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

Crowley | Open

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley is decidedly Not Participating. At first, anyway. Because this is a lot of things in his head, and Stupid is one of them. Look at them all, acting like this is a community, like this is actually a town and not some incredible blasphemy of nature. They're all dead and yet here they are, trying to act like a welcoming committee and a school and anything will make it right.

He slouches against several chairs, taking up more room than he actually should, because he can.

"So, while everyone's busy getting comfortable here, I'm assuming there are people who want to form plans to leave? Do those people get a say, or are we just going to act like we're staying here in spook-town forever? Or, at least, until the great big Lighthouse Keeper in the sky decides to reset us all?"

In his defense, he just got here, he's still learning how things work.

[originallutece]

Oh, no. No, they don't get any kind of say.

[The words, with that sharp sarcasm and heavy deadpan, ought to be familiar to Crowley, even if the voice isn't. Rosalind has been fairly quiet, observing more than contributing, but she glances over at him as she says it.]

Point in fact, we silence anyone who speaks of leaving. In three months, we've resigned ourselves to living out our lives here. We none of us have decided that perhaps biding our time and using our brains instead of running around like witless children is helpful. My god. Leaving. You're the first person to suggest such a thing.

[So.

That happened.

Rosalind lets it sit in the air, icy cold, before adding:]

Think before you speak.

[sauntered_downward]

[Crowley's eyebrows hit his hairline and he turns to look at this person who has spoken to him in such an incredibly sarcastic and icy tone. She's completely acerbic and utterly unpleasant to him without mercy.

He has no idea who she is but he adores her immediately.

He waves a hand, gesturing to the room.]

Where are the plans to leave, then? Everyone is talking about what to do while we stay.

All this brainpower in one room and we could be out of here in a matter of weeks.

[originallutece]

Oh, could we? And how do you suggest we accomplish that, hm? Do you happen to have a doorway in your back pocket?

[She's being slightly more irritable than usual, but also, she's in mourning, so.]

[sauntered_downward]

You know, I might. And wouldn't you feel a right bit stupid in this moment if I did?

[Alas, he does not.]

There's someone in this town who is making a portal to get out of here.

[originallutece]

[There's just a moment, and then she realizes. Ah, and suddenly her air changes: going from irritable incredulity to something smug and confident, like a cat who just figured out how to open the bird cage.]

Are they. And did they give you an estimated time of creation?

[sauntered_downward]

[Crowley notices the change in the air and he Does. Not. Like. That. Because he can't tell what that means.]

Working by themselves, yes.

[originallutece]

And did they ask for help? Or did they tell you that no one could compare to them, and thus they'd have to work alone regardless?

[sauntered_downward]

[There is a small pause.

It's not a long pause, but it is a pause in which one could easily imagine gears turning. Or a very small hamster running on a very small wheel trying to get to a destination as Crowley listens to what the woman has just said.]

It's you, isn't it?

[originallutece]

Indeed.

[Why does she look so smug? And yet she does, one leg crossed at the knee over the other, her posture straight despite the fact she's no longer bound in her corsets and layers.]

Three years, I told you. Maybe more. If we're to leave, it won't be anytime soon-- and given Will's deadline, I don't know if I can accomplish it.

[sauntered_downward]

That's not the only way out and you know it.

[He lounges back again]

We got in through a door, we can go back out the same one.

[pure_havoc]

[tbh he was going to interrupt a lot sooner but he's just learned a new twist in the whole situation. Also? Hilariously entertaining. That was some good snark, both of you, keep it up.]

How do you know we got in through a door? There was only darkness and then the ferry. Or do you mean a metaphorical door, as the Gate of Heaven or something?

[sauntered_downward]

What, do you think we just appeared here? Like poof out of nothing?

[This makes so much sense to Crowley, why isn't it making sense to everyone else?]

Something had to happen for us to get in, and we can use that to get back out.

[originallutece]

He's correct.

[DOESN'T SHE SOUND GRUDGING ABOUT IT]

We came from our worlds and were deposited here. How we got here depends, but in some fashion, we were brought from one world to another. Door is just a convenient word for it.

[sauntered_downward]

[Crowley preens.]

[originallutece]

[You stop that now.]

[originallutece]

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Door is a metaphor; they don't stay open forever, and once they close, there may be no opening them.

[sauntered_downward]

That's why we catch them before they close again.

[originallutece]

It's not-- it isn't that simple. It takes an enormous amount of cleverness and power to open a doorway, they don't like to be open. It's-- it's like trying to pry a wall in two. They're not meant to be breached, never mind for how long we'd need to successfully transport everyone to all their individual worlds.

[saibot]

"What's to stop her from inevitably doing so regardless?" The voice from someone who was mostly certainly not there moments earlier came from directly behind Crowley.

It also sounded very raspy, which was probably a side effect of being un-dead or something.

Noob Saibot himself was barely visible wearing all black like it was going out of style. His solid white eyes stood out the most in the perpetual darkness of the town.

"From the sounds of it, she uses the reset-button" or whatever "any time she sees fit. I highly doubt our actions would do much to deter someone with that kind of power."

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley stays lounging, looking up at the eerie, downright frightening being with a casual sort of look. He reminds Crowley of the demons he's seen in Hell, actually, and for some reason that makes him feel a bit more at home. Always better the Devil You Know and all that.

"Hi," he says.

"So what do you think then?" he says, giving his fingernails a gentle pick. "We make sure she can't set the reset button anymore?"

[saibot]

"Killing her would solve that problem though I doubt the others here would be open to the idea," he responded and somewhere behind him his shadow shrugged not that it could really be seen.

Being the show off that he is, he used a shadow portal to walk through both parts of Crowley and the chairs like none of them were there at all.

"Alternatively she could just be removed from the lighthouse. If that's where the power to reset the world lies, then simply taking that over would be another option."

[sauntered_downward]

Crowley watches the person walk through him, and raises an eyebrow, as if to say, Neat.

Conversely, Crowley remains lounging on the chair.

"Well, we don't need everyone's approval now, do we? We just need a few good people to go out on a mission to sort this business out, don't we? Go up there and see what she's about."

[saibot]

"True. But how many here would be compliant with the idea? After all it was those among us who in their lack of foresight got her connected to the network in the first place. They lost several in the process but I doubt they have learned much from their mostly failed mission."

Bi-Han already gave his opinion a few times on the matter. It wasn't that he cared that anyone died, he just felt they were all being inefficient and well, stupid.

[withsadness]

"You don't like it here?"

It's not exactly surprising...a lot of people seem to share this sentiment. But it's strange, because there are little things worse, in her mind, than being returned where she came from. And sad, because it's hard to think about her friends leaving her behind. Beacon isn't the best place, but that's mostly because it's so dark. It's if it became lonely that it would be really scary.