Log – Contrary’s Homecoming (1/5)

Introduction: Rebirth, my last story bit was made for one of my MU* characters. This one, in fact hat I’m going to post a log for now. I did both these scenes yesterday, presented here with only minor alteration, typos and all. I’ll look into presenting logs for perusal as time goes on. One thing I’m interested in is my portrayal of Contrary. I’m forging into uncharted waters again, trying to play a convincing amnesiac. I’ve decided a few things about her condition.

1. Her old name(Discord) won’t be a catalyst for memories. Her previous alteration has eradicated it from her mind, save for a slight feeling of discomfort anytime it’s brought up within her earshot.
2. Images and places will. Be catalysts. Places she’s often been will cause her disorientation and a strange sense of déjà vu, but no solid memories.
3. People she knows well will cause memory flashes, but leave her little in the way of productive remembrances of her life when they’ve passed. At the moment, there’s only one or two characters that will really do this. The rest will give her the same as #2 above.
4. Places and objects that have particular emotional attachment or have been a regular part of her life(her bike, her sword, her old rooms), will give the strongest responses, including acute pain from the strain of cracking barriers.
5. Ultimately, the decision of if she ever gets back most of her memory is undecided. I might leave her unknowing to decide if she wants to resume her old life or do something else. She might regain part of her memories, but even then she’d be a changed person on the whole.

Beyond that I haven’t described anything too deeply, wanting to let events flow. I’m still working out her personality, but it seems to fit well with deep amnesia. Who she was before is gone and she’s essentially a blank slate emotionally and in ‘preference’. So she has to rediscover who she really is, which allows me to settle into the character the way I tend to like. At first she’ll be on the timid side and wary, but given time that’ll give way to a more solid personality, depending on how things go for her.

Anyway, enough of that. On to the role play.

** Start Setting Descriptions **

Kingsdale – City Gate

You stand before the one hundred foot tall City Gatehouse with its reinforced steel gates. The city of Kingsdale is surrounded entirely by a wall and this is one ot the two authorized opening. The gatehouse permits people to enter the city via the road that lead to the rest of the world. The walls are eighty-five feet tall and glisten white in the mid days sun. Parts of the walls around the gatehouse have been scorched black, perhaps from a fire or other mishaps. The gatehouse and immediate surrounding area seem majestic and regal, almost as if the chemically enhanced concrete had been molded by hand to produce the elegant curves. A patrol roams the walls around the gatehouse ever vigilant in their goal to protect the city and the travelers who would enter.

The road itself is exceptionally well maintained just outside the city. The flow of traffic is light as caravans and others slow down to pass through the checkpoint at the gate. A small bazaar and market has sprung up along the roads selling food and various items to tired travelers reaching the city gate and finding a line of people waiting to enter. Colorful booths and tents line the road making it a wonderful mix of colors.

Off to the East is the Landing Strip for parking larger vehicles, robots and power armor. The guards at the gate are friendly and efficient, explaining local laws and permit prices (News Documents).

To the West are vast farm lands that extend for miles around the city supplying the food supply for those who live within. Further to the North past the farms the forest and wilderness reclaim the land.

Kingsdale – Main St and Wall St

The hundred foot tall city gatehouse accompanied by its eighty-five foot high walls fill the horizon to the North. Its white walls gleaming either from sunlight or from street lamps. The gatehouse and immediate surrounding area seem majestic and regal, almost as if the chemically enhanced concrete had been molded by hand to produce the elegant curves. Traffic is frequent here at most all hours of the day as people come and go South down Main or to East or West along Wall Street.

Buildings, all created of mixed materials, are sparse allowing for the most space to let pedestrians and vehicles mill about on their respective bits of business. At all times, this location is watched by the patrols roaming the walls and gatehouse.

The area has also seen some impressive landscaping and beautification. A large grassy circle about two hundred feet from the city gatehouse serves as a small park. It once was the home of a statue of Geoff Mercator, but today it is home to a massive wall of honor and grief. Those who survive in Kingsdale come and place the names of those who have fallen in service of Kingsdale and their fellow residents.

A seven foot divider is placed between the North and South bound lanes. In this divider green plush grass and trees grow giving the area a civilized and tame feeling despite the constant presence of travelers. Well maintained sidewalks run the along both side of the street.

To the West along Wall street is one of the many massive battlement towers that surround the city and some housing. To the East, along Wall street,the area is fairly underdeveloped, a few vacant lots and some smaller ‘family’ or ‘Mom and Pop’ businesses take up most of the space.

** End Setting Descriptions **