hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Puddle Jumpers

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Intro Log: Puddle Jumpers

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Ephemera narrows his good eye, leaning forward for a better look. He doesn't recognize the woman. But the dagger she's wearing, that's familiar. ]

You were that kid.

[ And now she's not. He exhales slowly, smoke clouding around his face. ]

It's a good move, wearing it on your arm. It's harder for somebody to take it away from you.

[she smiles welcomingly at him]

Yes, I was. You helped my younger self a great deal. I never had the chance to thank you properly.

[no, definitely not now. she peers curiously at the smoke, smoking is unheard of in Westeros]

That's what I've been told. I should introduce myself. Or, reintroduce myself. Margaery Tyrell, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Don't worry about it.

[ Ephemera likes kids, most of the time. He's not very good with them, but Hadriel is fun like that. Makes you confront all the shit that was supposed to be buried. He inhales, letting the nicotine settle in his lungs. ]

Queen, huh? Shit. Guess you moved up in the world.

All right. But may I say that I'm glad to see you again?

[he was fine with her. and that is an odd thing about Hadriel. one she's encountered more than once. she'd like to say that it made her better, stronger but perhaps she's not the best judge of that]

I did! Not that it lasted long. My goodmother murdered me out of jealousy and her lust for power.

[ Ephemera gives her a little smile. ]

I'll take it. I don't get that one too often.

[ It's still strange to him that he's got people here who care. Not his family, no, but people that he's come to care for. Drake, Kyna, Lup, even - impossibly - Washington. ]

Well, shit. Sorry to hear it.

[ He exhales, watching the nicotine cloud billow. ]

Makes you feel any better, I got offed back home too. Hail of bullets.

[she gives him a warm smile in return]

Truly?

[she'd meant to look him up after she went back to being and adult and regrets that she hadn't as she'd heard he vanished not too long afterwards. perhaps now she can make up for lost time?]

I was sorry that it was allowed to happen in the first place.

[it's strangely pretty with the background of the rain]

I'm terribly sorry to hear that. [and she is] I suppose if this place is good for anything, it's second chances.

Not really. I'm not so good with people.

[ Ephemera runs a hand through his hair, nodding. He's feeling pretty zen about the whole thing, which is probably a sign that his freakout will be delayed but pretty fucking awful once it finally comes around. ]

You got a point there. Never thought I'd want something like that, but here we are. Guess it beats being dead.

You seem to be doing fine thus far.

[oh dear. she certainly wouldn't want to be the cause of such a thing, but perhaps that's giving herself too much credit. this place is harrowing, even for those who have been here before]

It absolutely beats being dead. Dead? That's an ending. The final ending. Alive? There are so many. . . possibilities to pursue.

Thanks.

[ Ephemera gives her a little smile. ]

Yeah. You got options here. I like having choices.

[ A pause. He tips his head to the side. ]

What're you doing, now that you aren't queen anymore? Or are you always a queen? I don't know how that works.

As do I. It's far better than the alternative, even taking the so-called gods and their nonsense into things.

[she waits patiently]

The king who was my husband is dead. He took his own life shortly after the end of mine. So I suppose I'm no longer queen? Here, I operate the Sewing Shop.

Hnn. Yeah. But you can get used to that.

[ Or he can, anyway. Has, in the past. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He doesn't know her husband, but Ephemera likes Margaery well enough. ]

That's good, though. Got something to keep you busy. Think that's important, having something to do. Otherwise you can get stuck thinking about shit.

Absolutely. Most of the so-called gods' tricks barely make an impression anymore.

[she can as well. it's been part of her self-imposed training]

So was I, when I heard. He was. . . a good person. Likely too good to be king of a place like Westeros.

[and she likes him, too]

It keeps me busy and it's creative, which is something I enjoy. [she laughs brightly] Granted, I never imagined myself serving as seamstress to an entire community, but it could be far worse.

Do you have plans for what you'd like to do?

[ Ephemera quips a smile, taking another drag from the cigarette. ]

Good. That's good. What I am I gonna do? No idea. Join the Guard, I guess. I'm good at fighting.

[ He's quiet for a moment. ]

Been a soldier my whole life. Think I want to be something else. Maybe. Maybe that's stupid.

That's certainly an option. I know the Guard lost Henry Percy a week or two ago, they could likely use the help.

[and so is she]

It's not stupid. Not at all. All my life, I'd been trained with the goal of being queen. I attained that goal, but it brought me little joy in the end. I die and come here and--and I find myself training to become a vigilante and go to Earth. Life and death take us in directions we never dreamed possible. Perhaps it's time for you to explore some of those possibilities for yourself?

I didn't know that.

[ No surprise. There's a lot he doesn't know. Ephemera takes another drag on his cigarette, wondering who's in charge of the Guard now. Valentine, probably. ]

Might have a point there. We're here, and we're dead. We can be whatever we want.

[ Give him a bit to figure out exactly what that means for him. ]

So. Vigilante, really? How'd that happen?

It came as quite a shock.

[she's not sure. by now, she has enough training that she could join the Guard herself, but she's not so fond of the idea of something so . . . regimented]

Indeed. And while we're here? We have nothing but time for exploration and discovery.

[it took her a while to figure it all out. time and introspection.

she smiles] For a time, we had a masked hero here called Daredevil. He and I fell in love and he asked me to go back to his world when my time to leave came. I agreed. The . . . weight of carrying two identities troubled him, though. I thought that perhaps if I was capable of accompanying him, it would lighten the load.

Always does.

[ One of the crueler aspects of this place, he thinks. You start to know someone, trust them, care for them, and then one day they're just gone. ]

A hero in a mask.

[ Sounds like something out of a movie. Ephemera has a sinking suspicion that he met this man, and possibly mocked him on more than one occasion. He feels a bit about it now, with Margaery in front of him. Ephemera likes her. He ought to respect her judgement. ]

Guess that's one way to do it. I'm glad you found someone.

[ He means that sincerely. It helps to have people at your side. ]

[in a strange way, Margaery was lucky. the only one she's lost that she truly cared for was the man she loves. and she still feels that loss every day]

Yes. He had his reasons for wanting to keep his identities separate. Beyond that, I cannot say.

[she'd never even imagined that such a thing was possible. and she realizes that it likely sounds. . . odd. but she's firm in her decision]

Thank you. I miss him every day, but I--I try to see every day here as another day to improve for out there.

[she can tell he's being sincere and she's touched]

He's gone?

[ It seems that way from the way that she speaks. Ephemera sighs, tapping the ash away from his cigarette. ]

I'm sorry.

Yes. He left. . . a while ago.

[a long while ago. most people would have given up hope by now. not Margaery. once she has a goal in mind, she doesn't give up until it's attained]

So am I. It's a terribly sorry world we've found ourselves in. And yet, it still has its beauties.

[ Ephemera hums to himself, not sure what to say. It hurts to lose people. He knows that too well by now. Sometimes he thinks being the last one standing is the worst thing that ever happened to him, but those are bad days. He's trying not to get stuck thinking like that now. It doesn't help, in the end. ]

Yeah. Think I'm better now, because I was here.

[ He's quiet for a moment, then offers her the cigarette. ]

You want a drag?

[just like it doesn't help Margaery to think that if only the High Sparrow had listened to her when she warned him of danger, they'd all still be alive. he didn't, she's dead and here, and there's nowhere to go but forward]

So do I.

[this place has forced her to confront some of the more unsavory aspects of her past and come to terms with them. she's also been able to drop the mask she'd maintained for so many years in Westeros and be herself.

she takes the cigarette when it's offered]

Well, I suppose? Why not?

[she takes a drag and immediately begins to cough, but she keeps from dropping the cigarette]

--oh! Oh my!

Careful, [ Ephemera warns, a few seconds too late. He covers his smile with his hand. ] Always burns the first time. You ever smoked before?

Edited 2018-09-11 23:06 (UTC)

[she's appreciate the warning, but she was overhasty and is now paying for it by coughing] No, never. We've no such things in Westeros.

[ Ephemera smiles a little. ]

It's a bad habit. But it calms me down, sometimes.

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(cw: suicide mention)

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