October Intro: I Think We Should Run

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

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

Nuidan: Checking that the Coast is Clear
This time around, newest arrivals to the archipelago of LifeAftr will open their eyes to the skies overlooking the relatively recent island of Nuidan. Namely, they'll be waking in the northern quadrant of said island, the region perpetually locked in the season of spring. This means rich fields of gold and green and buff-colored grass and skies swollen with unshed rainclouds. The scent of turned soil and petrichor mingles with the faint, earthy scent of manure.

It's not an unpleasant way to wake. There are doubtless worse places to rouse yourself. But the cloud of dust clotting up the horizon soon suggests that there might be a bit more to the circumstances of your arrival than some nice weather.

And, unfortunately, that's exactly the case. There's a herd of something charging directly for you, and nothing short of a natural disaster is going to sway them from their course. A thick-packed herd of scaly aptonoth have been spooked, startled, or otherwise galvanized into a panicked stampede across the northern reaches of Nuidan.

Quadrupedal, herbivorous, and scaly, aptonoths resemble dinosaurs in appearance more than they do so in their generally placid nature. They are far more akin to cows in temperament, even if their skin is a good deal more leathery. Even the broad spikes at the ends of their tail or the heavy horns atop their heads aren't terribly dangerous unless the entire herd feels threatened. While aptonoths are typically easily tamed, in this case they are far from amenable to conceding to anyone's interference.

It's probably best to try and get out of their way. Fast.

Ensō: 'Cause They're Already Ghosts
Things are quieter on LifeAftr's mainland. They might seem a little...eerily so, in fact. Today officially marks the day that the Storyteller makes their departure, and seeks out new islands for you intrepid explorers to uncover. The difference that their absence creates is small, at first, and most prominently felt on Ensō itself.

The temple is the most obvious thing. It simply looks...defeated and empty, as hollow and unoccupied as it currently is. That aura of proud mystery is absent, though the Chamber of Glyphs at least remains as it was. But anyone who comes looking for the Storyteller themself at this time will find no one waiting for them. No flower-touched animal, no old, dusty tome. You're currently on your own.

Or...maybe not? The Storyteller was courteous enough to issue a warning last month about the nature of the dream-island of Mu. The effects of that island will start to make themselves evident in small, simple ways: namely, in the way you're going to start seeing things.

Nothing serious, of course. Just...flickers of movement in the corners of your vision. Something about your surroundings just being so slightly off. The color of that rock - it's always been that way, hasn't it? Or was it only always that way five minutes ago? While these blips and hitches in reality are decidedly non-specific, they can be unsettling for those who can't adjust for a bit of strangeness.

The source of these odd quirks in the fabric of reality is easily explained by the presence of clockroaches, one of Mu's wily dream-creatures. You'd be hard-pressed to catch a glimpse of any of them directly; they specialize in the ethereal and the ephemeral, and seldom reveal themselves to anyone if they can help it. But you might, if you're very attentive or very lucky, see some indistinct, silver-misted blur disappearing behind the trunk of a tree in a blink-swift ghost of motion.

But they are, in essence, harmless. At least...for the moment.

As of October 4th, the Storyteller will be unavailable for both IC Contact threads and Item Requests. If you need anything vital backdated, just let us know!

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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

The Knight | OTA

[lightlessfuture]

a. YEEHAW

[ For most people, perhaps it would be wise to stay away from a stampeding herd of much larger creatures.

Not so the Knight, who is particularly reckless in their choice of adventure today - though to be fair, it's something they can quickly turn into helping other people. They're light and agile enough to hitch a ride, and even in their much taller form, the aptonoth serving as their steed is concentrating on running rather than trying to throw their impulsive rider.

If you happen to be waking up or just in the way of the herd, you might see an odd sight; a horned, tall bug in a cloak riding one of the stampeding dinosaurs. Catching their attention is a good way to get yourself scooped out of the chaos and into relative safety.

Or perhaps they've already spotted you, and they're offering their hand, drawing close so they can haul you up and save you from being immediately trampled. ]

b. who's there?

[ The Knight has only experienced hallucinations without meaning once in their life, and that was here on Enso; they're not eager to repeat the experience. Odd distortions in the landscape, strange flickers of silver creatures that seem to be there one minute and gone the next...they don't like it.

It's not safe, they don't think. So you might come across a small bug, barely two feet tall, standing or crouching in complete stillness. Watching what appears to be nothing at all with laser-focused intent, nail in hand.

What are they looking for? Who knows. But they're on the hunt. ]

c. ???

[ Wildcard! Do whatever your heart desires. ]

b

[catpiper]

[Ren stills when she comes across their form, staring at something that she knows they'll be unable to spot with a weapon?? in their hand. She doesn't announce herself immediately and looks at the spot they're fixated on, hoping to get a view of whatever ghosts are taunting them. Because this has to be weird, spoopy ghost stuff and she hates it? All of it.]

Did you see anything?

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight startles when Ren speaks, clearly concentrating more on hunting their unseen enemy, but it's fleeting. They're quick to recognise her voice.

They turn, straightening up a little to look at her, and then shake their head. A clear 'no'.

After a moment, they sheathe their nail to 'talk' to her properly, raising their hands. Slow, careful signs so that Ren can understand. ]

thought i did
but gone now

did you?

[ Has she seen anything strange, like them? ]

[catpiper]

[A nervous expression crosses her face as she realizes what they were doing. It's as she thought. It's the same reason everyone is on edge and not even this little bug can escape whatever weird shenaniganry is happening in everyone's peripheral vision lately.]

I thought I saw something too, but my eyes can't see it.

[Too bad she got distracted by that weird rock. And that weird tree. Nothing looks right and it feels like something's skittering around in the corner of her eye even now.]

It's scary.

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight is about to resume their pursuit, but then Ren mentions that it's scary, and they see the expression on her face...and they stop.

Instead of continuing to hunt around for creatures they can barely catch sight of, they walk over to Ren instead and offer their hand to her.

They can't chase the visions away, or make the world less confusing for her. But they can at least hold her hand. ]

[catpiper]

[It's incredible how powerful that small gesture is. Without hesitation, she takes their little hand in her own, wrapping her fingers around their tiny ones and grasps tight.

The fear she had about whatever apparition is around starts to vanish. If it turns out to be dangerous, she can easily bring them into her arms and carry them away from whatever is lurking around. Even if she can't protect them with a weapon, she pull them far away from any danger and that's her biggest worry of all-keeping them safe.]

We'll stay together. If we do that, nothing will hurt us.

[lightlessfuture]

[ After the chaos of the infection, where Ren had been actively trying to run away, to hide so that nobody could see her pain (where they had been unable to hide their own trembling as sickness rooted in them) it's

this is better. This is better. They hold onto her hand just as tightly, as best they can, and nod at her words.

They can keep her safe like this, too.

After a moment, they gently tug her along. Even if the world they know is strange today, they can go for a walk and have an adventure, and that will be more than enough excitement. ]

A

[forwearemany]

(Do you really want to try lifting Leigon, Knight? Because it's probably not a good idea. They're quite heavy.

They'll take the offered hand though. Hopefully this doesn't end up just pulling their friend to the ground.)

[lightlessfuture]

( That's not even a question, especially if the options are "don't, and leave a friend" or "do, and possibly risk being dragged off".

The Knight will always go for the one that has a possibility of helping. They can't simply leave someone.

Their grip tightens and their whole body tenses; they're not a creature built for lifting heavy loads, but that's never stopped them before. They yank Legion upwards, and though their attempt does succeed, it leaves them in something of an awkward almost-toppling-off position.

Legion might want to grab them before they fall off themselves. The aptonoth is making some annoyed noises, making clear how it feels about this treatment (not very kindly). ]

[forwearemany]

(Impressive!

Chattering, they reach out to grab The Knight. Their own strength makes grabbing onto their friend a simple enough task, at least, and they latch onto them quite securely.)

Your assistance is appreciated.

[lightlessfuture]

( They flail a bit before Legion secures them, still a little clumsy with their new height; it's a relief when their friend catches hold of them and keeps them steady.

Once they feel like they're not going to fall off, they nod at Legion and give them a gentle pat on the shoulder. They're always willing to help a friend.

Then they look down at their current situation, still moving along with the main herd on a restless animal. Hmm. They should probably try to...steer?

They place their hands awkwardly on the aptonoth's neck, staring. Not...entirely sure how to proceed. ]

[forwearemany]

(Now that their friend is safe, Legion proceeds to cling to the beast as best as they can.)

This situation is unsafe.

[lightlessfuture]

( Unsafe. Yes. That's a bad thing.

They sort of...nudge at the aptonoth gingerly, not entirely sure how to convince the animal to do what they want, because they've never really had to do this sort of thing before. The old stag who had taken them around the kingdom's stagways knew his own paths, and other things they'd maneuvered around were too hard-shelled to care about one small traveler hitching an impromptu ride.

Luckily, it seems used to being given directions, because it begins to swerve towards the outside of the stampede, but it's still a rather bumpy and fast-paced ride. It's not terribly pleasant.

If Legion knows anything about speeding the process up, they should probably do so. The Knight is out of their depth here. ]

b.

[uptightness]

[It is only now that Carolina has started to notice an oddness about her. The day had started off normal enough, and it has gotten stranger from there. Strange, of course, is all relevent, and that is no less true here. Having those that she knows does help as Carolina isn't exactly the type of person who is all warm and feely, and she is well aware that she can be more than a little standoffish.

But her helmet does whip around, swearing that there had been something there, just outside of the scope of her ability to see. Yet, as her eyes settle on what appears to be a rather large... insect, as they are usually small enough that she likely steps on them without even knowing, she does give it a look.]

... was that you?

[Because here she doesn't even stop to question whether or not the bug can talk. Honestly, she's just going to assume that it can and if it can't... Well, not like there is anyone around to see her having a conversation.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ They visibly startle when they're spoken to - clearly focusing on something else - and then look around.

Was that you?

They give her a little shake of their head in answer to her question. While this bug can't...actually talk, they can certainly communicate, and so they make do.

But there's something running around; they've seen silver flashes of vanishing creatures. They draw their sword to scrawl in the ground, lacking the proper sign language to convey this concept at the moment (and finding writing is easier for most people to understand). ]

there is something
moves fast
don't know what
have you seen them too?

[uptightness]

[There is a moment, briefly, where Carolina does wonder whether the creature is going to draw the weapon on her, although bringing a sword to a gun fight... She's not twitchy enough to reach for it though, which is likely good as something is scribbled down on the ground.

Still with a watchful eye on said writer, she reads the words. Mute? Or maybe the species doesn't talk? Clearly it is an issue that has come up before and a solution found.]

I've seen something.

[Which sounds rather foolish when she says it out loud. The simple fact is, she doesn't know what she has seen.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ Technically, they've brought a sword to all kinds of fights, and it's served them well enough. Thankfully, since they're just using it to write and don't go around stabbing people wantonly, the point is moot.

They nod. If they think it's a foolish thing to say, they certainly don't express it. ]

so have i
do not know what yet

do not like it

[ They catch another blur of movement from out of the corner of their eye, the barest flash, and glance over their shoulder quickly, pointing their sword at...apparently nothing, since it's gone now. Something in the set of their shoulders, their tense body language (at least, what can be seen under the cloak that conceals most of them), suggests they're on edge. ]

[uptightness]

[She hasn't been here that long, although she has been aware of some of the strangeness of this place. Such as this moment. Being around the Reds and Blues has actually worked in her favour, or at least prepared her for nonsense.]

Have you been here long?

[Trying to gauge just how much they have seen. It always seems to be something with this place. Then again, she is the type of person that does grow restless if there is nothing to do. Sitting back with her feet on a chair and a drink in her hand has never really been her idea of fun. She might do it now and then, but eventually she will go stir crazy.

Yet she doesn't fail to note the tension that seems to rise, and she clocks her six, trying to see if she can catch sight of something, anything, that seems out of place. It's akin to a fuzziness, an old memory. Something that she just can't put her thumb on.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ They might as well be chasing a dream, or so it feels to them. They turn back to the stranger after a moment, shaking their head in what's apparently frustration. Some things don't need a voice to be conveyed. ]

have been here 9 months

[ That sounds about right, they think. They've never quite bothered to keep track of time, but they're pretty sure that's what it is. ]

how about you

b!

[bitch4bitch]

[Boy Erika hates this. If she didn't know better, she'd expect it to be some kind of fae nonsense - and it still takes some effort to remind herself that, with the exception of a certain necromancer and his horse ass, fae nonsense isn't really a concern here.

Unfortunately, that means she doesn't know what this is, which fucking sucks.

She doesn't know if it's better or worse that she's clearly not the only one seeing things right now. Making her way back toward where she and Chip are staying, she slows to a stop when she sees the little bug-person standing in place. She glances at them, then at the spot they're looking at, raising her eyebrows slightly.]

...Seeing anything interesting?

[lightlessfuture]

[ They turn quickly, and when they see it's just a person they don't quite recognise, they relax. It's nothing like the destructive hallucinations they'd experienced before, and so it's fine.

They sort of shrug, holding up their hand and giving it a noncommittal wiggle. They're not sure what it is they're seeing, but they don't particularly like it.

They gesture at her, tilting their head. What about her? ]

[bitch4bitch]

[Erika gives a short nod, and, for a moment the beginnings of a smile - part of which, frankly, is over relief at the confirmation that this is... you know, some kind of a person, albeit an odd one. Sometimes it seems like she can't be sure until she's talked to someone, and they've responded.]

Not much, right-- ah, no, spoke too soon. [She shoots a quick glare at the glimpse of who-knows-what that she'd caught, just as it vanishes.] Ugh. Why's this place always gotta be like this?

[lightlessfuture]

[ They attempt to pounce on it, but it's too elusive for them to pin down more than a glimpse, much less physically attack.

...Their shoulders droop a bit, and they sheathe their sword in apparent grouchiness at not being able to catch their apparent foe (because anything they can't keep an eye on presumably has motives for staying hidden, or so their logic goes).

At her question, they give her another significantly more helpless shrug and a frustrated little shake of their head. They don't know the answer to that either. They enjoy being here, but it certainly does have its fair share of strangeness. ]

[bitch4bitch]

[Man, that probably should not be as cute as it is. She sighs and glances upward, as if hoping there won't be any of that crap happening up there. None of it has attacked yet, or anything, so... maybe it's harmless. Or maybe it's not, but she's getting pretty tired of what feels like literally jumping at shadows either way.]

Maybe we can hope it's only a matter of time. Y'know, that this place has a limited amount of bullsh-- of weird stuff to throw at us, and eventually it'll run out. [Is this a kid? They look like probably a kid. If a weird, vaguely fae-ish looking one.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ They are indeed a child, though learning swear words is...really a drop in the bucket compared to the other things they've been through. It's fine. They're fine.

That gets...another shrug, and some words scratched in the dirt. ]

maybe
maybe not
if new islands keep coming
more strange things will happen

i think ?

[ After a moment, they pause. ]

but not all islands are bad
so will be interesting
at least ?