Intro Logs

[neurotoxicity]

Who; Ivy + Open to anyone
What; Arrival and wandering around. If you'd prefer bracket spam action, feel free to do that rather than prose!
Where; Heading to the buildings + Wandering around at night
When; 5/04 in the morning and night.
Warnings; None at the moment, will update if any come up
A. Arrival at the residential area and the Green building.

Ivy arrived in a bad mood. Due to that sour mood she headed straight to the residential area without even the slightest desire to look around. It was morning, way too early for a vampire, and she'd somehow just been abducted from one alternate dimension into another. What kind of shit luck was that? Her shoulders were hunched forward and her expression was dark as she walked with purpose to the area with the colored urban buildings.

"You have to be kidding me," she muttered as she looked up at each building. They looked like the type of city apartments Rachel had lived in before they'd moved in together. Which meant they were shared apartments. Shared apartments. At least in the last place she'd had her own place where she could try to avoid other people as much as she wanted to. This? This made it seem like avoiding people would be a lot more difficult.

After a few seconds more of just glaring at the building, as if that would somehow change what they looked like, she opened the door to the green building and went inside. She took a look around the common room and adjusted the blood red silk scarf around her neck as she sighed.

"A common room. Quaint..." she said with obvious irritation leaking into her voice. "B-10. Third floor then? These look so...small." Well, this was going to be an adjustment. A decidedly unpleasant adjustment.

B. Night and wandering around.

A little bit of sleep and the familiarity that night brought put Ivy in a slightly better mood. There were positives to this situation. So far from what she'd gathered on this place's network the place didn't seem quite as bleak as the underwater domes she'd just come from. They weren't underwater so it was a lot less claustrophobic. People seemed to know a lot more about who had brought them here and why. It even seemed like it might be possible to speak to some of the people in charge, which could lead to more information. It wasn't all bad. The living quarters were crap but at least she wasn't rooming with anyone. Try to focus on the positives, Ivy. That's what she kept telling herself over and over again. Maybe it'd actually convince her that this wasn't that bad.

The network could only tell her so much though. What she really needed to do was look around. Of course she waited until night to do that. Everything was easier (and more familiar) at night. She started with the market just as the sun was beginning to go down. Periodically as she walked through she stopped to write things down in a small notebook she'd brought with her. If anyone noticed her they might be able to pick up on the fact that she was sketching out a small map as well as taking note of any major businesses. They might also notice she was completely absorbed in her note taking. Which, unfortunately for anyone else walking around, meant she wasn't paying attention to people in the slightest. Maybe she's still a bit more tired and out of it than she thought...

Comments

B!

[gadaboutdetective]

Llewellyn was still out himself, it not being quite late enough to chase him indoors. After all, being outside was still a bit of a novelty. Even after dark, despite it being not being his favourite time to be out.

It had already been an eventful few days, and while there was still far too much to learn and figure out? The detective was actually feeling more than a little optimistic for once. It helped some, perhaps, to know you weren’t alone in a strange new world. That he wasn’t the only one who’d been brought here as he had, and understood the ridiculous comfort at not being cooped up in the bottom of the ocean. Yes, eventually the other shoe would drop and the charm might wear off, but…

He still had Rhy, and he’d bumped into Harry on the network, so he felt a little more ready to deal with whatever ill-fitting shoe came along when it did.

So, needless to say when he spotted another familiar figure, stopped and working on a notebook? Llewellyn felt a surprised smile cross his face. He resettled the bag on his shoulder and wandered over to get a better look. The detective wasn’t about to just assume it was her and then it turn out to not be his friend.

Once he was a little closer, he squinted slightly in the still fading light. “Ivy…? Is that you?” He asked with a certainty that grew as he spoke.

[neurotoxicity]

That voice...she was certain she recognized it. But it couldn't be could it? Llewellyn had been someone she'd met in an entirely different place. He hadn't just come from a different universe either, he'd come from a completely different time. Despite that though, she'd liked him a lot more than she usually liked humans. He was understanding, maybe because it seemed like he knew what it was like to keep secrets and be different. More than that though he seemed to understand what it was like to pour everything you have into your work as a means of distraction. A lot of people spent a lot of their time telling Ivy she needed to have some fun and work less, but Llewellyn seemed to get that sometimes the best thing to keep your mind from wandering was just to keep working. It'd been nice to have someone who seemed to get that and honestly, she'd been kind of sad to leave that behind.

Still, he couldn't possible be here, could he? That was just too strange. Too coincidental. And yet...

"Llewellyn...?" When he got a bit closer she could definitely tell that actually was him. He looked the same, sounded the same, and he even smelled the same to her vampiric senses. "How?" Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and she completely ignored the fact that it made it seem like she wasn't glad to see him. That was Ivy though, sometimes completely oblivious of how blunt she came across. "Were we both taken by another place at the same time? How long have you been here?" Looks like they were back to the same situation they were in when they'd first met: endless questions.

[gadaboutdetective]

And if seeing her hadn’t cemented it, hearing her did. It really was Ivy, and he couldn’t help but grin to have discovered another one of his friends here. “I can’t really say how, which given our past experience isn’t exactly an uh— new thing.” He responded, brows rising a little as he considered many of their last conversations. “It’s good to see you, though, Ivy.”

Endless questions, indeed. There were so many things he wanted to know at this point, but he would focus on the main ones that were relevant at the moment.

“I believe it’s possible that we were brought here at least around the same time, you’re not the only person I’ve run into from there either…? But I’m unsure why we’ve ended up here at considering we were all told we’d be sent home with no memory of that place?” He frowned a little, he wasn’t complaining about that, not really. Llewellyn hadn’t really been sure if he wanted to go home… This was still something else entirely, and while it seemed like a nicer world so far, it was very strange to be there at all.

“Mm… I’ve been here a couple of days at most? What about you?” He added curiously, wondering if perhaps there was some kind of connection to explain it. It made him wonder if here were others, or if being pulled from one world into another was far less uncommon than he’d originally thought.

[neurotoxicity]

Friend would be quite the odd concept for Ivy. It wasn't that she had no friends or had never had any, it was just she didn't have many human friends. Or any at all. Actually, come to think on it, she didn't really have that many friends in general. She had Kist but that was...complicated. Then there was Rachel and Jenks and that was also...complicated. The rest were business friends and she wasn't entirely sure if those actually counted. She shook her head at the thought, but actually offered him a hint of a smile. "It's feels strange to say, but it's good to see you too." Strange only because it felt a bit wrong feel happy to see someone in another alternate dimension.

"Who else have you run into?" That was strange. All of this was strange to say the least. Though she hadn't really believed anything that Llewellyn had said the Sphere had said to him. She'd made it pretty obvious that she hadn't trusted that it'd been being honest about it's intentions or how they were brought here. "Is it surprising that the thing gave us misinformation?" Annoyance broke through her tone with the comment.

"Not even a full day. When I first got here it was morning." And no vampire liked being awake before afternoon at the very earliest. Most Inderlanders didn't like being awake during the day.

[gadaboutdetective]

That was the interesting thing about being in another world, if Llewellyn were asked on the matter. Aside from a few colleagues, he didn’t really have many people left in his life at home either. But in another world…? He’d gotten to know so many people, and perhaps it was simply the shared experience, but he’d found far more close bonds than he was used to.

He was quick to answer her question. Even if he was unsure if she’d gotten to meet any of them, anyone who knew what it was like to be where they’d been was probably good to be in touch with. People who understood that even if they were already experienced with being in a new world, there was still something of an adjustment period to deal with given where they’d been. “So far there’s my husband, Rhy, and Harry Dresden. I don’t know if you’ve met either of them, but I know I was glad to see them too.” He added with a small smile, perhaps one was for more obvious reasons than the other, but knowing Harry was around too was something of a relief as well. A good friend who was far more of an expert on magic than he was? Definitely good to have around in an unfamiliar world where he got the feeling magic was going to be quite relevant.

“So… Our arrivals were staggered, at least a little. Though it’s hard to say if that was because of where we were or something to do with this place.” The question was, had this world intercepted their return to their own world, or could everyone be just as easily pulled from one world to the next without warning. Could it happen again? This time they’d been… Well, he considered himself lucky. It was hard to say where any of them would end up next if it happened again.

[neurotoxicity]

"Your husband too? That's quite the coincidence..." her eyebrows furrowed in thought. It was probably nice for Watts to have him here, but for some reason it made her oddly uncomfortable. That feeling was only increased by the next name he mentioned. "Harry too...?" Being the observant person he was, he might notice she sounded a bit...pleased to hear that. Pleased mixed with a hint of hesitation. A nightmare had made her attack Harry but he'd proven to be more than capable of fending her off in a non lethal manner. He'd seemed fine with the situation afterwards, actually he'd seemed way more concerned with trying to comfort her than with himself. Ivy on the other hand still felt a lot of shame over the entire thing. Shame and quite a lot of embarrassment. For a second she looked down and then she awkwardly went about fixing the scarf around her neck that very clearly didn't need any fixing.

"Four in total then? With you arriving earlier." She repeated the information to confirm it mostly to herself. "Have you found out much about this place? The only thing I've really been able to take note of so far is that it's very...jumbled. There are old pieces to it and things that look a lot more modern. Technology seems very far behind and the places that do have more modern appliances don't have a source for power." That had been a weird discovery she'd made early upon entering the building she was assigned to.

[gadaboutdetective]

“Yup, I um… literally tripped over him my first day.” He responded with a clumsy grin. It had been both a relief and amusing.

That aside… Llewellyn couldn’t help but notice her shift in mood, how odd… Almost uncomfortable, to… was that a pleased tone in her voice? Well, wasn’t that interesting? “Yes, Harry too. So you do know him, then? I spoke to him briefly on the… tellphone things.” Llewellyn was, unfortunately for Ivy, very prone to focusing on his friends. So he was more than a little curious about how his two friends knew each other, and what the story was. We’re they friends as well?

Or was it more like George and Effie had been… Something to keep an eye on, perhaps?

Her questions were at least important enough to shift his focus for now though, “Mm… I’ve learned some things, yes. I don’t know if I’d say much, it’s a much more expansive world than the last we were in— and it seems to be growing if what one person told me was correct. There are apparently earthquakes, and then new areas appear?” That was perhaps not the strangest thing of note, areas had appeared and disappeared in the last world too, but it seemed like a good place to start… Especially if earthquakes were going to be a regular occurrence.

[neurotoxicity]

"Romantic reunion," she said with a smile. Despite not having known him long Ivy couldn't help but think it made sense that's how the two of them ran back into each other. It seemed appropriate for some reason.

"I spoke with him in voice then met him in person a... few times after," she adjusted her scarf again as she tried to decide what, if anything, she wanted to add after that. "The first time we met in person was during a nightmare." It'd been the first and only one she'd experienced while there. In some ways it was a relief to be away from that place. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about her memories being shared or a repeat of that situation. She hoped. Then again, what did she actually know about this place? Maybe shit like that happened here too. "He reminds me of my partner back home." At least his scent did and his general personality. Harry definitely had a lot more experience and knowledge of his magic than Rachel did though.

A change in subject was a bit of a relief though. "Earthquakes and then new things appear?" Appear from where? Or from who? "I guess we'll be on similar footing this time then." Seemed like both of them would be starting from scratch, that is if he intended to actually look into things here. She knew she would, work was the only thing that would actually manage to keep her busy and distracted.

[gadaboutdetective]

In hindsight, he supposed that it was when he thought about it, and the comment gets a small smile in response before he focused on her explanation of how she knew Harry. The fact that they’d met in person during a nightmare… That was less fortunate, and he wracked his brain a little to remember what sort had happened after she arrived.

Oh… The one that altered how people acted, made them… different? Darker shadows of their usual selves, though Llewellyn couldn’t say for sure. It had effected so many people differently. It made him wonder how it had affected either Ivy or Harry, if they’d been caught up in it. “Not the best timing for an in-person meet, I guess… But I take it that it worked out?” Llewellyn added, managing to wrangle his curiosity just enough to not dig for details so much as asking how it had turned out. At least it sounded like they got along, if the way she compared him to her partner was anything to go by.

Ducking his head in a short nod, he tried to pull from memory what he’d been told. “Yup! The way they described it makes it almost sound like the new things— places and such, grow from the quakes? Which… Well, it sounds rather strange…? Similar things happened in the last world in a way, though there were no warnings like quakes. Domes appeared and disappeared.” Less fond of the memory of their disappearances, if he were honest… He hoped that wouldn’t be a similarity they saw here. “I’m trying to start compile notes on the subject, but there’s so much to work out or uh— prioritize first.” Starting from scratch was a strange feeling. In some ways it was a bit exciting. In others it was a little daunting.

the Green Building

[harrythelizard]

Harry hadn't exactly been burning the midnight oil when he woke up on his feet, fully clothed, by a fountain, and at first, he'd been pretty damned convinced this was another trick of their not-so-pleasant overlords before he'd gone to broadcast and realized the network interface attachment behind his ear was missing. Then there was a little man shoving a bag in his hand and he was being shuffled off to a residential plaza in the open, under and actual sky, surrounded by the scent of flowers, the hustle and bustle of an honest to God fantasy town where there were giant birds instead of horses, but it was outside, damn it, and that counted for something. It wasn't home but it was better than the other place.

There weren't a lot of people coming and going from this place, though, so when the doors to the common room opened again shortly after he'd made his way inside, he turned and blinked. She was probably the last person he'd expected to walk through that door, but he was pleasantly surprised.

He reached up, popping up the collar of his duster, and slid into his best Humphrey Bogart impression (which wasn't very good but this is the type of game he has).

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."

[neurotoxicity]

Evidently if anything were to lessen her sour mood it was Harry. Ivy wasn't really sure what that meant or why she was almost...happy to see him, but that was precisely what she felt. It was confusing and more than that she wasn't even sure if it was something she wanted to be feeling. Unfortunately though years of dealing with her Master had made it where she didn't get much of a say when it came to her feelings. The best she could do was try to suppress what she felt as much as possible. Luckily she was well versed in doing that and so she was able to quickly recover and try to not let him see that she'd smiled at his voice. It was probably too late for that, but that wasn't going to stop her from pretending.

"Casablanca? Why am I not surprised." It seemed like the type of movie he'd love. It might even explain how he dressed. Something needed to explain those fashion choices. "When did you get here?" And how. And why. This was weird. Suspiciously weird. Why would they both be taken at almost the same time to another...whatever these things were. Dimensions? Worlds? She hadn't been able to quite piece that together in the other place. Watts had ideas that she'd spent hours pouring over, but nothing seemed concrete. Every idea lead to more questions which just gave her an even bigger headache. Was this going to be the same? Didn't she get enough of that from Rachel and Jenks back home?

[harrythelizard]

"You can't knock a classic, and any who try are committing heinous crimes against humanity. Aren't you a cop?" Or at the very least a former cop, and from the long time he's known Karrin Murphy, he knows that doesn't die easy no matter what your superiors do to you. Being a pillar of justice in a world gone mad was in your blood, or maybe it was even deeper than that.

"About an hour ago. I tracked the little guy who gave me this bag to a shop off the market district. Evidently, he deals in things you can't get from the other shops, because what quaint little fantasy town doesn't have a gnome with connections?" He found it all a lot more disturbing than he was letting on, and it was even more strange now that Ivy was here too. They were people from two different parallel Earths. Theoretically, there were countless others out there including the one they'd both been on previously, and now they'd both been shuffled off to another completely random dimension in the vast sea of dimensions and...

Okay, Harry. One thing at a time. "Do you feel any different?"

[neurotoxicity]

"I was an agent," she correct. Though, after her demotion, cop had been more accurate. "Runner now." Which was clearly very different than being something as low as a cop. Justice had never really been her concern, more than anything it had just been what was expected of her. It just happened to be something she'd ended up discovering a particular talent for. Then she'd realized she really enjoyed the analytical side of detective work, it gave her something that worked to completely take her mind off of the disaster of her life. The bad part had come when she'd suddenly realized that she actually enjoyed the common work of a Runner. The problem with that was that she'd also realized she lacked the control to do it properly.

"Gnomes," she said with a shake of her head. Of course there were gnomes that dealt in oddities. It could only get more predictable if there was a leprechaun too. "A fantasy town with urban apartment buildings." The tone betrayed her annoyance with the low standards of their housing situation. "Strange isn't it? They really don't seem to match," she mused more to herself than to him. Why did they seem to not match more than anything else?

She shook her head. "No. Other than tired, but I'm used to that."

[harrythelizard]

'Runner' was a term he wasn't familiar with. Given the supernatural world stuck to the shadows where he came from, and there wasn't much use for openly operating enforcers. With no laws other than their own, the supernatural tended to keep charge of its own, and when it didn't that's when he and his ilk got involved.

You know, like when an emotionally compromised and hot-headed wizard attacked a vampiress of considerable influence on her own turf at a neutral function and the vampires declared war in retaliation. That sort of thing.

"So...what's a Runner?" Because it sounded like something specific, and it also seemed to be something she at least partially enjoyed. She at least didn't seem annoyed by the position.

He looked around again at their surroundings as she pointed out the oddity of their existence. On the way here, he'd passed what looked like a Grecian fountain, several open-air market stalls, an honest to God tavern, and several dozen carts, then he got to the middle-class housing district, evidently.

"Yeah, this whole place sort of feels like when you were a kid and you decided jigsaw pieces were jigsaw pieces and it really doesn't matter which puzzle they belong to." Everyone did that when they were a kid, right?

[neurotoxicity]

"The closest equivalent might be a bounty hunter. We do anything from finding stolen items to finding wanted criminals. Private Runner agency's handle whatever the client wants us to. We just started but I was...well known at the IS." Which meant she'd already gotten some well paying cases much to the frustration of her partner. At least that wasn't due to her Master's connections but rather her own talent. There was a reason her bosses at the I.S. had been furious to lose her.

She tilted her head at his description and then, shockingly, actually chuckled. It wasn't much of a chuckle, but it was something. The sound was light but with a seductive hint that just crept in naturally.

"What a specific example," she said with a traces of a smirk. "Sounds like something you've got some personal experience with." It couldn't possibly be something that happened to many people.

[harrythelizard]

"And made a good enough impression that people still wanted to work with you, even after you left official channels." He sounded impressed and he was. Normally when things went sour for a person, they went really sour. Ivy was pretty capable, even in Supernatural circles. It was easy to pull the wool over the eyes of mortals, but their ilk were harder to navigate. It was comforting, really. She could take care of herself.

That wasn't to say Harry would just leave her to her devices if she was in trouble, but he wouldn't worry quite as much.

"Hey, I was an only child and we traveled around a lot. Plus, my dad was busy a lot and I spent a lot of time entertaining myself." And pretending to understand how to do magic. If six year old Harry could only see himself now.

[neurotoxicity]

"There was a reason the IS was so unhappy to lose me. Not that they ever like losing people. You usually don't get out of your contract." Most who tried ended up dead pretty fast. Contracts weren't something the IS took lightly. They took things even worse when someone got out of their contract and then managed to take cases from them. Not only had Ivy managed to buy her way out of her contract but she'd also managed to help Rachel get out of hers. If she hadn't had enemies before, she definitely did now.

"And you decided mixing jigsaw puzzle pieces was a good source of entertainment?" She chuckled and shook her head. "At least nobody can say you're not capable of entertaining yourself."

B

[skyward_eyes]

Night shift in the markets sucked. A lot. He'd rather be home and let his fiance cook for him, but here he was instead, walking along the street, using the haft of his naginata as something like a walking stick. Good thing the weapon had as long of a shaft as it did too, because it meant the blade of it was rather high, which meant it was well out of the way when a woman, not paying attention to where she was walking, almost walked right into it and him. Nida danced a quick step back, frowning.

"Excuse me, Miss, it might be safer to, well, watch the road."

[neurotoxicity]

"It might also be safer to not walk through a market with such a cumbersome weapon," she replied with a shrug. In her own world Ivy had been the magical equivalent of a cop and she really couldn't imagine why someone would carry something so big in a market. Maybe smaller weapons were harder to come by. Or maybe dangerous things happened in the market that she wasn't aware of, she did just arrive after all. That line of thinking made her turn her full attention to the man, might as well ask him that very question while he was here. It might give her some good information about the place.

"Is the market dangerous?" her tone with both her statements was polite if not a bit tired sounding. "I just got brought here."

[skyward_eyes]

"Guards gotta guard," Nida counters, sounding a touch amused.

And, truth of the matter was that he'd never touch a sword again in his life, if he could help it. Though he did have a bit of a magical edge. AS for smaller weapons, well he's got those hidden on his person too. But it was amazing how much more secure people felt in a place when someone was VERY obviously armed and ready.

"The market? Not overly much, ma'am. As the evening gets late you might see some ruffians or pickpockets down near the tavern. Usually on my off nights where I'm alone, I'll keep watch, take them in for arrest."

He offered out his empty hand, a quiet offer of a shake.

"I'm Nida, and I remember that boat. It's not pleasant, trying to get your feet under you after being brought to another world. I'm the only one of our number, the arrivals, in the guard now, so I guess I'm probably the one that would give you the most honest answer. So here it is: the market's mostly safe because the guard keeps a presence up. When it closes down for the evening it will be safe again, but all this money changing hands, all the crowds? Pick pocket's playground. If you keep money in a pouch, it's usually best to keep it around your neck on a chain, fucked under clothes. And keep a few bags, different places."

This world is older in tech than he's used to, so he's learned to adapt to the way it works.

[neurotoxicity]

"You're a guard...?" The first thing that came to mind with that word was something like a security guard, which brought an amusing image to her mind. Maybe it wasn't an idea that was too far off from the truth either. It was something she could respect though, the fact that he wanted to protect these people even if it wasn't his world.

"I'll make sure to keep a look out for any ruffians," she replied with a hint of a smile as she took his hand in a firm but brief shake. Everything he'd just said got a few extra points of respect from her towards Nida. Working on your nights off took either someone that really cared about helping innocent people or that was just very dedicated to their work. Either way, she could respect it.

"I was in a different world before this one," she paused as she realized that wasn't quite as clear as she could be. "Different from my own. I don't know how that one brought me there and I don't understand how this one brought me here." Not understanding was the most frustrating part. The world before this one had been a maze of questions that simply led to more questions. Hopefully this place wouldn't be a repeat. "So, these people are just natives to this world?" That made sense from what she'd seen so far she supposed. About as much sense as any of this "Thank you for the warnings. Things usually don't go well for people who try to steal from me." Or who try to hurt her in general. "I'm not usually as unobservant as I probably just seemed." She'd just been a little too focused on her note taking and maybe she was still a bit too tired. Come to think of it she was pretty sure she hadn't eaten in a while either. She really was a disaster sometimes.

[skyward_eyes]

Indeed he was a guard, and he was glad that the word seemed to make the woman a touch... he didn't know if he'd say kinder. But it was something nicer. And he was happy for that.

"You were in a different world too? Interesting. Not many seem to come here by way of another world, not from my experience. We're a small but tired group."

Very tired of the world shifting around them.

"The natives are just that, part of this place. When the world changes... they seem to as well. They see things as always having been."

[neurotoxicity]

"A few of us that just got brought here were all in the same place." It didn't make sense to her really, but neither had the first place. "Tired is a good way to describe it." Frustrated would be another way, or maybe it was a mixture of both. It was both frustrating and worrisome that there were other people that had experienced being taken up and dropped into other worlds more than once. "How many have you been in? Was there any common correlation?" Somehow she doubted there would be, but it was potentially worth asking.

"Strange. That might mean this place has some sort of power over them." But did it have power over them from birth or did it somehow develop a power over them? If it developed it that could be bad news for those of them not native to this place.

[skyward_eyes]

"That happened," Nida admitted, pausing to lean his weapon across his shoulder as he crossed his arms. "Happened to me and a few other people I knew, in the last world. We came there together, on the same day. But I'm the only one that made it here."

How many. Oh man, what a question. But he'd been free with that information before. Even if it felt so far in the past now.

"This would be my third world beyond my own. There doesn't seem to be a lot of correlation beyond 'no airships'. The first two worlds there were ways people could acquire powers native to the place, but that's not true here. This time and the one before there was something like apartment or dorm living, but not the time before that. And this time actually lets me tap into my powers from home, which is completely different from the rest. So really, there isn't as much similarity as I would have hoped for."

Power over the natives sounded about right, so he just nodded along with that.

[neurotoxicity]

"That happened to you too?" Her eyebrows scrunched together. That was actually kind of concerning to hear that it could happen. "I'm sorry to hear that." There was a kind of uncertainty to her tone. If people just got sent back to their own worlds then it might not be so bad that they hadn't come with him. At the same time she could see how lonely that must be.

"Three..." Four if his own world was counted. It was disappointing to hear about how little correlation there was between worlds. "That's a lot of differences. More than I expected." More than she wanted to hear, that's for sure. "Does this one seem better or worse?"