meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 019

ARRIVAL LOG 019

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: March 22
WHAT: The nineteenth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at the end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #019

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 two people in front of you: one dressed in a thick set of armor, while the other wears medical garb. Out the windshield in front, there are many tall buildings—all reaching up beyond a normal city skyline, all entirely too close to the vehicle itself.

You realize there are others next to you: all dressed the same way as you, you'll come to realize: in jeans, with a t-shirt bearing some kind of sports team logo. To your left there's an armored interior door, two more people visible, and 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 lowers from its height and comes to a stop inside of an alley, with tall brick walls surrounding it. 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 the air outside feels immediately warm and dry. "Careful with your step," the guard says, helping you out. The nurse helps the others out, checking over each passenger one by one.

Once outside, you'll be able to hear some noises in the distance, which after a few seconds will be recognizable as the hum of a large crowd. There will even be loud cheers here and there, as if they're spectating some kind of event.

The main guard turns to address your entire group, and something about her bearing makes it clear she's done this before. "Now, listen to me very carefully." Your body will come to attention, immediately homing in on the words that follow, as if compelled to hang on every word. "You're going to leave this alley, and then follow my directions exactly." From there, the guard will go through a list of directions, only about five steps (round the corner, turn right, etc.). "Once you've done all that, you'll see a sign: Red Wings. Go inside and you'll make some new friends. They can help with the rest."

The guard will hop back into the van, which will rise off of the ground and disappear as soon as it arrived. Once it's gone, you'll find your legs moving almost without your permission, guiding you to follow the stops the guard laid out.

And, as promised, you'll end up outside a bar called the Red Wings.

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 – and that includes the message passed on from the mysterious patron.

> RED WINGS

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.

Well, some of you are going to have a group of newbies to bartend. Our newest group just got directed to the Red Wings. If anyone else wants to swing by to help get them oriented and move them to the safehouse, I'm guessing the people who are on the clock will thank you.

The Red Wings bar is in a section of the large, futuristic city that houses a sports stadium, though not so close to it that the newcomers will have to deal with dodging crowds. Red Wings is tucked away on a side street, meaning that those stumbling in won't have to worry about attracting too much attention.

Why did they get directed to a sports bar, of all places? That will become clear as soon as they start to speak to the people inside. This arrival, as it turns out, is a little different from the ones that have come before.

◉ Aesthetically, Red Wings is a retro tribute to the lost city of Detroit. It's all red neon, cars and sports memorabilia, with all fittings and decor elements physical where possible as a nod to the era. There is also some artwork dedicated to Motown and its significance within the city, and there is a section of the digital sound system for Motown.

◉ The main area is spacious, with stools at the bar and plenty of room for booths and standing space. One area is reserved for the physical darts board and pool table, which are permanent installations.

◉ There is also a function room available for private bookings and smaller events, though this is currently not quite as nicely done up as the main space.

◉ The bar has multiple neural interface screens installed throughout to make sure there's always an easy view of the game, with one larger screen set up over the bar itself for Big Game days. Unfortunately, this won't be available to the newcomers as they don't have their neural implants set up yet, but they'll be able to gather that the other people here seem to be watching a screen they can't see.

◉ Drinks include a range of the finest craft beers, popular spirits and a basic cocktail menu, but newbies won't have any money to their name just yet, so they'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers if they want something to eat or drink.

◉ Naturally, there will be some people working at the bar and others who are just there to hang out, but either way the newcomers should have plenty of people on-hand to explain the situation. With more on the way, potentially.

Further details about Red Wings and the staff can be found at this post put together by our Stephen Strange player, as he's one of the owners of the bar! Most of the information above was borrowed from this post.

Once the new characters have been oriented and calmed down as needed, they'll all be escorted by one of the established Displaced back to the safehouse. This is done for security and safety reasons.

> NEW AMSTERDAM (AND BEYOND)

Once the new Displaced have endured their four days in the safehouse, they'll have their IDs set up and will be released in this strange new world. New Amsterdam will be theirs to explore, and if they manage to get the lowdown from another Displaced who's been here longer, they may learn that they can travel even further than that.

Probably better to not get ahead of themselves, right? New Amsterdam has plenty to offer!

◉ It's Opening Day for the New Amsterdam Koniki (New Amsterdam's baseball team)! Despite the signings of the aces Jim Bridges and Osamu Kawakami, the Opening Day starter is long-time Koniki, Connor Tseng. Tseng is a finesse pitcher who's been with the Koniki through good and bad (and for the past few seasons, it's been a lot of bad). Never overpowering batters with a crazy fastball, Tseng hits his spots and is the master of the off-speed pitch. There are a mess of articles on the sports blog circuit about what message the Koniki are sending in having Tseng start the 2512 season, but most agree that it's a message to Tseng that he's still the team's leader. Bridges and Kawakami are undoubtedly more explosive, but these signings are clearly meant to build a team around their long-time ace.

Tickets to get into the Koniki's first game will be difficult to come by, selling for five and ten times too much on reseller sites. The savvy baseball fan knows that the stadium will be sold out, however, and can grab a short-term, one-day-only job to help meet the demands of Opening Day. And for anyone who's curious about the game but doesn't want to work at the stadium, it will definitely be broadcasted at Red Wings and plenty of other sports bars around the city.

The game itself will be a pitcher's duel for the first five innings between Tseng and the New Venice Gecko's ace, Jayson Soto. During the bottom of the fifth inning, rookie slugger Jiri Kim will hit a three-run homer, putting the Koniki up. Rather dramatically, the Geckos will come back in the top of the sixth, tying up the game and running Tseng off the mound. Both the Geckos and the Koniki will try to shore up the game via their bullpens. Ultimately, the Koniki will win in the bottom of the 10th inning in a walk-off fashion, with Kim hitting another home run to call it. The defense throughout the game is a mess for the Koniki, showing signs that even their new aces may struggle with that defensive backdrop.

Finally: yes, there is a designated hitter to protect pitchers.

◉ St. Patrick's Day is here! While the typical aspects of the holiday still exist, such as drinking a lot (and yes, alcohol and other drinks will be dyed green!) and getting pinched if you don't wear green, this day is also a time to remember the country of Ireland that's now under the Atlantic Ocean. The primary focus for New Amsterdam citizens is remembering the parts of Europe that were lost to the effects of climate change and the disaster of World War III.

So while there's plenty of merrymaking at various pubs, there are also neighborhood memorials set up for remembrance. There will be plenty of media coverage about this too, giving anyone new to this world a very immediate idea of the state that it's in, with a good portion of western Europe underwater.

◉ It's spring, which oddly means that fertility symbols begin to spring up around the city. They can take the form of actual symbols etched or painted onto walls, though there are also carved figurines and phallic shapes scattered around as well. (Feel free to browse here if you need ideas.)

◉ While these can be found at random around the city, they will also be associated with the shrines dedicated to the Displaced which have existed in New Amsterdam for some time now. These shrines are continuously taken down and put back up in different parts of the city. The NAPD as well as private interests seem intent on removing them for profit or controlling vandalism. Despite continuous efforts on both of their behalfs, these shrines continue to rise in number. There seems to be a cluster of them that get closer and closer to Red Wings. Candles and small offerings (flowers, dressings, and hand-made jewelry from wood and plants) can occasionally be seen near them.

◉ There will also be small spring gatherings held in parks where people will be happy to share their food and enjoy the new plants that have sprung up throughout the city. (Assuming that your allergies aren't being set off, anyway!) The Displaced are welcome to attend!

◉ On a more somber and serious note, non-violent protests have begun to spring up around the city in response to the situation on Mars. The people working on the Mars colony have been mistreated and forced into horrible conditions, and it seems more and more likely that the government is trying to keep that quiet and act as if things are better when they're really not. The protests are kept small in number by design, mainly because the people involved don't want to get immediately shut down by the NAPD -- or worse, have the UNA step in. They mainly take the form of people standing outside of campaign offices, though instead of handwritten signs, they're able to project digital versions with their implants.

Some NPC members of Morningstar who recently relocated to New Amsterdam will be involved in these protests as well. Any characters who feel strongly about this issue, want to learn more if they're new and uninformed, or who are simply interested in getting to know other Morningstar members better should feel free to participate. (Note: While we won't be able to thread out NPC interactions, feel free to use the questions thread below to discuss with us how your character would be received by these NPCs if you're interested in that!)

> SAFEHOUSE

Located under an abandoned hover-bike garage, access to the safehouse is a hatch in the floor beside a rusted set of metal shelves that used to hold tools and supplies. The immediate area is similarly abandoned: full of rundown and dilapidated warehouses and forgotten businesses, where numerous people squat in hopes of having some stability because they can't afford a place themselves. Gaby will be around, ready to greet as many of the new arrivals as she can and get them settled in. Brusque and no-nonsense, she'll be open to questions, but will advise the newcomers to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information. Newbies can also contact El through zeir inbox, if needed.

The safehouse is a large space with multiple rooms for storage, with the largest of the rooms 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.

◉ There is a mini-bar set up in the kitchen. The quality of the alcohol inside is akin to what someone might get from the well at a bar, but it's well-stocked. There will also be some dye set within reach of the mini-bar for anyone looking for some Irish cheer to add to their beverages. This is courtesy of Gaby, as per usual!

◉ While the kitchen has basic foods and necessities, anyone looking for a jolt of caffeine from coffee or tea will find themselves sorely lacking. The only tea present is herbal in nature, and caffeine appears to be almost nonexistent in most of the beverages lying around.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El. Either she or El will explain that they've been given a modest stipend of credits to help them get by until they can find a job. This will be enough to cover their living expenses for about a month while they hang out in the safehouse, if they're careful with budgeting.

◉ 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 do not have access to the internet until their ID is setup. They only have limited access because they're present in the safehouse, but they can't surf the rest of the internet, check out Cooltalk, or watch the equivalent of Netflix until their ID is made.

◉ New characters cannot leave the safehouse at this time. The hatch is locked tight for them, making it impossible for them to get out for the next four days while they're locked inside. There won't be any immediately obvious ways to cut their way out through turning off the power.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until MARCH 26 ICLY (MARCH 23 OOCLY). 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

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 MARCH 26 ICLY (MARCH 23 OOCLY). 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 any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our March calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

Something else to keep in mind is that on Monday, March 16th we'll be putting up a Metaplot Engagement Post, which will have a focus on how to integrate all players into the metaplot as well as take suggestions on future events and the direction you'd like the game to go. This will be open to everyone in-game, old players and new players alike, so please keep an eye out for it!

As we announced here, AC will be check-in only this month due to the state of the world right now. If you've taken a hiatus, this counts as your check-in, but otherwise please feel free to relax for the rest of the month. In addition, the HMD will be moved to next month. New players accepted in March will only have to submit 10 comments across 2-4 threads for the April 2020 AC (which goes up on May 1, 2020).

> NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. SAFEHOUSE

[ The seven-foot-tall man who looks like he could bench-press a truck is a remarkably quiet person. Maine keeps to himself, he doesn't start conversations, and he spends most of the first day with his eyes closed and his brows furrowed in concentration. What he's so focused on is anyone's guess: he greets anyone who interrupts him with a flat stare that all but screams, "Fuck off."

Give him a day, and he'll start moving around. That Maine is restless is obvious, and he can often be found doing pushups or sit-ups beside his (too-short) cot. Trying to burn energy, from the looks of it. He'll pause if someone approaches, eyebrows raised in a silent question: "What?"

By the last day, he goes still again. He sits on his cot and stares at a wall, one hand resting over the metal dataport at the base of his skull. Those who look closely may note that the surgical scar from his implant is slightly off to the side compared to most people's. Evidently, the dataport was there first.

Those who brush against Maine's skin while he's stuck in the safehouse will be hit with a deep sense of loss, a twinge of guilt, and a hot, simmering fury that feels like it could boil over at any moment. The sensations are fleeting, as Maine immediately jerks away from any contact with a growl of displeasure. ]

II. ST. PATRICK'S DAY

[ The only green on Maine is a sticker he half-heartedly slapped on his chest. Not much, but enough to keep him from getting pinched … or maybe people don't want to risk retaliation from someone so physically intimidating.

In any case, he's more interested in the memorials than merrymaking. He studies them with mounting confusion that breaks through his usual stoicism, and his faintly puzzled expression is a sharp contrast to the somber faces of others. Maybe it'd be a good idea to discreetly clue him in?

Later, he begins what looks like a bar crawl. Only catch is that he's not actually drinking. Maybe he's the designated sober one, or maybe he's got some other motive. In any case, he doesn't seem to like the crowds. He twitches away from anyone who bumps against him, then snaps, ]

Watch it.

III. BASEBALL

[ It's pretty easy for Maine to get a temporary gig working security. He's assigned to a post near several souvenir vendors in the hopes of reducing shoplifting. He doesn't actually do much: he stares people down, and they move the fuck along. Simple, right?

Well, not quite. Shoplifters move along, sure, but so do paying customers. Maybe that's why one of the vendors tries to give Maine a lecture on Looking Friendly, during which Maine stares at them like they've lost their damn mind.

Save him from the lecture? Catch him checking out the game during a break? Or maybe help him find a souvenir jersey in his size since he seems to be struggling? ]

IV. PROTESTS

[ Know what Maine really didn't need while out clothes shopping? A reminder of the undeclared civil war back home.

Some people may look at the protestors with curiosity, sympathy, or anger. Others may ignore them entirely. As for Maine? He looks deeply uncomfortable. He tries to skirt past them, but he's too damn big to do so effectively, and he winds up bumping into people.

Anyone who touches his skin will find that there's more than discomfort at play: there's anger, frustration, and a bitter sort of helplessness. Anyone who doesn't touch his skin will get a distracted, ]

Excuse me.

( ooc: have another idea? hit me up on the cr meme! maine's info/permissions are here. )

( continued from here )

[ It's quite the stalemate they've found themselves in. Maine, too, discovers that he's growing more and more irritated the longer this man refuses to back down. It's utterly childish, which Maine would recognize if he'd take a step back.

But he won't step back. He won't back down. He's a human wrecking ball: no one's going to make him move unless he wants to. ]

Get some.

[ Manners, he means. Because that's not a hypocritical thing to say at all. ]

[At this point, with the bar already being crowded enough as is for all the festivities (Fenris wasn't here to partake, but to drink), people are struggling to get around them. Most are too drunk to do anything but awkwardly squeeze themselves through, but a couple look as if they're about to say something, only to think better of it when they see the two irritated men staring each other down. It's only a matter of time before someone gets fed up enough, but for now, the stalemate continues.

Stubbornly, perhaps not exactly talking about the other's 'suggestion' to get some manners, but also making a declaration that he wasn't going to move:]

No.

[Is he only five-ten to this man's what, seven-feet? Yes. Is that going to stop him? Absolutely not. Fenris remains where he is as if he matched the other man in both height and stature.]

[ It's actually impressive how ballsy this man is. If Maine wasn't so upset about the sharing of his emotions, he might realize that. Might take a second to go, "Damn," and actually back off. A strange sort of reward for someone having the courage to stand up to him.

But Maine is upset, and that translates to obstinance and anger. He scowls down at the man, not giving two shits about the people around them who awkwardly try to grab their attention with quiet "erm"s and "um"s. They can fuck right off. This is between him and the prickly prick.

Maine doesn't respond verbally. He folds his arms, well aware that it makes the muscles in his arms look even bigger, and shifts his feet slightly. Planting them solidly, like a tree.

He's not moving, either. ]

[This has moved well passed "completely and utterly ridiculous" territory and rocketed straight into "blatant stupidity". He's aware of this, and while the residual emotions from the incident have died down, he's still keeping himself just angry enough that he wants to stay rooted to the ground.

Whether it's an intimidation tactic or not, Fenris takes it as much when Maine folds his arms, his already imposing figure becoming more so. But this just makes Fenris' lips pull back into a smirk, almost as if he's amused, before a low rumble of a laugh escapes him without even thinking about it. He folds his own arms in a sort of mock mimicry.

Nope. Not moving.]

agent maine | open to all!

for fenris

no subject

i cannot believe how dumb they are

this is just embarrassing now

for ephemera

no subject

no subject

no subject

for ginia

no subject

no subject

no subject

ii

no subject

no subject

i. safehouse

no subject

no subject

two

no subject

no subject

Baseball

no subject

no subject