July Intro: Upsy-Daisy!

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: JULY

Who: New arrivals, your lif᷆t̕i͗n᷅ģ f̧̞ͅr̡̦̃ḭ̅ͭe̩᷅̂n̟̣̤d̨̬̏, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr, and everyone makes a new friend!
When: July 5th and onward
Where: All over Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Like a Bat Out of Hell
At this stage, the appearance of new arrivals to Ensō's shores is hardly a surprise to anyone but the arrivals themselves. Whatever mysterious force is responsible seems to have taken a vaguely nostalgic route this month, depositing the new and unconscious across the shoreline of the beach closest to the tumbled stone bastion of the Storyteller's temple. At first, that seems to be all there is to it. The arrivals stir to the smell of salt and the summer sea air, and the cycle of questions, searching, and settling begins.

For about five minutes. Perhaps ten.

Almost like an afterthought, something else shows up, plummeting straight out of the sky and landing with a veritable explosion of water some hundred feet from the shore. A large, rectangular shape breaches the surface after a few moments, bobbing, cork-like, in the foam-crested waves before ever so slowly beginning to sink into those aquamarine depths. For those familiar with such objects, it makes for a rather odd sight. That most certainly was an elevator, or you can be...fairly sure it was?

Give it another minute, and you'll be certain. The elevator streaks out from the ocean like a creature possessed. Maybe, in those split seconds prior to its approach, you'll be able to note the elevator's distinct features: a disturbingly smiling face on its doors, and a set of teeth framing a very organic mouth.

Meet Upsy, your lifting friend. In case it wasn't obvious by now, Upsy is far from a conventional elevator by any standards. What's more, Upsy has not taken to LifeAftr as well as some others. Armed with the ability to move in any direction, the rogue contraption takes no prisoners - by which we mean, they take as many prisoners as possible. Upsy proceeds to swoop across the shoreline, combing the beach in the most haphazard and patternless path possible, scooping up anyone slow enough to be caught in their maw. Once you're caught up in their jaws, it comes down to the winds of fortune, in regards to wherever Upsy proceeds to spit out their cargo. While the journey itself will be rough and...sticky, it is not inherently dangerous.

Hopefully, the same can be said for wherever you end up Ensō hosts a great deal of predators, environmental hazards, and worse. Though you could always end up belched into the ocean. Hope you can swim!

When the Metal is Hot and the Engine is Hungry
Upsy’s reign of terror isn't restricted to mere adventurers. Those with livestock or animal companions may be in for a small shock or, perhaps more likely, a very large one, when flying elevator sucks up those cuddly critters with a grin and spirits them off into the great unknown.

Though your phoenix, chocobo, or tigerlily may not be where you saw them last, you can at least be assured that they are still on Ensō. All you need to do is round them up. And if this isn't good enough news, well...at least you don't keep bludrocs.

Whether you're out searching for an animal or not, be careful traversing Ensō for the next three days. If Upsy is empty, they'll most certainly snap you up. And if they aren't? You may find anything from birds to horses spat out at you.

The velocity of these organic projectiles tends to vary. Dramatically. Upsy's reign of terror will end on the evening of July 9th. At that point, the elevator will fly off to greener pastures...and our RNG spreadsheet for potential encounters in future. Sweet dreams.

---

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 )

Comments

Lucky, or unlucky?

[despairing_hope]

Komaeda had been trying to find Hinata's tiger lily, who he hadn't seen in a while and was a bit concerned about. However, before he could really do much he suddenly saw....

It was hard to describe what he saw.

"Is that...?" but before he can finish his through the elevator shoots straight at him. If he had been the type to try and dodge, he wouldn't have been able to quickly enough. But since he wasn't the sort to bother in the first place he was gobbled up right where he stood!

Now the elevator had a passenger that would bring potentially horrible luck to anyone who it came near to.

More like fuck his life

[thisisourfuture]

It had been a fine day. Hinata had ventured out to get a good look at the plants on the island to see what he could transplant of medicinal use. He'd heard someone approaching while he was checking a small plant and looked up to see...

His brain shied away from describing the events. Everything happened so fast he is on his feet too late to stop Komaeda from being devoured.

"Hey!" His blood turns to ice at the fleshy inside of the elevator just before it snaps shut. "HEY!" Lily the Tigerlily rubs up against his leg as he loosens his ax from the straps on his hip. He takes off after the damn thing while swearing to him.

"Of course a good day means something like this!"

Lillie | Pokemon Sun/Moon (Games) | OTA

[flower_of_innocence]

i. pure morning, pure oH GOD WHAT IS THAT (Along the beach; warning: will be warped to another tile if in contact with Lillie)

[Awakening on a strange beach, to the scent of salt on the breeze and the warmth of sun on her face, is not new to Lillie. She tries to cling to the remnants of her dream - a talking rabbit, and such a strange explanation... - but part of her knows that there's more pressing things in the waking world. The young girl pushes herself up slowly, reaching for her hat and brushing the sand off of it. She can feel a heavy weight on her back - a knapsack of some sort - and when she slides it down her shoulders she sees her name stitched on the front.

A cursory glance at the surrounding beach tells her she's not the only one arriving on the island and, more importantly, that Nebby has already escaped and is toddling towards the water gleefully.

Lillie sighs. It must be a day ending in "y".

Standing up and gathering up both her belongings, she makes her way carefully towards the pokemon, who is now joyously splashing in the shallow tide.]

Nebby...you're going to be all wet. Come here, it's safer for you-

[What in the name of all things is THAT?! Lillie shrieks in panic, scooping up the wet pokemon with zero regard for the sand and water splashing up her legs, and sprinting down the length of the beach away from that god awful elevator. Running in flat shoes in the sand proves to be difficult, and she finds herself tripping and stumbling and, finally, falling. Clutching Nebby to her chest, she stares in horror at the gaping maw approaching her.]

HELP!

ii. this kind of heat is for lizards, not lillies (Enso G2; mountain temple)

[Maybe the elevator from hell spat you out here. Maybe you were touching Lillie when Nebby warped her out of the way. Maybe you're just exploring. No matter what brought you here, you can expect to hear a startled yelp as a young girl in a white dress scrambles to her feet to get off the hot rock beneath her.

If you came here with her, you may note that the little cloud-creature in her arms has gone almost completely still and silent - a far cry from the energetic thing you saw moments before. It's still breathing, but it's clearly knocked out.]

Oh, Nebby...! You shouldn't have done that...

i

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight is doing their usual wandering when they hear a cry and what is that.

Whatever it is, it's clearly hostile and angling to attack someone they haven't seen before, so they dash in to at least attempt to get her out of the way of its first charge.

Which really just results in Lillie being flying tackled by a small, masked figure. Whoops. ]

ii

[catpiper]

[What the heCK is that elevator? She hates it? She hates it. Stop scooping up her cat!! Stop scooping her up!! This is horrible. This kind of technology should be limited to buildings or something. Not islands. Someone, please, wreck this thing already.

Which is to say, she was spat out awhile ago and decided to hide behind a rock ever since. Horrible. It shouldn't surprise her when someone else appears, presumably carried over here as well, even if she can't see it in the distance. Weird? Scary? She hates all of this. This girl's voice came out of seemingly nowhere and she peers over the stone to get a better glimpse of them, their surroundings, and quietly says-]

You should hide over here.

ii.

[fireindreams]

[Grimm has not run into that demented elevator again so he was exploring. The worlds he traveled to were of dead lands and kingdoms and possess very little life. Just enough to help him finish the Ritual that called the Troupe Master to them, so an island full of life and light is quite new and a source of curiosity for Grimm.

The girl's cry attracts his attention and Grimm makes his way to the source. The beings of this island were strange to him - none of them were anything like the bugs he met and knew, like those of the Grimm Troupe. Regardless one appeared to not be doing well and there is no reason for Grimm to not lend a hand.]

Is your friend quite well?

A.

[mamaterasu]

[Ammy has probably fought this infernal terror-beast five separate times today, but there doesn't seem to be an end to its assault of the newcomers. The wolf is getting tired, she'd running low on ink, and low on patience especially. One can only be gobbled up so many times before they're ready to do a murder. She's never going to tease Issun about this sort of thing ever again!! ...Maybe. Probably not.

However, the metal monster has the wolf to contend with when it bears down on a poor, young girl. Here we go again, but this one looks like just a child, and clearly unable to defend herself like some others can. Putting every ounce of force into her legs, the wolf speeds over the wet sands like a streak of white, flowers blossoming in the wake of her swift paws, petals blown clean off from the gale she creates. Just as Upsy looms over Lillie with its mouth gaping wide, the wolf paints a trail from her reflector to those open jaws, and fire streaks from the paint as if it were black oil, right into the maw of the hellevator.

Choke on that hot tamale, you spicy son of a bitch.]

ii. WHAT UP HOMESLICE BREAD SLICE DAWG

[holdmyhand]

[ Luna? Has been running since this whole thing started. Since Upsy began their reign of terror and sucked up someone nearby-- and then just flew off. What? WHat?

Needless to say she was caught almost immediately, and spit out nearby some time ago. This is, uh, this is wild. Luna shifts her bag on her back and treks through the growth surrounding the mountain temple, when Lillie's soft words waft through her ears. Her heart thuds an irregular beat and she quickly makes her way to the doorway of said temple, looking in with sweat dripping down her brow.

Here, her hair has had time to grow. She may even look a little taller-- she's been here for a whole year, after all. The glow in her eyes, however? Still there, and active, and gods, is that Lillie?? ]

...Lillie?!

[solperierat]

[It's probably not a good idea to be flying when that...thing is running amok. But Ed is one of the few people that can scan around the island for anyone lost fairly easily, and he's not inclined to let a little thing like danger stop him from doing what he can.]

[(Nevermind that he's already been eaten and spat out three times, he's gotta keep track of his animals, damnit.)]

[Hard to miss a bright flash like that from the top of a mountain, though, and Ed quickly veers over to see what's going on. He swoops down to land a fair distance away from Lillie, then jogs over.]

What happened here?

ii

[journalname]

[Wow. That elevator thing was...definitely a thing that happened. Yes.

It was alarming to begin with, but Asgore's out of it now, and unscathed except for a little dusted fur from being dropped unceremoniously out onto the ground. Standing, he brushes himself off and goes to try and figure out...where he is and all that. He's not overly fussed; he'll make it back.

Meanwhile, other people continue to fall victim to the Demon Elevator. Asgore's not going to approach immediately - he knows that he can be intimidating - but still:]

Excuse me - are you okay?

Troupe Master Grimm | OTA

[fireindreams]

Like a bat out of hell

[Grimm is very used to appearing in various places that may not be completely under his control. He follows those who light his torch through dreams to ruined kingdoms. And when Grimm rested he existed within the realms of nightmares until called again.

The latter was the case when Grimm slept after his dance with the tiny Vessel in the decaying kingdom of Hollownest. Awaiting the arrival of the Knight to end the Ritual and finish the birth of the Grimmchild. But for the first time in a very long time, Grimm had a dream. Of vines that grabbed at his limbs, of fire and the Knight before oblivion took him yet again. And now he was on a beach.

It is beautiful - clear water and fresh air. One tends to forget those things when you root around with nightmares.

But speaking of nightmares it's solely due to Grimm's reflexes and his ability to teleport that the Troupe Master is able to dodge the demented monster's first charge as it attempts to gobble him up. Re-appearing behind Upsy he opens his cape and three bat-like creatures made of fire fly out and strike the eldritch elevator. It does not appear to be much and attracts its attention yet again, but Grimm once again teleports out of the way and resumes the same attack as before.

Those who wish to escape the creature are free to use the Troupe Master as a distraction but he would not say no to those who would want to help. Grimm is, after all, unaware of the new limits on his abilities.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ Whatever this thing is, it is clearly a menace and should be stopped.

Though, it's made of metal, and it's much larger...and the Knight doubts that even their sharpened blade could deal much damage. Still, it's easy to follow, due to the noise and clumsy movements it makes, and -

- wait.

They stop at the sight of Grimm, somehow not expecting it. Dreams were sometimes more than dreams, that much was true. But they hadn't expected this particular one to carry over into the waking world, especially as Grimm was a creature of dreams himself.

They shake themselves out of their reverie soon enough; it lasts only a moment before they leap forward into the fray, distracting this...thing from its current route with a powerful slash that glances off it.

( What is it, actually? Some kind of animate box?? What kind of magic IS this...unless it's a living thing, somehow? The Knight doesn't know. They're not sure if knowing would help. ) ]

[hyperlit]

[Grimm strikes them as vaguely similar to the Knight in terms of general aesthetic, but they've no reason to believe the similarity means anything more - particularly as the majority of their attention is being occupied by his assault on the elevator that seems to have torn itself from the very depths of Judgment's innermost sanctum.]

[They doubt their blade will have much effect on the thing, but the Drifter hurls one of their Roly Poly bombs with an exacting hand, after taking the time to map the newcomer as an "ally" on their HUD. Their sprite lights him up in green, and the elevator in hostile-red.]

[So the explosion that storms the vicinity, crackling like a fistful of lightning, won't harm him in the slightest - merely gusting like a strong breath of wind. Unfortunately, nor does it seem to penetrate the elevator.]

[mamaterasu]

[Got to love the so-called "Opening Week", hm, Troupe Master? Never a bore, though this strange, metal contraption sure is a bother. Ammy isn't sure what to make of it - she's seen lifts, been in a few, but never a conventional elevator such as this, and certainly not one so bloodthirsty. However, something stops her from immediately entering the fray, and it's the harsh aura that Grimm is giving off - one that makes the hair of her back stand up and her lips lift over sharp, pointed fangs. It's like a cursed zone - thick, heavy, almost draining. She's at an impasse here, unsure what to do before her realism kicks in.

It's not like there aren't others here that have a dark aura like this, who are perfectly kind, good people. Her mind, and her initial bias, has been changed over time and experience here on the islands, but it's never something she can easily ignore - such a presence of darkness. Hopefully this newcomer isn't as wicked as their aura suggests, otherwise she may have to fight two foes today... But one step at a time. Ammy rushes over as fast as her powerful legs can take her, flowering blossoming in their wake, leaving a trail behind her, before they wither and fade away into orbs of soft light (like a firefly's glow). She draws her Glaive and strikes the back of the horrible elevator with a resounding clang of metal on metal.

The scratch isn't deep, but it sure is there, and she's gotten Upsy's attention.]

Legion | OTA

[forwearemany]

A)

(So... guess who isn't actually fast enough to outrun a crazed elevator?

If you guessed this guy, you'd be right.

Upsy swoops in and spits out a great, chattering, angry mass of plastic and saliva. For a moment, they don't move, and it might seem like they're damaged, but they get up eventually.

They immediately proceed to shake themselves like a wet dog, getting saliva over everything and everyone. Gross, Legion.)

B)

(This time, Legion is the startled person suddenly getting another person flung at them from the horrible elevator.

Hope you like robots, whoever you are.)

A.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet has to hastily duck behind a nearby tree in order to avoid getting splattered when Legion shakes themselves off, but she limits herself to giving them a pointed look in response, since it seems they're having a difficult enough time already. Today has not been pleasant.]

Are you all right, dearie?

B

[fireindreams]

[Grimm may have fought Upsy on the first day, but that did not mean he was safe in the following days. Perhaps the eldritch elevator held a grudge for being set on fire and hit with spikes.

The elevator spits the Troupe Master out near Legion and it's only due to pure reflex that he is able to teleport so that he lands on his feet rather then an undignified sprawl. Not that being covered in spit was any more dignified but Grimm was willing to let that slide for the moment. There was a beach...once he found his way back, of course.]

That certainly was rude. Ah-- [Grimm turns to face Legion.] I do apologize if I startled you.

B

[thisisourfuture]

[This is his life, Hinata thinks as he's flung from the elevator like a doll. He manages to tuck into a ball so he only rolls so far and the impact doesn't cause too much harm. He brings one hand down hard on the ground and lifts himself up sticky and annoyed.

Then he blinks.]

Sorry and...hi. [He wipes saliva out of his face with a grimace.]

Be careful, I'm predicting it will probably come back this way in a minute or two. Or we'll get lucky, [His lips twist into an even deeper grimace.]

Then I have no idea what will happen.

mira | oc | ota

[antepone]

centipuppy for your thoughts? | E4/F6
[ She thought, maybe, the giant sentient elevator with a damn mouth was the weirdest thing she's seen here. She thought, maybe, it would leave her alone if she yelled at it to leave her alone. She thought, maybe, it was a very vivid dream.

She thought very, very wrong. Come upon her, and one will find that she's being chased by an angry pack of centipuppies considering she'd intruded on their home. Fell right into it, really. ]

C-can you get rid of these?!

[ ... and just her luck, later on, she gets snatched up by fucking Upsy again. And lands in a different area, but this one has... centipuppies, too. She's having a fine time. ]

N-not again!

home sweet home | E5
[ Luckily, she finds her way home fairly quickly after her second run-in with Upsy. And she has something to show for it, at least. Vegetables. But even so, she does not look happy at all; rather, she's all scuffed up and mumbling to herself. ]

We couldn't have normal animals, I guess...

wildcard
[ hit me at sweetstacks if you'd like something different /fingerguns ]

centipuppies

[tokenflavortownie]

Mira...?

[She hears a cry for help! Naturally, Pyrrha's nearby and ready to leap into action!

She jumps from some nearby bushes, into the open, where she sees Mira being chased down by a pack of... uh.]

Mira! What... what are those?

Papyrus | Undertale | OTA

[fontofkindness]

A

[ As Upsy rampages across the island leaving destruction and terror in its wake...

...at some points, when it spits out whatever it's scooped up, a very confused and lanky skeleton with a backpack will be one of those things (you may hear some equally confused and loud lecturing about YOU CAN'T JUST SCOOP PEOPLE UP! YOU HAVE TO ASK FIRST! HONESTLY!! YOU'RE AS BAD AS UNDYNE!!). He gets fired out of the elevator's mouth with shocking speed, right at unfortunate people. Think fast! ]

B

[ After Papyrus has finished his misadventures with attempting to teach the rogue elevator some manners, he can be found either freshly crashlanded on the beach or just...

Washing himself off. He's definitely used to things like being surprise-ambushed for fun, but being dirty? Nope, too much. He's still pretty chipper for someone who's taken involuntary joyrides, plural, on a sentient elevator that eats people, and will greet anyone he sees with an enthusiastic shout and a wave. ]

C.

[ Wildcard! Give me a scenario and I'll run with it. ]

A.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet has just enough time to hear the shouting and realize that she recognizes that particular distinctive voice- no one else uses that font that she's ever met, after all- before the elevator is firing Papyrus at her.]

[Luckily, she has purple magic and fast reflexes. Her first instinct is to hold her top pair of hands up above her head with several gleaming purple strands looped between them, both shielding herself and acting as an impromptu net.]

[It could be worse, really. At least she's got some way to catch this poor skeleton.]

the drifter | ota | i'll match your format!

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter certainly wasn't anticipating getting a) snatched up in the toothy jaws of some kind of floating box, and b) getting spat out at incredible velocities into a tangle of trees. You're fairly likely to just find them entangled in branches, struggling to extricate themself with considerable difficulty and a great deal of silent irritation, like a very colorful and overlarge moth.]

[Unfortunately for them, things aren't about to get easier once they manage to get their feet on solid ground.]

[Upsy has deposited them in the H2 square, which hosts a very particular creature the Drifter has not yet encountered directly: lungblossoms. While they've battled their share of unkind plants in the past, these foes require considerable adjustment - due in no small part to their tendency to generate hallucinations for those they've targeted.]

[When the greenish fog starts to cloud their vision, they dismiss it with a shake of their head, aiming to charge forward and prune the monsters where they sit.]

[Either they're oblivious to the way the lungblossom gasses have begun to light up the dark places of their brain, or they've chosen to dismiss it entirely. But it won't remain ignored forever. Particularly not when they begin to see familiar shadows of a Cell long-dead.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight usually avoids the more deeply wooded areas unless they're specifically searching for something - they've had their fill of low visibility, high density foliage, after gardens and especially after Ziziphus.

But after seeing Upsy flying here and there, spitting people out, they figure it's their duty to go into the more forested areas and at least try to help. But their small sword can only do so much, so by the time they reach the Drifter, lungblossom gases are already beginning to haze the area.

They don't have any experience with this sort of effect; things that hurt them come with visible, immediate pain. So they greet the Drifter normally, if in slight confusion because they don't really know what this is, at least at first.

(The changes are slow, and subtle. They haven't yet noticed what their mind is being forced to dredge up.) ]

princess zelda | the legend of zelda: breath of the wild | ota

[wisdomspring]

like a bat keese out of hell

[ Zelda drifts in and out of the dreams - both in a strange jungle, one with a strange person, one with a dear friend - as she gradually comes to realize that she's lying in the surf. The princess mumbles groggily, caught between the trembling ground and dangerous plants of her dream and the peaceful surroundings of reality, but eventually manages to rise fully into awareness. She frowns, searching her memory for an explanation for - whatever this is. Though she'd lost consciousness in one of the Springs before, this is not any of those, not... anywhere she's familiar with. It could certainly be some far-away shore of Hyrule, though, and so she quickly rises to her feet, uncertain, but determined to make sense of her situation.

Until.

The - thing drops into the water like a lead weight, drawing out a yelp of shock from the already-confused blonde. It vanishes beneath the surface, then, giving Zelda just enough time to stare in bewilderment at where it had appeared before it reappears, barreling toward her. Somehow. Despite its lack of wheels, or legs, or anything that should allow it to move.

She doesn't wait to try and examine it. Zelda sprints off as quickly as she can, gasping in confusion and fear as she goes. Upsy, naturally, is not far behind... ]



surprise, it's another open-world game

[ The hellish cube is still out there somewhere, and though a little part of her wants very much to know how it operates, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's an evil thing, something that means her harm. She thinks of the Calamity's influence, naturally, but is also keenly aware that the monster-box was no invention of Hyrule (at least, that she had ever heard of) which might become possessed by Ganon.

It's easy enough to commit to avoiding the thing, though she does catch site of it more than once over the next few days. Zelda begins, of course, on the beach where she first woke. Once she's sure that Upsy is nowhere nearby, she kneels down on the sand to examine the contents of the backpack she'd found on her person. Within it are a canister of some sort of white powder, a kit of tinder and flint (to her relief), some kind of soap, a metal contraption with blades and other sharp edges, a nondescript stone, and... a cookie. There is no real food or water, the realization of which causes a stab of anxiety, but she knows that worrying over it won't feed or hydrate her. As a result, she gathers herself and sets off toward the trees before very long.

By night, the princess finds herself at the temple ruins, because of course she does. Zelda takes quite a lot of time to walk around, tracing delicate strokes of her fingers along the walls and columns, marveling over the faded carvings and wishing she had some kind of way to record them. Naturally, she spends some time at the spring, drinking her fill and washing her face to remove the grime of the day's trip. She also stops at the Standing Stone, laying a tentative hand along its top and shutting her eyes. If anyone can hear me... please, I need guidance. The Goddess may not be listening, but she is a creature of habit, and her habit is prayer.

When darkness falls, she builds a small fire with the tinder and flint, settling nearby for the night, realizing that she would be much better off with a weapon larger than her multi-tool... ]



choose your own adventure!

( ooc ; feel free to leave your own starter for zelda here! /o )

OPEN WORLD EXPLORATION

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight has since figured out that this stretch of time must be for new arrivals (hellevator and all...which also counts as a new arrival??). They wander into places they don't normally go, hacking away at the greenery and attempting to herd anything that doesn't belong in deep jungle back to more open areas, where their owners could possibly find it.

But that's tiring work, so they come back to places they know are safe. The temple is one such place, and as Zelda is setting up camp near it, she'll see a small, shadowy figure with a bone-white horned mask approaching her fire, staring at her in apparent curiosity from across the flames.

(It's because they don't recognise her face, but they have no way of expressing this with their voice - mostly because they don't have one. And in the darkness, lit only by a flickering flame, they might look quite menacing despite their small size.) ]

Héctor | OTA!

[vagabone]

[Héctor runs pretty fast for a dead guy with a bum leg, and he tried his best... but his best wasn't good enough. Yep, he's caught.

Miraculously, he doesn't wind up with any new fractures when Upsy spits him out in B8, quite some distance from where he started. That... that just happened, yes, it did. And the Evil Gobbling Elevator is gone by the time he pulls himself back together, like it never was. Time to pick a direction and wobble that way before the damned thing comes back.

It's not too long until he finds a cove and a nice, inviting cave. Seems like a decent place to hide from whatever the hell swallowed him up. Hopefully someone who can explain what's going on will wander by and run into this bewildered skeleton trying to scrape the slobber off his bones.

Or catch up to him later, after he's dried off some and starts walking eastwards towards C8. He doesn't have any need for food or water, but he does stop frequently to rest. Poor guy's not up for any long hikes yet.]

B8

[prettypurpleparlor]

[While not normally a reassuring sight, compared to what Hector's just been through, a spider lady is probably pretty soothing by comparison. Especially since this one is likely familiar to him. Muffet gives him a sympathetic look, taking note of his disheveled state and putting two and two together relatively swiftly.]

That unpleasant creature scooped you up too, I take it? My condolences on the difficult arrival.

[Muffet appears to be untouched by any wild elevator attacks, but she's carrying a pair of fuzzy bundles tucked into the crook of one of her arms. On closer examination, they appear to be a pair of fluffy, brightly-colored chickens, one pastel pink, the other pale blue, both looking a bit unsettled by their recent elevator adventure.]

[The bludrocs in the old monkey compound aren't technically any one person's, but she had been one of the ones taking care of them and had felt a responsibility to retrieve them once they'd been snatched up. Besides, their eggs were useful.]

Lucas Miller | The Adventure Zone | ota!

[crystallying]

a) don't mind the man chasing the horrible sentient elevator, surely they have nothing to do with each other

[ Lucas wakes up on the beach with a mouthful of sand and a billion questions, the most prominent one being what the hell is he doing on a tropical beach. That question is soon replaced by What the hell, how did Upsy get here?!, and as soon as the elevator comes zooming out of the water and begins its reign of terror across the beach, oh shit, I'm probably gonna get blamed for this.

On the other hand... if Upsy is here, if the horrible vorelevator is somehow still operational after being dunked in the middle of the ocean, then that means that he might have a way to escape... wherever this is. Lucas stumbles to his feet, shoulders his backpack, and goes chasing after Upsy full-tilt until he inevitably runs out of breath. ]

Hey! Hey! What the hell, get back here!


b) in retrospect, chasing the hellevator was a bad decision

[ So, how's your day going? Probably not well, considering the horrible elevator shenanigans? It's about to get a bit worse, because Upsy Your Lifting Friend has just spat out Lucas Miller, and you're getting a soggy nerd in a labcoat upside the head. Sorry about that!

Lucas sits up with a pained groan, wringing out his ponytail with a grimace. ]

Fucking... ow, jesus!

a.

[counterblows]

[So, this is just another day ending in "y." It is utter chaos and people are screaming and running into each other and there's a flying elevator that's essentially bent on swallowing people whole, and a fresh cluster of new arrivals has just been dumped onto the beach on top of it.]

[The problem here is that, out of everyone - everyone who's choosing to fight the thing, who's trying to run away from the thing, who's cursing out the thing, who's plain just hoping they don't get snapped up by the thing - there is one person on the entire damn island that seems utterly fixated on chasing the thing instead.]

[Wash moves to intercept - hundreds of pounds of UNSC-grade power armor, and a BR55HB SR held very plainly visible in his grip, though he doesn't raise it to point at the poor guy just yet. He's just making it obvious to all parties that he has a heavy barrel service rifle, and it's loaded.]

That's far enough.

Kaworu Nagisa | Neon Genesis Evangelion | Will match formatting!

[braceforimpact]

Enso - Beach

There are oceans where Kaworu is from. A lot of ocean, in fact, more now than once existed, pre-Second Impact. He knows what an ocean looks like.

But in walking along the beach, he saw something... strange. Something in the water. Not the broken glass or wreckage left from boats. Not the rotted loops of rope or waterlogged planks of splintered wood.

He's stopped in the sand, wide red eyes fixed on the listing hull of some boat-that-was, below the waterline and in the underwater shadows around it.

Anyone who comes near (audible or not, peripherally visible or not, anywhere within ten feet at the least) will be promptly informed of what's so interesting, though he's too busy looking for what he saw to glance away for even a second. And what he saw is--

"I saw something move."

Kaworu knows what an ocean looks like; however, while there are oceans where Kaworu is from... there aren't any fish.

Enso - Temple Ruins (Upsy Surprise)

Ruins... are also familiar. They're less overgrown than this in Old Tokyo, but they're still ruins--the broken remnants of human construction, human society and human culture. Human ingenuity. Human creation. Walking amongst the broken walls is fine, it's just more wreckage... if everything humans make is so easily broken, then what's the point of their existence? He certainly doesn't know.

It's not really his business, anyway.

It's in that train of thought that it appears--another construction, but not a construction. A construction with wide, wet eyes, and a wide red mouth, and teeth that drops vertically out of the sky above him, a construction equal parts organic and inorganic in a fashion that Kaworu is incapable of recognising as cut-and-paste but which he recognises as shocking in the seconds before that gaping maw snaps shut over a passing Pterax and zips pout of sight horizontally, disappearing in just seconds and leaving him standing on a broken piece of temple stone.

"That wasn't normal, right?" He isn't afraid, just confused. And a little shocked.

ruin

[catpiper]

No.

[Well, she is afraid. The temple offers a reprieve she can't ignore and it feels like 99% of her problems can be solved by hiding in its depths. Other people have the same idea, so it doesn't surprise her when this guy appears among the wrecked walls.

What does is-yeah, that. Can she even say that's shocking? She had to fish her cat out of a bush after hours of searching. Had to find her way home more than once after wandering just a touch too far from camp. This thing, helpful as it sounds, is terrifying. It appears and vanishes, taking everything in its sight with it. Horrible. No, it's not normal in any sense of the word. She's seen actual, working, elevators before and they don't act this way.

Or maybe they did? The scientists might've had some way to keep them tame, but-

She can't even entertain that thought right now. Its presence makes her nervous, even if it's already out of sight.]

You should hide over here. It might see you.