@lance.sweets

[lifetothefullest]

Hopefully the new arrivals have found the network; even though you can only comment anonymously until your IDs are created, you can still participate in conversation or, if you prefer, just observe it for now.

There are also a few resources that can help you in passing the time and let you get a better sense of the situation here, if you haven't already been given them already. The welcome guide has the basics, and the information compendium goes into more of what we know on particular topics. If you have any questions, whether related to the documents or anything else, I'll do my best to answer.

[And for those not stuck in the safehouse, there's a different problem--]

As for everyone else, some of you have likely noticed we're being followed. Presumably it's the UN's new task force, and considering that the UN seems intent on blaming Displaced for what happened with the Aerie, this is something we should probably be concerned about.

However, because the UN has been particularly focused on recruiting former Shrikes, we at least have some idea of who might be involved with it. There were a few Shrikes amongst the Displaced, and each of us might know the names and/or faces of native citizens who could potentially be on the task force. Additionally, anyone else who experienced the Aerie--Cardinals or Rooks, Quarry participants, and so on--may also know of more.

If we make a coordinated effort to identify whoever is following us--as long as it's possible to do so safely--we can take away some of the power that the task force has, at least in respect to being able to operate unnoticed. However, if we're going to go about this, it needs to be done carefully; we don't need to drawing extra attention, and if we can avoid letting on that we're aware of being followed then even better. If anyone has any particular experience in doing this, suggestions, concerns, or anything else, please feel free to share.

Comments

@jon.snow

[northerndragon]

It’s been a while since we last talked, Sweets.

[Almost like another life! Sweets does not seem to Jon like a man he needs to apologize to, for the things that had happened, but Jon had been unable to do anything to help Sweets when he’d ended up in the Quarry — and for that much, he is sorry.]

How many here know how to hunt? People who know the way of it usually have the skill of knowing when something is hunting them.

[lifetothefullest]

It has, yeah. Nice to hear from you.

[It is really weird, to have known some people in the Aerie but to barely know them here, and he's not totally sure how to handle those relationships. But he's also pretty sure no one else really knows either, so they're all just kind of figuring this out together.]

I know there's at least a few here who hunt, since they mentioned it during the food shortage.

Public/private

[northerndragon]

People who hunt are best placed to spot them. Whatever they hunt.

Where I come from, city men don’t hunt much. The city watch or an ordinary guard might not be able to tell they were being hunted in return. I don’t know much about the police here, but I remember the Shrikes well enough — they would know. Most of you don’t come from the same kind of place I came from, yet there may be some from cities who can do that sort of work, and are as good a hunter in their own way as a boy from the Wolfswood.

Wish they’d still let us hunt some of those big deer, but I don’t want to know what they do with poachers here.

[PRIVATE]
You’re well? Nothing that happened is easy.

Public/private

[lifetothefullest]

Yeah. With how varied everyone's worlds are and how different their experiences, I'm hopeful there will be enough people with some sort of skill in the area.

[Private]

[His immediate inclination is to say he's fine, that what happened in the Aerie didn't affect him as much as it did some other people, and that's at least partially true. But it's not completely true, and he's been making a specific effort to be more honest about this sort of thing lately, and so he offers slightly more of an answer than he normally would've.]

Everything's been kind of difficult lately, but I'm dealing with it.

[That's... Something, right? Sort of an admission. Close to one. Close enough of one to then feel like he should deflect--]

How about you? Were you in the Aerie until the end?

[northerndragon]

[PUBLIC]

If there are any who wish to learn what I know of tracking, I will try to teach them. In the meantime, if I see one of these followers, you’ll hear of it.]

[PRIVATE]

Yes, I was there to the end. It was worse than it had ever been, if you can believe it. I try to be a better man than I was there.

What happened to you, I know what it is. It has happened to me. I know it isn’t something to speak of much — I have never wanted to. But still, I am sorry for it.

@robert.plant

[righteously]

Any thoughts on what we're planning to do with that list of names once we've got it? Or is this just like a recreational bird watcher type situation?

[lifetothefullest]

Right now it's just to figure out who we're dealing with. That serves the purpose of letting people know who to look for in regard to being followed, which ruins the advantage of anonymity that this task force is relying on to at least some extent.

Beyond that, that's something we'd have to decide on as a group.

[righteously]

I got a bad feeling about this

[lifetothefullest]

Great, that makes two of us. I'm really over getting stalked by shadowy governmental organizations at this point.

[righteously]

trust me, I get it
like
really, I do
and I'm not saying I have a better idea
I'm just saying nothing good ever came from putting people on lists

@amos.burton

[baltimores]

yeah, I've seen them around. recognized a few of them, too
which means they also probably recognized me, but who knows what that means

[ He totally gets why his Aerie-self went without a mask most of the time as a Shrike, but now that they're all back out in the real world it's kind of annoying. ]

you identify anybody already?

[ That's why he's bringing all of this up. Right? ]

[lifetothefullest]

At this point we can likely assume that if they're following us then they know who we are, so it's hopefully not a problem if they recognized you.

No, the person I noticed seemed familiar, but I avoided most other Shrikes; I might've met him at some point, but if so I don't remember anything about him.

[baltimores]

sure. just not sure if I've been around long enough for them to know I'm displaced, or if it's because they recognize me from the aerie. feels like it could be either one

of course you did
which is a good thing, considering how a lot of us were. not as useful out here, but still, good

[lifetothefullest]

If they've paid enough attention to figure out where you live, they could probably guess you're Displaced.

[Since Lance and Kyna have both been somewhat visible in the past in different ways.]

However, it's possible it really is just from the Aerie, so until you're sure of which it is it might be worth trying to avoid letting them know.

It might've been good for me there, but now I kind of wish I'd had more contact with them. It'd be useful.

[baltimores]

guess we'll have to stop hanging out

[ It's definitely a joke, but who knows how well that translates over text. Hell, sometimes it doesn't even translate in person. Not that that's ever stopped him. ]

not exactly planning on advertising any of this, so nothing to worry about there. if something happens, then it happens

and well. yeah. nothing you can do about that now though. this is probably a good start, considering

@jason.todd

[reneger]

tagging stalkers isn't going to do you any good
either you get into weird shit with them on you or you avoid weird shit altogether
anyone with enough cash can figure out whatever the hell you're up to here regardless

[lifetothefullest]

Whatever their actual goal is, at least for the moment they seem to be trying to be covert about how they're going about it, so undermining their ability to do that disrupts that option for them.

However, I agree that it won't accomplish much more than that. Do you have any suggestions about dealing with this situation?

[reneger]

sure
a) kill them, cause a scene
b) follow them
c) ignore them entirely and see what happens
d) get someone higher up the food chain to get them to fuck off

[lifetothefullest]

I'm ignoring the first option.

Following them could be useful, but only if they're unaware of it and they go somewhere that we can learn something from.

Ignoring them and seeing what they do could also be useful, but it's probably better to be purposefully ignoring them rather than being unaware of them.

If this is the UN's task force, I'm not sure who exactly that would be. From what I understand no one in the UN is very sympathetic toward us.

[reneger]

not all of us were around during the aerie. our newbies could prove useful

and we've possibly, potentially got access to jimmy and his resources

@jack.miller

[personalwar]

Having some idea of who might be tailing us so that we can give them the slip if it comes to that seems worth doing, though I'm guessing not all of the Displaced are going to pick up on when they're being followed.

I've got some experience keeping my head down in situations like this, and not just from the Aerie. Still, I think you have a better sense of who the shrikes were than I do. I had to avoid them, so I knew some of their faces, but that was about it.

[lifetothefullest]

I think you're right, which is part of the reason I want to identify them; even if someone might not know how to tell if they're being followed, they can at least keep an eye out for a face if they know who to look for.

Unfortunately, I avoided a lot of other Shrikes in the Aerie myself, so although I probably know a few more than you do it's still not a lot. But hopefully there are enough of us that if we work together we can figure out who a decent number of them are.

[And business aside--]

[Private]

How have you been doing since the Aerie?

1/2

[personalwar]

I guess that makes sense, seeing how you ended up playing both sides.

There have to be a few other Displaced who were all in on the shrike thing. Hopefully some of them chime in.

2/2 (private)

[personalwar]

As well as anyone else has been, I guess. Kind of sick of having my brain scrambled, though.

(private)

[lifetothefullest]

Same, especially with having been in Hadriel before this. Did this sort of thing happen where you were before?