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- !arrival log,
- altered carbon: takeshi kovacs,
- borderlands: angel,
- dark angel: max guevara,
- dceu: diana prince,
- detroit become human: markus,
- dogs b&c: heine rammsteiner,
- dogs b&c: nill,
- ffxv: ardyn izunia,
- gangsta: alex benedetto,
- gdc: jiang cheng,
- gdc: lan wangji,
- gdc: wei wuxian,
- kingdom hearts: riku,
- kingdom hearts: sora,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- overwatch: gabriel reyes,
- overwatch: soldier 76 (jack morrison),
- soma: simon jarrett,
- star wars: cassian andor,
- star wars: jyn erso,
- starfighter: abel,
- starfighter: cain,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the man from uncle: illya kuryakin,
- the vampire diaries: caroline forbes,
- the vampire diaries: damon salvatore,
- voltron: keith
ARRIVAL LOG 009
WHERE: New Tokyo
WHEN: October 10
WHAT: The ninth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.
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 sharp, cold breeze that blisters your cheeks as you walk through a thick, cold snow. That soon fades, replaced with warmth. 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 heavy winter coats, water-resistant pants, and snow boots, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth and haphazardly tucked under warm winter hats. You're all 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, though due to the storm there's hardly any visibility through the 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, landing gingerly in the snow. 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, there's the sound of a high howling wind and that same blast of cold that signals at being somewhere else, combined with a sea of white as far as your eyes can see. 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, most of them climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. One stays behind, pointing you and whoever else is near you to one of the closest buildings. "In there," he orders, just before he interfaces with the doors and they slide open. "Stick around until your buddies come to find you. You'll know who they are."
Snow comes up to your knees on this city street, and you're left with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here. But you'll feel compelled to move toward the building that the guard pointed at and step inside. In fact, you'll have no choice but to follow that order. Once you're in, he closes the doors behind you and hops back inside the vehicle. The engine powers up again, and then the large truck lifts up slowly and flies off.
Inside you'll find the lobby of what seems to be a corporate building. After taking note of the fact that there's a small group of other people dressed in similar clothes who are also confused about how they got to this place, you'll be able to warm up and try to figure out what's going on. For now, it's impossible to exit the building. The same door you came in won't open no matter what you try, so you're all stuck for now.
But don't worry, help is on the way.
◉ 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 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 know you all were wondering what would happen if we had a batch of new arrivals while you're all out on your little field trip, but it turns out that they've all landed in New Tokyo too. They're holed up in the lobby of a corporate building, so make your way over and escort them to the PRESERVE dorms. Try for a warm welcome, okay?
At the lobby where the new arrivals have been dumped, they'll find that there's a check-in desk which is currently unmanned, and on the wall behind it there's a logo mounted which reads "Watanabe Corporation." There's no one to be found here and no one to greet them. The good news is that the building is heated, meaning that those heavy coats can probably come off for now. Further in on the ground floor, there's a set of six elevators that presumably lead up to the many floors of the skyscraper, but they're non-functional, and there don't seem to be any accessible stairs either.
For now, all the newcomers can do is make use of the comfortable chairs in the lobby and commiserate among themselves about what's going on. There's a water cooler and some cups to make use of as well, all of it made of biodegradable material, but there's only so much. Try to share.
The Displaced who received a message from El will have also received a GPS pin showing the location of the new arrivals. At this point, the promised supplies (which includes clothing appropriate for the harsh weather, along with additional foodstuffs to stock the dormitory kitchen) have come in compliments of PRESERVE. Everyone will be allowed to leave the dorms where they've been cooped up for the last two days to explore the city or go help out the newcomers.
Getting around a city covered in snow is a little more of a challenge. Going by foot is an option, although most of the streets haven't been shoveled yet and it will be slow-going. It's more feasible to make use of a hover bike. There's a garage connected to the dormitory that's stocked with twenty-some bikes. While they don't function perfectly well over snow and reckless driving with such poor visibility could easily lead to a cold and painful crash, it has to beat walking. If you don't how to drive, guess you'll have to find someone who does. (The bikes can seat two.)
With the help of the current Displaced, the new arrivals will be brought back to a dormitory building managed by PRESERVE. PRESERVE is a world-wide relief organization that focuses on environmental conservation and disaster relief. While a good number of Morningstar agents have joined up with PRESERVE thanks to their charitable activities and because they're UN sanctioned, it is not an organization that's affiliated with Morningstar. As a group, they are entirely pacifistic in their ideals – they believe the world can be saved through being conscientious.
The Displaced are here because they agreed to help PRESERVE with a very different disaster, but that's now a very severe and uncommon snowstorm. This is where they're all staying during the trip, so while this isn't anything close to home, it will have to do for now. A representative from PRESERVE by the name of Nico has been hanging around the dorms, ready to answer any questions from any of the Displaced, new or old. Nico is also a member of Morningstar, as well, though she'll be very hush hush about this fact when around her fellow PRESERVE members.
Newbies will be allowed to pick out additional clothes and gear from a cache of supplies (there's coats, thermal underwear, boots, scarves, hats, gloves, and anything else that would be needed to survive the intense cold), and they'll also need to figure out which of the rooms has an opening where they can sleep. It's four people to a room, with the use of two sets of bunk beds, and space was already limited before the newcomers got added to the mix. Hopefully peace can be maintained and there won't be too much fighting over who gets top bunk.
Other than the rooms, the dorm building has a kitchen, a large common area with comfortable couches and chairs, communal bathrooms, and a small, modestly stocked infirmary. There's also a viewing room which is a large space furnished with bean bag chairs and other comfortable things to lounge on, and a large blank wall that's meant to be used for group viewings of movies, shows, etc. This requires one character to "throw out" their feed from their neural implant onto the wall, and anyone who wanted to watch with them would need to sync up with their ID to watch along. Anyone not synced would just see a blank wall – and unfortunately, that does include anyone new.
There are other PRESERVE volunteers staying in this dormitory and milling about. Many of them already had supplies, so they've been in and out since the Displaced arrived.
◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the dorms 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 to the dorms, 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.
◉ Normally, new characters are confined to a safehouse for 4 days before they can leave and explore the city. Given that these newbies have arrived under unorthodox circumstances, that won't be the case for them. They'll be able to come and go from the dorms, but given that it's a frozen tundra outside, they'll at least want to prep first. At some point during this adjustment period, you can assume that El will contact them and work on setting up their IDs. There is no law enforcement around in these conditions, so anyone wanting to head out can.
◉ New characters won't be able to abscond to somewhere else in the world, as a lack of ID means no tickets or travel papers.
◉ While most businesses in New Tokyo are shuttered, a few convenience shops remain open near PRESERVE's dormitories because they know they can make money off volunteers. New characters won't have any means of paying, as they don't have a registered ID. They'll have to see if a kind soul will spot them the credits if they want something.
With the new arrivals successfully recovered and supplies delivered to keep everyone warm in the harsh conditions, it's time to set out and fulfill the reason for everyone being here: to offer support and relief to the population affected by the harrowing storm. Nico will provide the Displaced with the information they need to get their boots on the ground and make a difference. There are a number of ways that she'll suggest to help out.
◉ First, she'll deliver a word of caution. While New Tokyo is a large, entirely steel city that runs deep underwater, most of its citizens have evacuated to the upper levels and are huddling down in various locations hoping for some relief. Heading deeper in the large city structure could prove dangerous. In this emergency, heating is centralized on the upper levels of the entire man-made metal city structure, while the lower levels are frigid and dangerous at this time. The only heating revolves around the trains coming and going, and their schedules have been largely delayed thanks to the storm.
◉ Delivering food, clothing, and medical supplies. With power cut off from most homes and all of the citizens having been cautioned to stay indoors and conserve warmth, there are a lot of people running low on food stores. Those who live in impoverished areas are even worse off, with little insulation in their homes. The threat of some people freezing to death is real, so getting the needed supplies to those people could allow them to hold out until power is restored or the storm has passed. Nico encourages people to travel to these neighborhoods in pairs for safety reasons, and again, the hover bikes will come in handy here. Supplies can be carried in heavy-duty backpacks or in a side-car attached to the bike, and all of this is provided by PRESERVE.
◉ Shoveling snow. For those of the Displaced who aren't opposed to grueling manual labor, one of the largest concerns is getting the major streets cleared of snow so that transportation is easier. The train lines also need to be cleared off so public transit can eventually be reinstated, so assuming they're not afraid of heights, the Displaced will get access onto the train tracks that crisscross above the city to clear the snow off. Some homes are also completely snowed in, trapping the residents inside, so those will also need to be cleared. There's no shortage of work to be done. PRESERVE will provide the snow shovels, and they have access to a single snow plow that can be used in shifts by anyone who's got a driver's license (also found in the garage). Nico will also hand out hot packs. Everyone should be bundling up, but in the event that someone takes a fall or ends up with too much snow-to-skin contact, the hot packs will help stave off the cold and prevent frostbite.
◉ Missing persons. There have been multiple reports of missing persons sent into PRESERVE, and the Displaced will be assigned particular people to go look for, if they let Nico know they're interested in this task. She'll give them the description of the missing person and their last known location. This could be anywhere within the city of New Tokyo -- a shopping district, a residential area, a park, etc. If they manage to find the missing person, they'll be instructed to take them to the closest PRESERVE relief center so they can receive medical attention and be reunited with their families.
◉ Restoring power. Turbines are jammed due to ice build-up past any conceivable norm, and need to be carefully thawed and given a jump from a backup battery pack. This is a highly dangerous, but necessary endeavor. The turbines are located offshore due to the fact that New Tokyo primarily generates energy through tidal power. When working correctly, these offshore turbines then feed energy into local sources within the city. For those who have any sort of experience with electrical work, they'll be directed toward areas in the city where covered electrical boards interconnected with the city's branched power source have been buried. They'll need to be cleared of snow, checked, reconnected, and made ready for when the turbines begin to flow again.
While the new arrivals are welcome to help out with these relief efforts if they wish, it certainly won't be expected, given that they're still getting adjusted to everything that's going on. They're allowed to stay in the warm confines of the dormitory building until everyone returns to New Amsterdam, if that's what they would prefer. As for the rest of the Displaced, there will be some expectation that they're going to contribute. That's the whole reason they came all this way, isn't it? And it's not like Nico knows that some of them didn't actually sign up for this.
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 until October 14th (OOCly, April 25th). All posts they make on the network until that point will be anonymous. During this time 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, 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 April/May 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 April 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 May 1 and close on May 8 at midnight UTC. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list.
soldier: 76 | overwatch
ii. dorms
iii. garage
iv. wildcard
dorms - uninvited guest!!!
he doesn't recognize the man that's just decided to let himself in but he looks like he could be new. it is the hair that gives it away (or the lack of it) but being new doesn't really give him an excuse to just come into someone's room.
the door had been closed for a reason. ]
Leave.
[ look, that was him being nice! he was giving this man a chance and everything. his heart had grown three sizes on the train ride over. ]
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The less than warm welcome doesn't really bother him. He's trying to decide if it's worth explaining or if he should just find another place to crash, but the choice isn't actually left up to him.
Those drugs are still in his system, and the stranger's words are very clearly an order. 76 starts backing out of the room against his will.
Even as he moves, he snarls back over his shoulder: ] What the hell did you do?
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oh, that's not good and had not been intentional. ]
Stop. [ he hates to do it a second time but he is going to get yelled at if he just lets this happen. ] Come back.
[ he tells himself that will be the last time he gives a direct order. ]
I would have thought those would be out of your system by now.
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infirmary
There's not gonna be anything useful in there.
[ believe me, he's looked before. ]
They're not stupid, you know.
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At this rate he's going to have to take a page out of Reyes' book a fashion some sort of bludgeon out of a piece of furniture. But that won't fix his problem of needing something sharp, able to cut through skin and reopen that scar at the back of his neck.
His head snaps toward the kid standing in the doorway. He takes note of the white hair. It seems too short to be a dye job, but it's not like he's that shocked to see strange hair colors after El Nysa. ]
Who's 'they'?
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The people in charge here, or the ones who set this up, [ a small shrug, as if to say 'who knows, not me, i don't care', and heine shoves his hands back into the pockets of his pants as he tilts his head slightly to one side, giving the other a look that is both guarded and casual all at once, like he doesn't want the other to know that he's looking. yeah, totally innocent, nothing to see here. ] either way, who the fuck knows.
You new?
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i. am i the only one who reads watanabe as "want to be"
so. maybe she's a little distracted. maybe the sound of a tall, gruff voice at the other end of the room pulls her focus without much filtering. maybe that's why she doesn't think to listen for sounds of a russian accent or even to check the height before she's looping a hand around an elbow, yanking back with overly familiar touch to snap, ] Be nice —
[ — except. wait. as her head tips up (something she's done too many times to count, god, why is every man so tall here) daisy realizes a crucial fact: this is not the person she thought it was. ]
Uh. [ her hand's just gonna casually release now! ] Sorry.
[ time to pretend to be professional. ]
Hi. I'm Daisy. You're — new?
if you wanna be my lover, u gotta get with my friends
It's hard to know what to make of it, or even to guess who she'd thought he was for those few seconds. It probably isn't worth asking, not when he's got about a hundred other more urgent questions. ]
If you want to call it that.
[ He makes a vague gesture to the lobby around them. ]
All of us got kicked out of a van and ordered to wait here until someone came to get us. Guess that's you.
[ Along with the others who've shown up with her. ]
s76 is sporty spice confirmed
Yeah, it's a hell of a welcome wagon. [ to say the least. she wishes she had more positive things to say, but the drop-offs continue to suck in new and innovative ways every time, and she's getting really tired of them happening at all. nobody needs to go through this. ] Unfortunately, yours also happens to be the exotic twist, considering we're usually picking up strays in New Amsterdam, not the anime center of the universe.
[ what else is in tokyo? godzilla? not anymore. the displaced killed him in their dreams. ]
Have you ever ridden a hoverbike before?
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iii
I know the basics. [Someone else might sound demure about it. Sniper's tone is unruffled confidence, as if the basics were not far off from extreme weather conditions.] I need to make a delivery; do you want to come with me?
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[ Is it 76's problem if the kid ends up crashing one of these bikes and getting themselves hurt? No, not in the slightest. But he does know how to operate one of these things, and now that he's here, it would be purposefully obtuse to turn down the offer.
If nothing else, it will get him out of this place for a few hours and let him see some of the city, even if most of it's covered in thick snow right now. ]
I can make sure we don't crash, if you navigate.
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I'm Ojiro. [They offer a hand for a firm shake. Too bad about the gloves blocking skin to skin. They add, because it's context that they'd care about having:] I was with the first batch, back in June.
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infirmary
Her arms come to cross. She doesn't move, waiting for him to finish.]
No one here is going to hurt you. You don't have to believe me. [A beat.] I don't even expect you to believe me. But this isn't the time to do that.
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It's not just about that. [ It's an admittance that part of this is because he wants a way to defend himself. Someone like him just won't feel anything but on-edge without some kind of weapon on his person. That's something he can worry about when the storm's passed and he can actually search the city (or New Amsterdam, since that's apparently where all of these people are based).
This is a more immediate concern. ] I need to do something about this. [ He reaches around behind his head to run his fingers over the scar there. He's done it about a hundred times already, his stomach always churning at the thought that someone was in his head. Gabriel's on the same page with him here. They need to come out. ]
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garage!!
It's-- not particularly difficult. There's less traction 'cause they hover, so the snow isn't much of a problem.
[he leaves one hand on the bike, turning to the man.]
[sure looks halfway intimidating in his getup. prompto attempts a smile, although he's unsure of things.]
You thinkin' of taking one for a spin?
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While he registers what Prompto says, the response to his question can come later. This is something that needs to be cleared up first, although it's pretty obvious that the kid has no memory of him. ]
Huh. [ He shrugs a shoulder and then tilts his head from one side to the other. ] Guessing 'El Nysa' doesn't mean anything to you.
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iii
How hard can it be?
[Idly lifting a hand to adjust the thick scarf wrapped close around his neck (it’s cold, the central heating of this place seeming to peter out in the garage), Markus notes that this man isn’t a face that he recognizes.]
The alternative is to walk, and I’d prefer to avoid that.
[It sounds terrible.]
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Normally I'd say that it's fairly straight-forward, but not with the way visibility is out there.
[ This shouldn't definitely not be someone's first experience riding a hover bike, and the skepticism in 76's tone makes that crystal clear.
He crosses the space between them to get a better look at the bike himself. A quick glance at the console assures him that it shouldn't be too different from the ones he's used to back home. He's been riding a horse for the past couple of years, not a bike, but he's confident it will come back to him soon enough.
He glances from the bike up to the stranger, one eyebrow ticking up. ] Where you headed?
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i.
However, it would be remiss of him to refuse to come to the aid of the newcomers due to a little discomfort (a lot of discomfort). He’s bundled up as to be nigh unrecognizable as he makes the painfully slow trek to the location they were given, and by the time he stumbles into the doors of the lobby (after having to fight the gods-be-damned door, because of course he would have to), he’s fit to be tied.
He shoulders the door closed after him, pulling off his hood and hat in one motion, feline ears popping up from where they had lay flat against his skull. ]
I swear to the gods, it feels like Coerthas out there, if Coerthas was plunged straight into Shiva’s—
[ Shiva’s what? We’ll never know, because his tirade is cut short when he lays eyes on a familiar face in the sea of startled faces turned in his direction. He’s only ever seen Jack without a mask of some fashion in a memory, and even though the years changed him, he’s still pretty sure that’s the same face.
X’rhun cannot help but smile, and the man’s name is half-formed on X’rhun’s lips before he realizes that he has no idea if his friend even remembers him. Prompto had no memories of him or El Nysa, and this may be the same. His expression falters, ears sweeping back, before he offers an awkward, ]
Er… beg pardon. The cold and I have never gotten along.
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It's that commotion that draws Jack's attention first, followed by that voice that seems so familiar. It's only once those ears show themselves that he can be sure of who it is, and he barely knows what to think. He and Gabriel had already discussed their situation, with Jack pointing out that they seemed to be the only two in this group who'd been brought from El Nysa.
But now X'rhun is here, and that throws a wrench into everything.
Jack's pretty sure he hasn't mistaken that flash of recognition on X'rhun's face, which makes the impersonal greeting strange. He slowly approaches him, looking him up and down before he takes a chance. ]
I can see that. Nice haircut, by the way.
[ Jack's had one himself, but implying that he knows how long X'rhun's hair should be is a subtle way of checking to see if his memories are intact. ]
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ii
She gathers the gauze in her hand and goes to the doorway of the infirmary to watch the older man. He looks... distressed isn't the right word. Pissed off might be closer. ]
Um, if you're looking for this... I found it outside the doorway.
[ she holds up the unwound bandages, now a terrible and very unsanitary mess. ]
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Sometimes, he might just go looking for fights.
The voice from the door causes him to pause for a moment and turn, but when he sees the woman and the bandages hanging from her palm, he shakes his head. ]
No, looks like there's plenty of those around here. I was looking for something sharper.
[ Is that going to put her off? Possibly. He doesn't really care, though. ]
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ii. // kitchen
she glances up briefly when he enters, but there's no recollection or recognition in her gaze. ]
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Then he sees her face, and has to do a double-take.
There's a few long seconds of silence as he stares at her. She doesn't seem to have a clue who he is, which probably means it's yet another example of memory loss, like Prompto. ]
Dutch?
[ He uses her name, but it's purposeful. He has to be sure it's actually her. There could be reasons that someone shared her face. ]
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