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erku mods ([personal profile] erkumods) wrote in [community profile] ercookies2021-08-16 05:01 pm
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TDM 016 & 4th WALL EVENT: NO WALLS BETWEEN US

TDM 016 & 4th WALL EVENT: NO WALLS BETWEEN US



00. An Arrival and a Broken Wall?!






You should be coming out of the water, the Nameless Island's own inherent energy drawing people in. It's like being suspended between realities and abruptly pushed from behind through a rift in dimensions. It may make you sick, or that might be the motion of the ocean, lifting you to the surface and carrying you to shore.

Waterlogged and covered in sand, new arrivals should be greeted by robots who welcome them with towels and bracelet devices. The A5 card already loaded up, and if you don’t manage to get away from them quickly enough, they should usher you toward the Laid Bare Spa, where new arrivals will be offered free massages, a sauna, hairstyling, and their clothing may come up permanently missing. But you should be given a complimentary towel to leave with if needed!

Should. That’s how things are for newbies - and maybe today, some newbies will arrive the usual way. Others might be surprised to hear that there is another "you"... already here! If and when you finally meet this other "you," there's simply no way to agree on who the so-called real version is. Your histories may be the same or they may be wildly divergent, but those little differences don't change the fact that you are who you say you are. Some islanders might even find themselves running into a much older or younger version of themselves. Duplicates and doppelgangers, you say? People who look and sound familiar but are just a little bit off? What strange anomalies have washed up from the ocean!

On the other hand, maybe you’re not new here at all, or so you think. You’ve definitely been on this Island for months already. You can't exactly remember what you were doing here before, but you have the modest home and personal effects to prove that you existed. You’ve always been someone who greets new arrivals at the shore. You know very well how things work on the island, and how many of the buildings are abandoned and in dire need of repair. You know that beyond the city lingers a thick fog that obscures much of the wilderness from view. Wander too far into this fog, and you will find yourself mysteriously looping back to where you began, your memories of what you were doing and how you got there erased. You know all of this.

You’ve already claimed a place to live in the now, whether a rundown apartment in the City, a tent on the beach, a bed in the barracks, or your own space at the House of Worship.

You’re a veteran at this by now.

Aren’t you?



I. A WHOLE NEW YOU






The fog has thickened off the shores of the Island and in the areas that have still been obscured. So thick that it looks not unlike the heavy clouds of the recent storm. But late into the night and early into the morning, the fog seems to encroach on the Nameless City even more, blinding and catching Islanders traveling through in areas normally free of its effects. Anyone who gets caught in the especially heavy mist might find themselves suffering from more than just the usual amnesia.

The fog no longer only takes memories, but can also alter your memories... and you. You may forget your time on the Island. You may forget your life before. But you’ll remember something else. You’ll remember a life entirely different as if you lived it yourself: you are a merperson who has always lived here, in the waters around the Island. Those grand underwater cities look like ancient ruins to others, but to you? You still see them as beautiful and palatial as the day they were built. You are a Native whose memories are fuzzy, but you certainly remember living your entire life here in great happiness and luxury. And once you step out of the mist, you might even find yourself physically changed to match what you recall, with fins or tentacles and gills to allow you breathe beneath the waves. You might be completely transformed, or just enough to make life underwater as easy as it's ever been.

Someone else attempting to free you of these delusions will find that the more they try to force you to remember your true life, the more real and convincing your undersea life begins to feel. You must embrace this new (old?) life, embrace this new you in all ways and live it to its fullest. Completing Auspicious Acts will help bring out glimpses, hints, flashes of memory and recognition that perhaps this is not who you once were, and allow you to return to your former self. But the longer you take to embrace this, the harder it might be to let go. Some of these changes could become permanent.



II. LET XXX BE YOUR GUIDE






Things have been strange, not just for the people of the Island, but the robots as well. The typically welcoming robots that offer their assistance in guiding new arrivals or encouraging Islanders to visit the various locations seem to be scarce. There are fewer of them running around the entertainment district and other establishments. To ensure that new arrivals continue to have a pleasant Island experience, robots will be recruiting Islanders as mentors and guides: mentor guides, if you will! Volunteers will lead other Islanders around the Island as a means of helping them become better acquainted with the locations available here for your fun and entertainment, and they will be rewarded with credits for their hard work. Guides and sightseers alike could be someone fresh and new to the Island, someone who insists they’ve been here for years, or even someone that a robot randomly dragged off the street.

Mentor guides will all receive a very form-fitting and revealing uniform - no two are the same! - and, of course, a glossy paper map of all of the available sights on the Island. The pictures are big and detailed, and cute sex toy icons point out various key sights such as the recreation center, the bath house, and the library. There are even suggestions for which Auspicious Acts are the best for each location! Strangely, none of the maps list the same suggestions, so each map encourages its own unique experience.

Mentees will also find that their mentor’s voice is very appealing. So appealing that just listening to them speak is enough to get you feeling some kind of way. The more they talk, the more of a reaction you have. Your body begins to burn or itch and it’s very hard to pay attention to their words when thoughts about all the things you could be doing to them instead keep coming to your mind. The only way to relieve these thoughts might be to make your mentor stop talking altogether, or follow through with some of those helpful map suggestions.

Maybe you need them to mentor you in more ways than one?



III. SITCHES GET GLITCHES






You’re walking down the road, or in your own home, or visiting a friend and suddenly something happens out of the corner of your eye. There’s a soft pfzzzzzzt and the feel of static on the skin. You turn and realize that the wall is suddenly gone. Or, maybe the glass in a store window disappeared. Perhaps someone’s clothes just vanished off of them in the middle of the street, or the chair you were sitting in at the cafe suddenly poofs right from under you.

It’s as if the world around them is malfunctioning - little glitches that can last for seconds, hours, or even days before returning to normal on their own. Nothing that could seriously harm someone, but enough to be quite inconvenient. At least completing an Auspicious Act in the affected area or with the affected person seems to put it to rights immediately. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop these glitches from happening again. You may be concerned, and the robots understand, but if asked they will insist it’s just the world adjusting as the Augur welcomes so many new people! Nothing to be worried about, obviously. It will take time for fluctuating energy levels to adjust, that’s all.

Some robots might even say it’s the perfect time to enjoy having so few barriers between you. Embrace the open nature of the Island and share yourself and your home with others. Walls are only meant for keeping out what you could be letting in!



OOC Notes:


Enjoy a mini Fourth Wall event, Islanders! As such, this test drive meme is open for anyone to create top levels, not just prospective players. Current player characters, characters you want to play in the setting but can't app full-time, drive-by castmates, duplicates, canon AUs, characters that normally would not be allowed such as fandom AUs and genderswaps (not including characters under 15), formerly dropped characters, etc. are all encouraged to come in and play! As all other test drive memes, this one will be game canon. Characters who fourth wall but do not app will disappear after a few days to a week, along with their home (if applicable) and all of their possessions.

Please label your top levels as to whether you are test driving [TDM] or fourth walling [4W]. (Of course, you are allowed to change your mind! But our rules regarding appable characters will still apply.) Since auspicious acts are an integral part of this event, potential and current players can swap one Auspicious Act on their card for one of their choosing, if needed for any of the prompts. As usual, prospective players can use an Act and swap it onto their card if they choose to app into the game.

If you have any questions, please ask them below.




N A V I G A T I O N

invigorates: for all those harsh-browns you're servin' right now. (I'm gonna need some ketchup)

[personal profile] invigorates 2021-08-18 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
It would be rude to try and turn away now. Ruder still to not look him in the eyes or at least look up at his face while they were talking. Lioriley once again tried to take his advice and ignore the swell of heat, the ache in her limbs, the itching like she was infected with something even her own healing abilities could not assuage. She looked up, finally.

"Very much so." She confirmed, worriedly biting the inside of her cheek. Now she had questions she wanted answered, even knowing it unwise to have him continue to speak. "I take it such things are foreign to you, then? I cannot imagine a world without magic."
zunge: (on this occasion it's not true)

[personal profile] zunge 2021-08-18 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Right. I've heard of the ideas behind it, but it's just fantasy you can't replicate in reality, only told in stories. Either old-ass folk tales, fictional entertainment, or meant to deceive the gullible." This would help explain why he recognized the term leyline.
invigorates: what with you being an incompetent sack of shit. (I didn't think you had it in you.)

[personal profile] invigorates 2021-08-18 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"I can assure you it is very real." She said, maybe just a touch defensively. Hearing that people thought magic fake and used for trickery was essentially an insult to her - and all Lunari's - very being. "I could show you, if you care to see for yourself." More reasons to stick around, but maybe it would be a good distraction from all the odd sensations still roiling in her.

Or make it worse. Who knew.
Edited 2021-08-18 22:54 (UTC)
zunge: (just before they fall apart)

[personal profile] zunge 2021-08-18 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
With a sigh he gives a dismissive handwave. "Calm down. Just because it's fake in one world doesn't mean I think it's fake in all the worlds out there. There are others here from worlds that have it."

He flicks his gaze over her anyway. "What kind can you do? Fire? Ice?"
invigorates: This must be how girls feel! (Hey)

[personal profile] invigorates 2021-08-18 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course. I had only assumed based on your wording. My mistake." She sounded sincerely apologetic, at least.

A pause. Not because she had to think on what she could do, but because his voice seemed to distract her again. "Water - ice, yes. I am also a Mender; a healer, if that is a term you are more familiar with. The former is, as you might expect, easier to display." unless he had some wounds he needed healing.
zunge: (I guess that's what they all say)

[personal profile] zunge 2021-08-18 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Noiz makes no attempt to apologize for his wording that caused this miscommunication. He's rude and unrepentant about it in most circumstances. The shift in topic is welcome; he focuses on that.

"All right, do something with water or ice."
invigorates: (Is it literally fucking raining vampires)

[personal profile] invigorates 2021-08-18 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Lioriley nodded and stepped back, closing her eyes to try and regain her composure fully before sweeping her hand through the air; fingers curling as a small ball of water formed in her palm. She extended her hand toward him, letting him take in the sight of the swirling liquid before it started to crystalize around the edges. the leylines on her fingers bright and sparking for the duration of the display.
zunge: (outside is my hell)

[personal profile] zunge 2021-08-18 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
With the way she extends it toward him, that prompts him into lifting a bandage-wrapped hand and attempting to poke a finger at the sphere of water. Will it pop? Will she lose her concentration? Or will it simply go into the water like one would normally expect it to? And of course, how quickly it crystallizes might affect what happens to his finger.
invigorates: (you love it you slut)

[personal profile] invigorates 2021-08-19 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
The bandages wrapped around his knuckles do not go unnoticed, but for the time Lioriley did not address it; watching instead as Noiz stepped close and prodded the ball. His finger moved through as it would any other liquid, the water cool to the touch and swirling endlessly in the sphere she had created. Her fingers twitched, the forming ice crystals stopped just before they touched his finger. He would be able to pull it back easily enough. She cocked her head quizzically; expectant.
zunge: (I want to breathe in the open wind)

[personal profile] zunge 2021-08-19 02:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Humming softly to himself, Noiz withdraws his finger. The temperature of the water didn't really come across, as temperature perception is linked to one's sense of pain.

"Weird. But you definitely have control over its flow and temperature." There's no possible way to explain the phenomenon she just demonstrated other than magic.
invigorates: (You gotta try this dude; it sucks!)

[personal profile] invigorates 2021-08-19 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"I should hope so, after so many centuries of practice." She said with a chuckle, her cheeks blooming once more with heat. She distracted herself - or attempted to - by tossing the half frozen ball into the air and then closing her hand into a fist; the ball shattering and then lightly misting down around them.