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

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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?

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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.

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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?

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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!

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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.

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Peter's been experiencing some issues as well. He was in the Hangar heading to his own ship when things started disappearing. First, it was his right blaster gun, which immediately put him in a shitty mood. No one touches his weapons, okay, that's just rude. And then, when he's walking right past T'Challa, his shirt disappears. It leaves him wearing his leather jacket, though, and the rest of his clothes, but no shoes. ]

Oh great, I look like I belong to the Village People now. [ He looks around to see if maybe his boots are soemwhee int he vicinity, only to spot the otehr man. ] T'Challa? When did you get here?

[He may notice that T'Challa has very similar guns himself as he moves around the undercarriage of his ship, looking for any other missing parts. So far he's only found the wing, which is frustrating enough. He pauses long enough to look over at the man standing half dressed--or not? Considering how Drax the bartender dresses maybe this is normal for him?

He seems to know T'Challa but he doesn't recognize him. Perhaps he is someone he's come across once before and forgotten? How unfortunately rude of him.]

I have been here for some time? I am sorry if we've met before, but I cannot recall your face.

[ Peter does notice the weapons now that they're close, brows furrowing together for a second. His quad bladders are custom-made, it makes no sense for T'Challa to have them unless he decided after the battle against Thanos that he wanted a pair. Peter is well aware of the advanced tech they have in Wakanda, but still, that seems too far-fetched.

He wants to ask about these but there's other issues first, T'Challa doesn't even seem to remember him. Does he really make such little impressions? ]

Some time? I must have been really busy to miss your arrival. I'm Peter Quill, Guardian of the Galaxy, Star-Lord...does that ring any bell? We didn't really get to talk during the battle against Thanos and afterward, during the funeral, it wasn't the best time for a chat but...I was there with the other Guardians.

["Guardian"? "Star-Lord"? "Battle against Thanos?" How strange to have him say so many things that should make sense, words he knows and even has context for...and yet none of it makes any sense to T'Challa in this moment. None of them should go together in this way.

This is what happens in this world, isn't it? New people arrive and somehow things stop making sense as they once did. T'Challa has no memory of this happening before and yet it feels as if that is a tradition he is well aware of.]

I do not know if perhaps our...timelines of events are not the same? I know of no Guardians, nor of a battle they would have had against Thanos. If he's starting more fights, I apologize on his behalf. His therapist should be made aware of it so he can work through the underlying issues he's no doubt suppressing.

Thano's WHAT now? Therapist??[ T'Challa is so polite and so utterly confusing at the same time. Peter is looking more and more horrified the longer the man goes on excusing the Mad Titan. He finds himself mentally backtracking the conversation to figure out how they even ended here.

While he does so, another glitch makes his jacket disappear, and Peter looks down to confirm that yeah, what was left of his top clothes is gone, and he is now only wearing his pants. Ah, crap. There's a piercing in his right ripple that is now very visible, and Peter has the decency to look somewhat embarrassed because he hadn't planet to flash the King of Wakanda like that on their second meeting. Except this wasn't the same person he knew, apparently. Not like the knew T'Challa whole lot. ]

Thanos snapped half of all life from existence, no amount of therapy is going to fix that. Are we really supposed to be from different universes? I know that had happened with some people here, but this is just too weird. I just..No...No.. Thanos, really?...I...THANOS?... The 'I'm right and to prove a point I'm going to kill everyone who gets in my way because I'm shit at economics'?...THAT Thanos?

[ Please excuse the slightly hysterical tone in Peter's voice. He's really not having a good day. ]

[This other Star-Lord keeps losing clothes and T'Challa is even more unsettled but his reaction. A deep sense of dread is building in him as he speaks and T'Challa can only think of what this other reality must be like if Thanos has the opportunity to go through with his original plans. He takes off his own jacket and holds it out to Peter Quill.]

Here. Take this for now, if you would. I...I am deeply sorry to hear that this occurred in your world. The Thanos I know had such ideals, but when faced with a better argument and another way to achieve his goals, he changed his mind. He agreed to become a Ravager instead and help us help each galaxy we reach. The Thanos I know...he would not do that. Not now.

[Especially not when it finally seems he and Nebula may be repairing their relationship. Would Thanos truly throw away such progress and the good they do? No, he believes in him.]

[ This conversation would be difficult enough without the accidental striptease. Peter looks mortified and while under different circumstances he might brush off the offer, this time he takes the jacket with a slightly meek; ]

Thanks. I don't know what's going on with the city today. [ They're more or less the same size, so the jacket fits him well enough. Small mercies. Peter looks on edge, but it's not T'Challa's fault. He's displaying an immense amount of patience, considering...everything. The Guardian lets out a dry, humorless laugh, at the mention of 'The Thanos I know' from T'Challa. ]

Do you know how many people died in my world because of him? How many planets were thrown into chaos? And you're telling me all he needed was a stern talking to change his mind? Not the man I know. Not the monster who murdered the woman I loved in exchange for the Soul Stone. And he had the galls to call her 'daughter'....

[ Peter's voice gets more clinical and rough as he speaks, his green eyes right and wet. He doesn't want to have this conversation here and now, in public and with a virtual stranger, no matter how kind T'CHalla is. He couldn't have imagined that his day would turn like this, and the mentions of the Ravagers have him practically snarling. ]

Thanos, a Ravager. Yondu would have never allowed it if he were alive. He would have killed the purple asshole himself.

[Everything else becomes background noise to the words "if he were alive." It's like being stabbed in the shoulder--again. The pain and pressure and shock of it all hitting him in a way he can't defend. It's not his Yondu. He knows he is back with the Ravagers. Returned to space after meeting T'Challa's other family. But that doesn't make it feel any less agonizing to hear. To think of.

Yondu gone and Thanos having followed is folly of a plan to destroy half the universe in attempts to save the rest. Yondu gone and Thanos gone so far as to kill--

T'Challa takes a breath. Reminds himself this is not his world, not his people, his family. For all that Peter Quill has lost, he cannot take the pain as if it is it too his own. It is both selfish and unhelpful.]

Yondu is...dead in your world? [He says it slowly, pushing it beyond that weight in his throat to add in the last question.] And Nebula? Thanos actually would kill her for his own ends? I am very sorry for all that you have lost, my friend.

[ The surprise and shock in T'Challa's face tell Peter everything he needed to know even before the question about Yondu was uttered. Yondu and he must really know each other back in their universe, and no doubt none of them had to go through the pain of losing the other. This means it's just Peter's fault that Yondu died in his own homeworld. He doesn't answer the first question, looking extremely heartbroken, sad, and more than anything, tired. ]

No, Nebula is...fine. Or as fine as she can be after what Thanos put her through. I was talking about Gamora. [ Peter closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath in his attempt to keep it together. He will not cry in front of this man, he will not.

The comfort is odd, T'Challa sounds honest with it, as if he can imagine the kind of suffering they all went through. But Peter doesn't deserve this sort of kindness, and he can't handle it. ]

I don't suppose you have any hard alcohol in there? [ He points to the nearby ship, really trying his best to keep his voice level. ] I could use a drink. Special if we're going to keep talking about the differences in our universes, 'cause it sounds like I've got the short end of the stick.

[Gamora? He's never heard Nebula speak of her. He wonders if she is estranged from her as well or if she had not yet been taken in by Thanos.]

Yes, yes. Inside. [He turns and motions, the drawbridge of the ship lowering. A drink really seems like the least of what they both need at this point. Considering the ship is almost identical to Peter's inside, he should have no trouble finding his way to were the alcohol is kept should he want to go looking himself.]

I am sorry this meeting has not been more...easy-going. I had no intention of dragging open such topics for you.

[ If that were true, while Peter would be once again floored at how different their universes are, he would be immensely happy for her. Gamora deserved better, and if Thanos never got to her, maybe she had the chance at a normal life she always wanted. ]

Thanks, man. [ The similarities with Peter's old ship don't go unnoticed, but instead of bringing any comfort, it only makes him feel more uneasy. He can make a pretty good guess about where the alcohol is stored, but he's not rude enough to go and help himself a glass. He had already taken his jacket, and T'CHalla's kindness is constantly disarming. Peter takes a seat in the first available chair instead, running a hand through his hair and avoiding looking at T'Challa. ]

It's not your fault. That universe is the reality you know, and I'm...happy that things turned to be better for the people in it than in did in mine. It's just heartbreaking to realize I live in a cursed timeline or some shit. [ How many things must have I done wrong? Peter doesn't say, but if T'Challa is really that good at reading people, he should be able to see the thought in his expression. ] So...Thanos is a good guy, Yondu is still alive...how did you manage to stop Ego? All it took was some talking, too?

[Since Peter sits, T'Challa plays host, going to get two bottles of alien whiskey he's sure that Yondu put there, since it's not his typical brand. He brings them over and holds one out to Peter, watching him all the while. He can see how much this is weighing on him. It might be better to let some of this go, to avoid any potentially more distressing topics, but they are already on this path. He just hopes he can help him weather it.]

I do not believe any timeline is "cursed." There are benefits and consequences to all choices. Perhaps the ones in this timeline have benefitted me and mine more than it has others.

[Being in this place does provide him the time to consider all the other versions of their worlds that might exist and how they may have differed.]

For example, I do not know of this Ego. That is a threat we've yet to face.

Thanks. I promise, most conversations with me don't usually go this way.

[ The moment the whiskey touches his lips, Peter needs to stop himself from letting out a sob at the absurd familiarity of it. It's not a bad whiskey, but it's not great either, it's just the brand Yondu liked best. It leaves your throat burning and eyes stinging at the corners if you drink too much, but the aftertaste is pleasant enough, and the next day hangover is minimal. Peter takes a long sip without a second thought. ]

True, but some people are handed really shitty options to chose from. Gamora, Nebula...my world wasn't kind to them, and to many others who suffered and died at the hands of deranged murderers like Thanos. Ego is one of those, by the way. Deranged and murderous. Tried to destroy the whole galaxy and leave only himself alive. He got a fitting name, don't you think? Pretty sure he named himself.

[ Peter pauses, and it's not as if he's doing it for effect, he's just taking a moment to entertain the notion that perhaps the Celestial doesn't exist at all in T'Challa's universe. Wouldn't that be lovely? ]

He was my father.

[For someone who says this is not normally something he does, clearly it has been something that he has been holding in for a great amount of time, T'Challa thinks. Something he has yet to confront and move beyond, if it can affect him so heavily. T'Challa sits and listens, because it is only right when he had obviously caused Peter such turmoil and upheaval.

And as he listens, his mind thinks back, remembers, and suddenly he understands. Now he knows what is so different between their worlds.]

...You are the boy. The one they mistook me for. The one they never returned for.

[ Peter had been trapped in a sex island for almost a year. He missed his team, his family, like a lost limb. He made new friends here and lately, he also lost a bunch of them. It's harder every day to pretend he's a functional adult that has his shit together. He really wasn't playing on dumping all his misery and frustration on T'Challa, it just kind of happened. Once he gets his bearings, he will apologize, leave the ship to find a shirt, and avoid the other man forever. ]

Mistook? Did he grab you thinking you were me then? He knew my name already when he first came for me, in my world. And as handsome as we both are, we look nothing alike.

[ The one they never returned for.Wow, that's not comforting to hear in the slightest, and Peter wines at the casualness. ]

So he left me on Earth, uh? I guess that I was that disposable. Good for Yondu. Sounds like that turned out to be for the better for everyone.

[ He can't quite stop the bitterness in his voice. When he was little and the Ravagers had kidnapped him, all he wanted was to go back to Earth, to a familiar place without scary aliens that threatened to eat him at every turn. Turns out he got his wish in T'Challa's world, and yet, Peter couldn't find it in him to find hapiness in that fact. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

00. An Arrival and a Broken Wall?!

I. A WHOLE NEW YOU

II. LET XXX BE YOUR GUIDE

III. SITCHES GET GLITCHES

OOC Notes:

III. GLITCHES

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