lifeaftr | June Intro: Playing With Your Mind

June Intro: Playing With Your Mind

INTRO LOG: JUNE

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

New travelers to our shores are in luck, in many ways - they are arriving on the decadent, raucous island of Io, where the local Avatar of Celebration resides. Here, you can bask in enjoyment of basics such as food and drink, as well as more extravagant affairs, such as sweeping bathhouses, sprawling campsites, rich tea gardens, and verdant vineyards.

Spinning Me Around and Around
If you are just arriving on Io, opening your eyes on the shores of LifeAftr for the very first time, it will be to...a potentially very rude awakening. More specifically, it will be to the sound of loud cracks and booms overhead.

You've arrived at Io's campsite, which has come fully stocked with all sorts of cooked meats, roasted vegetables, colorful tents, drinks of every sort, and, most importantly, fireworks. It seems Io is thrilled to welcome you to LifeAftr in the form of multi-colored starbursts, exploding out across the sky in flares of showering sparks. Particularly once the sun sets, the view will be spectacular.

If you go poking around in the containers and sheds where the fireworks are kept, you'll also find all manner of strange and exciting and potentially unfamiliar variants. You can find all kinds of handheld sparklers, in addition to steel wool fireworks, handheld firecrackers, confetti poppers, and little boxes of pop pop snappers for your general use and perusal.

The message here is clear: Io wants you to celebrate your arrival! So relax! Have fun! Make some noise! Watch some colors and explosions of light, and enjoy yourself!

And try not to set anything on fire.

Just Like a Carnival
It isn't all fun and games, however. Unfortunately, it's about to get a lot less fun around here...or a lot more, depending on who you ask.

After a month or so on Io, the local avatar, Eleu, has begun to notice that a great deal of little things are starting to go missing. Bottles of wine, tents, tea leaves...people seem to be lifting whatever they please from the island and bringing it with them back to Ensō. That won't do at all. For the next few days, if any of the bees buzzing lazily about the island catch you stealing, they will approach you and ask you to stop. They will not, however, take any definitive action to stop you - they can only warn you that what you are doing may disrupt things beyond Eleu's control.

Unfortunately, by now, it's already too late. Out of the corner of your eye, regardless of your place in things - whether you were complicit in island theft, whether you are newly arrived and therefore innocent, whether you only watched on the sidelines, or whether you were totally unaware - you'll start to see it. It will peek out from behind trees and the corners of buildings.

Smiling.

This...entity probably has a name. For the purposes of the games you've been playing with this island, however, you really only need to call it what it is: the Clown Box. Accompanied almost always by the tinkle of chimes and a soft, sinister chuckling, it is unclear how the Box manages to travel about, much less disappear if you try to approach.

For the first week or so of June, be prepared to find the Clown Box lingering all over Io, particularly near the mana pool. If it looks like you're going to try and lift something off the island, something that does not belong to you - the Clown Box may retaliate. This retaliation largely occurs in the form of a hand that appears to be gloved in silky, glittering material and colorfully polka-dotted cloth, slinking out to beckon at you, eerily. It seems unwilling or unable to actually hurt you directly, but it will grow incredibly persistent if you don't acknowledge it, and stop popping up all over Io with increasing frequency.

The Clown Box can be appeased by giving it a gift. What it's really after are perceived thieves: return something you have stolen, and the Box will vanish as quickly as it appeared. However, the Box is also not terribly discerning in what it is given, as long as it is something that did, at some point, belong to you. And, if you give it enough offerings, you might end up with a gift of your own. Those who give the Clown Box multiple offerings may receive any of the following:

[ ♆ ] Rubber Duck: These novelty toys don't seem to do anything in particular, other than be cute and colorful and utter happy little honks when squeezed. But there's a slight chance you might end up with a toy that seems...oddly relevant to your personal life. It might even be designed after you. Best not to question it. Just back away from the Clown Box, slowly, and be sure to thank it for the gift...

[ ♆ ] Snotgun: What appears to be an ordinary shotgun is anything but, as one will find out by firing it, it only shoots blobs of bright green acid capable of melting just about anything. So be careful not to aim it at any of your friends.

[ ♆ ] Silk Handkerchief: There's nothing particularly special about these tri-colored squares of cloth...except that no matter what you do to them, they will not stain, tear, or fade. They can be used to clean just about anything, or even serve as a delightful party trick.

[ ♆ ] A Very Shiny Nose: A bright red foam nose, easily attached to most human-shaped faces. All this thing does is inspire a general proclivity for causing mischief and trickery, though mostly of the light-hearted kind. However, the longer the nose is left in place, the more some pranks may skew toward the downright dangerous...

You are free to RNG any of the above rewards your character gets, or pick from the list above as you like! Bear in mind that the Clown Box is a stingy creature - it will not give more than one reward to any one person, though nothing is stopping you from trading others for any gifts they may have received.

The Clown Box will cease being quite so persistent in tailing characters by June 7th, but it won't go away completely. You can still catch glimpses of it from time to time, waiting, watching, giggling quietly to itself. Even if you try to attack it, enchant it, set it on fire, you'll find that these attacks are essentially useless; it will vanish before any of them connect, and when it returns, it will certainly be to menace you further.

It isn't doing anything other than scaring you, though.

Yet.

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

Not really.

[Tim's just a latent arsonist with intrusive thoughts that occasionally present themselves in the form of warped instincts that no one else might very well relate to. No biggie.]

And...no. You just...you flick it on. With your thumb. [He mimes the act of flicking on a lighter. Command word. Is that a magic thing? Hell if Tim knows.]

You want me to...? [He gestures loosely at the lighter. He can turn it on for you, buddy. It's fine.]

[ Fortunately, Tim's not the first weirdo Fjord's ever come across. While he's a little wary about the fact he just handed a whole bunch of potential poking sticks to the dude, he's reasonably certain he can see and dodge one coming for his eye in time. So shit's cool.

He observes the other's gesticulation before he reconsiders the lighter. The proud part of him wants to keep trying on his own. The sociable part takes over. ]

Trade ya back.

[ He gives over the lighter and makes to take the box of sparklers back. Assuming he can, Fjord will take one of the little sticks out and hold the grainy fuse side towards Tim. ]

[It's short work to light one of the sparklers up and then hold it up at the middle, offering the bottom for Fjord to grasp. Still, he goes slow. Tries to make the process as clear as possible, so that it's apparent what he's doing.]

Like that. Most of them only go off for a few minutes, if that. Don't last very long, but they're nice to look at.

[And kids love them too, he's learned. Ren does, anyway. But she loves most things.]

[ The half-orc jolts a little at seeing the lighter do its thing. It's like... a mini torch. ]

Outstanding...

[ He murmurs before directing his attention to the sparkler. Fjord takes it, gives it a little wriggle to see how easily it might be put out. While impressed by the flame's apparent fortitude on the fuse from the experiment, he doesn't find much else of interest about it. ]

You havin' fun?

[ Fjord asks the other, lazily making a figure-8 in sparks with a flick of his wrist. ]

[Is there a graceful way to say "no" and still be polite? Tim grimaces slightly, which is not really a smile, but the closest he can get to on demand.]

Well, kids tend to like them.

[That...probably comes across as patronizing, huh?]

I mean - there's not a whole lot of point to them. I guess.

[ Fjord and Tim are playing the same sort of politesse poker right now - how to say they're bored without possibly putting down someone who might be enjoying the moment?

The half-orc nods, bouncing the stick he has. ]

I took the liberty of taking a few other things from the same place I got these. If you'd be amenable, I wouldn't mind makin' use of your lighter to understand what their capabilities might be.

[ Fjord reaches into the bag at his hip, where he'd brought out the sparklers. He digs out a pack of poppers, firecrackers, one of the steel wool fireworks, and a box of snap-poppers he's found, shifting them between his hands to better display them to the human. ]

Uh, you mean some of the bigger - oh, okay.

[His first thought was of the big fireworks, the kind you're supposed to launch into the fucking sky. But the others...well, looks like this guy got a full sample of everything there was to offer.]

[He flicks a finger at the box of snap-poppers with a nod.]

These things here, you can just toss 'em at the ground. They make kind of a pop. These two - [he says, pointing at the poppers and firecrackers,] - you're gonna light 'em up and then throw 'em somewhere so that you don't burn yourself.

[ He listens to the other's explanation of what each item he offers does. He'd be stupid not to consider it. While Fjord's certainly prone to being foolish, he isn't stupid. ]

So what I'm gettin' is these are all... harmless? More or less?

[ Yeah, he's... a little disappointed? Just because he stockpiled a good portion of these fireworks thinking he might be able to use them for a viable mean of trade or practical use. Apparently not. ]

That 'lighter' of yours... are you willin' to trade for it?

Not permanently.

[Sorry, Fjord, but Tim is a chain-smoker with a terrible habit, and if he weren't trying to quit, he's a burgeoning arsonist to boot. This lighter is one of the most important and useful tools he has.]

Good news is that there's ways to get stuff if you ask the, uh, Storyteller. Local god. You probably had a dream with them in it. Looks like a rabbit? That was real, that happened.

...I mean, pretty much any firework can be used to set something on fire if you know what you're doing.

[ Hey, it was worth a shot. Fjord doesn't look put out, only tilts his head curiously. The dude doesn't even know what all he's got to offer for trade, after all, so he gathers the lighter must be pretty important.

Before he can point it out, the other man brings up the rabbit. The little smile that had been forming on his face relaxes with surprise. ]

I appreciate your sayin' that. I know how to start a fire on my own - it just takes a bit more effort than that... curious curio of yours.

If it's alright to ask, is that somethin' you've had success with in the past? Askin' the Storyteller for boons?

Works well enough, unless they're...I dunno, missing or something. Pretty reliable, though.

[Missing, he says, like they haven't given warning and taken off to scout out new islands on their own. Holdover from dealing with Ozuma, who was pretty thoroughly out of commission when Tim was back in Sol. Not great.]

It's how I got these. [He digs out a tin of cigarettes and flicks it open. They're not nicotine, at least. An herbal blend, in hopes that it'll make him a little less likely to try and chain-smoke all his stresses away.]

Refills automatically for about three months.

Are we only able to speak with 'em through our dreams?

[ Fjord dutifully takes a look at the cigarettes, which aren't at all a foreign concept to him. It's kind of an upscale way of enjoying a smoke considering most people he'd known with the habit have a pipe and keep their herb in the same sort of tin, so what he gathers is that the Storyteller is wiling to hand out luxury items. ]

Any sorta... particular ritual to it?

You can talk to them at their Temple too, if you want. No guarantee they'll answer.

[He slips the tin back into his pocket with a shrug. He advertises his horrible habit much more than he does his early attempts to quit, which is about as indicative of Tim as a person as it's possible to be.]

No ritual, far as I know. There's Storytellings, but those happen once a month. Basically just people telling each other stories around a campfire.

[ Fjord's not one to judge; besides, where he's from, smoking isn't even considered a bad habit, just an expensive one. Most people are too concerned not dying of things like starvation, war, or monsters to be connecting simple luxuries to disease.

What Tim tells him reminds Fjord of the Storyteller's dream and confirms some details for him. ]

I see. Thank you clearin' that up.

Now you mentioned bein' able to start a fire if you use these things the right way.

[ He gestures with the handfuls of fireworks. ]

Any chance you'd be open to a demonstration?

Like...lighting them up, or literally blowing something up?

[The fucked up thing is that he thinks he kind of wants to. Just set one of those tents on fire and see what happens. What'll happen is that it'll be on fire, but something about it might release some of the itch that lives underneath his skin, skittering and persistent.]

[He really shouldn't.]

'Cause I don't think people here wanna see anything set on fire. I'm not sure the god of this island would like it, either.

Seriously?

[ Fjord gives an expansive gesture towards the sky at large, where fireworks are still ringing out, then over towards the bonfire. ]

There's tons of shit blowin' up and on fire! Sorry. [ Some of his sailor slipped out of his polite boy persona. ] I mean, so long as we just take some wood or somethin' down the shore a pace, what's the harm?

[ See, if it helps, Tim, he's not condoning anyone get hurt... except for maybe two dumbfucks playing with fireworks. ]

[When he puts it like that...]

[Tim's gaze slides away as he chews on his lower lip, trying to act as though the suggestion isn't as tempting as it is. He doesn't need another vice. He doesn't need something to latch his hands into, to drive him up the wall, to choke out his lungs and make him cough.]

[But it might ease some of the knots of tension that have always lived just beneath his shoulders and in his chest.]

[Deep breath.]

...all right. 'Long as we find something that's not - I mean, I don't want to set anyone's tent on fire or anything like that.

Hell yeah!

[ Fjord might not be a pyromaniac, but he could sure as hell use a distraction to help him better settle in with all this weirdness. There are only a few things that can do that for him now. ]

I assume there's gotta be some spare firewood around these bonfires. Barrin' that, I think I see a few trees yonder. How uh...

[ Fjord gives Tim a once-over. ]

How strong are you? Cuz I can fell a tree, but draggin' it to shore's a different matter.

Not very. Just a normal human over here.

[And one with respiratory issues on top of it. Another reason that he's been trying to shed that chain-smoking hobby; his lungs don't need the extra chokehold, thanks.]

[He nods, and starts moving for one of the sheds set up by the bonfires.]

There's probably some firewood in some of these sheds we can use, though. This island pretty much provides for anything. Which is a nice change of pace.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

June Intro: Playing With Your Mind

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject