spoofer: (tower)
Xistentia: Mod ([personal profile] spoofer) wrote in [community profile] xistentia2017-05-31 11:00 am

Mingle Log #1: Landmarks of Xistentia

Characters: All characters who opt in
Summary: A party to mark the first wave of incoming characters in Xistentia, punctuated with weird physics and an unexpected trip to the heart (or mind) of F.A.T.E.S.
Date(s): Late May 2017
Warnings/Notes: Sexual content and other potentially offensive or triggering material to be noted in headers.

Mix and Mingle
Landmarks of Xistentia

It starts with the daemons, because of course it does. At sunset, they begin to ring and beep and urge you to follow directions through the city. For those with animate daemons, be they animals or people, the programs are even more intrusive. Pushing and pawing and urging you to get up and go. The destination is not far from the first reclaimed parts of the city— a tall tower covered in overgrown moss and trees, located near the beach, the Westernmost edge of the city. Even with the chaos of vegetation growing over it, it's clear that the building is a miracle of technology and style.

"Connection is essential," the daemon tells you. "However, genital contact is not required."

You have reached the Central Citadel, and it's time to party!

EARLY BIRDS

But F.A.T.E.S. is as susceptible to peer pressure and trendy trends as anyone else! Early birds will find that the atrium lounge is a true mess at first. Birds nesting in the ceiling, thorn plants all across the floors, and the bottles and cups at the white bar are empty. As parties go, this sucks. However, within a few minutes of the first arrivals, changes begin to overcome the club area visibly. It is exactly the same as the way the city has begun to accommodate the visitors, but far more accelerated. Soon, the lights begin to power on, filling the room with ambient illumination. Plants recede, but do not disappear entirely. High above, the ceiling suddenly morphs to display the starry night sky. And most importantly of all, there's booze.


With any luck, someone around here knows how to bartend, because F.A.T.E.S sure does not. Various liquors from across the multiverse are available, along with drink umbrellas, speared olives, mixers and wedges of fruit. However, the cocktails that automatically fill the glasses vary in taste from acceptable to horrific. Luckily, the bar does not keep anyone out.
FASHIONABLY LATE

If you're more than thirty minutes late, the kinks have worked themselves out. The party is now in full swing. F.A.T.E.S. has surrendered drink mixing duty to various refugees[1], resulting in much more palatable alcoholic beverages. Someone even found chicken fingers, which are making the rounds.

However, it appears that the invisible supercomputer is still trying to DJ. Predictably, the music ranges wildly based on the listeners-- one moment, you have 17th century lute music; the next, Trance. Blink 182 may even make a brief auditory appearance. It is not particularly easy to dance to this nightmarishly incoherent soundtrack, but it does provide a cross-section of multiversal experiences, for those of us who care about that kind of thing.

Alternatively, you can explore. The Central Citadel is filled with odd rooms. In the presence of only one or two explorers, the tidying effect doesn't happen nearly as quickly. Characters may find jungle-eaten conference spaces, computer laboratories, or even more sophisticated situation rooms thronged with vines and flowers. Somehow, the screens and monitors seem to work just fine with blossoms poking out of the harddrives. Rooms with beds are available as well, some of them already pre-carpeted with romantic roses. You might also find your way into a gym, where slightly rotted bokken and a dusty boxing ring nonetheless make for an interesting way to meet people who aren't into roses and laptops.
BONUS ADVENTURE: THE TEMPLE

Characters who meet new CR at the Citadel have a special experience. When the two (or more) individuals get to talking, their daemons both abruptly interrupt with a very important, not at all loaded question. "Do you want to see something cool?" If the daemon was too big to come inside, the question is posed via earpiece or whatever other device.

The correct answer is "Yes." And with that, the characters are abruptly transported to The Telexistence Temple, on the Easternmost edge of the city. The sudden quiet seems deafening; the darkness is almost blinding before one's eyes adjust to the lines of light running through the tall stone walls. It is much cooler here than it was at the Central Citadel, but it has its own eerie dignity.


"In the future, this is where you may access information about your worlds. Recovery information, save points, and both passive and active world entry points are located here." A beat. Possibly the daemon is watching you stumble around. "Most of the tools have been disabled in order to prevent damage from inebriated users."

However, two pieces of technology continue to cooperate. First, a huge slab of glossy black stone the height of a desk, emitting holographic Head Up Display upward, the Chronological Cartographer. Your character must touch the device. Immediately then, a bright flowing diagram of data begins to spin through the air, whirling with lines and circles and familiar names. It is a chart of the worlds your characters have lived in before and the people they have met in the past timeline. The splitting point to Xistentia is clearly marked, and your future here is a red line wavering in darkness. Toy with it a little, and you'll even be able to pull up significant dates, friendships, enemies. Moments of transformation. F.A.T.E.S. remembers it all, and it is only a quick teleport from the Citadel. (Fortunately, it is also a quick teleport back.)

Second, there is a monitor with another HUD. It displays a HUD with a single prompt: Amenities needed?[2]

Starting the next day, the Temple will be accessible to all characters at all hours. Those granted access the night before will be able to find their way back with companions.



Footnotes
  1. Some may be NPCs! Please avoid killing or maiming them without mod discussion first.

  2. Go here and fill out the form, reply to that comment, if your character is going to take F.A.TE.S. up on the amenities request.
tangleofgarlands: (oh what could be)

[personal profile] tangleofgarlands 2017-07-21 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[Although it's harder to think of anything witty to say in response, hearing his companion joke does alleviate some of Arthur's nervousness, and he manages to meet Jim's (startlingly blue) eyes with a shy smile.]

You too, Jim.

[He wants to extend his hand to shake, but decides against it when he realizes how sweaty his palms must be. Glancing away again, he takes in their surroundings.]

Erm, I think you're still ahead of me, though. I don't even recognize that thing you've got in your hand, much less any of this.
rekt: (pic#10947372)

[personal profile] rekt 2017-07-23 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ murphy, while being a generally shitty and unsympathetic person, does occasionally feel bad for being a dick. clearly this guy is having a bad time, and he'd come up to him being a friendly drunk. his coping mechanism - getting wasted, apparently. murphy's coping mechanism - being a shittier person than he was before and deciding that means he doesn't care anymore.

of course he's still mourning bellamy and clarke. they'd been the closest things to friends he had, aside from kavinsky. they'd almost started resembling that, even. and then eudio fucking collapsed in on itself. there's always something. ]


Sorry for... whatever. Your loss. Losses.

[ murphy admits, muttered and flat, as he's more focused on arranging the stuff on Bellamid's pack. ]
hasitsthorns: (I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ғᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-07-23 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
I'm just glad to know my boyfriend can make a decent drink. Maybe F.A.T.E.S. can learn a thing or two.

[ And if not, there's always wine. Staying with the classics is generally safe.

She's seen Magnus do this very thing before, but it never quite stops being phenomenal. There's something as well about it being Vanyel doing it - not Magnus - and for them that's... special. Maybe that's silly to think, but she still does.
]

Just when I thought I couldn't be any more turned on by your drink mixing skills, you found a way to make it even hotter. Go figure.
hasitsthorns: (Eᴠᴇʀʏ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-07-23 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, when... that happened.

[ It's still a bit of a blur of natural disasters, dogs, and a portal that decided to mess with her and her boyfriend's travel through space-time. ]

Like. Psychic pyschics? Can read your mind, telekinesis, that kind of thing?

[ Her experience with them is limited, actually. Rose has only ever known Feldspar, who was a seer. He had visions of far off future events, prophecies and all that. ]
hasitsthorns: (I'ᴅ ʀᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ʙᴇ ᴡʀᴏɴɢ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-07-23 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
Don't worry, I don't. I try to, but there are some people even I don't get on as well with.

[ She's just at hiding everything behind a smile. He may come to learn, eventually, the subtle differences between her genuine one and the veneer.

It's hard to tell more often these days where the mask begins and ends,
honestly. It's blurred around the edges in the past year especially.
]

I am, in fact, one of those people! An idealist, I've been told. Can't help it. Why not look for the good, y'know? Most people got some good to 'em. It's just a matter of finding it.
drehnifusbahi: (how can you not trust this face?)

[personal profile] drehnifusbahi 2017-07-24 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
We can only hope, I suppose. [Not that he considers himself a master bartender by any stretch, but he at least has enough experience to know which kinds of liquor mix well and which really, really don't. Also, you know. Taste buds.

Or there were options that didn't require any mixing at all - wine, ale, and mead all came to mind.]


Oh? [He asks as the liquor and lemon juice all pour themselves into the shaker, then settle gently on the nearest shelf.] This turns you on, does it?

[His tone is light, almost innocent. But there's a gleam in his eye that says he knows exactly what his little show is doing for her.]
aberth: (Default)

[personal profile] aberth 2017-07-25 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)
They can read auras, which I guess is close enough.

( He's not sure he's ever had them pluck the actual thoughts from his head, just the feelings and then surmised the truth from that. )

They're the kind who use tarot and scry with water, not the kind that fling things at walls.
fiachdubh: (Default)

[personal profile] fiachdubh 2017-07-26 12:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ronan stops, looks over his shoulder, and lets out a stuttered breath. He takes a swig of his whiskey bottle, like a salute, and nods. ]

Thanks. Sorry for yours.

[ He's not about to stay longer and start talking about his little brother and even less Gansey, but still, he appreciates the gesture, nodding again, his face relaxing minutely. ]

If alcohol actually ever runs out, let me know. I can help you out.

[ He could dream up a whole wine cellar if he felt like it, after all. ]
fiachdubh: (Default)

[personal profile] fiachdubh 2017-07-26 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Most people got some fucking ugly to them, and it usually outweighs the good.

[ Sorry, Rosie, where you're an optimist, Ronan's a cynic. But he's also been willing to wade through torrents of shit to find some good in some people - it'd taken time, but he had some persuasive people in his life.

Namely, Richard Campbell Gansey III. But without Gansey, Ronan would never have looked twice at Adam, and he might have attempted to kill the Gray Man. ]


I guess the world needs people like you, though.
hasitsthorns: (Tʜᴀᴛ I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙʟᴇᴇᴅ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-07-27 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
One of my best friends back home was a seer, [ she decides to tell him. ]

He did that kind of thing. But with an emphasis on the future. Sometimes visions stuck him, too, and it was... interesting. He was the only one like him I ever knew though.

I can't imagine a whole house or family of people like that. Must've kept things interesting.
hasitsthorns: (Cᴀᴜsᴇ sʜᴇ ɪs ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-07-27 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
And I think the good usually outweighs the bad, [ she says, a touch amused. Funny how that works, doesn't it? There are some people rotten to their core. Not many, but some.

Still. Rose is glad he found the ones worth it in the end.
]

It takes all kinds! Or I think that's what they say. Something like that, anyway. Life would be boring if we were all the same.
hasitsthorns: (Tʜᴀᴛ I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙʟᴇᴇᴅ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-07-27 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's true that while F.A.T.E.S. is impressive in its own right, some things just need a more human touch. So while he might not be an expert at it, per say, he's still got something an AI can't emulate.

At that question, she's all smiles herself. Almost coy, in a way. She shifts on her seat, runs her hands through her hair. Drops her elbows down onto the bar to show off whatever cleavage she can. She's gotten pretty good at this 'flirting' thing without even really realizing. Or maybe it's just because she's comfortable with Vanyel, confident in his feelings for her that she doesn't overthink it all that much.
]

Well, yeah. It's always sexy when a dude uses his skills.
aberth: (( seventy - three. ))

[personal profile] aberth 2017-07-28 01:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Before I met them, I'd never have accepted it.

( Because Adam Parrish is a logical sort. Visions, scrying, those were too far out of the realm of possibility. Even when Gansey first enlisted him on his quest, it had taken Adam a long time to actually believe in it.

Now though, now he couldn't go back.
)

But Fox Way was intense. In a good way. Well, kind of. It got pretty hairy sometimes.

( He's doing his best not to think of Persephone. ) I kind of wish they'd seen this, maybe given us some warning. ( He would have thought to make sure the others were safe, then. )
drehnifusbahi: (*smoulder*)

[personal profile] drehnifusbahi 2017-07-29 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[F.A.T.E.S. might yet bring in someone with more bartending expertise than he has, but until that day comes he's happy to put his skills to use. Save people's tongues from the computer's attempts at mixing drinks.

His drink finishes mixing and the contents of the shaker pour themselves into a glass, but he pays it no mind. gaze dips downward as she leans against the bar - because how can he not look, when she's so clearly inviting it? But it's only for a moment or two, then he raises his eyes to meet hers again. His smile grows a touch more heated, and he leans a little closer too.]


I'm glad. [He replies, tone low and intimate.] I do aim to please, after all.
hasitsthorns: ғᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ɢᴏᴇs ᴏɴ (Default)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-08-01 10:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ At that, Rose can help but laugh. Logical sorts always saying how the magic of her world, the magic of the human world was 'impossible' always amused her. It made perfect logical sense to the wielders of it; why couldn't they wrap their heads around it? ]

Wouldn't that have been nice. Wish Feldspar could've told me I'd be hopping across the multi-verse too, but. Here I am, I guess. Surprise.

Not that I really mind surprises.
hasitsthorns: (Fᴏʀ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ᴛᴏ ғᴏʀɢᴇᴛ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-08-01 10:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ For the first time, but probably not the last, Rose wonders why she decided to put the bar between them. She just wants to reach over it at that smile and- Okay, jeez, chill. It's only understandable though when they'd been interrupted by their daemons earlier, she supposes.

But then he says that and she can't help the way her smile grows.
]

Oh, I know you do, [ Just going to casually stretch even further across the bar. ] Just one of the many reasons why I love you.
aberth: (( thirty - eight. ))

[personal profile] aberth 2017-08-01 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
( He doesn't bristle at it, because it's not a mean kind of laugh. It's the kind of sound Blue might have made, had anyone denied her family's abilities. )

It'd probably take the fun out of it, yeah.

( There's something nihilistic about that. The idea of world's ending being fun. Adam's so very tired though, and so he can't keep it in. )

I should probably go and stop Ronan from unleashing any more terrible music on this place. ( Mostly, his chest aches, and he wants to be near him. How strange a thought that is. ) But I'll see you around? ( There's no harm in trying to make friends. Even though he's awkward about it. )
hasitsthorns: (Aɴᴅ ɪғ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ғʟᴏᴡᴇʀs ғᴀᴅᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-08-02 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Rose understands that thought better than anyone, these days. She should probably get back to Vanyel, too, before long but she'd wanted to mingle a little. It felt like the right thing to do at a time like this. ]

Sure, dude. Not planning on going anywhere, so. We'll definitely cross paths again.
aberth: (( twenty - nine . ))

[personal profile] aberth 2017-08-02 05:28 pm (UTC)(link)
( He smiles, glad she didn't try to keep him any longer. Maybe Adam will actually end up liking some people here. Maybe he isn't a hopeless cause.

He doesn't linger though, just gives a little wave in farewell.
)
drehnifusbahi: (*total sincerity*)

[personal profile] drehnifusbahi 2017-08-02 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's definitely on his mind now, just what their daemons interrupted to drag them here. He wouldn't mind leaning over the bar and- he cuts that train of thought off before it gets much further; best to wait until they can get a little privacy.

(He may be a shameless exhibitionist, but he knows she isn't.)

But he has to lean across to kiss her at least, when she says she loves him.]
And I love you. [He murmurs. Then, finally, he picks up his glass and clinks it gently against hers.] Cheers.
fiachdubh: (006)

[personal profile] fiachdubh 2017-08-03 11:06 am (UTC)(link)
Life's boring anyways.

[ Ronan takes a swig of his drink to punctuate his words, because it's true. You've got to work to find the few things that make life worthwhile. He's got a few, now. ]
hasitsthorns: (Tʜᴏᴜɢʜ I'ᴠᴇ ᴛʀɪᴇᴅ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-08-08 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ To that, Rose can only give a snort. ]

Life's anything but boring, dude. You just gotta' look hard to find the interesting parts.
hasitsthorns: Cᴀᴜsᴇ sʜᴇ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ sᴜɴʟɪɢʜᴛ (Wʜᴇʀᴇ I ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2017-08-08 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She isn't yet. There's still time. Besides,
it doesn't sound like such a bad thing in this moment... But if he can wait then so can she.

There's more important things to discuss, anyway. Even if she'd rather not. She returns that kiss easily, lingering maybe just a few seconds too long into it. Like she doesn't want it to end. (She doesn't.)
] Cheers, [ she agrees, before drawing back to take a sip from her own drink.

A beat.
]

We're really in another world, aren't we?
fiachdubh: (Default)

[personal profile] fiachdubh 2017-08-08 03:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ .... Fair enough. He's found some interesting parts, he thinks as his eyes travel to Adam again. He holds his bottle at Rosie in a toast when he looks back at her. ]

Sure. Whatever, lady. [ And takes a swig. ]
drehnifusbahi: (*concerned look*)

[personal profile] drehnifusbahi 2017-08-10 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[He can wait - for a little while, at least.

One hand comes up to cup Rose's cheek while the kiss lasts, and he lets his figertips trail gently over the curve of it once the kiss breaks, only falling away completely once she draws back.

He takes a sip of his own drink then, and his hand curls idly around the glass as he answers.]
That we are.

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