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seasonsgreetings2023-06-16 10:01 am
Test Drive Meme #3
Test Drive Meme #3
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.
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 Welcoming Committee 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.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
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?
The center of Nightwake never sleeps and there's always something happening, but today there's a lot of excitement in the air all around the center and every district! Locals and those who want to help them (for 100 Moon Coins or a gift card of their choosing), are walking to everyone to offer colorful fliers along with free vending machine tokens. There's also colorful advertisement on billboards and posters everywhere around the city advertising all sorts of things like items, clothes, drinks and more.
Local businesses, stores and restaurants are also going pretty crazy with their celebrations of anyone walking in being their 50th, 100th or whatever customer of the day and the prize among other things are gift cards and more free vending machine tokens but they aren't even for that same shop or restaurant? They also offer people to spin all kinds of different prize wheels, spin roulettes, buying a certain amount of things from them, and taking part in eating and drinking competitions for a surprise prize. Someone even put these surprise prizes into the Gacha Restaurant's randomizer, so for a week, you can choose it as a total surprise there too. (The surprises can be even more vending machine tokens and silly things like cute keychains or a 5-in-1 avocado tool as some examples.)
You can't find any of these shops, restaurants and other places, that they are advertising, in the whole city. The locals, posters and billboards will tell you where you can find them. There's a new entrance in every district, where locals welcome everyone to the grand opening of the Underground Mall!
Some may even drop into a sudden hole in the ground on their way and fall (or slide) somewhere far away. Don't worry, there will be very soft and huge pillows for landing in your destination.
The Underground Mall's upper floors give the vibe of a joyous mall with several restaurants and shops you won't see on the surface. The mall is definitely a must visit place for those who appreciate different fashion and exciting food choices. The party from the surface continues down here with various sales around the area. A good day for shopping!
For those who like games, there's a futuristic VR Arcade for you! This Arcade focuses on games that are played with VR goggles on. Even your regular DDR machine will now take you to dance in different environments and feel like you're dancing for your life or for an actual audience.
There are all sorts of vending machines lined up in their own, huge corner. You can find the usual ones with all sorts of different snacks, food and drinks, but there are also some with cake, cookies, mayonnaise, cream, flowers, engagement rings and other less usual but normal things. Nothing here is randomized, unless you choose the random option from the machine, otherwise you get exactly what you want. So pick your favorites or try something new, that sounds more or less good! You can find a machine that turns moon coins on your phone into vending machine tokens (or you can pay straight with your phone).
And, yes, you can find vending machines full of snacks and drinks all around the area too.
Then there's also an area for ufo catchers with all kinds of prizes like pokemon plushies and lots of other plushies, items themed to different season, plushies and other items themed to any fauna and flora from all around Ellipsa, puzzles, food themed items etc etc.
Moving inside the mall is done by escalators and elevators, but there are also regular stairs for those who prefer them.
The fastest way of traveling from floor to floor in the mall is by quick teleport nodes. You choose a floor you want to go to from the list of choices, much like an elevator and then you're transported into that floor's node within seconds. Unfortunately, they're still working out on the bugs in the system, so you may end up in the wrong place - including places that aren't on the list of choices.
There's also a Poké Ball Vending Machine, so anyone who recognizes poké balls may have some idea what they could get here. The vending machine somehow has enough balls for everyone in Ellipsa but everyone can only buy one ball! The balls don't have names in them and no one can see through them, so even those, who know Pokémon will NOT know what they'll be getting from this vending machine as it is entirely randomized!
Are you ready to get your first Pokémon? What about being ready to see how you two get along? Everyone, who plays this vending machine, gets either a Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Eevee, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Rowlet, Litten, Poplio, Grookey, Scorbunny, Sobble, Spirigatito, Fuecoco or Quaxly.
(And yes, ICly it is entirely randomized but OOCly you can decide which one you want your character to get... Of course you can rng the result too. More about Pokémon guidelines in the OOC Tips of this TDM.)
The third part of the TDM is under this details cut as it has Content Warnings, including Cursed things, Organized Crime, Illegal Activities, Monster Forms/Body Horror, Attempted Murder, Experimenting on People
The Third Part of the TDM [ Click to Expand ]
The lowest levels of the mall are only accessible by random quick teleport nodes around the mall (if you know you know is the motto with these). You can run into them on accident (they're usually hidden, but with so much traffic, the hiding place becomes visible) and they sometimes immediately just teleport people without any warning. The arrival can be in various places. A random shady hallway, in the middle of the floor, in a shady establishment and so on.
Anything that seems shady can be found from these floors. Even the local diners here are very weird and likely have illegal things on the menu. Clothing stores sell all kinds of clothes fit for thieves and assassins and the amount of weapons shops here is twice the amount than on the surface. Rumor has it there are also people trying to summon the devil somewhere around here, but that's still just a rumor.
One of the teleport node locations can take you to the front of a cursed vending machine corner. At first they look like ordinary vending machines, but upon closer inspection one may notice they are anything but ordinary.
The food vending machines are full of different "eatable" bugs with half-hearted warnings that they may or may not be poisonous (they didn't really check before putting them in the packaging), Mystery Food boxes (includes some very suspicious foods that don't look edible, but are actually alright in taste? But may contain some side effects like growing mushrooms out of your hair if you eat the mushroom ones), ones that is labeled Energy Drinks but all of them look more like creepy potions (they provide energy but at the cost of poisoning someone for 24 hours) and hyper realistic cakes that look like various body parts (the cake part is intentionally written in small print).
Other vending machines have various shark eggs (hatching them will provide a magical shark with little hands and legs that invades the first watery surface it finds and bites whoever comes too close - it does not belong as a pet, but one may try to tame one), Mystery Boxes (with anything from highly cursed jewelry to books that suck your soul if written into) and Cheat Slips (it's said these slips will let you master a skill immediately, but all it does is cause one's powers to go berserk for 2 hours).
The lowest levels are also a place for a large Casino. While they do exist on the surface, this one is a little different.
The Casino (named just that, "The Casino") is divided into four different sections; All of them are dominated by an organized crime group. This is the only area of the underground they work together in peace and sometimes come to relax. They don't cause trouble for each other here, but they definitely can try to cause trouble for everyone who is visiting the place.
Losing in this Casino can mean being taken to the back rooms by whichever group's area you ended up losing in. They will offer to let you go if you can pay off your debt you made in the Casino, but they have other options of compensation.
Name: Diamonds
Game Area: Card Games (Poker, Black Jack, Craps)
Compensation: They will send characters on a criminal quest to either steal or sabotage something or even smuggle a (cursed) item into important places.
Name: Spades
Game Area: Roulette
Compensation: They will attempt to kill the character that lost in the quietness of the backrooms.
Name: Clubs
Game Area: Pool, Darts
Compensation: They will just make characters clean their casino area.
Name: Hearts
Game Area: Slot Games
Compensation: They will drag characters into experiments in a different facility.
You may also end up taken to the back rooms for getting caught cheating, although it may also end up in a congratulatory meeting for an impressive sleight of hand instead or an invitation to join one of the groups. How would you feel about a life of crime?
Those caught in Hearts Group's Experiments will be subjected to series of tests. Mostly they're to check the characters' physical condition before proceeding. Once the tests are concluded, the character will be given a medicine (either via shot or a pill). This medicine will not show any signs of working for a while and characters are let go afterwards.
The same medicine can, however, later be consumed by anyone else in various foods and drinks (free samples, some restaurants, even some grocery store items), even in the higher levels of the Mall. The experiments were the final test before distributing the medicine secretly to the public. So your character may accidentally end up getting the medicine in other ways.
What are the medicine? Monster Form activators. They will awaken a monster form inside a character that will trigger under one of the (player) selected conditions: strong emotional reaction, full moon, near death situation or bleeding.
The form can be returned from by calming down and focusing on their sense of self, but there's a chance to go berserk, making this difficult. If characters go berserk, their powers will be a lot stronger, but they won't know who's a friend and who's a foe. Their form may also be a lot scarier than it normally is. They will likely only want to cause destruction around them or want to feed on humans.
| Monster | Description | Powers |
|---|---|---|
| Alraune | Plant monsters with a humanoid shape. They may have changes as simple as flowers growing in their hair or have complex body modifications such as roots for legs and long vines as hands. | Pollen with status effects like sleep/poison/paralysis, control over plants, poisonous kisses, etc |
| Gargoyle | Monstrous humanoid winged creatures with horns on their head and stony hides. | Super strength, tough skin, flight |
| Harpy | Human-bird hybrids. Anything part can be replaced with bird bodyparts, although the most common configuration is arms turned to wings and legs into talons. | Flight, sonic scream, hypnotizing voice, ability to whip up whirlwinds |
| Kelpie | Aquatic horses with a man made of seaweed and algae, covered in a sticky fur that makes it nearly impossible to get off if one is to ride them. Some may get a fish tail when underwater, although when out of water they have legs like any horse. | Water breathing, illusions |
| Lich | Undead humanoids, they may look skeletal or simply corpselike. | Raising the dead (into zombies/skeletons), necrotic touch |
| Manticore | Beastlike creatures with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion or dragon. They vary greatly, some sporting horns on their heads, or resembling a Chimera or Sphinx. | Super strength, flight if wings. |
| Minotaur | Animalistic monsters with the head of a bull and the body of a human, although some variations exist in which there are different animal heads. Some sport hooves and a tail in place of legs. | Super strength, overall size, super defense. |
| Taur | This refers to any number of creatures with a humanoid upper body and a lower body that resembles a non-anthropomorphic animal in the same sort of style as a centaur. This category includes things like Arachne and Naga, and other variations of such monsters. | Varies depending on animal the taur is based on |
| Werecreatures | Monstrous, bipedal animals, the transformation of which is often (but not always) triggered by the full moon. Common variants are wolves and bears, although they can be about any animal. The Pooka would be one of the variations in the werecreature category. | Depends on the animal the form is based on, but usually super strong/fast etc |
This effect can either be permanent or temporary, depending on how the players want it. Temporary can be up to just one transformation under the conditions or several.
- 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 (or "New" or anything else) 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.
- Remember to add Content Warnings wherever needed!
- 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!
- Pokémon Guidelines:
• Anything mindblowing crazy that the pokedex has to offer for any of the evolutions doesn't carry over to Seasons. They're closer to anime variants where people can get flamethrower at their face and live (we still do not recommend getting a flamethrower at face)
• Pokémon gain experience points much slower, even if they battle one another.
• You may be able to find a vending machine with weird stones mixed in for stone evolutions. Strange.
• All start at level 5.
• More Pokémon may appear later in the game but for now it's just the ones mentioned.
• More on all the available Pokémon here!
- Check Locations: City to find more areas to explore inside the city. Every place in the districts are open. The Underground Mall has been added to the locations page at the very end of it.
- Similarly, Locations: Segments is useful for outdoors adventures. You can find monsters to encounter on Beastiary.
- Minor NPCs page has been updated with the criminal organizations.
- FAQ has information on characters' smartphones as well as general things about the world that might be handy.
- Feel free to check and use out Questboard for additional prompts.
no subject
I would absolutely love to give a listen, and if you need help looking for one I can keep an eye out. I like to look through those places for a vinyl record that might catch my eye and I want to see what sort of music it is.
[Get a few sets of eyes looking.]
Of course!
[And it was easy to let those door close and keep them closed without setting into motion just yet. Even as she watched him, couldn't at all miss that this was definitely something he did a lot. Easier not to worry so much for how he could get up there to check, but at least she was there just in case there was any chance he did slip.]
Nice, can have your own special seat for elevator rides and no one needs to know you're there when you don't want them to. Easy way to get there from the outside, or think you have to go into it from here first?
[Better to check than not!]
no subject
Fufufu, we have been described as having a cool, rock-like sound, but our music is varied, too~ We haaaaave a few ballads and upbeat tracks as well. I think we are quite unique~
[Mayoi, for all his nervousness, does not have an issue speaking confidently when it comes to his pride in his unit.]
[After a moment he manages to put his feet where his hands once braced the wall and he gets almost all the way into the ceiling. He then makes a hum and slides right out, replacing the tile and landing softly, but exactly like he is used to doing this every day, back on the ground next to Iggy.]
I won't know until I've had the opportunity to study the way this shaft connects to the building from where we will stop, but I thiiiink the odds are good. [He is so happy.] Shall we...?
no subject
Awesome- and there's nothing wrong with experimenting in sound and style if they fit a specific piece. Can make it hit that much more and fully express what you're going for! Unique is good, even if some may like a song more than others, you'd still be hitting the people that it could mean the most to.
[There was something special in that, a further reach or just hitting people others might not ever get or think of. There would always be a piece of music that could touch and mean so much to someone.
Iggy laughed softly, and pressed the button to go to the floor her apartment was on.]
We shall, and you know I'll keep the elevator stopped and closed if you wanna check once we hit my floor.
no subject
Yes, I think so, too. Where I am from ...we are just one unit trying to claw ourselves up from the very bottom and ...we must stand out in order to survive in our industry. It is not a kind one, unfortunately.
[But that is a whole other can of worms.]
Ah, thank you...!
[And he will do that once they are up on her floor. It only takes him a second to survey it, though its a little trickier getting to the ceiling from outside the elevator, but he manages. Once he's done that, though, he drops back down to the floor and pulls out a notebook and jots down some notes.]
[Normal Mayoi things. He will be happy to follow her to her place after that, though. Iggy is so patient with her weird new friend...]
no subject
A wonderful thing to bond over, reach across the forced divide.]
Some are definitely not as kind as they look from the outside. Think that as long as you've got each others backs? You'll all hopefully go far, more so with that passion you have.
[Couldn't miss it in how Mayoi spoke, after all.]
Hey, anytime I'm around and you gotta check this sort of stuff out.
[And she did wait once they got there, keeping an eye out- and keeping the elevator right where it was to help make finding where it connected easier.
Iggy did walk them to her apartment, unlocking the door. Kept it rather simple, and given that it was Nightwake the furnishings were rather modern- but her record player was on a low table, a pair of headphones beside it. Records kept carefully on the shelf-like underside of the same table that fit them neatly.
There was, of course, touches of colors here and there by way of framed posters of a few local bands and things created by artists in a few different distracts. Frames 'thrifted' more or less.
Then there was a cat, black as a void, curled up and sleeping on one of the couch cushions.]
And this is where I've been staying, don't mind miss Janie Jones over there. She's pretty chill, which has been nice when it comes to any sort of roomie covered in fur.
[Iggy wasn't sure she could fully call the void cat a pet. Companion of the furry variety all the same.]
no subject
Yes ...they mean the world to me. The first people to ever reach their hand out to me in the darkness.
[Ah, but here we are. Mayoi peers around curiously, though he stands very straight and his arms are tucked in close so he does not take up any space as he looks around. What a nice place! Things are where they belong and there is a bit of decoration here and there, yes its very lovely.]
[His eyes are drawn to the little void cat, of course. Cute...]
Your home is very nice, Iggy-san. I-is Janie Jones-san accepting of ...of head pets...?
no subject
[She believed it, too. Friends and those willing to reach out were worth so much, and would even fight to remain at your side when they had you. Iggy found that one out herself, even when she'd felt hopeless after so much confusion and hurt that built into anger for no where else to go.
The door was closed after him, making her way inside herself.
Janie brrrpt'd and stretched out at the sound of them, a good and long stretch, as two glowing starlight-like eyes opened.]
Thanks, Mayoi! Been slowly collecting things here and there to bring some color in- and she is. Sweet girl enjoys them a lot, and I've found she is friendly- aren't you Miss Jones?
[Another trilling sound in answer, pulling herself up to sit on a pillow right on the arm of the couch.]
The eye-glow thing there is natural, by the way- all the void cats are like that, so I was told. [Just in case it worried him.]
no subject
[So, very politely, he will come and kneel in front of her and offer his hand for her to sniff. If she does not find him grotesque, then he will give her the gentlest of pats.]
Fufufu, yeees ...you are quite lovely, aren't you~
[But after a moment he will look up at Iggy.]
Ah ...I know we came all this way to talk about something. If that is something you still wish to offer, I would be grateful ...but if you'd rather rescind I would not be resentful.
no subject
Cats were strange and honestly, Iggy still appreciated her company during her first few weeks once that cat had followed her. Why leave the cat at the shelter if Miss Jones there wanted to stick with her?
Iggy pulled a beanbag she had gotten from some shop and sat down in it, legs crossed and comfortable—]
It is still well on offer, whatever you're comfortable with. Can take it at your pace, and only gotta say what you're willing- and like I said, I can get one of the records playing for some nice background sound if it helps.
no subject
That may help. I …
[Where does he start? Thinking about it sends a little anxiety through him and he so he tightly grips the fabric of his pants.]
I know we are in a strange, different world, and the sort of repercussions I might have feared for speaking of this may not be relevant here. However …the weight of this secret is so heavy that I still do not wish to take chances.
[He fidgets a little with the fabric of his pants.]
Based on our conversations so far I am lead to believe we are from a similar place but perhaps separated by time. Do you know very much about Japan?
no subject
[It was easy for her, reaching over to the coffee table and plucking up a red album, careful as she slipped the record out while setting the album cover back down. It was practiced ease in which she set the vinyl record on the player, setting the needle in place, making sure the sound was low enough they could hear each other over.
The music did start up, Iggy settling herself back on the beanbag and giving Mayoi her full attention. She could understand the lingering worry of course.]
That should help on top of sound proof walls, and I can understand not wanting to take any chances when it's something heavy.
[Hands rested in her lap, legs crossed as she sat in the beanbag.]
I know about as much as anyone else outside of Japan might? There's a few whisperings about yakuza and a few vigilantes here and there dealing with that ever since a big family was taken out of power in Hanamura years ago. Otherwise it's the usual things, and that certain areas are really pretty. Not a bad place to visit, and so on.
no subject
Japan, or at least, the one I am familiar with, has something called a koseki. It is a document that traces lineage through several generations, a family registry. It is used for a number of things ...but it is a proof of your identity. Simply put, without it, you are not considered a Japanese citizen.
[His eyes trail down to his hands, and he keeps them there while he continues.]
Many years ago, my clan was driven beneath the ground by another, stronger clan. Exile was our punishment for being weak, and so beneath the ground we writhed like worms. Sometime after that the koseki was created... However ...b-because of our banishment, we were never registered. There is no koseki for the Ayase Clan. By ...all rights, we do not exist.
no subject
Oh. Oh.
That was terrible, more so if—]
So, should I be understanding it right, if you were ever found out, it wouldn't mean anything good.
[No proof of having ever existed, despite having been there the entire time. The mess, and worse, that could come of it.]
no subject
It would be unfathomable, the sort of things that could befall us. As nonentities, we have no rights or protection under …or from …the government. At best …we would be arrested. At worst…
[They are simply wiped out, made to disappear. Or worse.]
So …I must be very careful with this selfish risk I am taking, walking on the surface and working as an idol. Slipping up… would cost everything.
[He looks down again. The guilt for saying even this much is unmistakably on his face.]
Its a secret I’ve kept for a long time… when I heard your story I could not help but want to finally let it out. I am a pathetic, weak creature after all.
no subject
Finding someone that understands can feel like some heavy weight is lighter, more so when you can talk safely.
[She moved forward, and she made sure her hand was seen before turning it over with palm upwards as it was offered. Once again giving that choice that he could hold her hand if he needed that. A connection that was physical.
Sometimes that could be a small comfort in and of itself.]
Nonentities is what we're seen as, if not worse. No rights and no protection, the only safety being the Underworld we're forced to live in- and it is still home because it's what we have with each other. We try so hard to keep the grid powered, but shops won't sell parts because of how they view us, or are afraid that if they are seen helping something bad will happen to them. While on the surface... just existing somewhere is enough to have the police called on us, and then can only hope they just arrest us. [So much fear-] But going up there is a risk we have to take, to get those parts to keep our grid going- and to make our voices heard beside the humans who see us as sentient beings just like them.
No matter the risk, fighting in some way to have something better.
no subject
[But he knows better now. It’s taken a lot for him to learn.]
[Mayoi reaches and takes that hand, but he does so that is meant to be just as much comforting for her as it is him. He is the sort of person who has become shamelessly attached to physical contact, spoiled now that he’s gotten so used to it up on the surface, how wretched~]
I-I do not think I can claim to be doing anything for ‘good’ …I truly believe I am living shamelessly and selfishly for my own dream…
[But …of course he would not have made it this far if not for the help from his people. His forged paperwork was all their hand, as if silently they had all given him some blessing. As if even they wanted to see him succeed-]
It is truly lamentable what people will do to those they do not understand… Sometimes the thought of it makes me feel like I am better off rotting away in some dark corner, forgotten. But …sometimes I am so motivated by standing on that bright stage, desperate to prove to humanity that creatures like me do exist …and we still wish to be loved.
[Iggy-san’s situation is so similar and yet it feels even more dire. At least …good portions of their subterranean home were livable and comfortable. They did their best to turn their situation into something sustainable by means even Mayoi doesn’t fully understand- however he does know there are others like him who walk on the surface with fake paperwork, doing their best to make things easier for those below. Supplies is passed down through their tunnels that way.]
I-I never would have expected to meet someone who could understand so much about what I could never speak of. [Ah, he is getting emotional. He’s tearing up, but don’t worry, he is… very weepy by nature.] Thank you… Thank you so much for l-listening to me, Iggy-saaan…!
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So many of her people, stepping up and showing strength against one of their own that had been taking advantage of their fears to turn them into an army for violence. To try and take something back by force that would only make things worse for all sides. Ripping off the metaphorical mask from Kace so he lost all of his power over them-
Them standing behind her, all of her people, against fear and violence because there had to be a better way.]
Going for what you want isn't bad, I don't think. You're reaching out to others, through the music you are helping create despite it, and I think that is good. Finding people of the same mind in a way, too.
[The strength gathered in the Underworld, and the support from someone she could call her friend despite the moment of deep hurt and anger that nearly had Iggy lose sight of her hope—]
That's all it takes sometimes- the reminder that there can be better, no matter how hard you may have to work at it. Having others' support, knowing they are there behind you and even beside you so you aren't facing the hard times alone. That you have that chance, clinging to it so tightly with some fear of losing it otherwise- but it's worth whatever pain may come from those who don't understand and are unwilling to be, because you aren't alone.
[And it helped, so much. She could understand Mayoi's fears and the sort of weight every action or word taken to try and undermine that hope, to try and destroy it and force one back into the dark and be nothing more than what was thrown. Other voices were there to be heard, to support and catch from falls.
They were getting the needed parts to keep their grid running, actually repair it, and Lena had helped so much. Getting parts that none of them could ever get their hands on for an actual repair otherwise. People that stood beside them in peaceful protests just to be heard.
Iggy kept Mayoi's hands with her own, a gentle warmth and solid anchor- for her, too.]
I hadn't either, outside of anyone from the Underworld coming here like I did. Different circumstances here sure- but understanding means so much. [Another gentle squeeze of Mayoi's hand, her voice soft yet filled with that clear warmth-] Anytime, Mayoi- and I mean that. You're welcome to my apartment anytime, too. Even if just for somewhere quiet, listen to music, talk, or just hang.