☆TRACK VI: THE NEW AMERICANA

[interdimanagers]

Who: All the rescuers...and DAFT PUNK.
What: The rescuers enter Vista City for the first time.
When: January 20th, 2055
Where: The ship, the coast, and outer Vista City.
Warnings: Could basically be anything.

“Viral mess turned dreams into an empire. Self-made success now she rolls with Rockefellers. Survival of the richest, the city's ours until the fall. But we don't feel like outsiders at all.” ☆THE NEW AMERICANA Your arrival on Tera doesn’t exactly happen with a bang – though maybe that’s a good thing, given that this is supposedly a stealth operation. The ship firsts touches down somewhere in the ocean, at which point it hovers above the waves for a few hours while Shep “touches base” with some “contacts.” This is your time to get ready, to collect any gear you’ve been assigned, and to talk over initial plans with your new teammates. You’ve been given a rough outline of what to expect upon reaching actual land. You’re going to be dropped off in the ring of forested land outside of the city, at which point you are to access a hidden stash of supplies that has been planted there for you and head into the city, where a second stash of supplies will be waiting for you in the outer ring of the city. It will probably be a long walk. From the onboard supplies everyone will be given the following: ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING: if your character doesn’t already speak English, they will be given some time with a crown like technological device that seems the be able to psychically teach people languages at a rapid pace. Whatever has been enabling communication so far won’t cover you once you enter the city, so it’s important that you’re prepared. How easily a person’s brain accepts this information will vary based on unseen neurological factors, and can range from perfect fluency to an uneasy second language. (On an OOC level, whether or not your character struggles with picking up English is completely up to you.) Most of this training will be done on the trip to Tera. THEIR DESIGNATED TOOLS: any items your character was designated on your application will be given to them now. They’ll have some degree of choice in what they get, but everything is limited in supply. There are manuals for everything, but how much you can be fucked to read them will vary. Also, some of them aren’t in English or anything else even remotely recognizable. COMMUNICATION DEVICES: Everybody will get a communicator, which are worn around the back of your ear and project a holographic field over your eyes when activated. The device itself must be manually switched on with your fingers, and from there on out your exact method of controlling it depends on the settings. Some of the more basic functions can be manipulated with “brain waves” (though nothing very complicated) and the rest is mostly voice or touch activated, though you can also set it up to be controlled with blinking and eye movement if you are a “pro”. Its functions include voice, voice-to-text, and a sort of janky manual text mode that you have to touch the screen to use. Video chat is not available, though it is capable of recording video from your POV to be shared manually after the fact. It can also share still images. Various channels can be set up and accessed, both private and public, much like a Teamspeak server is used in gaming. HOLO EMITTERS (LIMITED): The amount of these available are limited by “plot convenience.” Do you want your character to have to struggle with their alien appearance to get by constantly? Then imagine there wasn’t enough of them to go around and your character was unlikely or benevolent enough to not receive one. Would you rather they have access to one? Then you can have one. A holo emitter is capable of projecting a holographic image around your character and disguising their appearance, the complexity of which is entirely up to you. The major problems with it are that 1) it can’t conceal things that the hologram doesn’t actually touch – cow horns could be covered in a hologram to look like a hat, but it couldn’t make them look as if there is nothing there at all, and 2) the holograms have no mass, and so if anyone tries to touch them they’ll realize they are just light projections. Also, like most of the equipment, they only work for a few hours before running out of power. ☆STASH NUMBER ONE: THE FOREST Once Shep has made sure things are prepared and everyone has their stuff, the ship will very briefly skirt close enough to the shore for people to disembark. The beach seems totally free of witnesses, and once you’ve hit land it’s a short run to the tree line. A few random people will have map information uploaded into their communicators (Usagi, Saitama, Reborn, Pearl, and Sparks Nevada are the lucky winners) and will be put in charge of making sure everyone navigates to the first stash correctly, and then into the outskirts of the city where a meet-up point and a second stash of equipment is located. The directions are not complicated, but it’s a lot of people to shepherd around incognito. How everybody handles this is completely up to the characters. Meanwhile, Shep is piloting the ship back off into the ocean to hide it somewhere. He says he’ll meet you in the city at some point, and that he’ll keep in contact via the communicators. Stay safe, and good luck! The first stash is about a twenty minute walk into the forest, and should be found with relative ease. It is basically just a few large, plastic tubs buried beneath soil and moss, and has to be dug up like treasure. Inside of it lies the following: AMERICANA DISGUISES: Clothing, make up, the works – everything the average joe needs to pass themselves off as a resident of Vista City. Outfits are perhaps a bit more eccentric and flashy than you’re used to...or maybe a bit less, depending where you come from. Either way, it’s a specific look, and there should be enough here to accommodate new outfits for all the humanoids. If you’re a horse, you’re sort of on your own. What your character ends up with is up to you, though “space rave” is a good way to describe common aesthetics. There are also a lot of hooded coats, hats, and other articles that would be good for hiding inhuman characteristics. RATIONS: Enough food at water, tightly compact, to last everyone for a few days. It’s going to start to run out quickly, though, so the group is going to need some breadwinners sooner rather than later. A WELCOME CARD: A welcome message from these two with their selfie printed on the front. Written inside are the following messages: “Glad you could make It! ♥ –Gold” and ”Welcome to hell. ☺ -Silver”. They are both in the same handwriting. From there, the maps only lead further into the city. ☆STASH NUMBER TWO: CITY BOUND You'll quickly notice that Vista City comes with multiple levels - the ground level, that actually touches the earth, and then a second level of streets and walkways that occurs halfway up the mountainous buildings. Cars streak down both sets of speedways, and the signs of life scatter every inch of the towers surrounding you. At the same time, though, a city of this magnitude leaves a lot of nooks and crannies left frequently unseen - something you'll definitely have to take advantage of. In the outer ring of the city the population is less dense than it gets towards the center, so at the least it gives you the opportunity to get your bearings. You'll find that there is no shortage of people stalking around in the darkness, even as the sun sets and night totally takes hold. A lot of them are dressed pretty funny, too, and any insecurities you had about looking ridiculous can tentatively be put aside. The costumes you were left do allow you to blend in about as well as you could hope. If the navigation team holds true, you'll be able to make it to the next stash in good time. You've been advised to avoid talking to locals as much as possible, at least until you've figured things out better. There is a notable absence of homeless people on the streets, which could mean any number of things. The place you end up at is, unsurprisingly, a warehouse. One of the few entirely flat buildings in the cityscape, the maps will lead into the center of the building. You try the door. It opens. When you go inside, you aren't alone. The floor is littered in blankets and what passes for foam mattresses. Waiting with them is the silver helmeted figure from the welcome card earlier. They usher you in hastily and ask you some cursory questions about whether you've been followed. When they seem satisfied, they'll tell you that you can spend the night here. "This is the first and last time you can stay here," they'll say, gesturing around. "This was Gold and I's launchpad for the last little while, and we're junking it after this. I recommend you follow our example. Don't stay any one place too long, and don't travel in one huge group. If you do that, one bad night will pin you all down." Silver will pass out what is apparently enough fake IDs for everyone in the ship - complete with each individual's image (or a human approximation) and a made up name. It's enough info to get a job with, they'll explain, if you can manage it. Avoid pushing the forgery's limits, though, if you can. They made them themselves so they expect they are excellent quality, but you can never be too careful. "...Most importantly," they'll finish. "Don't go looking for the prisoners right now, as much as you might want to. If you fuck that up, you'll fuck this up for everyone - and I'll tell you right now, other people have already invested a lot more blood and tears into this than you have. Respect that." Silver will stay for a few more hours, and then Gold will appear to take over, bringing snacks and hot chocolate with them. Get a good sleep, you'll need it. “We are the new Americana. High on legal marijuana, Raised on Biggie and Nirvana. We are the new Americana.”

Comments

Namine! OTA

[linkthismemory]

Stash One

[Once she's found something she can agree with, she begins to look over what she should do. Namine still has her book and pencil with her, tucked carefully under one arm, and so her first plan is to find something to carry it in, finding an over the shoulder leather one that seems to be sewn together out of bits. Once that's found and taken care of, she can be found fastening her coat and pulling up her hood, all dressed in white, even now. ]

Stash two

[ Namine was quiet most of the trip from the first stash, watching the people and the city as they went. The entire time, all she could think was about Sora and Roxas, and how they were doing. If they were safe. If they could feel it when she and Riku had arrived, how tied they were to both of their hearts. Once she's given her card she seems to hover at the edge of things, mostly staring down at the picture of 'Nora Whitney' and wondering, just a little bit, about lives that included things like identification cards and money and jobs. She's never had to do any of that before. ]

Later at the warehouse.

[ Namine can sleep, just like she can eat or drink. But she doesn't particularly feel the need for it.

At least not right now, anyway.

This leads her to get up from the mattresses after a while, and she finds a wall to sit against. Once she's there, she begins drawing. After a little while the city unfolds across the paper, the HQ's lit almost from within. There's so much hiding them from her, but they're both here. And she wants more than anything for them to be safe. ]

Stash One

[rising_wing]

Hey, you doing okay?

[After talking with Reborn Riku makes his way over to her.

It's still weird, seeing her again. Since the last time he saw her she had merged with Kairi. Still, as strange as it is it's good to see her again, and to have a friendly face around.]

I'm a little jealous, your outfit at leas looks like something you'd wear.

[He pauses and then lowers his voice] I'm going to go with Reborn and his mafia friends. I want to keep an eye on them. [Some of them seem okay, he's not sure about others, like that Mammon person] You want to come with or are you going to go with someone else?

[linkthismemory]

[She smiles up at him pleasantly.]

Just fine. How are you? [She pauses.] You jacket is nice.

[Namine, as usual, is sincere. Also possibly tone deaf when it comes to fashion considering she seems to mean it.

As far as she's concerned, it might be a little strange to be having to do this sort of thing, but at least Riku is here. They've saved Sora before. They can do it again.]

I hadn't really thought about it yet. I thought I might go with Usagi. [She pauses, unsure what the proper response is supposed to be in this sort of situation.] Do you want me to come with you?

[rising_wing]

[He looks down at himself] I think it's called a duster because it doesn't have sleeves.

[Riku doesn't do sleeves. He hasn't done sleeves since he started building muscle.]

It's up to you. You might be better off with her. [It's probably extremely obvious obvious, but he want protect Namine. They had worked together with DiZ to save Sora once, and he was fond of her. Not to mention the fact she was part of Kairi, his other best friend.]

Who would you feel safest with? Both groups look like they have strong fighters.

[linkthismemory]

I'll go with Usagi then.

[Riku is a little obvious, but Namine doesn't mind too much. She's used to Riku, and if he's nervous about those mafia people, then maybe it's best that he doesn't have his attention split. If there is something wrong, she doesn't want to get in the way. She's not too sure about those people either. Namine looks around Riku in the direction of the group Riku is planning to leave with.]

Besides, if they don't go where they're supposed to, I can come and get you.

[She barely has figured out this communication device, but she can find Riku. She knows him and his memories like she knows very few things. And she's positive that Usagi will at least try to go to the right place. ]

Stash 2

[lightthedarkness]

[Usagi went to go check on Namine after getting everything she needed. "Serena Lapin" was making her rounds and making sure those who traveled with her were safe and sound. When she saw the younger girl she smiled warmly.]

Namine-chan, are you alright? You don't have to linger on the edges like this. Why don't you come over and have some hot chocolate with me?

[linkthismemory]

I-

[She looks back down at her card and then up at Usagi, seemingly surprised. But then again, she's been pretty regularly surprised by Usagi's kindness. ]

Alright. [Namine smiles, it's a small thing, but it grows.] I'm okay. It's just...very new.

[lightthedarkness]

[She's quick to grab Namine's hand and head over to the hot chocolate that Gold brought.]

Ah, I'm sure it is. But don't worry, it's all new together! We can get through this as a team. [Admittedly, not the team Usagi was used to working with, but she would never turn someone away. She smiled.] Ah, but everything is much different than I'm used to. Going to have to get used to being called "Serena Lapin."

[linkthismemory]

[Namine is startled by having her hand taken, but she's started to understand that this is something Usagi seems to be fond of doing. So she goes along with it immediately, trailing after her.]

I guess I'm going to have to get used to being Nora.

[There's a beat as Namine thinks about it.]

At least Serena is a very nice name. It's pretty.

warehouse

[saikapath]

[Anri's too nervous to sleep, honestly. She doesn't do this kind of thing. She doesn't know that she can function on her own, not properly. She doesn't know anyone to live off of. But she probably ought to find a place. Her own hood resting on her shoulders she approaches Namine with a smile. She seems... safe, compared to everyone else. She gestures to a bed nearby.]

Is this free? Would you mind if I used it?

[linkthismemory]

[Namine startles, at first, completely distracted by her drawing and her thoughts, but she smiles almost immediately once she realizes she's being spoken to.]

You can, if you'd like.

[She looks over to the bed and then back, before changing the way she's seated so she's less curled around her book. Her voice is quiet, both being how she is, and because she's trying to be kind to those who are sleeping when she isn't.]

No one is using it.

[saikapath]

Thank you. [She smiles, quiet. Wondering if this is a good opportunity to find someone else to work with...]

It doesn't look like anyone else from home came with me. [Which is unfortunate because Anri has not lived on her own, even if she's been on her own since she was young. There's always been someone there...

Like not that she's ever really alone but.]

[linkthismemory]

[Namine tilts her head and her smile remains kind.]

Riku and I came from the same place. But it's been a while since he's seen me.

[The world continued after she was back with Kairi, things were okay again, or getting there. It's good to know, in a way. After a moment looking at the other girl she puts a hand up to gesture to herself.]

My name is Namine. What's yours?

Stash One

[woomy]

You look like one of the White Inky Riders with all that white.

[ 3 is looking through the gear holding pieces up before her and considering them before tossing them back into the box. She's looking for a big hat to help hide her tentacles. ]

[linkthismemory]

[ She looks up from where she's hooking her old sandals to her bag. Namine pauses, because...No, no word of that made any sense at all. ]

Um. What?

[woomy]

A White Inky Rider. They're a fashion style. There's also the Black Inky Rider, but that's with black.

[ It makes perfect sense to her. ]

Warehouse

[avidita]

[In a warehouse like this, with their team looking more than a little ragtag, you never know what things people will do to occupy themselves if they don't go right to sleep first. Still, Mammon didn't think sketching would be something.]

[It's enough to draw their attention, coming over to Namine with a tilted head.]

What are you drawing?

[linkthismemory]

[She looks up from her book, the city is there, in lines under her hands. On small balconies of each HQ, she's drawn a pair of figures with bright hair and a light that seems to shine to everything nearby. ]

I'm checking on the people I care about.

[She pauses.]

It's the first time I've been close enough to see anything.

[avidita]

['Checking on the people she cares about'? That sounds familiar.]

You can sense the locations of people?

Stash One

[covenantal]

It suits you.

[ Yu's own space-rave outfit, with its flashy colors, looks a little out of place on him after the mutes whites and blacks he was wearing back on the ship, but the cut fits him well enough. ]

I'd say you stand out, but at this point, we all do. [ His smile is kind. ] It's good to see you again, Namine.

[linkthismemory]

[Namine is very pleased to see a friendly face and smiles at him in return.]

It's nice to see you, too.

[She looks down at her coat, and pulls at the corner of it. She's still all in white, but it feels a little like she's standing out impossibly, even if she really isn't.]

This all feels very strange. [She knows they still have far further to go and it's only going to get stranger, but she doesn't know if she thinks that is a good or a bad thing.]

[covenantal]

I know what you mean. It feels like we should be in spy clothes, right? Yet here we are... [ He laughs. ] But I guess this is the closest we're going to get to blending in. It's a weird feeling.

Stash one, because this had to happen!!!!

[radiant_bloom]

Kairi blinked, startled, when she saw a familiar blond head. No way. But her heart... in her heart she knew it was true. She rushed over and hugged Namine.

"We're both here!" she said. "We can save Sora together! Riku's here too...."

And then a thought hit her. Hit her hard.

"If... if they messed with Sora's memories, if they did something to his heart... Roxas....?"

I MISSED THIS TOTALLY I AM SO SORRY

[linkthismemory]

Namine is surprised when she feels arms wrap around her, utterly surprised and astonished because she's only just getting used to the constant contact of people and things like hugs. Usagi and Minako and Riku have helped her begin to realize what it's like to have people around that frequently touch and interact with you, but it's still fairly new for her, so she tenses up, before relaxing into her somebodies' hug.

"Kairi!"

For all that one of the first emotions she could name was jealousy towards her somebody, she's come to realize how much Kairi is a part of her, and how much she misses her when she can't sense or see her.

"He's here." She said, "And Sora's heart is still the same as it ever was. He's the brightest thing here. They can't hide that, no matter what they do."

No problem, seems I was poking old stuff anyway without realizing it. >.<

[radiant_bloom]

She beamed a bright smile at her. "Sora is always going to be Sora, I suppose!" She was so relieved to hear it.

"Roxas is here to help save Sora and the others, or does he need saving too?" Really, she'd believe either. It could be that what they did to Sora sent Roxas off to help him, or that changing one changed both. Either made sense. She'd love to get to know Roxas, that side of Sora, and have his help, but if he needed saving, she'd do that too.

As for Namine... Well, she was part of Kairi. It was like having a little sister. She never really got to spend as much time with her as she liked, though in so many ways, the blond was always in her heart. Would always be in her heart.