June Intro: Let's Sea How Far We've Come

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: JUNE

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr as the island of Ziziphus begins to crumble
When: June 4th and onward
Where: Ziziphus and Ensō...and Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Ziziphus: At The Start Of The End Of The World
Since Bliss's destruction, the extensive root network they've threaded throughout every inch of the island of Ziziphus has begun to crumble. June 4th marks the beginning of the inevitable collapse of the island as it starts to sink into the sea...coincidentally coinciding with the arrival of LifeAftr's newest adventurers. Between the dead trees surrounding Bliss's empty husk, great cracks in the earth start to widen, the dead god's absent root system leaving vast gaps underground which simply cannot support the life above. It almost sounds like thunder rupturing from the ground itself, wild tremors preceding each vicious boom until gaping chasms lay between venturing parties and the safety of the mana pool - only water waits below, for those unlucky enough to lose their footing.

And if the immense pull of mile wide chunks of landmass sinking beneath the waves isn't enough to suck you down, the heavy rain of debris from Ziziphus's rapidly destabilizing edges will certainly help. Want to avoid a watery grave? What you need to do is simple:

Escape.

Sorry, newbies. If you showed up on Ziziphus, you're in for a very athletic entrance to LifeAftr.

Monsun: Just Like Every Other Morning Before
Adventurers aren't the only creatures on Ziziphus attempting to outrun its collapse. Creatures great and small, from the largest spindlank to the smallest tigerlily will be heading south in an attempt to escape the worst of the quakes. Unlike offshore adventurers, however, these poor creatures don't have a mana pool waiting for them to escape through. Their extinction, it seems, is imminent.

Unless you have something to say about it.

Already exhausted from their attempts to get through to and then actively dispose of their fellow god, the Storyteller will break their traditional manner of communication to announce a potential solution to this problem with a single broadcast to the Stones of Far Speech in a strained, weary tone:

"The mana pools on Monsun are now open. If you are willing, save what you can."

True to their word, characters will discover that the island of Monsun will be accessible once more for a short period of time. From prey to predator, obstruction to catastrophe - multiple species of flora and fauna can still be preserved, should you choose to do so.

Be wary of the psychological effects of both sides of the island. Those who are new to our setting and wish to explore, the island of Monsun has a peculiar side effect to its stark divide: the eastern half is rich in resources, but brings out the very worst of you, while the western half is a tumultuous wasteland that accentuates your best qualities. More information on said island can be found on its entry on the Locations page, or its introductory info post.

Due to these efforts, the Storyteller will not be available for contact from the 4th to the 18th of June. Item Requests will also be unavailable at this time. They will, however, make a rather strained announcement to ensure all are aware that access to both Ziziphus and Monsun will cease on June 10th.

Ensō: I Wonder What It Means If It's Gone
The native fauna of Ziziphus aren't the only ones on the move, it seems. Those who wander the shores of Ensō will be delighted to witness the appearance of creatures akin to both turtles and dugongs drifting through the waters, gravitating around the island's eastern coast, rapidly gaining in numbers over the following days.

Kaleidoshells have been unlocked in the bestiary!

With spring close to ending in the archipelago, these peaceful creatures are looking to make good use of their natural nesting areas; hope you're open to sharing the beach for a little while. While a few braver individuals will make their way to the shores between C4 and D1 to begin digging nests, the vast majority won't be coming to shore quite yet.

They do, however, make a very fine sight around the waters of Ensō, especially in the evening. Luminescent, their rainbow patterns glow underwater, drifting mood lights for the increasingly warmer evening breeze.

---

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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[counterblows]

[His eyes narrow behind his visor as he studies the kid, sharp and assessing. He's armed, ostensibly, so he doesn't have to worry about him being taken off guard about whatever might be creeping about here. He seems, aside from being cranky, essentially fine.]

[The buzz of memory has already begun to germinate in his skull. Don't say goodbye, humming down the length of his spine and trying to pull up an old grief that doesn't even belong to him, wrenching it out by the roots.]

Guess not.

[yourattention]

[Connor points toward the western half of Monsun.]

Desert. Look for an ugly tent, about halfway up the river.

[If it's not there quite yet, he has no doubt it will be soon. The blind guy would probably push his asshole boyfriend into a mana pool to get him back on Monsun - at least, that's definitely what Connor would do.]

[counterblows]

And you’re telling me the people there are gonna be nicer?

[He doesn’t bother to pretend to be anything but skeptical. Even if...there might be merit to the kid’s claim, or at least to the notion that something in these woods doesn’t agree with human physiology. There’s a difference between standard levels of paranoia and being seized by the throat with memories that don’t belong to you, when you’re supposed to be long past that these days.]

[In theory, anyway.]

[yourattention]

There'll be a guy there with ugly hair that looks like he dyed purple over brown? Yeah, ask someone at the camp about what he's like off this island.

[I'd like to formally apologize to Nao for consistently throwing Adryn under the bus but in my defense, he's an asshole and he deserves it.]

[counterblows]

[It's an instinct he doesn't grasp immediately, simply due to how long it's been for him - the describing of others based on physical appearance, rather than simply the look of their armor. Referring to traits such as hair or clothing hasn't occurred to him for years, now.]

[People here do it offhand. Meaning he might be one of the few people who wanders around in full armor out of instinct.]

So why's he here, if he's such an asshole?

[yourattention]

My money is on his blind boyfriend "accidentally" pushing him into the mana pool. [Yes, he makes air quotes. Obviously.] They have some kind of weird Edward and Bella thing going on where the blind one thinks his dick can cure assholeism or something.

[counterblows]

[Even if Twilight ostensibly exists in this future space universe on an undisclosed timeline, it's safe to say that Washington is the furthest removed from pop culture as it's possible to be. Fighting a war and then signing on with a secret government alternative combat research program doesn't allow you that much time to catch up on movies from a time when humanity wasn't as bent on exterminating itself as it is now.]

Are you always this charming?

[yourattention]

Yeah, I'm always a fucking delight.

[He's is, actually, just like this to begin with except for in relation the, like, four people he actually likes on the island.]

[counterblows]

Sounds like my kind of luck.

[He really should go, except he’s not in the habit of just leaving people who’ve made at least a nominal effort to help him. The fact that he’s literally nineteen might also have something to do with it.]

Are you honestly going to be okay out here? Or do I have to worry that you’re gonna start finding another use for that axe?

[Uh, wow. That came out more hostile than necessary.]

[yourattention]

Oh my god, open up your fucking pack. You have to have a rocky-talkie in there.

[That's what he's decided stones of farspeech are called, just fyi. He pulls his own out of the pocket of his jacket and waves it around.]

If you leave me the fuck alone, I will give you permission to call me whenever you want to make sure I'm still alive.

[This is definitely not a terrible decision Connor will regret at some point.]

[counterblows]

A - what?

[He seems to be saying that with increasing regularity these days. The visor makes it easier to mask the way his gaze drifts downward and back up again. He looks away only as long as he needs to before he extricates it - a multifaceted stone that he hadn't realized had any actual function besides being, as it happened, a fucking rock.]

You're telling me this thing isn't just a...it has a purpose?

[While he's at it, do you mind telling him whatever the fuck the confetti thing does?]

[yourattention]

Do they not explain this shit? [He just assumed the Storyteller would explain their shitty communication system, but apparently that's just Too Much Faith.] This is our shitty version of cellphones, because it's the terrible dinosaur version that doesn't have texting.

[For that, you have to use the rock in front of the Storyteller's temple. As you do.]

You can call somebody in particular or broadcast to the entire island if you want. Congrats, now you've learned a thing and you have a reason to break out your party popper.

[People who have never seen one of those things in action and therefore don't know what they're capable of: Connor.]

[counterblows]

So I've got a radio-rock, a party popper, and... [...christ, what else is in here?]

[Never mind. He snaps the damn thing shut and reshoulders his bag. He doesn't have the mental capacity to be grateful for it, but the helmet at least masks his scoff, like he doesn't quite believe any of this shit.]

[To be fair, he doesn't quite believe any of this shit.]

Getting shipwrecked on a piece of rock in the middle of nowhere, two times in a row. That's real grounds for celebration.

[yourattention]

It could be worse. The sun still exists.

[Connor pockets his stone of farspeech again and throws a handful of wet wood chips onto his fire to start the smoke up again.]

[counterblows]

[He contemplates that with eyes narrowed into slits behind his visor, for a good solid minute, before deciding he's not gonna...touch that.]

I'll be sure to remember that.

[He should thank Connor for the help, but that's for people who have adjusted socially in any way, shape, or form, and Agent Washington's ability to not be an insufferable dick has notably degraded over the years.]

[Even more notably here.]

Leaving you the fuck alone, as requested.

[yourattention]

[Connor could respond like a polite person? But he could also just flip Wash the bird? And let's be real here: which one is a teenage boy going to do?

Flip someone off, of course.]