[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

[savedbyasong]

[Shion blinked, he had not thought he had done very well at all. He had never really told a story before. Not like that. But he was happy that Akko had been able to imagine Safu and that she would remember her.

That was what he had wanted, for people to know of her. He nodded] Yes... I miss her a lot. [He had missed her when he still thought they might rescue her but now...]

[thatsmymagic]

[Stories are a means of conveying something important. A purpose, a concept, a memory - whatever it may be. So long as people get the point of what you're trying to say, you've done a good job. At least, that's what Akko thinks.]

[That sentiment does not apply to her, as far as she's concerned. It's the curse of an overachiever to think more is required of you to qualify for an acceptable performance.]

[But Shion seems so sad at the question that Akko almost regrets asking. She places a hand lightly on his shoulder, in a way that would allow it to be shrugged off should the contact be unwanted, and offers a sad smile.]

Maybe you'll get to see her again one day - we can't be stuck here forever, right?

[It's not really a question, the way her voice tilts towards hopeful and the way her eyes sparkle with confidence. She's certain you'll meet again, Shion. In some way, in some life, in some time. When people are that important to you, nothing can take them away for good.]

[savedbyasong]

[Contact is never unwanted, not by Shion and blinks at her sadly.] I will [At least once more, if that vision was a vision of his future then he would have to live it, if he went home. If they escaped here.

Of course he might see Safu again some other way. If he understood his vision correctly his Safu was already dead. But Asch was dead and he was here, these places cold bring those who were dead. Or there might be a different Safu, from a different world. One that was not as far on as his, or one where her fate had been kinder.

He nodded at her though] We won't be stuck here forever. We will find a way out.