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[sphererpmod]

Holiday mingle log

It’s the most wonderful (welcome) time of the year

Christmas is coming earlier and earlier every year, which isn't a surprise but hey they're starting the Christmas/Winter stuff the week before thanksgiving. Because why not. this month’s party takes place in the Merchant dome. But it’s not the everyday appearance of the merchant dome. No, for the next five days the Merchant dome’s appearance has been altered to look like a sort of Bavarian Christmas Market. There are small clusters of tables every so often, so people can just sit and chat and eat and drink.

Some enterprising person has even managed to make it snow through some unknown means. It’s not cold, but the snow is soft and steady and slowly building up.

The entire dome, all of the streets and all of the merchant stalls are practically glowing with white fairy lights that are strung everywhere. Vendors in their stalls gleefully cry out to paterons passing by, offering them free food or drinks. The food consists of the sort of things that one might expect to find in a place like this: sausages on buns and on sticks, pretzels, pizza, loads of cookies of every variety that one could think of, including elaborately decorated gingerbread, chocolates, fruits, french fries. Think winter fair food, and be as absurd and as complicated and extra as you want. It is a fair, after all. Go nuts. Drinks are also along the same line: hot cider, mulled wine, hot buttered rum, hot chocolate both with booze and without, as well as all the normal things: water, coffee, tea, milk, soda, and a variety of fruit juices that you’ve both heard of and not.

But food isn’t the only free thing that people are giving away! They’re also offering characters hats and gloves and scarves, small toys, books, delicate ornaments, perfumes, wine… it’s a giant welcome party after all, and these people are cheerful and happy. Even offering to pay just gets met with laughter and being told not to worry about it.

Fun and frivolity.

There are even carnival rides set up! A medium sized ferris wheel, a carousel, a giant slide and ice skating ring are all along the outside of the stalls.

At the far end of the dome, the snow has fallen deeper and held to several inches. Wouldn’t you know it just happens to be perfect snowball snow! So, there of course needs to be a snowball fight! What did you think those free mittens and gloves and scarves are for after all? The snowball fight can be organized into teams, or one on one depending on the player’s choice. This is a friendly fight, of course, so no rocks or slush balls or anything. Well, probably not. No one in the Sphere is your mother.

So you want some summer?.

While the welcome party rages on in the merchant dome, people have made a smaller party in one of the recreation domes. Around the pools, as a matter of fact. There’s almost like a small barbecue clustered around the largest of the three pools, and the light is constant and sunny here. The large pool is olympic sized, and is a sparkling blue. It’s fresh water, and probably clean enough to drink. I still wouldn’t drink it. The second pool is slightly smaller and more kidney shaped with a gradual sand mound at one end of it. This pool is salt water and looks a bit more like a beach than a pool. The third pool is a kiddie pool, complete with a splash pad, that’s running. Buckets drop, it’s got one of those mushroom things, and sprinkler jets. There aren’t any kids though, so people are welcome to go nuts.

Bathing suits and towels are provided in the changing rooms. There’s frozen and fruity drinks flowing freely, along with finger food and snacks. Loud music is playing from a local band that’s just generally of a pop sort. There’s people dancing rather in a rather haphazard fashion, but the dance floor is there and present!

Oh yeah, and there's definitely the baths and everything too!

Network.

In the Sphere, the network is neural, and accessed via touching the glowing golden circle behind your character’s ear. They can identify themselves with a screen name if you so desire, but messages should be one of three ways or a combination of them. 1. Audio. Your character thinks audible words onto the network. 2. Writing: Your character thinks text into the network. 3. Video. Your character projects a broadcast of a video of themselves onto the network. Replies are determined by the player.

The network needs to be accessed by choice, so character broadcasts are not automatically beamed directly into people’s heads. The Sphere isn’t that rude.

Private messages are allowed by pressing and holding and pressing and holding again as you picture the person in your mind. This can be an image or a name, err more on the side of things being more accessible than less.

Welcome to my nightmare.

For anyone within the architecture dome, the library dome, the sunlight rec dome and any personal dome that people chose, around midnight people will have a curiously tired sensation. They just need to rest their eyes for a moment, or some may fall asleep for longer. No matter the length of time that the character is out, the nightmare infects them, and when they wake they will be filled with a curious but urgent sensation.

They have lost something. The loss can be a physical object, an emotion, a memory, a person or perhaps a sense of self. If the lost person is currently present in the game, they will be unable to be seen by the character who is experiencing the waking nightmare. Urgency will grip the character, because the longer the sensation goes on for, the worse it becomes. Characters can search and scrounge for their loss everywhere, but until the nightmare is over, they will not find whatever it is. Even if it is themselves. Instead, they may be frantic, angry, or just play old scared to death. They need to find this at whatever cost. Where they may find it is something that their own brains will settle on, but of course until the nightmare is over, they will not be able to.

The nightmare ends with either the character falling into a normal, restful sleep naturally or through some other means (someone might mention the infirmary has sedation medication just for the is purpose, or that there’s always a brick) or when they are woken with the intervention of someone else. The intervention of someone else is entirely up to you, and can come from a player character or a NPC, depending on how the player is feeling with the thread. By intervention we mean someone who is able to talk the person out of the nightmare, or to slap or shake them out, or to use some sort of trick that shows them that they are indeed inside of a nightmare. The knowledge that someone is affected by a nightmare must come from an external source, and should come from a character that your character would trust. After all, would you believe someone who told you that you were in a nightmare if you didn’t know that? That said, the best way to deal with waking someone is to remove them from the affected domes. Too bad you don’t know which domes are affected.

Comments

Daenerys Targaryen | A Song of Ice and Fire

[thebrideoffire]

[It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year]

Daenerys had never seen snow before. She had witnessed beaches and sands that were so white, they could possibly be mistaken for snow, yet...she wondered if Ser Jorah would have agreed with her, being a man from the North. This...what was falling about her, it was nothing like sand. What had come before was a substitution and not a very convincing one.

It wasn't simply the weather that was an overwhelming change for her, the marketplace itself was similar to the ones she had known in Essos. She had watched others take sausages and biscuits like this before and eat happily, while she was hungry and scrounging from the alleyways. For the first time, food and treat were being handed to her willingly, any thought of payment being laughed at. Even as queen, nothing was handed to her.

A glass of wine, a bit of pork, she side eyed it and carefully set it down once she was away from the stall, too nervous to fully trust it. No matter how tempting it was and appealed to the young child she had been, she couldn't forget the wine merchant and his friendly smile. Better to be an outcast and a hungry child again than to trust the wrong person...as she had learned recently.

"No, no thank you." She was firmer next time, pulling away from those pressing food into her hands. "I am not hungry."

[Network]

Nothing else was brought with us? Beyond what we have on our backs? No person or animal?

[Wildcard]

Feel free to tag her with whatever. I'm open to any scenario. PM if you have questions or want to plot.

the most wonderful-ish

[toivory]

Sansa watched as the woman with silver hair turned down the food handed to her. Daenerys' hair had gotten her attention first- it was hard not to notice hair like silver, braided as it was. She didn't want to believe it was her- Jon had only just arrived she didn't need that being tarnished by the arrival of her.

Dany hadn't seemed to notice her yet, when she sent the children away, disappointed. Noticing this, Sansa was quick to accept their gifts, thanking them each individually. These people were so kind to them, hosting them here, allowing them to live as they did. It was only right to extend courtesy and gratitude to them.

"What's the harm in accepting the gifts?" She asked, an eyebrow arched. There were only three people here who knew who she was, and two of them hadn't even seen her yet. "They're children, they mean no harm."

[thebrideoffire]

Lavender eyes traveled up to the nearly towering woman with fiery hair, larger and older than her it seemed, though not by a lot. Daenerys looked back towards the children that just left, nodding solemnly as she watched them. Their mood didn't seem to have been ruined, but it was a reprimand she certainly understood and accepted.

"The last man that pushed me to accept his wine tried to poison me." She answered softly. The children had darted away, playing in the falling snow (that was apparently also not really snow). It looked no different than how she imagined it when Viserys spoke of Good Queen Alysanne's visit to the North or when Ser Jorah spoke of home, but it was false as well. As false as Jorah had been.

"I am not used to this world yet. Would you be quick to accept gifts from those you do not know in a world you are not from?"

[toivory]

If only she had accepted the wine. Perhaps, then, they would have spared thousands of lives.

"Perhaps not, but look at them- they're giving gifts indiscriminately. There's no one here that would want to poison you." Not even Sansa. Besides, if Sansa was going to have her poisoned, she'd have done it in a way that made it much less likely that an innocent would get hurt. She didn't like collateral damage.

[thebrideoffire]

She can feel the animosity coming from the girl, automatically standing straighter in response. After the trials of Meereen and even Viserys' anger, this was hardly a comparison. Instead, it struck her as simply odd. She couldn't remember meeting this person before and unless those were her children, what did she have to be so angry about? They were all strangers here, it seemed.

"Perhaps not, but the response is instinctual. I do not know this world or its people. Such things take time." Long, long stretches of time. "Have I offended you somehow?"

[toivory]

This catches her off guard. She didn't recognize her. She was sure she would have- unless, like Jon, she was from a different time, before they had met yet.

It was cruel to hate someone for something they hadn't done yet. That they could change still. But that was a thought for another time. Right now, she had to be sure.

"You don't recognize me, your grace? I am Sansa of House Stark, Queen in the North."

[thebrideoffire]

"I-" she broke off, so much information coming at her at once. 'Queen in the North'? The last she had heard of the North, it had risen up against the Lannisters with Robb Stark as king. After, there had been the House of the Undying, Qarth and Meereen, Jorah's betrayal and her marriage to Hizdar. So many different matters that pushed out much of the politics of Westeros. All she could do was stare in confusion, feeling like the fool she most likely resembled now.

"I am afraid I don't." There was of course the issue about how to refer to this woman, calling herself Queen of the North. Viserys would have lost his temper, brought fire and blood to such things, but it seemed rude and she was hardly in a place where she could assert such things...nor had the stomach to currently. Let me be queen of one stable region before I think of the other. "Your grace." She bowed her head respectively, as she would to any other fellow monarch she met. "I have never been to Westeros, only during my birth."

[toivory]

"I see." She inclines her head. So strange. So she truly had not come to Westeros yet. Like Jon, from another time. "Then I believe we are from different times, your grace. I have met you before, you see, when you return to Westeros." amidst fire and blood.

[thebrideoffire]

"Westeros?" The idea had been present in her mind, but the state of Meereen had made such plans impossible. Even now, she couldn't sort in her mind with the war she was facing, The Sons of the Harpy and the various suitors. "I had planned to sail for Westeros, but...how is this possible? I have no memory of this."

[toivory]

"You must be from before your journey." Simple as that. "There are others here, my brother Jon Snow, and Theon Greyjoy. They arrived from times I had lived through and remembered. It must be the same for you."

Which meant it was really unfair of her to hate her. She hadn't done anything terrible yet, didn't know what she would do. To do so would make her no better than Cersei, who seemed to have vowed to hate all of her son's suitors before she ever met them. And perhaps she could change things. Fix the world so there was less bloodshed, more peace.

They were not at war here.

Least she forget who had won the game of thrones.

[thebrideoffire]

The names meant nothing to her, only Houses that she had heard of from the books Ser Jorah had given her. Viserys had spoken at length about the Starks, but she didn't want to think of his opinion. He had neglected to reveal the truth of what their father was and Ser Barristan had been forced to break her naivety. She wouldn't be quick to rely on Viserys's stories.

"It must be from much further in my future. I am settled in Meereen, acting as their queen." Married, she thought bitterly. "I have no wish to leave my people when the slavers are currently assaulting the city." Though...she couldn't deny that her recent experience in the Dothraki Sea hadn't changed her. Dragons plant no trees. Hearing those words now, they didn't have the same affect as when she was lost in the waste.

"Without the help of any of the House and few ships, it wouldn't be wise."

[king_inthenorth]

The market had been completely new to him the first time he found it, because there hadn't been anything quite like it in Winterfell, but the snow had been the most familiar part of it. The snow had been just about the only thing from home that was at all familiar. It's just too bad he's had enough of it already.

When he catches sight of her, he's eating some meat from a stick (which is a novelty here, apparently, rather than the most convenient way to eat meat when all you've got is a stick and a knife). He hesitates before saying anything, remembering what Sansa told him, but also aware that this isn't King's Landing, or the North, and she hasn't got any dragons. He's having a hard time imagining the Daenerys he's met becoming the Daenerys Sansa told him about, anyway, and, well, she's family, even if he's not sure what that means yet.

So he does, at last, speak up. "You should try the hot cocoa, at least. It's unlike anything you've ever tried before."

[thebrideoffire]

She turns to see a young man, near around her in height and age, bearing a more than familiar accent. Lavender eyes meet his with some hesitancy and no recognition. There's something about him that she understands is Northern, much in the same way Jorah was Northern. The way certain words were pronounced, the air about him...all of it was a painful reminder of her Great Bear, memories that were no longer comforting.

Daenerys considered the drink he suggested, well aware that her fears weren't rational and had no place in this world. Some things were difficult to shake. "I have seen and tasted a number of things. What makes this hot cocoa so unique?" There's a smile, a gentle tease that feels easier to return to than suspicions and wariness.

[king_inthenorth]

"There's nothing like it in Westeros." Of that he can be sure, although there are a great many parts of Westeros he has never seen. Places can be different, but the food and drinks don't change that much from one to the next. "I can't speak for any of the places outside of it though."

[thebrideoffire]

"Another from Westeros?" That wasn't much of a surprise. She suspected he was from his accent, so similar to Jorah's, and with Sansa Stark, it was clear that this world was fond of theirs.

[king_inthenorth]

He's aware already that not everyone comes here from the same point in time; Sansa knows things that haven't happened to him yet, so if it can happen to him, then why not to someone else? She's obviously from a point when she doesn't know him yet.

That might help with some of the awkwardness.

"You've met one of us already?"

[thebrideoffire]

"The Queen of the North," said with a measure of good humor. Considering the situation, she was more willing to laugh than to fret over titles as Viserys might have. She was Queen of Meereen, yet before arriving in this place, she was squatting next to a hunk of burnt meat, eating with less grace than a queen should. What did it matter what they called themselves here? "Sansa Stark?"

On reflection, it was obvious that he seemed to know her as well, given how he spoke to her when he approached and the ease of his approach. They must have met in that future, but he was as much a stranger to her than anyone else from Westeros.

"Do you mean to tell me you are King of the Riverlands?"

[king_inthenorth]

"Sansa is my sister." In all the ways that count, at least. There's no need to get technical at the moment. There's plenty of time for that later.

"The riverlands haven't got a king. They're part of the seven kingdoms." Well. "Six kingdoms." Even in his own time, the North has broken with the rest of them, thanks to Robb. "I am the King in the North though." Reluctantly, but he doesn't need to mention that part.

[thebrideoffire]

"Another? How many does the North need?" Not only had she lost track of the current state of the North, but it seemed that she had missed several rulers as well. It seemed that Westeros was in a constant state of cycling rulers. Baratheons, Starks, Lannisters, was there a king in every House? Gods, thankfully Westeros would be spared Viserys and his reaction of this.

"Your name is 'Snow?'" Bastards were a different matter in Essos, certainly not marked because of a birth that they could not control. Westeros apparently was more rigid. If that was true, it was impressive that a bastard could rise to the status of king.

"Am I to meet another while I am here?"

[king_inthenorth]

"Just one." The fact that it doesn't seem to be a very stable position doesn't worry him as much as it should, since from what Sansa said, it seems like he has many years ahead of him still.

"It is." He had never expected to rise to the rank of king -- Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was about the best he could hope for -- and it had surprised him that they had so much faith in him. But they had wanted a Stark, and someone who could lead them into battle, and he had fit the bill in both cases.

If Ned had told him the truth before he had left for the Wall, would it have changed things later? He has no way of knowing.

"Who can answer that? This place works in mysterious ways."

Network

[garrrr]

No, nothing. Sometimes people we know apparently show up but... animals seem rare.

[thebrideoffire]

How long do they mean to keep us?

[garrrr]

I couldn't even begin to guess

[thebrideoffire]

Have you been here long enough to get to know our hosts?

[garrrr]

not well I have to admit.