☆MINGLE IN THE CITY

[interdimanagers]

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.

☆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.

Comments

[panspermia]

But--

[ The protest dies, his fears hanging in the air between them. This is sure to be a disaster. It's only going to make things worse for everyone.

But she might be able to help Steven. ]

The... the ones who've got Steven. They've been smacking him around for... for ages, they cracked his gem... I tried to get him out of there and fixed it, but he went right back to them. You've gotta get him out of there.

[lateforkindergarten]

[ She looks a lot less confident after he tells her that, almost as worried as Greg is. ]

They cracked him? ...

[ After the initial shock her forcefulness returns, this time with the anger boiling inside of her. ]

We'll fix him. Somehow. Just tell him to take it easy and ask him if he's tried spitting on it. We'll figure something out.

[ What else was she going to ask him? She has the urge to run and find Pearl immediately. ]

Do they let animals into the building where you're stuck? Or the one where Steven is being kept? Or packages- can you get packages from people on the outside?

[panspermia]

D-don't worry, he's... he's better, now.

[ He knows that he's not supposed to be able to heal, and explaining it would distract from the problem at hand. If it happens again, he probably won't be able to get the power needed a second time. ]

They might try and do it again, though. They've tried all sorts of stuff to keep him in line.

[ He rubs at his face. The longer he stays here, the sicker he feels. ]

They check packages, they've got guards all over. You're not gonna be able to get in without some pretty... pretty out-there abilities.

[lateforkindergarten]

[ She relaxes a little at that good news. It doesn't occur to her yet to question how it was possible for a gem to be fixed all the way out here. ]

What if I disguise myself as one of those records you like to collect. Or a video or something?

[panspermia]

[ For a long few seconds, Greg doesn't answer. He stares at the ground, before screwing his eyes shut. ]

Look... I get that you're trying to help. And I... I really appreciate it. But the people in charge have ways of getting in my head. If they... I dunno, read my mind, or make me tell them stuff, a lot of people I care about could get hurt.

[ He doesn't know for sure if they can do that, but it's all too plausible to rule out. Greg backs off a step, shaking his head. ]

I'm sorry. The more you talk with me, the worse this can get. You need to find someone else.

[lateforkindergarten]

Then who? If I can't talk to my friend who CAN I talk to about what's happening at the labels? Why do you think they'd go into your head- don't they have important taking-over-the-universe plans to work on? No pun intended.

[ Being one of the humans of the group, Amethyst knows Greg as a far less appealing target for the bad guys. Talking with him ought to be safer than Steven or Garnet, right? ]

[panspermia]

[ He flinches at that word. Her friend. She says it like a fact, but he only has the barest image of her in his mind. She may as well be a stranger, and yet she's come to him expecting him to be able to help her. How pathetic is that? How can he be counted on for anything if he can't pull up one happy memory of this woman who's come to rescue him?

He's still backing away, still shaking his head, still unable to look at her. Greg would like to be someone pathetic enough to pass under his boss' radar. He'd like to stop being so "special." There are better people for her to help, people who need it more, people who aren't yet pulled deep into Blanche's pit. ]

I'm sorry. You just gotta... you gotta trust that you can't trust me.

[ He turns tail and runs.]

[lateforkindergarten]

Greg! Why?!

[ His explanation was so vague, it's hard to believe. She starts to run after him but he's fleeing like he's running for his life. ]

[panspermia]

[ For his life, and possibly hers, and who knows who else. He doesn't slow down, or look back. He hopes she can forgive him. Or maybe that she won't; whatever it takes to keep her from pursuing him. If cowardice is what it takes to keep everyone safe, he'll accept that this is who he has to be. ]