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THE MULTIVERSE
THE MULTIVERSE is big. Really big! If you can dream it, it probably exists. Sometimes there are galactic communities and sometimes there are lonely planets. Sometimes there are humans and sometimes there are not. Sometimes the places there look identical to the places you know. Sometimes a universe has all of these and sometimes none. However, there is one universal constant: in no universe does there seem to be anyone who concretely knows the multiverse exists. Each universe is a bubble, a pocket. The only outside force in play is the Nest.
--Except you know that isn't true, don't you? After all, something else came for you... didn't it?
THE NEST
THE NEST is the hivemind entity of which you (hosts) and the symbiotes are but a small part'. Think of it as a singular telepathic body, with hosts and symbiotes as a strand of hair or sensitive nerve ending. You are part of it and it is part of you; it has no coercion over you just as you have no control over it. The only way to change the Nest is to change yourself. As you adapt to it, it adapts to you. For those willing to change, that means becoming divorced from your individuality and sublimating your personality into the greater hivemind; for those unwilling, it requires a constant balance - how far do you let yourself go to get what you want? How far can you go before what you want changes?
All this said and done, there are three universal constants when it comes being a part of the nest. They are your telepathic connection to other hosts, your connection to your brood, and your base symbiotic ability.
TELEPATHY
Every host can communicate telepathically with any other host. It can be messy (you may find yourself saying or showing more than you mean to at first) and come with some nasty side effects (nausea, lightheadedness and headaches) if stretched too far, but most find that with practice the ability can be honed into usefulness.
From an OOC perspective, telepathic communication takes the place of a more traditional game network. There is no division of audio, text, or visual types of communications and players are encouraged to get creative with how their character’s telepathy manifests.
BROOD DYNAMICS
You and the five (5) hosts from the spawning chambers closest to your own make up your brood. If the Nest is a tree, your brood are the hosts which share the same branch as you. Hosts will find that telepathic communication with their brood comes most easily, whereas mental communication with hosts outside the brood can come with unpleasant side effects if the host’s connection with the Nest and their symbiote hasn’t been sufficiently strengthened. Your broodmates are likely the first hosts you’ll be able to share emotional and physical experiences with (voluntary or otherwise - oops!). Further, if you choose to strengthen your connection to the Nest to the point that you can borrow others symbiotic abilities, your brood’s will be the abilities that come most easily to you.
You are encouraged to strengthen the bond with your brood. While some might view the mental connection between them as a potential weakness, they can also be your greatest allies in the field.
From an OOC perspective, your character’s brood will almost always be characters from the same app round as yours. They are your character’s default team, though nothing requires your character to be happy about who belongs to their brood or to even work with them in the field. In terms of strengthening the connection to the Nest, it benefits characters to do so; however for characters more focused on their individuality apart from the hivemind, it may do them good to keep their brood at arm’s length. Further, be aware that when a character drops, the empty space they leave in a brood is never filled; it is completely possible to end up with no broodmates whatsoever.
SYMBIOTIC ABILITIES
There are two primary subspecies of symbiote, each of which manifests different abilities in their hosts. Iota specializations enable the growth of physical abilities - biological armor, superhuman strength, increased speed, enhanced reflexes, etc; Rho specializations enable the use of extracognitive abilities - telekinesis, pyrokinesis, time manipulations, etc. Each host is capable of learning only one ability, but strengthening the bond with the symbiote and the Nest can eventually allow hosts to borrow abilities from others.
What this means OOCly is that when apping, you must pick whether your character has either an Iota- or Rho-type ability and what it is. If you’re feeling adventurous, you may list up to three possible abilities and the mod team will choose for you. If you’re feeling really ballsy, you can opt out of choosing all together and the modteam will surprise you with your specialization and ability.
At the app stage, all symbiotic abilities should be strongly limited (characters who can control time can only slow it down and only for a thirty seconds; characters with enhanced speed find they have to rest for an extended period of time to recharge the ability, etc).
These abilities can eventually be strengthened through both IC action and through the use of ABILITY POINTS. You can find a more detailed guide on how the Symbiote skills work and how they can be upgraded HERE.
STATION 72
YOUR HOME away from home. Station 72 is allegedly one of many waystations for the Nest, though no one on the station has ever seen or heard from another station or any host who lived and worked on one. In some respects, this is worrisome - even those who tie themselves closely to the hivemind have few insights as to the broader extent of the Nest’s peace keeping efforts through the multiverse. But it’s a big place. Perhaps this is normal.
Station 72 is a moored point where many layers of the multiverse meet. It’s technically a space craft, though it’s difficult to tell what’s fabricated and what’s organic as Station 72 was grown, not built. Its interior is made up of a series of cellular hexagonal shaped structures, though often the scale of these structures may be too large for characters to visually discern. Though rarely seen, the exterior of the station resembles a cosmic beehive. That said, Station 72 isn’t ignorant to the needs of its organisms. Over the years, it’s equipped itself and has been stocked with the the tools and and functions that humanoid life requires to thrive. Though the design aesthetic is strictly insectoid, services and devices on the station are fully evolved to be used by a variety of lifeforms. Bunks, mess halls, communal washrooms and a swanky jai alai court are just a few of the "necessities" the station is willing to provide.
Though it's difficult to get a real sense of scale in the station due to it's complicated structure, Station 72 is adequately sized and outfitted to house hundreds of hosts and their equipment (ships, weapons, etc). At its current occupancy, the Station can sometimes seem eerily overlarge. New hosts will sometimes find the Station difficult and slow to navigate. There are no windows and no doors.
Primary features of the station include:
NESTING DECK
The nesting deck’s primary function is implanting and nurturing the physical bond between symbiote and host. It is where all new hosts first wake up and where medical procedures, should they be necessary, are typically performed. However, there are multiple benefits from utilizing your nesting pod on a regular basis! The atmosphere of the nesting deck is perfectly calibrated to attune symbiotic life with their host. For those looking to strengthen their symbiotic abilities, spending time hooked into your nesting pod is a good option. Further, while most find the concept too alien to stomach, it is perfectly possible to make your bed (literally) in your nesting pod.
FLIGHT HANGAR & UTILITIES
Though Station 72 is a spacecraft, it is largely incapable of in-dimensional propulsion. As such, missions tend to require smaller space craft. The Station has a number of different vehicles in its stable, most of which are sourced from outside the Nest and fitted to integrate with the Station’s systems. There are, however, a few Nest-grown starfighters though they can only be operated by hosts with a strong connection with the hive and their symbiote.
The flight hangar also is home to the utilities department which is where hosts can find specialized equipment available to them. These include a variety of weapons (sometimes peacekeeping requires force), defensive equipment and outerwear, etc. As with the vehicles on the ship, most of the equipment here has been collected from different destinations in the multiverse however there are special items that can be used by those with the proper ability levels.
TRAINING WING
Here hosts have access to both more traditional exercise facilities as well as spaces designed for Hosts to learn and strengthen their new abilities. There is a pool - bring your own water wings.
The training wing is a central hub with a number of hallways that branch out in a spiraling fashion spanning multiple levels. Below are a list of some of the amenities:
• Lockers - Featuring rows of open cubbies, shower spaces, a bathroom, towels, and sets of shoes for those of you without proper footwear. Hosts visiting the lockers for the first time will receive their station-standard charcoal grey suits, which are tailor fit to their exact measurements. These suits are flexible, strong, and surprisingly breathable, and are comfortable enough to wear all day.
• Track - Centrally located there is a large running track that is multiple lanes wide, the ground of which is coated in some sort of slightly rubbery, gripping substance.
• Gym - Located not far from the lockers is an almost traditional gym space, with a number of pieces of exercise equipment, some of which is familiar and some of which is not. There are instructions that will read in a pleasant voice if you seem lost. You will find both strength and cardio equipment arranged in a somewhat sensible manner.
• Training Hall - A large open space with a number of pads on the floors and walls and a wide variety of dummies and protective gear. This is the space where you will find melee practice weapons ranging from swords and pikes to slightly more exotic weaponry- all blunted or dulled- as well as room for most forms of martial arts.
• Range - Lying closest to the Flight Hangar, this room features a number of targets and projectile training weapons. Here you will find everything from bows and arrows to laser guns. Every weapon is live and fully functional when pointed downrange, however a safety mechanism prevents them from being fired in any other direction or to be taken from the range. All heavy ordinance is strictly monitored and must be checked out with the permission from Prince or Cathaway.
• Pool - It’s a pool, there are lanes, so swim free. Please don’t drown. There is no sauna. There are two styles of suits available, a simple charcoal one-piece with white piping, and an equally simple charcoal swim briefs with matching white piping.
BRIDGE
The bridge is the main control point for Station 72’s functions, though anyone familiar with a starship’s bridge will be sorely disappointed. The bridge on Station 72 is a small almost perfectly circular chamber with a tall ventilated ceiling. It has no equipment of note, no screens, and no wiring. Rather, the station’s controls are entirely regulated through the connection to the hivemind. Suffice to say, most hosts are incapable of altering the Station’s systems or performances.
CIRCLE GARDENS
At the center of the station is a series of tiered gardens with many forking paths. Look at some life that isn't wired into your brain; it’s good for you.
LIFE SUPPORT
For those who might find bunking down on the nesting deck too weird to handle, life support is where more traditional housing can be found. The space is primarily filled with gently arched doorways without doors lining the walls, and each one opens to a small, nearly normal room with a single bed. Most of the rooms are vacant, but every room presumed to be occupied will contain feature a collection of useful items- mostly hygiene supplies, some familiar and others less so. They also feature a flat horizontal ledge beside each bed with a small light and a single drawer and a simple desk which is formed into the wall with plain chair. A mirror is found on the desks; slightly mundane and not quite to the Station’s style. Each 'room' is large enough to house one individual comfortably, however it might be possible to convince the ship to hand over some more evolved quarters with a little persuasion and a lot of connectivity to the Nest. Life support also has washing facilities and standard communal areas. In general, Life Support's systems and compartments are the closest Station 72 gets to normal. If you squint really hard, you might be able to convince yourself you're on a standard starship and not some semi-biological amalgamation of one.
RECREATIONAL WING
Hosts cannot live on weird alien stuff and meditation alone. If there's one universal truth, it's that eventually someone somewhere will think it's a great idea to bring home a ping pong table. Entertainment on Station 72 tends to be physical in nature (games, sporting activities, etc) but there's also an assortment of mundane crap to be found here as well - card decks, a small library, etc. The collection is a mishmash of time periods and different levels of technology. If you're getting the sense that these are all things someone left behind, then you'd be right.
no subject
There are things abandoned by previous hosts which Hikaru can find. They aren't hugely plentiful but they run the gamut on appearance and material and shape.
The white pajamas feel kind of like a thick cotton and are very breathable, but they don't seem to pick up dirt barely at all. There are no stashes, as they're made specifically for each new host, the same as the charcoal jumpsuits.
Additionally, other hosts may have things they'd be willing to... Lend him.