lifeaftr | 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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Look, sometimes you just have to jump headfirst into danger to go fight some more danger, okay? Don't judge their lack of planning skills!]

[Thankfully, Chip is too focused on panicking about which shore to go back toward to be able to panic about a not terribly familiar man grabbing hold of them. They grab a fistful of Guzma's shirt and hold on tight, making a clumsy attempt to tread water and only barely managing to keep their head fully above the water.]

[Guzma is big, and he's strong. He's lived in Alola for all his life, where currents and tides ruled - waves far bigger than these crashed upon the shores during the peak of surf season and when a storm was brewing. This sort of current? Is nothing t the rolling tides of Alola, even with his new little Komala clinging so tightly to him.

He curls one arm around Chip to secure them, then makes for the opposite shore, where the desert lies. It's way more dangerous there, in terms of monsters and environment, but...well, the danger on the other side is just as bad. It'd be himself. What would he do to a child he was mad at, at the water's edge? Would he drown them himself? He still has his knife, a hatchet, and now a shovel... The tools needed to kill, and then dispose of a body.

The thought alone is sickening, and enough to force Guzma where danger is a bit more easily dealt with. Easily...mm. Maybe not, but they'll be in a better mind to do so, anyway. He finally touches the shifting stones and muddy bank of the desert river, and stands up, panting hard. He's drenched, and tired, but safe.]

...You still hanging in there, tiny?

[As soon as they've reaches shore Chip scrambles the rest of the way to dry land, collapsing to hands and knees and gasping for breath. They're shivering, but not from any chill--no, here now on the hotter shore, they're realizing just how far into their blood they fell.]

[Again.]

[Guzma's question reaches them, though, and they look over startled and guilty before nodding, a quick and jerky motion.]

[Sighing, Guzma removes his soaked hoodie, wrings it out (as best he can, anyway), and drapes the damp article of clothing around the kid's shoulders. It's massive on them, and won't exactly provide anything they can use to dry off - soaked as it is - but that's not why the child is shaking like that, he can assume. Oh no, the reeling feeling of being cast out into a sea of fire and jerked back to reality is...jarring.

His first time was a lot like this. Guzma found himself loathing himself for a good day or so after his first experience inside that forest - he actually attacked someone, after all - so looking at this child, he can relate. And hopefully, now they know to be careful in there - to go it alone, and get out as soon as they've gotten what they need.]

Keep that a while, and breathe slowly...in and out. You following me there, kid? [He squats close by, hands leaning on his bent knees as he snaps his fingers in front of Chip's face, to try and get his attention. The last thing he needs in a child going into some sort of shock or something. Mother of Mew, he wouldn't know jack all how to react to that.]

[They freeze as he approaches them, not sure what Guzma is intending, but the weight of the still soggy jacket around their shoulders makes them blink and look down at it. It's not until Guzma prompts them that they remember to breathe, and they suck in a quick breath before coughing again and trying to actually follow his advice.]

Y...yeah. [They focus on his face for half a moment before ducking their head, pulling the jacket close around them.] I...I didn't...did I hurt anyone?

[They can't remember.]

[Ah, the million dollar question. Guzma sighs, running his fingers through his wet hair. If only he could come up with a decent answer to that, but there's no way to break it down. That side of this island, where everything seems so picturesque and perfect...it's a nightmare. It's a hellish nightmare, and waking up isn't as pleasant or liberating as one would expect.]

Couldn't tell you...I just saw y'all when you were floundering there in the water. T'be honest, I was thinking'a letting y'all drown...but maybe I still had some speck'a humanity left in me. [He casts a look back to the forest, exhaling.] Dunno what it's worse, but even if y'did, don't think you'd be the only one.

December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

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