meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 004

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Night of August 05
WHAT: The fourth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #004

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, bright sunshine and the rushing sound of a crowd flooding in, a heavy wave of warm air. 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 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.

The sound of the crowd nearby carries on uninterrupted. Music, chatter and laughter, the occasional sound of a large splash into water. At the end of the alley opposite to where the van left you, the street opens out to a wide artificial river. Gathered on the banks, on several boats across the surface and in the water are hundreds of people: a giant pool party under the blazing summer sun.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request.

> THE PARTY

The message from El comes the same as previous: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

Who's ready for bus #4? Looks like they want you to have some fun this time, they've dropped them off right on top of the river party.

Someone get down there and find them before they fall in, please.

The New Amsterdam River Party is a near annual event, scheduled for whenever the heat begins to really climb. Located roughly at the middle of the river's length, six large boats take anchor, blocking any water commute for the day. Smaller boats move between them and the river banks, taking any passengers who'd prefer not to get wet back and forth. The area is decorated for the occasion, with several huge palm tree and mermaid sculptures curving over the river, flashing in alternating neon colors. Curling strings of bright lights are strung between them, dangling low and promising a truly flamboyant light show when the sun goes down.

For the moment the the focus is fun under the sun. Colorful floats, balls and slides are strewn across the water and banks, with a wide array of water pistols, balloons and slings available at stalls. Beach umbrellas offer shade along the banks, and music blares from the boats, where food sellers have booths and tables to feed the crowd and provide plenty of cool drinks. Lifeguards take posts, watching everything with careful eyes, and large, marked stalls declare themselves to be skincare centers, handing out free sunscreen and reminding everyone to regularly reapply, especially if they've been in the water.

In all the colorful, skimpy swimwear and sunglasses, six bewildered people in white scrubs are sure to stand out. Hopefully the citizens are having too much fun to care, but with such attentive lifeguards and event security around, it would be best to find the new arrivals in the crowd as quickly as possible.

> THE 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.

◉ While there were previously also NPC occupants of the safehouse, natives to New Amsterdam, these people have now been moved on to somewhere safer. A few of their belongings remain, discarded or accidentally abandoned.

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

◉ 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 AUGUST 09. 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 August 9 (November 16). 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, or if they'd like to join Morningstar, 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 November calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month.

As a reminder, AC for new characters 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 November 20 and close on November 27. 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

[He'd just made it back towards the cot he'd selected, changed out of his scrubs into what had passed for clothing around here- the outfit more threadbare and a size larger than he typically wears his clothes, sleeves dragging past his fingers, when he hears his name.

His head snaps up, and his mouth curves slightly. It's with a careless toss that he relieves himself of the toiletry bag he'd been trying to figure out how to stow, and leaves his arms open at the ready. Even if he'd been expecting her to do it- he still appreciates every movement she telegraphs, because it slows her down and leaves him free to brace his feet a little better. It's been awhile since he's felt so off balance]

Kara! [There's a bit of surprise colouring his voice, arms squeezing tight around her upper back, hard enough that he's lifting her slightly off her toes= because for all her biological advantage over him, he knows she'll let him.

Which is why he's so surprised- this place clearly likes those from their side of the multiverse, given who he's seen- but he'd never expected her to be one of them. Even if he hadn't been a fan of the family she comes from, Supers aren't exactly easy to take down and keep down]

Thanks. [It's dry, but amused] I'll keep it in mind, next time I feel like changing it up a bit.

[Like he had a choice, but he knows the shaved head is not a good look for him. He'd only caught a small glimpse in a reflective surface, but- yikes] Nearly. I'm guessing that's standard protocol?

[ a delighted giggle bubbles up when he picks her up. gods, it's good to see him, even if the circumstances are shit. for her, it's been a little more than a year since she's been able to see him. jessie had given birth, the dome had fallen over gotham and then they were stuck. without even the good parts of gotham to keep them company. so if she holds on a little tighter than she normally would--well. it's understandable. especially since she doesn't have her powers anymore. ]

Don't take it too hard. No one can really pull off the whole escaped experiment look.

[ including her. she still hasn't gotten used to the super short pixie cut her hair is now. but she's pretty clearly healthy otherwise. maybe a bit tired, but nothing like the new faces recovering from their ordeals. ]

More or less. [ she pulls back a bit from the hug so she can look him in the eye, but keeps her arms loose around him for a bit. ] This has only happened a few times now, but it's starting to form a pattern.

[While he isn't as far down the timeline as her- he's not questioning it, squeezing back as tightly as she is. If there's one thing the life that they lead makes them used to- it's being nothing short of thrilled that in a sticky situation, you have someone at your back that you can trust. Someone that you know precisely what they're capable of.

It helps not to be alone. Her giggle is delighted- and his smile only widens in response. When's the last time he'd heard someone sound so genuinely happy? To see him, or just in general? Far longer than he cares to think of]

That's something I was pretending not to notice. [A beat. And what kind of big brother figure would he be if he didn't hand out a little white lie?] But it's not a bad look for you.

[You got good cheekbones, you'll live! When he sets her back on her feet, it's gentle, though he's not in any hurry to release her] How many is a few? The place is a little crowded, but-

[Not enough that he would have thought that there would have been more than a round or two of this. What gives??]

[ she snorts. ] You're a liar, but thanks. [ she knows how terrible it looks. and she pretty much hates this haircut. ]

You're part of the fourth group. I was part of the third. We were all drugged and groups two through four were dropped purposefully. Group one was hijacked by Morningstar--the people who own this safe house--before transport was complete, thinking the bus was carrying something else.

[ kara takes a breath and steels herself. a sitrep is something she can give him, but it's. a lot to digest. she goes slow, keeping an eye on dick in case he starts looking overwhelmed. ]

We've all been given neural implants which seem to be the norm here. They control pretty much everything. In addition, there's been some genetic manipulation. I don't have access to my powers, and everyone who comes through gets a power. [ surprise, you're now kinda sorta a meta. ] There's also this.

[ she slides her hand down his arm until she can lace her fingers through his. their sternums start to glow a faint blue and feelings start to filter through the empathetic link. it's mostly affection and happiness coming from kara, though there is a bit of stress that hovers in the background. ]

[His expression is the definition of 'who, me?' for all of a few seconds, innocent, wide blue eyes, before he can't hold the expression any longer] It might not be your best look, but it'll grow.

[At least you don't look quite like someone strung you through the washing machine?] So if Morningstar hadn't had an interest in whatever they thought they were getting- what would have happened to the first group?

[And how many had gotten passed them, because they hadn't cared about whatever was on the supposed manifesto? But, one thing at a time. He needs to collect the rest of the information she has for him, before peppering her with too many questions] None of them?

[It's the second time that he's felt the bond, and he's a little more prepared for it this time- to see the blue glow appear, to feel someone else, where usually there's only him. The first thing she's going to get is the pulse of his concern, overshadowing the relief he'd felt upon seeing her, healthy and someone he's always proud to have in his corner. There's affection too, and low level grief beneath it. Anger too- discomfort.

He'd rather be here, holding her hand, than trying to connect with a Jason he knows nothing about- but he distinctly isn't a fan. Still, he squeezes her hand, smile a little tighter around the edges] How are you adjusting, to all of this?

ARRIVAL LOG 004

i'm sorry i don't have an icon as cute as urs weeps

dick's face is cute enough

flatterer!!

truth!!!

OK FEELINGS JAMS OCCURED