seasonsrpg | Event #3: Can't Defeat the Temple

Event #3: Can't Defeat the Temple

Can't Defeat the Temple
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Game Start

Part 1

A new message appears on everyone's smartphones. There's been a change in the Temple of Life: the door has finally opened! No one knows how or why, but the sensors left by quest goers alerted them to it suddenly being open. Preparations are made in each guild to finally explore what's inside it.

Those interested in helping are greeted by researchers in the guilds that will provide everyone with one single use item: Escape Rope: an item they found out about while investigating the temple. Should the Temple really prove to be a place "no one can return from" they should be able to use this rope to escape. It should teleport the person using it (just one) outside of the place they're in (can only be used indoors). Of course the rope can be saved for later use if it becomes unnecessary. Everyone also gets basic climbing and survival items, just in case. They have no idea what to expect inside, but better safe than sorry, right?

The new Teleport Crystal system will get you to the Temple of Life in a minute, but no one is forbidden to use a longer route if they want to travel rather than take the easy route. Once they get to the Temple (the teleport stones take them to the surroundings of the fountain in the courtyard) they will notice a lot of natives collecting various tropical fruits as the area is safe and the fruit are nice and nutritious. Anyone eating a fruit will notice a boost in stamina, too.

All that's left now is to climb the stairs and enter the Temple of Life.

Part 2

Inside the Temple of Life is a "lobby". It's actually just an empty room made with the same stone as the temple, but it has four different doors, each with a different symbol: lightning strike, snowflake, fire and a hurricane of sand.

Characters inside will notice that the door they walked in from is now gone (of course) and they may feel different as the temple has stripped them off of all their powers, including Seasonal ones. Instead they may feel like they're lighter (their jumping ability has increased to triple their normal one) and that they have three holographic hearts on top of their heads.

There's a holographic display near the doors and a shelf for laser guns. The display says the following:

This is the Gigaman simulator. Welcome, players. Each of you have been given three extra lives. Once all of your total of four lives have been used inside the levels you will get a Game Over. For native participants this unfortunately means you Die.

However, otherworlders! You are in luck. If you die four times inside the simulator you will be thrown out of the simulator, into the courtyard of the temple and you can try again! Dying is painless. Getting hit, unfortunately, is not. You have ten regular hits before you lose a life. Your lives are indicated by the hearts on top of your heads.

Things that will instantly kill you include: lava, falling into an endless pit and spikes.

Please take a laser gun and enter the level. You may bring any other items as well, but your powers will be gone and so will the special effects of the items. Except for the legendary "Escape Rope". That is something that can bypass our system. Keep the rope at hand if you get scared. If you lose your other items inside the levels, do not worry, they will appear outside. However, if you lose your laser gun it will reappear next to you.

Oh and you may keep the laser gun afterwards.

The question is: cAN yOu deFEAt [redacted]?

Well, the choice is yours. Do you enter one of the doors or use the escape rope to get out of the temple?

Part 3

All of the levels start with a normal room of just the environment of the level. But there, in the starting point of the place, there are natives of Ellipsa sitting around with a look of defeat and desperation on their faces. They're physically fine as the simulator grants you the ability to just ignore hunger and other basic needs, but they're also stuck here. It seems the simulator is just too hard for them to get past. Most of them have no holographic hearts over their head or just one: they're close to dying and don't want to take the risk.

Escape ropes are their only hope of getting out of the place and they promise anything if you give them the item and help them escape.

If you give away your Escape Rope, the only way to leave is to either Game Over or Finish the Level. Good luck, players.

(There are also some natives in various other parts of the game, too scared to go further or go back. They can also be saved by taking them with you to the end and defeating the boss monster together but if they die, they die, so there is a risk in that method.)

The Levels [ Click to Expand ]

All basic monsters and boss monsters are weak to the laser gun. Some can even be jumped on to decrease their health.

Electricity
Design: A factory with plenty of platforms and conveyor belts over bottomless pits (or spikes) that change directions occasionally. The main hazard of the level is the beams of electricity that will damage players. They can be switched around with buttons, but deactivating one beam will activate another.
Instant Deaths: Bottomless Pits, Spikes

Basic Monsters: Ufo Catcher (a claw with googly eyes that will try to drop characters into a pit or spikes), Small Robot (small robots that throw wrenches at players), Slinky (slinkys with googly eyes that won't stop for anything)

Final Boss: Squirmle: A slinky minion mass-producing machine (looks like one of those Worms on String with googly eyes, but mechanical). Occasionally fires electric shocks that stun players for 5 seconds while the minions attack them. Weak to Smokescreen as the sand jams its machinery and makes it temporarily lose the ability to produce minions.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Electric Shock (damages and has a chance to stun the opponent)

Snowflake
Design: A snowy mountain cave with active waterfalls. The ground is slippery (ice physics!) and some of the platforms have a limit as to how many times you can jump/walk on them (they reappear after a time). Occasionally, while on a normal platform, a strong stream of water will fall on it, intending to push players into a bottomless pit (it can be predicted by a few drops of water before it).
Instant Deaths: Bottomless pits

Basic Monsters: Snowmen (throw very sharp carrots at players), Skeletal Fish (fish that appear from the waterfalls and spit out lasers), Yeti (a monster that will try to stomp on players)

Final Boss: Frosty: A bipedal monster made of spiky ice (doesn't have a distinct form to refer to, just looks like a giant block of animated ice) that breathes a frosty breathe that both damages and makes players go slower. Tries to stomp players by jumping high in the air. Weak to Fire Bullets, as they will melt it little by little.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Ice Beam (damages and has a chance to slow down an opponent)

Flame
Design: Inside of a volcano where all bottomless pits are lava pits. Platforms are mostly normal, until a notorious section where the only way to get over a lava pit is to jump on disappearing blocks. Learn the pattern and follow it. Occasionally lava rocks will fall from the ceiling (but luckily not during the disappearing block section).
Instant Deaths: Lava

Basic Monsters: Demonic Fireballs (fireballs that jump around from spot a to spot b and hurt a lot when they hit), Lava Bomb (occasional lava rock with googly eyes that can move towards players like a homing missile), Fireman robot (a robot that will try to douse fires with scorching hot water).

Final Boss: Lavadoom: A volcano headed monster (a volcano with eyes, mouth, arms and legs) that shoots fire bullets and lava rocks at players. Occasionally makes part of the floor be literal lava that burns players health little by little. Weak to Electric Shock as it will stun the monster for long enough to turn off the volcano on its head and then you can jump on it.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Fire Bullets (damages and has a chance to cause burn damage over time)

Sandstorm
Design: A desert area full of bottomless pits and rocks with spikes. The floor is mostly quicksand that can only be crossed if you stay constantly in movement. Late in the level massive sandstorms will block players' view and push them towards the pits and spiked rocks, making movement during it very dangerous.
Instant Deaths: Bottomless Pits, Spikes

Basic Monsters: Walking Cacti (cactus that shoot spikes at players), Angry Missiles (ride the sandstorms and try to hit players), Sandworms (appear from the sand and try to bite the player)

Final Boss: Hurrisand: A bipedal sand monster (looks a bit like a it could be a human, but at the same time has animal features, not to be mixed with a certain Looney Tunes character) that will turn into a literal sandy hurricane that makes it hard to see anything and makes bullets miss. Weak to Ice Beam because it slows it down so that it can't turn into a hurricane.
Boss Loot: Laser Gun Upgrade: Smokescreen (enables easier escape from situations)

You're free to challenge all of the levels and gain all of the upgrades to the laser gun, which you can then use outside the temple as a weapon. Even after all of the natives are rescued or all of the levels have been beaten, you can re-enter the levels and do them again. You won't get the boss loot again, however.

When Your Heart's Not Open

Part 1

Back in the city, the weather is strangely cold in every district (except the central one that's safe due to the artificial weather there). Even the hottest of them, Solarpeak, is advising people to wear long-sleeved shirts, just in case, even if the temperature only drops to +10 Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit at worst.

The reason for the unexpectedly cold weather is simple: a cold breeze travels through the whole city. Sometimes the wind even appears white, as if it's laced with snow and ice. It's easy to tell that this is not a normal sort of wind, but a very magical one.

The wind indeed has a special effect: there's a chance of the wind freezing someone's heart. This doesn't instantly kill anyone, but instead it starts to freeze people from inside out. This effect especially targets people who either have secrets or have feelings that they hide. The freezing is a slow and painful process, taking two weeks to completely encase someone in ice. Once that happen they will end up breaking into pieces and die.

Somehow this wind doesn't affect the plant life or animals at all.

Part 2

Scientists are quick at work to work on a cure. They have found that there are certain ingredients in all four of the Segments that when mixed together into a potion will undo a frozen heart. So, to help those affected, there are some options that you can do.

Stay in the City to take care of the affected. The key to healing a frozen heart is not only the potion that they will make but also affection. So those brave enough to touch someone who feels cold as ice to touch are encouraged to hug and cuddle, tell them positive things about them and making sure they're comfortable. This will ease the pain and slow the spreading down.

Head to one of the Segments to find the ingredients. The guilds are helping with the preparations to go outside and providing anyone interested clear instructions and maps on where to find them:

• Winter Segment: Bottom of the Unfrozen Lake, a coral that can survive in cold temperatures
• Spring Segment: Breeze Hills, the eggs of a monstrous Firebird (a bird that has wings made of fire that spits out fireballs, not to be confused with a phoenix)
• Summer Segment: Deserter's Desert, a special cactus flower that only blooms during a sandstorm
• Autumn Segment: Mushroom Sanctuary, a special mushroom that only grows on top of the mushrooms that are a size of a house

Once all the necessary ingredients have been found and delivered, people can also participate in potion making. The more people helping with making potions, the quicker everyone affected can get their potions and be cured. The potion is successful if it smell like a warm fireplace during a winter night.

The Towering Jenga Heights

Part 1

The VR Arcade of the Underground is holding a special event: they have managed to come up with a technology where you can minimize yourself and enter board games! They're looking for volunteers to test this new way of gaming.

For example, there are games like Jenga, Monopoly, Chess, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Checkers, Scrabble and many, many more! The games are made to fit the tiny people, but are also very realistic. Oh and Monopoly has an actual jail, but the money is as fake as can be.

It seems Jenga in particular is at its regular size and people will have to climb to push pieces out. That definitely seems like a fun challenge? Everyone gets a safety rope that's attached to poles around the Jenga towers, that will act as sort of a safety bungee jump rope.

Usually the minimized effect wears off once you end the game and leave the game board, but occasionally the technology glitches and leaves players small. The unexpected side effect wears off between 2 to 12 hours.

Anyone who did participate in the experiment will either get a month of free VR gaming time or a handheld gaming console with classic 8-bit games like Tetris.

Part 2

Those stuck in a tiny form longer than expected may discover jumping platforms to the fairy mall. It's located in the ceiling of the Underground Mall and is fit for small people like fairies. Here the fairies are all visible as they go about shopping and relaxing. They're all friendly and will make sure you have a lovely time relaxing in this small fairy oasis. Be warned, however, that the food here is strictly for fairies so if you eat it, you might end up sprouting fairy wings for a week. And not necessarily on your back.

Don't worry, you can't turn back to your regular size in the middle of the fairy mall. The magic there prevents that for the duration. Once you return by jumping onto one of the cushions left below the mall, you will return to regular size.

For souvenirs, why not buy a little bit of fairy dust? It's useful for potions, as it gives them stronger magical capabilities but used as is will make anyone be able to fly for 24 hours. The problem is you cannot use it on yourself or else it will horribly backfire and turn you into a talking frog for 24 hours.

OOC TIPS

• Ask event related questions here.

• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a private entry of your own (your own entry or a new locked post on the comms).

• Remember to content and spoiler warn as necessary!

• All of the prompts happen around the same time but you can get affected by the frozen wind after visiting the Temple of Life or the other way around.

• All natives will be rescued by the end of the month, but the Temple can be accessed later just for fun.

• The frozen hearts potion will be done by the end of the month as well.

Temple of Life
• More Escape ropes can be picked up from the guilds to save more natives, but there's no way to tell there's someone trapped inside until someone goes in, so they'd have to get back after the first visit.
• Smartphones do not work inside the Temple of Life.
• You are very much allowed to work together inside the temple.
• The boss door will only open once the previous group of players has defeated it and have been transported out of the Temple. Then the boss will respawn.
• No one will have basic human needs inside the temple. It's basically a simulator so it doesn't matter how long you spend in there. Once you get out you might need to refuel on touch energy and food as soon as possible, but other than that all one needs to worry is surviving the temple.
• We admit the inspiration for this came from "I can't defeat Airman" without shame.

Frozen Hearts
• The event can affect anyone, not just those with secrets and hidden feelings.
• At the same time, the event can completely miss people as well.
• Samples of the wind can be collected and analyzed but it will turn out as a classic "it's magic" explanation.

• Reminder that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on July 31st, at 23:59 PST.

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hange doesn't have something long reaching like a sword, since they were swimming no 3DM gear is equipped so all they can really do in the moment is keep their ears plugged, reading to pull out the knife and go in for a melee attack if the flaming creature gets within range.]

[And they're rather hoping it doesn't, because that would mean that Hijikata's attack failed, and hearing its scream is apparently bad news? They can't die here! They're both going to be in sooooo much trouble when they get home, if that happens!]

[Hijitaka readies his attack and Hange hopes for the best- but then the creature just sort of..... runs off?]

Huh?

[blink blink. it keeps on going, so Hange removes the hands from their ears.]

I don't know what you did, but it worked... what was that, anyway?

[He doesn't know what he did, either. He sheathes his sword.]

A banshee. They're... harbingers of misfortune. Depending on how the legend goes, if you hear their scream either someone you love will die soon, or you will die.

[At least that's what he learned on Avalon.]

I heard it, so if I die, tell Jean I'm sorry, and for him to tell the others.

[Mukuro and Shoto. Jean will know.]

If you die, I'll die too.

[Once Levi hears of this.]

[Dying because you hear the screams??? Shouldn't the city provide a giant warning on fatal ghosts roaming the segments?? Had they done exactly that, and Hange just missed it??]

What...?

[Suddenly, the shocked expression on Hange's face turns to one of pure tension and worry. The two have not known each other very long, but Hijikata is a nice enough guy, and Hange definitely doesn't want him to die. They wouldn't wany anyone to die, but he's one of Jean's closest people, it would be devastating.]

There's a way to fix it, right....? Right?

You can't die because of it! That doesn't make sense! Besides, I heard it too when I threw my flames at it!

[And suddenly, the realization of that settles in...]

...I can't die either! Hijikata! You don't understand, Levi's going to KILL ME if I die!!

He'll kill me too, and again right after my flower spits me out.

[He says that in a totally deadpan voice while furiously typing on his phone. Seconds later he reads out the result of his search:]

"According to legends, those who hear a banshee cry three times will lose someone close to them. Those who meet a banshee alone are destined to die soon themselves." Well, we weren't alone. So hopefully we're going to survive.

...

How often did it cry?

[It seemed like continuous wailing, but he's pretty sure that it made brief pauses ever so often! Just how many distinct cries did each of them hear?

In the distance, the real reason for the banshee's cry is becoming apparent: Sky and ground appear to become one behind a veil of snowflakes. A blizzard is coming.]

[Ah.. yeah, perhaps not actual death, but the two of them would likely earn themselves some bone-breaking kicks to the shin which may be worse over all. That last one took weeks for the bruise to fully heal, at least with dying it would be over and done! Thankfully there is no reason to dwell on it, as Hijikata has done the smart thing and looked up some info--]

Hmm.. what counts as a cry? There were definite pauses, but some of them were more like it was stopping to draw breath and continue, rather than ending its crying. So would that make it two cries total? Or four? At least with what I heard.

[Certainly not three, which is probably good, unless it means at least three in which case it could be bad. Losing a loved one is far worse than dying themselves..]

Why would someone we care about die instead? That's so unfair, they aren't even here.....

[Hijikata has been kicked in the shin by Levi before, and it really hurt!! He'd do almost anything to avoid a repeat. Before he can try to focus further on retroactively counting the banshee cries, though, he notices the change in the weather.]

Shit. Looks like we're getting a snowstorm on top of the banshee. Let's get our stuff into the tent!

[He says that, but what he does first of all is quickly take some provisions - bread rolls and sausages -, spear them on sticks they collected on the initial way to the campsite, and put them over the fire. By his calculations they have enough time for them to be ready by the time the blizzard hits!

It works out, just barely. Half an hour later he and Hange are sitting in their storm-proof, spacious, nicely temperate tent, each having a couple of warm hot dogs to eat (of course Hijikata will offer mayonnaise, too). They have more provisions, but it's nice to have a meal from the campfire (which has probably already been buried in fresh snow by now). Hijikata is still on his phone, going through old network entries.

Man, this is so unhelpful. Some people who heard a banshee's cries say that nothing happened at all, some say that someone they know died up to a couple of years later... I only found one report of someone dying right the next day, but it wasn't really someone close to the adventurer. It was his mother's neighbour's uncle.

[Now in the comfort and warmth of the tent, Hange idly chews on a hotdog while browsing the phone, also looking up banshee information. They really need to figure this out!]

Are there such things as different species of banshees, or.. perhaps they behave differently in different areas? It's hard to figure out any kind of real connection with these stories!

[Hange pauses for a moment to set the phone down and add a squirt of mayo to the sausage, they said they'd try it out after all! It tastes... well. It's a little weird honestly, but it isn't inedible, so they carry on eating away while their free hand doomscrolls on the phone some more, but nothing relevant seems to be there.]

...Can we ask Dawn, the Guild Leader? We took Eren to see her once when we wanted to know if the Titan curse was still active in Ellipsa. If we're destined to die, surely she would notice it?

Or we can ask the research center about the 'banshee'?

I've only found stuff about banshees in general... no differentiation.

[This sucks!! How are they supposed to even fall asleep tonight with this predicament hanging over their heads, let alone spend days travelling back to the city on their snowmobile? The mood has totally gone to shit, even though they found the valuable coral. Even the fact that Hange accepted and, if nothing else, doesn't seem to dislike the mayonnaise can't make Hijikata happy right now.]

Talking to Dawn or... was it Helene who leads the Research Centre? Talking to either of them is probably our best bet, yeah. I met with Dawn before; she's a nice person.

[Easily side-tracked, but friendly and sincere.]

But Helene - or someone on her team who specialises in moster research - might be more knowledgeable on this front. What do you mean about Eren's titan curse, though? Wasn't it a given that it was still there since he can still turn into a titan?

[~~Surprise, Hijikata, there are plenty of shitty titan shifter facts you don't know about yet!~~]

We could speak to either of them, or perhaps even both. Surely those native to this world will know more about the creatures, right?

[It sucks that this little incident has put a little downer on their fun camping adventure, but what can you do! It seems like they have no option other than to wait until they get back to the city and hit up the guilds or research center. Providing nobody drops dead before then...]

[Hange actually pauses once Hijikata mentions Eren's curse.. it had been an offhanded comment about meeting Dawn, but whoops, it kind of had huge implications. Well, he asked, so Hange feels inclined to answer...]

It isn't something that is common knowledge. Aside from Eren and Reiner of course, I reckon that Levi and myself are the only ones who know about it.

[Being Titan shifters, it makes sense that both of them would. Does Gabi know too? Hange isn't sure, was that sort of info common knowledge back in Marley? Either way the implication is there- not to blab about it to people like Jean or Mikasa!]

Those who gain titan powers are subjected to a limited lifespan. You only get around thirteen years before your life ends, though I don't know what that entails exactly.. it seems it was common practice to have the next titan shifter eat the person before they died...

[Yeah, sorry Hijikata, but there really are many more shitty titan facts than you could ever imagine! Not only would you know how long you have left to live, but you're likely to get eaten too.]

Anyway, we took Eren to see Olwen and Dawn, the guild leaders, to see if they could sense anything, but they couldn't tell us much..

[This new revelation tanks Hijikata's mood further. After what he learned about titan shifters, it's a given that someone must have injected Eren with the spinal fluid of one at some point.... but in his memory of his first transformation, he was still a kid, though it's hard to gauge how old, given that Hijikata could really only hear his angry screaming in the titan's stomach. Shit.]

...

How long does Eren have left? Who did this to him, anyway?

[Eren never talked about it, and Hijikata didn't ask, but he can't imagine that he did it on his own volition... but then again, who knows? If Eren knew about the succession process and saw it as his only chance to protect his city... yeah, then Hijikata wouldn't put it past him.]

[If this were an anime there would be a depressing cloud hovering over their tent by now. Talk about a melancholy mood! Hange still picks apart the remainders of their hotdog between speaking, navigating between wanting to answer Hijikata truthfully because he is a friend, and not saying too much because it is up to Eren if he wants people to know.]

A few years, technically.. though life and death don't work the same way here. I am here, after all!

[Does Hijikata even know Hange died back home? They don't know but oh well, he does now..!]

It's just one of the many reasons why we've all decided to make the most of living our lives here. That guy Olwen said we don't have to leave once we're done helping everyone here. We can just stay if we want to.

[Which gives a far more optimistic outlook. At least they can all make something of their lives here without all the misery of their home world, which cannot be changed however much they all wish it.]

[Hijikata kind of inferred that Hange died, during their talk back at the beach party - "I was the Survey Corps' Commander" just didn't sound hope-inspiring! -, and Levi confirmed it. Hearing of the circumstances of Hange's death only intensified Hijikata's respect. Sacrificing one's life to try and stop the literal end of the world is absolutely heroic (though it seems like so many people in that shitty world died heroic, but ultimately senseless deaths).

He isn't fully convinced by Hange's assessment that life and death work differently here. Sure, people can be snatched away form death's door in their homeworld and arrive here with whatever fatal injuries they had sufficiently healed up, and whoever dies due to outside influence here gets revived, but what happens if someone reaches the natural end of their life span? He doesn't know.

It's a relief to have reconfirmed that all of them (except, as far as he's aware, Historia and probably Reiner) plan to stay on Ellipsa, but Hijikata's focus lies elsewhere. There's a question Hange didn't answer.]

Hange. Who turned Eren into a titan shifter?

[He wants blood!! Unless Eren did it himself, of course.]

[Hange doesn't mind sharing information normally, but the question had been avoided on purpose.]

[Do they know who it was? Yes, but do they know the why? Not really. If Hange tells Hijikata that it was Eren's father, the next question would naturally be why? Who would do that to their own child? And to get to those answers, not just patched-together knowledge courtesy of Hange, then Hijikata would have to go to the source.]

...You're better off asking Eren about that in person. It wasn't someone from the Survey Corps, or Reiner's group, if that's what you are wondering. Eren knows the person better than any of us do, if you want the answers to questions like that you need to go to him for it.

[He nods, accepting that answer. It's easy to accept from Hange, who usually shares information so generously and always gives him a reason if not. That said, he probably won't ask Eren about it. He doesn't want to bring back bad memories for him. (It's not that he cares less about Hange; it's just that Eren seems less resilient and more traumatised.)]

...

I hope this blizzard will let up soon.

[Between the trip back to the city, the delivery of the coral, and the audience with Dawn or Helene to get advice for their banshee problem, it'll be a tense and foreboding few days.]

Tell me about it! Plus, the longer we have to wait here, the longer it's going to take for all these potion ingredients to be gathered as well. I hope that nobody we know is getting sick from it..

[Because they have enough problems to worry about right now!]

[Luckily for the two of them though, the blizzard begins to subside after a couple hours. After finishing dinner, exchanging some random tales and then sneaking in a good nap, by the time dawn draws near it is looking to be a pleasantly calm day, enabling their trip back to the city to happen relatively hassle free.]

[Talk about a bad time... things really did start out so promising! (And of course people they know are getting sick while they're out here!)

But if nothing else they're contributing to the cure. Every other bridge has to be crossed afterwards.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event #3: Can't Defeat the Temple

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This expression is so Gintamacore!

It really is, hange would probably go with the gintama flow tbh

💯

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