seasonsgreetings | Test Drive Meme #5

Test Drive Meme #5
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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.

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

Erwin takes the scale carefully in his hand. He wishes he had both of them again, just to more thoroughly examine it. A phantom limb seems to flex and tense with excitement, unseen but felt in his mind.

The scale is so beautifully iridescent, like a fish scale but a thousand times larger and more beautiful. It's not completely smooth, but with a little bit of texture, and seems to glitter even in the dim light of the nearby lamps. With the size of it, he can only extrapolate to the size of the creature. Incredible. What does a world with dragons look like? How would a landscape change around them, how would people behave, what sort of infrastructure would exist to accommodate them if they interacted with humans? So many interesting possibilities to think about.

Erwin taps it gently with his fingertips, brings it closer to his face to see the details, holds it up to the light, just absolutely fascinated, before finally handing it back to Eren, smiling at the thought of them being large crows.

"Shiny things in particular?" His hand floats back to his side. "Thank you for indulging me. I met a man earlier shortly after I arrived, who had a very small dragon as a companion that rode on his shoulder, but these sound quite different than that little fellow."

Eren watches Erwin examine the scale. He seems so into it, and Eren is reminded again how little he knows about the Commander outside of being the Commander. He's a person, a full human being, not just a guy barking orders. Obviously he knows that. He's the reason that the military didn't just kill Eren outright after finding out he was a titan. Levi had saved his life in that courtroom, but Erwin had saved him first.

Maybe he shouldn't have. Eren manipulated a lot of things, even in the past, but he had nothing to do with Erwin's decisions. There were only a few people (who were not titans at the time) he could directly influence across time like he had.

Even now, though, Eren never sees the ripple effect of other people's actions. He's too self-centred about how he views the world, not even on purpose. The macro view left no room for the pieces inside it. It's funny how he can see so much and so little at the same time.

"It's cool, right?" he asks, taking it back and tucking it back away carefully. He'll save the whole thing about being able to turn into a dragon for later.

"Not just shiny things. One of them kept stealing forks. One had a whole collection of…shoes?" Dragons will apparently hoard anything.

Something sparks in his memory and his eyebrows go up a little, surprised.

"Hakkai? Did you meet Hakkai?"

"It's incredible," he agrees. The word may seem to lose its meaning after a while, he's been using it so much. Except that it never will, because the world and all it has to offer has always been fascinating to him. While he'd been driven by his need to vindicate his father's beliefs, Erwin also had an insatiable desire to know absolutely everything there is to know, to see it all. He'd almost made it.

Eren had been a strategic and desperate need to see that through. To that extent, Erwin has never once regretted what he's done to keep him out of someone else's hands. Yet he'd never had much chance to spend time with Eren himself, entrusting him instead to Levi. Likewise, it could be easy to forget what he is like as his own person.

He's older than Erwin last knew him, but Eren is still young. And despite everything...it would be good to actually have time to get to know him, now.

The mention of shoes gets a sound of amusement. "I suppose even dragons have their peculiarities."

He smiles. "Yes, Hakkai, and his little dragon, Jeep. He was kind enough to explain a few things to me when I arrived. You've met?"

Eren gets it, though. He felt like that about everything at Folkmore, the magic, the food, all of it. He should have felt like that about the outside world at home, the ocean, ice cream.

Instead, he felt…disappointed. Angry. Hollow.

Hope or despair? What was it that Eren found on the shores of the sea? He still doesn't know. He may never know.

This place, though…it is incredible. Even seeing the spirits here is unbelievable. There are really ghosts! Eren knows that, but has never been able to see them. Only Levi can do that. (And other winter power people but Eren isn't sure he even knows anyone else who woke up in the winter segment.)

"I guess they do," he says. At least he'd gotten away from that bizarre kidnapping without violence.

He nods.

"Yeah, Hakkai is…"

A friend?

"…I know him a little. We met at some weird, uh…they're called vending machines in the underground. It's not like our underground. It's a lot nicer. There are stores and food shops and you can buy food from machines. But there was a weird one, and that's where we met."

Eren has chronic only tell half a story disease after too long spent not fully explaining things.

"Vending machines..." Erwin says the words a bit like trying on a new shoe. The words together don't quite make much sense to him, but - ah, buying food. From a machine? He's possibly seen a few of those around in his wanderings during this first day. So that's what they're called. Interesting. If he takes time later, he can puzzle out the word origins.

"I see. What was so strange about it?" Funnily enough, if Eren leaves something too vague it only makes Erwin want to ask more questions.

Eren doesn't have Erwin's intellectual curiosity about why things are called what they are, but he likes to see and try everything he can. Once, back before the world fucked up his head and he broke under the weight of it (or he…broke himself, whatever), he had wanted to see the outside world. It was Armin's desire that fuelled Eren's own, but he really had wanted to see everything.

Some of that lingers inside him and while he doesn't always seem enthusiastic, he does like trying all the weird technology around. And food, of course.

"Well…it looked like it was full of body parts," he answers. "We broke it open, but they were actually cake. Really realistically shaped cake."

...that's not at all what he was expecting to hear.

"I see. How...macabre." That's one word for it, Erwin. "I have to admit to some curiosity, namely how does one create cake in such a way." He certainly doesn't have any sort of knowledge of baking to ever know where to begin.

"Did you eat any?"

"Yeah, it was pretty —"

He almost says fucked up but even if he's allowed to do whatever he wants now, it's too early to say that in front of the commander. He's only even said it once or twice in front of Levi, who swears more than anyone.

"—gross," he settles on, which is true.

He thinks about it.

"I only know how to make cookies. I've seen decorated cakes at the store where my friend works, but nothing like that."

Leave it to Erwin Smith to ask that kind of question.

"No. It would be too weird," he says. He's eaten a couple actual people before, so that's a step too far. "Besides, we kind of got them all over the ground when we broke the machine."

Erwin can't help arching a bemused eyebrow at the pause. He might not have been Eren's superior officer for long, but he especially knows that some habits die hard, if at all. Still, as Eren is already aware, it's hardly as though he has delicate ears.

"Oh? What sort of cookies? I don't imagine you had much time for such things as a soldier."

Not while Erwin knew him, anyway.

Of course he asked. Who wouldn't be curious? He might have tried some, once he knew it was cake. But Eren's response is an understandable one.

"Ah, I see. How interesting, though. A machine that dispenses cake..." A marvel, truly.

"This was in an underground shopping area, you say?"

Test Drive Meme #5

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