EVENT #010

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam and any other megacity the Displaced happen to be in/travel to!
WHEN: May 28, 2512
WHAT: Golden-eyed monsters stream into New Amsterdam and other megacities the world over.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, death, body horror, mind control, and transformation.

> EVENT #010

It starts in the middle of the night, when most everyone should be fast asleep in their beds, whether they're still taking up a cot in the safehouse or staying in their own apartment. One moment it's quiet, with most of the rest of the city having also turned in for the night, and then in the next? It isn't.

There will be mass confusion as the scope of the situation becomes clear. Monsters stream out onto the streets, thundering up the stairs of a train station, skittering out of construction sites, or climbing up the walls. Some of them fly. Others slither. Others run, loping forward with only one goal in mind: to find something to sink their teeth or claws into and to leave destruction in their wake at every turn. They are a horde, a swarm, a teeming mass of creatures that have no intention of stopping. All of them have eyes or bodies that shine gold and wherever they go, they seem to leave decay. Concrete turns black and porous where they step; plants wither and die.

There is no real preparing for an attack of this scale. New Amsterdam will awaken as the sound of these monsters crashing down on cars or bursting through storefronts or into homes forces people to run screaming from their dwellings or places of work. There is no discrimination in who these beasts might target, and no discernable pattern in where they go.

All that one can really tell is that they seem to want to spread out. They're constantly on the move, leaping from victim to victim, and they're relentless. No one knows why they've come, where they're come from, or what will make them stop. At least for now, the only option seems to be to cut down their numbers. It's time to fight the horde.

The first night will be utter chaos as everyone reacts to the monsters' sudden appearance, but by the morning hours news reports will start streaming in. This is not only happening in New Amsterdam, or wherever else a Displaced might be staying, but seemingly everywhere. Some cities seem harder hit than others, but practically every megacity is overrun with the creatures.

With no way of knowing who might have unleashed the monsters, all of these cities have essentially been turned into battlefields. Not many civilians are prepared to fight for their lives, and it will take a mobilization effort from the police, Morningstar, the Displaced, and anyone else who's willing to take up arms in order to survive.

◉ As a note, this attack starts simultaneously in multiple cities. While it's the middle of the night in New Amsterdam, the monsters will appear at other times of the day in other parts of the world depending on the timezone!

> BESTIARY

So as to not make this post overly long, we have compiled all of the monster descriptions into a Google doc here for everyone's reference!

> (NOT SO) SAFEHOUSE

For those Displaced who stay at (or spend any time in) the safehouse under the hoverbike shop or the Red Wings bar, they may become aware of the presence of the monsters sooner than others, due to the fact that at least a few of the giant mole monsters will end up burrowing up through the concrete basements to wreak havoc. The screeching noise of steel claws tearing through the floor will be sure to wake up even the deepest of sleepers.

This won't just be an occurrence on the first night of the attack, either. Unless something is done to deter them, tunnels leading straight into the safehouses will continue to be created, allowing even other types of monsters to find their way through (the smaller ones, that is). Where exactly they're coming from won't be entirely clear, though it's a safe bet to assume that they must have originated in the cave system somehow.

Suffice to say that El won't be happy about the safehouse being compromised in this way, though this isn't a possibility that ze or anyone else could have really prepared for. While ze can't do much to physically help with containing the invasion of the monsters, ze will offer whatever resources ze can—though Morningstar is going to be busy in plenty of other locations, as well, and they only have so many resources.

The Red Wings, being a Displaced-operated location, will also be in need of assistance, especially if it's meant to be a point of safety and a hub for handing out supplies. Speaking of—

> RED WINGS HQ

As things begin to deteriorate, Clarke Griffin and Stephen Strange sink their resources into Red Wings, adapting it into a base of operations for the Displaced. Clarke also called in PRESERVE to set up a checkpoint here, too, and anyone—from the Displaced to civilians—will be able to seek aid here. (Of course, Red Wings will be just one of a few locations throughout the city where they attempt to set up shop, but Red Wings may prove to be more fortified thanks to the talents of the Displaced.) Civilians will not have access to Red Wings' safehouse, however. That's still something that Clarke and Stephen want to keep under wraps, for now.

In the bar proper, there will be medical aid, supplies, and even weapons for those who can use them. During rare moments of downtime, the gang at Red Wings will also work on reconnaissance missions to find safe spots throughout the city to provide much needed protection and safety for the people of New Amsterdam. This task may be much easier said than done. Gathering intel on the monsters is a high priority, too, and for anyone who tries to capture a monster to learn more about them, the basement might be a good place to hold them. If the Displaced are going to be able to fight back, they need to know exactly what it is they're fighting.

However, the truth of the matter is that this attack happened quickly, and in the middle of the night to boot. As much as the group at Red Wings tries, resources are stretched thin, and they didn't have time to prepare as much as they wanted to. Supplies need to be rationed, bandages and stitches used for wounds that really need them, and if you're not a great shot, it might be best to let someone with more training take that gun you're eyeing.

More than anything, despite the difficulty, this is a way for the Displaced to help out as many people as they can, and a way for them to cement their humanitarian efforts and affect the population's opinion of them. The citizens of New Amsterdam are sick of this cycle of destruction, and are just waiting to be empowered. Now's the time to teach them to fight back and help them protect their city.

Red Wings' safehouse underground will be damaged by burrowing monsters as well, and will need protection. The bar itself will escape relatively unscathed.

> INVESTIGATING / GATES

Maybe the best way of dealing with the monsters isn't violence at all. Maybe there's a more strategic way to deal with this.

The monsters will be moving from city to city via the gates, just like the Displaced do. There might be a way to keep them from spreading, or at least slow them down, by shutting down the gate network. Of course, with the mag trains shutting down, getting back home could be an issue. One option is the delivery network of hover trucks. They'll still be running to get supplies from city to city, but their batteries don't run indefinitely, so these will be relatively local trips only. No getting from New Tokyo back to New Amsterdam with this method, unfortunately, and convincing a driver to let you hitch a ride might be a challenge, but it's doable.

Of course, there's also the question of where these things are coming from. Intrepid characters might be able to track them back to their nests, which are tucked away in wildly different places depending on the city. In New Amsterdam, they might be in the caves below the city. In other places, they might not be in the city proper at all, but just outside of it. It's important to keep in mind that the nests are far away from any of the action taking place elsewhere. Tracking these origin points may provide some answers, but the cost would be less involvement in the crisis taking place.

And then there's the matter of the monsters themselves. How can you fight an enemy you know nothing about? For those determined or crafty enough, capturing them might be an option, although this will take some creativity. Once these creatures are captured, they'll need to be kept contained, and kept alive. Just because they're monstrous doesn't mean they don't have to eat, after all, and some will need special environmental considerations as well, such as the mind control slugs.

What happens after that is up to the Displaced. Is dissecting them the best bet? Their internal anatomy won't be wildly different from most "normal" animals, with the exception of some creatures who have strange appendages or the like. Still, this might give the Displaced a better idea of how they operate and what their weak spots are. Sending samples to a lab is another possibility, if the Displaced can figure out how to safely store those samples. After all, the world is in a crisis, and no one is running tests at the moment.

All monsters, though, seem drawn to the blue light. When a Displaced uses a power or activates the empathy bond, the creatures will lock onto it, utterly transfixed, and if this is done enough times, that gold glow of theirs will intensify. What does it all mean? Maybe figuring that out will be a pathway to stopping their attacks.

> PITCHING IN

While all of this is going on, it certainly won't be just the Displaced who are heading out into the streets to try and stem the flow of the monster attack. These creatures are certainly not holding back, and no matter how much work might be put in, their numbers are overwhelming. Plenty of people will end up dead as a result, ripped to shreds or dragged off somewhere to be eaten. Yet, for some reason, these monsters are not as vicious toward the Displaced. They'll engage them in a fight and injure them, but they never go so far as dealing a fatal blow.

Seeing how that's not the case for the rest of the populace throughout the world, however, some groups and organizations will be rising up to do their part.

Police departments will be mobilizing in every megacity to put the monsters down, and while they are armed, it's not on the same level as the UNA. They also don't have any sort of training that's prepared them to fight monsters, but they'll still be putting their lives on the line to put a dent in the monsters' onslaught. When it comes to enforcing regular law and order, they certainly won't have the bandwidth for anything like that. Then again, most people won't be in any position to take advantage and commit crimes either, given the chaos that will be a constant everywhere.

Morningstar will also be jumping into action around the world. The New Amsterdam branch will be most likely to work alongside the Displaced and share some of their resources, particularly with those who are signed up as official agents or those who've supported them in the past. In cities like New Prague and New Beijing where the Displaced have made some contact with Morningstar before, they'll also be open to working with the Displaced. However, their resources are by no means robust. Morningstar is an organized rebel group, but they're hardly an official army in any sense of the word. They might be able to hand out a weapon here or there and they have a safehouse set up in almost every city, but beyond that, they'll mainly be getting boots on the ground to help with the fighting.

UNA soldiers who have been left without any sort of purpose or guidance will now have an opportunity to put some of that training to use. Their involvement will be much more scattered, though in some cases small groups of these soldiers who used to work in units together will reconnect in their effort to fight off the horde. However, having been cut off from the UNA in an official capacity, they won't have much in the way of gear or weapons. They're still formidable fighters, though, and now might be the perfect time to reach out and make a connection with some of them.

Mercenaries belonging to various different outfits, depending on what city they're based in, will also be joining the cause. Whether they're acting out of a basic desire to survive the attacks or if they're actually being paid by someone to go out there and risk their lives will be less clear, but they're some of the best-equipped fighters (other than the police). They also won't really find much reason to protest any of the Displaced pitching in to fight with them. The more firepower, the better, right?

A group of regulars from the New Amsterdam fighting rings will be rising up to add their fuel to the monster-fighting fire, as encouraged by Hawke and whoever else might know them well enough to reach out. Given that some of these people have illegal mods to enhance their strength or cybernetic attachments that can do impressive amounts of damage, some of them might hold their own against the monsters. Hell, some of them might even ask the Displaced to demonstrate some of their powers if they end up fighting together, as word of their abilities has become more known among their ranks. Either way, they'll be jumping into the fray with quite a bit of gusto.

PRESERVE will be involved on the other end of these efforts and will be doing their best to tend to the wounded and the dead, along with finding shelter and safe spots for people to barricade themselves from the attacks. It's not like the grand majority of civilians could stand a chance against these monsters, after all, yet not all of them can rely on their homes to be safe enough to stay in. They'll be quick to accept an offer of Displaced help, as they'll be doing their best to try and drag the recently dead to hospitals to get them put into medi-units before they're too late. Along with what's set up at Red Wings, they'll also be cobbling together other relief spots throughout the city for taking care of wounded and offering up what supplies they have (food and water, medical supplies, etc).

And what are the corporations doing in all of this? Well, suffice to say, mainly just panicking. Unsurprisingly, they're not much help during a crisis like this, with most of the super-rich opting to hide away in whatever highly secure bunkers they might have. Too bad that these bunkers might not prove so secure in the face of these attacks. Could that prove to be an opportunity if someone went looking?

> FINAL OOC NOES

Please refer to the OOC EVENT POST for all OOC info, including suggestions for directions on how to engage with the event. Given the spread out nature of this event, as well as the amount of additional details provided here, please direct all questions to our QUESTIONS thread below. This is, naturally, a huge event in terms of scale, and so we're certain there are aspects of it we haven't covered and questions that have yet to be answered. We do encourage that all of our players use the event planning post for any additional ideas and for touching base!

Please do not begin to thread out any aftermath until AUGUST 8, 2020, which is when we will put up the aftermath log and OOC post. If this date changes, we will provide a gamewide update as needed! As a note, the August calendar will be posted alongside the aftermath!

As a reminder, there is one power level up available for this event, granted for a thread of at least 5 log/action comments containing your character utilizing their power in some way during the event itself. They will need to reach the 5 comments required by SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.

Our Activity Check will be posted AUGUST 1 at 12 AM UTC. It will run for seven days and close on AUGUST 8 at 12 AM UTC.

Have fun and fight some monsters! Or … whatever else you might do with them. 😉😏 Your secret's safe with us. 😙

> NAVIGATION

Comments

[righteously]

[ Feeling better? ]

No.

[ He grouses out the retort almost instantly, legs already carrying him for a quick scope through the aisles just in case somehow something friggin' teleported in here or something.

It's clear.

The world's worst angel pulls a bait and switch luring him with the sound of jerky (not unlike a dog hearing the treat bag crinkle) and swapping it out for more touchy feely. His mouth twists up in discomfort, distaste, disgruntlement, probably like six other dis-somethings. Nobody's shocked by how much he wants to Not Do The Thing so immediately after Doing the Thing and Feeling Things.

Weigh that against his ingrained instinct to care-take, though...

Sigh.

Self-sacrifice.

He relents, stalking over like it pains him. ]

Hold your shirt back.

[ It doesn't sound particularly harsh, he doesn't have it in him to be a complete dick while also tending to someone's giant wound. He scopes it for a second, and ultimately decides it doesn't need stitches. It isn't deep, it's just large in circumference. A bandage and some tape's gonna do it, probably.

He does, in fact, have that med kit you nagged him to bring, so. He pops it onto the counter, rummages through for some antibacterial anything; peroxide, bacitracin, whatever.

It's the latter he finds, which means coating his fingers in it and carefully dabbing the wound.

This city can go straight to hell, frankly. ]

[unwings]

[ if it helps, bait and switch was not his intention, and as dean gets sulky over having to make contact again, cas resists the urge to shake his head and refrains from suggesting he use the gauze to apply the bacitracin if the bond bothers him that much. but, mentioning that something is bothering dean still points out that dean is experiencing Feelings, and that's clearly not something we're equipped to deal with right now, so cas keeps commentary on it to himself. add it to the pile of things they don't say to each other.

this time, cas isn't prying, doesn't go chasing the rabbit or sifting through the turbulent sands of dean's emotional spectrum. emotional control is not something cas has a lot of experience with, but he's doing his best to stay even and calm while dean's in contact with him. steadies his breathing, casts his eyes at some nondescript spot on the floor in front of him, holds the shirt back and lets dean work.

for the most part, what dean gets from him is a smooth, steady tone of patient calm, interrupted by spikes and flashes of other things as they come up and cas tries (operative word) to sort those feelings, accept them, and move on. yeah, human feels aren't always that clean cut, sorry angel-boi.

The bond’s activation makes cas hyper-aware of every time dean’s in contact with his skin, a wave of awareness washing in like a tide, and the (admittedly somewhat soothing, despite the turmoil) feeling of dean’s mind connected to his.

And now he’s willing his mind and shiny new people-emotions to just stay still. Don’t prod at it, don’t lean into it. As the great philosopher John Lennon once imparted to the people - let it be.

So Cas starts mentally singing Let It Be in his head, and it… actually kind of works? There’s still spikes of emotion that float to the surface unbidden, circumventing castiel’s focus and mental games and illusion that emotions are things that can be managed easily with enough concentration, willpower, and effort.

Ignore the half-second moments of security, familial fondness, trust. Protectiveness, as he’s watching the corner store windows for threats passing by outside while dean’s otherwise focused. A vague anxiety, though it’s unclear if that’s to do with the city going to hell or the bond and dean’s proximity. Mild frustration at his lack of skill in containing his emotions, and a constant feeling of focus and (attempted) control, because Cas is quickly learning that he’s not super amazing at this Feelings thing either.

Dean’s tending to the wound, and cas uses his free arm to grab some things from the medical kit and prep a bandage to go on after the antibacterial stuff, holding the bandage up to offer dean once he’s ready for it. ]

Thank you.

[ said simply, quietly, after a few moments of dean working. Cas knows he doesn’t want to do this, but he appreciates him helping anyway. ]

[righteously]

[ Dean's silent through this entire affair, as though not speaking about it somehow means it isn't happening. The good news is that he has a little more experience shoving emotions down once he's past the thing that spiked them — or maybe a better way to phrase it is that he can drown everything out with an enormous, heaping mound of steely determination and sheer stubborn will.

It flickers like a candle, stable for a while with sporadic lapses that allow bits to slip through.

Curiosity.
Concern.
Frustration.
Self-consciousness.
Ache.
Anger — self directed.
Protectiveness.
Appreciation.
Fondness.

All of them routinely stomped back down again under the boot of a soldier's resolve. If an emotion could feel like a person, Dean's cold and nearly-impenetrable wall would feel like John Winchester. Like a transplant of that man into Dean's core, not organically grown but spliced in nonetheless.

He smooth the bandage on and his hands fall away finally, topped off with a muttered: ]

Don't say I never did nothin' for ya.

[unwings]

[ dean's low hum of suppressed emotion is castiel's main focus. he shouldn't be exploiting the bond to get dean to admit to things that usually take him days, weeks, years to open up about, and he's doing his best not to dig, but that doesn't mean he isn't paying attention, wondering at the transition between each, trying to catch the moment something changes in him, what might have caused it. dean's too good at concealing what's below the surface, and the empathy bond isn't quite a telepathy bond, so those questions go largely unanswered, regardless.

the self-consciousness, ache, and anger makes him want to reach out, circle fingers around dean's wrist and try to pass something soothing over the bond, reassurance, something to edge out that ache and anger, but he keeps his feelings to himself this time. dean's already uncomfortable being on display, essentially, he's not going to push it any more right now. later, maybe, but not now.

dean pulls back, finished, and cas eyes the bandage, touching gingerly around the border of it to be sure all edge of the adhesive are attached and not going to peel off while he's moving around. looks all good, and his eyes lift back to dean's, a faint, appreciative smile on his lips, with a hint of humor in it. ]

I could never claim that.

[ dean winchester has done more for him than any single living being across all dimensions, his omniscient father included. cas knows it's just a phrase, but he's answering it anyway, because it deserves to be said, now more than ever, when he's having to rely so heavily on dean's knowledge and skills. rolling his shirt sleeve back down, castiel slides off the edge of the counter, organizing the supplies he snagged from the aisles and readying to load them into their packs. ]

What about you? Are you hurt?

[ he has to ask point blank, or dean will never let anyone know. ]

[righteously]

[ That tight-lipped expression lingers on his face, tucked into one cheek, neither a smile nor a frown. Just it is what it is, he's getting over it, here they are, time to move on. They live moment to moment, lingering in one for too long never serves him.

(It's easier to pretend nothing happened if you're already living the next round of bullshit.)

He shakes his head. ]

I'm fine.

[ And emotions aside, he is. Maybe a little strained physically, but it's no different than a particularly involved hunt. ]

But I think we're stranded for a little bit. It's gonna get dark. We should hunker down, see if we can get an all-clear.

[ So Cas doesn't take another bitch-mosquito bite, or get nabbed by a Jenna Jameson, or get clawed at any of the other dozen ways he could right now. Dean's not equipped to deal with it. ]