Seasons Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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seasonsgreetings2023-04-14 10:33 am
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsgreetings2023-04-14 10:33 am
Entry tags:
Test Drive Meme #2
Test Drive Meme #2
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
April is the time for a strange weather effect that affects all of the districts, save for 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.
Anyone who stands in the rain will feel the need to get close to someone. It starts with a need to gently touch someone gently, but can escalate into needing to hug someone. The ultimate craving of the rain 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.
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 Nightwake Center or Frostreign is definitely a way to avoid this whole phenomenon. Even avoiding the worst of the effect is easy by just going under a shelter or purchasing a nice, maybe even a color changing, umbrella.
It's raining very often until the end of the month at different times in each districts.
After the rain, a rainbow usually appears. Rainbows formed by the Rain of Affection are special, wish granting ones. The natives will explain that if you hold someone's hands and make a wish that wish will come true in some capacity.
Someone wishing for wealth may win a gift card for a shop while someone wishing to see a loved one they're missing may get pictures sent to their mobile devices (how? magic). Those wishing for world peace may find their very presence be calming to others. But the biggest prize is a free regain of a non-magical item or an animal companion. If someone asks for a magical item it will come as a non-magical item and the magical part of it would have to be purchased by a magical-regain, so it's cheaper to just not.
Be careful what you wish for, as each character only gets one wish, no matter how many rainbows they end up seeing during the rainy season.
Solarpeak has a new way of battling against the hot summer days (you know, when it isn't raining). Many shops along the streets sell ice cream mochis of varying flavors. You have your very normal flavors like different berries, fruit and chocolate, but also some very excotic and weird ones.
There's even a flavor called random mystery that is literally that. A randomized flavor that is a mystery to all. It can even be a flavor that no one has thought of before or even something that definitely should not be in any kind of food. Anyone who buys a pack of two mochis will get a free mystery one if they want it (and sometimes even if they don't).
Other districts also have some treats out for different climates. There are various flavors of hot cocoa in places like Amberfall and Frostreign, and nice light treats like macarons in Blossomcrown. Of course various restaurants have their own menus that fit their own season, so you could definitely have a gourmet journey all over the city of Nightwake if you wished.
One morning, on all of the bridges leading outside into the segments, round gates appear. They're portals that bring in monsters. They look normal from the outside looking in, like portals to a lovely garden. But the gardens are the problem as they are infested with different monsters, waiting to attack the city. This isn't the first time natives have seen these portals and before they had people to deal with them, but now? They need otherworlders.
All of the monsters inside need to be defeated for the portal to disappear. No one knows exactly how many there are, but with the defeat of the last one, the portal will disappear from around anyone inside of it, leaving the characters on the bridge.
The portal can be entered from both the city and the segment side and it looks flat when looked from sideways. Like it's just a random 2D structure in the middle of the world.
Those who explore the portal further will notice that they will loop around. It's very similar to the place they started in, back when they arrived, as it doesn't seem to have an end, no matter how you explore the place.
For noncombatants, natives have set up stations to help with first aid and making food for the fighters so they can occasionally come back from the portals to take a much needed rest.
Anyone helping with the fight, either in the portals or outside, will receive a hefty 5000 Moon Coin reward for their hard work. A good way to earn some starting funds!
Monster List [ Click to Expand ]
All of the Monsters listed here will be in all of the portals and there will be several of each to fight.The danger level is indicated with Stars. The lowest level threat is 0 while the highest is 10. From 7 and above, the likelihood of a beast going for a kill increases significantly.
| Name | Description | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblefish | Bubblefish are lumbering, two-legged creatures, with fins for arms, a long, muscular, finned tail, and a big fish face. They are fast, dangerous predators while in water, but do not count them out while on land, as regardless of whether they are above water or below it, they can blow large bubbles which capture their targets. Once inside the stretchy bubble, victims begin to go numb, their body feeling like it's on pins and needles as the Dragonfish begins to cast various debuffs on them. The bubbles are tough to escape despite their appearance, but the debuffs are lesser when shared, and can be escaped with the propper application of mint or minty treats! Mint has the effect of weakening the bubble to allow it to pop, although you may then find yourself being charged as the Bubblefish goes wild trying to get that minty goodness. | 5-8 |
| Bugboars | These are really more like rhinocerous beetles, but they are the size of wild boars, and they act similarly, roaming about in family groups together, rooting through the ground to unearth any edible material. They are highly territorial, and charge at anything or anyone who gets close. Their eyesight might be poor, but they make up for it with their antennae and the fact that these massive beetles do have wings, and they possess enough control over wind to lift themselves off of the ground at great speeds, or send powerful gales at those who come too close to their young. | 6 |
| Crockodile | Crocodiles with elemental powers of earth, leading to them being able to travel through dirt and stone as if they were water, these large reptiles often hide beneath the earth with only their eyes and nostrils peeking out, resembling the stone they hide within. They are ambush predators, popping out of the ground, large stony jaws open to crush their prey, but even once dragged out of hiding they are hardly easy to defeat. These crocks are stony in appearance and their hide is just as hard to pierce. In addition, they're a little closer to the size of a small car than your average crocodile. | 6-9 |
| Flurry Flock | White birds acting like a swarm that may deceive you into thinking they are harmless doves at first. Upon closer inspection, they more closely resemble a vengeful murder of crows with pure white feathers that they can use to reflect light so brilliantly that one can be blinded, leaving the flock's victim open to attack as they descend upon their prey like a group of voracious piranhas, claws and beaks as cold as ice as they try to tear their foes apart | 3-6 |
| Lavapotamus | These large hippo-creatures seem to be either made of or covered in molten rock that hardens over time when in the air. Usually they prefer to soak in lava and be left alone. Pulled through portals in an environment far too cool for their liking and with people so nearby has them aggressive and dangerous, charging down anyone who gets too near and leaving a red-hot trail of lava in their wake. | 3-8 |
| Minosaur | This creature seems to be a horrific mash of other creatures, similar to a traditional chimera; it possesses the body and horns of a bull, a head like a Tyrannosaurus, the plates of a stegosaurus all the way down it's powerful back and becoming spikes as they trail down it's tail, which ends in a very angry snake head. There is no end of this creature's body which is not hard, sharp, and completely pissed off. If you manage not to get bitten or gored at it's head, you will still need to contend with the powerful hooved legs attempting to stomp down on you, and take care to dodge as the snake head on it's tail spits fire. | 8-10 |
Even after the defeat of the Portals, there's still a lot of things to do! All of the Guilds are open. There's a good training space outside of them to test our powers and computers where you can learn all about what kind of powers you can unlock.
All guilds also have the same Questboard open! Why not take a look and see what adventures await?
- Ask your questions related to the TDM here.
- The TDM is available only to friends of the mods and their friends. If you're not a friend of the mods and 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!
- Feel free to visit the EMP/ATP - meme!
- New characters can add TDM on their subject line to indicate they're new! They can also comment HERE to promote their new top levels.
- Test Drive is open for current characters to make a top level as well.
- 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.
no subject
[ Perhaps that's exactly why Levi doesn't feel the same blood-boiling, white-hot rage he does whenever he looks at Zeke's scruffy, self-righteous mug. ]
[ Reiner... was an enemy, yes, but eventually turned out to be yet another misguided kid. It didn't abstain him from what he's done, but it wasn't fair to put the entire blame on him, either. Just like Eren, almost, though the fact that Levi had
raisedseen him grow certainly did Eren some favors in that regard. ][ It takes Levi a moment to steady himself, for his eye to find Reiner in the crowd. He doesn't move, not yet, though he does straighten up some -- it does nothing for their height difference, really -- before he speaks. His voice is the usual mild, quiet-ish tone, but it carries well even on the street. ]
I'm not out to kill you, Reiner.
[ Not right now, at any rate. Maybe never. It's up to Reiner, really. Levi can see him clenching that knife, can guess the intent behind it. ]
But if you blow up this street and these people, that will change.
[ Fuck around and find out, except maybe don't. ]
no subject
But right now, Reiner feels anything but confident. The memory of losing that fight against Zeke is too immediate, all his feelings of weakness and inadequacy too near the surface. Not to mention his last glimpses of Levi: barreling down on him from atop the wall, then viciously kicking Zeke's severed head. (Because Reiner's feelings toward Zeke may be complicated right now, but Zeke is still an ally; Reiner is sure of that.)
So Reiner doesn't pause to analyze Levi's behavior. His heart is pounding, fingers trembling on his knife, body language more like a cornered animal than a man possessing the power of the Titans. He's surrounded by people who have done him no harm, people against whom he holds no grudge. But ultimately, that doesn't change a damn thing.
He lowers his chin slightly, all but spitting as he snarls, ]
Then don't give me a reason.
[ Will he murder these innocent people to save himself? Of course. ]
no subject
[ Levi stays still. He doesn't think himself that much of a threat at the moment -- honestly, even at peak shape, he probably couldn't do much against Armor without thunderspears, or wasting a hell of a lot of blades aiming for the open parts in the joints -- but it's clear enough that Reiner isn't running on reason right now. He looks like a cornered animal, sounds like one too, and Levi has long decided pride or principles aren't worth human lives. ]
[ It's not like there's any sort of Greater Good in play here to make it feel like a reasonable trade, either. ]
I just gave you a reason not to.
[ He slowly leans down to tuck his knife back into his boot, deliberate, so Reiner can follow his movements, and straightens back up with both hands raised where he can see them. No weapon. No threat. Calm the fuck down. ]
Don't do something you will regret.
[ For more reasons than one. Reiner doesn't actually enjoy watching people die, does he? As long as he doesn't think that's his only option for survival, it should be fine. Hopefully. Surely he doesn't want even more deaths on his conscience, especially since he hasn't yet committed any atrocities in this world. It's a clean slate. A chance. ]
no subject
From far away, Bertolt's voice echoes in his head: "T-tell me who! Who the hell would want to kill people by their own choice?!"
So when Levi straightens up, palms open, no weapon visible, Reiner swallows. Takes a breath. Then slowly—one trembling finger at a time—he releases his grip on his knife, letting his hand fall to his side.
He's not entirely disarmed. Achieving that is complicated, to say the least, and it's certainly not something Reiner will do willingly. But it's a start: a gesture showing that violence isn't his preferred option. ]
no subject
[ He'll speak eventually, though. ]
Much as I'd like to see you get what you deserve... you have an important role in the future. [ Like growing into somebody who helps save the world. He wonders if that knowledge would do more harm or good to Reiner's fractured psyche, though. It's not like it cancels out what he's done either, but at least it's enough for Levi to let him continue existing. Honestly, sometimes that feels crueler than just ending his misery. He's seen that memory too, Eren and Reiner in a basement, the utter despair the man in front of him ends up feeling. He almost feels bad for him. Maybe he'll get better, once his people taut him as a hero, simplified as it is. ] But don't presume that puts you in a position to make demands. You're outnumbered, and you're far away from home.
[ Oops, that sounded kind of like a threat, didn't it? ]
Turning yourself into a public enemy isn't going to help you. Just keep your head down and play along.
no subject
Although the more he calms down, the more Reiner realizes that Captain Levi looks … really rough. Like he's seen a hell of a lot of combat since they last met, and he wasn't on the right side of some severe blows. Did all of that happen since Reiner and Bertolt left the Survey Corps? Or is this more of that 'different times' crap?
Levi mentioning the future essentially confirms Reiner's suspicion. But the rest of the Captain's words…? Reiner presses his lips together, though what expression he's suppressing, even he can't say.
Outnumbered. Far from home. Turning into a public enemy. Keeping his head down and playing along. As if Reiner doesn't have plenty of experience with all of that. As if all that hardship ever stopped him.
Reiner's eyes move from Levi's scarred face to his leg, lingering on the foot that kicked Zeke's severed head. It wasn't real. Reiner doesn't know what it was, exactly, but it wasn't real. Then his gaze flicks back up, meeting Levi's gaze steadily, the lingering pallor fading from his skin. ]
Thanks for the concern, Captain.
[ If such blatant threats could be called such, even in jest.
Reiner straightens his spine, his expression guarded, controlled. Whether Levi intended it or not, those words effectively snapped whatever slender olive branch Reiner thought he glimpsed. Reiner's fear may have faded, but in its place lie wariness and suspicion. ]
Anything else? Or are we done here?
no subject
[ He shrugs mildly, still keeping his hands in sight just in case. ]
I'm done.
[ Although, leaving him to figure this place out all by himself is perhaps... if it were just cruel, it would be fine, but it's also a little careless. He reacted this badly just to seeing Levi; imagine if actual monsters were flooding the street. He's like a bomb waiting to go off, and they already have enough of that with Eren. ]
[ (Do they really? Or is it just something they expect but is actually unlikely to happen at this point?) ]
No questions, huh. Maybe your cousin will fill you in.
[ Gabi had clearly been missing him. Maybe she can keep him under control. ]
no subject
A traitor no matter which side he chose, right and wrong blurring into a tangled snarl he can't unravel. Friends on one side, friends on the other, and they were just kids who didn't know anything, and that fact amounts to nothing. Their fate was sealed before they ever set foot on Paradis' shores.
Reiner doesn't know Levi. Can't see him as anything other than a threat right now, even if somewhere, locked in some fractured fragment of a fake life, Reiner thought him a hero. And Reiner isn't quite far gone enough to start begging an enemy for answers.
Whether he remembers Levi mentioning a cousin or not is anyone's guess. He seizes the dismissal before it slips away, striding purposefully, moving perpendicular to Levi until he can get a wall between them, then vanishing from sight. ]
no subject
[ Levi watches Reiner leave, waiting for him to disappear from sight before his hands drop down and he lets out a sigh. Crisis averted... for now. He should probably let everyone know, though. Guess he's got some rounds to make. ]
[ He does consider tailing the man, but figures it might do more harm than good if he's noticed. And if he doesn't make a huge, bloody spectacle of himself, then there's no reason to find him anyway. ]