Seasons Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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seasonsgreetings2024-03-15 12:11 am
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsgreetings2024-03-15 12:11 am
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Event #7: Knocking on the 4th Wall (Inside the Metaverse)
Knocking on the 4th Wall
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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".
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.
• Ask 4th Wall related questions here. Read the 4th wall FAQ before asking them.
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I guess so.. I fought some, and I tried out the full powers. It was kind of fun! What about you? I bet you got a lot.
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[Never mind that he'd been given primarily fire magic on each world he ended up on... his Prismatic moonblessing was otherwise dormant due to the lack of the Sanguis moon in Ellipsa's sky, but his Avalonian multi-elemental magic returned, along with his death magic! For the first time since he arrived on Ellipsa, he was able to see ghosts.
Granted, he had a somewhat shoddy start overall, having gotten spat out right by the former border with the Darkness rather that in the city centre, but he met some helpful people (he's just not sure if all of them are actually on Ellipsa for real with the rest of them or were merely dragged into the simulation from other worlds).]
The people I was with and I found that if the combine our magic, it can eat away at the Darkness.
[Sadly, he was too apprehensive to try and really venture far into it, worried that the path might close behind them and they'd lose orientation and not find the way back. Blasting one's way through thick Darkness in all directions sounded like more of a nightmare scenario than he was up for!]
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[Rinku smiles through the tears, and Mecchan lifts his head up and hiccups, his own tears slowing.]
After all, we're anchored with touch energy, and that brings us all closer together. Plus the people here started losing their magic because some people wanted all the power, right? So wouldn't working together naturally be the antidote?
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It does make sense, if you put it like that.
[Is this whole adventure seriously just a basic friendship lesson?! "Instead of stealing other people's unique skills, work together"? Couldn't the locals have figured that out without them?! But, in fairness, the 4 remaining power holders wouldn't have been enough to tackle the issue, even with knowledge of how to do it.
There's one thing that still gives him pause, however...]
...
It looks like there's not much left of the world outside the barrier.
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I hope it's just that. Otherwise, this would be the first time where there's no saving the world.
[The first time for him, that is. Not everyone else who was isekai'd before was called away from home to save another world or the multiverse - some just had to entertain demons or participate in death games or both -, but just because he's never heard of a world-saving venture ending in failure, that doesn't mean that it never happened.]
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We gotta be able to. And I think we can! Everyone's working so hard that I bet even if the Darkness ate the world, we could just put it back! ...I mean, I don't know how we'd do that, but it's probably possible!
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I don't know how we'd do it either, but you're right. Where there's a will, there's a way!
[He doesn't fully believe that right now, but they can't afford to be quitters about the situation! If nothing else, they're a big step further to at least being able to combat the Darkness than they were before.]
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Yeah! Maybe it's kinda like... hmm. They're elements, and people in really olden times thought the world was made out of them, right? ...I don't know where I'm going with it.
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[Kind of!]
First of all, we need to see if our magic is as effective against the Darkness in the real world as in the simulation. I guess it'll be a challenge that not everyone's actually as advanced as we were in there, but it should be enough to make a dent in it and assess the state of the world outside, and we'll take it from there.
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[Not that gathering important magical ingredients or taking out high-level monsters that threaten the hard-worn land in the Segments didn't matter too, but ultimately, pushing back the Darkness takes precedence over everything else!]
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[Like when he fought enemies immune to fire, or when he got his sword back after having it knocked away! It's been terrible useful!]
Maybe I can teach you a little - unless Evangeline's got it covered!
[She's a summer power holder too, after all!]
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Well, I can always be your backup swordmanship teacher, too. Between us summer power holders, we've got no shortage of skills to go around on the whole!
[Their season does live up to its fierce reputation, he thinks!]
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[Mecchan may not fight himself, but he seems to be swept up in Rinku's excitement, smiling and blowing a few bubbles in the air. Rinku pets him.]
I dunno if I can actually teach you anything, but I can try.
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[Besides, Rinku already gives him a lot of motivation and positivity! She may not realise it, but it makes a big difference and has seriously decreased his tendency to bitch and moan.]
Still, I'm sure there'll be situations where you know something I don't.
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[And, with impeccable timing, one of the native researchers smoothly inserts himself in between them with drinks and snacks and little survey forms for them to fill out! They'll be interviewed, too, so no important information gets missed. Much as this experiment got sabotaged again, Hijikata is grateful that this time, it was comparatively less traumatising (and they made a breakthrough discovery)!]
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