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polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-08-02 02:05 pm

Eternal Summer

POLYMYTHOS: THE ISLE THAT BLOOMS

The Isle That Blooms


Ⅰ. ALWAYS BLOOMING, NEVER HARVEST
July flowers bring, well, August flowers.

Another month has come and gone, and you may have noticed things haven’t changed much. Everything is still beautiful. There are still no signs of babies or prepubescent children or young animals.

In fact, if you’re paying close enough attention, you may have noticed there are no fruits or grains or vegetables that have come from the constant riot of color and pollen. Only flowers, always flowers.

You still have access to the city’s temple and the baths. The High Temple’s doors are open to everyone.

Some of you may still be dealing with the unpleasant side effects of the Ancient’s now dead and gone Flower Oracle, but it should wind down before the end of the month. Or maybe you already faced your demons.

Hiding out in the Temples for the rest of the month is always an option, but be careful not to get too stagnant. It would be a shame if your ScryWatch stays stuck on the same color forever because you, too, decided to stop growing.



Ⅱ. FLOWER MARKET FESTIVAL
CW: Optional Alcohol/Drug Consumption.
You didn’t think the celebrations would be over just because the Flower Oracle came and went, did you? There’s always a new event, a new thing to do, a new way to make some benefit off the Travelers who pass in and out of the Isle looking to take something away from this place.

This month it’s the Flower Market!

During the days, stalls bloom beneath the elevated buildings and in the empty center where the Flower Oracle once stood. There are flowers, of course, in buckets, arrangements, wreaths, crowns, growing in tiny little pots, made into cakes, salsas, and snacks! Artists will find pigments, paints, inks, dyes, and papers. There are perfumes, lotions, oils, soaps, and more. Spices and herbs are abundant; you’ve certainly never seen saffron this cheap. If you haven’t gotten enough tie-dye from the temple, you’ll find beautiful batik clothing, purses, and even jewelry. Everything is bright, everything is for sale.

At night, the stalls are all folded away and instruments come out. Little stalls sell flowery alcoholic drinks and did you know or remember that cannabis is a flowering plant? The locals certainly remembered to make the edibles. Careful, though, drink or imbibe and you’ll find yourself talking about the things you need that you cannot buy. The things you are aching for.

And you won’t stop until someone acknowledges it.

Notes:
1. If you want it and it’s made of flowers, it’s here. No drugs or alcohol during daylight hours.

2. The Temple gives a small amount of spending money daily. Save up and get fancy, or buy a little bit of everything.

3. There is a tiny group of unknown Travelers that show up for the market. They don’t seem to have access to the same network as PCs, but their watches flash green, blue, or purple. They seem to be avoiding PC Travelers and disappear into parts of the Temples that don’t seem to be open to our group yet whenever they get too close.



Ⅲ. POISON GARDEN
CW: Poisons, narcotics, ect.
As you wander the now familiar village, you will notice a new pathway has opened at the edge of the village. It leads to an area with a high stone fence and a heavy gate. A skull and crossbones are painted on the gate in bright white paint, but there’s nothing actually stopping you from opening the gate and walking in.

The garden is beautiful, but surprisingly formal after the chaotic abundance of the rest of the Isle. The paths are wide and there’s space between the plants. Each one is meticulously labeled with a stake in the ground.

Do you read the labels? How long does it take you to realize everything in the garden is toxic or poisonous? There are so many options from hemlock and oleander to aconitum and angel’s trumpet and beyond.

Welcome to a study on how not everything that's natural is good for you as you continue to wander the fractal paths. Of course, not everything that's poisonous has no purpose. By the opium poppies there’s a sign that tells you that you can choose to wander the deadly garden until it kills you or you can own up to a toxic habit or behavior that you need to deal with.

Notes:
1. In theory, a character could wander forever without touching or consuming any of the poisons. For plot/fun reasons, feel free to make it a little more difficult. And remember, some of your characters can be poisoned to death.

2. Acknowledging bad habits or a need for change in an honest way is very likely to result in a shift in a ScryWatch color. Remember, the Ancient is looking for growth and improvement, not moral perfection.

3. Characters can collect poisonous or medicinal plants but will be at risk while doing so.



Ⅳ. FLOWERY FIELDS FOREVER
Maybe you need to get away from the fuss at the market or just want to stretch your legs, but it’s time to explore the flowering landscape around the village. The villagers have baskets waiting at each of the outbound trails with the request that you come back with the basket full in trade for the picnic lunch they provide.

Wander the rolling hills and you’ll find a surprising amount of wildlife for an island without offspring. There are hummingbirds the size of chihuahuas, tiny pollinating bats, nectar eating possums, giant stingless bees, and more butterflies than you can shake a stick at. All of them seem entirely unafraid of humans despite being wild animals. If you get bitten or pecked, it’s your own fault.

As you fill your basket, you’ll notice patterns in what blooms. All kinds of plants bloom outside of reason and season and traditional need because the land is trying to talk to you through flowers. What did you need to hear? The villagers can help you translate when you come back from your adventure.

Notes:
1. The giant orchid mantises are still there! Thank Gideon and Harrow for negotiating a truce, so they probably won’t eat you. A mantis might even have a conversation with you if you ask nicely, (Quentin managed somehow,) and they have their own knowledge and worship of the Ancient.

2. Feel free to use any reference for plant/flower meaning. Here’s one to get started!

3. Don’t get too attached to any of the critters, they will stay here at the end of the month.

Bonus: music to watch the flowers bloom to.


Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

wwrench: growling @ LJ (pic#13303990)

[personal profile] wwrench 2021-08-09 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
It's a strange little novelty that the ScryWatches allow them to go on conversing without the need to pay much attention to each other. Wrench is still getting used to the ability to remain immersed in his own world and stay tuned in to others around him. It's a far departure from needing to demand the attention of others just to try to make himself understood.

Larkspur, he notes of the flowers he's gingerly collected, though Wrench seems no more interested in sharing their potential use than before.

He considers that new knowledge with all the interest of someone who's asked a question they don't truly know what to do with. It's a realization he's only beginning to play at, but what it means and why he should care eludes him. All Wrench knows is that he's starting to feel like the only one that doesn't have some greater sense of purpose already given to him by his abilities. Different Earths, I guess. Do you fly too?
extrasensory_problems: (whuuu)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-08-09 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
Carter's eyebrows both go up and he utters a small laugh, "David?! Oh wow, no. David's cool but....uh it's not for him."

He hands over his money to the merchant and pockets the necklace, "But what theory are you talking about?"
quire: (uh ok)

[personal profile] quire 2021-08-09 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Damn. I'd have loved to have that on him," he admits, like so many things, perhaps a little too openly to understand.

"We were just talking about the secret garden here. I was pointing how everything in this place is at like— peak sexual maturity. Flora. Fauna. Whatever. It's almost like it's trying to tell us something about sex. He got so busy denying any love life of his own that frankly it made me suspicious."

"So who is that for then?"
Edited 2021-08-09 04:52 (UTC)
quire: (unimpressed)

[personal profile] quire 2021-08-09 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
That earns him a stern look over the top edge of Quentin's glasses. "Larkspur he says. Like that's supposed to mean something to me. I can read the signs you know? What do you want it for? Flower crowns?"

"I can," he nods. "Maybe the least impressive of my skills, but sure."

Of course the word too implies something. "Who did you meet who can fly?"
speed_of_snark: (warehouse)

[personal profile] speed_of_snark 2021-08-09 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
Jean-Paul snorts. "He won't want anything," he assures Wrench. "Besides. I'm his boss."

At that his expression softens almost imperceptibly. "Neither. I feel I don't have much figured out at all, and although I'd like people to THINK I don't care about anything, that's a lie. I just couldn't think of anything that would be useful to myself."
speed_of_snark: (yeeeees)

[personal profile] speed_of_snark 2021-08-09 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
Kind of a bitch, hn? [So polite, this one.]
speed_of_snark: (wtf)

[personal profile] speed_of_snark 2021-08-09 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
"You can't fuck Jennifer Walters, Carter, she's my lawyer. Well, she has been. Also she's a hulk, she'd KILL you."
speed_of_snark: (Smug)

[personal profile] speed_of_snark 2021-08-09 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
Murders.

[Said probably a bit too casually.] What do you do, besides haircare commercials?
speed_of_snark: (k maybe)

[personal profile] speed_of_snark 2021-08-09 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
Jean-Paul's expression stays more or less the same aside from his eyebrows drawing together and they lifting slightly. Quire, of course, can read people no matter how aloof they are.

Jean-Paul is surprised, and then heartsick.

"Oh," he says simply. "So what the hell are yours?"
speed_of_snark: (bitch)

CW: Discussions of violent murders, strangulation

[personal profile] speed_of_snark 2021-08-09 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
"I know," he said. "But in this case, he's beyond fucked. I promise you, David."
wwrench: <lj user=proverbially> (pic#13703901)

[personal profile] wwrench 2021-08-09 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
Figured you were just making polite conversation. Wrench isn't sure just how much heavy lifting the ScryWatch does when it comes to conveying tone. It's not as though the text that flashes across the face of his own changes color to indicate sarcasm. Should his own need punctuated, he turns toward Quentin and returns the same world-weary sort of expression.

This has a few hundred varieties, but you can see how the leaves look like a palm and the sepals are exaggerated. Even with one hand out of commission, Wrench does an impressive job mimicking the construction of the flower with the pinch and spread of his fingers. You can use the leaves and the flower to kill small bugs, and in small doses it can be a sedative. It can also paralyze the nerves and stop breathing.

Wrench shrugs at the question, as though there have been too many to name. A guy named Jean-Paul. We fought these huge insects.
queenking: ([up] oh hey there)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-08-09 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
Ehhh, shades of blue and yellow and grey. Accordin' to books. [It's all she's ever seen, so she isn't really positive of the nuances. She's no scientist.

Then Saxsice's face brightens with recognition.
] Ohhh, you're that guy from the, uh...network thing. We talked a little. I remember the wings. [She plucks both bottles from the booth and hands over some money.] I'm hopin' they're some kinda decent liquor. Somethin' that doesn't taste like straight poison.
extrasensory_problems: (whuuu)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-08-09 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm not going to fuck her! I mean...not unless she wants...I mean...Jesus. I know she's a Hulk and it doesn't matter, she's nice to me, in both forms."

He pauses to run a hand through his hair, "Why is it so wrong that I want to buy her a gift? She saved me the other night!"
queenking: ([neutral] ew no why)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-08-09 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Saxsice makes an undignified, alarmed sort of "nngeh" noise at the sudden voice, immediately pressing the photo face-down against her chest and glaring towards Angelo.] Don't -- sneak up on a person, jeez. Make more noise when you're walkin'.

[Then she shifts to lie on her side, nose wrinkling.] Nah, I don't got allergies. Just -- thinkin' bout stuff. Oracle stuff.
wwrench: <lj user=proverbially> (pic#13703907)

[personal profile] wwrench 2021-08-09 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
Everyone wants something, Wrench insists knowingly. The latter, perhaps, surprises him. It's not the first time Jean-Paul has mentioned knowing others here, he recalls, but that kind of association is almost amusing. You think you can still order him around here? You going to threaten to fire him if he won't?

The honest answer makes him drop his shoulders a little bit. It might not fully stop Wrench from wanting to needle, but he seems to recognize an honest answer when he receives one. Probably smarter anyway. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't worth it.
queenking: ([neutral] ew no why)

[personal profile] queenking 2021-08-09 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
Oh. What colors? [She reaches out, nudging the bottles against his chest to try and get his attention back.] It might be important. What if one's poison and one's not? And I die of poisonin' cause you're busy lookin' at...what are you lookin' at?
extrasensory_problems: (Default)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-08-09 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
"Huhn." Carter muses, mulling the theory over in his mind a bit. "You know that's a really good point, but if the island is all geared towards peak sexual maturity then shouldn't there be more babies? Like a result from all the fucking? I don't think I've seen any kids on the island...."

He gives Quire a small shrug, "Just a female friend."
kyley_b: https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/ (hey)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-08-09 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Only a little bit," Kyle admits. He's surprised by how orderly the garden is, but also soothed: he does love things to be organised nearly. "My buddy Nore is the botanist nerd - I was helping her harvest a bunch of crap last month. But I'm not like, totally stupid about it."

He looks at a plot with lines of delicate white flowers growing up from fat green leaves. Lily of the Valley is written on the stake in front of the plot. A few feet away is a bush of hot pink flowers with a label reading Azaleas. Next another shrub with pink flowers, these ones more delicate: Oleander.

Kyle grins and gestures at two bushes. "These are so you. They match your hair and they're like... kinda expensive sounding."
quire: (smug af)

[personal profile] quire 2021-08-09 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
"No, that's reproductive. This is everything before that point. Yeah, normally sex means reproduction, but since they've specifically left that out of all this, they only draw more attention to the fact that everything here is always fully D-T-F and it never results in anything."

"Woooow. Shifty," he smiles. He loves other people's secrets.
quire: (uh ok)

[personal profile] quire 2021-08-09 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
"I don't do polite conversation," he says. "I barely do polite."

His expression starts out suspicious that the man is dodging his question when he goes on about leaf structure— surely he doesn't want it for decorative purposes. When he gets to its real utility Quentin smiles. "Handy," he says. "You met one French guy and already you're planning on paralyzing someone? He must have made a hell of an impression."
extrasensory_problems: (up_smile)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-08-09 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
"So it's the island of blue balls and sexual frustration?" He asks with a snort of laughter.
wwrench: <lj user=manual> (pic#13696596)

[personal profile] wwrench 2021-08-09 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
All right, Wrench notes. He's never particularly minded straightforward conversation, though these days he's still likely to take whatever amount of it he can get. Still, it leaves the door open to the question he'd really like to ask. So are you asking because you want to learn something new, because you think it'll tell you something about why we're here, or because you think it'll tell you something about me?

He doesn't mask his amusement at Quentin's question, though the snort through his nose might sound just as long-suffering at the man's brand of humor. I'm leaving my options open, Wrench notes. It's a joke, of course, but he doesn't strain himself to make that much about it obvious. Instead, he turns a thoughtful circle and gestures around them.

You remember which way we came in? Nothing looks familiar.
quire: (eyeroll)

[personal profile] quire 2021-08-09 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
For a guy who can read people it can be infuriating how little the silent cues of others seem to mean to him. "Probably about your hubs I guess huh? I don't suppose whatever dog catchers they have stocking this place rounded him up too. Bummer."

He points to the delicate little white ones that sprang up when picked the pink. "Woodruff. Humility." He rolls he makes a dramatic face like he's gagging on something. "It's all very saccharine."
Edited 2021-08-09 05:37 (UTC)
quire: (omg wut even)

[personal profile] quire 2021-08-09 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Basically!" he erupts jovially. "Like, I legit think this might be some misguided attempt to get us in the mood. What else is all the plant sex, and a distinct absence of minors, and this feel-good ambience about? Next thing you know they'll be piping Barry White through the PA system."
kyley_b: (RL sweet boi)

[personal profile] kyley_b 2021-08-09 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
"It's cool, I wasn't in the middle of anything or whatever." He offers her a broader smile.

"I'm Kyle."