lifeaftr | January Intro: It Grips Me

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He raises both eyebrows and forces them to settle back down. That first answer has a lot to it. He's not sure how to tread around some of it. He looks away and moves his blond bangs away from his eyes.]

...so people sometimes leave and come back. Uh, how do they leave? You don't have to answer if that's uncomfortable.

[But it bothers him. Roxy could up and leave but she would just sleep wander. Same thing? Or no?]

[It's uncomfortable. Disheartening for her-not so much for others, but it's a fact of island life. So while she clearly doesn't like talking about it, it's an explanation she has to give.]

I don't know how that kind of thing happens. You can't call them on the pretty rocks anymore and you don't get to hear their voice again. They get lost and go away. You don't see them leave.

[He internally winces. He stepped in it even if he would agree he needed to know.]

...okay that explains the rock in my pack. [Dirk takes it out of his pack and turns it over in his hands. It looks like a rock except, he pauses and brushes his fingers over the display screen.]

Thank you for telling me. Before I ask anything else, is there any answer you want from this island, the gods, or me? You've helped me out and I feel like that's the least I can do in return.

[He raises his head but his fingers are still tracing over the screen.] Doesn't have to be taken up now. The offer will be open to you as long as I'm here.

[There are so many questions she could ask-things about his world, about him, about family and friends and people who he might know-

But her gazes fixes on the way he touches the rock, treating it like the incredible treasure it is and she has to wonder about the item he was playing with before.]

What's that thing you were holding earlier? That weird stick.

The flat thing? It's a rocket board. [He lays his hand on the flat surface of the board. It's been with him through quite a lot of troubles. He runs his hand down to the rocket exhausts.]

I used to use it to cross quite a bit of distance. That changed in recent times but...you don't leave a loyal friend broken and in sore need of repair. I'll figure a way to fix them.

[His sword is another matter. So far it seems to hold up. He gently pockets the rock and pats it. He'll treat it carefully. This is a way to talk to everyone.]

Can you tell me how the rock works? I want to be sure to use it properly.

You think of someone you want to talk to and say 'hello' and then their voice comes through. You find their heart and that's it.

[So easy, Dirk!! Unlike riding rocket boards, apparently. She hobbles near, kneeling down to get a better look at the damaged equipment. It looks like a weird robot? But she doesn't know how to fix things like this and it's important to him, obviously-enough to call them a friend.]

There are people who can fix this stuff here. Your rocket board will feel better very soon.

[He pauses at the wording then nods, accepting it.] It was one of the first things I ever truly built myself.

[He'd designed it and built it from scratch. It had been at the time a one-up man's ship of his ancestor. Now he looks back...Maybe it was just the joy of creating something new.]

Thank you for your explanations and for your help, Ren. It's majorly appreciated. I'll see what I can contribute to the tech side of things here. Maybe it will be something simple, but building things is what I'm good at above all else.

[That makes her take a closer look at this broken board, kneeling down to get a better view from the ground. It's a special friend then. Especially so since it's something he made.

And, well, technology is limited in general, but she does know one person that has incredible power. He may not be able to do it, but he can surf. This is kind of like a surfboard. He probably knows how to fix things like that.]

Okay, and you should ask Uncle Taako to fix your board. He can make things out of air. He could do that kind of thing for you.

I can fix it myself but I need to know what’s even wrong first.

[He taps his board and removes his shades too.] Can he make tools? That’s what I need more than anything else.

I can take apart both of these and see what damage happened. [He taps his shadeswith a thought about the wiring and delicate circuits.]

...if he can I’ll need to make suitable trade in return.

Uncle Taako can do anything.

[Which is pretty much her saying she has no idea and he'll probably find a way, especially if this guy has some awesome treasures to trade.]

Okay, cool. I'll have to look them up when I'm settled in.

[He checks his gear and looks around the temple. His brows furrow but his expression remains the same thoughtful look.]

...will the papers let me leave? Or are we stuck here?

You can leave. If they come up to you, you say 'hey stop that' or 'don't be mean' and they might go away.

[Might, being the key word.]

I'll come with you.

[They're nice to her, most of the time. Sometimes.]

January Intro: It Grips Me

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