hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Busy Little Bees

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Intro Log: Busy Little Bees

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for July
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: July 10th-16th
Warnings: Fun for kids of all ages!

Another day, another mysterious transportation to a strange and alien city inside a cave surrounded by monsters. Or maybe that's not normal for you? Weird! You awaken on the ground of a large arena, a stone ceiling stretching high above you. Welcome to Hadriel! Oh, but you aren't alone. That 'surrounded by monsters' bit? Yeah...

Do you hear a buzzing? Better start running now. Along with all the newbies, the Door has brought in quite a few tracker jackers. Wasps are already horrible, and these things are even worse. Bigger and much more dangerous than the insects they were genetically modified from, tracker jackers will sting anyone they think is a threat. Their stings cause extreme pain and hallucinations, and if you're stung too many times - well, that's it for you. You can try to calm them down with smoke, fight them, or just run like hell. Maybe you'll get lucky.

It's hard to fight if you don't have a weapon, though. But hey - you're in luck! Rage, who usually supplies the city with weapons, is currently gone, but the Door has provided you with some instead! That's right, you might find a sword, a gun, a bow and arrow, or an exotic foreign weapon to defend yourself with! Of course, they're all made of plastic and completely incapable of hurting anything. Have fun!

Let's hope your legs are faster than those wasps, and you survive your first few minutes in Hadriel. After you've find your way out of the colosseum there's plenty of other distractions. Feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, a new monster, a project to help with, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers July 10th-16th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication and the newbie guide installed.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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[ There aren't too many places worth heading today, all experiences considered. You spend a few minutes in an office and the whole world turns topsy turvy. You get a whole damn family and a betrayal that doesn't make sense all of a sudden.

Merle still puts off heading towards the apartment for a while. He's put off his kids for less in these past few years. Something about knowing all the history they have together makes that big blowup even worse to think about facing.

Hell. Maybe he's the only one with the fresh news. Ugh. That would suck.

He ambles towards the spire himself, eventually, and looks surprised to see Taako already there.

It's weird. He would've thought it would be less weird. ]

You could've saved me trouble finding you if you just liked hangin' out at the park!

[ Merle tries to sound like he really went out of his way looking. Not successfully. ]

[They were there, and he hated them, and then they were gone, their absence felt sharply in his chest. Julia was gone, dead once more, and the boys left soon after, and Magnus was alone.

Hotaru's gone, too. Ellie hasn't been around that he's seen. Shadow's gone. Magnus hasn't known what to do with himself, alone for the first time in over a year, with a minimum of people to talk to. He's not sure he wants to talk to anyone really, and that's so unlike him that he's more confused by the feeling than anything. He spends long nights drinking at the speakeasy, keeping to himself. He thinks about the last time he saw Taako and Merle.

He was already avoiding them after that big fight. He didn't know how to even... begin trying to forgive them. But once they were gone... it was all he wanted to do. He really didn't appreciate what he had while they were here. After he's had more time to stew in his feelings, he's... not sure he's okay with them killing Julia. He's not sure he'll ever be okay with it. But... there was no right choice in that situation, was there? What the hell else were they supposed to do? What the hell could any of them done?

These fucking gods. Magnus is decided. If Taako and Merle ever come back, that's what they're going to work on next. Finding a way to kill the gods. He's through being their plaything. If they don't come back... then he'll just have to find a way on his own.

He just doesn't know where to start.

In the meantime, he's got a late start to the day. He was meaning to go check the coliseum, but he stayed up too late drinking the night before and slept in a little. He's on his way to see if there's anyone that still needs help when he sees them on his way down the stairs of the spire.

He freezes. Just... a week. One week is as long as they could get away. Magnus realizes, suddenly, that he should've been hoping they were gone for good. Then, they'd be free of this place. But he's selfish. He's so fucking selfish.

He hasn't cried since the night of the fight, but after a few moments of staring at the other two the waterworks have really started up. He's sniffling and wiping at his face as he hurries down the rest of the stairs to them, managing words between sniffles and hiccups.]

You guys, I checked, and you were gone, and I didn't know what to do, and I just, I just, I just wanted to say, to you, wow, I had a lot of words in my head and now, they're just gone, and I, I...

[When he finally reaches them, he wails, tears streaming down his face and pulling them both brusquely into a hug. Yes, even Taako who is on the floor. There's a lot of bending and stooping and pulling involved.]

I thought you were gone foreeeeveeeer!!!

[And, as with seemingly everything that happens with Magnus, everything happens very, very quickly.

He goes to respond to Merle, giving him a sort of sideways look as if he's trying to figure out how much he knows, but suddenly there's tears and a little bit of yelling as he watches Magnus barrel down and then he's no longer on the floor and I guess we're in forcible group hug territory.

Honestly, Taako doesn't have the emotional capacity to handle all of this simultaneously. Not the revelations he's seen back home, not Lup, not all of this. He can process like 5 emotions a year and he hit that limit in his first day here, so at this point he's shoving it all back and trying not to think too hard about how unflinchingly happy he is to see Magnus safe.]

Well jeez, here I thought you might be mad.

[Fuck, how long was he gone?]

Wait, we were both gone?

Ye- what is with the double reception? I thought I was the only one who had to get back from anywhere. Not to mention I had myself alllll braced for a punch, and it just got undermined.

[ Is Merle joking? Who fuckin knows. It sure is nice to see these guys and not be on the fast track to hell, though.

He'll accept a hug that he knows he doesn't deserve, in the name of friendship. ]

[Magnus pulls back from the hug, squeezing both of their shoulders and kind of bending down so all of them can be eye level. Never say he doesn't consider Merle's feelings every once in a while.

He looks both of them, dead in the eyes, glancing between the two of them as he speaks very seriously. The effect is lessened by the snot and tears still dripping from his face, not to mention the intermittent sniffling.]

I am still very mad at both of you. But being without both of you guys put a lot of shit into perspective for me. [Sniffle.] And I don't like being angry and acting like I hate you guys because I don't. [A lot of little sniffs.] I-I love you guys very much, and I missed you a lot, [As he goes on, his words become more and more of a whine.] and I hated that the last time we saw each other, I was acting like a real, a real jerk, [The whine suddenly turns into a bawl.] so I'm sorry, that I ever made you think I would want to hurt either of you, because I would never! I promise! You can fucking, you can hold me to that! I swear on my life!

[He lets go of them and buries his face in his hands to finally let the tears flow... unbidden and free. There is a lot of wailing. I know neither of you guys do like, real emotions, but Magnus does and you are going to have to fucking deal with it and him.]

[God, this is all so much. Why does Magnus have to be so... so genuine all the goddamn time? All the crying and the feelings and--

Magnus didn't drink. He doesn't even know. He doesn't know the words burning behind Taako's teeth right now, like family and his genuine concern that he's trying to stuff into a box very, very unsuccessfully.

He doesn't... know how to do this, in the way Magnus probably wants this, with hugs and laughter and jokes. His head still hurts, the remembering hurts, but then his mind is flooded with thoughts of a cycle of mushrooms and Mangnus leaving and never coming back and the pain is all too real.

So he steps forward, and just... puts a hand on his shoulder. Squeezes in a way he hopes is reassuring. God, he's the worst.]

Hey, hey, it's... it's fine, alright? It's fine. We'll get some sugar or whatever and I'll make a cake and then you can cry into that for a while.

[ Ohhhhhhh, boy. Look at him go. Kinda weird weighing fifty some-odd years of "yelled at a Power Bear, jumped out from behind bushes at people for a literal year" Magnus against a year of, like. This.

That sure is life, though. People change. People change each other.

Merle steps forward to pat Magnus on his other shoulder, since Taako did it and he doesn't wanna look bad or anything. Plus Magnus went to all the trouble to bend down to this level and everything. ]

Yeah, we'll get Taako to make one of those, those dump cakes! Be mad all you want, pal, go ahead and, uh. Cry that one out. Promise away.

[ Pat pat. ]

Even though you already chopped off my arm.

[Magnus sniffs a few more times, trying to calm down.]

Taako, please don't make a dump cake -- also please tell me a dump cake isn't what it fucking sounds like, because holy shit. I just want a normal cake with no dumps in it. That sounds really good right now.

[And then he addresses Merle.]

Also, you know I chopped off your arm for a very good reason, because you would have died otherwise. Like, come on dude. Nuance.

[That sounds familiar. Let's not inspect that too closely.]

[Taako resists the urge to give the biggest eye roll at Magnus' last sentence, because oh my god, you hypocrite, you put him through the Emotional Hunger Games for nothing you motherfucker.

Unfortunately, at this point, Taako's far too happy to see the both of them to consider being bitter. Which is only truly unfortunate because Taako is very good at being bitter.]

It's called a dump cake 'cuz you just dump everything in a fucking pan, and frankly, I'm insulted anybody thinks I would shit on a plate and pretend it's a cake.

[Like, come on, both of you, what do you take him for. Fucking idiots. God, he loves them both.]

Nah, come on, there's gotta be some half-decent ingredients around here. We'll do somethin' up real nice. Write "sorry your broke your hand punching the wall while angry" on it or whatever.

[ Merle just blows a raspberry. He's also a hypocrite and has therefore lost rights to call anyone on it.

Besides, he's over the arm thing, if anybody besides Magnus ever asks about it. Memories put a lot more in perspective. He's still gonna give him crap about it for the rest of his life. ]

Put it on a card, that's too long for a good cake. And keep that head outta the gutter, Maggie. Dump won't always mean what you think it means! You learn that eventually. There's take a dump, there's dump cake, there's dumpin' bodies.

Well excuse me. I don't bake donut holes and call it cake balls! Words mean things!

[No, Magnus. Magnus, that is a thing. That is a real thing. Magnus.]

Anyway, yeah. I deserved that. The joke and the broken knuckle. Either way, I'm still getting cake at the end of this, so I'm good. As long as Merle doesn't talk about dumping bodies at the dinner table.

Magnus, donut holes and cake balls are like, the same fuckin' thing. Also, I don't control Merle, and take no responsibility for the shit that comes out of his mouth 24/7.

[Part of interacting with Merle is dealing with his garbage. Just like Taako. And Magnus. Everyone's a trainwreck.]

Alright, this, this hugging thing was nice but now I feel like my neck's gonna snap. Did you fix the wall you punched, anyway, or is the place just like a super wreck now?

[He should also, uh. Probably find a way to say something about Lup. Haha. Whoops. He'll uh, he'll get there.]

Yeahhh, don't we have some kinda max quota on sappy shit?

[ Tree arm pun not intended. He doesn't mention that he feels like he should also not be held responsible for the shit that comes out of his mouth. What's self control? Can you cast zone of truth on it? No promises.

Crap. Ugh. He missed this a lot. He missed these boys. Even if they're missing out on huge, huge chunks of their own lives. Yikes, haha. ]

Hug another day, leave 'em wanting more. Anyway, if you messed with my room, we're gonna have to have some words. A hole in the wall, whatever. That's- we can use that for geocaching. I think kids are into that these days. Stickin' their arms into random holes to find stuff.

Wait, are you saying cake balls are a real thing? Come on, baking world. Get it together.

[Magnus pulls away and pats both of the other boys. They're his boys. He loves them. And he lives for the sappy shit. Come on, who do you think you're talking to, guys?]

Uhhhh... Yeah, uh, I don't think kids geocache anymore, Merle. Anyway, the wall's still kinda busted, I've been the opposite of productive, but I can deffo fix it up real quick. It won't take much, really. Just hope we can find paint the same color as the wall.

[They probably won't, let's be real. There'll just be a small chunk of the wall that's slightly off from the rest. They can hang a poster on it or something. It's fine.]

[Taako just looks exasperated at the two of them, but there's no way to hide the amount of actual adoration he's got over his face, even if that manifests in Taako with nothing more than a quirk of his mouth. God, he loves them so much. Fuck. He forgot what it felt like to care about people and just admit that, even to himself.]

Eeh, we'll put something over it. Or just frame it and pretend it's art.

[First fight, 2017. Medium: hand, drywall.

He bites at his lip a bit, because... ugh, fuck, he should say something but he doesn't know how, so might as well just dump all that shit out on the floor so they can take it and then he can not make a big deal out of it.]

Hey, uh, by the way, there's a lot of details here that aren't super important but uh, I have a twin sister? And she's here so she's staying with us. Glad we discussed that.

Maybe they've got some Rita Hayworth posters sittin' around.

[ It would be fun. He's just saying. But they can circle back to that discussion later.

Things of note: Taako does remember Lup-- that's good. Merle was fully prepared to bug out before having to ever try to explain a voidfished sister to Taako, ever. Selfish? You bet. Worth skipping out on? Oh boy, you bet. Some of the tension that wasn't brought in by the whole emotional display thing drains out of him. Weird. He didn't even realize it was there. ]

Oh yeah, yeah, Lup! Kinda figured she'd wanna hang with us. I might be insulted if she didn't!

[ And who wouldn't wanna hang with them. They're so not lame. ]

Oh! Or Fantasy Dave Matthews Band!

[Taako then drops The Sister Bomb, which is more like a Sister Fizzle at this point. Come on, Taako, get with the times. You having a sister is so a few hours ago.]

Uh, yeah, hey, she can stay, that's great, she's a peach, that reminds me, you never told me you had a sister, you fucking noodle.

[Magnus grabs Taako again, but this time it's for a loving noogie.]

When was I supposed to figure this out, at the Tres Horny Boys family reunion???

[Listen, you fucks, he was so prepared to have this be An Entire Discussion. He's been trying to think of how to have this talk for like at least an hour. How dare you take it so casually like he's family or some stupid shit like that. Not to mention Merle knows her name, which confirms a few things about how he wasn't exactly the only one who might've seen some shit back home.

He still lets out a whine when Magnus grabs him, because god, he's actually having a conversation with these two that's just easy. They just... make it easy. Another bit of anger surges at Lucretia for making him forget all this, but it quells down quickly when Magnus won't let him go and he squirms.]

Hey, watch the hair, it's seen enough today!

[He just grumbles, but it's good-natured.]

Look, it's a long story, but that's, uh, not important right now. Wait, did you meet her already?

Ah- the paperwork on adding a sister to the party is way complicated. You gotta have insurance policy numbers and- and signatures. It's a whole thing.

[ What a couple of dinguses. ]

Anyway, yeah, I ran into her stealin' stuff. I tried to stop her, but she was so determined! Completely overpowered my will!

[ Merle, a garbage dwarf, encouraged her heartily and said he'd try to make her sound cool. Only one of the things he's said in the past few seconds is true?? ]

[Magnus releases Taako -- you're off the hook for now, Taako, but he needs to get this story out of you eventually.]

Yeah, and I saw her--

[Well, the first time he saw her was in that dream. Should he mention that?

...Probably not.]

Uh, she was just exploring when I saw her. I thought she was you at first, but then she was a lady.

[And then she explained that all elves are born as twins, so maybe it should've gone without saying? If Magnus knew that?

Magnus has been completely bamboozled about elf family structure and it's a mess.]

So, what, we're gonna be the Cuatro Horny House now? I'm cool with that.

[He rolls his eyes at them both. Fuckin impossible dicks, being. Kind, and okay with him, and!! Comforting!!!! How dare they, honestly.]

I mean, yeah, we're twins, of course you're gonna think she's the better one. Y'know, me.

[There's so much to go over. But right now, he's exhausted. He just... wants to call Lup. Go to bed. Know that all of them are together, and here, that his family is only a moment away.]

She'll stay in my room. So you don't have to worry about her, uh, permanently couch crashing or whatever. We'll figure it out. Told her I'd call her once I talked to you guys.

[Which is his roundabout way of saying "are we done here" and/or giving him the chance to leave gracefully without crying or something.]

[Magnus gets the hint.]

Yeah, okay. You do that. I'll see what I can do to fix up the place, since I have nnnnnnot cleaned once the whole time you guys were gone.

[He points homeward to indicate that's where he'll be. Homeward bound.]

See you guys soon!!! Don't get lost!!! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!!! Don't do most things I would do, either!!!

[Seriously, don't. Magnus does not make good decisions. Make them in his stead, he begs of you two.]

[ And all's well that bounds off to try to clean up well.

Merle makes exactly zero promises to Magnus. ]

Well! Glad we got that all settled. I almost started to worry it was gonna get complicated!

[ What if we dig up the possibility of having a long, in-depth, very serious conversation and push it somewhere else? Sounds great. ]

[He rolls his eyes, almost overdramatically, reaching into his pockets for his phone to call Lup and figure out where in the city she ended up. These fuckin' disasters. His goddamn disaster family.]

Yeah, yeah, we got the band back together, it was great, natch.

[He's already scrolling for her contact as he begins to walk off, giving a little two-fingered salute. Big emotional conversation, I don't know her??]

Bbl, my dudes. See you in like, an hour or something.

[And off he strolls, intent on bringing the whole family home.]

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Intro Log: Busy Little Bees

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