Thursday, August 21, 2014

Chapter 74: Intersection


No matter how long they found themselves stuck on this island, they would at least not starve to death. They did not have to forage far from their camp to discover several kinds of fruits and vegetables growing wild, ready to be harvested.


Other discoveries were more mysterious in nature. This lone, charred electric stove stood by the wreckage of  a sailboat and an old ruined wall.


"Do you think you could fix it?" Jillyan asks.

"I could," Julian laughs, "But we'd need a source of electricity to use it. What I'm wondering is where it came from, and why it's just sitting here."

Jilly shrugs, "We had better move on; nothing here will help us get off this island. Unless you think we can repair that old boat?"

Julian shakes his head, and the couple moves on.


All along the island's shore, they find more wreckage. Broken boats and the ruined remains of the cargo they carried.


Heading further inland reveals a walled garden, but no signs of the people who built the wall.

"How old do you think it is?" Jillyan wonders.

"It's hard to say, but if it's ancient, it's held up really well."

"And if it's recent, where the hell are the people who built it?"


Exploring deeper into the jungles, they discover new mysteries.

"That looks Olmec," Julian muses.

"Olmec? Way out here?" Jillyan asks. They may not exactly where they are, but their flight had only been a few hours out of Shang Simla when the plane crashed, still thousands of miles from anywhere you'd be likely to find a giant Olmec head.


As the sun began to set, they headed back to their camp. All their searching produced no means of escape, just unsolved puzzles, ancient ruins from a distant culture, construction with no clue about the identity or whereabouts of the builders, and the wrecks of ships everywhere.

"Hey, but look on the bright side," Jillyan laughs after they've finished their meal of wild vegetables and fresh caught fish, "MorcuCorp could not possibly find us here. We're free."


"What if MorcuCorp was our only hope of escape?" Julian muses. Though it is more than likely Fergus will believe they are dead, along with the others who were in the crashed plane. But if he didn't believe that, if Fergus wanted to search for his lost cousin, he had all the resources of MorcuCorp to do it, and his own powers as well. And that could truly be their only hope of getting off this island.


"This wouldn't be so bad though, being stuck here forever," Jilly answers, drawing him close for a kiss, "It is a paradise here. And we'd have each other."


The next morning, the couple explores the other side of the island, and Jilly finds some boulders to smash with her powerful axe, which she luckily had in her pocket at the the time of the crash. Beneath the crumbled stones, they find a hidden entrance to an underground bunker.


It is, like everything else on this island, deserted, with no traces of the people who built it. But they find working showers, fresh clothes and food stored inside, as well as first aid kits. 

"Stay still," Jillyan reprimands as Julian winces from the sting of salve she applies to his cuts, "Let me take care of you."

"You'll be a great mother someday," Julian muses.

"We have to get off this island first," Jillyan answers, dispelling any fantasy of living here forever, alone together in paradise.


"These people seem to have set themselves up nicely. I wonder what happened to them?" Jilly muses as they eat salads made from the produce they found in the refrigerators.

"Maybe they are still here, on the island," Julian wonders, "They are all just out hunting or something."


"Oooh, like the Three Bears. And we're Goldilocks, and they'll come home to find us sleeping in their beds?"

"We'd probably better not sleep here," Julian responds, though this would be better shelter if it starts to rain again, "Buy...why would they cover the entrance with boulders before a simple hunting or foraging expedition?" he wonders aloud, "It just doesn't make sense."

"Nothing here has made any sense," Jilly answers, "Why should this be any different? I saw some scuba gear in their storage. I think I'll see what I can find underwater."

Julian nods, distracted by his thoughts, "I'll meet you back at camp in a few hours."


Jillyan didn't really expect to find anything useful underwater, she just wanted a few hours of not thinking about their problem, a temporary escape from having to hide her fear from Julian.


"Hey, why don't you have a fish tail?" is the question Jilly would have asked, if she could speak actual words. Instead, she merely points at the merman's scaly legs in a questioning manner.


He gestures for her to follow, and they head up to the surface where they can speak of things they cannot express with hand gestures.


"I am called Meri," the merman introduces himself, "I am, like you, dragonkin. What brings you to the wandering isle"

"Our plane crashed," Jilly answers.

"You did not come here intentionally?" Meri asks, "You are like the others, then?"

"Others? You mean all the shipwrecks here? The skeletons? The people who built the bunker?" Julian asks, "And what do you mean by 'wandering isle'?"


"This island has no true home, it wanders between worlds. Or maybe it would be more correct to call it an intersection, a place where many worlds meet," Meri answers, "Some say it is broken, unstable. Auberon created it, long, long ago, and even he does not remember what purpose he intended it for, so perhaps it is exactly the way it was always meant to be." Meri shrugs, "The island comes and goes again. Where it appears, it pulls on the world it lands in. And that is how your boats and planes are drawn in to it. It does not stay in one place for very long."

"What happens to the people who land here?" Julian asks, "We've found traces of them...buildings, skeletons..."

Meri shrugs again, "I've seen the wreckage they leave behind, but you are the first people I've met here. I do not know what the island does to the people on it when it moves. Perhaps it takes them with it. Perhaps it leaves them behind."

Julian shudders, "What, just drops them in the middle of the ocean?"

"As I said, I do not know, I only speculate. The seaborn can find the isle easily enough, and we can traverse the oceans of many worlds, but we have little reason to visit it. I have been here only five times in my life, and I am centuries old."


"Can you get us home?" Jillyan asks.

"Which world are you from?" Meri asks.

Julian and Jillyan both sit silent as they ponder that question; they only knew one world, and it had never needed a name to identify it.

"Wouldn't we still be in the same world we came from?" Julian reasons, "I mean, the island landed in our world, right? And hasn't moved again yet."

Meri shakes his head, "The island does not truly exist in the place where it lands. Where you are now, is no place. It is between places. The intersection." He shakes his head again, "There is no land beyond the ocean here. Just the island."

"I don't understand," Julian says, and Jillyan nods in agreement with him.

"It makes no sense," she adds.

Meri opens his hands in a gesture of concurrence, "Magic rarely does. Especially where Auberon is involved. There is a portal here, in a cave beneath the waters. The seaborn use it to travel the oceans of many worlds. But we know where our home is, and can always find it again no matter how far we've wandered. You are lost and do not know your home. You can use the portal, but I cannot say where you will land."

"We live in a place called Isla Paradiso," Jillyan says, "Does that help?"

Meri laughs. "Every world has such an island."

"Well, then, wherever we land, it can't be that bad, right?" she says to Julian, "Maybe if we get lucky, we'll find a place where there is no MorcuCorp. If we don't find home, we can at least be free."

"What about your family?" Julian reminds her.

Jillyan frowns, "I wanted my parents to meet you. And my Dad would have loved having grandkids to play with. But what choice do we have? We can't stay here. So I vote we take our chances on the portal. At least we can find a place where we can live, with people and stuff."


They go back to the bunker to get scuba gear for Julian, and then make the dive to the spot Meri showed them. Outside the cave portal's entrance, Julian stops and turns to Jillyan, gesturing doubt one last time.

Jillyan nods vigorously, meaning to go through with their plan


Julian watches as she enters the cave.


And he has no choice now but to follow her, and hope for the best.

___________________________________________________

I didn't show half of the tombs or other things on the island because I didn't need them for the story. But Treasure Island is very inspired by the TV show Lost. And so, yeah, a bit of Lost like elements creeped into this story.

I wish I could remember who made this world or where I got it to provide a credit and link. Though I would also have to warn potential downloaders that I found a lot of broken triggers and inaccessible objects and ladders and I had to frequently go into build mode to fix things. But, as a fan of Lost, I had a great time with it, nonetheless.

Now, important news for this legacy. I have a big decision to make here, whether or not to continue. Well, I am going to continue with Jillyan and Julian, but here's the thing. I just got so bogged down with the whole MorcuCorp plot, and with all the alternate saves and scripted scenes, I really lost touch with the actual challenge part of the gameplay. What I want is a fresh start, I want to play Jillyan and Julian totally new, like 1st generation, with no money and no skills, and no history. Having this portal spit them out in some completely different world would allow me to do that. But I'm kind of leaning towards starting a new blog and really doing this as a Gen 1 start over. And in that I'm also torn between doing it on blogspot or just doing it on my Simblr.

I have some time to mull this over, since I need to set up a world for them to land in. Probably IP again, but not in the fabulous house I built for them since they will be CAS poor. I will let you all know what I decide either way.

20 comments:

  1. Meri is the best looking merman I've seen, but you always have such good looking sims! I'm glad that Jilly and Julian have found a way off the island, and I can't wait to find out what they'll find on the other side!

    If I can put in my selfish 2 cents worth---I vote for blogspot, lol While Tumblr/Simblr is fun to look through, it is a lot harder to follow any thing on it story wise.

    I totally understand wanting a fresh start---all that posing, alternate saves, scripts, it takes a lot of the fun out of this Challenge and the Sims game itself. I've only done a few chapters like that, and it was that way for me anyway, lol (I still have a couple more chapters like that, but I really try to use mostly in game pics in my chapters, just for that reason.) I'm curious to see which way you go with it, there are so many options! Alternate reality---that could be fun, lol Or more work! :P Either way I look forward to it, you are a great storyteller! =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Nirar!
      Meri was so slapped together in a rush, I can hardly take crdedit fir him. He was a generic pudding merman the game generated, but when I decided that Jilly encountering him during a dive would be important, I had to make him over. But really, I just went through the presets, pick a face shape, a nose, mouth and eyes and did very little tweaking.
      He did come out pretty. I'm giving a lot of credit to Taty for the skin, and Lemonkixxy's streaked texture for that hair. =)

      Yeah, I think I will make a new blogspot blog. I also have a hard time keeping track of simblr stories. It is great for just posting gameplay pics as you go, though.

      When I started this legacy, I was trying to take a break from the very posed and staged stories I was doing with Summerdream and Stardust. Unfortunstely, while I loved the tie in I did with Summerdream, all that really pushed this whole thing more into the multiple saves area as the story grew beyond the legacy. And I just reached my exhaustion point, I guess.

      This chapter was fun for me, and more like what I want for the future of my legacies, Mostly all gameplay, with a few poses here and there.

      Delete
  2. o___o. :'( However, I get that the story taking over the challenge is really daunting, frustrating, time consuming, frustrating, draining, wonderful. But I shall really miss the Brannon's. No matter what you decide I'm really glad Jilly and Julian will have a chance to start anew without any of the past lurking over their shoulders. They deserve to find their happiness without any strings attached. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is wonderful, too, definitely, but I think the work involved just became too much. Especially with Summerdream, because that's all story and no gameplay.
      And I just got to point where every time I'd think about what I was going to do about Fergus, and how much staging and posing that would entail, I just wanted to drop it all. But then I wanted to play Jilly and Julian. So, that's what I've decided to do, pluck J&J right out of that wotld and drop them into a totally new setting.

      I have decided to go the blogspot route, and start a new RLC. I could just continue it here, since I did come up with story framework for that. But I just don't want to carry any of that baggage over at all. Completely fresh, straight out of CAS versions of J&J.

      Delete
  3. I definitely got an "end or an era" feel with this chapter. I actually really want Jilly and Julian to start fresh. His curse is broken, MorcuCorp isn't exactly a big, bad shadow anymore. Being spit out into some alternate reality/differing plane is just what they need.

    And while I may stalk your tumblr, I would also kinda like it on blogger. But it's not my decision.

    Also, can Meri follow them to the new world?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, have you been stalking me, you stealthy ninja assassin? It has been too long since I last licked your brain.

      I have decided to go with blogger. =)

      I am so into the fresh start. It's really gotten me excited about the legacy again. It had become such a chore, I was seriously thinking of just abandoning it. But I really love Jilly and Julian and wanted to keep playing them, so I found a way.

      Of course I'm already thinking about what evil corporation full of Illsiminati will run the shadow government in whatever alternate reality J&J end up in, lol. But it will be blissfully free of Landgraab clones. Or...the clones will all have mustaches! Plot Twist! ha ha. Or they will all be ladies.

      I have saved Meri in CAS, and I can probably transfer his genes to whoever the default merman NPC is wherever Jilly & Julian wind up. Since Jill's career is still scuba (I won't be travelling again with her, because I'm so done with WA for awhile) she will certainly be encountering merfolk.

      Delete
    2. I have been staking you. The lack of tumblr account probably helps with the stealthiness of it all. And my brain can be jarred for your convenience.

      There is always a big bad corporation, so I only expect for one to turn up eventually, but I'd like J&J to live a relatively boring life with lots of blonde kids. Maybe a random redheaded one. Genetics and all...

      Considering the merfolk can travel through different planes, I can't wait to see who else will turn up.

      Delete
    3. Aw, I am so touched to have you as my stalker!
      Mmm, but jarred brains, though, they have a kind of pickly taste. I prefer to lick brains that are fresh and still in a living person. =P <--- my tongue, on your brain.

      I do have my tropes that I love to pull out and reuse in every legacy. It will be weird to not have MorcuCorp clones to fall back on. But J&J definitely won't be getting involved in any multi-national conspiracy theories or the like. I really just want to play them and let them have their blonde babies.

      I'm really going to try to not mix too much Summerdream stuff into this story.I had to completely cut ties with the Brannons to be able to carry on with Summerdream, because I need to do things differently than how they were presented here in visions or in Farrell's time travel adventures. And I don't really want to do that to myself again. But of course, I have this universe of characters who keep coming back. Meri obviously has Ico's hair color (slightly changed), and I do consider him to be maybe a grandson of Aymeri and Ico. But from which universe? I'd like to say, not the Summerdream universe, or the one Jill & Julian originate from.

      I have actually been trying to frame a history for the new universe J&J wind up in...like, what if Reinier never went to Avendale? Would the Landgraabs have become as powerful? Would MorcuCorp have ever formed? I don't know if I will ever have to answer any of these questions, but they keep pestering me.

      Delete
  4. Oh, I'd be very sad to see this leg of the legacy end, but I can completely understand feeling too bogged down by story notes and alternate saves and poses and all that. I think it'd be nice to see Jilly and Julian start over fresh without all the scary and intense Morcucorp stuff.

    I also prefer blogger for sims stories simply because so much gets lost on tumblr, but that's your choice.

    I like the merman! When I saw him on tumblr I immediately opened up the game and started making my own version of him since I'm a huge copy-cat. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a little sad. But, honestly, I always feel so liberated when I drop a bunch of baggage I was tired of carrying. And I'm so much more excited about doing this now, where before I could barely bring myself to think about the Brannons because I'd overencumbered it so much.

      *pets the copy cat* As I told Nirar, he was really simple to make, I just picked different default features from the menu and did very little tweaking. I'm sure if you put any effort into it all, yours will be better, lol. Mine really was meant to only be for the one scene and never to appear again. But I am also a bit entranced with him, enough to plaster pics of him all over my simblr, lol, so as I just told Teal, I will likely drop him over into the new world as well.

      Delete
  5. I think the way you've done this chapter will work really well for starting fresh. It'll be a little sad to see the rest of the family gone but if it's what will get you interested in the story again, I think you should do what works. I get bogged down in my story (is where I am right now) and I don't have the huge plotline that spans several generations! You've tied up a lot of loose ends with Julian's curse being broken and Fergus taking control of MorcuCorp so I don't feel like you're leaving us hanging. I'll look forward to seeing where they end up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, heaven!
      I'm a little sad, too, to leave Fergus behind, but it really is what I need to do to just play again. I'm sorry you're bogged down as well, that's always a bummer! I hope you find you way past it.

      Delete
  6. I was all ready to cry and pitch a fit about my hatred for tumbler, then I saw in the comments you decided to go the blogger route, and all is well again. Looking forward to your next RLC. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tumblr has its drawbacks, but it has some advantages as well. I much prefer it for documenting my wishacies. But, yes, I am going to do the new RLC on blogger. But I will most likely be posting out takes and other Brannon related stuff not used in the blogger chapters on my tumbler. When I do, I'll use a Brannon RLC tag that I will link to here for easy access non non-tumblr users. =)

      I'm trying to come up with a more creative name for the new blog than 'Brannons 2', lol.

      Delete
    2. I can't even do one of those 'Brangelina' things with their names, because it comes out Julyan or some shit. They have the same damn name, lol.
      The sad thing is, when I picked the name for Geoffrey's alter ego, I chose based on what I thought Geoff would choose. Julian means 'youthful' and Julian was like a purer, more innocent version of himself. Even though I new I was going to pair him with Jill, i just didn't stop to put their names together, or even think about the fact that Jillyan is a female form of Julian to begin with.
      At least I don't dress them both in beige. =P

      Delete
    3. Huh! I knew they were similar names, but I didn't realize they were actually connected (I just looked it up, now that you mention it). My boyfriend and I have characters named Julian and Jillian, respectively... and even though they are the same age and species, they are sadly not dating.

      Delete
    4. Yeah, it's the same damn name, lol.

      I don't even know your characters, but now I ship them, lol.

      Delete
  7. I will miss your awesome and interconnected world, but it will be very interesting to see what becomes of Jillyan and Julian in whatever alternate universe they find themselves in.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love how as soon as Julian mentioned Jilly as a parent, she decided they need to get off the island. Not going through a pregnancy without medical care/doctors!

    I love the way that you have wrapped this up in-story. It is really perfect to give yourself a fresh start. Looking forward to Julian and Jilly's continuing adventures!

    ReplyDelete