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

[achievementhunter]

I've never been to Nyoi-Cho, Asriel. I've never met Kyubey. And whatever contract you made is a mystery to me.

[It's best to be blunt- not dance about this issue.

It's going to hurt him, but then, he might as well join them in the sensation of a stone dropping into their stomach.]

We're from entirely different timelines.

[pleasereset]

[Chara's bluntness does startle him, and for a few seconds he does look a little hurt. They're not the Chara that saved him in the dream, the Chara that he fought...

Maybe that's a good thing, though?

... Yeah, it doesn't matter. It's still Chara.]

Oh well... I guess everything I said just now sounds super strange, didn't it? Haha!

T-that's okay though! I don't really care about what timeline we both came from - I'm just really glad you're here. I missed you so much, there's so much weird stuff that happened before I got here. I've got so much to tell you-!

[achievementhunter]

And I you.

[Is it really okay? They look at him, firelight gently gracing the side of their face. Why anyone would want more warmth here...surely Asriel would be suffering just as much, if not more, from this heat.

But that's not their problem anymore.]

In fact, I'd like to go first, if you don't mind. The things I have to tell you are imperative.

[pleasereset]

[Asriel nods, going quiet as his enthusiasm starts to die down. There was a lot to tell Chara, and Asriel wasn't exactly eager to get into it just yet.]

Oh sure, go right ahead.

[achievementhunter]

[Go right ahead.

Like it's that easy. Chara nods, but still, there's a pause in the conversation- a silence that drags on as they look to the fire, thoughts carefully kept off their face.

He might hate them, for this.

They truly hope he does.]

I resided in Sol Raveh for ten months, approximately. During this time, Frisk and I have been...closely working together. For an outcome we both find agreeable.

We assumed that we were successful. Until we woke up here.

[pleasereset]

[Frisk.

A year ago, Asriel would've been delighted to hear that name. Both his sibling and Frisk were here and he could see them both? It would've made him so happy.

Funny, how that name leaves a sick feeling in his stomach now.

He feels anger bubbling, and as much as Asriel's expression tries to stay neutral, there's a quick flicker of unhappiness that crosses his face. It's easy to miss. The uncertainty that follows it is much more obvious.]

... You know Frisk?

[Sol Raveh still doesn't mean anything to Asriel, in the same way that Nyoi-Cho doesn't mean anything to Chara. But it's not important right now.]

What outcome?

[achievementhunter]

[The unhappiness may be easy to miss, but the lack of happiness certainly isn't. Chara doesn't know why- but that is not the response they expected to their Partner's name. Not at all.

It doesn't sit well in the slightest.]

I know them better than anyone. As they know me.

[The slight isn't necessary; they say it anyway.]

An outcome. One that, partially achieved as it is, has had significant ramifications...

Have you met Sans, yet?

[pleasereset]

[Chara knows them better than anyone. Maybe Chara knows why they decided to fight him, save him, and then turn around and decide it all wasn't worth it.

That he wasn't worth it. Of course he wasn't. But everyone else...

The name Sans cuts through his thoughts, like a knife twisting in his chest. If he didn't sound happy before, he definitely looks a lot more unhappy as he casts a wary glance in Chara's direction.]

Sans is here too...?

[Good. Maybe Sans can find him, decide that he's a worthless murderer, and do whatever everyone else in Nyoi-Cho wanted to do to him.]

[achievementhunter]

He is.

[Their smile- well, he knows.

Smiles don't immediately say happiness, do they?]

He's one of a few who are showing symptoms of what we've done. To that end, we've decided... our identities should remain secret.

[They look at him, now. And their smile is nothing but vicious as they lean in- thrusting a verbal knife forward without hesitation.]

Which is where your co-operation would be greatly appreciated, Flowey the Flower.

[pleasereset]

[Before Asriel can even ask what Chara is talking about, the verbal knife hits its mark. Bewilderment sinks in, eyes widening as Chara pieces together his identity effortlessly.]

Wh... what...?

[achievementhunter]

[Surprised, is he?

Good. They offer him no sympathy; no gentling of their expression as their statement sinks in, and he realizes the situation he's in.

Don't you know, Asriel? True friends stab you in the front.]

We both have things we'd prefer others not to know, do we not? I'm certain that Sans...Muffet... would not take kindly to realizing their little prince is actually a SOULless murderer.

[Dropping their chin onto the back of one hand, they continue looking at him. Perhaps their expression is even...accusing.]

It would be very unfortunate if I were forced to reveal that. Wouldn't it.

[pleasereset]

[The realization flows through Asriel like a poison, slow and aching as he looks at Chara's expression and realizes they're not joking.

Worthless murderer.

Worthless murderer.

W O R T H L E S S M U R D E R E R

The corners of his mouth lift in an unfriendly smile. He is. He is! Of course, Chara knows too. Chara knows his real nature, because he can't be anything but this. It didn't matter if his previous home had labeled him a murderer, because it'd follow him everywhere wouldn't it?

You can't escape what you are.

It'd be so unfortunate that Chara would have to reveal that. So unfortunate that word would get out, and he'd finally meet the fate he deserved back in Nyoi-Cho.

He wants to tell them go ahead. Tell them. It's just delaying the inevitable.]

... I see.

What exactly are you trying to ask me?

[achievementhunter]

I'm not asking, Asriel.

[Better to make that clear from the get go. This is not a polite request.

They both know what this really is.]

I'm telling you that Chara and Frisk do not exist. That is not my name, the other, pleasant child in a blue sweater certainly holds no attachment to those titles, either.

You do not know us at all, in fact. Just as I do not know Flowey.

[A smile.]

That's not too hard to remember, is it? After all, if one does not exist, there's really no point in mentioning them...ever again.

[pleasereset]

[Never bring them up, act as though he doesn't know them. It's an easy request, he supposes. There's a dull ache in his chest, a burning behind his eyes, and his fist clench uselessly.

He tries to keep his voice steady.

It's... okay. This isn't his Chara, was it? He was too hopeful, thinking that it was.]

Is that all you want?

[achievementhunter]

[It's funny how even now, part of them was expecting more protest. Tears, at least, even if it was just a boy crying wolf. Something that, in some way, shape or form...at least showed he could pretend they'd mattered to him, just a little bit.
Didn't you care about me, Asriel? More than anybody else?
Of course, he already knows he's been caught out- so why even try those tactics?
He's already stopped lying to himself.
He knows Chara won't fall for them.]

I think it should go without saying that the less time we spend together, the better.

[pleasereset]

[Well, he does look defeated. A part of him wants to ask why they bothered saving him, why they questioned his determination when they could have just killed him. But Chara doesn't remember - or more accurately it seems they never experienced it. Everyone told him it was just a dream. Maybe they weren't wrong...

It doesn't matter anyway, he supposes.]

... Why?

[achievementhunter]

[They want to laugh. Why? Why, as if what's already been mentioned wasn't enough.

There's so much they could spit at him. The hell he put Frisk through. The people he killed- their people. Their parents. But then... they've done all of those things, too.

There's one thing, above all else, that he will never, ever escape from.]

Why not? After all.

I'm not the type of friend you always wanted.