Living in the Shadows: OOC, never relax... Options

[Cedric Rolfsson]

Guys, just for everyone's information, I live in Washington State and have spent considerable time in Seattle and as I keep reading about the cold and the snow I wanted to make sure that every one understands a little bit about the people that live in Seattle and how winter affects us.

It rarely snows in Seattle, and when it does snow the snow almost never sticks. It melts into slush almost immediately.

When there is so much as an inch of snow on the ground the city seems to almost shut down. No one knows how to drive in the snow, accidents, little fender benders, are common. Schools will close and bus routes will change if there is any snow on the road, its crazy. The snow in the foothills of the Cascades is nasty sometimes but there are a large number of people who head up Snowqualmie to ski so the roads are kept relatively clear and traffic stays pretty decent.

It doesn't get all that cold in Seattle, the wind is cold, but the ambient temperatures without wind chill aren't really all that bad. However, to the people who live in Seattle when the weather gets near freezing the people all start to bundle up like they're intending a journey into the Artic Circle. I usually wear shorts and T-shirt all year round, and only put on jeans from December to February, and even in those months not all the time, but people stare at me when I do so I'm odd.

I'm not trying to be critical but the number of people out and about in the posts, if the whether is really as bad as its been written, just isn't realistic. Seattlites deal with winter by refusing to get out of their cars unless its to go inside. The Seattle Center with its long sprawling walkways and food courts gets crowded with kids and the homeless, who are usually able to find shelter in the eating areas around the central fountain. News channels show weather reports constantly and talk about little else.

Everyone really reacts to the cold whether, I think far more so than people in like Minnesota do for similar whether.

I don't know what would happen with the GridGuide system, and I was always under the impression that with the smog and pollution in 2063 that Seattle creates its own micro-climate, a "green house effect" all of its very own. It just seems to me that if it really was snowing in Seattle the characters would be reacting more to it than they apparently are in the posts. I just wanted to throw my two cents in, please don't take offense, I just thought I'd add to the general pool of information.

[WinterRat1]

double post

[WinterRat1]

Sedna- Says you trust me. I just thought I’d restate it since you have to be thinking at least partly, “What the heck is going on???” I know I would. :)

Cedric- That is extremely interesting and valuable data. I frankly had no idea what it was like in Seattle as far as weather related dealings. I’ll have to reexamine some stuff in light of that. Thanks for telling us!

[Sedna]

Players whose timelines are in and around January 9, take heed of what Cedric Rolfsson says. Because it is a nasty, unseasonable, untypical storm, especially for the area (don't you love what the Great Ghost Dance did to the weather in the Sixth World?), and I too have been noticing that several of you haven't really been taking that into account. (Did notice when tony did, in that driving getaway :) )

Major timeline events to keep track of, which are likely at least to touch upon your character:

JAN 6-8:
Some kind of disease going through the Puyallup Barrens. For now, the rumours still outnumber the cases. That may change.

JAN 8-9:
Heavy rain, turning into a winter storm overnight and through the 9th. About 3-4 inches. Even for the Sixth World, it's very unusual for the area.

NIGHT OF JAN 9:
Twin helicopter crash in the Barrens, possibly storm related, possibly not.

Any others that I've missed?

[Slipshade]

It would be a good thing to either report these types of events in this thread or the Shadowlands thread. Reason being that I do not read others posts, so I can keep the realism of my reactions and not metagame when I meet other characters.

Thanks for the update though. I think I was the first person to post on Jan 8th and I had it as a powerful rainstorm on the night of January 7th. When on 8th does the snow storm hit, so I can update my posts? I am currently at around 11:00am on January 8th in the timeline.

Slip

[Sedna]

Urk. Already trying to add that to the current projects: a "calendar" webpage :) (I'm behind. There's a surprise. But I'll move that one up in the priority list and try to have something solid by this Sunday.)

In the meantime, could someone track down that e-mail with the almost hour-by-hour storm timeline?

[Slipshade]

Sedna - That would be helpful. Weather sould likely be controlled by the GM's anyway, so us players don't go around mucking things up. :)

Slip

[banditf50]

Greetings All:
I am back to reading the posts that I missed last night. . and oh what a night it was. I had intended on having a few drinks and then coming back here to post before going to bed. However a faculty member and friend of mine showed up and decided that he wanted to buy several more rounds for everyone. So the night quickly degenerated to the point where I am just now having my morning coffee (it's noon here) :) Now I am reading all the fun posts that I missed and will be responding to everyone in turn

Cedric: Just a quick note. Thanks for that weather information. I too have never been to the area and had always assumed that the weather was more like that of Chicago. I am sure we will all make corrections in the future.

*Anyone else have any life experience that could correct or enhance any of the RPing action that has gone on thus far?

[The_Eyes]

Um, I kinda preempted the weather on the morning of the 10th, I guess. Just heavy rain, but if someone else has a better idea let me know and I'll change my post to fit. It really isn't that important; I just wanted to make Eyes a little late. :)

Hehe, my character is so trolling for an early grave. :D

[banditf50]

Hehehe . . . At least you are willing trolling for the invitation to an early grave. It seems that Dragon and Virgil are destined for that same grave without even trying :spin:

[Slipshade]

WinterRat1 and Scrapheap - Ok, I am back to posting.

[Sedna]

Translations (mixing three different languages here):

huacalli: a wooden crate used to transport produce or small domestic livestock (usually for slaughter).

No la quiero regar: I don't want to screw up.

Ye tlacua-lo!: It is eaten (using a metaphor).

Esta chica se está saliendo del guacal: This girl is geting out of the rules (in the sense of finding a way to break the rules).

[banditf50]

Preemptive roll if needed:

etiquette (5): 05 05 04 01 01

[Sedna]

Noted. Thanks :)

[Sedna]

Add one more to the temporary calendar here:

JAN 9-10: (stealing a page out of bclements' book :) )
Aftereffects of storm. Rotating brownouts throughout the Seattle area. Streets are finally getting what passes for plowed toward the end of the 10th; major arteries sooner. After the snow started tapering off, the temperature has been falling since noon on the 9th. Everything is now icy as well as slippery.

Weather forecast calls for a warming trend, bringing the unusual cold temperatures back above the freezing point by the weekend.

[banditf50]

Not a problem Sedna. I will try to anticipate your requests for die rolls as much as possible in order to keep the action smooth. Though I will likely only find partial success in anticipating the need.

As an aside . . . I laughed when I heard about the cat ending up in the toilet tank. I happen to own what might be the world's most clumsy housecat, and he has ended up in the toilet bowl twice by his own fault :-P

[bclements]

Sedna: on that, I figured that the power infrastructure in Seattle by the 2060's hasn't been upgraded in a while in many, if not most places. So, while a lot of power is available, actually getting that power to many places would result in overloads and brownouts during extreme periods (and this freakish storm would count as such).

[WinterRat1]

Scrapheap and Slipshade- Assume you both see the other, and can now interact freely. I’m leaving it to one of you two to pick up the thread from here. The plot doth thicken…

[WinterRat1]

Sedna: Perception roll (w/ -1 TN): 11 09 05 03 03 02 01

[Scrapheap]

WinterRat-
No problem, but could you provide a quick description of what I see? Are there obvious signs of the firefight, gas, etc? People milling around? Are the kids anywhere to be seen?

Thanks again-

[WinterRat1]

You’re still outside the shelter, so all you can really see is the busted in doors. There’s a lobby area/hallway inside the first set of double doors, and another set of double doors (which are also open) leading into a main room. The main room is where the three people are, and it looks chaotic, smashed tables, overturned chairs, that kind of thing. Beyond that, you can’t see enough to get a more detailed picture from where you’re at, since you’re basically standing outside on the curb by the street from where I ended my post. The gangers are all still standing around with you outside. No people milling around, they all seemed to have abandoned the place ASAP. Does that help?

[Slipshade]

Scrapheap - Here is a brief description of the people inside. When you get close enough to see them.

[ Spoiler ]

A young woman Brown Hair, about 5'4" She is waring jeans and a faded pink blouse. The kid standing with her is either her younger brother or her some, since there is a family resemblence between the two. They are obviously poor, probably SINless. Typical barrens dwellers. The other man is Tall, somewhere around 6' and thin. He is wearing a pair of jeans, long-sleeved black Futura shirt and has a pair of soft black leather gloves on. More obvious is the fact that his complexion is extremely pale, more like the color of a pale stone or marble and his shoulder length pale blonde almost white hair is pulled back into a pony-tail that has come partially undone. His his face is like a fine sculpture and his ears upswept like that of an elf, but this is man is unlike any elf that you have ever seen. He looks more like a marble statue of one.

[Scrapheap]

WinterRat-
That's perfect, thanks.

Slip-
I'll post something when I have more time, but here is a general description of the guy about to enter the Respite:

[ Spoiler ]

Human male, mid-40s, possible older. He has very short, dark hair with some obvious grey and a medium complexion. He is tall (1.86m), and slim (80.2kg), with mirrored eye-shields and an obvious left cyber-arm. The arm looks slightly odd, almost as if it was made for someone larger, or with a heavier frame. His face is all harsh lines and angles, and he looks to have lead a hard life. If not for the condition of his clothes and the obvious cyber, you'd probably assume that he was homeless too.

He's dressed in cheap work clothes: heavy pants, button-down shirt, and steel-toed work boots. All in muted colors, and all looking rumpled and slept-in. He's wearing a dark grey Secure-tech jacket in a plain cut and a battered Detroit Tigers baseball hat. A lit cigarette dangles from his lip.

[WinterRat1]

Sedna- You do not have to post in red for the duration of your time here. Just fyi.

[Slipshade]

WinterRat1 - Would any of the gang members with Scrapheap recognize me? I have been working at the soup kitchen once a week for the last month or two per my background.


Slip