islandia | DAY 0

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DAY 0 - Morning

[Good morning, contestants!

One moment, you were receiving a mysterious envelope marked "Greetings from Islandia". The next moment, you're waking up on a beach.

Twenty-four people are scattered across the sands of a beautiful tropical beach, all somewhere in the middle of waking up. To your right, a sunrise over a gentle sea. To your left, dense, vibrant jungle.

There are two signs of civilization here! One is a shipwreck, about half of a good-sized ship emerging morosely from the waves. The other is a wooden sign at the edge of the jungle, showing simply an arrow pointing deeper into the island. Looking a bit closer, there is a narrow but well-maintained path into the jungle.

Welcome to Islandia!]

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[Greg is still exploring the island, though he's sort of lost track of what he's supposed to be looking for. There was something about finding someone's friends, or a way home, or the reason for a shipwreck or something? He got distracted and started looking for buried treasure instead.]

X marks the spot, Cornelius! Just twenty paces more, and --

[And then he turns a corner and spots, down the beach, an unmistakable red hat. Immediately his spirits lift, though it isn't as though he'd ever been feeling down. When he last saw Wirt, he was napping, so this is much, much better! ]

Wirt ho! Full speed ahead, skipper! [And with that, he goes running down the beach!] Ahoy there, Captain Wirt! There you are! Guess what, I found the skipper, too!

[When Greg rushes over to Wirt, he turns around and lets out a sigh.]

Not now, Greg. We have to figure out what the deal with this weird place is. [And he starts walking the other direction again. But stops after only a couple of steps before turning around back to Greg, this time very swiftly.]

G-Greg?! [Aaand he's hurrying back over even though they're not even that far apart, and he kneels down and pulls Greg into a hug. Which is pretty weird and not like Wirt usually, but just enjoy it for now.]

Oh, Greg. I-I'm so sorry for- for everything!

[Yeah, he isn't at all surprised by that initial response. He's just happy Wirt is awake and talking to him, instead of being even gloomier than usual, and when Wirt starts to walk off he just follows along.

He definitely doesn't expect Wirt to suddenly hug him and start apologizing, though. It's a little weird, but Greg is pretty used to not getting what Wirt is upset about. It's just that usually when Wirt is upset about something that doesn't seem like anything to be upset about, he starts yelling at Greg. Hugging him means this must be serious. He pulls his arm out of the hug and reaches to pat Wirt on the back.]

Pat pat! It's okay! I forgive you for not supervising Cornelius' swimming lesson.

N-no, no, no, not- not for that. [He wasn't even aware that he had to supervise his swimming.... anyway.]

I-I haven't been a good brother to you, Greg. I just.. gave up, back there. And wh-when I woke up, it was snowing and freezing and- and I tried looking for you. I thought you might've gotten hurt or- or froze to death out there or something! And it was my fault you wandered off like that in the first place. [He lets go and sits back a little, to rub his eye a tiny bit. He was honestly very worried, and he's just relieved to see Greg alive and okay right now.]

[Oh no, that actually makes him feel sad. He knows Wirt thinks a lot of things that seem really silly to him. Things like people making fun of him, or not wanting him at their party, or not wanting to hear him play clarinet. But of all the things Wirt could think, thinking he's a bad brother is just about the worst.

He lets Wirt let go a little, but continue to pat him.]

I don't think you're a bad brother. And...nothing bad happened to be your fault! [He was the one who was goofing off when he was supposed to be leader...but he doesn't need to admit that right now.] I didn't get hurt or go anywhere dangerous, I just went to beat the Beast so you could stop being lost forever!

Th-th-the Beast?! [GREG.. WHY... he's not actually sure just how dangerous the Beast really is but from what everyone's told them, he's really not something to mess with. So.. is this worse than the situations Wirt was thinking about?

...maybe they're about even.]

S-see, this is exactly what I'm talking about! You went off to fight the Beast because I- I didn't care about what you went and did yourself. You could've gotten seriously hurt and it's all my fault.

[He didn't care? Well, he may have specifically used the words 'I don't care what you do,' but Greg took that in a more positive way. It's a lot easier to get along when you assume everyone means things in a positive way!

Anyway, he really wants Wirt to start cheering up, so he smiles.]

No, that's not why! It's because the Queen of the Clouds said the Beast got you, so beating the Beast was the only way you could go home! But now you're here and awake, so everything's okay and nobody got hurt. Right?

... [Oh Greg, your innocence is almost something to envy.]

...r-right. [Truth be told, he still feels like a pile of poop and the worst brother 2kwhateveryeartheylivein, but Greg's obviously trying to cheer him up and he'd rather not continue to act depressed while he's trying. So he'll at least pretend to be a little cheerier for Greg's sake.]

Right, right. At least we're both here and safe, wherever we are.

All three of us! [Don't forget the frog, bro. He croaks on cue.]

Don't be sad, brother o' mine. I'll stick right here and I won't wander off or goof around or anything, so it won't be your fault and you don't have to feel bad. [He'll keep this promise for all of five minutes, but it's the thought that counts.]

[He offers Greg a little smile.]

Thanks. I'll.. I'll try to keep a better eye on you, I guess. [Which'll be hard considering. Greg.]

Where did you find your-- o-our frog, anyway? Last I remember, he was with me... how did you end up with him?

[Our frog! He breaks into the biggest grin. Oh, he knew Wirt was just kidding when he said he didn't care about the frog!]

Yeah! He must have come to find me, 'cause when I woke up, he was there! I thought he swam to the island, but maybe he came with you and then he hopped over to me so I'd know you were here!

Huh... I guess that's a possibility. It'd make more sense than him swimming all the way here. Though that'd be pretty impressive, if he did. [He'd be one tired froggy if that was the case.]

I don't think frogs are supposed to swim in the ocean. [Nodding. That makes sense.]

But we can build a boat and sail across the ocean, right?

Build a boat? [He looks around, to see if there's any good materials for a boat. And spots the shipwreck in the distance. It looks in good shape from here, maybe they could fix it up easily!]

Greg, wait. Do- do you see that boat over there? Maybe we can just use that one. [He stands up and brushes himself off a bit.]

Oh yeah! Isn't that a shipwreck, though? I thought if it was a shipwreck, it'd just sink again! I guess that's why you're the Captain...

It is a shipwreck, but- but surely it can't be too hard to fix up. [Probably wishful thinking, but Wirt's gonna try anyway.]

Let's go check it out.

Okay! You lead the way! I bet if we need to we could cut down some trees to fix it, right?

We'll have to find an axe or something, first. [He starts leading Greg to the ship, and shields his eyes with one of his hands from the sun. Also, Greg might not have noticed earlier, during the heartfelt moment the two had, but there's been a small crab hanging from the bottom of Wirt's cape since he woke up. Obviously, he hasn't noticed it either, otherwise he would've freaked out by now.]

[That's not a crab, it's their new friend! Greg is so happy to meet you, Wirt crab. He follows along after Wirt, but keeps his eyes on the crab.]

That's a good idea, we should find an axe! [And whispering...] Hi, I'm Greg. And that's Wirt, and this is Cornelius. Do you want to be friends with us?

[He hears Greg whispering and looks over his shoulder, with an eyebrow raised.]

Greg, stop talking to my-- [And then he notices the crab.]

GWAH!

[He flails about frantically, trying to shake it off. Though he winds up smacking it into his face, and probably angering it more. He rubs his nose with a groan, and the crab stubbornly stays where it is, despite his efforts.]

Wirt be careful! Don't scare her!

[Watching her cling to his cape.]

Look! She loves you! Oh, you're so lucky!

[Greg. Greg...]

G-get it off! [Shaking his cape again, though less aggressively this time because Greg said to be careful.]

Okay, hold still!

[Jeez, Wirt. If you're going to squirm, he'll just reach out and pluck the crab off the cape.]

[Thank goodness Greg is a child who's scared of nothing and got nothing to lose. He lets out a sigh when Greg plucks it off, and takes a step back away from him, straightening the fabric of his cape out a bit.]

N-now put that thing near the water-- where it belongs. [There's no way he's going to let Greg keep a crab. A frog, sure, they're harmless creatures, but a crab that can pinch off his nose and cut his skin up? Nope, not happening.]

[Yeah, he's really not scared. Just looking at the little crab interestedly.]

Aww, but she likes us --

[And then the crab wriggles free from his grip to land back down on the sand.]

Well, ain't that just the way.

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