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.

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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.

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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

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?

[forwearemany]

(Legion is oblivious to the look she gives them.)

Systems adequately functional.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Would you care for something to, ah, clean off with?

[Instead of shaking hellevator slobber everywhere.]

I believe I have a bit of cloth around here somewhere...

[forwearemany]

(They chatter.

Doing so may be wise: they are uncertain as to whether the content of the saliva may cause demages if left uncleaned.)

...Yes.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She pulls the cloth out of her pocket and holds it out to them at... somewhat of a careful distance. Look, she just avoided getting slimed, she doesn't want to accidentally get any on her now.]

[forwearemany]

(After a moment, they take it, and work on wiping away at least some of the saliva. They focus primarily on the stuff on and around their headflaps and the mechanisms that operate them.)

Your assistance is appreciated.

[prettypurpleparlor]

It's no trouble at all. I don't suppose you have any more idea about what that thing is or where it came from than the rest of us do?

[She's pretty sure this is just more inexplicable weirdness, but if anyone knows how to handle flying elevator problems from past experience, it would be nice to know.]

[forwearemany]

It is an elevator.

(That's literally all they know.)

[prettypurpleparlor]

Apparently, although I can't help but question who'd want to use an elevator with such an unsettling design. ...perhaps that's why it seems to be forcibly scooping up passengers, instead?

[Is the hellevator... lonely? Why is this a question she needs to ask, how is this her life now.]

[forwearemany]

It is ...possible.

(Honestly why would anyone make an autonomous elevator?)

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She has no idea, honestly.]

Short of trying to tie it shut by force, I'm rather out of ideas.

[forwearemany]

(Admittedly, organics often seem to create life by accident or because they can. Considering the reprecussions for both the created being and others doesn't seem to be a thing.)

Affirmative.

Though ...disruptive, there is no data indicating it causes actual harm.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Admittedly, yes. But creating specifically a hellevator by accident seems a bit of a stretch. ...then again, so is creating one on purpose.]

Not that I've noticed, yes. It doesn't appear to be actually digesting anything it snaps up, and everyone's been spat back out sooner or later. What worries me is that it doesn't seem terribly concerned with where it leaves them. There's more than a few spots on this island where it could be dangerous for someone to be dropped off unprepared...

[WHAT IF IT DROPS SOMEONE ON THE FUSTERCLUCK?]

[forwearemany]

(Regardless of origin, the existence of Upsy is hard to accept.)

Acknowledged.

Probability of such dangers causing harm to the elevator?

(Provided no one is in it at the time, Upsy being destroyed or devoured by such a thing would be fortuitous.)

[prettypurpleparlor]

[No one is happy about this thing.]

Mmm... [Muffet makes an uncertain waggling hand gesture.] I wouldn't rule it out entirely, but it isn't certain enough for me to be comfortable relying on it. The creature can fly, after all, it's likely to be fairly capable of escaping the majority of these perils.

[forwearemany]

...Acknowledged.

(She is likely correct.

Their programs discuss.)

Possibility of crippling elevator?

[prettypurpleparlor]

It shouldn't be able to break my bindings.

[By way of illustration, she holds up one hand and lets a line of purple magic form between her fingers, then allows it to dissipate.]

But there's the question of how I'd get close enough to apply them in the first place.

[forwearemany]

...Bait?

(It's not like there's much risk of people being hurt. Just slobbered on.)

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She looks thoughtful, considering the idea.]

It's a possibility, but a rather risky one- we can't be certain of attracting the creature, and even if we did I wouldn't want to accidentally seal anyone inside of it. I'm loathe to ask anyone to risk their life that way.

[forwearemany]

...Acknowledged.