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

Huh, those actually aren't contradictory. [Roy takes that as much more of a flat 'no' than Muffet does, albeit not an absolute one, but he isn't about to step on her question.]

[Instead, he digs into his pack for some other offerings. Gobbet had given him a little stick of candy to offer up, or at least that's what he thought it was; he sets this on the altar with as much reverence as he can muster.]

[The two weave around each other quietly, for a moment. Contemplating Muffet's question.]

For your food, we will heal. [Says one.] Perhaps there is something you can do for us.

For your drink, we will strengthen. [Says the other.] Perhaps there is nothing you can do for us.

[Then they turn to Roy, whispers almost amused. But not quite.]

They are balanced. [Says one.]

They are unbalanced. [Says the other.]

[Muffet nods politely, accepting their answer and noting the consistency with what they provided for her own offering.]

Thank you. Are there any limits to your healing that we should keep in mind, any afflictions that you cannot cure?

[She thinks of her own magic, ineffective against the crystalline disease or Ardyn's daemonic condition. But she cannot bring back the dead, either, and the Storyteller can, so who knows where a deity's limits might be?]

[Thank you, Muffet. That neatly stops him from giving voice to how nicely the contradictory stuff had returned.]

[Hmm. They could routinely trade with the Storyteller, including here... ] Are we able to communicate with you or make offerings to you outside of this temple, or on islands other than Monsun?

We cannot heal the dead. [One says calmly to Muffet, as the other answers Roy in an equally calm manner.]

We cannot be reached beyond these walls. [One says calmly to Roy, as the other answers Muffet in an equally calm manner.]

If I might ask... can you please tell us why the Storyteller can be reached anywhere, and you can be reached only within these walls?

[His initial suspicion is that Balance and Imbalance have dominion over Monsun, whereas the Storyteller has dominion over 'those with stories', i.e. all of them. But that doesn't seem complete, since by that logic Balance and Imbalance can be contacted only here, not over all Monsun. Maybe in most locations on Monsun, only one of the two holds away, and they can only communicate in joint this way -- that would explain it, but it also seems fantastically narrow. Anyway, Roy feels it's better to ask rather than just speculate; the worst they can say is 'no'.]

[Yuka speaks up again.]

Can you grant us protection from whatever is happening on the forested side of the island?

The Storyteller will tell you. [Says one to Roy, slowly shifting its attention to Yuka.] To the east is physical comfort. To the west, comfort of the mind. It is balanced.

The Storyteller has told you. [Says the other to Roy, slowly shifting its attention to Yuka.] To the east is dangers of the mind. To the west, physical dangers. It is balanced.

December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

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