July Intro: Dancing in the Dark

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: JULY

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: July 4th - July 10th
Where: Primarily Io, as well as Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Last month, the island of Io saw a massive overhaul, as Eleu reunited with their lost half, Zum, to take their rightful place as the island's Avatar of Fun. Eleu'zum is aware that Io will not be remaining in the archipelago for much longer, and thus have opted to go all out in the celebration of their rejuvenation.

New arrivals may awake at any of the locations listed below.

Waterslides: Don't Let Me Get Down
For this week only, the waterslides threading throughout the bathhouses of Io have been equipped with some special new features, namely the light-up water jets laid out across the outdoor areas, as well as diving boards placed at extreme heights for thrill seekers. Sure, you could just sit around and relax in the heated water, but where's the fun in that? The supplies at the bathhouses have also been outfitted with wide varieties of inflatable tubes and pool toys, pool noodles, beach balls, dive toys, and squirt guns of every shape, size, and color. And yes, we really do mean every possible type you can imagine.

So have a blast, get soaked, shoot off of high-speed waterslides, or try and avoid the chaos to get a little relaxation time - the choice is yours. But enjoy the bathhouses and pools while you have access to them, before Io disappears.

Go-Karts: Don't Lie Me Down
That new go-kart track by the vineyard is in dire need of some test drivers. With corkscrew turns and twisting roads, those tracks look very much like they might be a tad hazardous, especially if your kart goes off-track...but don't fear! No matter how badly you spin out, you'll find that your kart will never leave the road, thus keeping spectators safe from any and all roadside dangers. However, just because they're safe from you doesn't mean that you're safe from them. You've got plenty of items to use against your fellow racers, but you've got nothing to protect yourself against the turrets mounted at the sides of the tracks, placed for the enjoyment of spectators who feel like getting a little more participatory. The roadside turrets are capable of spitting all sorts of additional threats upon racers: banana peels, balls of fire, jets of water, and so on.

However, bear in mind that this feature is a two-way street; climb onto one of those turrets to target racers, and they'll find that they'll have no difficulty targeting you in retaliation.

Whether you're here to watch, here to race, here to make things difficult, or simply here to place bets and keep score, you've still got plenty of drinks to wash away the shame of defeat, or celebrate your first place victory.

Hedge Maze & Butterfly House: Back into the Easy Days
Newly mounted atop the tea gardens is a brand new butterfly house, hosting a spectacular abundance of gloriously colorful specimens. With jewel-bright wings and unusually bold dispositions, one will find that these butterflies are very, very easy to behold up close. They don't seem to mind visitors at all, and will happily flutter down to light on the hands, head, and shoulders of whoever draws near, assuming they don't swat them away. The butterfly house comes equipped with small dishes of sugar water to feed them, if you desire, though you could just as easily simply spend time here to relax and look out across the island. From up here, you have quite the spectacular view. The tea gardens have also gained a rather grandiose hedge maze threaded around the tea trees. The paler pathways are for leisurely, scenic strolls, or playful games of who can reach the finish line first. The darker pathways, on the other hand, are for the more competitive, as well as the more daredevilish; those who take those pathways will quickly find themselves racing to reach the exit before some rather large bees catch up to them.

Despite their potentially fearsome appearance, these creatures are quite harmless, but there's still nothing quite like turning around and seeing that buzzing loudly after you. If they catch you, the bees will promptly burst into a large cloud of multicolored glitter that will coat you from head to toe. And if anyone has any experience with glitter, that can be quite a pain to get rid of. You'll probably be shaking it out of your hair and brushing it from your joints for weeks.

Rollercoaster & Carnival: Overlooking Trouble Gone Bad
The rollercoaster is the newest addition to the Honeycomb, and it's as much a thrill to behold as it is to ride. There are no lines, no tickets, and no entry fees; simply climb aboard! Once the cart is full, or if no further passengers enter, it will take off at breakneck speeds, twisting and loop-de-looping in a breathtaking series of physics-defying turns and arcs.

That's not all, however. The campsites on Io have also opted to make some slight alterations to celebrate the Avatar's return to form. Those large, colorful tents have gone from mere sites of sleeping and relaxation to a full-blown carnival. There are booths where you can play simple ring-toss games and the like, as well as stands for the acquisition of cotton candy, popcorn, and just about any snack you'd find typical of a carnival...as well as a few flavors that might seem a tad bit unconventional. But, hey - as long as it's here, why not sample what's free to eat? Even if you might run into seaweed ice cream, squid-ink sundaes, crab-cake kettle-corn, and many more besides, peppered among your more ordinary flavors. A small collection of rides have also been provided, of course; what carnival would be fit without them? A carousel with cariborn- or beowolf-styled mounts might be a bit strange to behold at first, but it rides just as well as any other. A small ferris wheel allows you to oversee the sights of Io at the peak of its curve, while whirling teacups can make for a delightful if potentially nausea-inducing escapade.

The island of Io will be disappearing from the archipelago as of July 10th, so you'd better enjoy these additions while you can! For once, there will be no strings attached!

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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

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter may not be terribly familiar with those base colloquialisms, but they don't need to be. They nod at Legion, once, and look to the starting line. A number of colorful bees have helpfully decided to flash in perfect synchronization, their vibrant glow going from deep red to a bright yellow.]

[No time for conversation regarding their last meeting. Only action, which is preferable regardless.]

3 laps decides the victor

[forwearemany]

(Legion is fine with that. The only talking they could do about it would be some variant of "I am sorry I am not used to thinking with organic brain structure" and "HOW CAN YOU STAND IT EVEN HEALTHY ORGANIC PLATFORMS SUCK".

Right now, they just nod their head and make a thumbs up gesture. It's probably very silly looking.)

[hyperlit]

[It turns out that trolls are naturally predisposed to a rapid increase in temper. Who would've thought it? The Drifter certainly wasn't aware in the moment.]

[A thumbs up is a reasonable and ideal way to signal consent. The Drifter turns back to face the starting line in time for the bees to flicker green.]

[That seems like an undeniable signal to proceed.]

[The Drifter floors their kart's "go" pedal and shoots forward.]

[forwearemany]

(Their mind is faster than the Drifter and their body slower; it evens out to them slamming their foot onto the pedal mere miliseconds behind, neck and neck competition.)

[hyperlit]

[The first item the Drifter ever gets is a red shell. If they were wiser to racing ways, they'd slow down to throw it, but they're not. So they merely hurl it at Legion the first chance they get.]

[Their aim is pretty fantastic, though.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion is still fairly new to racing and hasn't actually played any racing videogames, so the shell catches them off guard.

With burst of startled, confused chatter they're brought to a screeching halt.

It might seem like Legion has no chance of catching up anytime soon, but then they aquire a mushroom.

They're catching up quickly: better do something before they bypass the Drifter entirely!)

[hyperlit]

[The shells are deterrents. The mushrooms, boosters? They can't say they're familiar with the patterning here, but this is a new experience for the Drifter in the first place. They're not terribly adept at driving, maneuvering a shape that isn't their own body.]

[Their next item is a star that sparkles in their hand. There's nothing to do but see what it does, and what it does is send the Drifter shooting forward in a shower of sparkles and flashing light.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion is slowing down, and the Drifter is speeding up.

Good thing they just got a blue shell! ...Except of course, now the Drifter is invincible. They don't realize that until they throw it and it doesn't work. Total waste.)

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter still braces for the impact before realizing that their temporary boost has also seemingly made them invincible. Interesting. They're definitely going to try smuggling one of these off the track the next chance they get. Doomed to failure it might be, they'd be remiss if they didn't at least try.]

[In terms of pure skill, however, Legion might be in luck. A few sharp turns throws the Drifter off; they're unused to manipulating a chassis, and it turns slower than they can on pure reflex.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion, at least, has some experience: they had to fly their own spaceship before they joined the Normandy and after they left.

It's definitely not the same, but they're able to take the turns without too much difficulty.

Now they're ahead again. What do?)

[hyperlit]

[Now the Drifter draws their blade.]

[They're competitive, and they've yet to encounter a sport that forbids use of their sword. So they ignite it with a buzz of hard light energy and shoot forward in an attempt to try and sabotage Legion's tires directly.]

[forwearemany]

(As far as Legion is concerned it has been established that use of physical force is acceptable. If it were not, they would not be provided items with which to attack and sabotage each other.

Still though, given how Legion knows the moment they see the Drifter start to move that they're about to draw a weapon, the Drifter might want to reconsider how often they threaten, shoot, and stab things.

Immediately, they begin trying to move out of the Drifter's reach.)

[hyperlit]

[Their steering's a little off when they're trying to do it one-handed, but nonetheless, they're persistent. The sword does get momentarily discarded in favor of the green shell they score when they grab their next item.]

[This one requires some aiming. Luckily, the Drifter is very good at that.]

[forwearemany]

(That they are. The shell hits right on target, bringing Legion's cart to a stop and leaving them wide open for tire slashing.

That said, it may not be such a wise idea: if the Drifter does come close to try and sabotage them, Legion will leap at the Drifter and their kart.)

[hyperlit]

[Wise ideas? Who needs those? The Drifter sees the chance, and they're leaping for it, sword aglow. Time to cut up those tires!]

[When push comes to shove, they're not above fighting dirty to win. Just ask the soccer kid.]

[forwearemany]

(And Legion takes the opportunity to leap at the Drifter and their cart.

If the Drifter is going to sabotage Legion's Kart, they'll just steal theirs.)

[hyperlit]

[THEY HAVE MADE A MISCALCULATION]

[Immediately, they deactivate their blade and fight to retain control of their steering wheel instead. It wouldn't do to accidentally harm someone - again - in the midst of what's meant to be harmless fun.]

[forwearemany]

(That they have.

Fighting like this is probably an exercise in futility: Legion weighs over 300, nearly 400 lbs, and has enough strength to break Drifter's bones with their bare hands if they so wished. That said, they really don't want to hurt the Drifter either, and are thus careful with both their movements and the amount of force they use.

Actually, if they get the Kart to slow down enough, they could probably oust the Drifter entirely, eliminating the need to be careful.

They go for the brakes.)

[hyperlit]

[Their tactics, in these cases, tend to be avoidance and agility, taking advantage of their speed and smaller stature. This isn't going to work; they need this cart.]

[So they do the next best thing, and lean over the side of the cart to start slashing their own tires.]

[Can't steal their kart if it doesn't work son]

[forwearemany]

(That is ...an impressive level of spite and stubbornness.

Legion is diverted from their attempts to slow down the cart and instead swats lightly at the Drifter's arm, in an attempt to prevent this. They're hoping it's possible to get them to drop their sword, but honestly it seems more likely at this point that both karts are going to be ruined and they'll just have to call it a draw.)

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter goes tumbling out of the kart entirely and onto the road. They're lightweight and fast, and not very difficult to throw off balance when hit by something sturdy enough. Legion, with their significant bulk compared to the Drifter's slight figure, is more than enough to bowl them over into the road.]

[They get up quickly all the same.]

[forwearemany]

(Oh no!

They did not, in fact, intend to do that, at least not until they'd brought the cart close to a stop. Immediately, they hit the breaks.

They almost get out to check on them, but then the Drifter gets up. Provided the Drifter does not show any signs of injury, they'll immediately floor it and speed off.)

[hyperlit]

[They're more or less uninjured - not permanently, in any case, which is the important thing. But they're not about to let that stop them, either. Quick as a blink, the Drifter draws their rifle and fires at the stolen kart's tires.]

[They're a very good shot.]

[forwearemany]

(They're glad that the Drifter does not appear to have any significant injuries.)

(The gunshot is right on target: the tire bursts and Legion's stolen kart careens wildly before screeching to a stop.

Now both karts are ruined. After a moment, they get out.)

We believe this qualifies as a draw.

(They chatter.)

It is likely that there are other forms of competition available at the carnival.

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter straightens, coughing very slightly, but they straighten up and lift their chin nonetheless.]

likely
less hazardous

[Drifter, you were the only hazard here. This game wasn't going to be hazardous until you made it so. You made this hazardous.]