![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
larkers) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
meadowlarklogs2020-02-08 01:58 pm
EVENT #008 AFTERMATH LOG
WHERE: Lots of places—potentially? Mostly New Amsterdam as the focus.
WHEN: March 4, 2512
WHAT: Unlocking of the gates and the game's fast travel network.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Uninvited visions.
The vision itself is almost instantaneous once the last of the four gates activates, hitting the Displaced no matter where they are. It doesn't matter where that individual Displaced is: if they're in New Amsterdam, at one of the gates, or sleeping, they'll see the same vision. A flash of seven colors (red, blue, black, gold, orange, red, and white) followed by an image of a nomadic people heading up a long, stone bridge that appears to be naturally occurring. At the end of the bridge is an open, lit-up triangle that acts as a gateway, inviting them inside. Then there is another flash, followed by the nomads walking through the gate and ending up in a different, new location. And then another.
Any understanding of this vision isn't immediate. The answers won't be apparent until later, when there is an innate understanding of what they've learned and what they've unlocked for themselves. The world has opened up to the Displaced, and in some ways, it's there for them to access and even take for themselves if they so choose.
After the vision ends, any of the Displaced located at the four ruins will immediately begin to glow in all blue before they fade out of view and find themselves crammed into a new location. The relocation is immediate, and if anyone checks a map via their neural implant to see where they are geolocation wise, they'll be able to tell that they're underneath New Amsterdam. For anyone who's been in the underground cave system of New Amsterdam, they may think their surroundings are familiar, if not the same. After all, this area has been locked away for a very long time.
One more thing is apparent: they've landed on another form of gate that needs to be unlocked. After the numerous trials and puzzles the Displaced have faced, what's one more?
◉ The puzzle to solve is right beneath the feet of the Displaced on a bronze-colored mechanism. At the center of the mechanism are multiple overlapping triangles, and on the outside, there are five separated triangles that sit individually.
◉ Solving the puzzle involves connecting a daisychain of Displaced and having five key focal points step on the triangles at once.
◉ Once the puzzle unlocks, there will be another understanding: that what they saw in the vision belongs to them. Any of the Displaced outside of the caves will know what it means.
◉ With that work done, it's time to explore. The underground cave system of New Amsterdam is half-inhabited by the sprawling megacity, and half-uninhabited and untouched. This part of the cave system was locked away for centuries, and just like the other ruins, there are some relics and lost items from the past. The eras vary: some are early medieval burial sites with items like brittle, forgotten swords and shields, while others are crosses and manuscripts that refer to this location as the center of the Holy Roman Empire.
◉ The manuscripts are a mix of imagery from Catholicism and the same, omnipresent geometric imagery.
◉ The way out of the cave system involves touching a hand to a handprint alongside what appears to be a door. This print will only appear to the Displaced, so they will be able to move in and away from this location largely unobserved.
Now that the gates trip is done and the Displaced have new answers—if potentially unhelpful ones, depending on their perspective—it's time to return to their lives. Surprisingly, New Amsterdam has no festivals going on, as if it's time to now be hungover from a February that involved nonstop partying. The city has been cleaned up and everyone's returning to their jobs as if the city around them is not in a constant state of revelry.
◉ Ah, it's time to return to work! No one is required to lose their jobs, but it might take a bit of groveling for the Displaced to return to where they were working before. (With the exception of the Red Wings bar. Poor Mister Doctor Stephen Strange.) El will have sent along any excuses to any bosses who might need an explanation. Ze's used to this gig by now.
◉ What about those cities left behind? No one planned on abandoning those gates at that exact moment. They will remain open to the Displaced. Anyone who had a hotel room in New Oslo or even kept stuff stored at New Beijing will find that they can just teleport back via this new fast travel system.
◉ Though for anyone who's been dealing with tampered food, maybe it's time to go take a break. You know where's a good place to do it? The Displaced-run Red Wings bar. Ah, poor Mister Doctor Strange, at least the people coming in out of nowhere are all Displaced looking for proper food and a drink. It's time to mingle, share notes, and see what's what. Might as well get to seeing where there's overlap—and what to do next.
◉ Or it's time to explore! The world is finally open and available to one and all. Well, to one Displaced and all.
◉ The information on these gates and what they do won't immediately be available to El and Gaby. It's up to the Displaced if they decide to share with their NPC friends. (Of course, if it's mentioned via the Morningstar network, then they'll know!)
This is meant primarily as a laid back, return to life log for the Displaced after their exciting trips around the world (and trips-to-be, most likely). Any questions about the aftermath should be directed to our aftermath questions thread!
Our CR meme will be posted on February 14th (Happy Valentine's Day!), and our arrival log for all newbies will be going up on February 15th.
Thanks again for making this a great event!
no subject
My mother would.
[ She is the Dread Mother's daughter. She's meant to set an example. Hama keeps her head down, her voice muffled. ]
Why...why are you being so nice to me?
no subject
Why wouldn't I be nice to you?
no subject
[ She sniffs. Lifts her head just a little. ]
Really not good at this.
no subject
Who really is?
[She signs as Hama's looking up, shrugging with her signs. Ginia can play nice, be nice even. When it's turned on her, she pushes it away or looks for the hidden catches. Even knowing most people are nice with no ulterior motives, Ginia still remains guarded.]
I'm not judging you for crying. It's understandable. No one can be strong all the time, and there are different kinds of strength too.
no subject
[ Koh. Her mother. Mostly her mother. Hama sniffs again. Hugs her arms tight. ]
You're really strong. I can tell. You probably don't, uhhh. Don't cry in front of people...
[ The envy is obvious. ]
no subject
[Granted, Ginia likes to keep crying around people to a minimum because it's still embarrassing and messy and sometimes people fuss over her and that makes it worse. There's still a part of her that shies from it too, remembers it as a sign of weakness.
It's why she knows that part is wrong. Because she knows all her circumstances that led to those thoughts. The tears are not at fault. Sometimes it's the situation at fault.]
I'm not that strong either. That's not connected to the fact I cry in front of people.
[Ginia pauses to dig through her pack, pulling a clean handkerchief out of the first aid kit and offering it to Hama.]
no subject
Why...uh. Why aren't you strong?
[ She sniffs. Clitches at the handkerchief. She misses Diogo. She misses her mother. ]
You're a warrior. Or you're close enough.
no subject
[Not a warrior. Not a soldier. She looks the part and play the role and been through all the training, but Ginia knows what she really is. A real soldier is afforded respect and dignity.
There was none of that in the compound.]
I am physically strong, yes. I know how to fight, yes. But strength is more than that.
[Here Ginia flounders a little, looking for the right words to explain her feelings. And Ginia would like to do anything but say anything about herself, but some things deserve a little more honesty.]
Reliability. Conviction. Kindness. Honesty. Compassion. I think these are the traits strong people have.
no subject
[ Hama sniffs again, wiping at her eyes. It feels wrong to use the handkerchief. She'd only get it dirty. She'd ruin it with a wasteful act like that, and she knows better than to be wasteful. ]
You're like Kol, I can tell, and he's our greatest warrior.
[ And even though her eyes are red and still wet with tears, Hama's voice is certain. Steadier than before. ]
no subject
If you say so.
[There are worse things to be than to be seen as kind. Many have said that to her. Most times Ginia wonders if she's good at playing the role or if any kindness truly exists.]
What is a great warrior to you?
no subject
[ Hama sniffs again, but she's warming to the topic already, her voice steadying. ]
The warriors protect us all. So we can do our work, so we can build a better world. They're kind. They lift us higher with their strength.
[ She shifts, wiping at her eyes. ]
Kol protected us from the warlords. He found Diogo out on the Char, he kept my mother safe. He doesn't talk much, but he protects us, Angela. Like you protect people.
no subject
There's nothing wrong with failure or mistakes. That Ginia understands now even if she's still so good at metaphorical self-flagellation. What she wants is a better understand of what Hama thinks and believes, whatever it may be.]
I see. That's very noble of them, but my question is different. I want to know what you think a great warrior is. What traits you think they should embody. How should a warrior act here?
no subject
[ Hama sniffs again. Then, slowly, she stands up. Her eyes are red and swollen, and she feels fragile still. Like she might start crying again if she drips too far into the dark and this time she might not be able to stop on her own. But there's a determination in her expression that wasn't there before, a resolution. Because she has to do this, and it's a role she's played before.
It's so important to lead people to enlightenment. And no matter what she says, Angela is strong and kind and maybe she's even wise. Maybe she could be like Kol. Someone like that deserves a chance to find enlightenment, don't they? ]
I don't know what the people need here. But I'm learning, Angela. And some things are universal, I think.
[ Hama nods, blinking rapidly. She has to get this right. For her mother, for the cause. The climb. ]
In a place like this, a warrior should protect people. So they have the room to make their own choices. So they can focus on something other than just staying alive. It's so hard to stay alive, when that's all you have. I don't know the rest. I don't....I'm learning. I'll do better, I will. But a warrior should stand with the ones who can't fight. So the choices we make aren't defined by violence.
no subject
Take your time learning. Go out and listen to people and see what they need.
[Ginia smiles a little, leaning back to look up at Hama.]
It would be better having more worlds where people can live instead of simply being alive.
no subject
[ Hama grins, her eyes still raw and red from the crying. But it's important to see the good in people. The potential to build something better fi they just try. If they can make space for the rest of the world to strive toward something better. ]
You're like Kol. You are. I hope you can meet him someday, Angela.
no subject
Ginia stands up, dusts her pants off and stretches.]
Maybe I will. Feeling any better?
no subject
Uh huh. Thank you, Angela.
no subject
Keep it. I can get another one.
[It costs nothing to let her keep it. Small gestures of kindness keep the world going.]
I'm going to see who else is around. If you need anything, message me, okay? Even if it's minor, you can always reach me.
no subject
I'll remember.
[ She tucks a curl behind her ear. Stands up a little straight. ]
I'll remember.