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!

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[Michael probably doesn't make the best first impression, seeing as how he's walking around with his jacket hood up in a violent thunderstorm, wielding an axe like some kind of horror movie maniac. Granted, he technically is some kind of horror movie maniac, but that's a detail he isn't going to think about right now.

Mostly what he is thinking about is the fact that he can't see. Glasses and torrential downpours don't exactly mix well, and he can't tell if the shapes around him in the storm are people or monsters. Sometimes the people look like monsters, and sometimes the monsters look like people. In Hadriel, it's kind of a toss-up.

He's just cleaning his glasses off again when he spots a smaller shape running toward him. Pale face, bright blue above. That's... probably a person, right?]

Hey! [He basically has to shout to be heard over the wind and the thunder.] Have you, uh, have you seen any monsters around?

[This is definitely not weird and is a great way to start a conversation.]

[Sal could understand the whole not being able to see thing, seeing as how that was very, very, difficult for him right now - less because of bad eyesight and more because of his mask and the the pouring rain. He can see this stranger well enough though, wielding an axe...Sal might have actually been concerned given the recent events in his life had he not been almost killed by something bigger and far scarier.]

Yes! And I don't think that's going to be enough to kill one! [Sal barely slowed down as he neared the stranger, reaching out to grab him by the sleeve and urge him along.] They're huge and - and huge! C'mon!

[This was all definitely very weird, but Sal was used to weird - even if this was a new brand of weird? At any rate, he's more concerned getting him and this axe-wielding stranger to safety now.]

[Michael flinches slightly at being grabbed, but he's not about to argue. Huge things doesn't... sound great. It's not like he's a master of martial prowess at the best of times, much less right now, half-blind.]

Uh, okay, yeah! [Sure.

He starts to go wherever Sal will drag him, until a sudden thought occurs to him.]

Wait, do you know where we're going?

[Sal drags him...around. Away from the monsters, obviously, but he can't seem to find an exit, and he's obviously having trouble moving in this damn wind.]

Uh, no! No, I really don't! [It occurs to Sal quickly that he hadn't been looking confused so much as...well, he had a weapon, inquiring about monsters. He hadn't seemed lost exactly?] Do you know how to get out of here?

[It's okay, Sal, no one will blame you for not quite knowing whether or not Michael is lost and confused. Half the time, he doesn't know either. Now is, however, an exception. Sort of.]

Yeah, the way I came!

[The walls around the coliseum contain the archways that serve as its exits. It's pretty big, but if they just pick a direction, they'll hit it eventually.]

Just go straight! We'll find it!

[Despite the lack of visibility Sal feels better having some direction, so straight he will go with confidence! The thunder, the heavy rain, and most notably the sounds of ogres charging (not at them at the moment, thankfully, but he gets a cold feeling in his chest thinking that there are others), he tries to drown out all of those sounds until soon even he can notice the big archways.]

I think I see a way out!

[He picks up the pace until they pass through, and soon when the commotion dies down enough that it sounds like they're relatively safe Sal stops and leans down, bracing his hands to his knees as he catches his breath.]

Crap, that was close.

[The monster in Michael's head is limited by his human senses, but it keeps pulling those senses to focus on the loud footsteps, the massive shapes moving out of the corners of his eyes, the vibrations through the mud. It's distracting, and he's glad he already told the kid how to get out of here.

He follows the blue streak of hair until the wall looms up ahead, and then they're out.

And then Michael's in just about the same position as Sal, because wow does he basically never run that much.]

Yeah those are... pretty bad. I miss when the monsters were smaller.

[Which is most other months, at least. He prefers the tiny ones you can just put in a bucket.

He wipes his glasses again, now that they're standing still, and gets a more in-focus look at the person he was following. Hair in pigtails, wearing a mask? It's definitely out of the ordinary, but Michael's not about to judge. There's way weirder in Hadriel, and anyway, who cares? They're all trapped in an alternate dimension, fashion choices are the least of their worries.]

So, uh, you're probably new, right?

[Not that Sal isn't used to the questions or stares, but he always appreciates it when it's not even a thing. Especially after almost becoming a giant monster's meal?

He stood straight again, holding down the pink petals of his hood so it wouldn't fly off his head.]

Yeah...and I'm starting to get the impression monsters aren't that out of the ordinary here.

[Yeah Michael's pretty keen to just let people do their own thing. The bizarre rain coat doesn't even register at first, given the unfortunate clothing choices the people of Hadriel are typically forced to make. It sure is something, though.]

They're not, unfortunately. We get a new crop of them about once a month, with the new people.

[And then they all get stuck on this island because most of them can't use boats.]

Hopefully these ones get cleaned up, I don't really want to have to worry about them in my sleep.

[Michael stops and blinks, like he's just remembered something.]

Oh, uh, right. I'm Michael, and this is Hadriel. And uh, nice coat. Did you bring that with you?

[Once a month. That sure is something to look forward to for people living here. And with Michael's comment about "missing when they were smaller" Sal is silently wondering if they just get progressively bigger and scarier as the months go on. What a terrifying place.

He probably shouldn't focus on this now, though, especially when there's nothing that can be done about it. Thankfully the subject shifted. He glances down at himself, taking the look in stock for the first time. It's now when he realizes that the pink things on his hood are petals. He was just a touch busy worrying about other things when he first came to. Ah.]

Nice to meet you, Michael. I'm Sal. [This is quite the look, honestly.] And uh, thanks, but I just woke up with it. It's not usually my kind of style.

[Spoken jokingly more than defensively.]

I guess it was nice of someone to make sure I stay dry but I would have appreciated them making sure I stay alive instead.

[Get it? Because of the giant monsters. Haha...]

[Ah yes, another person who just sort of accepts things. A boy after Michael's own heart.]

Yeah, nice to meet you, except, you know, wish the circumstances weren't... these.

[He also wishes the Door would stop sucking in kids? It's unfair enough to put adults through all this, but children? That's pretty messed up.]

If it makes you feel better, it probably wasn't a person that put that on you? It probably just happened. [You know, magic or whatever.] Stuff like that is, uh, unfortunately not uncommon here. At least it has the right number of arm holes?

["The right number of arm holes"; that makes Sal laugh, a little more than it should have maybe. Perhaps because that comment seems to make a sort of weird sense that wouldn't elsewhere, and that fact alone - the absurdity of it, is what he finds so funny.

Though, just kind of happening - that he's used to. Sometimes he finds random things in his possession, no big deal.]

Yeah, I guess I'm pretty fortunate. It even fits! [Small silver linings - he'll take them where he can get them.] By the way, speaking of 'this really weird thing is super common here'...Hadriel, you said that's the name of this place, right? Is it like...far outside of Nockfell, or what?

[He's sure he already knows the answer to this, but he has to ask.]

[Yeah Michael has... never heard of that. He feels bad that he'll have to break this kind of news, though his suddenly awkward expression probably telescopes it a bit.]

It's... Well, wherever Nockfell is, this isn't anywhere near there. As far as I know, no one who's come through Hadriel has ever recognized it. You can think of it as, like, another universe? Like a... parallel dimension.

[Because that's basically what it is. A small pocket of city that moves around different worlds.]

It sucks, but we're all kind of... stuck here.

[It does, indeed. Sal gives a nod, clearly having expected as much. It's disappointing, but he won't dwell on it for too long right now.]

Another universe? Alright, well, sure...[He doesn't sound disbelieving. In fact, he sounds more like he's making an effort to wrap his head around it. Really, it...isn't as surprising as it should be, perhaps because of a few things he's discovered recently. Sure, another universe. Makes sense in the wacky thing he calls his life.] It was a long shot, but just thought I'd ask.

It sounds like there are a few other people who've ended up in this situation, though, right? At least I know I'm not alone.

[Not that he wishes this kind of thing on anyone.]

[Right, that's depressing, so Michael's quick to jump on a topic in which he doesn't have to deliver bad news.]

Oh, uh, yeah. There's like... I don't know, forty or fifty of us? A bunch. All different kinds.

[Kind of an understatement. There's all different species. And hopefully they don't all disappear again.]

There's food and stuff, too, and places you can stay. Place isn't much, but it's livable. Even with the, uh, monster problem.

[Sal is all for turning depressing into...not...depressing. So when he feels a bit better about this news he visually pipes up.]

I'm not that picky anyway. I lived in New Jersey.

[That's a joke. Of course, thinking on it, it's a joke that might not even land because...different universes?]

...That probably means nothing to you though, huh?

[Michael snorts.]

Nah, I'm from Earth. And I lived in New York for a while, I get you.

[Not that like, most of the States doesn't know about New Jersey jokes.]

Though I guess being from Earth doesn't necessarily mean anything. There are apparently versions of Earth where there's just magic and dragons and elves and stuff everywhere.

[Which, he realizes, might be Sal's version. Whoops.]

[Sal pipes up again; familiarity, sweet!]

Dragons and elves...sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. [It's safe to assume from the wonder in his voice that that's not the case for him, at least. Not that his Earth isn't weird as fuck.] Where does this place fit in? Is it like...a dragon and elves kind of place?

[The Colosseum and monsters kind of give him a hint, honestly, but you never know!]

Edited 2018-09-27 00:40 (UTC)

It's a...

[Wow, how does he describe Hadriel? Or, he guesses, the world Hadriel is in right now?]

Well there's these, uh, beings? And they call themselves gods, but they're not really gods? They're like... I don't know, powerful aliens? Anyway, there's also monsters around here, obviously, but other than that, it's just... whoever's stuck here. Some of them have magic and some of them don't.

Edited (whoops forgot a line) 2018-09-27 05:21 (UTC)

[Sal pauses to ruminate on that for a moment. Aliens, monsters, people from various walks of life who may or may not know magic. It's a lot, but it's also...manageable enough information for him to accept. Sure, why not?]

Sounds diverse.

[Which is pretty exciting to him. He likes meeting new people. Now he'll be meeting new people who come from completely different realities. It's cool!]

At least there's never a dull moment, from the sounds of it. [Hopefully he gets attacked way less in the future. He won't bet on it, knowing his luck, but one can hope.] Thanks a lot for filling me in...it doesn't seem like an easy thing to explain, so I appreciate it.

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Intro Log: Puddle Jumpers

colosseum yeehaw

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