May Adventure: I Want to Go Where Everyone Goes

[lifeaftr_mods]

NEW ISLAND: IO

Who: Everyone!
What: Io appears!
When: May 10th and onward
Where: Io
Warnings: The possibility of drug use and alcohol may come up. Otherwise, tag as you go!

Things Are Shaping Up to Be Pretty Odd
As of May 10th, the mana pools on Ensō and its islets will now allow for travel to Io. Though you could always opt for sailing, if you wanted. As we mentioned on the island's introductory post, no exploration is necessary! The island is small enough and easily traversed, and with a minimum of dangers, you have plenty of time to visit each of Io's six draws.

The temple is the easiest place to get in touch with the local avatar, though you can contact them just as easily by striking up a conversation with just about any honeybee you see in the vicinity. The lazy drone of them can be heard all over the island, though they're quite complacent, and not at all prone to disturbing adventurers. The temple itself is twined with grapevines and smothered with inlays of rubies, proud and sparkling. Inside, it smells of honey and wine, and seems to exhibit a naturally contented glow. Just outside, numerous fruit trees sprout all about the temple's courtyard, to be sampled at your leisure.

The bathhouses are located just south of the temple, and are prime locations for some rest and relaxation. Bathe, swim, take a spa day! There are innumerable rooms to do exactly that, and more space than be reasonably filled by some sixty-or-seventy people. Or maybe you're interested in getting absolutely sloshed instead. The vineyard is perfect for that, located to Io's northeast on one of its long, tapering peninsulas. Rows upon rows of grapevines lead up to the crown jewel of the region: a proud winery with enough goods to satisfy even the most parched.

For those less keen on mind-altering substances, the tea gardens are a far safer bet. They practically emanate tranquility, with their soft paper lanterns, thickets of tea trees, and a tea room with a seemingly endless supply of every supplement to your drink that you could ask for. And if none of the teabags or tea leaves in there suit your preference, you're free to wander about the gardens yourself and sample whatever you like.

The Honeycomb at the island's heart is much more akin to a play structure or jungle gym than anything else, but its interlocking passageways and erratic, hexagonal architecture aren't for nothing. It's an ideal spot for play or exercise, if you're into that kind of thing - or for getting positively sick on honey sticks.

The campsites ensure that you don't truly have to depart from Io, if you don't want to. Tents full of chairs and cushions and blankets make it a wonderful place to spend the night if you're so inclined, and the lockers full of food and drink are assurances that you won't go hungry. And with all these massive bonfires and firework cannons, why would you ever want to leave?

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Welcome to the island of Io! Please, enjoy your stay and make full use of this island's many faculties! For further information in regards to the island, or plotting, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC info and introductory post
[ ♆ ] Io on the Locations page

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

agent washington | ota | i'll match your formatting!

[counterblows]

i. bathhouses ; how our short little lives haven't left the path that they will tread

[The trust of a new island is thin, given the eventual state of the last one. But here, thankfully, there aren't any mountains or volcanoes to be found.]

[It only really takes the promise of the fruit trees up near the temple for Wash's helmet to be unsealed and nestled in the grass beside him as he turns a peach between gloved fingers. Some part of him, the part that grew up on Earth, still regards fresh fruit as a luxury and treasures it when it becomes available to him. That's enough to prompt his interest in venturing toward the bathhouses, and...when's he gonna get the chance to do this again, now, really?]

[He hasn't had a bath in...literally years. Freelancer was a step up from typical military life thanks to the Mother of Invention's showers and lockers, but it's not like you could ever just settle down with a book and a bath bomb. Wash is certain to leave his armor back at the house before returning to take advantage of the warm, slightly frothy waters of one of the baths.]

[Anyone who passes him by might notice the scars that stand out with unavoidable prominence along the heavily freckled expanse of his back - entire swathes of skin that have been reduced to a Braille of keloid and scar tissue, interlocking lumps of raised skin. It's almost impossible to overlook the shrapnel scars, old gunshot wounds, irregular spatters of discolored skin that sprout across the dark olive-brown of his back, chest, and shoulders. The most inescapable and obvious, and one of the few he can't easily hide, is the raised lump along the back of his neck, stretching from the base of his skull to the top of his spine.]

[Even in a place designed for relaxation, Wash can't seem to simply settle down and do that. Slowly, methodically, he starts to scrub at the layers of dirt and sweat and dead skin that have caked over his pores.]

[Of course, if someone walks in on this, he might tense up. There's an inherent vulnerability to being mostly unclothed - he has retained his boxers for this very reason - that draws his shoulders up and stiffens the muscles in his back. His eyes will dart, automatically, to one of the bathrobes he's taken and laid to rest on a near bench. He could take the modesty in retrieving his clothes or leave it; it's just that the robe is where he's concealed his sidearm.]

ii. winery ; make that happiness last

[Getting drunk is generally a bad idea. He's done it here exactly once, and the resulting conversation with Connecticut wasn't worth the hangover that followed him into the following day. But there are other reasons one might have to drink. To avoid thinking about the previous month, for example.]

[It takes Wash only a few hours to find what he's looking for down here, which is a few bottles of spiced rum. He's not big on the heavy drinking, but he remembers someone else who was.]

[He uncorks one in one of the tasting lounge areas and holds it up to the empty air.]

Here's to you, Illinois. Hope you found that island chain.

[And starts to drink.]

ii

[forwearemany]

(Exploring the winery has, so far, not been enlightening.

It has, however, brought them into contact with allies.)

Illinois?

(Hope you like sudden robot intrusions, Wash. Very curious robot intrusions.)

[counterblows]

['Course he wasn't expecting anyone else to be down here. Maybe he should've. Wash half-turns sharply, the only indication of his shock.]

[Without his armor on, he's slightly smaller, and Legion feels all the bigger. He blinks, once, and then glances down at the rum in his hands.]

...old friend. Well. Maybe "friend" is overselling it. We used to work together.

[forwearemany]

(Sometimes Legion shows up in unexpected places. Like a place full of wine they can't drink.

They don't appear to react to the lack of armor.)

Acknowledged.

[counterblows]

What're, uh... [Asking why they might be down here seems insensitive, but it's not like Church could drink either. A fact about which he suspects Church is going to be pretty vocally disappointed.]

Can't drink anything down here, can you?

[forwearemany]

We cannot.

(They do not attempt to answer the obvious question of why, exactly, they're here in that case. Perhaps they themselves do not know, or lack the ability to articulate.

...Most likely it has to do with lots of people being here.)

i.

[the_archivist]

[If people think Jon is not going to take advantage of having access to an entire bath house with gloriously warm water, they are sorely mistaken. The Institute mercifully has showers, because he isn't getting back to his flat much these days, but they're not exactly the best. And are no comparison to a hot bath.

And the hot water is making him realise exactly how the stress has accumulated and knotted in his back and shoulders and neck.

This place is weird, but so far, it might as well be a holiday.

He heads into the bath, robe pulled tight around himself, and pauses when he sees the man there, the way that he tenses up. The scars. Nasty looking things what he can see of them. It makes him feel a little better. Not much less self conscious, but better.]

Is it alright if I... [He gestures to the bath itself.]

[counterblows]

[Doesn't recognize who comes in. Looks new. Newcomer? Can't say. Doesn't have any memory of meeting him when he was a kid. That's for the best. Mentally sizing him up and trying to gauge the best exit route, the best way to incapacitate him should it come down to this, that comes naturally.]

[After an unreasonably long period of silence, Wash finally nods.]

Place is public.

[the_archivist]

[That isn't really an answer, but Jon will take it. It's quieter in this room, and with how... festive everything here seems to be, he will take the quiet where he can get it.

It's unusual, being sized up like he's a threat. But, well, not the first time someone has looked at him like he's a monster. Reminds him a bit of Daisy, before the coffin, expecting him to compel her at any moment.]

Thank you.

[He gives a tight smile, and sits down at the edge of the pool and sheds the robe, not half as comfortable with his scars as this man seems to be, the clusters of round silvery worm scars and the burned hand and the hollow places where his two ribs should be.

He slides into the water up to his neck, and breathes in.]

Are you a local? Or were you unceremoniously dragged here too?

[counterblows]

[Of course, he's going to take that into account. Doesn't look like bullet holes and knife scars, but the guy's been through his own kind of wringer. He's willing to bet just about anyone here has.]

I don't know if anyone here counts as a local. In a couple months, I'll have been here a year.

[Doesn't he just sound thrilled about this. Just...thrilled.]

[Things could be worse. Things could be way worse. He has people back when he's never been afforded the chance before, and that's the one thing that keeps him grounded. Keeps him on a route to figuring out how to save them from how they end up.]

[the_archivist]

A year?

[There is a definite note of concern verging on panic in Jon's voice when he says that. A year... he can't afford to spend a year here. A few days, perhaps, in a place that seems this dreamlike. But he's already lost six months and in a year... is there going to be any world left?

How many rituals could be attempted in a year? And what about the Watcher's Crown?

He scrubs a hand across his face.]

Sorry just... I have some rather time sensitive things that need to be done.

ii.

[a_shadow]

Tex approaches from the side. She's been seeking him, ready to rip into him about telling Church all about his origins, but she also doesn't want to see something bad happen because he's imbibing something he shouldn't. She crosses her arms when she gets to him.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

[counterblows]

He catches her coming at him, in part because she has the courtesy to approach from the side at all, and not from behind. Affords him the time to anticipate it, for what it's worth.

He blinks at her, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Don't tell me you never took advantage of having a human body for this."

[a_shadow]

She rolls her eyes.

"I'm talking about taking the drink from somewhere you don't know," she says. "You don't know who brewed that, or whether they did anything to it."

[counterblows]

"Then I guess I get to die again. Sounds like a shame." Apparently he's fine with taking the risk - or assumes the risk is so low that he may as well.

"The bees seemed pretty okay with it. And they're, uh...allegedly who's in charge here. If it was wasps I might be a little more suspicious."

[a_shadow]

She shakes her head with a roll of her eyes. This really isn't what she initially wanted to talk to him about.

"Whatever. You're not as cautious as I expected, Washington. But hey. Let me ask you something. What makes you think you have the right to go telling Church anything about his past?"

i Bathhouses

[thermalwind]

[Bathhouses. While his trust of the new island is razor thin, he feels compelled to see what the bathhouse is like. He remembers his discussions with Gladio about building one. He'd stripped down to his boxers and pulled on a bathrobe but made sure his approach was obvious.

With how paranoid the soldiers are among them it's just straight up out of respect to them and their instincts. Keith leaves his hair braided, for now, letting the scars at the front of his neck near the hollow of his throat stand out. It's a bitch to hide them even if the sight of them sometimes makes him feel like never blinking again. His knife is tucked away in the tight cloth band around his waist. He pauses and nods once.] Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you. Is everything quiet so far?

[The robe hides some of his scars but not all of them. They're a map of his life here and back home. Normally he tries not to be anywhere close to vulnerable but Wash is a friend and he trusts him with a lot.]

[counterblows]

[Consequences of battle. You fight intergalactic wars, and you're not gonna walk away unscathed. Wash's self-consciousness about it only extends as far as the questions as to the raised lump of lighter skin at the back of his neck. He'd rather not divulge that information unless it gets to be necessary.]

[Keith's safer than most. Wash rides out instinct, and relaxes slightly.]

You're fine. Can't...turn it off, I guess. [yeah wash that would the ptsd] You good?

[thermalwind]

Yeah. I haven’t seen anything to worry about so far. Thought I’d come check out this bathhouse. Gladio talked about building one...maybe we still can if we study this one enough.

[He looks up at the ceiling and around at the walls. They would need certain materials. He would like to learn what they are.]

So far it just looks like a lot of work.

[counterblows]

Well, maybe not something this ambitious.

[The simple showers he rigged, though, those were useful. A bathhouse would be a hell of a luxury to have access to, but...looks like the guy in charge of that little project isn't around to make good on it anymore.]

This place is hooked up to some kind of hot spring. Supply of heated water would probably be the biggest obstacle on Ensō.

[thermalwind]

Yeah, that's the biggest obstacle. And we wouldn't need something this big. [Keith rubs at the side of his neck. He's lucky, he remembers an older Blade that had cramps in his shoulder from all the damage done to him over the years. The thought makes him pause and he says a little distantly.]

...maybe a few solo baths and one bigger bath? That seems more the whole group's speed.

ii

[lesbeau]

[Beau isn't comfortable in a winery. It reminds her too much of her shitty childhood, the terrible people who tend to run places like this that run profit on people's addictions. She avoids it at first, coming by only with the intent to rob the place, clear everyone out, and then maybe burn it down.

But hey, it's been a while since she saw that guy. Really a while, since the last time it was his fake and they had an... enlightening conversation, sure. Mostly she kind of regrets throwing that gun in the ocean, even if it probably would've disappeared along with him at the end of that event. It still would've been rad.

On the upside, he's found something that Isn't Wine, and she's curious enough to approach.]

How did you manage to find the other boozy thing in a winery that isn't wine? I'd call it luck if I was't so sure you did it on purpose.

[counterblows]

There's all sorts here.

[He has no idea she ran into his darker half, of course. He has no idea what kind of words were exchanged, though he does remember meeting the child that she was. And she remembers him, no doubt.]

[Probably makes things awkward. She's unsubtle enough to not care, probably.]

I'm not an alcohol connoisseur, though, so I can't give you very many pointers aside from telling you what's mead and what's champagne, that kind of thing.

[lesbeau]

[Eeeeh, kids were kids. She doesn't especially count that either. Obviously they were both disasters in their own weird ways, but it's not worth interrogation over unless they get drunk and it's funny.

She looks across the room, pointing to a segment.]

Good stuff is always all the way in the vault. Middle tier, your most access is at the front, stuff that's worth drinking. Everything between it is usually total shit to fill space or to bust out when you're threatening someone. What are you looking for, just something that tastes good?

[counterblows]

Spiced rum. Friend of mine used to say it was his drink of choice.

[What's he doing with this now? Honoring his memory? That's a laugh. He doesn't even know if Illinois is still alive, though given the state of everyone else he knew from the Project, he wouldn't consider it likely. So it's a makeshift funerary send-off for Schödinger's dead friend, is that it?]

[The morbidity of his own thoughts no longer bothers him. He just knows better than to say them aloud.]