lifeaftr | April Undercurrent: Breaking Barriers

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April Undercurrent: Breaking Barriers

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 )

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--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.

[This one is...new? Not new? Guzma doesn't really remember well enough, having just returned himself only a few weeks - maybe just a week - prior, but he's busy cleaning out the inside of his wood stove out back, brushing out the ash and soot with a palm frond, and wiping the interior with a wet rag (a piece of a cut shirt he nabbed from the clothing pile).]

Yeah, I said heads up.

[Pulling himself out of the oven, Guzma wipes his forehead and shakes out his hair...which is a little more silvery-gray than white with the ash on it now. Scizor, meanwhile, looks down from his perch high up among the fronds of the towering palm, one clawed arm gripping a branch while the other holds another green coconut. Hrrm? Did someone say something?]

[Come to think of it, Ginko hasn't seen this guy in a while - but that doesn't seem like something worth commenting on. He doesn't know Guzma well enough for that.]

Didn't say I didn't appreciate that. [He sighs and looks up at Scizor. Good to get a look at the culprit, at least.] Haven't seen that guy before.

Yeah? Well, that's 'cuz he's new, too. [Guzma waves him down as Scizor grabs another coconut and leaps down, buzzing his wings to slow the descent a bit as not to cause any true impact. He can take it, he's made of some tough stuff, but property damage...especially his trainer's property....eehhhh. Not a good idea.] Only get two'a my partners here, so when I came back, the powers what be decided to play slots with my party.

[He's...a bit bitter, kind of. The scant few good things about Havenwell was...the opportunity to get his entire party back. After not seeing them all for years, even getting a third to join him was a small blessing. To lose...replace one for another--...it's not put his mind in a great place.]

[Ginko's first thought is that that hardly seems fair, but... well, obviously he won't say that. It kind of goes without saying around that a lot around here isn't fair.]

...That's too bad. Who all else have you got, where you're from?

[It isn't fair, and though he's gotten a bit used to it before, when the option of having them all back with a little effort was presented to him...Guzma's bitterness and dislike of being hindered and removed from his friends and Pokemon partners seemed to grow tenfold. He just wants to see them all again, is that really such a big ask?]

Golisopod. He's sleeping in his ball right now, but he's been with me since I first got here. I don't remember...you ever seen 'im before? Big bug - grey, purple antennae and two big ol' clawed arms--Sciozor, go get my Pokedex, yeah?

[The pokemon nods, then hurries inside Guzma's small home and returns with a shiny, red Pokedex held gingerly in its claws. It's busted up to hell and back, with scratches and dents all over it, but...it still functions well enough. He got the screen fixed in Havenwell, and even got it ungraded to include the species native to Galar as well. But, for now, he's looking for Golisopod's entry. It's easy to find, actually, he has it marked as a favorite because of course he does.]

I have, yeah - think closest I got was back when the Jormun were helping us explore underwater. [And Golisopod was swimming circles around all the fumbling, freshly-aquatic islanders.] He's a hell of a sight to behold.

[Ginko leans over to look at the Pokedex, his ears flicking forward with interest.] What is that?

Y'dang right he is! All my Pokemon are.

[Said proudly, of course. And sincerely. Guzma raises each and every one of his Pokemon partners with the love and care they need, and it shows. Each one adores him, treating him mostly like a friend and family member than a sort of "master" like some people like to assume.]

It's a Pokedex - like a mechanized encyclopedia of all the existing species back in my world. I was gonna show y'all Golisopod, but since you've seen 'im already, ain't much point now. Unless y'all wanna see something else. There's well over a thousand species and tons of info on 'em... [In all honesty, he's spent hours with the thing, learning things about all sort of (primarily bug type) Pokemon.]

Over a thousand? [Oh, he is definitely interested. Finding any resources on mushi that exhaustive in his world would be quite a task; the chance to learn about creatures from another world entirely is invaluable.

And... also just exciting. Turns out years of unwanted interdimensional travel haven't managed to stamp out his curiosity.]

Well, I wouldn't know where to start asking about them... what's something you'd consider interesting?

[Over a thousand indeed, but it does span over eight different regions, after all. Guzma clicks his tongue, thinking, and makes a face of thought, his lower jaw jutting out.]

Man...don't ask me that, I'll just show y'all different bug Pokemon that're dope as heck, yo. But I guess other'n that, uh...maybe the legendary Pokemon'd tickle y'alls fancy? I mean, they are Pokemon spoken of in myths and legends, so I guess there's some history there.

[He shrugs, Guzma's not exactly about the whole legends and shit. The rare, legendary Pokemon are cool, sure, and he does owe his life to the one that governs Alola, but he's still not wholly invested in the lore and such. Same with the Tapu, in fact. He respects them all, to an extent, but he has neither love nor hate of them. He's more or less indifferent.]

[Bugs and a kind of life-form he's basically unfamiliar with? That sounds extremely interesting actually. Or, you know, it all is. But he's got his priorities.]

Hm... well, legendary creatures can be interesting. But it's all going to be new to me, and I feel like more common forms of life can tell you a lot about a place... I'd be glad to hear about more bug Pokemon.

[There's a brief lifting of Guzma's brow, and a narrow of the eye - is this weirdo trying to butter him up or something - but he simply shrugs and taps in some information on the Pokedex, listing a full queue of only bug Pokemon, or those that have the bug typing in their biology.

Naturally, he starts with Pokemon that are among his team.]

Alright, my guy, you asked for it... Here's Scyther, the first form of my boy Scizor here. Lotta Pokemon start with a base form - the first stage - then as they grow and develop, or meet certain conditions, they evolve and take on different forms. Here.

[Guzma hands the tablet-like device to Ginko, which shows a picture of a vibrant, green mantis-like creature and a plethora of information about it, including moves it can learn, height and weight, gender differences if applicable, and even where the species in found globally. At...least in his world, anyway. All the region and town names may not make a lick of sense to Ginko.]

[Almost immediately, Ginko's eye lights up as he looks over the entry. It's so much.] This is incredible. So, metamorphosis is common among Pokemon... these certainly look more capable than most creatures' larval forms where I'm from.

Edited 2020-05-16 07:35 (UTC)

[There is indeed a lot on this specimen, definitely. It helps to note that Scyther have existed in many different regions, and aren't so much rare as they're difficult to find - the species is reclusive, often shying away from people and using their verdant colors to hide in long grass and camouflage themselves. But being so abundant in different regions means more information in the pokedex. The same can't be said for those that reside in a single region, like much of the Galar pokemon.]

Eeh...metamorphosis isn't really the correct term, even if y'all is correct. Technically, anyway. It's evolution. Not just bugs evolve, almost ninety percent of all Pokemon evolve, and that includes mammals, birds, fish, and heck...even ghost Pokemon. [He never understood those ones. They're so bizarre, but make for some fun stories to tell in the dark involving them.]

But Scyther start like that, yeah. Still, don't expect to find a freshly hatched Scyther ready and raring to go - even Pokemon start young and don't really develop until a few months or years into their lifespans. Scyther, once they've hatched, are actually really soft-shelled and a lot smaller...plus their blades are blunted. They don't start to harden up and get sharp until the Pokemon grows a bit on its own.

That does make sense. Can't expect a newborn baby to do much, whatever its species, right? [He pauses in scrolling through the information, rolling back mentally to something else Guzma said.] ...What do you mean, ghost Pokemon? Do they... keep evolving after they die?

Nah, it's not like that. Ghost Pokemon are their own variety of creatures. It's... [He rubs his neck a little, making a face.] Man, to be perfectly honest, I don't really get ghost Pokemon. Ain't my specialty, but they're more like spirits, taking on another form, I...guess? Or inhabiting an item. Could be a person's soul, could be a Pokemon's soul, there's a whole bunch'a theories and, y'know....stuff.

[He wiggles his fingers. Ghost are weird. Acerola could probably explain it better, that's her preferred type, the creepy little weirdo. He reaches out for the Pokedex, then inputs another name, and what appears after a few seconds is yet another pokemon, this time vastly different.]

Phantump. Story goes that they spring up from kids what get lost in the woods...and die. Their souls inhabit a tree stump, which becomes this Pokemon. That's what stories say, even the 'dex will tell you that, but it's never been, y'know...proven.

[Because what sort of sick fuck would get their jollies watching a child die in a forest for the sake of research? He'd shove them into a tree stump head first.]

Interesting... sounds like there's a pretty broad range in how they work, huh.

[He examines the ghost pokemon on the screen, his ears flicking slightly as Guzma explains the theory behind them.] Yeah, I'd hope not... [That would be fucked up.] Sounds like the kind of story that'd spring up around some phenomena where I'm from, too. I take it bug Pokemon are somewhat better understood, overall?

[Guzma gives Ginko a look, raising his brow with a tilt of his head. The head did he mean by the first part there? Phenomena? I mean...these sorts of things occurred due to horrifying tales told way back in the day. Some of the legends and tales spun about various ghost Pokemon date back to hundreds of years, sometimes thousands, and many of them remain constant... It's scary, in some cases, but then again...they are ghosts.]

Tch, yeah. Bug's a bug, no matter how y'all spin it. Born from an egg, some got their larval forms, then they pupate, and some metamorphose once they reach their final stage...depending on their evolutionary cycle. Best example're one of the worm-like Pokemon: Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Scatterbug...just to name a few...

[Guzma snaps his fingers, and Scizor, who had retreated a bit away to sun himself, comes back over. Guzma pats his head then instructs him to turn around, slowly.]

Thing is, lotta other Pokemon look like different types, when they're not. It's a defense mechanism. You look at my Scizor, and y'all think 'yeah, that's a bug', right? Even if y'all don't know it's a Pokemon. He got the properties of a bug, yeah?

[Worm-like Pokemon... even if the names aren't familiar, the concept sure makes sense. Same as with so many insects in his own world.

Speaking of which: He nods slightly as he looks over Scizor.] Yeah. Bigger than any I'd seen in my world, but he looks like a bug, in the end.

Mmhm, pretty straightforward, yeah? If it looks like a bug, it's probably a bug, right? Reasoning's all there.

Now this one. [He inputs a name into the Pokedex, sighs as the loading screen glitches the image, then gives it a hard whack to the side, which fixes the picture. Some habits just never die... Regardless, the new image is of a very colorful creature, native to his homeland.] Lurantis. What'cha think 'bout when you look at this one here? First thing what pops into y'all's head?

[He only looks at it a couple moments before responding.] ...Also looks like a bug, I guess.

[Hahha...ha. Guzma smiles, though there's a bit of a saltiness in his tightly pursed lips.]

Yeah, no. This is a plant. Grass type. Not a bug. [He takes a deep breath, then throws his hands up.] AND IT MAKES NO SENSE!!

If it were a bug trying to mimic a plant, that'd actually be rational, since it can camouflage and avoid piss off birds what don't usually eat flowers. But no, it's a plant that looks like a bug, and it's dang stupid because grass and bug got the same weakness to birds. If a bird decides "oh hey, what a tasty looking bug that is" yeah it might get a nasty shock after plucking at what amounts to a leaf, but that hit's gonna be super-effective anyway!

There is no point to it looking like a dang bug and it's infuriating. The only thing I can think of is that it's blending in to look like a bug so it can lure in prey, but...again, that doesn't make sense because bugs EAT PLANTS.

[Guzma, are you okay?]

[This is... quiet possibly the angriest Ginko has ever seen someone get about mimicry. It's kind of fascinating.

It's also a little confusing, unfamiliar as Ginko is with the whole "types" thing and which have "weaknesses" to each other, but he thinks he's got the basic picture?]

Is there nothing that... plants are weak to and bugs aren't?

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April Undercurrent: Breaking Barriers

♆ FOURTH WALL EVENT ♆

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