lifeaftr | December Intro: Pressure Building

INTRO LOG: DECEMBER

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: December 4th and onward
Where: All over Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

It begins on a mild autumn day, one where the breeze is gentle and the sky a deep, cloudless blue. Ensō is quiet as the adventurers that call it (if only temporarily) home begin to awaken and go about their daily business- for those who have been here long enough, this may consist of searching for those new arrivals, undoubtedly lost and likely confused. It is a normal day on Ensō. Then the water starts to rise.

Northern Beachfront: Let Me Get Off the Ground
For newcomers waking on the shoreline and those who have come to greet them, the rapid swelling of the ocean's surface will be immediately noticeable. Just a few, short miles from the shore, the water continues bulging upwards to terrifying heights, obscuring the sun and throwing warped shadows over the majority of Ensō's northern landscape. It towers there, wobbling, inexplicably retaining its shape even as it ripples, flowing, and sends great streams of saltwater streaming over the ocean's surface.

Though the sun is barely capable of piercing the immense mass, those with a keen eye will see...something moving within, coiled far above sea level. Some dark mass, too distorted by the water and the lack of light to solidify into any easily recognizable shape, nonetheless makes its presence felt regardless. All nearby will find themselves stricken with a growing sense of being watched by a gaze that pierces flesh and bone…one that is none too appreciative of what it sees.

Retaliation to this apparent threat is both vicious and immediate. Bursting from the trees and whipping through the air within a tornado of motion, thousands, then tens of thousands of ink-stained pages whip out from Ensō's jungle and across open water like a flock of ferocious birds, striking at the liquid mountain with unceasing fervor.

Now may not be the best time to gawk, adventurers. With this attack, the raised water will begin to collapse - and the giant waves resulting from the sudden upset will bear no mercy for anyone swept off their feet in the churning swells.

Storyteller's Temple and the Rest of Ensō: I See Your Corruption
Those seeking shelter and answers will find them limited in supply, if not entirely absent. For, you see, the mana pools on Ensō have ceased functioning, leaving characters stranded wherever they may be at the time the assault begins.

No safety can be found within the temple walls this day, with more and more black pages erupting from every door and window. Attempts to approach and even push through won't be harmful, or at least not intentionally - rather, the pages will force back anyone who attempts to come between them and their current objective. Those who may not get the message the first time may just find themselves flying quite a ways away.

The above will quickly become the least of anyone’s worries.

Those who remember the rebirth of the sun back in January will not doubt recall the creatures of the night faced during those darkest hours. As the waters around Ensō continue to churn in response to the offshore assault, large waves act as ferries for those precise beasts, clambering onto the shore in droves. Though the sun is obscured in many spaces, these shadowy creatures will always make for the treelines during daylight hours, seemingly sluggish at best under natural lighting.

Unfortunately, the Storyteller will be occupied for quite some time - and once night falls, those deadly beings will be on the hunt.

For the duration of the assault, the islets will remain relatively safe during daylight hours, so long as your character is capable of accessing a boat to travel there. Once night falls, however, they will be as dangerous as the mainland.

Both the shadowy creatures and the risen water will retreat on the morning of December 10th, leaving Ensō silent once more. The hovering pages, however, will continue circling the coastline for some time like great papery seabirds.

The doors to the Storyteller’s temple shall remain closed.

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

[ nah. ann's seen it before! it's not a big deal, really.

what is a big deal, however, is that futaba and necronomicon aren't moving at all. she stops and turns to look at the UFO. ]

What? Really?

[ ... ] No... Now that I think about it, it didn't feel like Carmen was at full power. It...it could just be the island messing with us? I don't know.

Really?

[ The logical part of her knows that this is probably How It Is Here. That part is very tired right now and focusing on keeping her moving, so the less-logical side takes a moment to feel annoyed because now? Of all times? Really?

She tries once more before giving it up as a bad job. And dropping herself out with maybe... a bit more care than usual? Bare feet and all. ]

Those guys are south of us for now. We... shouldn't go that way.

[ She at least was able to find out that much. ]

[ seems to be that way, unfortunately. there's a lot of good people she's met here...but man, living here is exhausting. ]

We have a clothing pile somewhere around here. If it's still there, you might be able to find some shoes. I'm glad the scanner's still working, though.

Yeah, me too.

[ She'll... take whatever she can get. She doesn't like feeling useless. Never has, never really will. So she'll take what she can get as she falls in step behind Ann, letting her teammate lead the way. Though she might be sticking a little closer than she normally would, now that she's. Still mostly defenseless. Still nearly died too.

Not the position she's normally in, but... lead the way, Ann. ]

[ it's fine, ann doesn't mind. she's here to look out for her friend, especially since she just got here. she can only imagine just how lost and scared futaba's feeling right now. being stranded on an island is pretty out of her element, after all.

ann starts making her way towards the denny, shoes crunching on leaves here and there. the beasts definitely know they're out there...but hopefully carmen's scaring them off, since she's lighting the way with a flame in hand. ]

Do you have any other questions?

[ Out of her element is... an understatement. ]

I mean, yeah, but...

[ Articulating them isn't the simplest of things. Putting words together. Plus... ]

Wouldn't that just be a distraction right now?

For me? It's not a problem, but it's up to you. I just thought it might help you get adjusted.

Mm...

[ She falls silent for a moment, taking a chance to glance around warily for any signs of approaching enemies. Chewing words in her head. ]

I had that whole... dream thing. From the Storyteller, before I woke up. A lot of the questions I have were ones they didn't have answers to.

[ And if the Storyteller doesn't, she isn't sure Ann will have much better. ]

It's not... always like this, right?

You mean with all the monsters? No, it's not. But I can't say it's smooth sailing, either.

[ which is kind of to be expected, being stuck on a cluster of deserted islands, but it's more than just that. ]

It's not just about gathering supplies and building shelter, here. Sometimes...this world does some really messed up things. [ ... ] I don't want to freak you out, but if you want to hear it, we can talk about it more when we get to the Denny. It's a long story.

Edited 2018-12-05 09:18 (UTC)

[ Well that tells her some things by itself. Gathering supplies, building shelter. They... they may have a community here but this isn't exactly like. A society either. Certainly nothing like Tokyo. Ugh she hasn't ever even gone camping. She slumps a little. This is uh. She's feeling more than a little out of her element. And she has a feeling it's only gonna get worse.

All this on top of whatever story Ann has to share. Which... honestly it's better that she knows. She's pretty sure it's better she knows. ]

Yeah. Sounds like a good idea. [ A deep breath. A moment's silence to gather herself. ] What do we have? What kinda stuff?

[ nothing like tokyo, actually. no technology. futaba is definitely out of her element and ann knows it. that's why...

... ]

I can tell you that housing's been set up for us. We just can't really get to it right now with all these monsters. But hey, if it'd make you feel better, I'm totally down to move in with you. Just say the word, okay?

I-

[ God it wasn't a far cry from the topic they'd just been kind of discussing - the kind of life one had here, could have here. But... thinking about where she was going to live was just. So surreal and overwhelming right now it just made her want to blank. ]

I-I don't know. Let's just... get to Denny for now.

[ She'll feel a lot better in a safe room, for lack of a better term. ]

Yeah. Okay.

[ she probably pushed too far. it's a lot of information to take in right now, especially since they're on the run from a bunch of night terrors. geez. what the hell is going on here?

ann asks tim to send a flare up over the stones, and lo and behold...there it is. they're very, very close. ]

Let's go! It's right there!

R-right!

[ This should be cause for relief and in some ways it is but. At the same time, as Denny starts actually coming into view, Futaba starts attaching herself even more firmly to Ann as something dawns on her. To the point that she's practically-

Well no. Not practically. She is hiding. Probably making it a little difficult to walk. And maybe quivering just the tiniest bit. Everyone on Enso is headed this way, right? That's. That's a thing. Which means that this is going to be the real challenge right now. ]

[ ann says nothing when futaba latches on to her. she'd rather futaba stay close to her than lose her to one of the night creatures. carmen continues to light the way as a small building comes into view; it's already got people inhabiting it, apparently. they're at the right place. ]

We'll be safe here.

[ ...probably. ]

We can find a corner and talk. There's no need to meet everyone right now, okay?

Yeah... O-o-okay.

[ It's not a surprise that Ann understands her anxiety right now, not in the last. But Futaba's still grateful. ]

H-h-how many people are th-there all here?

[ Did she ask that question in the dream? She doesn't remember. ]

December Intro: Pressure Building

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject