[MU] - FEBRUARY STORYTELLING / VOTING

[lifeaftr_mods]

Surprise, surprise, islanders: you're due for another lecture from your friendly neighborhood deity. An ocelot sits before the sprawling campfire on the beaches of Mu, grooming one paw - a paw that, on second glance, will prove to not be a paw at all, but a delicate cloven hoof.

"While I am not pleased with your intrusion," says the Storyteller, "it does not mean that nothing should come of it. You've doubtless glimpsed many things, most of which you were never meant to see. I suppose that's what some might call the wizard behind the curtain."

Some. Not all. They don't care to elaborate.

"Given that you're so interested in how the islands on this archipelago come to be, I will provide you with the choice," and here they stress the word with a calm switch of their spotted tail, "as to what sort of land you would prefer to brave next. I cannot promise safe travels, but I can guarantee the manner of materials those new lands may contain."

Four round dollops of sand wobble at the Storyteller's hooved feet, as though shaped by invisible hands, trembling, jellylike in the imaginary night breeze.

"The first...I have glimpsed flora and vegetation that may benefit you - for food, for medicinal purposes, for whatever you may see fit. The second bears something that I suspect can be used to fashion buildings, tools - an ore, of some sort. The third is...loud, terribly loud. A great many people live there, and they do not seem innately hostile. The fourth is full of noises, too, but of a different sort. I suspect a large number of beasts live there; perhaps tameable, perhaps docile, and perhaps not."

Their hooves have sunk into the sand, their amber gaze fixed and unblinking at some distant point on the horizon. Then, abruptly, they straighten, and the tension clenching their slim, felid frame eases.

"...cast your votes, if you wish. Whichever you choose, I will take us there."



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. Those of the nonverbal persuasion have, as of a request issued by Ren (catpiper), an alternative means of telling their stories if they so choose, in the form of the Chamber of Glyphs.

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!

[buryyourfriends]

Player Name: AB
Character Name: Seto
Character Journal: buryyourfriends
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s): The first story is basically a retelling of Seto's introduction to LifeAftr via a party and his reunion with Ren and Crow. He's a pretty good storyteller, although he uses rather simple words to describing the food with the occasional pause to remember the names. He puts more empathize on the people he met, however. It's very, very easy to tell that Seto isn't used to seeing so many people in one place.

The second story is about defacing the ST's temple the doodle party with Ren and Crow in the Chamber of Glyphs.
Public/Private: Public!

[finethanks]

Player Name: Ash
Character Name: Eichi Tenshouin
Character Journal: finethanks
Number of Offerings: 1
Offering(s): Eichi tells stories in a very flowery and poetic way full of metaphors. This story is about an Emperor who took his throne by climbing over the corpses of people who could have been his friends. There are lots of war and religion mentions, metaphorically, as well as bloodshed. He'll very dramatically recount that the Emperor was then chased from his throne, but that now, surrounded by a few close friends and a little more aware of how it works, that he intends to keep the throne as his from now on. Aka it's just how he talks about his idol history. He did completely traumatize plenty of people with his actions, so, the metaphors are fair to him. He'll also say that he doesn't want to share this with everyone for a handful of reasons, but that next time he finds a story to share, he'll share it publicly.
Public/Private: Private, this time.

[lightlessfuture]

Player Name: Ruka
Character Name: the Knight
Character Journal: lightlessfuture
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s):
- A story about learning how to speak with hands from a kind person. The Knight accentuates this story with as many new hand signs as they can, rather enthusiastically.

- A story about communicating with a friend who had given them a wonderful gift. They seem quite excited to tell this one through a combination of crude signing and drawings and words chalked in the Chamber.

- A story about fighting alongside others. This one is deftly illustrated by a steady hand. The Knight seems insistent on lauding the skill of the other two combatants, given the detail and time they put into drawing this. When they're done, it looks more like an illustration from an epic than a simple doodle.

Public/Private: Privately.

[ratsinadaze]

Player Name: Azazel
Character Name: Gobbet
Character Journal: ratsinadaze
Number of Offerings: 3

Offering(s):
1. The story of a brave little bug saving her hide. She stresses the importance of not following mysterious crying voices in the dark.
2. The story of how she fought alongside a goddess, once. She points out that it's much more fun to fight alongside with a goddess than against one.
3. The story of how she found the best pot of soup she's ever had?? Just sitting there?????

Gobbet is kind of subdued this round. Seems she's had a rough month, what with all the horrible monsters and the whole thing with stabbing and punching somebody she thought she could trust. Her stories seem more realistic, with a little less embellishment and detail. Except for the soup one. She goes into great detail about the contents, taste, and stresses the excellence of that soup.

Public/Private: Public

[thatsmymagic]

Player Name: Azazel
Character Name: Akko
Character Journal: thatsmymagic
Number of Offerings: 3

Offering(s):
1. A story about a little witch and a magical fountain. She's not fooling anybody by framing it like a fairy tale and not mentioning her name - but she is doing some cool magical illusions, including transforming into a white bear with a peculiar cross on his forehead.
2. A story about chasing a magic missile through the sky. A very animated performance with a lot of jumping around and a little embellishment here and there. After all, it was basically straight out of an action movie so like. You gotta tell it like it's dope as heck. Because it was.
3. A story about seeing her idol, Shiny Chariot, for the first time. She shows deep admiration and happiness talking about this, stressing the impact of the show on her life.

Public/Private: Public

[catpiper]

Player Name: Lexy
Character Name: Ren
Character Journal: catpiper
Number of Offerings: 3

Offering(s):
Story 1: The Boy!! Excited doesn't even begin to describe how thrilled she is to talk about the moment she found her friend, though she makes it a point to say he found her. She goes into detail about how he smiled, how he got to meet an aunt and uncle, how good he is at finding people. It's a mess, but she's happy. It's fine.

Story 2: is about how it's possible to paint your nails with pretty colors. She seems awed by this revelation? Incredible. You can make your fingers and toes pretty treasures and also nail polish works on rocks and skin. It's a great tool for everyday life, clearly.

Story 3: FIREWORKS. She's gonna talk about how this loud surprise wasn't scary and how it looks like a shiny rainbow in the sky. The firework creme de la creme is the 'the stick that shoots stars' aka a sparkler. Tim's the hero this month. She talks about the nice guy that found all these treasures and how good he is at small baseball games.

Public/Private: Public

Re: OOC || FORM

[esper_magic]

Player Name: Lucy
Character Name: Terra
Character Journal: esper_magic
Number of Offerings: 1
Offering(s): Neither of Terra's stories are particularly detailed, but she is cooperative if apologetic - she's hesitant in the beginning, but gets confident and shyly enthusiastic.

In her first story, she simply tells about the confusion she found herself in when she awoke and found her way to the banquet, where some people (Mickey, Noctis, Prompto and Ignis) seemed to remember her - whereas she didn't remember them at all. She's a bit of an awkward storyteller, and she doesn't get very enthusiastic until she talks about the people she befriended since she's more confident about her memory of that meeting at least.

Public/Private: Public

[postictal]

Player Name: Zero
Character Name: Tim Wright
Character Journal: postictal
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s):

(1) The story of introducing everybody to fireworks. Tim seems extremely pleased at the reception the whole shebang got. See, Storyteller? Fireworks are fun.

(2) The time everybody decompressed by painting nails. It was amazing, and he even takes a moment to thank the Storyteller for allowing the diversity of colors and shades that made it such an enjoyable time for people.

(3) The story of finding Jay's jacket. The good mood of the previous two stories promptly fades. He's much more subdued when he stresses the importance of receiving such an item. He doesn't say it outright, probably won't even admit it to himself, but he doesn't have to; he misses Jay an awful lot.

Public/Private: The first two are public while the third is private!

[attheclocktower]

Player Name: Gorse
Character Name: Xion
Character Journal: attheclocktower
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s): 1. Fighting alongside Keith during the Sunocalypse. Since that's the event during the Sunocalypse that is the easiest to turn into a story, save the one they absolutely are not talking about.
2. Finding her brother at the afterparty. This is the one she probably gets the most obviously emotional over, and it's obvious how much this means to her.
3. She talks about jumping around the islands and seeing so many different worlds and environments, including from people's worlds. She does also bring up about the physical and psychological effects she saw some people suffering from (she won't name names) and how that reminds her of the Tower a bit, which is a bit concerning for her.
Public/Private: All are public! Along with an announcement at the end.

[hyperlit]

Player Name: Zero
Character Name: The Drifter
Character Journal: hyperlit
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s):

(1) Seeing a little piece of home again. They stress that it was nice to see it in a far more peaceful state than they ever recall it being in earnest, but it was nonetheless nostalgic.

(2) Piggybacking off that, they also relay the joy of playing with a friend, complete with showing them how to make flower crowns.

While they tell both stories in their usual text-based manner, they also supplement them with some rather crude but nonetheless heartfelt drawings.

Public/Private: Both public!

[ungrieved]

Player Name: Zero
Character Name: Gabe Goodman
Character Journal: ungrieved
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s):

(1) The story of how one monster saved him from another. Gabe notably omits both the appearance the thelesh took to trick him and much of the discussion with Asgore that occurred after. He's considerably more subdued as he relates the tale too, like some parts of it bothered him.

(2) The story of an axe-wielding teenager who apparently lives in a tree. It's difficult to say what kind of emotion Gabe is going for here, probably because he himself is so very confused about how he feels about it - torn between buried gratitude, exasperation, and utter (if self-denied) confusion.

Public/Private: Both public!

[achievementhunter]

Player Name: Birb
Character Name: =)
Character Journal: achievementhunter
Number of Offerings: Three!

Offering(s):
The first story is a wonderful tale, about teaching a man to dab. And many other people, at that. The army of little dabbers, ready and willing for dank memes at the drop of a hat. They're extremely proud.

The second is meeting a shadow with a face they knew, again. This story is private and a mix of both the shadow event in Sol and January's event, the major difference being... the different styles of help they had, in each situation. Still, some things don't change.

The third, more quiet still, is about the meeting of two, lost SOULs, both sharing a terrible burden. Chara falters a lot more often telling this story, simply trailing off in the middle of certain sentences because- how do you really describe something like that?

Public/Private: All are private. uwu

[savedbyasong]

Player Name: Katy
Character Name: Shion
Character Journal: savedbyasong
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s): He is so bad at this, the first is a report, and the second is a rambling sort of story that fails at actually being a story where he is trying to preserve the memory of Safu
Public/Private: Public

[tomodachi]

Player Name: Taku
Character Name: Crow
Character Journal: tomodachi
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s):
1. During the event last month, Mickey told Crow a story about the Headless Horseman to keep him entertained without thinking too much about the fighting that was going on outside. It's gotten him nostalgic for Pirate Isle and other story books he used to read back home.

2. He taught Ren how to do a handstand! If you are interested and wanna learn how to do a handstand or possible other gymnastic skills too, he'll be happy to teach everyone else here.

3. Being reunited with Seto again, to which, while everyone will hear it, Crow will privately thank the Storyteller for bringing Seto here, as he assumes it's their doing for being able to be with their best friend again.
Public/Private: Public

[shineinside]

Player Name: Prof
Character Name: Yuka Ichijou
Character Journal: shineinside
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s):
Yuka's new to this, so her storytelling is a bit reluctant and she stops on occasion to try and figure out how to word something. She has a tendency to portray others in a very positive light when describing their contributions to events, but the same can't be said for herself.

1. A story about having her nails painted for the first time. Not as dramatic as some of the other stories being told, but it still meant a lot to her.
2. A story about pushing herself past her limits to fight monsters, and getting caught out in the wild with Kyouko and Muffet. The Knight was the one who intervened and brought them back to safety.
3. A story about making her romantic feelings for Kyouko clear. It was sort of chaos, but there was a happy ending.

Public/Private: The first two are public and the third is private, if that's an option.

[crosslaced]

Player Name: Star
Character Name: Laurent
Character Journal: crosslaced
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s):

The first story is a straightforward tour of the chamber of glyphs, pointing out (and hypothesising fake stories to) several interesting drawings he's seen during the time he's spent there. (x)

The second story is almost like a philosophical allegory. It's of Asch’s plan to move Ardyn off Monsun for the sake of his safety (x)- but if saving someone's life means he turns into a monster that suffers, that presumably loses all desire for company, are you really helping that person? Laurent won't give a straight answer, but it's evident that it's a story he's conflicted about.

Public/Private: 1st is public, 2nd is private.

[sorewatopsecret]

Player Name: Mola
Character Name: Takane Shijou
Character Journal: sorewatopsecret
Number of Offerings: 3
Offering(s): Takane's form of storytelling is rather purple-prose-y, full of strange metaphors, and peppered with archaic words. Due to her eccentric nature, she also tends to make more mundane happenings sound more dramatic than they actually are, but it's not as if she's embellishing. She just legitimately thinks everything is a very serious and intensive matter. Also, she has a hard time pronouncing modern words when she has to use them, and will often say them incorrectly.

1. She recalls the story of how she and the rest of 765Pro participated in the Big Talent Agency Sports Competition to support the company's top unit Ryuuguu Komachi, and the many conflicts they had encountered and overcame in order to win first place, against all odds.

2. She'll also talk about how she and the other non-Ryuuguu Komachi idols of 765Pro eventually rose to fame overnight, after more than a year of relative obscurity. How it all started with a new song that the Producer developed for them as an opening act for Ryuuguu Komachi's Thank-You Live, and the many difficult trials they had to face. The incredible difficulty of the dance sequence and vocals, to the point that some of them wanted to quit. How Miki thought mastering the song meant she could join Ryuuguu Komachi, and suddenly going AWOL when that wasn't the case. Even with overcoming these difficulties, the ten idols had one more challenge to face: Nearly all of the audience members attended the Live solely to see Ryuuguu Komachi, but its members were late due to being stuck in a typhoon and traffic! They had no choice but to rearrange the song schedule to stall for time, and while the plan had a rocky start, it was a huge success. Takane remembers fondly how all ten of them passed out as soon as they stepped into the dressing room due to singing and dancing nonstop, and that this was the beginning of their individual rising fame.

3. For some reason, Takane decides to recount this tale more bluntly. She tells the story of how she was suddenly overcome with the need to "catch" people with any violent means necessary. She abruptly ends the story with a dull and nonchalant, "Thus, I was punched by Eichi Tenshouin."

Public/Private: Private for all three. Everything must be top secret.

[yourattention]

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

1. Everything I've Done, or "Dear Evan Hansen, I just really fucked it up."
2. Something I'm Wishing I Had, or "Boy. January's event sure fucking sucked, didn't it?"

Public/Private: Private. Will Connor tell a public story sometime in the next century? Who the fuck knows.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Player Name: Echo
Character Name: Muffet.
Character Journal: prettypurpleparlor
Number of Offerings: One.
Offering(s): Muffet will be telling the story of fighting on Chol towards the end of the last event. Her desire is partially to commemorate the bravery of the Jormun who fought as they did and did not have the option to return, and partially to ensure that those who didn't face them personally know the dangers of the various kind of shadow creatures in case they encounter them later.
Public/Private: Public.

[dedamastai]

Player Name: r
Character Name: Damianos
Character Journal: dedamastai
Number of Offerings: 2
Offering(s):

1. The first is a general retelling of January's event and how he and Laurent fought together. It's told in the style of an epos - although noticably shorter and somewhat unfinished because . . .
2. . . . he trails off partway through, not entirely sure how to describe Laurent's death with Laurent present and not give away the fact that he did an incredibly foolish thing and just stopped in the middle of a battle to hold a funeral. Oops? He is not a forward thinker.

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

[yallstupid]

Player Name: Roxy
Character Name: Guzma
Character Journal: yallstupid
Number of Offerings: Three.
Offering(s):
- The first story is a recount of how he took on a few of those grizzly shadow dogs (Grimlings) and got to test out his Ariados' new TM move, Venoshock...with exceptional potency. He'll also lift up one arm to show off a somewhat faded scar from where he was bitten by one of the dogs pretty badly.
- The second will be a somewhat brief recount of helping around the Jormun camp and comparing the creatures to a type of pokemon in his world, Gyarados - especially Munin. He won't sounds at all disrespectful or anything, and instead it seems like a compliment. Gyarados are stupidly strong, after all.
- The third will be extremely short, as if he's not in the mood to go into too much detail about it. It'll just be that he was actually really and truly scared for the second time in his life during this spell of darkness. He won't say why when pressed, other than it wasn't for himself and that he really needs to step up his game and get tougher.
Public/Private: All 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!

Akko: OTA - The Fountain of Polaris (1/3)

[thatsmymagic]

[The girl sitting across from the fire straightens up, taking a deep breath to ready herself for storytelling. Her hand strays to her belt, folds around the metal wand there. The weight of the Shiny Rod on her back is reassuring, like a friendly hand supporting her. She's got her tools. It's her first time telling stories at the strange dream campfire. She's gonna make an impression.]

[Akko stands and clasps her hands in front of her. She's trying to look serious and sagely, but probably comes across as a kid giving a presentation. Posture awkwardly firm and nervous at the same time. Her first story will be told as if it happened to someone else - Akko knows she won't be fooling anybody by not using her name, but it's about the style; the aesthetic. She forms an image in her mind's eye, focuses in on it. Closing her eyes, she begins:]

Legend says there is a fountain that holds the light of the very stars. If a witch with untapped potential could reach the fountain, it would grant her great magical powers. But the fountain was hidden away, tucked between realms and guarded by a fierce beast known as Arcas.

[She swishes her wand in a circular motion across her collar and shoulders, trailing blue-white sparks along its path. Her body glows softly for a moment. There's a slight flash and then Akko is gone, replaced by a large polar bear with a peculiar four-pointed star on its forehead. The bear rears up on its hind legs and roars, shaking the very darkness with its gravelly pitch, before dropping down onto all fours. An observant person might notice the wand still clutched in its paw. The form flickers and disperses with a little puff of air and smoke. In its place is Akko, grinning with satisfaction and trying to hide her excitement at pulling off the spell. Metamorphosis had become her strong suit, much like Shiny Chariot.]

Arcas, the guardian of the fountain, was awakened one day by a little witch who was going to reach the fountain no matter what. This witch could barely use the most basic of spells - she couldn't even fly a broom right. Which she did get better at, eventually.

[She picks up her broom, to show it off briefly, before placing it against the log beside her.]

But over and over she had been told that she had great potential. And she believed it, with all her heart, she believed in herself. So she set out to find the fountain and claim the magic it held. She narrowly escaped the great beast through trickery and a little help from an unwilling ally. And when she did, she found the fountain waiting for her.

[Akko creates a little orb of pale blue light with her wand, looking into it fondly. She holds it in front of her, casting a ghostly glow over her face, lighting up her soft smile. This has come to be her favorite part. She can still see it clearly, like it was right in front of her again. The wind picks up her hair and ruffles her clothes and she can swear she smells the crisp scent of leaves and grass, as if she were standing in Luna Nova's yards again.]

When the little witch ascended the steps to reach the fountain, what she found was not power, waiting to be grabbed like a prize. She found memories and illusions and beautiful scenes of other peoples' success played out in orbs floating all around her, but the fountain was…still. The fountain stared back at her with nothing to give or say. She was devastated. But the little witch realized something that night.

[The light flickers and fades, and Akko's face sets into a determined smile. It's hard not to feel excited as she widens her stance, grips her wand tight.]

She realized that hard work is what earns you recognition. Untapped potential can't be magically manifested by some fountain, you have to dig deep and find it within yourself. Nobody can hand you the power of the stars for free. If you want to take down the moon, you have to climb to space and wrestle it out of the sky yourself!

(frozen comment) OOC || VOTING

[lifeaftr_mods]

Respond to the island your character will be voting for with the appropriate journal. They do not have to vote if it would not be IC for them to, but this will decide your next island destination!

(frozen comment) OPTION 1

[lifeaftr_mods]

While the dangers are unknown, the Storyteller promises vegetation that can be likely used for medicines, sustenance, and so on.

The Storyteller | OTA

[story_teller]

There is a finality with which the Storyteller issues their bottom line, and yet they remain before the fire. For there are the stories for them to collect -- as there always are, and as they must do. The ocelot sets their cloven hoof delicately upon the gray cover of their tome, and they listen. It is their wont.

So, too, does the Storyteller recognize the stirrings of inquiries among their charges. Their duty to the collection of tales is their priority, of course, and they will not entertain interruptions to the Storytelling. But when everyone has finished, when it is the Storyteller's common cue to lift themself from the sand, seize their tome, and snuff the fire in a flurry of light that islanders process as sunlight upon awakening to the real world, they do not.

They simply turn to a blank, spontaneous page in their tome, and incline their head invitingly.

[yourattention]

"Can I ask you about the things in the ocean? Off the coast of Ensō."

Because that's what he wants to know about, honestly. He doesn't care what island they go to, although he'll cast a vote eventually.

"Or is that a question you can't answer?"