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.

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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.

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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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[strac]

[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.]

[jinglejangle]

[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]

[strac]

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?

[jinglejangle]

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.

[strac]

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.

[jinglejangle]

[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.]