lifeaftr | September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

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September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: September 4th and onward
Where: Primarily Ensō, though Umui is also likely
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Beach: And the Sun is Coming Through
When you arrive on the archipelago of LifeAftr, it is on the shores of Ensō - turquoise waves dragging through the pale sand of the beach. The breeze carries the tang of salt on the tropical sea spray. The sky overhead is a blue to rival the aquamarine surf. All told, the atmosphere is almost...pleasant. Not far from the cream-colored beach, the jungle beckons.

Above the treetops, however, something seems to be drifting overhead.

Bright spots of color drift on the wind like motes of dust. On further inspection, one might be able to discern what, exactly, is the cause of this lazily wafting, brilliantly colored confetti.

They are flower petals, being funneled up into the sky. Petals of every color and shape imaginable, thickening the air with golden currents of pollen, being lifted from one specific point. They are streaming freely from the Storyteller's Temple, as it happens, though this may not be clear to the newly arrived. The Temple has at last begun to shed the floral trappings that have ensnared it since the end of last month, and the breeze carries this out across the ocean skyline.

There's no mistaking it: it is very beautiful. Unless you have allergies.

Inland: The Trees Are Filled With Memories
This influx of flowers on the breeze, aside from being a potential source of unpleasant reminders to those who died choking on said flowers last month, have had additional consequences. The creatures rescued from Ziziphus flourish in such pollen-rich environments, which has led to a fresh budding of their young. Baby mosslings crawl like lumps of lichen over the trunks of trees, and the loud peeping of arboreali chicks can be heard in the branches above. Most of these creatures are not tameable, but some, such as flowccus, can be kept as livestock.

Just take care, when venturing into Ensō's verdant jungle. If Ziziphus's prey animals have begun to spring forth, then its predators have begun to reproduce as well. Young spindlanks and rootwyrms are not nearly as vicious as their adult counterparts, but you may have a bit of trouble getting rid of them without killing them - you did, after all, bring them here to preserve them.

Most notable, however, are the fresh litters of tigerlilies that have begun swarming all over Ensō.

Tigerlilies can be tamed and kept as pets, though despite their fearsome appearance, they not terribly vicious. They subsist in much the same way any other plant would; off of water and sunlight, primarily, though they might also graze like an herbivore from time to time.

If you're interested in keeping one for your own, bear LifeAftr's companion limit in mind - two per character, and no more. The process of trying to tame a tigerlily is not always successful, either. We recommend use of a d10, with the following guidelines:

Rolling a 10: Critical success! This tigerlily will follow you to the ends of the earth.
Rolling 6-9: Taming and training this tigerlily will be like educating a stubborn housecat, but will be nonetheless successful.
Rolling 2-5: Failure. You get sprayed with soporific pollen, which will affect you for several hours.
Rolling a 1: Critical failure. Not only do you get sprayed with soporific pollen, but the tigerlily in question decides that you're their new cat toy. Tigerlilies are not carnivorous, but their teeth and fangs are still very sharp, and not highly pleasant to contend with.

Bear in mind that these are only guidelines; you are free to predetermine successes or failures as you'd like, presuming your character can sustain the companion! Our discord channel has a room for dice-rolls, if that's your speed.

All new arrivals will awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can all be found in your acceptance notices!

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!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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Cat.

[Héctor's really more of a dog person, and he prefers his cats to be no more than fifteen pounds. So of course that's why he returns to his so-called house one night to find one of the young tigerlilies sleeping in the corner on his new stash of shirts. Wonderful. Oh, well, he doesn't need a change of clothes all that bad, he'll leave the kitten be. (Said kitten already being bigger than a housecat...)

This may be a mistake, because the kitten is back the next night. And the next. He seals his fate on the third day when he starts to play with the weird hybrid thing, dragging around a long leafy branch for it to chase. Eventually it's curious enough to sniff at him and allow him to sneak some petting in. Later on, it joins him in his hammock and together they sleep the night away. Congratulations, Héctor, you've made a friend.

Catch him sleeping in late at his shack as usual, but with a buddy now. Or find him elsewhere on Enso and the islets, such as the Denny or the message rock with his new floral shadow not too far away.]

"Unless you know of a reason you could not have died first, I don't know why you would be so assured you hadn't," he says. "But nevertheless. Why do you want me not to have that knife? It's not as though I would have had any chance of hurting you."

It sort of reminds him of what once was, his angry words on the training room floor, ranting at his agents, and all of them backing up as though in fear. Washington clearly no longer feels as he did on that occasion.

[ Leonard has looked through his bag and pulled out the multitool, but hasn't yet settled on flipping the knife out. All well and good, as he wouldn't want to frighten anyone that wasn't a wild animal. He's trailing the girl when she stops, and he hangs back for a moment, not wanting to seem like a threat to her. Eventually he walks at an angle, pulling up beside her but a bit apart from her side, so as not to seem as though he'd been hovering.

His voice, when he speaks, comes out in a lazy Southern drawl. ]

There are islands like this on Earth. I never visited one, but I've seen pictures.

"Do I need a reason to not want you armed?"

He's changed. More than a little. A bark of instruction that may have once been able to cow him now simply sparks a wirework of heat, roaring up the tensed musculature of his shoulders and clenching his jaw.

"I don't owe you anything, Director. So I think I'll keep you guessing for a while."

Let him wonder, let him flounder, let him guess and assume all he likes. Let him deal with the frustration of being in the dark, for once.

i. [the beach] ego's a hard thing to relax / but it's so easy to feed

[At first, she just thinks it started raining.

Beau wakes to being buffeted by the water of the ocean, sputtering as it gets in her mouth as she quickly rights herself. But this isn't the dark forest she (must have) dozed off in, and... are those flowers?

She squints towards the horizon, talking before she takes stock of her surroundings.]

Hey, Caduceus, that's not you, right? You don't do some flower... oh.

[Beau turns her head left, then right. No one's here. No Caleb or Nott or Keg or anything. Shit. She scrambles to her feet, dragging her belongings (and some new backpack) just off the sand. She can be found digging through her old- and new- stuff, but quite alert to approach or danger.]

ii. [inland] so, hit me / cause I don't wanna lose tonight

[Okay, so this sounded like a better idea in her head.

The thought was- gather up stuff. Go into island. Find whoever's in charge here, and figure out where the rest of her party is. If they're not around, find some people. Also, figure out if she's in some sort of mage-induced hallucination. Keg did say Lorenzo would break people- no way of telling how they'd do it. Maybe this is magic. Just some-- some really advanced magic.

Of course, her skill at making plans doesn't often involve talking to people properly, so Beau positions herself crouched in a tree, lying in wait among these weird flower creatures that makes her feel like she's in some drug-induced trip. Filing away that she might be high as a kite right now, she'll stay silent and still in the branches until someone comes along.

And then she'll leap down and either land directly on them, or right in front of them, staff drawn.]

Hey! Hold up! I've got questions and you better have answers.

Edited 2018-09-05 01:27 (UTC)

[ Leonard has been wandering since his encounter with Agent Washington, homeless for now, but having visited the shack where they were distributing clothing. So his knapsack is full, but he's weary, not having slept in some time, or in great comfort.

When he sees the skeleton at the message rock, his intended destination, he starts with the shock of it at first. This doesn't seem physically possible. But he's seen many impossible things already, it seems. It also seems to contradict Washington's idea that this isn't the afterlife. Of course a skeleton would be able to have life in a place where the dead are no longer.

So Leonard approaches, slightly wary, noticing the tigerlily frolicking nearby. ]

Hello. I couldn't help but notice you standing there. Could you show me how to send a message?

[ He starts out warmly, letting his Southern drawl sound lazy. ]

[Ardyn tilted back the hat he wore on the rare occasions he ventured out in sunlight, watching the petals fall with something that almost resembled amusement.]

[Funny enough, occasionally the ones that came a little too close to him caught fire with a slight gesture of his hand, vanishing into embers in a flash.]

Edited 2018-09-05 01:32 (UTC)

the beach;

[It's almost peaceful, when he wakes up. From the sounds of the water, the breeze on his face, the smell of the ocean air and the color of the sky... In any other situation, he'd probably enjoy it. As it is, though, he comes to and realizes that this is wrong, that he's in a place drastically different from the last thing he remembers. That means that he's rising to his feet quickly and unsteadily, his movements rapid as he rubs a few stray petals out of his hair.

He doesn't know what's happening or why he's back here so suddenly, and it makes a familiar sensation of panic start rising in his chest. Without thinking about it, he starts to move away from the shoreline, simply because it's something to do - he can't stay still, not when he's feeling like. Of course, he's not paying attention to where he's going as he starts to backpedal, which might just mean he's bumping right into you.]

Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to—! Are you, are you okay? I'm so sorry...

[His expression is apologetic, even if he stares straight at the ground, not making any eye contact as of yet as he clutches at his knapsack nervously.]

the jungle;

[When he does eventually migrate away from the shore and into the jungle, it doesn't take him long to come across one of the tigerlilies. He's never seen a creature quite like it, and even if it's young, he immediately considers the idea that there could be older (and larger) members of the same species here as well. It's why, as he sees it, he halts in his path.

To anyone who happens to be nearby, or anyone who might have accompanied him:]

Do, do you, um, see that...?

[As much as he may not want to seem like he's trailing this strange girl, or trying to frighten her, there's an unnatural stillness that takes hold of her at the sound of someone else's voice. The tiny purple monkey on her shoulder immediately eyes Leonard, teensy paws in Anthy's purple hair as he tries to position himself into something defensive, even if it doesn't look remotely so.]

...Is that so?

[Anthy has not turned around, but in speaking, she acknowledges that someone has joined them.]

Yes. I assume you're not from Earth?

[ Many people in the Outer Colonies would barely know anything of Earth's geography, after all. They have the affairs of their own worlds to worry about. Leonard tucks the multitool in his pocket after he speaks, having noticed how straight the girl's spine has become. He certainly doesn't want her to feel threatened. ]

"How very mercenary of you," Leonard says, amusing himself slightly with the pun, but only showing this with the slight edge of his teeth showing as he suppresses a smirk. After all, Washington had become something of a free agent when he'd carried out his plan at the Freelancer headquarters. How very selfish he could be, as it turned out.

[ He shouldn't be surprised Ardyn is still here. Many of the people he's seen here are familiar, and Akechi...

Well. He's in a bad mood. His cheek really hurts from where Ann socked him, so.... ]

Ah, Izunia-san, it's been a while. You still look as pleasant and friendly as ever.

[ nailed it ]

Do forgive me, have we met?

[Does he actually not remember or is he deliberately being a shithead?]

[...let's be real, you know.]

Oh, no, I'm from Earth. I just...didn't get to see much outside of school, so this is all very new.

[She finally turns slightly, having fallen into a practiced, easy smile. Her stillness and the monkey still warily watching are the only things indicating that she may still be very nervous.]

Oh, indeed.

[ Leonard looks into the trees as she had been doing, allowing her the chance to get used to his appearance and his presence. ]

I always enjoyed learning about faraway places when I was in school. So did my wife and my daughter, for that matter.

And had he been given less choices, had less people who gave a shit about him, he would have ended up just like me!

[ His voice is little more than a snarl, now, and Akechi's hands ball into fists. It's harder to not let Loki out, to lash out at Ann, but he doesn't want to waste his precious energy on her.

Not her. Not any one of those self-righteous Phantom Thieves, who do nothing but cling to their justice in the hopes that it'll keep them afloat. ]

I can tell.

[ He's clever enough to feign concern. ]

Did something happen with them here?

I'm not sure, but the direction seems to be... ah, the Storyteller's Temple.

[ Akechi surveys her. He may be far from Japan, but his observational skills are as sharp as ever. Judging from the way she's dressed, the way she doesn't quite look disheveled as others who've been here for a while... she's new? ]

Did you just arrive, miss?

[ He feels another twinge of irritation. It's bad enough that he's forgotten back in Japan--must it happen here, too? Ugh. ]

Your memory must be failing you somewhat. Hm, I believe we met... quite a while ago. At storytelling?

[ And he recites-- ]

Deep within the earth there once lived a monster who abhorred the light of day. It spurned contact with humans, for it saw no worth in their fleeting lives.

... if I'm remembering correctly, that is.

Hm...oh, I think I might recall something to that effect.

[He glanced over Akechi from under his hat, the enigmatic smirk still everpresent on his face as another few petals burst into falling ash.]

[Well, that sure is happening. She's pretty sure that's a Firbolg having what she would bet is an entire experience down there. Does he notice? He has to notice. Beau is standing just a bit off at the treeline, arms crossed, not seemingly intimidated but plenty confused.]

Uhhhh. Dude. Doesn't that... hurt? Or does that thing just not really have teeth or something because it's some gigantic flower?

He really can't help it this time; Washington laughs. It's a harsh and humorless huff of sound, drags behind his teeth like eggshell, like flowerstems, like petals of rosemary flaking away.

He doesn't respond. Not directly.

"You still have my sidearm, Director?"

[She's finally taken stock of what she's got, but she still doesn't really know where she is. It's one thing to believe a weird dream and another thing entirely to try and puzzle it out, so she figures her best bet is to look around and see if anyone else knows what they're doing a little better than her.

Which, y'know, maybe approaching a dog like that isn't the smartest thing to do. But she figures there must be an owner somewhere, right? No one would just drop a single dog in here.

Right.]

Hey! You. You got an owner around here? Somebody in charge?

[Tim is just heading back with a fresh wad of clothes in hand, his raid of the remainder of the shopping mall that's been made of the Temple having proved successful. There's an unlit cigarette poised between his teeth, but the feeble stammering of someone caught off guard catches his attention nonetheless.]

[He stuffs a colorful wad of fabric into his pack and blinks.]

It's a tigerlily. They're kind of all over now.

[You know what you should definitely not ever, under any circumstances do?]

[Willfully startle a fully-armed, fully-armored space marine with deeply rooted paranoia and crushing PTSD as well as a history of shooting first and asking questions later.]

[Really, it's amazing that he doesn't shoot her on the spot, though his rifle jerks sharply up to brace against his shoulder, mere seconds from firing until his heart arrests itself in his chest and his breath hikes:]

Jesus christ what the fuck.

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September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

Héctor | Coco | OTA

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beau | ota | i'll match your format!

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arrival

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beach!

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beach!

jungle

inland because let's start things off right i guess