lifeaftr | April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

INTRO LOG: APRIL

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: April 3rd and onward
Where: Ziziphus
Warnings: Mark as needed!

A9: Sow the Seed
Unbeknownst to new arrivals, the archipelago of LifeAftr has recently seen the appearance of a new island, as chosen via voting - and they have been unceremoniously placed there instead of upon Ensō, where most newcomers would typically appear. It's probably for the best that the island of Ziziphus is so outwardly peaceful.

There are worse places to find yourself, all things considered. The mana pool glimmers with a greenish light, the stone ring containing that peculiar fluid set firmly into the earth. The surrounding land fits neatly into that general aesthetic: rippling fields stirred by the occasional crisp breeze alternate between amber-golden and rich, verdant green in coloration, and irregular patches of color signify the presence of a great deal of flowers of all sorts.

It's a peaceful scene.

We're sure you're all about to make it go horribly wrong.

B9: Reap the Harvest
For the unluckier, or the more adventurous, something far less tranquil awaits. Perhaps you woke up on this particular map square instead, or you saw fit to journey a little farther, just to see what might happen. In any case, you'll quickly discover that this may not have been the best idea, when an ordinary grassy mound abruptly detaches itself from the ground, hauls itself upright on bristling legs, and starts scuttling near.

SPINDLANKS have now been unlocked in the bestiary.
What might initially appear to be a leafy hillock will very quickly prove to be something far more...mobile, if you get close enough. That clump of grass and red ferns will abruptly hoist itself up on six vine-like tendrils, crawling for its prey like a very large, mossy spider. While it's fully capable of swiping at its foes with its massive, leafy arms, the spindlank's favored method of dispatching its prey is simply to scuttle forth until it's positioned directly above you and drop down. If its weight does not crush you and choking on the clods of earth doesn't smother you, don't worry; the spindlank intends to eat you alive with a set of fleshy jaws set deep in its center, buried somewhere in its underbelly.

For despite their appearance, spindlanks are very much carnivorous. Their size can vary from anywhere between six and ten feet tall when their appendages unfurl entirely. They are, in essence, very large plants, and thus can be easily dealt with, if you can burn them.

Just try not to get overwhelmed.

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

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 )

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[Muffet seems totally unperturbed by the idea of making conversation while balancing on top of a carnivorous mobile plant, and replies with a pleasant smile:]

Oh, no, my dear pet is much more friendly. I just ran into one of these fellows and thought it might be worth a try.

I don't believe we've met before, are you a new arrival?

[It is about the time for them, she thinks, if the schedule she's been noticing so far is holding true.]

[The plot thickens, and Myia's quest to understand what a "pet" is continues.]

Yeah. Yeah, new. Didn't know you can tame these, or I might not have let mine get set on fire. I'm Myia.

Mm, 'tame' is overstating it a bit, I'm afraid- it's more learning how to balance on one without getting eaten than it is making them any friendlier.

[She politely declines to ask about the fire.]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Myia. My name is Muffet.

Muffet. Weird name. Not-weird face though. Lot of weird faces here, very weird. Have you tried setting them on fire? Makes them have a hard time doing the eating thing.

[Does she or does she not regret setting "her" spindlank on fire, the world may never know. She is flipflopping at a rapid pace. Look out, Clintons.]

Can you make them go where you want? Or just having fun?

Sadly, I've never had much of a talent for fire magic.

[Muffet sighs wistfully at the thought of not having to rely on tools to build a proper fire.]

I can nudge them in one direction or another, but it's not terribly specific. Faster than walking, certainly, but largely just for the fun of it.

Magic isn't real. Ugly sideburns man used alcohol.

[Shhh, no one tell her.]

Can respect that. Always wanted to ride a plant, but most of them aren't so big back home. Unless they're trees. But trees don't go nowhere. Got a crow [....friend?] acquaintance what likes riding trees, though.

I've found it depends on the world- magic works quite well in my home and reasonably well in this place, but others seem entirely unfamiliar with it.

[Muffet isn't particularly bothered by disbelief in magic. To her, it's a little like someone disbelieving in fire: you don't have to have faith in it, it's just there.]

My, that sounds like an interesting idea. If nothing else, it must be quite a view from somewhere up so high...

Show me magic, then. Show me.

[Says the woman who almost certainly has used a mana pool by this point. Look, there's probably some kind of explanation that doesn't involve sparkly magic.]

All right, which color would you like?

[Yes, magic comes in colors. That's just obvious.]

There's the choice of purple or green.

[Myia is immediately interested and has abandoned all misgivings once there's colors involved.]

Purple! Show me purple!

An excellent choice, dearie.

[Muffet spreads a pair of her hands wide, showing clearly that she's carrying nothing in them, then makes a brief gesture. When she does so, a line of gleaming purple light appears out of thin air, strung between her raised hands.]

Purple magic is the magic of binding, among other things- a bit stronger than the average thread, to say the least.

Edited (typo) 2018-05-17 22:46 (UTC)

[Myia watches with awe.]

What's green? Is there more? What kind of things can you bind? Anything? People? Food?

[Muffet explains, idly toying with the line of purple magic to create a complicated little glowing cat's-cradle structure as she does so:]

Green is the magic of shielding and healing, though I'm really only skilled with the latter part. In all, there are seven colors of magic, plus the basic colorless kind that all of my people can do. And I can bind anything I can get my threads around- people and food most certainly included.

Wish I could bind some people...

[That would certainly solve a lot of her problems.]

Bet that makes you a good fisher! Do you fish? I'm certified!

[She gestures toward the fishing pole hooked to her knapsack, looking very proud of it.]

I'm sure you've quite a talent for it.

[Muffet is not completely certain why being a fisher requires certification, but she supposes it can be dangerous out on the open ocean? That seems like the sort of thing people might need to be officially trained for, certainly. And in any case, she's certainly not one to belittle a hard-won skill.]

I do fish a bit here and there, but when it comes to food my best skill is in baking.

April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

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