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

[devintered]

"Sometimes I think there's not enough of me to contain how much," says Dorian, very solemnly, then: "Do stop fussing, I'm not ill. Just terribly--bloody besotted."

His tone of voice says he'd rather be ill, which is somewhat at odds with all the twitterpation on his face. Or the continued squishing close. "Maker, these blighted plants ought to be wiped from the earth." He pets Bull's chest a little, making a face at how it's obstructed by the suit. Bull's chest is a work of art that ought to be shared with the world.

Apparently there's no staving this off by will alone, so after another moment of relentless draping Dorian decides, "Come along, we must find somewhere to wait this out. Imagine if everyone thought I went round simply saying these things. Though I only don't due to years of poorly performed emotional repression."

[ex_broach530]

"I dunno," he murmurs consideringly, long horns slanted. "I kinda like them."

While Bull isn't quite cruel enough to think he won't ever let Dorian live down this unprecedented display, he is at least gonna enjoy it while it lasts. Though each compliment kicks up a dust-storm of emotion: it's not like he's had anyone say this shit to him
before, so there's a reflexive cringe as well as pleased embarrassment, concern for Dorian warring with the mild sadism that has its claws in their relationship.

"I'm coming," he says, long legs catching up with and then keeping ups with Dorian easily, walking side by side to find somewhere slightly more private than standing in the desert sun. Maybe the city. "Don't stop now, though. Tell me more about how besotted you are."

[devintered]

Dorian makes a tiny, high pitched "ugh" noise and pushes his face into Bull's side, perhaps the better to keep obscure his mouth. Which is only so successful, especially once they make it to the outer sprawl of the city, where Dorian finds a low stone wall to sit on, beckoning for Bull with both hands. "Terribly," he replies of the volume of besotting he is currently thrashing around in, "you're the reason I've stayed with the Inquisition, you know."

Considering he has like, literally never said that outside of Lavellan's teasing, uh. No, it's totally possible Bull does not know that.

[ex_broach530]

Bull comes close, strokes a hand over Dorian's hair and then decides that seated the size difference is far too great for this kind of conversation and takes to his knees instead. Props an elbow on Dorian's thigh.

That admission does actually surprise him; the curve of his brow lifts. "Here I thought that was all about representing Tevinter in the big showdown," he says, only half teasing now.

[devintered]

Oh, attention. That's Dorian's favorite even when he isn't a cranky cloud of floaty cartoon hearts. Usually he just pretends it's an imposition, as opposed to now, when he leans over, mindful of the horns, to rest his forehead against Bull's.

"Yes, of course there was that," he relays with his eyes closed, as if some completely irrelevant fact has just been introduced, "but--after. I feel sometimes as if I'm shirking far off responsibility, that was bound to happen, but I can't regret the time we've had together."

Sweet Maker can he please just move to the nausea part now. He's going to make himself ill with a sugar overdose.

[ex_broach530]

Bull smiles a little, because he may be big and brash but ultimately he's incredibly soft-hearted, and he likes this; thisbposition, this unusually lovely honesty from Dorian. Bull doesn't want to push when he seems so humiliated by it, but he also doesn't want it to end.

"Me too, kadan," he agrees softly, hand finding one of Dorian's to hold. "You know, you don't have to repress all this stuff," he points out gently. "I kinda like you like this."

[devintered]

"A giant barrel of sap, you mean," Dorian grouses, but he clings to Bull's hand ferociously.

It's not humiliation so much as even three years has apparently not been enough to get over gestures of sincerity flung back in his face. On the other hand even if he isn't per se choosing to confess all this, it does feel like the pleasant release of something blocked up. "I must confess I ...don't hate it entirely." A pause. "I could try. Though I suspect it will be more difficult once my brain isn't scrambled like overdone eggs."

[ex_broach530]

"Yeah, well," Bull murmurs as he considers that. "Not like I don't know already, how you feel."
After all, he's survived this long with Dorian being the way that he is about expressing himself. He's learned to interpret, and to press when he needs it. "Just nice to hear, that's all."

His smile turns slightly wicked then. "But I guess I better take advantage of it while the taking's good," he says, which has obvious evocative connotations of, uh, other things. On that note, he'd probably respect a watchword right now, though he doesn't bring it up. Grin widens a little further. "You ever think about bringing me home to piss off your shitty family?"

[devintered]

That barely even requires the pollen. Dorian laughs, lets their foreheads tip together again. "Only twice a day or so on average. The difficult thing is deciding if I want you to attend in all your bare chested glory, or if it would confuse my father more to dress you up."

The possibility exists that Dorian savors every opportunity he gets to make Bull a little fancy, although just in short bursts. He really does like all the gross qunari monster stuff, somewhat less now because those are his inclinations and more somewhere along the line his taste curled itself around Bull like smoke and stuck.

Speaking of wickedness, though, this is maybe about ....two percent pollen induced, the rest is sheer Dorian. If a little more forthright than usual. "There is the secondary dilemma of whether or not we ought to leave my childhood bedroom with some intriguing new memories."

Speaking, also, of ~taking.

[ex_broach530]

Bull chuckles, low and dirty. "Yeah, not sure that's really much of a dilemma," he points out, since he knows exactly what his answer there is. Doing it where Dorian grew up is exactly kinky enough for him to want it.

Speaking of, though. He presses a brief, rough kiss to Dorian's pliant mouth, strokes behind his ear. "You know," he says, with the solemnity of bad news, "If you try and take these off," he tugs lightly at the sleeve of Dorian's suit, "You got a really limited time left to live." So between that and the absolute lack of privacy in the desert they might have to behave themselves here. Which is terrible because the more Dorian admits his true feelings the more Bull wants to — well.

[devintered]

Normally Dorian would thrash tragically around at this, on the grounds that Bull's um.....largess is his favorite thing about him, but well. Currently it gets only a mild eyebrow raise. "Mm. Disappointing, but all the same if that's the price of us here, together, I'm more than satisfied with this. I'd do nothing but pine otherwise, and that's not terribly conducive to survival."

...that said. The eyebrows become more suspicious. "I'm sure you know this in a purely theoretical sense, yes? Not because you removed it?"

8(

[ex_broach530]

Somehow he wasn't expecting that. Maybe because despite everything — despite Dorian's spate of affection just now, even — Bull still kind of felt that sex was the bedrock of their relationship, the reason they're together. But that hasn't been true for him in a long while, and apparently it's not for Dorian, either, who cares about him for more than just what's in his pants.

"We're pretty imaginative, I'm sure we'll come up with something," he says, to cover how flustered he is by this information.

Also a good distraction: making Dorian mad at him! "I lasted about two hours with the top rolled down," he admits, slightly rueful. "Apparently if I'd tried taking it off the whole way that would have been about three minutes." But he's fine! Look! Here he is in perfect heath!!

[devintered]

The recent spate of affection might make Dorian's ire worse, honestly, considering he's feeling particularly inclined to express how important it is that Bull is here and not dead. He actually takes his hands back to plant them on his hips, mustache all contorted with 8(!!!!!!! "It will be difficult to come up with anything if you die, amatus. I may still be Tevinter and therefore fantastically depraved, but I do draw the line somewhere."

In other words, don't die because the only kind of "necro" Dorian is into is "mancy."

[ex_broach530]

Bull rolls his eyes and drapes himself over one of Dorian's thighs. "I'm fine," he promises, reassuringly. "Definitely not dead. Very much alive." He squeezes one of Dorian's thighs, chuckles. "If you want something to really get worked up over, I've got some suggestions."

[devintered]

Dorian scratches automatically at the base of Bull's, you know, great rack, hurr hurr. "It's my prerogative to get worked up over you as much as I like, though I try to keep that from being often. Still, you must know after you I don't think there will be anyone else for me. So let's try to make that when we're old and grey, shall we? Despite the spectacularly low odds."

...sorry about him, Bull. Dorian groans at himself and slaps a hand over his own face. "My kingdom for a needle and thread. Yes, yes, give me this list, before I say anything else terrible."

[ex_broach530]

"Don't—" Bull starts, too late. He feels struck. "I'm fine," he reiterates firmly, refusing to let his voice waver. "You're fine." In every sense of the word, hurr hurr hurr. "None of this 'til death do us part crap, kadan."

Not because he doesn't feel the same way. Dorian knows he feels the same way; Bull is more forthcoming on that than he is, usually. But anything that starts with "if I die" or whatever sounds big red NOPE alarms in Bull's brain, because if it doesn't he'll have to think about Dorian dying, and then — he doesn't know what he'd do then. Doesn't want to know. No point grieving preemptively.

Anyway. The suit is light, thin, stretchy; he uses his hand to demonstrate that maybe they don't need to take it off to get what they want. Next he's going to use his mouth. Nobody's around, he's already on his knees, and he wants the distraction — also likes the idea of all the affection Dorian tends to lavish on him during oral being multiplied by the powder's effect. Probably this should fade to back at least until Dorian starts vomiting.