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

[relieable]

[his goodie bag! ha! Osomatsu grins and nods]

Yeah! Uh. [he moves to open up his back and pulls out the rice] There's nothing to go with it, but I'm hungry enough that that doesn't matter right now. Let's see, what else is in here... Ooh, this hatchet. That'd be good to cut up a coconut, right?

[ohnehalfte]

[There's definitely some interest piqued on Newt's side at the mention of a hatchet--but the corner of his mouth quirks] Yeah, dude, that would definitely help hack open a coconut. Now you just need the coconut and a fire. I would say you need some water also, but you could easily boil the rice in the coconut milk and that would actually be pretty legit.

[relieable]

[he likes the cut of this man's jib!]

Well, finding a coconut should be easy here, right? [he looks out of the ruins... it's getting dark, so he doesn't have that much time] And for the fire, we just gotta find some wood...

[ohnehalfte]

I've got some driftwood and some dry leaves for tinder in my backpack, so if you wanna see if you can find a coconut, I'll see if I can get some sort of fire started.

[relieable]

Great! [okay, so finding a coconut's on him. well, that was okay, because he's really hungry. starvation is as good a motivator as money or women at this point. and, who knows, maybe once Osomatsu starts cooking, he'll draw a crowd.

he gets to his feet and starts to look up in the trees, first the trees nearest to the ruins.

ah! he thinks he sees a coconut! but it's... up really high. how the hell will he get up there?] Uh. Now what? [he points to the coconut, like some sort of tracking dog]

[ohnehalfte]

[Newt glances up from where he's piling up drift wood in something like a pyramid over some kindling, gaze going up towards where Osomatsu's pointing] Well, you can either climb up and try and yank it down, or you can shake the tree, or throw something at it and try and knock it down. Coconuts are tough, so it shouldn't crack if you hit it correctly, I think.

[relieable]

[oh. Osomatsu had not thought of that. he nods, then goes and starts looking for rocks. because he would never be able to climb that tree. nr is he strong enough to shake it properly.

he spends the next several minutes chucking rocks at the coconut. it wiggles a bit more every time, and Osomatsu's just thinking about his sweet coconut rice that he will possibly have... if only the coconut falls]

[ohnehalfte]

[Yep totally gonna just...watch that show for a minute. Okay then. He huffs a bit, reaching for his beam katana, which he pulls out and watches as it flares to life. Sort of. It's pretty flickery, and the result causes Newt to frown but....right, he's gonna just...lower the blade of focused energy onto the kindling, which sparks and ignites almost immediately. Newt jerks back just as the beam katana flickers in protest, and he turns it off pretty quickly after that, eyeing the sputtering before clipping it back onto his belt.

Then, once the kindling has started to fully catch flame and transfer to the wood--Newt's glancing back up to check the other guy's process. See if he's gotten any further. One thing at a time, after all. Buuut...now that he's got the fire running...]

Havin' any luck over there?

[relieable]

[it's a good thing Osomatsu did not see that katana. he would have been distracted. as it is now, he's cursing at the coconut, and he's getting tired. he's out of shape]

The bastard won't fall! [he's losing his patience very fast. okay, one more throw and...!

no coconut]

I'm out.

[ohnehalfte]

Well...damn. [Newt pushes to his feet, frowning as he moves over towards Osomatsu, and frowns up at that coconut] I dunno about you, dude, but I'm not much of a tree climber. [he is eyeing you though, buddy] How much do you weigh?

[relieable]

[he was about to walk away, but]

Hey, that's personal.

[ohnehalfte]

[He snorts at that, though there's a twich upward to the corner of his mouth] I just need to know if I can support you if you stand on my shoulders, dude, that's all.

[relieable]

[a slow blink. ooooh. they were still going to go after that coconut. now Osomatsu gets why he asked that]

Hey, that's a good idea! I'm pretty light, I think. [he's ready!]

[ohnehalfte]

Yeah, I have a lot of those. [good ideas, that is. But he's getting close to the trunk of the tree, then] Okay, so I'm gonna squat and you're gonna get on my shoulders and use the tree trunk for balance, and then I'm gonna stand up slowly, okay? And we can get that coconut.

[relieable]

[Osomatsu nods. the guy's spelling everything out for him, which is very helpful!

once Newt is squatting, Osomatsu moves to climb onto his shoulders. it's a bit scary, but he has the tree to help support him, so he doesn't think he's going to fall]

[ohnehalfte]

Alright, I'm gonna go slow, so tell me if you need to stop, alright? [and yep, gonna start straightening slowly. But not too slowly because this guy is definitely lighter than him, but not by much and Newt isn't THAT muscled]

[relieable]

[Osomatsu is pretty light anyway. he moves his hands up the tree as they straighten up]

Ah! Okay! I'm almost there... [the coconut is almost within his grasp] We just need to move a few inches, uh, to the right...!

[ohnehalfte]

Right? [uhhhhh okay??? Newt bites his lip and shuffles just slightly to the right...except there's a dip in the sand, so unfortunately even if they're just under it, it'll put it just out of Osomatsu's reach]

[relieable]

[streeeeeetch! hey! no! that wasn't helpful at all!]

I can't... quite make it... [what can they do? Osomatsu's already stretched as much as he can. this isn't Space Jam!]

[ohnehalfte]

Uhhhh, shit, um....maybe try jumping a little? See if you can grab onto it? [...listen it's not the best idea, but...]

[relieable]

[jumping? but...]

...O-okay... [he has faith in you, guy! so Osomatsu jumps for the coconut!

...he grabs it! yay! but now he is dangling from said coconut. he hangs there for a few cartoony seconds before the coconut breaks away from the tree. and down they go. whumph]

[ohnehalfte]

[....in hindsight, there might've been a better way to do this. Unfortunately, this thought doesn't occur to Newt until he's tilted his head back to see if this guy's managed to grab onto the coconut...just in time to see that, yes, the coconut is in his grasp and, yes, the coconut has just broken, sending Osomatsu plummeting. This also, unfortunately, does not give Newt any time to get out of the way, so Newt is unwittingly there to break Osomatsu's fall, which he does with a startled squawk.]

[relieable]

[whoops! they land heavily in the sand, and Osomatsu pushes himself up after a moment, his head swirling]

That... could've been worse... [but he's still sitting on Newt]

[ohnehalfte]

Says you--[Newt grunts, because ow]--dude, get off.

[relieable]

[oh... OH! Osomatsu quickly moves off of the other man, still holding the coconut. but he's going to stay seated in the sand for a little while]

Sorry about that... But, look! [triumphantly holds up the food] I got it!