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

[ishotyouuu]

"Hey, don't worry about it. You didn't do anything."

There's more to this story, Wade can tell. Not that he thinks this strange child is lying, but Tibia wouldn't be crying like this from a simple fall. Despite her young age, she's a tough kid, able to take quite a few lumps without so much as a whimper. This display of emotion betrays a deeper kind of hurt-- a soul hurt, like her first few weeks of life with her mother gone.

Tibia's sobs eventually recede, and Wade busies himself with stroking her back as he regards the child in front of him. It troubles him, the fact that such a young kid is wandering around in the dark, and something about their face compels Wade to reach out to them. Metaphorically speaking, anyway.

"My name's Wade, by the way. What's yours?"

[achievementhunter]

Every single word.

Every single word feels worse than the majority of deaths they've gone through. They've been burned alive. Eaten. Blown to pieces. Stabbed. And yet the only thing even remotely comparable to this is standing in a patch of flowers, watching Asriel smile. Looking through them as he talks to Frisk, tells them-

"...Kidwun, sir." They don't want to be here. They never

"My apologies, again, for the intrusion. Excuse me."

They never want to see him again. Like it should be.

[ishotyouuu]

Kidwun. It sounds like a codename, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. What were those creatures who tagged along with the Cat in the Hat? Thing One and Thing Two? Wade shakes his head, still bouncing Tibia in his arms as she nestles her head against his shoulder. It doesn't matter-- if the kid doesn't want to tell him their name, he's not about to press the issue.

"You sure you're okay? I've got some food up by my campfire if you wanna just... y'know. Sit for a while and warm yourself up."

The offer comes out almost automatically, as if there's nothing weird about offering hospitality to a strange child out on the beach at night. Wade isn't even sure why he's offered in the first place. There's something... fragile about this kid. Something small and frail, despite the fierceness of their gaze.

[achievementhunter]

"No thank you." It's an automatic response- but even then, at least they have excuses. Excuses they can quickly follow up on, before he feels they're avoiding him for reasons unknown.

You know. Like they absolutely are.

"I need to return to my sibling."

[ishotyouuu]

Sibling. Not brother or sister, but sibling. It strikes Wade as an odd choice of words, though he isn't entirely sure why. Wade offers them a sheepish smile.

"R-right. Sorry. Stranger danger and all that, I get it. You sure you're gonna be okay out there, though?"

[achievementhunter]

Stop asking. Why is he always asking them that? Are you okay, asks the Wade in front of them at the same time as the Wade in their head, and Chara can't restrain from the involuntary flinch, stepping back as their voice becomes curt. Discussion over, it seems.

"We shall be fine. Take care of your Pokemon."

Turning on their heel, Chara begins to step away; taking as fast an escape as they're capable of without running outright.

They aren't laughing, and yet

Tears roll down their cheeks.








They belong to them. No one else.