compnetwork | 001

Entry tags:

001 | Video

Still never going to get used to not having to get used to this thing.

Okay, so. I think I've got a little more handle on how this city works. Thanks to everybody who helped me get my feet on the ground. I never thought I'd be glad for Metatropolis being weird sh... stuff central, but it makes adjusting go faster.

[He knows this place drags kids here, or at least teenagers. Self-censoring is go.]

Though I've got to say, the coffin and garlic jokes just because I'm used to the night shift wear a little thin. I can't be the only guy here who usually gets up when the sun goes down, can I? Anybody else get that feeling?

[This is his attempt at being subtle about saying "where my Kindred at, yo?" Because he's not used to coming to a new city without actual introductions and contacts and things. As much as he hates his clan's organization sometimes, it makes knowing who's in on things much easier. Not like he can ask normal people where he can get blood at this time of night.]

Oh, by the way. Guess I should introduce myself if anyone cares. I'm Maugris, I'm new here. I know about weird occult or paranormal things, so if you need help with that stuff, let me know - just know that I'm usually asleep during the day.

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I think I might've glossed over it at the time. But I think I remember, something about zodiac signs?

Something along those lines.

We're talking Earth zodiac here, of course. Different planets see the stars in different patterns, but they're not that accommodating.

Well, yeah. Uh. These would be Western zodiac signs? Like the ones the districts are named after?

Right, those. With the bulls and the scorpions and all of that kind of thing.

I think someone put together some kind of document before; hang on. I'll forward it to you.

[Naturally, due to the player plot shenanigans, it is entirely unreadable at the moment.]

[A bit of a wait ensues, because Maugris's COMP is running slow, of course.]

I think your file's corrupted. I can find the symbols for the constellations... from the letters that aren't corrupted, it looks like some of this is just explaining when the dates are, and the myths they come from. But if there's information about what actually happens to people I can't find it; it's mostly all turned into random numbers.

So, is this running off of people's birth signs, or the district they're in? Because I know the districts are named after zodiac signs. Of course, if they're birth signs I have no idea how it'd get worked out for someone not born on Earth.

[Added after a moment's thought.]

Do you know who put this together, though? Sounds like the kind of person it'd be handy to know. Especially when their sign rolls around, since I doubt they'd be taking notes while they were going crazy.

[He's heard some Malkavians do that, but that's not quite the same thing.]

Corrupted? It was working just fine a few --

[Phantom Girl loads it up as well and squints for a few moments at the mass of unidentifiable words.]

...Well that's weird. Did I get infected by a virus or something? ...Are there even computer viruses post-apocalypse; does anyone care enough to make them?

[She gives a sigh and decides to apply her standard rule of thumb for these situations - deal with it later.]

It's running off birth signs. And that's why I was complaining before about not being accommodating. It's totally arbitrary for those of us not lucky enough to be born on your blue marble.

The universe doesn't revolve around you guys, you know.

Anyway, I'm not sure who started it originally, but I do know it became a kind of group effort. Everyone just contributed their individual experiences.

I wouldn't know. ... Though now I do want to know if there are anti-virus programs post-apocalypse.

That seems kind of stupid. Though I guess it might work off of what someone's sign would be if they were born on Earth at the same time you were born? I don't know how that would work for universes that don't even have an Earth, though.

I mean, I assume there are universes like that.

So, is there some sort of central place where people gather that information?

Of course! Every day, we all gather in this one plaza and we pass notebooks back and forth and scribble down each others' observations.

...It happens at noon, of course. Broad daylight.

[Phantom Girl smiles for a few moments before she shakes her head.]

No, of course not. Is any city ever organized enough to have a centralized info hub? Things just kind of... trickle through the grapevine.

And I'm really not the best person to ask about Zodiac signs. I just know they assigned me 'Taurus' - I'm not sure whether to be offended or relieved that I didn't get the scorpion.

That's really not funny, you know.

I thought the number of visitors might be small enough to have a shot, especially with the network. My mistake.

Might be your personality. Having a sign is supposed to make your personality tend a certain way, so it might just have given you Taurus because you act like a Taurus is supposed to. I wouldn't know for sure; astrology isn't really my thing.

...Sorry. I can control myself, promise.

[no she can't]

I think there might be upwards of a hundred of us here. You can look through the apartment listings and count if you'd like - I know it probably doesn't seem like much in a city of this size, but probably a quarter of us aren't the 'working together with other' type and the rest of us aren't organized enough to have weekly meetings or anything.

I wish we had some kind of 'leader', but I expect we'd have mutiny pretty quickly. We're just all too different.

Also, my personality is pure and innocent as the driven snow and also sweet like, uh, chocolate. Bulls are smelly and mean, so I think you've got the wrong idea here.

Probably. I've tried the whole leader thing and it's honestly just a pain in the neck, and I was only trying to organize like twelve people.

No, I mean, uh... Okay, like Scorpio, the scorpion. It's got nothing to do with stinging people. Scorpios are supposed to be passionate and resourceful and kind of dramatic. I think Taurus means you're supposed to be dependable and generous and stubborn. They've all got good traits and bad traits and they don't necessarily match up with what you think about the actual constellation means. [He'll pass on saying what he thinks about her assessment of her personality.]

...Oh.

[A short pause.]

Well, why didn't anyone say so in the first place? I got the stubborn part - which is totally not true, by the way; I'm perfectly reasonable and open to good ideas as long as they're actually good - but the rest kind of escaped me.

I'll take dependable and generous.

So what're you supposed to be?

Let's see, if I remember right I'm a Gemini. Which means I'm supposed to be energetic and clever, but superficial and kind of indecisive. It's only about half right. I don't know about energetic, and I don't think I'm superficial, but I like to think I'm clever and I know I'm indecisive.

As they say, "Indecision may or may not be my problem."

Okay, nobody actually says that except Jimmy Buffett.

Since I don't know who that is, you're free to steal it as your own. If you'd like, I can even go ahead and laugh uproariously.

[A very short pause.]

Oh, see - Generous. I guess it might be accurate after all.

I wouldn't peg you as superficial, if it helps. Our conversations are a lot more interesting than a few others I've had here.

Oh, sorry. He's a 20th-century Earth musician. [And Maugris is actually kind of a parrothead.]

Thanks. I know I don't do the whole intrigue thing well, even when I try, but I at least try not to be superficial.

Don't worry. If I thought you were boring and shallow, I'd probably have told you by now.

[Phantom Girl doesn't seem to be the kind of person who spares people's feelings, anyway.]

That reminds me, though - made any efforts yet at unlocking your 'greater depths'? I mean your Persona, of course.

Not yet - turns out not having a card means the cops give you trouble if you're out after midnight. I was planning on seeing what I could manage tonight now that I have one, though I'm meeting somebody for dinner first.

[Plus he's wondering if the monsters out there have blood. Preferably blood that won't totally screw him up.]

A dinner date already? Way to get 'em, Romeo.

[It appears certain aspects of Earth culture remain eternal regardless of how much time passes. Jimmy Buffett, sadly, wasn't one of them.]

I'd try the outskirts of Capricorn - you'll get a feel for which monsters stick around which places after a while, but you probably want to just go easy at the start.

Not like that. Just a random making-friends thing.

[He's a bit sad Jimmy Buffett music didn't make it to the 31st century, but not that surprised.]

Hm, fair enough. Close enough that I can make a dash back into Pisces for the force fields if things get too hot. There aren't any werewolves in Capricorn, are there?

That's... an awfully specific question.

[She arches an eyebrow and decides it's probably inappropriate to mention that her love interest is more or less a werewolf.]

Not too fond of the whole feral howling at the moon thing, huh? Yeah, I could do without all the hair, too. But if there are werewolves in your world... they might show up eventually.

Haven't seen any here, though, if it helps.

Just asking because werewolves in my world tend to hang around on the outskirts of cities, and I just have a kind of... strained relationship with them.

Is there some sort of limitation on what sort of creatures can show up? I mean, is there a certain point where something gets too smart to show up as a monster and starts getting recruited as a hero instead?

[Because oh God, WoD werewolves in this place...]

...You're really milking this whole vampire thing for all it's worth, huh?

But that's a pretty good assumption for someone who hasn't actually seen any monsters. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules about this kind of thing, but my guess? Werewolves wouldn't cut it, unless they're the mindless kind that just try to devour everything in sight.

I'm hoping yours are a little more intelligent than that.

Wait, what? ... Oh. No, "strained" is actually pretty good for werewolves. Most of the lupines I've met don't really like anybody much. I was kind of proud of myself for having an extended meeting with a couple of them once that didn't end with us fighting each other.

Yeah, no, they're pretty much human-level all the time as far as I can tell. Bloodthirsty, but not animals. So probably not likely to show up as monsters here if that's likely. I was just going by the way you talked about them fixating on wreaking havoc.

Oh. Right. ...There's this other thing, too.

[Phantom Girl frowns for a moment or two.]

I haven't actually seen them, but apparently... mindless monsters aren't all we need to worry about. It sounds like there's a faction of terrorists here who like wreaking havoc their own special way. They're called the Anoli.

If we've got smart werewolves showing up, it sounds like they'd be interested in that kind of thing.

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