Returning Island: Umui

[lifeaftr_mods]

RETURNING ISLAND: UMUI

Who: Everyone!
What: Umui returns to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 20th, and onward
Where: It'd almost be beautiful, if you didn't know it could kill you
Warnings: Please mark if anything comes up!

I Found a Plot of Weeds Instead
Perhaps some of you remember the island of Umui...its mysteries, its dangers, its eerie quiet. Almost everything here was both overgrown and Overgrown - remnants of an old civilization were buried beneath layers of the flowers that eventually killed them. And travelers got to unpack and hunt down whatever clues they could find about just what happened to the people out here, until the answer became all too obvious.

When Umui resurfaces on January 20th, you might be startled to discover that everything has become even more overgrown than before. No, really - almost every landmark and building has been rendered more or less totally unrecognizable. It looks very much as though centuries of growth has now overcome this entire area, as though you've left it like this for a period of millennia and not merely a period of months. The buildings have been utterly buried beneath grasses and flowers, and if there were any of those automatons left lying about, they're probably buried pretty deep under the ground too. It's not recommended that you go digging too deep. You probably don't want to awaken any old strains of the Overgrowth, right? You already dealt with that earlier in the month! And that's the good news in all this. As long as you don't go digging too deeply into the island, you won't have any fear of encountering the Overgrowth again.

Well, unless you're after something or someone in particular. Some of you might remember robotic entity that several of you worked together to save. They're probably underneath all this stuff somewhere, right? Still deactivated, but...maybe there's something you can do to save them...?

If anyone has questions about what you might find if you poking around Umui's landscape, you're free to ask them here! It's worth noting, however, that except for the flora, this place is almost completely devoid of other life. Nothing sentient lives here...anymore.

Buried Deep Underneath the Tree
That doesn't mean Umui is bereft of any of quirks entirely, however. While you might recognize some of the flowers poking up from the humps of moss and greenery, a certain type of bloom is definitely new...and definitely not one of your standard types of flowers, either. If anyone thinks to ask one of the gods about these flowers, they will receive an assurance that they are not innately dangerous - but they are innately linked to the dream island of Mu. They glow with a strange, vaguely ethereal light, and if you get too close, they'll waft some thick spores of pollen in your direction.

These spores have all sorts of ways of latching their effects into you. Whether they get breezed into your mechanical parts, inhaled, ingested, if they land in your eyes, whatever the case - pretty soon, they're going to start working their magic. And once they do, you'll soon find yourself feeling inexplicably and incredibly tired. Inexorably, you'll find yourself settling down for a nap, regardless of whether you're not one for sleeping, or even if you're one who requires it. The moment you close your eyes, you'll find yourself entering a dream state on Mu, and one that is linked with all other dreaming entities. This means that it's highly possible that your dreams will be bleeding into other people's, or that you may end up wandering into another's dreams. It's very probable, in fact.

The dream-state you enter may vary in depth. You might end up completely beholden to Mu's wishes, or you might find yourself in a vaguely lucid, almost "sleepwalking" state, where in the following effects are "projections" visible to the waking world. Most likely, you'll all be bumping up against one another's heads within Mu's vast and comfortable shores. Whichever of these it is, once you're caught within Mu's grasp, you'll find that it's a trove of memories that await you - your memories. You may find yourself re-enacting them or simply watching from afar...but the same may be said for others who might stumble upon your mind. Perhaps they find themselves in place of another character, or watching invisibly from the sidelines. Either way, Mu tries to make each instance as close to the real thing as possible. When it has completed, it may either restart itself, or simply fade entirely.

Should you be affected by Umui's pollen, any one or more of the following will occur:

[ ♆ ] True Bliss: Mu recreates a memory or a time in which you were truly happy. This may be as simple or as grandiose as you may like, but it had to have really happened.

[ ♆ ] True Judgment: Mu recreates a memory or a time in which you felt exceptionally guilty. And no matter what you do, you'll find that it is impossible to change. Try as you might, you can only ever witness the same end result that has stricken you with so much guilt. And the same can be said for whoever might have gotten caught in this instance, and is watching it happen...

[ ♆ ] True Peace: Mu recreates a memory or a time in which you felt the most at peace, whether with some aspect of yourself or the circumstances around you. Perhaps this sense of peace bleeds into your own consciousness as you witness or act it, or perhaps it only serves to unsettle you...or maybe it affects those who go wandering into your dreams.

[ ♆ ] True Balance: Mu selects a memory or a time in your life...and warps it so that it is experienced in the opposite manner that it was initially. For example: that happy memory of you rescuing a bunch of kittens from a burning building? When you experience it this time, it will be in a relentlessly negative light - you absolute monster, traumatizing those kittens by carrying them through the fire like that! You should have been more careful! What if the fire was your fault all along? That horrible memory in which you slaughtered a bunch of innocent people? Well, it was all for the best, wasn't it? It was good that you did this. You have nothing to be sorry for. There's a bright side to everything - even this.

[ ♆ ] True Fate: Mu creates what it understands to be your final destiny, whether it be the place where our story ends, or the circumstances under which you perish. Perhaps this is something that is known to you, or to others. And perhaps it isn't.

You may pay witness to any one or more of these dream-states at a time. Perhaps you visit the island five times and receive the same "effect" each time, or perhaps you visit only once but find yourself looping through all five "effects" in the same space. The memories may vary, as well; for example, you might experience the "True Bliss" effect three times, and experience three separate happy memories each time. The choice of what your character experiences is up to you! While there are no inherent risks to this dream-state, it should be worth noting that your body will not be immune to entropy should you stay in it too long. Your body may suffer from hunger or thirst, or require recharging at a mana pool. For the most part, however, the only things you have to fear are the, uh, trauma that this might inflict. Or the trauma of other people seeing some of your most private memories.

Where My Friends Plot to Bury Me
Of course, there's a lot going on in the background as well. Characters are not required to go to Umui; you're free to explore any other minor events listed on our Monthly Rundown post. You are also always free to create your own individual logs and posts as needed!

Also remember that if you died this month, to fill out the corresponding form over on our Deaths page!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them over on our Monthly Rundown post!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[catpiper]

[She has yet to fully look at the being beside her. Being here is one thing-facing it is another. It's not as if she hasn't seen a corpse before-they littered her world, but having it be a friend-

She doesn't want to look.]

We should go somewhere else.

[hyperlit]

ok

[They're hardly about to force her to stay. Though there is the question of where to go...and how to get there. This isn't real, but how far are they to proceed? Will the world simply cease to be, if they stray too far beyond the boundaries of this simulacrum?]

where?

[catpiper]

[Where? Is the greatest q and this might be the first time she's spoken about it.

They don't seem sad over looking at their corpse and that acceptance is something she gets, but it's still rough to imagine them sitting here, next to their own skeleton.

She pushes herself up to her feet and walks forward, then to the side, then making a 180 to go the other way and-

Well, she's gonna point to the left. That's fine. She's pretty sure that's a good way to go.]

We can go that way, until you get tired. [There's a short pause and-] Do you feel sick in this place?

[hyperlit]

always sick

[In their dreams, it is less potent but...they have been sick for too long to remember what it is to be healthy, for the most part. They trot after her at a slow pace, to accommodate her speed. They're not sure that there is a left to go, last they were in this place, but the landscape is beholden to the distortion of a dream, and so it bends to that.]

[catpiper]

[Her goal is to get away, no matter where that ends up taking them. A few feet, a few yards, a few miles away-whatever it takes.

And as they walk, she keeps an eye on them, trying to gauge if anything hurts more than normal. Tries to see if they're about to cough and retch on the ground, though they always make a valiant attempt to keep it out of her line of sight.]

Are you always alone? In your world-is it like that?

[hyperlit]

usually

[Not always. But they had been an exception.]

drifters work alone

[catpiper]

There's nowhere for you to go?

[Even if they work alone, surely there's a place he can rest surrounded by people who might like them.

Who should like them.

Who she wished would like them, after all they've done for the world.]

Do you have a friend there?

[hyperlit]

not anymore

[They was the jackal god, but...she appeared only intermittently. She was not what anyone would call a friend, they don't think. She was a guide, more than anything.]

[Their only real "friend" died long before they did.]

[catpiper]

Do you want someone to be with you? When that happens-if you stay sick for a long time and your heart stops beating-

[Because-

Her own deep fears about dying alone are just hers. She doesn't know if Drifter feels the same way about their inevitable death, but-

If they're scared of it-if they want someone with them, she knows a person to ask. Knows who might be able to help.]

Do you want someone to be there?

[hyperlit]

no

[Perhaps a solemn answer, but a true one.]

better not to leave someone behind

[Better that their death go unmourned, and their absence unnoticed.]

[catpiper]

[They answer so easily and-

She remembers hobbling behind rocks and trees to hide herself from her family when Umui came around the first time. Remembers the regret and terror she felt being alone in that empty forest. How much it hurt to hear Lup's voice on the treasure and know there was no chance of reaching her.

She can't do that again. She doesn't want to be alone-doesn't want to die surrounded by nothing.

The Drifter's brave-incredibly brave and better in every way.]

You're very good.

[She tries to reach for their hand, if they'll let her take it.]

You're very special.

[They're incredible.]

I wish my heart could be strong like yours.

[hyperlit]

[Their hand rests over their chest for a moment - perhaps feeling their heart as it throbs there, weakly, in the cage of their ribs. They're not sure if they have a "strong" heart. It's sick and dying and feeble and it is their worst enemy most days.]

[But if she says it, she means it. Perhaps in a different sense, is all.]

[They allow her to take their hand.]

do not want to leave others behind
but the dying always leave

[catpiper]

[If they don't want someone to hold their hand at the bitter end, then this is the best she can do. Make this time count, when they're on the island and able to see eachother. While she's still able to reach out and hold their hand like this because-

They're going to die.

Her friend's going to die-no matter what, there's no changing it.

They're going to die alone because they're brave and strong and she wishes that kind of strength could be held in her heart. Wishes she didn't burden Kravitz with a promise. That she could peacefully in some damp building, but-

She's not like them.

And the dying always leave stings in an unexpected way. The Drifter doesn't realize how many people they're leaving behind on Enso-how their death would be mourned, even if no one saw them perish.]

I wish we didn't have to.

[But it doesn't matter, at the end of it. The we in that accidental.]

I'll try to make your heart very happy while we're here. If we do that kind of thing, it might help.

[hyperlit]

will not change what happens

[They don't look back at their body, slumped against the wall - where it has remained and will remain for who can say how long. It will molder there, perhaps forever. That is their fate. They have accepted this, in part because it was not in vain.]

[They did not do nothing with their life. Their death was not carried out without purpose.]

[catpiper]

I know. It won't change anything. It won't change that kind of thing-

[It helps. No matter what, it helps. She has to believe it helps because the only thing left at the very bitter end are the nice memories she can hold in her heart.

They should have that too. They must already have a few to look back on.]

But it can help. It makes your heart feel better.

[hyperlit]

[They doubt that it does. But they're not about to say this to her. She is the one who has to outlast them - who has, in some respects, already done so.]

perhaps

[Which is their way of saying "not really," though they don't say it.]

[catpiper]

[Even if they don't believe her, it's fine. The perhaps gives her hope for the situation because she doesn't see it as a no and-

It has to be better than the alternative. Has to be better than having no good memories to look back on while your body gets colder and colder though-]

I'll miss you. I hope it doesn't happen for a very long time.

[hyperlit]

it has already happened

[They don't need to nod back at their body there, but...]

before arrival to ensō

[catpiper]

[It's difficult to remember that they're already gone-

Especially hard, when she has their hand in her own and she can squeeze it tight to prove they're still beside her.

They're already dead and she saw. Has seen it. Saw it again only seconds ago. It's a future-it's their past.

That's what they're going back to.]

Maybe you won't have to go back. You can stay here.

[hyperlit]

would still die here in time

[They are still dying, after all. Their illness has not left them. Their blood is still poison, and their heart still throbs with every step. Now, more than ever, with the ache of their fatigue following their death.]

there is no cure

[catpiper]

[It's hard to argue their point when she feels the same way. It doesn't negate the extra time though. They've got years to live, even if they eventually perish. Even if there isn't a cure. They still have all this extra time to live.]

You're still here now. Even if that happens-you're alive right now and that's very good.

[hyperlit]

perhaps

[Again, not a real answer. But they don't want to tell her that it is pointless, because...]

[They've already become attached. There is no escaping it. There is no running away from the fact that this is unavoidable. She will know when they are gone. And she will hurt because of it.]

[Here, this will be their legacy.]

[catpiper]

[There isn't much left to say. She keeps a tight hold of their hand, making sure her back faces their corpse-their fate in any world they're allowed to live in apparently and wishes-

For a second, that they could stay here. Live here. Be happy and healthy on this island for many years to come. Wishes the Storyteller had the ability to cure them so they could do so.

They don't deserve the hand they were dealt. They're far too kind for it, but-

That's how it is and there's nothing to be done about it.

But they're her friend and the ache she feels at the impending passing won't ever go away. Even if she dies first, it won't matter.

They deserved more and there's no way for her to offer it, outside of holding their hand for as long as she can.]