seasonsgreetings | Test Drive Meme #5

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Test Drive Meme #5

Test Drive Meme #5
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION

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.

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.

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?

Light a Candle For You

Part 1

All throughout the city, a festival is taking place. It's the festival to honor the dead. The areas are decorated with aesthetically appropriate lights and different flowers. Upon a closer look it becomes clear that all the flowers are bundles of flowers, based on the otherworlders' flower charms. Where a characters' flower is depends on their Season, but all of the appear in the Nightwake Center district.

The main part of the festivities is to light candles in various places. There are even floating lanterns, that can be either launched to the skies or put on surfaces of water. Those who have lost (= to death) someone at any point in their life will receive a message from them in their dreams and otherwise pleasant dreams about them if they light up a candle during the festivities.

Those who have died before (back in their world or on Ellipsa) will receive a protective light around them if they light up a candle. This light will also let the natives know to treat them with kindness and respect during the festivities. They will even receive special bonuses at some of the shops and restaurants, like discounts or extra items. The light itself will decrease any damage done to them for the rest of the month. The light will dim "when needed", but even as it's not easily noticeable, it will continue to protect.

Characters may receive both of these effects.

Part 2

The second part of the festivities involves making small ghosts made out of paper or cloth. These crafts are for the local ghosts to possess so they can be seen by everyone. Once the ghosts have possessed the crafts they will hover around the place, experiencing the festivities better than in their ethereal form. Only ghosts that wish to move on to the afterlife will possess the crafts.

Some of the ghosts gather at the Blossomcrown Park where magical crests have been set on various tables there. These ghosts are those who have been waiting for this moment to pass onto afterlife. Everyone visiting the bonfire will be given a special flower wreath. The goal is to wait for one of the ghosts to move and take hold of the wreath (literally holding onto it with their craft ghost forms) before placing it on the crests together with another person. This will help the ghosts to cross the border into afterlife. The wreath disappears after the ghost has passed on. This ritual can only be done at this time of the year, as the air is filled with a mysterious essence that helps with passing on. The scientists have yet to properly determine what the essence truly is, but it seems to concentrate on the park and at least it's not dangerous for the living.

The park also has some places to just sit down and enjoy the atmosphere at the park. There are also some food and drink stalls.

We All Become What We Pretend To Be

Part 1

The final part of the festivities is the multi-day Costume Party Masquerade happening in the largest airship of the city. The ship circles around the whole city of Nightwake, occasionally stopping at the dock and taking new passengers (or letting old ones out) before continuing on again. The airship is special, as it has a giant ballroom in the middle. There are also cabins, some more private and some more communal for those who just want a quick place to crash rather than a proper room.

Everyone who boards the airship must wear some sort of a mask, but they also have to be in a costume of some sort. Those who don't have either or both will be guided to a dressing room where the magic will pick them whatever they are missing at random (= of player's choosing) and dress them (their current clothes will be waiting for them at the airship station later). No one escapes the rule of a costume and a mask around here!

A magic is also applied to everyone's mask, making it harder for anyone to recognize the person wearing it (possibly even those who know them very well). This is said to add some level of mystery to the evening. Of course the spell will pause whenever someone takes off their mask and that may reveal a secret to someone. No one will just automatically forget if they saw someone take off their mask.

The music encourages people to dance and be brave in asking a stranger to dance with them. Thanks to the atmosphere of the masquerade, touch energy will feel even better than usual, even if you'd be "fully loaded".

Part 2

Another sort of magic sneaks into the party, as people's costumes start to take over their personalities. Someone dressed up as a king might start acting all regal, while a vampire look-a-like might try to bite someone in their neck. Some might even lose the sight of who they really are and completely take on their new roles for the time they're in the airship and in the costume.

Fairies will start trying to bomb people gone weird with water balloons, as a splash of water on their faces will wake them up from the trance (even if the said person is wearing a mask). They're even teleporting water balloons for others to toss - especially if it looks like someone is acting a bit too dangerously.

Another way is to strip them out of their clothes, but that might be something reserved for the privacy of a cabin, rather than the ballroom.

Even once someone has been freed from the spell they can unfortunately be spellbound again later on - but it's just less likely.

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

So far, my studies pertain more to collecting the knowledge rather than using it... but I am sure that someday, you will get to see the fruits of my labor.

[Purple seems neither surprised nor bothered by Kagami's decision to sit on the counter - hell, whatever space was open was probably left because Julie likes to do the same.
(Which is fair, considering she's three feet tall. You'd wanna sit high up on a counter if you were three feet tall, too.)]

Their joy is but one of many reasons I speak with them, to be truthful with you.

[They take a second, here, to check one of the plants' soil... before using their magic to scoop a watering can up from the back of the sink, going about watering the plants that need it while they're here.]

Ever since I learned of their ability to hear us, I thought of how lonely such an existence must be... to be surrounded by these creatures who are able to walk and see the world, but never once getting to speak with them.
Especially when you consider how they are often treated by those like us. Plucked and left to wither in a dreary vase on a coffee table. Often trampled without a thought.

... It reminds me too much of my own history for comfort.

But I’m so impatient, Purple! The suspense is killing me.

[Yes good anyone who is shorter than Kagami is someone he’s interested in knowing. He swings his legs, but the pensive look on his face doesn’t match his animated restlessness. Kagami is attentively silent as they talk, and simply allows them both to sit with the gravity of their words.]

You could have let that treatment make you bitter. It’s a lot easier to be cruel to others when that’s what you know. But you didn’t with these helpless flowers.

You care.

[... Y'know what?
One more hair ruffle. Purely for that impatience. Unfortunately, he'll just have to wait... they have no idea what they're even going to use their studies for, after all.]

It is easy to become bitter, and allow that bitterness to consume who you are. But I have lived many millennia... I have had many periods of my life filled with bitterness and hatred.
It is tiresome. It is easy to become bitter, but difficult to maintain.
Eventually, you wish to give up everything, bitterness and all. I do not want to fall back to that point ever again.

And so I talk to those I meet, here in Ellipsa. I ask the dead of their feelings.
And I speak to the flowers.

I find things to be much better, that way.

[Kagami squawks, but he stares at Purple with a mix of awe and interest, unblinking.]

…I agree! It sounds like you’ve learned from that bitterness. I’m quite happy that you’ve come to this answer.

[He hugs himself, wearing the shirt like a cocoon.]

You do kind of remind me of a flower. It’s your hair. And how graceful and pretty you are.

[- That comment gets them to look up from their flowers again, blinking quick like they're surprised to hear it... but they're just as quick to turn their gaze back to the blossoms, as if they're checking to make sure the flowers are all okay.
(They're not. It's just to give them something to look at that isn't Kagami.)]

Thank you. I do take good care of it. ... My hair, that is.
Though, I believe am... quite a bit plainer than a flower might be. They almost seem to glow in the sun, don't they?

[Several millions of years old, yet they still struggle with compliments. Imagine that.]

You must tell me your secret sometime.

[He throws his arms out, nearly knocking one of the plants over and hops off the counter so he can be close to them.]

But you're very wrong, Purple! You only feel that way because you haven't seen yourself. You're not plain at all, and I'm sure you'd be magical in the sunlight.

[Those glowing white eyes of theirs upturn a bit, almost looking sad, but there's a smile in their tone.
That kind of expression of, "That's a nice thought, but not exactly."]

But I have seen myself. This is myself. I do not change at all in the sunlight.

[Said as Purple gently lifts their arms away from themself as a means of gesturing to their looks.]

I may not remember how I looked before I became a Mage, but I am very familiar with my looks as I am now.
I have spent many nights staring into the Mirror... it would be difficult not to memorize your own looks with such a ritual.

[A concerned crease appears between his brows, but he doesn't say anything. Fishing in his pocket, he withdraws a glittering, purple hairclip. With painstaking care, he clips it into Purple's hair...although he has to settle for closer to their ends, due to their height.]

There! Now you'll surely sparkle!

Sparkle...?

[That's parroted quietly as Purple reaches up to feel what he just put in their hair, blinking a bit in surprise - they know what hair clips are (now, thanks to Julie), but it's still weird to feel weight in their hair like this...
They take a second to take it between their fingers, turning it so they can get a good look without pulling it out of their hair.]

... And you are giving this to me? Are you sure?

I wouldn't have given it to you if I wasn't~

[He takes one step back, hands clasped behind him, almost shy. He regards Purple quietly and nods in approval.]

...I was right. It looks better on you. Not giving it to you would be a waste.

...

[They're still checking it out, turning it back and forth to see the glitter catch the light.
In fact, they look absolutely enamored with it.]

... You are the second person, now, who has suggested my looks would brighten if I were to embrace things such as this.
Until now, my... accessorizing had been either strictly practical, keeping my amulets and enchantments on hand, or done by others.

Perhaps I ought to reconsider...

[Kagami has no idea what kind of monster he's helping to make, but at least they seem happy??]

Then I'm one of two people who gives great advice.

[He cants his head, smiling fondly at their reaction.]

It's fun to try new things, Purple! I think you should do it. You can learn more about what you like.

[He reaches up again to fix a stray hair.]

You look lovely.

[They aren't entirely sure why... but the feeling strikes them to take his hand as he pulls away from fixing their hair.
Just to hold it. Nothing special for most people. But man, if he'd seen how touch-averse they'd been during their first few months in Ellipsa, he'd probably get how big this is.]

Thank you, Kagami. ... You have a surprising warmth beneath that saccharine veneer you put on, it seems.

[For Kagami, time stops. His eyes are round, staring at the hand that holds his with a mix of confusion and wistfulness. He looks like he wants to ask a question.

And just like that, he shakes his head and huffs, that pensive, melancholy look gone.]

I'm always warm. You just have an empty head, silly~

[Purple's glowing white eyes, looking at him knowingly, still curve up as if there's an invisible smile underneath them.
Still holding his hand, too - in fact, they give it a warm, little squeeze.]

Ah, of course. Forgive me - you know how easy it is for an old immortal like myself to forget.

[The mask slips for a second. The look Kagami gives Purple can only be described as adoring.

How vexing. He looks down, knowing full well he can't solely blame the magic for the warmth he feels when Purple holds his hand.]

It's okay~ I can keep reminding you.

[He doesn't let go, and, shy, squeezes their hand back.]

[He really is so sweet underneath everything, isn't he? Like he has a little core of honey balled up inside a globe of steel.
They give his hand a gentle little tug.]

Come closer for me, would you? I wish to give you something.
In return for the hair clip.

[!!!

Kagami looks up and although the smile is still an act, it's not entirely forced. He bounces on the balls of his feet and moves closer as requested.]

Really? Something for me?! What is it?!

[Sorry, but Purple's not gonna tell! Rather, they're quiet as he takes a couple steps closer, keeping his hand in theirs as they lean over...
And press a kiss to his hair. It's small, but just enough of a kiss to make it clear that's what happened.

Yes, even though they supposedly lack a mouth. He's free to try and wrap his mind around that, now.]

[It takes him a moment to process what just happened, and when he does it sends his mind in a blue-screening loop, because what just happened Does Not Compute.

Purple... They...

No mouth??? But they kissed him???

Kagami makes a sound that suspiciously resembles a squeak and cranes his neck, blinking at them stupidly from behind his fingers. He resents the warm fuzzies that Purple's gift has left him with. He dislikes that they left him blushing, somehow even more at a loss. Purple...kissed him.

Like they cherished him. Like he was important.

Like someone as insignificant as him was worth that sweet gesture.

This wasn't what he planned. Kagami takes the shortest possible path to one of the chairs, which involves jumping on the coffee table. He lands on the soft fabric, pulls his knees up to his chest, and stays there, curled up, shy and utterly defeated.]

[His reaction doesn't exactly startle them, per se, so much as just take them by surprise - they were braced for a strong reaction, but that wasn't like any reaction they've ever seen from anyone else.
Unfortunately for Kagami... they're definitely taking it the wrong way. And once he seems comfortable, they very carefully float into the livingroom where Kagami's sequestered himself on an armchair.

Usually they might have just teleported in, but man. The last thing they wanna do is spook him on top of everything else!!]

My apologies... it seems I have overstepped a boundary. That was not my intention; I thought that, perhaps, you were the sort of person who would... appreciate a gesture like that.
But this is one of the many things I have more to learn of; it is only due to Ellipsa's Seasonal magic that I could do such a thing at all, so I have not had much time to understand the etiquette...

...Wha.

[Slowly, the hands shielding his face are eventually lowered. Kagami's face is still red. It could easily be mistaken for a fever. His thoughts are still an incoherent mess and one misunderstanding close of flying off the rails again, but he swallows, throat dry, and tries to respond anyway.]

You...you kissed me because you thought I'd like it? You...but I didn't do anything?

... But you did.

[That's said, of course, as they levitate the lock of hair still held in a clip up so he can see it.]

I am not given gifts very often... in Everhood, I received none at all. Such a thing is a very big gesture to me because of it.
Do you not see it as such?

...I thought you'd look cute with it.

[He mumbles. The sheepish quality in his voice is no longer an act. It's a big deal for him, dropping his guard like this. He burrows in the shirt again, his voice muffled.]

Stop floating and come sit. It's annoying.

Of course.

[That's answered of his command without any hesitation, and they do so without even a moment of thought. Kinda like it's muscle memory. Whoops.
But at least that means they do as he's asked, hovering across the main room and sitting... not beside him, considering he's in an armchair, but close.

... Not that they have any idea of what to say. Or if they should say anything? They're pretty sure they're the one who's done something stupid, here, so it's better to leave that up to him, right??
They have no idea. Socializing's difficult and boy, do they suck at it.]

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slides this ur way before i sleep

wah...sleep well!

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