xistentiaooc | Test Drive Meme #7

Test Drive Meme #7

Hold me tight, it's getting cold.

CRASH LANDING

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, almost at odds with the layer of thick snow over everything.

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, maybe you'll see it. The snowy forest across the sand. Beyond that, the glint of a faraway city.

The Winter Festival

Your first party in Xistentia^[2] is wild, unexpected combination of cultures celebrating the winter holidays from around the Multiverse. Some of them are of contemporary Earth-- Diwali, Christmas, and Hannukkah are all represented, along with the Lunar New Year accelerated somewhat ahead of schedule. You'll find sticky rice pudding, samosas, Henna tattoos, dreidels, chocolate coins, and lanterns in dozens of shapes and sizes. The liquor is plentiful too. All the classics, from wine to mead.

If you aren't familiar with mistletoe, you'll be happy to know that F.A.T.E.S. will prevent unexpected smooches from landing on your face unless you assent. But there is certainly a lot of it around.

However, from unfamiliar worlds, there are a number of other unusual traditions. One of those is Mutuya, a practice from a dwarven land of lightbringing. Two partners, selected at random, get two torches they must carry outside and walk around the snowy building, keeping each other lit. Upon their return, they pass their torches onto a random person— or try again, if they failed. Those who succeed to bring the light back then write a wish on a tapestry hung in the center of the room. You'll notice a lot of people are wishing to return home and save their worlds.

Interestingly, there is even a space for those who disapprove of the interfaith mingling to debate or discuss the mingling of faiths.

NETWORK

As of December 2017, Xistentia now has its own 'friending app.' You can use it to make connections with new people! But beware, your daemon may well post without your permission, and things could get pretty embarrassing.

F.A.T.E.S. thought it was a pretty good pun: Synchr. Get it? Like sinker? Hook, line, and?

TEMPLATE
Select and copy the code below, paste into your entry. (The font is tiny for ease of copying!)

<raw-code><center><div style="background: url('https://i.imgur.com/LMmsp9R.jpg'); margin: auto; width: 300px; height: 500px; padding: 30px; border-radius: 20px;"><div style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans serif; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 28px; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; border-bottom-style: groove; border-bottom-color: #999; border-bottom-width: 1px; line-height: 16px" align="center"><i><b>synchr</b></i></div>

<div style="width: 275px; height: 275px; border: 5px solid #b7d1ae; border-radius: 170px; padding: 0px; margin: 15px auto"><div style="background: url('http://i.imgur.com/i0hSO7K.gif'); background-size: cover; width: 225px; height: 225px; border-radius: 180px; padding: 25px; background-position: center;"><div style="background: url('** YOUR PROFILE PICTURE URL HERE **'); background-size: auto 220px; border-radius: 130px; width: 223px; height: 223px; padding-top: 223px; border: 1px dotted #000"></div></div></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial Narrow, sans serif; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center; color: #000;"><b>NAME</b> ▐ AGE</div>

<div style="height: 120px; background: url('https://i.imgur.com/m5GzmXX.png'); overflow-y: auto; margin: 5px auto; border-radius: 6px; padding: 10px">
</raw-code>** INSERT YOUR PROFILE CODE HERE **

<raw-code></div></div>

<div style="clear: both"></div></div>
<br />
<center><table><tr><td style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#2EB82E;">✓</span> </td><td style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#CC0000;">✕</span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center"><big><big><big><b>YES</big></big></big></b><br />
<textarea><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#2EB82E;">✓</span></textarea></td><td style="text-align: center"><big><big><big><b>NO</big></big></big></b><br />
<textarea><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#CC0000;">✕</span></textarea></td></tr></table></center></center></raw-code>

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

hells yeah

Footnotes

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.
If you decide to join the game, this party will lead to the world-hop in December, detailed in the announcement! Features include The Grinch and Whoville.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ser! [ his daemon suddenly shouts, toothpick of a sword pointing to the shore. Aymeric often patrolled near the beach when he was able to. The crash landings of the ships were sporadic and haphazard. There was never any telling when they would come down nor when someone would be spit upon the sand from an unsuspecting portal. It gave him purpose, in a way, to help the newcomers. It had been long enough now that he stopped truly hoping anyone from home would land in Xistentia and yet- ]

Estinien! [ He'd recognize that armor, that lance, that eye, that scowl just about anywhere in the multiverse. It's uncharacteristic for Aymeric to run but he does, unable to stop himself before he even realizes he'd launching forward in such a way. The wind-up Haurchefantd comes up as swiftly as it can behind him but his legs are much shorter. ] Pray tell me you are unharmed, my friend.

[ If anything, it looks like he was the one harming on his way out. ]

[ his head is still pounding from the several blows of talons and wings that'd battered him, before he and the Warrior of Light admitted futile defeat and fled for the Excelsior, but Estinien would know that voice anywhere, in any state. ]

Lord Commander? [ he croaks, after a couple coughs, willing his worn body to pick itself up and move. There's nothing in the way of grievous wounds on him, they'd escaped early enough it didn't get so far, but mostly it's strain from battle. The armor held up well, as it always does, but he'll be bruised up tomorrow, he imagines. A hand waves, dismissing the question. He's fine enough, calm your shit, ser. ]

I don't recall Ishgard becoming home to such tropical settings. [ Said as a hand trying to push himself up shifts too much on the malleable sand for the Azure Dragoon's liking. Like snow, but more annoying. But as to the important part - ] Has the Horde descended on the city?

[ A sigh of relief passes his lips at the dismissive wave. While some might consider it rude, it's almost a welcome sight. It's one that, after months, he missed more than words could truly express. He wasn't sure when he'd be at the receiving end of the brusque attitude again.

Haurchefantd comes tiptapping up, kicking little puffs of sand out from under his feet. At once, the minion starts to scale Aymeric's armor to find a place upon his shoulder that he might see Estinien more clearly. These daemons oft have a mind of their own, he might soon find out... ]

The Horde? [ His brows furrow fleetingly before smoothing out into the familiar politician's poker face. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. ] No, the Horde is... [ A telling pause. ]

There is much we aught to discuss, Estinien. Such as that this isn't Isghard or Hydaelen at all but a realm called Xistentia. But such discussions might be better left for when we can get you somewhere you can rest.

[ rude is estinien's middle name. estinien 'rude ass bitch' wyrmblood, check the birth certificate. at something tiptapping over, the dragoon's immediately on edge, but as the familiar tuft of white hair pops up, that tension softens, even dissolving into a small quirk at the corner of estinien's lips. haurchefant. the little minion is far, far from the dear friend they'd had, but a fond reminder of the great man it reflects.

and, much more appealing a thing that nighoggd here, the gross, half sand-covered eyeball, that starts to turn on it's own, seething whispers coming from the thing, something along the lines of 'ishgard is ashes, far from here, mortal--' before it gets sneered at and tucked back into estinien's pack.

he assumes, once more, the eye is just nidhogg being creepy and evil again, not the thing about to explain this entire situation to him. yeah, it wasn't a great choice on FATES' part for a daemon. ]

I've not heard aught of any place by that name, but I assume you'll soon amend that, my friend. [ estinien grunts out, as he pushes himself up, preparing to make to safety with aymeric. ] You can start as we walk.

[ sooner rather than later, please. ]

Edited 2018-02-10 04:08 (UTC)

[ Aymeric doesn't pretend to understand the whims of F.A.T.E.S., honestly. He gave up on that a long time ago. Still, he has seen what he perceives to be her help in effect. How one threat to the fate of Hydaelen was so swiftly taken care of after their time here;
how another one immediately cropped up right after it though is what he also believes to be the working of D.E.S.T.I.N.Y.

They'll get to that. ]

Aye, I'll do my best. It's quite a lot to take in, I must admit, though- It almost feels as if veering from the status quo has become our unfortunate norm these days. [ Toppling corrupt empires, slaying dragons, y'know. Just another Isghardian Tuesday. ]

As I mentioned, we are in a realm called Xistentia. It's a safe haven for people across what many have coined the 'multiverse.' People from different realities. The most common world appears to be 'earth' though Era and I had never heard of it before arriving here.

[ Oh, right. Era's here. That's important too, he guesses. ]

[ there’s still some muffled whispering coming from the pack Estinien has stuffed the Eye into (the daemon trying to do its job and add to the explanation), and the dragoon moves a hand to smack at it, assuming it’s only him that hears it. Little does he know, Nidhoggd’s whispering, unlike Nidhogg, are clear and loud for all to hear, Aymeric included.

It takes some effort for the Azure Dragoon to get himself up from the sand, not used to such tropical settings having spent his life in the wintery terrain of Ishgard, but after standing, Estinien peers towards the forest, spotting the city in the distance before he starts towards it. ]

Given how much time Ishgard has spent obsessively clinging to the status quo, I’d imagine we’re about due for it. [ he doesn’t mind the changes, and the strangeness that comes with it. It’s less of the same old dour, destructive conflict, and overbearing anxiety that used to plague the Holy See.

He snorts at the mention of Era, smirking. ]

Bizarre and otherworldly happenings and the Warrior of Light has already made her way to the scene to investigate? You don’t say. [ s a r c a s m ]

[ To that, Aymeric can only agree with a nod. He thinks that what they've accomplished is better though some might disagree; there again, Estinien doesn't know about all they've accomplished just yet. A strange revelation he's still having to wrap his head around. The way this nexus world plays with time... He supposes he's thankful that Era and him had at least always been from the same point. ]

She was here before even me. Only for a month or so I'm told. We've been here since, given one excursion back to Hydaelen. [ Casual discussion of multiversal travel. It's no big deal, bro. ]

You might also wish to be kinder to your daemon. They tend to have quite the character to them, especially when their owners are uncooperative. [ He motions to the pack that he used to store away the eye. It's fitting, maybe, but certainly not the wisest of ideas on F.A.T.E.S. part to assign Estinien that as a companion. ]

Test Drive Meme #7

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