hadriel_logs | Intro Log: I'll Cry If I Want To

Entry tags:

Intro Log: I'll Cry If I Want To

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for December
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: December 10th-14th
Warnings: Angry crying ladies and a bunch of newbies

Good morning, new Hadrielites! What a joy it is to awaken on the hard ground of the colosseum, with absolutely no idea where you are or what's going on. As you wake up, confused and possibly a little terrified, you may be angry. You may be frightened. You may be hungry, if you didn't eat a good lunch. You may want to cry.

And it looks like you're not the only one who wants to cry. Along with the newcomers, a number of Witches have come to Hadriel. They stand in one place or wander, crying bitterly, as if their boyfriend has broken up with them or they've lost their puppy. Maybe you're a good person who wants to see if they're okay? Well, you might want to rethink that. Disturb a Witch - which is pretty easy to do - and they'll fly into a rage, attacking you with their sharp claws and tearing your guts out. Good luck trying to get out of the colosseum without running into one!

Don't worry, though. Scattered around is also some stuff that's a little more fun! The Door's theme this month seems to be 'stuff stressed-out executives would put on their desks', and since we've got so many of those, surely you can find a toy or two to play with!

If you've managed to avoid getting clawed to bits and maybe found a cool new distraction or two, congrats! That's the first step to becoming a productive member of Hadriel society! Now, feel free to go 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 December 10th-14th.
► 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Dork.]

I see. You know, I can grill someone else for answers if you'd rather...?

[It'd be sad, but she wasn't about to put him on the spot if he didn't want to be here.]

No, please- let's walk. I'll show you to the clinic, you can ask me anything along the way.

[He decides, finishing the last of his water before making his way to his feet.]

It's pretty safe out there right now, and anyways--

[Between the two of them the things going bump in the night would have to make a pretty big bump to be actually frightening.]

[Maybe the real monsters should be frightened?]

Lead the way. I should probably know where to find that, just in case.

[She wasn't exactly invested in drinking anyway.]

I'd ask if you see a lot of work here, but I feel like I can guess the answer to that one.

You look busy.

It's quiet, until it's slammed. The injury types are usually pretty uncomplicated- but they put a strain on us with how consistent they are. My- third month here, maybe, we woke up one morning to find that half the city had been shut in buried coffins, and the other half had been given shovels. It was a week of infected cuts, blisters, and nail beds, which presents as uncomplicated except that it was for the entire population, and we scrounge polysporin out of the back of abandoned shops, and boil bandages for reuse.

[And- because it's Bruce it comes out calm- but she probably knows him well enough to hear the vaguely dissociated tone in his voice that suggests he would like to be appalled and furious, but can't afford to think that way.

It's still a bit of a relief to be out of the bar, though, and into the open air, where there are fewer people.]

Busy, absolutely.

[Natasha doesn't have an immediate response for that. She can imagine only too well what that would have been like—both the panic when people came to trapped underground, buried alive, and the chaos trying to find them all and get them out. Hard to say which side had it worse.

She also doesn't have to stretch her imagination to figure how hard that would be for Bruce.

After a brief silence, she clears her throat softly.]

Busy, and on your toes. You're not the first person to mention things getting messy, but most of them were more playing with people's heads.

I know. That happens. There's this old hat jaded thing people like to put on- it's a coping mechanism.

[He dismisses, with a mild wave.]

I don't know what to do about any of, except consistently keep trying.

Not much else to do.

[Something like sympathy colors her reply.]

What I've heard of so for was more mind games. Gods getting in people's heads and making them act out of character.

[Which does not, in fact, sound much better to he than being buried alive.]

Oh- I misunderstood.

[He admits, and answers, instead;]

That happens. I wouldn't say- I don't know. It never stands out for me as much as the marauding dragons, or the time rust, sludge and mist grew out of the air to the sound of an air raid siren. Maybe it's less common, but it's infinitely worse than mood altering effects.

But then, maybe I'm jaded.

You didn't misunderstand at all.

[Her response is quick, not missing a beat.]

I'm surprised I haven't heard more about that kind of threat. Dragons did come up, more or less in passing.

I am always amazed at people's priorities. There were blazing, billowing fires. People were eaten. We lost whole buildings.

[And they're 'in passing.' Oh well.]

I'm not sure I'd call it a reflection of their priorities. When you put it in that context, seems more like something people don't like talking about.

[Not that she can say why people tell her what they do. She can only guess, and go with her instincts. But she is inclined to see all the angles.]

And in all of that, with the dragons and the people getting buried...

[She trails off, unsure how to ask the question on her mind without making it sound like she wants to know if he's had an incident. If that were all she were interested in, that would make this a lot easier.]

I'm not going to ask if you're okay. Obvious things aren't okay.

They're not.

[He admits, readily. Part and parcel of his whole deal is that it requires a certain amount of self-awareness.]

And about a month ago, I put my head down, and didn't get up as many days as I should have. But, there are kids here, so. Rallying.

Would you understand what I mean if I admit that despite everything, I'm glad it's you here?

I wouldn't take it the wrong way.

[Better her than a lot of people. And there was something to be said for having a friend here, even if they hadn't parted ways on the best terms.]

As long as you've been here, I can't blame you if you didn't have the energy to deal with it the whole time.

I'm sure you were doing your best.

It's inevitable, that everyone staying here long enough has good days and bad.

[Because self-punishing cognitions are not something he can afford.]

The last thing you need to know is that I tried to kill Fear. He appeared right behind me, and when I lunged through him, he was incorporeal.

[That gets a pause as Natasha processes the new information. There's a lot to take from it—both from the information that Bruce had tried to kill a god, and that if it was possible at all, it wouldn't be easy.

It also raises questions.]

Bruce...

[She says it with a note of concern before she trails off. When she continues, her air is more professional again.]

Have there been consequences?

No. Probably because I took out most of a block in the attempt. I think he was reasonably pleased.

[Which makes the whole thing more insulting- and if he lets it be, infuriating, which is why;]

I'd recommend moving against them, but I need to be careful in my own participation. It's right up to the edge of what I can handle.

[Natasha can picture all too easily what that would look like in this situation.]

No, you would want to keep your distance.

[At least as much as possible in this situation.]

Exactly.

[She's always understood.]

So- what am I missing, from the orientation talk?

Between you, a couple other chatty customers and the guide they upload on your phone...

[She knows she's missing things. A lot, probably.]

No glaring gaps.

[Though that doesn't mean she doesn't have any questions.]

Where are you staying?

I keep an apartment, but now I'm back to spending most nights in the clinic cots. We try to keep someone on call, and staff has been depleted, lately.

People vanish from Hadriel. Some say they die, some say they're sent home- I don't honestly know. I assume it must be an ending of some kind, otherwise I'm sure Steve would have taken both of us aside for a private conversation at some point along the line.

There were other people from home here before him, you should know.

If someone killed Captain America before he was Captain America, though... that would have consequences.

[Isn't that how it would work? Natasha's clearly read less sci-fi than Bruce.]

Who else?

[She's already weighing the potential possibilities.]

It's more likely we're snipped out of our respective timelines, carbon copies of the original version, then sent home.

When I arrived here, it was me, our Steve, and Tony- three versions of us who remembered one another. Both vanished. Then Wanda Maximoff arrived, then a version of you did, then the older version of Steve and his Bucky, then you left, then the Vision, then Pietro Maximoff. Wanda and Vision are gone, I've lost track of Pietro, and you say we've lost Steve-

[Because he knows he should cover this properly;]

You were here before. Your hair was different. You were a lot angrier with me.

[If the gods are capable of it, copies makes a certain amount of sense. It would also mean they're entirely disposable.

Not a nice thought. She saves it for later.

As for the rest, she considers how and if she should respond to it. It seems worthwhile not glossing over that entirely.]

A little more time and perspective, I guess.

[Natasha isn't the kind of person to stay bitter when things don't work out. At least she likes to think she's not.]

So from the sound of it, there's a good chance I won't be the last one showing up here. That's a lot of turnover.

Or maybe I was still swallowed up in enough guilt that I read into it.

[Time and perspective certainly applies to both of them. But there, he can admit that; he felt incredibly guilty about what happened.]

You probably won't be. There may be others here already, for all I know- like I said, I've been down for the count the last little bit.

[But time to get back in the game.]

Well. You don't have to feel guilty. It happened.

[And he has enough guilt in his life without finding anther thing to eat himself up over. That's the last thing she wants to see.]

Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for that. Wouldn't mind having more allies I already know I can work with.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject