@clarke.griffin & @lance.sweets

[strove]

@clarke.griffin
Hi everyone. This is @clarke.griffin and @lance.sweets. We wanted to give everyone an update, as well as give a rundown on some things moving forward.

First off, I know some of you just made it back from the Aerie, while others have been back for a while. For anyone who hasn't heard yet, the Aerie was a separate world where everyone was brought to it and given a new life, new memories, and new relationships. It wasn't an easy place to live, and some of us have only gotten a headstart in coping with what we went through. Still, not everyone's figured out the particulars, and a lot of us just got our loved ones back.

Perhaps most importantly, while we as a group tend to have weird things happen to us, this is the first time that the entire collective world has had a shared experience like this. Many of us came from situations where we were more prepared for this than most of the population of this world. Even if you're new, I'm willing to bet that this is the case.

Being in the Aerie changed us. I believe Lance can put this better than I can, but it's important to remember that you're far from alone in any of this. I'll let him delve deeper into this now.

@lance.sweets
‘Complicated’ is not even close to a strong enough word for the situation we’ve all found ourselves in, and there’s not really any sort of established framework for how exactly to deal with it. We’re all going to be figuring this out as we go along, but there are some key points to keep in mind.

The first is to remember that, for any similarities or differences there might've been, the people we were in the Aerie are not exactly the same as we were here before, or are now. Some patience and understanding with each other will go a long way in navigating what's happened. Additionally, the way in which each of us--including the native citizens--deals with this will be different, and so it will help if everyone can remember that and have no expectations for what others might do or how they may feel, or in what timeframe those occur. There’s no right or wrong way to come to terms with everything that happened, and that includes reconciling two entirely separate lives; some may treat who they were in the Aerie as another individual entirely, some may try to blend the two, and some may prefer the person they were in the Aerie.

But as Clarke said, none of us are alone in this, and that’s something that shouldn’t just be sentiment. As difficult as it can be, reach out to others if you need help; likewise, check in on each other whenever possible. It's very easy, in the midst of something of this scale, for individuals to get lost in the chaos if there isn’t a concerted effort to make sure that doesn’t happen. On that note, we also have people here who had arrived only days before the Aerie began and so had no time to establish any sort of support network, as well as new arrivals who can’t be forgotten about in all of this.

For those of you who have just arrived, hopefully you've found the network; although you'll be anonymous until your IDs are registered, you can still participate in discussions and read through older conversations, as well as access the new arrivals guide and the information compendium, the latter of which I believe is updated but I may have missed something. It'll give you something to do as a distraction from the current situation, at least. Additionally, if you have questions or need something brought to you, someone may be able to help with that.

[Lance probably more with the former than the latter, since he's not entirely sure if he can even get into the safehouse right now and doesn't care to test it.]

@clarke.griffin
If you're looking at the arrival guide and noticing that we need some updates, they'd be welcome right now. I usually handle it, but I'm not of a mind to be able to do so at this moment. [Which will be apparent soon for a particular reason—but also, she was doing a lot in coming back from the Aerie. Clarke always has her hands full, but she also knows she has to make good on her "I delegate I don't do everything" word. See, Gene—she can commit to her nonsense.]

Finally, our group has a bar named Red Wings. Both @stephen.strange and I run the establishment, though it's going to fall mostly to me for the time being. If you would like a place to help you get started here, or even get familiarized with the world, Red Wings is a good place to get started. We offer jobs to all Displaced, and we're only staffed by Displaced, making it so that it's a place where you can settle in on your terms. [Unsurprisingly, she isn't mentioning any code of conduct or her firing someone rather publicly. No need to draw attention to it.] And if that doesn't appeal, we do give free meals (and sometimes drinks) to our own on a regular basis.

Right now, just as we've done before, Red Wings has been converted into a community center to provide outreach and resources to our community. If you come and help out, you'll still be considered an employee and paid wages for helping out.

As a note, I'll be in charge of operations for the time being. If you helped Stephen with any of his responsibilities, let me know. I could use some help. [The point being to take the onus off of Stephen. This is how they manage things.]

We believe that covers everything. We know this is a lot to digest, so please feel free to ask any questions. Lance and I are here to help.

Comments

[halfbloodhatchling]

Back on my world I was a Stalker licensed with the Southern California government. Mostly monster hunting and retrieval. Sounds like there are monsters here, but I'm not clear if I can take a position that pays with regards to dealing with them. That'd be my preference.

[lifetothefullest]

As far as I'm aware there aren't any jobs specifically dealing with monsters, but @robert.plant may know better than I do since he handles most of the monster-related information here.

That said, last time there were monster attacks many of the emergency services stepped in to help deal with them, so although not inherently about fighting monsters those are jobs that could lead to it.

[halfbloodhatchling]

Gotcha. I'll see what I can do I guess. Doesn't need to be something I'm great at long as I'm good enough to not put people's lives at risk or get fired.

[lifetothefullest]

I wish I could give you better advice, but unfortunately with everything that just happened things are even more unpredictable than usual.

[Putting it mildly.]

[halfbloodhatchling]

Sure. Bit hard to acclimate while locked in a safehouse.

[lifetothefullest]

Almost as though everything about holding a bunch of people against their will for days right after they've been abducted to another world is a terrible way of doing things, but no one seems particularly interested in hearing that opinion.

[He hates the way this is all done so much.]

[halfbloodhatchling]

It's a lot like that, now that you mention it.

[lifetothefullest]

Unfortunately, few people seem to see it that way. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to deal with that on top of everything else.

@anonymous

[cognitivus]

If I could go on record as a current resident of the supremely disconcerting locked underground vault:

Containing a dozen emotionally heightened strangers in cramped quarters with no familiarity or trust in the intentions of their captors on its own is a precarious choice. If the objective is to help new members of your Displaced find stability and integrate, you'd be surprised at the kind of building resentment that can occur over the course of a few days. There is, among some, a quickly breeding discontent. Particularly if the wrong combination of personalities feed off of one another, or clash with one another. It also doesn't take into consideration the mental health of those individuals, any pre-existing disorders or phobias, or the state of mind for people who have bad associations with nonconsensual imprisonment.

It's been mentioned to me that previous groups had been given the freedom to move around in a bar; a social setting with already integrated people and the ability to see the world outside of a stasis chamber would be a far better alternative.

Also.

Windows. Seeing sunlight over the course of four traumatic days might be slightly nice.

( In other words, he's coming off of intense chemical gaslighting and false imprisonment, woke up to intense chemical alterations and imprisonment, and he can feel the distress of a dozen people simultaneously.

)

[lifetothefullest]

These are all very good points and brought up in a more detailed way than I'd done so before, so hopefully they won't be disregarded as easily as my objections have been.

[He'd been trying to put things in politer, more vague terms so as not to make anyone feel particularly guilty for the sort of harm this could do to new arrivals, since it's clear enough that the reason for all of this at least comes from a good place.

But considering the reactions he's gotten, he's feeling less charitable, and it's also nice to see someone else articulate all the same things he's been concerned about; sometimes he wonders if he's the only one who thought this could be so damaging.]

I'm sorry this is something you have to go through. I'd offer to accompany you outside the safehouse for awhile, but last time I tried to do that it didn't go over well.

[strove]

I wanted to interject here: I don't know if you've ever been in solitary confinement long term, but the safehouse is nothing like it. That's speaking from experience and as someone who had a problem with it at first.

[lifetothefullest]

I'm aware it doesn't compare, but just because something isn't as bad as it could be doesn't mean it isn't bad on its own.

@robert.plant

[righteously]

Sorry pal, when it comes to hunting the pay is 0 and the benefits are crap.

If you wanna scope the lore, I put something together here:

magical monsters.pdf

[halfbloodhatchling]

Didn't get benefits as a Stalker so at least I'm used to that part.

Get me a gun and I'll still lend a hand.

[righteously]

They're not easy to come by
I'm open to a bartering system.
What's your experience level?

[halfbloodhatchling]

Understood.

I started learning to shoot about when I learned to read. Forty years experience, give or take a little.
But I'd imagine you'll want a demonstration to really trust I can handle myself without being a risk to anyone else, and whenever I get out of this place I'm happy to meet up and show you.

[righteously]

Sounds good
Doesn't mean you're getting one for free, but in the event of zombie apocalypse I'll give you a loaner

[halfbloodhatchling]

Sure.

Long term, once I'm not trapped in a box with only my fellow prisoners, how much would it take to get one for myself? Can't exactly say I have anything to offer for it at the moment, but it's good to have goals, yeah?

[righteously]

Cash, grass, or ass.

That's a joke.

Favors, contraband, or proof that I can cash in an IOU if I need one down the line.

Or just, like, the most coffee you can carry on your person. Just. A metric crapload of coffee.

@anonymous

[insect]

Thank you for the primer.

I'm a new arrival and have also dealt with monsters from my home world, although they're collectively referred to as demons.
Would you happen to know if anyone has collected any sort of samples from these monsters?
If so, are the observations still accessible?

[righteously]

We got demons back home too, but they're more like an ingredient instead of the whole gumbo.

Yeah, a few people took samples a while back. Mostly they just found out the gross bastards are a couple different species spliced together, either through weird evolution or by this one dick named Johann messing around in a lab.

What makes them a real bitch is the same thing that makes our chests glow. They've got a teeny tiny bit of god seasoning that makes them spicy and annoying.

[insect]

If those samples are still available, I'd like to take a look at them myself.
To clarify: I'm a doctor and a pharmacologist. I was part of an organization that hunted demons, and I'd developed poisons as an alternative means of exterminating them.
As I'm still very new, I'm certain much of my knowledge may not be applicable here, but I'd like to learn as much as I can to bring myself up to speed, so to speak.

The connection they have to us and this Johann individual is disconcerting; I'm assuming most of the information on him can be found in the two guides provided in the original message?

[righteously]

They're not on tap anymore, unfortunately. We had kind of an almost apocalypse incident a while back that pretty much wrecked our home base. I'm pretty sure everything got lost in the chaos.

Bingo. Just about everything we know about him's included.

The next time I get my hands on one, I'll cut you off a piece.

[insect]

I see.
While I hope that there won't be a repeat of that almost apocalyptic incident, based on what I've read so far, the chances of it happening again seems likely.
Still, I'm sorry you went through that.

That would be appreciated.
Though, perhaps I could come along, the next time you're called upon.
I understand you are one of the authorities on monster hunting here.

[righteously]

Don't worry about it. Wasn't my first rodeo. I'm on, like, rodeo number fifty at this point.

You have any experience out in the field, Doc?