April Undercurrent: Breaking Barriers

[lifeaftr_mods]

APRIL UNDERCURRENT

Who: Everyone!
What: Normal boundaries are made malleable, for a time
When: April 3rd to April 19th
Where: Everywhere!
Warnings: Please mark anything as it comes up!

Keep Me In Your Clouded Mind

As days pass, and the Water begins to exert their pull, your surroundings will begin to grow hazy, almost dreamlike. Though some might find this sensation to be unpleasant, the feeling will soon pass, and the world will seemingly right itself. Perhaps a fit of vertigo, and nothing more...?

But come the morning of April 3rd, the island's skies and seas will paint themselves anew in faded guises - every colour it's possible for a sky and sea to be, from sunrise to sunset - bleeding into each other like ink in water, until the horizon vanishes. And from that vanishing point, where sky and sea meet, you will begin to see...rafts. Rafts bearing familiar paper lanterns - some crumpled, some stained from their crash into the water, but recognizable all the same.

Remember those lanterns that you made last month? It turns out that they've actually served as beacons. And, as those rafts drift closer, you might find that the lights you set free, forged in your grief and longing, have managed to guide the subjects of that longing to you...at least for a time. Of course, it's not all people you know. Those on the rafts are just as likely to be strangers, people who have simply drifted in on the tides of dream. Or they may be both familiar and not - the people you knew, who have changed in your absence or theirs.

They might even be you, though not as the island has made you. Perhaps they're the person you once were, or the person you will be. Who knows what the tides may bring?

To distinguish such temporary visitors from those making a more permanent stay, those brought in by these strange waters often look faded or filled with an ethereal light. They may also have a strange translucency to them, though this will not affect their ability for physical contact, interaction, or their solidity.

This month, no special tasks are required of you other than to interact with these new visitors, whether they bring you joy, grief, or the mutual, fleeting bond of a first meeting. The more you accept them as part of your lives - temporary as they are - the more power you produce.

Their stay might be short, but their impact is no lesser, and recognition of that is necessary to pave the way for Elytlan's arrival.

---

♆ FOURTH WALL EVENT ♆

We'd like to welcome anyone and everyone to LifeAftr's Fourth Wall Event! We'd like to start things off with a few points of clarification, if necessary:

[ ♆ ] This is an IC event. All characters will remember the fourth wall event and any characters that pass through it.

[ ♆ ] You are free to enable and post with absolutely anyone! For this event only, all rules regarding doubles and duplicates are to be considered null and void. Doubles, CRAUs, player-made AUs, original characters, whoever you like who can be brought to interact with the islands is free to do so! Characters who might be re-visiting from their past experiences in LifeAftr can recall as much or as little of their time in game as you like.

[ ♆ ] Please be aware that visiting characters will likely notice that their powers have been slightly or greatly dampened. While they will probably still be capable of smaller or more ordinary things, any game-breaking or world-ending powers will have no effect on these shores. You are free to nerf them even more if you want, though! We certainly won't stop you.

[ ♆ ] Only members of LifeAftr will have posting access, but all characters and players outside of the game are welcome to comment anywhere in this log, unless a player wishes to opt out of the event entirely.

[ ♆ ] This does include posting to the network, over at lifenet! Newly arriving characters will have access to the Stones of Farspeech that enable long-distance communication, but they will not be able to make their own posts - only comment to the posts of others.

[ ♆ ] We ask that any visitors be mindful of our game rules. Most characters will likely be arriving on the island of Ensō or the islets just off of its coast - feel free to read up on those pages for more information, and don't be afraid to ask questions!

[ ♆ ] This event will only last up until April 19th. At that point, all characters who have been brought to the Fourth Wall event and are not currently in game will fade away. Due to the ethereal quality to them while on the islands, the temporary nature of their stay will likely be apparent. That being said, this log will remain open once the event itself is complete - backtagging is both welcome and encouraged.

[ ♆ ] As the game will be entering endgame shortly after this event, we will not be opening Applications after the event unless you are a returning player who would like to be present for endgame.

[ ♆ ] If anyone has any questions about this event, please ask them HERE!

Color in My Sheltered Mind

Of course, there's a lot going on in the background as well. You're free to use this log as a catch-all for the duration of April's Undercurrent Event, as well as any of the other minor events listed on our Monthly Rundown post. And, of course, you are always free to create your own individual logs and posts as needed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them over on the Questions header on our Monthly Rundown post!

April Timeline

[ ♆ ] April 1st: "Make Libations" begins and lasts until April 10th
[ ♆ ] April 3rd: "Breaking Barriers" begins and lasts until April 19th
[ ♆ ] April 12th: "Isn't It Dreamy?" begins and lasts until April 21st
[ ♆ ] April 20th: Elytlan arrives at the archipelago
[ ♆ ] April 22nd: "Got Your Goat" begins and lasts until March 31st

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

Agent Maine | Red vs. Blue | OTA

[bloodbathing]

I. BEACH

[ Maine remembers this place. He remembers the waves; remembers the jagged rocks; remembers the pristine beach that curves away out of sight. He remembers it, but it's … different. The colors have changed, and the whole place has a slightly ethereal quality that he doesn't recall — or maybe that's just him?

He pulls off his helmet to breathe in unfiltered air. Lets it hang at his side, the gold dome reflecting a distorted sky. In his other hand, he holds a slightly crumpled paper lantern.

And then, for a long time, Maine doesn't move. He remains perfectly still, a seven-foot-tall armored giant gazing at the sky, trying to figure out whether or not he's dreaming. ]

II. WANDERING

[ It's hard to miss Maine when he begins to wander. He's huge and glows with a strange white light, and his armor doesn't make for stealthy movements. He can be found pacing the shore, striding through the trees, or scaling rocks without a hint of fear. When he spots someone, he speaks from behind his visor: ]

Mana pool?

[ Yeah. He's a bit lost. ]

III. GYM

[ The proof that he's been here before is a small thing. Easy to miss. To Maine, it's like a beacon. It's not the gym itself, although Maine did help to build it with his own two hands. It's the symbol painstakingly carved into a wall.

Maine stands before it in silence, gloved fingers tracing its lines again and again. Then he moves his hand to the left side of his chest, fingertips tracing the edges of a hole in his armor left by a sniper's bullet. The hole is fresh; the carved symbol is not.

Is he dead? Dreaming? Why is he back? How could he have returned to the mission and recalled none of this?

It doesn't make sense. But then, has it ever? ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Church doesn't say anything, when he stumbles on the sight. Today's already been really fucking weird, even for a place where 'really fucking weird' is on the lunch menu at Denny. But he sees Maine on the beach. Maine in his armor, Maine looking like he's a projection almost the way the colors are muted and translucent, Maine without the helmet, Maine with--

Maine with a lantern. Maine with his lantern.

So, a few scenarios run wildly through his mind. The worst of which, the best of which?, being everyone comes back. Everyone shows up who the lanterns were for. If the AI start showing up, he's liable to have a breakdown and bury himself in the sand until it blows over. Another could be just bringing back those who had been here before. In which case...Tex might beat him up for that.

(What the fuck shows up with Alpha's lantern, then?)]

Hell of a time to show up, big guy. The fuck took you so long?

Higgs Mongahan | Death Stranding | OTA | warning for baby doll in the link

[tweaktherules]

beach.
[ This beach is not the beach he knows. For a second, he thinks maybe, just maybe, after the fight with Sam, he'd ended up on some other part of the Beach... but this place is too vibrant and bright and colorful. It's downright disorienting.

Higgs decides he is not a fan. As he stands on the sand of Enso, he has one breathtakingly insightful thing to say-- ]

The fuck?

around.
[ Yeah, okay, this still sucks but also, it doesn't suck nearly as bad as his own world. Huh. Imagine that. No BTs to speak of, far as he can tell. Higgs wonders if the rain that falls is normal water, and not timefall. Truthfully, he's interested in discovering that for himself, but he's not counting on it. Far as he can tell, the weather's clear here.

Still incredibly bright, but that's something he can just suck up. ]

A man could get used to this, if he ain't careful.

[ ... alternately, that pod-like thing he's got attached to his chest? If you're lucky, you might get to see what's inside. Congratulations! It's horrible! ]

wildcard.
[ Come at me with anything, I'm down for whatever. ]

beach; sorry to everybody who isn't them

[bridgetothefuture]

[When you grow up with the knowledge that the entire seaside on both ends of the continent is filled with tar, that lakes are also filled with tar, and that Beaches are a really fucked up version of purgatory, you don't exactly have any knowledge at all as to how beaches are supposed to look.

Oh, and the sky is a very, very unnatural shade of not white so that's a thing.

Sam stands there for a long moment before he realizes that the person near him is, in fact, actually Higgs. So he does what anyone would do in this situation and turn to walk away as quickly as possible.

...And naturally trip on his own feet and fall face-first into the sand.]

Lord El-Melloi II/Waver Velvet | Fate | servantswap AU

[fionnuisce]

[i; beach;]



[A thoroughly annoyed man in a suit half-dragged himself onto the shoreline, leaning heavily on a straight black walking stick--unremarkable except for a silver handle. The kind of thing one carried that might make them think its user was hiding a sword, if its user wasn't a slightly waterlogged college professor in sunglasses. A raft? In the middle of the ocean? A goddamn raft?! He was visibly cursing the whole situation, whatever the hell situation he could even call this. Too real to be a dream, too unlikely to be a Reality Marble, and no clue what the midpoint between the two options was.]

[Scowling, he shifted the walking stick into one arm, balancing more on his left leg as he pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket...both of which were currently waterlogged. Well this was just going from good to great.]

[And why the hell was he glowing?]

[ii; storyteller's temple;]



[So, this was all heavily suboptimal, and Waver was in incredibly deep trouble when anyone realized he was gone. God forbid Reines find out he vanished off the face of the earth, much less the rest of the Association. Secomd Magic wasn't something to trifle with, and if he lived through this it was going to be a long headache to clean up.]

[For the moment, however, it was a little out of his control. So he'd opted to investigate the mana pool intead; sitting a safe distance away idly twisting one of the narcissus flowers in his hand. Obviously the liquid itself practically looked as if it were screaming 'I'm magic, look at me,' but the flowers around it were registering as normal enough so far as he could tell.]

[...How very interesting.]

[iii; wildcard;]

[come at me i'm bored and just like self-indulgent AUs]

[i; beach;] Lucii are pretty much like Servants, right? Hehehe...

[kingkingcxiii]

[Not far down the beach from where Waver lands, another man pulls himself to the beach also leaning heavily on a cane. This one doesn't have a silver handle, but the decorative rounded top definitely looks as if it could do some damage if it was swung with any fair amount of force at a person.

That, of course, is not what Regis has any plans of doing with it. Instead, he just continues to lean on it. It may just be out of habit, though. He's not really had a chance to see if shifting from human to Lucii forms has done away with his bum leg. Indeed, right now he is just looking up at the sky in wonder.

As he does so, one watching him might notice his form flicker just a bit from normal human look to something a bit more unearthly. The flickers eventually fade completely, but it makes it clear he's not exactly human. Whatever he may be, he certainly sounds human though--confused and befuddled, whispering under his breath.]

I'm fairly certain this is not the inside of the Ring unless someone decided a complete redecoration was in order.

Scintilla Caminus | FFXIV [WoL oc] | 5.2 spoilers probably

[lightsmith]

[i; beach;]

[Funny, she was pretty sure she'd already washed up on a beach a time or two enough by now. Her ears pinned back against her head in either confusion or annoyance as she looked around, trying to take some kind of stock of the situation. Taking her glasses off, she tried to wipe them off against her equally soaked jacket to little success. Lovely, could barely see a damn thing but at least her daggers were still there. That was a start.]

[After a moment's contemplation, she looked up at the sky and muttered something that, while barely audible, sounded suspiciously like 'again, G'raha?']

[ii; around;]

[Okay. Okay. This was fine. Nothing that hadn't happened before, except...well, weirder. Weirder in the way that nothing seemed immediately wrong here. Oh, sure, paradise it wasn't, but there was no looming apocalypse that she could find. And that, naturally, felt very strange.]

[Like the average stray cat, one might have found Scintilla sitting in a particularly tall tree. Or on the roof of a house. Maybe yours! That, or setting off looking for some kind of aggressive wildlife to get into trouble with.]

[Honestly. What was she supposed to do, nothing?]

[iii; wildcard;]

[infopost, go nuts]

ii.

[catcrimes]

[Cats like high places, it's true. A rustle of leaves, a shift in the branches, and another feline clambers up a neighboring tree maybe just a short distance away. She hasn't spotted her "companion" yet, or not made any signs of it, but her tail twitches back and forth as Mask watches the people and even some animals scurry around below here and there. There's a smile spreading on her face as she bites her lower lip thoughtfully.

Man...she could absolutely take some stuff from these people. A whole hecking lot of them looked bizarre as well, but the majority seemed pretty well off. Wouldn't miss a trinket here, a gold coin there... Hell, even some scraps of food may come in handy. The animals that pass by get a much more analyzing look, at Mask angles a hand crossbow in their direction as quietly as she can. Unless she gets a killshot...or the thing is daintier than even her noodly self, it might take a few shots, but...she's got a few bolts.

So lucky that shifty store owner parted with a case so...easily. 83 Hehehe.]

Steve Rogers | MCU | post Winter Soldier

[captaingrowthspurt]

So, he's dead, right?

...except this doesn't seem to be anything like the Heaven he understands to exist. Maybe there's some kind of scientific explanation for the - for the glowing.

Beach

Steve sits for a while, with the tattered paper lantern in hand. The raft he came in on seems to have disappeared. He'd usually be the type to get up and talk to people, see if anyone needs help. But no one's obviously distressed, and... well, he'll get up in a little while.

This is a lot to take in.


Wildcard

He'll respond to anything, anywhere you wanna put him. Please pm me if you want to thrash out some details!

beach

[semistableman]

Steve had been on the island, but it's been quite a long time. Bucky hasn't exactly taken it well, but it hasn't destroyed him like he thought it might. Guess he really has been here long enough that people vanishing is just a fact of life.

When he'd heard people were showing up unexpectedly, well. He had to come see for himself, in the event it ended up being anyone he knew.

Which is why Bucky, dressed in clothes that are clearly handmade, shows up on the beach, gaping at the man on the beach. "Steve?"

Coco Rivera | Coco | Major Spoilers (The spoiled know exactly who she's here for)

[kept_his_letters]

Beach

She's done crying at the thought she might be dead. She wishes she could be done being scared, wondering about her family and what she'll do here alone and why she's even here at all.

She's off the raft now, settled on the shore with a lantern so tattered it's hard to tell that it is, in fact, a lantern. Was. Used to be once. But it still shines somehow, just like she does, and so she hangs onto it.

Not knowing what else to do, she starts to hum a tune from long, long ago...

Post-reunion

She hasn't really left his side. It's hard to accept... this. The way he is and what it means, but she tries to put on a brave face. If nothing else, that's something she can do, just like she did for Mamá.

On the other hand, he's here, finally near, and it would be a lie to say some of the joy isn't genuine. She hums and she spins where she steps like she's dancing more than walking. She helps where she's needed up until she forgets a thing or two, distracted by the beauty of the island.

[OOC: The mun here is swamped with other RP and RL so I'd like to keep this limited to YouKnowWhoYouAre and anyone he wants to joint-thread introduce her to, but if you really want a thing, you can contact me via PM. Thanks!]

[vagabone]

He hears the humming before he sees her. Some deep part of him is always listening for it, even after eighty years of the stolen and mangled version spreading everywhere--he is the song and it's part of him, he can't tune it out. He's springing to his feet and running the instant he realizes it's a young lady's voice. The odds are against him, and he's been fooled before by illusions of people he knew, even led into a terrible calamity that was able to 'kill' him by a fake with her face on... but he can't resist. He has to see. He could be absolutely certain it's a deathtrap and he'd still rush right in. She's worth suffering for.

He makes it to the beach, close enough to see her face. Not the little girl or the old woman he was expecting, the only two ages he's seen her be... but it's her. It's Coco, braids and all. He'd imagined her teenage face thousands of times, when she would have been that age--it turns out he wasn't far off.

"Coco!" He already sounds like he's halfway to hysteria, and his legs can't move fast enough. What a sight she's going to get, a rickety barefoot skeleton charging her way, wearing a ridiculous T-shirt (it says "this is not a shoe") that's practically a tent on him and suspenders that are a much better fit on underneath, and his usual ratty pants beneath those. "Coco!"

zer0 | borderlands | ota

[headsh0t]

i. beach

[A strange place full of things trying to kill you? It's not quite Pandora, but it's close enough.]

[Barely an hour into their arrival, and Zer0 here is already dispatching a pack of centipuppies with obvious flair. Their blade hums in blue arcs as they carve up one, then bisect another with a neat slash down its ribcage. One of them winds a little too close to this strange, whippet-thin, plastic ninja thing, and attempts to sink its teeth into them.]

[The image of Zer0 jerks, flickers, and disperses into static.]

[And the real Zer0 materializes just behind the centipuppy, draws a Vladof pistol, and shoots it in the head.]

ii. mountain temple

[Naturally, the sniper is going to find the highest point on the island and camp out there. You might notice a bright red laser sight hovering somewhere on your person from on high. They don't shoot, though - don't worry. They have to conserve ammunition, after all. They're keeping an eye on things from up here, is all.]

[Just know that they could shoot. If they wanted to. They won't unless they have to. But they could.]

[And maybe some part of them wants you to know that.]

iii. denny

[It's not as though Zer0 is opposed to directionless mingling. It's simply something that they'd prefer to do with fellow Vault Hunters, perhaps in celebration for a contract well done. That isn't the case here.]

[Zer0 picks a table and a drink of something that they...don't appear to be drinking out of. They certainly don't remove their helmet. They simply seem to be watching, taking things in, studying whoever enters and passes by.]

[If you happen to approach them for whatever reason and stop for long enough to make it apparent that you're staring, their helmet will angle slightly in your direction. At first, this appears to be the extent of their acknowledgment of your presence.]

[Then a bright red ? will flicker over their helmet, hovering a few inches from that blank, black expanse.]

[Problem?]

ii

[unrhysonable]

[ It's one thing to get shot at on Pandora. Rhys may be used to that by now, but on a tropical island? Really? It is not ideal. So he freezes, immediately, when he notices that laser trained on him. ]

Oh, God. Listen, I-- I swear I'm not doing anything shady, not here, at least so just-- I have a gun! I'll shoot back, don't think I won't!

[ He's got his hands raised. He definitely doesn't have a gun. Take pity on him. ]

iris amicitia | ffxv | ota

[carrotkeeper]

A

[Okay, being transported to some rando beach in the middle of seemingly nowhere-that's normal. That's whatever. She doesn't remember writing this down on her morning to-do list, but it seems like someone or something has taken it out of her hands. She isn't a huge fan of the makeshift raft that guided her to shore or the sudden shift in scenery.

It's gotta be a dream. There's no other explanation for this-it's the most realistic one she's had in a long while though. If you wander close enough to her, you'll probably hear her mutter-]

Ooooookay then. Guess the world's saying it's time for a vacation.

B

[It's only after a fair bit of wandering that she realizes this might not be a figment of her mind afterall. The heat's too intense and the bizarre daemons she's come across-

Well, she hasn't tried to fight them. Not alone. She doesn't recall seeing anything like this in her world and even her imagination couldn't come up with these wild, varied creatures. It might be real.

This could be real.

And that sort of sends her stumbling into the Denny-the only place that looks like it has any kind of life in it. There's bound to be someone here. Whoever's in the building, be prepared to be happily greeted by a young girl who looks relieved as hell to see you.]

Whoa, I'm so glad someone else is here. I was starting to think I was alone in this weird place.

[piercetheheart]

[Wander close enough? Excuse you.

Convenient that she's disoriented and trying to figure out what's going on. That clearly means she won't suspect a thing. At least not until it's too late and she's scooped up and spun in circles, Gladio laughing as he does so.

Too bad he might be a fair bit older than she remembers. It's April 3rd. Oh no he's actually 35 now. ]

volleyball | steven universe | ota

[chachkeen]

A

[Hark, off in the distance, it's a pink blob. Unlike some other unwilling visitors, she looks thrilled being here. It's like Beach City, in a way, but totally different! It's incredible. More tropical and lush and she's all about it, thanks.]

Oh, my! Isn't this just delightful? Look at this transportation device! It's so primitive and cute.

[She sure is talking about the rafts. Specifically the one she's pulling up the sandy shore with ease-she doesn't want to lose it. Someone might need it again! She might actually need to use it too.]

I wonder who made this darling thing.

B

[As the days wear on, so does the novelty. She seems to be the only gem around-the natives seem mostly human and the people coming in are following that trend. It's unnerving and she kinda wishes someone were around to help her navigate this strange situation.

For the foreseeable future, anywhere on the islets, you'll find this very pink lady just standing with an unwavering gaze and smile at nothing in particular. It's fine. She's fine. It's whatever. She's just waiting to see what she's supposed to do here. If anyone wanders too close, she'll ask-]

Oh, hello there! Is there anyway I can assist you?

A.

[findfamiliar]

[You know...one would expect after the first, erm...mishap with the guild, they wouldn't want Fleur on any other missions. I-I mean, eventually the job got done, yes, but it was...it Was. Sad to say, she finds herself heaving her (very large) tote bag over her head as as she wades knee deep through the water from the boat that she...woke up in?? O-Okay?! This is. New. It's very new, and she's still extremely rusty at adventuring in any regard and doesn't remember signing a new contract? Did the guild mandate her on one oh god oh man oh god--

Wheezing, she falls to her knees on the sand, opening up the bag and just barely missing the swipe of a clawed paw as...something hisses at her from within.] I-I know...I know what I said, but I can't--you know... Yes. I'm sorry. Did you get wet?

[Fluer jumps when she hears a voice close and off to her side, snapping the bag shut, resulting in a terrible yowl from within and a lot of shuffling and crinkling papers.] Y-Yes!! Hello! I, eh. Well...I presumed the boats were provided by the guild, no?

[Ahem.] Are...um. You, ah...hm. A-Are you the one I'll be...adventuring with?

jack wynand | bioshock | ota

[wynand]

i. arrival

[Arrival by boat isn't as strange as one might think. It's actually stranger than hauling yourself, shivering, from the remnants of a crashed plane (hijacked plane) and clambering on the steps of a lighthouse made slick with seawater. The tang of salt on the breeze is familiar; the expanse of white sand underfoot is not.]

[Jack Wynand stumbles onto blissfully solid ground and squints up at the sun like someone who's been living in the dark for an age.]

[In some ways, this isn't entirely untrue.]

[He looks a wreck. The man is, simply put, massive, built like a linebacker with a height and breadth to match. The cable-knit sweater he wears is heavy with saltwater and blood. It's torn at several points, and charred at several others. He appears unarmed but for the wrench hanging limp from one hand...and the strange crackle of blueish electricity at the other.]

[For a long while, Jack simply stands on the beach and looks at the sun overhead and breathes in the clear, unrecycled air, and savors the warmth on his skin. He looks like a man who doesn't believe this to be reality. So much of his recent memory has been overtaken by crawling through the apocalyptic art deco hell of the underwater city of Rapture that it feels as though he's done nothing else.]

ii. nuidan

[Eventually, he figures out how the mana pools work. He figures them out because there's a lot of food over on one of the islands, and that's one thing that Jack does get. He's a man who's been shaped by the survival instinct that's enabled him to last for as long as he did in Rapture (wasn't it?), and that survival instinct is simple: when he sees food or drink, he takes it. He takes it and he allows it to fuel his forward progression through the ruined parts of the city. Impulse control has no power over him whatsoever. He sees a bottle of some kind of alcohol and with zero hesitation, Jack reaches out and grabs it and downs its contents in one prolonged swallow.]

[He's an absolute tank of a man. Perhaps it's not a surprise that he'll simply grab whatever he sees on these tables with no concern for reaching some kind of limit. As far as Jack knows, a limit to what he can keep down doesn't exist.]

[He eats like someone who doesn't expect to see food for another week. He eats like someone who's been starving for months. He eats like he's afraid this is his last chance to do so.]

[Some habits are as hard to break as chains.]

arrival

[homeagain]

[ Elizabeth's had enough of the ocean.

Of course, this is a vast improvement from Rapture. Hell, it might even be preferable to Columbia--scratch that, it's definitely better than Columbia. But Elizabeth finds herself at a loss. After so long of being locked up, chased, and doing things she'd much rather not think about for a very, very long time, having this freedom... it feels overwhelming. Especially considering she'd just won a wrench to the head.

She doesn't expect to see anyone else. Maybe this is some bizarre dying dream, or an entirely too vivid hallucination. Whatever it is, she's expecting to have a bit of time to herself.

But then-- ]

Excuse me!

[ That blue electricity is far too familiar. ]

Yukio Okumura | Blue Exorcist | OTA

[reflash]

[Something strange is happening, as usual. Yukio heads down to the beach, backpack full of medical supplies, bow slung over his shoulder. He's ready for whatever happens next, fighting or healing.

He wasn't expecting boats, rafts with the crumpled shapes of paper lanterns and the forms of visitors. It's probably going to be safer than not, there isn't going to be anyone to fight, and the biggest problem might be that someone here is hurt.]

Are you all right? [He asks, approaching a stranger.

And trying not to think about the lanterns, about who he quietly made his lanterns for before he set them out to bob in the wind. If he sees one of them.... well, the question he asks will still be the same.]

[Later, he's going to stick close to the clinic, as usual. If he has any patients he'll be helping them out. If not, there's always something to do to keep him busy.]

[[ooc: visual ref is here, my contact is hydok]]

[flashover]

Well, I don't think I've ever been this glowy before... but I feel fine.

[Rin, the same Rin that Yukio remembers, complete with all his fae features, hands his brother a crumpled lantern]

Got your message, bro.

[piercetheheart]

I. Ashore

[For those who remember Gladio they might be surprised to find that the giant of a man is, in fact, capable of an even deeper tan than they had seen previously. A month or so on a planet with three suns can do that to you. His hair's a little longer, drawn back and a thick french braid and, to no one's surprise, he's shirtless. Though his "pants" are... were sweatpants. It looks like they've been hacked down into shorts though.

He never thought he'd be so damned happy to find end up back on these stupid islands.

So that's definitely Gladio, whooping loudly and diving off the raft. Fuck that shit it's too slow, then just basking in the water for a fair bit before heading up to the beach.]

Now I just gotta find Spark and the boys... Wonder if Scott ended up here too?

II. Farmlands

[One of the first places that Gladio goes to, once he's checked in at the chococottage, is the farming island. Pacing the length of the island, looking at the changes, the condition of the animals, changes that had been made at the shop. It's bizarre, knowing how much time has passed, how much he's lost. But, ever the good soldier, he returns quickly to duty. (at least as quickly as Ignis will allow him to.

He'll be out here for awhile, fussing over livestock and crops alike, possibly attempting to correct any damages left by recent storms. Damage that may or may not really be worth fixing, just to make himself feel useful after apparently being away for so long.]

i

[scourgingstars]

Do you ever just wear a shirt?

[Ardyn, predictably, was at home inside so long as the sun was out. He didn't seem all that shocked to see Gladio, opting instead to roll his eyes in annoyance. Of course he'd show up sooner or later, this blasted island was just that way.]

Honestly.

Aster Kairos | DnD OC

[malaphar]

[i; beach]

[You know what? Actually fuck this.]

Lysander? Oisín? Ah, hell. [He looked around, scratching his head; waking up on a raft was a new one, more so waking up on a raft in the middle of fuckall nowhere. He'd managed to get his disguise off before hitting land, at least--not that a purple tiefling was less conspicuous, but he was pretty sure this was miles from anywhere that disguising himself would matter.]

[A spade-tipped tail swayed in agitation, Aster checking himself over--daggers at his hip, shortbow and quiver on his back, looked like everything was as in order as it was going to be.]

[...Except he seemed to be glowing. That was new.]

[ii; around]

[Alright, deep breaths. Everything was fine, totally fine and under control. If no one knew you were out of your mind with panic, then you weren't, right?]

[Flawless logic. He just had to go about like he usually did, acting like he knew exactly what he was doing and where he was going.]

[...Good luck with that, kid.]

[iii; wildcard]

[short infopost with appearance references]

i;

[chaosbolt]

[Well, the tiefling isn't familiar - much too tall to be Oswald, and not nearly as vividly purple - but still. It's kind of nice not being the only one with horns around! They've seen a lot of humans today - which, okay, humans are a dime a dozen, but don't you ever get tired of seeing them?]

Seems you've ended up here alone, hm?

[The aasimar brushes some of their hair away from their face, a kind look on their face.]

Leonard Church | yeah another one | airlocked! crau

[motherfucking_ghosttype]

((yes I'm using my route/victory road journal for this, so sue me, I've used his main journal for damn near everything let's not deliberately confuse people))

Again? Fucking AGAIN?!

[The voice is probably very familiar to some people! But if they want to follow Church's voice, the body is less familiar. That's A Human Person! A human person with skin and hair and eyes and other details, who is also not very happy.]

You want me to go to the beach, I got beaches I can go to wherever the hell I want, thanks! What is it this time? [Who is he...talking to...] Is it a game? Is it Survivor? Is this an all-expenses paid trip I won and nobody told me? I'm not voting anyone off the island, okay? Not unless you give us another evil fuck possessing a roomba.

[He'll yell at whoever he wants. At some point, he'll notice his glowy, translucent skin. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa he doesn't like that.]

Okay. Okay okay okay okay okay, okay. So. So we're saying this place isn't real. I am definitely not really here. We know this? We know this, right, we're all in agreement that I'm not really present in this world, and all the other glowy fucks? So this is just, uh, i-it's just, maybe another simulation, o-or a VR thing, right, we're communicating with another place.

[He rubs at his arm, at the inside, over a tattoo which seems to be fancily scrawled Latin writing. Or Lucian, if you prefer.

You know he gonna end up at a Denny at some point, too. Because he still feels hunger? And physically interacts with this world?]

Listen, I'm not expecting a five-star meal. I just thought there'd be a little more choice. Burgers, maybe? Burgers with the works? Some fries on the side? I'm a very simple man.

[Or catch him in other places!]

[burninglight]

That's...not optimal, no.

[Said the highly confused man next to him, equally as glowy.]

But whatever's going on, I'm certainly in the middle of experiencing it as well. So it's certainly not only you.

Meeka (Mask) Pawmello | D&D OC - Curse of Strahd Campaign

[catcrimes]

[OOC: Please be advised there is no character art for Mask at this time, I only have the one icon for her presently. Thank you for understanding. Also, there may be potential spoilers for the Curse of Strahd campaign book in the comments as threads progress. If you want to be spoiler free, let me know and I'll do my best to accommodate you!]
---

i. Awash in Confusion

[Well this, uh...this sure is. Mask remembered still being in Barovia proper well before she woke up in a rickety, old rowboat several yards off the coast of an...island? All alone with only her pack of (very limited hhhhrgh) supplies, Mask did the only thing she could think to do in this situation.

Puff up and scream.]

WH--WHAT THE HECK?! Ozzy?! Sorraine!! Ireena--Amare?! Hello??!

[Getting nothing out of that distress call, the next thing Mask does is, well...row to shore. Shockingly, despite her zero strength score, this weak ass noodle baby rolled a fucking 18 on athletics and zips to shore rather easily and without breaking too much of a sweat. Careful not to get herself too wet, she hops out of the boat and begins to explore, keeping a hand on the hilt of her...erm. W-Well.

It's a fire poker, okay? Just shut up, it makes a decent enough rapier in a pinch when fuckoff magic bullshit steals all your gear and all your gold and leaves you deadass in the woods with NOTHING. She's still salty about that. And without her friends, it's going to be a heck of a lot tougher fending for herself. Thankfully, she's agile, wily, and can yeet herself from existence with a high stealth roll, so...there is that. But it seems the masses that are wandering the shores seem just as confused and lost as she is, so maybe...there's potential to team up with a new group entirely.

At least until she finds her group.]
---

ii. We Have Birds Here

[Bludrocs, actually! But a bird is a bird, and these things seem relatively docile. Mask came upon the flock sort of just pecking away at the grounds by an old ruin - haha, not going in that anytime soon, by herself - and while she's no expert hunter, she is a really good thief, and Tabaxi? Well...they do indeed enjoy the everyday egg. It's food, anyway, and if she can even shoot one of the plump birds with her hand crossbow, she might have a decent meal for a few days once she butchers and cooks the bird. It's something, anyway...

As she's...not so much sneaking as she is just shoving her hands into the nests made in the ground by the Bludrocs, Mask squeaks when the hen actually gives a shit and pecks at her hand, yowling and hissing at them before she sucks on a finger.]

Oww! Listen, I need to eat!! You can pop out a dozen of these in, what, a few days? Losing two or three isn't gonna matter one way or another! Lucky I don't eat you before nightfall...

[She's not going in to the temple ruins, absolutely not, but Mask has made herself a little bit of a shelter by the lip of the entrance, gathering some materials from nearby to build a campfire and maybe even lay on the store floor as a makeshift bed for later. She's slept on worse than just wild grass and leaves, after all...]

Man, this'd be a whole lot easier with Sorraine around... [:C]
---

iii. Wild Magic

[Hit me up with whatever! Or PM this journal and/or tag me on plurk at MelonFlavored for something other than the prompts or to plot!]

c: ii.!!

[pallidscops]

[ she may or may not hear the young owl child flapping above her, perched on a stable portion of the ruins. The Bludrocs don't bother him-- being near birds has always left Otus feeling a little closer to home. Here, where there is space between him and the ground-- not that he hasn't learned to appreciate the ground-- and heck, he walks around all the time...

...but when it comes to comfort, he finds himself much more comfortable in a higher place. He supposes it'll just take time to feel safer on the ground. Maybe if Geddy were here.

Regardless, he finds himself watching her, as she tries to take an egg from the nests. She's...hungry? e stands up and removes the poorly crafted pouch around his waist, full of berries. It's...not really ideal, but it's certainly better than nothing if she's hungry!!

He just isn't certain that he's ready to come and meet her yet, though. Especially after she remarks about eating one of the Bludrocs!!! What??? What???

He shyly keeps watching her. Not hiding, but...not ready to meet a hungry cat woman introduce himself. :C ]

Ardyn [insert last name here] | FFXV+Airlocked CRAU

[burninglight]

[i; around]

[It was going to take a while to get all the saltwater out of his hair. That was what he chose to focus on for a moment, once he'd taken a general inventory of the situation. So he was here, Church was here, and 'here' was definitely...somewhere. VR seemed unlikely but not impossible, though he wouldn't have even begun to guess the who, what, or how of such a thing happening again.]

[Ardyn paused in the middle of his careful wandering, hands coming to rest on his hips with a heavy sigh. What a predicament, how did they keep ending up in these situations? At least it was never boring.]

[ii; storyteller's temple]

[He chose not to approach the structure itself, opting instead to sit in a tree a fair distance away. Ruins were nothing new to him, but he'd had quite enough of them for several lifetimes. And just in case there was some force inhabiting it...well, he'd be the last person to call divine attention to himself. Observing from this far out seemed like the safer choice right now.]

[iii; wildcard]

[impressions updated for CRAU development]

yeet.

[deathcured]

[ Well, this is... it sure is a temple. Noctis is standing not too far away from it, but he would recognize that red hair literally anywhere. Immediately, he knows what's bugging Ardyn. ]

Hell of a place to meet again, right?

amare bontemps | dnd oc | ota

[chaosbolt]

beach;
[Honestly, they're a little tired of falling asleep and waking up somewhere completely different. This is the second time it's happened, and, like. Seriously. What the fuck.

At least a beach is better than Barovia. If they're lucky, there won't be any houses with dead children in them! If they're super lucky, they won't run into any people who are sacrificing babies for - well Amare isn't really sure what the Dursts were planning, just that they were truly scum of the earth.

The aasimar stands out like a sore thumb on the beach - they would have stood out if they were human, being that they stand at an impressive 6'4", but their celestial traits are impossible to ignore. There's the horn, sprouting from their forehead, the pastel colored hair and the matching, horse-like tail that nearly brushes the ground, the ruff of white fur on their bare chest, and finally there's the fact their legs are covered in white fur and end in delicate hooves. They couldn't pretend they weren't a quite-literal unicorn if they tried.

They brush off their skirt, casting one last glance around the beach, hoping to see a familiar face. Last time this happened they weren't alone, so maybe...This time they won't be either. Once they spot someone, they approach with a friendly smile.]

Ah, hello there, stranger. You're in this mess, too?

mana pool;
[They stare at the pool, completely dubious. They're more than aware of things like teleportation, plane shifting, traveling through nature itself. But such things are, typically, the result of spells, of active manipulation, not...A simple feature of the world.

Their hands are on their hips, and they contemplate for a moment before kicking a rock into the pool with a splash.]

This seems incredibly foolish.

[So why are they so tempted to jump in?]

wildcard;
[Feel free to come at me with anything you want! If you want to hash out specific plans, feel free to hit me up at daintily!]

mana pool

[catcrimes]

[It's been a long few hours--okay, no, maybe under and hour or so, but mask is still tired and really upsetti that she's apparently been whisked away to fuck all know's where again and this time all by her lonesome. It's not been bad - way better than Barovia - but it's hot here, and she's covered in fur. Also, Mask can't help but wonder if her companions are still stuck in that terrible place, or if they got deposited to like...somewhere else. Someplace worse than even Barovia.

Her mind begins to wander, and there's a soft whine as she chews on a claw as she pushes back the brush and spots--holy shit. No way. There is no one more pink on the planet than who she's looking at right now, so Mask throws her hands up with a yell, pleased as pudding and, uh...racing toward them at full speed.

All 60 feet in six seconds of it. Feline Agility, yo. Anyway, make a Mask saving throw, Amare.]

AMARE!! AMARE, YOU'RE HERE, I FOUND YOU! [She practically pounces on them, and it's Ireena all over again. The speed and force of even a tiny thing like Mask may be enough to push them both over the edge of the mana pool and tumbling straight into the water.]

Guzma | OTA

[yallstupid]

i. Islets

[It's a wonderful(?) day on the islets, all is well and quiet, and Guzma is going about his daily routine, still trying to get back in the swing of things (flip-flopping from a technological hub to hunter-gatherer is a ride). Breakfast is...eh. It's nothing stupendous - some bluedroc eggs, scrambled, with whatever herbs and vegetables he could find in the previous days. There may also be some wild berries in there as an added sweet treat. His Pokemon? Heh...well, he let them loose to hunt for themselves. Golisopod knew the drill, he's fished the water before, easily, and filled himself up on them and maybe some deeper dwelling shellfish. Scizor...was a bit trickier. He wasn't as wild, despite being the newest member to Guzma's team. He could hunt, yeah, but he preferred to stay close to his trainer, not yet used to this "new island life".

So he may or may not have taken things from your garden, sorry about that. At least this huge, steely red mantis isn't opposed to crushing and eating the coconuts on the island. He's happy to do so, slurping up the sugary water and milk inside and scraping out the rich pulp. Just, uh...watch your head. Once he's done, Scizor just sort of...drops the remains from up high in the treetops. Each thud of one landing to the ground has Guzma sighing loudly.]

Heads up! [That's as much warning as you're gonna get, sorry.]
---

ii. Enso/Mainland Island

[What the ever loving fuck happened overnight? Yeah, okay, the weirdass pastel sky shit was weird, but that sort of asinine bullshit happens regularly on these goddamn islands. The influx of people arriving in droves is new and rather startling. Guzma can't seem to turn a corner without running into someone. Mother of Mew, he just wants to forage and hunt, stop scaring shit away.]

For the love of--!

[Okay, you know what? Hunting's not going great. He's going to take his two Pokemon and do some clam digging. At the very least, some of these washed up jerkoffs can't scare away clams. It won't be a great meal, but hey...beggars can't be choosers, and right now Guzma isn't picky. With Scizor gathering or even cutting down wood for the stove Guzma still, blessedly, has behind his home, he and Golisopod are looking for and digging up the clams as he spots them shooting water from their teensy holes in the sand, after the surf rides in. Golisopod is far better at digging with those huge, black claws and shovel-like arms, but Guzma does his best with his own bare hands.

They've got a decent amount, enough for a scarce but pleasant meal between them, so he's going to cool off in the shallows and maybe catch some sun on a low, bent over palm. By god though it is noisy. Maybe the beach isn't the best spot for this...people just keep coming. Most of them get the picture that he's not the local island NPC giving out tourist information when he flips them the bird as they approach but...

Well, some don't no for an answer, do they? 8')]

islets

[onegreeneye]

--Hey!

[Ginko manages to avoid getting clocked, at least, but he's not too thrilled about having to dodge falling coconuts. ...Especially since the recent loss of most of his left arm has made balancing after sudden movements a little harder.

He manages to adjust, though, and looks up toward the source with a frown.] Well, at least someone seems to be having a good time.

Lilliana (Lil) Alexandru | D&D OC - OTA

[withersong]

i. Bright Sunshiney Day - Beach

[Hey, you want to know a way that's super not great to wake up from a deep sleep if you're a vampire? DIRECT SUNLIGHT. IT SUCKS SUPER HARD, MY GUYS!!

The scream that echoes from the raft is agonized and terrified, before Lil scrambles in the sand, kicking over the raft she was in before and huddling under it like a terrified cat, hot tears streaming from her cheeks as she curls in on herself, lower lip clenched between her teeth to the point of bleeding. Every single part of her aches and burns, and there's not a fucking thing she can do about it. Too wrecked with pain to even think about the hows and what, she breathes in and out as much as she can waiting impatiently for the sun to set.

Or for someone to come along and help.

Wouldn't you know it that her guitar case (of holding) washed up just an arm's reach away - probably a good five or so feet - but there's no way she's reaching out her hand to try to pull it near. She would undoubtedly lose her entire arm if she even tried, so there's no way to pull out a cloak, or her sun umbrella, to shield her delicate skin from the searing rays. No, she just has to wait, cursing loudly in Romanian and throwing handfuls of sand at the...foxes?? that try and drag her guitar case even further away.

The unlucky ones that get too close? W-Well...um. Ahah...

They help get her health back? A-At least??]
---

ii. Country Roads...I WANNA GO HOME - All over (dusk/evening)

[Merciful MCFUCKITY, the sun is down and Lil is finally, finally, able to wander around this hellscape proper, attempting to reach her companions via her own, not island bought, Stone of Farspeech. It works about as well as an ordinary rock, and in no time at all, she's cursing at it all over again, shoving the stone deep into the abyss that is the guitar case slung over her shoulder.]

Y'know what? Maybe I deserve this. Maybe the veil itself decided 'that one. That one right there. Fuck her in particular'. Balls, shit, tits and ass...guess mandatory therapy sessions are delayed until further notice.



...

I'm so goddamn tired.

[She sighs, heavily, to no one other than herself, then walks, vertically, up the trunk of a palm tree until she hangs from it by her knees, upside down like a bat...despite not having turned into one. She can, she has the ability to, but Lil just doesn't give enough of a damn right now to "blend in".

Travel, ye weary wanderers, and follow your ears. Soon enough, a lilting melody will be heard upon the winds of the growing evening. Each string of the guitar is plucked and strummed so gingerly, so delicately, and though the sight is bizarre to behold, there's certainly a grace to how Lil plays, and those that linger long enough to hear the song to its completion will find that they have...a little extra pep in their step. The stiffness and sore muscles from the walk they took to get here, whatever tumbles their bodies endured along the way...it might seem to ebb and wash away in the flow of the tune.

And though everything leading up until now has been a heinous blight upon her already rancid afterlife, Lil finds her peace with her instrument, and it's apparent she's had...perhaps decades of experience playing. There's precious little thought to where her fingers go, eyes closed as a breeze pushes her long hair a little.

Enjoy your Song of Rest, motherfucker.]
---

iii. Showstopper - Wildcard!

[Prompts not up to snuff? Let me know and we can plot something out!]

Georgia Mason | Newsflesh (eway CRAU) | ota

[choosetruth]

Beach

"Motherfucker."

As soon as she hits solid ground, Georgia wastes no time opening her bag and checking her equipment. Laptop, wet, she doesn't even dare turn it on until she can dry it off. Phone, dead. Cameras and recording devices... her MP3 recorder seems to be working, at least. Everything higher tech than that seems to have fritzed out. At least her gun seems okay. And her extra sunglasses and pain medication are where they're supposed to be.

She straightens and adjusts the sunglasses she has on as she looks around the beach.

"What is this, another event?" She glares at the sky. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SENDING US HOME."

The sky doesn't answer her, but she didn't expect it to. She repacks her bag full of the useless equipment she can't quite bring herself to part with. She has a brother to find.

Wandering

[It's been hours. The bright sunshine is terrible for her stupid head, she's in dire need of caffeine, and worst of all, she can't find her stupid brother. Or an internet connection, but after years in Wonderland, that one she's almost used to.

As soon as she comes across someone, she gives them a scowl under her sunglasses and rather than giving any sort of civilized greeting, says:]

Please tell me there's some Coca Cola in this godforsaken place. I would murder for caffeine.

[She's probably exaggerating.]

[Probably.]

wandering

[postictal]

[Tim's got a look to him that suggests he's been living here a while. And he has. Nearly three years, in fact. He pushes his overlong hair from his face as he looks at her, and there's zero recognition in his features. A hell of an unshaven beard, and he doesn't smell like cigarettes. He smells more like the wood and sweat and sea salt of someone who's been living out in the wilderness.]

[He's also armed. An axe strapped to his back, a red pauldron on one shoulder, and just underneath - is that a tie-dye shirt he's wearing? It sure is.]

[He jerks a thumb over one shoulder. Another visitor.]

Got coffee, though it's homemade and not all that great. Tea too, if you don't mind it. Can't say we've got soda. Sorry.

Lusamine | Pokemon Sun/Moon | OTA

[perfectual]

. lullabies .

[ if you're headed down the beach anyway, you may run into a rather strange looking woman, staring off into the ocean with distant, emerald eyes. A hand is settled on the hip of her white dress, fingers massaging the fabric there, as if trying to come to terms with something.

Every so often...she twinkles. Her skin, her clothing, even her large and well kept hair style...everything. And yet, she is only staring at the sea. She hates it. Hates what it is. Hates that it is standing between her and her most precious and real dreams. For a moment, her eyes widen and then harden all at once. She sucks in a sharp breathe of air. How irritating. How annoying.

Beside her, contrasted to the bitterness in her eyes, a Clefable stands, swaying to and fro, happy to be near the angry woman. With a small hand, the pokemon reaches up and touches Lusamine's, which pulls the woman out of her bitter glare. ]

Oh...dear child. [ she crouches down and strokes the top of Clefable's head, which makes the pokemon beam happily. ] Thank you. I didn't mean to make you worry. I was only thinking of how close we were...but not to worry.

[ she lifts a strange, blue and gold ball in her other hand, stroking the hard, cold surface of it with sweet, unhinged affection. ]

We'll be going back soon. Back to where all of my lovely children are.

[ Clefable hums and makes an affirming noise.

Anything for you, mother. ]

. wildcard .

[ anywhere, any style, bring it on! ♥ ]

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[yallstupid]

Ugh!! Y'can't go...ten feet without crashing into some bedazzled piece'a tourist trash asking for directions every ten freaking minutes!!

[The sound of stomping footsteps and swiftly moving brush perhaps a good twenty yards away is matched only by the quickly approaching voice. A familiar voice at that, though perhaps not a welcome one. Guzma breaks through the vegetation easily, rubbing his face with his hand and grumbling loudly as his Golisopod lumbers after him, content to just listen to its trainer's complaints without a sound. This isn't new, after all.]

Where are they all even coming from?! Yo, if I gotta tell one more person to stuff their head in the sand, I'm gonna do it for 'em. [He drops a bag down into the sand, starting to dig through it for...something. He hasn't noticed the company, having his back turned to them, though Golisopod's antennae twitch, and while he doesn't turn or make a movement...he's highly aware of this scent.

And recognizes it.]

jet star | the true lives of the fabulous killjoys | asgard crau | ota

[trafficreport]

i. arrival

[This isn't a pattern that Jet's all that wild about - dying horribly, only to wake up somewhere that isn't where he was. The first time, it was home. He was dying for her, for something he believed in, and he accepted that even if he couldn't tell if the sacrifice was successful - if the Girl escaped.]

[But he woke up again regardless, in a world that wasn't his. He was there for a month, maybe two, only to find himself dying again because of trying to help a people who didn't have anyone else. Slower this time, but he didn't make any effort to go out quicker, not once the window was provided to him and not before.]

[So the second time he dies, he wakes up someplace else. Again.]

[Can't say he likes the implications of this. Not Battery City, not the Zones, but not Asgard either. A beach, a raft, a place mostly empty of anything in the way of familiar landmarks, and no idea of where to go from here.]

[All right.]

[He takes that in with a seeming exterior calm, then crouches and does a brief full body inventory. Alive. All parts of himself that were here last he checked are still here - relatively healthy, at least for Zone standards, and still missing his right eye, but that's fine. Still got what was on him. No raygun - lost that on entry to the city - but the knife he carries around is still here. Good.]

[Jet straightens up again, blade out, and takes in his surroundings in a sharp, decisive flick of his eye. Then starts off in the direction of the jungle.]

[If he's going to figure out what the hell this place is, he's not about to waste time doing it.]

ii. center of gravity

[Wandering through the jungle without any knowledge of this place turns out to not be the smartest idea Jet's ever had. As soon as he starts to feel the telltale pull at his clothes, he dug in his heels. But the hungry pull of a Center of Gravity isn't so easily dissuaded. Jet starts to slide through the loose earth, closer and closer to the small black hole hanging suspended in the middle of the air as it continues to suction greedily at him.]

[He grits his teeth, closing his fists tight at his side, and concentrates. A shimmering barrier springs up around him, momentarily slowing the Center of Gravity's desperate pull. It won't last forever, but it'll at least keep him from falling headfirst into the thing and dying again.]

[This is the first time he's used this particular power. A sheen of sweat glistens on his forehead as he stands there, panting, staring at the thing and wondering how the hell he plans on getting out of this once the barrier falls.]

[Or what he's going to do if someone else runs into this thing.]

iii. denny

[At least the "no money" thing seems to be universal. Multiversal? Something like that. There's no economy here to speak of, so there's no one who can stop Jet from eating and drinking whatever he wants.]

[The stress of being displaced into two different dimensions in as many months is a good explanation for why Jet is shotgunning liquor in the local joint like he thinks the world is going to end.]

[He's tired, okay. Let him have this.]

arrival

[salutosinedelectat]

[ All these new arrivals are making Aziraphale a tad bit nervous. Or maybe it's just one thing on top of so many, and what feels like a path toward some conclusion that he doesn't yet now. Funny, really, going about that the second time around, and how much changes when you're quiet literally near powerless to do anything about it. Not that he did much the first time around, but at least he felt like he could, for a bit.

But never mind that. He should probably head back to the islets, see what a certain demon has to say about this. But the finds the young man walking in his direction, and he's quite sure-- yes, another new arrival. Oh, dear. ]

Oh, er. Hello. [ He greets Jet politely as they're about to cross paths. ]

Fluttershy | My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - OTA

[kindashy]

i. You Can lead a Horse to Water - Beach

[Why is it always her that ends up separated from the group? Honestly, she'd have guessed that maybe there was someone out to get her or something... Thankfully, Fluttershy's not as terrified of her own shadow as she used to be, so after the initial freakout of being in a strange, her place all by her lonesome, a quick peptalk to bolster her confidence results in a pastel pegasus pony trotting along down the beach from where she arrived. Here and there, she may also appear over head, lazily flying overhead to get a better vantage point of her surroundings, or even surrounded by a few of the island's native fauna.

In fact, those still wandering the sandy shores might come across an odd sight indeed. A group of Slypers, heads bowed almost in apology, ears flat against their heads, chattering quietly to one another as the small horse lectures them sternly, but with an air of gentleness as well. No nonsense here, but Fluttershy knows how to put her hoof down sometimes, too!! She...she can be assertive!! Ish!]

Now, Nikolas...I know you're very upset that Mr. Morgan dug too close to your den and collapsed it, but that's no reason to raid his food stores! Why, you're not just hurting Mr. Morgan, but you said it yourself that you knew he was working very hard to gather food for his mate, who's expecting! And you Jeremy... Now, I don't want to overstep boundaries here, but I think you owe everyone an apology, trying to stir up trouble just because you wanted the grassiest spot for your den. I'm very disappointed in you for lying to Mr. Morgan and his wife... Goodness, telling them there were snakes in those chipmunk holes... I'm frankly appalled, but I'll give you all a chance to get through this. I'm certain we can all come to an understanding together, but you all need to apologize for your actions.

Jeremy, I think you should go first. Yes, right now, mister! And I don't want to hear any excuses this time.
---

ii. Churn that Flutter - Nuidan

[It took some polite asking around, but eventually Fluttershy learned how exactly to use the mana pools, though she didn't know where she'd end up. Honestly, there was a quiet hope in her heart that these strange magical water would deposit her back in Equestria, but...a bit too wishful a thought, it seems. Alas, until whatever it is that brought her here is satisfied, it seems she has to make due. A normally frightening thought, but she has indeed grown out of her shell, and is far less withdrawn than she was. All thanks to her friends, of course.

Needless to say, the bounty of food in Nuidan is only nibbled upon, though it all is quite delicious. The fruits and pies...vegetables and mmm! That honey is to die for slathered over bread and butter.]

Goodness, Applejack would fit right in here, wouldn't she? [Fluttershy giggles into a hoof, then trots along, looking for somewhere to deposit her plate. Or, you know...someone to thank for the meal. It feels terribly rude to just dine and not, you know...do anything to earn it, or give her thanks and appreciation.] Oh, I wonder if perhaps we're expected to farm the land here? A give and take sort of thing? Or...um, replenish the stores, as it were. That does make much more sense.

[So! With that in mind, she's off to work. Bucking apples like Applejack taught her (though she's no where near as good at it as the able-bodied earth pony), and coaxing the bees ever so sweetly to give up some of their delicious honey. It pays to have a knack with all kinds of animals. Some might even catch her with a teensy honey bee or two one one hoof, smiling gently down at it.]

Oh, yes, I adored the clover honey! You all work so very hard, and I truly appreciate it. Please, tell your queen she's doing an impeccable job monitoring you all. Oh, but if it's no trouble, I'd love to take some back to the table. Not much, just enough...oh! And in return, I can recommend the grove just a small ways away - I saw that some of the trees there are starting to flower. Your hive might get some fresh nectar if you travel just a bit farther. Mhm...yes.

Oh! Why, I'd be delighted to escort a squadron there, of course! It's the least I could do for what you and your hive do every single day. Just let me know when you're all ready and we can make the trip together. If you like, I can even carry you all! You do deserve a little break once in a while...everyone does. Wouldn't it be nice to stop and smell the flowers instead of pollinating them? Hehe.

i

[ohboyohboy]

[ The gentle but firm lecture has an audience. A dog wearing an unusual collar sits nearby, his tongue happily lolling out as he watches. Dug does not know what the little creatures are — they look like dogs, but they are not. However, he can tell they have done something wrong. He does not know what the larger creature is, either. She's big, like a bird, but she is not a bird. (Is she?)

He's glad she is not scolding him. He does not like being a bad dog. ]

Hi there. You are very good at talking.

Nanu | Pokemon Sun/Moon (games)

[kahunanu]

Beach
[Alola, this was not. His island this was not. This becomes immediately apparent the moment Nanu sees a creature scuttle by in the sand that looked like some breeding project gone wrong between a Turtwig and a Crabby. More strange, his own hand has a translucent quality to it. Did he die? He's dead, isn't he. Cripes, he mutters under his breath, scratches the back of his head, and decides there's no sense in standing around.

The more he walks and looks around the more the animals here seem wild, strange, unfamiliar--even outright alien. It's hard to not liken them to smaller more benign Ultra Beasts, except he's the lost sucker who's in their world, if that is the case.

Nanu looks like he doesn't belong walking around on a beach even if he were back home--he's a pale, morbid looking man with red eyes and dark clothes and walks with a lazy hunch. There's no obvious rush in his steps but make no mistake his ears are on high alert for anyone other than him, or the faithful Persian who silently trots along the sand by his side. She's the best conversation he has for the moment.]

If we're dead I hope it was from the sushi last night.

Storyteller's temple
[Nanu's drawn to the alter/ruins, maybe even compelled to them. They're old and he relates. And the old deserve respect or something, right?

He pads over the sand-strew stone flooring, picking at a clearly-more-important itch in his ear.]

Don't mind me coming in.

[To whatever deity might be listening. He pays more serious attention to the curious glyphs and signs; some faded with time, others much more fresh. Better evidence he's not alone.

He finds himself drawn to the large red-brown stone inside, warm and inviting. He reaches out to touch it but hesitates, remembering what happened the last time he rested his hand on weathered ancient stone; it foisted upon him a life of responsibility he never asked for, but, maybe needed. There was a sharp pang of disloyalty burning in the back of his head. His hand lowers and he sneers at something that isn't there.]

Gonna' make me think twice about that, huh.

[He'll behave. For now.]

Temple

[mamaterasu]

[The temple is quiet, calm, and among the few places that people haven't openly invaded. That's good...even Ammy needs a moment of reprieve from all the noise and clambering people around, and she's happy to take a moment to linger in the stone walls of her sibling god. To place her mark, again, upon the Wall of Glyphs, and examine the artwork that has been placed over time, in her absence. Perhaps add her own story, again... It's been a while, as far as she can remember.

The lick of claws on stone echoes through the dimly lit chamber as a shape doesn't so much emerge from the gloom as it does simply light up the space. Ammy's fur is - before the ethereal shimmer of whatever magic brought her back - radiant white, and has a heavenly glow to it that is unnatural even to normal folk looking at her. Normal folk who can't see her godly form. Those who have little to no faith in their hearts, or have buried it away...and can only see faint echoes of the wolf's red markings, the divine instrument on her back, or the swirls in her fur.

Someone like and unlike Nanu himself.

There's a lazy sniff as she spots Nanu, a "hrrumph" behind him as she makes her presence known, and perhaps halts any theft that might be going on here. She doesn't know, doesn't want to assume, but please...be respectful. And she will be in return. Her head lowers in a bow after a moment of shared silence and an intense standoff of gazes, before she pads up to the alter and sits beside him.]

Imelda | Coco

[la_matrona]

I. Beach
[Imelda stumbles to shore, giving an uncertain look at the raft. She'd never been much for swimming, not strong at it at all-- and that hasn't changed despite the fact that she can no longer drown.

Where she was, she didn't know. It wasn't the Land of the Dead and it wasn't where she'd been before. But wherever she was, she knew one thing. Hector had something to do with it. Now all she had to do was find him and get them out of whatever mess he'd gotten them into.]

[For anyone else, don't be too afraid of the annoyed looking skeleton woman striding along the beach, even if she comes striding up to you. You're not the one she's annoyed with. ...Probably]

II. Elsewhere

[Imelda is exploring her environs with no nonsense curiosity. Care to show her around?]

I

[vagabone]

[He's figured it out by now, that the lanterns are drawing people in somehow... he didn't send off any lanterns for the people he wants to see most, only forgotten friends, but that's plenty of reason to wait on the beach. Maybe he'll see Cheech again, if nobody else. He can already hear the nasty old man screaming at him, and it's hilarious.

But Cheech is not the one who drifts in first. Imelda is... he rises to his feet, taking off his hat, staring. Will this be a pleasant reunion or is he going to be smacked (definitely, one she notices his 'this is not a shoe' shirt)? He's seen time go funny before, she could be from any year in the last five decades or so... or the future! Who knows?

Softly:] Imelda...?