lifeaftr | February Intro: Chasing Kairos

February Intro: Chasing Kairos

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.

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.

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

Oh no, I just happened to be in the area, and it would be a bit rude not to say hi, ja?

I find it difficult to believe that rudeness is being taken into consideration. But I suppose you're fortunate - I'm disinterested in arguing the point today.

I'll take it~! How kind of you!

[It's still sarcastic, as is most of what he says, but he doesn't seem interested in being an asshole today.]

You won't have to worry about being bothered for too much longer, I don't plan on staying out here forever.

[He's not leaving yet, but he doesn't really have a reason to stick around either. He's fought some scorpions, picked up some poison, and even stumbled on you, so that's probably good enough for one day.]

[How about we ignore that last one, because that's awkward.]

I don't either, for what it's worth.

[...]

I suppose it's good to see that Brilliant Cataclysm wasn't too hard on you.

[...We were doing so well.]

[Ah. Speaking of awkward.]

Well, I did have to sleep for a week or so, which wasn't particularly fun.

[...]

You seem to be doing just fine, so I suppose you didn't lose your sight.

I haven't lost anything, to my knowledge. It was more along the lines of what you described - I required a good amount of sleep, but otherwise I'm none the worse for wear.

[...I mean, he kind of died, but you know what he's not going to deal with that right now.]

[Fair, honestly...]

That's certainly convenient~! Well, it looks as though you're doing just fine now.

[Both physically and uh. You're not anywhere near as crazy as you were back there, so that's probably a good sign??]

...It seems so, yes.

[He really doesn't like dealing with anything that happened, nor does he really know how to acknowledge it in any way that's halfway normal; he just...pauses for a moment before rising to face Yeager properly, and when he bows at the waist it's in much the same way he does to those from the Council (deeply enough for the gesture to be clear, shallowly enough to not expose the back of his neck), and for once in his goddamn life he has the general decorum to not look up immediately, he keeps his damn gaze low.]

I do owe you gratitude for what was done there. It was certainly not appreciated at the time, and I doubt that it was what you intended in the first place, but your assistance was beneficial in the end - as such, I can at least look well upon the result.

...Thank you.

[It's...incredibly formal and mechanical, in a way that makes it somewhat difficult to tell whether it's because he's just awkward about this whole thing or because he'd quite rather die than say it at all; there isn't any audible emotion behind it, but at the very least it is being offered in the first place, and he won't linger on it, either - he'll straighten up easily enough and just...move to go back to what he was doing, if no one minds.]

[...um.

Well, okay, then. He's certainly not going to stop Alexei from returning to what he's doing, though the incredibly long pause probably says more than Yeager really wants it to. That certainly isn't what he intended, and he doesn't like being thanked like that, especially when it wasn't for Alexei's benefit at all. Even if it had been, he'd greatly prefer not to deal with... that? Any of that. People don't treat him like that, that's just how it goes.

It takes him a moment to recover, though aside from the pause, the only indication that anything was wrong was the blank expression.]

...You really don't need to thank me. Nothing I did there was for your benefit. I did what I wanted to do, as always.

[It's awkward in a way he can't place and doesn't fully understand. Even though he's doing his best to settle back into the usual apathy, his voice carries a hint of confusion, like he's not sure why he's being thanked.]

[The result of that is...more or less a shrug and the general expressed sentiment of "Eh."]

Whether it was done for my benefit or not is irrelevant. The fact is that I did benefit from it, and I dislike feeling as though I'm in debt to anyone.

If it means nothing to you, that hardly matters to me and it doesn't change anything, now, does it.

[...You know, as one does?]

[It's weird, though??? Do you just go around thanking everyone who does something that benefits you even if they weren't trying to help you?? Even if they killed you??

Sometimes he questions whether he's forgotten entirely too much about how the Empire works, but no, this is definitely a Weird Alexei Thing.]

...No, of course not. It really doesn't matter any.

[...]

You don't have to thank me for anything like that, though, and should something similar happen in the future, I'd prefer it if you didn't.

[He doesn't have to say it. He could dismiss it. But in the end he decides not to because it's so goddamn weird and he doesn't like it for some reason.]

[Alexei, in the meantime, clearly sees nothing strange or wrong about anything he just did and is back to trying to get the tail off this monster without getting venom all over his hands.]

...Very well. Though I would think a few moments of being uncomfortable is fair enough after killing someone.

[You're such a weirdo.]

You're one of the very few people who has managed it!

[He doesn't sound bothered by it any, now that Alexei's agreed it's fine. Don't do that again and we'll never have to think about it!]

[That...gets a quiet laugh out of him, actually.]

Is that so? I'm almost flattered.

You should be. Don Whitehorse is on that list too. It's not often anyone can fluster me!

Don Whitehorse, really...

[Huh.]

I admit I didn't know the man outside of the political end of things. But I wouldn't have expected that.

Nothing in the world could prepare you for speaking with that man for the first time.

But you've had that pleasure as well, ja? How did those negotiations go, anyway?

We are not going to discuss the peace negotiations.

I'm so pleased to hear it went exactly as terribly as I expected!

They weren't entirely for nothing, at least.

[...just mostly, because heracles, but that isn't the point.]

[Hahah. Yeah.]

Oh, of course. Don Whitehorse may have been exceptionally difficult to get along with, but he was a very smart man. I'm sure he could see where an alliance with the Empire was advantageous.

[He sounds almost fond, despite the complaining from earlier.]

I did get that impression. I don't know if I would call him exceptionally difficult to get along with, in my own case. More that we didn't communicate on the same level. As people, of course, but also as a matter of affiliation.

[Like, seriously, how the fuck do the guilds do anything.,,

That said, what he's putting out there is a little blank in tone, but it's more along the lines of just not being sure how to phrase it and as such going with the most diplomatic way he can think of. It isn't as though he hated the guy, he just found dealing with him to be incredibly socially harrowing.]

[That is very fair. Don Whitehorse was a bit Much.]

Ja, of course. The guilds certainly do things very different from the Empire! If you aren't very familiar with them, I can certainly see where guild members look completely insane.

[...some of them are, but that's not the point!!]

"Chaotic" is likely how I would have phrased it.

[BUT YOU AREN'T...WRONG...]

The polite way, of course.

[OF COURSE HE ISN'T, HE HAD TO DEAL WITH THEM FOR TEN YEARS.]

"Chaotic" certainly isn't wrong, though! I'm sure they would have destroyed each other were it not for the Don.

[And then through no fault of his own the Don died and Harry is totally screwed, but it'll probably be Fine.]

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