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interstellar55552016-03-09 08:18 pm
interdimanagers) wrote in interstellar55552016-03-09 08:18 pm
Entry tags:
☆MINGLE IN THE CITY
Who: NEWBIES FROM EVERYWHERE.
What: More rescuers and musicians have arrived. This is a non specific mingle log for whatever you want to do that is intro related!
When: March 9th, 2055
Where: Anywhere in Vista City!
Warnings: Could be anything, or possibly nothing.
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. 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.
RESCUERS WILL BE GIVEN THE FOLLOWING LOOT:
What: More rescuers and musicians have arrived. This is a non specific mingle log for whatever you want to do that is intro related!
When: March 9th, 2055
Where: Anywhere in Vista City!
Warnings: Could be anything, or possibly nothing.
☆VISTA CITY
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. 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.
RESCUERS WILL BE GIVEN THE FOLLOWING LOOT:
- 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.
- 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.
- FAKE IDS: 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. Silver and Gold made them themselves so they expect they are excellent quality, but you can never be too careful.
Sarah Jane Smith | OTA
[Having witnessed the clothes of other planets and seen a lot of glam rock on Top of the Pops, Sarah has adapted to the fashions comfortably and glitteringly - she's dressed in something that's not too different from what they'd put her in on Nerva, if it had been designed by Marc Bolan. She's even plucked a huge bloom from a tree in the park, and is wearing it behind her ear.
As for the long scarf, she knows it's self-indulgent, and he'd moan at her for it while trying to pretend not to be entirely flattered, but she'd found it on a craft stall in the arty end of town and hadn't been able to resist. It surprises her how good it feels, to have a scarf following her movements - it's all she can do to resist skipping to see how it would respond. The sights and sounds and smells of an alien world, all this danger, all that purpose - how could anyone, ever, give this up?
Of course, that's when a man gliding by on a hovercar honks at her and yells 'great smile, baby' as he zips off, which spoils her mood immediately.]
Why don't you go and...
[But he's gone. No good. And she's just drawn attention to herself by shouting. If only she'd come out with some kind of plan, or greater than a snowball's chance in Helios...]
Communicator
H - H... Hello! My name is Sarah Jane Smith, of Earth. I have nowhere to live and no idea what's going on, or at least it feels that way. Journalists here do something called 'a blog' - does anyone know what that's supposed to be? It sounds to me like some kind of medical condition, like the mumps.
Anyway, I'm looking for the Doctor. He looked a bit like Harpo Marx when I knew him, but he can look like anything - and be anywhere, and I don't know what he's called. He might even be a she, come to think of it. I wish I had something to offer that wasn't just bad news...!
Look, how about you call me with the people you're looking for, and we can help each other out? I'm going to set myself up as a paparazzo and I definitely wouldn't mind it if someone came along to help me send the security guards the other way. Would a string and a fifty-pound note work?
communicator
I'm here in pursuit of a Marty McFly. He's seventeen years old, fairly short, with disheveled brown hair and bright blue eyes. He's likely to have ended up as a guitarist in any band he's in, given his talent for the instrument.
And a 'blog', as far as I've been able to gather, is a bystander-log? Typed into a computer and instantaneously published, such as the tabloids that appear to run rampant. A serious journalist should at the minimum be able to find some work.
[Ah, live reporting from the trenches. Doc's settled into what might've once passed for a bookstore for this afternoon. He's furiously paging through dusty volumes in earch of any sort of clue as he whispers the communication.]
no subject
Would you like to talk in person? I feel like I need all the friends I can get.
no subject
That I can relate to! Not the singing, but...he'll definitely stand out.
And I'd be glad to. Sending coordinates now---wild white hair and bright trenchcoat, I'm not difficult to spot.
[He does on the text display, still too nervous to read them openly. He's standing in a library on the west side of town, shock of white hair sticking out behind a bookshelf.]
no subject
Hello? You're - [she gestures around her face to indicate the communicator - ]. It's me, Ms. Smith. Look, I brought you something!
[She holds up a bundle of free newsprint music rags - the kind to promote local events and nudge taste towards paying acts.]
Youth hostel! Helped myself. We can look through them together - maybe find someone worth seeing.
no subject
Sarah Jane, I presume?
Yes, this is excellent! Exactly what we need! Thus far I've learned that there are two major record labels who own most of the local entertainment---Pride and Virgo. No doubt they own about half of these each.
[He starts thumbing through---nothing overly familiar to him yet, but the pictures are all bright and colorful.]
The cheery face of an oncoming disaster.
no subject
She leans a bit closer. She is really going to like him.]
It makes me feel sick. All these people, being - being abused, just in the name of entertainment. How could anyone feel like they were able to do this?
[She peers closer at some of the shiny band photos.]
The thing is, they don't look hypnotised, or possessed, or even unhappy, except the sulky-looking ones. They don't really look that different to the bands I listen to back on Earth... Are you from Earth? I didn't catch your name.
no subject
[He stops himself. This must sound like crazy talk to just about anyone.]
This all suggests to me that the mental rewiring and memory suppression were quite invasive. I don't know how we'll reverse it and that terrifies me, but the most cowardly thing to do is not to try.
I'm Emmett Brown, by the way, pleased to meet you. Though I'll be calling myself Willard Brandt in public.
[He finishes on a smile. Clearly his head's been going a mile a minute.]
no subject
[And Sarah can't help giggling. It had only been a couple of weeks, but she's missed talking to people like this.]
Well, I'm not far behind you, I'm from 1980. So that's five years - five years back and seven hours ahead! I'm from England.
But you're not wrong - 1980's pretty relative, isn't it? [Her eyes, which are wide and attentive, suddenly spark at that.] I've seen a couple of different versions. Yours wasn't an electric desert ruled by a pompous old alien warlord, was it? [She's making it sound as much like she's just being silly as she can, but she went to that 1980 - it's just about possible, although she didn't think 'California' would have had much meaning on Sutekh's Earth.]
You know, that's a good question about what we can do about the hypnosis. I had a friend who used to be able to undo it just by looking into your eyes - I never got the knack of it myself. But no matter what they try to put into your mind, there's always something inside you which knows which way is up. Just meeting us might do something. I hope?
It's really good to meet you, Mr Brown. I haven't thought of a false name for myself yet.
no subject
[Her description of the hypnosis reversal catches his attention.]
Yes, I'm hoping their memories are suppressed and not erased. If they can be unlocked, that's a fair bit easier than recreation from scratch. But this hypnosis reversal almost sounds like a magical ability.
[Those words are strange on his tongue and always will be. He wrinkles his nose and presses on.]
And Gold can assign you a name---he's popping them all on the false ID cards.
no subject
Oh, the Doctor would be so cross if you told him that. He's actually a scientist, and he takes it very seriously. "The rational mind, Sarah..." [This is in a slightly high-pitched voice with a fussy accent and a lisp.] The trouble is that a lot of his science is indistinguishable from magic, as I think someone put it - most of it goes right over my head and there's no way I could explain it. I never covered time travel in my O-Levels.
[She's rolling her eyes and trying to make her irritation funny, but it's real irritation. It's clearly immensely frustrating to her to not know things.]
But I don't think it's possible to erase deep memories just like that. The brain isn't a bank of computer chips, is it? It has to be a form of hypnosis, I'm certain of it!
[But she finishes flipping through the magazine, and seems upset. He's not in here. There aren't even many middle-aged men, with noses big or small.]
Oh, look at these hairstyles. No accounting for taste in this industry.
no subject
Time travel's a largely unexplored branch of science---when you're the one making the headway into uncharted territories, sometimes you want to throw your hands up and claim it truly is magic.
[Why is it so easy to admit to that? He leans over to look at the tabloid. Nothing familiar yet, but...]
I suspect our non-contemporary tastes are going to be rather put out by the end of this.
no subject
Mm. "The future is a foreign country; they do things differently there." After a bit, you get used to it.
[Isn't he going to ask her if she's a time traveller, and be impressed? She assumed he looked intelligent.]
Lots of tinfoil jackets, usually, like in those old space annuals.
[She flips over to a full-page spread and sucks on her teeth.]
"Flashstep". Hmm. You know, I suppose all the pop groups I grew up with would seem even more tame to the people here than the music my aunt grew up with looks to me... Are you much of a fan of modern music, or don't you keep up much?
no subject
[Then and only then does he come back around to the business at hand.]
But this isn't your first trip across time either.
City
Don't worry about them, darling - they do say the worst things sometimes.
no subject
You know, I always used to think the future would be -
[What? No! There she goes, blabbing like an idiot!]
- the city would be more open-minded about such things.
[She rolls her eyes elaborately and falls into step beside this woman.]
By the way, I love your hair!
no subject
I think we are, for the most part; it's just that some people don't have any manners. I'm afraid there's not much anyone can do about that.
[She positively beams at the compliment.]
Why, thank you! And you simply must tell me where you got your scarf.
no subject
Oh, I found it in some sort of arty flea market up by the park.
[She means a 'vintage market', but such things weren't fashionable in her time.]
Not my usual style, but it reminds me of something my friend liked to wear. Hey, have you lived here very long? Maybe you could tell me a bit about the city - places to go, things to see, that sort of thing...
no subject
Do take me to where you found it - if you're not busy, that is. I'd be more than happy to tell you what I know about the city on the way.
[Don't mind the bodyguard a few yards behind them. He has strict instructions not to interfere with Rarity's conversations.]
no subject
[Sarah does glance at the bodyguard, and for a second her grin falls. There's no way she could stand up against him - for all she knew, he might be an android, like the force that had invaded Devesham. Maybe she should walk right up to him and see if she could pull his face off. Or, more probably, she shouldn't.
Instead she cocks her head at the lady, then holds her finger out and points in four directions - ]
Eenie, meenie, miney - mo!
[And she grabs at the woman's hand and leads her in the direction she'd been pointing in, the direction Sarah had just been coming from.]
Hey, do I recognise you from somewhere?
[A lie, but potentially helpful - and if she's wrong, it's at least a flattering mistake.]
no subject
You probably do - my name is Rarity, and I'm vocals for Defying Atmosphere.
no subject
And who's he? [She looks across at the bodyguard.] He's not going to make a fuss, is he?
no subject