Intro Log: Rock This City

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-14th
Warnings: New folks, rockin' dudes made of rock, and collectible friends!

This time, it's different.

There's no cave, no stone walls looming up around you and overhead, no stifling air or artificial light- not that you'd appreciate it, seeing as to how you've probably never been here before. And still, when you land facefirst on the dirt ground of the colosseum, you may not quite appreciate all the improvements and steps we've had to take to get here- after all, you're still surrounded by strangers in a crumbling city on an alien planet in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and you're being attacked by Earth Elementals. These creatures are tall, between seven to ten feet, and made of solid rock, capable of punching through all the squishy bits of you- and for whatever reason, they definitely want to start punching. They're incredibly strong and, seeing as to how they're enchanted alive and have no internal organs, they're very difficult to kill.

But don't let that scare you off. For all the collectors in you, you can also find a very special array of beanie babies all scattered at the ground at your feet. Do you know that some of these things will be worth a lot of money someday? Better find the rarest one and stockpile it while you can! You might run into the rainbow crab, the platypus, or the sought-after bald eagle, or many more! Be sure to never take the tag off and never ever let anyone play with them so they don't lose value.

Once you've got your kids' college fund squared away, it's time to start exploring! You can 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 January 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

[nascere]

[ What the what happened now? ] The Null thing.

[ It doesn't ring a bell, but he's hoping to find out what's happened and how, in general, it'll let him get out of here and back to where he's needed. In the meantime, however, Eddie's brought up something interesting, something that makes him pause. ]

Yeah? How come?

[ This is the first time he's heard of that amidst all the people he's met here, and he was quite enjoying the anonymity, all things considered.

[puzzlingly]

No, it isn't... I'm just tired.

「He swallows, he doesn't want to talk about the stuff he went through along the month, so he shakes his head and offers back a little smirk. 」

Of course I want you to talk about you... hmm, like, how you feeling?

[evocation]

Yeah, but it was still twitching and wiggling in my mouth.

[sciencelizard]

[Her head spines pop up a bit when Rey asks, obviously not expecting the topic shift.]

Uhm... y-yeah, we do. It got a little beat up during the Null attack, but they never got into the lab, so it's fine. Why?

IT'S A CUTE FLUFFY CHICKEN

[durare]

Diana.

[ She says simply, a small smile tugging at the side of her mouth. It's quite the feat, defending a cute little chicken while getting the hell away from monsters made out of rock -- can't blame him for getting out of breath there. ] And you and yours?

[ The chicken is adorable, and she's very visibly softening when she bends over to greet her, as well. ] Hello to you too, little one.

[nowherewolf]

[He's... not gonna make the joke that first popped into his head. Lando doesn't need to hear that.]

So? It's just like... I don't know, pop rocks or something. A new dimension of culinary experience. You're just not haute cuisine enough, K.

[evocation]

Are you seriously calling pop rocks a "culinary experience"?

[nascere]

[ This is a rollercoaster ride from start to end, dude. Noctis just stares at him, wide-eyed, because what the hell? ]

A... weird replica of a town you were in. [ He's struggling to catch up, so help him out here, buddy. ] I -- what planet? Our planet?

[failtography]

I'm Prompto. ( he scrubs at his own face and grins, relieved for the break; the chocobo fluffs her feathers up and grooms herself for a moment, as if to brush the incident off, but looks up at the gunner in acknowledgment as soon as her name is called. ) She's Miss Fluffles!

[failtography]

I don't know, man. There were definitely humans, but the tech was different. Old. At least, before they started telling us about what was really going on behind the scenes. Apparently we all got cryogenically frozen before it happened and they revived us, which honestly is hella weird, cause you'd think I would remember something like that — don't recall anything after I got knocked off the Niff speeder, though.

[nascere]

[ Noctis gets the distinct, unpleasant sensation that he's missing one hell of a lot here, but decides to settle on one extremely, very important question. ]

And the scratch on your eye...? [ Where did that one come from? In the weird town? ] How did you even manage to get a baby chocobo?

[durare]

[ There are many things that don't add up here, but she doesn't doubt his words -- he feels... different, something like her, with a touch of the divine, and in him she sees the likeness of Apollo, the sense of him.

But then he continues talking, and Diana is irretrievably lost. Her people, enslaving others with a collar and lifting heavy boxes? Artemis and world domination? She's missing quite a lot here, and she stares at him blankly, struggling to keep up with the narrative. ]

My people, enslaving your friends...? [ The idea of that is offensive, especially when they themselves have been enslaved by men, and therefore know the price of freedom, the importance of it for all. ] There must be a mistake. Themyscira is hidden from the world, and my people have no interest in the affairs of men, much less the idea of enslavement.

[ For better or worse, Hippolyta has turned her back on humanity, as have the others, a truth Diana understands, but can never agree with. ] You speak of the gods in the present tense. Are they with you, where you are?

[nascere]

[ He went alone, then. Which means he's gone where they cannot follow, and he hopes, he hopes they all get to see it, the dawn breaking over the horizon. It fills him with a feeling he can't name, and he musters a small smile.

Maybe it'll be worth it, all the death and loss and pain, just to bring back the light to the world. ]

I'm sure it'll be fine. [ He says, even if he cannot be entirely sure about that. But it means that he'd eventually found his way home, right? Time is messed up here, but at least he'd gone home and fixed all that needed fixing. ] Future me seems like he's got a good handle on things.

[durare]

Prompto and Miss Fluffles.

[ She repeats so she can remember, her eyes warm. Also, that the chicken acknowledges her name is really cute. Diana might have seen one hell of a lot in her time, but resisting adorable, fluffy living creatures is something she still has no defenses against. ]

And the both of you are from?

[durare]

[ Diana is sympathetic -- she knows all about duty and the urgency of it; and how to just about almost all of them here, this place is an inconvenient pitfall, holding them all captive against their will.

Looking around their surroundings, she commiserates. It's difficult not to pick up some form of sorrow here; the temple is somber, inspiring a certain sense of melancholy befitting its name. ]

May I come with you? If we manage to find a way, I'm sure there are others here who would be glad to return as well. [ She smiles faintly. ] Our duties wait for no one.

[durare]

[ That's... awhile. ]

Are there many like you in this city?

[survivorsguilt]

[She's visibly taken aback by the statement.]

Uh, yeah. We all do. But we gotta make sure there's no one who can't protect themselves, first.

[Sweat slides down her cheek.]

[durare]

Like the song.

[ Diana agrees warmly, before cupping her hands and holding it out just under the branch. She's quite fond of him, his mouthiness and exuberance, the fact that underneath all of it is a boy with the kindest heart -- one just needs to get past the prickly front, first. ]

Or you could smile, just make sure you run very quickly.

[ Her smile is mischievous, and she gestures to it. ] Come, step up here. I'll give you a boost.

[ Because she's pretty sure no eleven year old boy in his right mind wants to be carried up there by anyone. ]

[knifecollecting]

Hell no. [Jo smirks. She is one of a kind.]

Do you mean people that have been here a long time?

[thelastjoy]

It was pretty bad. Worse that a lotta the folks on their list, the ones they were tryin' to get people to kill? They weren't really ready to take care of themselves. [Some where kids, which Girl considers less a problem from her own young age. The fact so many of them knew nothing about survival or combat is what bothered her.] There's sort of a force? I don't know much 'bout it, but when I first got here this Ignis guy told me there's a guard. They're supposed to take care of what they can, but the bots kinda had the jump on us so it was chaotic for a while.

[codeoracle]

Kind of exactly the point, Inari.

[Deadpan delivery. Sorry for blowing your mind, Yusuke.]

For the record? Everything turns out okay. Mostly.

[codeoracle]

Yeah...He probably wouldn't be. We're from different points in time apparently. Totally wild stuff.

[She hums softly, curious as to just when this Akechi was from, to not know anything about what occurred with the Phantom Thieves.]

So. What exactly did he tell you?

[dragonsgrasp]

Tired... I can understand tired. I feel it often too... or perhaps that's just because of the sun. It takes some getting used to. Though I wouldn't trade it for that cave...

[Everything truly had changed for the better, having a sky over his head.]

Hm... Well... I'm better than I was, before. I'm back to my normal strength, for one thing, so I can defend myself again. I've... no, never mind that. I've been fine otherwise. More or less. [Some weird residual effects, maybe, but he's convinced it's no big deal.]

[restinglichface]

Hey, that's fuckin' fair. This place majorly sucks, but I can see why some folks would wanna stick around.

[Death is so very different for Lup and her family, but even then, she can tell how touchy a subject this is for Rey. She's clearly still hurting.] That bites, though. Sounds like you could use the drink more than me. Are you always on shift or do you drink with your patrons sometimes?

[failtography]

Crap. Can't believe they even had a list — ( makes the null sound like some kinda group of gangsters, some crime organisation with a hit list that they populated at their whims, but all thoughts grind to a screeching halt as soon as he hears a very familiar name. ) — Wait. Ignis? Did you say Ignis?