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

[heliophilous]

You were. You are.

[ it's not the first time he'd seen her be brave and good and selfless. he'd watched her tear through men with weapons and no regard for either of their lives just to get to him. ]

But I'm selfish. [ a failing. a downfall. ] And I just wanted you to be okay. I wanted someone else to help save the world.

[ he sighs and shakes his head. ] And I just wanted to wake up holding your hand.

[gasping]

You can.

[ he can hold her hand, if he wants to. she might not ever let go, but she absolutely wants to hold his hand. she wants to do a lot more than that, but hand-holding seems like as good a place to start as any. ]

If you want me, Marcos, I'm right here.

[heliophilous]

Who wouldn't want you?

[ he doesn't expect an answer to the question and if she tries, he's going to shut her up.

for now though, he pulls the hand she has on his chest off so he can slide his fingers through hers and squeeze. ]

I know you are. I see you.

[gasping]

[ he pulls her in, laces his fingers in with hers, and caroline stumbles forward; she moves until her body fills in the space between them, until it's only the breadth of their hands that separates them. this close, it's easy to tip her face up to his, the flowers and leaves of her floral crown askew on her head, and take a deep breath. ]

I'm sorry. [ soft, quiet; a contrast to the pained, defensive way she'd yelled at him just minutes before. ] It should have been better.

[ what, she doesn't clarify. but he can ask, if he wants to know. ]

[heliophilous]

What should have been better?

[ the better thing was that she was still alive. that he didn't have to be here on his own without her here. she'd been such a solid presence since he'd gotten here and he doesn't know what he'd do if that was suddenly taken away. ]

What are you talking about?

[gasping]

I wanted to tell you.

[ but it hadn't been the right time. she hadn't wanted to shatter the moments they'd had together, each different, each special in their own way. she hadn't known how to say it the way he deserved to hear it. and he was right. he shouldn't have heard it from jyn.

but when she'd been dying, when she'd felt her life slip away from her, she couldn't live with herself (literally) if he hadn't known at all. if he hadn't known just how much he meant to her, just how much she wanted to be there with him... she couldn't take the chance.

but now, somehow, by some grace of the universe or some twist of fate, she was still standing here... and he'd still heard it from jyn. she couldn't take that back. ]

I just don't want you to hate me.

[heliophilous]

Caroline, I don't hate you. I couldn't hate you.

[ he steps closer, reaching to cradle her cheek with one of his hands, skimming his thumb across her skin. ]

I don't hate you. I won't ever hate you.

[ would he be mad at her sometime? probably. would she be angry with him? he's sure of it but he can't ever see that translating to something so severe and so sharp as hate. ]

[gasping]

[ she wishes it was raining. or, more specifically, she wishes there wasn't a big stupid tarp over this beautiful festival so that the rain that is falling would fall on her face, so that nobody could see just how many tears were going to wind up streaming down her cheeks while she stared up at him like some lovelorn idiot.

because that's the thing that's happening now. big wobbly smiles and shaky exhales and teary-eyed, blinking-too-many-times stares, because caroline can't get her emotions under control. welcome to being a vampire. ]

So you're not going to break up with me because I died and told our friend I was in love with you instead of telling you to your face?

[ what a stupid question to have to ask out loud, but that's #justnewamsterdamthings for you ]

[heliophilous]

No.

[ no, he wasn't going to break up with her. the dying thing was going to hurt for awhile because he hates knowing that maybe she'd been in pain, maybe she'd suffered but he can't be mad about it.

he uses his thumb to catch a few of those tears and smiles very gently at her. ]

I didn't realize you were in love with me. That surprised me, I'll admit. [ but it's a good feeling. it's a warm feeling in a way that he remembers feeling with lorna. it's something that lays around him like a protective cloak. he swallows. ]

[gasping]

I thought it was obvious...

[ because she spent all her free time with him and she saved his life and she stumbled over her own words a whole lot for a bit trying very hard not to tell him. she felt like she was pretty obvious. but then, caroline's not exactly a very subtle person to begin with, so she doesn't usually do the whole 'keeping a secret' thing very well.

but he knows, now, so she doesn't have to, and that's nice. it doesn't exactly address the small elephant in the room — the fact that, even though they've both addressed her feelings, they haven't exactly talked about his — but it's something. it just means she has to try to head off the other train before it hits the tracks. ]

I don't — I mean, I don't want you to feel like you have to say it back or anything. I know it's kind of rushed and things have been... [ absolutely batshit crazy since the day they met and then some ] ... a lot, but. I can't pretend like I didn't tell Jyn that or that I don't mean it — [ a little rushed, she adds: ] And I don't want to! I don't want to. I mean it.

[ a quick breath in, a slow breath out. oh boy. just because she talks a lot does not mean caroline forbes always knows what she's talking about. ]

You don't have to say it back, is all. If you don't... want to, or if you don't feel that way, or anything. You don't have to say anything.

[ wait. ]

Please say something, though, don't just let me wordvomit out here like a crazy person because I will seriously never stop talking.

[heliophilous]

Caroline.

[ he steps forward and presses his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and breathing her in. ]

I want to say it back to you. I want you to know more about me before I do though. I want to sit down and tell you some things about me because I've been meaning to for awhile and then just...haven't.

[ because strange things happened or violent things happened or they just ended up naked. ]

Before you get worried, I wasn't married and I'm not seeing anyone. And what I feel for you isn't something I was ready for or expecting. It snuck up on me but I'm selfish and I don't want it to go away.

[ so.

he blows out a breath. ] You don't have to pretend that you didn't say it. You don't have to act like it didn't happen. I like it.

[gasping]

[ he says it's okay and that he likes what she's said, and maybe that should be reason enough to keep saying it — but for some reason, the words get stuck in her throat. (the reason is simple: she wants him to say it back.)

but for now, she nods, a quick bob of her head once and then twice, the back of her hand lifting to brush aside the tears pooling in her eyes with her thumb. she's not going to keep crying. she's going to get it together and be normal and calm and have this conversation like a capable human being. ]

Okay.

[ it's a little watery still, but she's trying. she just doesn't know what else to say. ]

I don't want to pretend with you.

[ but it's so easy for the insecurity in her head to tell her that this is just a brush-off, that "we need to talk" is signal for something else altogether, that whatever he wants to tell her will drop the floor out from underneath them. she doesn't want to be that paranoid, insecure person, but it's a hard habit to break. ]

[heliophilous]

Okay.

[ he sighs, feeling like there's still space between them that wasn't there before. he doesn't know if telling her some things that he's been holding back will help or hinder that. he doesn't want to hurt her but he doesn't want to lie to her either. ]

I don't want to pretend with you either. And I want to be honest you with you. [ he rubs her knuckles with the tip of a finger before blowing out a breath. ]

Do you want me to tell you now? Or should I wait? I know you just got...back. [ from being dead so he doesn't want to overwhelm her or anything like that. ]

[gasping]

[ got back from dying. something he's still mad at her about, even if there's been a soft reassurance slipped between them. something that still leaves her raw and vulnerable, even if she'd been sure of her decision then and still was now. ]

Maybe not ... here?

[ you know, in the middle of a party. whatever crowd might have lingered as they yelled at each other seems to have dispersed, but it's still a little bit public for what she expects to be a difficult (if not outright painful) conversation.

and, if it goes the way her anxious mind seems to think it will, she'd really prefer not to have an audience. ]

If you want to come over later, though. I don't think Hope would mind.

[ hope would probably want to play bodyguard in case marcos did the shitty thing, let's be honest. ]

[heliophilous]

[ yeah, that made a lot of sense. he nods, keeping a hold of her hand and giving it a squeeze. he doesn't know how to tell her that he doesn't want her to worry, that he just wants to be honest, that he wants her to know him as much as she can. ]

Okay. You can just call me if you're up to it.

[ no pressure, nothing like that. he leans closer, hesitant for a moment, and then kisses her cheek. ]

Do you want me to go?

[gasping]

[ spoiler: she won't call. she'll wait for him to message her, and then panic and overthink it if he doesn't. but he's telling her to call, so he'll be waiting for her to make the first move, which she won't — it's really a great exercise in "caroline is overthinking this entire thing too much". ]

You don't have to.

[ but at this point, caroline doesn't much feel like partying. she kind of just wants to go home again. ]

I should find Hope, though.

[heliophilous]

[ he blows out a breath and then nods before finally letting her hand go. he doesn't have to go but he thinks he'd be the odd man out if he tags along with her to find her friend. so, he let's her go, feeling like he's done something wrong and he hasn't done enough to fix it. ]

Okay. I'll —

[ go. he sighs and doesn't stop himself from stepping forward and kissing her cheek very gently. ]

Call me when you're ready. [ because he would be waiting and if she didn't call, he'd just assume that she didn't want to talk to him. ] Get some rest.

[ and then he steps back and turns, slipping away into the crowd and probably off home. ]