Event Log: The Beach Episode

[hadrielmods]

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!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you drown or get eaten by an alien shark, let us know here.

Comments

[so_dark_a_road]

[ 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?

[myrealname]

[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.

[so_dark_a_road]

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.

[myrealname]

...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.

[so_dark_a_road]

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?

(cw: sex work)

[myrealname]

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.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ 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.

(cw: sex work)

[myrealname]

[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.

[so_dark_a_road]

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.

[myrealname]

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.

[so_dark_a_road]

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.

[myrealname]

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

[so_dark_a_road]

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

[myrealname]

I've never held a gun in my life! Much less a sword or whatever else people here use to defend themselves.

[so_dark_a_road]

How did you defend yourself, then?

[myrealname]

I kick guys in the nuts. Or if I'm in the club, I get security and they take care of it.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ He laughs. ] That sounds like it would work. There's almost nothing a man values more than the family jewels!

We do have a security force, the City Guards. I'm one of them. But there aren't very many of us, and even with these wonderful phones, help may still be too far away to get there as soon as is needed. That's why I always suggest people start training in the martial arts.

[myrealname]

[she gives a wicked grin] And it works every time.

Yeah, but who'd wanna fight me? I'm just [she gestures towards herself] me.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ He grins back. ] I'll be very careful never to annoy you.

Perhaps no one ever would. I hope not. But Hadriel being the place it is, sometimes we have troublesome or violent people who manage to victimize others before anyone can do anything about it.

[myrealname]

Yeah? Who would those violent or troublesome people be? So I can avoid them.

[so_dark_a_road]

Well, there's a demon named Caedra. Her powers were diminished by the gods after she slew a friend of mine, Margaery Tyrell. Caedra has been playing it smooth since then, but if there is another murder in Hadriel, she'd be the first person I'd suspect of having committed it.

[myrealname]

[Jane looks incredulous]

Caedra? About this tall [holds her hand a couple of inches down from the top of her head] with black eyes and hair? That Caedra? A demon? No way.

[so_dark_a_road]

Yes, that's her! She's never tried to conceal what she is.

[myrealname]

[she still looks disbelieving]

Nuh-uh. She's an alien. She just happens to look a little different, that's all.

[so_dark_a_road]

Do you mean some kind of space alien? Did she tell you that?