crystal malfunction memevent

[faderifting]

crystals get fucked
(a meme slash tiny game event)

The Inquisition’s sending crystals are typically very reliable and not susceptible to accidental transmissions or misdelivered messages. They’re also fairly limited in function and security.

The latter is something that researchers in Skyhold are working to address, when they have the time. Unfortunately, one of them—maybe a little angry about having to work alone on First Day, maybe day drinking while she does so—has now made some significant errors while meddling with proposed improvements. And from the beginning of the day on Wintermarch 1, the sending crystals will start behaving badly:

Messages might transmit to the wrong person.

Messages might transmit to the right person but also a few additional unintended people.

Messages might transmit to everyone at once.

Pieces of old conversations from any point in the last year or so might leak, either to individuals or to everyone. Delayed messages of that sort will sound distant, like they’re coming from the end of a long tunnel.

Attempts to transition from a public to a private conversation will sometimes fail.

Crystals may start transmitting to people or to everyone at random, without being touched.

All of this could occur at any time—sometimes at the beginning of a conversation, sometimes midway through it, sometimes when someone isn’t using the crystal at all.

The problems will start out sporadic enough to seem insignificant or like probable user errors, but grow increasingly common as the day wears on, until the issue is identified and corrected at Skyhold in the early hours of Wintermarch 2 and the tipsy researcher disciplined accordingly.

This meme/event is game canon. You can decide among yourselves if there’s something you would rather try out for fun with no consequences and/or retcon after the fact, as always, but unless otherwise established by players, this is really happening. Threads done in this post can count toward activity rewards.

Additionally, this specific post is for open top-levels that anyone can tag and threadjack. Think TFLN in style/format, missing pants optional. Don’t post closed or locked conversations here. If you want to do specific misfires with specific people, you can use inboxes. You can also post to the rookery comm if you want to use the event for a more visible gamewide open post.

Comments

[elegiaque]

If I had any, I'm sure I'd tell you.

[bouchonne]

Would you, Gwen? I'm starting to doubt your commitment to scandal-mongering.

[elegiaque]

Be that as it may.

[bouchonne]

[ A sigh. ]

I wish you had more of your father in you.

[elegiaque]

The only thing that has any of my father in is the ground where we left his rotting corpse.

( —sharply. )

[bouchonne]

Ah. Did you part on bad terms?

[elegiaque]

To the best of my knowledge he wasn't abruptly a different man at any time before his death, so I can't imagine how else we would have done it.

[bouchonne]

A pity. It would be nice if there were someone to mourn him.

[elegiaque]

What a shame he didn't seem to think so.

( is it that simple?

of course not, but it stings to be compared and emeric is easy to lash out against. maker forbid she admit to byerly rutyer that she feels anything other than disdain for her father. )

[bouchonne]

Didn't he? Was he cruel to you?

[elegiaque]

What he was—

( she reins that in. )

Go talk to my uncle if you want someone to mourn him. He didn't know him well enough to know any better.

[bouchonne]

Oh, I don't want someone to mourn him. I also barely knew the fellow.

[ And in those few days he showed me more kindness than my father did in a lifetime - Yes, those are words he'll never in his life utter. ]

[elegiaque]

Then we can leave him where he belongs.

( in the past. in the ground. )

[bouchonne]

As you wish.

[ Casually: ]

Where was he buried, anyway?

[elegiaque]

( it's only because emeric's wasn't the only body in question that this answer gets something besides 'sharply dismissive'; it would be much easier, if she could do it that way. )

The bodies at Ghislain were to be burned, but they had to be abandoned in the storm or we would have been snowed in. I don't know how coherent you were at the time.

[bouchonne]

Not terribly. I really did make quite a mess out there on the battlefield. And I think I might have fallen right onto you in the medical wagon.

[elegiaque]

You moved when I promised you pain relief.

[bouchonne]

Ah, yes, that sounds like me. A pity I couldn't dodge that last blow like I was intending to.

[ as if he didn't throw himself bodily in its path. ]

[elegiaque]

For the record, I wasn't incoherent at the time.

( and, you know. remembers how that went. )

[bouchonne]

What do you mean?

[elegiaque]

I'm just making an observation. About my ability to have made observations.

[bouchonne]

My poor battle-weary mademoiselle.

[elegiaque]

Ugh, wedding-weary.