Intro Log: Faceplanted

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for October
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: October 10th-14th
Warnings: Newbies, spookies, and evil trees!

If it's your first time here, congratulations! You get the lovely, unique sensation of eating dirt as the Door knocks you facefirst into the ground. You'll probably be a little woozy at first, so take your time getting up- meet some folks, introduce yourself, don't be weird about it. Welcome to Hadriel! You're not the only person who just got to taste alien dirt firsthand, though- there are several people in the same predicament as you, so feel free to say hi! Probably shouldn't spend too much time talking though, because the lovely trees that you thought were just scenery are starting to creep ever closer the more you let your guard down.

All around you is a forest of spooky evil trees- it seems to be just a normal sort of forest at first, but the more you take your eyes off of them, the more they shift around you and close in. Or is that just your imagination? If you move too close to one, look out! They're rather determined to pick you up and stick you into the ground so you might take root- and if you resist, well, a severed bud can still serve as a seed, right?

If the trees tear your clothes though, don't worry, there's plenty of extras to be found lying around the arena if you don't mind them being a bit dirty. Lying on the ground and sometimes hanging off of these tree branches are some free shirts, yours for the taking! You know, if you'd be caught dead with one...

But hey, after you've met new friends and found a new aesthetic, 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 October 10th-14th.
► 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!

Comments

[restinglichface]

[Lup's mind has been playing 'what ifs' on repeat for the last decade.

What if Barry had found her Umbra Staff in that cave that day with them, how much sooner would she have gotten out? How much future hurt could have been prevented if Lup had been there to stop it?

What if Lucretia had actually acknowledged her Umbra Staff for what it was instead of sending Taako off without any information? If Lup had been there, broken free of her prison that early, would Lucretia have given up on the secrecy of her plan and bring their family together to fix things again as a team? Or would she keep Lup at a distance like Barry, closed off until the last possible moment?

What if Lup hadn't gone off alone that night, slipping out while Barry was still asleep in their bed, her heart heavy but the strength of her resolve pushing her forward? What if she'd slipped into Taako's room instead, roused him from sleep and dragged him out onto the road with her? Her relic would still have been retrieved and hidden away, but even if she'd still been killed, he would have been there to break her free from the Umbra Staff immediately. Would they have gone home together, side-by-side, returning with the news that there were safe places in the world to hide their relics, where they could continue to be sought but always remaining just out of reach?

No, Lup's absolutely sick of what ifs. She's not going to sit here hashing out the past with her brother when it's all she's had to focus on for years. Lup's ready to live in the present, thank you very much.]

That's enough. We're not playing this game, Taako. [She refuses to indulge him. Refuses to let him wallow in misery over mistakes that he hadn't even made.] I was trapped in a fucking umbrella. You couldn't have ever known to look there, dork. You didn't even know I existed. So stop asking stupid questions and tell me what an idiot I was for running off in the first place.

[She'd much rather be scolded right now than have to answer that question. Taako doesn't need to know the details of her imprisonment. How long it had taken for her to realize her brother didn't remember her.]

[pocketspa]

[She shoots him down, but damn, if he doesn't still want to know. As if experiencing what she went through, feeling that pain, wasn't the only thing he could think of as penance to her for being tricked. Even he's angry that he's fucking acting like this, that Lucretia could so effortlessly shape him into this thing, rip his heart so effectively from his chest.

But it's cruel to her, to be demanding she live it. And she's the person he cares about hurting the most. So he quiets, chews a bit at the inside of his lip.]

Yeah, well, we already had that conversation too, so don't you go trying it, Nightrider. It was dumb, I was dumb, shit happens.

[He wants to hug her. He's mad he can't. That barely there ghost isn't enough, the spectre of his sister just out of reach.]

Anyway, guess we can't magic duel anymore seeing as I've got the trump card. Was kinda wondering why it wasn't doin' shit for me anymore when I showed up here anyway.

[restinglichface]

[If it's a conversation that needs to happen, it can happen later, much later. In the safety of the space they've carved out for themselves. But not now, not when Taako wants to use the details of Lup's imprisonment as a way to punish himself for what she went through. She refuses to let him hurt himself over something he had absolutely no part in. He was just as much a victim in this as she was, maybe even more. Lup never would have ended up forgotten in that damn umbrella if she hadn't run off on her own in the first place...

Even if she can't physically connect with him, Lup's spectral hands don't move from Taako. They slip up his back, ghosting over his shoulders, keeping him close to her floating form. And there's so much she could say in this moment, so many reassurances to offer or mentions of how just being near him gave her so much strength. But the lich's head tips to the side, grinning on the inside, and aims a ghostly punch at his shoulder.]

I think that's assuming a little much, bro. For one, we both know you'd never win in a one-on-one against me, even with my Umbra Staff's aid. [She'd only get sucked up again if she lost. And well, Lup's not about to lose twice.] So, I'd say all magic duels are still so on.

[pocketspa]

[He rolls his eyes, trying to keep it light- or, well, lighter than it has been. It's only been four days of him wallowing in this and he's exhausted. Truthfully, he doesn't know what he'd do if she hadn't. If she had just-- hah-- ghosted him again, with not so much as a note this time, no way to find his way back to her. It would've been torture. It would've...

Ugh, he's got to stop doing this.]

Bullshit. You're outta practice, babe. Besides, I don't wanna break this if I don't have to? Sorta become part of my whole thing.

[He leans into her anyway, even if he isn't met with the resistance he wants.]

Come on, let's get the fuck out of here. It's only been like, a week here, so everything's still around.

[restinglichface]

[Taako would feel her grin on him, Lup finally shifting to float at his side, a spectral hand slipping down to rest at his elbow.

Lead her home, Taako.]

And don't think I'm gonna let you live down shitting all of my umbrella when all you wanted to do was steal it for yourself. I was fuckin' on to you day one, bro. Just lazy insults to mask how jelly you really were. I called it.

[Even having the Umbra Staff in her presence makes the woman a little uneasy. Sure, Taako would break her out in an instant, but the fear of being sucked back into that prison even momentarily is a little too much for Lup. She'll just stick to his other side for now, opposite of it.]

You didn't fuck with my stuff, did you? Cause I'll know.

[pocketspa]

Listen, it still makes you look like a party clown. Me, on the other hand, super rad.

[He hooks it back onto his hip, away from her. Every movement he makes with it that mirrors something of theirs feels ironic now. He messed around with how to hold it after they got back to the Bureau after it became his primary wand. Wrist felt weird, too much pressure. Hocking it under his arm just felt informal. Eventually, tying it at his waist like a foil ended up working out best.

It just feels silly again when she slots near his other hip, so perfectly, that he didn't figure it out sooner.]

Anyway, I commandeered all your stuff and wrote Taako on all your shirts. You don't need 'em now though, so I'd say they're still super mine.

[He did not do this. But he's gonna make her sweat it.]

[restinglichface]

Lies! We both know the truth.

[Hovering at his side, the lich makes an affronted noise, even if she's pretty damn sure he's just joshin' her. (Not that it even matters in the first place. What's his is hers and vice versa. There's no divide in their possessions. If they ever felt the need to write their names on their shit, it would all say Taako and Lup.)

But if nothing else, his teasing makes Lup float forward a little faster, eager to get back to the small apartment they've been turning into something special, a place full of her family. Lup's ready to go home.] Race you back?

[Says the lich who can't get exhausted and will just float through all obstacles.]

[pocketspa]

[He looks towards her, pretending to be offended. He even puts a hand on his chest, like he's really selling it.]

Sis, I may be an idiot, but I am not, in fact, an idiot. You're just gonna go right through shit!

[He looks at her for one beat more, and then bolts in a dead sprint towards the wall.]

So I will too!

[And he blinks into the Ethereal Plane. COME GET HIM, FUCKER.]

[restinglichface]

[Lup gives her twin that brief head start, left hovering in place while Taako blinks away. For a woman without a heart, hers feels fuller than she's known in well over a decade. This is right where she belongs, forever at his side.

The lich lets out a laugh that she knows he'll be able to hear before zipping forward at full speed, fully prepared to do whatever she has to to keep up with her twin. Nothing will ever keep her from him again.]