ARRIVAL LOG #025

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone! Naked everyone!
WHERE: All over New Amsterdam.
WHEN: June 20-27
WHAT: Summer Solstice and newbies showing up.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy, nudity, drinking, and some shady herbs.

> ARRIVAL LOG #025

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound, light, color, and sensation. It's hard to grasp onto anything but a series of rhythmic beeps, a medicinal astringent smell, and the sensation of movement beneath you. Your eyes are heavy and you struggle to keep them open, but in the glimpses between slow blinks, you see a man in front of you dressed in all white. There isn't any other visibility. Not yet.

You realize there is one other next to you who's dressed the same way as you. To your left there's an armored interior door, two more people visible, and large, hulking buildings passing by through the window. 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.

When the vehicle stops, a nurse steps into view. His jaw is set as he pulls the IV out of your arm. "Just a small delivery today," he murmurs to himself.

The nurse opens up the van's door soon after, and he steps out, monitoring the way the two heavily armed soldiers yank you out. "Same orders as usual," one of the soldiers—a woman, going off her voice—says. "Head to the front and into the bar. Don't go anywhere else. Look for the glow in people like you. And once you do, listen to them."

They don't waste any time after that. After surveying the area to make sure no one's about to come out and stop them, they quickly climb back into the van and pull off. And pulling off means coming to a hover before rising up and flying away. These "roadways" are in the sky.

With them gone, all that's left is two newcomers with no choice but to follow the instructions they've been given.

◉ 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.

Soon after, a note arrives once again in all of the Displaced's inboxes:

The new batch is coming in. Sorry for the lack of advance notice, but I can't keep people on staff if they run the risk of being identified by you. Some of you have a reputation for making things hard for people like them. Take care of these newcomers. There's just the two for now.

PM

As with before, the message can't be traced to any particular location or identity, instead reading as if it comes from a specifically tailored UN broadcasting alert.

> SUMMER SOLSTICE

Once the newcomers head out of the alley, they'll see a city that is both in disarray and in the middle of celebration. People will pass by them in very little clothing, showing off almost every inch of their skin. They'll likely have a flower crown or flower wreath on them—if not both—and a drink in their hand. The smell of alcohol will be thick in the air, and debauchery will be the name of the game. Fortunately, these two newcomers won't have far to go, but there is the sense that this is a city that appears to be recovering with a great deal of alcohol. At least: that's the tone that's been set.

The reality is that the newly elected Governor of New Amsterdam, Joseph Lynch, and his Lieutenant Governor, Amabel Delafield-Chapin, pulled together a Summer Solstice celebration to help New Amsterdam's citizens move forward, one that's inspired by the Swedish Midsummer celebrations from before World War III. While Summer Solstice has always been celebrated in New Amsterdam on a much smaller scale—think a long weekend at a rented out skypark with screens up to prevent anyone from seeing a great deal of nudity—the Governors decided to go big this time. It's been a few months since New Amsterdam had anything fun. This celebration is their gift to their citizens in a time when it's much needed.

So, what's going on around New Amsterdam with this celebration going on?

> AND THAT'S WHAT YOU MISSED IN NEW AMSTERDAM
It may be borderline impossible to summarize everything that's happened in New Amsterdam since the Displaced first turned up, but we'll give a go at it. The important part? This city's seen a lot of tragedy between giant kaiju attacks, people being hit with a rage sickness, an EMP that killed lots of people, and later a simulation that dragged people into an experience of a war from hundreds of years ago to be a part of an AI's revenge scenario. Did these people ask for this? Not in the least. Most recently, the city was hit by a monster attack, though thanks to those strange people with the blue glowing chests (known to each other colloquially as "the Displaced"), it fared better than the other megacities around the world. For once.

Of course, New Amsterdam tends to be the site of some weird stuff. For instance: around last December, the city started growing lots of plants out of every hole, and that hasn't seemed to stop. What was once a bulking metropolitan city with skyparks being the common source of greenery is now a weird merger of a forest-like city.

To top that off, there are some people who have been worshipping the Displaced around the city, painting and building little shrines to them. These people tend to be marked with sacred geometry tattoos. These people aren't in the majority in the city by any means, but they were the first "fans" of the Displaced. Now that the Displaced are becoming known (not for being people from another world, but for their feats to help the city and their glowing blue chests), their shrines are probably getting more notice.

On a more normal note, after the last Governor of New Amsterdam abdicated her post, there was an election! The new Governor of New Amsterdam is Joseph Lynch, and he's reinstated the Lieutenant Governor position for the pro-Displaced politician, Amabel Delafield-Chapin. Interestingly enough for the solstice events ahead, Delafield-Chapin was supported by those shrinemakers in her run for office. Though she lost, Lynch saw her promise and made sure she'd be his right hand.

> RED WINGS
The two newcomers were directed to head into a bar that is on the other side of the alley, and there is only one available: the Displaced-run Red Wings. While Red Wings looked worse for wear thanks to the recent monster attack, it's starting to look like its old self again. Bright red lights welcome the newcomers inside. The windows have been repaired, and the bar looks like it's in better shape. Thanks to the attack, there are still some cosmetic changes in progress to freshen up the place, getting rid of the booths and replacing them with tables, but this appears to be a work in progress.

Business is slow right now, but it doesn't seem to be due to any fault of the ownership. The people drinking outside are walking around with drinks in their hands that they got from somewhere, but it's definitely not here.

Still, this is a Displaced-run bar, with Displaced employees helping out. If there's a place to "find the glow," so to speak, this is it.

> MAYPOLES
Set up around the city are tall, metal maypoles artificially covered in vines. These are meant to be meeting spots for people to dance and celebrate around. At each of these maypoles, there are stations for food, drink, and revelry, as well as music that plays loudly and encourages people to dance.

Thanks to the fact that nearly everyone has the day off, these maypoles can be seen all around town as sites of merriment.

Occasionally, the music cuts off to explain the lore around the maypoles, dictating that they were once thought to be magical hundreds of years ago. Magical how? No one seems to know. More recent interpretations tend to add that the maypole is very clearly a phallic symbol, but historians used to gladly debunk that. So, it's up to anyone's interpretation. Either way, these are meant to be meeting grounds, and there will be celebrations going on around them all throughout the busy solstice week.

> FLORAL WEAR
It would be a real waste if such a celebration went without reveling in the greenery around New Amsterdam. In what is only a slight snub to the ridiculousness of Mia Ballo's campaign, there are stations all around town to make flower crowns, wreaths, and leafy headwear. Some people are a bit more ambitious, making full outfits out of leaves and flowers. Some people are a more creative version of ambitious, using the wreaths to cover up various regions, if you catch our drift. Flowers aren't great for that, but hey, at least there are plenty of stations around the city to help cover back up.

> HERBAL LIFE
Want to know what else is magical during the Summer Solstice? Well, legends say that herbs are much more potent and powerful during this time. Anyone who's keen on spreading the herbal wealth around the city has an opportunity to go on planting expeditions. Thanks to the unusual growth of greenery around the city, there's a good chance that even a drunken fool can get these herbs growing.

There are single cell packs of herbs available to all New Amsterdam citizens. The people handing them out tend to have tattoos of geometric symbols that most definitely mean something.

As for the herbs? Well, we pulled together a list: aloe, mint, lemon balm, lavender, sage, thyme, chamomile, calendula, basil, fennel, fern, rue, dog rose, nettles, elder, St. John's wort, vervain (good thing there aren't any vampires around, huh?), yarrow, and mugwort.

Will they truly be more potent? Hard to say. But they will most certainly grow.

> DON'T NEED TO BYOB
Thanks to Joseph Lynch's deep pockets and the city's need for a good time, there will be plenty of alcohol available throughout the week of the solstice. Whether it's wine, homemade moonshine (which is typically only brought out during Halloween around these parts), or snaps, there is always something available. The snaps themselves tend to be lemon, elderflower, or herbal-infused flavors.

There is an old tradition that you should sing while drinking snaps, but no one's going to be enforcing it around town.

> GET YOUR FREE FOOD
In line with the Midsummer festivities, there is plenty of food to go around. Most of it is Swedish in nature. Want a list? We got you: pickled herring, potatoes with dill, (non-dairy) sour cream and chives, skagenröra (shrimp on toast), and västerbottenpaj (a cheese quiche/pie).

> BONFIRES
At night, there will be bonfires set up near each of the maypoles. The point of the bonfires is for revelry and enjoyment. Around the city, buildings will light fires on their roofs to create a skyline. The city walls will be lit up with torches, as well. The thought here is purification, as well as the obvious passion involved with fire itself.

There will be areas around the city where "fire pits" are set up for people to leap over them. The fire itself for these will be fake because of all the legal difficulties, but there is a theme of burning away what came before.

> SKINNY DIPPING IN THE RIVER
This is exactly what it says on the tin! While the river is typically loaded with boats during the day, Lynch puts a stop to all river movement to allow for swimmers as the celebration goes on. It's early for the annual river "pool" party, but no matter. The people of New Amsterdam need this.

In the evening, this will take a turn for the dirty as people jump into the river sans clothing. Want to join them? Feel free. Once more, it's not like the NAPD is going to be monitoring this. Their hands are full, and they don't want to touch this stuff.

> SEXUAL FEELING
Not one to miss out on an event built around the notion of debauchery, various brothels from the Red Light District will have deals and bargains set up around the event itself. Since sex workers won't work for free, everyone will still need to pay for their experience—but it'll be worth their while. For anyone who's just looking to add some kink to their experience, there are tents set up around the city for this purpose. Someone will need to rent it out, sign up for who's joining in, and have a good time. Some tents are larger than others, so don't feel as if you need to hold back.

A key note of all sex work and sexual endeavors around the city is consent. To keep their businesses up and running, no one is tricked into joining in or ends up in these situations unaware. Consent is the lifeblood of this industry.

> AND NOW: SHRINES
Around the town, the worshipers of the Displaced will be working hard to set up shrines all over the place. Wherever there's a maypole or a bonfire, it's likely there will be a shrine set up nearby. Coincidence? Most likely not. Underground New Amsterdam will see less festivities due to the fire safety conditions with the bonfires, but there will be plenty of shrines there, too.

Since these worshipers with geometric tattoos will be around helping with pretty much all of the festivities, there is a high chance that the Displaced can hit them up and ask them some questions. Anyone interested in doing so can hit up our thread below for this purpose.

A new mural will spring up near the financial district seemingly overnight, stretching over the external walls of several Vyonation subsidiaries. It's almost as if the artist is daring the security experts to spot them. The mural itself is of seven bright lights in seven different colors: white, blue, indigo, red, gold, orange, and black. Many of the creatures from the recent monster attacks will be pictured throughout, stylized with line variations, clawing violently and attacking each of the lights in rage. And, of course, the same sacred geometry will be pictured, framing the artwork itself.

This mural is courtesy of New Amsterdam's own Banksy type figure. They've recently come out as the identity "Legion," and it's apparent that Legion was not, as rumored before, the Displaced Takeshi Kovacs.

> NEWBIES? WHERE DO THEY DO?
For a very long time, most newcomers were relegated to the safehouse that was run by the Displaced but largely managed by Morningstar. These safehouses will still be out of order for a little while longer due to the destructive monster attacks, so these two newcomers will need to be convinced to sit tight … somewhere for a while. Although it's advised that they don't take to the streets during the Solstice festival because they won't have a neural ID set up yet, it's unlikely that they'll get in trouble for it. The NAPD is strapped for having enough officers, and they're unlikely to try to police too much of the … everything that's going on, so people without an ID won't need to worry as much.

Still, even if they have a little more freedom of movement, they'll have to get used to a few ugly truths about this new world:

◉ They'll be living on the kindness of others. While Morningstar and the Displaced have a good amount of second hand clothes to offer to newcomers, they won't be in the finest shape.

◉ The drug in their systems won't be going away for a few hours, so they'll have to deal with the urge to bark on command for a little while. At least it's not multiple days!

◉ This is a world without a lot of basic commodities. Coffee is hard to come by and extremely expensive. Paper? No one produces paper anymore, not even for the rich and famous. And bugs are the protein of choice given that they're easy to come by and don't take too much energy to source.

◉ While the Morningstar network will be set up for all the newcomers thanks to their proximity to Red Wings, no one will be able to VR and Chill until El finishes making their IDs. That means that any news reports or information about the world will be out of reach for the time being. Their fellow Displaced will need to help them out in the meantime.

◉ Morningstar will provide a stipend to the newcomers, but it'll only be enough to feed and clothe themselves. If they're looking to get a job, they'll have to accept the reality of entry level in this new world. Yep, entry level. At least it's easy to get certification to get moving on the career path if you're talented enough.

> 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 to roam free until JUNE 26, 2512 (September 21, 2020), and until that date will appear as "@anonymous" on the network. 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. We do expect that some characters may be unwilling to sit tight for four days when they don't have a safehouse locking them in place. Feel free to plot amongst yourselves, and come to us if you have any additional questions!

If your characters would like to hit up the shrine-makers/cultists, hit up our thread here. Keep in mind that these NPCs only know what they believe, but we wanted to make them available on this scale once more!

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.

The September CR meme for the month is here.

Please check out our September calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month.

As we announced in our calendar, AC will remain halved until at least January 2021. New players will only need to provide at least five comments across two-four (2-4) threads, while older players will only need to provide ten comments across two-four (2-4) threads. Please let us know if you have any questions about this!

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