February Intro: Chasing Kairos

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: FEBRUARY

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: February 4th and onward
Where: Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Monsun, for the uninitiated, is an island divided in two, separated by a ribbon of flowing river. To the east, a rich deciduous woodland and perfect temperature heralds a plethora of resources at your disposal, at one singular, significant cost: your very worst traits will manifest the longer you remain in the area, until, by the twenty-four hour mark, you're living your absolute worst self.

By contrast, the island's western region is a harsh wasteland, a swathe of desert with hardly any shelter from the unrelenting sun and arid heat. Most everything here wants, in some way, to kill you, from the landscape to the fauna. Ugly storms and predators run wild, but the benefit is probably exactly what you think it is: namely, that your best traits manifest more and more strongly the longer you remain on Monsun's western half.

You, you lucky band of newcomers, are going to be arriving on one of two sides of the island. Whichever one in which your character wakes is up to you - though they're certainly welcome to head either direction, once they get their bearings.

Monsun, B2: Desert Air Won't Drown You Out
A craggy stretch of desert borders Monsun's northwest coast. Parts of the sand here, the further north you head, seem to have gone suspiciously slushy or boggy...though that might be the beginnings of an oasis that looks like it might be present on the region further up. Or, possibly, something else entirely.

It'll probably be hard to tell when you've got a mess of your own to contend with. Namely, the presence of a predator that's going to be making life quite...difficult for you, the longer you remain.

Nova Scorpions have been unlocked in the bestiary! Nova Scorpions are about one meter in length and have a large stinger to match, with a golden carapace that makes them near-chameleonic when it comes to blending in with the sands they so favor. They are nocturnal by nature and tend to burrow into the sand and form lairs with others of their kind. Occasionally, one might encounter a scorpion carrying its young on its back.

By far the most dangerous thing about them is their venom, potent enough to floor even the most powerful and even those of the nonhuman persuasion. They can be, potentially, milked for said venom if you're in need of a powerful toxin to lace your weapons, but it's recommended that you make sure the scorpion is very thoroughly dead or well on its way before doing any harvesting of its resources. You know. Just to be on the safe side.

The good news, of course, is that your better traits will be amplified the longer you stay on this side of the island. If you don't mind the danger, you're far more likely to earn yourself some help here than you are on the other side of the island.

Speaking of which.

Monsun, C1: So Scared of Overgrowing Youth
By utter contrast, the rich woodlands of Monsun's east give all the appearances of being the best sort of welcome one could ask for. With the island's coast lining the region of C1 to its north and a deep, beautiful green swathe of lush deciduous undergrowth swarming throughout the entirety of the area, one could almost call it idyllic.

One thing is certain: it is very, very beautiful. The presence of so many growing things make it a glorious contrast to the island's western half. And in C1 in particular, there's no shortage of resources. The odd berry bush, the abundance of trees that can be harvested for lumber, if necessary...and the presence of some very odd, but nonetheless potentially adorable little creatures known as mosslings.

What may initially appear to be a tuft of particularly springy moss will, on closer inspection, prove to be something a little bit more. Mosslings are practically indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape unless one is keen-eyed enough to pick out the twin yellow points of glowing eyes nestled among the leafy orbs of their bodies - or unless one happens to spook one by accident, prompting it to scurry hastily away. They are extremely peaceable, extremely docile creatures, though they can make traversing the landscape startling on occasion, for the faint of heart. Aside from potentially edible, leafy flesh, they don't have much use in the way of resources, but they are quite harmless! You, on the other hand, probably aren't so harmless. At least, not the longer you stay here. If you don't start forging your way west, or weaving your way to the island's single mana pool - located on E3 - to get off of it entirely, your very worst self is going to be manifesting, along with all your worst and least desirable qualities. Prone to violence, cowardice, jealousy, or paranoia? Better hope no one else is around to aggravate those traits, because they're not immune to Monsun's psychological effects either.

The only danger here comes from within. But the worst things usually do.

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

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

[mamaterasu]

[Rarely does Amaterasu meander to this island - she hates what it makes her become, just for the sake of scavenging something to feed herself or others - and rarely does she traverse it at night. But things have been happening on Monsun that even she can't ignore. For the most part, the wolf has been absent from the isle, but took to prowling the riverbank on the western side today, trying to fish for anything at all, just to bring back. That, and looking out for trouble...as this island always seems to be a host for it.

Not too long at all does that prevalent trouble reach her ears, and her lifts her head from the water and turn her pointed ears left and right to get a read on the source of the voice. Finding her mark, she races toward it, and finds a...vaguely familiar shape. Like a walnut, but much, much bigger. Hm--oh! When Eska pokes their head out from their shell, distant memories come flooding in - of a dark cavern and a mess of hungry dogs. A cute and very nice kappa stuck on their back, and a lot of petting. Yes, she remembers the petting. ♥

Snorting the wolf prowls closer, careful to keep herself hidden from the predator that is definitely making a, erm..."valiant" attempt at piercing the rock-hard shell of her new friend. Hm, if it's distracted, she may be able to torch that stinger with a line of flame from her reflector...hopefully her stand out white coat won't give her away even past the dunes and dry brush.]

[ninjatortle]

[Amaterasu is goddess of many things, but one of her lesser known aspects is being supreme deity of flawless dramatic entrances. For an ordinary scorpion, a plain white wolf may stand out a little bit amidst the pale sand, but not massively so.

For a monk who's spent their life spiritually devoted to worshiping the sun? She's radiant. A miracle in the dark. And a miracle they've witnessed before, too! A hazy dream comes back to them in that moment: being deep underground, far from the protective watch of the Eyes of Night and Day, immobile and helpless. And they remember the sweet, wonderful puppy who came to their aid in that moment, too. It seems like once again, this friend has come to them in a moment of need!

They pop out of their shell and spring up onto their feet in a single burst of enthusiastic energy, ready to move.

Unfortunately, the scorpion is also very ready to move. The moment it sees its delicious prey has left its strange bone-armor, it charges forward, massive pincers ready to snip the tortle's soft, stumpy legs down to size.]

[mamaterasu]

[Oopsie daisy, that's not going to scan.

With her cover not... quite blown (or not the way she expected), the wolf jerks forward and draws a line from her reflector right onto the scorpion's claws with her Celestial Brush. A line of black ink, very likely unseen by the tortle - unless they're especially keen on godly beings - swirls through the air as she flicks her tail, and it ignites like it were not ink at all, but thick, dense, and highly flammable oil. The line she drew blazes until it strikes at those snapping pincers and the monster's beady eyes. The desert heat is scorching, yes, but the sun's blaze is always hotter.

Let's see if this desert insect can handle it, hm? If not, there are plenty of other ways to deal with pests such as this. Just got to get that nice kappa a good distance back... This is probably going to get ugly.]

[ninjatortle]

[Scorpions are many things, but fireproof is not one of them. The creature, entirely oblivious to the source of the flame, lets out a high-pitched, keening hiss, raking its scorched pincers into the sand and scuttling backwards in alarm.

Eska looks a little mystified too, their odd stripy eyes flicking rapidly from Certified Good Doggo to scorpion.]

Uh... um, should - should we run?!

[They might know a thing or two about lobsters, but "spontaneous self-immolation" is definitely not a skill they were expecting to see. These desert variants are wild.]

[mamaterasu]

[Ammy was still ready for a fight, to protect her nice, new friend here, but if the scorpion isn't making any motions to fight back...they could very well flee. It's not as if she's here to ruin this creature's day entirely, just get it to bugger off and leave people alone. She stands by Eska's side a moment longer, growling, before looking at them with a questioning hum. Yeah, they can do that, but...erm.

Can they even run? I mean, Ammy's pretty aware that kappas are really nimble, swift swimmers, sure, but above land? And in a fucking desert? Oof... She's not exactly sure how quick they can move, and even with her Herculean strength, Ammy isn't sure she can properly lift and carry Eska on her back in a full sprint. That...that might take some actual effort. And, uh...time. Time they may or may not have, if this thing decides to give chase.]

[ninjatortle]

[Puppy friend looks a little uncertain. Maybe this dog has a tough time running on sand? Escape seems like a much nicer option than fighting to the death, though, so perhaps...

Amaterasu, without a doubt, has served as the brave steed for many a person. Poncles, hot ladies, absolute fuckers disguised as hot ladies... Ammy's put in the work. Now, however? Now it's her turn to put her feet up and take it easy.]

Please excuse the grabbing! I'll put you down right away if you don't like it!!

[Eska just... tries to sweep Ammy up and carry her, like a beautiful stripy bride, in a full-on sprint. A wolf - and a divine one at that - could probably keep up with them easily enough, but they don't know that! They're just pulling forth a surge of ki from the sand beneath them to use Step of the Wind - and for a brief, glorious moment, they nyoom.]

[mamaterasu]

[Well, this is certainly new.

There's a startled yelp as she's whisked right up off her feet and into those big, meaty claws. It's not exactly what she had expected or planned for, but...well, it works. Ammy's not exactly that heavy, so lifting her isn't at all hard for a person to do, but she's surprised to see this massive creature move the way they do - especially on land. The wind whizzes past as the duo clears the distance between them and the scorpion, Ammy blinking and wondering how this is even happening.

It's not bad, of course not, avoiding a fight and getting hurt is always the best measure, but...hm. That was definitely not how she pictured this whole adventure to go.]