lifeaftr | August Intro: All Will Fade and Petrify

August Intro: All Will Fade and Petrify

INTRO LOG: AUGUST

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: August 4th and onward
Where: Primarily Umui, though Ensō is also likely
Warnings: Mark as needed!

New Arrivals: Bury Me Alive
When you wake, it's initially to darkness: musty, stuffy, and dense. Your eyes may take some time to adjust, but when they do, something will rapidly become apparent - namely, the fact that you're underground.

Exploring your surroundings will reveal a few more unnerving discoveries. Take, for example, the fact that you're currently trapped in what appears to be a number of buried houses, walls and ceilings compressed against one another thanks to time and pressure. The walls may have held up the weight of the soil above your head for a time, but it'd likely be best not to hold out hope that they'll continue to last. Your supply of air down here is rather limited, after all.

Unfortunately for you, it's not merely earth that separates you from the surface. It's also flowers in rich abundance - an untold, innumerable weight of dead and decaying plant matter, twined around the ancient bones strewn underground along with your sweet self, pressing down from above, peeking through the cracks in the metallic folds of whatever material once comprised these buildings' ceilings, walls, and floors.

Whether it's a mass tomb or something more sinister, you'd better figure a way out, and quickly. If you didn't show up with a shovel or some means of teleporting yourself out, you may very well need to resign yourself to digging your way out or making a lot of noise to attract someone who can, before this becomes a more dedicated grave.

Everyone Else: All Will Change and Calcify
As for the rest of you, well...if you're anywhere near the regions of G5, you might hear the sounds of a not-insignificant number of people finding themselves displaced underground, and requiring your imminent assistance in getting out. Perhaps you'll recognize the place. It is, after all, very well marked. They'll probably be properly grateful if you mind offering the help, and hey - it's a welcome break from the eerie, ever-present silence that clouds almost the entirety of Umui. As long as you don't mind digging around that old cenotaph half-buried in the flowers and scraping through sheets of metal, a lot of flowers, and...oh, yes. The first bones you'd be finding since arriving here.

If you've been hanging around the laboratory near the island mana pool, on the other hand, you'll definitely be getting a break from the silence - namely in the form of ARUM-25, whom a number of you have been devoted to repairing since their discovery, learning that a great deal of their systems have come back online, right around the time that the newest arrivals are properly unearthed.

Including their diagnostic systems.

The warning, repeated shrills will undoubtedly be heard by anyone who passes:

ALERT: STAGE ONE DETECTED
ALERT: STAGE ONE DETECTED
ALERT: STAGE ONE DETECTED
ALERT: STAGE ONE DETECTED
ALERT: STAGE ONE DETECTED

And that's probably fine. Right?

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

[Ray bites her lip.]

I've never heard of those countries before. If Enso's your home, why are you here?

[Why is she here, she'd like to know that as well. But maybe their answer will help her figure it out.]

[
other islands come/go

explore them

find history, clues

find story of islands, gods

connect them

They tap their sword thoughtfully in the dirt. How to explain properly...

before you woke up

you dreamed ?

god telling you

about this world ? ]

Yes. [She hesitates, surprised. The little chat had seemed so bizarre--even a different kind of odd than her recent life--that it hadn't seemed like much more than a dream.]

So... that wasn't a dream at all? At the same time, this place almost looks too beautiful to be real.

[Now that they're out of the bone pit.]

[ dreams come to you when sleeping
does not mean they are not real

Well, that's unnecessarily cryptic. But that's how the Knight seems to perceive things.

They look around at the peaceful landscape, and sort of shrug.

it is real
otherwise would not be standing on it

CAN'T ARGUE WITH THAT LOGIC, CLEARLY. ]

[Ray smiles faintly--she can't really argue with that. Goodness knows she's recently lived through a lot of stuff that doesn't seem like it should be real but felt real enough.]

I suppose you're right.

[There's no obvious way out yet, so she'll have to follow what both the Knight and that storyteller told her: finding those clues and stories. Searching for clues is essentially what she was stuck doing back home; at least here she'll be doing it in a beautiful place instead of one full of ghosts. It's as optimistic a thought as she can manage.

She reaches into her pocket and takes out Wei's notebook; it's clearly seen better days, being visibly bloodstained in some places and worn throughout. Flipping to a new page, she picks a flower from nearby and presses it in there. It may or may not actually be a clue--but either way, perhaps it can act as a bookmark of sorts for this new chapter.]

I was pretty good at finding clues back home, so maybe I can be helpful here. We're all working together?

[If so, she likes that idea. Her partnership with Wei had been ill-fated and brief, but it was nice.]

[ Technically Umui is one big graveyard, but...honestly, it's still better than one full of ghosts.

The Knight nods, pleased to see that Ray clearly understands the benefit of teamwork. It was one thing to be a lone adventurer when there was no other choice, but they've seen many who refused help for a variety of reasons.

They still don't really understand that.

cooperation is good
help each other survive
makes all lives better

They tilt their head, after a moment, curious at what she's said.

did you look for clues much
where you came from ]

[She nods and pages back through the notebook, quickly skipping by a print made in something that looks like blood and landing on a temple fortune.] I have them right here.

It wasn't a hobby or anything; they're only from recently. I was stuck in my school and trying to get out. ...I guess everything only led me here, though, but maybe this is where I'm supposed to be.

[A faraway place where she knows somebody--it's actually close to something she's dreamed of. Better a dream than a nightmare.]

[ The Knight understands most of that; they nod. Stuck somewhere, trying to get out, coming to a place where she is freer to explore.

There is one word they have little reference for, however. They tilt their head in curiosity.

school ? ]

[She blinks twice.] Yes, I'm a student.

[That probably doesn't help. She taps her finger to her chin as she tries to think of a way to sum it up.]

It's where you go to learn. Facts, how society works, all of that. I've spent most of my life there. You've never heard of it?

[ A...student. Like a pupil, perhaps. Those who are taught, and those who teach.

They shake their head, and then feel the need to elaborate.

have mentors who teach others
but fighting only
special skills passed from mentor to pupil

learn how things work by trying
observing
make mistakes
survive
world is different everywhere
must adapt

So, yes. They definitely don't know what a school is. ]

Edited 2018-08-16 02:15 (UTC)

[Yeah, that sounds pretty different... Ray looks at the Knight curiously. They're so small that it seems sad to imagine them fighting at all.]

Just fighting? You're on your own for everything else?

[ It is what it is. They had always been obliged to fight, to defend themselves, to survive. Being small, being a child, meant they just needed to work harder for it.

They nod. Scuff away their words to write new ones.

wanderer
do not stay long
learn from others if possible
otherwise travel alone
not all are friendly
some are hungry
must be cautious

It's not so much a problem here. But they've had their fair share of situations that might have gotten a less durable - or less adaptable - bug killed or eaten.

And yes they did specify 'hungry'. That's just how it be sometimes. ]

[No way she's missing that detail! Ray recoils.]

Hungry?

[Poor little guy!]

[ That just gets....a nod. It's hard to pull off a feeling of resignation from someone without a face that can do expressions, but they manage it through body language alone, somehow.

others are bigger
think they can take what they want
teach them otherwise

'school' was not same for you
i hope

They don't know what a school is, but she seems to be horrified by the prospect of something trying to eat you so

they certainly hope she's not experienced with this sort of thing. ]

[She's quick to shake her head no, though even as she does she realizes there may be something of a grain of familiar truth in those words. Ms. Yin was older, smarter... better at many things. Maybe that's why she thought she could take Mr. Chang.]

Nothing like that. Well--people did sometimes take... things that weren't theirs to take. But it wasn't as bad as that. The only things that tried to attack me were ghosts, and they're not a usual part of school.

[She's not sure how she or her classmates would've fared if it were like the Knight's life.]

You must have had to be brave to make it this far. Are you safer here?

[ They nod, when she asks if it's safer. Despite its myriad dangers and the adventures they've had both on and away from it, life on Enso has been surprisingly stable. It's a welcome change from their more nomadic lifestyle.

But- there's a thing they recognise.

can also see ghosts ?
help ? hurt ?
both ?

They haven't really heard anyone else mention them, before. They're eager, as always, to know if they share a common point. And despite Ray saying that ghosts attacked her, they still don't seem to think that this might mean they're not helpful in some way, which is odd. ]

Edited 2018-08-21 12:14 (UTC)

[Ray sits up straighter, also interested that someone else has experienced ghosts; they're a recent addition to her life, and even Wei hadn't shared in that experience before he died.]

They don't help at all--they always attack me, unless I hold my breath.

Are they different where you're from? I can't imagine one of them being helpful... they're terrifying.

[ Terrifying? They've never felt that ghosts are terrifying. They can certainly hurt, but...

Well, maybe things are just different.

restless warriors
left something undone
fought them
let them rest

some did not fight
sing
talk
remember old life
listened to them
left them alone

They consider the words they've scratched in the dirt, and then look up at Ray questioningly.

ghosts did not like you ?

THAT MIGHT BE THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY, BUDDY ]

[She leans back and sounds a tad defensive:]

I don't think they'd like anyone; they attacked me without even saying a word!

[Look, it's not just her, probably.]

Yours sound so different. Did you really do all of that for them? Why?

[ Oops. They didn't mean that as a character judgement; it was an assumption made on what facts they had. It's entirely likely that the spirits their new friend is familiar with just didn't like being disturbed.

They make a vaguely apologetic gesture, hanging their head. Or, at least, they hope it comes across that way.

Why? People seem to ask them that so much more, these days.

lonely not to be heard
lonely to be trapped forever
wanted to help them

To listen, to aid, to understand. To help them move on, those sad fragments of someone's last dream.

They are, as always, sensitive to the suffering of others.

ghosts you saw sound different too
cannot fight them ?

Knight no not everyone's a weird void child that can interact with supernatural nonsense like you. ]

[Ray's easily mollified by the gesture--she smiles and shakes her head: no worries at all, little buddy.]

I couldn't. But if I held my breath in time, they couldn't see me; it would be like I wasn't even there.

[She sighs and looks up at the sky.]

That's so kind of you to take care of them like that. I'm sure they appreciated it. I never thought that maybe the ones I saw might be sad like that too... I suppose it wouldn't matter either way.

[So many people don't have anyone when they're lonely, and she knows that even one person can light up your entire world.]

[ Ghosts that can't see you if you hold your breath. Well...

...they can't say they know what that's like. In Hallownest, things always paid attention to them, whether they wanted it or not. It was a result of Radiance's terrible light.

good that you can avoid them
not everyone needs to fight

They'd willingly engaged in battle with such spirits, but it was a choice they made. But not everyone has such skills, or wants them.

Something comes to mind, though, at the mention of taking care of others. She's new, and things can be difficult to get used to here. They tap their sword against the ground for a moment, thinking.

you are new
can help
if you want
want to be friends ?

They like her, and to them making friendships is as simple as asking. They're not a very complicated person, in that regard. ]

Edited (jfc i made a third fuckup i just noticed, fixing that) 2018-08-26 06:19 (UTC)

[Ray's mouth parts in surprise but soon she's smiling.

Not complicated is good. It's better when people are forthright about these things.]

Thank you! Yes, let's be friends. I'll--I'm new here, but I'll help you however I can.

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August Intro: All Will Fade and Petrify

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