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

[alchemisted]

[Alfor follows along, even if leaving the thing is still making him feel unsettled.]

If something can contain a black hole and can't contain that sort of creature... that would make me worry all the more about the creature.

[Really.] ...they can't breed, can they?

[It takes two to, erm, tango after all.]

[thermalwind]

[He almost smacks into a tree with how fast he jerks his head to look at Alfor. The thought of two Fusterclucks 'breeding' is enough to turn his stomach. He dodges around the tree.]

I don't think so. I really hope they can't! [Keith coughs and his face turns a shade paler.]

...They've been here a while. Longer than I have and there hasn't been any more of them.

[alchemisted]

[Sorry, Keith. For what it's worth, Alfor is disturbed by the thought of it too. He does however hide a smile when he sees Keith nearly take himself out with a tree. Good dodge though. Ahem.]

Then let's hope that means that they can't. I wouldn't want to think otherwise.

[At all. Two of those things is more than enough. Thinking of the pitter patter of little stolen feet of baby fusterclucks turns his stomach.]

[thermalwind]

...we'll keep an eye on them. We need to know where they are anyway, keeping a watch on what they're doing might clue us in on how to defeat them. [He takes him to the right, putting them on a lesser path through the forest marked by subtle knife scars on the trees.

It doesn't hurt the trees overly much and he can look up and see if he's on one of his own routes.]

Any time I've scouted them they just endlessly roll everywhere. The more immediate threats have some form of messing with your head. There's a kind of beast that sings at the ocean edge to lure people into the water. That only happens at night, but be wary. Don't touch them with your hands. Weapons only or you'll get stuck to their side and, they'll eat you.

I'll draw it at the temple.

[alchemisted]

With any luck.

[Though Alfor doesn't particularly enjoy leaving things to luck. And he's also aware how often luck goes bad and he'd rather avoid that too. But luck aside, Keith's idea is a good one. Observe. Keep an eye on it, look for any particular clues about weaknesses, behavior.

He follows along, noticing the marks left on the trees as they pass. Clever.]

Oh. Well that sounds horrifying. I'll do my best to steer clear. I'd really rather avoid being eaten. It's always been one of my goals.

[thermalwind]

It’s a pretty common goal. [Keith grins at him. His smile slips away as he steps out into the open beyond the trees. The ruined temple lies ahead of him. Vines cover parts of the stone walls. Keith looks up and moves into the open as the papers flow up over the trees and down towards the temple itself.]

This is the temple of Storyteller. They will talk to you if you ask for an audience. ...I think we need to work with them to get anywhere with the mysteries of these islands.

[The papers swirl in a twisting curve into the temple itself. Keith watches as some animals and people are drawn inside in flurries of papers.]

So, the papers are guards.

[alchemisted]

Mysteries indeed...

[He murmurs, but he nods in agreement.] If they're willing to work with us, then it would be a shame not to work together.

[Alfor is a Paladin for Teamwork. Typical, really.

He does however, frown at the papers as they're pointed out,] Ah. Yes. We're well acquainted.

[thermalwind]

They pick you out as a troublemaker? [He raises an eyebrow. Oh he's heard stories but seeing for himself is believing. Not that he doubts Coran. Coran has a very odd past that he's heard bits of.

It's enough to make him wonder what kind of life he led. Keith steps closer to the papers and pokes one. They swarm him and he lets out a startled yell.

They sweep him up and try to bear him away. His sword glows purple and the bayard a solid red as it turns into a sword too. It's like watching a cat being held wrong by a vet.]

[alchemisted]

Troublemaker?

[Alfor repeats, affronted. But the grin escapes half a moment later.] Is that what got their attention? Well, I can't fault them for that. I've been accused of having a knack for finding trouble before.

[But he usually gets out of it! ...with help sometimes.

But then oh.

Oh. There goes Keith and... honestly he's trying not to laugh.] I'm not sure how to help here!

[Fighting paper is not his strong suit but his bayard is out and in sword-form as well. Maybe if he distracts some of them--

Except nope, that's working way too well, and Alfor finds himself with a sub-swarm of his own.]

[thermalwind]

I only poked one! [He busses but the papers don’t care. They collide into a full on swarm and lift both of them. Keith grabs Alfor’s arm to keep from being separated from him. Together they’re whisked into the temple and dropped on the floor. Splatters of black ink mark the front of Keith’s armor. He sighs and checks the tie on his hair. It’s still kept back out of his way.
Cool.]

Looks like they could use an education on what is really a threat. [The Bayard goes into the clip on his side and the knife to the sheathe on his back. He grumbles as he rolls to his feet and offers a hand to his Altean comrade.] I can’t fault anything that sees me as trouble either. I used to be...pretty good at finding it or charging into it.

[He has a moment of sheepish embarrassment and adds,] Sometimes still do. But, I think that’s part of being a Paladin. Right?

[alchemisted]

This is worse.

[Alfor remarks in a fairly undignified squawk as he finds himself swarmed and lifted and with little to do but swing his sword in a futile arc.

Until he's dropped.

Trying to preserve some of his dignity, he takes the offered hand and rises to his feet. He doesn't bother trying to hide the smile at the question.]

Some might argue otherwise, but yes. I think it likely is. It's hard to simply stand by when others are in trouble, whatever the risks might be. But that's the strength of the paladins, I think. If we're lucky, those of us more prone to leap will have the benefit of more grounded voices as well, even sharing a common goal.