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.

---

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 )

Comments

[hyperlit]

timber. trees. support.

[They're not above offering their assistance, but the obvious barrier of communication isn't the only one limiting how truly helpful they might be.]

[What will really decide this encounter is how well Osomatsu can decipher instructions that are unfailingly, unceasingly, infuriatingly vague.]

[relieable]

[Osomatsu blinks at the words. that's... not very helpful. he's a NEET, he's never worked a day in his life]

So... Like. I should find firewood?

[hyperlit]

[Their eyes narrow slightly to dark slits, much like a discontented cat.]

tents require tentpoles.

[relieable]

[...what was a tentpole? they just said that the tarp would need trees...]

Man, you're confusing as hell. [a sigh] Guess I'll see if I can find some o'those...

[hyperlit]

[Good god man. The Drifter very much communicates the impression of a weary sigh, shoulders slumping, before they tick out the words that (might) clarify what needs clarifying:]

branches = tentpoles.

[relieable]

[ah...? then why didn't they just say branches in the first place?! it's like Osomatsu's talking to one of those riddle-dispensers]

Okay, branches! I can get those! [and then, without waiting for a reply, he turns and seeks out the nearest tree.

witness this marshmallow-soft young idiot as he tries to climb the tree. it's quite a sight. first he tries wrapping his arms around the tree, but that doesn't work. then he tries using his nails to dig into the bark, but that hurts him]

Ah! I got a splinter! [he whines like he's five years old, too]

[hyperlit]

[GOOD GOD, MAN.]

[The Drifter is not a babysitter. The Drifter has had no real interaction with children in any sense, in fact, aside from playing a furious and highly competitve game of soccer with a stocky child that bested them more times than they care to admit. But even they had been miles more competent than...this.]

[If the Drifter finds his wailing perturbing, they do not show it. They simply reach up, testing the integrity of the nearest branch, and cleave through it evenly with a streak of cyan that disappears beneath their cloak as quickly as it materializes.]

[The branch thumps into the sand with a slightly smoking end. The Drifter opens a hand at it, as if to say: there, see? It's easy. All you need is a hard light blade and a tolerance for pain that ranks higher than that generated by a splinter.]

[relieable]

[uhhh... holy crap. this... person-thing... reached the branch like it was nothing. Osomatsu is impressed, and once he's dealt with the splinter, he claps for the Drifter]

Whoa! That was awesome! I didn't know you had a sword!

[hyperlit]

[The branch. The branch is the important thing. All the same, the Drifter looks almost...pleased, at the praise, inasmuch as they can appear as such. They straighten slightly, and the tired slump of their shoulders unbows.]

[No one has ever applauded them for a simple feat before...?]

[Bolstered, they add in much better humor than before:]

your turn.

[relieable]

[everyone likes praise, Osomatsu included! and he's quick to dish it out if he finds something deserving. and, boy, are they deserving! he wants to see that kickass sword again]

Eh? Oh... [well, now he's got to get up to the next branch. this time, he'll try jumping. one jump, two, and then, on the third one, he manages to grab a branch!

it snaps quickly from his weight. but after he's fallen, he holds the piece of wood up triumphantly]

[hyperlit]

[It's nowhere near as fluid or businesslike as the Drifter's means of severing the branch from its parent trunk, but he succeeds nonetheless - and without whining about getting a splinter to boot.]

[They'll count that as a marked improvement.]

[As a reward, they begin to clap in turn, polite and quiet and slightly uncertain but sincere nonetheless. Good job!!]

#sorry

[relieable]

[hey! he's earned applause! Osomatsu won't waste it, hopping up to his feet and taking a grand bow with his stick]

I couldn't have done it without my new friend, the ampu-tree. She really helped me branch out.

NEVER BE SORRY 1/3

[hyperlit]

[ ... ]

[hyperlit]

[ . . . ]

[hyperlit]

[At long last, the Drifter lifts one hand, a thumb and forefinger forming a vague "u" shape cupping just over the spot where their mouth (might?) be, hidden beneath the mantle of red cloth.]

[They're smiling. c:]

[relieable]

[Osomatsu is confused by the motion for a bit. but then he... thinks he gets it. this Drifter obviously cannot talk, since they are using something else to communicate. so maybe they don't have a mouth? or, for whatever reason, they are hiding it.

but now, that gesture... that's a smile! and he smiles back, glad that the tension from before has passed]

Oh, you like jokes, huh? Well, stick with me, friend! I've got a million of 'em. [a beat as he leans down to pick up the other branch] I'm Osomatsu!

[ah, maybe he should spell it? he uses one of the branches to write his name in the sand]

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter trims another branch from the tree with a swipe of their blade, straightening up with another makeshift tentpole propped under arm. The creasing at the corners of their dark eyes may be a fair indication that they're still beaming.]

nice to meet you

[relieable]

Nice to meet you, too! [Osomatsu... cannot reach that last branch, no matter how much he jumps] What should I call you?

[hyperlit]

[What should he...call them?]

[He's asking for their name. No one ever asks for their - it raises multiple questions, all muddled on several levels, and the answer does not come easily. When it does, it's hesitant, typed out with considerably more of a hesitation than any of their responses have thus far.]

drifter.

[relieable]

[Osomatsu doesn't notice the hesitance, he just turns around to see the word drifter on the screen]

Hey, badass! You're really cool, Drifter!

[hyperlit]

[They're really cool. They're badass. They're not even really sure what the latter means, but given the way he delivers it, it sounds an awful lot like a good thing!]

[But alas, there's still plenty to be done.]

make tent?

[relieable]

[well, they have a sword! and go by the name "Drifter." that's pretty awesome!]

Oh, right! Just lemme know what t'do with that tarp!

[hyperlit]

[Now that they're, ah - perhaps slightly alarmed, though not unpleasantly, at said praise, they're much more willing to be of assistance. The Drifter makes short work of setting the existing branches at a forty-five degree angle against the tree's trunk, digging them deep into the sand with several deft twists.]

[They gesture at the set-up with a nod of their head.]

put it on top.

[relieable]

[awesome! they're making a tent, doing the thing. Osomatsu looks really pleased by this, even though it's been some work. but he'd no doubt be praised by his little brothers, so that makes this all worth it.

he does as instructed, putting the tarp on top and spreading it out]

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter nods once, satisfied. It's not particularly elegant, but it's functional, and that's the important thing. The addition of a fire and a means of sealing up the back, and he'll be set.]

tent.