hadriel_logs | Event Log: Is It a Wonderful Life?

Entry tags:

Event Log: Is It a Wonderful Life?

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for Is It A Wonderful Life? event
Where: All over the city
When: Jan 4th-8th
Warnings: None

Throughout the next few days, you may find yourself plagued by visions and dreams of back home. The dreams will be lifelike and difficult to tell apart from reality, as the world will be constructed from what you remember of your world. However, unlike usual dreams, you won't be present, and will find yourself unable to be seen or heard by those around you.

The dreams are vivid reminders of what might happen in a world without you: a world in which you disappeared when coming to Hadriel, a world which desperately needs you back for some reason or another. You may see your parents putting up missing posters, your significant other moving onto their next relationship, or even your hated villain finally taking over the world without you there to stop them.

When the vision leaves, you're back here and nothing about the city has changed. Though maybe you have a different outlook on it now...

► This log covers January 4th-Januray 8th.
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you try a weird solution to make it back home, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Figured, with the whole reaper thing.

[ He shrugs. Takes a drag on his own cigarette. ]

Got shot a bunch. Had it coming at the time.

Yuuuup. Kinda have to die to become a Reaper. It blows.

[she takes another drag on hers and attempts to blow smoke rings. they're shaky, at best]

Sucks to be you. Why'd you have it coming?

Well, that sucks. How'd you bite it?

[ Might as well ask. They're already on the subject. ]

Wasn't a good person.

[ He's quiet for a moment. ]

My squad, they got killed. I was the last one. Tried to avenge them. Salt the earth and shit. Took me a long time to track 'em down, but I did. Did a lot of bad things just for a shot at killing them right back. Didn't work in the end.

[she sighs and with the air of one much put-upon, she says}

I got torpedoed by a toilet seat from Mir. By the time it was done with me, you could've fit what was left in an Altoids tin.

[they are. and misery shared is halved and blah blah blah. whatever]

...oh. So they got you in the end? [she thinks for a minute, taking another drag on her cigarette and letting the smoke out] Doesn't seem entirely fair, but who said life and death were fair?

[ Ephemera whistles, morbidly impressed. ]

Well, that's memorable.

[ Might as well go big if you're going out, right? ]

Yeah. Got kicked off a train and then, hnn. [ Hail of bullets. ] They gave me an out. I was too angry to take it, but they tried.

[ Ephemera nods slowly. ]

Had so much anger it made me somebody else. Couldn't see anything but killing them. Didn't make my peace until after I got here. Washington and Carolina, I hated their guts. Wanted to tear them apart. But now, now I can talk to them. They're here, too. Doesn't always go well, but it's something.

[she just looks resigned to mockery]

You think? Other Reapers kept calling me Toiletseat Girl, as though I didn't have a fucking name.

[the thing was, she had plenty of time to dodge. she just . . . didn't]

Anger can really fuck with you.

[she takes another drag of her cigarette, then tries again to blow smoke rings. this time is minutely better than the last]

Something is something. It's a start. A beginning. Some pathway towards peace and friendship and all that bullshit I don't really bother to mess with.

[LIAR. why would she be talking to him otherwise?]

That so?

[ He doubts that. ]

Look. I was - ah. You wouldn't have liked me, back in the day. Anger does what it does. But I'm working on my shit. You? Well, you do what you're gonna do. But it doesn't help, pretending this stuff doesn't matter.

That's what I've heard. Haven't really gone for anger in the past, though, mostly apathy. But. I like to think I'm getting better?

[she's trying. to be a better person, a better friend. the end results are debatable]

And you wouldn't have liked me. Apathy does the same thing, only quieter. But I'm not apathetic anymore. I work at the Clinic. I'd like to get out of here so I can go to college for pre-med. But everything matters, including who we were.

That's all you can do.

[ Doesn't make it easy, this whole being a better person thing. ]

Yeah? That's something. 's good to have plans. Not sure what I'm gonna do. Drake's world has art schools. We'll see.

I guess so? One foot in front of the other.

[being a better person isn't easy and it's taken her a year and. . . nine months to get this far?]

You're an artist? That's cool. What do you usually do, portraits or landscapes or a little bit of both?

Uh huh.

[ Ephemera takes another drag, tapping ashes onto the ground. ]

Little bit of everything. Started out doodling and then I learned how to paint my armor. Kinda spiraled from there.

[she continues to hold onto her cigarette. maybe she thinks it makes her look mature?]

So you taught yourself? That's cool. Way cooler than the whole "been to art school, parents are supporting me with a trust fund" bullshit I used to run into.

Never met anybody who had a trust fund, [ Ephemera says thoughtfully. ] Used to talk about going to school after the war ended, but that didn't work out. My captain, he was all for it. He had plans, too. Wanted to be a high school teacher. Spent the whole war doing zero g combat jumps and he wanted to teach English to a bunch of kids. But that was the captain.

[ He nods, expression a little distant. ]

You would've liked him. Everybody did.

[the bit about his captain wanting to be a teacher hits her hard, reminds her of her father] I can. Think of worse jobs. I mean, wanting to teach people, teaching takes a lot of effort. It takes a special kind of person to do a job like that.

[but she notices the use of past tense.

hesitantly] Is he. . . okay?

Yeah. That was Hunter. Kids loved him. Hell, everybody loved him. He was good at that sort of thing, talking to people. Making 'em see the other side of things.

[ Ephemera had loved him. Loved the entire squad. They'd been family. Only one he'd ever known.

He shakes his head. Exhales another cloud of smoke. ]

No. He died.

Sounds like he would've been a great teacher.

[and. she is both sad and not surprised to hear what he says next. because people here don't get to have nice things. even the people they care about don't get to. it sucks a lot, but it also seems to be the way things work out]

...I'm sorry.

[ Ephemera nods slowly. It would've been a good life for Hunter. ]

Yeah. Me, too. I miss him a lot. But it doesn't hurt as much as it used to. Guess that's something.

Yeah. It's something? Mourning is supposed to be this whole big process and fuck if I can figure it out, but it not hurting as much? Is probably a big step in the process.

[and she remembers her cigarette, brings it to her lips, takes a drag, and tries to blow a smoke ring. it's pretty pathetic]

[ He smiles just a little at that. ]

Don't inhale so deep. Shallow exhale. Like this.

[ He demonstrates. Hey, smoke ring. ]

[she slides a wry grin in his direction when he blows the smoke ring]

Show-off.

Okay, let's try this again.

[and she does as she's instructed and the second try is. . . not terrible? a little wobbly, but recognizable]

I'll have you know this worked wonders for me in bars, [ Ephemera informs her solemnly, though his one eye is bright with humor. ] See, you're getting it.

[she chuckles] I'll bet it did. It's all sexy and mysterious and I-don't-give-a-fuck. I bet you were reeling 'em in. [and she tries again with a small amount of improvement] Thanks. I've always been a fast learner.

Everybody likes sexy and mysterious. Universal turn on. [ He used to have fun at bars, back in the day. Flirting with people was harmless fun. Used to be he'd flirt with anyone given half the opportunity, just for something to do. Not so much these days. Maybe he's getting old. ] I did okay. Believe it or not, I used to be pretty fucking charming.

[ Less so now, with his face. But times change. He shrugs, taking another drag. ]

'course I was pretty back then. That helped. But bars were fun. Low stakes, you know?

Yeah. Maybe that's my problem. Best I can manage is awkward and vaguely bitchy. [and George has had zero fun at all. she was far too insular and weird to have any sort of social life in school and since coming here has fallen for a girl who 1) had a boyfriend who is now gone and 2) seems to have friendzoned her hard] Ehh, I can believe it.

[George isn't sure what's wrong with her face, but she's sure there must be something. she also takes another drag as something to do other than brooding over her own physical inadequacies]

Yeah, I wouldn't know. Sure, there's the Speakeasy, but that's not the same as a bar back home.

Eh, you just need to practice.

[ Preferably while sober, but everybody's got their thing. Ephemera tips his head back and exhales. The nicotine feels good in his lungs. ]

Yeah. Everybody knows everybody. 's not quite the same.

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