Flowers of Heaven 2: pep!pep!

[idolpro]

Strange: there's a pile of pencils, pens, and crayons at your feet. Where did that come from?

As soon as you take notice of them, though, they move of their own accord, caps popping off to draw into being a collection of simple, animate doodle people. They can’t talk, but wave at you like you're old friends, and instead begin hurrying off in their wobbly way toward 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 hung with old newspaper clippings and photos, all too faded with age to properly make out.

It seems the doodle people are carrying some things for you: a collection of sixteen different flowers, and a small lantern of blue flame, and a wreath woven from acacia, gorse, and mimulus.

---

Quick Links: Flowers | Status Effects | OOC Rules

Comments

IC RULES

[idolpro]

Characters will discover a scroll somewhere on their person, which may be unrolled to reveal words written in ornately flourished script in an unfamiliar language. The rules resonate in their minds when they look at them, despite the apparent language barrier.

Included, too, is a list of sixteen flowers, each with an associated meaning.

Look within yourself: you are connected to two Flowers of Heaven. You will find you know what they are.

You must make your way through the Garden, out to Freedom.
However, three Obstacles block your way.

The Blue Flame Pyre can burn past these obstacles, but its fire requires at least three Flowers of Heaven as fuel. A fire given more fuel may burn past more Obstacles, but at far greater cost to your Selves.

Express your collective desire to the Blue Flame Pyre, and it will burn the flowers that are willed. However, be warned: if the three most-desired flowers are unclear, the Pyre will burn all that seem to have been chosen, no matter how many that may be.

Your souls are tied to your personal Flowers; should one of your flowers be destroyed, so too will its nature within you be broken.
To lose both your flowers is to lose your Self.

You are not without protection, though: Your chancelfolk carry with them a symbol of your group’s unity. The one who wears the wreath will find their flowers preserved—for themselves and for any in your group who share them—regardless of how the Pyre burns. But be warned: for each person, the wreath’s protection will work but once.

The energy of Freedom will be powerful enough to heal those teams with the most Flowers remaining to their collective. All others must find their own way to becoming Whole.

THE FIRST OBSTACLE

[idolpro]

As you walk the path through the vines, you come to a place where the strands of some half-finished and abandoned spiderweb have meshed and twisted so fully across the path that it's too dense to pass through, too sticky to climb.

The doodle people go into a flurry of distressed activity at the sight... and then they pass you the collection of flowers, the lantern of blue flame, and the wreath.

Make your choices.

DECISION

[idolpro]

RESULTS

[idolpro]

DISCUSSION

[idolpro]

THE SECOND OBSTACLE

[idolpro]

The path continues, the brilliance of the blue flame dying out with the last of the burnt flowers.

You're not sure how long you've been walking when you reach the iron doors. They have a heavy, defensive feel to them. At the center of the doors is what is probably a pair of massive handles... but the doors have been densely overgrown with vines to the point that they grow back faster than anyone can break them.

The doodle people look upon the doors mournfully, inspecting them for any way to pull away the vines, but it seems beyond their ability. Once again, they offer the blue-flame lantern, the collection of flowers, and the wreath: something must be sacrificed.

DECISION

[idolpro]

RESULTS

[idolpro]

DISCUSSION

[idolpro]

THE THIRD OBSTACLE

[idolpro]

After journeying a while longer—it’s unclear how long, and the way time passes here is… strange—you come upon a dense field of wooden and iron pikes jutting out from the ground, sharp points toward you, like a fortification. Here, thick as the kudzu is, it seems like it’s starting to wither. The leaves are brown at best and starting to liquefy into a kind of black tar at worst.

Can flame really take care of this…?

—actually, as you approach, fire is running along the sides of the path following you, and catches upon the stakes, setting them alight into a bright blaze and clearing your path.

PRE-ENDGAME

[idolpro]

[ You pass through the field of ominous pikes—and find yourself standing before three gates.

To your left is a gate of ivory, polished to a shine so bright that it refracts a brilliant rainbow of chaotic light.
To your right is a gate of twisting black horn, beautiful and unapologetically fierce-looking.
Between them and a bit further back is a gate of pure white flame. Even from here you can feel the searing, purifying heat of it.

Which gate do you take? Each of you may choose separately, if you wish; you feel instinctively that, whatever the significance of this choice, if indeed it means anything at all, it has no bearing on your connection with your unit. ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[rugpull]

M'flowers are Mim and Gorse. What you guys got?

Re: DISCUSSION

[ourowndeliverance]

[guess who was away for a few days but arrived back in time for this game. kind of like, really at the game rules.]

Star of Bethlehem and alyssum.

Re: DISCUSSION

[paradiseunboxed]

...Water Lily and Clematis.

Re: DISCUSSION

[warningbells]

@LAVA: Lotus and Oak.

Re: DISCUSSION

[identitypolitics]

[ she looks like it's like

pulling teeth for her to say this, admittedly ]

...mimulus and acacia?

A little overlap, but not much...

Re: DISCUSSION

[rugpull]

Okay. So which ones we gonna vote for? Since we both got Mim let's avoid that one. But we could vote for huh uhm.

Maybe something like Water Lily, Wild Oats, Chamomile?

And we give Honey the protection this round?

Re: DISCUSSION

[paradiseunboxed]

...Are those three likely to be chosen?

......

...I don't think I want to be protected at the expense of playing properly.

[for reference]

[rugpull]

Lotus: LAVA
Vervain
Acacia: Saffron
Clematis: Honey
Aconite
Wild Oats
Star of Bethlehem: Shikon
Gorse: Shandy
Honeysuckle
Chamomile
Wild Rose
Hollyhock
Mimulus: Saffron, Shandy
Water Lily: Honey
Oak: LAVA
Alyssum: Shikon

Re: DISCUSSION

[rugpull]

I dunno what's gonna get picked. Anyone got better ideas?

Re: DISCUSSION

[identitypolitics]

...well, if we protect someone and burn their flowers while they're protected, it's likelier those flowers won't be able to be burned again.

Re: DISCUSSION

[ourowndeliverance]

I don't, unfortunately.

Re: DISCUSSION

[rugpull]

Yeah. So for us we should pick someone's flower every round.

Re: DISCUSSION

[rugpull]

S'kinda all a gamble.

Re: DISCUSSION

[identitypolitics]

And hopefully, it'll work out so that we can protect someone different every round without worrying about the previous ones.