maskormenacelogs | I’ve traveled all this way for something

Entry tags:

I’ve traveled all this way for something

WHO: YOU.
WHERE: Eden East's cruiseship
WHEN: Saturday February 15th, around 5 PM EST
WHAT: Registration in motion... among other things.
WARNINGS: None anticipated; let us know if this should be edited.

" The new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook -- it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security. But I tell you the new frontier is here, whether we seek it or not. "
( from jfk's speech "the new frontier," 7/15/1960. )

The sun hasn't set yet and the temperature hovers somewhere just below 70 degrees this evening; imPorts, both recently arrived and not, will have been escorted to this event so that they can meet each other, have a good time, and of course officially state their registration status. Or lack thereof. It's your decision, they emphasize, even though the unspoken "but" is always there.

It's an elaborate spread, certainly much more elegant than last time. Eden East herself, elegant in her backless champagne-colored dress, meets and greets each and every imPort as she flutters to and fro. She'll find you and chat for a few moments, shaking your hand and complimenting your dress. She'll know your name, and she'll have an entourage of aids and cameras following her wake. Captain Holiday, in contrast, maintains the energy of someone who feels out of place holding the Swear-In ceremony somewhere so extravagant. As imPorts arrive he tells them where to be for the ceremony part of the evening, but that they are free to enjoy themselves until then and after.

( Please state your character's official status -- REGISTERED or UNSETTLED -- in the subject header of your thread. Characters who are UNDECIDED may be contacted later in the week for their decision via their IC contact post. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's a flicker of surprise in her eyes before it's replaced by warmth and a smile. ]

Valeria, isn't it? It's nice to meet you finally.

Mm-hmm.

[She puts down the tongs she was using to transfer strawberries onto her plate and offers her tiny hand to Karen to shake. With Val standing on a chair, she doesn't have as far to reach as she otherwise would.]

You didn't register.

[Yes, she took note of everyone who was in the room at the time. It's not an accusation; Val's just stating facts.]

[ Karen steps closer so Valeria doesn't wind up knocking herself off the chair and taking a tumble. A sort tumble, but they're never quite pleasant. She takes Valeria's hand and shakes on it, the tattoo on her bare wrist brightly displaying: UNSETTLED. ]

I didn't. [ A quick nod of the head. ] They can't make you register, can they?

[ Shut up, Tony, she is three and doesn't have real life experience!! ]

[She does so have experience! She got in trouble for messing with the time stream! And for lying! ~~Mostly for lying.~~]

No, but I did anyway.

[Not that she has any intention of loyalty to the government. Val's relationship with honesty is. Uh. Relaxed.]

My Dad was the driving force behind the Superhuman Registration Act in my home universe...along with Mr. Stark, of course.

[And it nearly destroyed his marriage gj making that Negative Zone prison, Reed.]

[ Her expression falters, but it's not as if they can force Val to do anything dangerous, she hopes. They wouldn't push the envelope when they clearly want as many imPorts to register without too many concerns. ]

I've heard a little about that from Stark.

[ She doesn't like the sound of it. ]

Speaking of, you been okay? You're far off from your parents.

[Forcing Val to do anything is a tricky proposition.]

Yeah, they didn't implement it very well.

[Exasperated sigh. She's used to her father being dumb about people.]

And yes, my family's not here. I would really rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you.

[She's coping primarily by marshaling her enormous intellectual capacity in the service of denial.]

You sure? [ Karen hesitates, but concedes quickly. ] Alright, but if you need to talk, I'm willing to lend an ear.

[ Girls have to stick together, after all. ]

What do you mean "didn't implement it very well"?

[ Tony's been very brief about how it worked... or didn't really work in his world. She's suspicious about it. ]

Okay, short version: They used a wave of public sentiment in the wake of a very prominent disaster caused by a superhero team [the New Warriors sort of count, okay] to pass the registration act, but didn't bother to make sure they had a base of support in the superhero community first. Then, when people started resisting, instead of using a light touch, they started sending full-strength takedown teams after unregistered heroes and imprisoning them in another dimension.

[She spreads her arms in an annoyed gesture.]

They weren't willing to stage a coup and replace existing governmental structures with rational ones, so of course the disparate impact on one already influential section of the population caused instabilities in the entire structure, leading to an uncorrectable and increasing disequilibrium until the system drivers were reduced to inputs sustainable with only local adjustments.

[Eyeroll.]

If you're gonna go authoritarian, you have to go all the way.

[ As Val's explanation goes on, Karen's brows pull tighter and tighter together, probably threatening to merge into a unibrow by the end of her history lesson.

Of course vital and unpleasant details were left out. She blames herself for not asking, but would Tony have admitted to any of this in the first place? Her chest burns at the thought Tony had anything to do with forcible imprisonment on his fellow community. ]

What disaster, Val? [ Already onto nicknames? Already onto nicknames. ] What did those superheroes do?

[Everyone calls her Val except the people who are formal to begin with, or who are mad at her.]

The New Warriors were filming a reality show in Connecticut when one of them--Namorita--punched a third-rate villain called Nitro into a school bus. He went off and took the gas tank, her, and an elementary school with him. Not that it ever came up publicly, but I'm pretty sure he was on something like MGH that amped his powers up, because nothing he'd done before that suggested he was a match for Namorita.

[Her facts come from hacking her father's files and her own research. None of this has much emotional resonance for her, because it predates her intelligence developing to adult levels, and so she remembers very little of it. Except that time she and Franklin dropped blocks onto a policeman through the hole Sue punched in the floor in an argument with Reed.]

...Oh, and she was a member of the Atlantean royal family, so that almost caused a war in the immediate aftermath--not that Namor ever really needs much of an excuse--but after that Atlantis stayed out of the registration mess mostly.

[She doesn't like Namor. Stop hitting on her mother, jerk!]

[ Her mouth opens, ready to say something at that, but Karen instead dips her head into her hand and sighs heavily, shoulders falling as she imagines the horrific scenario that must have unfolded in the area. ]

... Jesus.

[ She removes her hand from her face. ]

That's why Stark is pro-registration.

That, and it was his idea. He doesn't like admitting he was wrong about anything.

[Val eats a grape off her plate, still standing on the chair and looking at Peej expectantly.]

[ Karen's figured Valeria either doesn't have the emotional understanding at the tender age of three, coupled by the fact Tony's admitted the kid's smarter than him. She's not like other kids. (Deep down, it does concern her, but this is their first conversation and it's more of a history lesson than anything else.) ]

Somehow, that's not surprising.

Isn't he part of that group? Your world's superheroes. How can he decide something like that?

[ She's not really asking Valeria. She's talking aloud to herself... mostly. ]

[Val is a tiny supervillain-in-training, yes.]

He's a billionaire and he's been public since before I was born. [Which is...a whole three years.] There was no risk to him.

[Val's gonna answer her anyway.]

[ Her lips press together in a discomforted line. ]

I don't know much about your world, but I figure not everyone can afford the risk. It's not right that, what, the one person who can show his face to the world is the one making a call like that.

[ She's going to run in Max later. It'll be fun. ]

[If Peej needs a psi-shield, Val knows how to build 'em.]

I'm not justifying his decision-making. I'm just telling you the factors that went into it.

[Gosh, Ms. Starr.]

More than anything, Mr. Stark is a futurist. He's focused on end states, not the process of getting there, and is capable of formidable and accurate predictive leaps that seemingly bypass any intermediary logic. But what he's not good at is filling in the gaps between now and the future he's envisioning. That's why he needed Dad.

[Val's very observant. It's just what she does with the observations that betray her lack of emotional development.]

[ Either way, it all sounds a load of bullshit from Tony. He doesn't have the right, she feels. Who knows how many in the community had loved ones threatened or hurt because of Tony's decision to bulldoze them with registration. ]

It sounds like another ugly moment in American history. Assuming it was mostly on our soil.

It was a United States law, but the US has by far the largest number of superhumans and the most powerful teams, so the reach was functionally global.

[Val finds nation-state distinctions silly and fundamentally retrograde.]

[ ... Maybe Val is actually a robot.

Kidding, but the way she spouts information doesn't go unnoticed by Karen. In fact, she decides to put aside the cumbersome subject. She doesn't know how Tony spends time with Val and if she's getting the proper attention she needs. There's the mysterious other roommate she doesn't know much about.

She reaches for a utensil to scoop some tiramisu onto her plate. ]

Thanks, Val. I appreciate you explaining. [ She gestures to the table. ] Tiramisu?

You should ask some of the mutants for their perspective, too. Like Storm.

[Val's terrible at emotions, no question, but she's also discussing something that barely impinged on her consciousness when it happened--and she's Reed and Sue Richards' daughter. She'll be protected whatever happens, and even if she doesn't think about it consciously, she's on some level aware of the fact.]

Yes, please.

[Sugaaaaaaar. She's so glad Karen understands.]

Mutants?

[ She's heard it over the network before, but not many names attached to it. She wasn't sure there were any here.

With a smile she scoops a small piece of tiramisu and slowly sets it onto Val's plate. ]

Try not to eat too much of this stuff or your stomach's going to regret it.

In my universe, some people have a specific gene that gives them powers, which usually manifest at puberty. The first time a registration act was passed, it only targeted mutants.

[Val's sure Karen can figure out how racist that is on her own, and is more interested in her tiramisu.]

It's okay; I skipped lunch.

[Intentionally. So she could stuff herself at the buffet.]

[ Yep, that is pretty damn racist. Okay, next step: talk to "Storm" and see what went down with mutants during this registration business. She reminds herself to steel herself when the time comes.

For now, she's going to enjoy her own plate of tiramisu and make sure Valeria doesn't barf out her food or get a sugar high. ]

You shouldn't be skipping meals at all.

[Wait until you hear about Sentinels, Karen!]

I don't do it habitually, but it takes approximately three weeks for a human to starve, and this [she points at the buffet with her fork in an oddly adult gesture--but stop pointing with your utensils, Val] is sufficiently better than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to justify passing discomfort.

[It's all very rational, you see.]

[ She offers her a fork to go with her cake before picking up one for herself and cutting a small slice. ]

That's not really the point. Your body is still growing and you'll make yourself sick and worry others.

[ At least she isn't staving herself for self-conscious reasons. ]

whoops i rhymed that

i had not actually noticed/sorry my only handshake icon is doom

but it's a cute icon

val loves her uncle doom :3

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peej what are you wearing

a thought balloon (she doesn't know)