zanzivata_logs

Entry tags:

!event

EVENT;

Each character is given an adjustment period. After all, to do otherwise would be gauche. And after they've had a chance to catch their breath and find their feet, a courier arrives for them with an invitation to a beautiful garden party at the top of the Sentinel's Rest the following evening. It's implied that attendance is less than optional, and the letter is signed simply with a stylized letter R.

Each letter will also contain a specialized series of clues that will lead them to several different corresponding areas throughout Avastarya. Each location will lead them to the next, and so on and so forth until they reach their final destination. Said destination is a small token, that can be presented at the party in exchange for a gift. The option to keep them is also possible. Surrendering the token or choosing to keep it will both come with benefits, albeit of a different and not necessarily equal sort.

UTA'S token (a small unbreakable wireglass globe, warm to the touch and very bright that seems to swirl and shift like the surface of a star) will be gifted to him after he completes a series of quests. These quests involve the musical arts. His first quest will lead him to a small, dusty workshop with every conceivable type of instrument. He must play the piano in a certain sequence of keys to unlock a secret compartment in it, which will give him directions to the next quest. This will lead him, with a very complicated poem in iambic pentameter, to an old opera house in the Plaguefire district. There, hidden under the 19th seat (they're numbered) he will find the wireglass globe. On the old, rotten stage of the opera house there is a simple mask that looks rather Grecian in origin and mimics the tragedy/comedy mask styles of the day (half of each emotion). It's not what he came for, but will he take it too, or let it lie?

CLARK'S token (a roughly ostritch-sized suspiciously green (but not actually Kryptonite) egg. It pulsates strangely - is it stone, or is it something alive? It's impenetrable to X-Ray vision) will be given to him after he has performed three acts of unselfish kindness throughout Avastarya. Is someone watching him? Hard to say, but once he has done these three things (of the player's choice) a young man will approach him to give him the egg. The young man will tell him to treat it kindly, even though it doesn't appear to be fragile at all...

BUCKY'S token (a small wolf made of steel) will be given to him after he spends a day in the Plaguefire District. This area is one of the poorest in Avastarya, and he has been tasked with reading stories to the children in the orphanage there. The children get to decide to vote on when and if he will be given his token, so he had better be willing to entertain them! The child that gives him the wolf will also tell him a story she's heard, about a demon terrorizing the streets at night. Children's fable, or honest truth?

STEVE'S token (a small striped badger made of petrified wood) is in the old city on which Avastarya has been built. He has been tasked with cartography of an area that was sealed off some years earlier after a plague decimated the spot. His natural immunity should, theoretically, serve him well. The badger will be found on the lip of an old fountain, next to a child's diary of the plague years.

GENE'S token (a long ribbon that seems to be a darker colour than black, it cannot be cut or torn) will be given to him after he helps escort a young woman through Dahl Ahouran. She is looking for her sister, she will say, and navigating the realm of the dead is no easy thing. Gene's being able to talk to ghosts may come in handy here, and once he locates the girl's sister, she will give him the ribbon from her hair.

ELERA'S token (a box full of bones. One familiar with the composition of living things might notice that the bones belonged to something in the Canis family once upon a time...) is a bit tricky to get to. She is going to have to infiltrate a lavish party, charm the host and find a series of small totems (maybe they represent halla?) to unlock a special door on the premises. The door leads to a hidden antechamber, and the bones - in their elegant carven-wood box - are in the middle of an ornate circle. Getting close to it might remind her a little of the Fade from her homeworld, but nevertheless - if she wants the token, she has to chance it.

NATASHA'S token (an unbreakable hourglass, filled with shifting red sand, but when flipped the sand will mysteriously turn black) will be given to her if she attends the trial and potential execution of a wanted criminal. Traditionally, trials and their judgement are not a matter of deliberation in Avastarya. The facts will be laid out before the crowd, lawyers will argue the case, and depending on the crowd's decision the man will either be executed (in a manner they will also decide) or set free. Natasha will have a role in the proceedings - she will be called on to read the tallies for and against the man's death. Will she read the true answer, or lie to the crowd? Either way, afterwards the executioner will hand her the hourglass.

ILLYANA'S token (a small toy ship, beautifully handcarved, with impossibly ornate details) will be given to her after she does a series of small quests. The first thing? Her invitation will have a drawing on it of a precise skyline. Her job will be to find the place where the paper lines up with a real part of the city. She will find that this will have her standing directly on top of a storm drain. Should she choose to go down into it, she will find the next piece of the skyline mystery carved into a beautiful ice sculpture down in the bowels of the old ruin beneath Avastarya. The next phase will take her to the front door of a soup kitchen, where she will be asked to help serve the city's homeless. Once that is done, one of the workers will tell her to go down to the docks. It is here that she will be given the small ship (not a boat-ship, but a space-ship) by a child playing there. He may tell her about a monster that's been seen threatening the bay, but is there any truth to this or is it simply a child's story?

JIN'S token (a beautiful moon pendant, lovingly carved and hung on a chain of something that's almost more like mithril in its nature than anything found on earth) is something she will have to find on her own. She will be given a poem that speaks of fair forests and the rising moon and little else. However: at some point in her travels throughout the city, she will encounter an old man telling a story to a group of enraptured youngsters, and he will repeat the poem. Her IIMP's translation of the local tongue won't be exact, but it will sound like they're talking about a fairy or... spirit? If she chooses to inquire about the story, he will give her details, of how on a full moon in a forest glen outside the city, a magical creature will appear to grant someone's truest wish. Should she attempt to seek out this place, however, she will find that it has been burned down. However, at the centre of the clearing, nestled in an old tree stump, she will find the necklace. If Jin ever happens to use foxfire around it, she will find that her name has been inscribed on its back...

Sentinel's Rest will be decked out beautifully for the evening's festivities. There is an area strung with lights obviously intended for dancing, a table of beautiful canapes that contain myriad delicacies from each character's own world (and in some cases, their own life and experiences), there is an area blocked off for tournament fighting and also one for poetry readings where a young member of the Idyl Eben is reciting while her partner plays the lute.

Otherwise, choose your own adventure! After all, you're practically on top of the world. You are also free to have your character run into another one while doing their scavenger hunt. Team up, help with clues? Also possible!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He and Buck were in and out of dance halls most of their youth. It was a thing to do to pass the time, while away the hours, forget the troubles that came on the heels of the Depression and later on, the coming War. Buck was a wildcat on the floor. He took home a few local championships without ever breakin' a sweat, and Steve had more than a few charcoal scribbles on an old notebook just to capture the fluidity of his form.

But dancing? It wasn't his thing then, and it isn't now.

(He shared one with Peg, briefly, when he got out of the ice and worked up the courage to go see her. She wasn't all that ambulatory, and she was barely a weight in his arms, and he still held her like it was 1945, at the Stork Club on Saturday--)

Nat teases him about it sometimes. Gently, without an edge. He takes it good-naturedly, but he's never been inclined to changing his nature.

So when Clark asks, Steve simply shakes his head. This isn't Earth, and no one here has heard of Captain America. No reason to get his hackles up.

But he still won't dance.]

I'd make a pretty lousy dance partner. Two left feet.

[It's said with neutral politeness.]

Edited (wasn't sitting right with me oop) 2017-11-15 17:05 (UTC)

[ Clark keeps his hand outstretched, drawing back just a little to make it clear he isn't pushing, per se, but his lips curl in a faint smile as he points out- ]

And how will you ever get any better if you don't try?

[ His chin dips, gesturing to a pair of expensive leather shoes but his next words make it clear that he couldn't really care one way or another what was there. ]

I promise you, if you step on my feet, it won't hurt a thing.

[The shoes are something Tony would wear. Tastefully expensive, but in a way that's designed to let everyone know just how expensive they are. That, coupled with the irreverence about their being stepped on gives Steve a certain benchmark for the measure of the man.]

I'll pass.

[It's still politely said, but it's still blunt enough to brook no argument. Steve cocks his head in the interim and--]

Here as a Champion?

[ Clark raises an eyebrow at the dismissal before spreading his hands; he won't push too hard, but clearly, it's a loss for both of them in his estimation. ]

I am indeed. Though I hope that isn't your reason for crying off.

[That gets a dry little huff of laughter. As far as expressions of amusement go, it falls a little flat. It's both strange and oddly freeing to be around someone who knows him so little that they'd put forth that possibility.]

No. Like I said, just not much for dancing.

[He does extend a hand though, for a rather obviously different purpose than Clark's before.]

Steve Rogers.

[ Clark reaches over and takes the man's hand. He gives a sedate sort of handshake, certainly not crushing but not particularly warm. An efficient and useful greeting, not much more. He bows his head to Steve as he draws back. ]

Clark Luthor.

And somehow, I've offended you.

[Steve's handshake is firm, and it speaks to something unyielding about him. But it's brief, and he nods to that bow of Clark's head but certainly makes no move to return the gesture.]

You're fine.

[He doesn't really see a need in assuaging the man's ego, so he won't bother with an elaboration on that point.]

I'm here for the Architect. You?

[ One eyebrow twitches, as if to say he's well aware that he's fine, but that it doesn't change the fact that he's offended him somehow. All the same, nothing for it. Onward. ]

My lady is the Seer.

[Not one of the ones the Architect has had her eye on. Nor one that he's heard mentioned. When it comes to the political climate of Avastarya, the unknown is a dangerous thing.

Not that danger has ever really been an obstacle for him. Steve lifts one shoulder in an absent-minded shrug.]

She live up to her name?

[His curiosity isn't to the point of being weaponized. He isn't looking for an advantage to press.]

[ He spreads his hands; he gets this question often enough and has been given an answer to give and by and large he gives it. He makes sure to change it up a little to make sure he doesn't make it sound rote. ]

She sees. What she sees and when she sees it is hard to say.

Yours?

[That's helpfully obtuse, but he probably deserved it. Steve makes a faint heh and shakes his head, his accompanying smile is wry.]

I don't think there's as much ambiguity about the field of architecture, personally.

From what I understand, all of them are just a little bit ambiguous.

[ He spreads one hand conversationally. ]

It's an effective tactic. After all, she could build buildings. Alliances. Engines of destruction. Worlds.

[ He ends the whole thing with a shrug. ]

[His expression is already shuttered. There's no point in pulling the blinds, and his tone stays mild:]

She had a hand in Sentinel's Rest, actually. It was built by committee, but they liked the stone latticework she designed.

[ He's noticed. And he's not exactly sure why. After all, he certainly knows that he can be... less than genial. But at the moment, all he's doing is chatting. ]

It's very nice.

[ His voice holds obvious distraction before he glances over towards- ]

Would you prefer punching me to talking to me, sir? That is the general impression I'm coming to have.

[ He gestures towards the Tournament area. He hadn't intended to indulge, but he's started to be frustrated. He's never been particularly good with that emotion. ]

[Well, at least he's blunt about it. Steve raises an eyebrow. He's not being friendly - in all honesty, he rarely is - but this guy is taking it more personally than most. It speaks to some species of insecurity, lurking beneath the polished surface.

His knuckles ache. He broke them not too long ago, against Tony's armour.]

Don't read into it. If I was looking for a fight you'd know it.

[The Architect has enemies, and if this man had given offense enough to be counted among them, Steve wouldn't have bothered opening with polite conversation. Talking only gets you so far, and compromising where you can--

-- Well, it's not really his style anymore. He tips his head to one side and, mildly,]

Make you nervous when people aren't charmed?

Oh, you're clearly looking for a fight. [ He doesn't believe he's stretching to say so. ] Though I'm glad to hear not with me.

[ His hands move, turning and unfolding a little like a pair of birds: graceful, fluttering. ]

And I can't say that I'm always charming. But I don't like doing things I didn't intend to do. It's sloppy. [ A single dip of his head. ] And I can't figure out what I may have done to be so offensive.

[It's an astute observation. Truth of the matter is, he's been spoiling for a fight by degrees since he was about eight years old. He hides it better than he used to - when he needs to - but the divulgence doesn't bother him. He's never been a subtle man.

Steve leans in a little, though he doesn't drop the volume of his voice beyond how he's already been talking - and his tone keeps that mild politeness.]

You haven't offended me. I just don't like your shoes.

[It's not quite a joke, not quite anything else either, but it is a pointed statement. There's making mountains out of mole hills, and then there's whatever this is, and Steve's not interested in splitting hairs.]

[ Clark looks at him for a moment, a long moment, before pointedly leaning over, pulling off one shoe, then the other. The socks follow suit and they are slipped into the shoes. Then he holds up the shoes for Steve to see, holds up a finger, and walks over to one of the small garden walls. He places the shoes behind them before walking back, barefoot and apparently unbothered by this fact, spreading his hands with a quick flick of a smile. ]

Problem solved. Anything else?

[Steve doesn't make a habit of filling up empty silences, but he's not often lost for words. He watches the procession with one eyebrow faintly raised, and by the time Clark's coming back he actually laughs. It's not enough to dispel the tension or Steve's tendency towards being an amicable brick wall, but it's something, at least.]

Well, at least you won't get your socks dirty.

Thankfully, I'm not one for cold feet.

[ A double entendre, though a surprisingly clean one for him. ]

And clearly worth the trouble.

[ He looks... genuinely pleased that he seems to have broken something, even if the smile only faintly touches his eyes. He's well aware that he hasn't even begun to win Steve over, but it never hurts to celebrate a little. ]

Though I reserve the right to ask for reciprocation should you start taking issue with larger pieces of my wardrobe.

I don't think that'll be an issue.

[Contrary to popular public opinion, men slept with other men before the War. Steve is neither aghast nor atwitter at being flirted with, he's just not interested.]

So do you make these allowances for everyone you meet, or am I just special?

[ He tilts his head, a touch amused. ]

When it costs me nothing, or very little, I don't see why I shouldn't make someone else more comfortable, a shared time more enjoyable.

[ He does mean that. He's not the sort to enjoy making people uncomfortable unless he's got an actual problem with them. But his lips curve at the corner. ]

That doesn't discount your specialness, but we've hardly gotten to know one another so I couldn't say.

How noble.

[His tone's just a touch too dry to make it a sincere statement. It's self-serving more than anything. He's spent enough time curating Captain America for public approval to know the difference.]

So where're you from?

[ He actually snorts at the comment. ]

Nothing noble about it. It's a preference, nothing more.

[ His own tone makes it clear that he makes no bones about his goodness or decency and expects no one to think of him as anything but what he is. It is self-serving. Most behavior is, in one way or another. So was Steve's, for that matter. ]

As for my origins, I was raised in rural Kansas, believe it or not. Though I call Metropolis my home these days.

[He remembers watching a movie by that name in the cinema, around the time he was ten years old. As to the name itself, there's a slight wrinkle of thought on his forehead. Then, with some incredulity:]

Illinois?

[It's the only place he can think of in America named Metropolis. And it has a population of less than ten thousand people, which doesn't seem like this guy's speed at all.]

dancing tho (but not really);

all good

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