polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-07-02 03:00 pm

Something in the air...

POLYMYTHOS: THE ISLE THAT BLOOMS

The Isle That Blooms


Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
This is the first isle you can smell before you see it rising on the island. It starts with the faint hint of growing things that blossoms into a floral scent that teases you with the combination of familiarity and the unknown. The next breeze seems to carry you closer even as it coats everything in a delicate wash of golden pollen that only the Ferryman seems to be able to avoid.

Do you like your lips to taste the gritty sweetness? Or are you already starting to sniffle? Either way, the island starts as a smudge then turns into a riot of color as it reveals itself.

The Isle that Blooms lives up to its name as flowers vie in a silent war of roots and strangling vines to cover every viable surface with sprays of color and vibrant pulsing life. There are signs of human life in the form of a village built on stilts and full of little anachronisms like a glowing neon sign that hint that the island sees a large number of Travelers come through this place.

And who wouldn’t be drawn to the abundant flora, brightly painted houses, and lively locals?

Everyone seems to be glowing with health as the locals gather near the dock to welcome the latest set of tourists. They come with arms full of flower wreaths and friendly smiles, clearly in control of their faculties and interested in trade. Their clothing is as bright as the paintings on their buildings, as the flowers that surround them, and perfect for the warmth of the day.

Do you notice, though, the absence of any babies or prepubescent children? Or that while there are old people, no one shows signs of the infirmities that come with age? It might be easy to miss, especially as the Isle starts to affect you, too.

The ache in your back from that terrible fall, the craving for that next drink, the trauma that’s too close to the surface, all the petty hurts the build up in a lifetime start to fade as you, too, start to bloom.

Notes:
1. NO GUNS are allowed on this island. The Ferryman will keep them safe for you.

2. These residents of the island are normal humans. Killing them is possible and may affect the color of your Scrywatch.

3. Any type of flower could exist on the island, blooming somewhere, regardless of its real world requirements. Rare ones are difficult to find and magical ones need a check in with the mods.

4. There is nothing preadolescent of any animal species on the entire island, including insects.

5. The island’s ability leaves people as the healthiest, most energetic version of their current selves. Examples: A blind person in otherwise good mental and emotional health would notice minimal changes. A person with a disorder would find themselves having a string of good days. A 50 year old probably hasn’t felt this good since their thirties.



Ⅱ. THE TEMPLE
Orchids in shades of yellow and pink so bright they glow have been trained to grow along the walkways and bridges of the elevated village to guide Travelers to this island’s Temple. The building stands alone at the edge of the Village, extending out in the ocean of flowers that fill most of the isle.


The temple is made of simple stout wood that has been carved and painted in patterns ornate and lovely in a way that speaks of hundreds of hours of creation and maintenance. The same orchids that guided you here gild building and act as camouflage the sleeping porches ring the outside. They are kept private and safe from insects by fine netting, and you will find the bedding soft and fine.

This Temple’s Guardians are a pair of lazing cats with strange spots and scaly wings that regard you with affectionate disinterest as you explore the facilities. There are toilets and sinks, but no baths or showers. The pantries are stocked with edible flowers and fresh fish and the space and tools to cook. If you are brave enough, the Guardians will probably give you practical advice on how to use those supplies. There are new clothes and sandals better suited to the heat, and even practical machetes.

Notes:
1. The Main Temple is still open to those who are brand new to PM.

2. There are paints and carving tools if you want to add to the temple decorations. (Maybe mention it during the Oracle Event if you do.)

3. All fabric items are ridiculously bright and vaguely tie dyed.

4. The marker orchids have a distinctly strong smell of vanilla with a hint of lime.



Ⅲ. THE LOTUS BATHS
CW: fantasy setting drugs.
There’s only so long a person can stand to be covered in pollen, and when you ask the locals, they grin. Oh, you want a bath? There’s a path back to the ground and through the tall flowers to a natural spring. Make sure to head out early, they warn.

It’s always better to be in the village before nightfall, and you are clearly going to take a while.

As you walk the winding path to the baths, the everpresent flowers seem to thin out and even disappear as ground warms and rock rises from rich soil. You can smell the mineral richness of the bright blue pools that form waterfalls over a series of rising ledges. There is life, though, even here, in the form of delicate lily pads that float in rafts around vivid lotus flowers.

If you test the water, you’ll find it’s warm enough to melt the knots out of muscles and make it easy to understand why the few bathers seem to be so languid and relaxed. If you sink all the way in, well, not only will you manage to get clean, but you might find yourself mellowing out even more. So mellow you’ll hardly notice when the pleasant hallucinations start.

You’ll find yourself drawn into visions of your most private joys and of the pleasures you keep to yourself. Maybe it’s a matter of shame or maybe it’s because they’re too precious. There’s one small problem, though. If someone else gets in the same pool, not only will they start to share the same vision, but you’ll start to see theirs too.

Will the fantasies become a nightmare or will you manage to navigate them together? Will you ever be able to look at each other the same way again?
Notes:
1. The hallucinations will end when you leave the water, but only once you and your bathing partner are both out.

2. The flowers are magical and will affect everyone, even robots or super powered people.



Ⅳ. NIGHTBLOOMING
CW: abduction, violence.
You are warned to stay in the elevated village at night. The flower fields are safe enough during the day, but things happen at night. It’s hard to imagine during the day when stingless bees that glitter in jewel colors bumble along and hummingbirds the size of chihuahuas feed from the abundant flowers while squeaking their strong opinions at each other.

But as the moon rises, and most of the flowers close, there’s rustling sounds that make it clear that there are big things moving through that growth. Things that make the hair rise up on the back of a person’s neck. It would take a big prize to make it worth finding out what makes those sounds. A big prize or a reason to face your fears.

There’s a scream in the night. You can ignore it, of course. Not everyone is meant to run towards the scream. It might not even change the color of your ScryWatch.

But if you go to the source of the sound you’ll find a mother weeping openly while other locals gather around to comfort her. It seems her teenager decided that the best way to woo their lover was with glowing flowers that only open under a full moon. The teen has been gone for hours, and the grim expressions on the people around you say his chances aren’t good.

You have a choice to make. Will you go into the dark to face the unknown dangers? Will you offer some other form of comfort? Or will you go back to hide in the safety of the Temple?

Notes:
1. The danger in the flowers consists of six foot tall nocturnal orchid mantises who have the teen pinned in a tree. They are currently singing a human language lullaby to the kid to get them to go to sleep and fall out of the tree.

2. The mantises have a hive mind and will retreat if one of their number is killed, but can also be talked to and negotiated with. They will be willing to trade a regular supply of fish for no longer hunting people.



Ⅴ. SPECIAL EVENT: THE FLOWER ORACLE
In the center of the village, there is a giant flower bud that is bigger than a man is tall. The villagers tell you that you are lucky. You will be here when the Flower Oracle blooms. You will have a chance to speak directly to the Ancient One through the Oracle, and She even answers. All it takes is a little sacrifice.

Notes:
1. During the week of July 12-18, there will be a special event post where characters can choose to interact with the Flower Oracle for a chance to be rewarded, get an answer, get silence, or get punished by the Ancient.

2. Any starter posted during this window will be honored, specifics to come.

3. This event is optional!

Bonus: music to watch the flowers bloom to.


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

necrosavior: (Default)

II. The Temple

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-07-12 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
Gideon comes following her nose. It smells like food, made by someone who knows what most of the food here is. She grins at the person cooking. They're cooking a more than one persons worth of food there, even if the one person were her. "Beautiful," Gideon declares at the food. "It's really for... anyone?" She wonders if she could get Harrow to eat some of it.
bookerlesigh: (considering)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-07-13 12:26 am (UTC)(link)

There's some sort of disc-shaped fish with fins entirely too long for a normal creature, and fruit that looks like flower blossoms; Booker gravitates towards the fish, here, and he's not entirely sure why.

"Help yourself," he answers, busy at the counter with a bowl that's he's whisking at with a fork. He's found himself getting carried away, lately, here, and he's not sure what it stems from, but he doesn't mind meeting the company it brings. "I'm almost done the sauce, if you can wait."

There's something about her too - he thought he knew most of the weirdos like him, here. "We haven't met, yeah?"

necrosavior: (clothes; leather jacket)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-07-13 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
Gideon sits because being given food is a strong reason to sit for a meal wherever that may be. This person even has more than bones and ligaments, which she thinks is a step up from the last place with she ate real food. No offense to the now fully dead dead. She waits for the sauce.

"No, not yet," Gideon says. If she knew they cooked food, she definitely would have gone out of her way to meet them earlier. "You could say I'm new. I was briefly on a different island before joining everyone in the boats and here. I missed whatever action happened before that." She's not sure how much happened, besides Harrow meeting and continuing to interact with multiple people. That's an event.
bookerlesigh: (face)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-07-13 01:30 am (UTC)(link)

Booker wouldn't consider himself that much of an upgrade from bones and ligaments, though he'd rather be fully fleshed than not, if he was destined to be around for well past his welcome in life.

With a few sprinkles of bitter crushed petals, and a squeeze of a cheeto-like thumb of plant, Booker brings over the bowl and drizzles it over the fish.

"Wasn't much excitement, truth be told. Weird party, creepy locked theatre, the beach was kind of a mess, and the speakeasy got raided way too often, but other than that... was fine." Just an equally bizarre and entirely different end of the spectrum experience that they were getting here. "Annoying they can just take us like that." He would have gladly stayed on that beach for a long time still.

Booker piles his plate with some food, uncorks a bottle of cheap, sweet, sweet wine he'd procured from the dragonfly bar. "Yeah?" he asks, hovering the bottle over the glass near her.

necrosavior: (profile; gymrat)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-07-13 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
Whatever this food is, Gideon's sure she hasn't eaten it before. The water protein is similar enough, sure. Neither this place nor Canaan House seemed normal (in a different way to the way the Ninth House isn't normal... but Gideon's not the expert on that). This island is alive and full of life to the point it's almost overwhelming. She takes a bite and listens, not knowing what half the stuff meant (or even if she gets the words what it means happened). "So is weird creepy messy raided stuff your style?" she asks. It's odd to be so relaxed, but otherwise this place doesn't seem bad. There's always some threat to life (for normal people) or limb.

She taps her fork against the plate. "That is shit," Gideon agrees. Even though she has liked both islands (clothes! food! people generally not being eviscerated!), it's an itch that gets under her skin. "This island is nice, don't get me wrong. It'd be nicer if I'd gotten a brochure and chosen it."
bookerlesigh: (booker happy)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-07-19 01:19 am (UTC)(link)

Booker pours the wine into her glass, figuring he can always finish it.

Her question gets a genuine huff of laughter out of him, and he surprises himself with the ease and geniality of it. "Yeah. I guess you could say that. Since before I got here, even. Weird, creepy, messy and raided. Sums it up pretty well."

Booker nods in agreement, and the resentment at being stuck here feels half-hearted at best. "So what was your old place like?" he asks as he digs in.

necrosavior: (Default)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-07-19 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
There's the Nine Houses spirit. Gideon would say Ninth House, but it's too small for that. Gideon would recognize him. She runs through what she knows of each house. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth make the most sense. Eighth wouldn't call it creepy or messy or probably even weird. Second, Third, and Seventh, Gideon's never seen but don't fit as well. "Here's to you finding something that animates your bones," Gideon jokes easily. She's not sure good normal no flip over and reveal the massive trauma places exist. If so, it's this island. She's not worried about it. If it happens, it happens.

Gideon chews on her cheek. What is her old place? The Ninth House where she spent the first eighteen years of her life? Canaan House the last place she walked and talked and fought with a sword in her own body? The Mithraeum where she most recently was but spent most of the time shoved down a well in someone else's head? Well, the good news is they all have some elements in common. "Haunted, full of bones/skeletons, small number of people, and generally lacking in the food department," Gideon says, "Much better at having swords and people to duel or fight them with than here." She finds and holds up her sad little machete that couldn't even pretend to be a short sword.
bookerlesigh: (considering)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-07-30 02:57 am (UTC)(link)

That's... not something Booker thinks he's ever toasted to before, but, whatever. He was embracing the weirdness and the utter inexplicably of all this, so he's going to go with it. "Animated bones," he echoes, and he drains a good portion of his glass, sighing contently. Sweet as all hell, but was still booze, and it still filled that craving.

The bones comment makes a little more sense, though Booker can't imagine the world she's describing. "Ah." The comfort in weapons Booker can understand, the safety and familiarity they can bring. Like safety blankets for murderers, which he assumes given her comment, she is. To some extent. "You like guns, too?"

necrosavior: (clothes; leather jacket)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-07-31 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Gideon drinks a decent swallow of the wine. It tastes faintly like odd family dinners, the ones where she was mostly a forgotten echo in Harrow's head. That's probably how she got started, per awkward pre-murder confessions. It's fitting.

She looks over at him, pausing with her fork resting on the edge of her plate with a piece of water protein. Those old things? That's what some of the weapons in the lab she and Harrow opened together were. It's the kind of weapon her dead mom used to interrupt Mercymorn from killing her and/or to half heartedly try to kill the lyctor. She hasn't shot anyone, but Gideon doesn't think it would feel anything like using her sword. "No," Gideon says. "I see how they're useful," for attacking necromancers from a safer distance, "but give me my two hander any day." She reconsiders him. Blood of Eden? "You?"
bookerlesigh: (Default)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-08-01 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)

"What kind of two hander?" Booker's familiar with a general array of weapons, but there's nothing that comes to mind immediately at the reference.

Booker shrugs; he wouldn't say he liked guns, not like some people liked guns, but he prefers them over swords and battle axes. "They're a means to an end. I have pretty good practice with them, but I'm not a fanatic." The only reason he needs them, after all, is to protect himself and kill.

necrosavior: (profile; gymrat)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-08-01 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"Standard infantry issue," Gideon shrugs. Standard Ninth House at least. She's not sure about the rest of the houses. Nothing feels like having her sword in her hands. It's one of a kind. A different category than anything else. That sense of everything is right so long as she has her sword, even in the midst of nothing the fuck being all right, isn't something she wants to share with almost anyone. Gideon would say anyone, but Harrow already knows. That's okay, somehow.

She makes a face at means to an end. The end is the point, she knows, in warfare and murder and all that fuckery. Gideon hasn't (really) killed anyone. She set up the final blow, died so Harrow could win. Does that count? "Is that even a fight at that point?" Gideon asks. She's never heard of or read about real or fictional battles with fucktons of guns. Point is, she returns to eating the food. It tastes good.
bookerlesigh: (booker happy)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-08-01 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)

Her answer isn't helpful in the least, but he's not nosy or so inclined enough to ask for clarification. So he just smiles at himself, amused by the non-answer, wondering if she thinks he's from wherever she's come from.

Booker's been here long enough to realize that they almost all come from different worlds, and therefore have different frames of references and context. He has no intention of digging into it intentionally, or making it a Thing.

"Hopefully you kill the other side before they see you coming; so you can avoid the fight," he answers idly, swallowing down that god-awful thought with some wine ( it sounds so much worse, so callous, outloud. no wonder his watch gleams at him in that baleful orange ). "But usually it's not that easy."

necrosavior: (Default)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-08-02 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Gideon sighs a tired sigh. The cost of free delicious food it seems is that so many people want to murder (or slaughter, she supposes, in this case) other people. Or don't care if the murder slaughters other people. It's the same kind of idea because if someone powerful enough to be called God sees it coming, it probably will plateau at attempted murder. She's not sure who got closest and not sure that matters.

Fighting is much simpler against space wasps. Getting a thumb bit off, Harrow not having done a single pushup, all looks a lot better since the enemy wasn't one with moral qualms. "When the sides are more than one on one, I don't think there's such a thing as easy," Gideon says.
bookerlesigh: (considering)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-08-05 04:27 am (UTC)(link)

Booker's not sure what the fighting is for or what it means anymore, just that it's so much simpler to put your trust in someone and shoot when they say shoot. Put your trust in the wrong sort of person though...

Questions of morality were for his much better versed counterparts to argue and dictate, and he doesn't have the energy to do more than sit back.

"Depends who that one person is, doesn't it?"

necrosavior: (profile; shades)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-08-07 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
Gideon shrugs. "End of the day I fight for people," she says, "so the choice is easy even if the fight isn't." That's something she can sleep easy about. She knows there's a whole ass dumb war (it's hard for it not to seem dumb when one of her parents leads/led each side). People are people, everywhere.

She slurps up more of the fish and sauce, which makes her feel kind again toward her company. "Life gets more complicated that. I'm not that dumb, but if you remember people are people, that they're what matters, then even after ten thousand years you shouldn't be doing a shit ass job of it." She's not sure if anyone got that.
bookerlesigh: (considering)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-08-08 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)

"Who else would you be fighting for?" People were really good at fighting themselves, and while he does know he usually tries to fight for the people who aren't being exploited or sacrificed... at the end of the day, even the evil twats were people too.

"I can tell you that people were still fighting people, even way back then." Probably since people had become people.

necrosavior: (profile; shades zoom in)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-08-08 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Gideon's not sure she gets the question. Nor has she had much of a chance to discuss the issue with anyone. Not much philosophy in her classes or conversations. "Dead people?" Gideon shrugs. "That's some people's answers at least. Don't get me wrong, fuck murder. It can be taken too far. Killing a billion people as the cost of revenge doesn't make sense." Sure, revenge gets tricky when aimed toward someone keeping a whole civilization alive. Love him, hate him, it's hard to get around that.

She sighs. "Yeah, I believe you," Gideon says. "I don't know. It was the only way out I knew of, growing up. The only way out of that dying house. Didn't happen. Weird ass shit happened instead, and what seemed simple, the other side thought we should all be dead because ooooooooooh necromancy, isn't. It's a bunch of fucked up people shit. Like the fact people've been killing each other is enough to keep it going. More and more dead people." She doesn't know what he learned growing up, what people are taught on other houses much less Blood of Eden and/or whatever other groups of people are out there.
bookerlesigh: (hmm)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-08-09 04:40 am (UTC)(link)

There's... a lot to unpack there, and Booker abandons his food for the time being, watching her closely now. He starts with, "Necromancy. You, do, necromancy? Reanimate bodies," he adds, just so they're on the same page.

Maybe that's why she has a big sword. Though the surge of zombie media informs that idea; slicing would work better on dead people than peppering them with tiny bullets. If that's what they were in fact talking about, here.

... does that make him, with his immortal life, a zombie? A zombie with a heartbeat.

"Where I'm from... dead people tend to stay dead." Present company excluded, of course.

Edited 2021-08-10 03:20 (UTC)
necrosavior: (action; flex (killing it))

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-08-10 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Her eyebrows shoot up behind her glasses, and Gideon waves her fork back and forth. She chews her food and lets him finish. "I'm not a necromancer," Gideon says, "My mom's skeleton did work the snow leek fields at some point. Skeletons and bone constructs are things, the things I'm most used to. Wards, revenants, siphoning... It's not just corpse recycling."

She watches him, trying to read his reaction. Obviously, Blood of Eden thinks the Nine Houses are shit, but there's other people out there. She doesn't know the kind of reputation either group has or how much people know. Her life isn't exactly average or representative of most people. "Generally, dead people tend to stay dead," Gideon says, "The Resurrection was a major one off. Revenants come from dead spirits, and constructs from dead bodies. Most people, even most necromancers, tend to stay dead. Once they're dead." She's not sure if 'God' actually died or not. He definitely didn't stay dead, if he did. Lyctors and regular necromancers to a lesser degree can recover from would otherwise be a death sentence shit.
bookerlesigh: (pensive)

[personal profile] bookerlesigh 2021-08-16 03:59 am (UTC)(link)

The split second of relief that she's not a necromancer ( never mind that she could be lying about that ) is short-lived. Skeletons, bone constructs, corpse recycling...

Booker blinks at the flood of brand new things to unpack. She looks completely convinced of herself as well, no bullshitting or bluffing. Booker's good at cards, is pretty good at reading people, and so either wherever she's from is completely fucked up, or she's just... delusional.

Given their current predicament trapped on an island, delusional isn't his first choice. Thankfully, he has a pretty good poker face, so he nods along, downing the rest of his drink and refilling it, only vaguely bemused.

"So... what are you then?"

necrosavior: (Default)

[personal profile] necrosavior 2021-08-17 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
Gideon looks at him and blinks. Nothing in any of that says anything's special with her. Because what's special about her isn't a what. With no other information, she's assuming her dad's why she lived past age one. The rest, what matters, is all her. "A person," Gideon says. "You could say swordsman or cavalier. If you need magic done, look to someone else. Only magic I do is fight shit really good."

It is a fair question, after all she said. Gideon shrugs. "I don't know. What are you?" How do most people answer that question?