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

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 )

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"Well, shit," comes an approving curse. There's nothing but approval in his tone as his inky black eyes catch the light from the flames dancing across the raft. Good riddance, he thinks. That whole 'waking up on a boat with people you don't know' thing was completely ridiculous. He's getting a bit of catharsis watching one burn.

But also, "How did you do that?" he asks. Sea witches have magic, he knows that now first-hand, but this is unlike anything he's ever seen. Which makes total sense considering he's a shark-dude. Fire? Underwater? Wasn't really a thing.

Yes, cursing approval is the correct response to most things Lup does, and she extravagantly flicks her messy ponytail over one shoulder as she turns around to face her audience. Oh dang, what big sharp teeth this dude has, and what creepy eyes. She puts on a charming smile anyway, hands on her hips in a broad stance.

"Magic and proficiency in blowing shit up, buddy." She gives him a more thorough once-over, noting the webbing too. "You a local boy, orrr...?" It's just that she'd love to have a word with whoever runs this place.

All the better to tear apart his enemies with, you see. Of which he's probably been making plenty with his terrible attitude.

"Never seen magic like that," he hums, still approving. His eyes watch the fire flicker for a moment. It's still such a strange phenomenon to the boy who comes from under the sea. Volcanic vents were plenty, but fire... He'll have to learn how to deal with it a little later. For now, "Nah," he answers. "Washed up with everyone else."

She can't help snickering at his wording, 'washed up', oh boy. "More like beached, right?" Look, she's hilarious. Too bad he's as clueless as everyone else, but if anyone lives here, they'll probably notice a bunch of randos swarming their beach soon enough and maybe come out for a chat. "You seen other kinds of magic then?"

"I feel like a beached whale right about now," he concedes, with not hiding the hint of humor in his tone. He'll give it to the lady, she's at least trying to make light of things. That's more than can be said for most of the assholes on this island. (Finley, too, is a colossal asshole even if he claims otherwise.)

"Well, yeah. It's magic making me look like this right now." Not quite shark, not quite man, but entirely awesome. "Don't usually got legs." That's... a thing.

There's very few things in life Lup can't or won't make light of, or light up, like with fire. One of the two. Not taking things seriously is a survival strategy, probably, or maybe she's also just an asshole. Maybe whoever brought them all here had a really unfortunate hankering.

"No shit?" she says, ears pitched at half-mast in a sort of lazy interest. "What's that, some kinda Disguise Self? A shitty Polymorph? Didn't know sharks had wizards." How do they wear the hats underwater, is what makes that implausible.

Hey, that seems like a solid strategy to Finley. He has hardly taken anything serious since arriving and been a colossal asshole. Well. He knows it's probably going to get cold tonight so he's been a little serious about finding shelter, but even then it's not like... dire.

"We have sea witches," he explains. "And fuck if I know what she did. All I know is I'm some lander and sea creature hybrid now. Can walk on land, but still breath underwater if I need to."

Sea witches, that sounds legit. Not knowing what spell was even cast on him has gotta suck, though. "Well, better hope whatever she did doesn't have a duration limit, right? You'd be beached for real if it wore off out here." She says this like she's reminding him to put enough salt in his pasta water. Surely she's not the first person to bring up that possibility. "So how's being bipedal treating you?"

Finley doesn't think too much on it, honestly. The sea witch had asked a price of him and he had provided. He doesn't really understand (or care, even now) how their magic manifests. The limits of it. Far as he's concerned, he got what he wanted from her and that's all that matters.

"It shouldn't. She knew we were planning for a longer trip on land. If this shit does wear off, I'm going to be super pissed." He'd definitely be beached, Lup is right. And he'd be the least happiest camper about it.

"It's fucking weird," he practically spits out. "Don't think I'm doing too bad balance-wise though, at least."

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

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