[network] @LELRIC; SNOWSHOES AND SUPPLIES; Day 020

[armoured]

A: Network (Video); 11am - Open

[A lot has happened over the last few days, and it's no wonder that everyone is feeling ragged and stressed. Al knows that their worries aren't over, there are still monsters around and they've all been injected with god knows what again. He knows that they're trapped, their clues are dwindling, and they seem no closer to answers, but...

But he also knows that focusing on the negatives will just lead everyone into a spiral of panic and fear, they have to keep hope and determination going strongly if they're going to get out of here. So he's going to turn on the video function, possibly for the first time for many people, to make a small how-to video. The tablet is propped up a short distance away in a snow bank so that Al's entire armour frame can be shown.]

A while ago a really smart friend of mine mentioned snowshoes, but I haven't been able to do anything about it until now. It seems to be getting harder to move around here, and the conditions aren't letting up, so making something as simple as this might help save lives. I thought... I thought I would show you how. I've not made any before, but the principle is easy enough.

[He holds up two logs that he found a while ago, cut and planed down to size over many nights to make two huge paddles with criss-cross holes in.]

If you can find anything around, it should be easy to make snowshoes. You need a large surface area, that's to help distribute your weight and keep you from sinking into the snow, and to try and keep them as flat and thin as possible. If you can't make snowshoes, then maybe something long and thin could help you make skis!

[He ties on his wooden shoes with a necktie and a strip of bandage, before giving the camera a big thumbs up.]

See? Easy!

B: Network (Voice); 9pm - Open

[After the slightly more light-hearted instructional video of earlier, Al takes time after lockdown to address more serious issues.]

I know that a lot of people have been talking about maps recently. I've been making one myself, and I've gathered the maps that other people have made, and put them all in one place. You can see them, uh... here.

[There's a pause, before Al manages to upload the document to the network. He's still not a pro at this technology, but after twenty days, he's a lot better than he was. He knows he promised to tell Stiles about any supplies he found, but he thinks it's important enough that everyone should know.]

The convenience store further to the east is the one that's stocked with food. I've been to both, and that one has had large quantities of supplies both times I've passed through. I propose that we try to build a base in the houses immediately surrounding there. After that, we can take turns carrying supplies to more outlying houses so that, in time, every house will have a cache of supplies... not to mention we'll be able to map out the area and look for more clues at the same time.

Using the different maps that people have made, hopefully you should be able to find the store I'm talking about, but don't push yourselves too hard. It's better to get here in five days safely, than rush and get caught out at night in three... okay?

Comments

B { video | @Lavellan }

[carrywithyou]

That's where Cullen and I are now. It's the house immediately to the west of the store, but I wouldn't suggest it for a base. It's... unsettling in here. Math equations all over the walls, dried blood everywhere. And it's not so much a house anymore. Just a bedroom.

voice only @LELRIC

[armoured]

[He's so annoyed, he's been looking for that particular house for ages now and apparently he just randomly bypassed it by mistake.]

...Right, maybe not that house exactly, but there are others within a day's walk of there. Do you think you could mark on one of the maps where that house is exactly?

[carrywithyou]

I could. [ There's a bit of hesitation in her voice, just because the tablets can be a challenge. ] Just a moment.

[ She looks through his files, but finds she doesn't have to edit anything after all. ]

It's on Clarke's map. Building 6 in Quadrant C.

B - voice - @claytonator

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton's been off the network for a little while now, focusing on getting Enoch to the next house and making sure he collapsed somewhere reasonable in the empty house by the southern wall. So now that he's done fussing over one person, it's only proper for him to fuss over someone else.]

I'm likin' this plan, Al, but I'm wonderin' 'bout those supplies. You ever go back to a house you been in here 'bout a day 're so after and go lookin' for the stuff you left behind?

[armoured]

No, but I was told by someone else that something they left behind went missing.

[He sounds troubled now, he had forgotten about that until Clayton brought it up.]

I left a pen in the convenience store to test it, but I haven't been back since to check if it's still there. Do you really think any supplies would disappear somehow?

A, and there might be an accusatory B later, look forward to it,

[croi]

[It starts out voice, with a surprised,]

Oh? Huh.

[...and actually, it continues with voice because he's got an agenda, and that agenda is going to that completely and totally useful convenience store to the northwest which Al so thoughtfully mentioned a few days back, a place which will no doubt be stocked with enough food to last them for ages. A place of plenty.

Thanks, Al.

Thanks.

Point being is that he's too busy to point the camera.]

Is that what you look like. [Which is a joke because ohohoho helmet which no doubt hides Al's possibly horrifically disfigured face or something.] You know, I was starting to think you didn't have a body.

Yesss bring on all the Lancer tags, I am ready

[armoured]

[OUCH.

That is a poor choice of words and Al's only response initially is a sharp gasp. He knows, after the first moment of surprise has faded, that Lancer can't possibly know how close to the bone his comment was, but it still cut surprisingly deeply.

His reply is a little shaky and slightly forced in its cheerfulness.]

I-I guess I just didn't think to use the video before, I wasn't trying to hide myself.

[Lies. All lies.]

A; @TW; video;

[maskintape]

...What in goddamn hell are you even wearing.

[ Because sorry, Al, but that's clearly the most pressing issue here. ]

[armoured]

[This is why he hasn't used the video before, but he sort of had to in order to demonstrate his snowshoes. He might just sound a little defensive here.]

It's armour! Haven't you ever seen armour before?

[IT'S TOTALLY NORMAL, OKAY?]

b. voice, @klausmikaelson

[poppycock]

[ ragged and stressed certainly covers the state of them all, klaus included. he didn't get much sleep the night before, and what little he did was unceremoniously cut short. he looks worse for wear, so voice is probably for the best at the moment. ]

There's a house due east that might serve such a purpose. If supplies do go missing, there's logic to having more than one base of operations with a sort of coordination between them all. Clarke has been quite vocal about setting up camp in the northwest; why not make the most of both stores? [ see clarke, he's got your back

maybe ]

[armoured]

Maybe that's a good idea. The other store doesn't seem to stock much of use, but perhaps it would keep any supplies we took there safe until they're needed.

[He's not sure why a store might work better than a house, but he's willing to try anything.]

Or maybe we could bury the supplies just outside houses in the snow? It would keep them fresh and might help keep them safe.

A | action

[lancingintherain]

[sharing a one-story house with five other people feels cramped at the best of times, but talking to poor amnesiac Jay that morning shook her up enough to really want some space to herself. It's not much trouble to get up onto the roof, so up she went in her warmest things, to sit and think things over.]

[it turns out that sitting and thinking does nothing but make her feel worse and get her covered in snow, so when Al comes out and starts talking to his tablet about snowshoes, she welcomes the distraction and eavesdrops intently. When he's done, she stands up, shakes off enough snow to probably make a whole other Freya, and steps off the edge of the roof.]

[she sticks the landing with something like her old grace, and looks more closely at his snowshoes as she walks up to him. Despite her mood, the sight makes her smile—just a little bit.]

Well! That's something I hadn't thought of. I think they're a wonderful idea, Alphonse.

[armoured]

[It's taken him a few days, but Al is finally used to Freya's appearance, though catching sight of her unexpectedly out of the corner of his eye still makes him internally flinch a little.

He can't smile at her, but the exuberance in his voice, and the way he lifts his foot to wiggle it at her in demonstration, are both childlike for their glee.]

Thanks, but I can't take all the credit for it. It was actually Mami that first mentioned snowshoes to me, I've just been waiting until I had enough things to make them.

B; voice; @greed

[ossifragant]

I've been to the store in the east before.

I don't know how it restocks, or how often; but I've been there twice, and the second time there was plenty of food inside of it.

[armoured]

Only the second time?

[That's a little concerning, he had thought the eastern store was reliable.]

I've been there twice too, and it was stocked both times.

B; video; ID: @LINK

[tapferkeit]

[ An exhuasted looking Link answers the video. He gives Al a small nod as he does so, even if he can't see the guy. He'd been nice enough when they'd spoken, and he'd always remember him offering food. That Link had turned it down didn't matter - he didn't have to offer his own supplies, but he had.

As a result, he hates to be the one suggesting bad news, but it seems like bad news is just what this place is made of. It's important to make the idea known so a back up can be made - just in case. ]

Do you think supplies would stay in the houses?

[ His ears, red from cold, flick slightly as he shakes his head. ]

This place... it might not make things that easy.

[ The look in his eyes says he's hopeful they would, however.

And that convience store is a good place to keep in mind... the one he'd went to had only had that charcoal in it, long since used up by now.

It'd be easy than constantly making his way through the school to get food for him and Zelda. Maybe he could suggest them trying to help Al when they get that sorted.

... And some other stuff too, but that didn't have anything to do with this topic. ]

[armoured]

I'm not sure.

[More and more people are raising this concern now, which makes him believe that at least some of them must have tested it and found it to be unreliable.]

But I think that it's definitely worth trying, and if it doesn't work then we can find other ways around it. Like a relay system of food, so people travelling around always have extra in case of meeting someone who hasn't got any, or burying it outside in the snow?

A; video, @starspangledhero

[fifty]

Hey, those look pretty good! [Snowshoes hadn't really occurred to him, considering he spends most of his days in the winter hiding in his room under as many blankets as he can find waiting for the cold to go away.] ...Isn't it sort of cold in that armor, though?

[armoured]

[Video was a bad idea.

He is never turning this video on again. Never.]

N-No, not as much as you might think. It's actually pretty warm in here, really insulated and, uh... dry.

B; Action

[tadashiwashere]

[Tadashi has been listening in quietly to the conversations. After everything that's happened lately, he's taken some time to recover. He hasn't even touched his tablet in days. This, though... this is the project he's most interested in. He waits for a lull in the conversations, then quietly clears his throat.

We could try hiding the supplies in the snow, [he says thoughtfully.] If they really are moving supplies that we leave behind in the houses. We could tell everyone in person where the supplies will be. We can keep the information off the network where someone might be listening in.

[He's not going to just let this project die here. They have to find a way to get supplies to people who need them.]

[armoured]

Yeah, that's a really good idea, and the snow would keep everything fresh too in case it wasn't already in cans.

[There's just one minor issue with it...]

But how would we spread the word without using the tablets? There doesn't seem to be another way of reliably reaching everyone yet.

A | Voice | @Summoner

[ninjainviolet]

[ A smart friend? Definitely not her, but she's happy he's figured out how to do this. ]

Hey! I see you got it to work!

And you know... I was thinking about the skis...

Why not some of the broken doors or furniture around here? Would those help in any way?

[armoured]

Sheena!

[She is definitely a very smart friend, and between her and Mami, the snow shoes idea has come to fruition.]

I'm not sure, I don't want to ruin any doors in case they're needed later on for securing the houses inside and out.

[His voice is so warm and welcoming.]

You should be really proud, people are liking this idea, and it came from you and Mami. I never would have thought of it without you two.

b; voice; @Chillinski

[figureitout]

So we're starting with that now, huh?

[Alright, well, he supposes better now than never. The maps together should help, and the lists Al has compiled are surprisingly good.] Are you somewhere near the store, now? I'm heading that way too, dude, so, you know, I can get stuff and start taking them somewhere else, if we can find a house that works. I know there's some further east, a few I stayed in during the first few days, those weren't too bad, if I remember right.

[Also. He's not mentioning anything about the first network post, with the video and Al's unusual look, since, you know, he isn't blind and can see he's pretty defensive about why he looks like that... but.] Also, the snowshoe tutorial? Awesome. I tried explaining Killian how they work, before, but I'm pretty sure this was a better way to do that.

Actually, I was thinking, we could do, like, more tutorials. Mostly for the tablet.

voice @LELRIC

[armoured]

[Stiles is his new all time favourite person for focusing solely on the tutorial, rather than asking him awkward and potentially embarrassing questions about his armour. He can't smile, and isn't on video even if he could, but his voice is warm and welcoming.]

Actually, I'm not there right now, I had to go west to help a friend look for someone that's gone missing. So if you can get there and act as a base for others arriving around the area, that would be great. Not to mention that more tutorials might be a good idea, I keep forgetting that not everyone has experience in survival.

[True, his experience was being abandoned for a month on an island, but it was still experience.]

Maybe things like cooking over campfires? Or how to make a fire from wood that might be damp? Even exercises that can keep the blood flowing and the body temperature up?