Eternal Summer

[polymods]

✖ 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

Comments

Jennifer Walters/(She)Hulk | Marvel 616

[grayshulk]

I. ALWAYS BLOOMING, NEVER HARVEST

There is something missing in Jennifer and it has been since she visited the Flower Oracle. Her Hulk is beyond her reach, and it feels like having a part of her soul excised. It's so strange to realize the part of her that had felt too wild and dangerous and entirely too broken had become necessary to her concept of herself. Part of her is missing. Everything aches and feels more dangerous, even in the soothing environment of the Isle.

So Jennifer spends a lot more time in the Temple. Curled up in small soft places. Eating sparse meals. Avoiding the people she knows. It's why she's curled up on herself in a chair, dozing and being chased by terrible dreams. If you get close you might hear her murmur 'Bruce' like it's the name of the ghost haunting her.


Ⅱ. FLOWER MARKET FESTIVAL

There's only so long hiding in Temple Jennifer can sustain without moving. She looks pale and there are dark circles that might as well be bruises under her eyes, but her body has finally taken over a little. It's good, too, to see the bright colors and stop to fuss over the little trinkets. She picks up a purple bracelet more because she feels guilty about having money to spend than any real desire, but it's something. Enough to get her to try the perfumes.

"Nope," she says putting a bottle down quickly, covering a sneeze. "Not that one."


Wildcard

I

[kyley_b]

The woman curled up and muttering in her sleep looks familiar, but he can't quite place why. It's why he'd stopped on his way past, and now Kyle is just standing there staring at her, frowning.

He never could just leave people alone.

He walks over and very gently puts a hand on her shoulder, shaking her minutely.

"Ma'am?"

[grayshulk]

Asleep and stressed, she reaches out and catches the hand that shakes her in a firm grip. It's an instinctive reaction.

"Wha..?" Her brow is furrowed and her eyes are struggling to focus.

[kyley_b]

Kyle smiles, a little startled by the sudden grab but not so much that he's going to be rude.

"Hi," he says. You were having a nightmare."

[grayshulk]

She lets go of his wrist suddenly when she realizes what she had done.

"Oh, sorry." She rubs eyes.

[kyley_b]

"It's okay." He resists the urge to rub his wrist.

"Do you want some water, or something? That, uh. Looked pretty intense."

[grayshulk]

"That would be kind of you."

She doesn't want to explicitly confirm that she was reliving some of her worst experiences in the dream.

[kyley_b]

"Okay, hang tight."

Kyle hurries off, returning soon enough with vaguely rose tasting water. He hands it over, smiling tentatively, his eyes still warm with concern.

Flower Market Festival

[neverwither]

Chloe is distracted from her perusal of the perfumes not only by the words but by the way the woman looks. Dreadfully rude as it is, she can't help noting that she doesn't exactly appear... well. Tendency to try to nurture activated, she can't quite help sticking her nose into business it probably doesn't belong in.

"It can be tricky to pin down your scent story," she offers with a small, warm smile.

[grayshulk]

Jen offers an amused smile because that seems like an understatement given that she sneezes one more time from a single sniff. None of which makes her look like less of a mess. "I'm going to guess avoiding allergens seems like a basic step?"

[neverwither]

Her own smile has a touch of embarrassment as yes, that would probably be a good place to start. "If the spray is bothering you, have you thought about perfume oils? They can be better than the sprays, actually..."

Still smiling, she shakes her head. "Not that you requested a personal shopper, but I'd be happy to help you find something."

[grayshulk]

"See, I've always liked the sprays because they diffuse a little faster initially so you don't scent the whole room if you run a little warm." She tries not to think about the transformation that had made it a problem for her in the past. It will only make things worse.

"I'm not about to turn down an offer of some pleasant company. You might even be able to stop me from getting something I'll hate later."

[neverwither]

“Ah, yes, you do make a good point there,” she agrees with a little nod. It’s a human sort of issue that she should have been more considerate of. She’s able to emulate human temperature to be more lifelike, to not be unpleasant to the touch, but if she was running that warm? Obnoxiously scenting out a room would be a minor concern.

There’s hope in her smile at being described as pleasant company. She will definitely do her best in that aspect. “That’s very sweet of you. Though please do tell me if I become a pest.”

Her smile brightens, keen at the prospect of finding the perfect perfume. “That could be a good place for us to start - the scents you don’t like.” Process of elimination and all that.

[grayshulk]

"I have a hard time thinking of you ever being a pest." Jen looks a little too drawn to be flirting, though goodness knows she can be a relentless flirt without even really trying. It's just an easy pleasant thing to say that she will hold onto because it doesn't feel like the invisible wound in her chest.

"Huh," she considers how to pharase what she doesn't like. "I tend to like lighter smells? People get" weird about how a hulk smells "strong opinions about lawyers with smell strongly. I'm not opposed to floral or fruity? I just don't like smelling like I've been bothering people's grandmothers."

Not that she's acting as a lawyer anytime soon, but it bothers her less to focus on that part of her identity.

[neverwither]

Flirting or not, Chloe's just glad for the generous kindness Jen is extending to her. As much as she wants to say that her companion could very well change her mind once they get into the fragrance testing, she decides to keep it to herself. Pleasant company to perhaps lift her spirits a little. That's the idea.

She laughs softly at the grandmother comment and nods as if to say that it's been duly noted. Which it has. "Hmm... Would you say you prefer something sweet or something fresh?" Her gaze drifts over various perfumes, getting a sense of possible selections that could be made. It's all clearly a serious business.

i

[aviate]

The name Bruce peaked decades before them so maybe it's not too much of a stretch to think she's dreaming of Batman. In their line of work coincidences rarely mean nothing. The fact that her dreams aren't exactly happy might also support his theory and it's almost cruel to leave her to them so he leans over and taps a shoulder.

He keeps a careful distance in case she reacts poorly to it.

[grayshulk]

The light touch was a good choice. It doesn't trigger her more aggressive responses. Just enough reason to wake from a troubled sleep. It's not the most elegant transition to wakefulness. There's plenty of groggy blinking and trying to focus without her glasses or contacts.

"Hi?" She sounds like she doesn't know what she's trying to say.

[aviate]

"Uh, hey." He can see she's taking a while to get her bearings so he gives her a moment before he continues. "You didn't seem to be having a good sleep so uh, you're welcome?"

[grayshulk]

Okay, so there was something about the presumption that does make her smile a little. "Thanks, then, for waking me." She stretches slightly now, trying to chase the memory of bad sleep away.

i.

[bookerlesigh]

Booker's been around enough nightmares that he knows how they look, and he crouches down in front of her, frowning. It's hard to tell, when you don't know a person well, whether you should wake them up or not.

It seems safe enough, and it's not like she can really hurt him anyhow. "Hey, Jenn..." He goes to touch her hand lightly, trying to rouse her.

[grayshulk]

Her name is more effective than the touch, and just enough to keep her from grabbing the wrist of the person touching her. She misses her glasses and the way transforming helps her vision, and it takes a moment to focus on his face.

"Oh, hi, Booker..."

[bookerlesigh]

He waits until she's mostly there, staying steady to not disorientate her, leaving his hand on hers for the time being.

"Hey," he says again, still soft, though he's not one to dwell on anything untoward. "You ah, looked a bit uncomfortable." Either curled up in this chair, or her face unsettled from whatever nightmare she was having, but she can read into that however she wants.

[grayshulk]

The light touch is nice. Jennifer is a big physical contact person when in a better state than she's been lately, and it does help her settle faster than she would otherwise.

Her eyes close for a moment when he says uncomfortable, and she nods slightly before they open again. "Yeah. I haven't been sleeping well lately." Ghosts keep coming up in her dreams.

[bookerlesigh]

"That'll do it," he mutters, and he's had his own fair share of sleepless nights. "You know what I find helps?" He doesn't wait for an answer, "Some good food. And a lot of liquor. ...sometimes just the liquor."

[grayshulk]

She looks up and finds a hint of a smile. "That actually sounds like an excellent idea." After all, she doesn't have to worry about turning into the Hulk right now. "Food might help me not regret it later, though."