Intro Log: It's All Fun and Games

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for April
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: April 10th-12th
Warnings: None

Welcome to Hadriel. You're a new arrival... or maybe you're not. Maybe this is all very familiar, and you're already rolling your eyes at ending up here again. In that case, welcome back! And if you're new, welcome! Your welcoming committee today is a bunch of creepy floating Shugguraths. Some of them spit acid, some of them can shock you with electricity, and some can freeze you. What we definitely know for sure is that none of them like you, so you better start running - or maybe try to shoot one down. Let's hope you've got help, because that's not going to be easy to do alone!

Or you can grab one of the weapons off the floor of the colosseum and just go for it. That'll work great for about five seconds, before you realize that all the weapons are in fact fun toys for kids to play with, and not entirely suitable for killing big floating monsters. But hey, at least you tried!

Once you've finished indulging your 90's nostalgia, feel free to look around. 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 April 10th-12th.
► 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

lup l open

[restinglichface]

colosseum - the night new arrivals pop in

[Lup's been missing all day.

To those who had been in the arena when all of the newcomers appeared, when the new monster of the week had popped in through the gate to cause a little mayhem, there may have been the quickest flashes of the elf all around, long blonde hair and a red cloak appearing in the background here and there, but just as fast she was gone again, leaving no trace of herself behind. Usually Lup is always there to fend off the monsters and get newbies set up in the city, but not today.

Not when her husband's left Hadriel for good.

It isn't until the sky's gone dark that she can be found, perched up on top of the colosseum's tall wall, her legs hanging down in the empty air, the whole arena finally silent after a day of busy activity. She has the hood of her cloak pulled up over her head, but to those that know her, there's no mistaking it's Lup, uncharacteristically silent while she looks out over the empty colosseum.]

[braveoff]

[ It's been a long day. Drake's been home between fighting the monthly Door monsters and now so he's no longer splattered with gore, but he had a bad feeling. Like he's forgotten something important. Enough that he's doing one last sweep, checking for escaped tentacle creatures or lost newbies. Nothing so far, but now he's passing the colosseum. And he just so happens to look up, spotting Lup's figure atop the wall. That's when it hits him.

He hadn't seen Barry with the handful of arrivals and returns.

Shit.

Drake comes to a stop beneath his friend, considering the hand and footholds in the wall in case she's going to make him climb it to talk to her. ]

Lup?

[restinglichface]

[Lup considers ignoring his voice, just for a moment.

But even if company isn't what she wants right now, there's no point in just pretending she doesn't hear Drake. She knows he'll just risk hurting himself to climb up here after her, stubborn as he is. So instead, she crosses one leg over the other, all too casual, taking her time to adjust her cloak, before she's peering down to acknowledge him.

At least she manages to keep her voice level when she calls back down to him.]

This magic shop's closed today, boyo. Try again tomorrow if you need somethin'.

[braveoff]

[ Magic shop? Drake would be offended if he didn't know full well what was going on. As it is he just exhales and murmurs a soft "okay, up it is" and steps up to the wall, starting to climb. He's no Nate but it's not too hard, either, and there's very little risk if he falls since he's still a zombie.

He's coming up there, Lup, deal with it. ]

[restinglichface]

[Guess that wasn't what he needed to hear.

Drake just comes up on his own, carefully scaling the wall, taking his time with each movement, and Lup just stares down, watching his ascent with a frown. Her bare feet kick idly out in front of her.]

You don't have to do that, Drake. I kinda went out of my way to get somewhere no one could reach for a reason.

[pocketspa]

[He finds her without much trouble. It's not hard to find his twin, after all, even when his heart is sinking as the hours tick on. Taako was so fucking confident Barry would be in the new arrivals, but when he thinks he must have just missed him turn into hours of searching despite not being able to call him, he's dreading the truth of it all.

It's not hard for him to soar up to the wall, a dark bird against the vibrant jungle landscape, and be back to Taako before his feet hit the edge of the wall next to her. With more grace than is usually seen out of him, he sinks to sitting, reaching for her hand.]

C'mere.

[He doesn't have good words here, but gosh, he'll try.]

[restinglichface]

[With Taako, there's no hesitation.

He offers his hand, but Lup twists to push into Taako's side instead, immediately curling around her twin, reaching for him. There's nothing she needs to say that he doesn't already know. They both already know the faith they've had in Barry returning was pointless.]

[pocketspa]

[He simply grabs her, arms around her in comfort like he did months ago when Barry disappeared. He was so sure then, the energy from it so strong that when it happened again they just thought, just assumed. It's been so long since he truly felt this, since he mourned Magnus and Merle and he could get over that, but--

He really felt like they were close, this time. Close to making it out with everything. Close to winning their whole prize.

Taako clutches her a little closer, as his mind grips with what else he could lose.]

I've got you. I've got you.

[He has to say something, do something, gods, what can he even do.]

We're gonna figure this out.

[restinglichface]

[The laws of this place really got them this time, didn't they? They both had been so confident in Barry's return, even after Magnus and Merle and Lucretia over and over again, but they'd just known he'd be different. They'd just assumed no one would rip them apart again after so many years apart already.

But they'd been so wrong. And this time it hurts, more than anything Lup can remember ever hurting.

What the fuck is she going to do.

Her body twists into his, giving Taako the full of her weight and her emotion, not bothering to hold back in his presence, not caring enough to pretend she can keep strong through this.]

I just wanna go home.

[dedikated]

( Like Kate, Lup's presence in the Colosseum is something of a constant, so she doesn't think too much when she sees the familiar, flitting hair and cloak. At least, not until she realises that it's all she sees — there's no traces of fire dancing around, no spellwork coming from the blur that she is.

She doesn't get a chance to catch her, and the day marches on until the sun sinks behind the countless trees and it's... still humid. Always humid, it seems, but the temperature lifts a little bit, enough that Kate can hop through the city without feeling completely gross and sweaty. She notices the silhouette from a distance, but with a hood up and no real light to speak of, it could be anyone, and it's not until Kate gets to the tip of the Colosseum's crumbling walls herself that she can make out enough colour, or enough of the cape to realise just who it is. )

... Want company?

( She crouches down, resting her forearms against her thighs, half ready to flit off if Lup says no. )

[restinglichface]

Why not.

[Kate, at least, is someone Lup knows well enough to know the woman isn't going to get all weepy on her or make a lot of big promises and reassurances that end up going nowhere. Kate is real, Kate is down to earth and brutally honest. And that's just what the elf needs right now. Someone to sit beside her and shoot the shit, not another person looking over at her with pity in their eyes and apologies on her lips. Not another Hadriel apologist.

She's so done with that. She's so fucking done with all of this.]

At least there's no more fuckin' snow around, huh.

[Even dead and so immune to the cold, Lup wasn't a fan. It just got so boring to look at after a few months, endless cold and ice, nothing living except for the handful of them who were still alive. It doesn't help her opinion of that world thinking Barry got trapped there, left behind or something equally horrific.]

[dedikated]

( Crying is for other people. Not them. Optimistically framed advice? Definitely not for Kate. Hadriel is too exhausting to gloss up with well, it's not so bads and other meaningless phrases. Instead, she takes the why not for the acquiescence it is and carefully drops into a sitting position, the gentle thud of heels against brick as she swings her legs. )

Hated it.

( The arctic nightmare planet had its uses — the things people have learned, the fact that Glacius was in a climate he was actually meant for — but fuck did Kate hate it. It was blank, bland, an empty space of nothing outside the city and not even warm enough to make up for it.

Of course... )

All of 'em were shit.

( The islands, for locking them into place for six months unless you felt like going sailing and always bringing cold, grey rain (didn't she leave that kind of weather in England where it belongs?); the desert for being empty and dry and always so sunny. Too hot to get too close to the people who are actually worth touching.

And this place, which Kate already knows is going to be a bitch with the humidity leaving them sweaty and dissatisfied. And for whatever it, or the city itself, has done that Lup's light has dimmed down and hidden itself up on the wall of the Colosseum. )

[restinglichface]

Gods, you get me completely. Not that I was totally diggin' the whole cave sitch either, but everything that's come after's been just as shitty, huh.

[Either way you dress it up, it's still a cage, still designed to keep all of these folks in against their will. It's them being tormented over and over again, month by month, just trying to find a way out. It's all the same, just some are slightly more comfortable or more roomy than others. That's it.

She shifts to pull her legs closer to her, wrapping her skinny arms around herself while her gaze lingers out along the line of thick trees and greenry that make up the jungle.]

Where to next, y'know? The bottom of the ocean? They are runnin' out of biomes to throw us in.

[outofthefire]

[Laura had actually been able to help with the monsters this time. those bastards were great for helping her improve her archery against a moving target. she figures she's going to need that practice soon.

Laura has noticed that she hasn't seen Barry in a while. quite a while, actually. at first, she wrote it off to the fact that everyone's busy here, they probably crossed paths about a million times and didn't know it, right? or maybe he's gone away and some time has passed and he'll be back. right?

apparently not. Laura feels horrible for Lup, who's lost her husband because of the latest stupid god bullshit. and she can't help feel a little horrible for herself, too, since Barry had always treated her kindly, like she wasn't the tainted, damaged Laura Palmer who still dwelled deep inside her.

so as night fell, she took one last trip to the Colosseum. just to be sure.

no such luck.

she takes a good, long look around the empty Colosseum, only to see Lup perched on top of the wall.

she calls up] Lup?

[restinglichface]

[For a few quiet moments, Lup doesn't say a word.

She's still up there, frozen in her position, looking more like a statue than a living creature, except for the gentle breeze ruffling at the hem of her heavy cloak. She's lost in her own head, trapped in her thoughts, mourning the loss of a husband who's technically already been dead for the last thirty-some years. But she's not mourning his life, though, just the loss of his memories, of the growth their relationship's found in this place.

If she goes home tomorrow with her memories intact, what will she even do? Keep it to herself? Try and fill him in on all they've been through? She really doesn't have a clue.

But eventually she finally shifts, just enough to plop her chin into her palm, gaze downcast downwards to where Laura's calling for her.]

Sup, chickadee. Whatcha doin' out here?

[outofthefire]

[she does't know if they keep their memories of this place after they leave. Laura hopes she does. Hadriel has been good for her, in many ways. she imagines it has for others, too. she wouldn't want them to lose the growth, the progress they made in being themselves.

she waits for Lup to acknowledge her]

I was helping the new kids. Seeing who came back. Thought I'd check just one more time.

[restinglichface]

[Lup's quiet for another moment, as if she's considering something, before the elf hops off of her perch and floats to the ground, bare feet hitting the ground without a sound.

For Laura, she'll drop down to speak with her. It would be rude to just keep yelling.]

Find who you were looking for?

[Lup assumes she already knows that answer.]

[madamdirector]

[ Naturally, Lucretia had spent the day looking for Barry too. Not with Lup, who'd been gone before she'd gotten up, out early to be among the first to meet the new arrivals and, hopefully, her husband.

But when she hadn't received a joyful message from Lup, or a ridiculous selfie of herself and Barry, Lucretia had headed out to conduct her own search. Just in case. And when night had fallen without either any sign of Barry or any word from Lup, well.

Then she'd gotten really worried.

She spots the elf high on the wall, alone, and sighs before casting Fly on herself and heading up, landing on the wall next to the elf. Lucretia doesn't say a word. She just sits down at Lup's side and puts an arm around her, pulling her close. ]

[restinglichface]

[She's not the person that Lup wants to see the most in this moment, but Lucretia's the near next best thing.

The other woman settles next to her, slips a sturdy arm around her, and Lup is already shifting into Lucretia's embrace, her face falling into the safety of the other's shoulder, her fingers twisting into her clothing. There are tears in her eyes, quietly trailing down her freckled face, but she doesn't sob or wail out about unfairness. Lup just stays quiet and clings to her best friend, crying silently.

What can she even say? What can any of them say?]

[madamdirector]

[ She can't say anything, not for a long time. What words could possibly hope to bring Lup comfort? How can she begin to fill the void that Barry left?

She can't. So she stays silent, wrapping both arms around Lup, rocking her slowly, letting her curl into her chest and just cry as long as she needs to.

Eventually, she does speak, murmuring quietly into the elf's hair. ]

This isn't forever, Lup.

You'll find each other again.

[restinglichface]

I know.

[And of course she does. Hadriel isn't forever, she knows that. All of them have fought for so damn long to find a real home and now that they've finally got one, Lup will fight for it without question. They'll figure out the whole door sitch and make it back. She knows that.]

It's just... Fuck. I've been back now, twice. You go home and you don't remember shit about this place. It just drops you right back to where you came in from. To the second, without a single memory of any of this.

[It's why she's been helping out at the lab, trying to find a solution for when everyone leaves this place for good, so that they don't have to leave their memories behind. But Barry left just before they'd figured it all out...]

So he won't remember any of this. Won't remember all of the crap we went through.

[knockthemdead]

[He can't bear this.

Maybe Taako and Lucretia know how to just lean over and wrap their arms around Lup, but Kravitz doesn't know how to approach her grief. He stands by her side for a long moment, silent and contemplative, before sitting down beside her and reaching out carefully to place a hand over one of hers.]

I cannot imagine exactly the pain you are feeling. And I will not pretend to. But I am here.

[restinglichface]

[If nothing else, she doesn't pull away from his touch. At least there's that.]

Aren't you like a gazillion years old? Never gotten your heart all stomped on before?

[knockthemdead]

[He huffs a little at that, something close to a laugh but not quite there.]

I'm positive I have. But there's an awful lot I don't remember. A gazillion years passing will do that to you.

[restinglichface]

[Trust me, Krav. There's no laughing right now. That's for sure.]

True dat. Still sucks no matter when it happens.