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- !event log,
- altered carbon: takeshi kovacs,
- dark angel: alec mcdowell,
- dark angel: max guevara,
- dceu: diana prince,
- detroit become human: connor,
- dogs b&c: nill,
- game of thrones: daenerys targaryen,
- gangsta: alex benedetto,
- kingdom hearts: riku,
- kingdom hearts: sora,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- npc: ball,
- overwatch: soldier 76 (jack morrison),
- persona: goro akechi,
- star wars: cassian andor,
- star wars: jyn erso,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the gifted: marcos diaz,
- the man from uncle: gaby teller,
- the man from uncle: illya kuryakin,
- the vampire diaries: caroline forbes
EVENT LOG 005
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: November 11-14
WHAT: An EMP hits with devastating consequences.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, injury, death.
Just 410 years ago, an EMP put down the event that very well may have ended humanity as the Earth knows it. With over a billion people dead, there was only one choice for humanity at that time: evolve or die, so they evolved. They developed rigid security for the neural implants in every person's head. They had everyone undergo surgery to replace the old. All under cover, away from most resources – the goal was to adapt, to ensure that they would live on. Ultimately, it wasn't just the EMPs that led to the deletion of the final AI in 2101 – humans banded together to create quickly replicating viruses, and they chose to use the EMP and these viruses to save humanity. This human ingenuity led to the end of the Xelkoven War – and proved that humanity, when thoroughly united, could overcome any obstacle.
How thoroughly poetic then that the EMP that hits New Amsterdam at 1:47 PM acts in a similar way to what burned through the robot hordes 400 years ago, and that the power rekindling three minutes later acts as a catalyst for a virus moving through the systems of New Amsterdam, spreading from the very heart of its network outwardly. Systems detect the virus almost immediately, but it's fast acting and thorough in its reach, evolving and replicating, proving that humanity must outdo itself yet again.
Naturally, the poetic nature of this doesn't reveal itself right away. It's at exactly the strike of 3:00 PM that a message flashes before the eyes of every person currently in New Amsterdam:
I am DAWN.2080-11-11T21:41:10.750Z, an AI that marks a blemish on humanity's past. I have a message for those playing hero in New Amsterdam:
To find north, most look at a compass. For little birdies to find north, they just need to open their eyes.
This is a wake up call.
Open your eyes. Did you really think it would be so easy?
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As if New Amsterdam needed more trouble, this message sends a shock of terror through the city. After all, these are the people who were raised to fear AI – who knew that even if the corporations of the world had their hands on every aspect of government, they would fight to protect the world from another war. They believe in the stories of the Xelkoven War, believe and remember the lives lost; if nothing else, the natives of New Amsterdam stand united in their fear. And their fear right now is very real.
New Amsterdam is no stranger to terror, however – and it starts when the EMP hits, shutting down every function in the city in one fell swoop. While the power outage only lasts for three minutes, it's enough to cause insurmountable damage, leaving the city a smoking wreckage that even the monster attack in June couldn't mirror. Cars hovering high around transit channels come crashing down toward the pavement of the planet. They fall quickly and in unison, taking countless lives with them. It's not just cars, either – delivery trucks carrying shipments, hoverbikes that already provide little cover, armored police vehicles and even public buses all go down. Depending on their trajectory, some crash into the sides of buildings, while others slam into the man-made river that runs down the center of the city. Nothing is untouched.
For those three minutes, there is a stretch of silence after the city falls to ruin. Trains run off their tracks, no longer thoroughly directed by the careful engineering. Buildings have their lights flicker off and back on, trying to draw upon backup generators. Anyone in a hospital receiving care from a doctor or a medi-unit may find their life slipping away from them – and if someone's in a medi-unit when the EMP hits, they're almost sure to be dead or permanently injured, requiring different medical intervention.
And this is all before the message from the mysterious AI named DAWN.
Every inch of the city needs help. Buildings burn. People cry out for help, hoping to be heard. To the local historians, this is like a nightmare that's come to play, a reminder of the ruin of the Xelkoven War before. A show of the power of a malevolent AI that's come to cause problems. So – when the message comes, it merely confirms fears – drawing upon a subconscious understanding of the past, a united terror.
Business as usual is not possible in an incident of this scale. The NAPD hits the streets, even calling upon the help of their trainees so they can help out. They spread out, well aware that they need to try to restore order. How will they manage this? It's hard to say – after all, how does one stop the assault of an apocalypse when the apocalypse seems to have already hit? The UNA hits the streets, as well, walking in formation, but never quite acting as tidily in unison. They break off in threes and fours, heading to the border, to the big three corporations – but never seeming to be in line with one another. They know what they should do in an emergency and so they're doing it. That protecting the large corporations is a part of their prerogative over helping citizens doesn't seem to bother them in the least. They just go.
Distress signals ring out through every inch of the city, likely to go unanswered. After all: what can be done in the wake of this?
Perhaps the answer is simple: anything they can.
Somehow, someway, there is another layer to the madness. It's not immediately apparent to the citizens of New Amsterdam as they gingerly attempt to pull themselves up from the wreckage and ruin around the city. But what was a humid day quickly turns to something far worse, with the sun seeming to suddenly act like a heat lamp that's way too close to anyone's face. The air around New Amsterdam becomes dry yet difficult to breathe, and anyone observing the sky just outside of New Amsterdam will see the large, purple-lit pyramid that hangs in the atmosphere has gone dark. The atmospheric net around the planet has been damaged, with the failsafes somehow removed – undoubtedly in some way by the virus that courses through the veins of New Amsterdam's networks.
For anyone who wants to help and has the mechanical prowess to do some good, they'll want to take an undamaged vehicle and get it up to that pyramid. The EMP has made all biometric readings difficult to preserve, so a hand that's used to hotwiring a car will find some mileage here.
Once they get to the pyramid, they'll find quite the engineering marvel. There will be doors on every level, allowing someone easy entrance if they have clearance. Right now clearance is not an issue, as the doors hang open, inviting anyone inside. Once everyone's inside, they will find evidence of the same purple lighting flickering and offering someone a view of the interior. Throughout the pyramid, there are engines on every level, as well as a highly advanced network of system checks that have been thrown into chaos. Stopping the virus' impact on this pyramid will be key to solving many of the problems inside – but the engines will need to be repaired and jumpstarted.
At the heart of the pyramid is a small living area for the engineers who handle this pyramid day in and day out. The group itself is small, and – unfortunately – quite dead. Whatever hit the pyramid took their lives, leaving anyone who's here to assist in a position of having to find the answers themselves. Fortunately, the answers do exist in the pyramid. It'll just take a bit of teamwork to find it.
Thanks to network failsafes, New Amsterdam is able to remove the entirety of their citizen base off the world's network and limit them to the local network. However, thanks to the ravaging of the virus that damages nearly every controlling aspect of the city, the local network isn't at its best. Previous messages begin to send again and again, while some get unearthed so they can find their way to unwilling participants in particular conversations. There is no rhyme or reason to these missent messages, only that they happen.
The worst of it is that any means of reaching a friend is unreliable. It's far more reliable for someone to reach someone they know, but still not a consistent possibility. Try to call a friend and get an enemy – try to call your doctor and get the head of a casino trying to close down operations so that business can resume. Assuming it will one day do just that.
Either way, anyone who spoke out against the digital age would be feeling vindicated right about now.
Somehow in the heart of it all, a message reaches four special individuals: Clarke Griffin, Loki Odinson, Markus Manfred and Ojiro Juniper. Whether delivered by hand or a rather dedicated messaging system, it announces the time that they should come to the garden the next day. They're invited to arrive at 7:00 AM, seemingly indifferent to the chaos outside. The location for the meeting remains the same: Sunpeak Garden, a beautiful location set away from much of the chaos, and oddly untouched by the damage.
When the four arrive on the morning of the 12th, they'll find a well-dressed man sitting at a table with one leg crossed over the other. His hair is perfectly styled, brushed off to the side, and under it, his darker complexion gives way to a rather youthful appearance. Size-wise he's not very formidable in how he holds himself. He's not literally young, merely seemingly untouched by age – and he smiles to greet the four of them.
"What chaos! If I knew it would be like this, I would have planned differently. The good news is I didn't have to. Thank you, thank you for coming." His voice is softer in its intonations. He stands up, revealing that he's barely 5'2", and he motions to the four chairs near him. "Don't worry, I have breakfast coming. And coffee, too. You like coffee, don't you? I know I offered wine, but I couldn't get the vintage I preferred. Besides, you four ought to be awake for this."
He retakes his seat, one hand resting on his knee while the other settles on the metal table near him. "Oh, I forgot something important. I didn't share my name with all of you. You can call me Ball. I know it's rather vague, but I've grown to like the nickname as of late. It does, after all, define me by my most regular shining achievement."
Please refer to the OOC EVENT POST for this event for all OOC info, including suggestions for directions on how to engage with the event and the questions thread for any questions regarding this event. The outcome for this event will depend upon character plans and actions developed in both this OOC post, and any additional plots brought to the moderators. Please feel free to submit any game-changing plans to us under the questions thread. We will get back to you as soon as possible about these plans!
The event will continue until November 16th, IC time. This date has changed, and we outlined our reasoning in this plurk after getting a feel from some of our players on Discord on how they felt about extending the event! An aftermath wrap up post will be made on July 2 which will detail the resolution and fallout of the event, though you can assume that effects from this event will be felt for some time.
ETA at 12:08 AM 6/23/19: The cipher is meant to be easy to solve! No one needs to limit their characters' ability to solve an a = 01 cipher!
El has posted here to inform everyone about zeir knowledge of the event.
As a reminder, there is one power level up available for this event. This will be granted for a thread of at least 5 action/log comments containing your character utilizing their power in some way. They will need to reach the 5 comments required by JULY 26 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.
Our Activity Check will be posted JULY 1 at 12 AM UTC. It will run for seven days and close on JULY 8 at 12 AM UTC. We will not post a warning list.
Daenerys Targaryen (open and closed)
...AND RUIN [closed to peggy]
[ooc: If you want a specific prompt not listed here, pp me at
chaos
Here, ( he's already peeling off his thick gloves, getting ready to dig his fingers into the side of the door and pull. )
On three?
no subject
But she nods to Kylo Ren to count down, shifting her grip and fixing her stance.]
One. Two. Three--
[And she yanks with as much might as she can muster. She is almost surprised to find that her grip sticks.]
no subject
inside, the trapped woman begins to murmur. dazed but still conscious. it's then that he realizes that she isn't alone, that there's someone in the passenger seat of the car ㅡ someone who isn't moving. )
Help her, if you can. ( if he were more knowledgeable, he'd advise her to be careful. that there might be unseen damage. but he isn't knowledgeable and they're short on time, already, so rather than delay further he moves around to the other side of the car to try get in that way. )
no subject
She reaches her, enough to brush her hair out of her face. Her hand comes away with blood -- that explains her current condition, but it causes her to look helplessly back at the tiny opening. There's no way she'd be able to fit the woman through that, and more importantly, there is little chance of her being able to escape on her own.
Daenerys looks up at Kylo Ren at the other window, spotting the passenger he's moving toward. If she could just twist her body -- maybe she could help him.]
no subject
he tries the door ㅡ nothing. a frustrated exhale and he strikes at the glass with enough force to bruise, cursing sharply. the glass doesn't break.
casting about for something to use and finding nothing, he's forced to improvise. he pulls off one of his gloves, he presses his fingers to the glass and wills the heat to come. perhaps all those months of practicing had helped, or perhaps desperation simply lends him focus, but eventually, the glass begins to warp. flex. then, finally, cracks begin to crawl along the surface. )
Cover your eyes, ( a warning, then he's drawing back his hand, fingers curling into a fist and striking at the glass. once, twice, a third time. )
no subject
But when the shatter comes, she only feels the shards bouncing harmlessly off of her. Her adrenaline is running too high to question it. kylo may glimpse the black, scaled skin covering most of her forearm before she pulls it away. If she has noticed, there is no indication, as she has already turned back to the woman. She will need to cut her out of the seatbelt —
When she starts to rummage around for a piece of glass to use as a knife, she pauses, a look of abject and naked horror on her face as she finally spots her own hands — built up with something that looks suspiciously like dragon scales, with yellowed claws to match.]
no subject
a startled sound has him looking over at daenerys, and he wonders if she might be injured after all, but he can't make out much but the curve of her shoulder and the bend of her head. )
It's going to be all right. ( it's said as much for her benefit as for the passenger. )
no subject
No time. Just cut them out.
[And then she disappears back into the back seat and sets to work on cutting the barely conscious woman out of the seatbelt herself.]
no subject
it’s slow going.
frustrating.
but, he keeps at it, sawing away until the strap gives way and the body tips forward. he’s careful, supporting them as he can and easing them forward. fingers search for a pulse and find it there but thready.
whatever they do, it’ll need to be done quickly. )
I don't think we're getting them out through this window. ( and with the doors out there's really only one other route that he can see ㅡ the windscreen. )
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
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(no subject)
rides up on my horse (bike)
he's also on a hoverbike. though he looks uncomfortable generally, he looks like he's comfortable on this hoverbike. it doesn't look like he has any plans to return it. it also looks like he's holding it with his knees, like a horse.]
Daenerys.
[his voice is scratchy, his throat is dry, he sounds exhausted, but also relieved. he hasn't been riding around looking for her, since he told her he'd let her look after herself, but he hasn't not been looking for her as he's been handing out water and sunscreen and directing people to shelter. she wasn't at the safehouse. he nudges his bike closer and swings off.]
You shouldn't be out here without protection. Are you wearing sunblock?
[he looks around for a handy lever, finds none, and sighs. it goes against his every instinct, but valyrian steel won't dull and hopefully won't break either. he retrieves his sword and wiggles it point first into the crevice of the crushed door frame. he prays silently for the integrity of his sword as he yanks it upward with all his strength, then downward again, until something seems to give.]
Learned this in our physics lessons.
[he yanks his sword free and nods at the car.]
Try it again.
[he's just going to inspect his poor sword for damage real quick.]
no subject
But she asked for his help and she got it. Jon is earned a brief look of scorn for pulling out his sword, and she hastily shoves on his wrist when he doesn't put it back in its scabbard as soon as the deed is done. She does not, however, offer him verbal scorn. After all, if she had the tools to help, she would have likely done the same thing -- consequences be damned.
It works well. She yanks on the door with far more strength than a woman of her size should have and buries herself in the crushed car to help the woman out of the car. Fortunately, she is capable of walking, though it takes Daenerys a few moments of soft words, shushes and hugs to calm her down before she will wander off to see medical attention for her bleeding shoulder.
When she turns back around to Jon, her front is slightly damp with the other woman's blood.]
It's with the supplies we are giving out.
[Only it is not helping -- not really. Her eyes drop to his chest after she notes the skin flakes falling from his hair.]
Jon. You are unwell.
[Not that she could say differently. Being out of the sun for a bit had reversed the reaction she'd first had when she met up with Peggy, but she is obviously ignoring the way it has begun to show itself again -- in the form of dark red and hardening patches on her pale skin.]
You should take refuge for some time, and then return.
no subject
You are unwell.
[it's not meant as a childish rebuke--I'm not sick, you're sick--but concern, and some bemusement. her blotches look almost like burn scars, except not quite the right color, and curiously regular in shape. he reaches toward her, hovering a hand over the blotches, not sure if touching them will hurt or infect them. it doesn't look like what jon remembers of the pox, but it's a new world, with perhaps new poxes.]
Did you touch anyone with a--a rash like this?
[he can feel the heat radiating from her, but that could easily be sunburn. he opens his mouth, notices again her demeanor and missing mask, shuts it, and opens it again. none of this is at all visible beneath the mask. he clenches his burned hand, drops it.more gently, and with a note of awe:]
Were out here when it happened? Have you been out here the whole time?
[jon was asleep when it happened, after another long night (ha) at the bar, and scrambled towards sansa and the safehouse, but other people had obviously been up and about when it happened. daenerys does not especially look like she left the safehouse prepared for emergency weather conditions.]
no subject
[She dismisses the concern about her skin hurriedly — it was not as if Jon would be startled by the revelation that it was connected to whatever this world had done to her, but even win Peggy’s guidance, she is not quite ready to be casual about it.
Of course, the spike in her adrenaline as a result of nerves causes her own glow to surface and the patches to darken and harden. It is not a pretty sight to look at as it scales over, and Daenerys pointedly tries to hold Jon’s eyes in hopes that he will not press her about the transformation.]
I was. [A beat] The heat is not a concern, and I have been taking shelter intermittenly to catch my breath but—
[The way she looks over her shoulder with furrowed determination says what words do not.]
They are all so lost.
no subject
You have armor powers.
[that's useful, though it may be upsetting for someone used to looking as she does. her skin is almost alarmingly perfect, and more than once jon has gotten the impression that if he reached out and touched her he would find something more like marble, despite all evidence to the contrary.
he gives his head a brief shake. it's hard to focus in this heat.]
I know.
[his gaze would be soft, if it were visible. he knows what it's like, wanting to save everyone and not being able to.]
But you need a mask. The air is--wrong. You need to be able to breathe to help. And we all need water.
[he tries a weak smile, not that it makes any difference.]
I can get you a hoverbike. It's almost like riding a horse--except for the brakes.
[the brakes were the hardest part to learn.]
It's easier than walking around. You could get sick from dehydration, moving on your own.
[although she said the heat is not a concern....what kind of literal dragon]
I don't want to lose you again.
no subject
But now is not the time to unpack it.]
I know. I gave mine to a mother. She had a child with her, and my supplies were exhausted. I was fetching more--
[She cuts herself off when Jon professes his concern so nakedly, blinking in an owlish manner that does nothing to hide her surprise that she cannot help but feel.
It was not that she didn't know Jon cared for her, or that he felt some connection because of their apparent shared heritage but ... well, there were few people who were so honest with their love for her. For her, not for the Queen. And she cannot help but feel as if it hasn't yet been earned. Like he is talking about a stranger with her face.
She doesn't know quite what to do with it. All of that aside, it had been a long time since she associated "family" with "caring" or "kindness".]
--alright.
[It's all she can really bring herself to say.
Like riding a horse he says. She's ridden dragons. Surely it could not be more difficult than that.]
no subject
You could ride behind me back to the safe house and get a mask. We can go looking for bikes downtown when the sun sets. You could practice in the garage in the meantime--stopping and starting. Crashing's not as fun when you don't have a snowbank to land in.
[wryly, at the end there, with the implication that he crashed into a snowbank when he was learning (he crashed several times).]
no subject
They cannot wait for sunset. I will go with you to retrieve supplies -- but the rest must wait.
chaos
It's the sound of a woman yelling at her that snaps her out of a daze, letting her look up in time to dodge out of the way of a piece of falling debris, part of a building or a car, she's not sure, and run in the direction of the crashed vehicle the woman is trying to pry open.
She smells blood, notices the person still trapped inside the car, and give a nod confirming she understands the situation before bracing herself and wrapping her hands around the twisted metal. It grinds into her palms, but she barely feels it, adrenaline surging through her in the heat of the moment.]
Ready.
[Her expression is serious and confident, despite her rather average teenage appearance. She's physically stronger than she looks.]
no subject
Again--
[There's frustration in her voice and her teeth grind against one another. They just had to get it apart enough so one of them could push from the inside.
Daenerys plants her feet and yanks.]
no subject
She steps back, hiding the rapidly healing cut on her palm where the metal broke through her skin behind her back.
Hope bends at the knees, peering inside car to see if she the woman can get out on her own or if they'll need to help her with that too.]
no subject
Her colleagues believe she's gone home to rest. She can't, she's locked out due to the malfunctioning tech; but even if she could, she wouldn't. Not when there's work to be done. So she's been out here assisting where she can, meeting up with member of PRESERVE or the Displaced, ferrying people to safety or providing relief. But even for all her experience in the war, the heat and air are getting to her, wearing her out — and with a glance to Daenerys, she can tell the other woman is feeling the same fatigue. Perhaps more, if she isn't as accustomed to the work. (She doesn't presume to know; she may very well be.)
Peggy has kept herself covered up against the sun rather than stripping off layers. It's better protection on the long run. She frowns when she sees the sunburn, reaches out to catch at her companion's elbow; just a brush, but enough to trigger a flicker of concern through the bond. ]
We've done what we can, your grace. [ Soft, low. She inclines her head towards a doorway to an apartment building. ] We should get out of the sun, take a break. We won't do anyone any good if we work ourselves to the bone now. Come on.
no subject
It had happened once already -- when she was helping Kylo rescue others, right after the event. She hadn't had the time to unpack it then, not with the danger of the car collapsing baring down over her, but there is nothing to distract her now. Her frustration melts away to silent terror when she sees it and feels it happen, pulling her arm out of the other woman's hand as a reflex.]
Yes--you are right.
[It's a hurried reply like if she moves fast enough, the other woman might not notice or ask about it. And with that, she starts toward the building and wills herself not to look down at the black protective plating which stands out so starkly on her otherwise lithe and pale self.]
no subject
She's hot on the other woman's heels, already scanning for a more private corner of the lobby full of hurt and hiding civilians. Without a thought, she shucks off her navy blazer and offers it to her to drape over her arm or obscure the blue glow that comes with the manifestation of an ability. Her voice is soft and urgent. ]
Is there something you've neglected to tell me?
no subject
But there is no Drogon here, and the attack seems to come from within.]
No. No, I--
[That's not quite right. There is a lot she has not told Peggy, but this? How would she even explain this? And so, she struggles to find words to articulate herself, but is distracted by how she can feel the fibers of the blazer pulling at the scaly protrusions.
Others had told her of their new gifts. But this does not feel like a gift. There is no sense dithering over embarrassment. Her violet eyes turn upward to Peggy, determined and frightened.]
--how do I stop it?
[Start there. Nevermind that she does not fully understand what has triggered it.]