Mingle Log #1: Landmarks of Xistentia

[spoofer]

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.

Comments

( i. ) tldr once more i'm so sorry

[aberth]

[ Adam isn't feeling the very best version of himself right now.

He's tired in a way that is old and familiar, now dry clothes heavy and stiff on his frame, the smell of sea salt and sweat clinging too pervasively. He wants to sit down. He wants to cry, too angry and afraid and anxious, thoughts twisting themselves up into something ugly. The world his gone, his world is gone, and all he can think is that it isn't fair. He's done too much, come too far. To lose the future now after he worked so hard for it, well it's unbearable. And it isn't college he's thinking of. It's his friends, Gansey and Blue and Opal and Ronan. Ronan, who gave him a home and a family and the feeling of freedom, who Adam hasn't even been able to confess his love to yet, who should have heard it so he could believe it.

He'd wanted that in a way that was thrilling, and terrifying. In a way that's gone now.

Still, he keeps himself upright through sheer dogged self of will. Barricaded helps, mostly, and so Adam doesn't give in to the vicious desire to kick the toy car across the floor. He offers up information, gravelly robotic voice coming from him no matter the form - Transformer or car - he's decided to take. Adam only argues when it comes to the topic of somewhere to stay, dissenting even as he treks through the city to the old apartment building. His words die off when he sees it though, the echo of so many places in the exposed brick. He has to press his palms into his eye sockets then, will the hysteria down as Barricaded transforms again, takes the steps as a humanoid figure. Adam follows, because there's nothing else to do.

He's inspecting a creeping vines in one of the rooms when he hears the voice and he turns so fast he knocks a chair down, hears it echo even as he's moving back where he came, heart thumping. ]

Jesus Christ.

[ It's Ronan, Ronan fierce and ferocious and real and Adam makes a noise like he's found God before he throws his arms around him in a rare show of need. ] Jesus Christ, I thought you were dead.

[fiachdubh]

[ The laughing is a good thing - not that Ronan would care if the guy was pissed off at Ronan playing his favorite, atrocious song. He tends to sing or play this song to get reactions, and of all of them, laughter is one he'll readily accept. ]

It's absolutely music in my world. [ He pretends to be scandalized - does a bad job of it, though. ]

This is a musical masterpiece.

[fiachdubh]

[ Ronan takes a sharp breath at the mention of Matthew's name. The way the world had been falling apart, the way he'd been almost killed all resurfaces and fits itself behind his eyelids. Matthew's glorious smile, his stupid curls, his unending enthusiasm. ]

Was he... being Unmade?

[ Ronan suddenly, violently, wants Matthew here, with them. Between the two of them, if they'd only were able to find one thing in common, it was their love for their little brother. Unconditional and sometimes painful, all-encompassing. ]

I'm fine. [ Adam is here, he doesn't say, because it doesn't really count when Gansey isn't here. ]

[fiachdubh]

Indeed, it is. It's a masterpiece.

[ It's not. It's a terrible song that Ronan keeps singing and playing to drive Gansey crazy, and make Noah laugh. ]

You never know, you might enjoy it.

( iia. ) before she's treated to the murder squash song?

[aberth]

[ Adam doesn't profess to be an expert when it came to music. The kinds he was knowledgeable on ( classic rock and country ) came through indoctrination. Boyd always had a radio running in the garage but hated anything modern, so he's never picked up what's popular. Ronan prefers EDM, which is terrible and noisy and perfect, and sometimes he finds himself wanting to hear the bass through the BMW speakers more often than he should. So he doesn't exactly know what accounts for good, but he can definitely tell when something's bad.

Rosie's outburst makes him smile, a little. ]

Maybe the theme is going over our heads?

[ That's the point of playlists, right? ]

[fiachdubh]

[ It's a while before Ronan's able to even answer Adam. He takes the brunt of his weight when Adam launches himself at him, staggering back only one step, shocked that it is him, real and alive. There's a trembling need to Adam, and Ronan wraps his arms around him, pulling him even closer when his brain kicks back into gear. It's Adam. ]

So did I.

[ The relief is like a tsunami, washing over Ronan and taking him with it, too strong to contain. He lets out a noise, burying his nose in Adam's hair. It feels surreal; when they left, they left together, but Ronan came to on his own, the worst of feelings sinking deep in his gut.

But Adam is alive. Adam is alive. Ronan feels like he can breathe again, his lungs expanding suddenly, like a switch was flipped. ]

I don't unders - Chainsawd led me here. Did she know you were here?

[ Chainsawd is the one who replies to Ronan's question, even as he murmurs it against the top of Adam's head. ]

These are your accommodations, Ronan Lynch.

( iii. )

[aberth]

[ He sees Blue leave the party somewhere between the end of the disco era and an introduction to Mozart, though he has to crane his neck a little considering she's a very small girl in a very big crowd. Her steps are a little uneasy, but still sure, and so he doesn't think she's too drunk that she can't handle herself. She'd hate him if he even considered entertaining the idea.

And yet, he's peeling himself from where he's been people watching against the wall and follows anyway, unwilling or unable to have either of his friends out of his sight for too long.

Thankfully, his daemon announces his arrival with the sound of its siren and it's tiny flashing lights, Adam ducking into the door after with a sheepish grin. ] Sorry. [ He's not sure how he feels about the form it's taken, but she'll remember it anyway, from the cereal box.

His gaze immediately falls to the computer, brows furrowing. ]

It's kind of weird. But I think all you need to do is touch it.

[aberth]

[ He swears again as he fists dirty hands into the back of Ronan's jacket, knuckles white with how hard he's holding, half afraid that if he lets go the other boy will disappear again. ]

I don't think so.

[ He knows, logically, that they should actually talk about things. But for now he just breathes as deeply as he can, presses as close as he's able. ] Mine told me the same thing. [ And lo and behold, there's a siren sound coming from somewhere and the whirring of toy mechanics as a small police car careens into the same room. Adam pulls back, eyes wet as he rolls them, red high on his cheeks. ] I guess we're roommates?

[ As if he hasn't been spending half his time at the Barns anyway. But he doesn't want to think of the house, of the fields, of Opal's feet on the staircase. So he glances back, hands sliding now to Ronan's arm so he can take in Chainsawd. ] That's really weird.

[aberth]

[ For a brief, hysterical moment, Adam feels like laughing. He doesn't know why the reality of Declan fucking Lynch being here is so hilarious to him, but it claws up his throat anyway and he has to swallow it down, fight against losing control. ]

Staying alive?

[ Adam raises an eyebrow, holds the elder brother's gaze. It had occurred to him to ask Ronan if his family were here, but he'd been unwilling to press on that wound if it turned out he'd lost them too.

Maybe he should be thankful, but they're a complicated thing. He's expecting fireworks soon enough. ]

Or do you mean the party? Because I'm here for Ronan.

[aberth]

[ Adam's mostly marvelling at having something that resembles a phone to really care about wasting the potential. Gansey would probably judge him for his first message being a smiley face. ]

just don't set anything on fire.

[fiachdubh]

What, her?

[ Ronan spares a glance to the robotic bird, taking another moment to catalog the differences between the real bird, and this one. Chainsawd's eyes are different, brighter, and she has yet to develop any kind of habit like the real Chainsaw has; had, maybe. He doesn't know if she's even still alive, and the thought makes his stomach knot onto itself. He reaches out and runs a finger along her beak, gently as he knows how to be.

There are some more pressing matters. Like the fact that, apparently, they're to live together?

Not that Ronan hasn't thought of it before - when Adam left his parents', he had thought of it. When he started finding Adam's clothes thrown haphazardly on the Barns' furniture, his toothbrush next to Ronan's in the ensuite bathroom of Ronan's room, little imprints of Adam into his own habits, his own living space; he'd thought about it. But Adam was leaving for college, it didn't matter.

But then, a thought makes him straighten up, look over Adam's shoulder at the expanse of the loft in front of him. ]

Have you seen any bedrooms?

[fiachdubh]

have faith

[ Two minutes later, the murder squash song stats blaring through the room's speakers. ]

[aberth]

[ Ronan touches Chainsawd like he would her namesake and it shakes something loose in Adam's chest. He's still the same boy, still the same maddening, wonderful, survivor. Which means Adam can be too. He sets his resolve, takes a step back so they can both look at the expanse of the main area between them. ]

I haven't done much exploring.

[ Because there hadn't been much point, he wasn't staying.

Now though, now he has a reason. ] But there's a couple of rooms. It's a little like a wonderland in here. [ He tries not to wince after he says it, but it's a near thing. ] Have you noticed there's vines everywhere?

[aberth]

[ Adam can't help the well of affection that rises up when he hears the song, nor can he stop himself from laughing a little, ducking his pleased smile behind his hand before he replies. ]

truly a blessing.
how did you even get that played?

[fiachdubh]

[ Ronan takes a step back, shifting his eyes from the walls back to Adam. There's a part of him that wants to touch him - something violent and barely uncontrollable, a vicious beast that craves and craves. It sends Ronan's heart hurtling against his ribs when Adam looks back at him, but he keeps a hold of himself, closing his hands into fists, the picture of calm on the outside.

His brain crashes back to the moment as he looks around again, and starts walking, determined as he steps over running vines and around tiny trees growing between the cracks of the hardwood floors. ]

Yeah, I fucking noticed. Might as well sleep outside, the way it is now.

[ He doesn't yet know that, when they'll get back to it, hours later after the party, the vegetation will have receded enough to make the loft more than pleasant to live in. Right now, he just thinks he's been given a forest and a crumbling building to deal with.

He walks around, the frown over his face deepening. ] A got a bathroom, this whole space which looks like a kitchen lounge dining room all together, and over there - [ He steps to a wall that sticks out, closing off part of the loft, ] - a bedroom. That's it.

[ There's only one bedroom. He lets Adam get to the same conclusion he is coming to by himself. ]

[fiachdubh]

this place seems to have everything
i queued up some bagpipin'

[ Adam would have to try really hard to miss the smile on Ronan's face right now. It's big and bright. ]

[aberth]

At least it has a roof.

[ They don't actually know what the climate is like here. Adam supposes they could ask the daemons, but he's still not entirely sure how much he trusts the information they give.

He watches Ronan prowl the area, follows his progress instead of examining the space around them. He couldn't care less about the loft and that frightens him, somewhat. He knows he should be focusing on survival, but instead he catelogues the barely concealed tension in the other boy's shoulders and aches.

One bedroom. Adam half turns to Barricaded who repeats Chainsawd's words. Adam can feel his ears burning. He's slept over at the Barns before - in a different bed -
and while Ronan used to hang out at St. Agnes, it's a little different know they're together. ] Oh.

[ His ears burn, a ridiculous, human reaction. ] Well, you know I don't snore so that's something?

[aberth]

so we're really trying to make friends at this party, huh?

[ He's kidding. ]

[fiachdubh]

[ Ronan, as well, feels himself flush slightly. This is not - something they've discussed. The only time he remembers falling asleep with Adam, they'd been making out for what felt like hours before, touching so hungrily there was a part of Ronan that wasn't sure he'd been able to ever stop.

He wants this again; he'd be a liar to try and deny it. Still, it feels like crossing a line they haven't really talked about, not when everything had been falling apart around them. ]

I could - sleep here. [ He mentions the lounge area, with its sloping chairs. It looks comfortable enough. ]

[fiachdubh]

[ Ronan barks out a laugh, loud and harsh. ]

would you rather i queued up some spice girls or something

[aberth]

[ He could, or Adam could, and then they'd wake up in the middle of the night disorientated and afraid and not know where the other one is. He knows they haven't talked about it, but it's a bed, and it's Ronan, and he figures after all the shit that's happened to them they can figure it out. ]

We'll share.

[ He crosses the floor to where the other boy is, leaning around him to peer into the bedroom. ] At least it's a double? We'd never both fit on my shitty mattress. [ Is he still flushed? He's still flushed. This feels like such a ridiculous feeling to have, in the face of everything else. ] We can, right? It makes the most sense.

[ And he's not sure he could have a wall separating them anyway, not right now. ]

[fiachdubh]

[ Ronan lets out a slow breath, knowing his face is betraying more of his emotions than he'd like. At least, it's with Adam, who's been looking at him for a long time now. Adam, whom Ronan loves, even if he can't vocalize it.

Finally, he nods. It does make sense, and the bed is big, looks comfortable, for all that it's surrounded by vegetation. ]

Yeah. Yeah, we can share.

[ There's a part of him that's still unsure enough of where they are, where they stand, that he doesn't want to push anything on Adam. maybe they kisses were just a one-time thing, a moment where things were good, one night where they didn't have death surrounding them. ]

katniss everdeen | the hunger games ( eudio crau )

[hangingtree]

i) FASHIONABLY LATE.

[ Katniss, being the stubborn girl she is and having had experience with pushy people that were far worse than her daemon, manages to ignore the prodding of Cinnad for a decent amount of time. She's spoken to a few people from Eudio, familiar faces that offer a vague sense of comfort amidst such a harrowing place and arrival, so she's not desperate to follow Cinnad's instructions. Instead she meanders the city for a while, trying to get a better feel for it. It's when Cinnad plops his large brown bear-butt in front of her and refuses to move, effectively blocking her in an alleyway, that Katniss finally relents.

The party's been going for about an hour by the time she walks in. Compared to some of the parties she's been to the crowd isn't terrible, but it's still more people than she'd like to deal with right now. But there's food, drinks (though she doesn't drink any alcohol, thanks), and possibly some friendly faces.

Oh, and that moss-covered brown bear daemon (that looks very similar to a bear version of the green-backed bison in the bestiary) following her around? He might be responsible for Katniss stumbling into someone else, a hand reaching out to grab onto something (an arm of the person, a table nearby, etc) to catch herself. ]

Sorry, [ she grumbles, sounding far more annoyed than apologetic. Then she'll cast a sharp look over her shoulder at Cinnad. ] I'll figure out a way to cook you and feed you to people if you keep doing that.

ii) EXPLORING.

[ What holds Katniss's attention better than the party is the tower itself, so it comes as no surprise that she eventually breaks away from the crowd to wander the hallways instead. Cinnad follows quietly behind her and whether his stealthiness is because of her own (her footsteps are silent as she walks) or what, she doesn't care; all that matters is that they both walk in relative silence.

Which means that either when she turns the corner or enters a room, anyone already there may not hear her coming. Surprise isn't her intent, she just isn't sure what lingers throughout the tower and she's got nothing to protect herself, so she'd much rather sneak past something than alert and anger it. Or scare it.

She goes through all of the different rooms that she can, exploring each in kind. If all of the rooms except the ones with the beds, Katniss - if there's someone in there - will step down particularly noisily to announce her presence. ] I hope I'm not interrupting anything. [ The words are kind enough, but Katniss's tone - as usual - is dry and a bit harsh; one might even take it as sarcastic.

If there's someone in a room with a bed when she enters, Katniss will stop immediately just inside the doorway, eyes wide as she takes in the flowers and the romantic setting. Then her gaze, sharp and perhaps a bit nervous, will shift to the person or persons in the room. ] Do you always set out flowers for strangers?

iii) WILDCARD.

Either toss something else my way or hmu at gobrookeyourself to plot and I'll write up a starter for you! I'm 1000000% open to the bonus adventure with anyone Katniss doesn't already know, too!

"John"/The Hunger | ota

[thehunger]

i. fashionably late

[ Seeing as his daemon is inanimate, and he is stubborn, John is able to ignore its insistence longer than most. Eventually, however, the incessant notifications become unbearable, and curiosity gets the better of him, leading him to make his way to the citadel. He enters the party when it's in full swing, daemon chess set tucked under his arm. He keeps to the fringes, not engaging anyone directly. At some point he finds himself in front of the the booze on offer, looking over the bottles on display with no small amount of bemused puzzlement. ]

ii. exploration

[ Thinking the party is beneath him, John takes to wandering the citadel. When the overgrown halls become too dark to see, he conjures a small flame in his hand as a torch. He's interested in the lab spaces, clearing away vine growth to try to access the computers underneath. Once that's done, he attempts to get the machines working again. However, either they're beyond hope or he's just not too good with computers. When he hears footsteps outside, he calls out. ]

Hey! Excuse me, out there? Do you think you can give me a hand with this?

iii. wildcard

[ hit me up on plurk at objectpermanence for ideas! ]

[amplifyings]

[ Blue's much too caught up in the atrocious flavor of her drink -- and getting a better tasting replacement, as her own was now covering most of the floor at her feet. Oops. -- to pay much mind to anyone around her. Her initial once over of the room hadn't proved successful in finding anyone she knew, or even anyone who looked vaguely familiar, so she's been keen to keep to herself since then.

Small talk with strangers wasn't exactly Blue Sargent's favorite pastime.

She notices Ronan -- or rather someone -- coming up next to her from out of the corner of her eye and in an instant, there's already a clipped retort of denial waiting on the tip of Blue's tongue. She didn't like making small talk with strangers at a party, much less did she want to do it with some random male.

(After all, she can count on one hand the number of boys that she's met and liked.)

But then, it's Ronan's voice and her mouth cracks into a wide, somewhat lopsided grin that gives way to a quiet laugh that shakes Blue's shoulders more than it does make noise. ]

I didn't have any sheets to spare.