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Eternal Summer
✖ 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.
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.
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.
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.
Bonus: music to watch the flowers bloom to.
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.
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.
IV - Because Flowers
In spite of himself he couldn't resist the first response that came to his mind. Too many video games he guessed.
"I'm taking this," he said as he gestured with the basket, as if that might be a replacement for a weapon. "It'll be fine."
no subject
"Not quite a substitute for a decent sword. Or a flame thrower and a hazmat suit." She has her own basket, of course, why not take free food? But there are some of the tools she's pulled together for practical uses in it, including a machete and elbow-length rubber gloves. "I'm pretty sure I saw some giant hogweed out there yesterday. So, either I'm really annoying whatever governs the presence of plants on the island, or not all the messages are friendly."
no subject
"See, I'm not getting the whole FPS or Post-Apocalypse vibe right now, so flamethrower and hazmat seems a bit overdone."
He hasn't bothered with the machete or gloves though. Clearly he's not properly prepared, or so it would seem.
"Messages? These are meant to be messages? I'm getting really annoyed then for seeing so many plants good for headaches."
no subject
She looks at the basket and the villagers sending people out into the wild, and again wonders if her experience has been different than most. "Yeah, there's something about meanings behind the plants you see? I don't know. Could just be a superstition, but the landscape seems kind of mutable in a way that implies some kind of interference."
no subject
"Yeah, I really don't like that idea."
no subject
no subject
Though he had to wonder about that. For him, a place of nature covered paradise and peace would be a very different island than this.
no subject
"I mean, you're not wrong about the different needs, and soil is like one of a dozen different variables that should make it impossible, but I don't think I've ever seen a better opportunity for collection and experimentation." Another pause. "Is it that fact that it's probably magic?"
no subject
He considers the situation carefully, thoughtfully.
"I don't think it's magic. It's supernatural. They're actually a bit different."
no subject
She shrugs about the difference between magic and the supernatural. "You got what I was trying to communicate but didn't answer my question."
no subject
"Because Krakoan plants shouldn't exist without Krakoa itself. Without those members of my people who help create them and manage them. That they are means that perhaps what we're told is true, because those seem like they're poking at me in particular."
Because there weren't many people here they'd have meaning to. And to be called out was a frustration to him, when he couldn't understand the language. David was all about understanding, about knowing, about codifying things that were less clear into full understanding or interpretations.
AT least there was a question he could answer.
"As for magic versus supernatural, there is a real difference between those. Supernatural can be specifically tied to certain types of beings, usually not mortal. And things here, as someone so recently pointed out to me, seem almost frozen in time in some ways. Only the Oracle grew and changed and died. Everything else here, everything also, seems frozen in their prime."
no subject
"Have you encountered a lot of absolute lies from the powers that be here?" Yes, this is her side-stepping that bleeding wound of loss that David has exposed and that she is well aware she's not equipped to help with in this particular moment. "I mean, beyond the vagueness and obfuscation. Because I haven't, but I'm a small sample size." And if they're telling the truth, she suspects David will find his meaning in those plants if he approaches from a different angle.
She lets the fact she had been asking about whether the magical component was what bothered David go. After all, she sees and recognizes the infodump so common among people who prove their identity and value by what they know. If it lets him self-soothe a little, more power to him. She does have a point of contention that has nothing to do with the distinction between magic and supernatural, a point she will never bother to learn.
"The fish die. There's a graveyard. Damaged flowers fall off and get replaced. I don't think this place is about being frozen in time. Frozen in their prime seems more accurate? Or at least in the reproductively viable part of a life cycle. Might be fun to do a survey of some of the local animals to explore both explanations."
no subject
Still, he sees her points. Though there are some he thinks he can counter, to a bit. And thus he's intrigued even more by the notes they raise.
"The fish aren't on the island," he points out. Which might explain some things. "And are any graves fresh? The flowers is a good point, but yes, the prime is getting to me."
If only he knew someone to go after the animals. He didn't have traps or other gear.
"Maybe someone can catch and release animals?"
no subject
She shrugs about the fish, seeing his point but not sure if she concedes without more information on how far the effects of the place extend. "Yes, to the graves. There was a range of ages implied by the inscriptions. Kids to grandparents."
What gets her to grin is that question about catching and releasing animals. "How do you feel about working with your hands? Also, do you have any of the daily money from the Temple for the festival? Not having to build everything ourselves would save time."
no subject
He moves to pause near another flowering plant and starts collecting some of it. Good for sleeping teas.
"But do we know the date on this island? Are any of those who passed away recent? And yes, I can work with my hands. I don't have funds laying around, but if someone can get thread and the like, I know simple snares for things like rabbits and squirrels."
Thanks for that, life.
no subject
For once, Elenore is just grabbing bright and colorful flowers without purpose. She doesn't question the presence of clematis, goldenrod, hollyhock, and irises. She accepts that they are simply pretty.
"No clue about the date, but given the patterns of growth and succession anywhere on the island where the flowers get removed, they clearly occurred over time. One was recent enough that nothing new had grown on the site."
She looks confused for a second then laughs. "Oh, no, you don't have to come up with the designs for the traps! I've worked on a few projects that required live specimen traps, and know the game. It's just faster with multiple hands and not having to make our own rope."
no subject
But the other point made him laugh. Of course she had designs for traps. That's an interesting thing to know how to do. He's... hoping she's just a biologist that studies animals.
"I don't want to have to make my own rope, ever. It would be unpleasant. But I promise I have experienced fingers."
no subject
She doesn't even think about what having a history with traps might imply about her. "Then we should be good. There's definitely a variety of small animals to work with. You more a bug, bird, or mammal guy?"
no subject
"We should definitely check it out. And I don't know that I really have a preference. Consider me more practical than anything else."
no subject
"Anything that flies tends to be fragile and difficult to contain. I'm more used to working with mammals, but their metabolisms and life cycles tend to be slow." She's processing out loud. "Still, familiarity might be the way to go."
no subject
"STarting with mammals isn't bad. You'd want something small. Mice, voles."
no subject
"Do you want to start with the cemetery or the trap making?"
no subject
"Trap making. Better to get them laid out while we explore other things. A more reasonable distribution of time and resources."
no subject
no subject
"We should probably finish filling them. They did give us lunch."
(no subject)
(no subject)