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.

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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

[hurricane_clown]

[Karako studies him for a long moment, long enough that wondering whether or not he understood English would be a wholly reasonable response.

Of course, whether he speaks English or not is irrelevant here. The problem is that he's pretty confident that he knows at least some of the answers, but his ability to share them is pretty much nil. Also, some of the answers he has are very unsatisfying, but he really hasn't been able to ask clarifying questions.

Either way, now he has to rifle through his mental inventory of friendly aliens and decide which one he wants to drag this alien to.

Finally he makes a decision and sticks out his hand, offering it to Dirk with a big, toothy smile.]

Honk!

[timaeus_testified]

[He's having a stare off with a troll. Again. He waits. It's not like that's hard he has always waited for things. Scratch that it's kind of hard. He keeps thinking back to Dave and Terezi being wholly without his wreckage on their side.

Clown troll delivers a smile and offers Hand. He stands up and tucks his board up against his side, he'd stuffed his other shit into the pack. Finally, after a moment he takes the hand.]

...okay.

[So far, he hasn't run into brutal murder by clown. This one seems friendly??]

[hurricane_clown]

[Murder is a two-way street, Dirk. If you're nice to the clown, he'll be nice to you!

His hand is actually cool to the touch--noticeably so. There's a significant difference between Karako and the ambient temperature. He's also strong.

That said, he's not very tall, so while he might be helpful in getting up off the ground, Dirk will have to do the standing part on his own. He doesn't let go of Dirk's hand, either; if Dirk lets him, he will absolutely just pull the human all the way to their destination.

Which is... a bit of a walk, actually?]

[timaeus_testified]

[This is pretty much the most normal thing he's dealt with since he got here. He goes with it. There's not much else he can do and as odd as the troll being cooler than the present temp is, he has bigger worries.

He lets himself be lead, while his mind races with all that he's seen and what vague dream-like recollections he has.

Where the hell is Dave and Terezi?]

[flower_of_innocence]

[Lillie isn't hard to find. She's on her way to the beach to check on the newcomers when Karako and Dirk come upon her. She recognizes her strange clown friend right away, but his companion must be new. Her brief smile is almost apologetic. It can be a lot, to be dumped here.]

Oh, hello. You must be a new arrival, right?

[hurricane_clown]

Honk!!

[Which is Karako's enthusiastic combined greeting and confirmation.

He knew he could count on her to be on top of this!]

sorry rl nabbed me hard

[timaeus_testified]

[Dirk nods, then shoves his shades up so he can see the girl Clown troll led him to better.]

That's right. [He lets go of said troll's hand and holds it up in a little wave.] New and confused. I've got a nagging feeling I should get answers when I can. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm Dirk.

huge mood my friend

[flower_of_innocence]

Oh, that's reasonable. I'm Lillie.

[She's happy to help in any way she can, but to be honest he probably wants to know how to get off the island and that's...well. She did it once, kind of, by accident, and has no idea how or why. And that's not helpful.]

There may not be many answers to give, I'm afraid...it seems most of us are no closer to learning how to leave than when we started. [In the face of having to survive in less than optimal conditions, few people have really had time to really look into it.] But I can try and answer any questions you may have?

Hope things are okay over there!

[hurricane_clown]

[Karako has nothing to add to this, actually. What is he gonna do, honk some more?

Besides, he really wants to hear what Lillie has to say, too. It's pretty hard to get specific answer when all you can do is honk... maybe Dirk will ask something good.]

It's a mess but will get better eventually

[timaeus_testified]

That's fine. [So he has to think of what questions to ask. He has several and they crowd around inside his head. But he needs a few that focus on the immediate situation.

Survival is always his first priority.] I'll start with the state of things. So far it seems like we're all dumped here by some unknown even to The Jackalope. I've seen the abominations made of stolen goods but what other threats should I expect or be wary of?

omg if this is too late to continue just lmk, i'm so sorry

[flower_of_innocence]

Ah...well, this island is probably the safest from external threats, but it has a few dangerous spots. Those 'abominations' are the worst of them, I think.

[Well, the flowers were probably worse, objectively speaking...but those are gone. And they came from another island anyway.]

Sometimes other islands appear, and they're usually fairly dangerous to explore, but are often rich in resources...but the Storyteller is working hard to make sure the dangers don't follow us here anymore.

Time is fake

[hurricane_clown]

Honk?!

[Karako interrupts with a honk of protest. He isn't really following what they mean by 'stolen goods,' one, but two, he is pretty sure the most dangerous thing he's met was whatever dark shapes came out of the rising water and storms after the big waves.

Which he communicates by pointing at Lillie's shadow.]

Honk--!!

It seriously is.

[timaeus_testified]

[He does a bit of math. Storyteller is related to the papers. He blinks and looks to Lillie's shadow. He glances at clown troll. What is he trying to say?]

Is there anything shadow related I should know about? Or is it darkness related?

...I can't speak honk so, I'm guessing.

[flower_of_innocence]

[At first, Lillie is puzzled by the pointing and frantic honk. Her shadow? What ab-]

Oh! Thank you, I nearly forgot about that...Yes, a few times now something has happened to the sun, and creatures came out of the darkness. But from what I understand those are very unusual circumstances...

[She tilts her head in thought.]

If the sun ever goes dark again, there are a few safe places you can go. People meet at the Denny, or gather in the temple if it's open. Those are just good places to go when there's any kind of trouble, really.

[timaeus_testified]

[And there it is. He had expected something awful. Every story and every situation with Sburb has another shoe. It falls like an executioner’s axe every time.

He lightly lays his hand on the hilt of the katana and lets it go.] And where do the defenders go? Anything you can tell me about these creatures? Speed. Defenses. Attack patterns?

If not you. Who can?

[hurricane_clown]

[.....

Karako could!

...... or he could if he could talk, which he can't.

Usually he's a pretty happy clown, as most could attest--or if he isn't, it's not really speech-related. But once in a while he finds himself just totally frustrated by this barrier. He's trying to think of someone who could answer those questions, anyone, just in case Lillie can't--

But he can't. The hardshell bug didn't talk; he is reasonably sure they can't. People who can talk, do.

So... this is. Awkward? He hopes Lillie knows someone!]

[flower_of_innocence]

[Oh dear. With this particular aspect of the conversation she may have bitten off a little more than she can chew. As insightful and observant as she is, Lillie is no strategist, and certainly not an expert on combat.]

Um...I'm not much of a fighter myself, but everyone who is tends to group up in those places and help hold out against threats. If you want to know more about things like that, you might be able to ask Tim...

[It's...probably okay to volunteer him for info-gathering, right?]

I think he's been here longer than most of us.

[timaeus_testified]

[His left eyebrow slowly raises as he watches Clown Troll have some kind of struggle. What he wouldn't give for a translator right now. He opts instead to hold up both his hands.] Easy, dude. You've done a lot to help and I appreciate the fuck out of it.

[He wishes he could communicate better but that might be able to be solved at some point. Or at least the gap bridged somehow. He'll think on it. Dirk looks to Lillie and nods, settling himself back down. Combat with the darkness creatures, ask Tim. Simple enough.] What caused the sun to go dark? Last I checked that's a world ending sort of thing.