December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: DECEMBER

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: December 3rd and onward
Where: Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: Uncharted Waters
Stay alert, new adventurers; instead of the white-sand beaches of Enso, you will instead be coming to on one of two sides of the relatively uncharted lands of Monsun. Most of the information regarding this peculiar land can be found in the informational post linked, but as a quick-and-dirty rundown: Monsun's western side is a hot wasteland of a desert prone of disasters and mishaps, but will affect your character's emotional and psychological state in a positive sense, while its eastern side is a verdant forest filled with endless resources...as well as a tendency to bring out the absolute worst of your character.

To start with, all new arrivals will be showing up in one of two squares that characters uncovered last month! We are leaving it up to player discretion as to which side of the island your character arrives on, but bear in mind the psychological repercussions!

All new arrivals will additionally awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can all be found in your acceptance notices!

Monsun, C4: These Are Your Good Years
You wake to the hot sun steaming overhead, rapidly drying your clothes and belongings, waterlogged from washing upon this desolate shore. The heatwaves shimmer at your vision, distorting your view of the horizon. But if you really squint, it looks like there might be something dark green fringing that pipecleaner skyline, like a lush woodland awaits you on the other side of this desert nightmare. A mirage, maybe?

Whatever it is, you don't get very long to contemplate it. Beneath your feet, the ground has begun to shake as a many-headed horror erupts from the earth. Great streams of pale sand slough from its dry, scaly hide as multiple horned heads unfurl in a hissing inflorescence. The creature's eyes are all pale as grubs; it is quite blind. But that does not mean it cannot smell you. Boasting both a thick hide and a chitinous coat of sandy-colored scales that blends them perfectly with their surroundings, Sand Hydras sleep several feet under the sand until they sense the vibrations of potential prey aboveground. While they are significantly smaller than their mythological counterparts - they can only span eight to twelve feet in length - Sand Hydras are cunning creatures nonetheless with a number of heads that can vary from one to as high as ten. Their weakness, on the other hand, is simple: water burns them like acid. It seems they may flourish only in any moisture-poor environment.

Assuming your character lasts that long, remember: as physically destructive as Monsun's west may be, your character's most admirable traits will be amplified to their fullest potential by the twenty-four hour mark.

Monsun, D3: Before You Bury Yourself Alive
Those waking on the eastern side of the island, on the other hand, will face a far more pleasing tableau. The temperature is perfect, the sun shines modestly through the canopy of deciduous greenery above your head, and the air is thick and sweet with the smell of fresh fruit.

That's right - within minutes of their arrival, your character will discover several plants laden with fresh wild blackberries. Should that temptation arrest their attention, should they be vulnerable to the foibles of greed or hoarding or paranoia, your character may very well wish to keep this treat to themself. Or...perhaps not. Perhaps they'd much rather search out a fight, or try to steal someone else's supplies, or embark on a poorly-advised mission to swim out into Monsun's surrounding waters.

For that is, after all, the catch: as physically soothing as Monsun's east may be, your character's most hateful traits will be amplified to their fullest potential by the twenty-four hour mark.

---

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 )

Comments

[creditless]

"Am I what?"

He's not going to let the Batter go of any loose threads of conversation, which means they'll be stuck here longer. "Another island where what doesn't happen? You killing me when the sun goes down? I should hope so."

"You look very nice as a corporeal human. I'm assuming you don't get many compliments because of your eye situation, but for me it's very--" He makes an OK hand sign to hammer in the message.

[unpurify]

Speaking of eyes, the Batter has to resist the urge to roll his. They may be on the nicer side of Monsun but that doesn't mean he still can't express when something is stupid. Also only one person has seen all of his eyes open at once so far and hasn't said anything about it.

And the less said about it, the better.

"The emotional effects do not happen on the other island. And I won't now."

How nice....?

[creditless]

[ Aww, it was a big secret? He supposed eyes and teeth would be. After all, what Zach had under the mask was enough to make several stomachs turn.

Hm. Another island? ]

Okay, so...

How do we get there?

[unpurify]

[Yeah, because he like advertising that he has four eyes and sometimes looks like a freakish monster to people depending on their perspectives. That's not even getting into what the Batter looks like to himself.]

Mana pool. I'll show you.

[Once you're ready to go, anyway.]

[creditless]

[ He's ready.

There's no one to sell to around here. No one to even buy from. The Batter wouldn't even be that nice to indulge him... ]

Mana pool... now that sounds normal. [ Without a hint of sarcasm. ]

[unpurify]

[You routinely break the 4th wall with the grace of a rhino in a China tea shop Zacharie. A Mana pool isn't that weird. But up and at 'em.]

This way.

[Mind, it is quite a bit of a walk. Still they'll get there and one thrown flower into the pool, they're back in Enso. No more emotional stuff to deal with, just the usual deserted island. If the Batter goes back there, he'll probably go alone.]

[creditless]

[ No, that's why he said it without a hint of sarcasm! That sounds like something in a video game. ]

Hey... why is no one here?

[ If this is the main island, then-- what gives? ]

[unpurify]

They are elsewhere. It's a big island.

[Really big. He probably should talk about the dangers here but that can wait a little.]

You can go back the same way we came.

[If he wanted to in the future.]

[creditless]

Sure... [ He rubs his thick neck as he looks around. The temple is right by here, so he's quick to point it out. It looks Plot Relevant. ]

What on earth is that?

[unpurify]

[Very Plot Relevant. The Batter looks towards where the merchant is pointing.]

It belongs to the Storyteller. They are the God of this island.

[creditless]

And what does a God do, hm? Are they like a puppeteer, or are they more laid back?

[ A very important distinction to make, since a puppeteer could control your movements, and a god could change your entire world. ]

[unpurify]

They are not like the Puppeteers were.

[They didn't control him. True the Storyteller had set them all somewhere that ended really, really badly for everyone involved, but they apologized to them all for it.

Ruled the island but didn't directly control the actions of those here (at least after that). But the Storyteller didn't let the Batter go either.

It's...strange.]

[creditless]

...

So you truly are autonomous...

[ He makes a guess, on a whim. ]

You must not have a lot to know about living alone, right? You've never had the experience!

[unpurify]

There was no need to.

[So yes. He had memories of living together...but they're gone. On the island where he's staying is basically just a safer place to sleep and store the items he can't carry on his person.]

[creditless]

But now there is! Infections, insect bites, so on... you have to take care of your body from miserably banal things! Of course, I'm not sure why I remember that either... maybe it's because I'm supposed to know more than you in general?

[ He was choosy with his limits, it seemed. ]

So! Show me where we're staying.

[unpurify]

[The Batter's tempted to point out that he still has his healing spells but there's no point. But there's some use to having someone who knows these things around anyway.

So it's a bit of a walk and another trip to the mana pool, but soon they'll be at Shack #5. Home sweet home.

...also the Batter has done basically nothing to the place so it's still rundown. Enjoy buddy.]

[creditless]

... you live like this?

[ It seems he has repairs in his future. Thank goodness for his trusty hammer, which will not be going into his trade pile. ]

Right on the floor? Oh, Batter. [ That's def a judgmental tone. ]

[unpurify]

[Look. Can he sleep here when he actually manages to get to sleep? Yes. Can he store all the stuff that he can't reasonably carry? Yes. Good enough.]

It's fine.

[No it's not. Or 'no it's not' for normal people, which the Batter isn't. He's slept on the Save Block once or twice so don't judge.]

1/2 timeskip

[creditless]

It is not fine. How many spiders are you fine with crawling in your mouth in the middle of the night for warmth?

Don't answer that, you don't care.

[ He sets down his backpack and pulls out his assigned satchel. Ah, a trusty hammer. There are some bats sticking out of the bag, too... ]

Dirt today. Bed tomorrow.

[creditless]

[ It's a bit longer than tomorrow, but Zacharie's teleporting helps him amass a bunch of supplies.

A bunch of cyperus papyrus, a slain and skinned sand hydra eleven feet in length, scrubbed dutifully in the ocean and left to dry, lumber, lungblossoms, and a slain tigershark.

The first thing he does is patch up the roof with the sturdy lungblossom leaves. Then, with the timber readily available to everyone, he gets to work.

(There's a lot of fresh meat with that Tigershark and sand hydra, you know, Batter). He slices four even pieces of lumber with his sword, wraps around the hide of the sand hydra to be anchored by the heavy logs, and puts a set of tigershark nails in each one.

He tests it out tentatively. Ah, yes. A nice, wide bed. ]

Well, there's enough materials for a second!

[unpurify]

[It's interesting to watch. The Batter had zero skill in crafting but he was strong enough to lug around whatever Zacharie needed when he had his hands full and help out when he could. It gave him something to do and keep his mind off other things.

Productive. And it felt good, he supposed, to be working with his hands again. Although asking the Storyteller for gloves at some point would probably be a good idea. Splinters were still a thing and the Batter refused to waste CP or a healing item on them.

But that's one bed down. One for Zacharie and the next one for him. The Batter personally didn't care where he slept, hence why he did nothing to fix things up prior to Zacharie's arrival. But he's been watching long enough that he should have a decent shot at getting it set up.]

I'll try.

[Wish him luck Zacharie.]

[creditless]

Remember, evenly sliced logs.

[ He hands over his sword, which is sharp to the touch if Batter dares, almost like a razor. ] Then you secure the hide under the logs, then you take the hammer and smash in as many tiger teeth as you can around the perimeter and center. Do-it-yourself bed.

[unpurify]

[That's asking to get his hand sliced open due to inexperience so the Batter isn't going to touch the blade. He does, however, mentally compare the weight of the sword to his baseball bat. There is a difference between the two, not to mention the difference of damage a blade could do verses blunt force. He'd never considered alternate weaponry before.

But now's not the time for it. Getting to work, the Batter slices the logs. Due to the aforementioned inexperience one winds up just a little short but that's fine. Next, after handing the sword back to Zacharie, he'll go in with the hammer and tiger teeth. The benefit of swinging a baseball bat over and over made it easier to swing a hammer for quite awhile so this doesn't turn out that bad at all.

There, +2 do-it-yourself beds. And if worse comes to worse the Batter can just sleep under his.]

Done.

[creditless]

Doesn't that look a lot better than dirt? Congratulations, Amigo! Instead of destroying everything you see, you've made your first thing!

[unpurify]

[Given the Batter has slept on the Save Block once or twice and the dirt in this place up until now, his answer was obvious and he's not going to say it. The Batter had fairly low standards for living arrangements.]

Zacharie's other comment, on the other hand...]

I do not feel any different.

[Or feel anything. Tired, but that was perpetually so. No different.]