hadriel_logs | Intro Log: None Hadriel With Left Shark

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Intro Log: None Hadriel With Left Shark

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for February
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: February 10th-16th
Warnings: Shark week

Once more, new arrivals will wake up on the ground level of the ruined colosseum. There isn't anything particularly comforting about it, either- everything is a bit cold and impersonal and there is, of course, the fact that nobody remembers just how they managed to wind up here in the first place. That can all be explained in time, though- until then, you've got quite a bit on your plate already.

And why is that? Well, that may be because you're also surrounded by sharks.

Yes, on land.

It doesn't mean that they're totally incapacitated though- you still have your two headed sharks, your giant sharks, and your sharktopus that are more than capable of flopping in your general direction before taking you into a death roll. And don't forget the (far more dangerous) sand sharks, capable of swimming through the ground as if it were water itself. You might want to start to find ~~a life raft~~ high ground soon.

But hey, if you manage to get away from the sharks, feel free to help yourself to one of the odd food shaped blankets. These cozy comforters are perfect for your new bed, but they tend to carry a faint scent of the food they represent, so be sure not to sleep on an empty stomach!

Listen to the Jaws theme, grab a harpoon, and get cozy! On your way to safety, make sure to 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 February 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!

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[Bucky really appreciates it when people don't sneak up on him. In Natasha's case, he catches her coming very quickly, because she's being so deliberate. And he makes himself lower the sword. He actually puts it down. He's not a threat. He doesn't want to be a threat.

She's being cautious, so he is too. Last time he saw her... well. She was helping them, but only after fighting them.]

Yeah, guess so.

[He worries his lip between his teeth a moment, then goes for the question.]

Question: what's the last thing you remember happening to you at home? Before you were brought here, I mean.

[Natasha's brows go up. That's right to the point, but she can appreciate the implications of his question, as well as his body language.]

Making a quick exit before I could be arrested for letting you and Steve get away in Germany.

[His own brows go up and he smiles just a little.]

Huh. Well how about that.

[Bucky sighs a little and shrugs.]

I went back, and went through all of that. So, that's where we are, I guess.

[Natasha relaxes slightly at that, nodding. That answers her biggest question; he remembers her. It also raises some new ones.]

How's that work? You didn't remember being here when you were there, remembered when you came back?

[Bucky sees how she relaxes, and he does too, a little.]

Something like that, yeah. It's... very weird, but then again, it's not like my memory's the greatest.

[Natasha snorts softly at that, not even half smiling but recognizing the humor in his statement. She knows that as much as anyone.]

I'll take what I can get; not having to bring you up to speed is good enough.

[This time they aren't trying to kill each other. She can work with that.]

Is it worth asking how things go after you get away?

[Bucky frowns and sighs, runs his hand through his hair.]

You sure you want to know?

Not really. But not knowing isn't more attractive.

[And it might tell her something to hear how he describes it, more of a handle on his current status. He's come a long way, that's clear. Less feral.]

But if you'd rather not know, I won't push.

No, It's okay. No reason not to.

[He takes a moment to consider how to describe it, sitting down on a box.]

Steve and I got to Siberia alright. Stark actually followed us. Guess he figured out that something was up. But it took about a minute to find out that all the other winter soldiers had been killed right in their cryo tubes. Turns out this guy named Zemo... the one who... posed as the psychiatrist when I was captured... [Yeah he stumbles over that bit a little, and he shakes his head before he continues.] He was from Sokovia, apparently, and he orchestrated everything because he wanted to tear the Avengers apart.

[Bucky stops again, swallows hard.] He showed Stark exactly how his parents died. [He looks down at his feet. Leans back against the wall. Shakes his head.] Stark... well let's just say it was hard for him to process.

[Another pause. Shorter, this time.] He fought us. Really honestly tried to kill us. And... honestly once I realized I couldn't get away, I fought back just as hard. And so did Steve. But we all walked away. Me minus a limb, yeah, but it could've been... so much worse.

[Bucky sighs deeply and leans into his hand, letting it cover his face. He's so tired. He's so, so tired. But the story's not over so he sits up again.]

Turns out King T'challa had been following us too, but he... figured out what had happened, just the same as everyone else, and once he knew for sure I wasn't behind the bombing, he took us back to Wakanda. Steve got his friends out of prison, and I... [He shakes his head and smiles sadly.] I went back into cryo and woke up here.

[Natasha listens patiently, taking in the details. It's all new information to her, though very little of it surprising. It makes sense, in its way... and she knows enough to understand what it was Tony saw.]

Sounds like this Zemo got exactly what he wanted. [No one dead, but the Avengers torn in two. And Natasha not with either of them, probably. She couldn't say for sure, but she couldn't exactly stay on the up and up with Tony after what she'd done, and she wouldn't know where to begin with Steve...

But she'd still rather know how it turns out than be in the dark.]

Thanks. That's worth knowing. Especially when there's no way of knowing who else might show up.

[Bucky just nods at the first part, because yeah. He definitely did. And Steve just... took on the whole world, really, for Bucky, and Bucky's still not sure how he feels about that.]

Yeah. Hey, do me a favor, if Stark does show up, and you notice before I do, just let me know? I can lay low, I don't mind, but. I don't want to... I don't know. Surprise him. If he does show.

[She'd just as soon that didn't happen. Tony could be an ally, and she wouldn't consider him unreliable... exactly. But the kind of drama that would cause wouldn't be worth it.]

Yeah. [There's a hesitation, but no uncertainty in her answer.] Neither of us wants to see how he'd react to that surprise.

[Bucky takes a deep breath and nods again.]

So... what's been going on here? I don't know how much I've missed. I remember... [He frowns a little as he thinks back.] Steve left, and I was really moody about it, and then I... must have gone back somehow before getting pulled back here.

It's been over a month since I saw you last. So... a while, but not too long.

[She glances over her shoulder, considering what he might have missed, what she should fill him in on.]

A kid showed up. One you might remember—he was at the airport too. Spider costume, shoots webbing? He's an okay kid. Probably afraid you'll be mad at him.

[A weird kid, Natasha thinks, but what does she know about being a normal kid?]

There was a thing you missed. Some people had these... evil twins. They showed up, caused a lot of trouble. Had a habit of killing their doubles, or trying to.

Other than that, another god showed up. He brought scooters.

[He nods slowly, listening to all of it. He flinches at the evil twin thing. It hits a little close to home, so he won't address it.]

The kid? Yeah, I remember him. What's his name?

Peter.

[The flinch isn't lost on Natasha, but while she notes it, she won't push it.]

[Bucky thinks about it for a moment. Does he want to meet the kid?

Honestly he doesn't really care either way. At the time it seemed like Peter was just... dragged in to things. A pawn. Not unlike Steve, or himself.

So Bucky sighs and shrugs.]

I'm not mad at him. Not mad at any of you, really. Made sense. I'd've tried to stop me, too.

For most of us, it wasn't really about you at all. We were trying to protect Steve.

[Or she was, and Tony was.]

Didn't go quite the way we hoped.

We got played. [Bucky gives a wry, knowing smile, and it's so, so sad.] Like always.

[He has never, ever been anything but a pawn since he made that choice to follow Steve Rogers into war, and he knows it. And the moment he gets to have a choice of his own again, it's taken away from him almost right away, and he's pulled back to Hadriel.]

[Natasha crosses her arms, the movement seeming natural enough but it disguises the way his sentiment makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in sympathy.

It's not the time for sentiment, and she doubts he's looking for comfort from her.]

I'm sorry you were pulled into that.

[He's not, but he appreciates the sentiment.

Bucky shrugs again.]

I'm a valuable asset, of course I was pulled into it.

[He's clearly trying to brush it off, but it's a deep-seated issue of his, that he'll never be able to get away from being the Asset, the Soldier, or any other part of his very long, very bloody past, both the bad and the good.]

It's not surprising, all things considered. [His past tied him to too many people, created too many opportunities.]

Still, when you took the chance, you got out.

I tried. But there's always someone pulling me back in somewhere. Doesn't seem to matter if it's Europe or a whole other world.

[It'd be funny if it weren't so exhausting and terrifying.]

For what it's worth, I'd rather have you here than some other people I've known.

[She knows it doesn't make anything better. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to let him know she considered their deal still holding, unless he wanted out of it.]

[He stares at her for a long moment, considering that. It's a strange thing to have applied to him, but... welcome.]

Thank you.

[Especially considering he's tried to kill her several times in the past.]

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Intro Log: None Hadriel With Left Shark

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