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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[Her face lights up when the white dot appears and she holds a finger out to point at it. That's them, maybe?]

This is pretty!

[And different. She's never seen anything like it before.]

How do you draw on it? Do you put the ghosts-

[The finger moves up, pointing to an area that she assumes is the edge.]

-here?

[This is the Most Important Question. She hopes there's a way for them to map spooky things, so they don't accidentally run into them later.]

[That's their starting point, yes. It seemed the most prudent way to begin. Their maps are generally vague to start with, but they're something. Better than setting off blind.]

[The Drifter cocks their head, inquisitive. Ghosts. They do not typically label their hallucinations, nor would it be feasible to map their locations. Judgment is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, and there is no escaping it.]

ghosts?

[Ghosts. As one of the few things she knows, she takes a confident step onto the sand and reaches down for a stick. If she had arrived with her crayons and chalk, this would be easier. Oh well, time to improvise.]

Ghosts.

[Not the normal kind, like the floating apparition that haunted Seto and she even takes out of account her own spooky guardian. No, the first image she draws in the sand is a jellyfish. Then what looks to be a block. Long arms. A pair of legs with no body. It's crude, but there should be enough definition in her terrible drawings to make out.]

You can't forget to mark the scary things on your map. You have to say 'they were here' and put them down.

[Scary things. So she - ah.]

[She means threats. There are plenty of those, they are certain. They've not seen any yet - none more threatening than a cliff face they're patently unable to scale - but there's little doubt in their mind that such threats exist. They will have to be faced and cut down in turn.]

if they are here, i will fight them

[Like she thought before, they're one of those-the kind of person(?) that fights their way through problems. She's grateful there's at least one around, in case things go wrong.

She makes one more doodle, a little circle and a star, with the stick and holds it out to them. Item acquired? Enjoy.]

You should take this! When your sword breaks, it can hit things too.

[Because game mechanics in her world include weapons breaking. Having a backup is important, even if it's a only a stick.]

[The Drifter processes the gift with one blink of their dark eyes, more than a little taken aback. The thought that they should require a second weapon is alien in and of itself, but the thought that they've done something to warrant a gift at all is what arrests their attention the most.]

[They accept it, largely out of surprise, and survey the thing with another blink. Unexpected and nice of her, but - unnecessary.]

my sword does not break

Everything breaks.

[Unbreakable? Impossible. Buildings collapse, golf clubs shatter and people can easily go down. If they're going to map the island, there's a chance they could run into something strong and their weapon will fail them. Better to be safe.]

Sometimes they hit too hard and go crack-[she makes a noise, reminiscent of a cracking sound, just in case they don't understand. Like they're the ones who need help here.] I've seen this happen.

[Leading expert™]

[Hmm.]

[They draw their blade slowly from within the folds of their cloak. It's little more than a flat, reddish handle to start with before it ignites in a spray of cyan, humming with a nearly silent energy, sharp with the scent of ozone.]

[The Drifter thrusts the point of the blade into the sand.]

hard light
does not break

[The weapon is way different from the junk Seto would find on the ground. Without being distracted by the imaginary dangers she thought were lurking about earlier, she's able to watch it spark into life. It's pretty and her eyes light up.]

Hard light is your special treasure.

[She doesn't know what that entails or how it works, but they seem confident it won't break. A sentiment she doesn't share. Like a flashlight or a lightbulb, she thinks it could shatter just as easily. Though it's not as impressive as their weapon, she points back to the stick she gave them moments ago.]

This will break one day, but you should keep it.

[FOR EMERGENCIES.]

[It is not so special, really; most drifters bear weapons of a similar nature, but drifters are a dying breed, it would seem. They found more drifters dead than they did ones that lived - and those that did live did not have long, they should think.]

[But she sounds so sincere in her pronouncement that they allow their dark eyes to crease into small, pleased half-moons. And they oblige, accepting the stick, running slightly tapering fingertips gloved in gray across the thin strip of wood.]

[This, too, is a special treasure in its own way. Gifts always are.]

thank you.
i will treasure it.

[It's weird. The last few hours were spent in abject terror, testing every bit of her survival instincts in this unfamiliar terrain. She didn't know what to expect or how to survive outside the comfort of abandoned buildings. Didn't know what to do when people started to appear.

She expected to live with that fear until Seto found her again. She doesn't expect the warm, happy feeling that engulfs her when she reads i will treasure it. No one's ever said that to her before and she hopes they're able to survive out here, so they can meet again. It looks like they're smiling and she returns a small one in kind.]

I'll bring you more. I'll leave them right here for you.

[So it's alright if they break that stick trying to defend themselves. They'll have an arsenal of useless sticks by the end of the month, sorry friend.]

Come back when you finish your map.

[It's a kind gesture, and they can interpret the will behind it, strange as it may seem. They've not done anything to warrant this kind of kindness, this manner of attentiveness from a child.]

[It does not mean it goes unappreciated, however. But there are far more pressing matters at hand - such as why she is alone.]

are you alone?

Yes.

[She's surprised they ask. Outside of their own mapping robot thing, they look to be alone too. It's just the way things are.]

Until Seto finds me.

[Ren can wait, it's fine. He must have landed far away, but he's a good stalker. He'll find her soon enough.]

a friend?

[They must imagine so. They only have limited experience with friends, but - a friend is doubtless something one should hold onto. If they can.]

how long?

Yes, my friend.

[He's the most important person in her life and without him around, she's feeling loneliness creep back up. She wants to talk to other people, to stay with them, but it feels wrong without him by her side. Without Seto, she's scared and back to being completely alone.

While her tone had been light before, bordering on happy, the reminder he's not here is enough to wilt it. More somber, she continues-]

I don't know how long he'll take. But he always finds me, even when I hide. He's good at that kind of thing.

[Days, weeks, months-that's fine. She can hold out.]

[For a moment, the Drifter is silent - or at least, non-responsive. The waves lap gently against the beach with the soft hiss of seawater, and they finally wrench their blade free of the sand and let it hum out of existence, tucking the red handle away.]

[It gives them time to think.]

you should not be alone

[It's hard for her to understand the meaning behind his words. They hurt for a reason she can't fully recognize. I don't want to be alone is the response on the tip of her tongue, but it's difficult to get the words out. She's not used to this. It's too difficult to interpret what she's feeling beyond the inkling of fear that's always present in the back of her mind.]

It's okay.

[Because it's just how things are.]

I'm okay. I know how to be alone.

[They, too, know how to be alone - but drifters are always alone. Children should not be drifting, nor should they be abandoned to fend for themselves. Nor should they feel that they must.]

should not have to be.

[And in that moment, their mind is made up. They are hardly cut out for this, but no one else is present. And, incredibly, she does not appear to be overly concerned with their occupation or their race.]

travel with me.

With...you?

[This is a statement that should be easy to respond to. An answer should be ready to roll off her tongue and instead, all that happens is she goes quiet. A few weeks ago, any communication between them would have ended with her running away. Far away. She doesn't know them, but she didn't know Seto either and every waking moment with him had been moment to treasure.

Until Seto finds her, maybe it's okay. Maybe she can be brave. It's easier to survive with another person. They had smiled at her and protected her against monsters that didn't exist. They're like Seto and before she can understand why, a smile spreads across her face. She doesn't say yes or no to the offer, like a normal person. Instead, she takes a step towards him and says-]

I'm Ren.

[You've acquired +1 useless companion. ]

[It takes her a moment to fully embrace, it seems, what it is they're suggesting. If her prior state did not confirm their willingness to allow her alongside them, then the lengthy pause in which she appears to silently digest the offer certainly does.]

[It is all too familiar a notion - the idea that they are unwanted, and that their presence is little more than a burden. That, they can understand.]

[Children should not understand that feeling.]

drifter.

[Then they do an odd thing.]

[They form a V-shape with their forefinger and thumb, holding the peculiar arrangement up to the mantle covering the lower half of their face.]

[It's a smile. You see?]

[It takes a tilt of her own head and a moment of contemplation to see what the shape is supposed to be. A smile? No one has ever gone out of their way to express their happiness like this. The amount of times anyone has smiled in her direction can be counted on one hand and most of those spots belong to the boy she just met-the one she's waiting for. It puts her at ease and the worries in the back of her mind start to melt away with that one, simple gesture.

This is a smile she will remember forever.]

Which way?

[Hm. A fair question, given that the cliffs appear to block most of their potential routes off. There is always the temple ruin, looming up ahead - and she would be safer there, no doubt, with walls at her back.]

[The Drifter points to the stone building half-buried in the vegetation.]

there.

There?

[Her arm moves up to her forehead, the long sleeve on her dress shielding her eyes from the sun. Oh, there's the building. She's seen it wandering about the island, but had yet to work up the courage to explore it.]

Okay.

[Drifter has a stick and sword. They're about as safe as they can get.]

Then we can put it on your map.

[It's automatic, but whatever. They're still putting it on!! Technically.]

[Their eyes pinch once more in pleased acknowledgment. Progress might be slower with a companion of this sort, but it will be worth it if they can keep her safe. There is no knowing what manner of danger might be prowling places such as these; in their experience, ruins are seldom uninhabited.]

yes.
may be safe.

[Slow, easily startled and distracted by anything remotely shiny. It's going to be a long time before they fill up their map with her trailing behind, but at least she won't complain.

In fact, she even takes the lead and begins the walk towards the old building.]

A good place. The cats might hide there too.

[She can dream okay.]

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wtf that's so cute

<3!!!!!!

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