15 February 2021 @ 11:30 pm
Hello.
I may have spoken with some of you previously here on the network, but for those whom I haven't yet, my name is Shinobu and I was part of the last group of arrivals.
As I'm sure you're all aware by now, prior to our drop off to Red Wings (or any other location in the interim), we are under the influence of a compliance drug and are directed to Red Wings first before the safe house to settle in and wait for our IDs.
From what I gathered, El has been our primary contact whenever there is a new group of Displaced; a message is sent to all of us in the hopes that at least a few of us will be able to retrieve them and bring them to the safe house.
Lately, the protocol seems to have changed somewhat.
The purpose of me reaching out to you is to see if any of you would be interested in becoming part of a welcome committee, of sorts. To help meet new Displaced, regardless of where they're dropped off; to explain our situation as best we can and help flush the drug from their systems before shuttling them off to the safe house where they're to be held for the next four days.
I believe having a set group of people to do this will help alleviate the tensions between older and newer Displaced, as well as to ease the transition of newer Displaced being integrated into society.
Some of us have been here for quite some time and have settled into our new lives; I realize not everyone is available at all times to help. But given that I've yet to find my place in this world, I'd like to place my focus in assisting in this way. Of course, I'm but one person, and should I find my way home somewhere down the line, I'd feel better knowing there will be someone taking care of things in my stead.
If you have any suggestions or are interested in becoming a part of this group, please let me know. I intend to message El with our contact information so that we can be notified when the next batch of arrivals show up. Currently, I'm looking into creating an antidote for the compliance drug we've been injected with. This will take time, but if anyone would be able to assist or if you have any information regarding it, please let me know as well.
For the record, I am a doctor for the organization I work for back home and have a background in pharmacology; the antidotes I'd created previously were to counteract poisons found in demons.
While this application isn't exactly the same, given time and through some trial and error, I'm hoping to be able to create something that can be administered to future new arrivals.
Thank you for your time.[
ooc: tldr, shinobu is looking to gather a permanent group of people to help new arrivals after they're dropped off! here is the plot engagement thread for your reference. feel free to PM me on this journal or on plurk at ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
wooloos if you have any questions; this is mostly to gauge interest as well as to come up with a plan in case the group drops/is swept between arrivals.
i'd like to also ask if you could please keep private threadjacks to character inboxes, thank you! ]
29 January 2021 @ 09:46 am
Hi everyone. So with potential talk about traveling more, we might want to consider whether it will be worthwhile to create more gates with the places we go to. In order to do that we need relics. We do currently have enough (gates need four) to jump around, I know several of us have them, but it is possible that there are more in the ruins that people didn't pick up when we opened the first gates. It's sort of a 'the more the merrier' in case of emergency with them.
Info: the relics started out seeming normal and then a few days later glowing. They glow when a Displaced holds them, so we will eventually figure out which ones work. Any of us can hold them, it's not like they bind themselves to one of us. The relics were able to help during the monster attack by keeping the mind control/monster turning from happening. So they're helpful outside of the gates, but the gates are the main purpose.
Anyway, I was thinking of going on a quick expedition back to the four locations of the ruins and searching to see if there are more relics we can scoop up. If there are people here who want to come see them for the first time and see if a relic reacts to them, they're welcome to. I'm not sure if there's a one-relic one-person rule, I know that I picked up a bunch of relics and only one of them worked, so take that with a grain of salt. I was thinking maybe in a few days? So people can think about it and our newcomers to be a part of it if they want. We can start with Mt. Everest and then go over to New Oslo, New Cairo, and New Rio de Janeiro.
PS (I know I know shut up Q): Those of us who already have relics might want to make sure it is known to close friends that if they are sent back, their relic should be brought to Red Wings so they may be used by us in the future! I inherited my extra ones that way. I am also happy to show people how to use the gates themselves during this and how to close them. Okay I'm stopping now! Sound out in the comments.
Edited to add: I'm going to scout first to see if the yellow-eyed creatures are down there, because I don't want to put anyone at risk. I'll update if it seems questionable.[ooc: relevant links! The journey to the four locations, the aftermath log, the ooc aftermath, and plot engagement comment!]
23 January 2021 @ 04:59 pm
Think there's connection between Gold god and grief/peace combo. Maybe rage and searching, too.
When Aerie vanished, experienced Blue god shattering. [ Which he does not want to discuss in detail, thanks. ] Was underwater. Gold-eyed animals around. Felt cold, then rage. Searched for something. Gold eyes dimmed. Then felt grief, then peace.
When monsters attacked in May, some infected people. Eyes glowed gold, turned on allies. Could cure infected using empathy bond. Contact would burn first. Then feel peaceful, then sad.
(Had weird dream before monsters attacked. Pack of creatures searching for blue. More here.)
Wasn't here July 2511. Guide mentions curing unnatural rage with empathy bond. Says it came with intense despair.
Don't know who's making sense of this shit. [ Hence posting this on the network rather than going to someone directly. ] Seems like pattern.
That's it.( ooc: please take any private threadjacks to character inboxes. thanks! )
21 January 2021 @ 06:38 pm
Hi, everyone. It looks like it's time I said something.
To be clear, I've never really thought of myself as much of a "leader type." It's why I tend to remain in the background: doing the general upkeep for this branch of Morningstar, handling the logistics of your arrival, and leaving it at that. To be clear, I don't mind chatting with all of you, but that's neither here nor there.
For the sake of being thorough, my name is El. I'm one of the few remaining AI in this world and the founder of Morningstar, though you're some of the only people who know my true "identity," so to speak. While we now know how you Displaced came to be in this world, for a long time that was a mystery, and the man responsible didn't bother to come forward with an explanation until recently. We were clueless about how and why you came to be here, but you happened to be dumped into our laps and so Gaby and I decided to take you in and oversee your integration into our world.
The protocol for processing you has always been the same. I need a few days to fabricate identities for you that are specific yet vague enough to make it seem as if you've always been a resident of this world, rather than a "tourist," so to speak. Forging that documentation and then attaching it to your neural implant is something that takes a bit of time. Yes, even for me. If there's anything about this process you want to better understand, feel free to ask. But please understand, an ID here is more than just a piece of plastic with some basic information on it.
A question has come up of whether or not this is "fair." I see it as a precaution to ensure that none of you end up in trouble that we can't bail you out of — a necessary if frustrating processing period. Even if you were all to take caution when going out into this world without identities or full implants, there are too many variables to account for; too many ways in which things could go wrong. I am, at the end of the day, a security bot, and the idea of letting you out into the world while so vulnerable would make me break into hives, if I had skin.
A certain James Henries has been able to bail people out in the past, but I'm not convinced we can rely on him. If you would all rather put your first steps into this world under his purview, you could certainly talk to him about that, assuming he can be contacted. He would likely be able to provide nicer accommodations than our safehouse, if that's your main concern. Additionally, he is the one responsible for giving new arrivals a drug that compels them to listen to orders, likely because he had similar concerns about what would happen after he let you loose. If that's a point of contention, I would discuss it with him.
As for Gaby, she's going to remain on leave. Actual leave, this time. Much like the rest of you, the time in the Aerie has taken its toll on her, and she's not in a position to manage such a wide and varied group as you right now. If any of you are willing to take on some of her duties in the meantime, feel free to let me know.
Finally, there may be something I've missed. I don't always process emotions or desires in the same way as humans. Ask what you want, but know this: my only real goal here is to keep you safe. If you decide as a group that you no longer need or want that protection, you're free to discuss it amongst yourselves and let me know. I won't be taking any action unless you all come to some kind of consensus, so there's no need to worry about being left out in the cold.
16 January 2021 @ 11:47 am
@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.
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