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

[ Fair enough. She nods only once before doing as the Drifter implies: running as quickly as she can from the speeding box. If her potential ally has no way of fighting or stopping it, then it's only a matter of time before it collides with one or both of them. The beach stretches on and on, though she can make out trees - a forest, or jungle? - not far away.

There. Zelda puts all of her energy into making it to the cover of the vegetation, heart pounding in her ears. ]

[The Drifter is fast, make no mistake - they zigzag a sharp bend, trying to make themself as difficult to catch as possible. When Zelda makes for the tree cover, the Drifter plunges into it as well before skidding to a swift halt and turning to face her.]

[They do not speak. Instead, the curious object hovering beside them, roughly the shape of a soda can, projects a translucent HUD and issues a line of text:]

injured?

[ Zelda is catching her breath when the hovering object makes an appearance, glowing and - displaying words. Her breath catches, eyes widening with curiosity. ]

... I - No. Thank you. [ She manages to tug her gaze away from the device to look at the Drifter, expression turning a bit more wary as she remembers herself. ] Are... you unhurt as well?

for the most part

[It would be an untruth to claim that they are completely unhurt; ravaged as they are by their own terminal illness, they cannot remember a time when they have been.]

you are new

New... [ She repeats, unsure of how to respond. The area is unfamiliar, she thinks, and both the monster and this stranger who'd helped her are, too. ] I suppose.

[ "New" in that she has no concept of what's happening to her, really... ]

Can you tell me more about - any of this? [ Zelda asks, looking expectantly at the Drifter. ]

[Oh dear.]

[Are you ready for the worst and most laconic attempt to explain how this network of islands works, possibly ever?????]

this island is ensō
the god who lives here is the storyteller
sometimes more islands come

[#NAILED IT]

[ Well, that was... something! Zelda swallows, nods, commits it to memory. ]

Where do the islands come from, and how? [ Islands don't typically appear, after all. She remembers a bit of the Storyteller from her dream, but - well. One question at a time. ]

How long have you been here, on Ensō?

long

[They...haven't been keeping track, really. It's possible they don't chart months the same way most do, and even if they did, the passage of time has all in all been a rather esoteric thing; such is the case when one is dying, and any day may be one's last.]

the god brings them

It... must be a very powerful god.

[ Not much for conversation, is he?

(Is her new 'friend' male? Difficult to say. ) ]

I'm sorry that I have so many questions. [ Zelda apologizes, just as she catches herself about to ask the Drifter a half-dozen more. ] Should we move deeper into the forest, just in case that monster comes back?

[The problem with the Drifter's easy acceptance of things is that it doesn't occur to them that they should ask questions, particularly when the dictations are coming from authorities that are perceptible as literally divine. A god tells them things, and they accept them without question. If they fail to comprehend them, that doesn't bother them; it simply isn't their job to, in their mind.]

[The Drifter nods, however - that's a good idea.]

armed?

[Which is to say: is she armed?]

[ Zelda shakes her head, and the question prompts her to gaze beyond the Drifter and out toward where Upsy must still be hunting for prey. ]

I'm afraid not. [ Not skilled with weapons or her blood-given power. ] But I will heed your advice and move quickly.

[ This seems to be about all she can do, at the moment... ]

[Hm. Most of the weapons they carry are the manner of equipment unique to a drifter, and therefore not the sort of thing one simply hands to children. But they do have a knife in relatively good condition.]

[They extricate it and offer it to her, handle first.]

follow?

[ She would be offended to hear him thinking of her as a child, but, instead, she's surprised to be offered a weapon. No one has seen fit to try and arm her before... ]

... Yes. [ It's a kind of automatic response, because - well, what other choice does she have? And, besides, she's more than occupied examining the knife, wondering over having been given something so deadly. ]

Please: lead the way.

[Well, she looks old enough to not cut herself by accident, and so the Drifter simply assumes that she'll be able to handle it just fine. Then again, most of the children here are more than a little adept with knives.]

[The Drifter nearly peels off at a dash before remembering that they are, in fact, escorting someone who is not possessed of the same sort of speed and agility as they. At least, they presume as such.]

[Without further hesitation, they strike out in the direction of the Storyteller's Temple.]

[ No, Zelda has no kind of otherworldly dash, and seems surprised anew at the Drifter's ability to do so. When she collects herself, she hurries after them as quickly as she can, wishing silently that she had some way of tying back her long hair. ]

Is that...? [ The Temple appears out of the greenery before too long, bringing Zelda to a stop as she gazes up at it, awed. ] Goodness, it's - really incredible.

[ And now she's itching to get inside... though she doesn't. Yet. ]

storyteller lives here

[They technically live on the island just...in general, but the Drifter is often vague to a fault in regards to this sort of thing, so they don't specify. One can interact with the Storyteller here most prominently - ergo, they assume they just kind of hang out there whenever they're not bothering people in dreams or answer requests for stuff.]

Lives here? [ Why would anyone live in ruins? ... But, then, she closes her eyes, thinking hard, remembering something like a dream that she'd been having before she woke on the beach... ]

Can I speak with it? [ Zelda asks, lingering near the front of the temple, but glancing back to question the Drifter. ]

sometimes

[The Drifter...does not speak to their gods, really. They more or less wait for the deities to point out something that needs doing, and then does it without question.]

they speak to us in dreams

I... remember. [ Vaguely. Zelda frowns again, brow furrowed deeply. ] But I can only speak with it again while I'm sleeping?

[ Understandable, if that's its nature, but disappointing all the same. She has so many questions that she thinks only the god of this world could answer... ]

sometimes in their temple
if you call them they sometimes come

[The Drifter is officially the worst person for this kind of discussion. They don't...pursue things, question them where most would. The Storyteller is here, but they interpret divine will as it comes to them. They don't go seeking it out.]

I will try, then. [ Not right now, though, because she... has a bit of thinking to do. And planning, since she's now more or less stranded on an island.

There's a brief pause. ]

You needn't stay: I imagine you have other things to do. [ Zelda does incline her head, though. ] I thank you for your help.

[The Drifter accepts this at face value - they have no reason to believe she can't take care of herself. Many of those younger than themself are plenty capable, and so the Drifter simply nods.]

ok

[But they don't ask for the knife back. Congratulations, Zelda! It's yours now!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

July Intro: Upsy-Daisy!

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