@clarke.griffin

[strove]

Hi everyone. I know we just got newcomers, so I apologize if any of this seems new to you. I recently updated our Arrival Guide, so take a look at that. If you have any questions, I'm sure one of us can help you out.

Before we get started, I'm Clarke Griffin and my partner in this is Stephen Strange. We've been running the Displaced-owned bar, Red Wings, since February. We're two members of the small handful of Displaced who have been here since the very beginning.

I've mentioned this in a few places, but Stephen and I are working on a proposal for our group. It's one that we hope that works for everyone, and it also doesn't expect anyone to adhere to any codes or guidelines. I don't think we can set up rules, bylaws, or committees for our group when we have turnover like we do. It would be unfair to anyone coming in. I've stood by this position from the very beginning, and I do think it helps us.

As for our proposal, there are a few parts, so bear with us.

What do we tell the world about us?
The general consensus is "very little," but we're unique and we stand together more times than not. It helps that we have a private means of communication. Even if we might not have a single mindset or goal, we are a unique group.

So, what are we going to say? Stephen and I want to tell the world that … as far as we know, we may have gotten our powers from some kind of gift from "god," as that's the only explanation we've gotten so far. Our ties to the gates will help us explain that, though we don't need to go into detail there. We also don't need to believe in these being gods, so much as that being what we've heard from the people who build the shrines.

When we talked about putting this proposal together, Stephen pointed out that while it's better that we don't say we're not of this world, it's important that we don't say we are from it, either. I'm sorry if that's confusing, but we don't want to get caught in a lie. Nobody's going to assume we're from another world, so it's better if we don't mention it at all. Anyone who might have proof one way or another would need to expose themselves to us. Down the line, leaving that open-ended may prove useful in knowing why we're here and how to get off this world.

We do intend to announce ourselves publicly soon as two people from our group, but we wanted to let everyone know about it first. If you're new, let me make it clear: people know about us. They know we glow. They know we run Red Wings. This is more of a formality than anything. It's a matter of taking control of the narrative. If you're employed with us at Red Wings, I understand if you want out. We can do our best to help you find other employment.

Red Wings as a Base
Moving forward, Stephen and I want to help the community with Red Wings. We've gotten the place mostly back in working order, but there are a few more concerns about the safehouse and the tunnels built in that I'll cover below.

As a base, we want:

To help grow a sense of community outside of times of crisis, encouraging connections between local people in the city.

To provide food and shelter to people in need, especially during crises

To work with PRESERVE to have a spot for people to rest up during these crises, as well as provide medical care if hospital workers are overworked.

Offer people a place to stay temporarily, especially if they're helping with the above causes.

We'll expand from there. The goal is to continue what we started during our recent monster crisis.

Protecting Ourselves
One major concern that @adora.weaver brought up during that crisis is that we're not learning self defense or preparing for a situation that is, quite honestly, only getting worse here. While we will not be instituting obligatory self defense, we've spoken to El about setting up the abandoned hoverbike garage as a training range. This will include any and all soundproofing that would be necessary, as well as other facilities on site. We feel that it's a good space for it.

As for weapons and combat training, we'd leave that up to anyone who wants to do it within that space. I know that having a space for it has been hard, so having one dedicated to it moving forward will help. If you're interested in helping with construction on this project, let us know.

The big thing is that Adora was concerned that we aren't approaching our situation with the seriousness that it needs. I've updated the guide to better reflect where we stand.

In addition:

One of the concerns with "outing" ourselves is how we'd be able to protect ourselves if people turned on us. I see the tunnels under the city as a means of working this to our advantage. However, we need a way to conceal these from the common people. If we can't, we'll need to abandon this plan, but does anyone have any ideas?

Protecting the Citizens
Stephen procured a warehouse that we believe will help us provide similar training to New Amsterdam citizens. We believe that we can look for local sponsorship for this activity. Weapons training will need to be off the table because of the legality of it, but any other training will be allowed.

My hope is that we can have Red Wings security help train the people of this city in how to fight. In time, we'd like to be able to make a secondary Displaced business out of this service, one that can outlast Stephen and I. We'd also be happy to let someone take this off our hands, but we'd likely help oversee getting it up and running, as well as procure sponsors.

I saw that someone wants to help release information that we learn, as well. I don't know how we can do this or how we can get it setup, but if you have an idea, I'm all ears. I'm still hesitant to assume that everything we experience is relevant to the world as a whole, so we may need to come to some decision on that.

Welcoming Newcomers
I'm happy to keep up the Arrival Guide for as long as I'm here, especially since its original creator was my friend. But we do want to look at putting together a group that handles helping newcomers get situated, especially one that can be handed off between Displaced when turnover happens in our group. Does anyone have any proposals for how to manage this?

Powers and Skills Listing
The Arrival Guide has a short listing of people with skills that may be immediately needed during a crisis. Feel free to add yourself there if you think you can do some good. It's been out of date for a while.

However, we've been throwing around the idea of an official database for skills and powers, but it's not something that any of you would need to be obligated to be a part of. I'm wondering if anyone would like to take this up. Personally, I'm happy to list my skill set, but when it comes to powers, I won't be included. Just to give people an idea of where this stands.

Final Thoughts
Obviously, this isn't something that we can do ourselves, but we think this speaks to a lot of the concerns that people have had. Our hope is that we can hand most of these projects off to people.

If you have any ideas for changes, we welcome them. But we'd like to start moving forward on them as soon as we can.

Thanks for reading, and we look forward to what you have to add.

[ooc: Clarke and Stephen have been crowdsourcing and listening to What to Do for a while, so this is a proposal they came up with together! It's the result of months of IC discussion among the Displaced and between one another, especially after the last two events really putting the Displaced to the forefront of public attention. Both Stephen and Clarke are open to listening, but also want to move forward after a lot of discussion. However, we don't have the ability to run ahead with most of these projects ourselves (and have little interest in doing so because it's A Lot), so we were hoping something like this could be delegated via a post like this, with revisions made by characters along the way. The only thing they'll definitely be spearheading is anything to do with the Red Wings HQ (as in the bar itself), as well as using their Displaced-gained fame to get sponsorship for the self-defense center Both Stephen and Clarke are willing to delegate and put people in contact with one another as needed, so just let us know.

We'll also be submitting a plot engagement with the information about "coming out" once the discussion around this post ends. We'll mostly be focusing on that + the HQ, and we're happy to provide starting details for the other projects (since some have been run by the mods already) to get you moving in that direction.

Thanks!!]

Comments

@julian.bashir

[frontierbashir]

I'm happy to head operations with PRESERVE during crises in order to set up a medical base. Ideally I would work with someone as soon as possible with PRESERVE, come up with a list of necessary supplies in crisis based on this last outing, and work with someone at Red Wings, be it you or Dr. Strange, on strategically the best way to set it up in the future.

I'd also like to go so far as to teach some of the other Displaced emergency first aid if possible.

[strove]

Since you were helpful before, I'm sure I can put you in touch with them. When they have more advance time and knowledge that they'll be using Red Wings for that purpose, I'm sure they'll be able to provide what you need, as well.

A lot of us took first aid in the past, but our current group has had a lot of turnover, as I said. You might want to look into offering that as a skill and ensuring that you're listed to give it on the Welcome Guide and later on whoever puts together our skills/talents list.

@stephen.strange

[rehandle]

To follow up on Clarke's point, we used to have an initiative for first aid training amongst the Displaced but I'll be the first to admit that it's fallen by the wayside lately. It's my understanding that various people have also offered first aid training as individuals. I'll see if I can drum up some names.

Establishing a more formally available first aid training again would be incredibly beneficial. If you're happy to take it on, it may be worth gathering anyone else with a suitable skill level and implementing a training course of some kind so you can cover more ground if you get a heavy uptake. I'm happy to help with the setup where needed.

@eugene.hicks

[preseance]

I've got some ideas about that. Let me know when you're free for a gab.

@quentin.coldwater

[filloryfanatic]

I love organizing information and have been working on some things, so I'm happy to take on the skills and powers database!

[strove]

Thanks. Just keep in mind that not everyone is going to share their powers.

[Since sometimes Quentin can get ... relentless about asking stuff.]

@lexa.trikru

[coalitions]

I'll assist wherever you think helpful, Clarke.

[strove]

What stands out to you?

@steve.rogers

[fossils]

I don't know what other information you might be talking about, but if there's anyone within PRESERVE that trusts us, might be worth passing along strategies against and weaknesses of the monsters we ran up against if someone hasn't already. Even if it's not a guarantee that we'll be facing the same thing again, but can't hurt to try and keep them in the loop about what we've learned. @castiel.winchester @dean.winchester

And if there's access to city maps and planning, I can help work with whoever wants to get into self-defense with the general public. Would recommend including evacuation plans, getting people familiar with where they can go if they can't fight, especially with these new safehouses in the works.

[ He's thinking of the kids on the roof with Natasha. ]

[strove]

I was actually referring to what you said here. We've had one set of prophetic dreams in a year, so thinking that we held back because we weren't certain about them is a bit unfair. Our response was the best we could pull off in a short time, with or without notice. We can't start releasing everything about us because it might be a sign for the world, which is why we need to come to some kind of mutual agreement.

I do agree that we need something out there, but I'm not sure PRESERVE is the right source for it. We might need to be that ourselves, using information put together by the guys looking into it and putting it out someway or somehow.

I do like the idea about the evacuations, though we might need to look into broadening any safehouses beyond what we have at the HQ if we're going that in depth. That's not to say it's a bad idea. That's just more than what we had planned. I can see about getting some maps to get you started if you were interested in taking on that project yourself.

@castiel.winchester

[unwings]

What we have in terms of strategies and weaknesses, currently, isn't much. But I have to agree. At this point, they're better informed than not.

Dean and I can work towards compiling a public bestiary.

@lexa.trikru

[coalitions]

I have volunteered along with Castiel to come up with some defense training for civilians that also emphasize the ability to run, hide, and find a safe place as well as defend themselves when necessary. If you have knowledge of big picture evacuation plans I would welcome a partnership.

@eugene.hicks

[preseance]

Happy to go wherever I'm needed, ma'am.

[strove]

I think working with @julian.bashir is a good idea for you. The two of you could make something of that together.

@castiel.winchester

[unwings]

While acknowledging the legality issue... we do realize hand-to-hand combat alone won't defend these people well from ravaging monsters, right?

If they don't have a weapon, they may be better off running or hiding.

[strove]

It's a fair point, but monsters aren't the only threat we've faced. Having means of getting away and evacuate is important.

If you have suggestions for how we can train people in fire arms while still paying our employees, I'm all ears.

@john.murphy

[reproached]

well this should be fun

[strove]

Fun for you.

@kyna.medina

[evocation]

i'm not leaving red wings, and i don't care if people know what i can do
how are you going to spin the god thing? say that's what the cult thinks?

[strove]

Yep. Pin it on them, lay it on thick, and say we've seen things that connect to what they believe if needed. But going as vague as possible while putting the blame for it on them.

[Using them. It's not tidy or nice, but it's all they've got. They need to explain themselves somehow.]

@ava.silva

[sor]

Telling people that you have anything to do with any god, in any context tends to have pretty bad results, historically speaking.

That said, I'm here if you need me. I just hope this does more good than bad, overall.

[strove]

Trust me, I know. But it's the only answer we have, and we can frame it in as much doubt as we need to sell it. I'm ready to be as heavyhanded with it as needed.

@jon.snow

[northerndragon]

I can assist in any training that need be done, other than guns. But even if they don’t learn to fight with real weapons, it would be better to teach people to use what’s around them to defend themselves.

I can also help with building, but I am not a builder.

[There’s a distinction where he’s from.]

But not lying to people about being from this world — isn’t that what we’ve done all along?

[strove]

How strong are you? We need some people with strength to help carry some construction materials over to the garage to help Ian get it setup.

We have lied, but it was a point of conversation between Stephen and I, so I thought I'd share what we came to as a decision. Not telling them anything, basically, so that we don't say we are from this world from the start. We've never had to actually say it as a united identity.

@lance.sweets

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance has kind of been stalking the visible responses to see how things are going before risking stepping into this, but has finally decided to carefully address a few things.]

In terms of the whole going public as Displaced thing, are you and Stephen planning to act as general spokespeople for the group, or keep things really individualized? Anyone who's public is going to be a representative in some sense, which is something they can't really control and is just a natural extension of being the visible members of an otherwise somewhat mysterious group, so that's something you'll need to be prepared for if you aren't already. There will probably be a lot of questions, and some might be kind of delicate to answer. Public perception can change really fast.

As far as protecting ourselves if things get bad goes, the tunnels might work temporarily, but in that scenario you'll probably need a more long-term solution too. We talked briefly about this I think, and I don't really know of anything new to suggest, but it's something to still be aware of.

[strove]

We'll be representatives of Red Wings, especially since we're ownership and people know our group is behind management there. We debated hiring outside of our group, but we've decided to limit it to where we are so that newcomers who need a place to work while adjusting can continue to be comfortable. I realize now that we should have outlined this. It's something we came to a decision on a few months ago. As for the rest, we're ready and prepared to be spokespeople for our group. We essentially have been on a smaller scale already, though that was in the simulation before you turned up.

You're right that the tunnels aren't enough. They'll only get us out of the city if needed. We need the next step after that. I don't know what that will be, but the hope is that we can evacuate and figure it out from there.

It's not much of one, but it's a start.

@arthur.pieron

[givehimthekick]

I may not have been around for long, but I have experience setting up a base of operations, and in hand to hand combat. I'm willing to offer that expertise, either in setting up a the training space or assisting with training civilians.

[strove]

Can you reach out to @steve.rogers, @lexa.trikru, and @ian.herring above? I think they'll be taking point on many of those things.

@cassandra.pentaghast; i'm sorry

[stabsbooks]

These powers are not from the Maker.

[ She might've had something to say about the rest of the message too, perhaps something even potentially helpful or constructive. But currently Cassandra's shaking in too much rage to be able to give the rest of what Clarke had written anything like her full attention. ]

[strove]

I assume that's your god where you come from?

[Faithful meet ... faithless.]

@jack.miller

[personalwar]

If there are Displaced that want combat lessons, I can pitch in. Whether it's firearms or hand to hand or even just "how to keep your head in the middle of a battlefield."

It's not like we have a lot of guns to hand out or practice with, though. Have a solution in mind for that? I don't really want to use live ammunition to train people anyway (it's a waste of a limited resource and dangerous), but if we can set up a virtual shooting range or just find stun guns, that might work.

[strove]

I've seen a lot of downed officers and soldiers in the last year.

[She has a stockpile, Jack. This is survival.]

[strove]

Steve and I discussed an approach with what we release information wise, so here's what I have:

The bestiary that Robert and Castiel mentioned is a good idea. We see about getting something online that people can access, and see about trying to inspire some scientists to keep looking into this even if the government's shutting it down. But the more that comes out, the harder it'll be to stop everything.

So, that puts us at:

- Needing some way to disseminate this information. There are too many people to do it without it being online. I'd suggest we do it via Red Wings, but that would be untenable. We couldn't manage the influx of business to support that.

- So, something online might be best. Not sure how, that's not something I know well.

- We hope that scientists are willing to do some of the work for us, helping supplement the bestiary. We can't do it all ourselves.

Does anyone have some thoughts about where to go from here? Or angles that I'm not considering?

For the record, I'm obviously avoiding the Morningstar of it all, but I don't want our information to be conflated with them. They deserve to be independent of us, for better or worse.

[fossils]

@natasha.romanoff

@kira.solo

[forcevisions]

Are you going to bring Ball's followers into this?
Someone should warn them, if so.

I only ask because someone is going to wonder who told you that your powers are "from god."

[strove]

Unfortunately, they're already in this. We're merely stating what we've been told, and the shrines aren't visible to our eyes alone.

[She doesn't add, even though she thinks it, that Ball's followers had never taken care to ask them what they wanted. What they were comfortable with.]

[sparklequeen]

I want to help with Red Wings. I want to help people. Protect them. Make sure they're safe.

I have experience with leadership and management. Just let me know how I can help and I'll be there.

I know how to fight, but I'm not as good at it without the magic I'm used to having back home.

[strove]

Leadership and management, huh? We need someone to head up our warehouse project for self defense. It needs someone who's good at leading and management, even if it involves business sense. Stephen and I learned that as we went, so we'd be happy to show you the ropes.