hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Rock This City

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Intro Log: Rock This City

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ That snort is all she needs to hear because that was the point. Rose is always happy to wear the mask of the fool if it means she can make other people laugh. Lift their spirits. It might not be an actual laugh, but... Amused sarcasm is better than nothing. ]

Well, then I must be in luck to catch you! [ G r i n. Like Rey hasn't seen enough of Rose to last her a lifetime lately. ] What's on the menu?

[Better than Rey's usual disposition over the last couple of months. She's trying. Hoping that a time will come along where she doesn't have to pretend that she's okay.

[In the meanwhile, she has to hold herself together. Keep appearances. Play her part.]

Depends on how fast you want to get drunk, if at all.

[Which she says almost ironically as she sips her water.]

[ To that, all Rose can do is sigh. ]

I was hoping you'd say 'you,' but I mean I guess I'll see what's actually to drink. Goodness knows I'm thirsty.

[ Stop. Of course, Rey knows of Rose's selective diet. She can't actually eat or drink anything anymore. Well. She can. But it all tastes like ash and sits just as well. ]

Oh.

[Oh.

[...Rey blinks, silent for several seconds while what Rose said eventually registers. Never mind the abrupt change of color on her face.]

Right. Um. What do you like? [While aware of Rose's selective diet, there has to be something that she can enjoy a little here.]

[ Ha. Rose wishes in this moment that she had a camera. A mental picture of that face Rey makes will have to do for now though. Either way, she doesn't dwell on it or seem keen to embarrass the woman any further. ]

I used to like Long Islands. It was like five drinks in one, who can beat that? But as for right now, maybe just... tea. Maybe that won't be so bad.

[You are a kinder soul than most, Rosie.]

Tea. All right. [Pause.] We don't have a kettle and stove down here, but if you don't mind going up to the casino floor... Can make you something there.

[Firo won't mind them going back to his abode, hopefully.]

[ She tries. ... Most of the time. ]

Yeah, that's cool. [ Any other time Rose might make more inappropriate jokes about being invited away from the main party with Rey, but- Not now. She's actually a bit interested to see if the tea will stay down.

She doubts it but she has to at least keep trying. She promised. And even though she's broken that promise already, she wants to keep trying. It's all she can do anymore. ]

Let's head on up.

[It's more self-restraint than what Rey is used to seeing from Rose, so that's something.

[As they head up the stairs, Rey does remember what Rose had said about what had been done to her in Haven. Reminds her a lot of how she had spent several years of her own life, unable to enjoy food due to how her senses were manipulated. No doubt it was a type of punishment, and also a strong deterrent from many social affairs.

[In the back room at the casino, she sets up a settle, some hot water, and their meager selection of tea. She doesn't bother asking Rose what she'd like, since it might all be the same to her.

[While kettle starts to boil, it's a waiting game.]

How long has it been since you've last eaten? Guess Hope hasn't been able to get you what you've been needing.

[ Maybe she's learning, a little bit, to think before she speaks. In reality, it's more likely that she's just tired of the path she wanders down when she starts saying flirtatious things and they're treated a bit more seriously. It's hard to tell which with her these days. ]

Since the Null invasion. Don't want Hope to waste his energy even if he could get it because- I'd rather him use it on more important things.

[ Like bringing Sorrow back, which is unsaid but implied in almost every reference Rose makes to the gods these days. Come back. I miss you already. ]

Also got told I shouldn't rely on them anymore anyway, so.

[In some way, Rey almost regrets suggesting that Rose go to the gods for help, if they couldn't provide her with a more permanent solution.]

Take it there's no way they could undo whatever's been done to you, then.

[Just a guess. Rey can understand not wanting to become too dependent on the gods, but...]

You shouldn't have to rely on anyone. Not for that shit.

[ It's not her fault. She couldn't have known. Rose should have figured, considering the exact of what was done to her is a giant question mark. All she knows is that it shouldn't have been possible and yet- The Yao Corporation had a habit of doing that, didn't they? Bending reality to their whims. Rose isn't sure why she ever imagined Kite's experiments would be different. That they had to make any semblance of sense. ]

Not that I know of. I was relying on Wade Wilson back in Haven because he could regenerate but since I've gotten here, that's... [ Complicated. ] He's basically made it clear he wants nothing to do with me anymore and I can't blame him. Then it was Hope when I couldn't stand it anymore and, well. We know how that's going now, which is not.

[ Rose didn't want to rely on anyone. Even in Haven, she had hated asking Wade for help to the point that she almost killed herself just so she wouldn't be a burden to anyone anymore. ]

[That's no good. Rose referred to her hunger as an "addiction", and that just makes it even more so.]

Might've been for the best. [Blunt, but honest. That's Rey for you. She can see that being totally reliant on one person, on one source, for survival can be unhealthy. And she's been there herself.]

If there was someone who could reverse what was done to you, and not one of the gods, would you take that?

[Anything is better than being in a situation where you feel like a burden to others. Just dead weight.]

[ That's what it had felt like at its height, honestly. Nothing else mattered beyond eating. Nothing else mattered beyond the next amount of flesh she'd get; she didn't care how she got it. Or from who. ]

Probably. The whole thing was... kind of fucked up. [ Especially considering Wade kind of seemed to get off on it. She's not gonna' go there though. ]

I don't know. It'd depend on what it cost them.

[ Rose doesn't want to owe anyone anything or have anyone go out of their way for her. She isn't worth that kind of trouble. ]

Edited 2018-01-16 12:22 (UTC)

[It's probably a good thing that Rose doesn't go there. There are some things Rey just doesn't need to know about, and "guy gets off on being eaten by a pretty monster lady" is not one of them.]

Sounds like it.

[That's all she has to say about that.]

Don't worry about the cost. [Rey will work something out, somehow.]

Edited 2018-01-17 03:04 (UTC)

[ Yeah, it was

not one of her finer moments. ... Especially considering she was a little into it, too. ]

I'm going to, [ Rose says, not accepting that for an answer. ] If you're going to shoulder the cost then I owe you.

[Well, who is Rey to judge. She can't even remember the last time she considered herself "into" something.]

If we're doing this, it won't be from the gods. So the debt is neither here nor there. That is only a last resort, anyway.

[The kettle whistles. And Rey turns her attention to that, pouring a couple mugs of whatever tea there is on hand up here.]

For nearly a century, I couldn't eat. Rather, couldn't enjoy eating. It was... a chore. Not because I was picky or anything. Food just didn't taste right to me. It was foul. Made me want to vomit. Used to dread the next meal.

Most people take that shit for granted. But I sure as hell wouldn't wish that on anyone else.

But I'll still owe someone. I'm not letting this be done for nothing, is all I'm saying.

[ Rose refuses to owe anyone anything. Not anymore. She curls her hands around the mug provided contemplatively, staring at the darkening water. She'll let it sit for a moment before trying but she already knows what the result will be. ]

That's exactly how it is for me. I remember what it tastes like, but when I actually eat it just... It turns to ash in my mouth and goes down just as terribly. Usually sits like a rock too and if I don't puke it up I'm miserable for days after.

[ She hasn't really talked about what a horrible experience it was, trying to eat at first and suffering through it all. ]

[Fair enough. Rey can't say that she would feel any different if someone were offering to do the same for her.

[She shrugs.] Fine. Will accept rainchecks, until we can figure out something.

[That's about as much as she can say about that.]

So. What sort of food did you like the most, before all of that? [Rey finally asks after a quiet moment, thinking about the first time she had eaten anything herself after lifetimes of suffering the same way.]

[ Raincheck. Alright. Rose can do that. In fact, she's already drumming up ideas for how she can pay Rey back in the future... It's the least she can do for her help in this. ]

Cheeseburgers, probably. I miss animal meat especially because, y'know, wolf. But there's nothing that beats a really good burger.

[ It's now she finally takes a sip of her tea and

for flavored water, it's surprisingly terrible. Ashen, just as she'd expected. ]

[It isn't something Rey is going to hold over Rose's head and remind her of all the time. If anything it's nothing but repaying the fact that she cared enough for Rey to kick down her door during her isolation, no matter how small the effort to her might be.]

Might be hard to pull off cheeseburgers here, but wouldn't put it past some people. [They don't have a supply of cows to keep them stocked on beef, but there are the shops.] We had this amazing Chinese restaurant when I was staying in Chicago. Always loved their spring rolls. [Meat isn't always a necessity for Rey.

[She stops then when Rose sips her tea, expectantly, and then grimaces.] That bad?

[ Even if it's not Rey's style, Rose has owed people enough before. She wants to avoid it if she can... Plus, she doesn't take the things she does into consideration as anything more than what she should. ]

Me neither. People have done awesome stuff with the weird fruit in the orchard. Or so I've been told. Still, that sounds... good. I miss decent Chinese food too actually.

[ As for the tea, Rose glances down at it and sighs. ]

Yeah, pretty bad. It's just... so gross. It all is.

The orchards have been a godsend. A lot of the shit we make here is mixed with some of the stuff that grows from there.

[She's grateful that Sorrow provided them with the means to produce the alcohol they make for themselves, seeing that they'd be screwed many times over if he or Delight were providing any still.]

Would plain water be any better? Not sure if dehydration works the same way as starvation does for you. [But she's trying, for now.]

Yeah, it's... M'glad that people are helping to keep it maintained.

[ For more personal reasons than just how resourceful it is, Rey can likely gather. ]

Plain water is fine. Just anything with flavor, it basically all tastes the same. And it's gods awful.

[ She is trying, at least, and Rose appreciates that a lot more than she can properly express. ]

Same. [The reasons are definitely obvious enough to Rey that she doesn't have to dwell on it much. She hadn't been at all active in the maintenance of the orchards when she was too busy cooping herself up in her room for weeks.

[At least that's over for now.]

Mm. Will get you some water, then.

[Rose is free to do whatever she wishes with the tea. Not like Rey will take offense if she decides to dump it down the drain.

[While Rey goes to get a glass, she adds:] Why is it that your kind eat human meat?

[She isn't exactly well-read on Asian folklore, so that stuff is totally lost on her.]

[ That's, uh. That's actually exactly what she's going to do. At least, in this case, there's no worry about offense taken; she's had to awkwardly turn down her fair share of meals since she got here. ]

Ah, it's- Complicated. Uhm. [ Rose knows, but it can always be a little tricky explaining to other people just what yokai are. What that means. ]

In my world, ki is life energy. Everyone has it. Us yokai are made of it, actually, but ours is tainted by negative human emotions. That's what makes us demons. My people are born of fear. Specifically, the fear of walking alone in mountain passes at night. If someone trips, we eat them. It's just... what we were born to do. [ Not the most fun of existences. ] In some weird roundabout way, it's almost like keeping people safe? Enough of them get eaten, they invest in better shoes or walk in groups.

We don't have to eat them to survive though. We used to hunt sheep, I was told, but then... people hunted us almost to extinction because of us eating their livestock. So we went into hiding but then continued to eat people as a kind of 'fuck you' to them, I guess. My parents hated humans. I never really got it though.

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cw: mention of suicide attempt

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