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.

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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

3/3

[ohnehalfte]

Hermann.

[it feels pulled out of him, as painful as any confession]

Hermann Gottlieb.

[his voice wobbles again, breaks, and Newt sucks in another breath, trying to hold steady, because if Mickey’s going to be looking for people that Newt knows, this one’s the most important, even though—]

He’s not here right now. [he knows this with absolute certainty. It’s impossible for him not to. His voice is small when he says it, like he doesn’t want to admit it; like he doesn’t want to acknowledge the yawning void at the back of his mind, the way he feels cut in half, like an entire piece of him is missing—] Maybe…[Newt’s voice breaks, cracks, and he has to swallow before he can continue, heels of his palms still pressed into his eyes, showing him only red]…maybe he’ll show up later. So if you—if you see him before m-me—[he can feel something crawling up his esophagus again, and it’s not laughter this time—] —just…just t-tell him I’m h-here. [it's nearly choking him now, this feeling, and he's this close to breaking, his grasp tenuous at best and he can’t—he can’t—] I—I n-need to go. [and he’s jerking his hands out from under his glasses, shoving to his feet, stumbling away and towards the jungle treeline, where he can maybe find a tree to hide behind because he’s going to lose it in a minute, he can feel it, right at the back of his mouth now, battering at his tongue, his gums, his teeth. He just manages to stagger behind something—what it is, he’s not entirely paying attention—just as it claws its way out of his mouth, that first ugly sob, and Newt’s slumping back against whatever he’s ducked behind and shoving his hand over his mouth to muffle the ones that follow, knees drawn up to his chest as the grief that he’s been steadfastly ignoring before even arriving at this new place finally makes itself known.]

[souris_keteer]

[Mickey's naive, not stupid. There was a big difference between how he talked of his friends, with a casual air and knowing seeing them was just a matter of time - and the way Newt speaks of his companions. There is time, there is loss, there is pain, there is agony. Mickey had began to reach over and put a hand of sympathy on Newt's arm - but then Newt bolts.]

N-Newt! Hey, Newt!

[There's a temptation to go after him, to ask more questions, but... this is day one, hour one, of whatever situation they're in, and even all-loving-Mickey knows there are lines you can't cross with someone you just met. It agonizes him that he can't help - as he's always believed he could help anyone - but he stays where he is. He swallows, and takes off his hat for a moment, calling out.]

Newt... Well. I-I'm gunna go look for our friends, yours and mine, okay? I'll come back later, see if you need anythin'... But... if you do need somethin', anythin' at all, you come find me, okay? Cause I'll come runnin'!

[Did Newt hear him? He's not sure. But he'll keep his word - he'll come back, see if Newt is still there. Mickey thumbs his hat, looking at the signatures - what would his heroes do? With a big sigh, he puts it back on.]

I'll... see you later, Newt! That's a promise. And I always keep my promises.

[If they're going to get off this beach, and reunite Newt with those he cares about, then he needs to get moving. So he walks away, although every now and then he can't help but take glances back. Just in case.]