seasonsgreetings | Test Drive Meme #8

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Test Drive Meme #8

Test Drive Meme #8
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Arrival

Part 1

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.

Part 2

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.

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?

Let Me Kiss You in the Pouring Rain

Part 1

The months of April and May are the time for a strange weather effect that affects all of the districts, except the one in the middle and Frostreign. It's not weird that it rains, but it's what the rain does that has been dubbed as the Rain of Affection. It's raining very often until the end of May at different times in the affected districts.

Anyone who stands in the rain will feel the need to get close to someone. It starts with a need to gently touch someone, but can escalate into needing a hug. The ultimate craving is kissing in the rain, but that's the most it can make happen. It's a very Safe For Work Rain Effect.

After a successful kiss in the rain, the cravings slowly become less urgent, but the effect can start all over again at any given time. Once someone is completely dry, they will be safe from effects restarting again.

Of course, there are individuals who don't get too affected by the rain (at all or not as badly) and it only works if it directly hits someone. So staying in a shelter or being in the unaffected districts is definitely a way to avoid this whole phenomenon. Even purchasing and using an umbrella helps. The shops around every district are very aware of the need for umbrellas, so there's definitely a variety of them being sold. Some of the umbrellas have a variety of harmless magical effects, like changing the color depending on the users' mood.

Part 2

An unexpected secondary effect has been discovered with this year's rain. Anyone who tries to ignore the urges to be close to someone for too long (two hours) may find that some of their other feelings get amplified. Especially feelings someone might have been suppressing will suddenly feel impossible to ignore.

Hugging someone will make the feelings return to 'normal' easiest, as it's almost instant. Getting out of the rain and changing into dry clothes also helps, but the effects will go away slower.

Most of the shops around the districts have prepared private rooms for anyone who needs a place to calm down, in case they're far away from home. The various invisible shop fairies will also help someone contact their friends if they're unable to do it themselves - as long as they manage to say someone's name.

Just like with the regular effects, some people might be less affected by the amplified feelings. It really depends on the individual (= player's choice) how the rain affects them.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

Part 1

Tents have been built into various places around the city, to give shelter from the rain. These tents are also workshops for crystal and gemstone crafts. A group of crystal miners have decided to share the rest of their gemstones and crystals so that people can make themselves magical weapons, protective armors and accessories or just normal decorations.

Crystal Mine is one of the places that was lost to "The Darkness" and it existed in the Autumn Segment. All crystals and gemstones from the mines have a natural magical aptitude, meaning they can be easily enchanted into various purposes. They were used for armors, weapons, accessories and such to help fight the monsters of the world.

All of the crystals and gemstones are in alphabetical order and the miners happily answer any questions about them, such meanings and symbolisms they might hold. They can also make suggestions for which ones to use in the same craft.

One of the miners is especially keen on telling about Birthstones and suggests using them as an accessory that you carry around everywhere. He's a firm believer that keeping a birthstone on your person will bring someone luck and protection from evil forces.

Part 2

Crystal and gemstone enchanting is managed by the teachers from the Magical Manor. They will hold lessons where they demonstrate how to get the results you want the most. The key is to be positive. The more positive feelings and words you feed the crystals and gemstones, the stronger the enchantment will be.

The enchantment can be anything from more strength into a weapon to just a nice, warmly glowing flower that helps someone sleep. Imagination is the limit, though even the enchantment can't make someone's armor permanently invincible or make their weapons kill things in one shot.

Enchanting your friend's, family member's or loved one's crystal or gemstone will make the magic twice stronger.

Those who have difficulties in being polite can either get fairy dust sprinkled on them to make them happy or they can ask someone else to help them. Needing to fake happy feelings will lessen the strength of the spells, but it works nonetheless.

Part 3

If someone does manage to pour negative feelings and words into their enchantments, they may cause the crystals and gemstones to form negative monsters. These monsters are ethereal and usually look like small goblins that eat positive energy from anyone within one-mile radius.

Attacking them with magic and weapons doesn't work, as they have no actual bodies, but trapping one between two people holding hands will make them feel overwhelmed by the sheer energy the handholding provides and disappear. They will do their best to suck as much positive energy into them before they do, though!

Someone who has their positivity stolen will slowly recover it over time (it takes at max. a day), but holding foreheads together with someone will speed to process.

Oh? A little extra

Starting from April 19th onwards, characters may find a peculiar basket on their table. This basket comes with any kind of pokeball (except Master Ball), some Pokémon Food and Treats, and a Pokémon Egg of any species that can have an egg (except the rare mythical/legendary/special ones that are able to). This Pokémon also has a chance to be shiny.

The note attached to the basket says "Sounds can be heard coming from inside! This Egg will hatch soon!" The egg will hatch anywhere between a few minutes to few days.

Anyone asking about how this came to be, the research center staff explains that it was a "metaverse miracle" and they asked the fairies to help them contribute the eggs to otherworlders, seeing as they already had Pokémon experience.

(NOTE: Pokémon Guidelines apply to these new hatching Pokémon as well)

OOC TIPS

- 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.

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's interesting. Despite the seemingly limitless number of worlds out there, I personally haven't seen more than one other person who is on our level when it comes to technology," Nine admitted. His tails folded around, taking the basket and securing it protectively against his back.

"It's called a drive?"

"Yes, it is. Though it is more akin to magic than technology," Relius said as he generated another arm to appear. It's wrist rolled around to show how it articulated.

"These are extensions of my soul. Very few individuals from my world have such abilities. They are generated by my willpower and the strength of my soul. If technology is your interest, allow me to show you this." Relius took a step back from Nine. He snapped his fingers and suddenly there was a robot between them in a flash of light.

"This is my greatest creation. My Detonator. The Fluctus Redactum: Ignis." The robot stared at Nine with pale blue eyes, neatly folded claw hands, and floated just above the ground.

That...was a true piece of technological achievement. Even a cursory look was enough to make that obvious. Ignis was a more refined machine than anything the Council had ever come up with, and maybe even more than anything he had too. His amazement was undisguised as he took in every detail he could just with his eyes.

"It's amzing," he finally said, tearing his eyes away from the pale blue ones to look back at Relius. "You specialize in both magic and technology? That's a powerful combination."

"Science and magic can be combined to create fascinating phenomena. I have long studied both, as well as alchemy. Learning how these concepts interact, how they hinder or advance one another, has been pinnacle to my research."

Relius say that look of awe in Nine's eyes. What's more, he saw the curiosity and hunger for knowledge in his soul.

"Do you wish to learn?"

This man spoke with actual confidence in his knowledge, not the egotistical know-it-all way the Drs did. It made him curious to know more, find out what knowledge Relius had. What the workings of his world were actually like. It was something he hadn't felt hearing about anyone else's...except his Sonic's.

The moment that Relius asked that question though, the fox's suspicious nature immediately raised his hackles a bit. "What would teaching me cost?" he asked cautiously. He wasn't naive enough to think this was generosity. He still didn't really believe in it as a general stance. So what was the catch?

Relius watched the fox's soul. It was hardened by hatred and anger. Which flared up like a wall of ice around his curiosity and hunger for knowledge. Impressive for one so young. Very impressive.

"The price is what you are willing to pay for this knowledge," Relius answered. "Only you learn, you cannot forget the knowledge I can grant you. As far as coin goes, I would not charge you funds. I would teach you through practical examples. You would assist me in my own research. A two pronged cost, labor and the weight of the knowledge. The study of the soul is not for the faint of heart."

"So I carry the weight of what I learn, and help you with your research."

It sounded like a simple price, but Nine knew better. This could quickly become a steep price, and not necessarily because of the obvious labor. Learning, and using, anything that came with a measure of power and responsibility was taxing. But at the same time, not learning it at all wasn't necessarily better. And he did want to learn more.

He looked back up at Relius and nodded once. "Alright, I'm willing to accept those terms. I help you, you teach me."

"Then you are the first student I shall take on. Perhaps others will join you as peers," Relius said with a smile. He snapped his fingers and dismissed Ignis and she vanished.

"First we shall discern what you know and what you do not. Let us walk and I wish to hear of your own technological accomplishments. And any that used magic or something similar. It will provide us with a starting point for your lessons."

Nine followed Relius, thinking for a moment. "Well, my first worth mentioning is my tails," he began. "I made them out of necessity years ago at this point. They're connected to my nervous system to allow for more natural control, with only the occasional need to calibrate them."

"Impressive. And does the linking cause you any discomfort or tactile backlash? Can you feel sensation through your mechanical tails, given the tie into your nervous system?" Relius asked as they walked.

"There's some tactile awareness, enough that I can be aware of them and my space at all times. But general use of them doesn't come with any limiting downsides like fatigue or or discomfort, I made that a priority. And they only get as tired as I do." A nice added benefit was that he could use them instead of his other limbs for a lot and conserve energy.

"Quite impressive. An elegant way to avoid unnecessary discomfort and minimize energy drain. You've created fully additional limbs. Your hunger for knowledge clearly runs deep," It was as close to a compliment as Nine might get with this man.

"You operate them as you do your own arms and legs, I wager. Hm. I look forward to seeing them in action."

The psuedo-compliment was appreciated, though Nine didn't let it sway his caution. 'I've always prided myself on being able to adapt what I can access to my needs," he said in response. It was a given that Relius would see them in action, since he was far from shy about their uses. "Besides the machine I made to handle the implants precisely, the next noteworthy thing I made were the energy regulators for...a friend. He came from an alternate version of my world of was connected to the same energy that powered our city. It made him unstable, but I was able to use my limited understanding of the true implications to make the regulators. They allowed him to function as he normally would, but with the unplanned benefit of also being able to accurately track that same energy and the clothing they were attached to calibrating to have an additional function suiting whichever world he found himself on."

"Hmm. Another version of your world. Was it by chance an alternate timeline or a completely different dimension?" To be able to filter such energy as well as make one who was unstable fully stable was also impressive. It sounded like somehow Nine managed to crate an observer with technology. At least, in some rudimentary way.

"Do you have access to this technology here you created?"

"He shattered reality by breaking a large crystal called the Paradox Prism, destroying his world and creating five new ones. So, I'd say it's both. Beyond the setting and important events in our history, which affected our personalities, my past is very similar to the version in Green Hill."

That was a sharp question. Relius didn't miss a beat, did he? "I have some limited access, and there is a shop I could use to gradually access more if I needed to," he said.

"Interesting. Hmm. This Paradox Prism must have had some connection to the fabric of reality. Shattering it shattered reality in separate realities. Likely spawning space between them as well. Hmmm. Unless shattering the prism shattered the walls between these worlds and opened a means of traveling between them. Also a possibility," Relius said. He was sharp. The Prism was like the Azure. A central force, a binding element of reality. Curious.

"This shop. Would you mind showing it to me? I may be in need of such objects in time with our experiments."

"Almost exactly right. Green Hill was split into five shatterspaces, each with a shard of the Prism, and with a mostly empty void connecting them. There was a gate leading to each, but without being tied to the Prism like he was the only way to exit a shatterspace was through the Shatter Drive I developed after meeting him."

Nodding, Nine sped up just enough to take the lead. "It's not far, though it's for purchasing the items that let you bring in things from your world. The items you bought have to be delivered after for you to use." After a moment, he asked. "So what experiments are you planning first?"

Relius followed along and let his mind thing. Nine could create a device called a Shatter Drive to travel between these different shatterspaces. These dimensions created by the shattering of the prism. It would be interesting data for another time. It might not help his current endeavors but Relius would not discount it. Not entirely.

"Hm. I wish to study the Darkness and how to combat it. That is what I wish to focus on. It is the purpose we were brought to this world. It is a similar endeavor to one undertaken in my world. I believe that data could be used to forward the Research Center's goals of developing counter measures."

"That's my main focus as well. So if you've got comparable experience, that's an advantage." Nine perked up. He had his priorities, and learning is one of them. But the promise of tangible understanding of their situation is even more enticing than even learning from Relius in general.

"How long ago did you arrive?"

"Then our work will benefit us both beyond the additional knowledge," Relius said. "Less than a week. I am not one to sit idle, I must admit."

"Nothing wrong with that. Since there wasn't much information on the nature of the darkness when I got here, I prioritized learning the seasonal magic and participated in the recent simulation...even though that was compromised."

Soon enough, they arrived at the item shop and he walked in.

"Seasonal magic has proven to not be too dissimilar to the magic of my world. I am learning it at a rather brisk base. The basics, anyway. The more complex powers will take time. No matter. We seem to have it in abundance."

Relius walked into the shop. He started to look at the items inside and their descriptions. He, of course, settled on the Wishing Star eventually.

"Ah. This will be quite useful. I will need to obtain one."

"There's nothing like it in the shatterverse," Nine admitted. "So it took some time to adjust to some of the easier magic, mostly in framing how I approached it into something familiar. But I've recently started to work on learning one of the advanced magics."

Nine didn't follow Relius around the shop, but he did watch the man browse for awhile. "It's a useful item. I've used it once."

"And what were the results? Did you obtain what you desired?" Relius asked as he turned to look at Nine.

"I did. I'm not sure on the full limits of the system, but the things here seem to work as advertised. There is a second store where it not doing so is more of a concern." Nine shrugged.

Test Drive Meme #8

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