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

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!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

City
Here is another young man with a mark on his left hand, a triforce, with a blue, red, purple triangles, and a green triangle in the center. He's got a dark blue tunic with a symbol on his belt buckle. Notably, anyone who manages to get eyes on him long enough will notice he's never fully still.

His limbs might be still. But his clothes, his hair, they're all at least slightly moving in ways that are not matching the air. Shadows are like that.

He isn't pleased to be here at first. Except then he looks like he's realized something and then he's on the move.

Except then something pings him and then he's moving through the streets with a determination like he's looking for something. He may even stop in front of you, looking up with a determined look. "Do you know where someone named Aoko?"

Darkness
Lott isn't fully sold on saving a world that kidnapped him. Sure, he's trying to be a better person, OKAY, but there is a difference between being better and then going along with some experiment in a world he got pulled into out of nowhere. He doesn't like being messed with.

But he figures he can do observation. Darkness is something he knows well. Its not the same as shadow, but he has a lot of familiarity regardless. He'll be moving from place to place as a shadow, watching from perches as monsters are corrupted, seeing the effects, and just taking mental notes. He supposed it wouldn't be SUCH a bother to report that in.

Though if he sees someone in active danger?

Yeah, okay, THEN he'll step in.

Edited 2024-03-21 20:03 (UTC)

[ While Korone's normally all about pitching in and helping out, she'd really — truly, genuinely, deeply — prefer to do her part from as far away from virtual reality as possible, please and thank you. She'd been all set to do just that! She'd had plans! Some of them even, gasp, drumroll: involved resting! … … but apparently Ellipsa and its metaverse had other ideas in mind, because here she is and here she's been, in the fucking glitchy as fuck metaverse, trying not to lose her goddamn mind.

Birdtile house has a cosy, enclosed, open-air courtyard towards the middle of the home, with trees and bushes and its very own private hot spring. Korone isn't entirely sure when she'd brought herself there — it can get hard to keep track of time and space when you're trying desperately to keep your mind in one place, and human, and she's … pretty sure, actually, that some of the gaps in her memory are due to Koronai? … which is its own kind of headfuck, so, yeah. That's great.

The courtyard is a nice place to be, at least. It's safe, familiar territory, comfortable and pretty, with the sounds and scents of both home and nature to soothe her. She's trying to let it soothe her, centering herself by stacking pebbles, when she feels it.

A ping —

c̶o̷n̵n̵e̷c̴t̶i̸o̶n̸

No warning, no way to brace, just the sudden intrusion of a familiar presence and all she can seehearthinkfeelbe is blue. She doesn't feel herself hit the ground, tucking herself into a tight, shaking ball, huddled up in her wings with her hands clamped vice-tight around the back of her neck. She doesn't hear the half sobbed, half screamed cry of please stop that tears itself from her throat, the heart-wrenching no no no, as she loses her grip on herself and on reality. ]

[ Macaque felt the shadow user pinging his awareness, how could he not? But he learned from Cole to keep his distance, not make himself noticed. He's monitoring things, that's all, mostly because he can't avoid doing that. Nothing seems especially amiss, until-- ]

[ He forgets all about whoever's doing shadow magic in this little messed up fake corner of "reality" when he hears Choco cry out in distress, and then before he knows it he's at her side. Not touching her but wanting to, knowing that will make matters worse. ]

Choco-- I'm here. [ He can guess that it's some telepathic connection? Maybe? By the way she's holding the back of her neck like she did when MK mistakenly tried that with her, but if he tries to confirm that or even throw the intruder out, it will be another voice in her head and that's a no-go. So he's stuck using just his voice. ]

[ He does his best to set up a mental shield around Choco, layers and layers of magic and glamours that remove her from whoever's mental awareness without touching her directly, which could possibly break the connection. ]

Hang on, I'm trying something. Just breathe, I'll get them out. [ He's not sure of any such thing, but he's sure gonna try. ]

[Lott had been surprised when he feels the emotions. Its easy enough for him to pick up, even though its been a bit since the Forest. Of course it is, he knows that clarity of positive feelings ISN'T his natural state. Its an empathic connection.]

[And he knows how to read hearts. Even if the girls were always overwhelming, he knew the differences, its not hard for him to pick up this mix of determination and trying to soothe and anxiety. Delphi.]

[One of his pack is here, and he has to find them. Has to find out WHY their connection is back up, if that's a cause for concern. So of course he looks, determined to try and find her, thinking back to the name her brother would sometimes use.]

[Except then the fairly level set of emotions turns violently and there is fear and panic and there is a moment where he freezes.]

[One of his pack is here and they're in trouble and there's a urge of possessive protectiveness and the determination cranks up to eleven. He has to find her. He has to find her.]

[He doesn't care about sensibility. He's turning into a shadow and he starts moving faster, moving in and out of buildings, often times intangible, but not always as his need to find her makes the urge to destroy seep out, breaking through doors that might require even a moment of thoughtful navigation. He was on a war path and he was going to find her.]

[ There is nothing. Nothing except everything, and it's killing him —

Him?

No —

Some part of her thinks that maybe she hears something — feels something, perhaps, more real than fraying ripping tearing shredding in and into 1s and 0s — nearby. A familiar voice, a familiar scent. Familiar. Different. Almost lost in the echoing screams. She curls tighter, digs tighter, deeper, blunted nails scratching against her scarf, clawing for — for … something, anything, any kind of purchase before she spirals too deep into the abyss.

It's only getting harder, spiralling out of control she never had to begin with; it's so much, they're so much, too much, too much.

She can't hear herself babble over the maelstrom, pleading for it to stop, for him to stop, please please please — make it stop -

Dad - ]

[ Through his own distress at seeing her laid out and screaming, Macaque focuses on the maelstrom that's happening around that shadow-user, a storm that suddenly started as soon as Choco fell. It's enough of a context clue to make a few guesses. ]

[ And if he's wrong, well. He'll just grab that kid by the fucking throat and shove him right back out of here. Sorry not sorry, he has priorities. ]

Hang on babygirl, I'm on it.

[ A shadow portal opens right in front of the shadow-user, and Macaque sticks his head through. Choco is clearly visible in the background, on the floor, in agony. Macaque is deadly serious as he speaks to this boy: ]

Cut off. The. Connection. Now.

[ Macaque did not come to play and does not foresee playing on any future agendas. He'll ascertain what the fuck is going on here after he takes care of her. ]

[Perhaps it's a coincidence. Macaque was making the portal in front of Lott and Lott just happened to be focused properly that moment. Because when the portal opens, there's no startle nor surprise, just a focused gaze right on him.]

[The moments of warning told Lott what to expect. He knows when the shadows Shift.]

[But then the familiar noise and Lott's gaze is past Macaque and what he said does not matter.] Phi! [Then the boy is gone in shadowy tendrils.]

[Then he is there, up from Korone's shadow because all he needed was to know WHERE she was to get to her.]

[Feral determination is replaced by concern. This isn't an attack, it's her mind and he moves to grab her hands, pull them from her neck.] Squeeze. [She can crush his hands, if it kept her from hurting her neck, and she usually did well with holding hands.]

[Sorry Macaque, nothing matters more than Delphi.]

Edited 2024-03-21 22:17 (UTC)

[ Most times, Korone's cognizant enough to give some kind of "back the fuck off right now or else" warning. ]

[ … This is not one of those times. ]

[ The moment his hands are so close to hers, so close to her neck, they ... aren't, anymore. Because Choco Korone is far faster than the Delphi he remembers, and many, many times stronger, and she fucking yeets him with several orders of magnitude more strength than would kill a human. Easily enough to put a person through several walls, let alone just one - if only he wasn't made of shadows. More dangerous to him is flickerflash of fire magic that flares out of her like a blazing hot shockwave that leaves rippling embers in its wake. She rolls into a crouch, hazy eyed, feathers bristled and the first primary on each wing as sharp as any katana, with a stuttering, deep-chested hissing growl. ]

Hey, don--

[ Macaque's warning to the kid comes a split second too late, and then Choco is unleashing hell on him like any cornered and threatened creature would. Fuck. ]

[ Still, he notices the boy's palpable concern and so throws a curtain of water between him and the fire just in case, and the fire fizzles out upon contact. He's fairly sure the kid would be fine but he's also fairly sure that they know each other and Choco would feel bad about hurting him no matter the circumstance. ]

Cut off the connection and she'll calm down. You clearly know her, how are you confused that she gets like this with telepathic connections or whatever you're doing?

[ Macaque crouches down by her, still not touching, whispering to Choco while keeping the shadow-kid in view. ] It's okay, babygirl. Breathe.

Edited 2024-03-21 22:51 (UTC)

[Lott sees the warning. Verbal warnings are a far second alert, but she may hurt herself and the fact is, Delphi Can't Hurt Him. She's strong, but she didn't have offensive magic and strength means little with him. ESPECIALLY now that the Arbiters aren't limiting him.]

[So he took the chance in the hopes he could offer her hand holding grounding, or at least avoid hurting herself.]

[She's fast, surprisingly so, and he's holding her, so solid enough for her to get a grip to yeet. Though as soon as he's clearing her head, his arms are stretching weirdly, seeping through her fingers, his body slowing, and he's only about ten feet before he stop, hitting nothing in her yard and hovering upside down.]

[That isn't a wholly unexpected outcome. An acceptable risk in his calculations.]

[The fire magic, however, isn't accounted for and that makes him flinch back. Fire isn't as bad as Pure Light, but it CAN actually hurt him.]

[So the water is appreciated and]

[Address it later.]

Cause she DIDN'T get like this from the bond alone? [He came after, she had to learn to deal by the time he came along.] I never learned to block the thing, I never saw a point. Why would it be doin' this to her NOW? [Surprise, confusion, concern. Though he's not panicking now that he SEES her, he just wants to help.]

Edited 2024-03-21 23:04 (UTC)

[ Fire and feathers. A curtain of water.

(...?)

The sprinklers click on.

Everything, everyone, is very wet very, very quickly.

A shift in the balance, waxing and waning, panic tipping into surprise, confusion, concern. Jarring. She (?) — (the vibration in (?) chest, throat, the damp, the scent of safety) — her chest, her throat, she feels. She. Feels. The hissing growl stutters and rattles, sticking like a ball in her throat and she — Choco Korone, her name is Choco Korone, her name is Choco Korone, isn't it? — chokes.

Breathes.

Because she does that. She has to do that. She can breathe, even if it feels like it's through a straw. She can breathe and she has to breathe and her name is Choco Korone and she —

… recognises …

A wall starts to go up, shaky, flimsy, brick by brick, hand over hand, because she knows this connection and she can't, she can't, she's going to drown in it if she doesn't do something fast; something now. She'll lose what little ground she's managed to gain, clinging to it like a battered raft in a storm, white-knuckled, by the skin of her teeth, because she's Choco Korone and she — remembers -

A different wall slams down, because she is Choco Korone and Choco Korone was Sparrow, and with Sparrow comes shields. A mental one in this case, and it's a complete, air-tight block between her and the rest of the world. In the sudden blessed, ringing silence she can finally, finally, finally start to pull her jagged edges back together through a panic attack that is entirely her own. She squeezes her eyes shut tight and covers the back of her neck with both hands, pressing hard with flat fingers and palms. ]

[ Macaque sees Choco start to relax, slightly, and figures that she or someone -- perhaps Donnie -- put up a block finally, since the shadow-kid says he doesn't know how. Macaque opens a portal and grabs a huge mug of cocoa and holds it in Choco's line of sight, but not too close. She could reach out and easily lean on him if she wanted to but the last thing she needs is for him to push into her space. ]

I'm here if you need me. Drink this if it'll help. [ It never hurts to have comfort mechanisms nearby. ]

[ Macaque turns to the shadow-kid, not a trace of antagonism in his expression. He wants to find out what's going on, but it's clear that nothing intentional happened here. They have a "bond" and it perhaps predates or otherwise used to work around Choco's aversion to telepathic/empathic connection, and it took her my surprise in an environment where she was already struggling. Shitty situation, no one's fault. ]

I take it you know her from one of your previous kidnappings. I'm not sure when her extreme aversion to connections like your bond falls in the timeline of her life, but at this point, at this moment, it's too much. Also she wasn't expecting it, and this place... [ he shrugs tensely, it's bothering him too. ] But we'll figure something out. I'm guessing once the shock wears off she'll be glad to see you.

Edited 2024-03-22 16:40 (UTC)

[At the very least, Lott isn't dragged into Korone's negative emotions. He can keep his head together, not offer a feedback loop, and he can at least keep himself from getting too panicked even as he worries.]

[The panic won't help. Didn't help in the Forest and he has a better understanding of Thought over Emotion now that he can actually REMEMBER Vio.]

[He moves closer, touching back down to the ground, but giving her more space. A fully don't touch. He watches for the smaller signs, in case she's about to get violent on herself. Even as the sprinklers turn on, the water doesn't really cling to him, body not fully solid as he is ready to move if he has to.]

[She's lashing out.]

[He understands that.]

Keep breathing, Phi. You can do it. [His voice is gentler, calmer, studying her, taking in the differences. There is so much more tension she didn't have before. More akin to her brother than she had been in the Forest.]

[Its worrying, but he tries to keep it from growing too much.]

[He tries to keep the pang of hurt as he feels the barrier come up, but he understands that too. Just because he never bothered to hide, he knew the others did. They did far too often.]

The Forest. I'm used to this kind of body language more from her brother than her. Maybe its a memory thing. She didn't have them in the Forest and I know I'm different with all mine, and she has a lot more memories than me.

The fire's new. Usually she can't hope to hurt me, even when the Arbiters were makin' me weaker.

She's putting up the barrier. [He's watching her fingers though. Still flat. Good. He keeps his eyes focused solely on her, watching for any dangerous shifts.]

Shadow Link (Lott) | Legend of Zelda: Fours Swords Manga (CRAU: AForestDark) | VISITOR

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