Intro Log: Puddle Jumpers

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for September
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: September 10th-13th
Warnings: Fresh meat, lots of rain and angry ogres

If the rain on your face isn't enough to wake you up in the colosseum, maybe the thundering footsteps and- well, thunder- is. The first thing that you may notice is that it's incredibly wet around here, with winds that could knock you over if you aren't careful and thunder that brings with it a torrent of constant rainfall.

That's all fine though, because the gods saw fit to help you out on your way in and now everyone will be waking up wearing a rain coat! These coats are a little odd, and some of them are downright silly, but we trust that you'll make do. Of course, a few of the raincoats have additional sleeves, neck holes, and entirely too many buttons as well- but hey, it's the best we could do.

Wait, what was that about thundering footsteps? Oh right, as you're navigating your new fashion choices, there are some monsters afoot who will want nothing more than to grind you into a pulp and eat you- well, if you're organic, that is. If you're not organic, then they still want to grind you to a pulp, but maybe not so much the eating part.

Ogres are from many fantasy stories, but these in particular are from the Dragon Age series. With incredible strength and stamina and massive horns, fangs, and a bloodlust for violence, these monsters won't stop until everyone around them is a blood smear on the ground. They're also not too happy about this rainfall either, so be careful not to slip in the puddles as you run away from them!

Once you've splashed around a bit, feel free to run off into the stormy abyss of our islands. 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 September 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

DiMA | OTA

[offloaded]

arrival; the colosseum

[ DiMA had been doing an offload when the shift occurred. He never quite enters a state you could call sleep, but he does tend to close his eyes when he partitions his mind, chooses which data to send to the memory bank and lets it go. And even a century isn't long enough to grow accustomed to that feeling, the way the remaining information can't close around the gaps. A human mind would probably fill them in somehow, even if the connections were just their imagination -- but for DiMA things are just missing, and that's something he has to accept. He assigns each offloaded memory an identifier and prepares to disconnect himself.

Except suddenly he feels something strange... a heavy gust of wind and wetness on his face, that has him opening his eyes to find he is not in Acadia. He's still hooked up to the guts of his memory bank, but the wires lead to the bare unit sitting on the ground, not housed in the wall with the others. It's wrapped in trashbags and he seems to be covered in something as well, thankfully, as he suspects the sheer amount of rain coming down would short him out immediately should it hit his frayed old wiring. Despite the relief that his demise doesn't seem to be imminent, this is... disconcerting. Where is he? How did he get here? Did he somehow offload the explanation? DiMA lifts his head to take in his new surroundings, and is only progressively more confused with each detail he takes in. An open arena, and a fierce. Unconscious strangers coming to all around him. Huge, angry looking creatures that he's also never seen before, though who knows what horrors truly lurk in the deep fog? DiMA is no stranger to threatening mutant life forms, so it's those which have him worried with the most immediacy. Then getting out of this rain, should his protection spring a leak somehow. His instinct otherwise would be to check on the others and double check he didn't accidentally offload a memory of where they are, which he's still going to do, but now he's prioritizing. Who's still asleep, who's in the path of a brute, who needs help vs who can probably handle themselves?

Slowly, so as not to draw the attention of an ogre, DiMA reaches down for his memory bank and pulls it in against his chest, holding it tight with one arm... then steps towards the nearest still-unconscious form and kneels, giving them a gentle shake. His voice is calm and kind, but even with the cow-printed material covering his more mechanical bits, his definitely isn't a human countenance so DiMA is braced for alarm. ]

Are you alright? Can you stand? We need to evacuate immediately.

shelter; quite possibly your house

[ Once escaping the colosseum (unscathed, thankfully, since he's a fragile old man and if he'd taken a hit from an ogre it probably would have broken vital components) DiMA's first priority is getting out of the rain. He gets one injured young man to the clinic, and once out of the wind he hears a strange beeping coming from under his poncho. It takes him a moment to get to the object, a foreign device that seems to have a number of messages for him. The welcome guide comes up first, and he reads it quickly, deeming it informative and well written but not at all comforting... until he sees the signature at the end.

Nick Valentine.

What are the chances of that? DiMA opens the attached map to find what's where... it looks like if he woke up in the colosseum, the Guard headquarters is on another island entirely, and he doesn't think a boat trip in this weather is in his best interest. Housing, perhaps..? Find somewhere to hide out and call his brother from there. Yes, that sounds like a safer plan. Once more into the breach, then!

It isn't until he's just about reached the housing that the wind picks up, threatening to blow off the hood of his cow poncho repeatedly. He only has one hand to spare to hold it on and so needs to get back inside immediately, it would seem.

Which is how he winds up ducking into the first house with an open door he finds, having no other way to tell if it's occupied besides knocking, and no one answers any of his polite inquiries. Maybe if you were home, you just didn't hear over the storm, or he didn't wait long enough? Either way, there's an old synth standing in entryway now, looking just as surprised to see you. ]

Please do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm.

shelter

[myrealname]

[to say that Jane is startled is an understatement. she'd holed herself up in her apartment as soon as she got back from getting groceries and she wasn't expecting any company. she really wasn't expecting the company that she just got, what looks like a robot in a cow poncho. that's got to be a new record for weird, even by this place's standards.

man, is she sick of hitting new records for weird. just once, she'd like to have a perfectly normal day in this place. but she's not going to be a total bitch and kick him out, it's raining like hell outside and it's probably not a good idea for robots to be in the rain. she thinks? whatever, she'll be hospitable]

That's good. I don't mean you any harm, either.

[she steps forward, hand extended for a handshake]

The name's Alice. Alice Ayres. Who're you?

[offloaded]

[ The human seems welcoming, under the circumstances, and DiMA is visibly relieved for that. He hesitates at the offered hand before extending his own -- it's not quite a hand, unfortunately. More the exposed metal structure of what used to be one, now just hinged metal pieces that resemble a skeleton. They're cold as they wrap around Alice's hand, though he's careful to keep his grip gentle. It's been a long time since he shook hands with anyone. ]

My name is DiMA. I've just arrived, and have no shelter from this storm.

[myrealname]

[well, she's trying? and she's kinda glad she is, given the relieved expression on his face. she remembers what it was like, showing up here and not knowing where to go or what to do a little too well. it sucks. so if she can make it a little easier on someone else, why not?]

Well, it's nice to meet you, DiMA. And you can stay here, if you want? I don't have another bedroom, but I think I have enough blankets that you can crash on the couch.

[offloaded]

[ Humans aren't generally so accepting of synths in their midst, this woman is throwing DiMA for a bit of a loop but he's not looking a gift horse in the mouth. So to speak. He's never actually seen a horse, just knows the expression. He won't question her motives, at least for now -- he wants to believe that people can be good and the less convincing required to remain inside the better. ]

That's very kind of you, Alice. I don't require blankets, just a roof for the time being. I can be out of your way as soon as the wind dies down and I don't have to worry so much about these old circuits getting fried.

[ He's debating taking off the wet poncho before coming further into her apartment, as it's dripping quite a bit, but underneath he's... even more visibly mechanical. For now he simply lowers the hood to see her reaction, revealing that his face is basically all the plastic skin left on his head. The rest is a mess of wires and protruding components that pretty much anyone could assume shouldn't get wet. ]

I would also like to make a... call, if you don't mind.

[myrealname]

[Jane has had to get used to all kinds of stuff she never would have thought possible in her time here. actually, she's still not used to it, she's just getting better at coping with it]

That's fine, I've got room enough for that. And believe me, I get it. I've been out in that, it's no fun. In fact it's like the opposite of fun.

[her eyes widen slightly at seeing the wires and components, but that's about it. she doesn't drop her friendly demeanor]

Sure. Of course I don't mind. D'you need to use my phone or have you found yours yet?

shelter becasue this will go well

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor is, at first, not entirely surprised by the sound of the door opening; it was left unlocked for a reason, since he shares the apartment with Maeve, and so he expects it's her entering. Since he's not paying close attention to his surroundings at the moment, running an internal scan to make sure everything's still doing okay after the incident with the lightning a few days ago, any knocking is mentally brushed off at the sound of the storm.

But everything seems fine, and he's ready to head back to the arena to see if anyone needs help there, but by the time he's made it to his bedroom door he realizes the sound of whoever is in the house absolutely doesn't match Maeve. It's someone else, and so Connor draws his gun and continues to creep forward until he can step out into the living room, gun raised toward whoever is intruding.

He doesn't lower it when he hears the reassurances or has a chance to really see what the person looks like, but his LED--visible on his right temple, as he was not expecting anyone but Maeve to be seeing him at the moment--flickers from a steady blue to a processing yellow and then back. That is... Definitely not a human, which earns the person a few points in their favor automatically, but nowhere near enough for him to just accept them being in his house.]

Who are you?

shhh it'll go great 8D

[offloaded]

[ DiMA realizes only after ducking inside and taking in his surroundings that this place is definitely inhabited. A dilemma: does he go back out searching, or wait for at least the wind to die down a bit first? It doesn't seem like anyone's home at the moment so he decides to wait a little, rude as that may be, rather than risk being damaged.

Except his assessment was wrong -- someone is home. A man with a weapon, at that, as well as a blinking light on his temple.

Interesting.

Dangerous, but also interesting. DiMA freezes where he stands when the gun doesn't lower, memory bank still a trash bag wrapped lump cradled in his arms or else he would raise them to further demonstrate he's not a threat. ]

My name is DiMA. I'm sorry, there was no answer and the door was unlocked. I simply needed to get out of the rain.

[ Despite the weapon leveled at him, his voice is calm and steady, oddly patient. Like he believes the stranger will see the truth and choose not to harm him. ]

I'm not in the best shape for this weather. If I could just put this down, I'll show you.

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor is quiet several seconds, considering that response and also taking the chance to get a better look at the intruder. He recognizes the resemblance to Nick, of course, but doesn't immediately think anything of it; androids in his world are often identical, after all, but it does tell him this person is probably from the same place Nick is. He's certainly more... Modified, though, and the explanation about the weather makes sense, and so finally Connor decides to go ahead and lower his weapon cautiously.]

Show me.

[It's an order just to maintain control of the situation, and Connor is still wary, but also believes DiMA probably means what he said and so he's curious about whatever it is.]

[offloaded]

[ DiMA steps forward slowly so as not to distress the stranger further, and sets his memory bank down on the table carefully. He unhooks himself from it, finally, and then pulls off the dripping cow poncho carefully.

The modifications may have been visible even under the hood, but with the protective garment gone it's clear that this robot is not in the best shape. His head isn't so much a head as it is a face affixed to an open mess of wires and makeshift components cobbled together from scrap just to keep him running. The "skin" that once covered his frame is severely damaged, exposing his old circuitry to the elements. He turns to the side a little to better display exactly why the storm outside is so dangerous for him, gesturing at his head and shoulders with a skeletal hand. ]

I'm slightly less than waterproof, you see.

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor watches him, gun aimed at the ground but still ready to use if he needs to, although fortunately he doesn't think he will. Getting an actual good look at DiMA definitely corroborates the story about needing to get out of the rain, and it's honestly a little shocking, even if not as much as it might've been if Connor hadn't met Lucy briefly; she too had been missing most of her head other than her face, wires and cables spilling out almost like twists of hair, and Connor wonders briefly if any of the synthetics from Nick's world--assuming that is indeed where this person is from--are in such disrepair.

After another second or so of consideration Connor flicks the safety back onto his gun, tucking it into his belt behind his back, stepping closer in curiosity. He's realized at this point that his LED is exposed, glowing steadily blue, but decides to try to play it off for the moment; it's probably not the worst thing if this person finds out he's an android, thankfully.]

You arrived at an inconvenient time. This storm is unusual for this place.

[Although rain in general isn't, so they'll definitely need to figure something out for that problem. But for now, he should probably introduce himself.]

I'm Connor.

[He doesn't apologize for pulling a gun, but--]

You can stay here temporarily. I'll let my roommate know, so she is not surprised if she returns.

shelter

[traitory]

[ Starscream has been roaming around too but it's obvious that he can't find shelter due to his size. He's all but given up when he sees the cords and obvious looking inhuman caricature standing in the random house's doorway. He'll roll his eyes before waving DiMA off. ]

No need to worry about that. I've seen far worse. After the creatures we encountered upon arrival I doubt you have much to worry about in terms of making your...intentions known. [ Though his wings will shift behind him as taps a long claw against his chin. He wasn't expecting to find another clearly robotic life form like himself here. He's no Cybertronian but Starscream will try to make nice anyway. ]

Why is your current form in such disrepair? [ He might come off like an ass, sorry, but he is genuinely curious. ]

[offloaded]

[ The making nice is appreciated, stranger -- if he were back home DiMA might have mistaken the larger robot for a modified assaultron or some such, but his voice is far more modulated and intonation too nuanced for that. It's unlikely anyone outside the Institute could have managed such a sophisticated build, anyway, and their focus is synths. It's intriguing, that's for certain.

DiMA doesn't seem to find the question rude at all. To the contrary, he's very aware of his physical state and how off-putting it is to humans and synths alike. The fact that his new acquaintance didn't recoil is already a better start than he's accustomed to. ]

You're likely correct. They were quite threatening, weren't they?

[ He lifts the hand not holding his memory bank, as if examining the skeletal framework that remains of it. ]

"Disrepair" is a polite way to put it. I was not built to last, I'm afraid. When you live a century or so longer than you were designed to, things wear out and replacement parts aren't exactly an option.

[ The rain doesn't seem to be dangerous for the larger robot, but it still doesn't seem ideal... DiMA lowers his hand again and considers the doorframe of the little house instead instead. ]

I believe this ceiling is tall enough to shelter you, if the entrance were modified.

[traitory]

[ Making nice is only for Starscream's benefit, lets be real. But it's also his intrigue, given the clear robotic nature of the other before him. His wings will flex in a surprised sort of response. He wasn't exactly expecting DiMA to voice something he himself was thinking... ]

Yes they were a bit. [ But he'll puff himself up a little a hand pressing against his chest before he clears his throat and just gives a smirk. ] But they are no match for a Decepticon.

[ Still he'll look at the house, his face looking somewhat...unsure. ] Perhaps you are right. [ It's not like he'll rust...immediately at least. ]

Seeking somewhere is better than staying out here in this...rain.

[offloaded]

A Decepticon?

[ DiMA sounds curious about that. It's clearly what the other robot calls himself, but not a term he's familiar with any more than the other's build, his design. He does look quite sturdy, but not modeled after a human.

For now he gives the house further consideration. There's definitely ceiling clearance inside for his new acquaintance, although he doesn't have any tools on hand. ]

What do you say to a bit of remodeling? I don't believe anyone lives here.

[traitory]

Yes, yes, I don't expect it to mean much to you or anyone else here though.

[ Even if he was to explain it's not like it would matter to a bunch of humans anyway, or robots.

Starscream will tilt his head a little to eye the house. He will get rusty if he stays out in the elements but not as fast or bad as most robotic beings would. It's uncomfortable and he's been trying to find a place to really fit. ]

Remodeling? I'm no constructicon but I suppose I'll just have to do it myself. [ Rude that he actually has to get his hands dirty, ugh. ] What did you have in mind?

colosseum

[erythrocytes]

[ Let's get say that she had somehow been knocked out by one of the ogres to wind up unconscious on the ground once more. And just as she had woken up before in a strange new land in a strange environment in a strange new structure, she opens her eyes to....

Yet another monster. ]

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!! [ She yelps, and that. Yeah, that definitely does not help with keeping quite with the ogres nearby. ]

Nooooo, don'teatme, I don't have any oxygen with me...! [ And indeed, she only has a box that's labeled CO₂ next to her. ]

[offloaded]

...oh dear.

[ Please don't scream. Please. DiMA pulls his hand back and lifts it in a placating gesture, glancing around at the ogres to see if any of them were drawn in by it. Luckily for his busted robot butt and little Red, they're largely distracted by the people attacking them for the moment. Still, she needs to stop screaming. ]

I will not... eat you. I promise I'm trying to help, please lower your voice. Can you stand?

[erythrocytes]

[ And she will quiet promptly because the grey-colored almost-human-looking monster is telling her to lower her voice. And what will it do if she doesn't? Kill her? ] U-um, yes, uh--

[ Scrambling to stand up at attention, she looks all the more nervous in front of him. ] ...You're not going to eat me?

[offloaded]

Of course not. Why don't you gather your things and we'll make for the exit. Calmly. Don't want to draw attention from those things.

[ He thinks he's spotted the way out, or at least shelter that the beasts are ignoring in favor of fighting those trying to eliminate them. Everyone that vanished into the passage to their left hasn't come back out. ]

It'll be alright, miss.

shelter!

[sciencelizard]

[There's a cluster of shops surrounding the Lab just off to the side of the Coliseum, some in better condition than others. It's as far as Alphys will go in the storm, for fear of blowing away- she is not heavy and certainly has little experience with strong winds, living the vast majority of her life underground. That said, some of them do look like they could be freestanding houses, which is what leads to Alphys turning when she hears the door open while she's mid-scavenge to see... well, she has no idea. This isn't her house, but her eyes do go a bit wide at the (immediately recognizeable) face, but the, uh, much more shoddy build.]

I... y... Nick?

[Y'know, just in case something Seriously Happened and she needs to dial Rey right now immediately.]

[offloaded]

[ DiMA is preparing his usual "seriously, I know I look scary but I'm not going to hurt you" speech for the tiny creature stuttering at him, but then she does something unexpected. She says his brother's name. ]

No. My name is DiMA -- but you did recognize this face. Nick Valentine is my brother.

[ Slowly, carefully, so as not to startle her further, DiMA moves towards the closest workbench to set his memory bank down and finally disconnect himself from it. Then he lowers the hood of his poncho to reveal some extensive modifications. This synth won't be wearing a hat anytime soon, that's for sure. ]

Do you know where I could find him?

[sciencelizard]

[Her mouth opens slightly as he speaks, moving closer and revealing more of himself. She has a lot of questions here, starting with 'how can robots have brothers' and ending with 'holy shit', but it suddenly seems like a good time for absolutely none of them.

Alphys gulps, moving a little bit closer, not knowing when it'll be too much.]

I, uh-- I d-don't know where he is right now.

[It occurs to her, in a bolt of worry, that seeing as Nick has never spoken about a brother, maybe he doesn't want him here.]

What's your name?

[offloaded]

[ Those are both excellent questions, Alphys, and you're in luck. DiMA is an extremely patient soul, he'll answer anything you ask. Starting with his name. ]

That's alright. I'm sure we'll meet again soon. My name is DiMA, what's yours?

[sciencelizard]

[Oh. He's actually super chill? That's nice. She relaxes a bit, a small drop of her shoulders to release the tension.]

Oh, uhm, I'm Alphys. Or well, Dr. Alphys, but Alphys is fine. I uh... live here? I guess. Not here as in, uh, t-this building, as in like, the city. Like everyone here.