ARRIVAL LOG 009

[larkers]

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

Comments

[gasping]

No? [ it comes out as a questioning syllable, half a vowel ticked up at the end, though there's no real question to it. she doesn't — greet people with snowballs, that is. to the face or otherwise. she's actually throwing snowballs for the first time here in new tokyo, if he can believe it. just disregard the unreasonable strength coming from a tiny wisp of a thing. ] No.

[ a little more solidly the second echo, though still awkward. ]

I usually say 'hey', and... [ her arms flail a bit uselessly at her sides, a shrug that's more than just the casual lift of her shoulders. floundering, it feels like. ] I don't know, compliment their clothes?

[ a beat, in which she gives him an appraising once-over. ]

I do like your coat, for the record.

[saviorexe]

[It's a compliment that lands, though given the circumstances, he's not sure what to do with it. Markus supposes it's as good of an ice-breaker as any (no pun intended, naturally), though it still feels like stepping a bit around the elephant in the room.]

Thanks. Though still not exactly what I would've picked out for myself.

[He doesn't like the cut of it, thinks it can run along the lines of his shoulders in a little more flattering way... but then again, that's form over function. Definitely not a true concern among PRESERVE, having doled out winterwear made to keep one from freezing to death in the snow.

But, ever the android to avoid beating around the bush, preferring to get directly to the point when there's an awkward air to slice through, Markus continues.]

So, we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. I was hoping to find you on the train, but- [But he was still reeling from the aftershocks of pain, ghosting through his limbs.] -I never was lucky enough to run into you.

[gasping]

[ well, so much for hoping he'd forgotten. to her credit, caroline doesn't outright wince — but she does shift her weight, fingertips curving around the hem of her white coat and tugging it down, anything to distract from the uncomfortable accusatory energy buzzing around her conscious.

it's not that he's come right out and said you're a monster, but the wrong foot is implication enough. but there's complications, now; how she chooses to respond can't be erased. there's no compulsion in her waking hours to sweep his mind (robotic or not) of the memory, so she has to be careful. plus, there's damon to think of, too — not that she particularly wants to keep thinking about him, but there's no way around it. what she says, who she potentially turns into an enemy, could affect him; the same holds true for her in his actions, too. they have to be careful.

so she tries to be. she's not good at lying, never been particularly well skilled at duplicity or a poker face, but she tries. she thinks of the bar car with kovacs and the innocence of not quite telling a whole truth, and tries to replicate that now. ]

I wasn't feeling very good. [ not totally untrue, she'd been very hungry and then very much paranoid about the coming sunlight. a short-lived concern, apparently, thanks to the new glint of silver around her finger. ] I don't think I slept very well.

[ hard to do that when you're playing life-or-death in your sleeping hours. ]

[saviorexe]

[He isn’t trying to make her feel uncomfortable, doing all in his power to try to keep this even-keeled for the both of them. Yet Markus isn’t so naive to think that such a thing is 100 percent possible, given the violence behind their last encounter, and the effect of his blood — a line of endless numbers, code on repeat — had on her mental state.]

I think a lot of us weren’t at our best in that place. [In the facility, later (or earlier? running parallel at the same time? did time mean anything in those sleeping hours?) Markus’ consciousness had dissipated, his body turned into nothing more than flotsam to whirl in a mass of blue in the water.]

But I’m glad to see you’re feeling and looking a lot better. [That much, spoken sincerely and in Markus’ usual soft tones, is nothing but true.] Is there anything I can do for you here in the waking reality?

[gasping]

[ it's a bit of a loaded question, isn't it? and she's been asked so many times now — are you okay? do you need anything? — with the implication always the same. do you need me, do you need to feed, can you wait. the problem is, she never quite knows how to answer. does she want to? of course she does. the idea of declining someone willingly opening their veins to her goes against every fiber of her cursed being, but — well, there's always a but, and it comes in the quietly disapproving voice of one stefan salvatore.

you don't need to feed on people. it's a slippery slope that leads straight to ripperville, caroline. stick to bunnies.

but there were no bunnies in new amsterdam, no foxes or deer or other woodland creatures to slake her thirst in the middle of the night. butchers were expensive, and without the benefit of compulsion, convincing them to save her a live animal to feed on would be basically impossible. and jason was trying (or at least telling her he was) to get into the blood banks and cloning labs, but that wasn't immediate.

so, really, what choice did she have? if people were offering themselves up, wasn't that better than needing it later? people would obviously be less afraid of her if they were the ones suggesting she take it. ]

I mean... [ but she's still figuring that out, so the awkwardness doesn't quite fade away. ] Am I going to be sick again?

[saviorexe]

[Am I going to be sick again?

His brows cinch, and he shakes his head. The implication between how he might be able to help, then, suddenly clear in the air between them. But Markus, ever the sort to offer his whole being for the sake of others (fallacy and merit of a martyr, both), does not balk, does not so much hesitate — other than how to offer an explanation while wanting more clarification from her part, too.]

My blood is human now. How that’s possible, and by what means it’s changed so completely? I can’t answer that for you. According to tests, I’m a universal donor.

[Probably a negligible detail, but he offers it all the same. Markus reaches up to adjust the scarf around his neck again, lowering his head to momentarily bury his chin in the cloth. His tone is quiet, breath trailing with white in the cold.]

But, if you’re wanting to share, I’d like to know a little more about your situation.

[gasping]

You're O negative.

[ she says it quietly, a fact recalled; it's not that caroline's a science expert, but simply the fact that she had once needed to know this kind of information. not to feed — it didn't matter what blood type they were so long as they were alive — but to process. to come to terms with what she was, what she needed, she'd had to learn about what there was to take.

and, as caroline had found out, people with o negative blood were considered universal donors. people were off-limits in the bunny blood diet, but o negative even more so. there's a sort of quiet thrill in the realization now. ]

Okay. [ the obvious bit, she thinks, he probably already does know. ] I'm a vampire.

[ for the briefest of moments, she lets go of that tenuous grip on control. it only takes a breath, and that now familiar face is on full display, ironically framed by the angel halo of her white hood up over her blonde hair; it only takes another moment before caroline swallows it down again, leaving her as normal as before. ]

I don't know what else you want to know.

[saviorexe]

I am.

[Not surprising that she knows it, given that it's information that Markus is fine with being publicly available. All AI life, given human bodies, with blood that would mark them as a universal donor. It's an interesting pattern, yet the implications behind such a purposeful choice is a conversation for another day.

The revelation of her being a vampire is equally unsurprising -- or at least, the edge of disbelief is dulled by his past experience with her, and mere fact of being in this torn-from-his-own-world situation for a while yet -- and Markus cannot help but gently arch a brow. Arms cross over his chest, to retain heat more than to seem skeptical. It's difficult to ignore the biting chill that keeps slicing through his many layers meant to keep him warm.

The facade of normalcy slips, leaving Markus looking upon a familiar face associated with hunger and desperation, before it disappears again. Fingers flex into the material of his coat, and he swallows briefly.]

I want to know if there's going to be a repeat instance of what happened in that dream. Not that I don't trust you, but I want to make sure you don't have to go through something similar ever again.

[Who is helping her? Does she need it? Has she reached out?]

[gasping]

[ he shouldn't trust her. he doesn't have any reason to. in the dreams, caroline's desperate clutch on self-control had been washed away, revealing her bare monstrous nature, the greed and desperation of someone she tried so hard not to be in her waking life. but he wouldn't know the difference, would he? he'd have no reason to know that caroline forbes was a good vampire (if such a thing existed), one who usually fed on bunnies and deer back home.

but she wants him to. she wants him to look at her the way fitz does, the way her friends do — as someone capable of self-control, of being better than her baser urges. ]

No. Not like in the dreams. [ she can be certain of that, if nothing else. ] In the dreams... I couldn't control it. It was like everything I've ever felt times a million. I was so hungry, I couldn't think. I had to.

[ though caroline doesn't know it, it was akin to being compelled by a higher vampire. being told to obey her urges above all else, with little opportunity to fight back. ]

But I don't have to. I won't attack anybody. I'm not a monster.

[ a promise she keeps making, and one she really wants to keep. but still not an answer to his question. ]

[saviorexe]

I never said you were.

[And yet she’s quick to fling the phrase out, as if fearing being defined by the word. He can’t blame her after the hell that the dreams put her through. He’s only been human for months, only been susceptible to hunger in shallow ways compared to her deep need for it in that facility. Markus cannot relate, he cannot imagine what it must be like, though that only works to make him a more sympathetic soul.

A gesture out at her with splayed fingers.]

I’m only trying to understand. Do you still need to… drink regularly, now that we’re awake?

[gasping]

Yes.

[ she doesn't mean to sound defensive or agitated, but the stress runs deep. the memory of that pervasive, irresistible hunger gnaws at her like a dog on a bone, the temptation to give in to its siren's call an ever-present danger on the horizon. she's only so strong. ]

I used to eat bunnies, back home. Or blood bags. But I can't find anything here, and apparently blood banks have ridiculous security, so... [ she shrugs. it's in the works, but there's been no updates. she'd feel much better if she had a stack of b positive in the fridge for emergencies. ]

'I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.'

[ because, when in doubt, quote vivien leigh. ]

[saviorexe]

[And that's... difficult for her, he can only imagine. Having once a place to reliably drink from (even if it was just bunnies, which are obviously not an option in a world like this one) and now with no similar means to pursue, what else was there to rely on?

Depending on the kindness of strangers, indeed.]

Enough to where you feel comfortable? Safe from your hunger?

[Because Markus is on the cusp of offering aid, dependent upon her response.]

[gasping]

[ she's a bit embarrassed to answer, but she does so with as much honesty as she can muster. ]

It's never really enough. [ teeth wrack over her bottom lip, a twinge of anxiety welling up in her chest. she doesn't like admitting this, least of all to someone who's seen the worst of it already, but. it won't help her to lie, either. ] I'm always hungry. But if I feed, it makes things a little less... intense?

[ a shrug. caroline's not the expert, and not even usually the person who explains this sort of thing to anyone else. hell, she only just had it explained to her a few months back. ]

I can try to hold it off, but it doesn't last forever. Drinking bourbon or eating my weight in french fries only holds off the 'murder innocent people' urges for so long.

[saviorexe]

[He nods, though they both know he can't possibly understand, beyond just trying to comprehend the desperateness of that kind of hunger if it gets out of hand. He's android-still as he listens, a habit he can't ever shake, but the small changes in expression still reveal a considering mind, the offer on his tongue.]

Would my blood help sate that hunger? Being human now, I don't see why it should have an effect on you any longer, if it has to come to that.

[gasping]

[ this isn't the first time someone's offered — and yet, just like every other time before, caroline finds herself reveling in the generosity of someone who has no reason to help her. it would be so easy, she thinks, for someone to be afraid. to gossip, to spread fear, to rouse an army to take her out before she could be a threat to anyone.

except that hasn't happened. each and every opportunity for someone to wield impossible leverage on her has resulted only in kindnesses she doesn't deserve, each re-affirming caroline's deep-seated need to prove that she can be good, if given the chance. ]

It would. [ honest, if nothing else. ] But you don't have to do that, if you don't feel comfortable. I don't want to hurt you.

[ if he gives himself willingly, caroline won't. but if he jerks away in fear mid-bite, there's a chance she might not be able to stop herself. ]

[saviorexe]

I wouldn’t offer if I felt uncomfortable.

[Because Markus thinks of the alternative — of Caroline going hungry again, of her being that desperate and tearing fangs into flesh, unbidden, unwanted. If there’s a chance that she ever needed to call on him, and repeat circumstances could be avoided, Markus won’t hesitate to offer himself up to the altar of For the Good of Others.]

I mean it. What’s a pint or two of blood if it means you don’t starve? I trust if there were other consequences you’d tell me, right?

[As in, if there's something else he should know, he's all ears.]

[gasping]

Okay.

[ it is. it's okay. it's good. she's grateful for the offer, touched by his sincerity — she believes him, more importantly, when he says it. she just almost feels bad for how easy it was to get him to agree. ]

I'll — can I text you or something? I could set up a schedule.

[ markus can have monday nights, and then she can treat him to half-price pizza slices after. fair is fair. ]

[saviorexe]

[Well how can he refuse when she adds pizza into the equation?]

Text me whenever you need me.

[For another Displaced, the group that’s slowly come to consider his own people, all of this is such an easy decision to make.]

For anything. Not just related to blood.

[After all, Markus will be the legal custodian of two safehouses when they return to New Amsterdam. Surely they’ll cross paths again.]