lifeaftr | November Intro: Red Sun Rises Like an Early Warning

INTRO LOG: NOVEMBER

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: November 3rd and beyond
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The New Arrivals: Hold My Hand
When you wake, it will be to the lapping of waves, frothed with foam...pulling at your hair, your skin, your clothing. The sand is soft and wet beneath you, but it's several inches submerged. And the longer you stay here, the more obvious it will be that the water level of the ocean ringing this strip of island has begun to to rise, and not merely because the tide has started to come in.

And what's more? You can tell that something else about this entire situation is horribly, horribly wrong.

Perhaps you've lost some special power. Perhaps some piece of your memory is freshly and disconcertingly blank. Perhaps you've just discovered that one of your senses is missing, or that you've been rendered unable to speak, or you've been struck by a debilitating fatigue. Not only are you stranded in some unfamiliar place, stuck on a rapidly flooding beach, but you aren't even doing it in full possession of all your faculties.

For those who agreed to put themselves at a disadvantage for a stranger, these are your consequences. If you're unclear as to the handicap your character has been assigned, if any, please check your initial acceptance notice!

All new arrivals will additionally awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can also be found in your acceptance notices!

For All: It's a Long Way Down
The water isn't a problem for the newest arrivals, either. It seems that the waters all over Ensō have started to rise, slowly at first, and then with a steadily increasing rate. At first, you might be forgiven for assuming the tide must simply be unusually high, or maybe that the island's begun to sink. But the longer it endures, the more obvious it becomes that neither is the case.

The water has begun to rise. Something is wrong with the island itself, or the being living on it, and now there is nothing preventing the water's inexorable approach as it steadily washes over and over the mainland. In fact, if you listen closely, you might even be able to hear a peculiar sound tearing over the cold rush of the coastal wind; something akin to a desolate wailing.

Either get to high ground - and quickly - or find out what's causing this. But either way, we suggest you hurry...because there are a great deal of newly arrived, very disoriented folk on the beach that could really, really use your help.

As a final note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme, bear in mind that those threads, if all parties involved would like, can be game canon in the form of dream-like memories involving a place very much like this one, though the layout is considerably different.

Feeling a tad adrift? Make sure to check the Locations Page, which has details regarding the starting areas and a handy map for those who feel better with a bird's eye view!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Storyteller pops up in our dreams! They might show up tonight, at this rate.

[And, of course, with his hand on his heart-]

I can ask them for a blanket, if you want! That way you can save a wish.

[ She'll prepare her mind with her best Nightmare on Elm Street impersonation, then. If she has to be here, she must be here to follow the rules, too. Therefore... in order to engage with an important person, she must be able to dream again.

She frowns, as if feeling guilty. ]

But that's your wish!

And 'cause it's my wish, I want to use it to help others. That's what's most important to me.

[ The joke is really on you, Mickey! Sachiko doesn't need it and some new people certainly will need that kind of wish spent on them. She just wants it for appearances-- if a little girl doesn't mention she feels cold before someone brings it up, especially after near-drowning, something is definitely weird about her. ]

Haa... then, thank you. I'll pay you back with a wish of my own someday!

[Mickey would rip out his own kidney if someone asked for it.

... Please don't ask for it sachiko]

Don't you worry about it. For now, let's get you safe and get you rested.

[ :)))))))))))) ] O- okay... I'm just a little...

[ Hahaha oh god here come the tears. Were it not for the salt water still in her system she wouldn't be able to fake this. ]

I'm just--- I miss home...! I'm scared without mama or papa!

O-Oh...

[He comes toward her, arms open. If she wants a hug, she can come in, but he won't force one on her. The offer is here!!!]

It'll be okay! We all have people we miss... but we're gunna get home, I know we can.

[ She'll hug him very briefly. Enough to feel that she's cold, but easy enough to dismiss on the ocean. Or bad enough to realize this child seriously needs to get warm! ]

I hope so... I'm scared of a world without them!

[Not that the idea of her being dead would ever cross his mind in the first place... but he pats her back, allowing her to hold him as long as she needs.]

It's okay to be scared... Everyone gets scared. But every day we get a little big stronger, and a little bit braver. You're never as scared as you could be when you have a friend around.

Okay. Please help me, Mr. Mouse...! I promise I'll be braver!

[ Jeez, she's really laying it on thick, huh? At least until she gets on the islets. ]

[the 'effort' makes him smile.]

A'course. I know you will.

But you can just call me Mickey! And what can I call you?

Um, okay, Mickey. Sa...

[ It's like she's wrestling with mom's suggestion not to talk to strangers. ]

Sachiko... Shinozaki...

[Big smile!!! Smiles are helpful, right???]

Sachiko Shinozaki! Okay! I won't forget it! It's a really nice name.

Thank you!

[ She seems delighted at that, at the very least! It's a very pretty name. Just about the only thing pretty about her. She yawns, despite herself. Is she actually... getting tired? ]

How long until we reach the m- mam-- mana pool?

Not too much longer!

[he walks on, making sure not to go too fast so she can catch up.]

We'll be there before you know it!

G- good! I'm tired...

... will there be a phone? A TV? A mailbox? I don't want my parents to worry...

Uh... no.

B-But according to the Storyteller, our 'stories' back home can't continue without us. So I think he was saying they're kind of paused?

So you mean time stopped?

[ She smiles a little bit at that... weird how quickly she understood, isn't it? ]

So no one has to worry. And nothing will change-- that's very good.

[She must be a very smart child!!! Good for her!!!]

I know, huh? I was really worried until he told me that. My home situation was kinda tricky, but when I get back, I'll be even more prepared than ever.

November Intro: Red Sun Rises Like an Early Warning

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