January Intro: It Grips Me

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: JANUARY

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 5th and onward
Where: All over Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Shores of Ensō: The Sun's a Harsh Reminder Why
As dawn arrives - and with it, new adventurers to Ensō's shores. It appears the Storyteller is not about to allow a repeat of last month. The ever watchful pages that have guarded the shorelines the month prior now begin to move closer inland, circling the landscape in closing, careful arcs. To the particularly astute, their purpose may quickly become clear. Anything foreign to Ensō's natural ecosystem will be met initially with wary hovering, ruffled pages flocking to nearby trees and wheeling overhead. Now and again, a particularly brave little page will swoop down to tap against the top of an unsuspecting entity.

Foreign entities, in this instance, just so happen to include...well, all of you. These partially sentient notes can be found flitting across the entirety of Ensō and the neighboring housing islets, intent on surveying every little nook and cranny of the tropical landscape. While they may little more than a vague irritant, their attitude towards a person they’re surveying can absolutely get worse, depending on the response they receive. Though responses may vary (and creativity, encouraged), the pages are looking for indications of anything that is not only out of the ordinary, but also that which is acting suspicious. Unfortunately, they're not quite experienced in determining what does and does not count as a genuine threat, and thus they might very well interpret even the smallest signs of surprise, anxiety, and (justified) irritation as signs of hostility.

Unfortunately, their response to this is likely to be just as unpleasant as it is abrupt. Those of you who protest a little too vigorously may find yourselves abruptly doused with a viscous black ink - a marker to return and inspect you again in future. Where more aggressive behavior is…noted, you may very well find yourself swept up in a tornado of angry paperwork, only to be abruptly (and not at all comfortably) deposited at the Storyteller's temple. A very weary Storyteller will do their best to apologize as they slowly smooth out the kinks in this new security system.

But surely you agree, dear adventurer, that this sort of security system is indeed necessary.

Ensō, Inland: Who Knows Where Our Limits Lie
Unsuspecting adventurers aren't the only creatures the pages seem intent on harassing, it seems. Across Ensō, the activity of the native fauna will become much more apparent as creatures are driven from their usual haunts by invading paper. From the smallest of snaplings to herds of cariborn, it will take some time for the wildlife to settle down as many disturbed creatures will find themselves displaced miles away from their natural homes, seemingly at random. Unfortunately, this also includes the creatures most would prefer not to have on the move. For the unappraised, Ensō happens to play host to a particularly horrifying brand of wildlife known only as the fustercluck: a large swath of appropriated limbs with katamari-like qualities, if katamaris were more well known for digesting the majority of their victims and using what little remained (usually the hands and feet) to propel themselves towards their next meal.

Despite Ensō being home to two such creatures, very little has been discovered about them, aside from how unfortunately indestructible they seem to be. Magic, guns, bombs - name your poison, and a fustercluck will most certainly be impervious to it, including poison itself. Should you be unlucky enough to wander into the path of a fustercluck, your best option is to run - or lend the fustercluck a hand.

And another hand. And your entire body, since you offered so nicely.

The fusterclucks have a more directed path than most creatures - they can be found moving up and down the rows of G and H until January 10th, when they appear to settle down...unless they're diverted elsewhere first.

---

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 )

Comments

[story_teller]

[Said dumb bunny is- very busy, Guzma. As if that hadn't been obvious? Apparently racing back and forth across their temple surrounded by papers just wasn't a good enough indication for some people that-]

I'm handling it. [The response is a little snippy- probably a tad too much. The rabbit visibly takes a breath before clarifying further, slightly... less ired. Slightly.]

It's a new process for me- and them. Another day to smooth out their work is all I ask for.

[yallstupid]

[Guzma purses his lips, breathing in sharply through his nose as he smiles in a very forced way, swallowing down the snide remark that just barely made it out of his lips. They sure are handling it, oh yeah. Absolutely handling everything just fine and dandy. The island needed a new coat of paint, clearly.

It's only when Guzma removes and inspects his poor, ink stained Team Skull hoodie - ready to give the Storyteller a verbal lashing of his own - that he pauses to stare closely at them. The, uh...the flowers are new. He thinks. Guzma tilts his head, eyes narrowing just slightly as he frowns.]

Yeah, fine, whatever. Just don't work yourself too much, a'ight? Heck knows this whole dumb place will just explode if something happens to our resident Fuzzy Bottoms. [It's a...very backwards way of saying take care of yourself, too, but Guzma's never been great with sentiments, and the Storyteller is still barely an acquaintance to the man.]

[story_teller]

I'm handling it. [They respond- automatically, to words that weren't said. They falter, nose twitching as they rub a paw over one, small rose that now graces their left cheek. A permanent fixture, after--

Just as well.]

We cannot afford for me to falter on this task any longer. I cannot keep you safe on every island, but this? This is my home.

[yallstupid]

[The repeated answer only sours Guzma's expression further, and he snorts. One hand raises up and he actually lets it fall right between the Storyteller's ears and horns, giving him a firm but affectionate pat. Shit, dude, does he have to spell it out for you? Aren't gods supposed to be, you know, intelligent and wise?]

Yeah, and s'our home now too, yeah? Y'know it ain't no thing to ask us for help here'n there, right? Pretty sure there's people here that like y'all a whole lot more'n I do - real tough folk - and 'preciate you a whole lot more, too. You ain't the only one here that can, and should, pull their weight, Flopsy.

[They still this idiot rabbit to stick around.]

I actually been meaning to ask you something. From back before all...this. [He gestures to the paper still wafting around them.]

[story_teller]

[They start at the action, clearly not expecting it and unsure what to do once it's received. But it is received, much like Guzma's word- food for affection and for thought. He does have a point, however-]

I already ask a great deal of you. Limited as I am, the discovery of how you came to be here- how to return those of you who wish to return- that is on your shoulders. And it has already cost much.

I... cannot ask more from you. Allow me this much.

[They want to feel useful Guzma sue them? Sue them.]

And I will do my best to answer you.

[yallstupid]

[Guzma grumbles a little bit, scratching his neck and breathing out slowly as he mutters something quickly under his breath - still audible, because he's not at all trying to be subtle here. This self-sacrificing bullshit is getting tiring.]

You are a right pain in the behind, y'know that? [He takes a deep breath, exhaling sharply.] Anyway, my question is this - you know anything 'bout the ocean that surrounds these islands? Like...has it ever been y'know aggressive like it's been? Or why it's got beef with you all? Cuz it showed me something when it dragged me under last time, and I dunno what to make of it. But it sure as heck meant something, and it wanted, needed even, all'a us to see it.

A set of scales, burning away to nothing. Again n' again...that mean anything to you?

[story_teller]

[Tell that to the majority of people occupying Ensō, Guzma. They say nothing to his commentary, choosing to stay silent as he explains his- queries. Really, the questions themselves aren't surprising.

The fact that it's taken this long to hear them is.

They turn their head towards the doorway, tone somewhat clipped.]

I am afraid the water and I have-- disagreements, at times. I'm certain you've noticed it, all of you. The way in which you washed upon these shores, the damage done to anything one might consider...advanced. It requires constant work on my part to ensure that this land, and others, are not swallowed whole.

[You remember those times when the land flooded, perhaps. When the Storyteller was upset, or otherwise distracted in some fashion.]

However, I would say that in this case, there was...an ulterior motive. The visions sent to you and to others - they were a message.

[yallstupid]

[Hope you weren't expecting to put distance between yourself and the big guy, bunny, because Guzma follows as they move further toward the entrance of the temple, hands in his pockets. There's a raised eyebrow and a frown, but he doesn't interrupt and lets the Storyteller finish. So, that explains...a few things, but it really only scratches the surface of what they may be facing down the line.]

Yeah, that was pretty obvious - wanted us to see something. ...Nah, to feel it. What I don't get though, is why. Why's the ocean got beef with you, anyway? And is it enough to wanna do y'all and them other gods harm? Cuz it sure as heck seems that way. [He sits, cross legged this time, and grumbles loudly, chewing on his bottom lip. Guzma is't the sort for deep thinking like this - he's a man of action. Plans aren't normally his thing, outside of Pokemon battles, anyway.] Any chance this is related to that crap island with the people what worshiped that piss off water...thing?