lifeaftr | April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

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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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[ Who best to teach Kravitz about teamwork than Mr. Folksy Hero here?

Anyone else. Literally anyone else.

Johann keeps on barking and snarling at the monster, keeping its attention long enough for Magnus to rush right in.

I haven't used this in weeks!

[ The monster turns to the large tank of a man, but he's not worried. You know why? Because he hasn't used Railsplitter properly in months.

Is this a tree? Roots, technically? Whatever, there's no mystical fourth wall entity to question his bullshit right now, and Magnus presses that goddamn button. Chop chop, motherfucker, there goes ya leg.]

TIMBER!

[Anyone else is a completely real answer. But as usual, Magnus is a one man wrecking ball, and his axe goes right through a leg. Kravitz takes the opportunity to swing his scythe overhead for momentum before sending it through another leg in a clean, swift swipe. Scythes are real good for cutting one (1) thing, and it's fuckin' grass. The monster teeters, tries leaning away from where Magnus hit and ends up right where Kravitz cut, and he leaps backwards as the monster falls with a crash.

Kravitz continues to back away, trying to get safely out of leg range, looking towards Magnus.]

Thank you, I-- I appreciate it. I've been a bit off today.

[He says, as if he didn't wake up alive for the first time in 1000 years and is now actually breathing heavier than he was before. Also, actually breathing. He doesn't like any of these things.]

Hey, we all have off days.

[ Specially when you wake up in a random island out of nowhere. Also, the being alive thing. But, you know Magnus, he doesn't even register any of this as actually weird anymore.

Johann runs closer to the men, as Magnus gets just close enough to the monster to swing down another ax hit. He's not entirely sure how you kill a plan monster properly, but he's making sure this one doesn't try and hit them again.

It's another long-ish arm gone, and then Magnus is glancing back at the reaper.]

Soooo, hey. Welcome to the island and stuff.

[ Sure. ]

Or, huh, islands. Archipelago? Welcome to here.

Edited 2018-05-10 14:28 (UTC)

[Why are these men so weird. Why does he continue to associate with them. How did he get so wrapped up in all this.]

Well, uhm. Thank you for the... here, welcome.

[Should he ask? Would Magnus know even if it was? Ah, hell.]

Magnus, I don't mean to be asking hard questions so soon, and this may sound strange coming from me of all people, but-- are you dead? Is this-- is this a realm of death?

[It doesn't feel like it, necessarily, not in the same way the Astral Plane does, but he's-- jumpy. For lack of a better word.]

[ Magnus lets out a hearty laugh. Why? It's fucking Magnus Burnsides, I couldn't tell you if I tried. ]

Nah. [ He rests his axe on one of his shoulders. ] Don't think so, anyway. There's a lot of people here, but they're all alive. I think. Like, 98% sure.

[ Johann cautiously steps closer to the reaper, sniffing at his legs. He then seems perfectly fine, panting calmly and swaying his weird longish tail. ]

Man, Taako's gonna be really happy to see you, I bet.

[98% sure isn't very reassuring, and he means to say as much until Magnus ensues Taako is here. The fun part about suddenly being alive kicks in at that point, where his heart seems to swell and tighten and the apprehension instantly seizes his gut. Taako is here. Taako is alive and okay and oh thank every god he knows--]

Taako's here??

[It spills out almost too quickly, as if that name didn't chase all other thoughts from his mind, and he clears his throat, making an attempt at a recovery.]

I mean-- that's good if you're, uhm. Together. And not dead, wherever this is.

Oh yeah. Him and Lup are back at our camp and stuff. We should totally head out there.

[ He puts his axe away, one hand at his hip while he surveys the area. There doesn't seem to be any other big plant monsters around.]

I'll come back here later. [ He lets out a quick whistle and Johann trots up to his side. Giving the dog a pat on the head, he signals out toward the path Magnus and his companion originally came from.

The dog moves ahead in that direction, sniffing at the air.]

Man, we're gonna need a bigger tent.

[He doesn't have the time to register the name 'Lup' before Magnus is still going and his brain is yelling 'Taako' too hard to process much else.]

 Tent? Magnus, where is this? You swear this isn't another one of your-- chasing whatever you're doing? I'm not here on purpose, Magnus. Something is definitively, absolutely wrong.

Oh, yeah, huh, hold that thought. [ Because there definitely is, but, like, it's not that bad? Could totally be a lot worse. ]

We're not chasing anything, we're, huh, just kind of- here? Like you're here. But hey, we should had back, they're gonna wanna see you.

[ No, he absolutely does not even register that Krav's talking about the relics.]

[Kravitz just kind of looks at Magnus with a slightly desperate face, like he's waiting for even ONE more answer and quickly realizing he is getting no such thing. He sighs, shoulders slumping, and relents.]

Fine! Fine. Take... take me to wherever you're taking me.

[At least he'll be going where Taako is. That, he can focus on.]

[ Sorry, Krav. Magnus' proper, coherent explanations are far and few, specially after a situation has entirely normalized in his point of view.]

Yeah, c'mon. [ He starts heading down the path, Johann a good yard ahead of them.]

Man, this is weird, huh? It's not so bad around here. Usually.

[He squints at Magnus in a way that he hopes conveys "don't patronize me".]

Magnus, this is well past weird. I can't-- I'm alive, right now. Like actually alive, not just a skeleton with magic. I can't posess things, I can't cut portals to the Astral Plane, I can't contact the Raven Queen--

[He's starting to sound a liiiiiittle strained there.]

Oh shit, what? [ Well, that definitely catches his attention, but probably not in the way Kravitz was entirely hoping for.] You're breathing and stuff?

[At least he's listening! That's a plus!]

Yes, Magnus, breathing and everything. In fact, also, terribly fucking hot from this whole experience. It's unsettling. Does this-- this happen, here?

Well, I fucking guess so! [ Does it count as a nerf? Sort of like how Lup can't just shed her physical body? That's fuckin' weird.

He probably should be saying these things out loud, but, alas.]

How's it feel? Must've been a while!

[He lets his hands fall a bit into the absolute "really" pose. Like out of all the things Magnus could've said, he picked that one.]

Wh-- yes it's been a while, I haven't been alive for over a thousand years Magnus, are you out of your--

[Deep breath. Deep, stresses breath. Ooookay.]

I don't like this Magnus. I don't like this at all. This shouldn't be happening and I need to find someone to fix this now.

[ Shit, Kravitz, you old.

At least he doesn't say that out loud.]

Okay, okay, don't worry, everything's going to be a-okay. [ Who the fuck would ever believe that coming from any of the Trés Horny Boys' mouths? Ever? Certainly someone who's never met them before.]

Lets get you back to camp and get this all sorted out. [ Despite the fact that he's 10000% sure there's nothing to do about Kravitz's sudden...life, and that he's absolutely going to hate everything that's going on here, but maybe Magnus will leave the explaining to someone more coherent, and, like, that isn't him. ]

[He better not!!

But he just sort of looks flatly at Magnus, like he absolutely doesn't believe him but there's nothing he can possibly do to make it any better, so...]

... Fine. Fine, alright, fine. Just... just take me wherever we need to go.

[At least Taako will be there. That's something, even as it does make his new heart flutter a bit in his chest. Good thing nobody knows about that, because that was VERY gay.]

Let's just go.

That's the spirit! [ And he cheerfully smacks Kravitz's back, apparently attempting to knock some more of that spirit out of him.]

C'mon. Just follow Johann. [ Who has a better sense of direction than his master, and, in case they have to fight anything else, maybe Magnus can take care of it while Kravitz gets a sense of his surroundings.]

[He stumbles from the smack, but recovers, only missing a few steps as they head off towards the edge of the island. It's a bit of a mess right now, but... maybe if he's lucky, he's heading towards answers.

Or at least, friends.]

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April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

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