Intro Log: The Forgotten City

[atlasmods]

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS This time for real! WAKEY WAKEY. As the storm finally peters out and characters can once again move above ground it becomes abundantly clear that the landscape has changed. Where vast expanses of sand dunes once laid is now the half-buried remnants of what looks like some sort of...city? Full of structures. It stretches so far it's really hard to tell. But there is one thing characters will notice: There are more stasis pods. Revealed by the sandstorm, a whole new flurry of pods can be found scattered on the way to the city (curiously though, not in it. Hurry and wake those guys up! SPREAD THE LOVE. OR ACID. With the departure of the storm there's even more new arrivals to be found besides those fellow travelers of yours! The "Seedlings" and "Cactus" are now both available, the former blown in by the storm and the former uncovered. The Seedlings are generally pretty harmless. They like to burrow into the sand so only their "Leaves" plant-like leaves remain above ground, and they're quite happy to stay that way until surprised. Then they pop up and trip over themselves a little, before slowing down and wandering aimlessly. When they find a patch of sand that looks comfy they begin burrowing back down. Pull or yank on their leaves though and you'll find yourself with a face full of pollen that makes you want to just tell everyone how super-cool they are. It lasts a while, and then you get a fever and vomit for two hours. Good times. The Cacti are much less harmless and just...why would you eat them? Everything about this plant is poisonous, and cracking it open causes a corrosive acid-like substance to spill out. It'll eat through everything but...dirt, oddly. Metals and flesh are like hot oil on plastic. DON'T GET LOST And last but not least: The Forgotten City. Maybe you want to check out the Hull first for some loot, but maybe that's not such a cool idea anymore? Although it looks like the ship's definitely more powered after draining the suits of whoever went in, now it's started to spread and fill the sinkhole the ship's in. Suits can go from 100% to 0% in just ten minutes--not good! Lucky for everyone else, it looks like finally there's some sort of civilization up ahead. Go on and check it out! OR DO. THAT'S OKAY TOO. Go nuts, have fun, and enjoy! (This is the wildcard option) OOC The Flora, Fauna & Resources page has been updated with information on the seedlings, cacti, and crystals! These items are now all available for Discovery, and The Forgotten City will be available indefinitely from now on! Characters can take this time to settle & build up a foundation for themselves, explore the area, and of course, harass those poor little seedlings. We encourage players to make their own open posts for this setting--you don't need to stick to just this intro log! But make sure to make our newbies feel welcome!

Comments

[anewhope]

I'm glad.

[ And he is. Maybe he couldn't pull it off but Kara will. Even Bruce. Possibly. ]

[highflights]

[ He is glad. Kara leans on him again. ]

Are you hungry? Let's go get something to eat.

[dateme]

[ That....actually disarms Inui for a moment?? like, legitimately?? He winds up staring at Zack until he finds the nerve to shake it off and exhale with a slight snort, shoulders tense but slowly starting to relax.

It's one thing to impose on others yourself, but completely different when it's the other way around. ]

...On his ass, huh. [ Inui is an ass/thigh man Zack you can't dissuade him ]

I thought I had replied to this. *facepalm*

[justice_of_toren]

"Magic," she repeats, her voice completely flat. Also, why is she a lady? Keeping forms of address straight in this widely mixed company is going to be a headache, she can tell. "The only magic I know of is from fiction. Very fanciful fiction."

[backwatertrooper]

They're weird, these outfits, and Cloud would rather not wear it, but he doesn't have any other clothes and if the planet itself is hostile... better keep it on. Looking down at himself, cloud rubs an arm and then steps to the side to scoop up his rations, which he'd dropped when finding Zack in the pod earlier.

"Doesn't really... seem like something you'd have to wear in space," he says, agreeing with Zack's muttered observation. They're thin and despite that they nearly cover him from head to toe, Cloud feels... a little naked, honestly. Then with a sigh, he stands up and ends up staring at Zack as he goes through... stretches.

Blinking and looking away after a few moments, feeling awkward for some reason he's not sure why for, Cloud's gaze lands on the pod and the rations Zack dug out of it. Didn't Elma say something about the pod...

"It's a good thing it's flexible, if we need to fight. But Zack," stepping back away from the pod again, Cloud looks around. No pods seem to have blown up yet, but if it happened once... "The woman who woke me up said their pods exploded after a while... we should probably move away of these."

[justice_of_toren]

[Being a ship built in space docks, she's not really from any planet. But that's not a conversation she thinks she should have, at least not yet.]

Ghaon. [Her body was born on that planet, so that's not exactly a lie.]

But if you were familiar with the Radch, you probably wouldn't ask. People outside of the Radch rarely do. Where are you from?

[backwatertrooper]

[Cloud would argue he's pretty normal where he's from. He certainly isn't a SOLDIER, no matter how much he wants to be one. Twitching a little at the question, it takes quite a few long moments before Cloud even looks over at Inui, his spikes swaying with the motion, not stiff at all.]

I'm not. [He feels a little too annoyed and defensive still to try a smug smile, even a tiny one.] They're natural.

[backwatertrooper]

[Blinking a little at that rather... specific question, Cloud shakes his head. Then pauses, actually thinking back on that awful mission. Then he shakes his head again.]

... Not really. I mean, you can tell a spell's about to be cast, but it's not... really different from any other magic. Why?

[dateme]

You naturally have gravity-defying bedhead? [ Because that's what it looks like to him, just sayin'. ]

You look like a comic book character.

[justice_of_toren]

I'm Breq. We bow, where I'm from. [Most Radchaii would find shaking hands, if they didn't have gloves on, to be utterly repellant. Shaking with gloved hands to be considered some level of improper. Breq is most comfortable with Radchaii customs but does not actually believe in religious uncleanliness. With some hesitation, hoping she understands what Kara means, she reaches to briefly shake Kara's hand.]

But I don't mind adapting to other customs.

[highflights]

It's nice to meet you, Breq. I don't mind either.

[ She keeps the shake brief, and bows at forty five degrees. ]

Like this?

[justice_of_toren]

Yes. [She'd been Justice of Toren for 2000 years. The only beings still alive who'd known her her in entire existence is the Lord of the Radch, who she now calls the tyrant, and other AIs. On the other hand...she's been this one mortal body for long enough she hadn't expected to continue outliving everyone around here. She's trying to not think about it too hard, either.]

But can we be sure the people who built the city also placed the pods? It seems logical, yet that could still be a wrong assumption.

[justice_of_toren]

[Breq's smile gets a little bigger, and she bows back at the same 45 degree angle.]Yes, like that.

[It's the correct bow between equals. There's no reason to bring up the nuance of what is proper for each party based on the assumed social hierarchy. They aren't in that social hierarchy, and she's happy to be rid of it. She hesitates again.]

While we're speaking frankly about custom - do your people...do gender assignments?

[ex_broach530]

[ Bull is nowhere near Krypton level when it comes to strength or speed, but when it comes to noticing stuff in a fight, pushing his body through maneuvers he's trained a thousand times and then used in the field a thousand more, that he's good at. So he dodges, but he also frowns, pulls his next swing; ]

You holding back on me?

[sweatysometimes]

Ah, no! No, I'm not getting sick. My throat just really dry from this heat. I don't do well with heat, you know? I get sweaty...Ack!

[ Pidge flails a little as she's tugged down to sit next to Allura, then plops into the sand with a wince. ]

Shouldn't we find some shade?

[sweatysometimes]

He's a good guy. Just kind of a dork sometimes. Good to meet you, Ashla, considering where we are and what's going on.

[ She smiles, then runs her hand across the clawmarks again, frowning. ]

Whatever made these must have been pretty strong. Kinda makes you worry, doesn't it?

[ex_broach530]

"I'll be fiiine," Bull drawls in response, easy and overconfident. He has absolutely no basis for this assumption, since he's as vulnerable to unexpected poison as anyone, but he does trust his instincts.

And so far they're telling him this isn't going to kill him. It's sour-sweet, kind of citrusy, probably not great for the stomach if it's acidic but not a killer either, so he puts it in the "small amounts for flavor or vitamins" mental category. Plus, could be good for keeping insects at bay. He sits back on his heels, looks up at Fuyuhiko properly. "How you doing for food, kid?"

[bladebabysitter]

"These suits are integral to our survival. Without them..." She shrugged, allowing his imagination to run wild. That's all anyone had ever done, considering no one had dared test them. "So long as they have power, so will you, and they'll keep you alive despite the hostile environment. So keep an eye on that, and don't take unnecessary risks."

[bladebabysitter]

"Twenty to thirty. If I can't give you a precise number..." She paused, wondering if there was a gentler way to break this. But lying or deception wouldn't help, not when Pidge could hear it from others anyway. "It's because some of the people who woke up with the rest of us are gone. We don't know when, or where."

[adamance]

[Jim putting it so simplistically makes it seem like a concept that she should have considered much sooner. She seems to process his words for a moment, and the nagging question—how is she even alive?—still lies at the back of her mind. It won't go dormant for a while. What he says explains a great deal of things, though: like why Clarke has lived past her death by so many days, why her knowledge of the world and Inui's don't line up, and why one Earth wasn't just burned—it was destroyed.

In her mind, the Flame works, too, contributing to some of the knowledge she needs to put together the pieces. Still, a lot of this technology never existed, so, as such, it isn't entirely available to her. But she manages. Thanks, Dead Commanders.]

It explains a great deal of things. Thank you. [Everything is a transaction, as far as Lexa is concerned.] And I believe you may be helping a number of us explain our discrepancies. In turn, I can offer you as much as I know—though we're still in the process of uncovering the mystery ourselves. For example, we don't know what the Atlas is, exactly. It may not be the typical definition of the word. [And thus, the transaction continues: give and take. He offered one possible (probable) answer to a longstanding question, so she'll begin to offer him what she can. It isn't kindness, exactly—it merely balances things out, and that's what she knows best.]

[ex_broach530]

"Shit. That long?" He looks back at the pod again. How had it sustained his body for ten days? Does he even want to know? "That is some creepy magic."

But enough about magic let's deal with a way more pressing issue. "Hey. Not to be the asshole, but what are you?" Because, with the horn, and the blue...

[backwatertrooper]

[Have a narrow little stare, Inui.]

It looks worse in the mornings. [So no, he doesn't have naturally gravity-defying bedhead. His bedhead is worse than this.]

... haven't heard that one before, though.

[Maybe because no one at home thinks of comic books first when it comes to his hair.]

[backwatertrooper]

"They're..." Shivering a little at the thought of something that seemed so thin and, um, close to his body being responsible for his survival, Cloud grimaced, staring down at his hands and arms. Shaking his head, Cloud looked back up again.

"How do they get power..?" pausing and taking a breath, Cloud realised there was probably at least one more question he should ask right now; "Anything else I need to know?"

... Which, admittedly, was a pretty wide-spanning question, but it seemed the simplest way to get answers when he didn't even know yet (his brain wasn't catching up fast enough) what questions he even needed to ask.

[exorion]

Cayde tips his head at the mention of magic — not that the idea is foreign to him, but he doesn't know anyone who'd call a stasis pod that — and starts to spread his arms the way he does when he's about to get theatric--

But then decides against it, offering a hand instead. They do handshakes wherever this guy is from, right?

"Name's Cayde."

[backwatertrooper]

[Cloud smiles a little in understanding and nods, then gestures down the street behind them.]

I have a friend nearby... You can explore with us if you want? [Not that Zack's much older than Cloud, so how much of a reassurance of a second body will be is questionable, but he, at least, is over eighteen now.]

This place is sort of like a maze. [The narrow stare Cloud tosses to the buildings around them is accompanied by a scrunched nose.]