SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2020: THE SYNOD IS CONVENING.

[modormenace]

All fourteen Gates simultaneously reverse polarity. For the next seven days, and only these seven days, any imPort stepping through a Gate will arrive safely in the Porter building: the only place on this fractured planet that can safely contain the energy of the imPort community in its entirety.

SO IT BEGINS
THE SYNOD

THE

DEATH

TRAIN

While the Gates are the simplest form of transportation, those making the journey to the Synod from the White Tower have the option of travelling by train, if they wish. Despite the playfully grim moniker, there haven't been any recorded fatalities on board the Death Train in many years. Or ever, really. Raw, untamed entropy doesn't do anything as simple as kill.

For that delightful reason, passengers will be reminded at frequent intervals not to attempt to leave the train once it enters the active zone of the Porter's defenses, or to do anything that could jeopardise the integrity of its shielding.

The journey is relatively comfortable and takes approximately two and a half hours. A limited menu of pastries and alcohol is available from the buffet car. The smallest tables seat two.

 

As the train passes through the entropy-saturated wasteland of the Deathdome, the view from the heavily tinted windows of each of the train's four-person cars is impossible to comprehend: every atom of the landscape is in a constant state of flux, scattered in endless possibilities across the multiverse.

WELCOME CARPET

Inside, you get the impression of three towers; no view from outside is possible. You're totally sealed inside for the week, by the same Fate-built tech that shields this place from the ravages of cosmic radiation— the train station is built into the structure, entrance tunnel hermetically sealed.

You're greeted by welcome robots, primitive little things full endless enthusiasm and covered in dents. What they lack in intelligence they make up for in persistence and durability. Each and every ImPort is assigned their own personal robutler.

Though they tend to hinder more than help.

Boop boop boop boop. They provide you with a complimentary swag bag. Inside is one (1) t-shirt, one (1) top of the line tablet (pre-loaded with this year's Agenda and a simple game app that looks suspiciously like 2048), a stress ball, personalised souvenir pen and eraser (but no pencil), and of course, a lanyard keycard for accessing the comfortably adequate accommodations provided for all attendees.

Given the week-long Synod, your room itself is a decent suite, furnished with dark colors, redolent with a smell you can't quite place. You may find yourself assigned an unexpected roommate, which may feel awkward considering you'll find arrayed on the beds, a half-dozen complimentary tickets to the spa, restaurants and the power gym, with its preternaturally durable equipment.

Robutlers constantly remind: do not attempt to leave the Porter facility or do anything to jeopardise the integrity of its shielding.

CONVENTION

Talks and panels take place in the convention area, which feels like a miniature city within the Porter's defenses, a hive with padded audience seats, wide stages, and complete with holographic audiovisual equipment that's curiously compatible with presentation software from every city.

Here, ImPorts will present and debate various topics regarded as major concerns for all. [OOCly, players are invited to suggest topics! Scroll down; they will be added below.]

This is also something of an expo, where cities practically demonstrate— or show off their good works. From the latest hovertechnology models to demonstrations of healing powers, playful duels in the forcefield-enclosed stages to magical books that temporarily transfer skills on touch, this is the place to pretend you're showing off your cards... while playing the most important ones close to your chest.

PANELS AND DEBATES

PRESENTERS

TOPIC

Joseph Kavinsky vs [N/PC]

White Tower ImPort Overpopulation and Dimensional Instability

Tony Stark and other technopaths

How Technology Will Save Us

Joshua Foley

The Mysteries and Intricacies of ImPort Physiology

Count Dooku and volunteers

ImPort Factions Must Align Against the Shared 'Resistance' Threat

Jin Bubaigawara (x3)

The Twin Cities are NOT Dimensionally Unstable No Matter What You Heard

Kang

Bridging Old and New: Maintaining Infrastructure with Limited Modern Resources

EVENING

EVENTS

Every night of the Synod, ImPorts gather to dine in a grand hall with a ballroom party. Each dinner is hosted by one ImPort city, gruntwork complete with robutlers-- which guarantees food safety, and complete with multiple cuisine options, cultural decor, and entertainment.

Given the range of cities represented, food options vary from greasy burgers to six courses of seafood and blue venison, and rarefied vegan fare.

When ImPorts aren't here eating, they're most often talking. Ergo, it's not uncommon for low-key drama to break out, but this year, the majority of Synod days seem to be passing uneventfully.

Fortunately, speeches are reserved for daytime. After dinner, it's time to dance.

 

The last song of the night is always obscure music no one can quite remember the words or melody to afterward. It's a slow dance song meant for two or more partners; the ballroom grows dark and the world seems to fade away. Or rather, it just fades back into one's hotel room.

THE BLACKOUT

On Monday, September 21st, shortly before the Gates are due to resume ordinary function and allow attendees to leave, the Porter building suffers a power cut.

Abruptly, all the lights cut out. Music stops. Your faithful robutler freezes in place, unresponsive— though its internal systems appear to be running, the centralised command hub that it relies on has fallen silent.

Though the robutlers are out of comission, technology-minded ImPorts and their tech drones hasten to reassure that systems analyses are underway. Within a few hours, repairs begin, the estimated time being two days.

In the meantime, thanks to the diversity of powers on hand, there is enough food and water. Candles start to circulate. It might even be a little romantic, if it weren't for the chaos outside. Characters might find themselves trapped in an elevator for a few hours, or compelled to seek comfort from one another.

Comments

Xue Yang | The Untamed | OTA

[xue_yang]

Death Train

It's called a death train..so of course Xue Yang was going to ride it and see if it could live up to it's name. For the most part he is rather disappointed in what he thought might have some sort of sinister side effects for using it. But none came. It seemed to simply be a regular train. And so he settled into one of the cars and accepted a couple of the pastries and a drink. He munches on the pastry while staring out into the weird landscape that is outside.

Convention
Xue Yang has no interest in the convention itself. He is only hear because he is forced to be. And so for the most part he has ignored everything about it. He leans against a wall with his arms crossed as he watches people walking past on their way to various events and discussions.

He yawns as he stands there, wishing this week would just be over so he could go back to far more interesting things.

Party
Xue Yang is never going to turn down food as he enjoys the fast array of food presented to him. And as he munches he savors some of the alcohol that they keep bringing him. Between his time on the train and the meals in this place he has had more alcohol then he has in a lot of months combined back on his world.

He doesn't care about dancing so he is simply going to stay near the food and drinks while everyone else enjoys the music.

"The rest of this event might be boring but at least they are feeding us."

I.

[feixuehua]

cw: eyes damage

He woke up in darkness, upon taken his first breath. Of course, he was blind, so he has no idea what's going on. There's a thin scar over his neck, healed upon arrival. The nanites he was injected with increases his senses and heighten his awareness. However, to accommodate him, they given him a blind-cane to help him navigate his way in the new world, give him medical attention for his eyes to momentarily stop bleeding and the pain.

Once orientation is over, and he's been educated that he's in a strange new world, he was sorted in a faction, though creepy and dark as they are. Over the next few days, there's a flurry of activity. He got on the Death train alone and traveled to his destination. While he appears calm, he mutters politely, in a small voice, "Excuse me" especially when his cane stick happens to smack against the wall or against the leg of a passenger or fumbled against a passenger and him feeling for the walls to navigate through the car.

Tapping his stick on the floor, "Excuse me, my apologies." There's no complaint, since he's wearing a blindfold wrapped around his eyes to keep it from bleeding, so passengers could tell he couldn't see, but some scoot away from him to let him pass. "I am passing through..."

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang had the pastry in hand and it was almost to his mouth when the sound of a familiar voice gave him pause. His eyes widen slightly and he drops the pastry. He stands up out of his seat so that he can look around the car until his eyes fall on the familiar white clothing.

It feels like forever since he has seen that face, that telltale blind fold over his eyes. How long has it even been since he has had to disguise his own voice. He never expected to see this man again. He thinks back to his conversation with the god at the faction he had just joined. Certainly he hadn't actually been able to fulfill that unsaid wish...and yet there is the very person he would have wished for.

"Daozhang!" His youthful exuberance is clear even with the disguised voice as he takes a step closer to the other man. But when he notices that line across the man's neck it gives him pause and his steps stop before he can get too close.

[feixuehua]

He freezes in place, pressing his stick on the floor before he goes further down the car. He heard a familiar voice as he jogs his memory as to what happened before his death, and he deeply regrets it. Setting aside his sorrow and guilt, he remembers. It belongs to the boy that he was kind to, given candy, and...it's complicated. Very complicated, but he was betrayed by him.

It's definitely the daozhang he remembers. Wearing a white robe long at the sleeves, tall, slim, and ethereal in his appearance and strapped to his back is his sword, Shuanghua. Still, for a moment, given his new life. He wondered who is the one calling him to be certain. So he blindly turn to his direction but cannot see, voice soft as his features. "Who is there?"

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang doesn't have any memories of a betrayal. For him such things haven't happened. All he knows about the him on this world is that he had lost his Xingchen. He wasn't aware of the circumstances, nor did he really care to. But he had joined a faction that had promised to fulfill all his desires. And so the thought that perhaps someone who was dead could be brought back had entered his mind.

So the line across the man's neck is a question that he doesn't dare ask. Perhaps it is a wound of the Xingchen of this world. He doesn't know but it doesn't matter as he takes another couple steps closer.

"It's me daozhang! From Yi City." Perhaps this one doesn't remember. Is that possible in this place?

[feixuehua]

He remembers. For now, the past seems like a distant memory. His wounds are healing over, but his heart is very wounded. And...what's done is done. Being a soft-hearted man, he still dwells on his mistakes, and everything is raw upon his awakening in this new world.

He swallows thickly. He died too quickly in haste that he didn't give him a fair chance to explain, but then again it's an overwhelming grief over Song Lan, the very man whom he given his eyes, and other circumstances.

Taking a deep breath. "Xue Yang. If you could let me sit. This train is making me dizzy." Voice soft, a gentle breeze. Being too kind, he never holds anger in his thoughts, just sadness. "It moves and I cannot see."

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang freezes. Xingchen knows who he is by name. Not as the little friend at Yi City. He doesn't know how that is possible or how to process all of this. All of a sudden this confusing world is making everything even more complicated. But he will reach out and guide the man to a seat.

"Daozhang...how..." The question stops on his lips. He doesn't really know how to voice the question that is on the tip of his tongue. How did he come here? HOw did he know his name?

He has never been uncertain about anything as much as he is uncertain about this moment and how to proceed.

[feixuehua]

He sat on the seat. How he managed to navigate around blind in a crowded train, takes a lot more getting used to. He place the cane stick on his lap. He heard his voice before, and how hard he tries to disguise it to keep himself from being discovered.

"In Yi City," He began. "I found a young man who has fallen on the side of the road, severely injured and near-death. I can't allow him to die, so I saved him. I healed him and gave him candy since it's his favorite. Is he not you?"

[xue_yang]

"Yes..how long have you known?" Certainly it hadn't been obvious for all these years. He had been so careful to keep himself hidden. He figured he would reveal himself someday but it never seemed the right time. How could his identity have been so easily discovered?

He doesn't sit down. Rather stays standing almost as if needing that easy escape if he has to. He isn't afraid of the man but rather afraid of what he might do if Xingchen tries to confront him.

[feixuehua]

He thought carefully before he speaks. Did Xue Yang not know he died? The thin scar around his neck is evidence of his uncontrollable grief. However, he is calm now. He is alive and breathing. He sat still feeling his own breath and looking as to where Xue Yang is standing, and he wants him to be hold accountable for his crimes.

He speaks slowly, thinking Xue Yang remembered, wanting to go over what happened since they met last. "It took me years. Eventually, I found out who you really are. You tricked me into killing innocent people and my best friend, Song Lan once he found who you really are and we tried to stop you. Don't you remember anything of what you did?"

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang can only believe that these were memories of the Xingchen of this world. He hasn't seen Song Lan since he took the man's eyes. He shakes his head quickly even though the man can't see it.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I did trick you..in the beginning. But I never tricked you about Song Lan!"

He remembers everything he has done but he does not remember that. He is sure that he hasn't done such a thing. It does sound like what he would do if cornered but it certainly isn't a part of his memories.

[feixuehua]

cw: suicidal ideation

Part of him is not sure if he's telling the truth. True, he admitted into tricking him. Years of being manipulated by him, having believed everything he said but being blind to who he really was, and then the guilt he harbored from the years. No, he doesn't want to fall into the same habits as before, never again. Not wanting to make the same mistakes again. He wished he could believe him. He was naive.

He's trembling. Not out of anger, but out of grief. He swallowed thickly, and he could feel a phantom hurt across his neck, where the mark of his injury when he took his own life. He doesn't want to reach for his sword and do it again. He died for his own sins.

"Y-you're lying. If you do not remember, then what are we..." His breathing becomes harsh as the heavy emotions in his chest swims to his head suddenly feels light-head. "Song Lan..."

Then and there, sitting where he is at, he fainted on his seat from the sheer exhaustion of being alive again, feeling the emotions from that previous life where he is a blinded fool.

[xue_yang]

"Daozhang!" He hurries back to him when he sees him pass out, catching him before his head could hit the table. He carefully laid him down across the seats. It's not the most wonderful of beds but it is all they have.

He then sinks into the seat across from him and stares at the table. For once he wasn't lying..And what frustrates him even more is the fact that his name was on his lips as he fainted. Even after all these years why can't Xingchen just forget him?

His hands clench into fists. He doesn't know what he did to cause so much pain to Xingchen. But he knows there are a few people he could ask if he really wants to seek out members of the Lan clan.

party

[deadwenwalking]

"Boring?"

Absolutely nothing about any of this is boring, but then again Wen Ning is still being amazed by everything right now.

He'd seen Xue Yang around already, and he'd been told that he was in this world at the start, but he hasn't approached him until now. Here at the party would not only be a poor time for the other man to attack but it would also be easier for Wen Ning to slip away if he had to. He moves in next to the shorter man, setting an empty plate down in front of himself.

"How is it boring, Young Master?" The title is given out of false courtesy only.

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang's eyebrow quirks up. How interesting that he would encounter the Ghost General here. He had been seeing this man walking alongside Wei Wuxian throughout the day during the convention. But he never would have expected him to approach. When they had both been members of the Wen clan, he had barely even acknowledged the man.

"Political talks? Ways to save the world? All of these events are nothing but rich leaders trying to promote their propaganda. I saw enough of it on our world so why would I have any interest in it here?"

He then waved his hand dismissively towards the party around them, "Forced intermingling while they lock us all away? Hardly my definition of fun. Are you saying you are enjoying this imprisonment, Ghost General?"

[deadwenwalking]

"It's not true imprisonment if I can still move around." Wen Ning's mouth forms into a thin line at that comment. After all, the man next to him is partially responsible for his many years spent in a dark cell. At least he remembers very little of it, which can be both a boon and an annoyance.

Casual conversation, especially one where he might actually be grilling the other person for important information, isn't his strong suit at all. But that doesn't mean he can't try, as awkward as it might be. Not many chances like this are bound to happen.

He reaches a pale hand across Xue Yang's field of view and picks up a hors d'oeuvre by the toothpick sticking out of it. "And they have these." He says this in complete seriousness. How can you not enjoy a tiny sausage treat?

[xue_yang]

Xue yang doesn't like being forced to stay inside the building. Every time he tries to go back outside they simply force him to turn around and go back. It's frustrating and he doesn't like feeling caged even in such a large space.

He stares at the little sausage that passes in front of his face. He hasn't ever tried such a little piece of food and so he turns his attention to the plate that now holds more of them.

"Is this little piece of meat really making all of this worth while?"

He finds that hard to believe even as he reaches out and takes one, sticking it into his mouth.

[deadwenwalking]

"No. But they're neat." He pops the one he'd been holding in his mouth as well, but doesn't add any more to his empty plate. Wen Ning's huge silver lining to all of this is how much he still finds everything immensely fascinating. Not even Xue Yang can take that from him - well, as long as there aren't any nails involved.

"If you're so restless I'm surprised you're behaving yourself." Wei Wuxian has been here for some time. The same might apply to Xue Yang, which would mean he would have a better idea of his limits and what he'd be able to get away with in this place. It makes him very curious, even if just interacting with him could be bad news.

All the eyes around them makes it easier.

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang finds the little sausage odd but not unpleasant. Certainly not enough to make staying inside worth it. He had been munching more out of boredom then because he was hungry.

He makes a tsking noise as if he is insulted by the insinuation that he doesn't know how to behave himself. "I've learned there is no point in causing a fuss in here because they don't seem to care when you do." Plus the little robo-butler that likes to follow him around seems to ensure he doesn't cause too much chaos.

He had behaved himself for most of his time at Yi City. There are a few exceptions. And his first few months certainly don't count.

"Has your patriarch sent you here to baby-sit me?"

[deadwenwalking]

When Xue Yang puts it like that it makes him sound like a child, only wanting to act out for attention. Wen Ning doesn't believe it's anywhere near that simple.

The way he says 'your patriarch' makes him frown a little, but it's not an unexpected thing for the other man to say. Bringing up their connection as though Wen Ning is nothing but an animal on a leash following him around is what a lot of people have done in the past in order to push their buttons and he pays it no more mind than that.

"No." He can at least be somewhat serious here. Caution and disdain makes it easier to avoid some of the usual social hang-ups. "I haven't talked with many people from our world in person." Aside from Wei Wuxian, obviously. "I was just unfortunate enough to come across you first."

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang has always followed his own code of right and wrong and done whatever he felt like to achieve his goals and exact his revenge on those that have wronged him. On this world there isn't really anyone he desires revenge on so it is just him biding his time.

"Unfortunate.." He laughs and picks up a cookie from a tray. He will say one thing about this place..it has excellent desserts and sweets. "We used to be on the same side, why are you so upset at me?" Not that he really ever had any true feelings of loyalty to the Wen clan. It was mostly they were the most interesting of the sects to be a part of and they gave him the freedom to do the things he wanted for the most part. His interactions with Wen Qing and her brother had been limited since they worked very different aspects of their sect leader's goals. But the connection is still there.

[deadwenwalking]

Why are you so upset at me?

Wen Ning gives Xue Yang a long, blank stare. Putting aside for a moment the whole incident at Yi Village, or what he'd done to Song Lan, Xiao Xingchen, and that young girl - which is quite a lot to put aside - there is still one very obvious transgression on his part that he surely can't have forgotten about, no matter how long ago it was.

"...You stuck nails in my head." Very big nails. Resulting in years of darkness. Very unpleasant to remove.

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang stares at the other this time. That is a pretty valid reason to be upset with him. But really..how does Wen Ning know that he is the one who did it? It's not like he signed the nails or something. he had left basically no tells on those at all. And he hasn't really gotten a chance to use that tactic a whole lot. Hasn't really had a need to for the last few years.

It's actually slightly amusing that they were able to figure out it was him. Perhaps his tactics are more well known then he realizes.

"You shouldn't be able to remember that but then again you never were particularly obedient." It was a shame really. It would have been so useful to have Wen Ning bend to his every command. He apparently still needs practice. He shouldn't be surprised that he has been able to regain his consciousness since Wei Wuxian is certainly smart enough to be able to figure out the nails were there.

"If you intend to pay me back for the experience, it might be better to wait until we are outside of this building and there won't be hundreds of people here to stop you."

[deadwenwalking]

"I'm not going to attack you." It would be pointless here. In any case, Wen Ning doesn't hold much of a grudge for what was done to him specifically. Whether or not Xue Yang had helped them, he still would have been locked up by the LanlingJin clan leader. If anything, the nails were almost a boon - having to be fully cognizant for all those years locked up in a dungeon could have been torture. No, other people had more right to vent their anger on the man than he did.

Though something about their interaction seems off. It could be that Xue Yang has simply had too much to drink, but he should know exactly why Wen Ning is aware of who's responsible. He knows they were all aware of what was shared in Yi City.

"You..." he starts to ask about it, then stops himself. Wei Wuxian had touched on the issue of time, and while he still doesn't truly understand it, he knows enough to think there might be some time issue involved here. He recovers with: "You've been here a while, right?" Fortunately, a stutter is already common for him.

[xue_yang]

That is a complicated question. He hasn't been on this world particularly long but long enough to have established himself. "I'd say it has been about half a year." Just long enough to understand how the world works while still enjoying some newness every once in awhile.

He has actually been fairly well behaved during that time considering how much damage he can do in six months back home. But he doesn't really hold any grudges with anyone here and he is in a different faction from most of the people from their world. So he doesn't really have reason to interact with them.

Xue Yang is well aware of the problem of timelines. He has encountered it numerous times while being on this world. It seems most of those here have far more memories of him then he has of them. "This place is interesting so I don't mind a small vacation." His favorite part is the plethora of sweets and candy as he picks up another cookie to munch on because free food is the best food.