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

[ohshitsweetflips]

So that's 0 for 2 on actually, you know, answering his question? Taako's patience, like much of his inventory, is gone. That said, one of his fellow passengers is a confused and very obviously panicking child. He lets out a heartfelt sigh and relinquishes some but not all of his disgruntlement. Get a fuckin grip. Meanwhile, Edward Scissorhands here may be dense but he probably isn't gonna put them over the limit, weight-speaking. Taako doesn't bother repeating himself.

"Nah," he answers her, before amending, "Well, I can't speak for this guy, don't know what his deal is." Maybe pirates in this plane dress like mall goths. Who could say. Taako's flair for the dramatic, unlike much of his inventory, is still firmly present, and he casts Levitate on the raft, raising it clear of the surface of the water with the slow anticipatory motion of a roller coaster going uphill. Hope everyone is chill with this, because he is kind of in a hurry, here.

The spell is almost a little...sticky? Like dough that needs more flour. It's almost like it doesn't want to take to the wood instead of wherever spells are before they're cast. But it ultimately does, with no real issue, and he assumes it's just the shitty busted wand talkin. "I'm Taako. Maybe you wanna sit down for this ride." He does not sit down. He did not invent surfing to sit down when wood hits water.

[noctanotheroneout]

"I'm Noctis," the young prince offered. "Sorry, I was trying to figure this out for a moment. Last I remember I was whisked away to an island." He noted the island in the distance. The climate was close to what he remembered from before, even if it was a bit hazy and dreamy.

"He's right though. It's not good to stand up on a raft."

[boundwitch]

You don't have to tell her twice. Sieglinde grabs more tightly to the raft, small hands finding a rope and holding on. She does gasp in shock at the tilt of the raft, and inches a little bit closer to the edge just to look over (she absolutely does not stand). They're definitely floating now, and she looks back at Taako, since he's obviously the source of whatever's going on.

"How are you doing that?" Yeah, any fear is gone now that there's something more interesting to focus on.

[ohshitsweetflips]

"Uh huh," is all he offers Noctis in reply at first. Taako doesn't have much to spare for Noctis' memories. The only island he cares about is firmly in the land of reality ahead of them. He does note that dude is pretty chill about being on a Levitating raft, but maybe he's used to it. Whatever, this isn't actually about impressing some randos on a boat. "Well you're about to be whisked away to that one."

Rando #2 is also remaining fairly chill. Good, if no one freaks out they won't overbalance and wind up in the ocean, maybe. The raft is still climbing at a slow, surprisingly careful pace, no reason to flatten anyone against the surface or anything. It actually takes a little more concentration than a simple Levitate should, if he's being honest. But whatever, he's pretty frazzled, it happens. Beneath their raft the water roils briefly before gathering itself into a wave, trapped in place. This is, fair warning, gonna be a real sweet trick. "Magic, kid. Hang on."

[noctanotheroneout]

Magic.

Definitely not unheard of, but interesting that this person has the capabilities to use it. That was normally reserved to people who were tired to the crystal. But Noctis isn't going to question, how, especially if it gets them to land. "Let me know if you need help." Not that he had access to much in ways of magic currently.

He squats down grabbing, the sack that was next to him first. He strapped it on. If it was bothered being left there, it had to be important somehow. Then grabbing onto one of the ropes that barely seems to be holding everything together.

[boundwitch]

Magic.

Oh, she's heard of magic before. She was raised to believe she could do magic, she's heard of witches all her life. But magic isn't real. Or, maybe, it was just her magic that wasn't real. She glances back and sees the wave, and instantly realizes what's about to happen.

"I can't swim!" She shouts, laying flat on the raft (mostly flat, she's laying on a backpack). The probability that the raft can hold together while being shoved through the air is vanishingly small, and when it breaks apart she won't be able to swim or walk to shore.

[ohshitsweetflips]

Alright, alright, be cool, it's not that big a wave, this is fine. Floating was fine, but the wave isn't? Huh. And she had seemed so chill. Noctis at least is taking it in stride, or maybe he's just not awake yet, but then he's not a small child with some apparent concerns about water. He sounded like maybe a magic user of some kind too? So no wonder he's more calm about it.

"Listen, this is gonna be fine, trust me," Taako says with absolute confidence, which is about the best he can do for reassurance. Worst comes to worst, he'll just Levitate her too, he's not gonna let this kid drown, c'mon. Does it look like he doesn't have this under control? "You won't have to. That's the Taako guarantee." He probably couldn't break the raft apart with this particular combination of spells, short of just dismissing Levitate and dropping it from peak height to the surface of the ocean, if he were trying to.

Anyway they're doing this, it's happening. Taako stands with his feet braced and his limbs loose. Just like surfing. He drops the raft's altitude with sickening abruptness, letting it kiss the wave below and leaning into the motion. The wave is already rushing forward, and he quickly lifts the raft just off the surface once more. The raft is propelled like a skipped stone, albeit not nearly so fast. It's kind of an unwieldy arrangement of spells and physics, he can't work with much water or force, the lack of friction granted by Levitate is the real star here. Taako hollers about it anyway. "Nice!"

[noctanotheroneout]

Before Taako got too deep into his thing, Noctis shifted himself toward the girl on the other end of the raft. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm pretty at swimming. Just hang on ti-"

He was taken a bit off guard and got some kick back when the raft suddenly began moving like a speed boat. "Whoa!" He almost lost his own sense of balance, but was able to compose himself, though probably not soon enough to not embarrass himself.

He had to admit though. This was pretty cool.

[boundwitch]

Sieglinde gasps in shock at the drop, but as the raft skips forward all her concern turns to delighted excitement. This is incredible. She's already trying to figure out how to implement something similar without using magic.

[ohshitsweetflips]

Yeah, there it is. Taako smirks, supremely aware that this is fucking cool as hell. Finally, the right response to what he is bringing to the table. Raft. Whatever. "You people are lucky you're under the weight limit for this ride, or I'd have to get even more creative." Probably it would have been much, much worse than this. As it is, the kid is loving this, and of course she is; if there's one thing Taako knows about children it's that they love being recklessly endangered. Even mall goth seems appreciably into it, probably as much as his noble goth code will allow. "I bet we hit land in no time," he taunts fate.

[noctanotheroneout]

((Mall goth? This is Prada, thank you very much.))

"Hey! Are you going to be alright doing this all the way to shore"

When Noctis uses his magical abilities it tend to wear him down if he goes at it hard and constantly. He didn't need this guy wearing himself out before getting to shore safely.

I wasn't like he had in Ethers on him either.

[boundwitch]

In no time, or in... twenty seven minutes, if her calculations are right (they might not be, it's hard to calculate speed in the open ocean without any tools). She looks between the two men, waiting for the answer to the question.

[ohshitsweetflips]

Well isn't that sweet, this total stranger is concerned for his wellbeing, admittedly probably at least in part because he's currently doing THE MOST in terms of getting them to shore and also just in general. "It's cool, I got this," he lies, for once unknowingly. Twenty seven minutes is just shy of three times as long as Levitate is gonna last, and he's going to get a big surprise if he keeps trying to throw spells around like this is a big spell throwing party. "But like, feel free to pitch in if you want. What's your deal, you a wizard, or what?"

[noctanotheroneout]

"Not a wizard." Not even close, his magic wasn't like the stuff he read in fiction books, which is what this guy seemed to be capable of. Noctis held up his hand, even if the ring was working, there wouldn't be much it would be useful for.

He had his weapons tucked away into him though. Some of them could be used to paddle. "I was just going paddle."

[boundwitch]

"If the boat is currently frictionless you should not paddle." Sieglinde is now absolutely ready to experiment, and starts inching along the boat to try and improve the balance.

[ohshitsweetflips]

Is the ring supposed to tell him something vis a vis this guy and his potential wizard status that his unilaterally clear statement didn't? Maybe it's a brush off. Look, dude, it wasn't that kind of question. "Uhh. Nice ring?" At least a little of the strain in his voice is incomprehension.

And now the kid is crawling around the boat, that's not great, but he's not gonna get in a tizzy about it and make things worse. She isn't actually harshing the balance, he notes with some surprise, but then she seems to have a pretty good grasp on physics. Whatever, sure. Old timey kid has scientific recommendations re: boat physics, not even close to making the news cut for this day. "I think he means if we run out of juice." Which they might.

[noctanotheroneout]

"That's exactly what I mean," Noctis responded. He looked back and forth from his two, new companions. Even if they got close enough, they could always swim. Oh wait, the girl mentioned she couldn't swim.

No back up plan. Maybe close enough to warp? "We already owe you. If you got it handled, then...good."

[boundwitch]

Her hands tighten around the boards. Sieglinde doesn't like being helpless or being without some kind of plan, but that seems to be the situation now.

"What can I do to help?"