The Tether

[modaccount]

The Tether App

After the raging success of their previous code push, the creators of The Tether have decided to push their app again, an app intended for helping new arrivals find Tethers.

Unfortunately for those who don't want to participate, the prompt for the application will keep popping up on their screen until they fill out the mandatory fields and post their profile. If you don't want to participate, it might be best to fill in the blanks with prank answers!

Once posted, the app creates a profile that looks like this:

	The Witch
«		»
	Age: ageless Gender: female Interests: three interests About: 30 words or less
	base code by photosynthesis
	Tian
	« ✘ ✔ »

It is a simple swiping type app like many dating apps, swipe left to ignore a profile, swipe right to initiate an instant messenger conversation with the person in question on the app's proprietary chat program, complete with emojis!

NOTE: This meme is game canon.

The Code

<br><center><table style="width:300px;"><tr style="border-bottom:1px dashed #102651;"><td></td> <td style="padding:20px; padding-bottom:0; width:300px; font:38px Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; text-transform:uppercase; color:#102651; text-align:center; letter-spacing:2px; background-color:#ffffff; border-top-right-radius:50px; border-top-left-radius:50px;"><b>***CHARACTER NAME***</b></td> <td></td></tr> <tr><td style="font-size:70px; vertical-align:middle; text-align:right; padding:0; color:#102651;">«</td> <td style="background-color:#ffffff; padding:20px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:0; width:308px;"><img src="IMAGE - 300 PX OR LESS" style="border-radius:20px;"><br> </td> <td style="font-size:70px; vertical-align:middle; padding:0; color:#102651;">»</td></tr> <tr><td></td> <td style="background-color:#ffffff; font:12px arial; text-align:left; padding:10px;"><span style="color:#102651;"><b>Age:</b> character age</span> <span style="color:#102651;"><b>Gender:</b> character gender</span> <span style="color:#102651;"><b>Interests:</b> three interests</span> <span style="color:#102651;"><b>About:</b> 30 words or less</span> </td></tr> <tr><td></td> <td style="text-align:right; font-size:10px; background-color:#ffffff;"><font color="#102651">base code by</font> <a href="http://photosynthesis.dreamwidth.org/" style="color:#102651;">photosynthesis</td></tr> <raw-code><tr style="border-bottom:1px dashed #102651;"><td></td> <td style="background-color:#ffffff;font:24px Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; color:#102651; text-align:center;">PLANETARY ALIGNMENT</td> <td><td></tr><tr><td></td> <td style="border-bottom-right-radius:50px; border-bottom-left-radius:50px; background-color:#ffffff; text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%; font:30px Verdana;"><tr><td style="text-align:left;"> <span style="text-decoration:none; color:#102651;">« ✘</span></td> <td style="text-align:right;"><span style="text-decoration:none; color:#102651;">✔ »</span></td></tr> </table></td> <td></td></table></raw-code></center>

NAVIGATION

Comments

✔

[jedied]

Hi! This isn't for me, but would you be willing to talk to my

[ she takes a minute to figure out how to describe Kylo before giving up and choosing ]

friend who needs a tether?

He keeps to himself and I'm concerned he won't bother unless it's literally killing him.

[maskedtyrant]

[Oh, now isn't this curious? Codi tries to think of who Rey could be referring to, but she hasn't seen enough of her to make that determination.]

That's very thoughtful of you! You're a good friend.
Who is he? Maybe I've already met him.

[Can't hurt to just ask!]

[jedied]

His name's Kylo, and I think we've got it handled after all.

I'm not really a good friend, but I care about him enough to make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid.

[maskedtyrant]

[Codi is taking many mental notes - that Kylo has found a Tian Tether, that he and Rey are affiliated somehow, and that Rey is obviously in denial about how deep that affiliation is. She'll tug on that last thread just a little bit to see what goodies come out.]

Well I'm glad you two were able to get that sorted!
Does he know that you went around asking for him? I think he would have some different opinions about your friendship if he did.

[jedied]

He does now.

Our friendship is fine.

[ Such as it is. ]

He wasn't especially happy with me, but I'm not happy with him for putting it off for so long so I think we're even.

[maskedtyrant]

[Ooh, was that an inkling of defensiveness she read there? Spicy, but not worth pursuing at the moment.]

I'm sure he'll come around to see how helpful you've been for him, once he gets over being told to do it. Men can be like that.

[jedied]

[ Rey is pretty sure a whole lot of people have gotten the wrong idea about her and Kylo, but she's not actually sure how to fix it now. ]

I don't need him to like me. I need him to stay alive.

[maskedtyrant]

[Now that's definitely some defensiveness. Codi pounces, unable to resist.]

Naturally. I have plenty of friends here that I don't want to die, either, but I haven't individually sought out Tethers for them without their knowledge.
I just think it's very sweet of you to look out for him like that!

[jedied]

It's complicated. He and I are connected by something like a Tether in our own world, so naturally we'd both prefer the other one to stay alive. I don't imagine your friends are as resistant to tethering, either.

[ Part of why she'd shut him out so aggressively to begin with was so that she could survive killing him one day. Now that she didn't seem likely to have to, it was only a matter of keeping Kylo from his own self-destructive tendencies.

Which probably include tethering to Vader, but she can only do so much here. ]

[maskedtyrant]

[That's even more interesting. Codi thinks for a moment, making several connections at once: Kylo can use the Force, so Rey probably can as well, and she knows from Juhani that certain tightly-bonded Force users can be linked like Tether pairs. That has to be it, right?]

[Now the question is, would it be more or less destabilizing for Rey to bring that up? Codi decides to chance it and see what happens.]

I wouldn't know if they are.
But it's not like I'm Force-bonded to them, so I don't think I have as much of an investment in them as you do with Kylo.

[jedied]

You know about Force bonds. That makes it easier to explain.

[ She supposes it's inevitable that more people know about them here, though she still finds it a strange thing to explain to others. ]

Kylo and I didn't choose to be bonded to one another; it just happened. We can't undo it. So no, I'd rather he not test how badly he can be affected by refusing to tether to someone. But he found someone, so it should be fine.

[ That someone is Vader, so it's going to be a kriffing nightmare. ]

[maskedtyrant]

[So, not quite the "oh no you've figured out our secret special bond" reaction Codi was half expecting, but she supposes there's something to be gained in showing familiarity with the topic and making things easier for Rey.]

Well, my point still stands - he's lucky to have someone who's so invested in his wellbeing, even if your hand was kind of forced.
Who'd he end up with?

[The guy seemed very reserved and prickly when she met him, so Codi can't help but wonder who would be willing to put up with that. Well, who else would be willing to put up with that. Codi might've offered herself just out of sheer curiosity, had she been approached with the opportunity several months ago.]

[jedied]

[ Look, she doesn't like to advertise it without reason, but knowing they're Force bonded is better than thinking they're betrothed, which is what the last person thought. ]

His grandfather. The one person who might be more invested in his well-being than I am.

[ And the one person who probably makes worse decisions than both she and Kylo put together!!! ]

[maskedtyrant]

Family? That's rare!
At least, that seems rare. I don't hear a lot about the Sylphid kidnapping entire families.
Kylo is very lucky, then.
I'm surprised he didn't agree to tether with his grandfather earlier, all things considered.

[jedied]

There were more here, all from different points in time. Some went home, but there are an unusual number of people from our world who know one another here.

They're both private people and more than a little difficult at times. Having interacted with his grandfather, I understand why neither of them approached the subject before it became necessary.

[ Look at her diplomacy! ]

[maskedtyrant]

I'm starting to get that impression.
How many people are we talking about? I know about you, Kylo, and his grandfather apparently. That's already way more than usual here.

[This is a blatant underestimation - Codi's met several others that claim to either be Jedi or know of them, including Juhani, who gave her the details about Force Bonding. But she doesn't want to show that hand until Rey gives her more details of her own.]

[jedied]

Some have come and gone already, so I may lose count, but -- Luke, my tether, is from home -- a different time, though. His sister Leia was here, too, as a child, and was sent home again. There's Ezra, Juhani, Ben Kenobi, Tech... I think that's it?

[ Be proud of her, she was careful not to refer to Obi-Wan by his real name or reveal the Jedi status of anyone! ]

[maskedtyrant]

[Even without Obi-Wan's real name, this is already a treasure trove of information for Codi to work with. She had no idea Tech was from this world, or Luke. And that little kid, Leia, was his sister? No wonder the guy seemed so distraught when she met him earlier - he must be sick with worry.]

Wow, that's so many!!
You're not all related, are you? I don't see a widespread family resemblance, if there is one.

[That, and Juhani is...pretty obviously not human. Codi knows nothing about xenobiology, but the idea of her being some far-distant relative to everyone else in this list seems improbable, even to her.]

[jedied]

We're not all related, no. Most of us knew some people in common, though, which is strange considering the population of our galaxy and the fact that most of us are here from different points in time.

Have you met anyone else here that you knew from before?

[ It's gotta be true for someone else, right? The Sylphid don't just go around kidnapping Skywalkers and associates en masse? ]

[maskedtyrant]

That is super unusual. I don't know anyone else from back home here, even through something like movies or famous corporate leaders or whatever.

[And if she did, Rey wouldn't be the one to hear about it, nor would anyone else if Codi played her cards right.]

You all must be very special to the Sylphid somehow. How do you know each other, from before?

[jedied]

Has anyone told you about the Force, yet? Most of us who know one another either are or were trained as Jedi, or at least are sensitive to what we call the Force. It's a sort of energy that we can feel and use. I imagine the Sylphid want to make use of it.

[ Not for the first time Rey idly wonders if there are people not from her galaxy who can still wield the Force. The magic users here might know how to access it, even if they call it something else. ]

[maskedtyrant]

I've heard about it in passing, yeah.

[Understatement, to the point of being an outright lie. Juhani has given her a pretty extensive talk about the Force and how people can use it, and she's heard some simplified takes from other Force-users, but she would prefer to play dumb here in order to see if Rey's take differs any. Maybe she'll offer some juicy details that the others omitted in order to help clarify herself.]

It's like a extra set of powers, kind of?
I heard there were multiple types of users - there's the Jedi, and the Sith.
Are the others who aren't Jedi here Sith?

[jedied]

I imagine it's most similar to what Tian magic is like, but we don't have spells or anything. But yes, it's something you're born with, either you can feel a connection to it or you can't, and even then it takes training to learn how to use it for anything difficult.

[ Rey tries not to flinch at mention of the Sith. She doesn't want to talk about Vader, or her grandfather. ]

It's not quite as simple as that. Some people aren't either, but can still use the Force. Tech is from home and he's not a Force user at all. Neither is Padmé.

[maskedtyrant]

[Ooh, Padmé is also on that list? Codi hasn't seen or heard from her in a while, but now she can add "general structure of government" and "conflict history" to her knowledge of people from this particular universe. She'll have to quiz Padmé on how Jedi and Sith fit into that system if they speak again.]

Huh
So that kind of rules out the idea that the Sylphid drew from your world just for the Force stuff.
But that makes sense, considering that the rest of us can't use it either (or we don't know how to yet). They could have brought Tech over to use his brain, and

How does Padmé fit into all of this, again?

[This is Codi continuing to play dumb - she knows Padmé is a senator, so she probably has some kind of sociopolitical clout that could make her a Sylphid target. No harm in getting Rey's take on that, though.]

[jedied]

[ Rey doesn't think any of this is a secret, though all the questions are starting to make her feel oddly protective of all of them -- possibly because this family is such a mess from an outsider's perspective. ]

She was a queen and then a senator -- but she's probably here because she's Luke's mother and Vader's wife.

[ Someone's gotta keep those two in line and it can't just be Rey! ]