lifeaftr | July Intro: Dancing in the Dark

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July Intro: Dancing in the Dark

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!

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 )

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See you on the other slide-- one taker only please!

Roman took the explanation well, he thought. After being turned into a terrible monster and occasionally summoned against his will for the better part of a year, suddenly ending up at a camp fire with the Easter Bunny was easy enough to swallow. The Storyteller had told him that they were not the Easter Bunny but Roman was too amused by something infernal as himself chilling at a fire with something associated with God. He should have been listening to all the explanations a lot more closely toward the end. He was too busy enjoying his own stupid joke to notice the world dropping out from under him--again.

For a moment, Roman was in the void. Suddenly there was the roar of water and flashing lights. The Unlucky found himself jetting down a water slide, getting soaked and having no idea when any corkscrews or dips were coming. Naturally he yowled in terror all the way down because without seeing the rest of the Bath House park, it was easy to imagine himself ending up in a sewer or some endless pit.

Suddenly, he emerged into daylight, jettisoned out of the end of the slide like a dart from a gun. He skipped across the surface of the wave pool two, three times before roll-crashing right into--

YOU!

Seems Fair Enough

After his less than graceful entrance, Roman decided to get out of sight for a while. The population of this world was weird enough that he didn't bother with his human disguise right away. Eventually he found himself wandering between the carnival stalls. He's always loved the circus and fairs. Something was off though. It took him wandering past a ring toss game to realize nobody was running the stands. The food and prizes were all his for the taking! Roman looked around before clambering up onto one of the counters with a flap of his tiny wings and leaned forward to grab one of the big floppy hats he could win.

This went on for ages. One could bump into him anywhere, either looting the booths, riding the rides, or stuffing his face with funnel cake.

Bathhouses

[Oh boy are those slides that shoot water? And are those diving boards? Wait, are those floating boats?

Okay, time to take advantage of these as much as he can. This island won’t be around for very long and everyone will have to go back to struggling to survive so he will make the most of it as he can.

The water slides look pretty fun. So he’s gonna try those. And a certain monkey thief comes shooting down the slides at full speed and as he reaches the end, he ends up in the air…..]

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooah!

[And ends up in one of those gigantic inflatable tube boats. One YOU happen to be in. Just hope he doesn’t land on you and disturb your blissful alone time or whatever. Or maybe he lands on you?]

Carnival

[There were funfairs back on Gaia. And Zidane had a lot of fun going to those when he was a kid although some of the rides he did not recognise. Like the rollercoaster for example. Either way, the whole place looked amazing. What should he try first? The rollercoaster? Do some games? Either way, it was bright and colourful and there seemed to be tons to do. So he could not help say to himself:]

Oh, man. Wouldn’t it be fun to take Dagger, Vivi and Eiko here? Uh……mind you, Vivi might not like that rollercoaster thing or the wheel.

[And as he says that, a pang of homesickness runs through him and a sad smile appears on his face. However, this is brief as he catches himself.]

Heh. What am I doing? [He’s here to have fun, not to be miserable about things he can’t do much about at the moment. He’d better decide something to do. Putting his casual smile back on he asks the nearest person:]

Hey, have you tried riding on that thing yet? You know if it’s safe?

Maze

[Whoah whoah whoah whoah. Bees? Really scarily big ones? And a ton of them trying to chase him?

Okay fine. He’ll take the challenge! He’s quite fast anyway so he’ll dash down the maze….

Until he runs into you, who might have been running from bees the other way.]

Awwwwww you’ve gotta be kidding me!

[Luckily, both of you have run into each other at a fork. And Zidane notices that immediately.]

Hang on. Maybe we can try that way?

[Hopefully it doesn’t lead to a dead end and you’re not both glitter doomed?]

Edited 2019-07-03 22:18 (UTC)

mr. bones' wild ride

[Out of the mana pool pops one ridiculous gangly skeleton, putting his skull back where it belongs and immediately spotting the rollercoaster. It's hard to miss, it towers over everything else.]

Hah, awesome! I've always wanted to ride one of those! [He's gesturing at it excitedly, as if it weren't obvious what he means. It should keep him busy for an hour or so, although it may not be the smartest idea for someone without nearly as much padding as other people.]

pizza pizza

[Some time later, he can be found at the bathhouse again, lying on the pizza shaped floatie. So good, so tasty, a wonderful modern recipe. He appears to be asleep with a water gun on his chest--a new one, not one of his older terrible arsenal.

But.

Is he? Isn't it awfully suspicious?]

i. Io Let Me Smash (Carnival)

[This island should be fun. It should be uplifting and happy after the hell month they had the past few weeks. It should be a lighthearted, exciting time for people to enjoy their first tastes of Lifeaftr. It should be that way. It should. But others have fun in their own way.

With his sunglasses over his eyes to hide the bags and the redness, Guzma has taken to letting out his bad attitude on the best game of them all - Test Your Strength. With a slow exhale, a deep breath, and the fresh memory of waking up and going to fetch Lillie for breakfast...only to find an empty room, he grunts loudly and brings that mallet down with all his might, the satisfying THWACK and the loud ping! of the bell ringing gives him some solace. The honey sticks he wins are passed to, quite literally, anyone passing by with a disgruntled--]

Here, I don't want it. [Before he's back in line for another go. Oftentimes he won't even wait getting antsy and impatient, the anger inside him bubbling forth to the surface in small spurts. With a gruff tone in his voice, Guzma will nudge the person before him and nod his head to the game.] Yo, I can win you something. Lemme go 'fore you.

[Honestly? He just needs to let off steam, and this is the best way or him to do it in a...not destructive to himself and others way. Just let him do his thing, he'll get it out of his system eventually.]
---

ii. Butterfree me from this Fog

[At last, something Guzma can actually...enjoy. Peacefully, even! The tea gardens he more or less avoided for some pretty salty reasons, but after hearing there was a new butterfly pavilion, the bug trainer couldn't pass that up. He even drinks the chocolate chai tea (with milk) that Lillie mixed or him before she left as a tiny swarm of butterflies rest on his body, sunning their wings or sniffing about his clothes and hair. Guzma, uh...well, he certainly does attract insects. It must be because he too smells like them, given his two pokemon that travel with him so often. Or, perhaps, he just knows how to attract them.

As one colorful butterfly gets a bit too close to his mug of chai, he waves his fingers gently to shoo it away, instead taking some water, sugar and mixing it with his finger into the saucer and setting it down near him. In no time, the butterfly he shooed away, and several others on or around him, lock to the nectar, lapping it up happily.]

Jeez, y'all are so little... I could blow on you and knock y'all outta the air. Hey, yo, don't crowd, c'mon. [He takes one o the larger butterflies easily into his palm, though it struggles a bit, then sets it on the table a few inches away.] Wait your turn, bro, dang. You're worse'n my Masquerain at dinnertime...

[Speaking of, when he's finished with his tea, Guzma actually takes a proper walk through the butterfly pavilion, and is delighted that there aren't only butterflies here, but moths! Big moths. Like, seriously my guy, they are big moths. But not as big as the grin on Guzma's ace as he handles them, some utterly nerdy giggles escaping from his as the enormous creatures climb up and over his arms and palms. This probably is better for his mood than bashing stuff, and he keeping muttering excitedly.]

Yo, what even are you called, my guy? You're so much bigger'n your homies, yo! Uh, I mean...way smaller'n the bugs I got, even the moths, but like...bro, you're like. Moth ripped. For this island, I guess. Actually--[Peeky peek...] Whoa, sorry, ma'am.

[Now that they're back to their body, there's only one thing that the Drifter wants from all this.]

[They want to race. They want to race you. They're climbing into one of those go-karts and figuring out each of the controls, the difference between brakes and gas and what all of these little buttons and levers mean. It's totally unfamiliar, but it's all relatively simple. They're rather good at figuring out strange technology, after all.]

[Armed with a kart of shimmering, neon blue, the Drifter rolls over to the starting line and awaits other competitors. But they won't wait long. If no one else slides on up to take this challenge, the Drifter might just start racing themself and try to beat their own lap times.]

Jules simply stares, gape mouthed, at the roller coaster in front of him. He's never in his life seen anything like it, and he can't figure out what it could even possibly be for. It certainly won't launch anyone into space. It's not going fast enough, though Jules could understand why people inexperienced with actual space travel could think it might. Perhaps it's some kind of torture device? Everyone on it seems to be screaming. But... why? That just seems like a lot of effort that could be better spent other ways for the same, if not a better, outcome.]

What piece of Tophet is that?

A: A-maze-ing Grace

[A giant hedge maze like this is too enticing a mystery for Chip to ignore. THey very quickly become lost running through the twists and turns, but they're not too worried. Elum--or, Elum'zum promised they wouldn't make any more mean tricks on their visitors, and Chip takes them at their word. And besides, if they really can't find their way out they have a Stone to call out with.]

[So they don't notice when they take a turn down a more sinister path, simply laughing and running through the leafy pathways. But after a while they hear a drone of buzzing behind them, and turn to see--]

[Something that absolutely reeks of green power.]

[What had been a gleeful run becomes a terrified sprint, and outside the maze one might be able to make out a high-pitched scream that goes on for a while before ending rather abruptly.]

[Perhaps thirty minutes after, Chip wanders out of the maze in a bit of a daze, positively coated in multicolored glitter of all sorts. They're so out of it that they don't even notice who they're talking to when they turn and look up with a vaguely haunted look to their eyes.]

...I think I killed them.

B: Butterflies In Your Stomach

[After washing off...most of the glitter, Chip wanders their way over to the gardens. The bright fluttering wings of the butterflies are near magicaly enchanting, and Chip spends quite a long time watching them from the edges of the area. Eventually they go further in, carrying one of the bowls of sugar water, and wait in a small clearing.]

[It's not long before the butterflies notice the sweet treat and come fluttering in, lighting onto Chip's hands, arms, even their hair and back. After a while they're nearly covered in jewel-like insects, stood stock still and barely seeming to breathe for fear of dislodging them. Even once the sugar water is gone, Chip is still fully bedecked...and similarly unwilling to move.]

[They...they might need a nudge.]

Edited 2019-07-09 01:29 (UTC)

A - Rollercoaster or Go-Karts

Ginko does not like cars. Until a few years ago, he had never seen a car, but he made up his mind on them pretty quickly once he'd run into a few in Ryslig (or, in one case, when a car ran into him). He's not even a fan of being around them, much less actually using one as a means of transportation.

He has, however, known a few people who seemed quite fond of them, so he guesses these new, worse cars must be appealing to someone.

Or, apparently, a lot of people.

To say that Ginko is content to stand by and watch wouldn't quite be accurate, since he is less content than enormously uncomfortable and on-edge. But, whether out of morbid curiosity or some sense that he should hang around Just In Case something goes horribly wrong that he could maybe help with, here he is. He stands back from the wilder new attractions, eyeing them with something almost like suspicion while he chews on the end of a bitter-smelling cigarette.

He guesses these things are… theoretically safe or whatever, fine, but also he doesn't trust like that. "Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't seem remotely worth it."

B - Butterflies

Of course he ends up gravitating to the tea gardens again - and, there, the newer additions are much more his speed.

Ginko sits down in a corner of the gardens, holding his tail close to himself to keep it from flicking on reflex and chasing any of the colorful little insects away.

...He can't help but let out a quiet, amused huff, though, as he examines the patterns on one of the butterflies that's landed on his hand, because, boy, this sure is a lot safer than the last time he was covered in butterflies, huh. Not that he'll say as much unprompted to anyone around. Maybe it just tickles.

Wildcard

(( OOC: As usual, if you want something else hit me up here or at

omixgirl10! ))

Hedge Maze & Butterfly House: Back into the Easy Days
A long time ago, Bucky would have appreciated all of the rides and celebrations, but that had been a different time, back when Bucky was a very different man. But some of the more... well, relaxing things aren't so bad. It's why he finds himself in the butterfly house, where he figured he had a reasonable chance of not having an alarming experience the way he had last month.

No real noise, just a lot of pretty butterflies, and a distinct lack of fireworks.

Rollercoaster & Carnival: Overlooking Trouble Gone Bad
The carnival, however, eventually becomes too much for him to resist. Sure, it's louder, has a lot going on, but it reminds him of Coney Island.

Is it still there, in New York? He doesn't think he'll ever be back there.

For the moment, he's content just to watch the carousal, turning to look at anyone who wanders close by. "Strange-looking mounts, don't you think? When I was a kid they were horses."

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