03. INFO- HANASOU

Sometimes, when someone dies with a great unfulfilled desire, they'll come back 3 days after being interred in the earth (funeral, being dropped in a ditch, etc- doesn't matter if there were proper rites or not) with a body formed of earth and plants. Without outside (magical, supernatural, up to you) intervention, they will return to the earth upon and only when their regret is fulfilled or their body expires.

The process of revival requires a land burial/contact with earth, so sea burials/cremation jars/etc cannot create hanahakisou. However, a person whose ashes were then scattered on/buried in the earth can; the same goes for someone who ended up in multiple pieces... doesn't matter as long they're buried in earth and mostly in the same location.

Hanahakisou don't have to be human. Death hears all equally; as long as the conditions are met, any living creature can be reanimated as one. In the case of animals, they're returned with somewhat higher intelligence, though the amount varies.

Due to this, hanahakisou can appear with a wide range of features- animal features and wings present before death will remain on the earthen body. Any magic or unique abilities (such as transformation; i.e. werecreatures) once tied to their physical identity, however, are eclipsed by their new nature.

Hanahakisou are created wrapped in a shroud. It's the symbol of their death and of their new life; it is their personal memento mori. 

This can manifest in many ways- be it just a normal cloth wrap, cloak; mantle; shawl... any kind of outerwear- and is covered with live plants. If present, shroud flowers will go through cycles of bloom and decay. The shroud and its plants may resemble something they were buried in, or something personally or culturally relevant- or it may not. Imagination and the nature of the individual's regret often also influence the shroud and its plants.

Shrouds are unique to the individual (very similar/identical shrouds are possible, just very unlikely- think about it like human fingerprints) and when a hanahakisou's time is up, the empty shroud and a pile of ash will be all that remains. If its owner expired, the shroud's plants will wilt and die unless preserved magically, but if they passed on after fulfilling their wish, the shroud will bloom all at once.

Regardless of how much of their natural 'lifespan' remains, resolving the regret that bound them to the living world will always result in their passing.

The flower shroud can be artificially modified, but inflicting any damage on a shroud will cause its owner extreme discomfort at best; they'll feel the cutting/sewing themselves at worst. It also can't be made into anything larger than its original size, though they're usually quite large to begin with. A shroud will not accept grafts of any material other than itself, not even other shrouds. Attached decorations are fine, though- and many opt to do so in hopes of feeling less... dead. It feels similar to tattooing or piercing.

Their revived bodies are more or less identical to whatever they'd been before, but don't need to eat food or sleep, and don't produce waste. NSFW - yes, these vamps have boner rights, though they can't reproduce as anything that comes out/is inside is nonliving/sterile),

In fact... hanahakisou take no benefits from regular food. As creatures of "life without rebirth", to sustain themselves they need to consume the life essence that permeates all living beings. 'Life' tastes really good- and everything else will taste like ash. Typical food tends to be dead and therefore useless to a hanahakisou; it'll just dissolve into the earth that comprises their bodies to little effect. Despite being delicious, over-consumption of life can hasten their expiration (as well as potentially make them a target)- as technically dead things, it's also deadly to them. Refer also: medicine and poison only differ by dosage. NSFW - Not sure if semen counts. Up to you..?

Hanahakisou have an extremely efficient, powerful pseudo-metabolism- the supernatural forces holding them together also catalyze anything that goes in. Because of this, even tiny sips of the living 'essence' permeating live bodies; flowing blood in trace amounts is equivalent to a whole meal. Though some feel disgust or guilt about their new biology, just barely eating isn't any easier on them than on a living being... starvation will drive them mad with pain and need until the thirst is quenched. But since it can't (directly) kill them, starvation can be- and often is- used as a cruel torture.

Most hanahakisou enjoy sunbathing due to their biology. Their shroud might even blossom a little with enough photosynthesis! ...but will quickly revert once out of the sun.

If injured, they'll 'bleed' normally at first. But instead of coagulating (their blood isn't really 'living' nor actual 'blood' so it can't clot- in all things, they're a unnatural imitation of life; blood included), the wound will instead grow semi/optionally-permanent flowers/plants. They don't really look like humans on the inside to me, but it's up to you how plantgore you want yours to be- though all recordkeeping refs/MYOs submitted for approval must be TH-rated mild gore at most.

When a hanahakisou has been around for too long, they'll start to fall apart. Perhaps they'll bleed flower petals; perhaps their skin will begin to petrify. The body will no longer move as they wish- old age is never easy, even for a ghoul. The earthen body starts to decay and flowers/plants will grow to 'replace' lost parts (i.e. an empty eye socket may grow flowers; parts of a lost limb may seal up with vines or moss). Anything that permanently detaches from their body will quickly turn to ash unless magically preserved. They can feel pain (and every other sensory factor), but the decay process doesn't hurt since nerves and sensation dull rapidly on the affected regions.

A hanahakisou's decay is inevitable and incurable. It signals the approach of their second chance's deadline; Mora will soon come to collect. At this stage, it's the point of no return and not even drinking gallons of blood or eating live flesh can help them. Things like suffering significant injury, starving themselves, emotional/mental instability and such expedites the decay process substantially; energy spent returning to equilibrium can never be restored. Mental state and rate of decay are something of a causal loop.

However, under ideal conditions, a hanahakisou's natural 'lifespan' may span multiple centuries.