[MU] - JANUARY STORYTELLING

[lifeaftr_mods]

For once, there is nothing that needs sharing before this particular dream. There is, perhaps, a lingering edge of tension, of anticipation, like a great jungle cat gathering their hindquarters just moments prior to making a leap.

But you knew that already, didn't you?

In any case, everything settles into place with the air of natural routine.



It is time, once more, for you to tell a story. The setting will be familiar for oldcomers, and newcomers will recognize it from the introduction they received in their dreams. This too is a dream, and the ink-black dark is illuminated only by the bonfire surrounded by log seats. And seated around the fire are your fellow islanders, many of whom doubtless know the drill by now.

One by one, you will each have the opportunity to share your stories, as stories possess a certain undeniable power. Newcomers can tell whatever tale they wish, but for those who have been in LifeAftr for at least one Storytelling, only stories of their time in LifeAftr will count down the road. The story need not be long, or conventional, or even verbal; as long as the Storyteller knows it has been told, it will qualify.

If you prefer to keep your mouth shut, that's always an option, though you're more liable to benefit if you do. Perhaps you'd rather not relive any of your history, varied and variegated as it must be. Or maybe you're something of a compulsive un-truther, prone to embellishments and long, fanciful tangents. As long as the core of the story is true to its spirit, you are free to spin your tale however you like.

So choose well.

Comments

OOC || FORM

[lifeaftr_mods]

Reply to this comment, having filled out the corresponding form, if you wish to participate in the Storytelling for non-compulsory AC. Non-compulsory AC allows for IC rewards such as Item Requests, but is not mandatory - though it will ICly benefit your character to try and participate, even if they're not the storytelling type.

Remember that those who have already undergone one Storytelling cycle must tell a story of their time in LifeAftr in order for it to count. Newcomes may tell whatever stories they like!

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Character Journal:</b> <user name="NAME"> <b>Number of Offerings:</b> List character's number of offerings here. A maximum of THREE STORIES can be told each Storytelling. <b>Offering(s):</b> Describe the story related here. A link to a past game or a wiki will suffice if you'd rather not write it all out, but it is helpful to note if your character was an engaging or enthusiastic storyteller, plainly unwilling and undetailed, or anything else of note! <b>Public/Private:</b> Is this story told for all to hear, or to the Storyteller privately? Please let us know!

[lightlessfuture]

Player Name: Ruka
Character Name: The Knight
Character Journal: lightlessfuture
Number of Offerings: Two
Offering(s): bam
Public/Private: Public

[walkietalkie]

Player Name: Trace
Character Name: Clementine
Character Journal: this one
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s):

( 1 ) She talks about where she got her hat. She was seven at the time, and she wanted to join the ball team she saw in the park near their house, but they were all older than her and they were all boys on top of that. So her dad went out and bought her a baseball cap, and one for himself too, and he'd take her out at least once a week (for a couple of months, anyway) to throw balls and hit them with a bat.

( 2 ) She tells the story of Lee, and what he did for her. It's basically a summary of Season 1, with a sentence's focus on each of the highlights - times when he protected her or saved her. Times when he taught her something important, like how to survive. And she talks about how he died. Bitten because she ran away to find parents who were dead already anyway, then shot by the very gun she's telling these stories to earn ammo for.

( 3 ) She tells the story about meeting Wade, found here.

Public/Private: Privately.

Re: OOC || FORM

[attheclocktower]

Player Name: Gorse
Character Name: Xion
Character Journal: attheclocktower
Number of Offerings: 2 (might add another later?)
Offering(s):

1. A story about parallels, about the past repeating itself. Namely, about Excalibur reacting to Asch the exact same way in LifeAftr he did in Animus
   
2. Training with Yuka and everyone, and relearning limits.

Public/Private: I think... public? Thinking is hard right now

[hyperlit]

Player Name: Zero
Character Name: The Drifter
Character Journal: hyperlit
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s): As always, these will be text-based adventures, supplemented with the odd physical demonstration of combat as the Drifter takes to shadowboxing and parrying and thrusting against an invisible opponent.

(1) A story about training with a nice man with a bat. They'll do their best to make a compelling narrative of it, complete with being afraid that they might have hurt him, but there's not much to the tale - though they will add that he did promise to help them find a rainbow. What a nice fellow!!!

(2) A story about meeting a brave little horned knight. The Drifter will stress their awe in meeting someone who, like them, is unable to speak. They are not quite alone as they'd assumed. They'll also be certain to stress the Knight's proven prowess in battle.

(3) A story about helping a feathered creature who also seems to be stricken with the inability to speak. They'd assumed that he was a member of the great birds of the Northern region of their home, but his gentle nature had quickly proven that wrong, and couldn't be more pleased as to that little detail. All told, they seem quietly...pleased and imbued with a strange resolve and camaraderie that they've endured only fleetingly. It might not be for the happiest reason, but in their mind, it is better to relate to someone out of an inability to speak than it is over terminal illness.

Public/Private: All public!

[yourattention]

Player Name: r
Character Name: Connor Murphy
Character Journal: yourattention
Number of Offerings: 2!
Offering(s):

1. A story about making a map and coming to terms with . . . being in LifeAftr.
2. A somewhat disjointed story that's half about some letters? And half about feeling guilty for things he can't change.

Public/Private: Private! Although the map is public, the the story concerning it is not.

[postictal]

Player Name: Zero
Character Name: Tim Wright
Character Journal: postictal
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s): His narration is tired and pretty droll, but the narratives are cohesive. They don't sound very off-the-cuff at all, despite the informality of his presentation; he's clearly thought very carefully about what parts of each tale he feels like sharing.

(1) A story about quicksand. This is why Tim Wright does not lead expeditions, ever, and he sounds utterly resigned to the result of the entire caper.

(2) That one time a small child thought his mouth was on fire. He pairs it with a reminder that he has a bunch of flare guns for free for anyone who needs them, hint hint, as well as a tacit plea for someone to show this child what fireworks are. He doesn't even really like them on principle, but he's pretty sure a kid like Ren would like seeing them.

(3) The time he learned about dabbing. He might not be caught up on the dankest of memes, but he's getting there.

Public/Private: All public, regrettably.

[ungrieved]

Player Name: Zero
Character Name: Gabe Goodman
Character Journal: ungrieved
Number of Offerings:3
Offering(s): Gabe is a theatrical storyteller prone to gross exaggeration - less to the betterment of himself and more to the detriment of others, curiously - and a penchant for physicality whenever possible. He gestures, signals, prances, imbues his stories with a great deal of "look at me I'm so special" dramatics. Gee wonder why

(1) He meets a kid with stupid-looking cat ears and mocks him incessantly. He puts a great deal of emphasis on how stupid those ears look, and doesn't mention the fact that Ritsuka super did hone in on Gabe's personal issues at all.

(2) The time he was grabbed by a horrible plant man, COMPLETELY UNFAIRLY. No mention is made of the fact that Gabe was being a horrid little shit by yanking Epsilon's vines in the first damn place.

(3) A snowball fight with Mickey Mouse that ends with Gabe claiming that the mouse hurt him terribly, pelting him with snowballs until Gabe was shivering and blue-lipped from the cold. This is not precisely untrue, as Mickey was a far better shot than Gabe himself, but he neglects to mention that he was already quite cold to begin with and chooses to push the blame entirely on Mickey. What a menace.

Public/Private: All gloriously, horribly public

[crosslaced]

Player Name: Star
Character Name: Laurent
Character Journal: crosslaced
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s):
1. A dramatic reading of one of his new Chuck Tingle books, stopping before it gets nsfw. Probably going to be 'Gay T-Rex Law Firm: Executive Boner' because I googled that one- presumably the parts to be read are exposition about how this guy came to be working at ???a dinosaur law-firm?????

He's not 4kids but blatantly sexual content will be omitted for the kids. i hope this is allowed, you did put these books into laurent's shitty, shitty hands

2. A story of organising the islanders before the sun dies. (x)He gives special mention to the Drifter, who he mistakenly thinks is one of the children, and expresses appreciation at his eagerness to help. What a good bean.

Public/Private: first is public, second is private.

[dedamastai]

Player Name: r
Character Name: Damianos
Character Journal: dedamastai
Number of Offerings: 2.
Offering(s):
1. It's not a very long story, but Damen will inform the Storyteller that he gave Laurent the books (even though technically it was supposed to wait until later) and they were well-received. Also he named the horse Chuck, so.
2. See I'm going to be nice and not also make everyone miserable with the knowledge of Chuck Tingle: his second story is just a casual retelling of some of the things he's learned from the Jormun. Not, like. About the event? More about the techniques and shit he's learned from sparring with them.
Public/Private: First is private, the second is public.

[ratsinadaze]

Player Name: Azazel
Character Name: Gobbet
Character Journal: ratsinadaze
Number of Offerings: 2 - or 1, depending on whether the Storyteller decides to count her second offering.

Offering(s):
1. A story about meeting the Jormun. The story diverges a bit, talking about all she's learned of the Jormun and expressing her admiration for them. She takes the time to explain to the group some of the best spots for ambushes and barricades and what she's been doing to help prepare.
2. A somewhat directionless story about how she met someone who was so impossibly different from her that she almost fucked up what little trust and friendship they'd built up through sheer lack of understanding. She dwells on how hard it is for her to comprehend the other person's point of view, even though she's since made amends and learned a bit more about the situation. The Storyteller might get the feeling it's more of something she wants to get off her chest than it is a proper offering, and she won't be upset if it doesn't count.

Public/Private: The first one is public, the second is private.

[noctanotheroneout]

Player Name: Rosy
Character Name: Noctis Lucis Caelum
Character Journal: noctanotheroneout
Number of Offerings: Here
Offering(s): Noctis tells the story about how he met a really cool critter that hung around Xion. Might make mentions how a pet would be cool, as he never really had one growing up.
Public/Private: Public

[catpiper]

Player Name: Lexy
Character Name: Ren
Character Journal: catpiper
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s):
story 1: is told quietly and with a mixture of overwhelming happiness and regret. It's about seeing Taako and Lup's auntie adventure in the last storytelling, watching the tiny elves be super happy, and being told she could call them aunt/uncle. Which clearly means something very important to her. She refers to them as Aunt Lup and Uncle Taako throughout the whole tale.

story 2: Snow party. She is incredibly excited to talk about the various things she did here and seems unable to finish one part before going onto another, making it some kind of wildass snow adventure. She'll talk about playing baseball, learning about snowmen, winning at snowball, losing at snowball, learning to dab. It's wild. What a blast!! She's so happy!

story 3: SHE GOT TO HELP and is thrilled to talk about cooking eggs and learning about spices. She will make it a point to say you need to take the salt out of the seawater before you put it on eggs and you shouldn't put fish in your shoes if you're going to eat it. These are Important Cooking Tips she learned that all islanders should know. What a nice day. She seems a bit too proud of herself for doing Nothing though.

Public/Private: First one is private and the rest are public.

[quietknight]

Player Name: Eric
Character Name: Sonje Forstner
Character Journal: quietknight
Number of Offerings: One
Offering(s): Sonje is not a great storyteller, though she does better in one on one conversations than she would in front of a group. She tells the story of the time she decided that paying off their family's debts through normal means was impossible, so she decided to gather up her grandfather's armor and gear and head out into the world to seek her fortune, with her parents very reluctant and tearful blessing.
Public/Private: Private

[wonderland_vogue]

Player Name: Star
Character Name: Lydia
Character Journal: wonderland_vogue
Number of Offerings: One
Offering(s): Oh look it's about the dead brother.
Public/Private: Public.

[darkova]

Player Name: Jess
Character Name: Ingway
Character Journal: darkova
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s): Ingway tells the story of how the Valentine people became cursed to be pooka. And then the story of how he meet and then lost Mercades. Both are told in heavy metaphors so it's not clear both are about him.
Public/Private: Public

[thejaw]

Player Name: Caity
Character Name: Brian
Character Journal: thejaw
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s): Brian's storytelling is as fragmented and poorly done as usual, but unlike the stories he's told previously, this time he makes no distinction between himself and the person the story is about; it's told in first person.

(1) A story about a girl who insists on carrying around garbage. He sounds perplexed, but also the tiniest bit fond. The story has a distinctly bittersweet feeling, despite nothing bad happening during it.
(2) And another about the kitten he was given by Karamatsu. Brian talks of survival and protection, and how it was maybe stupid to take this thing in, and then how it licked his face until he woke up yesterday.

Public/Private: The first public, the second private.

[mamaterasu]

Player Name: Roxy
Character Name: Amaterasu
Character Journal: mamaterasu
Number of Offerings: Three!
Offering(s):
- One story will be how she met a very nice, little bug on the ice around Chol, and helped them to safety after a momentary snuggle session. It really didn't take her long at all to become quite endeared to them, but then again...she does has a soft spot for little bugs. ♥
- Ammy will detail her exploration of Chol and her talk with the Jormun leader, Munin, who she is also quite fond of. She will speak quite highly of the glorious fish lady and praise her abilities at conversation and working together for a common goal.
- The next will be a spattering of how many times she was approached and comforted, or fed, during her time when her energy was waning with the sun. She'll talk about each person's action and how grateful she is, praising each one for their kindness and generosity. There'll be a lot of affection when she's telling each one, and you can just feel the warmth in her heart over how good everyone here can be.
Public/Private: All open!

[yallstupid]

Player Name: Roxy
Character Name: Guzma
Character Journal: yallstupid
Number of Offerings: Three.
Offering(s):
- He's going to grudgingly talk about when he gave away some very special items to two very special people, omitting names and keeping the details of the items on the down-low. But there's going to be a pretty obvious tie-in to how seemingly invaluable trinkets or trash can be invaluable treasures and hold a deeper meaning, or tie some people together tighter than just a simple bond of friendship.
- He's also going to talk about how he found out about the Nihilego from Mickey, and warn people about them and what sort of jackassery they're capable of.
- A bitter retelling of how his deepest, darkest secrets were shared to the whole of the island and he's still not fucking happy about it and may personally punch the Storyteller if it ever happens again. :')
Public/Private: All open.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Player Name: Echo

Character Name: Muffet

Character Journal: prettypurpleparlor

Number of Offerings: Three, this time- she wants to make sure the Storyteller has energy to burn, come the dark.
Offering(s): First, Muffet tells the story of travelling across Monsun and meeting the Storyteller's fellow god(s), Balance and Imbalance. This is partly for the benefit of her fellow castaways, giving them potentially useful information about other deities, and partially for the benefit of the Storyteller themself- she's not completely sure how often these gods talk to each other, but they sounded to her like they knew the Storyteller and hadn't spoken much in a while, so she thinks it might be nice for them to get to hear how their fishy colleagues are doing lately.

Next is her account of first meeting Lady Muninshhashvark of the Jormun. Judging by her cheerful grin and the slight sparkle in her eye as she describes the aquatic woman in question, Muffet has a fair amount of admiration for her.

Finally, her last offering is a lighthearted description of helping someone find owners for his new litter of fuzzy friends, so they can finish the evening on something cheerful.

Public/Private: Publicly.

[covertizer]

Player Name: becks
Character Name: Akira Kurusu
Character Journal: covertizer
Number of Offerings: List character's number of offerings here. A maximum of THREE STORIES can be told each Storytelling.
Offering(s):
story one: Akira tells the hushed and gentle story of a young man with a refilling coffee pot, the practising of his thievery skills in stealing the young man's cup, and a surprise, indirect k~i~s~s... there's something for everyone.

story two: The tale of a young man who bravely stepped out onto the ice in order to help those newly arriving find a safe path back to land over the harsh environment - and terrifying a young lady with his attempts to do a pirouette.

Public/Private: Public~

[want_to_belong]

Player Name: Eisah
Character Name: Prompto
Character Journal: want_to_belong
Number of Offerings: 3

Offering(s): Prompto is telling stories in order to try and build up favors, but he's not sure what to say, so he's flipping through the photos on his camera and talking about them.

1. Talking about meeting Yuka and Kyouko.
2. Talking about taking pictures of Ardyn's chocobo. Looooots of pictures. (Not to mention pics of his own egg).
3. Talk about all the landscape and artistic shots he took of Monsun, including some of other people.

Public/Private: Public

[hellawrath]

Player Name: Laura
Character Name: Lup
Character Journal: hellawrath
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s): The first story describes a chill afternoon with two of her favorite people ostensibly exploring but really just wandering through the jungle and talking about seemingly unimportant things like favorite flowers and cute animals and silly games. But it's clear by the way she talks that it means the world to her, a chance to breathe and for two kids to just be kids. She's grateful both that she was around for that and for having these two in her life every day.

The second story is about basically the best day of her life, as she was blessed with the sight of a whole gaggle of kids dabbing their tiny hearts out. This is the future and the future is gonna be in good memeloving hands. She sounds very proud, dramatically so, and also goes on to describe some of the fun had by other people with snowball fights and the ice rink. Maybe it wasn't a wild rager, but it eased everyone's worries for a day or two. You can all thank her later when they've kicked the darkness' ass.

The third story details her meeting with the leader of the fish people and how awesome she is, both as a warrior and as uh a lady which i'm still totally going to tag again. Lup uses very many excited adjectives such as dope and ripped. But she does also go into the Jormun's preparations and their dedication to defending the sun, which, she's still not sure that's a real thing? But hey, weirder shit has fallen from the sky and caused a bunch of eldritch horrors to arrive. Anyway she knows it's gonna be a tough fight, she knows it's gonna be scary and not everyone might have fought like this before, but they've all been proving their bravery and resilience here on these islands every day just surviving and working together. They're gonna have to fight, and they're gonna win.

Public/Private: public

[tenthstreetbred]

Player Name: Vanessa
Character Name: Commander Shepard
Character Journal: tenthstreetbred
Number of Offerings: One!
Offering(s): Shepard follows in Muffet's footsteps and tells her side of meeting the gods of Monsun. She's pretty engaged, not over the top in her story. It's more of adding a few more details to a report she would have given to Anderson back on the Normandy. She can't quite keep the low level of awe out of her voice over it all however.
Public/Private: Public!

IC || STORYTELLING

[lifeaftr_mods]

If you wish to thread out the relaying of your story so that other characters may react to it, you may do so here!

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight has very little to say (nothing at all, in fact) but their sword finds a lot of work, drawing in the sand. Both stories are told in pictures, without words, though the Knight seems keen to clarify any questions.

They might get a little distressed if you accidentally smudge a picture, though they'll correct it in short order.

first:
These pictures produce a story about a smith who forged a 'perfect weapon'. Overcome by the product of his life's work, he begged to be struck down with it, so that his life could be ended by the blade's keen edge.

The warrior refused, and though the smith was left bereft for a time, he found another calling, and a kindred spirit in a warrior who had put down his arms to paint, instead. They remained happy, together.

second:
These pictures tell a story about an old stag beetle whose duty was to travel far and wide, through a kingdom brought to dust and ruin. Though the rest of his kindred were dead and gone, he still served. He was the last of his kind, or so he thought.

With a traveler's help, he found ways long lost, and remembered the way back to the place he was born. In that place, there was a freshly hatched egg, and the old stag realised he was not alone, and no longer the last. ]