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f20202020-09-15 12:53 am
- allison hargreeves ⧓ krakoa,
- anders ⧒ the white tower,
- beckett mariner ⧓ twin cities,
- cecelia ardenbury ⧓ olin vale,
- count dooku ⧓ the white tower,
- david alleyne ⧓ krakoa,
- declan lynch ⧓ sanctum aurorae,
- finn onaru ⧒ the white tower,
- fuu hououji ⧓ eden,
- jin bubaigawara ⧒ twin cities,
- jonathan walsh ⧓ northwestern imperium,
- kang ⧓ seekers of the new dawn,
- kylo ren ⧓ sanctum aurorae,
- lucina ⋈ ␣,
- luther hargreeves ⧓ krakoa,
- midnighter ⧒ the white tower,
- number five hargreeves ⧓ krakoa,
- padmé amidala ⧓ luminary,
- pepper potts ⋈ the white tower,
- rey ⧓ the white tower,
- ronan lynch ⧓ sanctum aurorae,
- rude ⧒ olin vale,
- stephen strange ⧓ the white tower,
- tony stark ⧓ the white tower,
- wei wuxian ⧓ house of m,
- wen ning ⋈ house of m,
- xue yang ⧓ sanctum aurorae
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2020: THE SYNOD IS CONVENING.
THE SYNOD
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.
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
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.
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.
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[Rude starts walking and expects M to follow. How, he wonders, do they get the privacy they need to TALK about the fact that the world changed? Did it change? Or did they just... Porter somewhere wrong?]
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[Not that M was trying to goad Rude to his death or anything. He follows the man to the bakery.]
So how long has it been for you? Since you've had your last cookie.
[By being vague, Rude. Come on, keep up here.]
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Since about the start of the month. But I’ve had other peaceful ways to live. And many kind people to ensure I was cared for. You?
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[Seriously, Rude, the White Tower sucks. Other you was smart to not go there.]
You're the first person to admit to liking me.
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You remind me of someone dear to me. Except less annoying.
[He smirks at the reminder to M that he had a lot more tolerance than the man might expect. Still, he considers the space around them as they near the bakery and he finally stops. No one immediately close. Perhaps it's safe to talk here.]
I've ended up revealing myself to the individuals in charge of the faction I found myself amid. They're worried by what my arrival represents. I fear if too many people know about circumstances like us, we'll destabilize the whole place.
[It's more than he normally says in one go, but given in a curt, matter of fact tone that absolutely screams 'mission debrief.']
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[The facade he's had to put up while waiting for an opportunity has been exhausting, and he's barely remembering he needs one.]
I'd say that's hard to believe, considering we all need to hide in this place for a week just so the world doesn't implode from the multiversal chaos. This place is already a mess.
[M got the message, loud and clear, and is responding in kind.]
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This place makes me wonder whether we need to be concerned for the other world, if we ever go back.
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I've warned about this before. [He looks around.] Maybe not this exactly, but I've tried to explain to people that there was a giant power imbalance. If it wasn't something like this, it was something where the citizens come after us with something more powerful than a pitchfork.
Everyone thinks I'm an alarmist and forgets I have a fight computer in my head. [He rolls his eyes.] Like I've wanted to restrain myself from murdering worthless scumbags these past 5 years.
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People already don't like us back home. The ones that don't idolize. Maybe they have some of it right here. The natives live wherever, the imPorts go off on their own.
[But this 'American' government probably wouldn't be cool with that, given their hole gold war thing]
Computer in your head?
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Not that simple. In a sense that could make it worse. Even if we spread out, it wouldn't stop anti-imPort sentiment, but it would make the citizens far more paranoid that their neighbor might just be an imPort, even if they aren't a 50-foot car robot.
To say nothing of what the government blowback might be.
And the citizens here don't have it any easier. White Tower's got a whole selection of native servants.
[This whole thing is a goddamn mess. And he's not the person to clean it up. Not his circus, not his monkeys.]
I didn't mention it before? I have a fight computer in my head telling me how best to kill people. Occasionally it gives me odds of non-murder.
[The red x across Rude's face right now is particularly large.]
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[Rude looks scandalized. He doesn't like this news at all. Olin Vale wasn't like that. It's disgusting. Sorry.]
Dammit, this place is bad. And a fight computer seems like cheating.
[Don't murder him. There are already people trying to kill him.]
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I was made to cheat, Rude. When you want a perfect killing machine, you don't cut corners.
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[Wait, that's a good point. What if he IS better? Rude's attention centers on M in a way that is even more intense than ever before.]
How good are you against people with swords that are as long as people?
[Was he seriously looking for a potential ally here, in case he went home and the guy was still there? Yep.]
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[M thought he was a pretty good guy. Then again, he's got a pretty low bar.]
And a sword like that helps extend your reach, but doesn't make you infallible. I could get past it.
[Also, that's a ridiculous length for a sword. Why would you have a sword that long? It loses all sense of balance.]
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Are you aware of how fast he is?
[Yes, he’s definitely testing M out here, and perhaps M can get that.]
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Another feature in the killing machine model is I can see the increased electrical activity in people's brains... In layman's terms, I can "see" their powers.
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He's dangerous. I advise avoidance of him.
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It's kind of my thing.
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[Rude won’t stop him. Rude will encourage it.]
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If he's down for a friendly sparring session, then I am too. I'm not just going to go after the guy because you tell me too--I'm not that kind of killing machine anymore.
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I suggest you seek him out and try it. To see if he is something you can face.