ARRIVAL LOG 008

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Night of October 5 to night of October 8
WHAT: The eighth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy, alcohol usage. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #008

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 blue short sleeve shirts and ill-fitting jeans, 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 streets 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, and false, colored light, illuminating the streets in the distance will first alert your senses of being somewhere else, combined with warm air that's only cooled with the setting of the sun. The nurse moves to stand at the back, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. He 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. Once all the passengers are out, they climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. The engine powers up again, and then the bus is gone.

You're left alone in an alley, with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here.

Around the corner of the alley, there is the smell of beer and a weird yodel-like sound – no, wait. That is definitely yodeling and beer. Further movement forward will lead to you finding yourself in a busy area filled with multiple people carrying reusable cups full of liquid. You've just shown up at a party with a bunch of people wearing nearly identical clothing. The good thing is that everyone is probably too drunk to notice.

◉ 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.

> OKTOBERFEST

The message from El comes the same as usual: 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 starting to think that the arrests last month mean that our friendly delivery men have had to change up what they're doing. Either way - the group waiting for you this time is huge. The get up? Blue shirts, all around. Let's see how long that lasts. Anyway. Arrival #8. You know the deal, don't you? I bet you're all already out there having a good time.

Although New Amsterdam is a mish-mash of world cultures, there are certain traditions that took root in the city as it began to form its identity. Yes, one was Anime Naexpo. Another? Oktoberfest. Hoping to capitalize on the heritage of the region, businesses throughout New Amsterdam pushed for the continued celebration of Oktoberfest. In fact, the only time it wasn't celebrated was during the Xelkoven War, as the fight between humans and AI meant that any celebrations were put by the wayside.

Perhaps even more so than having to work during an anime convention, Oktoberfest is not a fun time for customer service workers. All around, various different cashiers, food truck chefs and drivers, rickshawers, couriers and more find that they don't have a choice but to dress up in Dutch costumes recalling times of the past. These costumes are typically pulled out of some back closest and generally assigned to the employees, so some of them won't fit all that well. The problem is that it isn't cool enough to be dressed in these as the days cool off, and the only saving grace is that they get to work at night rather than the day. The early parts of their shifts are miserably hot, and things don't get better from there. If your character is a customer service employee, they can expect some uncomfortable days ahead.

Somehow, the discomfort of the various workers doesn't come in the way of the loud and festive activities. All around New Amsterdam, various tents go up selling a lot of different wares, many of which are probably second hand junk that people are trying to sell off for a few credits. This is the time when the Black Market stops working underground, instead opening temporary store fronts in tents that are far too nice for the wares they're providing (but at least they're trying to be a less obvious money laundering front). If someone's looking to get in good with the underground or get a sense of how to find these places for some actually illegal goods, Oktoberfest is a prime place to start.

Otherwise? Oktoberfest is likely full of what anyone would expect: a lot of beer, funny looking Bavarian clothing, a lot of live music, and a lot of opportunities for drunken folk to put on a good show. If your character is the type to look for an opening to grab some attention, this is the place to do it.

◉ There will be a lot of beers available in pretty much every single tent. The drinking age in New Amsterdam is 18, but it's equally unlikely that anyone will be checking implants with how busy everything will be. The most popular beer this year? "We're Lucky We're Not Cyborgs," an extremely hoppy IPA made by the most popular brewery in New Amsterdam. All of the beers are available in bottles that you can return for more, as businesses no longer sell alcohol by the can. Think of growlers – but in a far more manageable size! Feel free to come up with the cyberpunk name of your dreams for the beer. Or people can just drink the New Amsterdam River – which is the name of the beer with a picture of the man-made river on it. It's cheap, but reliable. Oh, and for those of you that don't like the taste of beer, there's cider and mead on tap at most places as well.

◉ There will be various stages all over for acts to perform, but the schedules will not be full. Before long, the characters will know that Oktoberfest is where some people plan to get discovered. And … it's also a place where some people become social media sensations, in either good or bad ways. Need to propose to someone? Need to show off your abs? These stages are the place to be. If someone's not up there, take the chance and make it your time to shine. Or … go down in infamy.

◉ Most of the food throughout the festival will harken back to its German heritage, albeit without a whole lot of success. There are sausages, but much like the hot dogs of today, it's likely better that you don't ask what's in them. A safe bet is the large array of potato dishes around. These are delicious – and cheap!

◉ There are some competitions, too! Virtual fencing – albeit in a very, very amateurish way – and virtual crossbow competitions happen throughout the three-day event. And then there's yodeling. One of the stages will be dedicated to this the entire time. Yes, people practice to win big, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to practice.

◉ Like with Oktoberfest of the past, celebrities will have their own VIP tent right in the heart of the financial district. If you have a favorite music, film, or movie star and they have a penchant for partying, this is the place to be. Sneaking in will be hard – but not impossible. Though some will find that they might have to work this tent. These celebrities can't go without their coffee or beer, after all.

> SAFEHOUSE

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.

◉ New characters will be asked to pick their beds, and provided with a change of (second-hand, mismatched and somewhat threadbare) clothes and basic toiletries.

◉ While there were previously also NPC occupants of the safehouse, natives to New Amsterdam, these people have now been moved on to somewhere safer. A few of their belongings remain, discarded or accidentally abandoned.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El.

◉ There will be shifts when Gaby isn't present in the safehouse because she's shorthanded following the UNA attacks in our January event. New characters will find that if they try to open the hatch to leave during this time, it'll be sealed shut for anyone without a registered implant.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the safehouse before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival in the safehouse, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until OCTOBER 9. These 4 days are for them to adjust, learn about the world they've arrived in from their fellows, and for El to speak with them and work on setting up their IDs.

> WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

As everyone goes to sleep, a familiar stomp vibrates through New Tokyo on the other side of the world. The wall outside of the city is stable at first, holding up, but the vibrations continue. The creature this time is twice as large as the one that hit New Amsterdam – 800m high, yet not seen until right around when the vibrations began. It should have been, by all rights: New Tokyo is no less secure than the other cities around the world, with constant surveillance and a dedication toward maintaining an idyllic life for its citizens. Its behavior is similar: it slams its tail against the outer wall of the city before it gives way, the destruction nearly absolute. In a panic, New Tokyo's UNA forces and police force move into action to try to bring down the monster and protect its citizens.

At the same time, whether they're still awake or already asleep, something stirs inside of the displaced. Their chests will glow without anything to bring it about – no power drawn on, either innate or new, and no skin touching. This glow seems to fatigue any of them if they're still awake, and will send anyone already asleep into a deeper one. Once they're under, the stirring within will give way to unrest that foments dreams and visions for many of the displaced. If they had a dream while they slept, characters will wake up with a burning sensation in their chest.

As for New Tokyo: it will be left in ruins by the time the UNA soldiers there manage to take down the monster. Several sections of the city remain intact – almost out of luck – and the governor of New Tokyo reports that they believe this monster came from outside of the city, having been given life by the unsafe conditions outside of the megacity. Within a few hours, this statement will be revised, with the governor admitting that he doesn't know what the monster was or where it came from, only that their surveillance saw that it came from outside.

The three dreams below are what each character will experience, though you can feel free to assume they managed to jar themselves awake before the dream finished. To get a dream, please comment below to get an RNGed number for the dream that they'll be having. Since these are unnatural dreams, you can feel free to have your character remember it in its entirety – or not, if that's what you'd prefer.

If you have multiple characters, we suggest you only have one experience a dream, but it's ultimately up to you!

> DREAM 001

A blue glow illuminates the site – offering light on a foggy morning, with everyone having completed their journey to this final destination. A sense of fatigue and relief that washes over everyone there, but also an inner warmth that seems to radiate from the site itself. Huge rocks rise up on either side of the site, acting as shielding barriers for these followers and what lies ahead of them. Despite the lack of natural light cast through the thick fog, there's still a distant glow, leading them forward.

You find yourself among these people, well aware of the many miles you walked to get here, most of it on an incline. Around you, the clothes that people wear are worn, tattered, made from wool that's begun to wear down. How long have you all been traveling? It's hard to say – hard to guess, only that you know that you were all drawn here. No single story is the same. Some saw symbols: triangles that glowed when they saw them in the periphery, as well as bits of circles coming together. The tree of life. Perfect like nature in its finest form. Others could never put the words to what they experienced.

Each of you feel the draw now. It resonates within you, fills you up. Just ahead, there are structures that seem to float in space, and when you draw closer, a clear, light blue bridge appears. The walk forward requires a leap of faith – and there are some unwilling to take it. Afraid. They wonder if they've wasted their time.

But you haven't. You walk forward, and the bridge carries you forward. You can't tell if you're walking or literally carried, but eventually you come to an alcove where a strange circular structure stands. As you step closer, it comes to life, a mixture of lights and – no, not sounds. But the same resonating warmth.

You walk into it and –

– you find yourself somewhere else. Somewhere new.

> DREAM 002

– this is not where you belong where you've chosen to live – this is not it this is not it this is not it –

Your fingers spread, wrapping around the nearest metal instrument to drag it close. You test the edge against your skin, drawing out a sharp pain. You never asked for this particular experience. But every day, you feel it.

It's time to take back what you can. The walls around you are white, pristine. Somehow, you know that they weren't a day ago. One of the others you know got sick, doubled over after a bad interaction with a medication. You see them now, dark rings under their eyes, a shaved head. How do you know this? Your mind doesn't answer you. You just react. Someone in a coat as white as the room draws closer. Checking your vital signs. Your breathing picks up – your lungs hurt. You lash out with the instrument, cutting deep. A bright red spreads. A sick smile creeps over your lips. You know that color, deep within you. You know it.

And then there's nothing.

And then life moves on (your life moves on). Has time passed? The room is different. The person with the red splotch of color on their lab coat is gone, and your build is different. More gangly, uncontrolled. Deep down, you feel an unabiding frustration. You hear a shout: "Put them down!" It's too late. A fire erupts. The doors seal.

> DREAM 003

You recognize the walls. The building. But there's some barrier between you and it, a constant, subdued fog that lies between you and your surroundings. The lights are bright. Everyone moves in a single file, dressed in the same white scrubs. You're among them. The workers walk alongside you, occasionally checking your vital signs. Sometimes they make you grab each other's hands, noting the shift in reactions or responses.

The air here is cool. Stale. Your head is cold, recently shaven. Like everyone else, sans a few. It looks like it's been a while since they had a haircut. You don't recognize them, not like the others. You're certain that you recognize the others.

Thought is difficult to process. There's an IV into your arm. You try to make out more of your surroundings, but the fog encroaches and takes over. You're missing your chance. Your chance to know where you are – were? Who did this to you?

Distantly, you see a marking on a wall. Letters. P - R - O - PROJECT. You're certain of it. What else is there? Nothing. No. Something, but not another word. It's a symbol of some kind, or – an animal? There's a splotch of yellow, bright and prominent on its breast, with a dark V that cuts down. The fog obscures the rest.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

This arrival log is a little different, as it doubles as a prologue for our monthly event! Everyone's character can have one of the dreams, and it'll hit them anytime within a day of the attack on New Tokyo. This does include anyone new to the game! So, please go ahead and comment below to have your dreaming character assigned a number. All assignments will be random on our part!

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 OCTOBER 9 (MARCH 17). 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.

All arrival logs act as mingles, so older players can please feel free to top level for the festivities described!

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, 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 March calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

As a reminder, AC for new characters accepted in March will be 10 comments across 2-4 threads, while current characters will need to provide the full AC of 20 comments across 2-4 threads. AC will be posted on April 1 and close on April 7. 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

Comments

[followhim]

[well, at least he seems non-malicious, even if he didn't come on this show to make friends. some people are just curt like that. maybe poe will break through to his nougat center when he's done living out this trauma. ]

Poe Dameron. Uh — that's kinda complicated, but I'm from Yavin 4.

[resleeves]

Ah. Well, that's just fucking peachy.

[ and completely unfamiliar which bothers him more than he wants to admit. he'd hoped that, with the technology being something that seemed on par with what he knew, that maybe he was just being set loose somewhere that wasn't bay city.

but of course that wasn't the case. he was not that lucky. do a job, do it well and then get shipped off to some fucking city with a pretentious name. perfect, really.

so, there was a chip in his head to go along with the stack in his neck. he hopes the two bits of tech don't short each other out. ]

And now what, because I have this chip in my head, I have to join your merry band of misfits? I don't really do team work, Junior.

oh my go d

[laozu]

[ for a ( terrible excuse for a! ) gentleman only recently dropped off in the midst of a world far more advanced than he's reasonably able to comprehend, it's charming - or maybe just alarming? - how quickly he's fallen into the routine of yes, and?. perhaps the drugs help with that, as he's quite literally unable to reject what his brain interprets as a command.

even this, the bold invitation from a dark-haired stranger, is something his hazy frame of mind believes to be an order. he doesn't rush to fulfill it, though it sticks out in his mind. a gentle song, urging him to go on and strut the length of the hastily-constructed stage, the framework quivering under the wild energy he's brought to it. over to the corner he goes, where he's being beckoned, microphone in hand as he takes a knee and bends towards the stranger. ]

Hi, [ he laughs ] I've never done this before.

[ begging attention from strangers, or kissing them? in fact, the fact that his bluff is being called has put him in quite the spin, his eyes fever-bright and confused. ]

Sooooo, do I get a name first? I really must know the who's-who in my brand new fanbase!

[998]

[jon's heart plummets when sansa does, and he stumbles away when robb and grey wind come into view. he's spent too long pushing away those thoughts. if I look back, I am lost. funny--he hears it in her voice.]

Sorry--I'm sorry, I didn't mean--

[he reaches for her hand again.]

I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're--

[yourself. he'd thought she'd gone home again, and though it was reassuring to know she was alive in the vale, the alayne debacle had been...harrowing. it left him with an uneasy feeling. he had seen her come through the other side, so he knew she could do it, but he hates to think of what must have happened to make her that way.]

I'm glad to see you.

[he tries a small smile again.]

The wolves could do it, you know. Ghost always knew [...when the others had been killed.]...what the others knew. Nymeria was running around the Riverlands with a massive pack of lesser wolves. I think Shaggydog ate a unicorn.

[evite]

[ she rolls her eyes so hard it's a miracle they don't actually snap out of her skull and fall onto the ground like dice. ]

Because, smartie pants, the second you try to interact with anything around here, the system's going to recognize you don't have a name. And I do mean anything.

[ she gestures towards a stall just past the edge of the alley, where customers interacted with holographic menu boards. there's no physical money exchanged, no personal interaction, just digital flickers of technology and reflective light to document the transfers. even the delivery is digital, a continuously running conveyor belt dropping off neatly wrapped boxes just a moment later. ]

Do you even know what year it is? Or what city you're in, for that matter?

[laozu]

My hero. [ it's as much praise as it is a lamentation; being cut off from the source of attention and free alcohol is a blessing, especially since he wasn't sure how or when he was going to pay the tab he's positive was being rung up -- somehow. he doesn't know how, since he's positive he doesn't properly exist in this world.

weightily, he throws his arm around sniper's shoulders. like them, he's a slender thing, but with several rounds of alcohol and a false face to wear ( his breath doesn't even smell like booze, his eyes too sharp and in-motion to be a drunk man. ), it's best if he begs forgiveness rather than ask permission to lean on their shoulder for the time being. ]

Where, [ a fake little hiccup, convincing enough to the other inebriates ] have you been all this time! When I said I wanted, [ he nudges, with his hip ] to cut loose, I didn't mean for you to go so faaaaar! Get me out of here, my hands won't stop reaching for more!

[ that last bit was muttered to sniper, quick and desperate ]

[laozu]

[ he's seen cassian too, enough to be aware of the man's propensity for the bitter bean juice that passes for a common beverage in this place. addressed ( finally! ) by someone who has deigned to respond to his lamentations, he runs his hands over the short, dark fuzz that makes up all that is left of what was once several feet of hair. ]

With all the skill this place and it's people seem to have, [ he says 'skill' and means 'technology' ] you would think they'd have the power to put it back when they're done, at the very least!

[ brows knit at the mention of 'neural transmitters', his fingers finding the same spot that cassian is gesturing to. he taps it. and again. there's a -- complete lack of understanding. ]

Wait, what's a nooral transsmyttr?

ii-b

[followhim]

[ he's still getting to know the ropes around here, but poe is pretty sure that people suddenly collapsing on the floor isn't within the realm of normal things that just happen in the safe house. he kneels next to sora, hand hovering near him like he isn't sure if he should put said hand on his shoulder or not. ]

Whoa, hey. You okay there, buddy?

[forcevisions]

You didn't remember meeting me on the Falcon, before. You didn't know we'd escaped Crait.

[ She'd taken it as memory loss?? Still kind of on that team tbh. ]

[gasping]

Yeah, I know. [ she's been trying not to think about it because it reminds her of other very recent times of being in horrible places, but she knows of what he speaks. ] That sounds like a horrible dream.

[ too bad bonnie's not here with her weird witch magic to make him fall back asleep without any more of them. ]

Do you remember what the letters looked like? Or the animal? Maybe someone will recognize them.

[followhim]

Oh. Well, yeah, I definitely remember those things now. Don't know how I could've forgot.

[forcevisions]

New Amsterdam. On Earth.

[ This is the important information, Rey thinks. Step one of informing her. That seems to be the important part of setting her up to trust Rey and come back to the safehouse where they can get her an ID. ]

[reneger]

It ain't my band, and I don't do teamwork either. ( he does, when he feels like it. when he's in the mood to cooperate. it doesn't happen often, but. jason does stop, tucks thumbs into the beltloops of his pants and tilts his head back a bit.

purses his lips. )

There's a--friendly gang of losers here, who'll assign your chip an ID. It's tech no one else has figured out how to master yet. Either you get that ID, or you can figure out how slink around in dark corners and keep out of sight. Without the ID, your connection to everything else's fucked.

( if he'd had a choice, jason wouldn't have registered his chip despite how fucking difficult it'd make everything. )

With it, anything you do, say, or get even mildly involved in is trackable. The more populated areas of the city are covered in cameras, those with cash can easily get access to their records.

[forcevisions]

Well, the drugs they pumped you full of seem to do a number on our memories. They've clearly only shaved your head recently. [ She gestures at him. ] But my hair was already a bit grown out when I woke up, and I didn't remember anything between escaping on the Falcon and then.

001

[followhim]

[ poe is also out here trying to get a feel of the other new people. and the older people. basically just a feel of the entire environment. being a person who typically doesn't sleep well (recurring nightmares about being tortured are a Thing), he decides to gravitate towards someone who also seems sleep-avoidant. unless staring at a wall with her eyes wide open is actually how she sleeps. in which case...... his bad. ]

Can't sleep? Me either. ... Obviously.

[realists]

[ jyn appreciates the candor. she wouldn't trust daisy if she'd tried to befriend her. she still doesn't trust daisy, but there is slightly less distrust. she fights the urge to touch her own hair, to check her leg. it's pain free and it shouldn't be. ]

What is this place?

[ still not moving so i guess this is just going to happen in an alley. ]

b

[998]

[jon snorts a little at his question, because if he'd heard it a day ago it would have been perfectly valid. he's been quietly taking stock of the safehouse, making sure there's enough food and medicine for a good long while. winter is always coming, in some form of another--although, honestly, the smell of coffee drew him to the kitchen more than anything else.]

There's coffee?

[jon is a recent but enthusiastic convert. he never saw it on westeros, though he holds out hope that it could be found somewhere on the world (perhaps even in the south of the realm?), and imported, though if pressed he'd admit it might not be the best use of the night's watch's limited resources. for now, coffee is another point in this world's favor. which is important, because back home he's either dead or wounded, and his sister(s) in danger far away. he'd like to keep himself and sansa here, if he can. he'd also like some coffee.]

[culver]

[He seems to recover himself, at least briefly, and that gives Nill the slightest of reassurance. When he admits to trying to work his old powers, whatever they may have been in his own world, a look of shock crosses her face before it floods once more with worry. She's heard what happens to people who do that exact thing, though this is the first time she's seen it. In her own world, and even on the ships and Kaittos, Nill didn't have powers. So while she can't empathize with what he's experiencing, she can certainly sympathize.

Nill shakes her head at him, an almost pleading look in her eyes. He shouldn't try that, because he can't grasp those powers any longer. There's no reason, after all, for her to disbelieve what Morningstar has told her.]

[lighthearted]

[ It's true that this would hardly be Sora and Riku's first time caught in a difficult situation, with no clear way back home. Somehow they were always able to figure things out, and Sora truly believes that with the two of them working together, they won't be stuck here for long. Longer than usual, maybe, but Sora can take it if he's got Riku at his side. ]

Yeah, it seems like some people have been here for a while already, but all of them got here the same way we did. Thrown out of a van, with our hair all cut.

[ It looks weird on both of them, and Sora's already looking forward to when his hair's grown out to its usual length. Riku has let his hair grow too long at points, but going this short is a bit much. ]

I want to help everyone get back to where they came from, but... if we showed up here, it must be for a reason, right?

[ Usually when he arrived on a world, his point in being there became obvious almost immediately. Here, it's a little less clear, but everything about his arrival this time is not the norm. ]

Do you think Kairi's here?

[lighthearted]

You could have just said it was illegal.

[ Sora doesn't think it's a good idea to be doing something that's against the law, especially if it involves fighting, when he only just arrived here.

He's more interested in the offer of lessons, his head snapping up while his fists clench at his side -- with excitement and interest more than anything else. ]

Really? Like what?

[ Even though he's very practiced with the Keyblade, that isn't an option here and he wants to be able to defend himself. ]

[evasives]

[ he chooses to take this information at face value. from what he has already scrolled through, it makes sense. it's the uneasiness that gives it away too, a truthful frown in the man's face. besides, it's not like lying about giant monster attacks is easy. cassian's expression, meanwhile, is still remarkably calm, almost analytical. he'll deal with the terrible of it all later! ]

[ the timing of being brought to this planet and with a series of escalating monster attacks is great news though. ]

Has this city - New Amsterdam - been attacked yet? [ a beat. ] I do not know what the date is now. October, they said? These are not months I am familiar with. How long ago was June 2511?

[batricide]

Armed combat, various styles of hand to hand, most martial arts.

[ Illegality isn't the problem okay, okay, sometimes you just need to punch people in the head. ]

Depends on what the student needs.

03

[mutriarchy]

[ It's one of those "you just NOW noticed" things that Tommy can actually totally relate to. ]

It sucks, right?

[ A lot about this sucks, honestly. But the hair? That's just salt in the wound. Tommy's bringing some food by because the newbies gotta eat, right? So he offers a plate of potato salad out in sympathy. ]

[evasives]

[ coffee is... not that tasty, honestly, not the way cassian drinks it (black!), but he does not drink it for the taste but the consciousness. he likes having the steady supply here, and it makes him hopeful it'll be that way after he gets out. ]

[ it also takes him a second to register that coffee = caf; it's the same thing as back home, just packaged under a slightly different name. ]

Some of the others keep bringing it in. [ a beat. ] It might be one of the most useful supplies they provide.

[ opting for an easier and half-joking tone, given the initial bleat of laughter from the other man. ]

[998]

[jon's been drinking black coffee, having been introduced to it that way. unfortunately he's also been drinking premium quality french press. given the budget here he might be in for a surprise. his mouth quirks. given the general nature of the supplies--he has not been able to secure a sword, nor even a knife--this second joke hits close to home as well.]

Is there any more?