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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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. ]

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.

Hm...I wish they had taught us more of those things in school. The teachers usually focused on things that really didn't matter.

[Like math. Or various literature that was, even to Anthy, dull to read and even duller to talk about. Her brother was likely the one reason they even allowed her to continue to attend.]

Have you just arrived as well?

Hm.

[ It's odd for a school not to have geography lessons, or not enough of them for her to remember them, anyway, but he knows the things she had been taught were likely quite important. Too bad she hadn't enjoyed her lessons.

At her question he nods. ]

Yes, I have. Just moments ago.

[ He nods over at her knapsack. ]

I see you've been provided for in the same way I have.

[They really aren't important things. Not when your whole world is one little academy campus. But perhaps there's still time for her to rethink her stance - there is, after all, a lot of life left to live and much left for her to do.]

Is that so? [She takes a moment to peek into her knapsack proper, only having glanced at the contents when she first found Chuchu. Oh, there's...a hammer in here? And a shaving razor? Fishing line, a small jar of dark liquid, a rock, something that's probably food...oh, that will be a cooking experience, won't it.] Oh my! How generous...though I can't imagine everything will last for too long...

It is what it is.

[ Either she received more helpful items than he did, or she's more willing to accept the meager offerings as 'generous'. Either way, she's probably right about how long it will last.

He turns to look at her. ]

Have you explored yet? Entered the forest?

[Or it's a kneejerk response to most anything.]

No, not yet. I'm sure I would get lost if I tried right now...

[And she can see things moving within, subtly. Even Anthy knows not to go charging headlong into an unfamiliar jungle.]

You certainly ought to follow your instincts, if that's what you feel would happen.

[ He turns again, staring in among the trees. He, too, can detect movement inside there. This isn't enough to scare him off, however. ]

I personally want to take a look.

Alone?

[Because alone sounds like a bad idea no matter who you are.]

I do believe so. At least unless someone else who's planning on entering the forest approaches us.

[ He nods at her deferentially. ]

I'll be sure to check in with you after I take a look around.

...Why, thank you.

[She manages something akin to a polite smile, though it is a little confused. Why defer to her, a strange girl he's never met? Because her question showed concern? She merely spoke with sense.]

Perhaps you could speak to someone who's lived here longer. A person like that would know the jungle best. Right?

That's supposing we're not the first to arrive here.

[ Which is sort of also what he's supposing, but he's also not afraid to go into the woods. He remembers a few things about how to survive in that sort of situation.

As for the former... ]

If you find someone else while I'm in there who can help you, of course you don't have to expect any report back from me. I merely meant to help.

[ He does recall when his own daughter was that age—she was becoming more independent. And more stubborn, as well. ]

I don't think so. Other people came by earlier. I spoke to some. They said there was a settlement here.

[The Knight in particular had told her a lot, and she was very grateful for them.

She'll manage a smile of sorts.] I will let them know you ventured in by yourself, if that's what you end up doing.

[ He nods. ]

That's very good of you. I would like to explore.

[ With that he pulls out his multitool, extending the blade of the pocket knife, and enters through the trees.

During the time that he's in the woods, he encounters one of his former agents, Washington, who disarms him. It's some time before he returns and runs into yet another former agent on the beach. Checking for Anthy again is far from his thoughts by that time. Whether he runs into her again will depend on her being nearby. ]

[She's likely gone to see the settlement again, after the Knight showed her how to access them - there's a lonely hut on a mostly unpopulated island that she's hung her hat on, metaphorically and literally, so it was back to the main island to examine what she could forage from the tree line. Big leaves that don't leave rashes on the skin, it seems, are her main target, though there's definitely more in her knapsack than there had been before - a couple of coconuts are likely stashed inside.

She's holding her leaves and meeting Chuchu on the beach, the little monkey having found a large shell and filled it with...well, useless pretty and tiny things...when she hears someone approach. And it's intriguing that it's someone she recognizes already.]

Why, hello again.

[He survived. Huh.]

Well, hello. I expect you found help after we last saw each other.

[ She does seem remarkably settled and calm, not that she was ruffled before. ]

Yes, I did. We met the Knight, and they showed us a bit about how to get to new places here, and we saw a temple, too. Wasn't it interesting, Chuchu?

[The little monkey squeaks in agreement! It was so cool! They traveled through water somehow, it was great!]

We also saw some coconuts behind the temple, if you would like to see where we found them?

I was told about the temple, but I haven't had a chance to go and look.

[ He nods his head, more a bowing of his head. He's just been told this isn't the afterlife, that he has little chance of seeing Allison here, and although this isn't really a change to him, somehow it's more saddening than anything else he could think of at this time. So he's a bit melancholic. ]

I would appreciate it if you're willing to show me, yes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

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