spoofer: (piano)
Xistentia: Mod ([personal profile] spoofer) wrote in [community profile] xistentia2017-11-04 03:08 pm

War with D.E.S.T.I.N.Y.

Characters: Ensemble cast, any/all characters of Xistentia!
Summary: D.E.S.T.I.N.Y. comes to Xistentia for the first time, bringing with it violence and havoc. Combat against enemy agents, healing, emergency sanctuary, and "Drift Compatibility" happen here. Refer to the OOC plotting post and the mod announcement!
Date(s): November 4-18
Warnings/Notes: Violence, death, psychological themes, trauma. Please warn for anything else in your subject headers!

WAR WITH DESTINY
By headsman's blade or battle-axe
Fight For Your Life

Everything is, in short, super fucked. Era Ra's warning came at the right time, forewarning of some of the weapons and fighting styles that could be expected from D.E.S.T.I.N.Y.'s agents, but still, the people of Xistentia have not faced a force like this before. The ragtag combination of fighting styles and tactics promises both versatility and confusion.

For better or worse, D.E.S.T.I.N.Y. is in similar chaos.

The first to come are ships from the Western sea, bearing a mix of warriors in and monsters. Some wield old-fashioned steel swords and others bear laser blasters, and their armor is just as varied. Some creatures appear domesticated, while others are feral and snap at their own. However, one primary feature identifies the enemy: their war color is red, which adorns flags and uniforms. Interestingly, the sea and sky of Xistentia seem to be fighting back in their own way, massive waves and a storm, even animals pestering them as they attempt to land the beach. However, it's only a matter of time before the mainstay of their forces reach land, some two hundred fighters. It's then that sentient fires start to whirl into the forests, leaping from tree to tree.
You have the home court advantage. Even the foliage itself seems to cooperate with you, aiding in efforts for stealth by keeping you downwind, twigs failing to crack when you misstep. Soon, you're joined by Xistentia's other forces-- a handful of battered ships taking air, an odd assortment of elves and talking dogs, demons and aliens from outer-space, coordinating counter-attacks.
BATTLE MODE: ATTACK

You're locked in combat with a woman who seems oddly familiar, though you don't know her face and can't think of her name. You hit her in the head, and now a narrow slice of her face shows through her red-rimmed helm. She wields a rifle tipped with a heavy blade, though it crackles with electrical energy. She is a proficient swordswoman, deftly parrying and striking against you, her face eerily expressionless. Her blade has a switch that, when activated, will send out a net that numbs your limbs and drags you to the floor. Here's hoping you won't face this demon alone.

She's not your only problem. You may have noticed, that in every epic battle with evil wizards, there's always some kind of a problematically gigantic elephant. This is one of those days. At least, there's only one, its trunk as wide as a car, its feet moving slow, so that it might crush the trees rather than trip over them.

Fight one or both, or fight the hordes of nameless minions around them. Either way: there's plenty to do. Those of you who thought things were too quiet here? You'll be busy today.

SEEK SANCTUARY

Fighting isn't for you? Well, you'll want to get out of the way, then. The "wards" protecting the city are failing, and people are heading toward The Temple where the protections remain the strongest. Here, the injured need healing in the stone beds. The civilians do their best, comforting children, cooking food, trading intelligence, repairing weapons and armor where possible. Feel free to pitch in; they need all the help they can get.
BATTLE MODE: SUPPORT (PSYLINK)

And here, you've reached the Temple, you've laid yourself down on one of the many glass-and-stone beds within the safety of its stone walls. You know what the other Xistentia residents have told you about it— this is the next phase, after the memory share had raised shields against the psychotropic rain. This is the PsyLink. Through this bond, you are said to be able to activate special defenses. No one seems to know exactly what they are, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And beyond the Temple walls, times are desperate indeed.

Each drift requires at least two people. Your daemons will find and connect you, seemingly at random— and you may find yourself with the unlikeliest of partners.
Drift Compatible

The Kissing Booth participants find it easiest. Everyone else-- it's a wild jumble, finding yourself caught up in a firehose of not only your own memories, but that of someone else. Everything they think, everything they feel, is intertwined with your mind.

You can't get caught up in it. You have to let the memories of the past, your predictions for the future, and the terror of war flow in and out of you, without neither resistance or pursuit, gently tuning them out. And in this serenity, this psychic silence, this acceptance of not only yourself but the other other, you find perfect connectivity— harmony with your PsyLink partner.

In this space, you find yourself having strange conversations. You and your partner will share ghostly images, some of which seem to be images from the past— while others seem to be present-day moments from the battle outside, fighting the enemy, as if you are somehow in two places at once. You must find traction and stay in the now and stay calm, but it's harder than you think.

The instant you latch onto that memory or emotion, it's a mistake... but you forget.

Your shadow is here. Whether out-of-context, or right here where it was meant to be, it's trying to kill you.

But you're not trapped here alone. Someone is calling your name, a familiar voice in the pandemonium. That voice comes from your drift partner. It's up to them to pull you back, remind you of who you are, and balance you. Hold on to them - they're your anchor, but you'll have to do the same for them. A successful drift means helping each other. Do it well, and you'll help to power the temple's defences. Fail, and there'll be trouble for everyone seeking sanctuary here.
smileslie: (concert smoke)

[personal profile] smileslie 2017-12-08 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[there isn't much, but maybe now Mandy's being a little more deliberate in her motions, as Era's words rub at wounds that have never gotten the chance to completely scab over. She can't even chuckle at the fact she's pretty sure Era isn't quite catching her meaning, although whether she's truly oblivious or feigning it Mandy can't guess]

Yeah? That's good. [she coughs a little, knowing exactly what memories are sticking in her craw. She's good alone, she's strong alone, but there had been something in have someone who knew her well enough to finish her sentences, who for a few brief moments had moved in sync with her so they were almost the same person.]

That's good. [she repeats, a little softer] That's not the sort of thing a lot of people are lucky enough to have. And even fewer of us get to keep it. I certainly didn't recognize how rare it was when I did. [and even that much is a lot to admit, I had that and I couldn't hold on.

She can't let that sentiment linger too long though, or she'll get lost in it. So, she gives Era another look over before she stands, forcing that playful smirk that had kept so many people from seeing her bleeding heart. It doesn't fool Arthur anymore, and she's not sure it will fool Era, but the reflex is impossible to fight]
And it can't hurt that he is rather good looking, by just about any world's standards. Might not make all this shite go away, but it's a nice distraction. I just hope he recognizes that he's quite lucky to have you at his side.

[or she might...well, all right, she's not sure if she could fight an actual soldier if he hurt a friend, but she'd sure try]
Edited 2017-12-08 21:19 (UTC)
astralera: (shy)

[personal profile] astralera 2017-12-09 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
It's... not entirely uncommon in Eorzea, though the reason for it is necessity. [ it might not make Mandy feel better, but. Era doesn't really know what else to say... ] If you cannot adjust, adapt, and work with your companions you will very likely die a horrible death. I imagine it's more difficult when your life is not dependent on such things.

[ She has to actively repress the shiver that runs down her spine at the memory of one particularly unfit adventuring group. A headless corpse and dark rituals...

Era straightens as Mandy stands, catching a smirk that seems almost out of place. She puts it aside for the time being, nodding in agreement at Mandy's comment regarding Aymeric's attractiveness. It doesn't phase Era in the slightest - not when it's such a common fact of life in Ishgard.

The sky is blue, the grass is green, water is wet, and Aymeric de Borel is unfairly attractive. ]


He has made sure to inform me on various occasions how lucky he is to have met me. [ Which is... Well, it causes her to blush the tiniest bit. ] His people would likely still be at war with the Dravanians without my assistance.