Intro Log: Please Remove Metal From Luggage

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for August
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: August 10th-13th
Warnings: New folks, metal falling apart, fun stuff

As you wake up on the sand of the colosseum, gazing up at cloudy gray skies, you might wonder what you're doing here. Where are you? How did you get here? You'll figure it all out soon enough, so try to clamp down on that rising panic, or you just might end up in a dangerous situation.

Because, of course, you're not the only thing that arrived. The Door has also chosen to pull in some rust monsters. These monsters may look a bit like insects, but they're much larger, with a rather vicious bite. You can fight them, but be careful - anything metal that touches them instantly begins to corrode. Your sword, a bullet from your gun, even your robot friend. Might want to keep a little distance.

And that's not all. Scattered across the ground of the colosseum can be found a variety of unique and delightful musical instruments. If you're the musical sort, maybe you can figure out how to play one - or maybe you already know. Hopefully no rust monster has wandered too close to the one you want to try, or you might find that it's missing important metal bits.

Once you've found a way to express the song in your heart, feel free to leave whatever bit of safety you've found. 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 August 10th-13th.
► 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!

Comments

[deviledlegs]

[Ha. Haha. We all know how Sanji vs. the kitchen goes. But in his righteous fury, he'll master Hadriel's quirks within the week. Nobody will beat him in that damn kitchen. Nobody. He'd made that promise to Luffy two years ago, and he's going to keep it, whether Luffy's around to see or not.]

Her name is Caedra! The indomitable Miss Caedra! Don't forget your gratittude.

[And now that he's gotten that out of his system, he can finally bite into that fruit. A big, juicy bite. Aaaah, yes. This he can work with.]

I'll handle the shitty kitchen the same way I always have. [His eyes flash, determined.] Meals are the one thing you won't have to worry about on that ship of yours.

[hot_mes]

[there's a curious mix of reactions, hearing her name. Surprise but not surprise, amusement, and a touch of oh shit no. Well, he really can't be surprised at all, that if this idiot found his way near a woman it would definitely be Caedra. Ahahaha fuck his luck.]

I'm well acquainted with Caedra-ya. She'll kill you, you know. [casually

Right, the ship. He only sort of mentioned it yesterday, now's as good a time as any to be frank with the cook.]

I wouldn't have wished anyone being pulled through the Door, but now that you're here, you'll be an important member of the crew. I want to rely on the gods as little as possible, so a good cook who can figure his way around the fish we catch on the way is exactly what we needed. [his eyes flick down as if actually looking for Sanji's pockets] How much have you caught up on? Did you find the phone you were given?

[deviledlegs]

What more could I possibly fear when she's already stopped my heart with her smile? [Sanji raises the half-eaten fruit like a Shakespearean actor would raise a skull.] She'll be the beauteous orchid blooming among your crew's thorny bastards! And I'll be the one to cultivate her vibrant colors with utmost love and care! Just as I would any-

[Sanji stops waxing poetic when he realizes Law is saying something important this time. He blinks rather stupidly, fruit still raised above his head.]

A phone? I found something. No snail though. I guess that does make sense. A phone snail without a snail would just be... a phone.

[Awkwardly, he reaches into his pocket and pulls it out.]

I was a bit preoccupied. Didn't bother giving it a thorough check.

[hot_mes]

[yeah yeah dial it back bro, he doesn't care about your flower metaphors. Don't kick him when you find out why he knows Caedra so well...]

That's the one. It's a little more flashy than a den-den mushi but works the same. There's a file on it somewhere that details a lot about this place, in case no one's told you some things like. Who we're fighting, what the Door is, so on and so forth.

But. No time like the present, I suppose. Otherwise I would just go hang out at the clinic as usual, but no one's seriously hurt at the moment.

[deviledlegs]

[Sanji will reserve his kicks for if Law ever fails to appreciate Caedra for the stunning beauty she is. Law should be more worried about being coerced into kissing Caedra's shoes than being kicked for being intimate with a woman when Sanji isn't watching. Sanji will be jealous, sure, and he'll totally take it out on Law, but if he's not allowed to touch Caedra because this shit is serious, then Law has to pamper her for him. Or else.]

Some sort of gods, right?

[He eyes the phone screen as his thumb idly brushes the edge. Thoughts of Enel flit through his head, and he gulps back his urge to light up a cigarette. He's not afraid, not in the least, but it does bother him that dealing with something god-like could take time that he doesn't want to waste, time Law has apparently already had to let slip by.]

[hot_mes]

[oh Sanji...prepare for disappointment when you learn...]

Don't take the word too seriously. It's shorthand, no one knows what else to call them. Creatures, beings, assholes...

[he meanders closer, taking another bite of fruit, and finds a tree trunk to lean against]

I've been studying them, actually. They're noncorporeal beings, but hardly immortal given that all but two were killed off at one point. The bothersome thing about them is that they feed off emotion, so at any given time one or all of them might be trying to inspire their chosen flavor in the populace. They don't really understand humans well, though, so their efforts can be heavy-handed or ineffectual.

However you come to feel about them and their manipulations, they're not the enemy. That distinction belongs to the Null, who aren't present and if all goes well shouldn't be, but that's a longer story.

[deviledlegs]

["So they're mystery people," Sanji can hear his captain's voice in his head. He has to stifle the slightest of smiles, determined to understand the situation better than Luffy would ever care to.]

So, these... assholes. [Sure. Sanji can go with that one. It's the most cathartic to say.] They aren't with us, but they aren't against us. They need us around if they want their next meal.

The real enemies are off on vacation. [He narrows his eyes, though not in any accusing way. There's a question there as he lands them on Law, but he doesn't ask it.] Licking their wounds, I'd hope.

[He sighs as he slides the phone back into his pocket. He can read through the details later, after he's heard Law's take on things. Honestly, Law's opinion matters more than the facts in Sanji's mind. He's grown too used to ignoring common sense in the wake of Luffy's stubbornness.]

You're not going to sea to escape, are you?

[hot_mes]

[one slow nod. Sanji's a quick read on the situation, good to see]

Should be. About...hm, ten months ago or so, there was a massive battle in the city. They came to kill us all. We fought for two weeks before we finally beat them back.

[easy to say now, but there's definitely an undertone to his voice that suggests it was possibly one of the worst things he's been through]

No, not in the least. We've gotten information that parts of the Door - the same one that brought you here - are scattered across this world. We're a couple of days away from finishing preparations to go looking for them.

[deviledlegs]

[A two week battle. Damn.

Sanji finds it much easier to hone in on Law's second explanation. It's something he can actually act on rather than a haunting year old tragedy.]

We're goin' on a quest then. Collect the magic gate shards, and piece them together like some shitty puzzle.

[He can accept that, despite his gruff expression. It's not unlike something Robin might get involved with, and if Robin would see worth in it, then so does Sanji. He just has to think of this door as an artifact like the road poneglyphs. Only once they're assembled together do they serve their purpose as a map. These door pieces just might be their guide out of here.

He breathes in, out, and then grimaces.]

How long do you expect to be at sea, and how many people are going to be on this ship? Because if you're telling me I have to fully stock this ship's food in two damn days, you can bet your shitty, sinking ass has just been drafted as my latest chore boy and convenient crate runner.

[hot_mes]

That's...actually, yes. Exactly.

[insofar as he knows anyway. The gods have not exactly been forthcoming with the precise details, but from what it sounds like, that's right on the money.

Ahh, the familiar attitude. Some part of him actually missed it along with the other Straw Hats. Law can appreciate his wisdom, even if he doesn't relish the idea of being ordered around. He's the captain, dammit!]

I have to confirm with everyone I recruited, but my last head count was somewhere between seven and ten. I may lose one shipwright to animosity with Caedra-ya, but I have a second one. [an aloof toss of his head] It's not that bad. I've been stockpiling supplies for the last two weeks. The gods claim they'll provide something but who the hell knows what it'll be - I don't think they understand what a ship actually needs. But, either way...I want to be supplied for three to four weeks, with the intention of fishing along the way.

[deviledlegs]

[Law gets to start acting like the captain once they've set sail. Until then, Sanji isn't going to slow his roll for anyone.]

Ten people for four weeks.

[Sanji immediately settles on the highest estimates. He won't be caught dead underestimating this foreign sea. The question is whether or not he can find the right supplies in time, let alone the desired amount of each.]

Show me what you've stockpiled so far.

[hot_mes]

[perfectly fine with him, all the better when only seven show up and half of them spend most of the sail on the other two ships. Law straightens up from the tree and flicks a finger to beckon Sanji after him. He wants to be a bit closer to the strait so his Room won't have to be too large in order to transport them both over.]

I'm keeping it in one of the abandoned buildings. Thankfully, there are no end to those. Room.

[he snags a hold of Sanji's shirtsleeve just in time, swapping them across the channel between islands and leaving them relatively near one of said abandoned buildings. Inside there's at least one full rain barrel, stacks of tinned and boxed goods from the shops, and a few bags of rice. He's not the world's best at preserving seafood or there'd be some of that too. Most of what he catches he lives off of, these days.]

I've been grabbing what I can out of the shops, leaving enough so that no one will come crying to me at the clinic about being malnourished.

[deviledlegs]

[Hey, no matter what boat they're on, Sanji's going to insist on feeding them. He will jump from ship to ship to deliver lunch if he has to.

Sanji follows Law wordlessly. Soon enough, they're warping through space, and though he's not about to complain, he's not thrilled with the jolt of Law's devil fruit power either. He chooses instead to focus on what Law's prepared.]

It's a decent start. [He concedes as he leans down to inspect the rice.] Perishables were going to have to wait until the last minute anyway.

[He stands again, nodding to his temporary captain.]

Your first task is to find salt, a literal shit-ton of salt.

Got it?

[hot_mes]

Salt? Why would you need that much...?

[give him a second to think it through, he's not up on cooking methods]

Preservation? [aha...that must be it] There probably isn't much time to get it through seawater. I'll see what's in the shops, and hope it's more than a salt-shaker's worth.

[deviledlegs]

[He moves on to the canned goods next, taking mental notes as he goes. Already he misses Sunny's fridge and aquarium.]

It had better be. Miss Caedra's requested meat, and I can't very well deny a lady's request!

[That's right, Law. Do it for Caedra. Or else.]

[hot_mes]

[he really can't argue with meat, it's always a good, but wow that's not going to light any fires under his ass]

I see she's already got you wrapped around her little finger.

[not. surprised. at all.]

[deviledlegs]

[Excuse. He wrapped himself around her finger without needing any help at all.]

Ah, if only! [He sighs loudly, longingly.] To slip a ring on one of her slender fingers would truly be a sacred act!

I'll just have to settle with filling her stomach.

[Honestly, that's a much more sacred act for him. This heavy truth is not very conducive to casual or flirty conversation, however, and is dutifully omitted.]

[hot_mes]

[he could be an ass and inform the cook that Caedra doesn't eat - at least, not the way the rest of them do - but since she does share a meal for entertainment if not sustenance, chances are he'll find that out soon enough.]

I'm sure you will. I've already warned you about her so whatever happens from here on out is all your doing. Enjoy it.

I'll see what kind of salt stores I can find. Honestly, if there's not enough and we end up eating fresh fish the whole time, that's fine with me.

[he takes up his sword again, ready to head off and get that errand done, not even giving a shit that he's brought Sanji a great distance from the orchard where he was apparently really into things. Oops?]

[deviledlegs]

[Sanji's extensive track record with women says he will indeed enjoy it, even after their passionate (and nonexistent) romance shatters into a million traitorous pieces.]

I'll keep that in mind while planning your menu.

[The cook hums in retaliation. Law's dishes may lack variety over the next couple of weeks.]

[hot_mes]

[gives him a raised eyebrow for that, but there's a subtle shade of wry humor behind it. He's really going to enjoy having Black Leg around, and not just for the good food.

Unless a single umeboshi touches his plate. Don't you dare, Sanji.]

[deviledlegs]

[Sanji raises his middle finger above his head without even bothering to turn around. Go get that salt, you snarky bastard.

P.S. If Law didn't want umeboshi, then he shouldn't have attacked a lady. Too bad.]