Yu

**Yu** is the protagonist of *Afterplace*. They are the character that players control.

## Appearance

Yu is a human with pink hair and dark green eyes. They hold a sword as their weapon. Many others describe Yu as unfazed during fights.

Yu wears a red top and blue pants. When they were with Alice, Yu wore a grey top and dark pants.

## Story

### Beginning

Yu is an immortal who originally resided in the Main World. For thousands of years, they were all alone. They created a Computer that had the ability to pull objects and people from other worlds.

Alice was the first person to be pulled in. Yu, Alice, and the Computer's remote unit had a lot of fun together, until Alice was killed by a Big Sword they pulled into the world.

Yu sorrowed and buried Alice. They then ripped the remote unit's teleporter and embarked on a journey to other worlds to escape the unbearable loneliness without informing the Computer, which caused the Computer to pull a lot of different people from different worlds and trapped them on the Main World island.

### During the story of *Afterplace*

Yu hears Alice's calling and comes back to the Main World. From here, players can control Yu to do a lot of activities, including befriending with Clover, Minno, and Joxxi. Interacting with them will trigger different plots.

* Activities that will trigger Clover plots: Yu may search and find up to five different cassettes, which reveal Yu's life before *Afterplace*.
* Activities that will trigger Minno plots: Yu may visit the Ruins, the Library, and the Cliff for a light bulb, a map of the Dark Woods and armor charms, respectively, as suggested by Minno.
* Activities that will trigger Joxxi plots: Yu can help them grow out of their past self and become the new mayor of Rook.

These are not mandatory for the story to progress, but they influence the story endings and get Yu more well-prepared for subsequent battles. The player has the option to choose a new name, or just go with "Yu".

Yu heads into the Dark Woods, reaches the Big Sword, and is directed by Id to talk to the Computer. The Computer is initially delighted to see Yu returns, but after Yu orders it to send everyone home, it gets irritated. Yu fights with the Computer and wins, but this also drops the Big Sword and breaks the world barrier.

Yu proceeds to traverse through worlds to fight Id in his Monster World and defeats Id.

### Endings

Depending on whether Yu befriends with Clover, Minno, and Joxxi before fighting the Computer, there are two endings in general:

* Yu walks away from the battle field alone. The Computer asks to be taken, but Yu ignores the request. This is considered the bad ending. A soundtrack titled *It's Never The End* will be played during the end credit.
* Yu is rescued by their friends, who also seal the door to the Monster World together with Concerned Traveler and Caravaner upon returning to the Main World. Yu agrees to not leave their friends again.
	+ The ending involving all three of Clover, Minno, and Joxxi is considered the best ending. A soundtrack titled *It's The End* will be played. Players will also see end credits with images showing town residents building back their town together per Minno's suggestion, the Computer resting on a grassland, Clover briefly reuniting with Alice, and Gorgax reading books to children.

## Deaths and Nightmares

As an immortal, Yu never truly dies but only respawns at a fixed location. According to Minno, when Yu "dies", Yu will "explode into smoke". Minno finds it "Soooooo coool" seeing Yu returns from death. Joxxi also reports Yu goes "puuuff" and disappears.

The first few times Yu dies, Yu revives and wakes up from nightmares. These nightmares are meant to be scary and reveal how Yu felt in the past.

1. Yu sees a younger Yu, bored all day and night, sitting on a cliff all by themselves. The younger Yu starts to build a computer.
2. Yu sees a younger Yu, talking to the Computer in a cave and having an existential crisis.
3. Yu is chased after by a monster.
4. Alice was enticed by Yu's voice and entered a door.

Additionally, if Yu dies during the fight with Clover, Yu will wake up in a cage and be rescued by the bridge troll. If Yu dies in the Monster World, there will be an additional cut scene about Alice waiting to reunite with Yu in the void. Alice also mentions that every time Yu dies, they will show up briefly in the void before reviving. Yu cannot "die" during the fight at Fort Joxxi, but simply passes out.

These are the only "plots" that will be missed if the player turns on the in-game "invincibility toggle".

## Quotes

During one of the nightmares after death. In the cave.

* There's no one here. I am talking to myself. I wrote these words. They mean nothing. How do I know them? How did I get here? Who am I? Why am I alive?

During one of the nightmares after death. Alice's POV.

* Would you like to go on an adventure?
* Just a little further.
* You will be free.
* You can escape.
* Welcome home.

When with Alice.

* I've never wanted anything more in my life.

Cassette #75.

* Note to self: inner cave is at capacity. There is no more room for parts. In orderto improve machine, a new space will be needed. Recommend: decommission this unit, build a new unit from scratch. Consider: cave near center of island.

Cassette #318.

* Hi Alice. It's u... User0. I know you'll never be able to listen to this. But I'm sorry. We should have been more careful with you. We should have stopped pulling new things. We should have... It's no use thinking about it now... I miss you. So much. And I can't stay here another thousand years. Alone... Ever since we pulled the sword... something's changed. There are cracks now. Cracks that lead to other places... I'm going to go through one. I haven't told the machine. I don't think it will take it well... I'm not good with conflict. But I have to see what's out there. I can't live in my own little world anymore. It's not enough. And maybe, just maybe, somewhere out there, I will find you...

## Trivia

* One of the title screens features Yu as a flower bud.

## Notes

1. ↑ Inferred from the fact that Yu has forgotten how they come to exist. According to the book *Immortals* in the library, forgetfulness is a trait of immortals who have lived a few thousand years.
2. ↑ To trigger endings with Clover, only the first four cassettes are needed. The fifth one, made by Id, is only obtainable at the Dark Woods entrance if Yu has played the other four in the cassettes room but hasn't seen the angry clover yet.