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

[ideismo]

[And for all his differences to the beasts Alexei knows back home, "Asgore" seems exactly like the sort of thing an Entelexeia would call itself; rather than being disconcerting, however, it's almost nice to have something be vaguely familiar, sideways though it may be.]

Consider it my pleasure. Although, if I may be forgiven for saying so, I'll admit to a measure of curiosity as well - I'm not terribly familiar with any that are quite like you.

[journalname]

[Asgore chuckles faintly.] Yes, that is quite common. Are you a human? Humans seem quite common throughout the different worlds.

[No judgement, just. There's a whole lot of them.]

My people are called monsters. I know that is a pejorative for many people, but in our world, it is simply the name of our species. Muffet is the only other one on the islands, if you have met her?

[ideismo]

I haven't had the pleasure yet, unfortunately, though I imagine that's likely to change eventually. As it stands, I'm human, yes... Although "monster" isn't particularly a pejorative for us, either, where I'm from. As you said, simply a species name. The ones I'm familiar with don't usually talk in any coherent way, however - there are very few that are civilized, for lack of a better term. We have a bit of a rough history with those that are, admittedly, but that's something to be left in the past; I'm just not personally familiar with any of them, that was always left to an acquaintance of mine.

[Duke would probably enjoy this? As much as Duke enjoys anything.]

[journalname]

Oh, I see. Monster body types vary widely, so she does not look very much like me - she actually resembles a bipedal spider.

[Asgore listens to the rest of that without much reaction. Arietta's monsters sounded rather similar to that - more like animals than people, perhaps. There was nothing wrong with that.

And as for a history of conflict, well, what else is new?]

How interesting. There are no..."monster animals" in my world. Everything that is not intelligent is composed of physical matter, the way humans are. We monsters are made mostly of magic, and I suppose that sets us somewhat apart. We have not always had the most peaceful history with humans ourselves.

But, as you say, that is all in the past.

[ideismo]

[Mm...]

You've made your peace with our kind now, then? If not as a species, then personally...?

[It's not pointed; just a matter of curiosity, clarification at most. He's rather familiar with how monster/human conflicts tend to go, after all.]

[journalname]

Oh, yes. I daresay most of my close friends are human, these days.

[The multiverse and all.

Once he might have said that he had a human child, but now...]

[ideismo]

...That's wonderful. I'm glad to hear it.

[For...several reasons, really.]

As for magic, I can't say I've ever heard of anything that's made of it. We are/I> capable of magic, however; I use some myself. It's useful, in its own way.

[journalname]

Really? That is a very rare gift among humans, where I am from. I know it is less so in other worlds, of course. I have likely met more magical humans in my travels than our history can really recall.

[The pages are mostly not perching on him anymore, having flitted off to continue going about their business. He rolls his shoulders and straightens to his full height again, leaning against his stick.]

All monsters can use magic. We consider it an expression of our beings.

[ideismo]

[...That's...impressive, height-wise, lord.]

It was something I chose to study for myself. Most humans where I'm from admittedly don't, though they're capable; I'm not a proper mage, but it...seemed a waste to me, I suppose, to have the potential and not use it.

[journalname]

I can understand that. Magic is very useful to have. The last time I ended up in a world different from my own, everyone's magical abilities were suppressed - it was extremely disconcerting.

[He can't help but wonder how things would have gone otherwise. Maybe some lives could have been saved. Perhaps more likely, someone could have just gone on a superpowered rampage.

Well, everything worked out anyway.]

What sort of magic do you use?

[ideismo]

[...The...last time.]

...If this is something that happens to you often, I can't say whether I pity or envy you.

[It's said reasonably easily, though; a general sense of "good lord" behind it, sure, but nothing terrible.]

My artes cover all elements - again, it just made sense to do so. Fire and ice tend to be where my preferences are, however.

[journalname]

Only once before. Though, I suppose that is far more often than one would expect.

[yeah sometimes life is weird!]

Monsters cannot generally expand their range like that. Fire magic is all I will ever have. But we can learn how to change its color and function - for example, green magic is healing, no matter what form it takes.

[ideismo]

[Oh, this is interesting, actually.]

Healing of yourself, or others? I've modified one of my artes to allow for healing, but it doesn't alter the type, and it only works on myself... I can't heal others, though I know some that can. Our princess is particularly adept at it.

[From the sound of it, this is a good topic? Magic is a good topic.]

[journalname]

Both! Though I think it may be a little less helpful for humans in particular...I know it cannot help with your types of illness.

[He seems uncomfortable for a second, but pushes past it. We don't need to dwell on that now.]

But I have seen it work on injuries for nearly any species! Is healing yourself and healing someone else so different, for your type of magic? For us, it is only a matter of direction.

[ideismo]

[...Ah. Don't worry, he can read a room and he isn't going to ask.]

I wouldn't say it's completely different, but it does require different incantations and knowledge for it to work properly. That, and perhaps an innate talent for it that I don't happen to have.

[It doesn't sound like it bothers him any, it is what it is. Some people are just good at that stuff, some people aren't, some people manage to heal for a pathetic amount but damn if they don't keep trying it anyway.]

[journalname]

[Asgore nods.]

Everyone has their gifts. I have never known of a monster who could master all types of magic. But golly - we do not use incantations at all. How do you discover how to use those?

[ideismo]

[Oh, that's... Hm.]

Well... It's simply how we're taught. The aptitude for using magic is often an innate thing, but the ability to do so has to be taught, and is aided by artifacts to help us cast. Incantations aren't necessary under all circumstances - if it's dire enough we can cast without them - but they help with focus and increase our power. Perhaps it's somewhat of a mental thing, more than physical.

[journalname]

I suppose that makes sense. We channel our magic mentally and emotionally. Children must learn focus and control, of course, but that comes with helping them grow. They do not reach their full power until adulthood, so whatever magical accidents happen are not so bad.

[which is, uh, really lucky for everyone involved]

[ideismo]

So it's simply something done naturally... That's fascinating, if you don't mind my saying so.

[...]

Thank you for indulging me in discussion, also. It's...greatly appreciated.

[journalname]

Oh, not at all! It is nice to get outside and talk to some people. I have been sticking very close to home lately, and I do not live with anyone else.

[If it were the Underground, he probably would've been just fine, but he's not so confident in navigating the islands without his eyes, and not so comfortable regularly calling on others for aid.]

[ideismo]

Well, I can't say I mind the company, and I'm glad that I could offer you that much as well. I've only just arrived as of last month, so I'm still getting my bearings.

[journalname]

Is that so? I have been here for about a year, I suppose. There was a strange period in the middle, when I evidently vanished for a month or two, but it only felt like a day to me. That happens sometimes.

[ideismo]

A year... Good to know I should be prepared to be here for a while, then. I find I have no argument with that. This place is strange, and I have a strong obligation to my own world, but at the moment this is preferable to what I left behind.

[For...many reasons.]

Do you have any recollection of where you went at that time...?

[journalname]

Ah, yes. I can sympathize with that.

None. I think perhaps I did not go anywhere - merely moved into the future a little bit. I have met people here from my own world, but not the same time, so it seems possible. [.....] Then again, I have had memories taken before.

[ideismo]

[...UM???]

Taken by whom, exactly...?