hadriel_logs | Event Log: In Need of a Boat

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Event Log: In Need of a Boat

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the In Need of a Boat event
Where: All over the city
When: July 20th-July 30th
Warnings: Emotional stuff. You know.

All right, so the gods need your energy. That's not new. You mostly know how this goes... except now it's all in your hands. Instead of the gods forcing emotion on you, it's up to you to pledge yourself to a god and inspire their emotion in others, in order to get the best ships and sails and compasses and all those other things.

So what are you going to do? Set up an elaborate date to make someone feel love... then use the setup for five other people? Wow, scandalous. Start fights in the street? Ooh, spicy! Or maybe you'll lead a yoga and meditation workshop in an attempt to help others find their inner tranquility. How relaxing.

Whatever you do, make the most of it. How many supporters each god has, and the effort they put into what they're doing, directly affects how nice the things they'll end up making are. So if you want food that actually tastes good, lend Hope a hand, but if you want sails that aren't full of holes, well, maybe it's time to work on your streetfighting skills. Rage needs you! And each of the gods definitely appreciates your help. Probably. They might even remember your name this time.

► This log covers July 20th-30th.
► 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 your efforts to empower the gods somehow end in a body count, please let us know here.

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Would it be too ironic if he said that in the beginning, when he arrived, he addressed the so-called gods as demons? They did exactly what Zorc did, but he decides not to make that evident, of course. But the fact that Caedra already marks a difference means their nature might be different. It's a little intriguing.

"Zorc Necrophades." Mentioning that name already has him frowning, as Caedra might be able to notice. He studies the demon's face for a second, see if there is any recognition at all — he doesn't quite expect it, but one can't never be too sure.

"'Great Evil God', as it called itself, all it wanted was, and I quote, the total and absolute annihilation of all life." That's said with a little sigh as he gives a little sip to his glass. "A bit of a waste, if you ask me. It was summoned into the our world with dark magic, by accident, even." Not by accident if it was all Zorc's ultimate plan, twisting other's minds, telling little lies until it got what it wanted, but Atem prefers to see it that way. And that's pretty much what he may be able to say without going into much detail.

Edited 2018-07-30 00:26 (UTC)

"Zorc Necrophades?" she repeats with a grin, voice full of ridicule. "What sort of name is that? Just throw in words for 'death' from more languages, why don't they!" It's just a bit dramatic for her taste, but subtlety isn't common among her kind, in truth. It can't be the creature's real name, anyway, just something to tell the mortals.

"Anyway, I'm sure you didn't get to know it personally, so wanting nothing more than annihilation of all life is quite a reasonable thing for it to have told you. No surprise there." And it's a shame that Atem doesn't seem to know anything more, nothing useful to her at all, but it's likely that most mortals panic so intensely at the sight of her kind that they can't think about much else other than killing them, driving them back to the depths. There would be so much more they could learn, if only they knew the right questions to ask. But it benefits demonkind that they generally don't.

"Hey--I didn't name it." But, sure, it is, a bit too on the nose. Sure he didn't feel like laughing at that name when he was getting the beating of his life from it.

"Nah, we never had the chance to go to bar or anything like that." Though, they did play card games... Did that count?

"So? I answered, tell me more about you. What's so special about you?" If there is anything at all. It's a way farfetched question, obviously he doesn't expect a truthful answer, or a detailed one at any rate but, it's also painfully obvious for everyone trapped in here that their lives are in a pause, whatever they were doing at their worlds doesn't mean anything here.

How does she want to answer a question like that? She doesn't mind taking her time to drink her wine and consider her answer. For Caedra, existing in this place might be temporary - ought to be, will be if she has any say in how things go - but she already knows that the multiverse is a big place, and that it's possible to go from world to world without the 'help' of the Door. If she gathers enough information on certain people and their worlds here, she may be able to determine ways to visit them later with the backup of Amamot's armies. These people, likewise, might attempt to summon her, to bind her to their will, if they know how, if they know enough about her. Or they might try to stave off an attack once they know it could happen.

All reasons to withhold information. This place does not exist in isolation. Some of them are finally beginning to realize that. And so of Caedra's many varied roles under Amamot's rule, only a few can be mentioned to these people.

"I'm a writer. A poet, mostly, although I help to maintain some of the archives, where I live. We have histories dating back long before humans rose from the soil, though I'm no scholar and have only skimmed through the records. Most of what I'm involved in are current projects, all of which are extremely classified. Think of me as - hm. Well, we don't have the sort of organized, strict roles some of your societies do, but perhaps an advisor or councilor is... something equivalent."

About half of that is true, but it's still close enough to get the general point across to him. The untrue parts are purely for simplification's sake. She's a spy, a consort, and quite a lot of other things that she simply is unwilling to bring up with someone she has only just met, even if he does seem like an agreeable sort.

"A poet and advisor. Hmm, no wonder now how's that you managed to get some people to trust you."

He cannot hold the bitterness in his tone. He never thought he would have to be so wary of someone he had trusted with his life before after all.

"I do have a way with words, and with people," she agrees, raising an eyebrow.

Of course, that only applies when she wishes it to. Most of the people here aren't worth her time and she's quick to pick up on when someone is never going to be of any benefit to her. Sure, some of the warm, friendly, cuddly sorts here might also have things about them that she could use, but it's too much effort when it's already exhausting to be around mortals all day long. Best to cultivate the few who know who and what she is, and what she's like, and appreciate her anyway.

"Is there a reason why you've decided to be so unpleasant directly to my face, though, Atem?" she cautions. She's been nothing but cordial this whole time, and the obvious belief of his that she isn't worth someone's trust - well. She's not, but you don't just tell someone that as if you're angry about it and expect that person to just take it in stride, do you? Any trace of a smile vanishes, as she watches him across the bar.

And thus, the question makes him exhale loudly, as if he were absolutely fed up with this, which, he might be, but quickly he shakes his head. He has to be more careful, but he's also spoiled and proud, it's a bad combination.

"You've killed some of my friends, just for fun, if I recall correctly. Excuse me if cannot bring myself to like it." Why lie about it?

A sinister smirk spreads across Caedra's lips at his comment. "Yes, that's probably true of many here by now. Which was it? Which little bugs were crushed that pained you so deeply?"

She can't help but gloat just a little. It's so much fun to see these people squirm. Would certainly be better if they screamed and ran, but the nature of their captivity makes that a harder thing to achieve than she would like. Some do scream and run anyway, though, even if they know their deaths will only be temporary.

Atem's jaw tenses, his eyes harden, but he just tries to breathe. Breathe and smirk.

"Heh, no, you haven't earned that answer yet." Though — damn, it could also be a total disaster not to simply say it. What could stop Caedra to simply go out there and start killing everyone just to annoy him a little bit. But he's not important, he's trying to keep himself that way, maybe Caedra will just forget it.

Meanwhile he just tries to chill by downing his wine and serving himself a little more, hell, he even offers more at the demon. He's so bad at this chilling business and it's easy to tell.

"What did you promise those who apparently care about you anyway? Can you give it to them?"

She slides her glass toward him as he offers the refill, while chuckling at his answer. She has her guesses, of course. Mostly Margaery. The others didn't seem to matter to as many people as that human who can sew. She must be very endearing - but Caedra wouldn't know. They've never really spoken, aside from a few casual words leading up to her death.

"I haven't promised anything," Caedra says with a shrug, and pauses to have a drink of the wine. "Truly. Some people just find me agreeable, and I them. Even someone like me is allowed to have friends, you know."

Those words do seem to reach him, he keeps his eyes on Caedra's longer than he actually wants to — they are terrifying after all — as if he were looking for the lies in them.

"Do you know what that actually entails?" This time, his tone is more normal, curious even. A demon talking about friends? It's uncanny, unheard of, unlikely. A little frightening, even, as it does not match anything he's ever been told.

"What, friendship? Of course I do."

Because she remembers having actual friends, when she was human. And because she knows what it is to love and care for someone, to trust and to protect someone. Even if those words and feelings do not truly apply to any of the people here. Those she would call 'friends' here only earn a loose definition of the term. Closer to an alliance, but a comfortable one. There are people here she actively seeks out when she wants companionship, when she wants to be entertained or comforted, when she wants conversation. She benefits from having people who she likes, and who like her in return. It's self-serving, but it looks like friendship from the outside, and so it's an easy word to use, even if she is incapable of true empathy.

"That's... That's a surprise."

One he didn't see coming, nor he thinks he's going to be able to understand any time soon. To think he could agree on something with a demon is just something he cannot come to imagine. There is a missing piece in this puzzle and he might not really be able to find it right now. It could be lying, for all he knows.

"I guess that means you truly are a little bit special." He nearly whispers the words, incredulity imprinted in his words. Caedra is different, more like it, at least compared to the terrible creature he came to meet in the past. Zorc was (is) more like a primal force than anything after all.

"While I appreciate your attempt at a compliment, what it truly means is that you don't know much about us. It sounds like, having met one demon, you assume you know them all."

As is true with most of the material plane's creatures. A 'force of nature' is, in fact, one of the ways the endless hordes of the Abyss are often described, because that is the side of them that these mortals usually know best. Caedra is only special in that she is trapped without her usual social outlets and must make do with what she has - and mortals, it turns out, are sometimes easier to trust if only because most of them lack the means to stab her in the back.

"Heh, it wasn't quite a compliment, but if you wanna take it that way, suit yourself." It goes with a little playful shrug.

"But, can you really blame me? It only took one to destroy all I knew and loved. And let's be real, what you've been doing since you got here doesn't help change the perspective, nor I think you'd want to change that."

Edited 2018-07-30 02:52 (UTC)

He's certainly not wrong, of course, but she doesn't necessarily want to reinforce that. It's more useful if he thinks of her as potentially good in some way. So she just has a drink, and nods a little, smile easing back into something that looks a little more genuine.

"I simply mean there's more to us than you seem to have expected. We're a very old people, you know, and each one of us is an individual. You shouldn't make such sweeping generalizations. One might have a tendency to kill, another might prefer to destroy parks, or buildings - but one will love, and one will sing, and one will make grand works of art, the likes of which even the angels praise."

Maybe for skill. Certainly not for content. The lust for violence runs inherent through even the most creative of the tanar'ri.

Love...?

Caedra's words have him thinking, that's for sure, but it is not all so simple, is it? But that sole world has him doubting even further. It's lying, surely it is lying.

"What does a demon know of love?"

It is not in their nature to love, after all. Everyone knew that. Unless, again, he's missing something bigger here, it sure feels like it. He's not sure if he wants to know, it's easier just to give into what's familiar, his undeniable hate for all that's evil, but he had to ask.

"You are naive."

It's a good thing for his sake that she's feeling pleasant about this whole interaction right now. It brings her to tease him, rather than to take offense. While it's true that love isn't necessarily a widespread emotion in her people, and that their definition of it likely differs greatly from what some mortals consider love to be, it's still real. Still intensely felt, and incredibly valuable.

"It's one of the things that separate us from the devils, you know. They marry for power and politics and yet feel nothing. We don't care for rules or laws, would never agree to marriage, but we feel everything."

A gross simplification, but she's proud of the truth behind it.

That's an accurate way to call him. Atem doesn't even seem to take offense on the words, and they manage to bring some color to his already pale cheeks — he'd blame the wine, of course. Even the personification of the Darkness had called him that before, but the tone was entirely different. He tilts his head a little as the other speaks, blatant doubt in his eyes, however interested. It couldn't possibly be the same love he's felt for others, can it?

"Selfishness is the complete opposite of love, though."

"Is it? According to who? I don't think they're mutually exclusive, and certainly one of our captors here who bears the name Love seems to encourage selfishness and self-indulgence."

Not every romance is some sort of fairy tale. In fact, it's probably for the best that most aren't, Caedra has learned. The stories they tell each other reinforce the idea that sacrifice, martyrdom, and dependence on another person for one's happiness are somehow ideal. Atem likely isn't talking about anything that extreme, sure, but Caedra knows - from very personal experience - that two extremely selfish people can still find themselves drawn to each other. And that doesn't even begin to touch on non-romantic love, a thing she also has plenty of familiarity with.

Is he going to lose to a demon based on a mere technicality? This is absolutely lame, there is no way to support his claim. Specially when he has no real experience when it comes to romance, which many would think it's just another expression of love, but he is just mostly a kid, a dumb one even, to Caedra's eyes, and no, that claim wouldn't be wrong.

But also, it wouldn't be wrong to assume he wouldn't go to the extremes just for "love", he gave his life for his people after all, to save them. He also wouldn't mind doing it again. If anything, Caedra might actually be a little saner than him in regards that area.

"Can't say I agree..." He allows a little pause to settle in, sip on the wine and whatnot, though he seems thoughtful. "What have you done in the name of love, Caedra?"

"That's far too personal a question for someone I've only just met," she replies quickly, though with a smile. "Although as a poet, I've done my share of writing on the topic. It's admittedly not my favorite subject - much too overdone, really - but even I indulge sometimes."

She had mentioned she's a writer, earlier, just not what kind. She just loves words, in many languages. Loves twisting and manipulating them, too, but there is beauty in the way they can be used to describe the most complex of feelings - or the way they can lend complexity to what ought to be simple.

And despite her usual preferences, she has been writing more about love while here than ever. How could she not? It's the only way she has to bridge the vast gap between her and the one she misses most.

Denying him of a true answer has him frowning a little — pouting a little, even — he's too used to get what he wants after all, but it also ignites a new sort of curiosity, one to find out more about this demon little by little. Again, it's impossible not to think of this a little game, just another puzzle to the collection. It feels wrong, and yet, here he is.

"Then we should probably meet more often." It's a invitation he cannot believe he's offering so truthfully, but it might also help. It sure is not quite his style, but so far, that said style hasn't helped in this place, it might be time for a new approach; he hadn't been raised to be king for nothing, he never truly liked it, but it might come in handy for once.

Edited 2018-07-31 02:15 (UTC)

"Should we? Why, just so you can get to know me better?" She raises an eyebrow.

Look, she's used to receiving that sort of invitation from people who want something much more physically intimate than what this kid is probably suggesting. There are absolutely limits to how young she will take them.

Besides, while she doesn't mind this little chat, it's hard to know why she would take him up on future ones. She can't imagine he has much else to offer that interests her.

"Yeah, that's how you usually get to know others."

What a little smartass. Whatever is going in Caedra's mind, it's more than obvious it's something that doesn't go through his.

"Don't worry, it's not like we are gonna be friends or anything, you don't have to be so scared."

He teases anyway. What is there to lose? His life? Been there, done that, it's nothing new to him. It's true that he might not have anything to offer — not that he thinks he does anyway — but he's gotta try, there could be so much to win.

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