lifeaftr | May Intro: I'll Be Scrolling Through Your Shrine

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May Intro: I'll Be Scrolling Through Your Shrine

INTRO LOG: MAY

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: May 4th and onward
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

With potentially odd dreams connecting you to people you've never met, in addition to the dream-lecture only recently received from a horned rabbit, LifeAftr surely doesn't need to try to be disconcerting upon arrival - and yet, it somehow continues to go the extra mile. While new arrivals will find themselves upon the now (mostly) safe shores of Ensō, there is one, small problem with where, precisely, they've happened to appear.

Chamber of Glyphs: It Was Written On Your Wall
Within the temple of the Storyteller, one may find a very special room. Betwixt the reality of waking and dreams, the Chamber of Glyphs appears to hold many unique features that allow it to appear wherever one may seek it, both in waking and sleep.

It is not, however, a good room to arrive within. Those seeking out the newest members of LifeAftr's adventuring party - and those who are simply looking to draw - will be greeted, upon entering the Chamber of Glyphs, with the most alarming sight. The small pile of backpacks, unattended, might be the first thing you notice, as well as the fact that they all seem to be adorned with names of those you might not know. Or the names of those that you do, but haven't seen in some time. Perhaps you met them in a dream...

And those of you who are newly arrived, you'll be able to see them searching. Unable to break the barrier between you with sound, you might feel the urge to wave your hands for attention, attracting searching eyes to the walls. Walls that you are now a part of. Hopefully this reduction to the second dimension is only temporary.

Those who took part in April's Test Drive Meme may have the benefit of familiarity, for what is etched onto the walls of the Chamber are never lacking life, regardless of the matter used to draw, paint, or sketch those contents.

With maneuverability somewhat akin to a sidescroller - always left or right, up and down, but never outward - the variety of scenes, animals, places, objects, and more are simply all the more to your advantage. Leap to the vantage point necessary to be noticed, as your fellow adventurers may be able to help you out of this predicament with a simple offer of their hand to tug you off the wall. It's an easy solution to your predicament, at least! All they need to do is take your hand to free you from your two-dimensional containment.

If it proves more difficult...well, at the least they know you're there to point out thanks to a very tired Storyteller, who will be certain to let anyone in the vicinity know that you're in need of help within the Chamber of Glyphs, before one of the many, many monsters that have been scribbled onto stone lay claim to you instead.

What kind of monsters, you ask? All of them, of course.

Ensō: Rain Hell
But maybe you don't wake up written on the walls! Maybe you're just relieved to get unstuck from those walls and need a breath of fresh air. Or maybe you don't have any reason to go poking around in search of new arrivals at all. That does not mean, however, that you won't be encountering a new arrival of your own in the interim.

The sky is clouded over and gray, despite the sun overhead and the generally warm weather. The nights are filmed over with a screen of pale dust. This has little to do with the forecast and more to do with the volcanic eruption that occurred just a few weeks prior, on another island in the archipelago. You don't need to worry about the nature of the ash still drifting on the wind currents - aside from the more standard obstruction of sight and airways, it is, at this point, more or less perfectly ordinary. Though if you've got some fragile lungs, you might want to stay out of it as much as possible.

More important is the creature that the hazy cast of ash and dust has coaxed out of hiding. Perhaps you've heard of it in folklore: resplendent with dark gray, furry wings, and glistening red eyes. Or, perhaps, you're less fortunate, and you've no cultural experience regarding the strange monster known colloquially only as...Mothman.

At over seven feet tall and with a wingspan of about fifteen feet, the Mothman makes for far more fearsome a sight than it does a threat. For all intents and purposes, despite the devilish red of its glowing eyes and its large, hairy stature, the Mothman is ultimately quite harmless. It does, however, tend to inspire paranoia in fear in the hearts and minds of those it encounters. And this smokescreen in the air has created the perfect environment for it to hunt.

It doesn't want your flesh, or your bones, or anything so base. It only wants your mind, in a sense; your fear and whatever primal terror it may ignite by preying on your paranoia. It will stalk you, rustling the leaves behind you, snapping twigs to your left, allowing you a glimpse of bright crimson eyes before dispersing into the surrounding, ashy murk. The good news is that once it has you scared, it has no intention of sticking around - and its wings makes it incredibly fast, when it wants to be. Anyone who attempts to attack it directly will discover just how speedy it can be, assuming that the air from its wingbeats don't end up pinning you flat to the ground from the sheer force.

The Mothman can be killed, most likely...but there are a lot of you, and only one cryptid for an entire island. It's not likely to want to stay in one place if it feels it's outnumbered, or that it's about to be attacked by someone who isn't so easily stricken by the fear and suspicion it endeavors to ignite. Those who wish to escape it can at least take heart in the fact that the Mothman abhors open spaces, largely preferring the sanctuary of woodland and greenery; all one has to do is reach Ensō's shores to be largely safe from its influence.

Though you could try killing it too, of course. If you wanted.

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

[Tim glances up, eyebrows lifting. Doesn't recognize whoever this is, though that's not saying much. She might be new. Or he might be losing it. It's a toss-up. Not that the possibility really scares him, much. Not many things do these days.]

Can't say the same sounds familiar. Sorry. You...got any more of a description of him than that?

[Someone close to her, no doubt. He just doesn't know to what extent.]

Hmmm.

[It's just so hard to put him into words. A physical description would be best and while she thinks super handsome is more than enough to go on, she's aware that it's probably. Not.]

Soooo he's super tall and he's got this soft, dark hair and, oh! His eyes are so blue, it's like looking at the sky. Well, a sky without all the ash. You see someone like that? He was probably looking for me too.

I haven't, no.

[A tried shrug, a glance down at the counter. Always sucks to be the bearer of bad news. But sometimes it's inescapable. Sometimes he's just gotta be the guy to say: sorry, but you're stuck here, and if you knew anyone from home, they're probably not around here anymore.]

You have a name he'd be asking about?

[To her, it's almost devastating, until she realizes that Cent must exist somewhere on the island. It's a big place, by the look of it. The vast area is going to take some time to get through, but she's confident they'll find their way back together. That's how they've always been.]

It's Two.

[And she holds up two whole fingers to show she does, in fact, mean the number.]

He might ask for Lady Two, but that's still definitely me.

...Two, like the number?

[And - yep. She means like the number. Not the weirdest name he's heard, but still, it's a little concerning. Kidwun and Kittu weren't all that long ago, were they? Not really. And they were kids - easier to accept than someone who definitely looks older than that.]

Huh. Uh, well, I'll keep an eye out. How's that sound?

That would be sooo nice. I'm gonna start checking out other areas, so I don't want him to think I'm not here.

[It's a huge relief, actually. This guy seems pretty set up in this place, so she can't imagine him ambling off. Shopkeepers tend to stay near their wares.]

Who are you, anyway?

Tim.

[That's the only name he gives. It's the only name he's ever really needed.]

You try the Stones yet? [He digs his own Stone out of his pocket and wiggles it indicatively. Not everyone can think of to just...try dialing someone up on their rock, though the screen set into it might indicate that it's not just any old rock.]

Yeah, but mine's totally broken. He's not picking up at all.

[A deterrent? Not in the slightest. All that means is she has to search with her own eyes and in the meantime, she fishes out her stone to slide across the counter for Tim to inspect. It's absolutely 100% perfectly operational.]

Oh, can I try yours? I promise I'll give it right back.

If he's not picking up, that means he's not here.

[He's probably the worst person to break this kind of news to someone, but here it is. Falls to him. Fine. Well, if he has to be the resident dick, there are worse things to be. There are worse things he's been.]

[The mere implication that he isn't around makes her shudder and weighs her heart down. That's just impossible, honestly. But since she can't use his handy iStone, she slides her own rock back into her palm.]

Oh, he's here. He's probably just, you know, busy trying to protect people and learning about the place. He's so smart and he loves learning about new, exotic places and this is as exotic as it gets.

Look, I'm not saying he's not.

[He sighs. Fuck, why's he gotta be the guy to crack everyone's perfect narrative. Probably because he's the world's best means of fracturing said narrative, no matter whose it is.]

I'm just saying you're gonna have to prepare for that possibility. Okay?

[It goes in one ear and out of the other. Dwelling on that thought is making her sick to her stomach and she can't even believe it! It's not a possibility! It's the most impossible thought in the world, actually. She misses him so much already and it's only been a few hours.]

I don't even want to think about it. That's just-it would be so sad.

[Also it would crush her to the core. She needs her Boy. Also, he's the only one that can pinch her cheeks to promote circulation. Who else is gonna do that for her?? She can't pinch herself. Time to shake off that terrible thought and move to the next one.]

Oh, and-I need to find my sisters too. Any chance you've seen them? One, Three, Four or Five?

Can't say they sound familiar. Sorry.

[Great. Just fucking great. Why's he gotta be the killjoy. Why is this his designated role. It's not like he's going to complain aloud. It just sucks to be the guy who's constantly gotta do it.]

Like I said, you might have to face the reality that you're here alone. There might not be any helping that.

[Well, she's not going to think about that all for any amount of time. One's probably gathering intel and her other sisters-they're probably doing their own thing. The point is, she's done talking about it now that she knows they haven't been to this building.]

Well, guess I'm not completely alone. Looks like a bunch of people are stuck here.

[Including her boo and her sisters Wherever They Are!!! It'd be awesome if they contacted her!!]

Yeah. New people arrive every month, usually. [Regular as clockwork. Or...regular as the tide, for a slightly more fitting comparison.]

I'd put the numbers at about...sixty or seventy, give or take. People from all over. Different worlds and stuff. They get dragged here and just kinda dropped on the shore, usually.

[He says "usually" because sometimes people aren't dropped on the shore.]

Whoa, that's amazing. It's kinda like forced vacation, huh? A seaside paradise for all of us to share.

[Except so far it hasn't been great and she's like, sick of all the ash, but whatever.]

Wish I had time to pack my bags. Not that this one-[She gives her sack a little shake-]-isn't great and all. I just want my own things, you know? Oh well, guess we'll be going home soon enough.

Not really a paradise, no. Shit happens here too often for that.

[He folds his arms. There's a point where someone's willful optimism gets to be borderline fantasy, and he thinks she's well and truly crossed it. Not that she wasn't already living there to start with.]

Oh? You gotta plan to get outta here?

Not exactly, but One will. She's so smart-I'm sure she'll find a way to get us all home when she, you know, shows up.

[That's the big plan! Wait for other people and just beat stuff up until the end.]

What kind of stuff happens here? You got a lot of monsters or something?

[Tim shuts his eyes tiredly. Right. When her sister shows up. What do you do with someone so inadvisably and inconsolably sanguine about these things? Someone who won't even listen?]

You could say that, yeah. Listen, I'm not so sure you should bank everything on your sister showing up.

Maybe you're right, but I'm still gonna hope she does.

[If she doesn't show up, then Two just has to find a way back to her sisters. Easy peasy. Dragons can probably help with this kind of stuff? She's not sure. The point is, this isn't forever.

And this guy has another point and maybe this is what One trained them all for. All she has to do is remember the laws they were sent and-

Well, treat this like another land they're having to overtake.]

So who is charge around here anyway? I know about the rabbit intoner, but is there some kind of lord of the island too?

Intoner? You mean like - god?

[He frowns slightly. Navigating cross-world differences are easier when people aren't referencing things unbidden, but she's new. That's not her fault.]

But, uh...no, don't think so. Storyteller's the only one who's really here to give any of us instruction or information, but other than that, no one.

Yeah, god. Intoner. It's all the same thing, you know?

[It'd be interesting to see what sort of creature that rabbit could summon with their song and she wants to ask. It's weird they don't have a number designation though. She was hoping they had a weird, fuzzy sibling out there named Six. It's kind of tragic, actually, but at least she doesn't need to feel bad about not sending them letters.]

Guess that makes it easier, huh? When there's only one. Soooo is the Storyteller nice or what? You happy with them?

Dunno what that means.

[He's frank about it, at least. He already knows he's not the smartest guy in the world, and won't argue against anyone who pegs him as some kind of moron. They're probably right, as far as he's concerned.]

Uh...different people will tell you different answers to that.

[Look, if you don't form a coup within five minutes of being somewhere, what's the point of anything.

But by the sound of it, she's gonna have to investigate a little more. Or rather, find her sister and let her investigate, while her and Cent have their well deserved vacation. It's not like hhere]

Guess I'll just ask around, which means I should probably get going. Hey, and don't forget to call if you see my sisters or Cent, okay? Remember, my name is Two.

I have no idea what any of them look like.

[He's not befuddled as much as he's just wry, flat, as if that might compensate for the fact that this girl seems to exist in a plane entirely removed from everyone else, where things always happen exactly as anticipated and nothing ever goes wrong.]

[A pity she's gonna learn soon how off-kilter that is.]

May Intro: I'll Be Scrolling Through Your Shrine

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