April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

[lifeaftr_mods]

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.

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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.

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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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[want_to_belong]

"Dude..."

Okay, this was a little weird.

"Did you hit your head? It's not like this is the first time we've talked." He was inexperienced in this particular matter. Noct had always remember him before. Iggy remembered when he showed back up. Everyone seemed to remember. Why wouldn't Jaune?

Sorry I clicked that stupid hover menu!

[aurabble]

"Answer my question first." Jaune's voice lost its amicable tone, his eyes cold. He didn't like where this was going. The fact that Prompto knew who Weiss was but either didn't know where or wouldn't tell him put him on edge. Where were the others? Who the heck was this guy, and was he actually friendly, or was it an act? It wouldn't be the first time someone had lied to hurt his friends, and honestly, if you were a good liar it wouldn't be that much of a challenge.

Never forgive, never forget!!!

[want_to_belong]

"I know you because we met before...?"

He was just super confused now. Then again, this was Jaune. It was possible this was a mean prank.

"Knock it off, man. It's not funny."

D:!!

[aurabble]

"What's not funny is that you know about Weiss but I don't know anything about you." His voice had started to crack with the building panic. It may have been some time since Prompto had seen them, but for Jaune the recent events were still a raw memory.

"I swear if you've done anything to any of my friends--!" Sorry Prompto. He wasn't thinking very rationally, reaching for the hilt of Crocea Mors.

[want_to_belong]

He quickly stepped back, reaching for his camera.

"Hey! What are you doing? Weiss and I were friends. I can prove it!"

He had no idea why Jaune didn't remember. Hopefully this wasn't some terrible joke. But he did have pictures, and quickly swiped to a picture of him and Weiss together. All wet and crud. Maybe a liiiittle close - he was rather proud of that one even if he had been so terrified of being that close to her.

"I would never hurt her! Or anyone else. Why would I??"

[aurabble]

Jaune narrowed his eyes, ready to attack if Prompto did, but when he pulled out the photo he leaned over to look. No way...

"How...?"

His neck and face had gone a rare pink flush as he backed away. "You're her boyfriend or something? How come she didn't tell us?"

[want_to_belong]

"Wha..."

Only trying to prove friendship and 'I didn't kill her', Prompto was taken completely off-guard by what sounded like an accusation. Did Jaune really think Prompto could date Weiss??

His face turned red. "N-No...! We were just friends." Fingers unconsciously went to his hair to play with the extra long strand in the front. Nerves were clearly getting to him when he thought about it. Weiss was...! And he was...! There was no way she'd date him. It was hard to get his mind back on track after that, and he didn't quite look at Jaune as he asked, "Do you seriously not remember anything?"

[aurabble]

"But you're together, wearing...less than usual. Are you in Atlas there? I thought Atlas was cold. What's Atlas like? Why didn't she tell anyone?! Is it because Yang wouldn't let her live it down?" The confusion and shock of the whole situation was sending Jaune in a downward spiral. He stared at Prompto, hoping he would have some answers, managing to focus enough to latch on to his words.

"I don't. Do you think I have a concussion?" He knew he should have labeled his new shoes left and right again!

[want_to_belong]

"Yeah, I was taking a bath before, and she just happened to be there."

He flushed a bit, and instantly got defensive, "Not that I saw anything! She was dressed. Anyway, I saved her from a frog, so she took a pic with me!"

And, for what it was worth, she certainly didn't seem mad at him in the pic. "We were in the river back on Enso. And I... don't know Yang, so, I dunno?"

This was so weird explaining. Jaune should have known this stuff. "Maybe someone will know how we can get back your memories."

[aurabble]

Jaune frowned at Prompto's defensive behavior, quirking an eyebrow. "She's afraid of frogs?" That would be such good material to use against her! If she was...

If she was here.

"Where's Enso?" Jaune went quiet, looking down. So Weiss had been here, along with him, and now Weiss wasn't. No one he knew was.

"Why would I want to remember that?"

[want_to_belong]

"She wasn't a big fan of it."

Luckily she had Prompto there and his amazing frog catching skills. He'd gone around the world picking up frogs. It was the one job he was overly equipped to handle.

"Enso is one of the islands, and there's a bunch of little islands... I mean, dude, we have to get your memory back. You don't want to forget about friends you made and stuff, do you? And start all over from scratch?"

He stepped back, patting his hands on his hips in an exaggerated motion as he wiped them. "Kind of scary, actually. I don't know why anyone would lose their memories here..."

[aurabble]

"Too bad I can't use that against her." He mumbled softly to himself, averting his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck because it gave him something to do during this awkward conversation.

"So there's an island called Emo. I don't know, maybe I got a concussion. What have you been up to since I left? We're friends, right?"

[want_to_belong]

Oh man. He wasn't sure he'd exactly say they were 'friends'... But it was probably pretty scary to come back without memories. Prompto didn't want to hold some sort of grudge.

Instead, a little antsy on his feet, he answered, "Ah... Yeah, we were. Not like, best friends or anything. But I can show you where everything is and... Oh, I should probably re-introduce you to people, shouldn't I? I mean, I'll have to at least introduce you to Iggy. And there's a lot of other cool people around, too. Dooon't be shocked if one is a spider lady."

[aurabble]

"I mean... I don't want to waste your time." He replied uncertainly, averting his eyes. "I don't remember any of these names. It must be pretty annoying." Selfish as it was, he was okay with that. He couldn't imagine ending up here and then losing the one person he knew. Honestly, being here is difficult to wrap his head around as it is.

"But you're still offering to help me. Thanks." He'd have to repay him. "Who's Iggy?" The spider lady earns a shrug. Either she likes spiders, or she's Faunus, neither which is a big deal to him.

[want_to_belong]

"Iggy's one of my good buds, and the island chef basically. And he'll do whatever he can to help people so it's good to get to know him. There's way more people, though. Like, a lot. It'll probably take you a while to get to know everyone again."

Not one to take advantage of the fact that Jaune was vulnerable, he firmly decided to keep things cool. He gestured with his head. "It's better if people get to know where everything is quickly anyway. We all have to survive out here."