spoofer: (piano)
Xistentia: Mod ([personal profile] spoofer) wrote in [community profile] xistentia2017-06-24 05:42 pm

Crash Log #1 & Will-o'-Wisp Mini-Event

Characters: Second wave of Xistentia arrivals, greeters/rescuers
Summary: The second wave of characters arrive in Xistentia unexpectedly early... only to face an unexpected threat. D.E.S.T.I.N.Y.'s multiversal attack is disrupting the energy flow, causing a very unusual stampede— of will-o'-wisps, that lure travelers off their path with thoughts. It's up to the residents of Xistentia to help the newcomers!
Date(s): Mid-June 2017
Warnings/Notes: Coercive magic, collisions, moderate injury, dystopian themes

Wisp Mini-Event & Crash #2
Wish you were here. Love comes in waves
A WARNING FROM DAEMONS


Early in the morning, the glow of light to the East, where F.A.T.E.S. resides, begins to turn red in warning. Seconds later, all of the daemons begin to project the same message to their owners. The alarm continues to repeat until the characters acknowledge.
F.A.T.E.S. WARNING SYSTEM

Threat Assessment: Mild
Phenomenon Type: Native Creature Behavior
Predicted Duration: 24 hours

Due to the cosmic energy disruptions by D.E.S.T.I.N.Y., will-o'-wisps are engaging in unusual migratory activity. Residents are advised to remain in the city, or be on-guard against a low level of psychic influence. Wisps feed by creating visual, auditory, and olfactory illusions based on the viewer's needs and temptation. Individuals in compromised emotional states are more susceptible.

The migration will be complete in 24 hours.

It seems straightforward enough. But as dusk begins to fall, the distant sounds of crashing and outcry come from the beach once again. It's familiar-- the first wave of Xistentia residents arrived the exact same way only 2 weeks ago. They're going to need your help.
CRASH LAND INTO ME

For the second wave of Xistentia arrivals, the day is not nearly as ordinary.

Exit one dimension, enter the next. It was chaos: pressure against your ears, light bending in an impossible, unimaginable way. The very molecules of your body vibrating against one another. If you have windows, the view outside makes no sense. Even if not, your hands, your face, your feet seem like an uncertain thing. It's the feel of reality itself tearing apart, reshaping, reconnecting, thread by thread.

And suddenly, there's a beach— or ocean, whichever you land in. Smoke. Fire. Salt water churning up, fizzing around. It's dark— you've arrived at nightfall.

Maybe you crash, in a ship wrecking into sand. Maybe you merely stumble out of a portal, a ragged wormhole in space. Or maybe you fall off the back of an incredible steed, some creature that carried you into this place. Either way, there's pandemonium around you. Incredibly, severe injuries are far and few between— nobody's screaming about the dead. But you might have to help pull someone free of wreckage, or move quickly to salvage burning belongings from the landing craft. Maybe it's the crafts themselves, that you're trying to salvage.

Likely, you don't know them, these other strangers who arrived here[1]. Maybe you don't trust them— you just came out of a dying world, after all. But you all have one thing in common: you're here now.

When you get a second to breathe, the danger doesn't end... because that's when the wisps come.



At first, they're just a stream of pretty lights. Like fireflies, except that their illumination holds steady as they float through empty air. It's helpful for those of us who don't have night vision. However, as the minutes wear on, the terror and stress of the day starts to change to longing. And then the illusions begin. Voices of lost loved ones calling out, or flickers of familiar figures in the distance. The scent of burgers or cinnamon cake floating through the trees.

Maybe the ones you lost aren't lost after all. Maybe there's dessert out there. Isn't it tempting to follow? But watch your step-- there are ditches, fast-flowing rivers, and sleeping trolls you might run across. The wisps are impervious to these dangers, but you likely are not.
SAVE THEIR SOULS

As rescuers venture into the forests, the wisps' illusions change to accommodate the wishes and fears of the new intruders. Each person sees their own illusion, blind to the experiences of others. However, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Resistance from the psychic intrusion is far easier when you know what you're dealing with. Still, that doesn't mean that persuading a traumatized apocalypse survivor is easy. They've been through a lot, and if you're claiming that they're seeing things that aren't there, who's to say you aren't imaginary, yourself?



And the trolls get cranky when their sleep is disturbed.

By morning, however, the wisps have cleared and the other creatures of Xistentia are off on their business. Maybe that's when you choose to come out and help, to find new refugees sleeping in trees, thickets, beach-wrecked fuselage, and other places they had found sanctuary for the night.
WELCOME TO THE CITY

The second wave of arrivals comes into a city that is very different from the one that the first refugees did. Sure, there are still animals and overgrown trees intruding in many buildings and streets— but the center looks very civilized now. Eight full city blocks where the hedges are groomed and the building facades are clean and orderly.


There are a number of fully operational businesses, including restaurants and a tailor. Agriculture is taking off gradually, albeit in a disorganized fashion, thanks to the fact most of the people involved are amateurs. Street lights, the beacons that sense character interactions, are fully operational throughout the day-- likewise, most of the city's functions work just fine now, including indoor lights, plumbing, electricity, etc. Cable isn't great, though. Depending on how badly your encounter with the Wisps was, you may also get acquainted with the hospital. It still looks shabby and moss-eaten, but its glowing recovery enhancement beds work very well. Better bring someone with you, though!
Current Sentient Population
of Xistentia:
222


We now have Instagram!
There's a lot to explore, if you're into that. The two most prominent landmarks are the Central Citadel that overlooks the sea to the West, and the Temple on the Eastern edge of the forest. The former has a bar and lounge, and an oddly self-replenishing availability of liquor, as well as a variety of defunct audotitoriums, bedrooms and technology laboratories. The latter contains strange stone artefacts that blur the line between magic and technology, but are largely unresponsive to touch. The only exception is one sleek screen, black and shiny as volcano glass: an amenities request interface. Tell F.A.T.E.S. what you need.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

hells yeah



Footnotes
  1. Some of these can be nameless, plot-device NPCs to facilitate interactions! But even in this case, please avoid gore in describing their current state of being. Anyone dead or catastrophically injured will have disappeared by the time your characters make it to Xistentia. There are no corpses or dying here.

  2. But like OOCly ask permission ofc.

[personal profile] healingdork 2017-08-02 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. Don't try to move it until I can take a better look at it.

[Once Will gets down there, he makes his way over to the guy and kneels down next to him with a reassuring smile. Then he notices something that makes him pause - he recognizes this guy.] ... Hey, weren't you at Eudio too?
tangleofgarlands: (another rainy day)

[personal profile] tangleofgarlands 2017-08-02 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah...too late. I'm sorry. But I won't again.

[That smile, though, is sweet and sunny and anchoring, and with it bolstering him he manages a small smile in return.]

Yeah. We spoke about archery, I think.

[personal profile] healingdork 2017-08-03 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
Nice to run into you again; I wish it was under better circumstances.

I'm going to touch your forehead, okay? It'll help me figure out how to help you.
tangleofgarlands: (there's nothing left alive but some)

[personal profile] tangleofgarlands 2017-08-04 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
I'm just glad you found me.

[Arthur can feel his face flush as he says it--suddenly, he feels hopelessly vulnerable and has to look away from the kind eyes boring into him. The request is confusing, though; why would touching his head help his ankle?]

Er--sure.

[personal profile] healingdork 2017-08-08 08:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Will reaches out and gently places his palm against Arthur's forehead, closing his eyes for a moment and sensing what's wrong with his body.] Well, the biggest thing is you have a sprained ankle. [He drops his hand and pulls it away.] Think you'll be able to get out of here if I help you after I bandage it up good?
tangleofgarlands: (just some ugly memories)

[personal profile] tangleofgarlands 2017-08-10 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[When Will touches his forehead and seems to do...something, Arthur feels a warmth spread through him that he can't identify the source of--whether it's some kind of power or simply his own embarrassment, he can't tell.

It's probably a coincident, but when the diagnosis comes, Arthur can breathe again. He's still a little wheezy, but it doesn't feel like trying to inhale water.]


I thought for sure it was broken. [It's still mostly numb, but he can feel an ache starting in on the edges of his perception.]

I can probably get myself out of here once it's bandaged. You've done enough for me already.

[personal profile] healingdork 2017-08-12 08:04 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry, you're my patient now, and I don't leave patients behind. [Unless they were beyond helping and he had no choice, but he's not going to say that and freak the guy out. He starts digging around in his pack for a roll of bandages he can use.] What was your name again...?
tangleofgarlands: (goes to show)

[personal profile] tangleofgarlands 2017-09-01 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
[It shouldn't make him blush, but it does.

For all he knows, Will has hundreds of patients--and he doesn't even know Arthur's name; there's no reason to think it's anything more than professional courtesy. And yet, there's something in the gentleness of his hands that Arthur finds himself wanting to lean into.

He coughs to break himself from the haze.]


Er, right. Sorry. I'm Arthur--Arthur Stuart. [He offers Will a sheepish smile.] Not the ideal circumstances for an introduction, but I don't suppose we've got a choice now.