ARRIVAL LOG 010

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Evening of October 21 and 22
WHAT: The tenth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion, loss of autonomy, sexual themes and alcohol usage. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #010

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs.

You realize there are others next to you. All of you in white scrubs, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth, restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, the movement of streets passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

The vehicle stops. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle, and false, colored light, illuminating the streets in the distance will first alert your senses of being somewhere else, combined with air that's only cooled with the setting of the sun. The nurse moves to stand at the back, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. He doesn't climb out after you, moving to sit as the last passenger is unloaded.

The guards keep their heads down. Their actions are quick, firm, but not entirely unkind. Once all the passengers are out, they drop some masks on the ground in a tan-colored tote bag. "Pick a mask," they bark, and then turn to climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. The engine powers up again, and then the bus is gone.

You're left alone in an alley, with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here.

Around the corner of the alley, there is the sound of various different carnival rides and men yelling for someone to step right up and try their luck on the various assortment of games that are available. Off in the distance, there's a large, hulking structure – perfectly vertical in nature, and people on it twist upward and then come slamming down mere moments later. It seems that you've just arrived as a part of some festivity, though it's probably hard to tell if you're an attraction or a coincidence of this all.

Either way – time to pick a mask. They're nothing special: they go over the head, but no one was ordered to put one on. They show various monsters – generic and otherwise – and it looks like they were purchased in bulk.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request.

> 10 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: OPENING CEREMONY

The message from El comes the same as usual: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

Here we go again. You know the drill by now. Our new batch has been thrown into the middle of a Halloween party. They should have masks on which doesn't make them much easier to find, but I trust you guys can figure this out. You know the signs to look for by now. So… Happy Halloween. 🎃

Having ten actual days dedicated to Halloween may seem like a bit much, but New Amsterdam takes the festivities seriously. Thanks to being a melting pot of two millenia's worth of cultures, they try to touch on every aspect of it. The launch party is a two-day event set in the cultural district. Thanks to the lack of ground traffic, the city easily rolls in what acts as a mini-carnival. The ground throughout the carnival is lit with candle-filled pumpkins, providing a warmth of inviting light as the nights grow cooler. While the carnival shuts down during the working day, it opens again in the evening, allowing working parents to bring their children before the hours come to a close. During this time, children run around with their friends in costumes to ask for candy or food from nearby businesses or carnival booths. Sometimes these children have to perform a task before they get what they've asked for – either through playing a game or answering a trivia question – but they're never turned away empty handed.

The first two days are largely billed as a time for people to come together and have a good time, but Halloween is also known for offering opportunities to local artists to get their work recognized. Whether digital or otherwise, artists are asked to commit to a theme and produce art on the first day of the event that's viewed throughout the next nine days. Part of the tradition is the crunch of trying to produce a work of art with limited notice and time. If they aren't done before the first two days are over, they won't be able to get free advertisement for their work. When the event is over, all of the art will go up for auction, and the artists will receive 75% of whatever is offered for their work. This year's theme is "Remembrance and Renewal" – and most themes from past years are just as open for interpretation.

As it gets deeper into the evening and children have returned home, the festivities turn toward being more adult. While barred from selling alcohol until 9 PM, the various carnival booths change their tune after that point, offering a wide array of alcohol – including their own takes on moonshine. The first night even features a competition over who's brought the best, and everyone's invited to try a sample and put in a vote – for free. A rather savvy individual would likely be able to find themselves well in their cups just off of these samples, as the moonshine contest is the way for the adults to get a treat of their own. For these evening festivities, everyone is allowed to wear a more risque costume, and sex workers come over from the neighboring Red Light District in order to advertise some of their more unique services for the evenings ahead. Every brothel will have a unique theme of its own to mark how special the event is, and their services will match.

Otherwise, the first two days of Halloween are known for allowing kids to have fun and for adults to be anonymous for a little while. Anyone who holds down a day job will still be expected to turn into work, but there's a tacit understanding that most people will be under the weather during this time.

◉ The carnival will have a wide array of rides that are set up rather quickly. There's a ferris wheel with seats that will rotate around a large machine like an atom, but with many different "branches" to allow a great deal of people to go on at once. Everyone gets on at the same time, and the seats "float." Each person can pay for how long their ride is in increments, and extend that time if they so choose. For the after dark people, there is a definite badge of honor in having a good time in a ferris wheel without getting caught with your pants down. Other rides include the Wicked Force – which rapidly takes people up 500 ft into the air and then drops them – as well as carousels that allow someone to customize their mount for an additional amount of money. Want a lewd mount? That's fine … after the kids have gone home to play, and some people like to show off whatever they thought up on Cooltalk.

◉ As always, there are a large number of food options available thanks to the local food trucks coming out to sell their food. Taco trucks are the most popular around this time, and that's most of what will be offered. Many trucks will have some homemade candy that they offer for free with each meal – with the option to get more.

◉ Throughout the city, there will be controlled bonfire pits that are lit every night at 8 PM, though they won't be present in the less cared for parts of New Amsterdam. Ahead of the event starting, there will be a website to let people know where these pits are going up so they can set up meeting places with their friends – or even reserve a pit for a private group. Reservations around the more popular areas cost more than ones that are nearing the "disreputable" sections – though "disreputable" is shorthand for rundown buildings in need of repair more than any crime.

◉ There are, of course, costume contests! While many local bars – dive and otherwise – will have smaller affairs, there is a large contest held on these first two nights. Because of the wide array of people and costumes available, someone has to enter their costume according to a certain theme. Some of the themes are: vampires, ghosts, zombies, pop culture (animation), pop culture (action movies), pop culture (celebrities), political figures, historical figures – and more! In the five days that follow, people will be able to go online and vote for their favorite costume. Whoever accumulates the most votes gets a meal of their choice at a number of participating restaurants – HAPPYHAPPYJOYJOY, SOL, Monde Pizza, Sweetwaffel and more – as well as 200 credits added to their funds.

◉ There will be dealers around the carnival trying to get someone to buy something to "heighten" their experience. While the "monster drug" is out in the city, it won't be available here. Halloween is thought of as a neutral ground for the city, and even the gangs recognize that. Most drugs will be hallucinatory in nature, providing effects similar to shrooms. Of course, any drugs are still illegal, and people will want to be careful not to get caught – or buy from the wrong person.

◉ Anyone who chooses to take part in the more illicit and sexual activities will be advised to go home to finish out their nights. Being handsy is fine, but getting caught on the ferris wheel? Well, the goal is to not get caught. Public acts are still illegal, though most people just spend a night in jail thinking about what they did. It's treated as more embarrassing than anything, but sometimes people let things get away from them. Many of the brothels will offer rooms to couples for the evening, complete with toys and supplies to practice safe sex. Even if they aren't spending their night with a sex worker, the themed goods are still there to enjoy.

> 10 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: THE NEXT EIGHT DAYS

After the rowdier events pass, Halloween splits into two main categories: corporate popups and remembrance. Halloween parties continue to be thrown at restaurants and bars, allowing people to enjoy a more low key version of what was previously available. Many of the bars have karaoke contests and themed parties, and many retail stores maintain a Halloween section until November first. If anyone's been invited to a party last minute – or they need a series of costumes to be extra about the whole occasion – they can hit these stores when needed.

◉ Pulsar's hover car-focused subsidiary, Bakker, advertises their 2512 line of cars by having hover hay rides around the city. Their trucks can hold up to six. Anyone hoping to go on a hover truck hay ride around the city to take in the sights and bonfires in the evening can call one on New Amsterdam's special Halloween app! These rides don't only show the city: they give a glimpse at the large amount of forestation just over the wall, allowing people to see that the Earth is gradually improving.

◉ There are, of course, haunted houses set up around the city! Haunted houses come in two varieties: virtual reality and 4D. Vyonation's gaming subsidiary, Vizija, sets up the virtual reality popups around the city. Due to the high tech nature of these setups, people do have to be on site to enjoy them. They interface with someone's neural implant, and depending on the experience, they can involve puzzles, escape rooms, murder mysteries, or even dissection tables. The 4D houses are the result of a joint partnership between Poe and Polarized – which are subsidiaries of Giles Bell and Pulsar, respectively.

4D haunted houses involve a great deal of props, realistic sights and smells, as well as the potential for certain drugs that can help provide a certain physical or emotional response. Whereas Vizija's simulation comes with the reassurance that nothing is real, Poe and Polarized team up to scare someone – and try to ensure it's as real as possible. Nothing offered at either is illegal, including the drug – though people with a history of heart issues won't be allowed to use the drug at all.

These experiences are made unique for everyone going in: people are allowed to opt out of anything that might make them uncomfortable, or even add in something along the way. If someone is feeling too much anxiety thanks to the drugs, they'll find a counter-drug added to their system to negate the artificial effects rather quickly.

◉ Remember that art contest? Anyone who finished a work will find their art somewhere in the city – and that includes anyone among the Displaced. If anyone is looking for artwork that's similar to what's been featured on the shrines, there will be a few, only they will seem more inviting. Whereas they celebrated people before, they now involve hands outstretched, welcoming someone down a blue-lit path. The same imagery – triangles and overlapping circles – will still be present, especially on the hands as tattoos.

◉ Five days before the 31st, there is a tradition of everyone donating a knife from their house to make it so that "spirits" can return safely. While no one in New Amsterdam genuinely believes that they might be visited by a spirit, the odd occasions around the city recently have lent some credence to this superstition. There will be knife disposal boxes all around the city – and anyone who doesn't give up a knife, butter or otherwise, will be seen as a bit of a spoilsport.

◉ On October 29th, there will be a procession from one end of the city to the other that starts just as the sun goes down and finishes when everyone has reached the other side. As you might imagine, this is a very, very long walk, and many people slip in and out according to what they can individually manage. People walk with candles along the way, and there will be booths selling new or replacement candles for a low price. Since the procession goes along the path of a lot of bonfires, it won't ever be difficult to get them lit. The purpose of this? Everyone uniting in remembrance: of a world that's healing, to celebrate the lives lost to usher in a peaceful era, to thank everyone on the colonies for offering a humanity a new home, and any personal losses that people might have faced. Even though there are still billions of people alive, there is the sense that everyone knows that they remain on Earth on borrowed time.

◉ For the last two days, people light candles and put them in their windows, and they also leave food outside of their windows and in the front of their apartments so that "spirits" can return safely. There's an implicit understanding that most of this food will be taken by people who aren't doing as well, and much of it is nonperishable. Anyone who's down on their luck will see candles in the window and will know that they will likely find food there. Many people stock up for this occasion so that they can replace any food. Unsurprisingly, most high-end apartments with well-off people don't honor this tradition, but people in mid-to-low end apartments will almost always have something to spare in the spirit of charity.

> SAFEHOUSE

Access to the safehouse is a hatch hidden behind stacks of empty storage shelves in the back of an abandoned supermarket in an outer district of the city. The immediate area is similarly abandoned, empty stores, flanked by several blocks of dive bars and clubs which cater to more niche tastes. A place where people can come and go unseen, or, if seen, not spoken of. A dark haired woman called Gaby is ready to greet the new arrivals and get them settled in, brusque and no-nonsense – she'll be open for in depth questions later, but will advise everyone to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information.

◉ The safe house is a large open space, filled with rows of basic cots set up to sleep a large amount of people. Basic, but outfitted with everything necessary for daily life. A few doors lead to back rooms for storage, medical care and a large communal bathroom, and past the long rows of cots there is a communal kitchen, fully stocked, and an eating area. Privacy is at a minimum.

◉ New characters will be asked to pick their beds, and provided with a change of (second-hand, mismatched and somewhat threadbare) clothes and basic toiletries.

◉ Any belongings from previous safehouse occupants have been packed up – and that includes any current Displaced who just got back from a trip. If someone left something out while they were in New Tokyo, Gaby will tell them where these objects can be found. For her part, she's just trying to get everything set up for the upcoming move.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El.

◉ Once everyone that El spotted has arrived back, they'll be informed that the safehouse will be a temporary location. By the end of the month, everyone will be moving to a new location about fifteen blocks away.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the safehouse before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival in the safehouse, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until OCTOBER 25 (MAY 19). These 4 days are for them to adjust, learn about the world they've arrived in from their fellows, and for El to speak with them and work on setting up their IDs.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until OCTOBER 25 (MAY 19). At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

If you have an artist character, please feel free to comment below under our QUESTIONS header to submit a description for a work of art! As long as they submitted something, you can feel free to assume they made some credits off of the whole experience!

Since there is a part of this log that involves explicit sexual activity, please remember content warnings. If your character engages in a sexual act, slap a warning on that! None of the drugs available at the event will involve aphrodisiacs or anything that will remove consent. Some of the brothels may involve play with that, but everyone entering those arrangements would need to consent from the start. We're well aware of the sensitive nature of having a Red Light District-adjacent event while characters are under the influence of compulsory drugs, so no characters will be forced or asked into any acts against their will. There will be no exceptions to this. In addition, any newcomers won't be able to skip off into a brothel because they're new, won't be able to confirm their ages, and they won't have any other identifying information. Otherwise, please be respectful and check everyone's permissions.

As a blanket reminder, all arrival logs are designed as mingle logs for the entire game.

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our May calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

As a reminder, AC for new characters accepted in May will be 10 comments across 2-4 threads, while current characters will need to provide the full AC of 20 comments across 2-4 threads. AC will be posted on June 1 at 12 AM UTC and close on June 8 at 12 AM UTC. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list.

> NAVIGATION

Comments

flex emoji (also i)

[miscalibrate]

[ Amos is used to drunks, but used to doesn't guarantee he'll put up with anything; it doesn't help that he had a drink before the guy shouldered into him, and now that drink's half on his scrubs and half on the ground. He gives his empty cup a look before shifting his heavy gaze to Kovacs, but there's nothing to read there — he doesn't look particularly annoyed, and he doesn't sound it.

He sounds almost friendly, honestly, except for the part where it doesn't sound like he's left room for disagreement. ]

Watch where you're walking.

fans self

[resleeves]

Oops.

[ kovacs hears the tone. he's heard it before, he'll hear it again but he doesn't really listen to it in that the words amos uses have no affect on him. ]

Did I bump into you? [ well, you're the size of a fucking tank, amos, jesus christ. ] You should have stepped aside. I made it known that I was coming.

[ no he hadn't. ]

Your own fault, sweetheart.

i thought we'd get like 5 whole comments in but i don't want to be ooc ig

[miscalibrate]

[ His head tilts slightly, brow gently knitting in an expression that's almost amused. He isn't smiling, but it's close. He's used to threats, too, and the truth is he could use this — he couldn't kill those guards, and he couldn't kill that nurse.

This guy isn't so special. ]

Call me sweetheart again.

[ Cliched as hell? Absolutely. Kovacs doesn't exactly strike him as subtle, so he doubts that's a problem. ]

when it's right, it's right. go big or go home.

[resleeves]

[ he doesn't know this person. he's never seen him before which could mean a few things. maybe he's been here this whole fucking time and kovacs just didn't pay attention. maybe he's been here a little while and kovacs just didn't care. or maybe he's new and this is his introduction to the shitty city.

isn't kovacs lucky to potentially be part of the welcome wagon? ]

Say please.

[ he smiles and leans just a touch closer to whisper: ] And I will.

maybe we WILL get 5 tags

[miscalibrate]

[ When his expression shifts, it's subtle. Amusement into something a little conflicted and confused, because the impulse to listen to suggestions is still there. He doesn't really care about the act. If saying please means he gets a fight that he can pawn off as the other guy's fault, he'll say please. He set the bar, he can wait for Kovacs to cross it.

Pride isn't the issue. Not having a choice? He doesn't love that. After a tense beat: ]

Please.

[ The compulsion's distracting enough that it pulls his focus. Even if a cheap shot had been on the table, he doesn't take it. ]

a halloween miracle????

[resleeves]

[ if kovacs is surprised that the guy does what he asks, he doesn't show it. he'd been guessing that things would go a different way, a little more violent way and while he still thinks they're heading there, it hadn't been immediate.

does that mean he's growing as a person? or does it mean he just wants to draw terrible shit out? ]

You're such a polite young man.

[ a polite young man who was built like a fuckig skyscraper, christ. but, kovacs isn't all that small himself so he's not going to dwell on how huge those arms of amos' were. ]

I can't resist the magic words either. Sweetheart. [ your wish is his command or something like it? ]

[miscalibrate]

[ There it is.

Amos does give himself a second to consider what the rules are here, if any; the area's rundown, but it's nice past that. There must be some rules. Even Baltimore had them, even if their only real point was making it easy for things to get swept under the rug. He also, briefly, thinks of Holden — what would he do? He probably wouldn't kill someone just for being a drunk idiot.

If Kovacs was expecting his weight to make him slow, he's in for a rude surprise. The empty cup hits the ground and Amos moves, grabbing a fistful of fabric at his collar and the waist of his pants and lifts, wrenching him forward and up to obliterate any traction he's got on the ground. The bonfire's close, but it's messy — you can't control someone burning to death. There are upturned bins littered around in a haphazard circle, though, and none of them will make for a soft landing when Amos shifts his grip mid-swing and tries to drop Kovacs on his back.

More slam than drop, honestly, but gravity does a lot. Lifting's harder here than it is in low gravity, but that makes it a decent trade-off. ]

[resleeves]

[ he's expecting aggression but even he's surprised by the speed and breadth of the violence that erupts from the tanker truck in front of him. fucking hell. he's really going to have to start picking his battles a little better.

but, he's picked this one so now he's just gotta figure out a way to either beat this skyscraper or get out of it alive. his back hits the ground and the wind whooshes out of him. momentarily nauseous, he wonders if throwing up on the guy would help.

but instinct and training kick in and he rears up with a leg and aims the heel of a boot at amos' knee, trying to take the legs out from underneath the mountain. ]

[miscalibrate]

[ The carnival-goers around them aren't altogether shocked — between the alcohol and the drugs, this can't be the first tussle that's broken out. They scatter, some of them scared and some of them not wanting trouble, and it leaves the immediate space open.

Amos isn't fast enough to avoid the kick entirely. He tries to step out of it and still gets the scrape of rough soles and enough impact on his knee to be jarring. But he leans into the loss of balance to duck down, grabs hold of Kovac's shirt with his left hand; his weight's on it for a second, regaining some balance, then he tries to haul his shoulders up off the ground.

The right hook that follows isn't slow, but there's so much wind-up it's impossible not to see it coming. ]

[resleeves]

[ he needs to get the fuck off the floor. when he's on his back, he's going to be at a disadvantage no matter what he does so he has to figure out a way to get this fucking mack truck off of him so he can get back to his feet.

easier said than fucking done. though he sees the blow coming, there's not a lot he can do when he's in the man's grips other than twist and try and take it on the side of his face rather than full on. it still fucking hurts and he tastes blood. he still has enough attitude to rear up and spit at amos before trying to kick him again.

he aims for the groin because he doesn't play fucking fair. ]

[miscalibrate]

[ The spit lands and he doesn't seem to care, although the way he just plants a broad hand on Kovac's face and forces his head back into the ground could probably be classed as getting even. But the next kick lands, too. It's not the melodramatic reaction you'd get from someone less used to taking punches, but he can't hide the grunt and the recoil. Adrenaline only covers so much, and there are really only two options: stay here and get his bearings, or back off and do the same.

The next punch is shorter and sharper, taking advantage of how he's got him pinned; then he shoves hard on Kovac's chest to push himself up, staggering back to his feet and back a step. There's spit on his face, mixed with blood. He takes a few steps to the right, circling, flexes his hands and opens them. It's methodical, and when he stops he seems calm. Someone paying less attention might even say he's relaxed. ]

Stay down.

[resleeves]

[ does that usually work? do people actually listen when they're told to stay down? well, kovacs doesn't. okay, he listens for a second because that's how long it takes for the world to stop spinning. there's wetness on his face that can only be blood (because he is sure as shit not crying) and he laughs raggedly before starting to climb to his feet.

he gets there, bracing a hand against a wall to hold himself upright. ]

Does that really work? Do people actually stay down?

[ okay maybe they did for this guy. stay down and not risk getting their lives ended. ]

Make me, sunshine.

[ what he needed to do was try and land a few blows on this guy and then use that stupid fucking power they'd given him to soak it up and make himself a little more powerful. he hadn't really mastered it but he knew it was there. ]

[miscalibrate]

[ Amos was planning on it. He might've waited for Kovacs to throw the next punch, is the thing; but that's technically a command, and when the drugs push for obedience all it really does is add momentum.

The wall behind Kovacs is mostly smooth metal with a few worn hems and bolts. Not as helpful as rough brick, and there are no edges to leverage for pressure. But it's still a wall, and he isn't the one with his back to it.

Amos clears the gap in one broad stride, but he doesn't go for another punch — the technique might be getting predictable, honestly: brute force, keeping the opponent off-balance. He leaves himself wide open for a punch, focused on grabbing Kovacs at the shoulder and neck and shoving back against the wall, hard. ]

[resleeves]

[ he's waiting for the freight train this time. he knows it's coming so he lets himself get shoved because struggling is just going to make it worse. so, he leans into the momentum, thumping into the wall and immediately driving one fist into amos' stomach. he is not going to think about the brick wall it feels like he just punched. no, he's just going to do it again.

and then he lurches forward just enough to drive his head into amos'. he hates fucking headbutts but they're really fucking effective if done right and he's pretty sure that amos has just as hard a head as he does.

let's see if he could break a nose or bust an orbital bone. ]

cw violence oops? probably

[miscalibrate]

[ The punches aren't light; being braced for it might help with getting winded, but it won't do much for abused muscles. Amos takes it without reacting, focused on getting a hand over Kovacs' throat with a calm focus that's a hard contrast to the other man's quick strikes.

When he gets a grip he squeezes, but that's not really the point. His palm's flat against his adam's apple, an uncomfortable pressure that's about to turn into a sharp push — which is when Kovacs lurches forward, just in time to replace the snap of a larynx with the wet crack of a broken nose.

The pain gets shunted aside in the way it usually does, but he can't compartmentalize the way it flares over his nerves and whites out his vision. That doesn't mean he lets go. It does mean his movement takes on an edge that hadn't been there before, and it isn't anger — it's like a switch, fight or flight kicking in late, and when he hauls Kovacs away from the wall it's a sloppier move.

Sloppy, but still kind of a freight train that's just gotten an extra kick of adrenaline.

The bins and benches scattered around the bonfire aren't exactly masterpieces of construction, but there's at least one that's simple, sleek metal. Amos has a grip on Kovacs' arm and shoulder as he swings him towards the bench; it isn't a light touch, but there's no specific violence in it. It still might make keeping his balance rough. ]

[resleeves]

[ thank fuck he'd gone for the headbutt. that meaty hand around his neck had been a potential nightmare but the headbutt stops it. it doesn't mean amos lets him go but he's at least still breathing.

but the fact that he doesn't let go is a fucking thing. he doesn't know what the hell is going to make this shithead react and let go and he's still trying to figure it out when amos swings him towards the bench. his knees catch the hard edge and he ends up tumbling back onto it, not quite supine but close.

he pants, trying to catch his breath before getting up and full on flinging his body at amos, trying to tackle the man with all the strength in his body. he might not be as thick as amos but he's no slouch and this might, at least, make him stumble.

the headbutt had caught him off guard. maybe this would too. ]

[miscalibrate]

[ It does, mostly because Amos is focused on getting both hands on Kovacs' arm and trying to crack his forearm across the edge of the bench, sharp and concise despite all the displays of blunt force. He isn't sure if the bone gives; Kovacs pitches his weight into him and breaks his focus first, knocking them both away from the bench and landing them on the ground.

Amos hits first; hits his head hard enough to feel it later, but not now. He splays a hand against Kovacs' chest to push him up. Not off — he keeps a grip twisted in his shirt, trying to clear just enough space for another wide punch. ]

[resleeves]

[ he doesn't cry out. he knows the arm's broken as soon as impact happens but he doesn't cry out. that, at least, is still ingrained him despite his distance from his training. but pain shoots up his arm, down his spine and blooms throughout his entire body. it feels like he's on fire and he momentarily wants to cut his fucking arm off to stop it.

if he's not careful, it's probably not going to be just his arm that's broken. so, fuck it. time to cheat. or not because it wasn't like they'd set rules before this happened. amos cracks him in the face just as he reaches out with his good arm and clamps a hand down on his bicep, feeling the surge of his power activate.

he just has to hope that he's done enough damage to that, when he takes it, it leaves him more powerful and amos stumbling around like he's a fucking drunk. ]

[miscalibrate]

[ Amos draws back again, and he's mid-swing when it hits. The punch doesn't land. It loses momentum entirely, muscles seizing up as something foreign hits his system. His gaze drops to his arm, and the needle he's expecting to see isn't there. It's just Kovacs' hand.

And maybe it doesn't even feel like drugs. Maybe that's just the best comparison he has, because he knows what that's like, getting hit with a high dose that knocks you out flat and the way tranqs put lead in your nerves.

He grabs Kovacs' wrist, trying to break the contact. His grip isn't weak, yet — but it's a hell of a lot weaker, clumsy and easy to break. ]

[resleeves]

Get off me.

[ it's not the perfect thing but it's enough, he hopes, to bring a leg up, put a boot in the center of amos' chest and shove him backwards so he can get his fucking ass off the ground. his arm is limp, broken and dangling and in so much fucking pain that his eyes threaten to water.

but, this brute is still standing so kovacs straggles forward and punches him, going for that very square chin to try and at least knock him down. he doesn't have to be knocked out but knock him down and give him a chance to walk away?

that's all he wants. ]

gets out scorecard

[miscalibrate]

[ And it's what he gets — Amos feels drunk, only he's pretty sure he's better at fighting than this when he is drunk. The punch paired with the disorientation is enough for him to lose his balance, falling back against the bench. He tries to get a hand on it to stay up, but all he does is end up sitting on the ground in front of it, winded. ]

better luck next time, bro

[resleeves]

Fucker.

[ what he'd taken from amos has given him enough strength to walk away without limping or holding himself like he was about to fall apart but he still hurt. fucking hell, maybe he needed to stop getting into fights with concrete walls.

nah.

but, at least he was walking away from this one with the win. ]