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

Macaque doesn't look impressed. But he doesn't look like anything other than wearing the same grin he came in with.

"And what'll all those nice things cost me?" Just taking stock of things, here. "Usually there's two sides to a deal." He knows that quite well.

"Given what apparently happened when I went back, slow-down doesn't exist there. But my friend poses a good question. You gave me a freebie the first time I ever spoke to you, but you popped up several times to do things that I don't remember making a deal for. So was there a price for that, or was it all part of that equation you mentioned?"

Cole knew how to toe the line on being a skeptic and not biting the hand, as well as not directly steeping on the toes of the being much more powerful than hem. So it was very obvious that he was walking that line between respect and annoyance. "Not that I have a lot to ask for. Here at least." The major thing he would isn't up to Max at all.

Max's eyes moved from Macaque to Cole and back. He kept the smile on his face.

"For you, my furry friend, I would ask for something rather simple. A kiss. Give me a kiss, and I'll give you what you ask for," he said then slowly his eyes shifted to Cole.

"Oh for you. We have no official deal, no. I did what I did to help you to keep you in the game and on the board. Even now, I need you on the board Cole. I need you in the game to help me wipe away the irritating pieces that are left that think themselves players. To get rid of them once and for all. And I need you to do it. That's why I saved you and helped you and your friends. Why I kept popping up. And why I need you to come home again, eventually."

"Hm? That sounds like a pretty good deal, even if you are a terrible kisser."

He pretends to be considering this for a second, mostly so he can see Cole's reaction.

Sorry, Macaque, Cole was caught momentarily on that explanation. But when he did register both the price and Macaque's response, he actually just rolled his eyes. "You're definitely Mike's kid," he said, before glancing at Macaque. "And if he is in every way, he's probably confident in his kissing skills."

Not that he knows if that means Mike and, by extension, Max are good at kissing...but he's not so naive that he can't see blatant flirting. And...at least Max has good taste?

"My mother was also quite the seductress too. I have flirtation and skill in my blood. I am a very good kisser~ So it's a fantastic deal," Max said with a grin. He looked back at Cole again.

"You could ask for something too. Knowledge or information. For you, I'll give it to you for free even. I can do that for you, Cole." Another hint for Cole to chew on.

Cole didn't have an especially strong reaction to that, so it's probably not a huge entrapment thing. He's about to ask for something, but...

"Let me think about it, then. For a good kiss, I'd better think of something decent."

He's waiting to see what Cole gets out of that offer, if anything.

"...Why do I get freebies?" Cole asked, more confused than suspicious. Honestly, he really didn't understand Max outside of being useful and having common enemies. So the idea of an almost godly-powerful being just offering him free information was hard to wrap his head around.

"Don't think too hard~ Save that for more fun things," Max said.

"You get freebies for a few reasons. One, you deserve them. Two, out of spite for Grandma. Three, you'll end up doing exactly what I want and need you to all on your own. I don't need a deal to get what I want from you. You'll do it out of your own sense of honor, gratitude, and helping those you care about. I just need you to be you. I made sure to bring you back after you died. Hence those fun little changes to yourself. Grandma capitalized on all my hard work."

The way Max is talking about Cole disturbs Macaque greatly. He doesn't show it even slightly, though.

He's just going to be over here pretending to think about a deal and ascertaining what this creep knows.

Honestly there was a lot to unpack with all of that, a lot he was primed to say in response. And then that one final revelation snuffed out any words and it felt like the room suddenly closed in as the world faded out for a long moment. I made sure to bring you back after you died.

Max watched Cole as he slowly seemed to shut down a little bit. Well. He pulled a cigarette out of nowhere and lit it with a flick of his finger. He pulled it to his mouth and took a drag. It smelled like Spring. Flowers, fresh rain, ozone, and a breeze. He blew the smoke up at the ceiling. It shimmered as it dissipated and vanished.

"I think Cole's going to need a minute. You got a request yet, sexy?"

CONCERN. Macaque only shows a hint of it, though, glancing over at Cole.

"It depends on what he does with what you just told him."

Death. He died again. When? How? He didn't remember anything at all after the pod. What happened? Why? He knew why Max brought him back...but none of it was making sense to him. Because the pieces weren't there, just the shock and the sudden upheaval of reality.

"What do you mean, I died a-fucking-gain?" His tone was tired. The same tired and over everything, "I wish there was an end in sight", put-upon tired that he always was in his own world or when he had a nightmare. The frustration only really showed in the single expletive. Because Cole wasn't above swearing, but it wasn't a frequent thing.

Max didn't respond to Macaque. Instead he waited for Cole's reaction and what a reaction it was.

"Well, I mean you died the ultimate death. You were removed from existence and the very memory of you set to be purged for all time. From time itself. A certain King fancied a do-over after you saved my sister. And was all set to remove two key variables from the game completely. I made sure they didn't happen. Well, not entirely anyway. I save the memories of the two of you and made sure to reinsert them into the timeline once I was able to. And now you exist again."

I'll erase the very memory of you. That's not exactly what Max said, but Macaque shivers a bit regardless.

Macaque's amusement vanishes, but he's still listening intently.

"Of course it was him." Max didn't have to give the name, or even the motive. There was only one king that he knew, that would hate him that much...and that the feeling was definitely mutual. The idea of being purged so far out of reality that only a memory that could be reinjected into the world survived was left...that was jarring, to say the least.

"Who was the other person then?" He needed to know that part.

"Your popsicle partner. Xeo. Which has led to some interesting developments. Especially since Keegan is still around despite his father being removed from the timeline. Well, mostly removed. I secured what I'd need to restore you both when it all went down. So you both owe me. Well, at least a thank you. To your earlier point, there is an end in sight. It's just faaaaaaaaaar off in the distance. It exists. If you're willing to seize it."

Macaque has heard enough by now. He pushes off the wall with his shoulder and walks up to Max.

"I'll kiss you as repayment for restoring his life." He doesn't want Cole indebted to this guy. And also, he's very glad that Cole is still alive as well as a bit shaken by the possibility that it could (will) happen again, since Cole mentioned time loops.

"Don't, Macaque. Because to be honest, I'm struggling with whether or not I am grateful...especially because it sounds like that put me right back in her care." It wasn't a new struggle really, with Cole having questioned the validity of his existance a lot, and whether certain other choices might have been better. That was for later existential dread though. "If you're going to make a deal, even if it's for something as simple as a kiss, make it something that will benefit you." There was no world in which stopping him from having to say thank you was something Cole would believe benefitted Macaque.

He looked at Max. "Okay...I don't want to, but I need to know what you did and how she took advantage...only because coming back here different isn't doing anyone any favors."

Max grinned at Macaque. He didn't say anything as Cole interrupted. He shrugged and gently reached up to try and touch that cheek fur with a gloved finger.

"You can always just kiss me to show your own gratitude. Seems Cole would prefer you get something good from it. Perhaps...information on how to better help Cole in his times of need? That's worth a kiss, yes?"

He paused for another drag of his cigarette.

"It did put you right back into a space of her control, yes. I'd have changed that if possible but I couldn't. In the grand scheme of things, you being here is for the best. Not for you but for someone who needs your help. Someone's whose death count already far exceeds yours, Cole." He rolled his shoulders and held up his free hand. Large mirror shards appeared floating above his palm. The reflections didn't show their surroundings but instead moments in Cole's life.

The largest was him in some kind of pod, frozen and asleep. The smaller ones showed him back to back with Tobias in a raging storm. Bug infested creatures fell to lightning, wind, and Tobias's bullets. Another showed Cole and others wrapped in fleshy cocoons as a boy with a broken sharp baseball bat cut them loose, and another showed Cole on the floor of a van, lights on but no one home, and other memories. All playing out in real time.

"I was able to infiltrate the Time Keeper and steal your timeline before they could destroy it. Yours and Xeo's. Stole a few others too. And when I was able, I inserted you right back into the timeline." The mirror shards vanished in a flash of green light. Cole could regain two points of glamour from it as it just radiated pure wyrd and several emotions.

"She took advantage when she decided you could use a new functionality. With me returning you to existence, and your previous other death, it made you a prime candidate for your current Kith. Which is why now you can alter yourself. Become stronger at the cost of being less composed. Become smarter by slowing yourself down. That sort of thing. You're more fluid now. More adaptable."

Macaque allows the touch. He doesn't even flinch.

He turns to Cole. "You're free to have your feelings about your revival, and I have mine. He restored life to someone I love. Maybe you're not grateful for that, or you're not sure, but I am. You could have vanished for good and you didn't. Whatever else he's done or will do, he did that. And that's worth everything to me."

Macaque turns back to Max, nodding. "You give him whatever information he asks for, whenever he asks for it. That, and my gratitude, for a kiss." Deal?

Cole watched each of those events in the shards play out, and felt that slight capping of his reserves when they vanished. He didn't like the implications that there was someone with more deaths than him though.

There was a lot that he could say, to that and to Macaque's words...the latter causing a conflicting knot in his stomach of warmth and dread. After all, nothing good ever came of the people who liked him getting wrapped up in the big picture of his world, let alone the ones who loved him. He could have pointed out that him disappearing at home didn't necessarily stop him from being here, that he'd already been offered all the information for free for several reasons, and that you just don't tell anything Fae that anything is worth everything to you. Ever...but the saving grace was that, like a certain talking ferret, Max didn't seem above real empathy.

So he didn't say anything at all.

"Deal~" Max's smile turned into a grin. His green eye gave off a soft glow as he leaned in to capture Macaque's lips with his own. He cupped that furry cheek and there was passion in the kiss. Max was not a bad kisser by any means. There was a hint of desperation to it. Feeling that love and taking some of it into himself. He refilled his own reserves from it and would let Macaque decide when enough was enough.

Macaque can sense Cole's discomfort with this, but he doesn't pay it enough mind to alter this decision. He knows what he's doing here, and if there's the slightest chance that this could help Cole, it's worth a kiss. It's worth whatever else Max might want of him too, but he hasn't offered that. Yet.

He rests a hand on Max's chest just lightly as their lips met, and Macaque pours all his conflicted feelings into the kiss, as if that will make any difference as to what might happen back on their world, in those different timelines. If this guy is after something passionate, he definitely gets it. It's about Cole's life, that's motivation enough.

It lasts long enough to be qualified as a very thorough kiss, and then Macaque pulls back exactly one step.

"If I were to come to your world, is there any chance I could help things for Cole?" He knows exactly what he's doing now, too.

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS

Re: MAX DAVIS