lifeaftr | December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

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December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

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 )

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C4.

[there are probably worse ways to be introduced to a world that has somehow whisked you away from your own than be woken up by a mutant rabbit that can talk. currently, reyes feels like he's stumbled on one of those ways.

how he has managed to survive long enough to wake up (again) on unforgiving sands, in an equally harsh landscape, from an impromptu nap is a major miracle. especially after hoofing it in a general direction for a little over five minutes had brought him face to face with something out of a fantasy book. well, more like face to ground as an honest-to-god hydra tried to drag him underneath the sands. thankfully, fantasy creatures didn't seem to stand up very well to slugs right to the face.

it's one of the most harrowing experiences of his life, going toe-to-toe with something that was trying to eat him. after a lifetime of battle, you get used to people trying killing you. being the main course? it tends to make a fight go a little differently. after all, you don't necessarily need to be dead to be eaten.

in the end, reyes calls it a victory when the hydra finally goes still. he's almost out of ammo, a bit scratched up and probably dehydrated, but hey, now he's got a whole treasure trove of resources.]

C3 (SHIT SIDE).

[the severity of the situation becomes apparent after only a hour out in the desert. in case the hydra attacking him almost immediately after waking up hadn't been a big enough warning bell, there's literally no cover from the sun and thread-bare resources. almost like this side of the island wasn't mean to be inhabited by people or something.

in the marines, he had always thought all those survival classes had been a waste of time. after all, when was the last time a modern army had to fight in the wilderness? now, though, now he's thanking his lucky stars he paid attention. that "worthless" training had secured him filtered drinking water (or, at least, as filtered as water straight from the banks of river strung through some of the cloth from his bag could be). it had also helped in stripping his hard-won hydra kill down to the most important parts (though, you could only take so much from a twelve-foot monster).

unfortunately, meat, water, and portable shade will only get you so far. reyes knows he has to find a way to brave the river and get onto the literal greener side. too bad what happens to be sentient cacti want to block his path.]

C3 (GOOD (?) SIDE).

[swimming has officially become his most hated exercise ever.

the quacks at SEP had always promoted the soldiers to push their limits, as if they were cats with nine lives to spare. reyes had yet to really find his capping point. until today. swimming across the shortest distance of the river he could find hadn't seemed like such a herculean task to a man who had run miles on days of no sleep. once he got to the other side, though? his body told him differently.

being laid out for a few minutes at the bank of the river had filled him with an uncontrollable dread. after all, the other side had barely allowed him to walk five feet without being assaulted by some monstrosity. the moment nothing accosted him just for taking a much needed break, reyes decided that things were automatically at an all time high for him.

now, if he could just get up off his ass...]

(WILDCARD).

[whatever you want famalam]

[McCree ended up in the desert, well. Entirely on accident. He had seen it from across the river, of course - it's not hard to miss, the way it's just there, mocking him, trying to drive him back to - to something. To Deadlock, to the Gorge.

But he's here now. He can't remember how he got here - hell, he can't remember much after his run in with that white-haired asshole. That's. Probably something he should be worried about, but if there's anything long-term...he can always just get it fixed. Maybe if he gets fucked up enough the Storyteller will just make him a full on omnic.

Then he wouldn't have to be worried about being cooked alive out here in the desert.

Still, if there's one thing McCree knows about the desert and this...fucked up place in general, finding shelter should be his first priority. It is his only priority at the moment, up until he runs into someone who's made quick work of one of those nasty hydras. It's an impressive feat on it's own, but - it's Gabe. Commander Reyes. There's a twist in his gut, but more importantly there's - a hope.

If Gabe's here, it'll be fine. They'll be able to work it all out.]

Ain't you a sight for sore eyes.

[Just give him a moment to scramble across the sand, alright? These boots were not made for walking.]

[luckily for mccree, reyes' attention is hyper-focused on getting his knife and thick hide of the hydra well acquainted.

it's not going particularly well.

one would think that a serrated knife, clearly meant for this kind of work and in good condition having never been used, would have little to no trouble eventually cutting through flesh. the reality of the scenario is the moment gabriel tries to plunge the blade through the beast's skin? an audible dink rings out as the scales of the reptile repel the knife's advances. great. a couple more strikes produce the same results. super great.

and it's here, with reyes turning over the legs of the creature to feel for any pliant skin maybe underneath the outside scaling, that the only cowboy on the island will find the disgruntled soldier.

gabe turns, regarding the man coming up to him with some confusion. had he not seen anyone else since he woke up?]

Must be pretty sore, if you're happy to see my mug.

[he's pretty sure he's seen others far off in the distance...]

Ain't exactly the prettiest mug I've ever seen, but that don't mean I can't be happy to see you.

[Which, well, would only sound strange to a stranger - but after all the crazy nonsense he's seen, McCree is happy he's met someone familiar.

Sort of. He's not happy that Gabe is here, where everything is trying to kill you, where there's no way to get back home, where everyone can just die because the god of this place has locked them all away. It's not a place he'd wish on anyone, but if there was anyone he'd want here, it's Gabe.

It's all very complicated.

McCree manages not to say any of that, though, instead crouching down next to Gabe to look over the hydra. It's a hell of a thing.]

Take it this thing was the welcomin' committee?

[for some reason, when the newcomer says he's happy to see reyes, gabe feels it isn't in the general sense. which would be crazy, of course, since the soldier is 100% positive he's never seen this man in his life. not even in passing. if there's anything reyes prides himself on, it's his memory, and he doesn't forget faces.

or outfits as strange as this guy's.]

Whatever you say.

[still, the feeling of familiarity radiating off the stranger doesn't fade, and any other time, reyes wouldn't ignore the uneasiness he feels. but maybe there's something to be said about living through a hydra attack and how it affects your mood. with some feeling of hope that he'll be able to weather this fucked up scenario he finds himself in, gabe decides to let it go.

maybe he's just thinking too hard.]

Yeah, real red-carpet treatment. Guess I should be lucky that if this is the strongest thing out here, I should be able to survive in this shit-hole.

[if you ignore that he barely has any ammo left.]

Edited 2017-12-09 06:58 (UTC)

[It's a dismissal, but, hell, wouldn't be the first time. Or the last time.

It's just - just Reyes being Reyes. Or at least that's what McCree feels, and he...hasn't really felt sure of anything since deciding to check this new place out.]

Strongest thing on this island in particular, maybe, but I don't know if that means much.

[An entire island appeared over night. Caves nobody knew about before just open up on a whim. Next time the landscape changes, maybe there'll be something even bigger and tougher than the hydras or those quartzcoatls.]

An' the powers that be seem to be capable of offerin' do-overs, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[because nothing is more reassuring than knowing you can't die]

Do-overs?

[depite the implication, reyes seems to only hold rudimentary interest in whatever the powers-that-be could possibly offer. if they can't offer a way back home, then he really doesn't put much stock in what else they have. he's never needed help getting by, anyway, preferring to take care of himself. god forbid, all puns intended, that he be in anyone's pocket.

especially some force that can apparently control time and space.

and anyway, he's finally managed to find a part of the hydra he can cut into. that's a true feat worth all his attention. after all, this isn't exactly like skinning a squirrel. he's slicing into the softer hide on the creature's belly when a thought hits him.]

Wait, how long have you been here?

What I said, ain't it? Y'get cut off but the Storyteller just brings y'back again. Death ain't a satisfyin' ending, apparently.

[He taps his fingers against his knees, feeling like - like he should be doing something. Gabe seems to have it all handled, though, so it's not like there's much for him to do.

Except answer questions. Recon's not his favorite thing to do, but he has made some effort to find out what's going on here.

He gestures as he talks, trying to seem like he actually is doing more.]

Reckon it's been about...two months? Give'r take a few weeks, but some folks I've run into have been here for 'bout twice that.

Shit.

[not the most eloquent of quips, but can you blame him? months of being here and no one had found out how to get home or how to stop people from getting trapped here. well, he assumed, anyway. no one could possibly want to live here, did they? reyes barely believed that any of this was actually happening, the logical part of his brain trying to convince him this was just a fever dream. to imagine being stuck here for god knows how long made him want to believe even harder none of this was real.

that he'd wake up in the shitty tent that served as their base of operations, with several other people snoring around him.

he refocused on the task in front of him, trying to keep himself grounded. one thing at a time... the stranger's fidgeting goes largely unnoticed, but there's definitely a restless energy rolling off of him. it reminds him of a certain soldier back home, who barely understood the idea of standing still.]

Was hoping I wouldn't be here long enough for introductions. [or to give a shit about anyone besides himself. he sighs, grumbling a little. maybe he should be angrier or outraged that he'd be here longer than he hoped. but what's the point in wasting energy over it? it's too damn hot out here for that.] You can have at this thing if you want. I'm not gonna use it all.

[Shit about sums it all up perfectly - and, hell, Gabe's gotten lucky. Sure, the threats on Monsun aren't anything to sneeze at but...

It all seems better, safer, nonetheless. Maybe it's the sun and sand frying his brain, but the dangers seem less hazardous. It's no being caged or being thrown into an inescapable cavern with festering crystals. Things are harsh but not insurmountable.

But it's not going to do any good to tell Gabe any of that. "Don't worry about it, you haven't even see the worst of it yet," isn't going to go over well.]

'Fraid that's kinda inevitable, but most folks here seem plenty friendly. Might wanna watch out for any tall, white-haired men holdin' shovels, though. [McCree is pretty sure that's why he can't remember anything about how he wound up crossing the river.] Might be better to leave it for something else out here. Don't got much room left in my pack.

[Which is unfortunate - there's plenty of stuff back in the woods, but with no way to lighten the load there's no point grabbing everything you can.]

[Someone hauls himself, dripping and haggard, onto the grass, and lies there.]

[Gabe has not left the solace of the trees since he arrived. He's glimpsed the other side, the painful reflective blaze of sun off sand and the shimmering heatwaves that glisten over the rounded dunes of yellow and orange. There's nothing there worth his time, and nothing there to hold on to. He won't let go, just yet, of one of the slender saplings at the woodland's edge, clinging tightly to it with both arms twined around the trunk like it might root him in place.]

[Until now.]

[He eases away from it to crouch slowly, smoothly, several feet away from the newcomer.]

You came from the other side.

[it probably speaks to the level his exhaustion has reached, considering that, for a man whose job was to keep on his toes, that he doesn't budge when at stranger sneaks up on him. usually there's at least the leveling of one of his weapons, his knife, or just snapping at the stealthy offender for giving him a spook, but here? reyes manages to crane his head up a little, expression three shades of annoyed, to just dead-eye the newcomer.

or oldcomer. who knew, maybe the kid's been here a while?]

No shit. What gave it away?

[whatever uplifting mood he had been in on the other side, despite the sun, the sand, and the general feeling of being in hell, is completely gone. the frustration from his somehow weakened body, having to swim, and this weird kid creeping up on him are all rolled into one big ball of pissed-off.]

Everything.

[Said with the glibness that suits the snapped-out response. Gabe smiles faintly, a flicker of something bizarrely, viciously amused. Like he enjoys watching him struggle, trying to pull himself to his feet, sopping wet and snarling and gruff and glowering.]

I think you're going to like it here.

[with great effort, reyes manages to drag himself to his hands and knees. the pack sitting laden on his back he slides off, setting it just off to the side. only enough distance to allow him to move, but close enough that if this weirdo decides to try something, he's ready to snatch it up. maybe he shouldn't be so paranoid and distrustful of the first guy he meets in a forest, but hey, it's not like he has any other reason to do otherwise.

especially not with the way the kid's smiling at him.]

Yeah? You gonna give me the juicy details or leave me in suspense?

[reyes slides the sodden beanie off his shaved head, ringing out the thick cotton with a few good twists.]

[He looks...older. Older than Gabe. That's not saying much. Gabe himself looks older than he is, which is something like eighteen months old (so cold).]

[He's no Diana Goodman. But he'll do. Won't he? It doesn't matter who Gabe's tied to - or who he thinks he must be tied to, because that's the only way he can have any sort of fair existence in a world like this one. Now that he's sunk his teeth in, he'll never let go.]

[He can never let go.]

It's a world where we can be free.

[...............o k a y. despite having the situation explained to him (by a large, talking rabbit), told that no matter what nothing will happen back home until he goes back, he wouldn't describe this place with so much reverence. how exactly could they be free here?

if anything, reyes feels more like a animal in a very small cage, being watched through one-way glass. there's a weighted ball of wariness growing inside of him, slowly sinking into the pit of his stomach.]

I'm not sure where you came from, but there's nothing liberating about this place.

[too prevent himself from rolling his eyes or anything else equally derisive, reyes shakily gets to his feet, slowly taking his body armor off to get at his water-logged hoodie.]

[Speak for yourself. He's alive, like this. He's alive in ways that other people can perceive, that other people can see.]

Maybe you just haven't been here long enough. [He tilts his head to one side, watching Reyes like he's a profoundly interesting specimen. It hasn't occurred to him that some people might not like to be scrutinized so. Or rather, he hasn't yet been in a position where people are aware that he's scrutinizing them.]

You just need the right perspective.

If I ever get that complacent, I'll make sure to throw myself in the next deep hole I see.

[it's against his very nature to trust anything at first glance. some people might say it wasn't in him to trust anything ever. while reyes wouldn't go that far, as a man fresh from a world war, anything with the potential for peaceful normality made him jumpy. considering he had been greeted by a monster and almost eaten when he had awoken, he'd say his lack of trust was the right decision.]

How long you been out here, kid? Eaten anything weird lately?

[because he must be out of his mind to tell reyes he needs to look on the bright side.

and then comes the staring; studying. maybe he should be used to that kind of treatment, after being a literal science experiment for an extended time. he wants to turn around, to ring his hoodie out without the weight of eyes on him in his peripheral. but he doesn't turn. no reason to give the kid a reason to do something funny.]

[Complacent isn't a word Gabe would associate with the liberating exhilaration of accepting your lot in life. And yet...is he right? Is it complacency? Is it accepting things without pushing up against them?]

[No. Clearly not. He's wrong. Gabe is - he's every song that has stayed unsung. He's old as time, forever youthful. He's beyond the scope of truth and morals and right and wrong. He can't be wrong.]

No holes here. Just berries and rabbits and everything you need to start a new life.

[talk about simple. if that's all this kid needed for a jumpstart on a new life, then he could have at it.]

I'll pass on a new life. Need to wrap up the old one first.

[despite the shitshow he would eventually return to, reyes wouldn't give up anything that had happened to him. he had done too many good things, met too many good people to just throw it away.

there was nothing else he could do about the rest of his wet clothes except hope they dried out naturally. when his hoodie and beanie didn't look like they would release a deluge of water inside his pack, he threw them in and fixed his body armor back on his torso.]

But I won't say no to something else besides lizard meat. [reyes makes moves to set off into the thick line of the trees, slinging his pack over his shoulder.] You gonna survive out here by yourself?

[Gabe stands slowly, smoothly. He has full memory of moving in a body like this one, flesh and blood and bone, but it's a whole different sensation entirely, to actually have it. All things considered, he'd like to think he's quite coordinated.]

[He moves to follow. Or, more accurately, to shadow. A few steps behind, if he can.]

I've always survived. [Great. Thanks, Gabe. You're three for three as far as esoteric non-answers to perfectly reasonable questions go.]

Have you?

[this is, by far, one of the weirdest encounters of his life. gabriel wasn't really expecting the young man to follow him, his question of survival more off-hand than an invitation. though he doubted the kid would care if reyes invited him along or not. it was almost like he had latched onto the drenched soldier, deliberately studying and following him for...

what reason? did he just not want to be alone? was he lost? though the stranger tailed him a comfortable pace behind him, as to not invade his personal space, gabriel could feel his annoyance mounting higher. maybe the kid would get bored and wander off.]

Considering I'm still alive, I think that's obvious.

[gabe can spin all the non-answers he wants, gabriel will gladly snap at all of them.]

We're all alive here.

[He says it like it's something extraordinary, which, for him - it is. It is. He can breathe the air and smell the sea and feel the crunch of leaves underfoot and it is exhilarating.]

[But he hasn't yet learned that he's his own independent entity, at this point. He hasn't learned that he can exist without someone else's misery to ground him. And so, this man seems like an adequate target for his jests and jeers. Why not?]

But that's not the same thing. Surviving, and being alive.

[if reyes had rolled his eyes any harder, they might have fallen out of his head.]

Next you're gonna tell me that life has no meaning if I'm not living, right?

[he's heard it before. the whole life isn't worth living unless you're actively doing something with it. at least, that's what he thinks the kid is trying to tell him. surviving is surviving, period. what does personal fulfillment matter if you're dead anyway?]

In this situation, they're synonymous.

Life has lots of meaning, even for the dead.

[He says it with the air of a private joke. Not that he’s dead. Was he ever? There’s another joke buried in that, but he isn’t in the mood to untangle it just yet.]

You haven’t even been here this long. [Not that this little twerp here has either, mind.] Maybe you’ll meet something that challenges your perspective.

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December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

overusedmeme.mp4

C4!!!!

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C4...whose woods these are, i think i know

SLIDES IN HERE sorry for the late reply

eyy no worries!

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