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

[lesbeau]

[She watches along, really unsure of what to expect here. The first answer is easy- some kind of gestured language. That's fine. Plus they have writing if nothing else, so that's not as unusual. She nods along as they produce and hide again their various items, letting them know she's listening. And then they just... friggin void consume half a flower. Alright. Sure! Beau's eyes go slightly wider as she sees it come back out, staring at it for a few seconds.]

Huh. Well, shit.

[Well there that is fam! Sure! Why not.]

Alright, so. Cool. Guess you function fine then.

[She squints, gazing more at their mask.]

Soooo you're really not from Xhorhas yeah? I mean, you got the look for it. Though people are usually taller. You know Yasha?

[Worth a shot, maybe.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ They give her a gesture that looks a lot like a thumbs up and a reassuring nod. They're all good!

At the questions, though, their head tilts to the side; even with their lack of expression, it conveys a lack of understanding fairly well.

After a moment, they shake their head. Looks like the names that Beau has presented mean very little to them; there's no reaction to them at all.

As if something suddenly occurs to them, they look up at the flowers filling the sky, and then at the blooming tree, and then they pluck off another flower. Considering what they did to the first one, Beau could be forgiven for assuming they're going to snack on this one too, but instead they just...

Examine it for a moment, tilting it this way and that in fascination. Then they offer it to her, for no apparent reason other than they want her to have this thing they clearly find interesting. ]

[lesbeau]

[She sighs, because that should probably be expected. Of course she's here alone with bug tree people. It's unsettling, but not the worst- she could always be attacked or stuck out here without knowing what she was doing. She's resourceful. She can make do.

That said, she's not paying a ton of attention to the Knight as they grab at another flower, figuring they're going in for a second snack. But she just blinks at them when they thrust it towards her. What... does she do with that. Beau watches them, obviously missing the fact this is just meant to be some lovely expression of beauty, and looks between them and it for a few seconds before speaking.]

... Do you want me to eat that?

[lightlessfuture]

[ The little bug tilts their head in clear confusion at the question. Maybe this is something that needs another demonstration?

Well, they're happy to give one. They tuck the flower behind one of their horns, carefully positioning it so it doesn't just fall off when they move, and then pluck another flower and offer it to Beau.

This is for you, they're trying to say. ]

[lesbeau]

[This little bug is much too patient, which is good for Beau, frankly. She watches them, staring at the second offered flower before speaking again.]

That is so fucking cute.

[Her delivery is super flat, but it looks like she means it as she reaches forward and takes it. It looks like she's trying to think of where to put it for a moment, before she tucks it into her belt where her sash meets her pants.]

So is that my welcome flower? To being stuck on weird bug island?

[lightlessfuture]

[ They watch her take the flower and put it away in her sash, and then clap to express their happiness at her going along with their impulsive idea.

They nod, very seriously, in response to Beau's question, and reach out to gently pat at her leg in what appears to be some kind of attempt at a reassuring gesture.

Yes. It's confusing and strange here, but you have a welcome flower now, and that makes all the difference, clearly. ]

[lesbeau]

[She just kinda watches them for a moment, at this point just cool to take cues from tiny bugs, and reaches down to pat them on the head in a similar cadence.]

'Kay. Well. Guess I'm gonna... go? Find stuff? You don't know where people like, sleep around here, do you? Like an inn?