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

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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

Cool, cool! [Eventually he does stop circling Muffet and stops in front of her, hands excitedly balled into fists and tail going crazy. He's acting like a kid meeting Santa or something with how he's staring at her with wide eyes.]

Do you think I could get some silk from you?! If it has bugs in then that's even better! [But wait where are his manners?] Wait, uh-- Hey, I'm Keaton, you're a talking spider and this is awesome.

[She smiles and curtseys politely at the introduction.]

A pleasure to meet you, Keaton. My name is Muffet. And I would be happy to provide you some silk if you have a use for it, although I think you'd have to catch a few insects with it yourself if you wanted to add them.

Okay, catching my own bugs with spider silk does sound pretty neat. But if you already have some webs up or something I don't mind taking one of those off your... Hands? All eight-- Six, six of your hands.

[Two of those are feet right. Or is it offensive to spiders to mix up their hands and legs. Huh, talking to a spider is tougher than he thought.

He wants to push further on his questioning about webs, but the water is still coming in which makes things tough. Hmm.]

If you have any webs up nearby in the trees or whatever I could come take a look. It's like... Quality assurance or something. [There we go, away from the water and onto webs.]

[No, he's got the divide fairly correct- eight limbs in total, but only two legs.]

Very considerate of you. That said, the webs I have spun I'm still using at the moment, but I can spin one for you sometime if you find a place you'd like one.

Hey thanks, I'm a considerate guy. [Sometimes he is anyway. Maybe. But this is praise from a spider of course he's going to take it.] I'll find a nice spot sometime and let you know. It's gotta be somewhere lots of bugs go through, but if it's dusty nearby that's even better.

[A web full of bugs and dust and grime. Like a cake full of raisins and berries. The thought alone sends his heart all aflutter.]

If you're gonna be a real pal and do that for me... Want me to bring you any cool bugs I find? Or is there other stuff spiders need?

Hm... I can't say I recall anywhere that was unusually dusty, but I'll let you know if I happen across a suitable spot. For the moment, though, I'd recommend that you stay on the islets- they don't appear to be flooding, unlike the main island.

I appreciate the thought, but I'm doing relatively well when it comes to feeding myself for the time being. If you encounter any interesting new edible plants or animals, though, I certainly wouldn't mind being informed. I do a fair amount of cooking, so it's always nice to have fresh ingredients to experiment with.

Right, sure, I'll do that. Staying on the islets and telling you what I find. If I find a lot of neat stuff though you've gotta cook a little extra for me to try! A spider's cooking has to be great.

[He flashes Muffet two thumbs off before he turns off towards the rising water, looking for these islets he's meant to be going to stay on. Does he have to swim to get to them.]

Should I meet you on the islets? The islets that are... Over in this direction. Yeah. [He takes a slow step towards the water.] ... Am I warm? [He could just ask where they are but he wants to look good in front of his new spider buddy okay.]

I'd be happy to- it's always nice to get a second opinion on how a dish turned out.

[Muffet smiles at his attempts and shakes her head gently, helpfully pointing in the direction of the mana pool.]

You're technically not wrong, the islets are over that way- but we don't swim over to them. There's a kind of magical gate that looks like a glowing green pool, it can transport you there directly. I can show you how to work it, if you like.

[Second, third, she can have all his opinions. He is here for spider cooking and he didn't even know spiders could cook until about now.

Keaton quickly spins on his heels, kicking up a little sand as he turns to face where Muffet is pointing.] So I was basically right, kinda. I'll take it. [Close enough and all that. He nods.] If there's gonna be magic do we need a mage or a tome for it to work... Can you make it work?

[He should probably let Muffet actually explain things before voicing his assumptions-- But he might very well be dealing with a walking, talking, cooking and now magic casting spider and what.]

Since this place takes people from different worlds, there are people here with quite a few different kinds of magic. As it happens, I can cast magic, but using the mana pool doesn't seem to require one to do so.

[She explains in an idle tone as she begins walking towards the mana pool, outlining the process for her enthusiastic new acquaintance.]

One picks one of the flowers growing around the pool, drops it in the water while focusing on the intended destination, and then steps into the pool. Fairly straightforward, really.

You are seriously one heck of a qualified spider. Out of all the spiders I've met you're the most on top of things out of all of 'em.

[And he has met a lot of spiders. Granted none of them have talked and they're a lot more run-of-the-mill than Muffet. Keaton follows after her, tail wagging as he goes.]

So there's no thinking of directions, you just think and go. Nice. [Surely he can manage that... Maybe. There's a short pause as Keaton wonders how best to phrase things.] What if you're having trouble focusing and you just throw a flower in anyway? Not that I would, I'm always focused. But yeah.

Now, now- you'll make me blush.

[Muffet winks teasingly at him, appreciating the complement. Watching someone with five eyes wink is an interesting experience.]

[She considers his question, tilting her head thoughtfully.]

Hm... I'm not entirely certain what that would do, to be honest. We didn't know the islets were on the other side when we first used the mana pool, so we weren't picturing them that time, and it still took us to them then- but at the time, I believe there was really only one mana pool in use anyway, so perhaps there was only the one option.

[Interesting is one way to put it. It's pretty cool really! Can spiders close alternating eyes? Three open two closed, only the eyes on the left- It's so strange to think about, this is why spiders are great.]

Huh, so at least wherever I'm ending up there's a pool so I can get back. [That's a huge relief.] Heck, maybe by not focusing we can end up somewhere completely new. Like a cave underground, or some guy's room that hasn't been cleaned for weeks! [... Yup.]

[Muffet winces delicately at the mention of 'a cave underground'.]

I... would advise you to be very careful exploring any caverns here. We recently had to deal with a cave system that turned out to contain some kind of infectious crystal, and the whole incident was rather lethally unpleasant.

[Well that kills his tail pretty quick. He wasn't expecting to hit a sensitive subject out of the blue like that.]

... Yeah, I'd say that's good advice.

[He's about to go on, but his dream with the Storyteller before arriving comes to mind. The details were sketchy at best, but he distinctly remembers being told about multiple deaths. And reviving the fallen.]

I think I know what you're on about. Uhh, at least everyone came back after they died down there? [No point in sugar coating it really.] It doesn't make it any better, sure. Heck I'd not want to die even if I'd come back later. But you know. [Better to die and be revived then to die and stay dead.]

[She smiles gently at him, showing that she isn't offended. It's not as though he knew, after all.]

I quite agree- still something to avoid, certainly, but an improvement on the alternative. I take it you spoke to the Storyteller on the subject?

[She can remember new arrivals mentioning meeting them before, at least.]

Yup. Well, they spoke about a bunch of stuff. [He just sort of listened as best he could.] About stories and something about crystals. Probably like what you said. What else... Reviving the fallen? Actually they might've mentioned the pools too.

[And his ears perk up as, hey, it does seem a little familiar now he thinks about it a little more... But also it's a kick in the teeth. He can remember what a big bunny said in a dream but nothing about what he is? How's that fair?]

It's understandable if your memories are somewhat vague, on that subject- they tend to communicate in some odd, dream-like place more often than not. Holding on to knowledge from there can be rather frustratingly difficult.

You're telling me. I guess it's just like a real dream then. Even if it's crazy realistic and you're right there and everything when you wake up it kinda just... Goes.

Regrettably, yes- ah, but I shouldn't allow myself to be distracted.

[Muffet holds up the flower and tosses it into the pool, the water flaring white as the gate opens.]

Shall we continue our conversation on the islets?

[Keaton nods, staring intently at the bright glowing water.]

Okay, I'll follow you in. Just gotta focus and I'll get there... Easy, like you said. [It's as though he's saying it for his own self assurance than anything.] Guess I'll see you on the other side.

[Muffet nods, and steps forward with a reassuring smile.]

See you soon, dearie~

[And the pool flares, and she vanishes.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

November Intro: Red Sun Rises Like an Early Warning

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We can probably wrap this soon?

Yeah, sounds good to me.

Wrapped unless you have more to add.