lifeaftr | 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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How y'mean, worl'?

[She's not the first person to use the word world, but the entire concept is lost on him. There are people all over the world, but there's only one world, right? Sometimes a Mancer would theorize about worlds up in the stars, but it always seemed far-fetched.]

[He nods when she produces the jug of water, though the container is a material he's never seen before.]

Place like this's gotta have a stream 'r spring.

Well... the planet and the time period I'm from has a fairly distinct history, one that I'd expect anyone living there to know at least the general points of.

And yet? Multiple people here claim to be from Earth as well, and yet don't know any of it. At this point, I'm guessing there's more than one version of the world involved- and likely other planets entirely.

[He stares at her like she's grown yet another pair of arms before his eyes. He doesn't understand most of what she's saying. Versions of worlds? Planets?]

[It makes him feel stupid, the way he always does when people start talking about smart things. Still, he can at least glean the gist of things.]

People from all o'er, yer sayin'.

[Straightforward, but certainly not wrong. She nods.]

Yes, and from places I didn't even realize people could be from, until now.

[A sigh.]

I do keep picking up more and more interesting questions, but I'm afraid I've got relatively few answers, just yet.

[People from places you wouldn't expect people to be from. Yeah, sounds about right. And people you wouldn't expect to be people.]

Yea. Nothin's makin' sense 'bout anythin'.

Decidedly so, yes. There's the vague urge to somehow grab this island by the shoulders and shake it until answers come out, but I doubt that's feasible.

[He gives a quiet, amused snort.]

'M useta that idea. Th' land itself havin' a sorta personality.

[Boy howdy did it ever when it was broken into floating pieces. Like the land itself was angry.]

Fair enough. I just wish it had a more charitable one, I suppose.

'F only.

[At least this place hasn't crumbled to pieces or thrown wild animals at them yet.]

More we explore, more we migh' learn.

Mm, one can hope.

[She nods.]

I haven't found much in the way of explanations so far, but at least we don't seem to be alone in our confusion.

Yeah. Seems we're all in th' same boat.

...Or raft, ah guess.

[She giggles. It's a delicate little laugh, perhaps a bit odd coming from someone who is literally a giant spider, but it seems genuine.]

Quite. At this point, I suppose the only thing to do is keep paddling forward.

[She's got an interesting laugh, this...weird spider lady.]

Tha's life.

[You either keep moving, or you fall.]

S' might be an odd ques'ion, but...y'ain't seen a big, flyin' bit o' land, 'ave ya?

[She shakes her head.]

Sorry, no. Somewhere from your home?

It is home.

Thought mebe I'd jus' fallen off.

Goodness, that does sound like a rather impressive environmental hazard. It's possible you did, but I was standing quite firmly on solid, grounded earth before my arrival, so I don't think it's the only explanation.

Got useta it.

[You do get used to it, after awhile.]

Startin' t'think we're a long way fr'm home.

I suspect so.

[Not only are you not in Kansas anymore, you're somewhere even Oz has probably never heard of.]

[He nods as if coming to a decision.]

Might be settin' fer th' long haul. We'll need food, water. Shelter.

Yes, I've been thinking so. We've all got enough to manage short term, what worries me is that I don't know if there are any complications we haven't found yet, like dangerous wildlife and such.

[There's bound to be some wildlife around here somewhere.]

Ain't seen none yet. Plannin' on explorin' more later.

...You any good 't explorin', Miss?

Well, it's not my favorite pastime, but I've been managing well enough so far, and I have a few useful tricks. Would you care for some company when you venture out?

Th' more eyes, th' better. [He pauses, glancing away a little awkwardly and running his hand through his hair.] Plus y'got extra. Eyes.

So I do. I've always been a little surprised that people manage with less, frankly, but I suppose it doesn't seem that way if you're used to it.

[That's...an interesting way to think about it.]

...Never 'ad more'n two.

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