lifeaftr | July Adventure: Where the Weeds are Now Growing Free

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July Adventure: Where the Weeds are Now Growing Free

NEW ISLAND: UMUI

Who: Everyone!
What: Umui appears, and a new adventure begins
When: July 10th and onward
Where: Umui
Warnings: Tag as you go!

'Cause the Dirt is Up to My Eyes
As of July 10th, the mana pools on Ensō and its islets will now allow for travel to the new island of Umui.

Travelers will arrive on a mana pool situated on the C1 square. The thick crops of flowers spring freely across the lush, grassy landscape, clustered in dense knots. The variety behind these growths seems profoundly limited: it is as though each flower has only sprouted around others of its kind, mingling solely at the edges. A large building looms in the corner of the region, a twisting, unfurling mass of piping and a half-crumbled metallic shine.

Whatever lays inside, or beyond the island's limits, is for you to discover for yourself.

Welcome to the new island of Umui! As the island is now accessible, feel free to begin preparations and explorations in this log, or create new ones of your own! For further information in regards to the island, or plotting, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC info and introductory post
[ ♆ ] Optional future event sign-up
[ ♆ ] Umui on the Locations page
[ ♆ ] Search Requests page

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Threaded | Flat

(When they invite the Knight to join them on their perimeter search, they aren't really sure what they're expecting.

At least for the moment, it seems to be more of what they saw upon arrival.

They are not hugely well versed in knowledge of Earth plants, though they are able to recognize them as such, and they examine the flowers and growth patterns curiously.

They don't immediately notice that anything other than that is... off.)

[In the desolate, overgrown emptiness of the lab, a shape stirs - the first moving, sentient thing for travelers to encounter on this entire island. Its motions are slow, heavy, and sluggish, but a soft, green light strobes at the center of its chest when travelers approach.]

[The automaton lifts their head with an agonizingly rusted squeal of old circuits and warped technology. The moss and vegetation has carpeted them so thoroughly that they have more or less fused with the office chair upon which they must have once sat with the intent to rise again.]

[The robot hums to life, a hitching of engaging mechanisms that have long lain dormant. It speaks in a mechanized drone, age warping its words into an imperfect stutter:]

query: ii-iii-didDddd-Dentfication?

Edited 2018-07-11 01:09 (UTC)

The thing about exploring is that Kaworu doesn't really have a stake in it. He's here, more or less, because everyone else seemed to be doing it, and Pyrrha was a familiar face, so he said yes. On the other side, though, he makes no contact with the ground, choosing instead to remain floating a good two feet above it, his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky and out into the ocean as often as he studies the pitted, uneven ground for anything interesting.

But the most interesting thing around is probably just the people he's with... he's making an effort for appearances, but humans can be entertaining, and the ground is not.

The coastline looks safe as Keith leads the group. But he moves light as a cat with his sword in hand. There will be no letting his guard down. Not this time. He sends Ember the firebird up over their heads as they near the old dock. "Okay, let's be careful. We don't know what's here."

His voice echoes thanks to the mask over his face. He should have traded favors to get his scanner working. The dock looks like it could fall apart except thick vines seem to be keeping it together. He swings his sword to the side away from everyone to warm up his wrist. "We can spread out but only within calling distance of each other."

He said he'd keep an eye on him, and he is, nominally, doing that. It's just safer to not go it alone, and the longer he watches him, the more accurate a notion he'll get as to how Foster...operates, for lack of a better term.

When they materialize from one mana pool to the next, Tim can't resist the mental parallel between Ziziphus and this new fucked-up place. He presumes it's fucked-up, because most of the places they visit end up being fucked-up in some regard or another, particularly where Tim involves himself.

He rolls a shoulder to reposition his pack, heavy on his shoulders, staring at the dark bulk of the building.

Decides he doesn't like the look of it. Decides he doesn't care. What he's liked and hasn't liked doesn't historically have a lot of bearing on what needs doing.

"All right," he mutters. "I guess there's only one way to go here."

[Considering the last two islands that had been drawn near Shion treaded onto this one with a great deal of wariness. Ore the Story Teller had promised. Shion had no doubts that they would find it, but also that the dangers would be considerable.

For an island of ore it did not look like anything that Shion could have imagined. The sheer amount of flowers is fascinating.

Shion knows that exploring on his own is dangerous and so was sticking close to the mana pool writing notes in his book about his first impressions of this new island.]

Edited 2018-07-11 07:17 (UTC)

... Then there were robots, dead robots with flowers growing in them. One of them had Centaurea cyanus growing in their jaw. [Shion is walking beside Connor, filling him in on what he had found on his search with Gladio and Shouto the day before. The new island was very disturbing but fascinating all at the same time and Shion wanted to explore more of it.]

Also not once did we see any animals, not even birds, that's really strange especially with all the flowers, the island has been overtaken with nature but still no birds have landed there. [He might have already said this previously, he's babbling. There's so much information and so much he is trying to work out. The island is strange, parts of it almost remind him of West Town. Except the flowers, there hadn't been any flowers there.]

Edited 2018-07-11 07:27 (UTC)

"Sorry this is, like. Such short notice and shit? But we figured it was better if we did this before everything does to hell."

Connor only came to Umui at all because Shion asked and Connor is weak? But then they'd investigated the buildings that Shion saw while he was exploring with Shouto and Gladio and they'd found . . . Well, they'd found the buildings, but they'd only be able to get into a couple of them. He'd tried to hack his way into the ones that were more overgrown, but there was just too much growth and he'd given up because it was obvious they weren't going to get anywhere with a hatchet.

He's was just going to ask Tim to come with him and set some fires, but then it occured to him that this might be a situation where someone with less . . . manual? Fire skills? Might come in handy. Which basically narrows it down to the kid that was at his weed party and whichever elf is the one with the fire powers. He knows one of them has fire powers, but fuck if he remembers which one because he barely remembers their names on a good day. Anyway, it's just good practice to make nice with people who run the economy so.

. . . He really hopes Lup is actually the fire twin.

[He's held back on most islands walking after others to make sure they would survive to come back. Storyteller had looked...it had been the way the deity of stories looked that propelled him to join the searches. Maybe he can make a difference or bring back something to tell Storyteller.

He'll talk to them over stones some time. Soon. Hinata takes the lead scanning around periodically. Nothing. It's quiet. Like the dead cities he used to tread.]

...I wonder how many years it's been like this. How far do you two want to go? [How far until they have to head back once it goes dark.]

Exploring a new island should be fun, like, getting to ditch the same ol shitty chores? Seeing something new, something unknown, plus the promise of useful stuff to loot? All good shit. But after two islands so far being the absolute, unequivocal pits, even Lup's enthusiasm for the whole thing has taken a bit of a hit. It's just so fucking quiet here, and that half dead robot Ren and Kravitz found wasn't exactly inspiring a toasty sense of safety either.

But fuck it, somebody had to go find the cool shit and it might as well be them.

Lup trudges along a little further inland than Taako, having drifted away from him to cover more ground. Not that there's a high chance of missing anything, it's all just fucking... beach. She's already bored out of her mind, impatiently ramming the point of her umbrella into clumps of grass here and there. This is bullshit, when she gets home she's gonna request a goddamn metal detector.

Hot Boi is soaring far overhead and when she looks up for the hundredth time to check on him, something gleaming in the distance catches her eye. Some kind of building, pretty small, by the surf. Finally! She opens her mouth to call out to Taako but stops herself, what if they've got company? Maybe more ominous robots or something. Better not announce their presence to every clown in a five hundred yard radius like a jackass.

Not that that stops her from opening her umbrella into the air and waving it around, like a jackass, pointing excitedly at the shack with it when she has Taako's attention.

[ She's... It's been a rough month or so. And she hasn't handled it well, at all. And as she was wont to do, Aster had dealt with it by withdrawing. A lot. And the better part of her knew she could do better than this, knew that Reno would have given her hell for sulking like she was, but... well he wasn't here, was he? The fact that Monsun had reappeared last month hadn't helped - she wasn't the most fond of that island, after her disastrous arrival there.

There reached a point though, where her frustration and guilt at herself overwhelmed her desire to keep hiding, and when she heard news about Umui... that was that point.

So she's here, crouching among flowers, holding one by its crisp stalk in her hand, looking out over the landscape. She's not idiot enough to go charging out alone, but after how badly she withdrew... she needed to see who was here, who she might be able to join up with. Or if that might take time.

If she sees anybody, either heading out or en route back, she'll stand up. ]

Hey.

[ She has the look of someone who has questions. ]

When Noctis left them the first time, Ignis allowed himself to slide into a destructive mindset, and it was only good fortune and a good friend that kept him from doing something foolish. When it happens again, he does feel the urge rise one more, but he is able to push it down and lock it away. This Noctis, at least, he knows is going somewhere to live his life. He's escaped the end the prophecy foreordained for him. Knowing that isn't the same as having his king and childhood friend here, but it's better than not knowing the chance for him to escape the prophecy exists. They didn't have nearly enough time with this Noctis, but it was something. A time Ignis will never regret having.

It doesn't take long for Ignis to start sensing the stress and worry around Gladio and Prompto, though. For them, it's not enough. This is especially true for Gladio, who Ignis can already feel working himself into a frenzy. They need distraction or else something is going to go horribly wrong.

Despite the uneasiness that has surrounded Umui in Ignis' mind ever since he found that memorial with the others, the island still is the best distraction they have, especially with the promise of the kinds of building materials Gladio has been looking for. It doesn't take Ignis long to organize an exploration for the three of them. Who knows what they will find? It may be good; it may be bad, but either way, at least they have the promise of newly hatched chocobos once they return.

It benefits all of us, if you’re also investigating the island- but if you’d rather treat it as a personal request from me, fine.

[Who knows how they found the Chocobros’ camp- a lucky break, probably, Laurent unusually agreeing to investigate the light of a distant fire. But they found the Chocobros, and more importantly Gladio, and Laurent seems intent on spitting out an entire terms and conditions page on the walk back.]

We just need you to identify what the metal structure we found might be for.

[He’s scruffier than usual, though it’s hidden by the dim evening light. Lance knows very well why- they’ve been scratching up a house all day like small, badly behaved animals. Lance might also realise this is Huffy Laurent, not Yeah That Bad Idea Sounds Okay Laurent? If he realises anything other than Gladio’s physique, that is.]

The more info they’re getting about this place, the more fucked it seems. Which… obviously means Erika should go check it out, despite getting stressed out when Chip was there on their own. It’s different, it’s fine.

To her credit, though, she’s not delving into unknown territory just yet - just poking around in the northern parts of the island, shooting occasional, quick frowns at the looming form of the laboratory. Even when she’s some distance away from it, she… kinda hates it being there. Which feels stupid, given how much she’s been missing… you know, civilization all this time, but it’s creepy.

“Nothin’ can be straightforward here, huh. ‘Hey, guys, guess what, you can get metal here - also, fuck, wait, there’s a creepy-ass hospital thing.’ Honestly, what kind of horror movie bullshit…”

She may not even notice anyone nearby yet, too busy grumbling to herself about the inconvenience of the whole situation.

Something about this island set Edward's nerves on edge. It wasn't just the obvious--a completely still and lifeless landscape filled with flowers in full bloom was eerie enough on it's own, but there's something else. An uneasy sensation that crawled up his neck and had his ears flicking to try and catch even the faintest sound.

Or maybe it's just the paranoia borne of what his life has become since waking up in a coffin. Entirely possible.

Ed sighs and looks around at the fields surrounding the building dominating this portion of the island; maybe a hospital once, but what little remained of the walls looked ready to fall apart at a moment's notice. "I don't think we're going to find much else out here. Might as well head inside--any bets how fast that roof's gonna fall on our heads?"

After Chip's announcement and people's subsequent reactions to said announcement on the strange talking stones that everyone carries, the Knight had gone to seek Chip out themselves. If they wanted to help explore, that was fine - but having someone with them would be better than going alone.

So after some discussion and very carefully borrowing a botany book from Chara, they're off into the unexplored wilds (unexplored wilds being a little coastal nook that nobody has checked yet). So far, the flower-strewn stretch of land is as idyllic as any other.

The Knight has their sword out - it's always good to be cautious - but they're not expecting much to happen here. It's for this reason that they're content to amble along at Chip's side rather than being first to rush in, protectively. Occasionally, they crane their neck to look up at Chip, clearly checking if they're doing okay.

[It isn't long as they tromp through the underbrush of Umui that Kravitz is beginning to get a headache.

They're barely into new ground, Kravitz keeping abreast for danger at the front of the party, while the twins are already squabbling over their new toy. Namely, who gets to use it. There's accusations being thrown, some hand slaps, and Barry and Magnus seem completely unwilling to even acknowledge that existing. Frankly, he should probably be following their lead. Maybe if he was smart he'd have let it die. But Kravitz thinks, no, I think I can handle this. Or more, he figures this has to end before his brain jumps out of his head and beats him.

So finally, he speaks up.]

If you two don't stop arguing about that thing, I'm going to take it from you both.

[Another day, another trek through the island. Slowly, meticulously, the island was being mapped out day-by-day. More clues were opening up to them, and it made Pyrrha want to look further into the mystery. Either more would become clear, or sometime terrible would happen. Pyrrha thought herself fortunate that nothing terrible involving flowers had popped up yet.

Now, this was a change of scenery. From one end of the island to the other, with so much in between. Pyrrha thought she'd be lost if not for the people she traveled with. She was more than thankful to have Touko here, for that reason.]

Be careful, Touko, wouldn't want to fall around here. [She mention, cautiously avoiding clumps of dead vines. The livelier ones on the trees bring her to pause, and place her hand against one.

They're dying. Or, at least the ones still alive are.]

Yet another different kind of plant, I guess...

[The island hasn't proved dangerous in the least, which Wash is personally interpreting as bad sign; the other shoe is bound to drop, as far as he's concerned, and soon. Which means it's smart to gather intel while they still can.]

[...with a seventeen-year-old who has been camping independent of anyone for the past couple weeks. Apparently.]

Are we sure this is a good idea? [It's mostly said to C.T., but there's every chance that Zelda will overhear. Everyone's interested in unraveling the mysteries of this place. Wash is more interested in figuring out what killed all these people in the first place, and Zelda, apparently, just wants to look at some robots.]

[Good thing they're all about to find exactly what they're looking for.]

Threaded | Flat

Legion and the Knight

d2 | in the lab | ota

Kaworu, Komaeda, and Pyrrha (C1 and on?)

Keith, Lance, Papyrus, and Hector (B2)