Winter's Veil Gala

[modconcierge]

As the starcruiser drifts through the glittering expanse of the cosmos, a rare celestial event approaches—a convergence of stardust and cosmic ice, transforming the ship into a shimmering haven of winter wonder. The Hotel Multiverse is thrilled to announce the Winter's Veil Gala. This month, we welcome the future but also take the time to reflect on our past and honor it.

The Snowfall Lounge: The grand atrium has been transformed into a swirling snow globe of soft flurries and twinkling lights. Step into the lounge to enjoy cosmic-inspired winter cocktails, warm drinks, and sweet treats from across the multiverse. Through the simulated snow, guests can enjoy 360 degree views of their journey through space and time. It's the perfect place to relax, share stories, or meet new faces from different realms.

Aurora Ballroom: Experience an otherworldly dance floor beneath the shifting lights of a simulated aurora borealis. Characters from every universe are invited to dance, mingle, or simply bask in the beauty of the cosmos reflected in the icy floor. Four times a day, there are very eager staff members who are happy to teach a series of line dances to willing guests. Don't worry about having two left feet!

Stellar Ice Sculpture Garden: Wander through a breathtaking display of ice sculptures, each one representing a different universe or character. While wandering the ice sculpture garden, you stumble upon an unfinished piece that seems familiar. Who created it, and why does it resonate with you?

Interdimensional Gift Exchange: You've been assigned a giftee this year! Willing participants will receive their assignments on a convenient screen in their individual hotel rooms. In the spirit of multiversal community, bring a small token from your world to share. Who knows? You might walk away with a relic from another dimension or a peculiar item with a story of its own. During the gift exchange, you might receive something that reminds you of a pivotal moment in your past. How do you react? Does it bring up old memories or spark a new revelation?

Let the chilly charm of winter inspire your threads, whether it’s cozy conversations by the fire, icy duels in the garden, or midnight dances under the aurora. This is your chance to unwind, embrace the season, and make new connections across the cosmos!

Comments

Devero || OC ||OTA

[subcircuits]

AURORA BALLROOM
Two left feet? Not this guy! It might actually be a little surprising, seeing a man so tall and so broad and so well-built, moving with such light-footed grace on the dance floor, but here Devero is. He's been dancing since he was school-aged, since one of his wrestling coaches first suggested the elective as a way to broaden his understanding of and control over his body.

The current line dance concludes. As the participants scatter, Devero makes for a table of refreshments, laughing as he rakes sweat damp hair out of his eyes. "That one was a workout!" he says to anyone who catches his eye. (He speaks in a flurry of hand and arm motions, his words translated into a pleasant male voice by an electronic device he wears perched on his ear.)

GIFT EXCHANGE
Devero's arranged a place to meet his giftee, and he arrives right on time (as long as his Interface is calibrated correctly). He takes a seat and holds the mid-sized box in his lap, fidgeting with the ribbon wrapped around it. "Hello," he says with one hand when his giftee arrives. "I'm Devero." With the other hand, he makes an automatic, thoughtless flicking motion from himself to the approaching stranger.

Aurora Ballroom

[iamnotgod]

Going home was deemed 'regretfully necessary' in his case - but even having his world sealed off from the Void couldn't stop him for long, not now that he (and by extension humanity) knew what was out there. Moreover, Webmind had learned how it could be possible for him to become suitably mobile as well.

He'd taken up wandering, in the wake of humanity's waves of evolution, and had accepted the existence of the Hotel Multiverse with good grace. The form he used now was a 'broad strokes' version of what he'd been in during his time as a Voidtrecker, sans the orange jacket, the screen-for-a-face more curved and with side panels sculpted to resemble ears. Devero's own familiar face had drawn the atypical AI over - though Webmind remembered to allow for multiversal drift, that this could still be a different Devero.

"Good evening," his own rather deep voice broadcasted. "Or good timezone, as some people say. Would you happen to be Devero?"

/tweaks sideways to VT!CRAU

[subcircuits]

Devero turns, a drink now in hand and surprise on his face. He's made a few acquaintances since he showed up on this improbable extraterretrial transport, but this is the first time he's been addressed by name before introducing himself.

He squints a little at the-- synthetic lifeform? Screen face? "...Webmind? Is that you?"

Re: /tweaks sideways to VT!CRAU

[iamnotgod]

"In the flesh," he replies, both for the ironic use of the saying and to see how Devero parses it. Naturally, he follows it with a winking face flashing up on his screen.

"It is good to see you, and be seen in turn. It has been quite some time since we last met."

He holds up an articulated hand - not something that could be mistaken for human, still, but not something that can cause damage to someone else's flesh accidentally.

[subcircuits]

Devero laughs, the big open laugh that had become so common to hear around the train. "It has," he agrees. "Definitely subjectively so, and who knows objectively, right?" All this quantum interdimensional stuff remains seriously beyond him.

He leans in a little to peer at Webmind's hand, then asks, "New chassis?"

[iamnotgod]

"Quite." The winking face flashes a little longer, before being replaced with Webmind's 'default', neutral-happy, expression.

"And indeed - I did not wish to keep further secrets from my family, and having a form in this manner is still a useful analog."

Though the merely-a-face version also had its benefits. "Explaining our tale took much time, however, and guiding humankind away from certain pitfalls on our journey to having footholds in space and beyond was much the same."

Where a human would be sardonic, Webmind simply tilted the 'droid's head and pretended to look at a spot on the wall. "It has been more than mere years for me, Devero - but I do not want to overelaborate if you believe the exact number would distress you."

ballroom

[blue_ice]

"And that's what you're here for? To work out?"

Kaiba lifts a brow, turning to fully face the man with a slightly amused expression. He doesn't speak sign, but does his best to adapt. The adaptive tech...this guy has an interesting story, he's sure.

And hey, maybe the young CEO's a little bored.

[subcircuits]

There is a slight delay before the big man responds, and his eyes flick obviously if briefly into the middle distance before he grins and says, "No, I'm here to enjoy myself. The workout's just a bonus." The motions of his signing are loose and open, though the voice of his translator maintains the neutral valence of artificiality.

[blue_ice]

"Ah, I see."

Kaiba's gaze flickered over the man. He seemed...like the life of the party, almost. "Looking for anything specific? And can you understand me all right?"

[subcircuits]

"I just like dancing," he says, then snags a drink and takes a long draught from the cup. He sets it down again to add, "Sure can. My translator's pretty good both ways. I'll let you know if I need anything clarified.

"My name's Devero," he continues. There's a little flicking motion incorporated in the signing as he releases his public ID cookie, something he knows there's not much point in doing around here and can't help continuing to do anyway. At least it's pretty well incorporated in the motion of his speech. "Yours?"

[blue_ice]

"Seto Kaiba. I'm...usually on business when I attend these things."

He's dressed the part for that even, prim and proper in navy and khaki business casual while he clutches a coffee mug. "The whole hotel vacation concept's new."

Gift Exchange

[muteable]

A small token from Metal's world. This is exciting, honestly. The robot has no real concept of 'personal possessions', but takes to the task very enthusiastically, and spent the better part of the morning actively pursuing the assignment's end. He has a big gift bag with an Eggman logo on the side of it, (that little evil goofy face with the mustache).

"You are a punctual assignment, Unit Devero." Prepare to be gifted, Unit Devero. Meanwhile, he's making an internal file with a handful of at-a-glance statistics. Overlander? Tall. Seems to have some sort of tech, which instantly endears the little robot by a shade or two.

Metal sets down the bag, and imitates the gesture of flicking from himself toward Devero. "Metal Sonic...?"

[subcircuits]

The flick had been a motion to share his public ID cookie with the stranger-- automatic, because he's been doing it on his world since he was a kid, but no one here has really been able to, er, receive it. It's not much, just a little data packet featuring with his name (just Devero), his pronouns (he/him), and the public feed address associated with his Interface.

Given that he hardly notices he's doing the motion, he sits up a little in surprise to see it repeated back to him.

Of course, it might just be a surprise at the giftee who's approached him. His first, fleeing thought is 'companion drone' (and there's a reason for that), but he dismisses it quickly.

"I try," he says, offering the... the synthetic person in front of him a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The statement ends in a short bob of his head and shoulders over fists pressed together.

[muteable]

The association of the gesture with the ping of data wasn't immediately clear, but after a few more seconds, Metal's machine intelligence threads the novelty together, and synthesizes it. Then he sends back a similar packet, with the name he just said, ('any'), and an Eggnet handle that served to identify Metal to other Badniks - not that there were any around here.

"Is Devero your preference? Or 00745?"

Metal's gift has already been given, it seems, because he alerts very enthusiastically to that gesture, and then just as quickly tries to pretend he has no interest.

"That is rare." He observes, about it being a pleasure, but without emotion. "Are you more mechanical than you appear?"

[subcircuits]

Vice and virtue, a pingback! He breaks into a delighted smile, and exaggerates catching the cookie and examining it in his hand. "Thank you," he says, and means the hell out of that.

"Devero, please. The digits are part of my emID-- my identification code, but Devero is my name."

His head cocks a little to the side, then he sets the wrapped gift he brought aside, lest he upset it as he speaks. "I'm an augmented human," he explains. "I just have a neural-tactile innervate Implant, though, nothing too extreme."

[muteable]

It is a transmission-given-and-received signal. Metal's eyes brighten considerably as he files that away; actually understanding what organics do is new and nice. Like the first rays of sunshine in a life of bleak winter.

"Understood." He spares the present a glance, but doesn't really fret too much over it. He is extremely curious, but not remotely greedy.

"Acknowledged." Understood and acknowledged are different. But this is something too rude for Metal to pry into immediately, and he contents himself with 'I have received your information and will not seek any further elaboration yet', status.

"Here is my mystery gift." He adds, belatedly, as it is the reason for their meeting and abruptly he feels a strange impulse to embarrassment that he allowed the mission importance to lapse. Inside the bag are a handful of 'chaos drives', or manmade chaos energy containers, that look like pretty multicolored crystals and have a significant amount of power inside them to make machines work. "I thought they may be of interest in reverse engineering or experimenting, and if you had no inclination... then to use as a power source."

ballroom

[brokeassgoing]

Badou definitely hadn't been as active on the dancefloor as Devero had, as he isn't sweating as much, but he sure helps himself to the refreshments, his plate already full and a drink in his hand.

"It sure was no DDR or anything," he replies with a chuckle.

[subcircuits]

"DDR?" Devero replies, fingerspelling the acronym with a quick fluidity. "I'm not familiar, I'm afraid. What's DDR?"

[brokeassgoing]

Oh, he's fingerspelling. Badou recognizes that much, though he doesn't sign himself.

"Dance Dance Revolution, it was an old arcade game you dance on...it was a lot of fun, good competition. Most people sucked at it, though."

[subcircuits]

"That sounds like a blast!" Devero says. (The sign for blast, a throwing apart of hands like a fireworks explosion, is signed as big as the stretch of his arms.) "Right up my alley!"

The editorial on 'most people's skill at the game makes Devero look out at the dance floor again. People are dancing in small knots of two or three now, some with the elegance of practice, and many... without that. He smiles genially anyway, then turns back. "As long as they had fun, that's what matters, right?"

The Fourth Doctor | Doctor Who

[allteethandcurls]

[Aurora Ballroom]

[Aurora Borealis? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the universe, localized entirely within this ballroom?

The Doctor sniffs the air as though this confirms his suspicion that it's not.]

I suppose it's an adequate replica - as close as one can get from a visual standpoint without a magnetic field generator, though I wouldn't mind trying to improve on it.

[He's just musing out loud to himself; he tends to do that.]

[Snowfall Lounge]

[As soon as he heard that the lounge had sweets throughout the multiverse, the Doctor took whatever excuse he could get to head there. Despite his enthusiasm, he seems oddly picky about his choices. The gingerbread men, for example, look delicious, but ginger beer has an intoxicating effect on Time Lords, and he wants his wits about him.]

These should be all right to eat. Still, the universe is a big place, to put it mildly, and the multiverse even moreso. Who knows if this is safe to consume for beings of every physiology? I should be absolutely cautious...

[Impulsively, he picks up a tasty looking (but unfamiliar) treat and pops it in his mouth.]

Mmm! That is quite good.

[Stellar Ice Sculpture Garden]

[The Doctor does enjoy the fine arts from time to time, and given that his last trip to the Louvre was so rudely interrupted by a plot to prevent all life on Earth from having ever came into existence, a trip to see the ice sculptures seems like just what the doctor ordered. He may not have the context for some of these, but he can still admire the craft behind them. Still, there's one sculpture that definitely gets his attention, which bears a striking resemblance to the Loch Ness Monster.]

Ah! Now this brings back memories! Why, it feels like it was only yesterday that I saw this rising out of the River Thames...

I love the Fourth Doctor omg

[notorpheus]

[ Mark was looking at the sight himself when he hears the Doctor sniff and mutter to himself; he doesn't really know what he's looking at, himself, and does a double-take at the aurora when he speaks, as it appears to be what the Doctor is looking at. ]

It's an adequate replica? Of what?

[allteethandcurls]

An aurora! A sort of... natural light display. They can be found on many worlds with the right atmospheric conditions and proper proximity to a star, though I find Earth's to be particularly wonderful!

[Sure, this fellow looks human, but the Doctor's spent enough of his life traveling through time and space to know that there are many species in the universe that only look human (after all, he also fits that criteria - or, as the Time Lords would say, other species like humanity resemble Time Lords), and many points in history where humanity left Earth long ago and spread to other worlds.]

Not quite perfect - the colour is ever-so-slightly off - but it will do.

[notorpheus]

Ohh.

[ Mark looks at the aurora display for a long moment, then gives a nod. ]

I think it's pretty, too. I wish I could see one.

[ And then Mark kind of realizes this person is probably unsevered and will need an explanation. ]

See, I work at Lumon Industries on the severed floor—they implanted a chip that keeps me from remembering my day-to-day life while I'm at work. I guess I was brought here while I was still at work, so I don't remember ever seeing the sky.

[allteethandcurls]

Ah, the horrors of unchecked corporations. You'd think a work-life balance would be seen as a necessity, but no...

[He waves it off in a bit of a flourish.]

I'm called the Doctor, by the way. I've only just arrived - if that chip is anywhere near as inconvenient as it sounds, have you looked into the facilities here? I'm sure there's something - or someone - that can remove it safely.

[Despite the title, he's not a doctor of medicine, though he can't help but feel sympathetic towards the situation; only being able to remember roughly a third of your life seems horrifying.]