intro log

[vellamods]

INTRO LOG ♬

Whether you were in the middle of battle, on a grand adventure, or simply relaxing somewhere comfortable doesn’t matter. Whatever it was you were doing is suddenly interrupted by time suddenly going still. Everything around you freezes. The rest of the world seems to come to a standstill. The only thing that appears to be in motion is you -- though any temptation to try and figure out what’s going on is suddenly interrupted by the presence of something...small. Something light, like a piece of paper, floating down right in front of you.

A closer inspection reveals that this mysterious piece of paper is actually a ticket of some kind. You can’t quite decipher what it says, but judging by the layout of the text and the clear image of an airplane on it, you can tell that this is a travel ticket.

Not that you have much time to inspect it anyway, because when you reach out and touch it, the world suddenly starts to warp.

Arrival

You blink, and the next thing you know, you’re falling. You aren’t falling quite as gracefully as that strange ticket was; no, you’re descending very rapidly towards the ground. You can make out that your body is...glowing...a bright shade of yellow, and the ground can either mean the sand on the beach or the ocean itself. Regardless of where you land, the impact is not painful. You can feel the thud or the splash depending on where you end up, but it doesn’t hurt whatsoever.

Those in the water are not far away from shore at all. A quick swim will get you to land! For those of you who can’t swim, well, you may want to consider calling for help, given that you aren’t alone. The glowing seems to have stopped, but you can clearly make out the figures of other people nearby under the moonlight.

The land above the sand is thick with grass and overgrown weeds. There are some bugs here and there (namely tiger beetles) that skitter about, but unless you’re willing to use your bare hands, you don’t have anything to catch them with. For a light source, you can try to make a fire on your own using some twigs lying about from the trees, both apple trees and non-fruit-bearing trees alike, if you wish. Nobody’s stopping you.

There are also assorted tents throughout this part of the island. Each tent has a number on it and a little mailbox to accompany it, and there are eleven total. There’s nothing inside, when you go in, however.

The only other notable thing here is that smack down in the middle of the area you’re in seems to be some kind of man made area. There’s a large rectangle of dirt, and sitting on top of that dirt are three things: A wooden bulletin board with nothing on it, a large green tent with a leaf-like emblem above the opening, and a tall speaker next to the tent. Seems like someone’s been here before. If you step inside of the tent, nobody’s there. It’s completely empty inside, too. Below that tent are two large red tents, one with a "Women's" sign over it and one with a "Men's" sign. There are so many tents.

The airport to the south is locked, and try as you might, the seaplane docked behind it will not start up.

But before you venture too far out, you might want to gather your bearings first and chat with those who’ve been brought here with you. Maybe try to figure out a way to survive the night...assuming help isn’t already on the way.

And maybe some of you might need the help, considering you might not be like how you were before…





The Nook

Some time passes into the night. You’ve met some of the others, maybe did a little bit of exploring and set-up; but moments later, there’s suddenly a little seaplane up ahead. You can hear the plane from wherever you are, and it starts to descend near the airport. It descends rather quickly; you can’t quite see who’s operating the plane, but the passenger door opens.

If you happen to be near the airport, raccoon-like figure emerges from the plane and looks at you expectantly. He’s wearing a white collared shirt with a turquoise leaf-like pattern on it; he also has some khaki shorts on. Finally, he’s got the same emblem on his shirt that the sign above the entrance to the large green tent had. He smiles and it reaches his eyes.

“Ah! You’re all here already, hm? Yes, yes, it’s nice to see you here.” He walks towards the rectangle of dirt, and from his pocket he produces a microphone. Then, he speaks into it, and his voice echoes through the speakers: “Please report to Resident Services near the airport. Thank you.”

Whoever does decide to gather around will be met with an introduction from the tanuki: “Let’s see… First things first, welcome, everyone, to your new island! My name is Tom Nook, founder and president of Nook Inc. This is our first ever Deserted Island Getaway Package experience, so please bear with us while we make adjustments to our program as needed. Now... Today is your first official day -- er, evening on the island. Nook Inc. will always be available to ensure your comfort and safety.”

He then goes on to do roll call. This may take a while, but at least you’ll start learning the names of the other people you’re here with!

“Moving on, I have some camping supplies for each of you that I’ll be delivering to your tents tonight. I do have some assignments for each of you, you see, to ensure that there aren’t some people who are without a place to sleep in…”

Tom Nook then proceeds to read out the tent assignments. Yes, you all have those now, apparently. Hope you get along with your new roommates!

“There will be more announcements for you tomorrow, after you all get a good night’s rest. Yes, yes! Please get to know each other, and I will see all of you at nine AM tomorrow morning.”

A pause, then: “Ah-! Before I get to distributing the supplies, if there are any questions that I can answer now, go ahead and ask them.”

Should you not have any questions, you're free to turn in for the night. Get to know your roommates, arrange your camping supplies when they're delivered to you, and enjoy the sweet tunes on the radio. Or...you can get up to mischief outdoors, too. Nobody's stopping you! This is your island now and you get to do whatever you want.

Isn't that swell?




(OOC: Welcome to Vella’s intro log! Any IC, NPC questions can be posted under the “NPC QUESTIONS” top level; any intro log questions can be posted under the “OOC QUESTIONS” top level! Don't forget to turn in your threads for rewards, too. We hope you have fun!)







Taken / FAQ / Locations / Rewards / Full Nav

Comments

[afterword]

I.

[ Given the kind of life he's been living now, Kim Dokja would consider himself not to be easily surprised. Then again, said life was a novel he had more or less memorized if not engraved in his head. There was almost nothing he did not know. Now he's in some place unknown.. where a single page couldn't be found no matter how much he searched his memory.

Also, he's soaked. Drenched from ocean water as he stands on the shore now, the white and black tipped fox-like tail is dripping behind him as he tries to shake himself off. His matching ears are folded back atop his black hair, shivering but he's distracted and more focused on anyone else near him because he's.. not alone? He offers a hand on the chance they need some help getting up. ] Are you alright?

II.

[ Once he's gathered some materials does he make a campfire, and even manages to get his hands on some apples that he managed to actually shake off said trees. It was a bit easy? But, now he's tired, and after making a fire he feels like maybe it's just best to relax from here on. He needs.. to gather his thoughts, figure things out after everything he's dealt with so far.

However, he won't turn away any company, especially anyone not having left to their tent for the night. So he gestures if someone seems to be looking at him. He shows a polite smile, though wariness clings to him. ] You're free to sit by the fire or help yourself to some apples. They're actually quite fresh.

III.

[ Wildcard! Roommates from Tent#11 feel free to meet and greet, otherwise toss anything else at me! He can be found exploring what he can, peeking at both the billboard and airport. ]

iii

[conceptualize]

[ your companion is a freaking riot please restrain him

Anyway, Laurent finds Dokja around the airport and wonders... this guy seems capable. Maybe. Honestly though, with that coat, it looks like he could be the CEO of some company (lol). ]

Excuse me, do you think you can hijack an airplane?

[afterword]

[ trust him he would if he could, that bastard is a loose cannon ]

Even if I could, this is another world so we wouldn't exactly have specific coordinates to head to. [ Clearly he has no idea how to hijack anything. But, he can at the very least tell this is an entirely different world. ExperienceTM. ]

[conceptualize]

[ That answer gets a small laugh out of Laurent. ]

You're a worldhopper then? I'm sure the airplane would have some preset coordinates. Maybe they're built with an auto-pilot function.

[ Hmmm. Hm. ]

I'm assuming you can't hop back?

[afterword]

Admittedly, I don't know a lot about airplanes. [ He's just a reader! And well, not a lot of airplanes mentioned in his favorite novel. ]

I've jumped world lines before but it was at the results of someone else taking me. Currently I can't even feel any of my abilities so.. whatever is happening here is blocking it so even if I was able to hop back I'd be unable to. [ Which gets his fox-like tail flicking anxiously. ]

[conceptualize]

[ He was about to reply with a serious answer, but then he sees the fox tail flicking a lot. It distracts him. ]

... I suppose that's also a new addition?

[ He points at his tail. ]

[afterword]

[ Ears perk at the point and follows that gaze. Right. ]

They are. I never had a tail or these ears before. I notice some of the others are the same case, if not full Beastmen.. you seem unaffected though? [ Why is that? ]

[conceptualize]

Oh, that.

[ Laurent doesn't know either, but he's glad, tbh. Though his answer doesn't take much hesitation to spit out. ]

I'm a god.

[ He sounds very serious. ]

wildcard

[regression]

[ Joonghyuk, when he first arrived, plopped right onto the sand and perceived Dokja's presence. Also, it isn't hard to pinpoint that white coat around nature. He kept his distance, he didn't say anything, and he ignored him thoroughly. Including when Tom Nook rounded them all up at Resident Services to discuss their plans for the island. However, after everything has wind down with fixing up the island and getting accustomed to the lifestyle, he waits for Dokja by tent 11 with his arms crossed and eyes on the ground.

When his gaze lifts and lock onto the other man, he can feel a swell of mixed emotions stirring in his chest: relief, anger, love, resentment... Longing. His wolf ears stay pointed atop his head while his tail swishes to one side once, then stills. This turn of events. He's not sure what he should do. ]

Kim Dokja.

[ ... He just saw you and yet it feels so long. His lips press into a fine line as he tries to discern on his face if this is the Kim Dokja he knows, the man who shares all of his fables. None of those fables begin their tale—their powers and abilities rendered to nothing here on the island. Still, Joonghyuk searches his face, looking for any inkling of his companion.

To think that they were all preparing to save him. Now he's right in front of him. How? How does he bring you back home, Kim Dokja? ]

[afterword]

[ For the most part, Kim Dokja has kept himself busy. Doing anything to keep him from his own thoughts. The silence from the Fourth Wall, no snide comments or even any commentary to tell him what was going on or where they were.. anything. He felt as if he was grasping straws. Every time he stopped, he felt panic swell in his chest. Even now and then he finds his hands tremble and he grips them tightly to keep his posture straight and steady. Chatting with others and yet.. pointedly avoid the one person he knows. The one person he could never forget.

Someone who has stuck by him almost all of his life, and then four years going by in the Scenarios.. The anxiety is a bit suffocating. He knows he'll have to approach him soon enough, but in the meantime they both seem to avoid one another. Like two people skirting around on eggshells. It's a bit funny, really. Enough to make him laugh if he wasn't too busy swallowing any words that wanted to bubble out of him.

Dokja stops as he finds Joonghyuk there by the tent he was assigned to. Finding a chill snake under his nerves as he meets that gaze. Come on.. don't look at him like that. He doesn't know what he's thinking. Someone who could say they know Yoo Joonghyuk as a character well but.. he does not know this one. His ears flicker back, tail low and almost seems to want to curl between his legs. ]

Yoo Joonghyuk.

[ It's a quiet reply. Yet, even as Joonghyuk stares at him, he can't help his gaze as it drifts to the side. Does he know? He can't possibly. He hadn't even done it. He was going to. They were moments from walking out of that subway train and.. If the other man was expecting him to say anything else, he does not. He has no excuses, no regrets, what happens back home.. he just has to understand. That's all he can ask for.

'Do you regret it?' ]

[regression]

[ His own tail lifts, sticking outright as he's alert of Dokja's footsteps. He takes his own step forward and his expression darkens as the anger stirs louder. It isn't aimed toward Dokja... No. Actually, maybe a part is.

Joonghyuk always thought that he understood Dokja the most, but after they left that train—he didn't know Dokja too well at all. The furrow of his brow lightens, but he keeps his eyes on him, worried that if he looks away then this moment will disappear. Again, his companion will slip through his fingers. ]

I want to talk to you. [ But not near the tent where people might hear. ] Somewhere else.

[ You owe him. ]

[afterword]

[ It isn't that he's ashamed. Knowing what he decides to do as soon as they're back home. At the same time, he worries about the others.. has to hope that they're alright. A shaky breath leaves him, gaze flickering up as he sees Joonghyuk take a step.

I know. It's fine, he can't possibly know. He has to treat this as if just moments earlier they were still on that train. So, he has nothing to hide then. Then why does his words make him anxious.. He never realized how much he was left alone with his thoughts without the Fourth Wall there to supply commentary. ]

Alright. [ Well, the airport is in that direction so.. He gestures to the beach before he makes his way there. He keeps quiet again in the meantime, looking back to Joonghyuk once they reach the shores. With a glance around he has to assume they're the only ones here. It's getting late so most people are in their tents. ] What is it?

[regression]

[ Joonghyuk steps onto the sound, feeling his combat boots sink... Quiet, he listens to the waves as he looks up to the twinkling lights. Before them is a sight of terror for both of them—a night sky full of stars. This time, the stars don't mock them... Joonghyuk finds it odd, relieving, yet also unsettling how quiet this island is. The system didn't follow them here and that comforts him greatly.

He takes a moment even after Dokja pries for the topic at hand. His fingers curl, clenching into a fist as his gaze falls onto the dark horizon beyond. Joonghyuk desperately wants to say so many things and Sooyoung would have encouraged him to. They needed to communicate.

Why? Why did Dokja leave them? No, he knows why, yet his heart still asks. Dokja couldn't imagine happiness for himself. Why? That question is one he doesn't know the answer to...

Why... When all of their happiness included him in their future, but he's gone. ]

I'm planning to regress with our comrades when we return. [ Turning to Dokja, his eyes burn a fire fueled with emotion. There's determination, then also sorrow. Without giving him time to respond, he continues. ] We'll save you and bring you back home.

[ Those words were easier to usher than he anticipated, but the next part has his expression twisting with frustration. ]

... The conclusion we want—it includes you, you fool.

[ His fist shakes, desperately wanting to punch him, but he holds himself back. ]

[afterword]

[ To think of the same hatred he felt towards that night sky full of stars. Leading to the few he made bonds with, the few he.. did not exactly want to disappear, even at the cost of their conclusion. Whether his end consisted of ■■ or not, he still wished-- Brows furrow, staring at the sky but finds no reply from any of them. Every single one.. silent. Back home, technically too he was one of those stars lightly twinkling in the sky.

However, he puts that behind him, focusing instead on the man beside him once again. Watching, waiting... were their situations were reverse, would he know what to say? ..Of course, he's done it before, hasn't he? Explained time and time again.. to get his head out of that darkness, to focus on the people that were here beside him.

His eyes widen at the words he finally receives. It causes his mouth to open, only for it to close, fists curling into tight balls that tremble as he shakes under what he hears. ] What... Together? Since when could you.. you've never- [ His Regression doesn't work that way. In all his reading, it's never happened. Never. If so, why would it only happen now? All those years spent regressing alone time and time again.. He doesn't understand. He doesn't get it.

He winces and starts to shake his head. ] You can't. [ Stop. ]

I.. I'll be there. [ Please. Stop. ] Isn't that enough? Everyone will be happy, everyone can live a normal life. You all will get to continue. [ Stop. ]

My ■■ can't be any other way. [ If everything stops... that's it. There won't be anything else, there won't be anymore. Did he even have a choice? Deep down, he doesn't want to sacrifice himself. However... he's accepted it as repayment. For everything he's done, for this endless cycle the man before him has lived.. He was paying back that debt. His jaw clenches, teeth gritting and he wants to hit him. He wants to yell at him. Yet, he feels that hot emotion bubbling in his chest. Maybe if there was a way... if possible, they could reach such a conclusion. But, with how things are, that was impossible. This was how the Star System was. How it's always been.

In the end, someone had to be sacrificed. ] Leave it be, Yoo Joonghyuk.

I

[gohomeivar]

[Milla had just arrived after falling into the ocean herself. While she was still able to swim, she was just reminded of how much she relied on Undine in the past. She may have adjusted to doing things on her own previously, but she hasn't had to deal with swimming as much. The offer was nice enough though. Even though she could have helped herself up, she'll accept his hand up.]

Yeah, thanks. [Looking around. This place seemed so empty.] How about you?

[afterword]

[ Nonetheless, he shows a polite smile, even if he's still a bit soaked and the water clinging to his fur from his fox tail is starting to feel very uncomfortable. Once she's steady on her feet, he goes to try and squeeze the water out of his tail carefully. ]

Well enough that someone can be after getting dumped into the ocean. Usually moving from one world line to another is less messy.

[gohomeivar]

[She'll also take that moment to wring out the water from her hair the best she can.]

Are you used to going from one world the the next?

[Than again, back home there's Rieze Maxia and Elympios, so it's not totally out of the question to be from separate worlds entirely.]

[afterword]

I have some experience of hopping from one world line onto another. But it was not by my own power, but another's ability. And as far as I can tell I have no access to any of my skills here anyways.

So, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how we were brought here. [ Oh, he has some ideas. One being a powerful status using not only its ability to bring people here but to also forbid those from using their own powers. Doesn't seem like something a lot of people will take well so he keeps it to himself. ]

[gohomeivar]

There must be something here that suppresses abilities. [She doesn't have hers either.] I have a few theories, but they mean nothing until I can look into them further.

[afterword]

At least it's a start. I know there's a building nearby with a bunch of tents set up so it's probably safe to head there for now.

[ He gestures in the distance. ] I'm Dokja Kim, by the way. Probably best we all introduce one another since we'll be working together from here on.

I

[freckledarcher]

[Ashe looked around at his new surroundings. He remembered planning a battle meeting then going to get his arrows ready when he ended up here. He touched his head and pulled his hand back when he felt the ears. Wait, did he have cat ears now? Did he have a tail now? What was going on? Ashe looked around when he saw the hand by him. He grinned as he took it and stood up.]

Yes I'm fine, everything is just very new. Thank you for helping me. Are you alright?

[afterword]

[ As soon as the man is up, Dokja lets go and returns his attention to his slightly drenched self. Sighs. He should go see about what supplies they have here. Hopefully some clothes they can use. Ears flick, gesturing to the other's feline-like changes. ]

You too then? [ He nods to the question, taking in the man's demeanor as he continues. ] I'm well enough. Seems quite a number of us have been brought to this world unexpectedly.

[freckledarcher]

[Ashe took off his outer jacket and did his best to wring out. He would find a place in the sun to dry it out later when he explored the area. He touched his ears as his tail moved behind him. That's something he'll have to get used to one day soon.]

It looks like it. I wonder why they gathered us all together? I'm sure whoever did it has their reasons. Oh, we should probably get out of the water and check out the island. Where do you think we should look for first?

[afterword]

With what I managed to see, it seems like they had some tents set up more further on the island. So we might be able to find out more there. [ Though he too is curious to what their "reasons" are.

However, watching the other, he notes how he touches his own set of ears and tail. It already tells Dokja that those changes too are new for him. He gestures for the direction to head in. ] It's over this way. I'm Dokja Kim, by the way.

[freckledarcher]

Well, it's good that we have a place to stay while we're here.

[Ashe's cat ears twitched as he reached down and picked up his outer jacket.]

It's nice to meet you, I'm Ashe Ubert. [He's glad that he's not the one who was curious about what was happening.]

I'm glad we can pick some apples when we get hungry. Oh, do you like apples?