That One With the Meeting [OPEN]

[pure_havoc]

characters: Cao Pi and OPEN!!!
location: the town hall
date/time: appx moonrise Sept. 2, for a couple of hours
content: Cao Pi proposed a meeting for everyone to talk about what ideas they have for organizing, protecting the town, and safely exploring their confines. This is that meeting. Newcomers are welcome as well! Assume characters have heard about it through the grapevine, but especially on Sept. 1 as Cao Pi makes the rounds and tells people this is happening. He will have a moment to orate but after that the floor is open, threadjacking is encouraged, and whatever comes of this is a complete free-for-all!
warnings: probably some discussion of character death. lmk if I need to edit this.

Despite the fact that Will Ingram's messages providing further information were yet to come, Cao Pi had made a public promise and he would hold himself to it, carrying out his meeting as described. At moonrise on the 2nd, he is already present in the town hall, hoping to see not just those who told him they would be there, but also some of the unfortunate newcomers freshly thrown into this situation. He had done his best to prowl around the Invincible and the bonfire, mentioning that the meeting would happen, but he still had to rely on word of mouth to do its work.

When he decides there are enough people present to begin, the Lord of Wei steps up before the assembly, clearing his throat importantly. "For better or worse," he begins, "we are a community. A town, if we are not a country. The hints and cryptic comments from the Lighthouse Keeper have suggested that we have a job to do, but we're still waiting on information as to what it is and why - why us, why the dead stolen from their worlds or their respective afterlives. But the recent mission to connect the Keeper to the network our tablets can access has shown a number of weaknesses that may hamper our ability to do any job, let alone the one which will keep us all from being permanently obliterated." Is that harsh? Too bad. He doesn't care. "We know a few things for certain. One, that we must carry out the purpose which the Keeper understands and encourages. Two, if we fail in any way, she will kill us all by ordering the spirits to destroy us. Three, the spirits deep in the forest are not just her weapon against us, but they have their own will and may attack or destroy anyone who simply wanders out too far. Our explorations have uncovered a number of things but not everything, by far. If you are new or simply haven't kept up on the recent developments, the record is here." He holds out a hand to the logbooks kept there in the town hall.

"I've asked you here to discuss the issues facing us in Beacon, and to offer up any ideas for how to solve those issues. There are quite a few of them, some that even I, perhaps, haven't considered yet. Please be orderly and take your turns, but I should like to hear from everyone. Whether you have questions, or have an idea you wish to share, please. Speak up. We will all be better for the sharing of ideas and discussion of pros and cons, rather than just waiting and hoping that someone will take charge and give us orders."

With that, he steps aside, inviting anyone and everyone to come up and speak. Or simply rise from their seat and speak. The floor is open, Beacon, use it to say things that you might not want anyone connected to the network to overhear. Sass the Keeper, gush about the Postmaster, whatever you want. Hopefully by the end of it all, someone might have some plans that can be brought about. For his part, Cao Pi is not putting himself up as any sort of authority or the one actually in charge, he literally is only there as organizer and moderator and nothing else. At least, so his cool half-smirk and perfect manners would suggest...

Comments

[callada]

Hey, you're the one who pointed it out.

[He shrugs. That fire - it reminds him of what he'd seen Kyna try on the first day here. Seemed like it should be fire, but it just wasn't. Not bright enough, no real light shedding on anything else. It's still trippy.]

The rest should serve well, though. Physical barriers they'll notice, but magical traps might just catch them by surprise.

[policier]

( And that is why Javert has been trying so hard to stay on her good side. That, and the fact that he doesn't want to do something to disappoint her. He simply respects her too much. )

I am no thief. ( He says, huffing a little, haughty. )

I would not take it from you. Nor would I ever impose myself. Do you yet doubt me?

[axegirlfriend]

...a lot of things make me uncomfortable, if I'm being honest. So, it's fine. I'll just do as much as I can.

[RIP.]

[withsadness]

"I don't mind cutting them."

Rough. But she says it...cutely? Innocently? Surely she doesn't know of what she says. In any case:

"Fireworks...they don't burn you, do they?"

[withsadness]

[Looking down at the sketchbook, she touches her fingertips to the tallies, feeling like each one is a little person, an extension of the ones that made them. Little tiny friends.]

I'll do my best to learn, I promise. I hope I do so well that I make you proud!

[policier]

( Javert feels as if he has a pretty good grasp of another man's character, and that is probably the most important bit. Not who Jason is, or where he came from, but how good of a person is. He nods to himself, storing that information away as a mental note. )

And what is your name? You've only just arrived, correct?

[paletteswap]

Kuai is fine.

You mean using something to focus the light? Not that I know of. The lanterns and torches barely seems to cast light so I'm not sure anyone has thought to try. There are mirrors in the Invincible. But lenses...

I have a telescope but that would be on such a small scale as to be useless.

[itselbitch]

That would help. I'll leave it to you, then.

But it would be fine too, should one wish to be excluded. Cooperation is on such when it isn't forced or required. Anything beyond that begs failure.

[ or so his experience has shown, even if dumb shit like group assignments for classes. ]

[itselbitch]

[ at the mention of surprise, he smiles. eliot always loves giving a good surprise. ]

Surprise is certainly an underused weapon of its own. With the right combination, even with physical barriers, there's a lot that could be achieved by undermining expectations.

We're all creatures of habit, after all.

[ which is why pranking is so damn easy and fun using magic, but even if that's not the main aim here, eliot's had plenty of practice with that side of things to know what people tend to not expect. ]

[itselbitch]

[ oh. this. poor, poor child. it's hard not to think of q, who would deny how uncomfortable things make him if only to appear less incompetent, but quentin is definitely just as awkward and uncomfortable dealing with most things as he always appears to be. much like this fellow here. ]

Um. Okay-- [ he furrows his brow slightly before reaching out to offer a consoling pat on the other man's shoulder. ] --we can work on that. I'm not expecting you do anything morally compromising, though.

That's just.

Not something you should ever do? Just because someone asks you to.

[itselbitch]

'Cutting them'? For even as cutely and innocently as she says it, the exact phrasing does sound strange to Eliot. She's young though. There's a high probability of simply being inept with the usage of the word.

"Not when they're high up. They'd be too far away for that. Have you not seen fireworks before? I can make smalls ones that don't really burn either, but I'm not sure they'd show well in this place."

[axegirlfriend]

[There's something strange that happens when those words sink in. It might come off as a reaction to the touch, but really, he barely feels it. Morally compromising, he said. Just because someone asks. Abruptly, Remington stands and stumbles away, likely nearly knocking over a chair (or another person) in the process. He fumbles over apologies.]

Ah...I have to go outside. Sorry--really, I'm--

[Turning, cutting himself off, he hurries toward the door, avoiding as many bodies as he can in his haste.]

[itselbitch]

Kuai, then.

I'll have to check those mirrors. Physical laws are different here, so at the worst, I'd still be understanding what the real limitations would be.

[ though at the mention of the telescope, he does have to raise a brow. ]

I don't suppose the telescope's been of much use? With the scarcity of light.

[itselbitch]

[ he withdraws his hand as if burned but is mostly confused at the sudden excusal. it had only been a light touch.

what the hell?

there's not much to be done though. he watches as the man runs off, and turns back to various looks ranging from the same confusion to reprimand, as if he'd punched the kid somehow. sighing through his nose, he shakes his head, holding his tongue and waiting for the next person to speak up and say their part. ]

[paletteswap]

Absolutely none. I had it on me when I died so it arrived with me, I've not yet found a reason to attempt to use it.

[It would maybe work to see the stars closer but it's a small, hand-held spyglass so he'd be looking at maybe two stars at a time.]

Aside from light, what physical laws are different?

[pure_havoc]

"Until this very moment," Zihuan confirms, with a look around the room of faces. "The floor is open."

[kungfuey]

[ She snorts at that, shaking her head. ]

If I had my way, we wouldn't have a leader. [ She glances at Mary, allowing her small grin to widen her lips. ] But that's cause I don't like people telling me what to do.

[ Scarlett gently bumping into Mary as if she's making a joke. She's really not though. ]

[kungfuey]

[ His response has her double-taking, just the smallest glimmer of amusement dancing in her eyes that she tries to conceal by refocusing on the front of the room. Still, there's no hiding the slight pull at her mouth as a grin threatens to take hold. ]

Don't worry. [ Pretending to listen to whatever's being said by some kid that is wasy too built for his age. (She totally means Jason.) ] I promise to take out the ugly ones first.

[policier]

( He startles, not so much out of fear — for there is very little that Javert fears, and it is certainly not magic fire — but out of surprise. His eyes widen, and he looks as if he's about to shout, to order the man to extinguish the flame, but then it's gone. And Javert is left standing there gaping like a ninny. )

Are you mad?

( He huffs, tugging down on the front of his uniform, righting himself. His scowl returns. )

Setting a fire in this place. And for what? It is not as if you impressed anyone.

[withsadness]

[Mary preens, clapping her hands together.]

And thank you, too! Soon there will be so many pretty colors!

[Not that...it's about the colors. But it's still important. She just loves colors so much.]

[withsadness]

Mary shakes her head. "I haven't! They're for parties, aren't they? How do you make them?"

Could it be...magic? From his magical powers? Her eyes practically sparkle.

[withsadness]

[Mary giggles, putting her hands over her mouth as if she broke some kind of unspoken rule. This is a super serious meeting, after all, so maybe she shouldn't giggle!]

I like to do what I want, too. It's fun!

[notthatjason]

It was...intense. The Greek demigods aren't exactly known for cohesive battle strategies, except for Athena's Cabin and sometimes Ares. But usually you never knew what might happen when different cabins combined into different teams for a game.

[Athena and Ares were usually taking different sides to try out different strategies. But very few plans could survive cabins like Hermes or Hephaestus.]

We had a pretty big arsenal. Usually swords and spears are the most common...but I guess it depended on what you felt best with and what you had on hand. Hephaestus' cabin was known for laying all kinds of pit traps and trip wires through the woods. Apollo's cabin was more prone to long range weapons like bows and arrows.

[Jason crosses his arms, looking thoughtful.]

Of course, that was just the Camp Half-Blood version. Camp Jupiter had its own version of the game, but it's less about capturing flags and more about taking down an entire fort. We called it Siege, with one group acting as the fort's defense and the other group would be the offense. Camp Jupiter was always more prepared for war than our counterparts. We have a whole arsenal fit for a legion and everything from water cannons to an actual war elephant.

[consecrates]

No, not really. [ she hasn't gone to the library yet, mostly because she doesn't think the books she needs are in there. ] I just know that he's around.

[policier]

( Javert's idea of "getting to know each other" is actually more of an interrogation than it is a social ritual. He's a police officer, after all. He hardly knows how to be anything else. )

Is that so? I will give you an order, then. You will not kill anyone, especially not if they are to come to you for training.

( With that said, he then asks the man, )

What sorts of people were you assigned to assassinate? Government officials?