MEADOWLARK MODS (
larkers) wrote in
meadowlarklogs2018-12-16 04:38 am
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Entry tags:
- !arrival log,
- dc comics: dick grayson,
- detroit become human: markus,
- dogs b&c: giovanni rammsteiner,
- dogs b&c: heine rammsteiner,
- ffxiv: x'rhun tia,
- ffxv: aranea highwind,
- ffxv: ardyn izunia,
- ffxv: ignis scientia,
- ffxv: noctis lucis caelum,
- ffxv: prompto argentum,
- injustice: damian wayne,
- killjoys: john jaqobis,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- mcu: leo fitz,
- mcu: peggy carter,
- npc: gaby,
- starfighter: cain,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the man from uncle: gaby teller,
- voltron: keith
ARRIVAL LOG 005
WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Night of August 23 (through to August 30th)
WHAT: The fifth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Night of August 23 (through to August 30th)
WHAT: The fifth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.
> ARRIVAL LOG #005 |
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Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs. You realize there are others next to you. All of you in white scrubs, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth, restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, the movement of dark streets and neon windows passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips. The vehicle stops. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle: beyond it, a chamber only dimly lit by strips of light along the floor. The nurse moves to stand at the back of the vehicle, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. She doesn't climb out after you, moving to sit as the last passenger is unloaded. The guards keep their heads down. Their actions are quick, firm, but not entirely unkind. Under your feet, you can feel the thrum of heavy bass vibrating through the floor. You see nearby that there is another bus, another load of passengers being helped out, lined up much like you are. Once you're all in place, the guards move down the line, pulling dark hoods over each passenger's head. Your arm is lifted, placed on the shoulder of the passenger in front of you in line. "Hold on," says one of the guards. "Stay quiet. Keep moving until I say stop." There is no will in you to fight the orders. How far you walk is hard to determine. Counting steps is difficult, and any concept of time passing stretches between the sound of footfalls and breathing - soon overshadowed by the music. Growing louder, closer, the heavy bassline begins to reverberate through the air around you, amplified by the acoustics of the place. Melody and vocals become audible, the chatter of a crowd. Finally, you stop, and the hoods are pulled off, following down the line as the guards walk back. You turn to look after them, but they quickly disappear into the darkness of the tunnel behind you. The door in front of you swings open, the full weight of the music washing out. A tall woman with sharp, geometric patterns of ink tattooed across her skin smiles at you with sharp teeth, glowing luminescent in the UV lighting above her. "First timers?" she asks, but doesn't wait for an answer. "Don't worry, those costumes are great. Come on, come in." As you move to comply, she takes each of your hands, stamping a twisting design on the back, shining bright in the UV light. "Welcome," she says, as she ushers you out of the lobby and into the noise and crowd beyond. "To the Insomniacs' Ball." ◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request. |
> THE INSOMNIACS' BALL |
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The message from El comes the same as previous: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.I'm not saying bus #5 got past me, but our favorite mysterious human traffickers have gone seriously sneaky this time around. And I'm not saying I can't help you get to where you need to be, but I can't. This one needs legwork, because you're going to have to land invites to the Insomniacs' Ball.The Insomniacs' Ball is an open secret. A New Amsterdam urban myth, disbelieved by many and desired for by even more. A week long party held every year as the working schedule changes, as the city struggles between the oppressive heat and the shifting of sleep cycles. Whether you'd prefer to be asleep at night or day, the ball doesn't care - a rolling, 24/7 event that continues until it disappears, as quickly as it arrived. Its location is a secret. Existence frowned upon, possibly even shut down by the authorities - dancing until you fall down is hardly advisable while water rationing is in place. Yet every year the rumors spin again, the whispers, clues and tastes and photos shared on social media which vanish before anyone can really be sure what they saw. Whoever puts the ball together is as good at keeping their head down as Morningstar - and most likely greases more wheels, rather than trying to be a wrench in the machine. Either way, all El can do is point you to the same paths anyone else hungry for an invite is taking. THE PUZZLEHowever you've managed to get your hands on an invite, the directions on the back are the same - leading you deep down into the city's underground, past some of the darker corners and into some even darker ones. A rusted, disused door to an abandoned maintenance area wouldn't look like the place, but the intricate geometric design painted silvery and barely visible across the surface matches the invite you hold, and you know you've found the entrance to wonderland. Behind the door, lies a twisting network of tunnels and rooms built into natural caves, ultimately abandoned by the city when its insides proved too difficult to navigate. Now, for a short time, it's home to a carnival of revelry. Strobing neon lights illuminate snatches and glimpses of the crowd, glowing in pools of UV: a dense mass of people from all over the city, young and old, music and dancing flowing from chamber to chamber, clashing and mixing between. Extravagant, outrageous costumes mingle with simple streetwear, or with no-wear at all. People hand out masks, drinks, substances which it may not be advisable to consume. Sealed bottles of water seem to appear from nowhere, passed among the people, their source and seeming escape from the rationing in the city far above going unquestioned. Smaller chambers offer some respite for those who need to take a minute, catch their breath, or want a quiet corner to talk with a new friend. Other chambers contain more hedonistic displays, with most participants always willing to accept another into their number. No one seems to be in any rush - there's roughly a week to soak in all the delights, and you can even come and go as you please, the UV pattern now stamped on your hand allowing access back through the various doors, if you can find your way back to one. But you're here for a different purpose, and whether it took you hours or days to find your way here, you know that the party will end eventually - and anything more unusual which may be hiding inside will be revealed. ◉ The Insomniacs' Ball and the related methods of gaining an invite will last for one week, from August 23-30. New characters can be retrieved at any time during this, or can find their own way out and be discovered on the streets - just please be advised that they will not be able to survive in New Amsterdam without first spending time in the Morningstar safehouse and having their ID set up. |
> THE SAFEHOUSE |
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Access to the safehouse is a hatch hidden behind stacks of empty storage shelves in the back of an abandoned supermarket in an outer district of the city. The immediate area is similarly abandoned, empty stores, flanked by several blocks of dive bars and clubs which cater to more niche tastes. A place where people can come and go unseen, or, if seen, not spoken of. A dark haired woman called Gaby is ready to greet the new arrivals and get them settled in, brusque and no-nonsense – she'll be open for in depth questions later, but will advise everyone to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information. ◉ The safe house is a large open space, filled with rows of basic cots set up to sleep a large amount of people. Basic, but outfitted with everything necessary for daily life. A few doors lead to back rooms for storage, medical care and a large communal bathroom, and past the long rows of cots there is a communal kitchen, fully stocked, and an eating area. Privacy is at a minimum. |
> FINAL OOC NOTES |
Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until they have been there for four days. At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up. If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, or if they'd like to join Morningstar, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below. Please check out our December calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month. As a reminder, AC this month will be a check-in only. AC will be posted on December 20 and close on December 27. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list. |
> NAVIGATION |
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in any case, what the other guy says makes ... a bit of sense, really. it would be easier with two people. even then, heine hesitates a moment, the whites of his eyes vivid in the dark as he carefully scans cain's expression.
the answer comes a moment later, in the form of the shirt thrown his way. ]
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Nice. Who's next?
[Cain flashes a vivid white smirk and stalks closer to his newfound criminal accomplice.]
Maybe we can get some pants.
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[ the jacket is black and tattered, too long and baggy for his thin frame but at least it helps to cover up the bright white scrubs that all but screams out some sort of weird prison convict, and Heine steps over the unconscious body, putting distance between Cain and himself even as he heads off into another part of the cavern. Accomplice or not, he doesn't trust any bitches in this place. ]
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Into the next room, he spots another target -- a younger man, slumped over in one dark corner, drunk off his ass. Cain juts his chin in that direction. As he does, the man stirs, still appearing out of it. Cain watches him shout something obscene to a passing stranger, which goes blatantly ignored. The man then falls back into an inebriated stupor.]
Not asleep. Still wanna risk our luck, or find someone else?
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Heine follows the jerk of his head, eyeing the man shout something before falling backwards against the wall, his chin against his chest and legs splayed out in front of him. He's not as big as the other guy, and even though he seems to be not completely unconscious, it would be easy enough to knock him out if he tried to kick up a fuss about it. ]
Gonna chicken out? Predictable.
[ the tone is dismissive and challenging at the same time, a laconic drawl almost drowned out in the distant beat of music, and Heine gives him a quick, sidelong glance, searching out his expression. ]
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Shut the fuck up.
[He's not chickening out. He's just being smart. A fight's liable to attract more attention than divesting unconscious people. But a target is still a target, so he stalks forward and approaches the man.] Hey. Mind if we borrow this? [Cain pulls on the jacket covering the man's shoulders, a rude yank, before he starts tugging it all the way off.] This asshole over here is really cold.
[Points at Heine, intentionally throwing him under the bus. So far so good, as the man only blinks at them in a drunken fugue.]
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Not cool. [ muttering under his breath, heine steps in a little closer now that the situation has been more or less established. The drunk (or drugged, or both, it's hard to say) continues to eye them suspiciously like he can't quite make up his mind on whether to yell at them or not, so heine will just do the easiest thing possible.
knock him out with a sharp hit to the side of his head. ]
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Hey--!
[It's an aborted exclamation as he watches Heine incapacitate their target with one quick strike. Efficient and practiced, not some rookie trying to look badass, he notices. It doesn't stop Cain from spinning a brief, paranoid look across the room to make sure no one saw Heine assault someone. (Never mind the robbing; it's a separate crime. No true harm done.)
Cain stares down at the collapsed body, slumped dead weight, arms a judgmental fold over his chest.]
Wow. You're not subtle, are you.
this is such a trashy tag....
I didn't kill him, if that's what you're worried about.
[ silently cocking a non existent eyebrow, heine jerks his head towards the guy in his arms. ]
Get his shoes too while you're at it.
i'm dying. why heine
Colterons were alien, Colterons attacked them first - it was easy to justify.]
Yeah, you better not fuckin' kill him, you psycho.
[Anyway, he kneels to peel off the trendy sneakers on the guy's feet. Then he throws them at Heine.]
All yours.
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it's simply something that happens by necessity, that's all.
waiting patiently for cain to peel the shoes off the guy before putting him back down on the floor, heine grunts, not quite managing to raise an arm fast enough to catch the sneakers and they end up hitting him solidly in the middle before dropping to the floor.
with a quietly muttered asshole, he bends down to pick them up. the collar bolted to the back of his neck catches the flashes of light in the distance, not quite covered by the collar of the jacket he has on; it's old, the scratches deep shadows on the dull gleaming metal, the raised ugly scar tissues lining the skin around it stark, bared for open inspection.
heine continues to grumble quietly to himself as he puts the shoes on, lacing them tight around his ankles, before glancing back up at the other. ]
Want anything else?
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He does see that glint of metal, although it isn't a long enough look to wholly be sure what he's looking at. Whatever it is, Cain cringes - the sight gives him a crawling, uncomfortable feeling in the center of his belly. He's not squeamish, but not even Earth's augmentations bought by the rich have ever looked quite that... messy. Maybe somebody botched the job.
Waiting in silence, still kneeling, Cain's chin jerks up as that question is posed.]
Yeah. Shoes for me, too. Maybe some boots.
[Those pale neon sneakers would look horrible on him. He's not as femme as Heine.]
The hell happened to your neck?
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probably some pants too, then that would be enough. heine nods, not even bothering to reply to cain in any normal form of communication, and stands up to dust himself off. moving on...
except the question brings him up short. heine twitches, a flinch that isn't quite masked fully, a jerk of his head, and he brings up a hand reflexively to his neck; his palm pressing against the collar, briefly covering it from view. shit, he forgot about that. he usually kept it hidden from view with bandages, and it hadn't exactly occurred to him that it's displayed so out in the open like that. ]
...
[ his shoulders hunch, just a little. ]
Don't have time to answer stupid questions like that.
Come on, we gotta get you some shoes, princess.
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Damn, you're bossy. Chill for two seconds, I just thought of something else I wanted.
[He flashes a white grin from where the unconscious man is slumped. Then he reaches over, and... begins to unbuckle the stranger's jeans at the belt with one hand, the other pulling on the waistband to check the sizing.]
I think these'll fit me. Watch my back, I don't wanna get caught looking like a creep.
[Yeah, he's going to start divesting the man of his pants with impatient tugs.]
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Like you weren't a creep before?
[ this poor... drunk guy.... He's gonna wake up basically naked and have no idea why. ]
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And whose bright idea was this, anyway? Oh yeah, yours.
[A creep and a psycho, match made in heaven. Cain manages to strip the pants off and shake them out, standing, and then ducks closer to the corner of the room.]
Stay there.
[A real command this time, not realizing its effect, he uses Heine as a barrier while he... shucks down his own pants, facing the wall. So if Heine looks down he'll only get an eyeful of his ass, since Cain doesn't really have shame. He's used to nudity around other men by now.]
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You invited yourself to this party, don't bitch.
[ trust someone like him to turn around and blame someone else after walking into the situation himself... don't he know a lot of people like that?
Heine lets out an irritated sigh of breath and shifts his weight from one foot to the other, but stays his ground, some unknown force compelling him to remain where he was.
wait... ]
Dude, are you getting changed here?
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[He wants his bare ass exposed for as little time as possible, personally. Cain kicks off the scrubs, then pulls on one leg of the jeans after the other, fastening the buckle at his waist. Much better, if somewhat looser around the thighs and calves than he'd like.]
Don't you want some pants?
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Yeah, if we're lucky.
[ heine is .... so skinny. the jacket he's got on now is basically hanging off him.
they don't even know each other's names still, at this point, but they've already mugged like two people. Crazy. ]
Done looking pretty? Let's go that way.
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Done not looking like a runaway nutjob, yeah. [He glances his companion over as they walk, a cursory look as they spend more time together mugging strangers.] Maybe we should target a chick. You're not gonna fit into most guys' pants here.
[Just a guess. Anyway, before Heine can answer, a disposable cup comes flying out of nowhere - full of alcohol and splashing its contents everywhere - directly at Heine's head.]
What the -
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they're walking, so it's easier to mask the hunching of shoulders this time - heine turns his face away slightly, his mouth settling into a hard, flat line as he frowns at what the other says. he's been lucky enough so far.... probably, knowing how crowded this place gets and as addled with drugs as he'd been, but still the thought alone is enough to make his palms sweaty.
before he could open his mouth to answer, though, they are interrupted by a sudden commotion - and a sticky cupful of alcohol being splashed directly against the side of his head. usually, in his normal body, it would have been easy enough to dodge away from the trajectory of the flying liquid. as is, his body isn't what it used to be, his muscles acting belated, sluggish in the wake of it all, and heine takes a step back a second later, cursing, dripping alcohol. ]
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Holy shit! They got you good.
[The crowd continues milling around them, so it's impossible to tell where the alcoholic projectile came from. The cup rolls on the ground and is crushed by a passerby.]
Here, use this. [He's still holding the scrub pants he just took off, so he tosses them at Heine. At least he's being helpful.]
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though to be honest, if the situation were reversed, he would be laughing just like he is, so.... karma's a bitch. ]
Watch it, [ hissing, as a guy walks past them, bumping his shoulder against heine's in passing, and he takes a step away and closer to cain. it's some kind of gross mix of some herbal liqueur and vodka or something, strong and almost pungent, sickening sweet in the lingering aftertaste. he shakes his head much like a dog would after getting wet, not caring if that motion gets... more alcohol flung at the other guy. ]
Ugh.... This sucks. [ the scrub pants are at least.... clean, somewhat. and a better alternative than just letting it drip all over the place and smelling like some garbage bin that an alcoholic junkie threw up in, and heine reluctantly plucks it from the other's hand, wiping his face with it. ]
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[Asshole. Cain's speckled with damp droplets of alcohol, shielding his eyes. He's not drenched as Heine is, but that doesn't matter, because on the next inhale all he smells is that bitter, vaporous scent of hard liquor. Doesn't mind it in a glass, down his throat - does mind when it assaults his nose like he's taken a whiff of something dead and rotting.]
You fucking reek. C'mere. [A hand grabs Heine's arm over the jacket, hauling him toward the nearest bathroom and shoving him inside.] Wash your face off before I have to do it for you.
[At least he's taking care of Heine... kind of...]
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Fuck off, I can wash by myself.
[ but ugh.... seriously, the alcohol has run everywhere, down his neck and soaking the hospital shirt under the jacket, even, and Heine grumbles to himself as he turns around to reach for the faucet of the sink in there. the water splutters weakly before starting to flow. he takes the oversized jacket off, half-turning so he can throw it back in the other's face. hold that, will ya? ]
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