INTRO LOG: A TAXING JOURNEY

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for December. Watch your step!
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: December 10th-17th
Warnings: Taxxon-related violence, teeth shoes, general unpleasantness, mass confusion.

You wake up in the dust of the colosseum with no shoes on, regardless of the state of your feet when you arrived. There's dust covering your clothing and in your hair, but other than that, there's no signs of injury or bruising. You're also not alone- nearby, there are others, either still passed out or just waking up like you are. Feel free to take solace in that fact. Or don't- some of you aren't human, and are clearly not great people either. No offense.

To your left, there is a door in the wall of the arena, supposedly leading to the halls which will then show you to your freedom. To your right, and scattered haphazardly on the ground, are a myriad of teeth shoes. These shoes might be better than going barefoot right now, but good luck finding a matching set, let alone one that fits you.

When you do eventually try to escape, be careful. The halls are crawling with Taxxons. Large and grotesque, these caterpillar-like creatures have circular mouths and multiple rows of sharp teeth. Their sense of smell is impeccable, and they will stop at nothing to feed when they scent blood. So, you know, try to avoid stepping on anything sharp on your way out.

All done with the horrible monsters and awkward greetings? Try your hand at exploring the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies until your little heart is content. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers December 10th-17th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► Characters may find their own shoes scattered around with the teeth shoes if you like.
► All characters now arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[morphinum]

[ Johanna's been in too many last-person-standing situations to treat her own life as anything but. Clearly, this kid hasn't, and his naïveté is aggravating. Really, Johanna knows she should leave it alone. If this kid wants to go out and die, he can feel free. One less person means more food and resources for Johanna Mason. ]

No, you got the impression that this was some kind of adventure you saw on your goddamn television.

[ She gives him a scathing look. The thing about adventures on TV is that they're fun to watch, but much less fun to have.

She enters the shop and starts examining the things on the shelves. There's a whole shelf filled with oddly-shaped fruit that piques Johanna's curiosity. ]

Thanks. It's a real trusty tool for murder.

[pighead]

Sure seems a lot like one of them. Some crappy late-night horror movie, maybe.

[The kind of thing Josh finds inspiring. It's a little less so when he's apparently living it. But all things considered, it could be worse.

He doesn't enter the shop quite yet, lingering near the door, looking inside. There might be something in there, or maybe it's just that he's not prepared to get stuck in a room with an angry chick with an axe. A murder axe, apparently.]

You do a lot of murdering?

[He sounds more interested than disturbed, really.]

[morphinum]

[ Josh has good instincts, then, if he doesn't want to go into the store with an axe murderer. Or maybe he's just got a basic sense of self-preservation. Johanna isn't one hundred percent sure what the difference between a late-night and normal-night horror movie is, apart from the time their shown, but whatever. This kid obviously didn't come from a place where the government had a monopoly on the media, and Johanna isn't going to begrudge him that. ]

Mm-hmm. A really shitty one.

[ She bags the strange fruit, and moves on to what looks like off-brand cereal. ]

Yeah, sure. Haven't done as much as I'd like lately, though. I've been a little preoccupied.

[ Johanna is certainly tough, but she doesn't exactly look healthy. ]

[pighead]

I guess it's hard to, what with that whole cancer patient chic thing you've got going.

[He's not sure he really believes her - Josh has met plenty of badasses who were more bark than bite - but he is pretty sure that he can't afford to assume she's lying, either. But Josh, for all his apparent friendliness and stability, does not place a particularly high value on his life. And 'stable' is a hilarious joke.

So he doesn't get too close, but he doesn't run for the hills, either, instead just leaning against the doorframe, glancing out at the street every now and then.]

You think that stuff's edible?

[morphinum]

[ Johanna has to laugh at that one. The kid thinks she's got cancer? He's pretty far off the mark, but hey, she can't begrudge his educated guess. ]

Nah, don't worry, I don't have cancer. I have an insatiable substance abuse problem, but thanks for asking. [ She snorts. ] So, you know. Don't do drugs, kids, unless you're fresh outta coping mechanisms.

[ She shakes the box. Sounds like cornflakes. She's probably crushed about half of them, but that's not so bad. Easier to eat them dry that way, since Johanna doesn't see any milk. ]

Might save your life, might kill you. You never know. [ She opens up the box and offers him some. ]

Wanna try?

[pighead]

No worries there. I threw all my drugs away.

[He grins, then, because that's totally a good joke, except for the part where he actually did and they were the medications for his mental illness, rather than fun party drugs. And that is definitely not going to bite anyone in the ass somewhere down the line.

He looks in the box. Looks like cereal, smells like cereal.]

Wonder if this place has poison cereal? It doesn't seem like there'd be much point to it.

[And he shrugs, reaches in, and takes a handful.]

So what was your substance of choice?

[morphinum]

[ Tsk, tsk. Johanna shakes her head in mock shame. ]

Damn, what a bummer. I would've stolen them from you. At least someone would've gotten some use out of them.

[ That's not a lie, either. She's never been one to care for other people's needs. Her own take first priority.

She watches him eat the cereal, curious to see if it makes him change colors or anything nasty like that. ]

Morphling. [ and then, to clarify ] Painkillers. Strong ones, too, but hey, they did the job.

[pighead]

Phenelzine's not much fun at parties. You'd have been disappointed.

[The cereal tastes fine, and it doesn't seem to be poisoning him. He might regret eating it later, but there don't seem to be any instant effects, so Josh continues munching away. He's not that hungry, but who knows what else here might be edible?

He finishes his handful pretty quickly, looks at her, and shrugs. Seems fine to him.]

I guess you look like someone who needs a lot of painkillers. Can't be fun coming off that stuff, though.

[morphinum]

I'm not looking for fun.

[ She makes a sarcastic, sweeping gesture at her head and rolls her eyes. ]

I'm looking for pure, undiluted numbing. Hell, I'll even take forgetting. [ She sighs. ] Bliss, man.

[ Too bad she's got to ration what she has here. Johanna's injecting just enough to stave off withdrawal, but not enough to get the effects she wants.

Johanna reaches in the box and tries a handful of the cereal. She shrugs back. It's not half-bad. ]

Clearly. [ She says flatly, bitterly. ] The about-to-keel-over look is real flattering on me. Guess I'm just one of those special fucking people who can pull it off. So why stop now?

[pighead]

It was a mood stabilizer. Not much good for any of those things.

[Except a general numbing of the emotions, which might be up her alley. Josh watches to see if the cereal will poison her, just in case. You never know.]

Hey, if you know what works for you, might as well make the best of it.

[He grins, because casually joking about someone's awful physical state is a totally cool and friendly thing to do. What a bro. What a cool bro.]

If I happen across any drugs, I'll let you know.