thespherelogs | Fourth Wall Month!

Entry tags:

Fourth Wall Month!

Who: Everyone and visiting Characters!
What: The Fourth Wall log!
When: The month of September!.
Where: All over.
Notes: If you have any questions about how this all works, please head over here to the Fourth Wall info post!.

Fourth Wall Log!

Company's coming!

So the Sphere is malfunctioning and there’s new arrivals here. In order to give them somewhere to sleep and rest, the Sphere has given them all temporary housing in dorm dome number two! That means sunken beds, three squares a day that are already prepared for you and clothing in the closets that just happen to be to your character’s taste. (And you know if they happen to die then you’ve got a nice space to Rez.) All and all it’s a nice little home base for people to have. There’s several common areas for mingling, and all though there aren’t individual rooms for the characters who are staying there, the domes also provide screens for privacy. Don’t worry, no one’s spying on you or something. Probably.

John (one of our resident NPCs here, who is a doctor and also a ghost but shush) knows the importance of family, and she knows how tough it can be when people arrive in a place they don’t know. The visitors haven’t really had the same experience as people brought in the traditional way, so John has stationed herself in the dorms with a sort of ipad thing, and she’s offering to take people’s information and to show them how things like the network work. She’s also there to hold hands and deal with any medical issues that these new arrivals may just happen to have. If people don’t want to talk to her, that’s totally fine! She won’t push. But she’ll also provide directions to places if people need them. Or at least point them in the general places that they need to go.

Speaking things out into the void.

This is a prompt for visiting characters to be able to put out a network post without actually joining the network community! Upon waking in The Sphere, each character (even temporary ones!) are fitted with a small golden circle behind their right ear. This is how they are connected to the network through a neural link. Touch and hold the button to create a broadcast of one of three types:

Audio. Your character thinks audible words onto the network.
Writing: Your character thinks text into the network.
Video. Your character projects a broadcast of a video of themselves onto the network.

Replies are determined by the player. The network needs to be accessed by choice, so character broadcasts are not automatically beamed directly into people’s heads. The Sphere isn’t that rude.

Private messages are allowed by pressing and holding and pressing and holding again as you picture the person in your mind. This can be an image or a name, err more on the side of things being more accessible than less.

God let people have their pumpkin spice lattes, Karen!

It’s September, and that means that fall has hit the Sphere hard. Well, as hard as any place can be without having actual seasons or sunlight. So, in the artificial sun of the Sphere, what there is instead of colder weather and leaves changing is a new festival. The festival, which if you ask someone who’s been there for a while is in celebration of the most fall thing in the entire world: pumpkin spice. That’s right, there’s an entire festival just centered around pumpkin spice flavored things! Of course, the people of the Sphere do try and make an effort to invoke the spirit of the season, with large garlands of fake brightly colored leaves lining the street. The scents of pumpkin spice fill the air and there are small fire pits near Adirondack chairs that are clustered together with all the things to make s’mores.

For those not pumpkin minded, there are also a fair amount of apples picked from the Sphere orchards, and a few small knives. Some older women promise that if people can peel the apples in a long spiral and throw them behind them, then the peel will form the initial of the person that the thrower is destined to marry. Of course there is also bobbing for apples and pumpkin carving.

In both the merchant dome and the agricultural dome there’s massive tables brimming with enough pumpkin foods to make Harry Potter jealous. There’s all sorts of pumpkin baked goods, pumpkin ravioli, roasted pumpkin and vegetables and there’s even roasted meats with pumpkin sauce! There's also drinks of both the alcoholic and non alcoholic sort: pumpkin beer, pumpkin spice wine, pumpkin spice vodka, apple spiced whiskey and so on! At each place is a coffee cart with a poor overworked barista who is doling out every sort of pumpkin coffee, hot chocolate and tea imaginable including yes pumpkin spice lattes.

We're waiting for the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

There’s even a pumpkin carving contest in the agricultural dome! Pumpkins of different sizes ranging from small sugar ones to ones that could comfortably form a children’s fort are stacked around, and there are picnic tables set in newspaper and with things like knives and scoopers and nails and even drills for those people who want to remove the pumpkin guts or use them to do some carving. Everyone who participates receives a ribbon as well as a bag of toasted pumpkin seeds to take home.

They hope you really like pumpkin seeds. There’s a ton of them.

When the dark comes, people hunker down between the false stars above, with blankets all around them, the scent of pumpkin in the air. Flashlights and small lanterns are distributed by people, and when asked what’s going on, they’ll say that they’re waiting for The Great Pumpkin. Children whisper the name excitedly, and even some of the more inebriated adults do the same. Either way, at midnight the largest pumpkin rises above the crowd to gasps of shock and awe before it just magically changes into the types of candy and small toys that one would expect to come from an excellently stocked pinata.

The color of magical bounty.

In the rec dome, some magically gifted people have conjured up massive piles of dried leaves for people to frolic in. And when I say massive, I mean massive. It’s almost like an entire forest of leaves that’s thankfully free of all of the problems that come with jumping in leaves. With no animals in the Sphere, there’s not any of their presents hiding in the leaves and anything sharp hasn’t been created! Which means that it’s great for things like jumping in, burying things in and of course leaf fights.

If your character is missing nature, the area smells exactly how one would expect a late September walk in the woods to smell: it’s almost as if you’re there! The sunlight in the dome has also been altered a bit where the leaves are located, so it’s cooler, and a slight wind seems to be in the air, stirring the leaves every so often. It’s enough to encourage sweaters and scarves, that have been provided by people if they’d like them. The scarves and sweaters all seem to be of the handmade variety, and just the tiniest bit irregular, with one sleeve longer than the other, or the fringe on a scarf being slightly askew, that sort of thing. But they’re still lovely and soft and warm and smell of dryer sheets and leaves.

And we're flying, flying far beyond...

So the Sphere saw that everyone just loved the fireflies last month so this month it decided that what the city needs is to fly for real! So in the Rec dome, there’s a marked pad that people can step on that lets people fly around this particular dome for 30 minutes at a go using the same sort of controls that the communications behind your ear has! Press quickly once to go up and twice to go down. The clearance in the dome clocks in somewhere around 400 feet so there’s plenty of room for flying and even going up and touching the top of the dome and staring out into the abyss of water.

Be careful though because sometimes if you stare too long into the abyss, things just happen to stare back at you and then there are things in the deep water that you may not expect. Or that you might. Giant fish and squid may just find all this unusual activity quite interesting. But don’t worry the dome won’t crack. Guess what! You are now the fish in the aquarium for them! Or you know the bird flying past the cat in the window.

Wanna go to a real party? (CW: Mentions of drugs and alcohol.)

If people are looking for more illicit entertainment, and discreet inquiries are made, a passcode to the Black Market hidden behind some of the stalls is offered. The entrance is hidden enough that someone needs to be looking for it, and there is a rather large bouncer guarding the door and asking for the proper passcode. The passcode of the day happens to be I hate pumpkin.

Inside the black market is large, but much more dimly lit than the regular market dome. There are various pockets of people clustered under bright neon lights. The lights, someone confides to you, are code for what they’re offering. And nearly everything is on offer if a person has the ability to make a trade. Things from home, character skills and even favors tend to be the currency here, but watch out: the hawkers within are shrewd and sharp. If they make a deal with someone, it’s nearly always going to favor them. Eventually.

There’s also a large and loud party happening inside. Think of a rave with a large amount of people who happened to be a bit out of their minds. Drugs aren’t given freely here, they’re too valuable, but should someone want to figure out what they’re rolling on, eventually someone will ask or offer. The drug that they are currently using is called ‘self’ and it’s something that affects your character in an intensely personal way. For some, it’s an experience like your favorite cocktail mixed with vicodin, and for others it’s just like being drunk. For still more people, it’s like ecstasy without the side effects.

The drug has no physically addictive properties. It does however cause a hangover. The Sphere doesn't want to take all the fun out of imbibing too much.

photo inspiration

main navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That's typically the way of conquest. The strong thrive and the weak are subjugated or annihilated." He frowns at the idea of this 'family thankfulness', but only because it sounds like a fairly lame holiday, all things considered.

"Heavens, tell me we aren't confessing thankfulness." He smiles, shaking his head. "How is done? Do you write your gratitude on little scraps of paper? Have a heart to heart?"

“There’s this big traditional feast a lot of families and friend groups do together. I’ve never been to one. But television sometimes show people going around the table talking about it.”

Mostly he’s used his speed to hit up friends’ places and grab a plate of food.

"Ah, a feast day." He nods. Those he's familiar with. "And so, the thanks are arbitrary and simply an excuse to revel. That I can follow." He chuckles. It sounds like home.

What? No, it's not that.

"We have this one serious feast day a year, Loki. Earth isn't Asgard. It's not arbitrary."

Maybe Tommy will have to figure out how to show Loki. Not that he really knows how. He knows how to make noodles.

"A day a year set aside to tell people 'thank you' and there happens to be a great feast?" He shrugs at that. "It sounds rather arbitrary, but perhaps I'm missing the cultural emphasis or...something."

"The POINT of it is to look back on the year and think about what you're grateful for," he says, a bit frustrated. "But... I guess it sounds stupid. My parents never did anything, so I guess... I don't know how to explain it."

And now the speedster is frowning a little. Wouldn't even be a thing that mattered to his mom. Wanda wasn't American.

It does, however, sound like something his mother would adore, and he's frowning now, too, because the idea is both apprehensive and appealing. Was he grateful for anything recently? Actually...yes. Yes he was, and not expressing that had nearly destroyed everything. Was that the point? Heavens, were the humans on to something? You think you have an eternity, but it's all gone in-

...damn. Damn them, they did.

"No. I think you're describing it quite well. That may even be better. Gratitude...shouldn't be taken for granted."

Gratitude shouldn't... what? Tommy frowns. He doesn't much know what to do with all of that. He frowns and turns his attention back to the leaves. It would be easier not to talk. It IS easier not to talk. But he owes Loki more, right?

"You guys feast a lot?"

He actually smiles at that, a bittersweet thing, and nods.

"Oh, yes. Before a battle, to steel the nerves and to bring victory. After a battle, to celebrate success and revel in the bounty it provided. Always an excuse for a feast. Name-days, Coming of Age ceremonies, weddings, funerals."

"Sounds fun," Tommy sighs, shaking his head. He could really use some food right now. "This place seems to like it too."

He nodded, chuckling slightly. "It does, indeed. Perhaps it's trying to compensate for the rampant memory intrusions and horrific nightmares." He made a flippant gesture with a hand. "Though this particular celebration seems to be sorely lacking in vittles."

“Nah. They’re food. You just aren’t looking in the right place.”

He maybe have tried the pumpkin ravioli. It was awesome. Maybe he could fetch some for Loki.

He smirks, bemused. "And I assume you've found the right place?"

Well now he’s grinning.

“You kidding? Like I tell Billy, speed trumps magic in finding some things. Want a plate? I can get you something.”

And be back in very little time.

Edited 2019-09-08 06:36 (UTC)

Normally, Loki would have taken offense to such a suggestion. Greater speed means nothing when one, say, opens up a portal beneath another's feet, but his curiosity wins out in the end.

"I would love a plate."

How quickly is he going to return, Loki wonders?

Well now Tommy grins. Guy hasn't even begun to be fast around Loki yet, so he finally gets to show off a little. He is gone in a blur and not a minute later he's back with a plate loaded with pumpkin ravioli and roasted pumpkin and vegetables and meats cooked with pumpkin sauces. Still steaming hot.

"Eat up."

Loki was, of course, expecting enhanced speed, Tommy had claimed as much, but he hadn't expected that. It isn't often the prince looks impressed, but he sure does as he takes that plate. Not to mention, the food there smells delightful.

"I...Heaven. That was...something."

"Yeah, sorry it took so long," Tommy shrugs as he flops down onto the ground to start eating fried pumpkin slices seasoned with pumpkin pie spices. "I can't go over a certain speed if I'm carrying food. More likely for it to go flying."

He didn't like having to go so slow when trying to show off. But sometimes you did what you needed.

"How thoughtful." Though he's smiling with amusement as he joins his new friend on the ground. It's not the most eloquent of dining positions, but it'll do.

"I suppose I can forgive your tardiness this once." Loki helps himself to a pumpkin fritter Tommy's fetched, frowning slightly at the flavor and the confusion at the season's fascination with the gourd. "I understand pumpkin to be a harvest crop, but surely there are others."

Tommy isn't eloquent about or for anything. So why should he care about dining positions.

"Sure there are, but these things go a long way. And we tie them in to halloween. it's this time of year," Tommy admits. "So we like them. Other stuff we can grow can be harvested sooner. But gourds? This is the best time for them."

He turns the fritter in his hand, raising an eyebrow at it. "And what, exactly, is 'Halloween'?"

“The other good one. Kids dress up in costumes and go door to door for candy. It’s called trick-or-treating. People throw parties. Lots of drinking at some. Just silliness at others.”

The team did a party one year. It was of course crashed by a masked baddie.

"A harmless enough pastime, I suppose." But it sounded strange, and like something likely rooted in far more folklore than Tommy was including. He made a mental note to look into this 'Halloween' some other time. "But why trick or treating? What happens if one chooses the former?"

Oh wow, it occurs to Tommy that Loki would be amazing to have around on Mischief Night. But that’s another matter. He grins for right now and downs another fritter piece.

“Basically the idea is give us a treat or you’ll get a truck. Like egg your house or something. Or milder? I don’t know. It’s just an old name. And some people decorate their houses really spooky. There are hay rides and mazes and haunted everythings. I think it might be a holiday you love. Hell, if we still worshipped Norse gods, I’m sure SOMEONE would have made you the god of it. A feast to celebrate the trickster god.”

"...that is what humans call a trick?" He shakes his head, though a slow smile spreads across his face as he imagines this holiday, and the implications. "I do like the sound of that. When precisely does this holiday occur?"

(no subject)

doubled_speed - 2019-09-16 14:25 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only