lifeaftr | October Intro: I Think We Should Run

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October Intro: I Think We Should Run

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!

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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[Good, things were okay! Kind of.]

Not sure, it's my first time seeing these. But they look like they'd have some meat on them.

[He slowed at they neared it, pulling out a knife.]

'K, gotta make sure it's dead for realsies.

[We wasn't, after all, some giant burly man who was going to wrestle with one of them. Thoughtlessly, he stretched out an arm to make sure Molly didn't get too close. Maybe he was a hunter, maybe not. He'd rather be safe than sorry.

Tensely, he approached with extremely caution while he looked for any sort of movement.]

Just because something has meat on it doesn't mean it's edible.

[ He's from a circus, they've had seriously questionable food in bad seasons.

Molly doesn't seem to take offense to the outstretched arm stopping him from getting closer. This man knew far more about this place than he did, after all. The tiefling was going to go with what Prompto said for now.

Looking over at their quarry, it doesn't seem to be moving. Whatever that gun had fired it had gone through their head, and honesty Molly hadn't seen much that could survive that. ]

I'm assuming you have somewhere to lug this?

[He let out a soft snort.]

We have to be a bit open-minded here, but luckily Iggy is a miracle worker when it comes to making anything taste good.

[As he got to it he did a quick, hard stab down, making absolutely sure. When he sunk his knife into it and it didn't move, he nodded his approval. Looked like it was safe. He was confident in his aim, but one could never be too cautious.

That done, he shook off the knife quickly before putting it away.]

Yeah, there's a bunch of people who ended up here just like you did. Well. In all kinds of different ways and places, but you know what I mean. Dropped here out of nowhere. Most of us have been working together.

[He scooped an arm under the creature and hefted its weight up to check. While it had been a smaller straggler, it was still a decent sized beast and might be hard to carry.]

I think... if you can get that end, we can probably keep from dragging it across the ground. We can probably use the hide for something, too. Come on, I can show you where everyone is.

[ At least this meant there were more people here, but that didn't make more or less sense than what he had already gathered. The death thing was the most pressing on his mind, but he could compartmentalize.

Food first.

Molly wasn't a strong person by any means, but he could at least try to help haul this beast with the blonde and just focus on that for now.

He grabs some hooves and lifts as much as he can, tail swishing a bit to balance. ]

Am I going to have more 'demon' issues?

Oh, uhh...

[Wasn't this a bit embarrassing?]

Iggy probably won't really notice. As for everyone else... Well, we've got all kinds of people here, so I think it'll be fine? One of the people is a giant spider lady, and there's, like... skeletons and stuff.

People from other worlds are kinda weird.

[He'd had time to get somewhat used to it, but spiders were still terrifying goddamnit.

Either way, he started walking, because they had a ways to go with this thing.]

The mana pool's this way.

Edited 2018-10-09 20:11 (UTC)

A giant spider lady, and skeletons? Sounds like I'll blend in just fine.

[ Well, he's not fully sure about that and he hopes this doesn't mean he's going to have to fight the residents of wherever they were going.

Molly fully agrees with the people from other worlds being weird, though. Whatever that means. (The idea of this being another plane makes more and more sense.)

Molly lifts as much as he can, trying to not drag the carcass or get blood on himself - more for safety than vanity. ]

What is a mana pool? I think I.... heard something about it in a dream?

Edited 2018-10-11 22:40 (UTC)

Oh, sorry. It's like a teleporty place. It's how we travel from island to island here, though I want to make other methods in the future.

[It was heavy, but with two he thought they could make it okay. He just had to endure, and once they got it through it shouldn't be a problem anymore.]

So you kind of dreamed about this before getting here? That happens to a lot of people. Did you meet anyone there?

...You must've, if they told you about the mana pools.

I met... a rabbit? I mean, that sounds crazy but it was definitely a talking rabbit.

[ It really is heavy, and it gets ridiculously hot to lug this thing around with his coat on - but he can't exactly dress down right now. So Molly endures and hopes this beast is really worth eating. ]

What kind of other methods are you thinking of? Are there any boats around?

The Storyteller? Yeah, he shows up as whatever.

[He hefted the animal up, trying to get into a more comfortable position. He was decently strong, but still no bodybuilder. His strength came more from running and endurance.]

Should've brought Coco with me, but I didn't know I'd get a kill...

[With a sigh, he kept going.]

I showed up on a raft myself. A long time ago now. A year? Maybe? Hard to keep track. Other people have popped up all over the place. One group even woke up underground and people had to dig them out I think. That would've been a scary way to come here.

[ Molly, who has intimate knowledge of having to dig yourself out of the ground, shudders at that last part. This place just sounded more and more shitty as time went by.

Why was he even here? ]

How many people are around these parts? Did they all come from other places or are there natives?

[ He tries to hoist the animal up a bit, but instead loses his grip and has to take a quick moment to loosen up before he's back on task. ]

[For once Prompto felt like the professional, but it was probably just from surviving out here so long. Either way, he doesn't sound condescending or critical when he asks:]

You okay?

[After all, they had all types out here, including children. If someone needed time to get accustomed to it, that was fine.]

Hmm... Over a hundred now? A lot are from totally different places, though a couple of my friends from home are here. Though... This will sound kind of weird, but one of them it from ten years in the future, and one of them is a few weeks behind me. Either there's multiple universes going on or time travel or something.

...They're still my friends either way, though. Even if it turns out that they're not really from the same world as me.

No natives. Well. Any place we've found hasn't really been any good. It's hard to explain, but I'm sure you'll get it over time.

Yeah, just not used to carrying around big dead animals. Mostly it's just the heads.

[ There's a little smirk at that, as if there's an inside joke while he corrects his grip and hefts up his end of the beast again. ]

A hundred people from different planes stuck on an island. Sounds like trouble.

[ No, really - and it sounds kind of horrifying to someone who doesn't like being stuck in one place for too long. Then again, maybe the fact that everyone's weird here means less of a chance to be singled out once there's blame to go around.

The next part is just a little too much on the weird side for someone who was still puzzling together the 'different worlds' part, but he does what he does best when he doesn't understand things and just goes with it. ]

I'm sure I will. It seems to be my new home, after all.

[ Dead people don't have a place to go back to. ]

Big game hunter or something?

[Sounded like a trophy thing. Not quite his deal, but he wouldn't have a meltdown if someone else did that.]

You'll be okay. There's some homes still open, and people are doing what they can to help.

[He paused, pointing ahead.]

There it is!

[Hefting up the animal, he quickened his pace. He didn't want to carry this thing more than he had to, either. His arms were already getting exhausted.]

More like professional monster killer. People need evidence and all that.

[ To be fair they had only lugged around two heads so far, but that was two too many - and they didn't actually do anything with the manticore one, it just... rotted. ]

I'll see what I can help with.

[ Molly's talents are not exactly in the building and agriculture department, but everyone needed a fighting hand, and he could probably bullshit the rest.

He's relieved to see the mana pool (and it was quite pretty), since it meant less hauling this aptonoth and more exploring this new place. ]

Oh, we did some stuff like that! Helping out people 'round the world.

[He staggered through the last part of the walk, carefully lowering the animal back to the ground.]

'K, I can show you how to do this.

[Pulling out his camera, he quickly flipped through the pics to get to one of the islets, turning it to show him.]

This is where we live. Just toss a flower in and say where you wanna go, and you'll get there.

[After the brief explanation, he went ahead and picked a flower to toss in, ready and willing to demonstrate. It was hardly his first time teaching someone this after all, so he rushed through it a little bit.]

Edited 2018-10-21 21:09 (UTC)

[ Now, a visual thing is excellent for someone like Molly, and this drawing was breathtaking. Was it some kind of illusion or magic thing? ]

Okay, I toss a flower and step in? Sounds like a charming little ritual.

[ 'Everything is magic' is the easiest way to cope with this bullshit, so that's the route Molly's gonna take. ]

Ready when you are.

Yup, that simple.

[And he demonstrated, grabbing the animal to take it with him. Thankfully, he knew his home was pretty close to the mana pool, so they'd done almost all the work already.

On the other side he paused to wait and make sure Molly made it okay.]

[ Molly hesitates for a few minutes before he tosses the flower in as well and closes his eyes before stepping into the pool.

When he opens them again, the place has changed.

Thankfully, the blonde is still there, and so is the damn carcass they're lugging around. ]

Wow. that's... something.

Was worried you weren't comin' for a second.

[He was still waiting right there when he came through. The animal, though, he left.]

I'll get Gladio to move that in a bit.

[He pointed at the nearest cottage. This particular one had more going for it than others in view, with fencing, a nearby stove, and a shower built near the shore. It definitely looked like they'd made it into a cozy home.]

That's where I live. There's still some places that don't have anyone living in them, so you can claim one of them if you want.

You could always have dinner with us if you want.

I wasn't sure if it was going to work. Anything could happen.

[ Plus he just met this man, and while he did save his life, Molly's pretty sure that doesn't warrant full trust quite yet. It took him a while to get used to his own group, after all.

Now he loves them. Loved.

Fuck.

Looking over to the cottage, he has to admit it's cute. Very simple, but the door gives it a pop. This place really was kind of bare bones, though - nothing like the villages he's used to. ]

I... sure? That's kind of you.

[ He doesn't know what to do with himself, in all honesty. Molly knows he should leave and try to figure this shit out, but he's never been alone. Especially not like this. ]

Yeah, it was pretty weird for me the first time, too. You get used to it, though.

[While magic was a thing back home, it was quite a bit different than this.

He glanced behind him. He never quite knew what to do with new people past a certain point. He could tell them where things were and offer help, but beyond that he wasn't sure what he could do to help them settle in and everyone was so different and strange.]

You, uh... You like birds? We keep a bunch around here that we're raising for eggs and for mounts.

[ Magic was pretty normal in his world, but not like this. At least not what Molly knew of, at least.

(Caleb would have a great time exploring the magic of this place, he's sure.)

The question about birds seemed a little out of the blue, but Mollymauk isn't going to let that stop him right now. Instead he just smiles and drags a taloned hand down the side of his face and neck where the peacock feathers are brightly tattooed. ]

I have no problem with birds.

[ Lies, but hopefully they wouldn't be perching on him.

Wait... mounts? ]

You ride birds?

Heh, those do kinda look like feathers.

[No peacocks exactly where he was from, but they did have some colorful birds out there.

He waved him over, bouncing on his feet as he backed towards his house before swiveling to trot over to the door.]

On some worlds it seems like they have duplic... err, 'horses', instead of chocobos. Mine isn't quite full grown yet, but he's almost there!

[He tossed the door open and went inside. It was just a four room place - living room first, with a few spaces going to their bedrooms. One bedroom had been converted into a temporary stable place, with a purple and blue chocobo chick. There was also one almost grown muddy brown chococbo, MUCH larger than the other two.

Prompto ran up to the brown chocobo, which was currently sitting around and patted him on the head.]

This is Coco! He's my chocobo.

[Such pride in having his very own.]

Beautiful feathers from a beautiful bird! I got the whole animal sitting on my shoulder.

[ He sounds a bit proud and flirty at the same time, following the blonde towards the house while Prompto talks about horses like they were mythical beings and not completely normal animals that the Mighty Nein named after toilets.

Seeing the animals in question made his red eyes widen a bit, but then Molly is grinning and carefully approaching the big bird. ]

Goodness, that's amazing. Now I see how you can ride them.

[ He's not going to pet anyone since he like his fingers, but these were some impressive animals. ]

Really? My buddy has a tattoo like that, too. I mean, a big bird all over his back and chest, but it's a different kinda bird.

I'm sure you'll see it. He likes going topless. You can swap tattoo stories.

[He said that quite casually because he was pretty used to Gladio showing off his chest by now. Any flirtation went right over his head because why would anyone flirt with him?

He quickly ducks away as Coco suddenly shook his feathers. It that was startling from a little bird, it was definitely startling from a bird his own size. But he recovered and gave him a hearty pat on the back.]

Maybe a month or two and he should be good to ride? I can't wait, honestly, it's hard to believe I've had him nearly a year! Oh...

[He paused, squatting down by the little purple chick.]

These two belong to Iggy and Gladio. This is what they look like as babies.

[Short and fat. But pretty cute. Prompto happily ruffled her feathers.]

If you see a black one, that one belong to Ardyn. His is the oldest. But, uh, he may not be as friendly.

Edited 2018-11-01 22:14 (UTC)

October Intro: I Think We Should Run

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Shall we wrap this one up?

that works!

Re: that works!