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 )

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Luna will find that her knapsack contains a chili and macaroni MRE, a wood saw, a box of nails and a toothbrush.

Sans will find that his knapsack contains a jug of water, a hatchet, some flint and tinder, and a bar of soap.

Nyx Ulric will find that his knapsack contains a sack of oats, a hammer, a tarp, and a first aid kit.

[ it's... bright.

Luna's head lifts off of the soggy, wooden raft and the world starts to come into focus-- her stomach sways with the sound of the waves, and she sits up groggily, touching the hat on her head. What happened? Where's--

Where's Lillie? They all came back together-- Guzma and Lusamine, too. It should have been at the Altar, and yet she's on a rinky-dink raft and they're nowhere to be found. Hands slide onto her hips to feel for her bag, and groggy panic surges through her fingertips. It's...gone. It's gone, and replaced by an odd knapsack and two other people. Well, one other person-- and a...

...well, this is suddenly somewhat jarring.

She presses her hands into her pockets. Two. Two round balls (one in each pocket). But the raft is too small to see which ones they are, even if the balls feel familiar. She squeezes them both and sucks in a breath. Okay. O-okay. ]

...uh, excuse me-- [ she wobbly crawls toward the other human-- there is a skeleton on the boat and he looks quite removed from this world-- a-and, uh. Uh? Uh??? ] A-are you...okay? Please wake up!

[ There certainly is a skeleton on the boat, lying on one side (looks like lying supine wasn't an option, with that bulging knapsack in the way). Someone seems to have given it clothes -- a galaxy-print hoodie, some shabby black track shorts with white stripes down the side, and a pair of very soggy slippers that look like dustmops.

Unfortunately, the hollow eye sockets of this skeleton stare steadily (and perhaps sightlessly?) at Luna as she tries to rouse the other human.

Sans doesn't even dare to twitch, not when he's still reeling from the fact that this weird dream is showing no signs of stopping.

This, uh, isn't how things were supposed to go. I mean, sure. He rolled with it at first, maybe even thinking 'hey, one last hurrah, a pleasant island vacation dream as you crumble to dust, there are worse ways to go out', right? Except when it finally ended, it didn't end. And, far as Sans knew, dying was a lot less eventful than this, waking up on a raft with seawater slapping the sodden wood.

There's a drop of the stuff rolling down the interior of his nasal cavity. He's pretty sure he's like, one trickle from actually sneezing.

Boy, if a sudden noise like that gets him thrown overboard, that's gonna really (ha ha) blow. ]

[The last thing that Nyx could clearly remember was watching the sun rise over the ruins of Insomnia, then strange dreams of an island and then... Then the sound of rushing water followed by the feeling of the spray hitting his face. At first, he would have chalked it up to a continuation of the dream. That had to be it.

Then he heard a young girls voice. In an instance Nyx was awake, pushing himself up on his bad arm and then a sitting position. His eyes landed on the girl quickly, then around with confusion.

Why... Why were they on a raft? And was that... Was that a skeleton!?

Yup. That sure was a skeleton. In a hoody and track shorts.

His eyes remain trained on Sans even as he speaks to Luna.]

Hey, don't worry it's okay.

[Probably. Nyx doesn't exactly look okay, what his arm looking ashen and fractured thanks to the Ring of the Lucii but shhh. It was fine.]

What is going on?

I, uh.. [ it's hard to decide what's happening-- she sways back and forth on the raft and runs into Nyx a little bit, trying to give him space because friend what is wrong with your arm holy shite ]

Your...your arm! Um! [ she looks like she wants to touch it, but there's nothing to touch it. Maybe if she could let out a pokemon with some icy breath, she could help ease the pain-- ice always helps with the burn of a fresh injury-- but she's not exactly sure which ball belongs to which pokemon, and the raft is too small to test out who's where.

She glances at the skeleton-- maybe the hoodie could be like...a blanket? That's not really what people with, uh, scorched arms need. Is it? ]

I don't know...I just woke up a few seconds before you. [ she can't help the squeak of uncertainty that escapes her while trying to answer his question. ] But I'm sure we'll be okay...there's an island over there!

[ she points to the island in the distance!!! What a good island!!! Probably!!! ]

[ Their conversation recedes into background buzz as Sans becomes more and more aware of the inevitability that he can't just play dead forever. Sooner or later, he's going to have to deal with two unknown humans who may or may not react poorly to the presence of a talking skeleton. He's seen it before.

At least, until he remembers that it hardly matters what happens next.

The skeleton, despite lacking any sort of conventional nervous or respiratory system, sneezes.

Welp. ]

What about it? [That gets Nyx to look away from the skeleton to the girl, then quizzically at his arm. He has to crack a grin.] It's fine, don't worry about it. Looks a lot worse than it feels.

[Which was admittedly surprising given it was on fire not too long ago. That was just another question to address later. Like when he wasn't on a raft with a young girl and a skeleton.

Shoot, what were they going to do about a skeleton?

He shifts, carefully moving up onto his knees and trying not to bump the girl. He glances at the skeleton again before the girl and then the island she's pointing too. He raises a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.]

It doesn't look too far away either. If we just had something to pad-

[Any further thoughts of finding oars on the raft went out the window when the skeleton sneezed. Skeletons weren't supposed to sneeze.

The raft probably shakes a bit as Nyx moves to kneel in front of Luna, raising an arm protectively in front of her. Would he still be able to use his magic? One way to find out.]

Stay behind me.

[ his comfort is appreciates, and she instinctively smiles back just a little bit. Nyx starts to move, and Luna finds herself wobbling a little with the sudden shifting of their tiny raft, reaching out to grasp onto the fabric of his sleeve (or what little remains) while he surveys the area. When he agrees with the distance, she nods, opening her mouth to start speaking again and--

....a-and the skeleton sneezed.

Nyx takes a stance in front of her and she tears her eyes away from the phenomenon to give him a worried look-- but... but the skeleton sneezed. She peeks out from behind his arm. ]

Bless you?

[ it's only right. It doesn't change the fact that the skeleton just sneezed. ]

[ Sans? Well, Sans is just bones and some clothing. The knapsack probably weighs about as much as he does, and with the two of them near to one side, that makes the raft pretty wobbly. Sans finds he has to clutch at the wood to keep from just... sliding off and unbalancing the raft further.

Despite the real threat of being overturned into the ocean, the skeleton drones a markedly calm -- or more like 'resigned': ]

Hey. Thanks.

[ She's polite. And he's cautious. Not that Sans blames him. ]

Look, I'd love to get to the part where we introduce ourselves, but at this rate we're gonna be doin' that underwater. You guys mind?

[As much as Nyx didn't want to agree, the skeleton had a point. If they tipped the raft over they'd all be in trouble.]

Okay... Hold on.

[He gives Luna a glance before carefully moving across to another side of the raft, making it so they were spread out in a bit of a triangle. The raft wobbled a bit as he moved, but hopefully, this would distribute their weight a bit better.]

My name is Nyx Ulric and give me a reason I shouldn't just knock you off this raft.

[ Luna wobbles a bit when Nyx moves, falling to her knees and trying to keep her eyes on the talking skeleton-- and the guy who said he wasn't hurt...but seems pretty on the hurt side. Yeah. Good stuff. ]

Uh...m-my name is Luna! And I've never talked to a talking skeleton before!! [ the initial fear seems to subside a bit. He seems, uh, pretty normal? At least cautious of the raft sinking into the ocean... ]

[ That's better. Or at least, enough that the skeleton can heft himself into sitting up -- at which point he promptly leans back on his arms, sagging into them like the act of being upright is just too much effort.

Weighing their different levels of urgency, he answers the larger of the two humans first: ]

You, uh, make a habit of threatening murder in front of kids, buddy?

[ Not exactly giving the requested reason, but the truth is, Sans doesn't really have one that isn't just 'I don't feel like spending the rest of my short life at the bottom of the ocean' and, quite frankly, that's not too persuasive to a threatened human. He looks at Luna. ]

Now you have, kid. I'm Sans. [ His eyelights dart up a little. ] Nice hat.

[ What is that, a flower? ]

Not particularly. [Kids weren't generally around when he was fighting so...] But where I come from daemons generally don't give someone the chance to say anything before they attack.

[They normally didn't talk either. Or act normal and compliment someone's hat. If anything Sans was acting like... Just a normal person. He had to frown but relaxed a fraction of an inch as he carefully kneeling down, still ready to do something if need be but there were probably some more pressing matters to deal with first. Like not being on a raft.

And yet he can't help but look at Luna letting out a small 'huh'.]

Luna must be a more popular name than I thought. It's nice to meet you. [He glances again at Sans.] Let me guess, you've got no idea what's going on either.

[ it seems a little tense-- probably with good reason. Sans much be the ding-dang rarest pokemon she'd ever seen-- he can talk and...? Yeah, that seems to be about it. He hasn't really moved much, and the sluggishness makes her feel slightly more at ease. When Nyx comments about her name, she plays with the petals of her red cap awkwardly. ]

Well.. I guess? [ with a tilt of her head, she grins. ] Thanks! My mom gave it to me before we moved to, uh... [ she glances at the island. ] Not this island! I don't recognize it...do either of you?

[ Oh no, she's optimistic and cute. What the hell is she doing in a situation like this? Why's it always kids? Even Sans has to feel a little bad that he can't supply her with an answer that's worth anything.

His shoulders hitch up in another shrug. ]

Nope. And even if I did --

[ And here, he shoots a glance at Nyx. ] I think a bully callin' me a demon would be the last to find out.

Anyway. I'm a-boat helpless with maritime travel. One of you know how to steer this thing?

[Nyx bristles, looking minorly offended by being called a bully. He was even about to say something but the retort died on his throat. He groaned though, pinching the bridge of his nose.]

... You did not just make a pun about our situation.

[He was not ready for this pun skeleton. Shaking his head Nyx looks at the island. Probably a bit too far out to swim too. There's a small sigh as he pushes some hair out of his face.]

I think I could figure it out. We just need something to paddle with.

[Did this boat come with oars?]

[ Luna nods eagerly. ] Right! A paddle, uh...

[ she pats herself down-- just like in her dream, none of her normal stuff-- except two pokeballs-- only two. Her expression droops a bit before she turns toward the big bag with the word 'L U N A' on it. ]

Maybe...there's something in here?

[ it's, er, worth a look. she picks the cloth bag up and shakes it a little. It sounds like a mixture of metals and paper bags... ]

[ All Sans has to answer Nyx with is a wink.

That's right. One eye socket manages to shut itself like a weirdly flexible bony eyelid. It probably looks about as weird and reality-bending as it sounds. Anyway, he sure did pun about the situation, he suuure did.

Unlike Luna, the skeleton makes no effort to search his own bag, but considering its size... it's highly unlikely there's anything like that in his knapsack. Despite settling down on his heels and then draping himself across the aforementioned bag as if he intends on sleeping off the rest of this fiasco, something about the way he looks at the island is a little less indolent and a little more contemplative. ]

There's a current, right? Guess we could wait for it to carry us there. Y'know. Bide our--

[ Don't you dare. ]

Tide?

[There is a very unnerved look shot in Sans direction while Luna is preoccupied with her bags. Did he just... Skeletons can wink!?

You know what? He's just gonna turn his attention on Luna.]

As... Uh, nice as that might be who knows how long that could take.

[It would help if they had a sail of some sorts, but how would they even mount it? With a frown he picks up his own bag, opening it.]

I think an oar would be too big for any of our bags. But maybe we can find something useful. Otherwise we might have to paddle our way there by having someone swim.

[He has a feeling that someone might be him.]

Oh... mmmpff.. [ that, right there, is the sound of a young girl trying not to laugh at that terrible, horrible joke. She is smiling though. ]

[ Luna turns toward Nyx with a pretty big smile on her face. ]

I could do it! But, um...you have to watch my stuff for me. I don't want it to fall in the water.

[ .... tide...

Luna is taking her shoes off with a small, poorly concealed snort. A funny skeleton. This boat is alright. ]

[ It's honestly for the best if nobody thinks too hard about how this skeleton in particular does all kinds of things. Fandom still hasn't decided how they feel about them bleeding, after all. ]

Sure.

[ Sans agrees, too readily, to the option of having a kid go risk injury or hypothermia hauling their raft ashore, like he doesn't even have to give it a second's consideration. ]

I'll guard your bag with my life, kiddo.

[ By napping on it, if given half a chance.

Sans, you're garbage. ]

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

RAFT #5 - LUNA, SANS THE SKELETON, NYX ULRIC

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omg I'm sorry I'm so slow you guys thank you for your patience orz;

omg no fam no we're all on the crazy raft of life together

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