hadriel_logs | I'm just a few thoughts, fragments of memory (open)

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I'm just a few thoughts, fragments of memory (open)

Who: Atem and you (open, mostly)
What: Catch up log for all your needs!
Where: Places.
When: Backdated to the start of November to somewhere around the middle.
Warnings: Annoying card games references maybe! Will match format.

around | early November | open

People were gone, Gowther was gone and everything Atem used to remember of this place, gone as well. Not that Atem actually ever noticed that Gowther had never been in this place before the influx of people.

Now, that might an exaggeration, he remembers people, but not all of them, he's not sure who knows him or not anymore. It turns out it was probably not the so called gods messing with his head, but it probably didn't matter now, did it? It's like Kaiba would say, 'Just ignore it and crush it under the weight of your future', literally... He spent so much time trying to get his memories before coming here, it sure doesn't feel like something he wants to do here as well. He knows himself, he knows Kaiba, and others, and they know him. That should be enough.

He cannot help but wonder, who else did he forget? So far he hadn't found many who claimed to know him, maybe he shouldn't worry that much.

But as much as he wants to move on, he finds himself staring at people's faces, wondering if he's met them before or not. Either you may feel someone watching from where you're sitting down at the Speakeasy, and when you turn at the counter, there he is, this scrawny young man you might or not talked to before looking at your face as if it had something on it. Maybe you're just passing by as he's sitting down at the sidewalk or just as he passes by you, stealing glances from under his umbrella—were it a rainy day—or just as you're trying to find a new pair of pants at the stores, there is this pair of amaranthine bright eyes staring curiously, maybe a little worriedly even..

What do?

( ooc: A gentle reminder Atem was given a hard reset during the fourth wall event, which means he's forgotten most of the people he's met in Hadriel. Send me a PM if you wanna plot around that, otherwise please assume a clean start with your character. )

the orchard | open

「After how things went down with the first tree he grew, Atem has been taking things a little more calmly, after all, he doesn't want to pass out again from using too much energy to turn a little seed into a full grown tree, if anything he's trying to make them grow to his knee or so. And that's what he's doing at the moment, flattening the dirt around a recently planted seed, as much as he possibly can. Then he can be seen drawing some circles and markings around it, it's not that easy to make the glyphs as perfect as he wished he could, but he keeps on trying. 」

There must be an easier way...

「He mutters under his breath.」

carlisle's garden | idk the muffin man

「Just as Carlisle had cut the communication, Atem hurried down to the piers, jumped on a goddamned boat and hurried towards the North Island as fast as the winds allowed him to. It was amazing how good he had become at this sailing thing after a while, still, dreaded it—the sea was not his element, it was so wet—but not even this time he cared to get his shoes and pants wet if it meant to get to his mentor as soon as possible.

Finally, he knocks on that familiar door, perhaps a bit more obnoxiously than he should.」

Carlisle! It's me! Open up!

「He sounds really excited at least!」

butterflies also like living in pretty houses | sal

「Atem did promise he'd help beautify whatever little house Sal decided to build for his little new friend. He's been practicing in fact! Trying to build something more spacious and fireproof for his fiery salamander. Meanwhile, he waits for his friend to arrive as he writes some notes in his notebook, anything that comes to his mind that could potentially help with creating new things, or just transmuting them into something else.」

the sewing shop | margie

「Still a little unsure of what the future will bring them, Atem decides to act on it anyway, he could use a new jacket, the one he's got, even if it's from home, has seen better days. He remembers being at the sewing shop before, but everything aside of that comes as a blur to him, he pokes his head into it, expecting some kind of magic to happen and suddenly remembering everything.

He doesn't.」

Hello?

「Is anyone there?」

wildcard

( You know the drill! PM me if you want a starter for your character or just hit me up with anything you want. )

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An umbrella likely would have been a good idea, but Carolina hadn't cared to bring one when she had set out for her morning jog. She might regret it later, but at the moment she barely even notices the dampness that is seeping in to her clothing or that is making her hair plastered to her face. She's pushed herself, harder, faster, driven by those inner demons until she has to stop, short on breath, pace racing. Her sleep has gone back to erratic, and while she knows the root of it, she doesn't want to talk about it.

Not yet, if ever.

Cutting through the shop district, Carolina had been intent on returning back to her residence. Later, she might go out to see what the shops have to offer, stocking up their supplies some more. Paranoid, but she would rather be prepared. She is more or less lost in her own thoughts, or trying to keep certain thoughts out of her mind. It is why her eyes skip over him without really paying attention, before those green spheres dance back and she pauses. Her gaze drops to Atem, seated on the sidewalk. "Hey. Enjoying the weather?"

Some people pass by, some of them greet him with a little wave, while others simply move into their day without even looking his way. He cannot help but wonder what is it that they have to do in here, truly. If anything this place is effective only in one thing, thinking. It leaves too much time to think about things that most wouldn't want to think about. Even Atem, despite of wanting not to delve into his mind cannot help to do so when he's finished his daily chores, just stuff he's imposed to himself to do, some training, some helping here and there at the bar, his studies with glyphcrafting and practicing as much as he can, trying new things with said magic, everything just so he doesn't go back into thinking—about home, about his partner, about his friends...

It's near impossible to shut one's thoughts. Which is why the distraction is more than welcome when he sees an actual familiar face approaching. He cannot hide a honest smile when she approaches, he's just happy he remembers her.

Because, he does... right?

"Kind of, what else is there to do about it?" It's useless to get mad at the things one cannot change, besides, it could be worse, it always could be worse.

"You're... Carolina, right?" What an odd question, but he simply wants to make sure.

"Card strategies." That slight cock to her smile as she comes to take a seat next to him. It's not like the weather is truly bothering her. Try being locked in armour, unable to move, for days on end. Cold and dampness seem less important, and the worst that will happen is she catches a cold, which she refuses to do. As odd as it may be, she actually enjoys his company so she doesn't mind. He's more mature than she would expect, although she's come to learn that in this place, not everything is at it seems.

"Ya." A peculiar look which does turn to concern. It doesn't seem like he has been in any sort of an accident, at least no obvious signs like blood, broken bones, or even ripped clothes. "You okay?"

Card strategies, she says, and he cannot help a little chuckle. He's got a reputation, huh? It's true, it's one of this many ways to pass the time, especially with those apparently low level cards they recently got. Kaiba doesn't appreciate them, he sure does.

"Is that what you do too?" Is she trying to come up with a way to win? That'd be great to see! "I've got some new ones, yeah. Maybe I should show you."

At the question, he looks at her for a second, he should probably tell her, it's not such a big deal. He simply smiles at her. "Yeah. Nothing to worry about, just had some memory issues lately. Comes with the age." It's not worth worrying her, so he tries to keep it casual.

"What about you, are you enjoying the weather?" It is a bit chilly to be out there, surely nothing like what they'll face at some point, though he knows he's a tough girl. "I don't think you ever told me where you're from."

Her lips quiver a little, silent laughter echoing across her eyes. Everyone has hobbies, and he had indeed been fairly enthusiastic about the cards. She doesn't mind the game, although it's not something that Carolina would obsess over- even if winning would be nice.

She hasn't really been thinking about that recently, both before and after the departure of York. She has always been good with strategies though so that is something that she enjoys. She recalls the conversation about building a deck and has idly puttered on adjusting hers based on the cards she had maintained. "Found some more laying around?"

His statement does earn a curious look from Carolina, both for the fact that it is memory loss and that he says it comes with age. She shrugs though. "Been in worse places, so it's not too bad. I was born on Earth though. Just didn't stick around."

"A few, yeah. I'll show them to you later if you want."

But it is her comment which is at the moment much more interesting than card games, for a change.

"You mean, you actually left?" How?

She blinks a little at his question, thinking back. She has spoken to some people about her life and what her own universe was like. Some knew through Wash or the others, second hand knowledge, but, no, she hasn't really told him anything, has she?

"Space travel is common in my time. We've gone out and explored new planets, found new races." Not that that had exactly turned out too well. Leaving Earth had not just made all their problems go away. There was still war, between humans, and between other species as well. "UNSC. United Nations Space Command. I used to fall under it, with the project I was with. We lived, slept, trained- all on a space ship."

Atem listens and as he does, the look in his eyes brightens. He shouldn't be so surprised at how things from other Earths have evolved, or even from different planets, but it amazes him anyway, technology is great. If only it humans didn't keep using it for war. He's even guilty of it, in its own ancient way. He won't get into that.

So, that confirmed it for him, that she was part of the army, not that is also not surprising in the slightest, her mannerisms spoke volumes to him from the start.

"How many planets have you visited?" Well, visit is one way to call it, he doesn't think she went there for some type of vacations, but it still counted.

"Well. It's not just planets. Asteroids. Moons." And really, she doesn't know how many she has actually visited. Keeping track of that isn't something that had crossed her mind. Rather, she had been focused on the leader board, on getting back her top position.

"They vary. Some are nice. Tropical. Others are covered in ice." And some... Some have dinosaurs that Caboose makes best friends with. "Retired on a moon, for a bit."

To say that Atem is captivated by the conversation is a bit of an understatement, it's quite easy to tell by the way he looks at her.

"You're so lucky." Considering that it could be said that he barely ever left his home. The building, in fact. "What was it like? And... Aren't you too young to retire?"

Lucky... No doubt from the brief description, it might seem like that. Her life has been anything but lucky, although some of it has been her own doing, her own choices and the results that she's lived with because of them. Still, she does know that some don't travel, that they won't be able to travel in their lifetime. Also knows what some don't need to travel, that they are content where they are.

She snorts though. "I guess. Retirement didn't last. The moon... Was actually pretty eventful. Had some native wildlife, which were dinosaurs, and flora, which were these mushrooms that, if ingested, were- what did Simmons say- crystal meth on crystal meth."

"Dinosaurs... Like T-Rex and Triceratops?" Museums are amazing, okay? But that also sounds amazing! Not that the last velociraptors were! But who doesn't like dinosaurs?! Also, who is Simmons, that a friend? It probably means she wasn't by herself there, that is good.

"...Did you get to eat those too?"

"Just like that." A bit less impressed sounding? She is. Then again, she had to deal with Caboose befriending them, and Sarge making a robot army to fight them. Shenanigans all around, all the time.

"Oh. Heck no. I didn't need to be running all over the place, talking a mile a minute." Once, maybe, she would have used it as an advantage, to gain an upper hand. Now, it's more keeping the others out of trouble, as they seem to have a knack for getting in to it.

Better than being bored.

"It sounds to me that you were more like a nanny than anything else in there. Were you with the friends you have here as well?

"Nanny..." That dryness to her voice as she gives him a wry glance. It may well fit, in some ways, but Carolina is nothing close to a nanny. She doesn't have the patience, for starters, and is more than happy to smack them in their face (helmeted, mind) with the butt of her gun.

"Some of the people here were there." Epsilon... He'd given himself up to save everyone. Here though he lives, in a flesh body, no doubt to his annoyance, as he had been an AI before.

As he said, she's been lucky. He cannot go out there and compare his life with hers, but at least she wasn't alone in that place, that must count for something.

"Glad they were there for you." Cheesy as ever, but it's true. "How did you get out of there anyway?"

"Reality came knocking again." Retirement had just been a pipe dream. The number of messes left by Freelancer, and by herself, keep coming, and she's going to keep cleaning them up until the day that she dies. For a brief moment, one brief shining moment, she had also thought that maybe, just maybe, Epsilon has survived. She knew now that it was a rouse to get them out, to trap her and to try to destroy Earth.

Sounds rough. He gives her a thorough stare, as it turns out that he really doesn't know that much about her but what she's shown to him. He doesn't know how bad it's been for her, or how truly lucky she's been (maybe he should stop assuming so), but life is always different for everyone, not because of it less important than anyone else's.

"And... what would you call this?" This, Hadriel, their current reality.

Carolina ins't one to speak too much about her past, about what she's been through. She still goes by the name given to her at Freelancer, a name that is only a title. It's as good a name as any, that title, having distanced herself from the Church aspect of herself.

"A pause in reality? I don't really know." Because they are living, and yet they aren't. They could leave, and from what she can tell, they would be non the wiser about their time here. She doesn't recall any of her team disappearing, after all.

"A pause..." He repeats, adding his own musings to the thought. It's not quite that the way she sees it bothers him, but it does make him think about his own perspective of the place. So many had already taken it as a second chance, others like a bump in the road, others didn't even seem to care, but what about him? Kaiba sure had opened a new possibility to him, assuring him with his usual confidence that he would take them both home, with that premise, did that mean this place was a new start for him?

It's not something he's been able to figure out, chances were he would simply go back to his reality, the other, that he would still go back to his reality, alive. There really isn't any need to think about it, worrying about the future is useless but it sure affects how he feels right now. How troublesome.

"That's fair, I guess."

"There's no control, you know, which is like real life." Don't get her wrong there. She knows a lot about events hitting the fan and the shit flying everywhere. Yet she is here. There is no ship to catch. No way out. And you leave when you leave, seemingly without no say in the matter. It's like dying, and being reborn to continue on.

But she shrugs. "I think I know of some who would choose to remain here. Those who don't have anything to return to. I do, at least as far as I know. Suppose I could explode on my ship ten minute from returning."

"Such is life. In which case... I guess this still counts." Pause or no pause, they are very much alive in here, even him.

He doesn't let that linger for long, however.

"... What's space like?"

"Big?" Although it is clear that despite giving that answer, Carolina is pausing in turn to give it a more thoughtful one. "It's dangerous, and deadly, but there is a certain appeal to it. You screw up, and you could be lost in space forever, if you don't meet a quick end."

Big. That's gotta be a pretty accurate description.

"What kind of appeal?" It sounds interesting nonetheless, "And you mean like, how you just go floating away aimlessly forever?" Now that sounds kind of terrifying.

"It's- unknown. There's a thrill to it, an emptiness, and yet it's not empty at all. You could well be the first person to step on a planet." To discover, to explore. Of course a lot of her time had been missions with Freelancer, or righting wrongs after.

"There... Were some accidents. Make the wrong trajectory, don't have property functioning equipment, and you could drift off in space."

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