hadriel_logs | Event Log: The Beach Episode

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Event Log: The Beach Episode

Who: Everyone!
What: The event log for the transition to our new planet!
Where: The city, which has now been fragmented onto four separate islands.
When: May 27th-June 10th
Warnings: Surf's up! If by 'surf', you mean separation from your friends, weird sea creatures, and cold rainfall.

The sun and the sand and a drink in your hand- well, it all sounded pretty nice when you voted for the island planet, but ultimately what you're getting is a bit less glamorous.

The transition takes place instantaneously, with very little noteworthy shakeup, though those of you who are particularly in-tune with the supernatural may feel a bit dizzied or nauseated by the sudden movement. And that's exactly what it is: for those of you who are outside, the change is fairly noticeable, as in the span of a single blink, what used to be miles of desert is now rocky ocean. The city is simply in one place one moment, and then somewhere entirely new a second later.

And that somewhere new is exciting! The islands have plenty of landscape to explore and weather conditions to adjust to, fish to catch, and- wait, how do you get to the other islands? What if your friends or your home or the bar is on these other islands? Enjoy having to figure out who is where and how you're going to get by with only a small fraction of the city to work off of- hopefully those boats will come sooner rather than later...

► This log covers May 27th-June 10th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
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► If you drown or get eaten by an alien shark, let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Little boxes that go up and down between floor? Motorized, of course. [ What a fascinating idea! ]

My dreams. Though we Elves don't draw such a sharp line between dreams of the night, dreams of the day, and visionary experience. For us, they're all on a continuum. Normally I have a great deal of control over these, and I can in fact make a vision and project it into another's mind. I don't do that under ordinary circumstances, and I would never do it without a person's consent. And I was, let us say, very surprised to find somebody inside my dream, fiddling around with the dream environment.

What did you lose, Alice?

Yeah, they're motorized. No one would wanna use them if they weren't.

That's kind of rude, fucking around with your dreams. Did you get 'em back?

[her expression darkens]

My foot. I was stuck limping around like an idiot for an entire week.

Nope. I guess the alternative would be having a team of hefty workers dragging the box up on ropes that wind around a crankshaft, kind of like hauling a bucket up out of a well. [ No thank you! ]

It was a bit rude. I didn't strike back, but she was a bit disconcerted when I flung her out of my dream. I meant it to be disconcerting.

Your foot? Did you lose the use of your foot, or did you lose the foot altogether? That sounds really inconvenient, either way!

And no one's gonna volunteer for that job, no matter how much you pay 'em.

A "bit" rude? I'd say it's really rude. I'd hate it if someone fucked with my mind like that. But disconcerting is good?

I lost the entire foot. It sucked.

I certainly wouldn't! [ Laughing. What an awful job! ]

I did hate having my dream invaded. I hope it never happens to you. Yes, disconcerting is good! It's the next best thing to vengeance.

Your entire foot?? How did you get around? Did you find some crutches or have somebody make some for you?

Vengeance is the next best thing to vengeance. I'd do something to get them back.

I found crutches. It was humiliating.

[ He laughs a little. ] I would have said that, too, when I was back in my own world. My whole family would have said it. We certainly lived that belief! But now, it's a little more complicated.

Why, have you ever had occasion to get back at someone?

At least you found the crutches and could get around. But I see what you mean. It is humiliating to suddenly find yourself without a body part, and have no way of getting it back until the gods are finished extracting the last little bit of advantage from your loss.

Why's it so complicated? Either you get payback or you don't.

Well, they say that the best way of getting over one man is by fucking another. [it didn't work]

Yeah, I've gotta say that these local gods? Not a fan.

Here in Hadriel, it becomes complicated because you cannot simply kill a person. They are resurrected in a few days, and then the cycle starts all over again. Of course, if you aren't going for murder, you have that problem anyway. They attack you, you get them back, they get all mad and aggrieved and come for you again, then you have to respond again. . . and it never ends.

You got your revenge on a man by hooking up with another? Did it make the first one mad?

Nobody's a fan of these local gods. We'd all like to be out of this place.

That sucks. So if something does something shitty to you, you have to suck it up and deal?

Of course it did. Men are possessive. [a lie]

I'd sure like to be. I was expecting New York, not this. [she gestures around herself to encompass all of Hadriel as "this"]

Yes. Or else engage in endless rounds of injury and enmity. Hadriel is a small town. You can't really get away from each other.

Well, then you got your vengeance! Was it satisfying to make that possessive man suffer?

You were on your way to New York when you were snatched by the Door and brought here? [ He follows her glance and looks at the trees, the rocky beach in the distance, the misty sea. He supposes that if a person were expecting a big, busy city, they'd be terribly disappointed by this! ]

That sucks. This is why I never wanted to live in a small town, everybody's involved in everyone else's business.

Of course it was. [another lie]

Yeah. I opened the door out of Customs and landed face first here. [this is such a disappointment, she can't even describe it. she's always lived in big cities and has always had the ability to pick up and leave a situation she didn't like. now, she no longer has that option]

[ Small, wry laugh. ] That's a pretty good description of our reality here. I was born in a city that was larger than Hadriel by at least a couple of tens of thousands of people, but it was impossible to avoid anyone there, either.

[ Oh, but who doesn't lie about matters in which deep emotion is involved? It's a very human thing to do.]

Ouch. You came through Customs? I understand the concept. Once my brothers and I had established our own lands, I took over a lot of the administrative work. I appointed a few of my soldiers to inspect any goods that came to us up the rivers by boat or across the hills by cart. No one paid taxes on trade goods, but it was a good idea to make sure that what we received was what we had paid for. Is your Customs anything like that?

[she groans and buries her face in her hands briefly] I'm fucked. That's all there is to it.

[but does everyone habitually lie about their identity?]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. They ask you if you have anything to declare that's worth something and if you don't, they stamp your passport and you're on your way.

Maybe not. It pays to have friends here, and to be a good friend to whoever offers you the gift of friendship. It is a bulwark against the less savory aspects of Hadriel.

[ Maybe not everyone lies about their identity, but those who do pretty often have good reasons. Survival reasons. ]

And so you were on your way. . . out the door and through the Hadriel Door! What a day.

...yeah, about that. I've never been any good at making friends. I've always been kind of a loner.

[a partial lie. she's always been part of a couple. when she's not, she tends to spiral badly. and the reasons why she lies about her name have nothing to do with survival and everything to do with self-esteem]

Uh-huh. Face-planted right into the dirt. Not one of my finer moments.

Outside of my family, I was like that, too -- for a long time. I knew how to approach others, but I only did it in the interests of trade or of alliances in war. But once I had left my own world, it became a necessity to make friends. You should have seen me floundering! I still flounder. [ He is a little bit amused at himself. ]

[ Survival and self-esteem may well be intertwined! ]

Face-plant right in the middle of the Colosseum, with some horrible ugly monster licking its chops over you?

I had no problem approaching customers. My tips were always the best in the club. But there's something a little different between approaching strangers at a strip club and approaching strangers you're gonna have to live with for fuck only knows how long.

[then Alice she'll remain for the foreseeable future]

Uh-huh. Only it was those creepy flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz." They're even creepier in person.

[ He looks a little puzzled for a moment, and then he gets it that she's talking about the sex trade. This was not unknown in his world, though it was not a thing that Elves did. He had heard of it via his mortal allies. ]

Yes, I imagine so. We have no way of knowing how long we'll be here in Hadriel, and so with every stranger we approach, we must be aware that if we make a mistake, that mistake may come back to haunt us. [ Wry smile. ] Or someone else's mistake may serve the same purpose.

Flying monkeys? What'll they think of next?? But obviously, you escaped with your life.

[Jane walked into a strip club and got a job the day of her eighteenth birthday and other than a brief stint as a waitress, it's all she's ever done]

So far, everyone's been nice. Which is weird. I was expecting a lot more assholes, given that we're all prisoners here.

Yeah, thanks to a soldier named Carolina. She just [she makes a swooping motion with her hand] swooped in to my rescue.

I'm glad you have had only good experiences with people here. And this Carolina, she must have been able to fly! Good for her, it will stand her and others in good stead in this island world.

Nah, she couldn't fly exactly. But she might as well have. I'll tell you one thing, though, I'm never going near that arena again.

Whatever her capabilities, it is good she was there for you! And the Colosseum is a dangerous place. You never know from month to month what kinds of creatures will be pulled in along with the new Hadrielites. Sometimes the monsters are more annoying than dangerous, but mostly, they're deadly. If you ever do go there again, get some weapons training first, and of course a weapon.

Weapons training and a weapon? Me? Are you serious?

[ He smiles. ] You wouldn't consider this one of your talents? Or a future talent?

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(cw: sex work)

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(cw: sex work)

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