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!
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no subject
I'd like that. [Focusing on the gun in the man's grip, he frowns.] Do they... even use bullets?
[They could, of course, but remembering what the pods look like, what these outfits look like, Cloud's not going to assume. He'll adjust.]
no subject
[He pauses briefly. How old is this... boy? Boy could be an apt descriptor. Young man may not be so far off either.
Bruce has seen too much to really attribute youth to innocence, though.]
What's your name?
no subject
... Have you fired anything similar? Do they... work similarly enough to normal firearms? What about recoil?
[He'll have to fire one himself to actually get used to it, but some sort of idea beforehand of what to expect, especially if they don't use bullets. Really, it just makes him wish for a sword even more. If nothing else, you don't have worry about things like that.]
no subject
The recoil isn't too bad. It doesn't use ordinary bullets. If you've used something like a rifle or an automatic, it won't be too different.
[Cloud seems to know what he's talking about, though. A soldier, or a mercenary? A toss-up, in all honesty.]
It'll take some getting used to if all you know are bullets.
no subject
That's... basically what I've been using for the past one and a half years. Okay. Should be able to figure that out.
[Another nod, a little more certain this time. Sure, all he has used up until now is firearms that use bullets, but Cloud's feeling relatively certain he can figure this out without wasting too much... what? charge? what do each shot count as if the gun doesn't use a bullet, anyway?]
no subject
The kid's a bit more smiley about the weaponry, the use of it all, but still...]
How old are you?
no subject
Sixteen.
[As of not quite two months ago. Then he frowns and looks back up.]
... Why?
no subject
God help him. Sixteen and already too familiar with rifles and guns. He can't say he was any better, God knows Bruce was training and fighting by then, yet it stings to hear it from someone else.]
Just curious. I don't know many sixteen-year-olds who know this much about guns.
[Lies. Gang wars and lunatics made soldiers of kids, orphans too. Sometimes both.]
no subject
[Well, it's more than that, of course. It's about being strong, being able to be strong enough to help people when they need it, be like Sephiroth (... like Zack), and for that, he couldn't have gone anywhere but ShinRa. Shrugging again, Cloud looks back at Bruce.]
... ShinRa's a company. Not sure when they started to need the security forces though.
[A company with it's own army, that is.]
no subject
That means nothing good could've possibly come from this ShinRa if it was so obsessed with this level of security, a standing army as it were.
Bruce says nothing, though. It's not his place to say anything when he knows so little.
Yet.]
If you don't know, I wouldn't know either. I can think of a few times, though.
no subject
There's monsters around... So hiring mercenaries or keeping your own is useful. [A pause as he shakes his head.] But when I found out about ShinRa, they'd already... had an army for a while.
[He knew enough to know SOLDIER came about with the Wutai war, but that was it - the Army had existed before that, of course.]
no subject
Son, I can't tell you what to do if and when you go back, but I wouldn't put too much stock or faith in your ShinRa.
[He could continue for years, if he'd like, as long as Cloud had no dreams of ShinRa being any sort of good. Monsters or not, a standing army is overkill.]
no subject
Maybe not. [A shrug as Cloud ducks his head.] They've helped people, even if they aren't. I just... wanted to be strong. So I could help, too.
[Shrugging, Cloud shifts on his feet. The faint blush partly from feeling uncomfortable, partly just embarrassed. And also, of course, show his hometown he wasn't... useless.]
Doesn't really matter here, though, does it... aside from how to use what I know so we can survive.
resurfaces dramatically and without warning
[Maybe that was his only way out, but he still doesn't approve. At least, not of ShinRa and their methodologies.]
If you want to train, I might be able to help.
[There's not a whole lot of use in hiding being able to do everything he could do. It didn't mean he had to show all of his cards, though. Best to be selective about his skills. Cloud could use the training if he's already started.]
welcome welcome
and cells from an alien but shh!Looking up, Cloud blinks and stares for a silent moment, then he nods, hesitantly. He's not sure why he'd offer, but...]
I've... got a friend, here, from where I'm from. From a more, um... elite unit than the one I' in. [He can't help the grimace that comes out at that, his failure still sour, even if there's nothing he can do about it.]
Zack's helping, but... if it won't be a bother...
[A shrug. Then he certainly wouldn't mind.]
no subject
[Granted, surviving and pushing forward to who knows what is a full-time job in and of itself, but he's willing to help Cloud get better if that's what he really wants.
Besides, he couldn't just let Cloud keep sounding and looking like that.]
I can't say when we can start, but as soon as we get solid footing we can figure out where to start and what to do.
no subject
[Because if those ruins are safe, they'll have temporary shelter, at least. Glancing up, Cloud smiles faintly, the tilt of it shy. Whether this actually happens or not, just the offer having been made is nice enough.]
Thanks. I can wait.