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 )

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[It'll be a few minutes before Hector can hear something approaching his hiding spot in the small caves by the shore. Thankfully,Ammy's huffing and sneezing signal that it's not the demon elevator, but she looks about as miserable as Hector does when she spots him. The wolf is dripping wet, fur clinging to her slender frame as she decided to wash off in the salty streams nearby to get the ick off of her. Water and salt is more preferable than spit, even to a wolf that utterly detests taking baths.

At the least she's already shaken herself off, so white her fur is still wet, she won't be spraying any sorry sack of bones with water this time around. No, she seems to be having the same thoughts as Hector - hide from sight and rest long enough here to dry off and escape Upsy's rampage. By the gods, it feels like nothing even she does with her many powers can stop the stupid thing. The skeleton startles her a moment - never a pleasant sight to see a skeleton in a cave, or anywhere, really... - but once she recognizes him, her tail begins to wag.]

[There's no reason to put on a smile when he's all alone in a cave, no one to be cheerful for. It's always been about going home, for ninety-six years, and now home has been yanked out of his grasp once again. Home. Family. Friends. All far, far away. And he doesn't seem able to come up with any clever plans to get back.

Can't blame a man for feeling a little sorry for himself.

He starts at the sounds of her sneezing her way in, and then relaxes again. Another thing from his suburban nightmare come to life. But a nice thing, just like the friendly spiderwoman.]

Alebrijito. [Bony fingers snap--come say hi!]

Edited (typo) 2018-07-07 22:39 (UTC)

[Ammy looks a bit miserable too, but certainly not for the many reasons Hector is feeling. She's more upset about being wet, and getting swallowed and spat out, but seeing a friendly face is helping. Her tail wags a little faster than before as she trots over to Hector and sits neatly in front of him, panting slightly. She's tired, and it's obvious - running and fighting takes a lot out of the wolf - but nothing some real sleep won't fix. Sleep, food, and avoiding that awful metal death trap like the gosh darn plague.

Alebrijito - she still doesn't know what that means, or what it could be, but it's a nickname nonetheless! She'll come when called, unless he gives her another nickname later down the line. Gods, but she's glad she refuses to speak unless really necessary...there is no way she could properly pronounce that.]

Yarrp!

[Yes, please, sleep. Sleep would be good. Oh, to be somewhere soft and cozy where he can recover from the near-second-death experience. He'd need a good long rest even if he hadn't been whisked away to some mysterious island and used as a chewtoy.

Nothing soft or cozy about their surroundings, and he's sure the Mouthyvator could make it in if it really wanted to... this cave is no place for a nap.]

Yarrp to you too!

[Whatever. She still deserves a scratch on the head and she's going to get it.]

[Well, Ammy is plenty soft and very warm. Not quite the size of a bed, but she'd make one hell of a pillow for this old soul to rest his bones against. But, a damp, sandy, dirty cave doesn't make for good accommodations regardless - no, they need to find an actual place for Hector to sleep. Ammy has no real home to go to, she sleeps wherever she wants to on the islands (such is her wild, wandering nature), and inside the homes of anyone who'll let her in for the night. Close friends.

In fact, it's probably a good idea to get Hector to the Islets, to see if there's space available for him to stay and rest. People come and go all the time...so maybe there's a house open? She doesn't really know. Lavishing in the scratch for a moment or two, Ammy licks Hector's hand affectionately before padding away from him towards the mouth of the cave and barking again.

It doesn't take a genius to see she wants him to follow.]

Ughhh.

[Yeah, that's a groan. How rude of him. But she has a point, they can't sit in this cave all day. And he did ask her to show him the way home. So, yes, following the Very Good Dog is the right idea. Up he goes, slinging the backpack over his shoulder again. It's a little heavy to be dragging around, tired as he is. Probably because he's a skeleton and because some idiot put a rock in there.]

You really want to go back out there where that thing can see us?

[Ammy blinks slowly at him and snorts out a puff of air from her nose. Got any better ideas, amigo? It's not like they'd be better off cornered in a cave. At the least, being out in the open means they have an escape route and a means to find actual shelter. You'll also find that this particular wolf is very fast when she wants to be. I-In spurts, yes, but even one quick dash is nothing to sneeze at.

She won't wait for him, instead hopping out and around the cave's lip and into the open, her paws crunching on the damp sands as she sniffs out a path toward where the most people tend to draw. She's been on Enso long enough, even being spat out to another location won't deter her from finding her way back to the Islets, or the temple. It's just a matter of finding the safest path. Upsy's not the only monster on this island that need be avoided.]

[Ignore his grumping. Some people can't keep their mouths shut. He has to scramble a bit to keep up, eyes on the sky in case it's been waiting for them.

It's not. What a relief. One less thing to worry about!]

I hope you're leading me to the docks or an airport or... something. Maybe a cruise ship, that would be nice.

[Ha ha keep dreaming, Héctor.]

[Da fuq is an airport?]

[Ammy flicks her hear at him, blinking slowly with a tilt of her head. Buddy...she's going to take you to a place where you can actually comfortably sleep. And maybe get something to eat and dri--...actually, she has no idea if he can consume anything, but Ammy won't bring that up. She doesn't want to think about how that'd be possible if her could.

Either way, it's going to be a bit of a walk, Hector, are you up for it? The demon elevator probably won't be too happy to go trekking through the more densely wooded parts of Enso, and Ammy has a feeling the Storyteller would have a few words with the stupid abomination if it set foot on the grounds of their temple. That'll be their first stop, in fact. More answers to be gleaned from the source itself.]

[Somehow he's keeping up. Héctor's a very persistent skeleton, gotta give him credit for that. He can do this. He's made it through worse.

...As long as his new second favorite canine friend doesn't run off and leave him for never shutting up. (Dante is still the number one Good Boy, of course.)]

Which would you rather hitch a ride home on, oh great spirit guide? Cruise ship or airplane?

[Yes, he knows he's not going to get an answer, and no, he doesn't care. Who else is he going to babble at?]

[Skeleton, you are saying words and yet Ammy has no goddamn clue what the shit you're talking about. Of course it's the crew's ship?? Like, that's obvious? As for the air plane...she's not sure, it sounds like heaven, but that'd be the celestial plane. It's easy to mix up, since they're both in the sky, presumably.

She doesn't respond, as is the norm, and continues her trek through the brush. It's going to take a while yet before they can make headway, and Ammy continuously pulls forward ahead of Hector, but she at least waits for him to catch up. They can count their blessings that the demented elevator is no where in sight for the time being, but who knows how long that will last? If necessary, the wolf can escort this bag of bones a whole lot faster if he'd hitch a ride, but...she kinda enjoys seeing how long he'll go before his voice gives.]

[It's harder and harder to keep up as the minutes tick by. But his voice is fine! Rambling on about what a cruise ship for the dead would be like--pretty much like it is for the living, only with more bone polish involved in your spa treatment--and all the other modern luxuries he can only wonder about. Blabbermouth must run in the genes.

Eventually, he hits his limit. He tried his best and it wasn't good enough. He stumbles, and this time he doesn't keep right on going, bracing himself against a tree instead. And finally, being quiet.]

[It's astonishing how easily Ammy has tuned Hector out after a while - his constant deluge of words reminds her of a certain someone from back home...who was just as energetic and lively. Smaller, much smaller, but an earful. Especially when he was sitting between her two ears and shouting. Ah...she misses Issun so much.

At the very least Hector's fatigue doesn't go unnoticed, and Ammy turns back toward him, nuzzling him and urging him to take a break. They've walked a fair distance already, and deserve to sit and relax a while - to catch their breath and maybe take a nap. She's a pretty decent fighter, too, if that awful elevator comes back...or any other monstrosity that still lurks on the island. That, or he can ride on her back. She's pretty small, especially for a wolf, but Hector is all bones, she's sure he won't weigh all that much.]

[He's surprised and pleased to see her turning back. Somehow, he didn't expect that. What a good dog. A second round of head scratches?

He plonks himself down on his rear a moment later, without a single shred of dignity. Who cares. Ammy won't. Time to rest, leaning up against the tree. Nothing grows in the land of the dead. It's different to see so much real plantlife around, none of it plastic.]

If you're really an alebrije, you know how being forgotten is.

[Brittle bones. No stamina. Little strength. The only upside is that he can pull himself apart so much easier than everyone else. That's always been helpful.]

[Oh god bless, Ammy will never tire of the scritchies - as seen by how her tail slaps the ground and she attempts to try and lick Hector's hands before planting her bottom on the earth and laying down beside him. If she'd cared about such things as dignity and personal hygiene, her form probably wouldn't be something like a canine, honestly...

Her head tilts to one side - there's that foreign word again, the one she doesn't know. There's a questioning noise in her throat, but once he mentions being forgotten, well... That changes things. Though she doesn't know the true scope of what an alebrije is, she can connect it with what she is, in a sense. Gods fade from existence when they are forgotten. That is to say...they die. A god is not a god if no one believes in them. Her ears fold back, and she turns her head away. It's not exactly a topic she enjoys talking about, really.

It's always a fear, always something to keep in mind, but she has a damn good Envoy to keep her story - and the faith - alive.]

You said it.

[He chuckles quietly at his own humor, never ceasing the petting. Dogs. Dogs are great.

A spirit is not a spirit if no one remembers them. They have that much in common.]

Eh. Don't worry about it, I just need to rest.

[Then he'll pick himself up and keep going. Keep holding on, until the shimmering begins again, if it does, and hope he's with his family before it returns.]

[It'll take a bit longer, but eventually the duo does reach the temple of the Storyteller. The dilapidated ruins look...actually, a lot better than they did some time ago. The citizens, as well as Ammy herself, have been giving the temple some general upkeep here and there as they could, for their local god.

Ammy stops by the mouth of the entrance, sitting down and nodding her head forward. It's not much, but at least the Storyteller can explain better than she can - if they're even around right now - about the full details of this new world. If that doesn't work, she'll be here and can take Hector to the Islets, where other inhabitants can explain. Sadly, home won't be coming for a while, depending on the circumstances...]

Go in? Okay...

[Trust a dog who might not even be a spirit guide and walk into a mysterious temple. Alone.

What does he have to lose? He shakes off all hesitation, literally, and goes in. He won't come back out for a while, whether Ammy stays or not.]

If he's really that scared, she'll go with him, it's not an issue, but Ammy isn't exactly the best at, uhh...conversation, when she doesn't want to. Thankfully, the Storyteller's temple is pretty lackluster - dusty stone, broken in places, covered in moss and vines. However, the Room of Glyphs is especially colorful, and a particular favorite of Ammy's when the artistic drive hits her. Among some scribbled, childish drawings, and those that are varying in degree of aptitude, the goddess's are...pretty outstanding. She's not going to pat herself on the back, but the ink and paint certainly does tell a story indeed...even when not moving.

She'll wait here, if Hector really wants someone to be in here with him while he has his talk with the local deity, getting his share of information as needed. A few new drawings are added, of course, though they're more doodly than the murals. The demon elevator, and a few heads of the people Ammy's met - Hector included.]

[He makes it back safely and more educated a half hour or so later. But who's keeping track, neither of them have a watch!

And he stops when he notices the wall looks... different. Is that a little skull doodle?]

You can draw?

[Without hands???]

[Turning her head over her shoulder, the wolf's tail begins to wag when she spots her bony friend again, though it halts only for a second when she's posed the question. Well...yes? Of course she can. It's a simple task, though perhaps because she is a goddess of creation, and art is the most vibrant form of creation there is. She looks back at the wall, then touches the tip of her tail to the dusty stone, drawing something a bit different this time.

It's a bird, but also a...person? It's a little bit of both, actually. A little sparrow she rescue back home, a long, long time ago. She can still hear the girl's chirpy voice singing happily, glad to be free of the demons who were looking to cook her up. And, of course, her playful teasing with Issun, heh heh...

Stuuuuuupid.]

[Oh, so that's how. Neat trick. The little bird in clothing is cute.

The elevator, on the other hand, doesn't deserve a place on the wall. But he'll allow it. He taps at the skull, grinning.]

Is this me or that other skeleton?

[There's another skeleton here? Ammy blinks, tilts her head, then her ears perk up as she remembers that one time, long ago...in a dream. There was another skeleton! ...She thinks. The memory is still hazy.

But she nods her head toward Hector - it's you, silly, is her artwork that bad he can't tell? I mean, she did just meet him, and her memory is terrible even on a good day, so she might have missed a few of the smaller details. Scrutinizing her artwork with a few tilts of her head, looking back at Hector, she finishes the little doodle and improves it a bit. It's still heavily stylized, but it's starting to look more like him now.]

[It's a great drawing, not bad at all, and that's why it's so darn unexpected. He's being led around a tropical island by a very talented dog who may or may not be some kind of spirit guide, and who thinks he's worth art on a temple wall. Nothing about his day so far has been normal.]

It is me, that's so flattering! Gracias, alebrijito.

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July Intro: Upsy-Daisy!

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