EVENT #006 AFTERMATH LOG

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: December 19th to the end of the month.
WHAT: Event aftermath, Winter Solstice, Christmas.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Character death, self-sacrifice, drug use. Further notes at end of log.

> EVENT #006 AFTERMATH LOG

Zerzura's demise is a very near miss. Three out of four of the bombs detonate, with numerous Mycenaean guards' lives taken as a result of the assault. It's probable—even likely—that numerous Displaced were injured as a result of this attack. Just as the last bomb seemed likely to go off, everything stopped. As in: the scene ended, shifting, putting all of the Displaced to sleep. Zerzura won't end. Or will it?

The return from Zerzura will feel like waking up from a long nap. Instead of anyone waking up in their beds, they will find themselves on the ground beside the man-made river that runs down the center of New Amsterdam. The ground beneath them will be moist with recent rainfall. Anyone who was still in the throes of a fantasy and believing themselves to be a part of Zerzura will find themselves tossed out of that existence. Anyone who died at the precipice of the spear will still recall their actions vividly: their mind and body hitting a point in which it was finite, slipping away. There may be some room for doubt regarding their deaths. After all, they're very much alive now.

There are two constants among the Displaced when they observe themselves and others: that all of their chests are glowing with that familiar blue glow, and they'll all experience a feeling of serenity. This feeling won't come from any of the Displaced themselves. Much like the intrusion of the empathy bond, it will feel as if it's coming from elsewhere. The problem is that it's always there: there is no way of disconnecting, at least for now. The good news is that the serenity will begin to fade within the next day, and with it, the blue glow will go away as well.

All of the Displaced can't remain at the riverside. If they linger too long, it will begin to rain again. The rain itself will only be a light misting against their faces at first, before turning into a heavier downfall. If they're wary of returning to their lives initially because of the blue glow, they'll soon find that the people of New Amsterdam seem to look away from them as they trot through the city to return to their lives. This is a temporary sensation, seeming to have overtaken the city's citizens for the time being. Within a day or two, the blue glow will be met with the same paranoia that was fostered by the UN following the abduction of Kurt Fischer.

What can they do now? Aside from the feeling of serenity, little will have immediately changed for the Displaced. The best thing they can do is try to return to their lives as if Zerzura never happened.

Some things to check in with, though?

WORK. Upon realizing that the Displaced disappeared yet again, El worked overtime to make sure that all of the Displaced wouldn't lose their jobs. After all, that would mean they'd likely have to give up their housing, and Morningstar would need to financially step in to help. Not all of the places of employment will accept these excuses, especially since El can't put together a doctor's note without it promptly being verified as falsified. It's ultimately up to anyone's discretion over whether their character lost their job.

CHANGES. Some of the changes will appear out of nowhere: a dream that's shared, or a memory that's passed on rather unwillingly. It's time to explore what's happened, and even theorize as to why this has happened. And those objects that were the core of remembering who they were, back in Zerzura? They're permanent fixtures from now on. And what about those Union Attacks? For now, they may have an interesting place in the fighting rings. Time to convince the people running those shows to start including doubles matches.

PLANT LIFE. All around New Amsterdam, plants will begin to grow. These plants are varied, and they'll make an appearance anywhere that they might be allowed to grow. Is that a sink that's frequently full of water? Now it's mysteriously stopped up by a plant that's growing through the pipes. While all this plant life may seem like a miracle, having plants growing in every part of the city will quickly prove to be a problem.

HOLIDAY SEASON. The good news about everyone's trip to Zerzura is that they didn't miss Christmas—or rather, the December 25th edition of it. The city is still covered in Christmas trees and ornamentation. The stadium is still hosting a holiday market.

> WINTER SOLSTICE

In the days leading up to the Winter Solstice, there will be an uptick of paintings around New Amsterdam hinting as to where this year's party will be held: Sunpeak Garden. While there won't be any official notice, anyone interested or curious is free to visit this location on the day of the Solstice (December 21st) to see what's going on, and it will go on for the next three days, ending on the morning of the 24th. As they draw closer to the location itself, they'll find the botanical garden secured by a large, overarching tent, preventing rainfall from getting into the garden itself. On the air, there will be the scent of something being smoked—which they'll soon learn is a set of goats that seem to have been acquired by whoever put on this shindig.

Unlike many other events around New Amsterdam, this seems to be more private in nature. There is an unspoken understanding that beyond the paintings, there will be no social media posts. Inside of the garden, there will be a lot of plants and decorations carefully molded into sacred geometric shapes. Despite the unofficial nature, whoever put this event together definitely spent their time doing it. This Solstice party isn't a spontaneous thing, and anyone who goes will hear about the previous parties and how the proprietor does his best to make everyone happy.

Anyone who went to the Harvest Festival or Insomniac's Ball will see a lot of the same people working it, complete with some familiar tattoos. They'll be eager to welcome in any of the Displaced, especially any of the ones who tend to be featured in the shrines around the city.

Once everyone's here, they're welcome to enjoy themselves. Under some of the canopies of trees, there will be beds and futons, giving people places to rest. Some of these will be claimed, so anyone who's eager to stick around for a few days might want to get dibs. Otherwise? It's time to enjoy what's been put together:

FEAST. There will be a feast for the next three days. Aside from the smoked goats, there will be a lot of goat cheese and vegetables. These are the people who put on the harvest festival, after all. There will be a lot of pickled vegetables out on tables, salads, and everything else. Aside from cheese for snacking, anyone can partake in some delicious berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries) and nuts (walnuts, pecans, peanuts, and almonds—despite the difficulty in getting most of these in New Amsterdam). There will also be figs, because of course there are figs.

FLOWER CROWNS. To go with the more laidback flair of this event, there will be flower crowns available for everyone. They will look more Christmas-like in spirit, like small little wreaths to go on everyone's heads.

ALCOHOL. Of course, what kind of Solstice or Yule event would it be without alcohol to imbibe? There will be mulled wine available, as well as the delicious apple-flavored beverage of wassail. It seems as if these two things never run out. For anyone avoiding alcohol, there will also be some sparkling grape juice and apple juice.

PSYCHEDELICS. Undoubtedly also inspired by Yule celebrations of old, anyone can partake in some species-specific (and at a safe dosage) amanita. Primarily available as a tea, anyone can drink this pleasant beverage and have a good time together.

MISTLETOE. There will be spots all around the botanical garden where the decorators took good care to make the mistletoe stand out. Surrounded by little lights, no one will be able to miss them. That means they can be easily avoided, if that's what someone would prefer!

BALL PROPRIETOR. While he's not hiding that he put this on, he's just as mysterious as before. If anyone wants to catch his eye at this event, they can. They'll need to stand out to get him to talk to them. To do this, reply below! Ball will definitely be interested in any Displaced trying to catch his eye, but it's still up to them to go through the motions.

> CHRISTMAS

As the Solstice party comes to an end, it'll be time to focus on Christmas itself. Around New Amsterdam, this is a deeply commercial holiday. Since most of New Amsterdam's citizens prefer to celebrate Sinterklaas, the day of Christmas itself largely emphasizes purchasing access to Christmas movies and giving gifts to anyone who had been forgotten earlier in the month. For new couples, Christmas Eve acts as a romantic occasion, giving them the chance to spend some time alone. Restaurants around the city will have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day specials and feasts—though these will be very expensive to enjoy.

> GRINCH INTERLUDE

Once reports start to hit the news about the rapidly healing atmosphere, a strange cypher begins to appear in the replies of people's posts on Cooltalk. This misfire appears at random and without a pattern. While some of the Displaced will get hit on their Cooltalks, they won't be among the majority by any means. How to get ahold of 100342? A reply might do the trick, or it might not. Drop a message in the questions thread with ideas!

Then again, this message more of a simple response to a slight than anything else, most likely recognizable to the displaced, who are familiar with the cipher's formula:

200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518
200805 02011414051819 1506 200805 11091407 1506 08051212 04180123 031215190518

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome back to the world of New Amsterdam proper, Larkers! This will act as the mingle log for the month of September since we didn't receive any applications this month. In order to plot out some aftermath, please head over to the CR Meme for the month of September! Our September calendar and Event #006 Aftermath are also up for perusing.

If you'd like to get your character in touch with Ball, please reply to the comment below with how they'd like to stand out! Ball, like all of our NPCs, will act as a means to an end to uncover plot details. With the gates excursion on the horizon, we wanted to make him available for all of the playerbase. Due to time constraints, this means that Gaby won't be available for this log.

If you have any questions about event aftermath, please hit the thread on the Aftermath Post here. If you have any questions about this log, go to the questions thread on this post!

> NAVIGATION

Comments

takeshi kovacs ( ota )

[resleeves]

▶ 01. SOLSTICE

---

[ the longer and longer kovacs is here, the more he hates it. he hates being manipulated without his consent and he hates coming back and just having to shrug his shoulders because there was nothing he could fucking do about it.

so, you know where you're going to find kovacs? in the presence of booze and drugs. because that's how he copes. that's how he fucking deals with this place.

he doesn't want to celebrate a fucking solstice or a fucking holiday. he wants to drink and medicate himself against knowing that he can be turned into someone else.

so, if you want to find him, look for the man on the futon with his feet up and an array of coping mechanisms around him.

there's a jaunty, feather bedecked hat on his head. that hat isn't his. he'd actually stolen it from someone on the way to futon and he'd probably ruined their holiday but oh well.

he looks like a douche and he knows it but it made him feel better. ]

▶ 02. WILDCARD

---

[ throw anything else not mentioned above at me! find me @ spoonishly for plotting ]

1.

[flyfightwin]

[carol isn't much better off, to be fair. while she'd always accepted that being a hero meant that there was a good likelihood that she'd die in battle, everything that had happened in zerzura had thrown her for a loop. while she could've certainly gone back to her own apartment, the thought of being alone on what would normally be a joyous occasion made her stomach drop.

she's a sullen drunk this evening, double fisting the mulled wine as if it's going to run out.

a familiar face comes into view as she makes her way to those rather comfy looking futons while in need of somewhere to rest her exhausted bones. it's only the fact that she's too tired to give a damn that she doesn't bother giving him shit, instead sitting down beside him because it looks like he's having about as good a time as she is.]

You look like shit.

[resleeves]

Oh, then I look how I feel. That's good. That's the aesthetic I was going for.

[ since he recognizes her and she's not giving him a fucking hard time, kovacs pulls his feet away to let her sit down if that's something she wants. they hadn't had that bad a conversation when he'd met her and she's drinking so she's automatically okay with him right now. ]

I hate this fucking place.

[flyfightwin]

Good to know your sense of humor hasn't taken a hit.

[she leaves a respectable distance between them. they're not close. hell they're not even friends. but they do share the same misfortune and distaste for this place.]

Makes two of us. The longer I'm here, the more it sucks. I've been all over the galaxy, seen plenty of backwater shitholes, and this place. This time takes the cake.

[carol downs mug number one in a long and steady series of gulps.]

[resleeves]

Did you get stuck in some fucking fantasy land too?

[ or had she gotten lucky and been able to be fucking normal while they were all stuck on some shitty, too good to be true planet? ]

Before you ask, I got drugged or whatever the fuck they did. I was an author and I don't want to fucking talk about it anymore past that.

[ he hadn't even made good money! ]

[flyfightwin]

Yeah. Sort of? Like everyone around me seemed to think I was a mechanic, and I tried to tell them the truth until I just kind of settled on not quite a lie and not quite the truth?

[but kovacs' story of his other life is hilarious and so unlike him that she can't help but chuckle.]

Could've been worse though. You were safe, right? Authors don't exactly live dangerous lives.

[resleeves]

Safe enough but I don't exactly appreciate being fucking manipulated just because someone gets their jollies from it.

[ he's had enough of that over his fucking lifetime, thank you. ]

Do I really strike you as an author though? What the fuck machine did they run me through that that's what I got for a fake fucking life?

[flyfightwin]

Yeah. All that talk of a blue god... was a little too close to home. Six years of being someone's pawn was plenty.

[she's still not convinced that she didn't inadvertently help out the kree. carol clenches her jaw, anger simmering just under the surface.]

Depends. What'd you write about? [carol can come up with a few things: sarcasm, drugs, how to succeed in insulting people without really trying.]

[resleeves]

Conflict.

[ ha ha, surprise, carol! ]

Between the fucks in Spinetail and the fucks in Nautilus.

[ he was a gentleman and a scholar. ]

[flyfightwin]

[tell her something she doesn't know, kovacs. the look he gets is unimpressed.]

Was it a bestseller or one of those books you use to make sure your dinner table doesn't wobble?

[resleeves]

I know of at least one person who had a copy in their home. But I didn't give two shits how it did. It sold enough to keep me comfortable.

[ if people bought it to read or to use as a leg brace, what the fuck ever. money still went to him. ]

[flyfightwin]

Everything's so damn expensive here. Too bad none of those royalties will keep you comfortable here.

[but what did author kovacs do with his checks?]

At least these drinks and everything else here's been free. [she eyes kovacs' haul which is spread out before them. she looks him dead in the eye.]

Your offer from my first night in the safe house still stand? I could use something to pick my mood up.

[resleeves]

Really?

[ is he surprised? yes, yes he is. but, in a pleasant way (or what passes for pleasant with him). he pulls some of his things closer to him and gestures to the empty space. ]

It might be.

solstice!

[apathet]

Hey, asshole.

[ the greeting comes from behind him, lacking venom, not an attack. "asshole" spoken in the same neutral lilt that might otherwise speak a name.

she wastes no time and doesn't bother with niceties. picks her way through the small maze of addicts' delights, shoves lightly at his legs with a foot to signal he can move 'em or lose 'em, then climbs over them to sit down regardless. on him if he doesn't make room, demanding space. then she reaches for the nearest bottle, takes a swig.

it's been a while, with a lot of weird shit between now and the last time they saw one another. consider this a check in. ]

[resleeves]

Oh, you're alive.

[ there's no real relief in his voice but he is actually glad to see her. he hadn't known if she disappeared or something else so seeing her appear is good news.

rare good news. he actually moves his legs and doesn't bitch at her for taking one of his bottles. ]

I wasn't sure if you were or not. Heard people died.

[apathet]

[ that he accommodates her goes noted, though isn't entirely unexpected anymore. they work more or less like this: push and shove, silent allowances if allowances are made at all. he doesn't remark on it, takes another heavy gulp from the bottle. ]

Yeah, well, not me. Though I'm surprised I didn't choke on the stench of shit.

[ a vague gesture - here I am, unended by sewer-dwelling.

untouched, ultimately, by any of the screwed up horseshit that place had to offer. there wasn't anything it could give her that she wanted, so she guesses it gave up trying. not so, seems like, for him.

she won't ask. ]

You want to jack up your high?

[resleeves]

You're stronger than that.

[ strong booze won't kill you, laura. but, her next question makes him arch an eyebrow. ]

Always. Why, you got something good in one of your pockets or something?

[apathet]

No. [ she raises her own hand, gives it a light pinch. a refresher, to jog his memory. remember that pain that one time? how the noise of that place was oppressive until you couldn't hear shit? ] But I can fuck with whatever you're feeling.

[resleeves]

Oh right.

[ look, it feels like it's been a long fucking time since that happened and a lot of shit's happened. he appreciate you jogging his memory. ]

You think you can make me feel better, go for it. I'd love to see what your juju can do. Show off, sweetheart.

[apathet]

[ eyes go sharp for a second, but she knows he's not angling to piss her off, so she lets it go. instead: ]

What am I, your therapist? You've got to work with me here.

[ okay, that's highly unspecific, she'll recognise that. and heave a sigh, as if it's his fault that he doesn't automatically know what she can offer. ]

Too loud in here? I can do something about that. Want to taste every ingredient they put into the punch? Sure. Wanna go find a girl and take her somewhere?

[ Laura moves to nudge the back of her hand against the back of his, just for a second, enough to give her access to that sense without giving either one of them chance to slip into one another's emotional orbit. then she tweaks his sense of touch up just a little. enough that he'll be aware of his clothes, aware of the temperature of the room, aware of the cool of the glass of his bottle if a finger moves from the warm patch it's created. just a little. just a taste.

but she figures it makes her point. ]

[resleeves]

[ okay, he'd vaguely remembered her little power from before but when she uses it now, he startles a bit, jumping at how amplified everything suddenly feels. she'd only touched him for a second and he suddenly felt like everything was in high definition. ]

Fucking christ.

[ he rubs the back of his hand where she's nudged him and shivers. ]

You think you can make the booze taste better?

[apathet]

[ a pause to consider, looking skeptical. she takes another drink, holds it in her mouth for a second, trying to figure out whether or not anybody could make it taste better...

then she shrugs. reaches out her hand again, this time so the back of it's vaguely near his face. ]

Lick me.

[resleeves]

Really?

[ he arches an eyebrow, flicking his gaze from her hand to her face. ]

This isn't some grand scheme of yours to make me lick you so you can smack the shit out of me, is it?

[ he knows your game, laura. ]

[apathet]

[ she starts to give him a look, like she would never possibly... but no, she can see why that’s a conclusion he might draw. a facial shrug lifts her over that brief bump. use your words, Laura. ]

Nope. [ wait for it ] You have to taste me for me to mess with your taste.

[ so, lick the hand ]

[resleeves]

[ he was going to deck you if you were lying, laura. but, he does eventually lean forward and swipes his tongue against the back of her hand before withdrawing. ]

Good enough?

[ didn't need to be messy, did it? ]