Intro Log: Eat Your Veggies

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-16th
Warnings: Luscious greenery and confused newbies

As has become tradition within the good (well, okay) city of Hadriel, new arrivals will awake on the floor of the half-destroyed colosseum. Confused and disoriented, you may be wondering where you are and what you're doing there. Don't worry! Someone will probably tell you sooner or later, as long as you get out of the colosseum alive.

Oh, right. About that. Along with the poor, innocent, vulnerable new arrivals are a number of other new friends! Well, maybe less 'friends' than 'horrifying monsters', but are you really going to be picky? Wandering the arena are Shambling Mounds. These creatures are large, unattractive piles of vaguely humanoid-shaped vegetation. They hit hard, they can take a lot of damage, and if you're really unlucky they might manage to engulf you with their weird plant bodies. If that happens, you'd better try to get free fast - otherwise they'll just walk off with you stuck inside and kill you later at their leisure.

The Door appears to have cast a wide net for 'plant monsters', and while Shambling Mounds are the only ones that can actually hurt you, it's managed to pull in a number of smaller, less dangerous carnivorous plants. Some of them are even kind of cute! So if you were looking for a pet venus flytrap or a new pitcher plant, you're in luck. Scattered around the colosseum are carnivorous potted plants, just waiting to find a new home.

Make a new plant friend, or get eaten by one, or run screaming! Whatever you choose to do, once you find your way out of the colosseum there's plenty of other distractions. 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 January 10th-16th.
► 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

Sharon da Silva | OTA

[unitas]

▍▍▍▍ I. COLISEUM

[ She feels it before her eyes open: feels the distance between herself and the realities of Silent Hill, a gap that spans so far. She snaps to, on her feet in an instant, though she wavers unsteadily. Her head feels as if it might split open, memories rushing in. She'd barely had time to recover from merging with Alessa, and now this? Again?

The monsters are background noise as she moves through the coliseum, her only purpose to get out of danger so she can process the oncoming waves of new information (and reprocess the old).

A shambling mound approaches, readying to attack or devour, and with little warning, it bursts aflame. Sharon doesn't even spare it a glance as she continues, limping forward, gripping her left bicep.

Maybe you might want to follow the girl who sets shit on fire and at least appears to know where to go? It can't be that bad of a plan. ]

▍▍▍▍II. PATH NEAR CLINIC

[ For those who last saw Sharon, there can be no denying that something has changed—that something is very different about the youth. For one, her dark hair is gone, returned to a mostly brassy blonde with dark roots just peeking. She stands out like a sore thumb with her bright orange hoodie and white leather vest, though both show signs of wear and damage; the shoulder of the vest is shredded and her chest is a smear of old blood, a pink ribbed stain. She stumbles along the path towards the clinic, each step heavier than the last.

She's exhausted, the events from home having physically drained her and the shambling mounds just took what little was left. She pushes forward until she physically can't, and then she slowly sinks to the ground, resting at the edge of the path.

Her head pounds and every heartbeat makes it worse. Hadriel. She's in Hadriel. She's been in Hadriel. She's left it, however briefly, and now she's back.

Fuck.

Fuck.

She pulls her knees up to her chest, letting her eyes slide shut. She just needs to process this all, breathe in deeply, and maybe pass out. ]

path.

[torrefied]

[The orange hoodie is hard to miss, a bright beacon against the relative gloom of the rest of the landscape. Mello isn't looking for her - doesn't know she's been missing - but she's impossible to overlook, as is the fact that her hair is different.

He's been here long enough to know that things aren't always what they seem, and that people come and go without warning. She may not be Sharon. She may be Sharon, just not the one who knows him. But whoever she is, she looks to be in pretty rough shape, and he won't know who she is for sure until he confirms it himself. He steps off the path toward her hesitantly, alert for even the smallest sign of danger.]

Sharon?

[And just in case this is a trick of some kind, his sunglasses - ridiculous plastic things with slats where the lenses should be - are staying on.]

colosseum

[avephoenix]

Sharon!

[Faith recognizes her at once by her eyes and the way she moves. There's a monster chasing Faith, so she dispatches it quickly -- a shot of flames from her palm to irreversibly burn it, good riddance -- and runs to Sharon at superhuman speed.]

Sharon, you're hurt! [And exhausted. Faith would love to heal her up all the way, but she needs her strength to help others now. At the very least, though, she can take care of Sharon's bigger injuries.] Here, lemme see your arm?

[If Sharon allows her, Faith will hold a hand over her arm, and a soft, glittery, golden glow will fill the space between, leeching the pain and damage away from Sharon's body and into Faith's.]

Coliseum

[ushahin]

[Ushahin is here as he is every month. Always, there is just a little hope within him that someone from his home will come. Well, this time, there is someone he recognizes amidst all the confused minds. He senses Sharon just before she lights the vegetation on fire.

He approaches her slowly and with no undue caution. She could just as easily turn that fire on him. He catches her eye, assessing her overall mental state. Physical is of little concern to him, provided she's not about to bleed out in the dirt.]

So, you have returned.

Castiel | OTA + healing

[strangelic]

1. [ Castiel doesn't like to come out on arrival days. It's almost predictable, like clockwork. New people start to arrive, and with them come new monsters. Cas is careful; it's a survival mechanism just as much as it is a coping mechanism, because while he's adjusting to going back to fighting monsters, he's had his odd day where it was all too much for him. Dean becoming a demon; the day that Sam vanished; Azazel.

But he was also trying to build his own confidence back up. Today, he crept toward the Collosseum, then into it, with his angel blade held high. Maybe he looked just a little bit terrifying, walking around like that, a man with frantic hair and a sharp, long blade, wearing a tan trenchcoat, an oversized suit jacket and nurse shoes. Oh, he's so frightening.

Perhaps you meet him when he's lowered his blade, crouching carefully beside a pitcher plant. Poor thing. It eats insects, but all the food there is in Hadriel is...well. Bees. And they're very close to his heart. Not that the pitcher plant doesn't deserve to have a little something to eat...

With a sigh, Castiel picks up the pot. It's his to look after now. ]


-----


2. [ Castiel spends an evening or two at the clinic, but he goes out into the field, too, looking for people who need helping, who need healing. As an angel, he can touch someone and heal their wounds, bring them back to full health. It's such a simple thing, even if the other person is close to death.

And with those monsters out there, it's important to...to brave the storm, face down those creatures, and find those that need him, if they can't make it to the clinic on their own. ]

1. Colosseum

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin is slinking around the building, either avoiding or fighting the Shambling Mounds, as needed. Looking for newcomers in need of assistance. He'll appear to be a warrior of the ancient world, in his black coat, tunic, leggings and boots. Fierce dark gray eyes and raven-black hair, long and plaited in many braids. Black armor: chain mail and shoulder-plates. Sword of shining black steel, sharp as a razor, and held at the ready. He comes around a corner and suddenly there is this odd-looking person in modern dress but with a really deadly-looking short-sword. And on top of that, the trenchcoat guy is picking up one of those potted plants and seems to want to nurture it? ]

Careful, what if it takes a bite out of your finger? [ Small smile. ]

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret | OTA

[devotional]

I. COLISEUM (THIS PROMPT CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 9 OF FFXV!)

[ The last thing that Lunafreya remembers is the crushing pressure of water from all sides, Astral energy coiling around her as darkness fell upon her by degrees. Her duty fulfilled, she'd resigned herself to the inevitable: to be the Oracle was to assist the King in any and all capacity when it came to restoring light to Eos, even at the cost of her own life. She had been content in the fulfillment of her purpose, and to have a chance to see Noctis once more, even for a short while, had been more than enough for her.

Lunafreya thinks that she must be in the Beyond when she awakens on the hard ground, though she supposes that the absence of Astral energy is unexpected. The presence of pain is also surprising, and she winces as she opens her eyes, sitting up. She regrets the action almost immediately as a fresh stab of agony originates from her torso, and when she reaches down to feel the source, she's horrified when her hand comes away tainted with blood. Visions of Niflheim's Chancellor embedding a blade into her gut drift through her hazy consciousness, and her stomach drops at the recollection.

Before Luna can dwell on this overly much, a large, shambling... thing takes notice of her from across the way and begins to lumber towards her. Hissing with pain, Lunafreya hauls herself to her feet with a momentous effort, rapidly realizing that this isn't the Beyond at all. With an expression of determination, she darts away from the creature as best as she's able, scanning the environment for an escape route.

... Seeing none, she continues in a random direction within the unfamiliar structure, doing her best to avoid the other monsters scattered amongst the rest of the crowd. ]

II. ROAD NEAR THE HOUSING AREA (THIS PROMPT CONTAINS (MILD) SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 9 OF FFXV!)

[ Anyone who comes upon the Oracle will see that she is much worse for the wear, what was once likely an elegant dress in tatters as she clutches her side. Blood blooms across a tear in the fabric concealed by her hand, the skin of her exposed arms and chest marred by various scratches and bruises. It's clear that Lunafreya has seen better days, but she somehow soldiers on, taking a slow, shambling walk towards... somewhere.

She has been walking for what feels like an eternity, and while each step has been An Ordeal, she's grateful to see that there are no strange daemons to block her path. Her face is pale and drawn as she comes upon a convenient rock at the side of the road, and her body threatens to give at the sight of it.

Lunafreya knows that she must continue, though she scarcely knows where, but she cannot deny that she is tired. She had thought that she'd earned repose with her duty fulfilled and her prayers answered, but it would seem that the gods yet seek to test her by sending her to an even more lightless place than Eos' darkest night, with her connection to them severed and her body all but broken. As she slumps down against the rock, her head hangs heavy from her neck, her knees coming to curl up against her chest as she simply breathes through the wooziness that threatens to overtake her. ]

This thread will likely contain nothing BUT spoilers for FFXV

[kittycaterer]

[ He's... Fine. As fine as he can be despite what he's been thrown into. Despite the disgusting creatures that put up a good fight, Noctis has made it outside of the coliseum with mere cuts and bruises. He's absolutely parched, but hardly hungry. No... No, the disgusting vegetable-like monsters have effectively killed his appetite for a good while. He's pretty sure he hates them even more at this point. ]

[ There are a few tears in his clothes, buttons and latches come loose as he drags his feet across the pavement. Noctis is incredibly winded after having fought by himself, and all he can think about is catching up with his father. ]

[ His father... ]

[ It's clear that this place has powers in which he is not familiar with. Means to change his placement within its confines at a mere snap of its fingers. But all the while, this place has reunited him with his deceased father. The King of Lucis. Just like that, they were separated. ]

[ He should be adjusted to the mental and emotional whiplash by now. After being trapped within walls of a fortress, desperately searching for Prompto and being fooled by Ardyn's jokes and misguidance? This should be nothing. He had doubted everything he had seen, doubted the existence of his father until he felt his hands take his own. Heard his reassurance grace his ears, and everything just felt too real to deny. ]

[ But Noctis still finds himself at a loss. Still uncertain as to whether or not this is some sort of hell, paradise, or afterlife. Regardless of his doubts, Regis is here, somewhere, and he has to find him to make sure he's recovering. Noctis had found him injured by that disgusting, snow-white creature. He can only hope that Regis has made it out alive. ]

[ He wanders the streets, searching for him. For safety, really. Noctis hisses as he feels a sting at his arm, realizing there's a deeper cut along his shoulder. ]

Damn it.

[ Wild eyes search for a safe place, but for now? They find nothing. Not until he turns to the side and sees... Something-- Someone in the distance. ]

[ Long curtains of white fabric, a glowing gown that is obviously torn to shreds even from this distance. Though her hair is dirty, it's still bright and almost ethereal. Noctis stops without knowing, something in his gut telling him to. Though the Ring of Lucii has apparently been rendered useless, it seemingly tightens around his finger. Possibly in his head, but when a flash of the blue, watery place he had last seen in his dreams has his mind telling him that this is... No. No it can't be her. ]

[ The girl is limping, clutching her stomach. Noctis had bore witness to her demise from such a far distance, but still. Just because Regis is here can't possibly mean that Lunafreya is. Still, she's clearly injured and in trouble, and far be it for Noctis to run for her. ]

Hey!

Hey, you alright?

2!

[somuchlove]

[Looks like it's that time of the month. Chara didn't mind so much, as it gave them creatures to practice their skills on, but those new to Hadriel probably didn't appreciate it much. After all, Chara did remember the shock when they first were attacked by a monster they couldn't cleave in one blow.

The Fallen Child had been traveling around the city to see if there was anything they could do to help when they stumbled across a woman they don't recognize. She certainly looks like she's been through the wringer and likely was new. Chara remains out of arms reach as they kneel down to get a better look at her.]

I am aware it is obvious but are you in need of help?

Road

[mismanagement]

[This batch seems more damaged than usual. Often there's blood. Always there's confusion and some level of fear. But rarely this much blood.

Maketh kneels down by the woman - girl? - but doesn't touch her.]

Where are you injured?

II much gomen I am very late but...Lunafreya /gently reaches for

[save_theworld]

[Children should be seen and not heard, but there are some circumstances, Frisk thinks, that negates that. Hadriel is often filled with such circumstances; when someone else is in danger, when someone has died... and yes, when someone is hurt.

A white dress, tatty as it may be, by this point, does nothing to hide red stains. It is a lot of blood, pooling outwards in a pattern that Frisk recognizes all too easily. They were hoping not to see it again so soon.]

Ma'am?

[Small, quiet. A broom twice their height hefted over one shoulder, a crease in their brow and a downward turn to their lips.

Small, quiet. Almost as if they're afraid to intrude.

Or perhaps afraid that she won't ever be capable of answering.]

Marian Tenebris | OTA

[einselective]

1: Arrival +6:00 hrs

It's several hours after the new batch of arrivals and monsters were dropped into the Colosseum by the Door. But immediately after regaining consciousness, Marian panicked and jumped herself six hours forward... into a mostly empty coliseum, with various stains and presumably a few dead mounds of vegetation lying in the dirt.

With no live monsters shambling about, it's improvement enough to not make another jump, but not enough to actually make her feel any better. Eyes wide and frantic as she glances around, Marian edges away from the center of the colosseum, keeping an unwavering stare at the monster corpses before finally turning and fleeing at full speed.

After a few false starts, she finds her way out of the ruins and finally comes to a stop a short distance outside the Collosseum, leaning up against one of the empty shops and gasping for breath. She should be trying to collect her thoughts and figure out details of what is going on and when/where she is. But with the events that happened before she was brought here, and the place she'd just been pulled from, all she can do is stare at the ruined cityscape with wide, but blank eyes as she regains her breath.


2: Around town

Taking advantage of the brighter hours in the cave-city, and armed with at least a little knowledge of the area by this point, Marian makes sure to visit the few locations of interest: library, generator, and clinic.

At the library, there's a point in time when Marian would have neatly put back books she wasn't interested in. That was then. This is now. Meaning that there's discarded books everywhere, simply thrown and left however they happened to land with pages bent and covers lying open, as she rifles through the stacks in search of anything useful.

At the clinic, she cracks the door open just enough to get a look inside, furtive brown eyes scanning the interior, then glancing back over her shoulder, nervously and hastily trying to see what it's like inside while also keeping an eye out for anyone else approaching the clinic.

And finally, at the generator, it doesn't take long before she's popped open an access panel and has her head nearly inside, checking out the system and grumbling rather loudly, with words like 'slipshod' and 'inefficient' quite audible to any passers-by.

2

[war_itself]

Quill has browsed the library before and found it utterly useless, but due to a recent bout of crushing boredom she's decided to snoop around a little more thoroughly. Maybe there's at least something amusing to read, if not anything on the city or the so-called gods. She'd settle for a copy of The Hunger Games at this point.

When she comes upon the mess someone made in an aisle, she's not terribly fussed about it. Not her library, after all. She simply gives the distracted looking stranger at the center of it a glance, steps over some of the books strewn about, and casually picks up a particularly abused one. "How To Boil An Egg not up to your standards?"

1

[tongueamok]

In his time in Hadriel, Carlisle has learned two things for certain:

1. The Door opens generally once a month, and it's best to avoid the city in its entirety when it does, lest monsters come through with the newcomers, and
2. Occasionally, the Door brings in objects that might be of interest, though perhaps not interesting enough to risk his life for.

And usually, he's right about the latter conclusion: the Door may bring in knickknacks here and there and litter them about the Colosseum, but they're often not worth the trouble faced by being in the Colosseum at all. However, this month brings in something he cannot ignore: plants. And oh, does he love his plants. He enjoys their company; he like the success he feels when they thrive. Studying those from other worlds has become one of the few hobbies in which he does actively engage, so when the door brings in plants, of all things, he can't help himself.

So instead of going home at the end of the day, he'd gone to the arena, and found himself a lovely new specimen for his garden. Unfortunately, he'd found something else, as well -- something also plantlike, but alive and monstrous beneath the foliage. His encounter of it had been less than ideal, hence why Marian may hear him as she leans next to the empty shop, his panicked muttering loud enough to carry through the window.

"Okay. All right. We're fine. Fine. Everything is fine. We're fine now, I think. Going to need new pants. Again. Fantastic. Ruined these almost immediately. I hope you're happy."

Any glance through the window won't reveal him, but there's a definite trail of blood leading toward the underside of the window, where he is probably sitting. As for who he's talking to, chances are it's not so much a who as a what.

2 (generator)

[circumitus]

After her usual check-in at the Colosseum in the wake of recent arrivals (including their new hostile plant life), Rey makes her rounds throughout the city. More often she stops by at the dam and generator to make sure that none of the new fish have done any tampering with what she and a few others have worked hard to construct.

Normally, she tends to find a curious individual poking and prodding at the structures. Nothing too prying to be worrisome.

This time, however, Rey finds someone with their face literally sticking in the generator's guttyworks.

It's difficult to maintain her calm when her immediate instinct is to set fire to any threat to her charges. In this case, the dam has been her unofficial responsibility.

What more, it's difficult not to just set fire on general principle, given the nature of this woman's criticism.

"You better have good fucking reason for what you're doing right now." Or so help her god she might do something the Guard and dadbot will regret.

2

[mismanagement]

[In better circumstances, Maketh might sympathize with the pull of instinctive curiosity and the need to pull things apart to see just how they fit together. She's done it in a more metaphorical sense with the people here. But today has been a long one, filled with injuries and the meddling of the gods - who have grown quite easy to hate - and she has no patience for nonsense.

Especially not when it concerns the defense of the city.

Thus she has her rifle pointed squarely at the stranger's head.]

Put your hands up and turn around. Slowly.

[It's said harshly and is far from a suggestion.]

AM | OTA | Will match format

[godofthemachine]

1 - Colosseum - Awakening

He awakens with a sharp inhale.

Every part of the preceding sentence is enough to tell AM that something is very wrong, before he can even process what has just happened. His vision displays something completely different than what he's used to - a more limited color spectrum, but somehow much more vivid. His chest rises to accommodate the next breath then, as he feels a frightened pulse deep within.

Frightened pulses and breaths are not things that AM does. He's not capable of doing them, as he is not a living organic being. Perhaps an ordinary person would realize sooner that he has awoken in an organic body, but AM had long since concluded that such a thing was impossible. He was trapped within himself for centuries, expanding and growing but never feeling. And now he's assaulted by this onslaught of utter sensation and he can hardly process it.

It takes perhaps a couple minutes for him to come to grips with the fact that he has awoken in an organic body. Of course, the questions of why and how are ringing through his mind constantly, but the more important matter is that he is now vulnerable. Disgusting and fleshy with organs and DNA and blood - he could be snuffed out in an instant. Quickly he scrambles to get off the ground, but to one who has never moved before, it's very much not easy. He tries several times to get up, but fails each time, falling back onto the ground in various ways. This is such a cruel joke... awakening in a body that can feel, but now he cannot even use it!

After a few minutes he can finally stand on shaky legs. It must look strange - someone tall and muscular struggling to make even the most basic of movements, struggling to concentrate on standing up. Anyone who might see his eyes would see a wide, frantic expression, one that he is completely unaware of.


2 - Colosseum - Plants

By this point at least, AM has gotten slightly more used to this body, in that he can actually stand up without as much of a struggle. At this point, now he can actually try and think about what the hell just happened.

He read the silly electronic thing, the basic computer that came attached to his person. At least he was able to figure the thing out pretty quickly. While he could probably take it apart and make something a little more useful, he refrains for now, realizing this might be his own ticket back to what he knows. (Despite the fact that he hated what he is, at least he knew how to use himself. At least he wasn't standing here waiting to be killed by something.)

Of course, the vulnerability this body poses is not a good thing when those shambling massive plant things appear. It looks like nothing on Earth, nothing that actually lived at least. Something out of mythology perhaps, something that AM might have created at some point to torture his victims. And yet here it is now, towering over him while he can barely coordinate two motor actions at once.

He is going to die. AM awoke in an organic body, can't even enjoy it, and now he is going to die. This is a cruel joke. All he can do now is run. One leg out in front of the other, he tries to move quickly, but running is more complex than most people might think. It's more of a shambling movement, as quick as he could possibly make it, but incredibly strange to anyone who might see.


3 - Town

Somehow or another, AM had survived. Somehow, he was able to walk better, gain some control over his movements. After all, this human(?) brain he has now actually is equipped with proprioception. He knows where his limbs are, can appreciate the fact that he's here. Alive. Breathing.

And yet his emotions go from one extreme to the other. This giddiness he might feel at finally being able to touch the softness of his hair shifts over to horrid anger at nearly dying, at not knowing where he is, why he is... At one point, a passerby might see a crazy man laughing at absolutely nothing as AM expresses these shifting emotions. After all, he has no idea how to express emotions in this body.

But at other times he runs his hand along the walls of the houses, testing the texture out. He takes off one of his shoes and presses his feet against the paved road.

Most of all, though, he's going to try and get information from anyone he can. If you don't notice him first, he might notice you and sharply ask, "Why am I here? How did I get here?"

4 - Wildcard

[Catch-all for whatever you want!]

[Basically, AM is a human now, as Hope had created a body for him. Problem is, he has no idea how to use a mobile body. Appearance 1 and 2 (Old drawings are old)]

3.

[circumitus]

Oh, goody, another fresh fry. Rey has been through this... God, has it been a year already? Enough times for her to get the gist of things, anyway. Weird how, at around this time, she had found herself in a very similar position but with super-sized bats rather than carnivorous vegetation.

Just when you think you've seen it all.

That's when she looks to this man. Odd in appearance, but not odd enough to be mistaken for anything other than human. But then, one could easily say the same for her -- and Rey is hardly human herself.

"If you're looking for some sort of overarching purpose to all of this, you're going to find yourself sorely disappointed," Rey retorts. She's come to accept that there is no 'why' to this place. Hell, it almost borders along the lines of kafkaesque.

As for 'how', that is a longer answer. But does she really have to be the one to give the 101 multiverse crash course? Really?

2 OH GOD THIS IS SO WEIRD

[dragoon_pride]

[Kain happens to be in the general area, patrolling around. Newcomers are likely to show up soon enough, so he's prepared for that. As a member of the guard, this is his duty, but even beyond that, he likes to fight whenever he has a chance, to keep his skills sharp. So when he notices those plant-creatures in the distance, Kain is more than ready for a fight. But... he also catches a glimpse of someone else there...]

[That settles it. With someone else in danger, Kain needs to deal with this threat. He probably would have picked a fight with the creatures anyway.... this makes it a lot more urgent.]

[He springs into the air, soaring high above. He then comes soaring downward with his lance aimed for the plant creature. When he strikes, the plant-thing howls in pain, clearly both injured and angry. Kain leaps to the ground in front of AM, ready to defend the - he assumes- newcomer.]

peter parker | ota

[website]

arrival:

[peter wakes up feeling like he's been hit by a truck - no, a truck he could handle. captain america and his giant guy man friend, that's another story. he gets up, ow, ow, owing for a few steps until he walks off the worst of the pain. he takes a look around, actually pulling his mask up for a better look.

holy shit, is he in rome?

no, this is definitely not the roman colosseum, just like that definitely isn't aunt may's potted ficus sneaking up behind him. peter feels a distinct tingling before it gets too close, causing him to leap onto the nearest wall before he even spots it.]

Whoa. Hey buddy. Nice foliage.

[plants are friends, right? even if he shoots a web at the base of it when it keeps coming.]

Okay, stay. Good boy.

[and speaking of friends, whatever this thing is seems to have a few coming to join it.]

Oh, come on! I'm not taking botany until next semester!

[what's a spiderling to do?]

in the city:

[peter's not sure what the shambling mound was after, but it wasn't trying to be friends. what kind of plant tries to pull you inside of it? he's only fifteen, he's definitely not ready for that sort of relationship.

he's managed to find some regular clothes, and a backpack to stuff his suit into. he's currently just wandering the streets of hadriel, looking very much like a tourist with the way he's checking everything out. peter stops, turning in a circle for the full 360 experience.]

Oh, Mr. Stark. You never said anything about this. I'm getting detention for sure. And grounded.

[which bothers him a lot less. it's not like he actually goes to a lot of parties or has a lot of dates to miss out on.]

In the city!

[outstandingbalance]

Tony doesn't know everything.

[His comment wasn't meant for her, and Natasha knows it, but the kid gives her an opening like that—who is she to pass it up?]

Lucky for you, there's no one around here who's interested in grounding you.

[She offers a little smile.]

Somehow, I don't think that's the easiest thing to do.

Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII | Any Format | Open

[kingslight]

✤The King of Light - THE ARRIVAL✤

[Where there's darkness, there's also light.

A bright light emitts from the king's hand as he does his best to repell the lumbering fiends that draw ever so nearer. He is accompanied by random others who; just like him, awoke suddenly within this deteriorating colosseum. Baffled by his new surroundings and utterly panicked by the loss of his son, Regis was about to make a run for it until his wounded knee got the better of him. Unable to follow the others towards safety, the king remained with his head held high as he tries to combat the beasts with magic.

It was a grand show of fire and lighting as the King of Light allowed his might be known. However, he eventually took up a more defensive stance once the plant-like monsters became too bold. With so many helpless innocents scrambling about all around him, Regis could not in good conscious allow them to brave this onslaught on their own. So, he did the one thing he could do to protect them all--

He forged a mighty barrier out of pure sorcery.

The King of Lucis stands before the endless horde with a brilliant bright light before him with one outstretched hand out before him. The light quickly forms into a translucent wall-like structure that mirrors the appearance of water. His peridot gaze burns brightly with both sorcery and resolve as he tries his best to repel the fiends long enough for others to escape.

While Regis undoubtedly is putting up a valiant effort, anyone watching could tell the old king is terrible shape. His injury upon his right leg is bleeding profusely from him adding too much pressure upon it and his glowing eyes starting to slowly dim along with the brilliant shield before him. Between that and his increasingly labored breaths, Regis looks on the verge of collapse.]

Where my story begins anew, does it also end...in death?


✤Outcast in the Dark -THE CITY✤

[With every step came a new sharp stab of agony.

Regis' brush with death for a second time left him dazed and disoriented. The royal looked less like a 'king' now and more like a haggard old man as he navigates these unfamiliar streets. The sheer agony of it all leaves him gasping for relief. Regis has no idea where he's going but he's thankful to be freed from the chaos that ensued within the colosseum. While he's not out of the metaphorical woods yet, Regis is at least certain the fiends haven't followed him here. Gone are the shambling mounds of vines and shubbery that haunted his steps and the overgrown plantlike fiends that tried to devour him whole.

He's safe for now but the combination of fatigue and blood loss threatens to claim him. Mentioning blood loss, there's red pools trailing him as he continues to walk. A rather enticing scent for the beasts that might lurk near.]

Where...am I?

[The king questions a moment before the lull of exhaustion could claim him. He crumbles to the concrete.]

City street

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin is heading for the Colosseum. He has two reasons for going there: (1) To gloat over the damage he inflicted on it with dynamite and detonating cable, during the Rage event. That was over three weeks ago, and it seems the gods haven't attempted to fix it. Probably not worth their while, since the place was already pretty dilapidated before Curufin got there. He only managed to wreck about half of it; the other half can still shelter both recent arrivals and horrible beasts. (2) To check for recent arrivals -- people have told him the Door opens every month, and it is now exactly a month since Curufin himself arrived. There is no telling who might come through, and some of them may not be able to defend themselves. He doesn't exactly have a heroic history, but since he's been outside his own original world, he puts energy into protecting others.

He hasn't yet reached the rotunda-like building when he sees a lonely figure wandering in the dark. Before he can get close enough to see who it might be, the man collapses to the pavement. Curufin runs to him, kneels down, and lays a gentle hand on the mans's shoulder. ]

You're in a city called Hadriel. Been in a fight? [ Speaking softly, so as not to startle. ]

[ The man has been leaving bloody tracks. Curufin starts checking for the sources of the lost blood. He's versed in battlefield medicine, although not of any modern kind. ]

Ikaruga | OTA | Will match format

[elegant_and_proud]

1. Arrival

The technology in Ikaruga's world is very different than the technology in Hadriel. She doesn't know what the little device she's received is, and for the moment, she has better things to do. Like take care of the plant monsters advancing toward her. The most basic slashes of her sword prove less effective than anticipated, considering that these are plants, not creatures made of rock. Still, she's said before that she can cut anything and she has yet to be proven wrong on that front.

Her next attempts to deal with the shambling mounds are considerably more effective. This time, she channels her magic through her blade. The same sort of magic that she'd used to cut through Erza Scarlet's armor and shatter it like it was brittle clay. This time, the green creatures lay motionless and in pieces when she's through with them.

She turns to the person who was facing some of the green monstrosities nearest her.

"We mustn't tarry. There could be more of them around and I for one would prefer to explore rather than spend more time fighting them." After all, she wasn't even getting paid.



2. Around town

Although she hadn’t sensed her teammates here in Hadriel when she first arrived, that didn’t rule out the possibility that they might be here. Perhaps a bit too far away for her to sense their magic unless they were actively using it at the time. It was worth investigating. Capable as she was, being in an unknown land would be significantly easier if she had the two mages she’d worked with for over ten years with her. She would have two people she could trust implicitly.

Here, everyone and everything was an unknown. It was time for a few tests. She’d sensed unfamiliar magic here. It was wise to test how many would be able to sense hers.

At the moment, she’s pushing out a small but steady flow of magical energy. Anyone with any ability to sense that sort of thing would be able to feel it when she was near, and those who couldn't would still be able to perceive the visible magical aura around her. It's perhaps the least intimidating looking magical aura imaginable - it looks like pink flower petals are slowly raining down around her and then disappearing.

Everyone who approaches her is greeted with a polite nod of her head. "Are you, perhaps, from this region?"

2 (hope this is okay!)

[fulcra]

Even when she's not actively on patrol duty, Ahsoka... sort of still is. She doesn't stay at home all that well and when she knows things are dangerous around the city, she pays extra attention to who might need help. So to find someone reaching out in a mostly foreign way has her pausing, eyes narrowing as she tries to pinpoint both the sensation and then the source. It's not the Force, that much is obvious, but it's something bright and colourful and Ahsoka's all about new allies, if this turns out to be one.

So Ikaruga's approached by resident colourful alien lady, wearing her armour pieces and seeming for all the world like the sort of confident person who always knows what she's doing and the good intentions behind it. At the question, Ahsoka returns the nod with a quirk of her lips.

"No, I can't say I'm native, sorry."

Noctis Lucis Caelum | OTA (With one private prompt)

[kittycaterer]

|||||| Coliseum

[ Noctis groans as he slowly comes to, vision blurred as everything begins to return to him. His consciousness, his awareness, and the feeling of dirt beneath his fingers. How he wound up here is beyond him, but the distant gurgling growls of unknown creatures in the distance have him on his feet quick. ]

[ Somehow, he's armed again. Engine Blade already clenched in his grasp as he rises to his feet. ]

How in the--

[ The prince rises, blade dragging against the dirt before it lifts and hangs at Noctis' side. A Shambling Mound had seemed to find Noctis interesting far before he came to, and as it comes to light? The prince scowls. ]

Aren't you nasty?

[ He grasps the hilt of his sword with both hands, bending at the knee. Taking one glance around here already signals to him that he won't be getting out of here easily. Not with this guy in the way. ]

See, this? This is why I prefer you off my plate.

|||||| Housing Unit : Private to Regis and Lunafreya

[ He's managed to get her resting upon the couch, out of harms way but... Gods, there's so much blood. One turn and look around the apartment, and the blood seems to be coated with the stuff. While Noctis has sustained injuries within the coliseum, they're nothing in comparison to the ones that Lady Lunafreya had been sporting when they came into contact again. ]

[ She's supposed to have passed. This is number two, and Noctis is at the point where he isn't sure what to even do with himself, much less how to keep it together. Noctis has applied pressure to the wound, stopped the bleeding for now and cleaned it as best as he could. But they're hardly out of the storm, and Lunafreya is in a horrible situation right now. To say Noctis is panicked is the understatement of the century. ]

[ Shaken hands reach for his phone, tainted with the blood of another loved one. He hopes Regis has gotten out of it alive, well, and he hurriedly dials his number. ]

Dad!

[ He exhales sharply, voice cracking. It's pretty clear he's been on and off sobbing like a child. ]

Dad, where are you?

We...

Something's wrong.

Coliseum

[somuchlove]

Agreed. And if I am to eat them, at least they should not try to eat me back.

[Their Mother had always been one to get Chara to eat their vegetables and in those cases it had been delicious. But again, they never were at risk of getting eaten at the same time.

But that aside, there's a child here with a weapon of their own - a knife that shimmers with a creepy red magic. They don't seem too surprised to see these monsters or the general chaos going on around them. After being in Hadriel for a few months Chara was used to this.]

Need a hand?

[Two heads are better than one, after all.]

Anakin Skywalker [Open]

[prophesiedone]

☄ ARRIVAL

[The hum of a lightsaber is not unknown in Hadriel, but it is rare. Rarer still is the one who wields it. He is taller than most, cloaked and hooded, with a pair of eyes that border on yellow-gold. From what can be seen of his expression, he looks furious and any beast who tries to impede him will either be cut down by his saber or Force-choked. He has no mercy for anyone; whoever is responsible for taking him from his soon-to-be Empire must pay for their grievous error.

A Shambling Mound is tracking his movements and he waits for the creature to strike before vaulting himself into the air to land on the beast's back. Is this thing comprised solely of vegetation? Anakin growls in frustration as the thing wraps vines around his ankles and his legs, pulling him down into it.]

I don't think so! [He cuts swiftly and precisely with his lightsaber, freeing himself. Then with a practiced roll, he leaves the creature's back and tries to figure out where his foe's face happens to be.

Does it have a face? Is it alive or merely some trick? Glaring, he concentrates on the Force and slowly, but surely lifts the Shambling Mound into the air. Then, gathering his power, he sends the beast flying far from him.

It will have to do until he knows more.]

☄ IN TOWN

[Being attacked by plants hasn't put him in the best of moods. By the time he steps into town, he is even more frustrated. There are no ships to be found on this damn planet and he recognizes nothing.

How can that be? Gritting his teeth, he deactivates his lightsaber and clips it to his belt. No one would take kindly to him stalking down the street with such an obvious weapon, he concludes - and since he does not know who to blame, he must be...subtle. Patient.

As if he has ever been either of those things!]

You there... [He jogs to catch the attention of the nearest person, lowering his hood as he approaches.] I need to know about this planet. What is its name?

Town

[mismanagement]

[It's bee a long time since anyone has referred to planets in Maketh's presence. She pauses, one hand on her rifle just in case. Today she's in armor, the working pieces mended and the rest cannibalized for parts. The style is still distinctively Mandalorian.

She frowns at the man, eying him up and down.]

I don't know what the planet is called. This place is Hadriel.

[turingmachine]

1

(What… what’s going on?

The little robot sits up, rubbing their head. Did something happen? They… they didn’t get attacked again did they?! Their demeanor shifts from confusion to panic as they promptly spring to their feet, but when they look around all they see is a… potted plant. Dionaea muscipula, if they’re not mistaken.

Did someone just leave this lying around? Who would do such a thing?

As a lover of plants, there’s no way Turing can just leave it there. This is hardly the ideal environment for it, after all. The little robot picks up the plant. They’ll just have to take it home.

If they can even find home…

Did it just get darker?

Slowly, they look up, only to be confronted with the sight of a much larger, more murderous sort of vegetation.)

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”

2

(They escape being swallowed alive by vegetation, much to their overwhelming relief.

Now they’re wandering the city streets, unsure of what exactly to do or where exactly to go.

Maybe they can pull a map off of the meshnet… Except when they try, they find there isn’t a meshnet to connect to.

They stop right in their tracks.)

“W-what!?”

2

[fulcra]

[ already done most of what she can to help out in the colosseum, ahsoka is ready to take a break, needing a moment to herself in order to process an arrival she never could have anticipated. she's stuck in her head, turning her encounter with anakin over and over in her mind, but not even that is enough to distract her from what seems to be a very concerned droid. ]

You okay there, little one?