lifeaftr | Returning Island: Umui

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!

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Crowley knows the game, he had once been entrusted with the care of a very young boy. You don't care for a tiny human and not learn hide and seek.]

Fine.

Will you hide firssst?

[At the Fine, she's already turning on her heel to bust into the woods because yes, actually, she will hide and this snake won't find her. That's her true belief and since no ground rules were established, well-

She'll cross that cheating bridge when she gets there.]

[Reluctantly, Crowley begins shuffling through the grass to find her, he's waited at least ten seconds, he thinks, but wasn't really counting. He just wants to get this over with.

Being a human might make searching much easier, but it would also blow his cover, so he slithers on.]

[In those ten seconds, she managed to bolt a good distance away and climb up one of the smaller, sparser trees in the area. From certain angles, her silver hair and pitch black poncho are going to be easy to spot, but for now-

She doesn't move and simply waits, staring at the ground below her to see if the giant snake makes its way here.]

[Certain angles, sure, but Crowley is currently in a form that moves by squirming on the ground, and his point of view is rather low. He hisses, moving through the brush. Otherwise, he's very quiet, listening for the slightest movements from Ren. Should he take much longer in finding her, he may slither up a tree for a better vantage point.]

[The creature slithers underneath her, not even looking up. It's probably not fair because its eyes don't work that way, but you know what? Winning is winning and she's gonna take this hide and seek victory home with her.

The problem is-

She shifts and one of the many, many pebbles from her pocket slips out, making a tiny ruckus as he glides by. Whoops!!!]

[Was she throwing rocks at him? Crowley looked as nonplussed as a serpent perhaps could, and he froze in the grass, eyes peeping to the side. Clearly, she had to be up high, but thankfully, the serpent was good at climbing. Crowley couldn't tell what direction the pebble came from, but any tree would do for his purposes, so he slid up the nearest trunk, coiling around it as he climbed, his head every so often leaving the bark to glance about, trying to spot her before climbing higher.]

I know you're here. [He hisses, whether or not he actually does. Worth a shot.]

No you don't.

[Comes the response from, what sounds like, the opposite side of the trunk. It's more a of whisper, since she doesn't want to fully give away her position and his voice came-

Well, somewhere nearby and she's good at this game. She's not about to let him believe she's here.

Even if that comment is what probably gave away her position entirely.]

Oh, carry on, then. [If snakes could chuckle, this one would be. He continued his climb anyway, at least until he's got her within view. She is just a child. Crowley has experience raising children. Or... a child, singular. He was always rather sweet with Warlock, even though his goal was to corrupt the child to evil. Good enough a nanny to stay employed with a wealthy political family, anyway.

The snake's head tilts, looking at her with interest.]

I didn't realize lying was part of the game, little one.

It's called 'cheating' if it's during a game.

[Even if it has backfired horrifically, now that she's practically revealed herself in her nice tree hiding spot. She hasn't seemed to make the connection just yet, which is whatever. Everyone's doing their best right now.]

So it's okay.

So it is.

[Crowley slithers down from the tree, a much easier task in this form, but as he gets to the bottom of it's trunk there's a crackling of bones as his form retakes that of a human, one she's likely seen before, the orange-red scales of his stomach the same color as the fiery hair on his head. The only thing snakelike that remains are a pair of shoes and the yellow eyes in his head.]

Afraid I'm getting too tired to keep that up. Can you get down?

Returning Island: Umui

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