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

sorry for the delay!!!

[jocoeur]

( not... exactly the grand entrance that he had been hoping to make, but then, shouldn't he have expected nothing less from yusuke?
akira does as he's told without missing a beat, stretching his arms just a little further, sure that the master with his eye for art would tell him if it was too little or too much.

and here he waits.
and waits.
probably longer than any normal person would wait and then...
he waits a little more.

before finally... ) Ah... Yusuke?

no worries!

[wantsnudes]

[Yusuke had been intensely contemplating the scene, imagining a piece with the towers as a backdrop, foregrounded with a figure stretching their arms towards the sky in parallel. But would it be better as an abstract piece, or realistic? Portrait or landscape? He'd just been contemplating a theme when Akira's voice finally brings him out of the Art Zone.]

--Ah! I apologise. I just remembered I haven't brought my sketchbook, so you can drop that pose for now.

[He gets back to his feet from where he was crouching, dusting himself off, when he has another delayed realisation.]

Wait-- Akira! I had been looking everywhere for you! [He just got... sidetracked...] Are you all right?

`

[jocoeur]

( same old yusuke... but then, he sort of set them both up for that one, didn't he?
relaxing his arms, and pushing his glasses up his nose as he does so— akira offers a quiet chuckle of non-surprise of how this all went down.

there's a simple nod in response to that question too. he's just fine really, so— )

I should probably say, "welcome to the cave" about now.

[wantsnudes]

Yes, some of the others explained our circumstances here. It's quite bothersome...

[Not that it stops Yusuke from making the most of it, but it couldn't have come at a worse time. He shakes his head, smiling.]

I'm just glad you're all right. After everything that happened at home, and someone mentioning that you were caught up in a fire, I was concerned.

[jocoeur]

Mm. ( there's a quick glance down at his hands, before he shoves them into his pockets again, bringing his eyes back up to meet yusuke's.

not exactly the news he had hoped would have been shared with his friend— he hadn't wanted anyone to worry about what had happened last month— but akira tried to deflect that concern in the best way he could think of. )

It was a bit of a trial by fire you could say. ( with lame jokes. ) But I'm fine, doc patched me right up.

( law... reminded him of doctor takemi in more ways than one. not that it could be helped what with DEATH tattooed across his knuckles and everything. )

Come on, I'll show you around a little more as we talk.

[wantsnudes]

[It's a pretty eyeroll-worthy joke, but he can't be in too bad shape if he's able to tell it, so Yusuke does seem reassured. Typical Akira.

To the offer, he nods.]

Please do. I can always return here later.

[jocoeur]

I think there are a few places you'd appreciate. ( after all, it was because of yusuke that akira had even started to have an eye for these sorts of things. the pursuit of beauty... even in trapped in a cave, he wanted to help his friend realize his goals.

which is why he starts to lead the way. )

It wasn't too rough of an arrival, was it?

[wantsnudes]

[yaaay Akira tours. Yusuke follows after him!]

It wasn't terrible, aside from the rather aggressive trees that attacked upon my arrival. Physical and ice attacks were both relatively useless on them, so I had no choice but to flee...

Fortunately, I received some help from Law-san, and an individual who fought with a creature that looked just like one of your Personas. He called it a "demon" instead of a Shadow or Persona, however.

[Akira knows who he's talking about, right? Raidou had acted like they were on familiar terms, at any rate.]

[jocoeur]

Some of the creatures here aren't like anything we've never seen in the Metaverse before. ( it's not much of an explanation, but he offers it up as one. ) It will take some getting used to to try and determine their weaknesses, I think.

( especially since the flavour of the month seemed to change up. but now with ann and yusuke by his side, well... let's just say akira was feeling a lot more up to the experimentation that it might take. )

Hm? ( he looks over towards his comrade— ) You must mean Raidou. He... helped me out of a tight spot myself when I arrived, actually.

[wantsnudes]

Raidou, that's right. [Yusuke nods, looking a bit relieved.] So he's trustworthy, then. When he mentioned he knew you as Akira, but also knew you wielded Personas, I wasn't sure what to think, so I didn't disclose my real identity..

[Everything back home has made Yusuke paranoid, especially when it comes to feeling protective of Akira. Hopefully Raidou didn't take it personally.]

[jocoeur]

( he doesn't blame you for being wary, yusuke. actually, he's a bit proud. without ryuji around yelling about phantom thieves every chance he had, their alter egos even had a shot at staying hidden. )

He is, but more than that... ( a quick adjustment of his glasses, akira adds— ) He has them too. Personas. As in, more than one. ( a pause ) You saw them, right?

( he didn't quite grasp what his own wild card power might mean, but to know someone else had it too... )

[wantsnudes]

I saw one -- Nue. Just like the mask you retrieved from Madarame's Palace. But this one... He keeps it in a kind of test tube, where he can store and summon it and other "demons" at will. It was really quite bizarre.

[The lack of any kind of mask, or even a costume like the Phantom Thieves, was puzzling too. It was almost like he had no relation to the Metaverse at all, but Yusuke doesn't know enough to understand the bigger picture. It's likely even Morgana would be stumped, if he were here.]

What do you think it means, that he has powers like yours?

[jocoeur]

( there's a thoughtful nod in response to that. he had seen it for himself on a few occasions of course, but something about hearing it from the lips of another he trusted made it seem more real. )

I'm not sure what it means exactly but... ( in reality, he didn't really understand his own abilities. and not being able to talk to igor or the twins about it, well... that just complicated matters even more. )

The best way to find out is by giving it further observation, right? ( he looks over at yusuke, grinning a bit. thinking to himself how perhaps it was a little bit like studying a subject for a painting. or maybe that was just the other boy rubbing off on him. )

Ah, we're here. ( he stopped, several feet away from edge of a small body of water. ) The pond. I thought you might like it. ( although much murkier and darker, it did remind him of a poor man's inokashira park. )

What do you think?

[wantsnudes]

That's true. He seemed happy to provide a demonstration, so perhaps I can ask him about his abilities in more detail.

[But there will be plenty of opportunity to pester Raidou later! Once they arrive at the pond, Yusuke stops up short to look around. It's certainly not comparable to the more beautiful parks in Tokyo, but...]

Goodness. It's surprising there are many places of natural beauty here at all, considering this is a cave. [He crouches at the edge of the pond, as if hoping to spot some fish.]

[jocoeur]

Hnhmm. ( it's a small hum of victory. he had thought that if anyone could appreciate this spot, it was yusuke. he couldn't help but feel like it was a win that he seemed to be right.

he followed along to the water's edge, though where his friend crouched he remained standing. beneath the water's surface, a small school of... peculiar looking fish seemed to swim. ) There's lots of—

( and no sooner had he said the words than one of those fish seemed to take notice of them... jumping upwards to break the surface and gnash at them threateningly with its small teeth.
akira's reflection, disturbed by the sudden movement, showed the glare of his glasses as he stood there, slightly dumbfounded... ) ... surprises here in Hadriel.

[wantsnudes]

Ah!

[From where he was crouching, the fish suddenly leaping up at him nearly gives Yusuke a heart attack, and he yelps and reels back in fright.]

Y-you could have warned me about that kind of surprise! [He scrambles to his feet, backing off from the edge of the pond, and staring at it warily as if half-expecting something bigger to try to jump out at him. And here he just wanted to admire something pretty...]

[jocoeur]

Ah... ( he echoes his friend.
he had actually been caught off guard as well, the blank look on his face just didn't convey it that well.

there's a shrug in response at first— akira had no idea that would happen, though he moved to dust a part of yusuke's sleeve off. )

Sorry, maybe they... like you?

( i mean, they were no lobsters but...
another shrug, this time with a bit of a goofy grin to back it up. ) Should we turn down the excitement and head home next? Heh.

[wantsnudes]

That's an odd way to show fondness, if so.

[Yusuke runs a hand through his hair and still looks agitated, but it's hard to be too pressed about it when Akira has that goofy grin on his face.]

"Home"? [He echoes, expression curious. Obviously he isn't referring to Leblanc, so...] Where have you been living?

[jocoeur]

With Ann and Raidou. ( with that, he stuffs his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight slightly. )

It isn't much, but... we have a house. You can stay in my room.

( let's just nip that sharing with ann idea in the bud immediately!!! )

[wantsnudes]

Ah, then we get to be roommates again? That would be quite fun.

[It's fine, Akira, he's gotten over his initial fascination with Ann by now. Probably.]

Very well, show me the way.