abraxaslogs | OPEN MINGLE: Time to Talk, Summoned!

OPEN MINGLE: Time to Talk, Summoned!

Who: Istredd, Wanda, and all the Summoned
What: Istredd and Wanda called people to the meeting to give an info dump, let people ask questions or share their own information, and then a hang out after with refreshments so people can chat after and make new CR or check in with old CR.
Where: Istredd's Horizon
When: Saturday, September 9th, at midnight so less attention given to them.
Warnings: Discussion of the game plots including all content warnings up to now like psychological thriller, horror, the cult kidnapping, gods being trouble. Abraxas is a wild place, friends.

HORIZON AND SET UP

The Lighthouse was described by Istredd in detail so people would know where to go. During this mingle, it will continue to shine and circle around like a normal lighthouse so people know where to go. His domain is unique for being essentially a tower of books. Shelves upon shelves of books and multiple floors. The only other detail before the talk starts is that there are five ravens who will be curiously watching everyone from a perch nearby. Your character may end up with a lapful of one of the two leosylphs who live here, one baby blue colored and the other one black with red eyes.

The main floor has been turned into a large meeting hall of a sort, although mostly in terms of having a large space full of chairs and a few tables if people wish to sit there. Your character can perch anywhere they want including up a floor. A key note about Istredd's domain is that people can easily morph chairs or create them in whatever form they'd want, so if you want them to have their childhood chair, go ahead. If they want a gaming chair, it'll show up automatically for them. His space is very intuitive. People can choose to speak either from the back of the room, as Istredd will do, or from where they sit/stand.

If your character wants to attend but not be noticed, they can intuitively use his Horizon to mask themselves/go invisible. Istredd will not call you out, Henry Creel.

After the initial formal talk and information gathering, Istredd will ease up the more formal atmosphere of the large hall and create a food and drink section against the walls. Wanda assists him in making this look nicer and homier. There will be extensive offerings but people can add any type of food or drink to this, it's up to them to modify it.

If your character would like to explore the library or get a beat to themselves/talk privately with someone, they can do that by wandering the floors. People will find that if they open a book it will appear to be empty at first, but if they think about their favorite book, the pages will fill in. It is entirely based on their recollection of the book so may not be entirely complete, but if their subconscious mind has memorized much of it, they will see what they need to in there.

They may also find that as they move through the floors, a 'reading nook' may appear in the corner that will instinctively know what they would feel comfortable sitting to read with. They can also 'lock' this room if they want to discuss something with another person and need privacy.

ISTREDD'S SPEECH

[Istredd will wait until it appears everyone has arrived or most people have and he will clear his throat to get their attention if they are already chatting with other people. He appears as he often does in Thorne, with very plain clothes in a dark shade of blue, serious and calm. He stands straight-backed, hands clasped behind his back. Istredd speaks in a very clear and calm way.]

Please sit or stand as you feel comfortable. If you want, you can create any chair you wish to sit in. After the initial conversation, food and drinks will be provided and you are free to add your own favorite dishes. This is intended as an information-gathering conversation. Last year, Sam Wilson hosted something similar to keep the Summoned informed, and a great many things have happened since. Wanda and I thought to do the same this year.

We posted on the network a breakdown of what happened with the kidnapping earlier this year. If you missed it, the general idea was that a cult from Solvunn took half of the Summoned and held us in a pit, where they were experimented on. The cult's intention was to try and take the connection the Summoned have to the Singularity, and what they believed to also be a connection to their gods.

It should be noted that Thorne tried something similar early on in the Summonings. Their experimentation also did not work, as far as we know. We thought it prudent to keep every Summoned informed of what happened in case something like this happens again. We have put forward from the Solvunn and Thorne conclave a request to our factions to allow us to have access to the island. We'll let people know what we hear.

I also put together a history timeline of the Summoned.

[He pulls out a blackboard with this list written down over it in clear readable words. He points to the February 20,078 section where the details about the kidnapping are written out in particular.]

If anyone would like to add notes or months I missed, please either write it yourself or let me know and I will add it. I am hoping to keep this an active timeline for us. This will always be available in my library here to anyone who wants it. We have also been given a pantheon of the gods from our friends in Solvunn that is also available in here.

I have been taking notes since I got here about general information that may be of interest to people when they arrive, including details about magic, the Singularity, and the factions. They're very broad but you can read it on this.

[He creates another blackboard to the side, also able for other people to make notes upon.]

I don't want to be talking this entire time, so instead I would like to invite people to share any findings or information they have that they think the whole group should be aware of, and also ask questions that could be answered or talked about. Please be polite with one another and understand there are some things we simply do not have the answers for as of now.

There are less than a hundred of us, and I believe it is important that we stay on the same team. Thank you. Feel free to eat and talk, or wander in the library.

OOC NOTES

Hey everyone, it's Dee! I am so sorry for the tl;dr. I have the headers below: Speeches (information sharing/tl;dr like mine), Questions (you can specify what exactly they have questions about), adding to the info dumps I have, and whatever else you think of.

If you want your character to speak/offer information but don't want follow-up questions, you can put 'OTA' or 'no follow-up' to indicate what your preference is here. If you put OTA people can reply with a sort of Q&A option, but the no follow-up idea is so that people can share information but not need to commit to that unless they feel like it.

And from there, mingle to your heart's content! Your characters can talk afterward, before, go explore the library, whatever you want, I support it. You can plan closed or open starters, follow your heart.

If nothing else, I want people to take from this mingle that their character can hear any of this information or see it in the library and have it from now on for your RP purposes, and take this opportunity to maybe make new CR/discuss all of this. Do as much or as little as you want! If you have any comments/concerns, please message me on plurk.

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[ Matt had mentioned a girlfriend living in Solvunn and plenty of others have mentioned Wanda by name. Finn even clued into her post on the network a few weeks ago, keeping quiet and just observing the situation for the time being. This seemed like a good as time as any to meet the Wanda face to face, though he was surprised to find she was the same woman he'd seen with Matt a little earlier in the night.

Really, the revelation just tells him two things. One is that Matt probably knows a whole lot more about this place than what he's already shared, and it might be a good idea to ask him more questions later on. The second thing is that this place feels just a little bit smaller than it had an hour ago. Their number already feels so small, a fact compounded by the gathering tonight, and Finn really doesn't like being small in numbers.

Been up against worse odds, though.

Either way, he still wants to speak to Wanda and walks up the staircase to meet her halfway. He hadn't really meant to interrupt whatever was happening with the birds, but he watches them take flight with little interest. ]

They steal things? Didn't think that was possible in a place like this.

Don't let them catch you saying they stole anything.

[wanda turns towards the stranger, eyeing him for a moment and wondering if there are any points of familiarity here. matt tells her about all the people he meets in the cities, but he can't—understandably—describe any of their features. this man is certainly not from solvunn, anyway, and the way he carries himself...

well, he fits into wanda's idea of whom the cities would summon.]

But you're right, [she acquiesces, looking down at her hand and revealing that the trinket is a small key] it's not really possible. This key will not be missing in the domain it belongs to.

[ Finn smiles at first, wondering if the birds would be insulted if they were accused of stealing. It's a kind of cute picture, though probably one that turns intimidating quickly.

But anyway, he tilts his head. ]

Then why not let them keep it?

[ To teach them basic morals, he figures. ]

[wanda smiles at the question, despite herself, because she is gathering — thoughts and ideas, here, without intending to. a kind-hearted man, with a familiarity that washes over him simply because of a point of connection, of someone else that wanda cares very much for.]

Exactly for the exact same reason you're thinking. To teach them basic morals.

[she will not have the ravens she named sully the name of their benefactor, as it were.

just as the key in her hand fits into a lock, the hints dropped by finn's mind make the pieces of understanding click for her.]

You're Finn, aren't you? Matt's told me about you.

[ At first, Finn's face drops, surprise and a touch of fear drawing him up to an instinctual defense. He's no stranger to such abilities, which is the reason that fear is there in the first place. It's certainly not fear of the unknown.

He's too unfamiliar with his own abilities to reach back by himself, though, and how the Force feels in the Horizon makes the small attempt even more difficult and wandering. But just as quick as his first reactions appeared, the defensiveness dissipates. He doesn't feel like he's in danger, and she is close to Matt, someone who Finn considers to be a pretty great guy.

So his shoulders relax, his defenses falling in a show of trust. ]

That's right. [ And he offers a tiny smile again because, hey, his friend mentioned him! ] He's told me about you, too. Actually, you're kind of popular around here, from what I can tell. Didn't know you could do that, though.

[ He gestures to his temple but appears far more at ease about than he had a second ago. ]

Don't suppose you call it the Force where you're from?

I wouldn’t call myself popular.

[she remarks, a hint of embarrassment in her tone as she looks away. never would she have thought that people would speak her name and speak it in light of something positive. but having this conversation revolve, indirectly, around matt makes her feel a little more comfortable than if it weren’t.

matt’s got a good judge of character, and the excitement in finn’s thoughts at the mention of matt—a friend—mentioning him is definitely endearing.

wanda keeps herself occuppied by turning one of the rings on her fingers.]

No, [a shake of her head] I don’t know if it has a name like that, other than just — telepathy. Mindreading, some would say it is. Is that what it’s called for you?

[ He realizes that he's made her a bit embarrassed on accident. Honestly, the reaction itself is a bit endearing, but he doesn't draw attention to it. If anything, he steps forward to close more of the distance between them, attempting to move on with the conversation and put her (or them both) more at ease.

Finn didn't expect a simple conversation to turn into... whatever this is. But he's not complaining. ]

Sort of. The Force is its own thing. It connects people to each other, kind of guides everything along. We just have some people back home who can see it. And some of those can use it. If they're strong enough, they can do things like that. Mindreading, lifting rocks several feet away, that sort of stuff.

[finn has nothing to worry about—wanda’s a big girl and she can look after herself, even with unpredictable, worrying emotions. still, he tries to ease the situation by closing the distance between them, and that much is appreciated.

as it were, finn doesn’t project anything that isn’t warmth and comfort, so she’s got nothing to be at odds about.]

Sounds familiar. We call it telekinesis—moving objects, that is—and telepathy, like I said, being anything relating to the mind. Reading thoughts, transmitting thoughts, manipulating it…

[hm.

she tilts her head.]

But it isn’t a connecting thing. It’s not very common, after all. [and she wonders—] Can you use The Force?

[ Oh, ah, hm. Wanda's not the first to assume as much but it's certainly different with her. He's pretty sure she already has a clear idea, after all. ]

I... can see it. Using it- That kind of thing takes practice if I was capable at all.

But even those who can't see it or feel it, the Force still exists in everything. It's just energy. Life and chaos. It's... weird to explain.

[life and chaos.

it’s weird to explain, but— wanda gets it.]

Like everything is connected, right? The good and the bad, the beauty of nature and the horrors of it. [she offers him a light smile.] And, because of that, everyone is connected, even if they can’t use the Force.

[it’s a question that is not a question—but a statement.]

—how did you meet Matt, by the way? Did you find him drinking beer at the inn?

[she’s jesting! she doesn’t care that matt drinks beer or what he does with his time, but this point of connection with finn is a fine one to have, to ease any shakiness or awkwardness.]

[ Oh. Finn's eyes widen and his lips grow into a smile. Finally, someone gets it. ]

That's right.

[ The Force is just its own thing, it doesn't care, but Finn always thought it beautiful all the same. So to finally find someone who understands what he's trying to explain is pretty remarkable for him.

But uh- He laughs. ]

Oh, ah. Not exactly. My first night in Cadens, this goose came out of nowhere and practically ran me over. Matt scrapped me off the pavement. We got beers after.

[ That's only a little bit of an exaggeration, is the awful thing. ]

A goose?

[that sounds a little out there, but it's the cities. wanda has no idea what it's like, but it sounds a little unfair that wanda gets to tell matt about all the animals in solvunn and she's never even heard of the goose?]

You'd think you would be the one helping the blind guy off the street and back on his feet, don't you?

[—but, more important than her boyfriend,]

Whatever happened to that delinquent goose?

Not that blind guy.

[ Finn's already learned that Matt has some special abilities going on, but even if they hadn't needed to fight for their lives in the barracks, he still kind of caught on the first moment they met. Matt certainly didn't trip over him, that's for sure. ]

You know, I have no idea. Some guy passed by us chasing it down, so hopefully he got him.

[ He hadn't heard anything else about rabid geese, anyway. ]

[the story of a rabid goose that may or may not exist is compelling. the issue here is that wanda focuses on a different part of their conversation entirely. finn gives something away, and it's enough for her to take the few steps down to stand close to him

hmm...]

Do you know? About Matt's...?

[she makes a general gesture towards her eyes.]

[ That's a strangely difficult question to answer, because Finn knows he both does and doesn't know. So he shrugs. ]

A little. We fought together in the barracks outside of Cadens during the attack. I never asked questions. Kind of take it that he keeps it quiet.

[ Listen, it took a stupidly long time for it to occur to Finn why the blind guy was running around with a blindfold that covered half his face. After all, he's still getting used to knowing things that he finds obvious but everyone else doesn't.

Well, they probably thought the mask was obvious. Finn didn't catch on to that part very quickly, but he immediately knew who was under it.

Anyway, Finn assumes that Wanda must know, so he wasn't worried about hiding things from her. ]

[wanda tilts her head at this.]

I — didn’t realize that he had told someone else.

[matt likes keeping his secrets, finds certain things unnecessary to mention. wanda does give him a bit of a hard time with the whole friends and not being alone thing, and given his reticent nature, it’s not all too surprising he’d like to keep some of these aspects to himself.

she’s smiling, though, and her voice is quieter.]

It is something he wants to keep quiet. His thing is entirely not the Force, though.

[or telepathy, for the matter. just to make that clear]

[ Finn kind of shrugs a little, thinking about. ]

He didn't really tell me. I kind of just found out. He was wearing a mask, but those never really worked on me.

[ For a long time, he thought it was just his time as a Stormtrooper. Learning people by body movements instead of faces or something. But no, that's not really the case.

Either way, he doesn't want her to think he's telling everyone, especially if this was something kept between them. But he nods because he understands the desire for secrecy and respects it. ]

Yeah. That was the first thing I thought it might be, honestly, but it's something else. Whatever it is, he's good at using it.

[wanda isn't trying to put pressure on finn, nor to blame him for something that seems like he couldn't quite help anyway. wanda shakes her head a little.]

It's fine. If he isn't upset about it, I have no reason to be upset in his stead.

[because it was matt's secret to keep and to share, in the end.]

He is actually blind, but if everyone knew about what he did... You can imagine how they'd think he isn't blind, how he's playing a part. [as far as she knows, it's a reality he has faced before, with his friends back in new york.] It makes me feel a little better that he trusts you, though.

[even if matt is very good at using his enhanced senses, there's always been something very solitary about the way he is and the way he leads his life.]

[ Finn smiles and nods, happy that she's not annoyed with him, at least.

But that smile turns into a bit of a frown as she talks about his past experiences. And it makes sense, unfortunately. ]

I know he's not playing... And I'm glad he trusts me, too. Even if he didn't really get to choose to tell me in the first place.

[ He never really told Finn to keep his mouth shut, so that's something. ]

Well, in your favor—

[she starts, voice quiet still, as she plays with the key that she had taken back from the ravens.]

—he might have called you a friend.

[and that much is a term that matt doesn't use lightly. there might have not been much thought to it, when he labeled finn that, but it just shows that matt's comfortable with him. it means that wanda is, too.

with that, she grabs at one of finn's hands, sets the fancy-looking key in the middle of his palm. he can do with it what he likes; keep it, toss it away—the horizon is for him to mold as he sees fit.]

Keep an eye out on him for me, won't you?

[and just like how the force connects everyone without discriminating, wanda's sense of forthcoming trust in the man comes from a gut feeling made stronger by another's judge of character.]

I figure you might have come to talk to me for questions that aren't related to Matt, though. [—or the ravens. maybe questions that can be saved for another time?] I don't mind answering them, though Istredd's a lot better at that.

[ Oh? Finn perks up immediately, hearing that he's been described as a friend. It shouldn't really be surprising, but it's still incredibly heartwarming to hear secondhand.

What's even more heartwarming is the sudden gift she gives him. Not just the key - which is fake more or less - but her trust. To look out for someone she cares about, she can't look out for. It reminds him of his first conversation with Matt when Finn decided to look into crumbling the factions barriers this very reason. The key only hardens his resolve a little more on that. ]

I will.

[ He wraps his hand around the key, and smiles with a shrug. ]

Honestly? I just wanted to meet you face to face.

[ He can't deny, he's very curious about all this business with these so-called gods that was mentioned in her network address, but that could be saved for later. Hopefully. Today, he really did just want to meet her, and now he's glad that he has. ]

[that response, as earnest and easy as it is, brings a warm smile to wanda's features. wanda supposes that one of the aims for this meeting here today, in istredd's horizon, was to introduce herself to others that aren't in solvunn.

even if it's just one more person—

she puts a hand lightly over finn's arm, to curve over the bend of his elbow as she starts directing them the rest of the way down the staircase.]

How about we go check in with Matt? He's probably eating all the snacks. [he won't be] We can surprise him.

[and they won't be able to sneak up on him.

still, it's comfortable enough company, and it merits being shared around for however long they remain in the horizon for this time.]

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OPEN MINGLE: Time to Talk, Summoned!

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