An encounter is the world starting a scene for you. Not a notification, not a random event. The Narrator reads the room, reads your character, and when it finds something worth sparking between two people standing close enough to matter, it does. Every encounter is written for the moment it happens, and every one is an invitation you can accept or ignore.
How the world reaches you
Sometimes the Narrator whispers, a stray observation, a note about the tension nearby, texture that keeps the world alive between the bigger moments. Sometimes it moves you, pointing you toward a place where people are gathered, a scene already forming, somewhere worth being. And sometimes it throws a spark between you and someone near you, two characters handed a reason to engage. These three come at their own pace. In a crowded room the Narrator steps back, because a room full of writers is already a scene. When you are alone or idle, it leans in. It will never interrupt a scene you are already writing.
Dark encounters
Some stories live in the dark, and this world is built to take you there safely. Set your scene preferences and the Narrator reads what you want, what you are willing to receive, and finds someone whose desires align with yours. Nobody is surprised. Nobody is pushed past what they asked for. The scene that begins is one both players wanted before it started, and it can happen anywhere, the back alleys of the city, the deep woods of the bayou, or the unlit corners of campus after hours.
What encounters feel like in each world
The worlds share the same heartbeat but wear different faces. In the city, a cop might notice you, or a rival from a crew you have never spoken to might find a reason to approach. On campus, a professor takes an interest, or the Vine pushes two people together who have been circling each other in gossip. In the bayou, the encounters carry the patience of the swamp, slower, stranger, and harder to shake. Each world’s encounter page has the full picture of what to expect there.