nysalogs | (mini-event) THE COALITION OF REFUGEES

(mini-event) THE COALITION OF REFUGEES

THE COALITION

On the day of the council, there are markers tied with ribbons in the colors of both Olympia and Wyver that line the paths from the cities to the South Outpost, meant to guide anyone with an invitation to the first meeting of the Coalition of Refugees.

While during the previous festivities of the gala the Great Hall was sharply divided between Olympians and Wyverns, the differences between the factions are not so apparent now. Inside, the hall is decorated with a more subdued mix of the white and gold of Olympia and the red and black of Wyver. Banners, pennants, and bunting drape from the ceiling and wind around wooden pillars. To one side of the hall, there are tables set up with drinks and finger foods — refreshments for the guests, for after the opening speech. A raised platform has been set up at one end of the room, flanked by contingents of both the Royal Guards and the Knightryders standing at attention side by side, differentiated only by the make of their armor and the colors they wear.

Ashti, Shenya, and Heryn stand waiting for the arrival of their monarchs, pointedly ignoring each other; notably, Raysc, Shanrian's son and the leader of Mythi's Fangs, is conspicuously absent.

Staff members cluster to the side of the stage, waiting for the speech to begin. A whisper drifts over from a woman in one of the Olympian groups: Do you really think the Empress will try to negotiate for Nithor's skull?

The man she's speaking to shakes his head and scoffs, answering: Ha! Not a chance. She thinks it's too soon, who knows if this peace will last. Besides, there's no way she's willing to give up Ysevrai's heart.

A horn sounds, and the staff members subside, glancing around to see if anyone's overheard. A moment later, and Simwe and Shanrian make their appearance, walking together to the stage for their speech.

Aha… we have quite the gathering here, do we not? All of our heroes in one place… This may be an unprecedented meeting, but it seems as though it will be a productive one. Let us begin by thanking all of you for your contributions to our cities in recent times.

Since your arrival, you have weathered the plague that swept through our cities and aided us in finding its cure; you have withstood the scorn of those who were meant to shelter you turning against you, and helped us quell riots in the very hearts of our homes; you have been taken right off the streets and endured hardships too terrible to tell, and have proven heroes in bringing our people safely home. You have done much for us, and shown yourselves loyal beyond many who were born within our walls. We will allow your voices to go unheard no longer! Today—

Today, we will hear you. You have demonstrated both strength and valor in equal measures — it follows that you will be wise as well, and it is that wisdom that we wish to hear brought in council to our cities. You are gathered here to look beyond our history of violence and hostility, to see beyond the prejudices we hold. We hope that with your clearer sight, you'll keep in your hearts the betterment of both of our fair cities, rather than allow pettiness to hold sway and lift one over the other.

Those gathered here are deemed worthy by action and by the trust of your brethren: a council. Amongst yourselves, decide what matters most to you about your lives within the cities. Discuss what changes you wish to see, and how those changes should come about. Reach an agreement, put your motions to us, and should they be feasible, we will see what sort of effect your ideas will have. The two proposals with the most support among your fellows will be those we implement, so argue your reasoning most convincingly!

And remember, this is your chance to impress us. If your advice is sound, we will look to you again.

At this, both rulers fall silent, and withdraw to a balcony to oversee the proceedings. This is not their meeting, after all — this is something that only the refugees can determine the outcome of.

FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome to your first chance to have a voice in the NPC governments, Players! Your task is, as a group, to decide the two most important IC issues you would like to see Olympia and Wyver address, and then put forward a plan of action for how to improve whatever those problems are, which will then be implemented in May.

Since these are strictly Olympian and Wyvern issues, topics should still adhere to the Natha's policies of not revealing anything about the Storm or the Natha's existence, but beyond that, you're free to propose any topics you think should be addressed about your characters' way of life in the cities — after all, haven't the Orbiters sent you here to make a difference and improve life on El Nysa in their stead?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Reinhardt was a blessing and she was fond of the old coot, which said a lot considering Jessica Jones didn't take to many people.]

So they have someone to point the finger at and blame? Fuck that.

Maybe, or maybe they're hoping one display of niceties will be enough to make us trust them when they begin the next part of their war campaign. 'We gave you drinks and medals, we're clearly in the right'.

[ This cynicism is palpable. He scans the area again, feeling increasingly uneasy. ]

Being special has a lot of downsides.

[ He hates standing out, the whole refugee thing seems to mark them as standing out. ]

But why would both of them come together to do that. Then we're back to square one of 'pick me'. This whole thing is just... stupid.

[Jessica needed a drink. Like, now. More so when he made that remark, and she rolled her eyes at him.]

Buddy, you have no idea.

Maybe one of them suggested it, and the other side didn't want to be outdone?

[ He shrugs, raises his drink. ]

I'm just glad there's a free bar. Stupid and free drinks is better than stupid without.

Can't really argue with that one. Speaking of...

[Jessica was going to look around for that free bar at the moment.]

I'd offer to buy you one, but it's free so the best I can offer is to walk beside you and put off anyone you don't want to talk to.

[ John is not assuming that's him until he's explicitly told otherwise. He gestures in the direction he got his, face screwing up a little. ]

They have tiny, child size portions of bar snacks too.

And they say chivalry is dead.

[She moves to fall into step with him, heading over to what will be her favorite part of the party.]

Enh, I'm not big on food.

[ Why is he the only one in this place interested in food.

He's going to develop a complex.

It isn't his fault he's been on a Pegasus galaxy diet for a while of rations and traded things from other planets. People shouldn't take food for granted!

God, he misses In-N-Out. It's sad. ]

Not even for soaking up more alcohol?

[ Surely that's a good reason to be interested in food? He slows once they reach the bar, leans against it and gestures to get someone's attention. He probably shouldn't drink too much more himself but it's free. ]

[Because, John, some people had unhealthy coping mechanisms that involved attempting to drink themselves into comas, but the inability to do so because of enhanced metabolisms that somehow kept them alive. Gosh.

She grabbed a glass of something from the bar, tossing it back in a single swallow, then setting it down to reach for another.]

The point of drinking is to be drunk.

[ I mean, yes. Yet also. Food is good. He picks up another drink himself and takes a slow sip. ]

I feel like I should say something here about taking your time and enjoying things, but...

[ He looks around, hesitantly, at the distant groups of people politicking. ]

I think you might have the right idea.

Alcohol isn't something you drink to enjoy the taste of. The point is the effect.

[She watched him as she downed her second drink, reaching for a third.]

Besides, if they wanted people to go slow, they'd had out tickets or limit per person. I don't see anyone trying to pry me away from the bar.

It's possible they misjudged their audience.

[ These people were not ready for Jessica Jones, clearly, or they would definitely have had a limit.

He sets down the drink he was sipping and points to a different one. ]

If you're hoping for an early death, that stuff is like sweetened paint thinner. It'll speed you along nicely.

[John... no one was ready for Jessica Jones. Not even Jessica Jones.

She did look over at the glass he pointed at, curious.]

If you want something really good, you should try the stuff that looks like mercury that smokes. That'll knock you on your ass.

[ ... Well.

The problem here is John has an ego, and he's competitive enough to not want to... You know, be seen to be, you know, out-drunk.

Still, he does distantly have a sense of self-preservation. It isn't a competition yet, exactly... ]

In a good way, or in a way I'm gonna regret at 5am?

[Wise men don't get into drinking contests without knowing the person they're drinking against. Jessica had a heavy advantage, if that was where he was going. But she didn't pick up on that, sipping her drink instead and just wondering what exactly this party was supposed to accomplish, other than making her feel like she was walking around with a target on her back.]

You're not drinking right if you're not regretting it at five in the morning.

[ The drinking problem alarms are firing here.

Full volume.

Code red.

Unfortunately they are not discouraging John because he Loves Bad Ideas. ]

Oh yeah? Must have forgotten the rules, I've been on active duty a while. John, by the way.

[ Since he skipped the names to go straight for debate and free drinks, apparently. ]

[Being in the vicinity of Jessica was a 'Very Bad Idea'. He'd probably love it.

She finished her drink, set the glass down, then reached over behind the bar and pulled up a familiar bottle to her; one filled with that silvery, mercury-ish liquor that looked like it was smoky and sparkly in the glass. She waggled it at him.]

Consider this an invitation to shore leave. Jessica. Up for a glass, John?

I don't see why not.

[ I mean, the 'it'll knock you on your ass' was the why not but you do you John. He tugs an empty glass toward himself. ]

It's rude to refuse a free drink.

[ Operation This Will End Badly is a go. ]

I'm used to rude. And drinking alone.

[But she pours him, then herself, a glass of the sparkling liquor. It moves a little more thickly than alcohol does, but she's found that while it has a smoky tang to it, it's actually very smooth to drink. And very, very potent.]

To hoping this entire thing doesn't go to shit.

You should try company more often, good for fetching you more drinks if nothing else.

[ He clinks the glass against Jessica's, then downs it. It's... not got as much of a burn as he expected, and he squints at the bottle sceptically as he acclimatises to the taste. Huh. That means it's either weaker than he expected or dangerously easy to drink. ]

That's pretty good stuff.

Don't freak out if you wind up burping smoke. That's a side effect.

[Should she have said that before? Probably. But hey, she was telling him now. That counted, right? Right.]

[ Burping smoke? John narrows his eyes thoughtfully. ]

If we drink enough do you think we can make smoke rings?

[ John this is graceless. ]

You assume I can do that in the first place. I can't.

[Someone didn't smoke, so therefore someone had no practice.]

Then I'll have to teach you.

[ Not that he smokes often, but he has a little and smoke rings are cool. Regardless, this is a weak attempt at keeping your attention Jessica because you're hot in that 'would probably destroy me' kind of way. So look, he's pouring out more of this probably lethal drink that he will no doubt regret come morning. ]

[John... if you only knew. Let's just hope she doesn't get distracted or drunk enough to start floating. That could be awkward. But she does accept the new drink, smiling and tipping it back with a loud smack of her lips.]

What, you one of those vaping smoke-masters?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject