meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 010

ARRIVAL LOG 010

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Evening of October 21 and 22
WHAT: The tenth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion, loss of autonomy, sexual themes and alcohol usage. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #010

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs.

You realize there are others next to you. All of you in white scrubs, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth, restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, the movement of 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 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 drop some masks on the ground in a tan-colored tote bag. "Pick a mask," they bark, and then turn to 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 sound of various different carnival rides and men yelling for someone to step right up and try their luck on the various assortment of games that are available. Off in the distance, there's a large, hulking structure – perfectly vertical in nature, and people on it twist upward and then come slamming down mere moments later. It seems that you've just arrived as a part of some festivity, though it's probably hard to tell if you're an attraction or a coincidence of this all.

Either way – time to pick a mask. They're nothing special: they go over the head, but no one was ordered to put one on. They show various monsters – generic and otherwise – and it looks like they were purchased in bulk.

◉ 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.

> 10 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: OPENING CEREMONY

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.

Here we go again. You know the drill by now. Our new batch has been thrown into the middle of a Halloween party. They should have masks on which doesn't make them much easier to find, but I trust you guys can figure this out. You know the signs to look for by now. So… Happy Halloween. 🎃

Having ten actual days dedicated to Halloween may seem like a bit much, but New Amsterdam takes the festivities seriously. Thanks to being a melting pot of two millenia's worth of cultures, they try to touch on every aspect of it. The launch party is a two-day event set in the cultural district. Thanks to the lack of ground traffic, the city easily rolls in what acts as a mini-carnival. The ground throughout the carnival is lit with candle-filled pumpkins, providing a warmth of inviting light as the nights grow cooler. While the carnival shuts down during the working day, it opens again in the evening, allowing working parents to bring their children before the hours come to a close. During this time, children run around with their friends in costumes to ask for candy or food from nearby businesses or carnival booths. Sometimes these children have to perform a task before they get what they've asked for – either through playing a game or answering a trivia question – but they're never turned away empty handed.

The first two days are largely billed as a time for people to come together and have a good time, but Halloween is also known for offering opportunities to local artists to get their work recognized. Whether digital or otherwise, artists are asked to commit to a theme and produce art on the first day of the event that's viewed throughout the next nine days. Part of the tradition is the crunch of trying to produce a work of art with limited notice and time. If they aren't done before the first two days are over, they won't be able to get free advertisement for their work. When the event is over, all of the art will go up for auction, and the artists will receive 75% of whatever is offered for their work. This year's theme is "Remembrance and Renewal" – and most themes from past years are just as open for interpretation.

As it gets deeper into the evening and children have returned home, the festivities turn toward being more adult. While barred from selling alcohol until 9 PM, the various carnival booths change their tune after that point, offering a wide array of alcohol – including their own takes on moonshine. The first night even features a competition over who's brought the best, and everyone's invited to try a sample and put in a vote – for free. A rather savvy individual would likely be able to find themselves well in their cups just off of these samples, as the moonshine contest is the way for the adults to get a treat of their own. For these evening festivities, everyone is allowed to wear a more risque costume, and sex workers come over from the neighboring Red Light District in order to advertise some of their more unique services for the evenings ahead. Every brothel will have a unique theme of its own to mark how special the event is, and their services will match.

Otherwise, the first two days of Halloween are known for allowing kids to have fun and for adults to be anonymous for a little while. Anyone who holds down a day job will still be expected to turn into work, but there's a tacit understanding that most people will be under the weather during this time.

◉ The carnival will have a wide array of rides that are set up rather quickly. There's a ferris wheel with seats that will rotate around a large machine like an atom, but with many different "branches" to allow a great deal of people to go on at once. Everyone gets on at the same time, and the seats "float." Each person can pay for how long their ride is in increments, and extend that time if they so choose. For the after dark people, there is a definite badge of honor in having a good time in a ferris wheel without getting caught with your pants down. Other rides include the Wicked Force – which rapidly takes people up 500 ft into the air and then drops them – as well as carousels that allow someone to customize their mount for an additional amount of money. Want a lewd mount? That's fine … after the kids have gone home to play, and some people like to show off whatever they thought up on Cooltalk.

◉ As always, there are a large number of food options available thanks to the local food trucks coming out to sell their food. Taco trucks are the most popular around this time, and that's most of what will be offered. Many trucks will have some homemade candy that they offer for free with each meal – with the option to get more.

◉ Throughout the city, there will be controlled bonfire pits that are lit every night at 8 PM, though they won't be present in the less cared for parts of New Amsterdam. Ahead of the event starting, there will be a website to let people know where these pits are going up so they can set up meeting places with their friends – or even reserve a pit for a private group. Reservations around the more popular areas cost more than ones that are nearing the "disreputable" sections – though "disreputable" is shorthand for rundown buildings in need of repair more than any crime.

◉ There are, of course, costume contests! While many local bars – dive and otherwise – will have smaller affairs, there is a large contest held on these first two nights. Because of the wide array of people and costumes available, someone has to enter their costume according to a certain theme. Some of the themes are: vampires, ghosts, zombies, pop culture (animation), pop culture (action movies), pop culture (celebrities), political figures, historical figures – and more! In the five days that follow, people will be able to go online and vote for their favorite costume. Whoever accumulates the most votes gets a meal of their choice at a number of participating restaurants – HAPPYHAPPYJOYJOY, SOL, Monde Pizza, Sweetwaffel and more – as well as 200 credits added to their funds.

◉ There will be dealers around the carnival trying to get someone to buy something to "heighten" their experience. While the "monster drug" is out in the city, it won't be available here. Halloween is thought of as a neutral ground for the city, and even the gangs recognize that. Most drugs will be hallucinatory in nature, providing effects similar to shrooms. Of course, any drugs are still illegal, and people will want to be careful not to get caught – or buy from the wrong person.

◉ Anyone who chooses to take part in the more illicit and sexual activities will be advised to go home to finish out their nights. Being handsy is fine, but getting caught on the ferris wheel? Well, the goal is to not get caught. Public acts are still illegal, though most people just spend a night in jail thinking about what they did. It's treated as more embarrassing than anything, but sometimes people let things get away from them. Many of the brothels will offer rooms to couples for the evening, complete with toys and supplies to practice safe sex. Even if they aren't spending their night with a sex worker, the themed goods are still there to enjoy.

> 10 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: THE NEXT EIGHT DAYS

After the rowdier events pass, Halloween splits into two main categories: corporate popups and remembrance. Halloween parties continue to be thrown at restaurants and bars, allowing people to enjoy a more low key version of what was previously available. Many of the bars have karaoke contests and themed parties, and many retail stores maintain a Halloween section until November first. If anyone's been invited to a party last minute – or they need a series of costumes to be extra about the whole occasion – they can hit these stores when needed.

◉ Pulsar's hover car-focused subsidiary, Bakker, advertises their 2512 line of cars by having hover hay rides around the city. Their trucks can hold up to six. Anyone hoping to go on a hover truck hay ride around the city to take in the sights and bonfires in the evening can call one on New Amsterdam's special Halloween app! These rides don't only show the city: they give a glimpse at the large amount of forestation just over the wall, allowing people to see that the Earth is gradually improving.

◉ There are, of course, haunted houses set up around the city! Haunted houses come in two varieties: virtual reality and 4D. Vyonation's gaming subsidiary, Vizija, sets up the virtual reality popups around the city. Due to the high tech nature of these setups, people do have to be on site to enjoy them. They interface with someone's neural implant, and depending on the experience, they can involve puzzles, escape rooms, murder mysteries, or even dissection tables. The 4D houses are the result of a joint partnership between Poe and Polarized – which are subsidiaries of Giles Bell and Pulsar, respectively.

4D haunted houses involve a great deal of props, realistic sights and smells, as well as the potential for certain drugs that can help provide a certain physical or emotional response. Whereas Vizija's simulation comes with the reassurance that nothing is real, Poe and Polarized team up to scare someone – and try to ensure it's as real as possible. Nothing offered at either is illegal, including the drug – though people with a history of heart issues won't be allowed to use the drug at all.

These experiences are made unique for everyone going in: people are allowed to opt out of anything that might make them uncomfortable, or even add in something along the way. If someone is feeling too much anxiety thanks to the drugs, they'll find a counter-drug added to their system to negate the artificial effects rather quickly.

◉ Remember that art contest? Anyone who finished a work will find their art somewhere in the city – and that includes anyone among the Displaced. If anyone is looking for artwork that's similar to what's been featured on the shrines, there will be a few, only they will seem more inviting. Whereas they celebrated people before, they now involve hands outstretched, welcoming someone down a blue-lit path. The same imagery – triangles and overlapping circles – will still be present, especially on the hands as tattoos.

◉ Five days before the 31st, there is a tradition of everyone donating a knife from their house to make it so that "spirits" can return safely. While no one in New Amsterdam genuinely believes that they might be visited by a spirit, the odd occasions around the city recently have lent some credence to this superstition. There will be knife disposal boxes all around the city – and anyone who doesn't give up a knife, butter or otherwise, will be seen as a bit of a spoilsport.

◉ On October 29th, there will be a procession from one end of the city to the other that starts just as the sun goes down and finishes when everyone has reached the other side. As you might imagine, this is a very, very long walk, and many people slip in and out according to what they can individually manage. People walk with candles along the way, and there will be booths selling new or replacement candles for a low price. Since the procession goes along the path of a lot of bonfires, it won't ever be difficult to get them lit. The purpose of this? Everyone uniting in remembrance: of a world that's healing, to celebrate the lives lost to usher in a peaceful era, to thank everyone on the colonies for offering a humanity a new home, and any personal losses that people might have faced. Even though there are still billions of people alive, there is the sense that everyone knows that they remain on Earth on borrowed time.

◉ For the last two days, people light candles and put them in their windows, and they also leave food outside of their windows and in the front of their apartments so that "spirits" can return safely. There's an implicit understanding that most of this food will be taken by people who aren't doing as well, and much of it is nonperishable. Anyone who's down on their luck will see candles in the window and will know that they will likely find food there. Many people stock up for this occasion so that they can replace any food. Unsurprisingly, most high-end apartments with well-off people don't honor this tradition, but people in mid-to-low end apartments will almost always have something to spare in the spirit of charity.

> 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.

◉ Any belongings from previous safehouse occupants have been packed up – and that includes any current Displaced who just got back from a trip. If someone left something out while they were in New Tokyo, Gaby will tell them where these objects can be found. For her part, she's just trying to get everything set up for the upcoming move.

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

◉ Once everyone that El spotted has arrived back, they'll be informed that the safehouse will be a temporary location. By the end of the month, everyone will be moving to a new location about fifteen blocks away.

◉ 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 25 (MAY 19). 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.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until OCTOBER 25 (MAY 19). At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

If you have an artist character, please feel free to comment below under our QUESTIONS header to submit a description for a work of art! As long as they submitted something, you can feel free to assume they made some credits off of the whole experience!

Since there is a part of this log that involves explicit sexual activity, please remember content warnings. If your character engages in a sexual act, slap a warning on that! None of the drugs available at the event will involve aphrodisiacs or anything that will remove consent. Some of the brothels may involve play with that, but everyone entering those arrangements would need to consent from the start. We're well aware of the sensitive nature of having a Red Light District-adjacent event while characters are under the influence of compulsory drugs, so no characters will be forced or asked into any acts against their will. There will be no exceptions to this. In addition, any newcomers won't be able to skip off into a brothel because they're new, won't be able to confirm their ages, and they won't have any other identifying information. Otherwise, please be respectful and check everyone's permissions.

As a blanket reminder, all arrival logs are designed as mingle logs for the entire game.

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 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 May 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 June 1 at 12 AM UTC and close on June 8 at 12 AM 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

[oh, thank the gods, she doesn't look half as intimidating as she did a few minutes ago. that's the thing prompto thinks about, putting up a smile at her words.]

Nah, that's cool. You'll probably have questions for me, though.

[he's carrying a bowl with him—it's a creamy soup with a bunch of potatoes. he offers it to her.]

I wouldn't have the nutrition bars. They're kinda gross, what with the bugs and everything. You might like this better, unless you're allergic to potatoes or garlic.

[Daenerys' smile is a little stiff, but its no fault of Prompto's. Even if she were not as on edge as she had been moving through the festival, she's still not quite certain what to make of...well, any of it. The safehouse, her arrival, the absolute state of her. And now, nutrition bars with bugs.

Her expression softens again when he offers her the bowl, and her stomach responds in kind once more. She knows better than to refuse out of hand, so she reaches up to take it.]

Thank you, sir. That is very kind of you.

[But she does not take a spoonful. Instead, she patiently sets it in her lap, absorbing its warmth.]

Are the insects -- bugs -- is that normal?

Just call me Prompto.

[all this formality... reminds him of certain starks. but, prompto's not one to put too much thought to coincidences, sitting down instead on a cot across from her, being mindful of letting her have her space.]

They're— Hm. How much do you know about this place? Planet Earth, New Amsterdam, year 2511. [super condensed version.] For many people who come from Earth, this place is ages into the future. Things are a little messy, there's a lot of many things that don't exist anymore, so instead of steak and pork and delicious chicken, we have to get our protein through bugs.

So... It is kinda normal, but not for us. The people like you and me.

I always eat around them.

[She does not say anything before he launches into his explanation, and there it is again -- that feeling of the world falling out from under her feet as she grapples with the various realities being fed to her. "Planet Earth", "year 2511". It will be almost immediately obvious that she isn't quite absorbing it, though she is obviously trying.

The most depressing thing is the answer to her question. The idea that, in a time long after her's, things are so desperate that the people cannot even farm meat. She tries to vocalize something about that but -- well, it is very sad, isn't it? Not just for them, but for the rest of the people.

She tries something else.]

Just "Prompto"? Does this "planet" care naught for family names?

[She supposes that makes sense, actually. Especially in a world of displaced people, what did their names or families even mean anymore?]

Ah—

[she brings him pause, and prompto's back straightens a little.]

S'rry. My full name is Prompto Argentum. I dunno what this planet feels about that, but where I come from they mean something, what with royalty and stuff. I'm just Prompto 'cause, well, I'm not royalty, so it's not a big deal...

[he's waving his hands around. he likes talking a lot.]

You're not from this planet, then? I'm from Eos, and a big minority on the non-Earther team.

There is no need to apologize. You don't need to be royalty to have pride in your family name.

[Maybe that was hypocritical, coming from her. Daenerys, after all, hardly knew her family -- and the family she did have the pleasure of knowing had been horribly cruel to her. But it sounds like a pretty thing to say -- and there's some truth in it, coming from the Breaker of Chains.

Names were important, whether you chose them or not.]

My name is Daenerys Stormborn, of House Targaryen. I afraid I know little of planets and other worlds or realms. There is only the known world, and its many lands. My country is called Westeros, made up of seven kingdoms.

[prompto gives her a flat look for a seconds, while the gears turn in his head.]

First of all, your name is really cool sounding. Also, are you familiar with Jon Snow? Or Sansa? Jon tried to explain the seven kingdoms to me out in the snow and it was — the weirdest geography lesson combined with history class.

I remember so little. It was so cold, too...

House Targaryen, though. Is it true about the dragons? Wait, are you a pri— lady? I'm not sure what the titles are.

[Oh no, very cute. Prompto's curiosity actually coaxes a small smile out of her to join the one raised eyebrow.]

Thank you. Oft times, it is longer. But I'm afraid I did not know of Jon Snow before I woke here. Sansa Stark I know only in name. The great houses of Westeros are many -- I am not surprised you've forgotten.

[She's mentally going through a checklist of his many questions.]

Yes, it is true. And if you were speaking to a noble woman, the title would be "lady". When speaking to a queen or other royalty, you might choose "your grace".

[It doesn't quite answer his question, but its the best avenue to avoid sounding like she were lording her regency over him she thinks.]

[he can do with the titles. he did it for a king, before. he looks casually nonchalant at the revelation however, taking in her words for what they are—meaning altogether no disrespect.]

I come from a place where we have kings and queens. We would call him 'your majesty,' but I've not been alive enough to see a queen. Would you like me to call you 'your grace?'

[either or, prompto does not care. but he also understands the importance of these titles for people who are of such social standing.]

[he smiles lightly, something sad but boyish as he says,] I call the now-king by his name, Noctis. He's my best friend.

I'm glad to hear it. Every good ruler needs people they can trust.

[Daenerys' smile spreads as Prompto tells her of Noctis. She'd never been so close to anyone (at least, not in many years) that they would feel comfortable enough to address her by name. It was always "your grace" or "khaleesi" -- it was simply the polite and proper thing to do. She had never known anything else, and no one else had been quite so...familiar.

Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps it wasn't. She does know one thing: sovereignty only mattered to the land you were born in. A foreign queen was worth little more than the dirt on the ground if the people did not accept her.

So:]

I am queen of the Seven Kingdoms. You are not of those lands, my sovereignty means little to you here -- and so it should be your choice.

[he's jogging his knee, utterly pleased with himself at the smile he gets in return. but he knows that the answer isn't so simple, and it's not that he wishes to speak down to her, but rather he doesn't want her (or anyone, really) to fall to the entrapment that is the kind of life they'll be dealing with here.]

It seems like it's important to you. Maybe — Maybe I can... offer some advice?

[resorting to look down at the bowl of soup, untouched, he wonders if she'll only eat if he leaves.]

This world doesn't have kings or queens or any sort of kingdom or royalty, as far as I know. I dunno how much you've been told, but... We're supposed to blend in, keep up appearances.

I'll never disrespect you for who you are, but I wanna bring this up as someone who wouldn't want you to feel disrespected by others.

[he's never been good at words; he learned the hard way a few times when he didn't approach noblemen appropriately, but he's hopeful to sound as reasonable as he thinks he sounds. he's had experience in how he dealt with noctis, and how their friendship revolved just outside of the periphery of royal etiquette.]

If it's alright with you, I'll call you Da—Danaerys, was it?

[She notices the way he avoids her eyes when he offers that advice, and she feels something in her chest sink. Prompto did not seem the sort that she wanted to inspire fear within, and she can't help but feel a little dismayed that he feels uncomfortable -- but then, they did not have a rapport, so she was no doubt expecting too much of him.

Regardless, she listens. There is wisdom in what he says -- it had not taken her long to surmise that this world did not deal in monarchies or lordships. Or, if it did, they hid it quite well. And what sort of sovereign would hide their titles? No sovereign in the Known World, at least.

Her smile comes back when he asks permission to use her name. Her correction is gentle and understanding -- valyrian names did not always roll off the tongue.]

Daenerys.

[Dany she hears in the back of her head -- but no. That was more familiarity than she was ready for.]

Thank you for your frankness and honesty, Prompto. I should like more of your advice, in the future.

[he's always been nervous in front of royalty, at least initially. he never knows what they are like—and no one is quite like noctis, after all. however, daenerys's response to prompto's otherwise bold piece of advice is enough to allow the last tendrils of concern to peel off.]

[looking at her, he smiles as he usually does, nodding at her words.]

If Jon is anything to go by, this place might be a lot more different than what you're used to. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but we got a good support system.

[there's something bothering him a bit, though.]

You're not hungry?

[Her smile fades some when he brings it back to reality. Yes, this world was very different from what she was used to and, despite what everyone had said to her thusfar, she was not sure she'd ever get used to it. Already, she missed the smell of horses, the feeling of the wind in her hair, the arid air with a hint of the salt sea upon it.

But she knew better than to dwell. Prompto helps by asking after her bowl of soup, rapidly going cold. She'd nearly forgotten -- but its easy enough to pass off.]

It would be quite rude to me to feast during conversation.

[And yes, perhaps she wasn't very hungry -- though the low growl of her stomach suggests otherwise. It was hard to tell what was nausea and what was homesickness.]

Psh.

[prompto snickers, leaning back.]

Truth be told, I'm more than used to holding the entire weight of a conversation. I like talking. [can't you tell] And sometimes Noct would fall asleep halfway through. —it's his thing, sleeping a lot, because of magic, not cuz he was being rude.

By which I'm trying to say that you could eat and I'll just tell you stuff about this place? Or I could go if it's weird to have someone watch you while you're eating — wait, it's actually pretty weird.

[he makes a face mostly at himself, before shrugging.]

I'm not bothered either way.

Magic?

[She manages to keep the note of skepticism out of her voice. She'd only had one real brush with magic, and it had forced her to kill her husband thanks to the curse it left behind. But now, Daenerys feels the itchy need to do something with her hands.

So, tentatively, she adjusts how she is sitting and holding the bowl and proceeds to take careful spoonfuls -- not quite as dainty as one might expect of a sovereign, but no so sloppy as to mistake her for something else.]

Of what sort?

[she's eating! prompto beams at that, but makes no actual verbal notice of it, lest it makes her stop. better to be with a full stomach than without.]

The magic, you mean? Hm...

Well, like fire and ice and lightning. He can make use of these elements and create strong spells with them, also create restorative drinks out of — anything, basically, but mostly energy drinks.

[it's okay if he indulges her, right?] Where I come from, royalty's been blessed by the Astrals, the six gods of Eos. So — far as I understand, it's not like the magic is theirs, but they borrow it from this magical crystal that belongs to, well, the Astrals. The way Noct's explained it is that he basically won't get burned alive for using their power, unlike if others did, like myself, what with zero royal or magical blood in me.

No one outside the Oracle and the Lucis line can use magic like that.

[he tilts his head]

From talking to others, magic isn't much of a real thing in other worlds.

Edited 2019-05-17 11:05 (UTC)

[There is obvious interest in the way she stares at him, if not a bit of wariness. It didn't sound quite so terrible as blood magic, nor quite as mystical as her occasional dream.]

Perhaps. Or perhaps the more accurate thing to say is that the existence of magic is not so clear or obvious in other worlds.

[For it certainly existed in Westeros, if not few and far between -- enough that being skeptical was still a perfectly reasonable response.]

[her words make his eyebrows shoot up in a way as if to say prompto had no considered that perspective when it comes to magic. he smiles despite himself, and nods.]

Yeah, that'd make sense now that you mention it. Were I not friends with Noct, I don't think I would have been too aware of it at such an extent.

This world doesn't have magic, supposedly. But we still have powers. Have you been told about the powers yet?

[She allows herself a pleased smile when he agrees with her. But something about what he says after turns her expression to something vaguely confused.]

"Powers", my lord?

[She already had something of powers, granted they were mostly latent and hereditary. Not accounting for the dragon dreams, of course. She still did not quite understand those.]

[he claps his hands and leans back, having half-expected that to be her response. they really gotta push forward the guide for the newcomers so they can get acquainted with everything they ought to know—but there's no harm in adding a personal touch to the explanation.]

Back in Eos, there's nothing special about me. I don't get to use magic unless it's in a bottle that I can throw around. I don't talk to gods or viceversa. I was mostly average at school and I'm always tripping on my feet when in battle. [he shrugs] Here though, regardless of who I am and what I did or didn't have before, suddenly I have a power all my own.

[as if just remembering, he puts a hand to his chest.]

It's whatever they put into us, here. Whenever any of our powers activate, our chests glow blue. The same way as when we touch each other.

[that's the gist of it. onto the powers—] My power helps me focus better. Like a camera zooming in and sharpening the image! Wait, do you know what a camera is...? [yikes] Anyway! Others have more obvious ones, like being engulfed in flames without burning! Or creating shields around them, even healing others with their own blood. It's all different.

[Well. That's a startling revelation to be sure. The comparison to a "camera" ebbs in and out of her mind before she can dedicate much brainpower to what he is trying to describe.

Once she starts to try and speak, and then stops, trying to figure out how to phrase her protest. It wasn't the strangest thing she'd been told thusfar, but--]

All of us?

[One hand moves to her chest, her other hand opening and closing a fist. So far, all the changes she had been able to see or feel. But this... ]

I do not feel any different.

Exactly.

You don't have to feel any different necessarily.

[it's clear that this is something she finds more interesting and needing to know than the other information, at this time. to be fair, anyone who finds out they suddenly have a new power would want to know what it is.]

You'll have to... tap into it, so to speak, before you can actually activate it. I'm not too sure on the mechanics of it, but Daisy is pretty great as a teacher in trying to find out what a person's powers are.

Did you have powers before coming here, or is this entirely new to you?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

ARRIVAL LOG 010

safehouse

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wtheck why did this go to spam

tryina keep the blonds apart i see

rude of it tbh

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