The Mods of LifeAftr (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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lifeaftr2018-01-04 06:00 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote in lifeaftr2018-01-04 06:00 pm
Entry tags:
- dear evan hansen: connor murphy,
- fragile dreams: ren,
- hollow knight: the knight,
- hyper light drifter: the drifter,
- marble hornets: tim wright,
- mass effect: commander shepard,
- mushi-shi: ginko,
- original: chip abaroa,
- original: erika fisher,
- original: mira delacroix,
- pokemon sun & moon: guzma,
- pokemon sun & moon: luna,
- undertale: asgore dreemurr,
- undertale: chara dreemurr,
- voltron: keith kogane,
- ✖ captive prince: damianos,
- ✖ captive prince: laurent,
- ✖ cat-eyed boy: cat-eyed boy,
- ✖ disney: mickey mouse,
- ✖ ffxiv: tataru taru,
- ✖ ffxv: prompto argentum,
- ✖ juuni taisen: ushii,
- ✖ loveless: ritsuka aoyagi,
- ✖ marble hornets: brian thomas,
- ✖ marvel 616: wade wilson,
- ✖ next to normal: gabe goodman,
- ✖ odin sphere leifthrasir: ingway,
- ✖ off: the batter,
- ✖ okami: amaterasu,
- ✖ original: darja popova,
- ✖ original: isette of khia,
- ✖ original: kyouko kougami,
- ✖ original: sonje forstner,
- ✖ original: yuka ichijou,
- ✖ overwatch: jesse mccree,
- ✖ owlboy: otus,
- ✖ persona 5: akira kurusu,
- ✖ persona 5: goro akechi,
- ✖ pluto: epsilon,
- ✖ red vs. blue: franklin delano donut,
- ✖ shadowrun: gobbet,
- ✖ soul eater: maka albarn,
- ✖ star wars: rey,
- ✖ tales of the abyss: asch the bloody,
- ✖ the adventure zone: lydia,
- ✖ the adventure zone: magnus burnsides,
- ✖ the walking dead (game): clementine,
- ✖ undertale: muffet,
- ✖ yuki yuna is a hero: karin myoshi
January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder
INTRO LOG: JANUARY
Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 5th and onward
Where: Chol and surrounding waters
Warnings: Mark as needed!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 5th and onward
Where: Chol and surrounding waters
Warnings: Mark as needed!
The Overview: New Lands
New arrivals will not be waking in the typical hub of activity; instead, they will find themselves coming to on the small island of Chol. While the island's fringes are little more than an unforgiving spread of craggy, canyon-like rock and coastal cliffs, the island dips down to form a fertile divot of edenic woodland in its center. The people living there will even be helpful and polite to you, should you inquire after them.
All new arrivals will additionally awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can all be found in your acceptance notices!
Icebreaker: This is the Winter of Our Youth
Unless you're someone with a fondness for the cold, you'll undoubtedly be waking with more than a slight chill in your bones. The appearance of the island of Chol has signaled a coming event of great import in LifeAftr, and unfortunately, the signs of that event's approach have already been set in motion. The temperature has begun to drop as the sun's rays begin to die, faster and faster, leading to an impressive cold snap in the ocean waters - particularly those surrounding Chol.
It is for that reason that you won't be waking on Chol, per se. Instead, you'll be waking on a thick crust of ice that's mantled itself over the ocean waters, freezing solid enough to bear your weight...for the most part.
Mainland: When We Pick Over the Past
Should you make it to the land of Chol, braving the iced-over waters surrounding its craggy shores, you'll encounter something at least as startling - the people who have elected to set up a rudimentary encampment upon its lands. While a bit on the scalier side, the Jormun are nonetheless allied to you land-dwellers, and will welcome you to the island.
Those who might have braved the cold a little too fiercely will quickly be offered some rather rough blankets - perhaps more on par with burlap sacks in terms of texture - as well as a hot brew that the Jormun call brrkshavak. Heated to a boil just prior to being served, the drink will be more than adequate in warming your weary bones, though it bodes mentioning that it is both scalding hot and made with a fleshy kind of undersea herb that is akin to crushed chili pepper in taste.
It'll warm you up, all right.
As a final note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme, bear in mind that 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.
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!
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
no subject
But if this person wants to call them something else, who are they to argue? They nod in obvious agreement - 'warrior' is just as acceptable as anything else, given their lack of a name - and sip delicately from their filled bowl.
...If sipping is the word for it. They don't have a mouth, but clearly the liquid is going somewhere, considering the bowl is emptying out a little more each time they raise the bowl to the vague area of their face.
Nevertheless, they seem to be enjoying it, as far as body language goes. It tastes nice, and it's warm; they've drunk worse.
After a moment, they look over at Ox and tap the horns on their head, then point to his. They seem to be pleased with the comparison. ]
no subject
He blinks in surprise as he sees that the liquid is going somewhere, but the Warrior doesn't have a mouth for it to go anywhere. Could he have been wrong? No, if he was wrong about the lack of mouth, it would have been corrected by now with words. It would seem the yes-no system is working best all the same.
And more importantly, the offered drink is accepted and liked. ]
This is the first time I have drank with another fighter. I thought it might be something to do. [ To turn over a new leaf. ] Are there many more warriors were you come from? [ Mm? Horns? ]
Yes, if I did not know better, I would think that you too were of the Ox household. These are the trademark for it. However, I do not believe we are of the same world, Warrior.
no subject
They think for a minute, deciding how to explain this, and then figure that it's best illustrated, instead.
They spend some time busily drawing in the dirt to show Ox exactly what kind of warriors they've seen.
They shake their head at the mention of 'the same world', and add a little writing at the bottom:
too big
not a bug
They seem to agree that while they have some things in common, they're definitely not of the same...stock. It's hard to be part of the same species that the Knight is, anyway.
After a moment, something else occurs to them.
what is ox ? ]
no subject
[ Meaning, the cool head that the bug showed indicates that much. He pinches his chin before nodding that the two of them could not be of the same world. It was worth a check all the same.
Ah, so this is how they communicate? I'll keep that in mind. He pauses to make a soft humming sound as he looks at the question. Not a bug. Hm. There are no oxen, then? Well, of course not, such things would crush everything and be worthless in a world with these kind of warriors. The world only makes and creates what can be worthwhile. ]
It is what my household is named after. It is an animal. Big. Horned. [ He pauses to kneel down so that he could draw out an ox. ] As for myself... [ So that he covers all bases. ] ... it is the name of the warrior-class I am. The full title would be ...
[ A beat. ] I apologize. I cannot give my full title even in explanation. But saying so without explaining... in completely naming myself, it means I intend to do battle with another warrior. To give so even in explanation, it would show dishonor to you and death would come to one of us.
[ In short, it is a means to show honor to both of their households; to show that he fully recognizes the "Warrior" as a fighter. If he does not then draw his saber to fight, it would mean his words of praise and recognition would be meaningless and so he would have to attempt to kill the "Warrior." That would only be what is honorable and right. ]
no subject
They nod, to show understanding. But that brings up more questions.
raised to fight only ?
He mentioned households. While the mantises were obliged to fight to defend themselves against outsiders, it was a matter of survival rather than constant conflict. Ogrim fought for honor, but not to the death. They have the feeling that perhaps this is a different thing altogether, something closer to their core. ]
no subject
[ He gives a small nod. ] There are twelve other households with representatives raised to do the same. How we do it is dependent on the individual, however. It need not always be done with saber upon the battlefield, but through assassinations and espionage.
[ Yes, he acknowledges there are many ways to "fight." ] One should hone the skills that they are best at rather than attempt to simply fight in the manner that everyone else fights. [ A beat. ] And you? Were you raised only to fight, too?
no subject
not raised .
thrown away .
escaped . taught myself .
There is much more to it; they were one of many, children of a bottomless abyss. Made for a singular purpose, discarded just as easily when they didn't meet the specifications. Made to be empty inside.
No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break.
But they have no way of speaking that bottomless grief.
It saddens them to know that Ox was raised only to fight to the death. It seems a bleaker world to know that there are more who treat their children like the Pale King. ]
no subject
[ His head gives a little shake. To say he is "sorry," that would be indicative of pity which he does not feel. No, the error comes in believing the Warrior too came from a house of combat. ]
You have grown strong despite what would crush you. Your will and mind is your own now. And you have come to understand what cost is.
[ It may be that his own expression is always so dour and serious that he catches the slight tilts of the head and expression where there is no "real" face to express. Perhaps, it is in the choice of words, though, and choice of what to emphasize. ]
That makes me feel hopeful for other worlds.
no subject
It's a strange echo they didn't expect to find in such a place. They've never thought of their continued survival as a reflection of their own strength - it simply is, much like other things about them - but even this short time here is forcing them to expand their horizons of thought.
happened already .
no sorry . fine .
better now .
After a moment, a further question:
raised to fight .
like fighting ?
or not ?
They'd taken some enjoyment when they knew they didn't have to kill for it. (And, in one special case, just mild bewilderment.) But Ox seems gentle for someone who was raised to fight.
It reminds them of someone else. ]
no subject
But he pauses as more questions appear. Shaking his head, he begins to answer: ]
I do not enjoy it, no. There is nothing good about a killer such as me. [ A beat. ] I am good for ending conflict once it has started, but I am poor at stopping conflict before it starts.
[ People may boast about his achievements and his unbelievable strength in combat, but his presence is never enough to stop warring countries. If someone that is given such awe is incapable of stopping battles, he sees little good in all the praise that they give him. Not that he is self-conscious; he is confident in his abilities and in himself. But in terms of a fighter, he considers himself in line being a professional soldier. No general, no great war hero, but a infantry fighter as his existence does nothing to stop bloodshed once it has started. ]
no subject
But this is a different place, a different world entirely. A place to be reborn, perhaps.
here
start again ? ]
no subject
[ He, again, lightly shakes his head. ]
If I had planned on starting again, I would not call myself "Ox." There are many other houses that fought, as I told you. Their lives devoted to battle as mine ... [ He hovers on which word to use "is" or "was," and presses on. ] To honor them and their reasons for fighting, for living, I cannot give up the life I left.
[ A beat. ] There is a war that is held between our houses. Whoever wins can retire if they so choose. [ This is what he means by all the houses fighting and striving for something that they were living for. They were bred for battle and bred for war -- for a single war between them all. Who is the strongest, is that not right? ]
Coming here, I cannot say I won. I forfeit and so those that fought with me... their lives must be honored, Warrior. As I forfeited, I cannot start again. I will continue on as "Ox." [ Hm. ] But perhaps, you can start again instead. [ Because the Warrior understands cost, the loss of will, and all these things to be able to start again. Properly. ]
no subject
task done .
yours too .
rest ?
They don't really understand it, this complicated web of families - and it must be families. Something that has gone on for a long time. Like Hallownest, great and glorious, fallen to ruin.
But there is no war here.
That must mean something, surely. ]
no subject
[ As far as Ox sees it, anyway. ]
For whatever battle that may come to this place, my saber is ready. That is what my household has promised. [ He closes his eyes as he sounds apologetic to a warrior who is asking kindly that he rest. His head lifts as he looks toward the Jormun, acknowledging the siege that they are preparing for. He's already signed himself up to fight with them, because that is what is right. ]
But are you happy with the results of your task, Warrior? You found what you were fighting for, did you not? And now you can say it is done, yes? [ Did the Warrior gain what he sought? ]
no subject
They just nod. They brought peace. Gained peace. Earned rest, and darkness. (It is so tiring to be the way they are, sometimes.)
They reach out, patting Ox's hand gently. They don't seem to have any more to say, but it's some kind of comfort. ]
no subject
[ He tilts his head.
Looking at his own hand, he rests it over the Warrior's to pat the top of the other's hand in turn. ]
Thank you. And I apologize that I cannot rest yet. [ Because it feels like this burden is one that troubles, so he apologizes. For someone who has achieved their goals, giving them something new to worry about -- something new to be troubled by, is not right. ]
But the fact you are able, it gives me peace of mind. [ That there are some fighters that are able to start again, that there is hope. As long as a person lives, there is always hope. ]