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

[postictal]

Good.

[He holds out a packet of gunpowder, also cribbed from one of the sheds]

You pour this in real carefully, okay? Try not to spill it. Here, I'll hold the cannon steady for you, and you can pour it in. This is how we're gonna get the fireworks into the air. It's explosive.

[catpiper]

We should save some for Chara.

[Because this seems right up their ally and while she's pouring it all into the cannon carefully, she's trying to save a little bit of gunpowder at the bottom of the container too.]

They would like this loud stuff. Then they could explode things later.

[postictal]

Yeah?

[It's not quite a smile that pulls at the corner of his mouth, but it's close. It's as close as Tim gets.]

Well, tell you what. After we shoot these off, you should take some of these fireworks over to them too.

[catpiper]

Okay!

[That seems to appease her for the moment. Long enough to fill the tube full of gunpowder and set the container by her feet, patting the side of the shooty tube thing.]

Is fire next?

[postictal]

Next we gotta add the fireworks. Which ones do you wanna shoot off?

[It's hard to know which of them is going to result in what, but there are little hints. Some containers that are blue, some that are red, and so on. God only knows what kind of lurid formations of light will sprawl out into the sky once they're launched, though.]

You gotta favorite color?

[catpiper]

[She certainly does have a favorite color and after eyeing all the containers in front of her heathen eyes to see what's up, she grabs the purple one, holding it close. That leaves one person-]

Which one do you like?

[postictal]

[Purple, huh? He files that away.] I don't really care what color they are, as long as they're bright. Let's shoot off yours first.

[Load it in, Ren.]

[catpiper]

[This is the part she's nervous about and she watches him out of the corner of her eye to make sure she's loading it correctly. It seems simple enough? But who knows. Blomp, in goes the purple dynamite. ]

We can find a really bright yellow one for you next. It'll look like the sun's in the sky.

[postictal]

[He double checks, of course, but it's pretty intuitive. In it goes. He sets the cannon back, so that it's pointing at the sky.]

All right. Yellow's a good color.

[He digs his lighter out of his pocket and offers it to her.]

You wanna do the honors?

[catpiper]

[It's extremely rare people give her stuff like this. She does have a flaming knife though-so this is definitely safer and she has no problem reaching for the lighter.

Though flicking it to life does take more than one try and when she's able to set the fuse on fire, she BOLTS back as quick as she can. This girl isn't gonna get a burn-no sir.]

Hurry, hurry! Run back!

[postictal]

It's not gonna hurt you.

[Tim definitely doesn't run back, considering he's the one positioning the cannon. If he lets it drop, it'll probably end up setting some poor bastard's tent on fire, and he doesn't want to be the guy to answer to that.]

[Instead, he points the cannon at the sky when it launches off its cargo with an almighty hiss.]

[catpiper]

[Her arms fly into the air before they cover her ears-a mistake she realizes when it explodes so loudly in the air, but she's too enamored by the suddenly purple sky to do more other than clap along with the explosion. It's amazing!! It's colorful!! It's incredible!!

If Murasaki were here, he'd probably like it too.

And once the explosions die down, she hurries back to the little bomb selection to pull out the yellow one-that's bound to be bright.]

I found another one!

[No duh, since they're all lined up.]

[postictal]

Nice work.

[Positive reinforcement, and all.]

You wanna load this one up too? Set it off and everything, all on your own. [He'll make a pro firework-starter out of her yet. For, uh, better or worse.]

[catpiper]

[This is what makes Tim 'the cool uncle.' She's about 90% sure Kravitz wouldn't let her play with gunpowder and explosives.

So without a word, she begins The Process of putting the yellow firework together-shoving gunpowder into the cannon, and little into her pocket, getting ready to light the sucker, when-]

Okay, you have to watch the sky! Don't blink! It's going to very, very pretty.

[postictal]

[He's not a guy for smiles, of course. But the tension that usually pinches at the corner of his eyes and the edges of his mouth is absent. For once, he almost seems...relaxed.]

[Weird, considering that he's surrounded by bright lights and explosions.]

All right, don't worry. My eyes're wide open.

[Light it up, Ren. He's watching.]

[catpiper]

[It takes some effort for her to light the fuse and holding the canon is a little. It's a lot. But she keeps it together long enough for the yellow firework to explode in a flurry of sparkles and-

Immediately drops the canon afterwards, running back a few feet because that was loud. Too loud!! And it was in her hands!! Bad!!

But it doesn't take more than a second for her sprint to stop as she spins on her heel and points up to the sky.]

Did you see it? It looked like the sun came out to say 'hello.'

[postictal]

Yeah. Couldn't miss it.

[He's not the sort of guy to crack a grin, even over something that's a genuinely nice thing. But he does walk over to pick the cannon up from where it dropped into the sand.]

Look at that. You're a natural. [Not really a good thing, necessarily, but.] Good job.

[catpiper]

[The compliment over her fire starting and explosion skills is enough to make her clap her hands together. She's good at so few things and even fireworks are scary, but she's learning. It's good. Let her blow up More.]

Pick another color! I'll make another one explode.

[postictal]

How 'bout we each pick a color, and we shoot 'em both off at once?

[That's a fair compromise, right? If they pick small enough fireworks, they can launch several into the air at once, he's pretty sure.]

[catpiper]

[That's fair enough and she doesn't want to argue at all, when Tim is playing along in a way he typically doesn't. There's no way she wants to ruin it for him-not when he's taking an active role blowing stuff up, even if it's for the fun of others and not himself.

So she immediately goes for the line again, picking up another purple one.]

Will they mix and make a different color? Does that kind of thing happen with fireworks?

[postictal]

Uh, sorta. I mean, not...literally, but if you see them up in the air together, it's kinda like you're seeing new colors.

[So no, not even a little, but he's trying not to just say that.]

You know, like how red and blue together make purple? It wouldn't make a purple firework, but it'd...look a little like it, maybe?

[catpiper]

[That's good enough for her and that explanation checks out because all she hears is 'yeah, sure.']

Okay, that'll be a 'surprise.' Our new color will be very pretty.

[postictal]

[Yeah all right close enough. That's the most he's gonna get, and he's willing to accept that.]

[So he picks a red firework, and carefully slides it into the cannon.]

They'll probably look good together, if nothing else.

[catpiper]

[They're gonna look amazing because colors are dope.

And she begins the process of loading up the canon again, trying to balance it between her feet while she lights that sucker up and-

Boom!! Red and purple as far as the eye can see. She drops the canon again, but instead of running off again, she picks it right back up. Baby explosion steps here.]

It's very pretty! So pretty!

[postictal]

Red 'n purple look good together, I guess.

[And she didn't even go running this time.]

Look at you, firing this stuff off like it's no big deal. You're getting good at this.