lifeaftr | July Intro: Upsy-Daisy!

July Intro: Upsy-Daisy!

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ CT really hadn't planned to be out so late after dark. She'd been wandering Enso - in theory with the goal of finding something new for dinner, but in reality without much real purpose. She'd gotten sidetracked exploring, and before she knew it the sun was low in the sky.

Annoyed with herself, she turns back and starts heading in the direction of the islets - the last thing she needs is to freak Wash out by failing to turn up. Would he be freaked out? Maybe. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

She's just passing by the ruins on her way to the mana pool when she spots the glow of a fire, and frowns, stepping closer and calling out warily. ]

Is someone there?

[ The voice makes her stiffen where she sits, and Zelda slowly withdraws a torch from the fire, raising it to try and spot the owner of the voice. If they - she? - called out, then they may mean her no harm, but... she can't afford to let her guard down. ]

Hello? [ Comes the princess' own reply, tentative, but somehow still defiant. She has no real means of fighting, or defending herself, but she isn't about to do anything short of surviving for as long as she can in this otherworldly place. ]

[ She doesn't recognize the voice itself, but she definitely recognize its tone. Wary, on the edge of actual fear, but determined all the same. Ready to defend herself if she has to. ]

Hey - [ She raises her arms, squinting as she tries to see into the darkness and identify the owner of the torch. ] I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise.

[ Zelda thinks similarly: the voice sounds familiar. She blinks, raising the torch to peer more clearly into the shadows, but the figure is... ]

You-... [ There's something about this person - this woman - that makes her think they've met before. The princess tilts her head curiously, firelight illuminating her young face. ] Do I know you?

I don't...think so?

[ CT frowns, slowly lowering her arms. Whoever this is, she doesn't look like she's about to attack. There is something familiar about her, but... ]

You weren't...at the Jormuns' beach party after the kaleidoshell hatching, were you?

... No. [ In fact, what CT asks sounds so unfamiliar that Zelda seems greatly taken aback. ] I don't know what you mean...

[ Or what half of those words mean. ]

What is a kaleidoshell? [ She finds herself asking curiosity piqued. ]

Oh.

[ Saying "you're new here, aren't you" seems unnecessarily mean, and also kind of redundant at this point. The Jormun announcement of their kaleidoshell rescue efforts had been pretty ubiquitous. There's no way this girl could have been here and failed to at least hear about it.

CT shakes her head, as if to say don't worry about it. ]

They're like turtles, except they have these shiny, rainbow-colored shells. Like kaleidoscopes. [ She hesitates, eyeing Zelda - especially her ears. ] Um, do you have turtles where you're from?

I've read about them, but I've never actually seen one. [ They aren't common in this era of Hyrule, if they exist there at all. There have been turtles in the past, certainly, which is how they ended up in books about wildlife that found their way into the castle library. ] And certainly not one with a rainbow-colored shell. Most of them were... green, or black, I think, in the books...

[ Wouldn't it be counter-productive to camouflage to be such a gaudy color? It doesn't seem sensible at all. ]

Do you know why they have that coloring?

I think they're green most places.

[ She hasn't had a lot of personal experience with turtles, either, but at least she knows what they normally look like. What they look like everywhere but here, apparently. CT wrinkles her nose in thought. ]

I'm...not sure. It wouldn't make for very good camouflage, would it?

Maybe...they're poisonous? Like those frogs?

[ You know those frogs, right, Zelda? ]

We have two classifications of frogs in Hyrule, though neither is poisonous. In fact, they have all kinds of properties that can be used in potions and other mixtures.

[ Did you expect the little princess to be in the know about cooking with amphibians? Neither did anyone else. ]

Of course, having a poisonous slime covering, say, would be very advantageous for a frog, with so many natural enemies. It would certainly render them useless for our alchemical purposes. [ beat ] Are there many species like that in your home?

Oh - uh -

[ No she did not, and she's not quite sure what to do with that information now that she has it. CT blinks. ]

There's...yeah, there are a lot of different species. We call them "poison dart frogs." I don't know if they have a slime covering, but they're all really colorful. It's supposed to be a warning to predators - don't eat me, I'll kill you.

I've never heard of "poison dart frogs." [ But you can bet she's committing it to memory. ] They're colorful, but they may be dangerous to be ingested, rather than touched? Is that what you mean?

[ Why are they named after darts, she wonders. Can they shoot anything at their enemies? ]

I...guess so? I don't really know.

[ She shrugs her shoulders, faintly embarrassed. Biology had never really been her thing, Earth biology even less so. ]

I mean, definitely dangerous to eat, but I don't know if it's safe to touch them or not.

Either way, thank you for telling me about them. I hope that I can see them for myself someday.

[ There's a pause, and then a little laugh. ]

I'll make sure not to touch them, just in case.

[ CT smiles. ]

I think the kaleideoshells are safe to touch. But it's probably better to leave them alone, anyway.

[ But they're getting away from the subject a little. ]

So...you haven't been here very long, have you?

I only just arrived. ... Well - that is... I just woke on the beach.

[ Very, very recently. This is probably obvious. ]

How long have you - lived here?

[ If that's the right word... ]

A few months.

[ She smiles, trying to look encouraging. ]

It's all right. Everyone's really helpful.

"Everyone?" [ Her expression is anxious, lit only by the dancing flames of the small fire between them. Zelda gulps, squirming a little in her seat. ] How many people are here? Have they all been here for so long...?

"Oh, uh..." Whoops. She hadn't meant to make things worse. Unfortunately, she knows exactly what Zelda's anxious about, and she also knows that she doesn't have an answer that's going to reassure her. Reluctantly, CT shakes her head.

"There's...a few dozen? I guess?" Honestly, she has no idea, but that sounds right. "And...most of them have been here a lot longer than that." She swallows. "I'm sorry."

Zelda nods once or twice, but then firmly shakes her head, in contrast.

"It isn't as if you brought us here. And - I know that it could be... worse." It still can be, but she isn't allowing herself to be pessimistic. "You are here with the rest of us, and I thank you for what you've done for me so far."

Information is a valuable thing, after all. Particularly when you begin with almost none of it.

"... Tell me," she begins, heart speeding a bit more. "Have you heard of anyone here by the name of Link?"

Oh.

She takes a moment to think, to make sure, even though she already knows the answer. Because she has to make sure. She knows what it's like, asking that question. Hoping against hope for the right answer.

Finally, CT shakes her head.

"I'm sorry." She tries to give Zelda the most reassuring look she can. "But that doesn't mean that - they're not here. Or that they might not still show up."

"It isn't your fault." How could it be? "The truth is, there are a lot of people that I wish were here, that I could... be with during this experience." Whatever this turns out to be. "But they are safer--" No. "...better off in Hyrule."

No one can be safe in Hyrule. Not while the Calamity threatens to wake, and her powers remain dormant.

"... Are there others here from your own land?" There's a pause, and then she shakes her head a little. "Have I asked you already?"

"No, you haven't asked." She smiles, shaking her head. "But...yeah. Just one, but he's a good friend."

"That's good. I imagine it's a comfort to have him here with you."

She can be happy for this stranger, even as she frets over her own, solo journey.

"... You neeedn't keep watch over me," Zelda says finally, folding her hands in her lap. "I imagine you have much else to do, and I'm just fine here."

CT frowns a little, more confused than anything.

"I'm not keeping watch over you." Is she? Is that what she's doing, why she's talking to Zelda? She shakes her head. "But...honestly, no. There's not that much to do." Sure, some people seem to keep busy all the time - Glaido, Tim with his restaurant. "Once you figure out food and pick out a building to live in, it's sort of...up to you how much else you wanna take on."

July Intro: Upsy-Daisy!

time to see how long we can avoid the main quest

HELL YEAH

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hey remember when I switched formats on you for no reason a few tags up, that was cool

i'm too sharp 2 be tricked!!!

congratulations! you solved my formatting riddle!

i smell a griffin voice

you smell nothing

HMMMM............

shhh

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