August Intro: You Think...You Wink...You Do A Double Blink...

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: AUGUST

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr.
When: August 3rd
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Part I: Get Wrekt
You rouse to a splash of sea salt drying on your skin. A haze of glass-white sand glitters in your vision, dappled by lush palms and thick, curling foliage that disappears into a jungle of deep jade. From behind, crackling wood and sawing rope groan from a mangled life raft ran ashore. A petering wash of tide over pebbled sand fills your ears as you struggle to gain your bearings in a vast portrait of tropical color…

No...no, no, that’s not precisely how this story starts.

Why don't we start over?

You rouse to a splash of sea salt, spraying across yourself and the wooden floor beneath you as it breaks across the edge of the platform. The light as it dances across the sea is blinding, dappling white spots across your vision as you slowly come back to consciousness and realize that - this is not where you last remember being.

The middle of the ocean is likely not a place most recall being at all. As you struggle to fully comprehend the new scenario in which you have found yourself, three things become quickly apparent. The raft you find yourself upon barely constitutes as something that should float, never mind a boat. In the distance, perhaps a few hours away at most, a large island beckons to you, a wide strip of beach surrounded by cliffs making it very clear where the most fortuitous of directions shall be.

Lastly, of course, you’re not alone. Hopefully your new companion(s) are just as keen to get ashore before nightfall as you, or voyaging together will not be the most positive experience. At your side you will find a knapsack, one to every member of your raft party, and upon inspecting its contents, you will discover any rewards you may have accrued - as well as a few other items to give you a fighting chance.

A note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme: 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.

Part II: Choose Your Own Adventure

By fortune (or misfortune, as it were), you eventually find your feet meeting sand, blessed shore to stagger upon as you shake off your newly found sea-legs. There are those that may find this place familiar, as though it appeared in a dream, though the expanse of shore certainly seems larger. The beach stretches off into the distance on both sides, curving around sharp ridges and cliffs, mist obscuring the view the farther along it goes.

So here you are. You’ve found land. Company. Supplies. The sun is now beginning to trek rather low upon the horizon…spending the night outside in such an unfamiliar land is unappealing at best and outright dangerous at the worst.

There is one silver lining in the midst of this mess. Directly ahead, the beach curves up a gentle slope until it meets forest, some manner of building visible through the trees. Further exploration of this area will reveal a dilapidated building of sorts; the architecture is indiscernible to even the most skilled eye. Despite looking as if it has seen better days, there are areas that offer some form of shelter...and who knows what else. Just because it appears uninhabited doesn’t mean you won’t wind up pleasantly, or unpleasantly, surprised.



So what shall you do from here, traveller? There is land to be explored, strangers to meet, friends to reunite with. Supplies to inspect and plenty of questions in need of being said aloud. Choose your path, make haste, and above all else: survive. And whatever you will, take heart.

Your story is about to begin anew.

---

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 )

Comments

a;

[chummer]

[ Sorry, Ignis, were you lost in thought? Hope he doesn't mind that suddenly being interrupted by a splash of sea water in his face as a Shark-Man suddenly flops onto land right abouts where he was sitting. He's gasping for air, grabbing onto the nearest thing to steady himself. The nearest thing, as it turns out, happens to be Ignis' legs. Because of course they are. ]

Fuck this place! [ he spits, along with some seawater left in his chest. Drowning is such an unpleasant feeling. He hates these dumb humanoid lungs the sea witch had cursed him with, hates that this ocean won't cooperate. It takes him a moment to regain his senses and when he does, he realizes he's latched onto some poor soul that probably has no clue what in the world is happening. ]

Shit, [ he mutters, unlocking his grip on the other guy's legs. His webbed hands drop unceremoniously in the sand. ] Sorry, man.

Apologies for the late tag! Been recovering from surgery!

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis was deep in thought, but those thoughts definitely are less important than the fact that something has just come out of the water at him. At first, he thinks it must be some kind of creature, but then it speaks and well...]

Language, my dear man.

[Wow, because that's important when someone is drowning. Still, the smirk that crosses Ignis' face doesn't last long, almost immediately shifting to concern instead.]

There is no need to apologize. Are you all right? Did something happen to your raft?

npnp!! hope your recovery is going well! c:

[chummer]

I'll say 'fuck' all I fucking want. [ He's not in the mood to have his language policed, alright. Almost drowning kind of puts the edge on. ... Really, though, he's just a huge brat at any given time. ]

Just awesome, [ he huffs, voice dry as he's not. ] And didn't have one. Was trying to swim away from this gods awful place.

It's not working. [ Ob...viously... ]

It is! Thanks! :-D

[shatteredlenses]

[Well, it's a good thing Ignis has practice dealing with brats.]

Whatever made you think you would be able to swim far enough to escape? I'm blind and even I can see how bad an idea that is.

[Ignis is also used to people thinking of bad ideas (tm), but this one is way up there on the 'bad ideas' chart. Astrals, they're stuck on a tropical island with no idea if there even is more land out there.]

If we wish to escape this place successfully, we will need to put together a plan with a few more steps to it than 'swim until I find home.'

[chummer]

Uh. Have you not-

[ seen me, is what he's about to say. But then he actually regards the man at the word 'blind' and decides not to go there. Finley like might be a huge asshole, but he isn't about to trod on this possibly blind man's sensibilities. ]

Nevermind. I'm a Shark-Man. Swimming's kind of my thing! And usually it works. But not fucking here, apparently.

[shatteredlenses]

[Bless you Finley. Ignis is doing a good enough job treading on his own sensibilities for everyone.]

Oh.

[For a moment, Ignis actually seems too surprised to speak. That is certainly not the answer he was expecting.]

Are you saying you're some kind of siren or mermaid? Err... My apologies. Merman?

[chummer]

[ Yeah, he has that effect on people. A shame Ignis can't see him in all his glory. He's pretty great. ]

Ew, no. I'm not a mer. We're different, where I'm from. They're fish, we're sharks.

I'm more... lander now, thanks to some sea witch magic, but. Like a weird fucked up hybrid between lander and shark, I guess?

[shatteredlenses]

[Fish versus sharks. Predator versus prey. Well, Ignis has to admit that does paint a rather stark contrast between the two even if it is also a bit of an unsettling one.]

That sounds like a dreadful mess to have to deal with on top of being stranded here. At least, it makes it less likely that you are currently grinning at me with several rows of teeth exposed.

[Odd as it may be, Ignis isn't sure what is worse: being able to see a monster grinning at you with row after row of teeth or knowing that toothy grin might be there and not being able to see it. The first he's faced more times than he would like to think about which is why the second may just be in the lead when it comes to which is worse.]

[chummer]

[ Finley is an apex predator, no less. No shortage of deadliness nor pride in this one. Thankfully, he hasn't seen any reason to exert the deadliness just yet. The pride, however, is kind of involuntary. It paints every aspect of him, even now. Ignis might be abel to tell. ]

No, but I do have some awesome chompers. Don't worry though, I won't use 'em on you.

Unless I have to. But I don't think that'll happen. You seem alright. Way better than most assholes I've met today.

[shatteredlenses]

Well, I do endeavor to remain low on the 'asshole' list with those I meet, so I'll take that as a compliment.

[Fortunately, thanks to Gladio's own prideful nature, Ignis is hardly phased by Finley's.]

I do feel the need to apologize for my earlier sarcasm, though. Knowing more about your nature, I can see why you thought swimming might be a viable escape tactic. Did you find anything of interest out there before you were forced to turn back?

[chummer]

[ It's possible they might get on well, at this rate. ]

Don't worry about it, man. [ He's already gotten over it. ] And not a whole lot. There's some weird sharks out there? Fish I haven't seen. Nothing, like, crazy though. Not yet.

[shatteredlenses]

[The idea of a Shark-man calling other sharks 'weird' is amusing enough to Ignis he has to fight back a laugh. He's mostly successful aside from the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.]

You say 'not yet' as if you plan to try again. Is that the case? And, if so, is there anything you think may help your attempt be more successful?

[chummer]

[ Other sharks where he's from aren't half cat?! That's bizarre, okay. No one can tell him it's not. He'd think it was cool, honestly, if they weren't so territorial and aggressive. Of course, it's not as if he wasn't either. ]

Hell yeah I plan to try again, [ comes the smug response. ] I'm not going to let this dumb fucking ocean beat me. I'll figure it out.

Maybe ask around, see if anyone else is having the same issue. Who knows what might help. I can get about as far as the boats started out there and then-

[ He hasn't blacked out yet but he will. ]

[shatteredlenses]

[Half cat, half shark? What are the animals on your world, Finely? And Ignis thought that the catoblepas was the weirdest thing he'd ever have to deal with.]

I can certainly do that. I don't know if anyone else can swim like you can, but we arrived here on rafts. It won't be long until someone thinks to try leaving on them as well. I wonder if working as a group might bring better results than one person attempting it alone.

[When Finely suddenly stops talking, Ignis gives him a curious look.]

Then what?

[chummer]

[ They're... normal. Well, that's debatable. Some people claim that they don't have mermaids or shark-men or sea witches. Also, Weiss had called him something when they first met that he doesn't remember but vaguely recalls being offended by. ]

Then I get sick, [ he finishes. ] Like I'm going to pass out? It's fucking awful.

[ One of these days, he actually will too. The rafts though, that's... not a bad idea. He's loathe to rely on something to sail when he can swim faster than anything landers craft but. Have to make due where you can, he supposes. ]

[shatteredlenses]

You start feeling that ill just out of the blue? How unsettling.

[And that's an understatement. Ignis frowns as the implications start hitting him.]

Do you think the Storyteller has marked some kind of outer bounds that we are permitted to go to? If we try to go passed them we start feeling ill or, well, it's hard to say what might happen if we are on a vessel, but it likely will not be good.

[chummer]

Tell me about it, [ he practically huffs. ]

Wouldn't put it passed him, the hoppity motherfucker. Thinks he can control us. I'll show him.

[shatteredlenses]

I realize this may go against your nature, but I have to recommend patience in this endeavor. There's no way to tell just how much of ourselves the Storyteller has control over. If we prove ourselves too rebellious before we can protect ourselves, they may just lock us down completely leaving us no choice but to do exactly what they demand of us.

[chummer]

[ What's 'patience'? Can you eat it?

In all seriousness though, waiting has never been the shark-man's strong suit.
He was a creature of action, always has been. ]

I don't do well sitting around. And I have to get home, back to my sea. [ Back to Bayani and the royal family and- Everything. They need him. (He needs them, too, but he'll never admit that.) ]

[shatteredlenses]

[You can try to eat 'patience,' but Ignis would recommend against it. There is much better uses for it and it's just a bunch of empty carbs anyway.

Despite his advice, Ignis understands Finley's wish and can't blame him for not wanting to listen.]

You are far from the only one who wishes to be back home, but we also have to remember that if we act too rashly, we may end up extending our stay here indefinitely. There is a middle line between action and thought we must find and work from.

[chummer]

[ He is unconvinced.

Also, he doesn't want to admit that Ignis has a point. He's being... sensible, which is something Finley very much isn't. That he probably needs to be, all things considered. ]

Yeah, yeah. Alright. I won't do anything stupid.

[ He absolutely will. ]