The desert island. How would you do it?

[GinKuusouka]

Let's elaborate on the subject of a deserted island. There are a few answers that I would want you guys to answer:

1. You can take some stuff with you. Not a boat, ship, plane, raft or other device that can take you off the island. What would you bring? You have five objects to choose.


2. What area of the world would you like to be stranded in?


3. What does your personal island look like? Vivid descriptions, please.


4. What natural resources are available on the island?


5. What would you build on your island?


6. What devices, tools and stuff would you construct? To what purpose would you use them?


7. Should there be wild animals on your island or do you want to survive entirely on fish and vegetables?


8. Describe, come with ideas. Tell me stuff that I haven't asked, but that you want to tell me about your island.

My five items that I would take to the island with me would be my older mare Rose (for companionship), my utility knives (I have a bunch of those), a book on plants and herbology, a book on basic chemistry, and a book on do-it-yourself-house-repairs (preferrably Lost style lol).

I can't stand the heat that well. It fatigues me too damn easily. So, forget being lost in the tropics or the desert (sorry lol). That's too predictable anyway. Give me a place in about the same latitude area as Japan. That would be very comfy for me, temp-wise. As well as being very beautiful.

A vivd description eh? I'll have to close my eyes for this to get it right, so please bear with me. And don't hold any spelling and/or grammatical errors against me. I want there to be a mountain-like plateau that would be a treacherous climb to get to the top of. One side is going to be a sheer drop (of course, it's a plateau), the other side is going to be a more gradual climb, though still quite steep. The area is surrounded thickly by trees. I'm not exactly sure of all of the types, but some of them are beautiful weeping willows. So, knowing that they are there, there must be a good source of water nearby. Moving through the thick copse, one would find a half-collapsed entrance to a cave. A slick mudtrail leads in, the soil thick with the scent of moisture and rotting vegetation. Good for planting. The trail ends a couple of yards short of a pool, and one could imagine that there is a gushing waterfall leading directly into it from heavy rains during the season. Dangerous during that time, pretty safe all others as long as one has an understanding of what to expect. The pool itself is clear, yet there is no bottom that can be seen. It's not too far down from the ledge. Probably a couple of feet. More in some places, less in some, especially where the rushing waters have eroded away the rock from who knows how many seasons. The top of the cavern is fairly high. At least 24 feet, if not more. It was a steeper and longer incline than one might first believe. Reaching a hand into the water, it's cold. Tasting it, it has a slightly sweet flavor. Stepping about, an echo answers and is yet louder with a yell. Investigating further, there happens to be a couple of entrances into other parts of the cave. One is more or less a dead end after only two or three turns. However, it proves roomy enough to act as a storage room, if cultivated properly. But only in the off-season. The other, after backtracking, seems to travel longer. Because it does. Most of the way seems to be solid ground, though sometimes it seems you can catch the sound of running water beneath your feet. Could it be an underground river? Connected to the pool? But then, perhaps that wouldn't make so much sense because it did seem still. Perhaps that's for another time of exploration. There is finally a way out and aboveground is a forest of sorts with wildlife. Amazing. Beautiful. Exotic. Monkeys, birds, gorgeous flowers. Dangers hidden inside the mysterious maze as well. But the outside world is beckoning again. There happens to be plenty of wood from trees that have fallen already to make a few necessities from. And lots of animals, big and small, to choose from for food, hide, and to make weapons and tools from their bones. (Not my favorite thing to think about, killing another life like that, but it's the natural order of things.) I would create a shelter for myself and my horse for when bad weather strikes, a shelf for my books, a rack to dry grass and herbs out on. (The grass for the horse and the herbs for medicinal/food necessities.) And, if I had anything left, a place to do work on, whether it be chemistry or trying to create tools. If there are vines or something close to it, I'm sure that something akin to a halter can be created for Rose, for times when it's needed. As well, I would want to bar off an area for a compost heap or two. I can't expect to use all of the soil found near the entrance of the cave. It'll be good for a start, but it would disrupt the natural order of things if too much were to be taken. And, later on if I feel adventurous enough, I might try clearing out a small area for growing vegetables of my own.

I would want animals on the island. I wouldn't kill them unless it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, fishing and plants would sustain me well enough.

As for tools, I would need something to spear animals with, when I do need to kill them. Preferrably something sharp and swift, to give them a quick end. ._. Why be unnecessarily cruel? Otherwise, I need tools to be able to build above-stated ideas. Leather and bone would be especially beneficial for some of it. I would need something akin to an axe to make firewood. One has to stay warm throughout the night somehow. And keep the bigger predators at bay. The knives I brought would be to help me shape items as well as do more intricate work that more primitive tools can't quite handle.

People? >.> My best friend. Religion? Shi'kaan. (It's not my creation, it's hers, from her planet Shi'kaan. haha Shi'kaan. Chicken. Get it? Good.) What more? Hmmm... We wouldn't want things to get too sophisticated. It's nice to just not worry about nuclear explosions and the such. How would we populate the area? Hmmmm... Well, Japan might be close enough. Otherwise... Might have to hope there are hot male locals who are up to the challenge. hahaha

I'm sure I left something out. lol Some sort of detail. But I can't quite think of it. So, for now, I think that's about it for my island. It was fun. Thank you.

 

[Valiant]

Other than the horse that sounds like a solid plan And I like your narrative when it comes to the cave... It makes me think of Robinson Crusoe. Dammit, I have to re-read them. Tonight.

Wonder why this thread died, it's awesome... I bet more people want to write in it


Come on people!

My five items that I would take to the island with me would be my older mare Rose (for companionship), my utility knives (I have a bunch of those), a book on plants and herbology, a book on basic chemistry, and a book on do-it-yourself-house-repairs (preferrably Lost style lol).

I can't stand the heat that well. It fatigues me too damn easily. So, forget being lost in the tropics or the desert (sorry lol). That's too predictable anyway. Give me a place in about the same latitude area as Japan. That would be very comfy for me, temp-wise. As well as being very beautiful.

A vivd description eh? I'll have to close my eyes for this to get it right, so please bear with me. And don't hold any spelling and/or grammatical errors against me. I want there to be a mountain-like plateau that would be a treacherous climb to get to the top of. One side is going to be a sheer drop (of course, it's a plateau), the other side is going to be a more gradual climb, though still quite steep. The area is surrounded thickly by trees. I'm not exactly sure of all of the types, but some of them are beautiful weeping willows. So, knowing that they are there, there must be a good source of water nearby. Moving through the thick copse, one would find a half-collapsed entrance to a cave. A slick mudtrail leads in, the soil thick with the scent of moisture and rotting vegetation. Good for planting. The trail ends a couple of yards short of a pool, and one could imagine that there is a gushing waterfall leading directly into it from heavy rains during the season. Dangerous during that time, pretty safe all others as long as one has an understanding of what to expect. The pool itself is clear, yet there is no bottom that can be seen. It's not too far down from the ledge. Probably a couple of feet. More in some places, less in some, especially where the rushing waters have eroded away the rock from who knows how many seasons. The top of the cavern is fairly high. At least 24 feet, if not more. It was a steeper and longer incline than one might first believe. Reaching a hand into the water, it's cold. Tasting it, it has a slightly sweet flavor. Stepping about, an echo answers and is yet louder with a yell. Investigating further, there happens to be a couple of entrances into other parts of the cave. One is more or less a dead end after only two or three turns. However, it proves roomy enough to act as a storage room, if cultivated properly. But only in the off-season. The other, after backtracking, seems to travel longer. Because it does. Most of the way seems to be solid ground, though sometimes it seems you can catch the sound of running water beneath your feet. Could it be an underground river? Connected to the pool? But then, perhaps that wouldn't make so much sense because it did seem still. Perhaps that's for another time of exploration. There is finally a way out and aboveground is a forest of sorts with wildlife. Amazing. Beautiful. Exotic. Monkeys, birds, gorgeous flowers. Dangers hidden inside the mysterious maze as well. But the outside world is beckoning again. There happens to be plenty of wood from trees that have fallen already to make a few necessities from. And lots of animals, big and small, to choose from for food, hide, and to make weapons and tools from their bones. (Not my favorite thing to think about, killing another life like that, but it's the natural order of things.) I would create a shelter for myself and my horse for when bad weather strikes, a shelf for my books, a rack to dry grass and herbs out on. (The grass for the horse and the herbs for medicinal/food necessities.) And, if I had anything left, a place to do work on, whether it be chemistry or trying to create tools. If there are vines or something close to it, I'm sure that something akin to a halter can be created for Rose, for times when it's needed. As well, I would want to bar off an area for a compost heap or two. I can't expect to use all of the soil found near the entrance of the cave. It'll be good for a start, but it would disrupt the natural order of things if too much were to be taken. And, later on if I feel adventurous enough, I might try clearing out a small area for growing vegetables of my own.

I would want animals on the island. I wouldn't kill them unless it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, fishing and plants would sustain me well enough.

As for tools, I would need something to spear animals with, when I do need to kill them. Preferrably something sharp and swift, to give them a quick end. ._. Why be unnecessarily cruel? Otherwise, I need tools to be able to build above-stated ideas. Leather and bone would be especially beneficial for some of it. I would need something akin to an axe to make firewood. One has to stay warm throughout the night somehow. And keep the bigger predators at bay. The knives I brought would be to help me shape items as well as do more intricate work that more primitive tools can't quite handle.

People? >.> My best friend. Religion? Shi'kaan. (It's not my creation, it's hers, from her planet Shi'kaan. haha Shi'kaan. Chicken. Get it? Good.) What more? Hmmm... We wouldn't want things to get too sophisticated. It's nice to just not worry about nuclear explosions and the such. How would we populate the area? Hmmmm... Well, Japan might be close enough. Otherwise... Might have to hope there are hot male locals who are up to the challenge. hahaha

I'm sure I left something out. lol Some sort of detail. But I can't quite think of it. So, for now, I think that's about it for my island. It was fun. Thank you.

 

[ajblaise]

I've seen Survivorman enough times to where all I would need would be my trusty multi-purpose swiss knife and a harmonica. And I'd use the shirt off my back to fashion together some kind of long-term shelter.

 

[Kyrielle]

1. You can take some stuff with you. Not a boat, ship, plane, raft or other device that can take you off the island. What would you bring? You have five objects to choose.

Hunting knife (or other all-purpose knife), a hatchet/small axe, a sauce pan, a canteen, and a detailed guide book to regional plants.


2. What area of the world would you like to be stranded in?

Somewhere in the temperate zone.


3. What does your personal island look like? Vivid descriptions, please.

It is twenty or so square miles large. The northern end is a series of cliff faces that slope gently down to the southern half of the island (which meanders into a fairly small marshland before going out to sea). All over the island are various deciduous trees, ancient live oaks, a few conifers...they form a semi-dense forest over most of the island. There's a meadow in the center that dips down into a smallish valley where a freshwater lake gathers from a spring up in the northern cliffs. A species of deer live there, sundered long ago from the main land after an earthquake. They are small, not much larger than dogs. Birds nest in the spring and summer on the cliffs, their cries can be heard all over. In the winter, it gets cold, but not bitterly so. Sometimes it snows.

4. What natural resources are available on the island?

Freshwater spring. Trees. Variety of plants, both edible and poisonous. Stones.

5. What would you build on your island?

A semi-permanent shelter if I was going to be there a while. I'm sure, to keep myself sane, I would add on to it until it became a sturdy house. I would also have other, small structures for storage, cooking, land marks, hunting perches. A watch tower/signal beacon.

6. What devices, tools and stuff would you construct? To what purpose would you use them?

Fishing spears, hunting spears...if I were really crafty, a bow, a fire starter, fire pit, if there was clay I would make bowls and plates and things. Hmm...a water distiller. Brushes for painting, pigments made from berries, canvas made from stretched hides. At some point, a musical instrument. I might try to tame one of the animals for company. A boat.

I don't know what else. I would likely experiment and try making a variety of low-tech devices that would make living easier. Mostly I think, if I couldn't paint, I would end up building things to satisfy my creative self.


7. Should there be wild animals on your island or do you want to survive entirely on fish and vegetables?

Yes, there should. Aside from the deer, I think rabbits, insects, some kind of predator to keep the other species in check.




Part two:

1. If you could populate your island with one or more inhabitants except yourself, what kind of people would you put on it? You can choose according to MBTI types or anything you might want.

No idea. They would have to be the sort of people that either already lived there, or showed up at random.

2. What would your social rank be in this new population? You can either take the realistic approach or wishful thinking.

Outsider that graduated up to "local weird person". It would come with an official title, "Storyteller"

3. What would you do in order to sustain a larger population?

Would need to start some agriculture, so local plants would need to be selected and slowly domesticated. Perhaps a small population of domestic deer or land grouse. Would need shelter, some kind of leader, and idea of what is and is not accepted.

A) What would you build?

Dwellings. Cookhouses. Sheltered areas where people could go and practise their crafts.

B) What laws would you create?

Very few. None absolute. With such a small community, it would (hypothetically) be fairly easy to maintain a system in which all "rules" are situational and each confrontation is dealt with in an individual manner. I would like to have a world where the law was not a big, blunt object but instead a precise, sharp scalpel.

C) Anything else you can come up with? Religions? (Remember, you are entirely cut off from the world)

I'm sure some kind of mythology would evolve naturally. People like to tell stories, and from those stories would come myth, and from the myth would come religion. It's hard to say what would happen, but I'm fairly sure as the "Storyteller" I would be the one generating most of the eerie stories that make just enough sense to be possible. In a sense...I would be the one creating the culture itself by placing the building blocks for an oral tradition.

 

[mortabunt]

1. A knife, A firekit, an emergency beacon, A ceramic water filter, and ENF's. (Yes, they must be heterosexual females)!

2. What area of the world would you like to be stranded in?
In subtropical regions; pacific middle.

3. What does your personal island look like? Vivid descriptions, please.
A sandy atol overgrown with trees.

4. What natural resources are available on the island?
Trees, water, flint, vines, and coral.

5. What would you build on your island?
An underground area at the edge of the trees.

6. What devices, tools and stuff would you construct? To what purpose would you use them?
I would make spears for hunting, pelts to serve as clothing, and bedding out of pelts.

7. Should there be wild animals on your island or do you want to survive entirely on fish and vegetables?
Yes, there should be animals.

 

[Risen]

Well I can see well over half of you would die a swift death would the items you chose .

1. I'd bring flint to start a fire, because without that you may have an extremely hard time starting a fire, meaning you can't cook 9assuming you can find food), can't purify water at all, can't keep warm, etc. etc. DEATH.

I'd also bring a modern day water purifier, a fishing pole or spear, and machete. Only 4 items, but those are the bare necessities as far as I know. As a fifth, I'd likely take a needle & thread.

 

[mortabunt]

I would survive.