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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No...

[ she was hoping that it was just a dream. she was hoping that it wasn't real. even though ann always knew that goro akechi wasn't who he said he was, she didn't think it would ever be that bad.

but here he is, with the same cold smile on his face that he gave her back then, when he'd wanted her to choke and die on her flowers. ]

[ The kitten in his arms regards Ann suspiciously; she's picking up on Akechi's body language, and cats are smart creatures. Akechi doesn't look away from her, just levels her with that stare. ]

Is there anything I can help you with? You seem distressed.

...Nothing. Nothing at all.

[ does he remember saying those things to her? he's being far less aggressive than he was back then. her tigerlily watches akechi, staying close to ann's side. cats are smart creatures indeed. ]

Just passing through. I...wasn't expecting to see you here.

Hmm.

[ He tilts his head, just slightly. A small incline in her direction. ]

I'd have thought you'd be fully prepared, considering we met in that dreamworld. [ He smiles, a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. ] Though I can't exactly blame you. I'm surprised, too; I'd been dead again before coming here.

[ And then he laughs, a quiet little thing that just sounds hollow. ]

[ so he does know. that just makes things even more complicated and uncomfortable; and now that neither of them are choking on their flowers, ann feels the urge to really give akechi what he deserves.

but what he deserves and what he wants are probably the same, aren't they? he wants her wrath. he wants her fury.

she's not going to give that to him. but it's hard to hold back, with how her hands clench into fists at her sides and how her brow knits when she looks at him again. ]

Look- I don't know what's going on, why we're here--why you're here when you're supposed to be gone. But I'm not interested in picking a fight with you, since you seem to want that so badly.

[ He could go for the low blow again. He could. It would be so easy to tell her what she'll probably not want to hear, even if she doesn't yet know it.

So easy that he does it. ]

You know, Kurusu said the same thing when he was here. He didn't seem to want to fight with me. [ He keeps that smile in place. ] I was surprised, you know, since he remembered my attempt to kill him and he didn't even hate me.

What?!

[ it's not even the second part that catches her off-guard. akechi mentioned it once. it still hurts to hear, but it's not news to her. she'd been thinking about that ever since she woke up on this island. ]

He was here? [ she can't help it. she starts glaring daggers into akechi again. ] You didn't do anything to him, did you?

[ There are a couple ways to go about this. Akechi is a liar, always has been. Anything he says... would she believe it, after he's told her so much? After he's shown his hand? He doubts it. ]

Hmmm.

[ It's a thoughtful, quiet noise. ]

What do you believe more? That I left him alone? That I attacked and killed him? Or that our relationship here was something close to amiable? Take your pick, Takamaki.

[ she hates this. she hates him.

he's playing with her. she expected it, but it doesn't make it any less jarring, to be faced with someone as twisted and manipulative as goro akechi is. ]

You...

[ he could have helped them. he could have fought on the side of justice.

instead... ] You didn't! Akira never would have let that happen!

[ Ah. She rose to the bait; just like her element, Ann Takamaki has always been easy to catch onto things. She's always had that spark inside her, aching for a chance to grow. It's why she'd become a Phantom Thief, he thinks--a need to just.

Show her fire. ]

Really? Hmm. You know, regarding our personas, there's an annoying caveat in place. The more you use it, the more tired you become.

Someone as desperate to help people as Kurusu.... It isn't impossible to believe he could be easily caught off-guard in his exhaustion. Is it?

[ no more holding back.

the implication is there, and even if she'd just seen akira before waking up here, there's a part of her that fears that akechi is right. and he's tipped her over the edge, past her breaking point.

without warning, she lunges at akechi, hand balled into a fist, aiming straight for his cheek. ]

[ Her fist connects, and Akechi stumbles back. He lets out an involuntary gasp; she's stronger than she has any right to be, and he's gonna be sporting a hell of a bruise later.

The cat in his arm jumps down and moves in front of him, hackles raised as she growls. It brings Akechi back, back to the pain and the blood he can taste in his mouth. ]

You hate me? Good. [ He spits out a bit of blood. ] You could've shared some of that with Kurusu.

[ ann's own tigerlily hisses back at akechi's. a warning. but it makes no move to attack. ann's breathing hard but her hand is trembling.

she'd been wanting to do that for a while. more than she realized. and she hates to say it, but punching akechi feels so damn good. ]

He's too good for that. [ her voice is laced with venom, not batting an eye even as he spits out blood. ] You're lucky he even gave you an ounce of forgiveness.

[ And in response, Akechi's hisses back, before yowling. Akechi wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and he looks at Ann Takamaki with cold eyes and a swollen cheek. ]

Of course he is.

[ He's raised his voice; it's not quite the level he'd achieved back on Shido's boat, but it's close.

(She doesn't remember; how will she treat him when she remembers? If she ever does?)

And Akechi laughs, before he grits his teeth so hard it makes his jaw ache. He feels the white-hot bubble of rage, of anger and hatred and jealousy rise up in his chest, and he wants nothing more than to let it go.

Loki pushes at the edges of his mind, but Akechi stifles him. ]

Because he's so much better than everyone else. Your precious leader can do no wrong, can he?

[ things might be different if she ever remembers. but here, in the present, all she can see is red--the blood that's been spilled on akechi's hands. all the lives he took. she can only hope that akira's wasn't one of them. ]

He's not perfect, but he's not a murderer!

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. ]

[ that almost makes her snap. her eyes widen, and she's visibly trembling. she wants to pummel him to the ground, make him beg for mercy and atone for all his crimes--

but there's also something about what akechi says that makes ann hear that there's someone troubled, someone who might've been lonely underneath all his bitterness and his rage. it's what holds her back from lunging at him, because maybe--just maybe there's a chance that there's someone else who'd been used by wretched adults like the rest of the phantom thieves were.

this is the most honest he's been since they met in the dreamscape. ]

...It didn't have to be this way, Akechi. [ her voice is more leveled now, but no less coated in anger than it was before. ] We've all made our choices, and you chose this path for yourself.

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September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

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CONTINUING THE SPOILER TRAIN....

CHOO CHOO!!

the brakes are broken and we ain't gonna fix em

there ain't no stoppin us now

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