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

[vagabone]

[He turns around, planning to at least try and walk away before the memory repeats. Like hell he wants to watch it over and over and over...

And he winces when he sees someone already standing there, having seen the whole damn thing. Not someone who already knew. Go figure, ha ha... ha...]

You saw all that, huh?

[reflash]

[Yukio nods, apologetic. He didn't mean to look, but he couldn't avoid seeing it. Not being able to talk is frustrating, because he knows what he could say to try and play this off in a way where Héctor won't feel as awkward about the whole situation as he clearly does, but instead he's just left trying to convey the sentiment with body language, which isn't nearly as effective.]

[vagabone]

[Eh, he gets the idea. Doesn't stop him from clutching at his own collarbone, one of many stupid nervous habits.]

First you, now me. This place really likes mindgames, right?

[reflash]

[When it isn't his mental state being pulled into focus, Yukio's a lot more calm (still tense, Héctor isn't exactly a relaxing person to be around). He makes a vague sort of gesture that hopefully reads as something with a mood of "if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen", but there are some things that are hard to communicate with charades.]

[vagabone]

[It flies right over his head this time. Mostly. Same thing happened to him the first time he died, courtesy of an actual black hole.

Wouldn't it be nice to get back to a sane afterlife where he can simply sit around and maybe learn how to make shoes by hand?]

I take it you died and lost your voice?

[reflash]

[He nods, still looking apologetic, and taps his throat. Yeah, he died, but he's going to apologetically laugh it off.]

[vagabone]

Happened to me the first time too. I walked into that horrible black hole... thingy.

[He says, rushing the words out, because every second he wastes is one he doesn't have to spend talking about Ernesto. Or his murder. Stupid, stupid man he is. Why did he take the drink, why didn't he notice anything was off, why is he such a fool.]

You know about that, right?

[reflash]

[If that's what Héctor wants to talk about, Yukio will listen. He tilts his head, looks questioning, just lets the skeleton talk.]

[vagabone]

Right. I guess you didn't. It's somewhere towards the middle of Enso. I don't know, I'm not going to go look for it again, that's as specific as I can be.

[And the memory starts over. There he is, alive and healthy, packing... trying to go home...]

[reflash]

[It's starting again. Of course it is. That's all these dreams do, loop around and around again until the dreamers fall out of them, exhausted.

But he can't say anything in this dream, so he just waits to see what Héctor is going to do. If Yukio has to, he'll stand between the skeleton and his memories, to at least try and block the sight of them.]

[vagabone]

[He's standing and watching, barely blinking. Nothing changes. His foolish, naive living self takes the drink. He always will. And the ghost of Héctor forces out some strangled, shaky attempt at a laugh. That's right, laugh it off. Can't have the kid worrying.]

I'm not a smart guy, huh. Never have been. He knew it, everyone knew it.

[reflash]

[Yukio isn't going to try to argue that point, so instead he gestures off to the side, trying to get across the idea of we should go.]

[vagabone]

Can't.

[He shakes his head, barely glancing at Yukio.] It's not going to let me run away from it. The consequences. Not this time. But maybe you can. Don't worry about it, you don't have to stay.

[reflash]

[That gets a Look from Yukio before he gestures again. You can't tell him to stop beating himself over things and then beat yourself up over things.]

[vagabone]

[A sigh. He gets those kind of looks a lot.] I can't, really. It loops back around. I'm stuck until I figure out... whatever lesson it wants to teach.

[reflash]

[He's pretty sure there's no lesson involved, but it's not a surprise to see someone who was so adamant that Yukio not treat these dreams as a punishment decide to punish themself with the dreams (a disappointment, but not a surprise).

He shakes his head again.]

[vagabone]

[Boy, this is one complicated conversation to try to have via charades.]

No? No what?

[reflash]

[Yukio points off to the side again. They can't stand here waiting for the dream to just fall apart around them, they'll have to try and force their way out]

[vagabone]

I told you, I already tried. But... fine, okay, I'll show you.

[So he tears his gaze away from his living face, taking that terrible drink for the third time, and starts to walk. Down the street, towards the train station... it's easy to tell this is not a modern city. Not at all.]

[reflash]

[There it is, that acknowledgement and movement he was looking for. It's easier to break someone out of a demon's sway when they're willing to go along with the exorcist's recommendation. Yukio follows, walking along beside Héctor through the streets of the dream city.]

[vagabone]

[They make it to the train station... and here he stops, right where he collapsed all those years ago. Could his present-day self ride on home? He wonders...]

Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm meant to get on the train. You know, finally go home.

[reflash]

[Yukio nods. It can't hurt to try.]