse (by the power of players) with or without their memories, depending on what they chose.

Of course, anyone can then tell the person about the very crazy stunts they made the last time they were in the metaverse. They could be complete lies, but they wouldn't have any solid proof, other than "I would never do that".

Time to Say Goodbye

Finally, on March 31st, a message comes from the outside. It's telling everyone stuck in the metaverse that they can finally leave out of their own will and stay out this time. People can then choose to leave immediately be pressing by pressing the "Log Off" button on their screen or take a moment to say goodbye to the temporary visitors of the metaverse.

The screen asking if someone wants to "Remember" or "Forget" appears, once again. This time the Forget option is even more insistent on asking if the person is sure about their choice, especially since the memories that are erased can't be taken back later.

Once everyone who exists on Ellipsa has returned to their bodies, the metaverse will be shut down. All visitors have been booted out and returned to where they came.

OOC TIPS

• Ask 4th Wall related questions here. Read the 4th wall FAQ before asking them.

• You don't need to comment on the plotting post to participate & anyone can participate in the 4th wall (there's no separate invitation needed). However, if you wish to app in later, you need an invite if you're not a friend of the mods.

• This post is open to tag and top-level by everyone! Those arriving for the 4th wall can write 4TH WALL or VISITOR on their post and/or link their top level here!

• Check the Opt-in top-level if you're considering bringing in a character that already exists in the game.

• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a separate entry (like to your musebox or characters' journal).

• Remember to content and spoiler warn as necessary!

• Reminder to players in the game that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on March 31th, at 23:59 PST.

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I repressed that roughness in an effort to not be how I was. The girls were giving me a chance, and I didn't want... [Didn't want to be alone. Didn't want to be that evil. Didn't want that all consuming emptiness that had corrupted the element and her.]

Luckily no memory me wasn't me at my worst, but I was definitely a lot more confrontational. Which I know, it sounds bad, it did certainly cause problems, but...

But there was this space where I could be rough and people liked me for it. Not in the way some people did at Canterlot High where they wanted to follow someone they thought was strong or would hurt people for their sadistic enjoyment, but in the way where they thought I was...reliable? In a way? They didn't need me to be perfectly nice to know that I cared a lot and meant well.

[Twilight’s heart sank hearing what Sunset went through. Poor girl went through Tataurus and back in that place. She understood what she meant, nodding at Sunset.]

They needed someone they could rely on without being… coddling? I know I’d be a terrible leader in that case.

[Oh Twilight, that isn't even half of it.]

[There is a pause.]

...you know, I'm just realizing that I did end up as Senna's leader. [Sometimes! Unspoken leadership just happens!!!] Everyone was looking to me for a lot of guidance.

But...yes. They needed someone to care, but also someone who could be decisive when things weren't going so great.

And sometimes people did just need someone to be rude and bossy. One time, I did basically have to pin someone down and shake him so he would actually talk to his partner because he was actively making things worse in a dangerous way both for himself and his partner by not even giving it a chance.

Then there was the time I had to put Loki into telekinetic time out because he got hit with paranoia spores.

Wow. Heh, to be honest, I wonder if I could even try that. Maybe it was good that it was you who was doing it - I would have made things worse…

You probably would have found a way to do it without having to be so aggressive about it. You're good at that. And I do try to do it that way, I just also realized that sometimes I was going to far with it.

Not in necessarily the solution I came to, most of it was internally what it was doing.

Heh, yeah, you’re right - being angry isn’t my thing. When I’m angry, things tend to get magic’d. Or I panic.

Are you okay now?

There is always that. There is an advantage to switching between forms. The geode magic doesn't really go wild from my emotions.

[She paused, considering.] Its a bit of a trade off.

I realized that I was taking more responsibility for things back home than I should have. It was really stark with Wall Flower. Should I have been kind to her? Sure. Everyone deserves kindness. But by the end, I felt that I was at fault because of my inaction. I wasn't cruel, I didn't abandon her, I just...didn't realize she needed someone to be kind.

Which is wrong and wasn't fair to myself. I was just so used to taking the blame for the things I had done wrong that I was starting to take blame that wasn't deserved. Wall Flower may have deserved kindness, but I hadn't deserved her ire, even if she hadn't had a magical object to steal memories. I was just...an easy target for her to spread misery too.

So I'm trying to be better at that.

On the other had, some days on the Aurora was really rough and I may now have a world ending snake god who personally hates my guts, so I'm gonna need to deal with that at some point.

You’ve had it rough since we last met. But, look at you. You’re still you despite it all.

[She’ll move out of the chair to join her on the beanbag.]

Still a few things to work on, but I hope we can keep working on all of those things together?

[She laughed at that.] I'm glad you think so. I'm still...trying to figure out who that really is.

[She leans into Twilight. Another thing she learned on the Aurora and Ellipsa with its touch energy, letting herself be more tactile. She is wearing gloves though. She's encountered enough people with issues she usually tries to remember them in public.]

I'm getting there. And its a lot easier when I have you guys. And my other friends.

It is really good to see you. You always made it easier to figure out how to be kinder, and I do want to be.

[Twilight’s arms wraps around Sunset as she holds onto her, resting her head on hers.]

I’ll always be by your side, Sunset. I promise. I’ll help you any way I can.

[Sunset sighs and wraps an arm around Twilight, resting her cheek on her shoulder.]

I know you will.

How about you? How have things been on your end?

Honestly, I’m still adjusting to a few things. Mostly with Crystallis - I kinda lost a few years, then when I got back to Ponyville, it was like I was still me. Time travel…

Oh! Have I told you about Starlight Glimmer?

What was Crystallis like? Did they have a lot of- [Don't say death games. We're not opening that can of worms just yet.] Emotionally harrowing competitions?

I have heard the travel can mess with the aging process. Though that may just be a thing about multiversal travel. Depending how the next decade goes, we may need to do a few experiments on me.

[She grins.] Of course you have. I guess if its been a few years, you forgot? I met her. She even visited Earth with me. Found out we had a looooot in common.

Okay, good about Starlight - I figured you two would have and yeah, it's been quite awhile.

But, no, Crystallis was kind of like Equestria... in that there was a lot of magic and mystery surrounding things and that I was part of a group of heroes that was summoned to save it.

But, despite the dangers there, it was fun. There was a lot to figure out and the people there were kind. I think the worst we had to really deal with were people who refused to listen to reason, that things only had to go their way.

I like her. I think we could be good friends. Its nice to have someone who...gets it, you know?

Though if you keep collecting evil unicorns with celestial body and light names, I'm gonna have to wonder if you've got some weird curse on you. [This is a joke. Mostly.]

There's always people like that, unfortunately. There were a lot of people who were kind and had hope. And a lot of people who just didn't see another way. Either because they thought it was best, or they just felt...trapped.

If I have that kind of curse, I hope it never leaves. They tend to be some of my best friends.

And, yeah, you're right. Claims of destiny, that there's no other way, or believing their way is the right way. I just hate that they force us to fight. I hate fighting.

[She laughs a bit.] A few bad days does seem worth a lifelong friend.

Fighting is pretty bad. As well as the people who act like just because something is destiny, that there's no changing it. I still don't know if that's worse or better than people who think theirs is the only way. I know it can be a pretty dark spot when you think its the only way, but also doesn't involve the belief some cosmic force is gonna MAKE you do something.

It’s ridiculous, honestly. And selfish to think that way. Honestly, my only regret was that we couldn’t save her from herself.

It is. Selfish.

Sometimes you can't save people from themselves. [She is going to wrap an arm around Twilight, offer a comforting hug.] I'm sure you did what you could.

[And she’ll take the hug, leaning into her.]

We did. I hate having to use violence like that, but…

Sometimes there isn't much choice. There are bigger things to consider.

You're right...

[And Twilight's going to look at Sunset and press her forehead on hers.]

...I'm so glad to see you again, Sunset. I missed you.

[Sunset meets her eyes and smiles gently, squeezing her a bit.]

I missed you too. Its been way too long.

It really has...

[She giggled bashfully.]

...any closer and we might end up kissing. Sorry.

[Sunset blushes at that.]

...did you up your flirt game or something in the other world? [Amused though.]

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