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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That certainly engenders a reaction. Their earlier pronouncements about the differences between worlds no longer seem to hold quite as much weight. A flood of tar. Something that obliterates all it sweeps over. Something oozing, and viscous, and dark...]

[The Drifter regards Kravitz with a newfound urgency.]

what color
any symbols

[If Judgment spread - if it spread to other parts of the universe, if it spreads to other worlds - who's to say that their sacrifice meant anything, anything at all?]

[Whose to say that others may not need to sacrifice themselves as well?]

[They're worried-- scared. Kravitz narrows his eyes, feeling the urgency in the situation all the same.]

I-- it was mostly black. But there were bits of... just squiggles, no discernible shape, in red, blue, and yellow. I'll be honest, I didn't look very hard at it. I was mostly trying not to drown.

[The time he spent under, clawing his way to the surface, having it threaten to choke him and fill his lungs... he hasn't been so afraid in a very, very long time.]

Is that... you sound like you know what it might be.

[Too many colors. None of them are bright pink, that bleeding toxicity, and the Drifter's disposition eases, very slightly. Perhaps there's some sort of variation across universes, but - ]

[But he is not sick, is he? One can smell it, leaking off the stricken and the ill like a curse.]

[They can recognize it in others. They've lived with it for long enough.]

not pink
corrupting the world

[It doesn't sound the same, but it pays to check.]

[He nods, trying to think if that at all resembled what he saw.]

I don't think it was corrupting so much as it was... consuming. Destroying what it swept across until it was engulfed.

[Worrying to know there's some other horrifying thing he's never heard of out there, though. But of course that's worrying.]

I'm not certain of it's origins, however, but... hopefully we can rule out it being the same thing.

[Consuming - not quite the same thing, no. The Immortal Cell did not merely seek to ravage the world; it wanted to possess it. It twisted its occupants and warped them into something that would not hesitate to lash out at those around them, inciting war, destruction, wanton violence.]

[Likely not the same thing, then. No.]

does not sound like it

[He sighs, not quite relief, but at least diffusing some tension from his shoulders.]

Well... good. I would hardly wish to see that return anywhere. Not to downplay what you went through, of course.

[If they thought it was similar, it can't have been easy. Especially with so many deaths, the origins of which he's trying to keep in mind to stop from having heart palpitations.]

inform should it return?

[They mean that in both directions, by the by, though their vagueness can be and often is easily misconstrued and misinterpreted. They will inform him should their nightmare return - and he should inform them, in the same way.]

[Here's hoping he deciphers that correctly.]

[Kravitz squints a bit, trying to piece that one together. It's phrased as a question, so...]

Uhm... yes. Yes, I'll tell you if I see it again. Though it might be less seeing and more happening, if previous encounters are anything to go by.

[That's not encouraging, Kravitz. He shifts the backpack on his back, moving the weight between his feet.]

Well. In that case, I supposed I should... try and find my way around this place a little more. Make sure I know what it looks like in the first place.

[A moment as they process that, quietly. Then, decisive, simple, to the point:]

ok

[They waste no further time, turning to set off at a brisk trot along the rolling slopes. Don't take offense to it, Kravitz; they are a drifter of few words by nature, and their laconic nature often comes across as blunt when they seldom mean it to.]

[Well, that was a bit-- abrupt, but fine. If the conversation is over, he supposes it just... was.

Kravitz stands for a few seconds, and then raises his hand in an equally awkward wave.]

Uhm-- goodbye, then!

[Now, to figure out how to contact that god...]

April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject