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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Wade turns towards him, and Newt has to strain to hear what he says; almost misses it, as hoarse as it is. But it's enough for him to hear, it's--his name. That's recognition, and it's enough to make Newt feel, for a moment, as though all the air has been vacuumed out of his lungs. Wade recognizes him, and the sheer relief of that knowledge--that he's not completely alone--it's enough to making him gasp out something that gets strangled in his throat, and he's stumbling out fully onto the sand now, running towards him.

"Wade!"

Wade doesn't move. He can barely afford to breathe. His eyes never leave Newt's face-- if he so much as blinks for too long, Newt might blip out of existence again. A phantom; nothing more than a dream brought on by his own loneliness and desperation. His legs feel weak, as if one misstep could bring him crashing down, like a toddler who hasn't yet figured out the mechanics of walking.

Wade remains frozen where he is, watching as the man hastily makes his way across the sand, moving as fast as the loose, slippery terrain will let him. His eyes never leave Newt's face, as if memorizing it; devouring every last detail and restoring it in the depths of his memory. If this is a dream, he might not get another chance.

Wade hasn't moved, and that alone is enough to make Newt hesitate slightly--his run slows, slightly, leaving him slowing to a standstill just within the edge of the fire's light, frowning. "...Wade? You...You okay, dude?"

It's a funny question to ask, because the answer always and will be 'no' in these kinda places, but...if something is really wrong...but, Wade recognized him, right??? He definitely did. He said Newt's name.

His voice is the same; his mannerisms are the same. Wade recognizes them instantly, even after being deprived of them for what seems like years, and his body hungers for them in very much the same way it used to hunger for food, back when he and Newt had been roommates. Back when he had had a home.

Wade still doesn't trust himself to move, but the expression on his face should speak volumes. His voice is rough and raw when he finally speaks, like a man who's just regained the ability to form words after years and years of silence.

"I..." His voice breaks. He presses his lips tightly together and tries again. "Newt... are you actually here? For real? Can I move or are you just another crazy hallucination that's gonna disappear as soon as I get close?"

Please, just give me this. Just give me a break, just this once.

Oh.

Oh.

Newt's own hesitation had stemmed from Wade's silence, but those questions hit like a punch to the gut, especially with the way Wade's voice breaks at first. He's just as familiar with illusions meant only to torment, and Newt's gut twists, feeling his eyes suddenly start stinging and his throat go tight.

"Yeah." And now it's Newt's voice that cracks and wobbles. "Yeah, dude, it's really me."

He manages a shaky smile, even as his eyebrows scrunch together and he blinks rapidly. "I'm here."

Wade hears Newt's words; hears the catch in his voice he doesn't bother to hide, and suddenly it doesn't matter if this is real or not. Wade finds himself pulling Newt close before he's realizes he's even taken a step, hugging the man so fiercely he thinks he can feel his own bones creak. He's here, just as he said. He's here and warm and alive, and Wade feels a lump form painfully in his throat as he clutches.

"Thought I finally managed to escape your nerdboy ass, you fuckin' Poindexter." The roughness of his voice, as if he's fighting back tears, kind of takes all of the sting out of the insult.

Wade's pulling him in and Newt goes, easily, wrapping his arms around him as much as he can and clinging, tightly. His voice is watery, wet as he laughs.

"You wish, you goddamn loudmouth." He's being held way too tightly, and he can feel the breath squeezing out of his lungs, but it doesn't matter, it just doesn't. Wade's here. He knows him. He's not alone. Neither of them are alone. Thank fuck.

"Careful there, dude-- I'm in the perfect position to get you in a headlock and you wouldn't be able to stop me."

Wade rubs his knuckles against Newt's scalp, but there's no intent to harm there. If anything, it's more like an affectionate rough-housing from a playful older brother. Newt looks good, all things considered. Whatever he'd been up to in the year or so post-Haven had brought back some of his infamous exuberance. And a little more padding, Wade's tickled to discover, as he loosens his grip on the smaller man.

"Heh. You're a lot squishier than when I saw you last, broheim. What'd ya do-- find yourself lifetime supply of Cheetos an' Mountain Dew?"

Newt squawks at the application of knuckles to his head, but he's laughing through his protests, squirming against Wade's hold. He tilts his head back as Wade starts to loosen his hold, but doesn't step back any--though that question makes him frown, a wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows in confusion. Because...he should know, right? Wade should know he looks like this? He looked like this when he last saw him? There's a taste of doubt that's crawling up Newt's throat and leaving a nasty taste in his mouth--"...um. I...I was like this when you last saw me, dude." The corner of his mouth quirks, slightly, though there's definitely an uncertainty there. "I mean, I know it was gradual, but the weight gain's been there over the last several months."

There's a sinking feeling in Newt's stomach, and he's fairly certain Wade's about to confirm it.

Wade knows there's something wrong even before he sees the expression on Newt's face. The smaller man's body suddenly tenses, imperceptible except for those who are trained to pick up on such physical tics. And when Newt explains the reason for his sudden reticence, it's hard for Wade to keep the confusion from his face.

What Newt's saying isn't making any sense. He remembers what the other man had looked like in Haven before he'd disappeared, and although the scars from Kite's experiments are still visible on his face, he seems to have gotten at least ten pounds heavier than when he'd seen him last.

There's no delicate way to go about this, and so Wade barrels on through: "The heck are you talkin' about? I haven't seen you in over a year, bro."

That dread in his stomach has officially twisted it into knots. "Is, uh...is that before or after Hadriel?"

The name flies over Wade's head, and he's sure that Newt can see it on his face. There's no way to bluff this-- no way to pretend that he has the slightest idea of what Newt is talking about. He must have been somewhere else during that year, somewhere that wasn't his own world, just like Wade had been somewhere else after Haven.

Wade's shoulders rise and fall in a sigh. He shakes his head in defeat. "Sorry, dude. I... don't really have the slightest idea of what you're talking about. Last place I saw you was in Haven, an' then I went to a place called Sol Raveh. Not really sure what this Hadriel place is-- I've never been there. Not to my knowledge, anyway."

...and there it is. The penny drops, and Newt's expression twists even as he drops his head down, forehead thunking against Wade's chest. "...what the fuck." His voice cracks a little bit because what...how does he even begin to handle this? Wade knows about Haven, knows him--but not Hadriel. "You were there." .....yeah, except--and Newt can't help the short, humorless small bark of a laugh. "Er, well, a version of you."

Newt had mostly assumed, up until this point, that it was either all or nothing. Either they knew part of their past with each other or it was gone completely. Like with Sans. But Wade? Wade knows part of one story and nothing of another. How does he even begin to handle this? Which one is his Wade, then? Is this not his Wade, because he doesn't have the experience of Hadriel?

Even thinking of this makes Newt feel like he wants to throw up, not even wanting to consider that if this is how it is with Wade, what might it be like with---

Nope--Newt shakes his head, hard, banishing that thought because he absolutely cannot right now, it's too much--so he lifts his head, mouth set. "You know what? Doesn't fuckin' matter, man." In this case, Wade is Wade and he knows Newt and that's what matters. He does let out a huffing sigh, though, and drops his head down again, squeezing his arms around Wade as much as he can. "I hate this world hopping bullshit for real."

Wade understands the implications immediately. How could he not, when he'd seen proof of it with his own eyes in Clementine? She hadn't remembered the three years they'd been together; had shied away from him at his insistence that they'd known each other, and the pain had been just as potent as it had been the first time she'd forgotten him. The same thing must've happened to Newt, to a lesser extent-- there must have been some other Wade out there, with his shared memories of Haven and some new ones that he couldn't even fathom.

Wade tightens his grip on Newt, one hand gripping the back of the smaller man's head as if he were a child. "Sorry, pal. Sorry that we can't exactly rehash whatever crazy shenanigans you and that other me got up to in that Hadriel place. But I'm still me. I still remember my good buddy Newt. You're, uh..." A sardonic laugh. "...kind of a hard motherfucker to forget, y'know?"

The hand at the back of his head is...comforting. And he huffs out a small sigh, leaning into Wade a little harder--and the corner of his mouth quirks a bit, tiredly. "Yeah, dude. Same to you." A beat, a breath--"I'm just...glad you're here."

Wade hears and feels that sharp intake of breath, that gulping sound that's barely distinguishable from a sob. He wants to ask Newt about the others; wants to ask him if any of them made it to this little archipelago, but he stops himself before the words can escape his lips. Some part of him doesn't want to know. Some part of him doesn't want it confirmed that none of them have traveled to this little archipelago the way he had; that Newt was the only one who had made it here with memories of Haven intact.

Fortunately, a sudden tug at his pant leg distracts him from asking that question, and he glances down at the tiny Cubone currently clinging to his leg, looking at Newt with surprise and a little uncertainty. Wade's eyes soften in a smile.

"Hey there, baby girl. You wanna meet your Uncle Newt?"

In the silence that follows settles around them momentarily, and in it Newt can feel that silence echoed in the back of his head--a lack of presence where there should be one, and something in his chest throbs painfully. He can feel his throat start to tighten and his eyes start to burn--but then Wade speaks up again and Newt lifts his head, frowning in confusion up at him. Except Wade's not looking at him but rather down at his side, and Newt follows his gaze to....a Cubone.

That's

Not what Newt expected???? His eyes widen almost comically behind his glasses.

"....Wade, is that a Cubone?" Yeah he hasn't taken his eyes off Tibia because what.

Wade rolls his eyes in response, his smile turning into a teasing smirk, as if seeing a Pokemon suddenly pop up next to him is the most common sight in the world. "Why am I not surprised you know what a Cubone is, you fuckin' weeaboo."

Again, the barb isn't as mean-spirited as it could have been-- indeed, there's nothing but affection behind the insult. Tibia's watching the strange man closely, glancing up at Wade with a question written fully in her green eyes. Wade nods to her, indicating that there's nothing to be afraid of.

"It's okay, Tibs. He's a friend from before. In Haven." He turns his attention back to Newt. "How 'bout you say hi, buddy? Her name's Tibia."

"Hey, man, I'll have you know that I memorized all of them up through the fourth generation." But at the suggestion, Newt glances up briefly at Wade--before he shifts, moving so he can drop down to a knee and speak to her face to face. He grins, widely.

"Hi, Tibia! I'm Newt--it's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand for a shake. "Sorry if I startled you a bit."

Tibia doesn't take his hand. She recognizes this man from Wade's stories about his time back in the other place; back in Haven. She remembers holding an image in her mind of an amphibian with glasses, something similar to a Politoed in appearance, before she'd been able to see him from Wade's projected memories. He wasn't nearly as interesting as what she'd envisioned, but she'd supposed he was nice-looking nonetheless. The tattoos were intriguing enough.

What she remembers most, though, is the fond and almost wistful tone to Wade's voice whenever he'd spoken about him. This was someone who was important to Wade; someone who had been his friend before Tibia had been hatched. Without a moment's hesitation the tiny Cubone moves forward, side-stepping Newt's outstretched hand to wrap her arms around his leg and hug tightly.

She is very happy to meet you, Mister Newt. Any friend of Wade's is a friend of hers.

....she's hugging his leg. Newt had almost startled when she threw herself forward, and when she wraps her tiny hands around his leg he can't help but stare for a moment, surprised--before, predictably, his heart completely melts and does a wibbly-wobbly-flippy thing in his chest. He reaches down, almost afraid he'll hurt her, and rests a hand gently on her back. "Uh...th-thanks." And his voice most definitely doesn't wobble slightly.

Well. This is certainly the cutest thing he's seen in a while, and Wade finds himself having to press a knuckle against his teeth to keep from squealing like a twelve-year-old who's just gotten her first pony. How embarrassing. His healing factor doesn't do much against this sort of emotional warfare.

Tibia gives Newt's leg one last nuzzle before retreating and making her way shyly back over to Wade, and fortunately that's more than enough time for the totally hardened and black-hearted Merc with a Mouth to collect himself.

"So yeah. That's Tibia. Or Tibs, if you're into the whole brevity thing. Ain't she a pip?"

"She is the best Pokemon I've ever met." Excuse Newt while he melts into a puddle because of this perfect adorable Pokemon he is dead goodbye. He glances up at Wade, moving to stand back up. "How long have you guys known each other?"

Wade's grin widens at Newt's indulgent praise, bending down to scoop the little Cubone up into his arms and give her snout a few affectionate strokes. "Hear that, Tibs? I think you've gotten yourself a fan."

He rolls his shoulder in a shrug at Newt's question, still dandling Tibia in his arms the way one would hold a human baby. "I hatched her, duderino. Was about a year or so ago, I think. Place I was in before had all kinds of eggs lying around, and I managed to swipe one. I was gonna crack it open and make one hell of an omelette before someone told me what they actually were. I'm at least 60% sure I made the better choice of not eatin' her, right darlin'?"

Tibia responds to this with an annoyed look and a shove at his face-- it's clear he's made this particular joke before.

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August Intro: You Think...You Wink...You Do A Double Blink...

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