citylogs | (OPEN) probably the least secret secret meeting, all things considered

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(OPEN) probably the least secret secret meeting, all things considered

WHO: Setsuna F. Seiei (

elswhisperer) & you!
WHAT: The code word log!
WHERE: City Hall Park
WHEN: July 12
WARNINGS: N/A

[ Over the course of the past few days, you may have noticed simple, nondescript flyers posted here and there across the city. All handwritten, they list a location (a particular statue in the City Park) along with a time and date (3:00 PM, July 12). Below that, an extremely brief message:

For establishing safe communications.

- moment.

On the day of, you'll find a young man in a red scarf waiting by the named statue. He has with him sheets of blank paper, pens, and pencils. ]

My name is Setsuna F. Seiei. 'Moment' from the network. The purpose of this meeting is creating a way to safely disseminate information to each other all at once. If one of us found an exit, or determined the identity of our captors, we'd be jeopardizing ourselves by revealing it openly over the network. At the same time, the network is our most efficient method of communication. We need to make the most of all the tools at our disposal.

We can accomplish that with the use of code language. One that's not complicated; that anyone could remember and pass along. What that code is and what we want to communicate with it is something one person can't determine for themselves. That's why I wanted us all to meet.

Without cooperation, we're not gonna get anywhere.

[ ooc: just a couple things! go ahead and mingle/threadhop as you like (especially bc i may not be the fastest tagger rn), and if setsuna has already mentioned to your character that he's been working on something, feel free to assume he left some kind of vague message about checking flyers over the inboxes or smth. ]

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[ Clarice had been…wherever they were for somewhere around a day. She’d found food and shelter and a handful of other people, but no answers, really, to what was becoming a tome of questions.

It was hard not to notice the fliers, which was a great idea, and she was glad to see existing “residents” were thinking along such lines. If such a meeting didn’t exist she would have gotten around to starting one.

Clarice dared to hope there might be answers at this meeting, or at least others who had been here longer. She even came with a notepad and pen she snatched from a shop while looting a few groceries the previous night. It felt wrong taking things from stores, but there was no way to pay and no one working there, what else was she supposed to do? There weren’t even animals to hunt. And what was she supposed to hunt them with? Stolen cutlery?

Clarice can be found sitting at attention in the front row on the left, already jotting thoughts down in her notepad, listening attentively to their host, observing who might show interest in public safety. It seemed likely that anyone among the residents who might seek to harm others - never mind who or whatever brought people here - might have also seen the fliers and see it as an opportunity, but it felt worth the risk to her. ]

I couldn’t agree more. Thank you for arranging this.

[ Setsuna also has safety on the mind, particularly in light of the alleged murder spoken about on the network. He's observing everyone here with watchful eyes.

People had managed to avoid any major acts of violence for a month. Just one month.

It's disheartening, but it's all the more reason to come together like this. If they can all remember they're in the same boat, striving for the same things, they have a chance.

He acknowledges Clarice with a nod. ]

Before determining any code phrases, we should decide what kinds of communication would merit them in the first place. I don't think we can afford to conceal everything we discover. If we stop openly exchanging our findings over the network, it'll raise suspicion.

[ Is he here somewhat begrudgingly because he now, apparently, has some kind of vague connection here. Connecting with others with similar experiences is, of course, important, but he also has no idea about the first impression that Heero's given of him to Setsuna, either.

At any rate, as a group that has already learned a set of hand signals to communicate in silence, he feels as though they have enough to add to all of this that he may as well attend.

Code words may not be exactly the same, but it's close enough. ]

So what're we talking here... Regular meetings until we have it all set and then learned enough to pass along?

[As the resident paranoid code names guy, Junpei absolutely keyed in immediately the moment he saw his first nondescript flyer. There are so few things in this place with writing on them, that alone is mostly enough to convince him it's a fellow kidnapped someone hanging them up, so... he'll show.

(He does not, actually, connect that "moment" is a username - and one he's spoken to before - until the meeting begins. In the background, he makes a face and hangs his head for a second, like, jesus... he's an idiot...)

Mostly, he wants to hang out and listen, but a bit after the initial introduction, he shuffles forward to Start Talking. Here goes.]

Uh, hey—I'm Junpei, and... [christ,] also "junpei," you know, online. For this code thing to work, don't we need to decide, I guess... the biggest deals? Getting the hell out of here for one, or uncovering something new about these jackasses.

[He shrugs; he doesn't actually know any useful, previously-made codes to contribute, so... he's got this.]

I just thought that maybe we could cover the basics first, and then move on to the details. [A beat, then he adds:] And plain old ciphers are already out, right? Nobody has to do math.

[ Heero Yuy is present, alternating between glowering into the middle distance and leaning against a wall with his head bowed, depending on how interested he is in the proceedings at any given moment, but not inclined towards volunteering any opinions himself.

He still isn't used to showing up to places like this and being seen. Certainly not by so many people. Even in Preventer, he's more free agent than natural team player.

However... he'd had a hunch that this was the 'something' Setsuna had been working on. So here he is. ]

[Kamui isn't first in line to the meeting-- that honor belongs to Clarice, or perhaps one of the others who'd arrived here before him-- but he is on time. After weeks, he's been dying for some kind of structured effort around here. At the same time, he knows all too well that he's not in any kind of position to be in charge, with so little information and very few leads to go off of.

Codes, however, are good. Information's good. This is a start, far more productive and a whole lot safer than waiting for someone else to die or get handcuffed by unseen forces.

Somewhere in the front row, the soft-spoken, unassuming twenty-something in a green coat raises his hand.]

Thank you, Setsuna-san. This will be really helpful.

For anything that needs to be exchanged over the network securely, by the way, an anonymous user provided instructions for posting without your identity attached. I'm not a tech expert by any means, but it certainly looks like it works. [Wrench's weird file names aside.] If anyone else knows what they're doing and wants to verify it's working all right, please let me know and I provide you with the informational files.

...I'll take them.

[ You know, if this guy is offering what...Robby isn't really sure is useful, but might be, then hell, he wouldn't mind having a couple of the files and checking it out. Code isn't his forte, but he knows how to follow instructions. Wants to see what else might be getting passed along the network.

So he speaks up, if a little hesitantly; looking over at the guy, a bit of a furrowed brow on his own face. Arms crossed tightly. Decides to add, just because it comes to mind: ]

Anything ever showed up on the network? [ He does look at him, then glances around--open question. ] Not from one of us. Far as we know.

[ Robby doesn't arrive on the dot, but he does shows up. Unsure about the fliers, unsure about everything here, but he wants to know shit, so going to shit is kind of how you find things out, right? Even if there's a nervous energy like a tick he just can't get rid of, that he's working to keep buried.

He keeps it down with folded arms, keeping his head down too, though looking at the other faces around. Sucks on the inside of his cheek, his shoulders slightly hunched. If basics are going to be talked about, he wants to hear about that. But as for the topic brought to this meeting: ]

Are codewords really gonna matter? [ He speaks up, while somehow still keeping his voice down--not to any whisper, but it's clear he's uncomfortable. Sucking on the inside of his cheek again, but continuing: ] I don't know what everyone's found out so far, but I know we all somehow showed up and don't remember it. I can understand languages I never did, and everytime I try getting rid of the phone, swap where I sleep, it's there with me again.

[ It's fucking crazy. It's fucking crazy. Saying it out loud makes his voice rise a little more. ]

No one else is here 'cept us in this entire city, they're running everything. We don't think they're gonna know where we go or pick up on a few codewords?

Perhaps we could send one another letters? It would merely mean one of us is responsible for the give and take of such documents, which bears its own concerns, but I do believe it is a worthy idea!

[ popping in... she wouldn't mind racing around herself, given she has far too much an abundance of energy, but in a city so large and seemingly growing it could be tiring in the long run. ]

As for information we may still yet show, I do believe things that may easily become public knowledge would be good enough! Such as findings any one of us may stumble across by chance, rather than, ehm, something that would have required one to endanger themselves?

( in an observant scan, their eyes meet. McGillis smiles.

unfortunately, in the matter of secret code words, the mortifying ordeal of being seen means being seen by a man so fucking weird. the boy in the subway, with his unbroken hand, is something McGillis remembers often. naturally, he approaches for a little chat, pleased said boy hasn't escaped the city yet. the proceedings haven't quite started. )

Has your injury healed?

( with so many holes in the information available to them, the benefit of code words remains to be seen. a gathering of like minds — fellow residents, victims, what have you — is always a worthwhile endeavor, however. for his part, McGillis congregates on the edges of the meeting, attentive but not quite participatory. a summer khaki suit, coupled with his absurd height, easily distinguishes him in the peripheral of anyone's vision. )

I. ( the park outside city hall is known for a few features and hazards: namely, the odd sense of familiarity any given statue induces in its observer.

McGillis ignores it — the statue declaring a path to its fellows, one beckoning hand outstretched — sparing the stony figure a glance or two and nothing more. ...only for his gaze to eventually, naturally wander.

he stares fixt, until a nudge or word urges him to return to reality. for a moment, McGillis's expression is open, off guard. then, he smiles, vaguely albeit sharply amused. out of respect, the volume of his voice is conspiratorial. )

II. ( has this gone for hours? ...it's gone for hours.

with the afternoon turning late, perhaps even into evening, McGillis starts to feel peckish. so... having an entire assortment of candy on his person, McGillis pops a small, bite sized piece of chocolate into his mouth. it takes only one (1) envious glance for him to share with a neighbor, a sugary treasure trove in a cellophane bag: some, setting appropriate to 2000s America; others, more cheerfully and whimsically wrapped.

Halloween in July! )

( ooc | open to threadjacking/hopping & secret third options (AKA wildcards). for a little CR jumpstart, feel free to assume mcgillis introduced himself @ the welcome party event or while mingling before the open forum. )

Not a fan of numbers, Junpei?

( they aren't So bad... come on. )

You've got a good point. They already know, somehow, when we've committed a crime--or what they perceive as it.

( that guy on the network who got handcuffed and all. )

I did hear a real interesting theory from an acquaintance of mine--I'm sure he didn't think that much of it, but maybe you will.

( kromer rests against one of the statues, ignoring what it looks like in her peripheral. )

Perhaps the city itself ( she continues a little slower, for dramatics, ) is alive? It called us. Why? Who knows. But no one else is here, and those kiosks don't know all that much, either.

[ Camille is, first, more than fashionably late. He arrives after sundown, though the sky is at least still faint with light. Further, he has little to offer in the way of coded messages and secret communications, but he is here nonetheless, ready with a pleasant smile and an agreeable word.

The whole thing is silly, though. Charming, in the way children so seriously play at a game.

The God-machine —if this truly is the God-machine— needs not eyes nor ears in the walls (or hedges). If it is not the God-machine, then, their captor(s)' power is comparable besides, even in what little has been displayed to them. It seems unwise, then, to believe anything they might say or do goes unnoticed, however covert they try to be.

He pauses by McGillis, a familiar face now that they have made acquaintance and neighbors. Voice quiet so as to be unobtrusive, leaning a little in something akin to intimacy, shoulder to arm, ] Have I missed much?

[ There's a warm humor in his tone, not unkind, but neither does he seem to take this too seriously. Camille wagers McGillis, shuffling in a bag of chocolates, does not put terribly much stock in this whole affair, either. ]

( oh ho. her tone drops to match his, arms crossed over her white blouse. )

Jumping at ghosts? I'm envious. The City I'm from wears that kind of feeling out of you real quick--or maybe it's just that you get used to it. ( it's a lot of why this city doesn't make her that jumpy. that, and she's a little too confident in her abilities to get spooked. ) I wonder if we're here long enough if it'll get better or worse, for people like you.

[ He looks with the voice, sees the haircut before the rest of the face, but nevermind what's going on there. It's the theory that's important here, which makes Robby laugh--or at least scoff. A sharp, abrupt thing, brow shaping incredulously.

Someone isn't used to the absurd, here. ]

What does that even mean? How does a city call anyone? [ What reason? What purpose? His mouth is agape, trying to find more things to say--what even to say, with everything else already nonsensical in the way. ] A city can't just make people appear.

[Numbers are threatening, actually...]

Well, I did alright at math in school... [he's great at math, he's just lazy,] I'm just thinking that maybe it would take a while to get through all of the encoding and decoding, especially in an emergency. It's not like we can make decoder rings and leave them around and keep them secret.

[ Three foot braid... This must be one of Heero's companions. The rest of his description was, well. Not the most charitable, but Setsuna won't let it color his own judgment of Duo. ]

Something like that. Establishing the codes aren't the only benefit of an in-person meeting. We should continue even once we've hammered out the details.

You're Duo Maxwell?

You got a better idea?

[Is the unspoken "wiseass" tacked onto the end there implied, or should he say it more witheringly a second time-- No, he came to this meeting to get something done, and he knows full well that a bunch of people arguing at cross purposes don't get things done, so fine: he holds his hands up immediately, acquiescing.]

Sorry. I just mean we have to do something, right? We can't sit around and wait for some fresh bullshit to react to.

[Like people getting handcuffed for no reason, or murdered--]

Even if they figure us out, it's a faster way to get the point across. I'm talking about an emergency escape, or something—that'd go a lot faster if everybody knew that "market crash" meant "get the hell out of the apartments now, we all need to be in the bowling alley." Something like that.

( he has a point. there might be a few people around who aren't any good with numbers anyway-- her gaze cuts to don quixote briefly before it returns to him. a little nod in acknowledgement, and she'll go back to his first statement. )

Regarding the biggest deals... I've griped about how lousy those kiosks are with information, but it's not a bad idea to write down what we've already asked them and anything they've said. Useful or not, information is information... The one-eyed man is king among the blind, or however that goes.

[ This is a very good idea and he'll get to that in a second, but-- ]

I'm keeping an eye on you.

[He catches that glance and follows it, to... Don? Buddy system bestie Don Quixote? Hmm... that's weird.

(Any minute now he'll have enough context clues to put 2 and 2 together. Aaaany minute now.)]

Uh—yeah, sure. Are you talking about making some kind of guide, or one of those big conspiracy walls covered in pins?

[Either one of these could be fun and productive-]

( don't worry about it, buddy )

The former sounds useful, but for our purposes, a... more structured version of the second. We'll find out what ground we've covered already and go forward from there--no sense in wasting time treading ground other people already have, right?

[ Robby catches the tone, and catches the guy in his line of sight when he speaks up. His expression doesn't shift; he just continues to bite on some inside of his mouth as the other guy continues on, changes his approach.

He listens, then shrugs a little with a tip of his head. ]

The purpose matters. I don't think that's a bad idea, [ because he isn't trying to be the unhelpful ass here, trying to keep his tone down (still tense), ] I just don't know if we need anything that's trying to keep secrets.

If they know how we move or what we do, we're fucked 'til we know how. [ And, speaking of that: ] Finding out how or what they react to would be good. See what gets reactions. Where.

[But what about his Official Warning about smug women with bad haircuts?? Although maybe that could be anyone, who can say.]

I dunno, a conspiracy wall that's a complete mess might throw them off our trail. But what I think you're actually going for is a spreadsheet, which is boring, but admittedly more organized.

[sigh now it really is like being back in college, doing group projects]

So where do we start?

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(OPEN) probably the least secret secret meeting, all things considered

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supremely unhelpful guy post...... ✌

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