hadriel_logs | Event Log: Home Sweet Home

Entry tags:

Event Log: Home Sweet Home

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the Home Sweet Home event
Where: All over the city
When: June 20th-July 2nd
Warnings: Nothing bad could ever happen now that you're home

It could happen at any moment- any action you do could be cut short by a sudden trancelike state, and so hopefully it happens when you're safe in your surroundings. And of course you're safe... after all, what could happen to you now that you're finally home?

Whether you don't remember Hadriel at all, or you just believe that this entire ordeal is over, you're home for good now, which is something worth celebrating. What happens in your home? Are you treated like royalty or just cast aside and forgotten? How are your friends doing? Your family? Everything is just as it should be and it's easy to get lost in it, even for an unlucky onlooker who may find themselves drawn into your trance and able to interact with you as you mill about your world and your reality.

Snapping out of it is the only way to end this trance, and you've got to eat and sleep at some point, but how can you go back now that you've been teased with what you desire (or maybe even fear) the most?

► This log covers June 20th-July 2nd.
► 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 die of homesickness let us know here.

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[Alphys is hesitant even on a good day, but without nearly 2 years of built up confidence in Hadriel, she's even more of a mess meeting strangers here. She nods hurriedly at Caedra's explaination, certainly not going to call her out on it or anything. Who knows! Not Alphys!]

Oh, no, i-it's okay! I was just, uhm, hanging out, here in the dump! Thinking about the, uh, big... hole. Yeah.

[Mmmm that sounds fucking stupid out loud. Her smile gets more strained. She must look like an idiot.]

But I mean! This isn't my spot or anything, I, uh, you don't have to leave, you d-don't even need to talk to me if you don't want! So! It's okay!

[Fantastic.]

[It's terrified, this one. Is this form terrifying to her? Good. Caedra's smile grows confident, and she sits down on the back pair of legs, clearly not leaving just yet despite the small dragonborn's apparent wish that she do so.]

No, no. It's quite all right. In fact, I'm very interested. What do you think about the big hole?

[May as well ask, maybe it's important or interesting rather than what it sounds like. But she intentionally asks as if it's something she already knows about, and just wants a new perspective.]

[Honestly, seeing her even vaguely human shaped would be MUCH scarier. Alphys is just a mess around any individual person she doesn't know, especially one she thinks she's already ruined conversation with. But she tries to get her to continue and Alphys swallows, missing entirely that the other woman might not know anything.]

I mean, it, uh-- I was just thinking about where the water could go! Like, how deep it might travel, or, uhm... w-what could be down there.

[Down into the abyss. Most of the trash gets caught up here, but... the water keeps flowing. Must go somewhere. But where?]

Ah. Has nobody ever tried to find out?

[A deep hole full of water sounds like the sort of thing someone might immediately want to explore, but it could also be quite dangerous. Or maybe this little dragonborn is just a child, and is wondering aloud about things that adults already know, as children do.

Caedra sits up again and patters forward on her many feet, returning to the water's edge. There is a lot of trash piled up along the banks, and she sees now just how unfamiliar so much of it is. And so much plastic, too, that odd substance that the wraeththu had told her about. Except that one had treated it as some sort of rare substance. Here, it is everywhere, piled in mounds of various shapes and sizes. Caedra looks over it all in fascination while her secondary face, that snake-like head, keeps its attention on her companion.]

[She rubs the back of her head, finally breaking eye contact to look towards the abyss herself.]

Well, it's not r-really important to most people, so, I don't think so. It's just super deep. I guess since the water never overflows, it has to let out somewhere. But anyone who tried to get down would p-probably be killed. So.

[Not really any monsters who can fly want to make such an expedition, and very few if any would be strong enough for such a thing. She's thought about building something, but maybe that would ruin the surprise. It's kind of nice, having that mystery.]

Right. Just a big hole, after all.

[So either this creature is remarkably dense, or her people have no curiosity. Doesn't really matter to Caedra either way. She takes note of the scenery, looking for anything to memorize as a landmark - though it's hard here, with how dark it is, and how there seems to be no skyline of any sort. Just endless water and trash, even if it's sort of pretty in its own strange way.

She crawls with her many legs up onto one of the trash piles and starts prodding through it, but loses interest quickly. Trash is trash, and she's no anthropologist.]

I can't say I've spent much time wandering around here before. So in my little bit of sightseeing, is there anything I should definitely see?

[Sorry, Caedra. There just aren't enough monsters to really go around.

She watches nervously, worried the other woman seems displeased, but at least she brings up another topic of conversation.]

Oh, a-are you from the city?

[If people don't have business out here, it makes sense they might not know what's up.]

Well, uhm... have you seen the wishing star cavern? With all the echo flowers, it's really beautiful.

I am.

[Right? It seems like the right thing to say. It offers the creature an explanation, probably, and she's happy to go along with that.]

And no, I haven't seen that, but it sounds lovely. Where do I find it?

Well, uh, it's a l-little further down this way, and then you hang a left, and...

[She's sort of pointing off to the right, but quickly realizing she cannot give directions.]

Uhh... I have to go that way to get back to my l-- house, uh, anyway. Towards Hotland. So. You can walk with me if you want, I guess, I d-don't mean to be imposing on your company or anything but it might be easier and there's tons of other places, uh, too, if you'd prefer!!

[As Caedra can see, she's a very put together individual.]

[Yeahhh. Yeah. Caedra will be patient here, in this unfamiliar world where there are so many new things to see that could be helpful some day down the road. She'll keep an eye on the water sources and the direction in which they flow, because if these creatures depend on this water, cutting it off or poisoning it could serve her well in the future. And she will follow her odd little host, all while being glad that she hasn't tried to speak to this one previously. Her patience only lasts so long.]

Go ahead, lead on. I did ask, after all, and you seem to know the way.

[Said with her best attempt at keeping hostility from edging into her voice, but her patience will only last so long.]

[Sorry Caedra, monsters are made of happiness and cute things :) No evil or meanness here. Impatience, sure, but certainly not what she's thinking. Alphys walks onto the path, pointing ahead.]

Of course! It's n-not far from here, so...

[The water gives way to marshy ground, grass interspersed with bioluminescent mushrooms to show the path. After a minute or two of silence, Alphys speaks up again.]

So, uh, what d-do you do? In the city?

[As beautiful as the little mushrooms are, Caedra makes no attempt to go out of her way to avoid stepping on any that might come underfoot. She has a tendency to stray slightly from the path as she follows vaguely along, but as she looks at the passing scenery she ends up crushing a few of those delicate little lights. Whoops. What a terrible shame.

The question is unexpected enough to stump her for a second. What does she do? What do any of these creatures do here? This one seems content enough to sit in a dump and wonder about a hole, so - not much, if that's anything to go by.]

Ah, well, I write. For myself, mostly, and sometimes for others. It's a quiet life. And I suppose I've mostly been content not to stray too far, but places like this are nice for inspiration.

[There, hopefully she didn't hesitate too long in coming up with that for the little thing to notice. But she's quick to deflect attention away from herself.]

But what about you, what do you do?

[She doesn't pay much attention if Caedra steps on the mushrooms- they give way quickly to crystals, pulsing with light from the tip. The sound of water trickles nearby as the stream picks up again, grasses beginning to thin out to rock.]

Oh! Like uh, a n-novelist? That sounds really peaceful.

[It's hard to find monsters who create art. Many don't have the time, with keeping society running. But she appreciates every single one, and it seems to be a satisfactory answer.

But oh no, questions about her.]

Well, uh, I'm a scientist! I do... science. Mostly robotics but, uh, recently different fields.

[Mmmm maybe lets not say Royal Scientist right now. If she hasn't been recognized, she might be able to fly under the radar and not get asked where people's family members are.]

Right. Like a novelist.

[Or a poet, but she feels no urge to correct the scaly little thing. Happy to let her get it wrong, to move on and learn more about this one instead as they walk.]

Robotics? [Right - or as she knows them, a mechanist. An artificer. Someone who creates with gears and metal and electrical currents. But as she has learned recently, there are some people who have taken their work farther than she could have realized possible and created people of metal, and not just objects. And the way this little creature says it so casually, it must be commonplace here. Enough where she probably shouldn't act surprised.]

This is - forgive me, I have always been curious. How are they made to think on their own? What is it that gives them life, that makes them more than just tools?

[Oh. Oh, she must have heard of her work after all. Alphys doesn't cringe, but does grit her jaw a moment before she can find it in herself to respond.]

Well, it's-- it's really just the one, that does that, I mean-- I know people don't really know o-other robots except for Mettaton, but not all robots are like that. Most you just program code in and they do the stuff they're programmed for. But uh, with Mettaton, that's... my work. Kind of? I mean, not kind of, I made a, uh, a-an artificial SOUL. So he's alive. Just like you and me!

[That's not a great answer, but she has no idea how technical to get here.]

So just... metal and magic, really! Not so d-different from a normal monster.

An artificial soul?

[Caedra does her best to mask her keen interest, but there's still an involuntary widening of the eyes that accompanies the explanation. This is not the first time she's heard of this concept, but it's still a foreign one, and not one she's sure she truly believes. If it's possible, though, it provides as many opportunities as it does questions.]

I - pardon me, that's a fascinating idea, though. I mean, as a writer, of course, the nature of the soul is something I'm very interested in. Can you tell me more? How can such a thing exist?

[With such interesting questions, she temporarily forgets any apprehension- maybe she can get around the uncomfortable parts of this.]

Well I think the concept of the SOUL has always been deeply researched, it's just, uhm-- w-well, the idea was breaking down the concept that we and our souls are primarily magic. So the key was replicating the thing that makes life from standard magic using code and processes. He's uh, basically an AI.

[And all of this is bullshit because she never actually did it but shhhhshhshshs.]

I don't think they could be mass produced or anything, but uh, t-that just makes him unique.

[Caedra listens. She doesn't really follow, not completely. It's so very different from how she would go about it - if souls are magic, isn't it easier to replicate them using magic after all? But she appreciates the attempted explanation. Maybe thinking back on it later will trigger new ideas.]

And - I'm not extremely familiar with him the way you must be, naturally. When speaking to him directly, does he seem believable? Like a creature with a soul, rather than just a machine?

[She nods a bit at her questions, absorbed now in the conversation.]

Oh yes! That's what makes him so incredible. He's just like any other monster, uhm-- you might have heard of him, though I don't know how big he is in the City. His name's Mettaton. He's, uh, he's trying to b-be a star, like human idols! If you go through Hotland on your way home you can stop by his resort. It's really pretty. I, uh... haven't been a lot, but! It is nice.

[Because she hasn't spoken to anyone in. A while. Least of all Mettaton, who keeps chasing his dream and only asking when his new body will be finished...]

Yes, I've heard a little.

[No she hasn't, other than in just these few minutes, but it's easy to run with the suggestion.]

Is his resort open to anyone? I'd love to see it. I'd love to meet him, if it's possible. It would be great material to write about. Do you think you could get me a meeting with him?

Oh! I mean, he uh, he d-does appearances, but I don't really have any ins with that sort of thing. He's very busy.

[And... doesn't seem to talk to her anymore unless he wants something from her, but she won't mention that part.]

I bet you could find out more, uhm, at the hotel. You can just go there whenever, and he does shows all the time.

All right, I'll do just that. You're very helpful, thank you.

[Hard to say those words but it's all part of the act. Sadly, Caedra has experienced a few of these dreams by now - and her tenuous hold on reality reminds her that yes, this is just a dream.

She doesn't have tons of tiny little legs, nor does she have a snake head for a tail. A bummer. It also means she will never meet this robot, will never go to his hotel.

It's a crashing wave of realizations all at once, and it throws her out of the experience entirely, leaving her staring wide-eyed with a hand extended toward the little yellow dragonborn's shoulder, back solidly in Hadriel.]

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Event Log: Home Sweet Home

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