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Entry tags:
- *mission log,
- addison parker [original],
- angel [borderlands],
- aoba seragaki [dramatical murder],
- bellamy blake [the 100],
- clint barton [mcu],
- ilde vilmaine [original],
- kylo ren [star wars],
- lexa [the 100],
- nathaniel horn [original],
- nirad,
- rhys [borderlands],
- sam alexander [marvel 616],
- sam wilson [mcu],
- steve rogers [mcu],
- the darkling [grisha trilogy]
EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES
CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Concordia - VEN DIAGRAMS HQ + BOUT IT OUT PARLOR + BEARINGS APARTMENT BLOCK
WHEN: Late Day :022 + Early Day :023
SUMMARY: The results of all your hard work - for better or worse. One win, one draw, one loss. Anakin Skywalker bites the big one.
WARNINGS: Violence, non-graphic character death.
IT’S BEEN A LONG DAY. Unfortunately, that’s not about to change any time soon. In the late hours of the evening, two things are happening: the final round of the Bout It Out expose between Kun-Kun and The Darkling is spooling up; meanwhile, the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams is working to retrieve information on H+H1 from the company’s security drive. Unfortunately, neither is going to reach the natural conclusion.
At the REGAL STREET GAMING PARLOR, emotions are running high. After a long day of simulation violence and the reveal of Kun-Kun’s new automaton fighting avatar, the crowd has been stoked to a few pitch. The music’s loud but the crowd is louder: cheering and booing, shouting for every landed or evaded strike. There’s an electric pulse of excitement in the air-- and then there’s a very literal one as an electromagnetic pulse rocks the Regal Street Parlor. The Bout It Out ring shorts and the entire parlor is pitched into total, window-less darkness. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for the crowd’s excitement to melt into panic. Pushing, shoving, shouting - a piercing shriek as one of Kun-Kun’s representatives is stabbed. The nearby hosts (Lexa, Sam Alexander, and anyone in their faux attachment) should be able to help Kun-Kun and his reps to safety, but the crush of the crowd tangles up everyone else. When a rudimentary bomb goes off in the center of the parlor, it catches plenty of people in the crossfire.
There’s a white hot flash. A pulse of heat. A sizzle of agony. It’s a pain that guts, that persists long after the flash of the bomb and extends all the way to the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams. It’s like a limb badly severed. Anakin Skywalker is killed by the blast and every host knows it before they’re aware of anything else.
Unluckily for the infiltration team, they won’t have much time to recover. News of the bombing hits Extraspace in a matter of seconds, which triggers Ven Diagrams - paranoid from the recent attack on their own properties - to lock down their headquarters. All systems are tightened and security clamps down before the infiltration team can access the private servers. If you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be, now’s the time to get the hell out of dodge.
Retreat, regroup. Upon returning to the Bearings apartment block, the hosts will find that two of their previously comatose friends have woken up: Hux and Aoba Seragaki will probably need to be briefed on the current situation.
((OOC NOTES: Here it is, your wrapup log for the event! You may have noticed that the Hosts didn’t succeed at the Ven Diagrams infiltration. We thought this was a better way than asking everyone to handwave a huge amount of plot or simply having the NPCs get the evidence. Don’t worry though - there will be other mysteries to unravel soon. Very soon, in fact.
There will be an NPC top-level for the escape with Kun-Kun, but otherwise you’re free to make your own top levels! If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the event OOC post.
Thanks everyone!))
WHERE: Concordia - VEN DIAGRAMS HQ + BOUT IT OUT PARLOR + BEARINGS APARTMENT BLOCK
WHEN: Late Day :022 + Early Day :023
SUMMARY: The results of all your hard work - for better or worse. One win, one draw, one loss. Anakin Skywalker bites the big one.
WARNINGS: Violence, non-graphic character death.
IT’S BEEN A LONG DAY. Unfortunately, that’s not about to change any time soon. In the late hours of the evening, two things are happening: the final round of the Bout It Out expose between Kun-Kun and The Darkling is spooling up; meanwhile, the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams is working to retrieve information on H+H1 from the company’s security drive. Unfortunately, neither is going to reach the natural conclusion.
At the REGAL STREET GAMING PARLOR, emotions are running high. After a long day of simulation violence and the reveal of Kun-Kun’s new automaton fighting avatar, the crowd has been stoked to a few pitch. The music’s loud but the crowd is louder: cheering and booing, shouting for every landed or evaded strike. There’s an electric pulse of excitement in the air-- and then there’s a very literal one as an electromagnetic pulse rocks the Regal Street Parlor. The Bout It Out ring shorts and the entire parlor is pitched into total, window-less darkness. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for the crowd’s excitement to melt into panic. Pushing, shoving, shouting - a piercing shriek as one of Kun-Kun’s representatives is stabbed. The nearby hosts (Lexa, Sam Alexander, and anyone in their faux attachment) should be able to help Kun-Kun and his reps to safety, but the crush of the crowd tangles up everyone else. When a rudimentary bomb goes off in the center of the parlor, it catches plenty of people in the crossfire.
There’s a white hot flash. A pulse of heat. A sizzle of agony. It’s a pain that guts, that persists long after the flash of the bomb and extends all the way to the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams. It’s like a limb badly severed. Anakin Skywalker is killed by the blast and every host knows it before they’re aware of anything else.
Unluckily for the infiltration team, they won’t have much time to recover. News of the bombing hits Extraspace in a matter of seconds, which triggers Ven Diagrams - paranoid from the recent attack on their own properties - to lock down their headquarters. All systems are tightened and security clamps down before the infiltration team can access the private servers. If you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be, now’s the time to get the hell out of dodge.
Retreat, regroup. Upon returning to the Bearings apartment block, the hosts will find that two of their previously comatose friends have woken up: Hux and Aoba Seragaki will probably need to be briefed on the current situation.
I. THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS
In the Regal Street Gaming Parlor, a pulse flashes. Electronics sizzle. A fight reaching rhythm is shattered and darkness consumes the parlor in its entirety. There’s something like a collective inhale - and then the panic sets in. Screaming. Pushing. Elbows in the dark and a wave of bodies forcing their way toward wherever they think the exit is. Parlors like this one are supposed to be shielded from this kind of problem, but today that doesn’t matter. In just a few short moments of panic, a bomb - basic compared to the one that blew out the Ven Diagram warehouse only days ago - goes off.
There’s a buzz. An electrical hiss. In the wake of the explosion - in the wake of the agony of Anakin’s death -, the parlor’s fire systems go off flooding the upper and lower levels, the spectator balconies with flame retardant powder and coolant. The emergency lighting kicks on, throwing the carnage into stark fluorescent light. The probable intended victim has escaped, along with his entourage, but there are plenty of wounded - groans and weeping permeate the chemical stale air. In addition to Anakin, three people have been killed and two androids have been rendered into scrap by the explosion. Countless others could use help; maybe even a few other hosts have been wounded by the blast.
II. MEANWHILE...
If you’re part of the infiltration team, you’ve officially overstayed your welcome. Security tightens to a chokehold; if you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be, it’s time to leave. An alarm blares through the development laboratories. The building is evacuated and then sealed throughout. The powerlifts cease operation. All networked systems go offline.
III. FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
Back at the parlor, the evacuation continues. The parlor is half-collapsed, there are injured to tend to and local authorities to deal with. In a matter of minutes, the the parlor is swarmed by public security and medical personnel. If you’re able bodied, you’re welcome to assist with rescue efforts - or try to find a lead on who could’ve been responsible for this. Some evidence, some sign - anything to make this worth it. During this time those with Kun Adetokunbo will have the chance to make their case.
It’s a long, protracted clean up and triage; it’s absolutely possible that some of the infiltration team members might make it to the site of the explosion to assist or care for their friends.
IV. WE TEND OUR WOUNDED, WE COUNT OUR DEAD
In the early hours of the morning on Day 023, the hosts limp back to Bearings. Maybe it should be achingly quiet, but it’s not - there’s a murmur of activity in the mental air as Hux and Aoba muddle out of their way from out of their comas. From here, it’s up to to the hosts to recover, to discuss how they want to proceed, and come up with a way to recover from this setback - and from Anakin’s death.
((OOC NOTES: Here it is, your wrapup log for the event! You may have noticed that the Hosts didn’t succeed at the Ven Diagrams infiltration. We thought this was a better way than asking everyone to handwave a huge amount of plot or simply having the NPCs get the evidence. Don’t worry though - there will be other mysteries to unravel soon. Very soon, in fact.
There will be an NPC top-level for the escape with Kun-Kun, but otherwise you’re free to make your own top levels! If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the event OOC post.
Thanks everyone!))
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( Let me look with your eyes, I should be able to pick it out. ]
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Besides, she is patient and prone to stretches of silence herself. While she waits, she ensures that she can set the android back together once she's done, making it difficult to see that she was the one to take this apart in the first place.]
( Please feel free. And do be warned: it doesn't look good in here. I'm certain you felt our loss. There's a reason it happened so quickly. ) [Recalling how they had done it before, she inhales deeply and broadens her connection to Angel, allowing her to look through her mind as she has before. This time, there is little chance of lingering memories or nervousness: Lexa is focused right now on getting what they need to, and it's this that helps her train her mind, only allowing Angel to see and access what she needs her to access.]
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She shuts her eyes, and she reaches out, letting her mind bleed into Lexa's, always a double edge pathway that her tense watchfulness comes back through, her troubles are not over either, she has to be quick, but it's pushed aside for the moment as she blinks with Lexa's eyes and directs her fingers as she wants to. Pulling apart the wires deftly and pulling back the case until she finds the one she wants. Tugging it up, and then putting it down beside the Android's head. ]
( There, that one. Try not to get it covered in blood. It's bad as water and harder to clean off. )
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She is careful, though, to drag down her sleeve and wrap it around the part, ensuring that she can deposit it somewhere that won't lead to it getting blood on it.]
( Thank you. Take care of yourself and return to us safely. I'll see you back at the Bearings. ) [The words are almost said like she's delivering an order, but linked up as they are, she knows that the warmth is apparent under them.
The last few days have been trying for Lexa. Seeing a gaming parlor like this destroyed complete with another one of the Hosts lost barely scratches at the surface for how she feels. If anything, she exhibits an unnatural calm in the face of all of it. As if this is normal. As if the thing that is cutting through that is the loss of a Host. She is far too comfortable here.]
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Means, simply: she will - and Lexa had better be there too. ]
no subject
Contradictions have never been outside of Lexa's handling of herself. She is riddled with them, and well aware of it. But it's this one that makes her hesitate, realizing how much of her faith and belief is somehow slowly being delivered to other people. It may have started with Angel, but there are others, too.
In the end, she offers the mental sentiment of a nod. The difficulty over precisely what to do (or say, if she should choose words) is there in place of the easy calm and forthright mindset with which she normally handles things. It's almost like a person who is on a bring of a revelation, like she hasn't yet come to see all of the contradictions in place.
And then she prepares to move on, to finish here, to return to the Bearings (her mind is always so close to calling it home, even if this place is far more temporary than the Station awaiting them). She will.
*
When she returns, she does a number of things, but seeking out Angel has almost become a part of her routine. (Therein lies another contradiction.) She has wrapped the piece of technology gained from the android in a cloth and carefully tied it up by now. The cloth itself is clearly an article of clothing that she ripped up when she returned to their abode. As she carries it in her palm, she remembers Angel ensuring that she doesn't get blood on the thing.
Her hands are now clean. She didn't want to handle the core too much more before she washed them.
When she finds her, she extends her palm forward, the object within likely obvious (even hidden within that cloth).] For you. I thought you and Sam would be able to gather all the data from it quite easily. Thank you for your help.
[A formality. As if there is really room for that here, but she falls on that habit just the same. As she has many times before.]
no subject
-- And the next second, she's launching Lexa in a hug. Arms going around her waist, face against her shoulder and she holds her tightly for a moment, letting out a sound that could only be relief at being able to do so. Knew if she had died, everyone would know, but the contact, means -- everything. Habit of not trusting things until they were right in front of her. Too easily do things die on Pandora, too easily are even the best moments undone and she is just - ] I'm so glad you're okay.
[ the chip, and what was to be done - could be dealt with later. ]
no subject
But it's the contact and the familiarity of the hug that gives her pause. She can't recall the last time she's hugged a person. Even with Clarke, just before she left her room, there was a kiss and a lingering moment of good-bye (this moment even arises into the blank of her mind, all too apparent), but it hadn't been this. ... This relief. Lives lost are just as common in Lexa's world as they are in Pandora. But they deal with it as if it's commonplace, allowing none of the sentiment to bleed in lest it make them weak.
It's how they believe they've survived, but it also makes them stumble at simple actions like this one.
Her arms come up to press Angel against her once she finally gets the wheels turning again. She isn't stepping away or rejecting the action, there's just an obvious disconnect that comes with surprise and confusion.]
I've survived many blasts. They'd have to work much harder to stop me now. [The words are full of warmth and confidence as she drags that back up and makes herself feel whole again.]
I'm also relieved that none of you were trapped. ["None of you" is her phrasing, but she really should have said "that you weren't trapped." Though Bellamy had been among that crew (and she's relieved to know that he's made it out alive, largely for Clarke's sake—or so she tells herself), Angel is still her ... preference among them.]
no subject
Detangles herself though, stepping back a little, sighing out slowly. ]
Didn't think it'd be that easy. [ it's a slight attempt at humour. Keep some attempt at brevity. The way she does best, apparently. ] It wasn't easy but... we managed it. They picked up on presence easily enough.
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(It may be surprising that she doesn't mind intimacy when she's been aware that it's coming. She just was surprised here.)]
Will there be a risk of them using any surveillance to find us later? Given our involvement at two scenes of ... chaos, we might be implicated. [In an unfortunate way, she means.]
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What I encountered at least, was handled. I don't expect too much, but I can't be sure. [ she breaths out. ] I tried to make sure none of us were seen, and we are hidden from view, thankfully.
no subject
[Ven Diagrams looking into things is important, as they have many more resources than any of the Nest does given their connection to this world. She almost wishes they could have planted some kind of surveillance, but lacking that knowledge herself, it seems like it's too late to change it.]
Other than that, I'm relieved that we had ... minimal damage. [One loss versus many. There's a hint of guilt that rises up inside of her from utilizing that phrase, as if she's fully aware of precisely how callous it is. But it's how she views things, and she internally struggles to change things.]
no subject
We're keeping track as much as we can. There's... well there's a lot flying around at the moment, so it definitely doesn't hurt for us all to keep our heads down when and where we can.
[ To not draw excess attention to themselves if they could at all help it. Though she glances up at Lexa with a small frown. ] I wouldn't call it minimal. We lost a lot. Not just an opportunity, either.
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No, for now, she simply reflects that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. That seems to add up, since while she likes to complicate matters, she doesn't think they've drawn ire just yet.]
I realize you may think that's callous. I know you've lost someone close to you before. But it could have been more of us. If it were, we may have risked being seen as more than bystanders.
[It is most certainly callous, and Lexa seems to almost be mentally untying herself from the events of the day. But it's a mental action that, though done with some fortitude, comes all too obviously just before Angel. Repression is something that comes easily to her, but not today. She is too tired to be subtle, and as such, she is precisely the opposite of that.]