I’ve traveled all this way for something

[maskormods]

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. )

Comments

[shutterbugged]

[Peter makes his (re)appearance by reaching over her shoulder and snagging a strawberry from the platter, popping it in his mouth.]

You know you need more than sugar to keep that mega-brain working at optimal levels.

[He grabs a plate and looks for something a little more nutritionally balanced.] Here, this looks like tuna salad-- [Tuna salad that jiggles when you poke it.]

Okay, not the tuna salad. But you should eat something besides dessert.

[He almost said "real food," but setting up the punchline is not a great way to convince her.]

[smarterthandad]

Glucose is the single most important energy source for the brain, Peter.

[That one doesn't work on Reed and definitely not on Sue, but maybe it will work on Peter.]

[shutterbugged]

And dark chocolate has flavonoids and serotonin, but that doesn't mean that's all you need to eat.

[It takes some picking around, but eventually he finds what looks like fancified versions of food he'd find at any picnic back home: mac and cheese, coleslaw, dinky little mini burgers. Mark Bittman might not approve, but at least there's more than one food group covered. Peter puts together two plates and brings them both back over towards Val.]

Look, see? There's plenty of good stuff here -- just have to avoid anything that wobbles when it's not supposed to.

[smarterthandad]

[She thought they had an understanding, Peter! The guardian thing is just a legal formality!

While he's buffet-shopping, Val eats all the sweets off her own plate. He can't take it away from her if it's already gone, and she doesn't see him confiscating the strawberries and pineapple chunks that are left.]

I take a multivitamin, you know.

[Still, she accepts the plate readily enough. Val's not a picky eater, but like most small children, she prefers junk food.]

[shutterbugged]

[Peter raises an eyebrow to demonstrate he's noticed the disappearance of all the chocolate, but doesn't comment.]

I do. It's not a substitute for real food, though.

[As he says that, Peter comes to the realization that with a three year old in the house, someone needs to learn how to cook. And it's sure as hell not going to be Tony.

He shakes off forebodings of impending disaster with a bite of his burger, and a mental note to stock up on supplies for flame-retardant web formula. Or an industrial fire extinguisher.]

Yeesh. I live in Brooklyn for one year and I turn into a hipster.

[smarterthandad]

[Val can cook (it's just applied chemistry!) but sees no point.]

I'll invent a cure for any health problems my diet causes me.

[She's eating from the plate Peter brought her, though, more attention on that than on him.]

What's a hipster?

[Like Reed, she knows everything about science and nothing about pop culture.]

[shutterbugged]

[Peter's trouble isn't the theory (he's a biochemist!) but a tendency to jump out the window at the first siren while forgetting that the oven's still on. But maybe that won't be as much of a problem in Heropa.]

Or you could stay healthy and save the time for more challenging projects.

[He munches some coleslaw that's either under- or overseasoned; he can't quite decide which.]

Hmm? Oh. Rich kids in tight pants who've taken over Williamsburg.

[smarterthandad]

Curing health conditions is a net good for humanity.

[Of course, it would be more efficient on a global scale to eliminate the environmental source of a particular problem, like malnutrition, but bringing that point into it wouldn't help her win the argument. Everyone but Uncle Doom and Bentley gets all censorious when she starts talking about taking over the world, anyway.]

How is that especially bad?

[Way to kill the joke, Val.]

[shutterbugged]

And the more healthy you are, the more effectively you can work to cure them.

I've betrayed my tribe. You're from Manhattan, you wouldn't understand. [As if Peter hasn't lived in Manhattan most of his adult life.]

[smarterthandad]

You've lived in Manhattan since before I was born.

[This is a less impressive measurement of time when it comes from a three year old.]

[shutterbugged]

Yeah, for ages and ages. [A teasing grin.]

And now here we are in Florida, where there might actually be gators in the sewer. Not that I plan on finding that out for myself.

[But given Parker luck, he probably will.]

[smarterthandad]

[Because he's being Peter and not Spider-Man right now, she does not remark on how often he comes to Florida to fight Lizards.

She's thinking it pretty loud, though.]

You don't need to go to the sewers. There are alligators in the retention ponds. I saw a six-foot one sunning itself this morning.

[shutterbugged]

[Peter hasn't exactly forgotten, he's just engaged in a willful act of selective memory. Because ugh, Florida.]

Oh, believe me, I know. I think I saw the same one. Had sort of a wonky tail, like it broke and healed wrong?