September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

[lifeaftr_mods]

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.

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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.

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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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

Héctor | Coco | OTA

[vagabone]

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.]

[determinist]

[ 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. ]

[vagabone]

[Héctor is the opposite of intimidating, really, with his friendly grin and goofy shirt... but then again, some people are funny about skeletons like that.]

It's a rock. You just write on it.

[No mockery in his tone--he himself feels silly pointing out the obvious. Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time someone thinks he's an idiot.]

There's chalk around here somewhere... [A moment of searching before he's holding some out.] Have at it.

[determinist]

[ He's not afraid of the skeleton—it just seems very odd to him. He's curious about the way this works, however. He himself had arrived in the physical form he'd been in when he died, and though Washington had insisted to him that this was not some kind of afterlife, he is interested in learning how a living skeleton has come to be here.

After Hector explains about the stone, he tilts his head. ]

Oh, indeed. I thought it worked somehow with this.

[ He digs his stone of farspeech out of his bag and holds it up. ]

I do apologize for seeming ignorant. I'm used to rather more advanced methods of communication than these.

[vagabone]

No, no, don't worry about it. You just showed up here, right? And this place doesn't make sense to anyone.

[Wow. Way to put the man's mind at ease, Héctor.]

Those sort of work like a telephone--you hold on to it and picture who you want to talk to instead of dialing a number. Or everyone, if you want to say something to all of us.

[determinist]

[ He chuckles slightly and fingers at the screen on the front of the stone. ]

I see. So it works through some sort of mental connection?

[vagabone]

It's magic.

[Meaning... he has no clue, and all he can do is shrug about it. Don't question magic, it'll never make sense.]

[determinist]

Ah. Of course.

[ That explanation is far from adequate for him, of course—all of this must have some kind of rational explanation. He just hasn't worked out what it is. ]

I don't really need to send a message just now, in any case. I was merely interested in learning more.

[vagabone]

['It's magic' is totally a rational explanation, shush. It's as real as walking talking skeletons and tiger-shaped mobile plants!]

Oh, no problem. [He pats his shirt pointedly. Haha.] Do you know your way around yet? Did someone show you the Denny?

[determinist]

'The Denny'? No, I don't know what that is.

[ This takes place before Leonard finds the shack where various outfits are piled high for residents to grab—he's still wearing his grey-and-black uniform, the one he had died in. ]

Are you willing to show me? I have merely been wandering.

[vagabone]

It's a restaurant they built here.

[Very important for those fleshy folks who need to eat several times a day, and for anyone else who just enjoys hanging out.]

Sure. It's a long walk from here though, I'm warning you.

[A few kilometers from the temple, he thinks. All walks are bound to seem longer when your tibia's shattered clean through and held together with duct tape. (That stuff is miraculous.)]

[determinist]

Oh, indeed.

[ The long walk doesn't bother him, though this is an interesting piece of information for another reason. ]

If there's a restaurant, I presume there are also shelters of some kind? I would like to find a place to stay.

[vagabone]

Shelters, yes, there are still a few empty ones.

[Upbeat one second, grinning apologetically the next. He does that a lot, usually when something really is his fault.]

They're, ah... not much, but they can be fixed up! Plenty of handy people around.

[catpiper]

[You know who's happy about the sudden kitty outbreak? It's this girl. If it weren't for the flower petals in her line of sight at all times, she'd be in heaven. For the most part, she's cooed at the wild cats from the side, allowing them to live their best freaking life and enjoying their company from a distance. Their consistent presence around the island means it's safe.

When she spots a new addition to this skele's household, her eyes light up. Cats are, essentially, living protection charms. This is great and something he definitely needed in his life.]

This cat found you?

[vagabone]

[It's sunbathing next to him as he sits, leaning against the wall with his long legs stretched out. He really needs to get a chair or two... and find out what these critters eat.]

Looks like it, yeah? He already moved himself in.

[catpiper]

What's his name?

[That's the most important q of the day right there.]

[vagabone]

[Oh nooo, he has to disappoint a child??]

I'm... still thinking about names.

[catpiper]

[Naming is what she does within .2 seconds of meeting any creature that isn't vocal enough to share their own. Even when they are, honestly. She's never called Murasaki-chan by his actual name because purple suits him better than-

What was his original name? She can't remember. Oh well. Back to the tigerlily.]

Midori?

[vagabone]

Midori...

[Hmm. It doesn't sound half bad.]

Why Midori? Does that mean something?

[catpiper]

It means green. That's a color.

[As if Hector didn't know that already. There's an obvious pattern to her naming method and she's not the most creative individual around. The tiger is orange and green, ergo Midori. Fantastic.]

[vagabone]

[But it's a fancy foreign word for green!]

Sounds good to me. Let's see if he answers to it. Hey, wake up, Midori!

[The cat doesn't even open his eyes. Cats, what can you do.]

[catpiper]

[Despite his lack of movement, Ren seems all too pleased. That's a typical cat for you. He seems content and happy and that's all anyone can really ask for.]

He might like another name. We can try a different color.

[vagabone]

Eh, he's a cat, cats don't like listening to anyone. He probably loves it.

[Héctor isn't getting his face chewed on, so it must be fine.]

Or he can be Pepe, like Pepita. That cat I flew on, remember her?

[catpiper]

Cats always listen. They use their hearts to do it. His will reach out to us when he likes the name.

[In the meantime, Pepe? Pepe is an adorable nickname and despite its lack of an apparent color association, she supports it.]

I remember! Maybe Pepe will learn to fly too.

[vagabone]

Maybe he'll sprout wings by the end of the week, you never know.

[Which would be great as long as he doesn't have to ride clinging onto Pepe's tail!]