Flowers of Heaven 2: LiliS + Heart Soldier Senshi + WILD CITY

[idolpro]

There’s a chirruping and giggling from around you; a peeping and chattering overhead; a clattering of hooves on the flagstones.

Gathering around you all are strange creatures. Materializing around LiliS are tiny people that have the look of being grown from plants and flowers: petal-colored faces, with leaf dresses and tunics that look as if they grew onto them, and blossom or dandelion-fluff hair. Another flock—a number of small and colorful creatures—almost like fanciful stuffed animals, except definitely fully alive and somehow capable of flight despite most of them not being winged, not unlike Aibous—gather around Heart Soldier Senshi. Then, approaching WILD CITY is… one extremely tired-looking definitely-human man who is definitely riding a horse and who is absolutely not actually a disguised centaur. The Definitely Human Man curtly introduces himself as Sheriff Pferd, and gives a stiff "welcome back," but any further questions just make him shake his head and give a long-suffering sigh.
Apart from him, none of the creatures speak, but they chitter and nudge at you like they're greeting old friends, and usher you towards a gap that's opened in the thick curtain of kudzu vines and onto a winding path beyond.

Once you cross through, the vines grow rapidly to cover the open space behind you, and the voices of your fellow idols fade from your ears. It seems as if you’re on your own, now.

❀ ❀ ❀

Here, the vines that surround your path are dotted with bright-blooming flowers, and some of the leaves seem to be brightly-colored plastic instead; the air echoes with occasional birdsong and the growls and yips of animals, though no other living creatures are anywhere to be seen.

The little creatures are carrying some things for you—the flower fairies carry a wreath of wild oats, chamomile, and hollyhock flowers, the colorful cute creatures a wreath of clematis, chamomile, and oak, and the man who is definitely not a centaur a wreath of clematis, wild oats, and mimulus. As they approach you, the air shifts in a strange way, and suddenly they have one wreath between them—all those flowers woven together into one, which they offer to you. They also have for you a collection of sixteen different flowers, and a small lantern of blue flame.

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Quick Links: Flowers | Status Effects | OOC Rules

Comments

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

[ Looking at the offered wreath ]

So we have one shield in which we might protect ourselves.

Re: DISCUSSION

[purestdust]

It might be a good idea to save it for when any one of us has only one flower left. Ideally it should be used on a flower many share.

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

Precisely. So for the first round, it may be wisest to take inventory of what flowers we have.

[ Since he sees no reason to hide his ]

Mine are Lotus and Oak.

Re: DISCUSSION

[purestdust]

[ he's quiet for a moment as he considers whether he wants to share or not, but eventually ]

Mine are Acacia and Vervain

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

No overlap, but I suppose that is not surprising. Allow me to ask the rest for those that wish to share.

Re: DISCUSSION

[purestdust]

Of course. Thank you for taking care of it.

LATER

[leaveofabsence]

Well.

It seems the there is so far only one duplicate. Which is not very reassuring at all.

If each group has a plethora of flowers, that makes their voting and even ours unpredictable.

Do we choose to burn lotus while one of us wears the wreathe?

Re: DISCUSSION

[childeishly]

I'm afraid I'm not sharing mine, Xiansheng. Sorry. [ not sorry. ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[at_heart]

—What? Why?

Re: DISCUSSION

[childeishly]

I have my reasons. My soul and the strings attached to it are for my eyes only.

Re: DISCUSSION

[at_heart]

[ And he snorts. SORRY, CAELI. ]

In terms of personally revealing, this has nothing on that amateur therapy game, or the dream game, or a heart game. I bet not everyone even totally agrees with the flowers they got assigned.

[ Smallest beat, then: ]

But if you really wanna keep your flowers to yourself, you might wanna spend the rest of this in a corner, because I feel like when our flowers burn it's gonna be noticeable. We'll light up, or just collapse in pain, or something.

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

I am sure you have your reasons, so I will not pry for the benefit of the studio audience. And I'm sure you understand that it might make it more difficult to protect you.

Are you also against wearing the wreath should one of your flowers should be burned in a previous round?

Re: DISCUSSION

[childeishly]

I do. I'm sure you know better than anybody else why I don't want people prying into my soul. And yes, I'm well aware of the risks. I'd rather put everybody else's safety above my own. I'm willing to face the consequences... it'll be fine. [ "fine". ]

I don't really see a point to wearing it. It's meant to protect... and you don't know my flowers. There's only two reasons you'd put it on a person. If you're aiming to save a certain flower, and you don't know mine, and if you want to use it strategically, say... if you're aiming to burn a certain flower...

It'd be a waste on my head.

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

Protecting you is not a waste.

We do not have to know your flowers to put the wreath upon your head and protect any that may be doubled up with you.

While we lose a tactical advantage of not being able to burn your flowers while you are wearing the wreath, sometimes the tactical solution is not always the best one.

Re: DISCUSSION

[at_heart]

Lotus and Mimulus.

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

Thank you, Lupine. Allow me to take stock of the flowers for those who feel comfortable sharing.

Re: DISCUSSION

[at_heart]

...who wouldn't?

[ And then Caeli. ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

Some might considering revealing such information as transactional and for cheap entertainment and would prefer to risk a punishment instead. If that is their choice, I do not wish to deprive them of it.

I suppose we could have a long discussion on what choices we actually have in these sorts of games. Or if using the flowers to determine protection is simply an illusion of one.

Re: DISCUSSION

[stoneandstave]

Chamomile and Wild oat. [ slightly amused ]

It doesn't seem there's much overlap.

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

Unfortunately not, but perhaps that is part of this game's design.

Re: DISCUSSION

[stoneandstave]

I'd think so. If they're aiming to get us to act unlike ourselves, this is the best way.

It seems we have no choice but to ask for volunteers. I don't mind being one of them.

Re: DISCUSSION

[leaveofabsence]

And what do you propose you are volunteering for?

Re: DISCUSSION

[crossmyheartandhope]

Looks like it.

Re: DISCUSSION

[at_heart]

Protecting each of us one time only.

[ Shrugs. ]

I say we try to make sure we don't run out of any one flower completely.

Re: DISCUSSION

[stoneandstave]

Protect one flower, if I'm understanding. It seems to require us to share those pieces of ourselves. [ And then destroy some of them. ]