december 2019. welcome to the void.

[modblob]

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Sixth Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of December 2019
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. the generic holiday cheer prompt.

It's a dark, quiet, uneventful night. Only those up and about in the wee hours will notice something odd starting in the park.

It's snowing.

The phenomenon seems to be coming from a small bank of unmoving clouds hanging suspended above the trees and lake. A cloud that, upon closer inspection by any scientists in the room, appears to be made of harmless nanites whose sole purpose is to unleash a cheery, blustery kind of weather that remains mostly contained to the park.

Some bots are out serving hot chocolate, cider, flavored snow cones, and other small baked treats. Others are building a solid-looking bit of scaffolding that the snow is rapidly turning into a sledding ramp. In fact, there are sleds ready and waiting at the foot of the slide. The smaller ponds have frozen over in a sharp cold snap that came with the nanites' release, and there are other bots handing out ice skates - careful, though, because one of them is a chef bot and he's made the blades of the skates ridiculously sharp. At least they'll glide well?

Around the middle of the day, the intercoms squeal loudly, crackle, and start pouring generic seasonal music out into the air. Is it for Hanukkah? Christmas? Kwanzaa? Some strange holiday no one has heard of? Who knows, since half of it is in alien languages, but man, it sure is peppy! And kind of annoying after a while! Maybe someone should hack the system and change the music up?

b. the body heat trope prompt.

As the day wears on toward evening, the nanite winter storm starts to gather a little more force, sending cold seeping through the halls of Anchor. There are pockets of warmth here and there - notably, for once, the agricultural areas are largely unaffected thanks to their temperature regulators--but most of Anchor has a wintery chill, and snow is starting to bluster across the levels from bottom to top. Temperatures continue to drop when the suns go down.

The bots are out being helpful, though they can't stop the storm. They're rolling around handing out blankets and thermoses of warm drinks. Unfortunately, it's one blanket and one thermos per two people. Better get cosy - it's going to be a long, cold night!

c. the terrifying monster attack prompt.

The cold has woken up some creatures that have been slumbering away in one of the sealed-off areas of the labs. They couldn't get through the door that kept them caged, but they sure could freeze the windows and escape that way when they got cold enough to break. The little critters make a beeline for the park, prepared to wreak havoc-

If eating snow and ice and rolling snow into tiny balls for meal stockpiles is havoc.

These little creatures look conspicuously like the western dragons of Earth, though most are no bigger than a person's forearm. Their wings - some strange shade of white that sparkles when they move - seem largely decorative. They use them to communicate, to posture, and to keep themselves balanced when they rear up on their hind legs, but none of them appear able to fly. They're a mix of colors, blue and silver and white, some of them with a variety of shades swirling down their bodies, others with one color on their bellies and contrasting colors on their back and head. Some have splotches, or speckles, or tiger stripes of blue. They breathe steam and can freeze things with their clawed forepaws.

Also, if you feed them a flavored snow cone, they will follow you forever. No, really. You'll have yourself an undyingly loyal new pet.

Navigation.

Comments

[arcadedragon]

Genji's grin isn't visible behind the mask, but it's more than evident in his voice, "I think you have made a friend!"

He's sitting crosslegged in the snow, surrounded by curious dragons who are using his metal armor to roll snowballs against. Sōmen floats over to sniff at the new arrival before taking to the air again to slowly circle right above the smaller snow dragons.

"It likes you, that is an honor."

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Uh-- huh. Great." Julie doesn't sound too sure, while not outright rejecting the idea that this interesting little creature has decided that she is the one it wants to follow around for the rest of its life.

She watches Sōmen in clear amazement, watching the way the creature moves.

"Looks like you made a few friends."

[arcadedragon]

"Enjoy them while they are small, they may get much larger." And then do who knows what: tear up the city, try to eat people, breathe ice? He's not sure.

"I have. They like the lights though, not me." The larger green dragon descends to wrap around his neck. Very dignified. In that Genji looks ridiculous now. "This one is Sōmen. From my world, not here. But I think it wants to teach these others to fly."

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Huh, you think so?"

There are so many of them, and now she's not trying to get away from the one that's choosing to follow her around it's actually... kind of cute? Kind of cute in a weird, 'what the hell is this fantasy creature how is it even real' sort of way.

She squints slightly, crouching down. The creature backs off a little then creeps in closer, slinking down under her hand like a cat that doesn't quite want to be touched when she reaches out for it.

"God damn it, I am never going to get used to shit like this."

[arcadedragon]

"I take it there are no dragons where you come from? There aren't any like this in my world. Only this one and my brothers'." He reaches up to skritch Sōmen, hunching a bit under the weight of a dragon drooped over his shoulders.

"Do things like this happen often? A few weeks ago my home showed up here, exactly as I remembered it, even with the fish still in the pond. That was bittersweet, this is much nicer."

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Pft, no, dragons are just in stories. But I guess a lot of what I've seen lately is. Dimension-hopping isn't supposed to exist either."

Julie stops trying to touch the dragon, makes a face at it with her lips slightly pursed and her eyebrows drawn down, and she shrugs.

"I mean, yeah, kind of. A lot of weird shit happens here. The fun part is figuring out what the point of it is."

[arcadedragon]

"No it is not. But not only is that occurring, there are other worlds, other timelines, whole entire galaxies that are new to me. It would be fascinating were I not stuck here." It will be a great story to tell people, assuming he ever gets the chance.

"Is there a point? Or is it just random chance?"

[redwinekindofgirl]

"I think I'd lose it if I had to walk around thinking there was no point to anything," Julie muses thoughtfully, then puffs a wisp of blonde hair out of her face.

"I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but I think everything means something."

[arcadedragon]

"Everything?" He thinks about that, what Zenyatta would say. Likely something about the chaos of life is that which makes it beautiful.

"Maybe there is a point, and if not, you making one serves the same purpose. Perhaps it is a self fulfilling prophecy. If you think there is meaning, it becomes meaningful."

Oh he likes that. Makes him feel a little more in control over things.

[redwinekindofgirl]

"... Yeah. Something like that."

He said what she meant but hadn't been able to put into words properly. The little dragon that had been following her around finally allows her to pick it up, and she stands with it held against her chest.

"If you go through life never giving meaning to anything, it's just a bunch of... oh, why me, why did this happen to me. You know. Make it make sense, even if it only makes sense to you."

[arcadedragon]

"That is a good philosophy. And then you are in control of your future because you can bend things to meet what you need them to." He definitely sees the appeal. Then things aren't happening chaotically and you can find your place in it.

"It will never leave you if you hold it like that. They are like cats, once they have claimed you, you cannot escape."

[redwinekindofgirl]

Julie has to give a small, wry smile at that, because the moments she has felt truly in control of anything in her future could barely fill a matchbox. Her life has felt like a whirlwind, with her only caught up in its pull, and just when she thought she might have finally found a safe place to land it had all begun again.

But then he talks about cats like that, and she looks down at the very happy-looking dragon-creature in her arms.

"Yeah, well... maybe I don't really want to," she says, giving the animal a little scritch on the head. "How did you get yours?"

[arcadedragon]

"Sōmen is my ancestral spirit dragon. The lineage of my clan. I have it and my brother, Hanzo has a dragon as well. Two actually." He pauses to catch Sōmen as the dragon flops down from around Genji's neck to lay in his lap. "They aid us in battle and tie us to our ancestors."

Or look adorable as it's doing currently. Nothing says fierce dragon like a noodle all stretched out and getting tummy rubs.

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Hanzo?"

She doesn't know his name yet, but she's already met Genji's brother. A surly sort who took far too long to accept the offer of a blanket when he was clearly freezing cold. Nothing in her mind links the two together.

Julie looks at the dragon, sprawled out over Genji's lap, and smirks slightly.

"Looks very fearsome."

[arcadedragon]

"My brother. He is here as well. The archer." He figures that's a pretty telling description, as he hasn't seen too many people walking around with a bow and arrow other than him.

"It can be fearsome. It's just... usually... not." It takes after Genji, not taking anything seriously until forced to. It's a part of him after all, so a lot of little aspects of his personality are replicated in the dragon.

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Oh, him. He's your brother? Cool."

That's... interesting, and she can't really see the family resemblance (but maybe there's a good reason for that). With the little dragon that chose her tucked against her chest she puffs out a breath and moves to join him, sitting down with one leg tucked beneath the other.

"Where does the dragon come from?"

[arcadedragon]

Well that tone of voice speaks volumes, "I take it you have met him?"

He can only imagine how the very grumpy Hanzo interacted with anyone else he didn't know. Probably poorly is his guess.

"The realm of our ancestors. That is what my father told me, but honestly I'm unsure. It's not really alive, it doesn't need to eat or drink so it truly is spiritual. However; I'm sure my father spun it to be a good story."

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Mm. I had to bully him into taking a blanket from me so he didn't freeze."

She never really did figure that one out. Was it bravado? That he didn't trust strangers? That he was of the opinion that men didn't need to use blankets even if it was freezing outside?

People could be strange like that.

"But he didn't have a dragon with him. I feel like I'd remember."

[arcadedragon]

"Too proud to accept help. That sounds exactly like him." He probably would have rather died of hypothermia than taken a blanket from a well meaning stranger. Nobility did odd things to ones sense of self.

"They are not always out. I don't think he summons it except for fighting. I thought mine would like to meet the other dragons."

[redwinekindofgirl]

"I guess I get it."

Sort of. Julie, too, can often be too proud or too stubborn to ask for help. It's not a good character trait, but it helps when you're aware of it. When it comes to being cold, though, she'd take a damn blanket.

"Is it... solid? The dragon, I mean. Can other people touch it, or is that weird."

[arcadedragon]

"I understand it, but I still think it's unnecessary. Being close to people does not necessarily make you weak." It had taken him a long, long time to come to terms with that. It went against everything they'd been taught as children. It almost felt like an act of rebellion now to have friends.

"Right now it is." He picks up the dragon around the middle, letting it flop around like a limp noodle. Holding it out he offers it to Julie, the dragon looking up with the barest hint of a tongue blep. This is one fearsome warrior.

[redwinekindofgirl]

Oh, so fearsome. Julie makes the kind of sound that any sane person ought to make when they see such a creature do such a mighty tongue-blep, and she's entirely unhesitant in taking the noodle-dragon from Genji's hands.

"Oh, nooo... it's so cute."

So scary and fearsome... and cute. She gives the dragon a little scritch on the forehead.

[arcadedragon]

Very terrifying. Sōmen is very enjoying those skritches.

"It is. I am probably not supposed to say that, or encourage it but.." He shrugs. He has an adorable dragon, he's not going to do anything about it. "It can be ferocious when it needs to be, so when it does not, it may do as it pleases. It is named Sōmen."

[redwinekindofgirl]

"Sōmen, huh..."

She gives Sōmen plenty of scritches while the little white dragon that had decided it liked her very much watches from her side.

"Where's your favourite place to be scratched, huh..?"

[arcadedragon]

It wriggles happily, soaking them all up.

"I am glad that these other dragons have appeared, now Sōmen can have friends of it's own kind. Well, somewhat anyway, they are not quite the same. Still it's probably a good thing. And these little ice dragons that eat snow are cute."