meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 009

ARRIVAL LOG 009

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Tokyo
WHEN: October 10
WHAT: The ninth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #009

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.

> WATANABE CORPORATE BUILDING

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.)

> PRESERVE DORMS

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.

> RELIEF EFFORTS

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.

> 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 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.

> NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're not from Earth? [ really, the fact that there's apparently life outside of earth doesn't surprise him too much. not when he was the way he was. if he could believe in mutants, he could believe in people on other planets. ]

Where are you from? [ he's just going to dive right in here, try and gather up as much information as he can for whatever comes next. being in the dark isn't going to help anyone and he wants to know. ]

I was born on Vallt, it's-- it's half covered in ice, the rest is snow.

[ but she has nothing to do with this snow! ]

Earth isn't even a planet in my galaxy. Coming here is the first time I have heard of Earth but it is probably the first time you have heard of Vallt.

Yeah. First time.

[ first time for a lot of things, actually. he could write a lengthy list of first times he was experiencing and he'd been here for like five minutes. he sighs, a sound that he knows he's made too much and rubs his hand over the back of his shorn hair. it gives him something to do that isn't thinking about what's happened to him and what's been taken. ]

Guessing it wasn't your choice to come here, was it?

[ here in general not here in the snow covered city that doesn't exist on any maps he knows. ]

No, not my choice. [ her mouth slants down and who knows why she is admitting this but: ] Last thing I remember was dying. And then I woke up in a van, shoved out into an alley, drugged up and compliant. [ what a dirty word. ] It's the same for everyone that isn't a native. Something brings us here, patches us up, throws us out a van like mouldy bread in a rubbish heap.

I guess usually there is less snow.

Lucky me to show up during a snowstorm. [ he really doesn't feel lucky at all. besides the headache, all he can manage to feel is confusion and worry. confusion for what's happened to him, fear for the people's he's left behind.

it hadn't been his choice but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel like it's his fault. he swallows around that bitter pill. ]

You weren't dying when you got here? [ unless she'd made some kind of recovery, he had to assume that...something about this place had been some magical bandage to stop death.

that wasn't a scary thing to think about at all. ]

I wasn't dying when I got shoved into an alley, no. [ she spreads her arms. ] It's like my injuries never happened at all.

[ and she was f u c k e d u p. ]

There's a guide, for newcomers, if you want it. It says there's something called a medi-unit? Effectively reverses death. I've been assuming that's it because I don't remember anything.

[ no one does, as far as she can tell. between arrival and drop off is just ??? ]

Well, that's...convenient. And also unnatural. Not that I want you to die but — [ people died. it happened no matter whether you wanted it to or not. it was one of those things that you could fight and fight and fight but it would still happen.

until it didn't. he could have guessed medical technology would have advanced so far into the future but that far? ]

I'll check out the guide. [ later. he really doesn't want to do any reading right now. probably couldn't concentrate anyway. ] But I'm guessing it doesn't explain how this medi-unit works, does it? How it reverses something like death?

[ she waves her hand dismissively. she gets it. she doesn't want to be dead either but there is something oppressive about the idea of her life stretching forth before her. she was twenty-one (two?) when they went to scarif, her entire life was spent in war and now she's just

existing.

and it's very unnatural. ]

Nothing of the sort, of course. [ but she will airdrop him that handy guide. at least she sort of warned him. ] You've got time, you'll be stuck here for a few days.

Edited 2019-04-21 23:56 (UTC)

[ it's a testament to how off balance he feels that he doesn't even question that statement. if he wants to leave though, he will leave. he's not going to just sit around and let this place get the best of him. if he's not dead and this isn't an afterlife or some sort of dream state, he's got to figure out what's going on. ]

I don't know if I'd want to go out there anyway. [ he gestures in the direction of the front of the building. the snow is a white blanket for as far as the eye can see. it's thick and it's cold and exhausting and he knows that just from having gone from one building to the other.

of course he would go out there is necessary, if someone needed help, if someone needed anything. and he'd be more willing to go if he still had his ability but his hands were still silent.]

You planning on going out there?

Yeah.

[ she hates the snow and own ability doesn't work outside -- you know what water does in the cold? FREEZES. -- but she came here to help so she has to. it's not the monster she would prefer, but it's as deadly.

and jyn can't sit still. ]

I'd rather be outside than waiting around.

But that's what you're telling me to do.

[ not a fan of taking your own advice, jyn? yeah, he realizes there are probably other reasons for her suggesting he stay put but he's going to start getting antsy and curious. right now, he's just overwhelmed and a little nauseous but that's not going to last.

he's not going to be able to just have a seat and drink coffee. that's not his thing. ]

I'd rather be anywhere else but here.

Your head is going to be garbage for the rest of the day, sleep it off and call me when you wake up. I'll take you out myself. You haven't got an ID, technically you don't exist.

You can come with me now but if I have to rescue you too I'll be annoyed.

[ will she leave him there to die? we don't know! she fucking might! he doesn't have an id, no one would know. the fact that she thought about that id bit probably says something. ]

[ she wasn't wrong about how his head felt which he assumes is because she'd gone through the exact same thing when she'd arrived. hopefully it passes quickly because he does not want to full fuzzy head and off balance for too long. ]

I can take care of myself.

[ survival was a skill. always had been, always would be even in too cold snow. ]

I wouldn't need rescuing but I wouldn't want you to anyway. Take care of yourself first.

[ i'm immortal.gif ]

When you feel like going out there, let me know and I won't rescue you.

[ jyn half cracks a smile in that her perma-frown doesn't look all that frowny but it's still not a smile.

what else should she cover? ] You'll get your ID set up in a few days, credits are attached to that, everything is attached to it. Keep drinking water, wear sunglasses or goggles outside, don't die.

[ if she gets a missing persons ping with his description she'll laugh at him. ]

You give this speech to everyone or am I just special? [ he can't even take offense to it because it's good advice, at least. he's not stupid though and he's been surviving for as long as he can remember. it was kind of in the mutant code of conduct. step one, your ability will manifest. step two, your family will hate you. step three, congratulations! you're now on your own. good luck finding something to eat tonight.

it was a whole thing. ]

Because if I'm special, maybe I should tell you my name before you start giving anymore personalized advice. So you can tailor your motivational words to me and all.

I was in your position a week ago.

[ four days??? eight days??? time is a meaningless construct??? whatever, the sentiment is the same, roughly. these new newbies are lucky enough to get to roam about whenever they want, not being trapped inside the safehouse, but also there is snow.

win some, lose some. ]

First guy I tried to help hit me with a chair. [ she touches the faint discoloration starting to blossom on the right side of her jaw. it's been a day. ] So I guess you are special.

Hit you with a chair?

[ that seems like a huge overreaction. wasn't her fault she was here and while taking it out on someone might make him feel better for about five minutes, it wasn't going to help anything in the end. ]

Why? How'd you try to help him that he decided to throw a chair?

I walked in. [ a shrug. ]

Not everybody wakes up calm. [ she, of all people, feels that considering she also tried to start a fight within seconds. ] We've been kidnapped to the future or past or an entirely different galaxy. Can't exactly blame him.

Better he hit me than someone that can't take it.

I didn't wake up calm but I was restrained. [ at least he had been in the van. getting dumped into thick, freezing snow had taken a lot of the fight out of him. he'd been too focused on getting warm to find a chair and break it over someone's back. ]

Did you hit back? [ he probably would have. his temper wasn't a long or a very deep thing. it was quick and short, easily tripped if you hit the right notes. ]

Not today.

[ he gets a pass. for today. after that all bets are off. jyn held a grudge for thirteen years, she has plenty of time. she's beat up bigger men than him, but maybe she wants surprise on her side. maybe she'll just let it slide because of the drugs.

we just don't know. ]

I'm Jyn Erso. [ and she airdrops him her contact info too, just in case. ]

Big of you.

[ he doesn't know if he'd been so kind. but he also knows his first instinct wouldn't have been to hit, it would have been to use his power and that was gone so he would have just looked foolish.

and then he probably would've gotten hit again. double foolish. ]

Marcos Diaz. No contact info because I'm nobody right now. Guess I should be glad they let me keep my damn name.

[ she's a god damn bastion of patience. ]

Your ID will be your name, both of them, unless you tell them something else. And you can still talk to people before that, but you'll be anonymous.

Good to know. [ not that he's planning on doing a ton of talking but he might have a question or two. really, what he wants to do is listen, try and pick up on the goings on of this place, get acclimated quickly because he hates feelings adrift and off balance. he can live with always looking over his shoulder but he doesn't want to deal with feeling lost too. ]

I'll probably just do a lot of reading for a little while, see what I've gotten myself into. [ or what whoever had kidnapped him had gotten him into. ] Not every day you get kidnapped to the future and have to catch up with what you've missed.

Well, have fun with your studies. [ nerd. she feels like it would probably the The Right Thing To Do to offer herself as a sounding board but a. she doesn't know anything about earth so she's useless there and b. she hesitates too long and gives up.

she's done enough. ]

Don't forget the water, Marcos Diaz. [ and she's gonna make a very ungraceful exit, this is not a girl with excellent social skills. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

ARRIVAL LOG 009

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject