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

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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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He sure did get a knapsack of his own - with a jar of fire-starting beads, no less. Because that's exactly what he needed: an island with a sick sense of humor about his affinity for arson.]

Yeah, did a real great job putting everyone at ease. [He stoops, yanking a few of the spilled chunks of driftwood out from the sand in turn. Just - so Newt doesn't end up hurting his feet again. He seems scattered enough for that to seem at least a little plausible.]

Not like there's any clue as to where we might need to go.

I saw some sort of something up in the jungle over there--[Newt points helpfully in that general direction with one arm, before scooping up the last of the driftwood] But I figured I should dry everything out before going exploring. Who the hell knows what kind--if any--medical facilities we have here, so...better safe than sorry. [And yep, starting to bring all that driftwood closer to his stuff that's laid out]

Besides, when night falls, better to be dry than wet.

[He fumbles briefly in his pocket before drawing out his lighter - still got it. He's got that jar of beads too, but he's not particularly eager to find out of those work just yet. Particularly if they're limited.]

Well, we have lighting it covered, at least. Hopefully nights won't get too bad.

[It's plenty hot already.]

[Newt perks at the reintroduction of the lighter] Fuck yeah, dude. Hey, if we can get a fire going and keep it going, we'll at least be better off than if we had to light it the old fashioned way.

Long as we can get some sort of kindling to keep it burning, we should be good. [He knows a thing or two about making sure a fire will last.]

Here. I actually got...

[He rummages in his pack for a moment and emerges with the multi-tool he'd discovered stowed away in there. The blade attached is sure as hell more useful than the tiny little flip-knife he'd asked for from Ozuma, and should do pretty well in whittling wood in a pinch.]

If we can't find kindling, we can make our own.

Awesome. [Newt grins at the multi-tool] That'll definitely come in handy, and that's way easier than my dragging out my toolbox. Did you get that in the goodie bag or did you have that before?

Guess I scored some points with the great supply beacon in the sky.

[Said profoundly dryly, because - thanks, omnipotent asshole, for giving him a very vague fighting chance. They're still stuck here, aren't they?]

What about you? Get anything handy? [As if they're talking about party favors.]

Other than what I brought with me? [Newt huffs, turning to look at his haul of stuff] An extra hammer, so that's not a bad thing. Also a bar of soap and a bag of sugar, weirdly enough. Also that thing. [and he's pointing to...the coconut canon. He's frowning, still] I have no idea what that thing is. Though--! [AND NOW HE'S MAD, scowling and folding his arms over his heavily inked chest] All my generator parts are gone! What kind of asshole omnipotent dickbag steals generator parts?!

[Yeah, he's got...no idea what that thing is. Tim's not exactly brushed up on his Donkey Kong 64 lore. While other kids were playing video games beneath the bedsheets when they should be asleep, he was screaming at things that weren't there.]

Yeah, well, nothing electronic of mine is working either.

[He taps at the GoPro he's still got strapped to his chest - now dead.]

This was on full battery last I checked, and now it's pretty much useless.

Shit. [Newt's glancing at the various electronics he's got laying out on his backpack to dry] ...I hoping at least some of that still works. I'm gonna be pissed if it's all dead. I've got some important stuff on there. [he rubs the back of his neck]

I guess whoever brought us here wants us to have a fresh start.

[If he sounds derisive as he says it, it's because he is. This isn't what he'd call a fresh start by any means - not when the game itself is rigged from the very start.]

Might be a way to fix it. I dunno. I'm not really a tech guy.

Fuck that. [If Tim sounds derisive, then Newt sounds just as snide--but he huffs at the comment about the tech, putting his hands on his hips]

I'm normally a tech guy--I made that tablet into a microscope myself. [he points out the drying tablet] But there's fuck-all I can do if I can't generate any electricity, and you can't fix something with a dead battery.

[Tim chews at the wall of his cheek for a moment before yanking at the strap of the camera strapped to his chest. It's useless anyway, right?]

Would this help? I mean, it might have parts somewhere you could use.

[That...Newt doesn't expect that. He can only blink, at first, as Tim starts tugging at the straps of the camera strapped to his chest.] I, uh...y-yeah? I mean, I could possibly either repair it if I can find some electricity or if it's inoperable, then use the parts for something else.

Edited 2017-08-06 18:10 (UTC)

[Tim unclips the strap and shucks it off, offering it out with a shrug.]

It was kinda more useful when it worked. Got some tapes too, but it doesn't really run off those. [Which he'd learned after the fact. Making it doubly useless, seeing as he never asked for a hard drive.]

[Honestly, Newt's still kinda a little...floored that Tim is just handing this to him??? But hey, he's never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth so yeah he's totally gonna accept it, taking it once it's offered--and there's a grin that spreads on his face] Thanks. I'll definitely make something useful out of this.

[Tim would smile back, if he were able. If he knew it would look anything but forced and insincere, like all his smiles do. He shrugs, trying not to feel profoundly awkward now that Newt looks so goddamned grateful for something so small.]

I figure it's better than just hanging around hoping it'll magically start working again.

[He's tried fixing GoPros before, but he's not the movie guy, or even the camera guy. No dice.]

[Newt laughs at that, cracking] Hey, if by some miracle we get some electricity and I can get it working again, you'll be the first to know. Maybe we could even start keeping a record, which would be pretty great.

Place gave us some stuff, right? Maybe we can get it to hand over something a little more useful.

[Like, say, some kind of way of checking to make sure who else is here. In case - in case he knows any of them.]

Exactly. [he hefts the GoPro in his hand a bit, contemplating] Whoever 'they' are, they must've brought us here for a reason. Maybe we can leverage that some how.

[If nothing else, a headcount would be pretty hand. Tim nods, raking a hand through his hair. It sticks to his fingers in a sweat- and salt-stained grease, and he grimaces.]

Some way to figure out how many people are here, who else is here...there's gotta be some way to negotiate for that. Somehow.

Fingers crossed, dude. Some easier way of communication would be pretty ace, if nothing else. [he bends down to set the GoPro gently on top of his backpack to do some more drying, though he's not sure it needs it because GoPro. But you never know.]

In the mean time...maybe if we're lucky, people will naturally congregate in one spot. I mean, considering people's nature probably not, but hey, I can dream, right?

[Technically it operates underwater. But it doesn't operate anymore, so it's questionable whether drying it off will even matter.]

[Tim shades his eyes, scanning the horizon, until eventually he inclines his chin in the direction of the thick jungle - and the moss-cobbled stone peeking out from the densest part of it.]

Like in a building?

[Newt turns to look where Tim's indicating, and squints-before the corner of his mouth quirks upwards as he spots the stone]

Exactly. Provided there isn't anything there that'll eat us, but if we get lucky and there isn't, it might be a good place to set up shop.

[He doesn't have much on his person, but he doesn't have a flip-knife, and that's about all he can say he has in the way of self-defense. It'll have to be enough.]

[(He won't but a name to the instinct that leaves him holding to it. As though it's not just what he's come to expect.)]

Well, if whatever's here feels like bringing us back when we kick the bucket, now might be the time to find out.

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