lifeaftr | May Intro: We're Going Down, Down

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May Intro: We're Going Down, Down

INTRO LOG: MAY

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: May 4th and onward
Where: Ensō...and above
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Floating Islet: And Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging
While new arrivals may generally be expected at this time of the month, one factor that has continuously failed to maintain consistency is their point of arrival. And indeed, it appears that this month has once again exceeded even the Storyteller's expectations as to where arrivals may take their first steps on this world.

Those who were with us in February will most certainly remember the floating islands hovering far, far above the mainland. While they currently remain inaccessible, they are still steadily floating overhead, shifting appearance as if made of the clouds themselves. And so while waking up on top of the world may be a surprise, at the very least new arrivals will have a bird's eye view of Ensō to enjoy for a time...until they take notice of a rather sinking sensation.

In fact, that sensation would be the island itself, starting to sink out of the sky.

So that's nice.

On a crash course for the ground at F6, the Storyteller will eventually slow the island's progress to the ground below, though a rather profound impact is, simply put, inevitable. Characters with the ability of flight will find the island skimming low enough to reach on their own. Others may wish to utilize their resourcefulness to find an alternate means down.

Or, perhaps, you'll simply deal with whatever awaits you at the crash site.

F6 and Beyond: In An Earlier Round
Thankfully, the Storyteller's intervention will ensure that no one still on the not-so-floating island upon impact will escape with minor injuries at worst, the island itself crumbling to pieces and taking down more than a few thick trees. The pieces of the island will very quickly begin to blacken, crumbling underfoot as the floating island turns to dust. Anyone still aboard may wish to make a very quick departure.

The ripples of this impact, however, are far more significant than two pieces of land bumping up against one another.

Previously, visitors to the floating islands may have experienced some...oddities, during their time above the clouds. For the next few days, these oddities will spread across Ensō itself, leading to some rather awkward scenarios:

[ ♆ ] Some may find their weapons are... behaving oddly, though all are still functional. Weapons, in this instance, may also include fisticuffs, if the intent is to use your fists as a weapon.

[ ♆ ] Equally as irritating are those who find themselves coming down with a severe case of NPCitus: periods of time in which they find themselves incapable of saying more than one or two lines of the same, repetitive dialogue.

[ ♆ ] Equal parts nostalgic and irritating for some are the instances of lag (walking forwards, only to find oneself back where they started), Swimmer's Ear (incapable of movement unless swimming through the air), and clipping (suddenly stuck halfway through the nearest rock are all common, regrettable side-effects).

[ ♆ ] Other unfortunate side-effects may also transpire, as varied and wild as one's imagination.

Though many of these may be hindering or even dangerous in the right situations, they are, for the most part, passive. The Storyteller will assure anyone who asks that these oddities will disappear in the next few days.

You are free to create or utilize glitches you are particularly fond of, though keep in mind that any potential content warnings should be mentioned in your toplevel! You may peruse some of the past glitches here, or create your own along those lines! And a special thanks to our local Donn-mun, Jake (

venesection), for the first glitch on the list!

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

Hey Taako ever consider that other languages are not nerd talk and, if they are, who else learned to speak mongoose???

Also there's this new, hip trend of communication all the cool kids have dubbed "responding". It's when you answer someone who's talking to you? But whatever, this is fine. Ever so slowly, Barry's voice begins to trail off, common sense blaring multiple alarms in his head. Humanoids- friendly creatures, aren't the only things that walk.

That'd be one hell of a way to finish the day, huh?? Stuck in a tree with his face eaten off.

Man, the things he'd do for a wand, right now.

Alright, he knows he should be calling Lup right about now. Buuut he still doesn't know what fresh hell is on the menu this time around and it's just too soon to rule out like. A voice-mimicking goat-man, or something. He'd hate to get her hopes up for that. Also if he does drum up some Barold it's gonna make for a stellar surprise. Nice going, Taako! No chores for a month!

So busy with his self congratulating, he is entirely unprepared for the sight of a newer and tree-ier Barry, and lets out a shrill and startled sound he immediately chooses to forget. It's unbecoming, as is being glad to see people, so he settles for chilly harassment instead.

"Uncool, Bluejeans, but a step up from your usual. How the--" He gives up momentarily, gesturing at the tree. Taako, as always, is the one most inconvenienced and offended by this. "Why?"

Jesus fuck Taako. If he could leap out of his skin he would at that shrill call of the fucking dead, eyes immediately landing on Taako as he- suddenly has to thank the gods that he can't feel his body because hopefully, that means he didn't just literally shit himself.

"You think I asked for this to happen?" He's- incredibly ruffled here, Taako. Incredibly ruffled, and stuck in a tree. Just-- look, it's not his day, today. Not your day, either. Nobody is having a day here it's just shit creek and falling, poofing islands and tree vore. "I don't know how; please tell me you have a wand."

~~Boy, it sure sounds like someone's janties are in a twist.~~

"Wellll..." Taako hedges. This probably isn't the time to break the nerfing news. Of course Barry just expects him to be able to do something, no problem, like the best transmutation wizard in the planar system, because he should be able to. And hey, maybe he is! It's early, yet. "Sure, I got a wand, it's chill."

Taako circles the tree slowly, in his most problem-solving fashion, looking for...obvious points of egress, or whatever the fuck. Being a natural multi-tasker, he also complains steadily, half to himself.

"Unbelievable, just unbelievable. Nobody else turned up inside a tree. The one fuckin' time..."

~~don't kid yourself you'd kill for some jooty shorts in this fashionless economy~~

"Okay. Cool. Awesome." He was just starting to think he'd be stuck here forever- or until he died of dehydration, exposure... either or. He watches Taako circle round him until the elf steps out of eyesight, too far for Barry to follow without the ability to turn his head. Can still hear him though, which is more relieving than he'd care to admit- especially to Taako.

Doubly so to Taako in a bad mood.

"But they do show up, right? Saw Merle earlier- dunno where he wound up."

Being rejected by a tree was hard on him. It makes Barry wonder, however, if he should ask- who else is here? But he doesn't.

He'll save that for when he's feeling braver.

"More or less," he answers, deliberately noncommittal, and deliberately nonchalant at the news Barry isn't the only new arrival. Merle's a maverick, he could be anywhere, there's just no telling. So that'll be a fun fetch quest if no one else manages to gnab him.

"So!" Taako claps his hands together, centered in Barry's vision once more. "I could transmute you out probably. Orrrr I can get Magnus. Cut it down, roll you right back to camp." He grins brightly, maybe just a tad brittle. "Your call."

Taako it's okay you're allowed to have emotions- just tell Barry you missed his stupid denim and take him back to trash camp to meet your boyfriend ~~and kids.~~

"Wow, such choice." Be potentially cleaved in half by magic, or a literal ax. How will he possibly decide-

"Let's go for transmutation- since, you know. You're here. And Magnus isn't." Like that, apparently.

Apparently that was not the answer Taako was looking for; he lays his ears back briefly, like a very succinct nonverbal swear. But that's fine, Barry's made what he believes to be a logical choice, with his literal ass on the line. The least Taako can do here is try.

Is he just in the tree, or like...become one with the tree? His little inspection wasn't terribly conclusive, but here's hoping for the former. Or maybe Barry's just a treant now. Bark and denim, sounds terrible.

"Alright, just remember I gave you options. I don't usually transmute wood with people in it? Soooo like, tell me if you're gonna die, but otherwise be cool. We really, really don't want a re-do on this, trust me." Having given as much warning as he feels necessary, he takes a seat at the base of the tree.

"Okay sure. If I die, I'll be sure to tell you what went wrong." And mourn his lack of body for... probably the entire duration of their stay here. Exhaling heavily, Barry closes his eyes, ready to open them again sans body. Look, it's fine, see? He's already accepted death.

"If anyone's got this, it's you, Taako. Do what you gotta."

Also, he trusts you.

That too.

Yes, it's very touching how much faith Barry has in this idiot but that is currently, through no fault of his own, somewhat unwarranted.

"This isn't the time for your blasé attitude towards death, Barry!" That time is actually coming up here in a little bit though, but that's a bridge to placate when he comes to it. "Tell me before. Like way before. But otherwise just, uh. Shhh."

With that, he starts the process.

It takes ten minutes.

It does not go particularly well. There was probably a better solution to this puzzle.

But the end result is still two discrete things: a small heap of lumber and an unfashionable humanman, hopefully mostly uncooked. "Ta-da," he offers the latter, in a deadpan that's as much tiredness as sarcasm. "Bad news, Barold, magic here sucks."

There are many, many instances in his life that Barry does not care to repeat. The Hunger is present in a good chunk of those; death by petrification is another. Some of his no repeats are kind of mundane, just- embarrassing.

Guess what, Taako? This, right here?

This just graduated to a no repeat scenario. Completely disheveled, Barry spends a good minute feeling himself over- as much faith as he has in Taako's abilities, he's also about as liable to trust him in mentioning if Barry was missing an ear or, y'know, his left buttcheek, as he is to smooch John.

"You're telling me this now?!" Hey Taako random question but what the fuck???? "Great. Awesome- are you okay, at least?"

Asked partially out of genuine concern, and partially because if Taako got injured saving him, Barry need to prepare for never hearing the fucking end of it.

"Yeah, Taako's good, Taako's golden." He appreciates the concern, but it's misplaced. "I've been here awhile, I'm used to it."

So saying, he lurches back to his feet with considerably less grace than he went down, brushing himself off with offended dignity. Look, Barry's not a tree and that's what matters.

"Not," he gestures at Barry's erstwhile lodgings with a flap of his hand, "This business, with the trees, that's a fun new thing, just magic being kinda real shitty. Didn't lead with that because I didn't want you to freak out and throw off my game."

Used to it...shit. He resists the urge to bury his face in his hands- barely. Could've, y'know, said that from the start. Scratched that option right off the list, gone for the next. At least things worked out-- this time.

Fuck. He's almost afraid to ask for a spare wand.

"How shitty we talking, here?" Good job, Taako, you managed to free him before freaking him out. Now, however? Barry is going to freak out. Let him in on the goss so he knows just how extensive this freakout should be, yeah?

And Taako can feel the freakout hovering in the wings, and because he's just so over it his response is, maybe, a less than mature and respectful acknowledgement of Barry's freakout. Specifically, he seems to be trying to pull his hat down enough to smother himself.

"Ughhhhhhh like real shitty. Like spells fizzling, the Ethereal Plane is gone, I had to be a bird for awhile--it's just janked all to hell and back, okay? It's a whole thing." Barry is missing the point, and for once something supercedes even Taako's eagerness to complain. He's got a nerd delivery to make, posthaste. Also the longer they hang out here the more likely it is Taako will have to do more work, rescuing some other idiot.

"Let's just get back to camp. And stay away from trees."

"Okay, sure." Says Barry, voice several octaves higher than before- and rising. "To hell with it, let's just- go back to camp. Easy, right? Forget that it doesn't make sense for you to have a camp yet, unless that- that pocket spa defied space and time, but hey, magic is fucked, so-"

He starts walking, still muttering to himself in a process that could take anywhere between five minutes and all day, depending on the complexity of the issue. Bad habits die hard- and when you spend so much time alone, of course you're going to start talking to the only person there to listen.

"...st stay away from the trees, Barry. Yep, check that one off. Lesson learned. Even the fucking trees-"

Turns out Barry's pretty good at it.

That said, it may have been more helpful to let Taako point him towards camp before he started walking, because fuck knows where he's headed now.

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May Intro: We're Going Down, Down

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