Something in the air...

[polymods]

✖ 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

Comments

[kyley_b]

David's finally hit upon something that genuinely horrifies Kyle; he can't imagine living knowing he was missing knowledge of his family. He stares at David with eyes shiny with shock.

"That's horrible."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Yeah," David agreed, his voice soft. "I've... I heard some people talking about an oracle. I think I'm going to ask if there's a way to regain what they took."

He wants to remember his sister.

"My friends, they only had a handful of memories of her, and knowing of her makes it easy to find the gaps she should fit into. But I don't know her."

[kyley_b]

Kyle nods immediately. "Dude, yes. You should. That's... Dude. I'm so sorry."

He finishes the last of the washing and just watches his wet hands for a moment. "If you even think it has a chance of working, yeah. Do it."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I don't," David admitted. "I don't think it has a chance. But I have to try anyway. It's family, and if I can never go home again, I don't want to live my life without having known her."

It hurts to admit that, to let someone know he was so messed up by the other world.

[kyley_b]

Kyle wipes his hands off on a rag and looks at David with naked sympathy. "Dude, I kinda wanna offer you a hug," he admits. He doesn't know all the ins and outs of where David came from, but he understands the importance of family. That much, he figures, spans realities.

[helpdesk_hero]

"Offer away," David suggested as he got to his feet. Either he'd take it or they would start walking. Either way he'd need to be ready to move.

[kyley_b]

Kyle opens his arms. "I give good bro hugs," he assures him. "It's not a gay thing or whatever."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Okay, if you try and no homo me over a hug offered in comfort, I'm going to think you are gayer than Elton John and trying to get into my pants while you're at it. Now stop talking."

Just hug him you disaster. He gets that it's platonic.

[kyley_b]

That gets Kyle to blush and laugh shortly. He pulls David into a hug, which is indeed a good one complete with soothing back rubs. Kyle's got years of experience being a comfort hugger.

[helpdesk_hero]

Okay, that is a comforting hug. Like, a really good one, almost the one David would give. For now, though, he just leaned into it, and pretended the arms around him were more familiar.

"Thanks."

[kyley_b]

"No problem, dude," Kyle says. He lets go and looks at David's face with open concern.

"I'm real sorry you got stuck here."

[helpdesk_hero]

"It's fine," David tries to dismiss Because what else is he going to do. "I'm fine. It's... I've dealt with it for a while now. And it's just a memory thing."

It's still better than other stuff.

[kyley_b]

"Yeah, okay." He doesn't buy it one bit, but there's no point in arguing.

"Hey. We should go look at plants and you can tell me about some GOOD shit."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Good shit, huh? What qualifies as good, Kyle? You're gonna have to enlighten me here."

He offers a smile, trying to keep himself as calm as he can.

[kyley_b]

"Well, I mean. You were a famous person. Surely you got some cool swag out of that, or something."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Well, there was a time when a sex tape from another universe got published of me and my best friend," David offers. That wasn't really the BEST story but it was a story.

[kyley_b]

Kyle chokes on air. "Wow," he manages after some sputtering and coughing. "I. Wow. Was it any good? Or just really boring standard shitty sex tape?"

[helpdesk_hero]

See, it's a story, and one Kyle is apparently interested in.

"He's a biokinetic. His powers can heal or alter the body. Including holding someone at arousal for an impossibly long time. I'm Psychomimetric, and have the skills of many, many people. It was worth seeing. The gossip columns definitely wrote me up as interfering in a relaitonship though."

[kyley_b]

The best response to that mental picture is to blush furiously, clearly. Kyle's eventual reply is, again, "Wow."

He shakes his head. "But you totally weren't, right?"

[helpdesk_hero]

"No. We had been together once in the alternate reality that had come from. And I learned later that it was... Well, it was a really questionable situation. Because it wasn't really a sex tape. It was a full VR experience, all on senses."

So it was very, very awkward.

[kyley_b]

"Oh. Kay."

Extremely awkward. Kyle looks around, gesturing for David to come walk with him. The flowers are pretty to look at, sort of soothing. "And that sort of thing just happened to you guys on the regular."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Not on the regular. But there was the alternate world, after that, where our personalities were sort of overridden and I was the lover to both of them," David answered with a shrug. "Trust me, Flupper was not the weirdest shit I've dealt with."

[kyley_b]

"Okay, so, and I say this really nicely dude, but... Your love life is sort of blursed."

Outside he inhales deeply. No matter what else, this place really is calming. "I've seen weirder than Flupper," he admits. "But he was after you. Maybe you just have weird cosmic sex vibes that screw you over."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Dude, it's a SERIOUS mess, you don't even know the half of it. Literally."

Oh god, no, there are no weird cosmic sex vibes. Please don't.

"I'm not a cosmic sex icon or more poeple would be jumping me regularly."

[kyley_b]

Kyle stops and looks at David, eyebrows raised. "I mean. You only just got here," he points out. Then he frowns.

"Wait a second. You really DON'T know you're hot. Oh my fucking GOD!" This last is uttered as he tosses his hands up and buries them in his hair, tugging. "Uggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you're just like my friend Carter! 'Oh, I'm built like a brick shithouse but I'm not sexyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.'"