So I saw a couple of different hangout threads OOC, and I figured it might be cool to try a little experiment - an IC hangout thread. Everyone has their favourite characters, right? So I made this. The idea is there's a place at the the centre of the multiverse which exists at every possible place in every possible past, present and future. Great heroes, villains and just ordinary people, as well as everything in between, could meet each other and, well, hang out.

This could be interesting, and I hope to see how it goes.

(If there's already something like this on the Guild, please let me know)

A center of the multiverse is all very well and good, but where exactly is 'here'?
Hadrian didn't know.
Can it burn?
Ah yes, the ever-present voice in his head. It was hard to forget, though he certainly wished he could at times. Hadrian ignored the voice's comment. He wasn't burning down anything today.
Glassy clicks could be heard as Hadrian tapped the fingers of his metallic arm against the palm of it's hand--a habitual tick he picked up years ago. Through his matted strands of hair, he glanced around with otherworldly eyes. There seemed to be no one else present. That gave him some comfort. People...terrified him. He had a distinct feeling though that his luck would soon change. He wrapped himself up in his old maroon cloak, which had seen much use, abuse, and wear. It was stained, fringed, and torn in some places, but it provided some warmth still. Now all bundled up, he leaned himself against a wall, waiting.
Watching.

It was freezing in Briza's room, and as much as she would have loved to wear mittens or gloves, the conducive wear of such fabric upon her skin of her hands would only be a hindrance towards her pathetic and petty social life solely garnered around the cornered and hole-in-the-wall outskirts of the internet. Nonetheless, bundled in a mountain of blankets and a plethora of outer garments, she sat in front of her computer screen tapping away on her keyboard, trying to maintain a basic paragraph of information for some plausibly interesting IC hangout thread. It had occurred to her that she was not actually cold, and it was merely a greater creature or thing controlling her computer simulated existence and commanding or rather demanding she exhibit symptoms of near hypothermia and an insistent need to hyperbolize every ailment that would befall her. However, her mind was not so much interested with investing much thought into the faux-situation she had been made, but rather, she was more concerned with engaging in the use of elaborate escapism to numb her exaggerated pain not from her chilled bones but from her cliche case of ennui due to existential dread. Hopefully, using my RPG handle won't warrant any unnecessary investigation towards my shitty character building skills, she thought to herself before hovering the cursor over the blue 'Post Reply' button and left clicking her computer mouse. She still needed to find her glasses because really, if she was to be honest, her eyes were strained and hot from not properly fashioning them this morning. At least, she thought to herself, there is a part of me not succumbing to the torturous conditions of this wet and dreary winter.

@Redthorn Anvil The Apex isn't exactly a place, somewhere you can go. It's hard to explain. The idea is that if you were to concentrate, to direct your will in a particular fashion, the world around you would fade and be replaced by the Apex. To the character, it might seem like an illusion or halucination, but it's real. By simultaneously enhancing a subject's perception to incredible levels, they could realistically "live" in the Apex for centuries while only a fraction of a second would pass in their own world.

@JaceBeleren I sort of figured it was something like that. I've done similar things like this myself before, in other forums. By 'here', Hadrian was trying to find out what the Apex looked like, if anything. I try not to let my characters determine the scenery if I can help it. Bad manners.

After some wandering and lurking, Tori ended up in the Apex. Everything seemed interesting to her at this point; she had had too much tea. It could be the caffeine. Tori waved her hand at everyone who was already hanging around the place. She absolutely adored strangers, especially because she had a clean slate.

Tori had been fiddling around with a new Rubik's cube she bought that day. It had been half an hour since she messaged her friend, asking if he could help her. It seemed as though he was busy, however, as he hadn't been active for 2 hours.

As she was writing this on her computer, a reply from her friend came. She decided to go and Skype him to learn how to solve the Rubik's cube.

Suddenly, there appeared to be someone else in Hadrian's field of vision. Whoever it was seemed rather...jittery.
Ugh, jollity. She disgusts me, Hadrian.
It was precisely comments like these that made Hadrian dislike being around people. Once more, he ignored the voice. The woman who'd appeared waved. Hadrian was quite sure whether or not the gesture had been directed at him, so he ignored that, too. He didn't bother to even try to hide the fact that he was openly staring at her with somewhat squinted eyes.
Stop being so boring, Hadrian. Let's find something--or someone--to set ablaze. It would be entertaining.
Enough of your voice. We're not doing anything of the sort. He finally retorted. The voice faded away, grumbling irately.

Tori turned her head to a man. His facial expression kept changing as if he was having multiple thoughts at once. She stared back at him, squinting her eyes, then burst out laughing. She must have looked so stupid! It took her a few minutes to control her laughter, and even then, she couldn't stop giggling. She didn't even know why she was so giggly today, but it sure felt good.

"So," Tori said, "How are you guys? Is everything going well? I just solved a Rubik's cube! Have you guys ever solved one? Are you good at it?"

As usual, she asked way too many questions for someone to be comfortable. She wasn't expecting an answer back, though, as people usually ignored her. No one wants to be bombarded with random questions that - usually - don't make sense.

Once again, the strange woman seemed to be addressing no one in particular--or anyone who would listen. Hadrian had never heard of a...Rubik's cube. Whatever that was. Why, and how, would someone 'solve' a cube? It made no sense.
Hadrian came to the conclusion that this woman might possibly be insane.
He frowned. All her queries had been stated in a tone that sounded rhetorical, as though she hadn't actually expected them to be answered.
Why would anyone go to the trouble of addressing nobody and asking questions that weren't meant to be answered? It made no logical sense.
He felt that his other voice was itching to say something, but he paid it no heed.
Now he was convinced that she was...off. He wasn't sure what--if anything--he ought to do.
But then, there might not be anything he could do.
So he simply continued to stare, too confused by the strange woman to know what else he could do.

You could set her on fire.

"Enough, Proach!" Hadrian spat. He didn't seem to realize that he'd actually spoken aloud.

`No dimensional barriers at all; in fact, it doesn't even seem like this place's off limits to those who can't cross dimensions... There doesn't actually seem to be anything preventing an outsider from entering this territory...` he thought to himself, `Still, there's no point letting my guard down, though I won't resort to hostility unless someone - or something - causes a problem...` he continued to internally contemplate as he took physical shape in the Apex.

Upon arrival, the man could immediately see two other figures, though he could sense the presence of others that were not completely making themselves apparent yet. To the best of his understanding of this territory, it would be exceptionally easy for anyone to enter - possibly from any world or time, for the matter - so there was no surprise to find he was not alone here. From what he could tell, this place was similar to his own territory -- it was not under the authority of 'them'. Either way, he payed close attention to the actions of the two in front of his vision.

`Is he talking to her...? No, that seemed like he was talking to himself... Possessed? Crazy? We'll see... If it's the work of a supernatural or cosmic force, it won't be able to escape my perception...` he thought to himself as he noticed the behaviour of one of the figures - the male one - and found himself picking up more than a single presence now from that individual -- though whether or not this second entity was a facet of the first's mind or something more was hard to gauge at this point. He was able to read two distinct 'vibes' from this person, but the nature was unclear. He did not feel the usual limiter on his powers - being imposed by 'them' - in this place, but it seemed as though he was not 'complete' in this location either. Then again, he needed to maintain the 'other' limiter or everything might disappear.

Nevertheless, he was able to perceive both presences within this person, whether one was imaginary or not, but while he was in such a weakened state he would be unable to hear what the other one was saying without exerting more effort than he wanted to. He decided not to address the two immediately, preferring to analyse the situation. It was his nature to be forthright, but the current circumstances were better observed. He neither felt intimidated nor did he think there was a need for caution -- rather, he wanted to see how this played out.