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

[postictal]

[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.]

[ohnehalfte]

[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.

[postictal]

[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.]

[ohnehalfte]

[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.

[postictal]

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.]

[ohnehalfte]

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.

[postictal]

[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.

[ohnehalfte]

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?

[postictal]

[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?

[ohnehalfte]

[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.

[postictal]

[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.

[ohnehalfte]

I'm honestly surprised they haven't reared their ugly head yet. [Newt huffs] Normally they can't wait to let us know just why we're here.

[postictal]

Probably waiting for the opportune moment or something.

[There's a joke in there somewhere about the konami code but Tim lacks the cultural literacy to make it.]

Maybe we gotta prove that we're interesting enough. I dunno.

[ohnehalfte]

Probably. [he scowls, annoyed.] I hate this shit. I'm not interested in waiting to find out what's going on, y'know? Just give me the damn rules so I can find a way to break them.

[postictal]

[He can't help but wonder, a bit wryly, how he might get along with Jay. There's an impulsiveness to him that reminds him of the man who hid behind the camera, coupled with an open declaration that he'd really like to break the rules.]

[Probably best, he reflects ruefully, that Jay isn't here.]

[He slips his lighter from his pocket to jiggle it with an air of someone who's only half-joking.]

Well, we could always try burning the place down. See if that appeals to the guy upstairs.

[ohnehalfte]

[Newt's scowl transforms into a wide grin at that] Dude, that's super tempting, and if I didn't think it would destroy what is possibly some of the only shelter we had for the evening, I would totally let you to go for it.

[he plops down in the sand again, next to his drying gear, grinning up at Tim.] Hey, that reminds me, did I tell you about the time we stole a van belonging to the corporation and used it to blow up some of their flunkies and one of their androids?

[he says 'we' like was part of it, lol. But there's plenty of solidarity in places like that anyway]

[postictal]

[Oh my god, what.]

[Tim hunkers down, 'cause it's not like he's got much else to do, twirling the lighter idly between his fingertips as Newt talks. His eyebrows hike up the canvas of his forehead in mild if undeniable surprise.]

Holy - how'd that go over with the guys upstairs?

[ohnehalfte]

[Newt huffs out a laugh, but--] Not well. They didn't like that we were fighting back, obviously. But we did capture some of their scientists that they sent in, also, and we were able to ransom them for some food and supplies, so that was definitely something.

[postictal]

[Sucks that he's here - in the same way that it sucks that any of the mare here - but it sucks slightly less that they have someone on their side who's at least an old hat at dealing out shit like this.]

In that case, I'm kinda glad you're on our side.

[ohnehalfte]

[Thanks, Tim, Newt will absolutely take that as a compliment as the corner of his mouth quirks upwards]

'course I am, dude. As if I'd be on the side of some omnipotent dickhead. That would totally go against my anarchistic personality.

[postictal]

Looks like we're gonna have to make do with pitchforks and torches until something more advanced comes along.

[It's not stealing vans, but it broadcasts an anarchistic intent well enough, doesn't it?]

[ohnehalfte]

Pretty much, yeah. [Newt wrinkles his nose, huffing slightly] I don't even think I have what I need for a molotov at this point.

[postictal]

[Check back with Tim in a few hours, Newt - someone will have traded him a jug of rubbing alcohol by then, taking you one step closer.]

[Though on that note - ]

You need a fire? 'Cause I've got these...bead things, I guess. [He jiggles the jar as he extricates it from his pack, letting them rattle up against the glass.]

[ohnehalfte]

[that jar definitely catches his interest, and Newt blinks, leaning in to get a look at them] What are they?

[postictal]

They light fires.

[He's even tried it out, and lo and behold, it works out way better than trying to ignite wet driftwood with an old lighter.]

Like flint and tinder but...easier, I guess.