November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

[lifeaftr_mods]

NOVEMBER UNDERCURRENT

Who: Everyone!
What: Have you told someone you loved them yet?
When: November 3rd to November 20th
Where: Everywhere!
Warnings: Nothing of note; please mark if anything comes up!

Take Me Back to the Reasons Why
The Water wishes to demonstrate their power to you, as well as just what they mean, when they suggest that they require your cooperation. They are going to bring back the harvest island of Nuidan, a generally fondly remembered island that explorers have encountered in the past. What's more, they're going to require your help to do it.

Starting November 3rd, characters will discover a simple strip of dark leather among their belongings, meant to be worn around the neck or wrist. They can disregard it, of course, but if they attempt to discard or destroy it, it will always find its way back to them, no matter how improbable this might seem. How strange...

Perhaps even stranger is the sudden appearance of a smooth slab of stone, half-submerged in the waters just off of Ensō's coast. It's an altar, and around its edges are a series of deep notches, as though something is meant to be inserted into them. In its center is a pool of water, though it curiously doesn't seem to reflect anything.

The purpose of this will only really become obvious once the month goes on. Characters will find themselves to compelled to be honest with the people around them as to why they care, why they appreciate them as people, or what they like most about them. This compulsion can vary wildly and at the player's discretion, from a gentle mental pressure to an unstoppable force, and anything in between!

The bottom line is that every time one admits to some feeling of gratitude, no matter how small or big, their little plait of leather will receive a crystal from the interaction. All crystals will be roughly the same shape, but they may vary in color, pattern, and texture. Some might be simple sticks of quartz, while others might be comprised of myriad, ever-changing swirls of color. Again, the only limit here is your imagination. Now the presence of that strange, altar-shaped stone in the water might make a bit more sense. Those notches in its sides are the perfect size and shape to fit a crystal smoothly into any one of them. The more grateful interactions one has with others, the more crystals they will gather, and the more they can fit into the altar. As more crystals are fed to the altar, it will start to glow. The pool of water at the altar's top will start to reflect the likeness island of Nuidan in increasing clarity, as though one is peering at its likeness in a snowglobe. What's more is that the number of crystals in the altar will very obviously affect Nuidan's state: very few crystals will make the island look as though it is mostly wilderness only a handful of structures in dire need of repair, while a great deal of crystals will cause the island to look as though it is thriving, in full bloom, and in more need of harvest than maintenance.

But, ultimately, the state in which Nuidan returns to you is up to you...and how far you're willing to go to express a little gratitude. Don't worry if you don't know anyone, either - this marks a great opportunity to start doing nice things for people, even if you don't know them! You've got most of the month to get to know each other, after all.

Don't think you can get away with heaping compliments on your closest friends and companions, however; variety is the name of the game here. While you can collect all sorts of crystals for personal use from repeat interactions, you can only feed one crystal to the altar per person. That is to say, Character A can be as grateful to Character B as they like, but only one crystal from each character can be delivered to the altar. If they want to procure more for the altar's purposes, Character A will have to have a positive interaction with Character C, and so on.

Take Me Back to That Big Sky

Of course, there's a lot going on in the background as well. You're free to use this log as a catch-all for the duration of November's Undercurrent Event, as well as the other minor events listed on our Monthly Rundown post. You are very, very free to let your dreams about creepers and baby lorbies become reality, and you are always free to create your own individual logs and posts as needed.

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

November Timeline

[ ♆ ] November 3rd: "And We Give Thanks" begins and lasts until November 20th
[ ♆ ] November 4th: "Aw, Man" begins and lasts until November 12th
[ ♆ ] November 11th: "The Lorblings" begins and lasts until November 25th
[ ♆ ] November 20th: Nuidan returns to the archipelago
[ ♆ ] November 21st: "Return to Your Roots" begins and lasts until November 30th

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[hyperlit]

[The act of learning how to make a flower crown was fundamentally unnecessary - and yet, it was something that Ren had wanted to do, and so they had acquiesced. That was her tacit request, and it would not have done to upset her by refusing it. So without really meaning to, they have learned how to create something.]

[It's strange how it took them until now to truly realize it.]

[The Drifter's head bobs back up, their work pauses, and their head goes to one side.]

?

[forwearemany]

(Does the Drifter like food? Will they accept a gift of it?

Legion is about to find out.

They pull a random object from their backpack. It honestly looks like old junk, but then they stab it with their blade of plenty to reveal ... cake? Chocolate cake?

They offer the strange treat to the Drifter.)

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter regards the offering with their typical expression - which is to say, vaguely blank and difficult to perhaps immediately discern.]

food
?

[It doesn't look like food. But the smell is undeniable - rich and sugary. Sweet, they're certain.]

[forwearemany]

Yes.

(They headtilt, waiting to see if the Drifter will take it.)

[hyperlit]

[They do. They look at it carefully, studying the shape of what appears to be little more than a piece of unusable something-or-other.]

made it?

[forwearemany]

(They show Drifter the knife.)

This weapon transforms objects into cake.

[hyperlit]

[A collection of words they did not expect to hear today, for certain. Nonetheless, the Drifter processes this with the same ease that they do most things: with a blink, and a nod. What use is there in protesting it? It is how it is.]

thank you

[For the cake, that is. They're not sure they can eat the entire thing on their own, but sharing with Legion seems insensitive, as they cannot consume it. Perhaps Ren would like some?]

[forwearemany]

You are welcome.

(Their headflaps lift a bit.)

[hyperlit]

[Not sure where to put it. Unroll a strip of cloth from their knapsack and lay it on the ground, so they can place the cake carefully atop it. That way, it can remain (mostly) clean for later consumption.]

only have flowers

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(They headtilt slightly at this.)

[hyperlit]

can take as many as desired

[For some reason, they're feeling...very giving today. It's strange. They're not really sure what someone would do with a bunch of flower crowns, aside from give them away to other people, but they sure can have them!]

[forwearemany]

Your offer is appreciated.

(They are content to take only one.)

You are kind to us.

[hyperlit]

trying to be

[Kindness is not a natural thing to them, they think. They are not built for it. They are not made to be kind. And yet, they consistently attempt that very thing - to leave others better than they were when the Drifter met them. This is not always successful.]

[But they owe it to them to try.]

[forwearemany]

Our allies in our universe of origin were not.

(They chatter.)

In our first encounter with the Normandy crew, we shot husks attempting to attack them from behind, and later provided assistance critical to mission success. We were incapacitated in the process.

When Shepard-Commander brought us aboard the Normandy crewmembers suggested she sell us to the organization Cerberus for experiments, or dispose of us via the airlock.

[hyperlit]

not very good at it

[Some might say that Legion's standards are low, if their metric for kindness involves not attempting to kill them.]

have also hurt you
have also killed you

[forwearemany]

You did not kill us.

(The shadow might have reflected parts of them, but it was not them.)

Our crewmates also mocked us, and questioned our motives. This was a significant improvement over treatment of Geth by the rest of organic civilisation -- our existence is considered illegal.

[hyperlit]

did

[They cannot escape those consequences, and it is discourteous to refuse to accept accountability for them. If they do not, who will?]

[They cannot run from what they have done.]

still hurt you

[forwearemany]

A being composed of your worst aspects is not you.

(No matter what the Drifter or their shadow says.)

Yes. We have decided this is acceptable: the harm you caused is limited, and it is clear you feel remorse.

Few have expressed distress over harm done to Geth.

[hyperlit]

still responsible

[They cannot deny that. They cannot seek to avoid the worst of what they are capable of simply because it is inconvenient to them, or to others.]

should have better friends than those who hurt you

[forwearemany]

Drifter, you did not choose to participate in the creation of shadows.

(They're as calm as ever.)

On both incidents in which you injured us, your ability to self determinate was compromised.

Though you are capable of harming us, we do not consider you likely to do so in typical circumstances.

We have better quality allies.

[hyperlit]

shadows did not come from nothing

[They look back down to the circlet in their hands, half-finished.]

have hurt you before
in other circumstances
in typical circumstances

[forwearemany]

You have also assisted us, learned our history, did not judge us for our secrets or our humiliation, and continued to accept our presence despite our actions also causing you harm.

(Their headflaps ripple, and they chatter.)

Your shadow also overfocused on negative qualities.

[hyperlit]

do not make excuses
accept consequences

[The Drifter has. They cannot ignore what their darker self may have done, no matter how much it might suit them.]

"better" still not "good"

[forwearemany]

Perhaps. However, you are overlooking the positive contibutions you have made to focus on the harm you have caused, while ignoring the harm caused to you by us.

You speak of being kind to others: perhaps you should treat yourself with similar kindness.

[hyperlit]

complicated

[They resume twining flowers together, chaining them into a circle with their stems.]

many cause harm to a drifter