welcome to
the collected nations of struxta.It will happen at random- you could be asleep, or wandering the Temple, or a variety of other options. It will feel a little strange, like a sudden warmth spreading across your skin, and then your bracelet will light up. When you blink again, everything has shifted - changed, developed, like in that blink of an eye you have advanced thousands of years into the future. Around you is a city, a technological marvel. Buildings rise up from the dirt and through the clouds, figures of all shapes and sizes buzz around you. They seem to pay you little mind - a quick glance, maybe a pause, and then they will continue on their away. Ahead, there is a low rumble of thunder, a dim flash of light. It doesn't seem to be raining, but there is an electric hum in the air. A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH
But before anything too weird can happen . . . your watch flashes again, beeps once, and on it has a new message, a hologram-sparkly image with a young woman who (to some individuals!) looks a fair bit brighter than she did a few weeks ago. To those who are new, you will recognize the voice -- Astoria, the guardian of the Temple (or, if you're a bit more pessimistic, your effervescent kidnapper).
 "Hello, my beloved travelers ♥ and new ones, too! My name is Lady Astoria the Witchess-san." The way she says it, though, it is very clearly something of a joke. "I'm so glad you are settling in, adjusting to your new powers . . . I apologize for not coming forward and greeting you all like last time. But I am feeling much more like myself, and ready to send you to a new world ♥
This one is named Struxta . . . Struxa? No, I think it's Struxta. It's very metal. I'm not sure what's wrong in this world . . . but I can feel something building. Pulsing, it's very chaotic. I'm afraid I can't be more detailed than that, I did have a headache earlier . . . Akira told me I was fine ♥" And, again, you can likely guess that Akira definitely did no such thing. Astoria clasps her hands, her bright blue eyes shining, with a bright smile. "Now! Please be safe, and please mind your manners, and tell me all about it when you return! I'll see you soon. ♥"
And, just like that? The humming in the air grows louder, you feel an odd tug in your stomach, and before you can properly adjust yourself to the sensation of being cast across the universe . . . you find yourself in Struxta. (Astoria, it seems, did have it right the first time.)
 THE HOSTELJust as it was in El Minha, it appears that upon arrival, each character is outfitted with a room at one of the largest, arguably most impressive skyscrapers in the city. Nearly two hundred stories tall, and with each floor containing nearly sixty rooms. Every floor, every room, every door is of the highest tech and the more advanced security. The watches that Astoria has given each of the Circle Members act, in many ways, like a key, a credit card, an ID, and any other form of identification the players will need during their stay.
The rooms themselves are simple - one bed, roughly full sized, with a light, a desk, a chair, and a variety of plugs and buttons. Characters are welcome, if they are able to find the appropriate plug, to charge any and all devices they may have. There is a TV of sorts in the room as well, with access to all manner of shows and news stations.
The bottom floor of the building is almost as large as a city block. It is open, sleek, and clean-cut. A kind of open meeting room, which has - upon inspection - been modified to include what appears to be a restaurant. Which, given the fact the group of Circle members who have arrived in the city are the only natural bodies around? Includes the fact you are the only members of the city who have to consume food and nutrients. Upon even closer inspection, the technology used to make the food seems a few decades behind that of the rest of the city, but it still works, and the food can still be produced. It might taste a little weird and turn out to be some sort of glorified goop, but it has some nutritional value.
The rest of the floor has a variety of seating arrangements and places to sit and chat with your other Circle members, but beyond the Welcome Committee, who is set up on the far northern corner, there doesn't seem to be many of the natives walking through.  THE SUPER CENTERHave you ever wanted to go shopping in the most technologically advanced superstore possible? Here is your chance! It appears that if you use your watch, you have been given a moderate amount of credit to buy clothing, toys, electronics, items, and anything else that might suit your fancy. You will not have enough to buy anything significant, such as limbs, organs, advanced computer technology, etc. But you are more than welcome to find a job to help collected more credits! Many of the stores within the Supercenter are hiring - greeters, cashiers, manual labor, errand runners, and everything in between!
The Supercenter is attached, as most of the buildings seem to be in this city, by a roadway of interlocking bridges and stairways- to a point that you could, if you wanted to, move about the entire city without stepping foot outside. There are bridges on every level of the Supercenter, as well as a network of pathways and semi-roadways within the center itself.
There are no restaurants or bars, but there are plenty of areas to relax and people robot watch if you so desire. Otherwise, shop, explore, find weird mechanical devices of the likes you could never imagine back home. There are all manner of stores, some art galleries, music centers, arcades, and more here. There is no limit to what you can find and what you can experience.
Everything is automated, but there are still helpful employees of various appearances at each of the stories to help you decide and browse- small, flying blocks that speak in primarily beeping noises that (thanks to Astoria's wonderful watches) you can somehow understand, completely human-appearing androids of the utmost style and elegance, and everything in between. Take your time, do a little shopping or go to work, and enjoy the pique of futuristic capitalism.  THE RACESIn the south-eastern district of the city, a large section of the city has been modified into a multi-level, vast, complicated race track of sorts. Think Tron, meets Speed Racer, meets a type of racing that is something all their own. It's fun as hell, fast as hell, and dangerous as hell. Sounds great, right?
What is simply known as ‘Racing’ here in Struxta is complicated, but at its heart is exactly what it says: it is a race. A race of cars, bikes, and everything in between through an obstacle course of everything you can imagine. It seems to all be linked, electronically, to a motherboard that decides - each race - what the drivers will find. Each race was drastically different, with dangers galore. One day you might find that the road is full of spikes, the next it might be slick as oil, there could be loops that defy gravity and breaks in the road that seem to be impossible to cross, but that's what the modifications and specialists in the garages are for, right?
The rules are simple: if you have a vehicle, and you have a driver, you are allowed to race. First one to complete the track, wins.
Surrounding the main track is an entire industry of shops, stores, garages, meeting places, lounge areas, and viewing rooms. There are robots who make entire livings on the industry surrounding the Races, without ever having to step food onto the course. Some of the areas will be cleaner, like the rest of the city, while others may air on the side of back-house garages. While there won't be any dirt or natural life forms, for the first time you might catch sight of rusted metal, oil slicks, broken down previous versions of what's out on the road. There are some practice tracks, some experimental safety sections to test out new additions, etc.
The one thing that holds everyone together, here, is the excitement around watching. The excitement around the competition. There are Races every five days, so that gives you just enough to get settled. And maybe find a car.  THE LIBRARYAs many have already come to hear, there are plenty of libraries and museums all across Struxta. However, there is one that is known as The Library, which archives anything and everything in the history of all of Struxta, spanning back its entire history, over thousands and thousands of years. The building itself is as large and impressive as The Hostel, nearly two hundred stories tall, possibly more, and as wide and long as a city block. But where in the Hostel each floor had been made up of rooms, each of these floors are large, open areas, with dark, imposing servers held behind tight, clean cabinets.
No one else seems to be here, which gives the impression that The Library is not open to just any native of Struxta, and that in fact - as members of the Circle you are being given special access to what would normally be off-limits.
In the middle of each floor, there is a small collection of tables, with large screens. These touch-screens will be your access into the Library archives. And that is the thing - you will have access to everything, but as it turns out, everything really means everything, and with backups spanning the course of thousands of years in the past, it will take a lot of time and a lot of energy and a lot of research determination to find anything of use. Not because it is difficult, just because it is so massive and so overwhelming.
The only natives you will find will be on the first floor, as a kind of secretarial position for the building. They are more than happy to try and help guide you through the search process, but they will not follow you up to any of the other floors, and there is a distinct feeling of being entirely alone when you do go up to begin your search. Alone, but watched, somehow.
Remember- if there is something that you wish to look up specifically, please ask over on the world interactions post so we can be sure that the correct information is shared! The best way to go about finding something in the Library will be going at search terms in teams, as there is so much information there is no way one person will be able to wade through it all. Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the mod questions thread back in the OOC post from before! And if you have any ideas regarding how your character will interact with the world, also feel free to check back into the world interactions comment from the OOC post from before, as well! From this point forward, the Circle has become involved with the Collected Nations of Struxta. What your character finds out, decides, and does from here on out will affect the future of this city- one way or another! But what you do is completely up to you. What you discover, explore, and uncover will be yours to discover, explore, and uncover. Who knows what you might find? :) |
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acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2018-07-11 12:02 am
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Not in a million years... Maybe they should have cleaned the whole thing out before offering it to us. Do you think they remember what 'flavor' is?
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I'm reasonably sure they don't have anything else. I've flown over the city. I haven't seen anything living. The park plants are fake.
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[That's utterly disheartening to hear, but not as disheartening to listen to Shiro's spoon clink away. That's so gross, but even as Noct struggles internally about eating this goop, he can't help shifting his eyes back to his own temporarily abandoned plate.]
... If we do find anything, I got a guy who can make anything, so long as he has actual food to work with. [Maybe the fake plants would taste better? His pickiness about texture is destroying every attempt he makes to eat. Grimacing when his stomach growls irritably, Noct looks down at the goop again.]
Actually, how long do you think we'll be here this time, same as before?
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At least until paranoia proves true or not.]
Next time, we can add that to preparations. There's a lot of ways to set up long-lasting food stores. I can't help out much in that arean. Cooking isn't my best skill. But I can catch things, clean them, and manage fires for your friend.
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Yeah. I did try fishing a little bit back at the pond, but nothing was biting - but if we can set something like that up and pre-pack everyone before Astoria sends us elsewhere, it would probably work out better. [At least seeing someone stomach the goop and not immediately burping it back up encourages Noct silently to at least try to eat it, like, beyond staring at it on a plate.]
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We could also try stocking up on worlds with resources we can use, as well. Just to make sure we have what we need at all times. From food to medicine. [They can't always rely on any healers among them. First aid could also mean the difference between life and death.]
...but I'm not sure we should catch or eat anything from the forest near the temple. We need to find out what is going on there first.
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I don't suppose we could drop back at El Minh, the food there was pretty good, even in the soup kitchens. But do you think there's something in the forest to make it dangerous? I get not eating wild mushrooms but...
[Everything probably cooks like chickatrice, some of it is poultry shaped enough.]
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While I was in there it felt like something was watching us. The whole time. But nothing showed itself. Whether that's the magic itself waiting for us to trip it or not...I'd like to know.
[He glances at the androids again and presses his hands flat to the table. It's fine.]
Sorry, not used to so many androids around that are peaceful.
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At least he isn't the only one unsure about this place, even if they've been friendly.]
I... get what you mean. Not all of them sort of give a knee-jerk reaction, but others just make me uncomfortable. [Too close facial features, too close height wise, too close to his person because androids don't have personal space bubbles - at least not the ones he keeps winding up near.]
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that's going to take a while. [His sympathies, Noctis.]
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[It's going to be a while, he's definitely right in how Noct still anticipates an axe in the back or an eight foot Something rounding a corner in front of him with intentions to gut him. Not great, not fun, but his reactions are still his best life savers. Finally reaching for his plate, dragging over and taking a spoonful of goop, Noct puts it in his mouth and doesn't bother chewing.
ugh. Keep talking Noct, and you can ignore the dull mushy substance in your mouth.]
I was starting to think I was the only Circle member who was weirded out by this place, it's nothing like El Minh.
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Not exactly attacks...I was a prisoner for a span of time. It was the sentries that watched over us and moved through the halls between the cells. Most of the Empire I've fought against back home... is manned by these sentries.
[The heavy thuds of the android passing close to them sounds almost the same. He keeps talking through the instinct to deal with that.]
It's a bit like being on an infiltration mission without knowing when you're about to be caught.
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Makes sense that they would use sentries. You escaped, but you'd know those footsteps anywhere.
[He's got a good point about it feeling like an infiltration mission though, and he smiles a little around his spoon even when his eyes drift back to his plate. He shouldn't have looked at it, it still looks terrible.]
Yeah, that's a really good way to put the feeling. I mean, every time I ended up on a Niff base for infiltration I ended up blowing some Magiteks up along the way, so it usually backfired and I'd have to fight a way out but -
[He's sort of said a little too much, plus blowing up Magiteks and blowing up Androids are... different here. Awkwardly stuffing another spoonful of goop in his mouth, Noct tries not to hunker in his seat because explaining it all sounds like too much information. It's similar though, Noct understands what Shiro means.]
Er, you know. [Yeah, he knows, he's the one who put it into words in the first place.]
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It's enough information for him to get it. He smiles just a little. A bit too much information for a bit too much. Not that he minds. Most people know about his former Paladin life.]
Yeah, I know. I used to have a massive metal lion to back me up and four other pilots with their own metal lions. Now I turn into one and these people, [He points to the androids moving about like this is a regular hotel.]
Ask me what my iOS is or where I was built. It's jarring.
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So it's not just an armor, it's - your power is actually becoming the lion? [Okay, score one for wild powers that don't quite make sense and yet sound really cool despite the attempts to think on how it works. Organic becoming metal doesn't really work well in what he's known.]
That would be really hard to answer when you've got nothing, yeah.. [
Lion iOS is Altean magic bullshittery, powered by ~*~mystery forces~*~ and probably crystals.]no subject
[That joke will be ten times as funny at a later date. He'll just have to avoid telling it around his team.] But yes, I become the lion.
It was weird at first. I'm...pretty used to it now. From what I've been able to feel out I should have most of the Lion's actual weapons at my disposal once I figure out how to activate them.
[Probably not the teleport. He picks up his water and takes a sip of it. Blissfully cool.]
The drawback to being the lion is what happens to it translates when I shift back.
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That's pretty cool, and at least it's something you're mostly familiar with - aside from the literal becoming a robot lion.
[Putting another mouthful of goop in his mouth, finally beginning to scrape the plate clean, Noct swallows as he thinks about how that translates. It means injuries, but if there's a way to recover before changing back...] How long can you hold that sort of shift? I don't suppose you could just go for repairs before changing back, unless it sounds weird - or just doesn't work like that.
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I’m...not sure, [He says, his words soft and uncertain as he picks his way through all of the knowledge he has over his shifting.] The Black Lion is a marvel made by a race of beings that mix magic and science together into a seamless whole. It’s possible I could be repaired before changing back. I have in the past had rockets welded to my paws. It created slight burns on my hands.
That’s the extent of tempering I’ve done.
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It might be something to look into, but if ends up painful, that sort of rules out the point of doing it in the first place. Maybe if it's for something you needed immediately and couldn't shift back for.