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

Michael | OTA

[eudaimonikos]

i. noodle noodle noodle; enso

[Michael doesn't tend to keep terribly close tabs on his pet lorby, Florida. Florida was a wild animal when he found him, after all, and an adult one besides. If he goes off to forage in the woods on his own half the time, that's no problem as long as he comes home at some point.

Maybe this was a mistake.]

Florida! [He's stumbled upon a good handful of the little lorblings thus far, all in the general vicinity of his home. They scream as he holds them up in exasperation, though he's careful enough to not let any of them actually drop.] Did you do this? Why on earth?

ii. thanks I hate it; denny

[Michael's figured out the purpose of these weird leather bracelets by now, but he's still peering discontentedly at his as he leans against the bar.]

I have to say, I don't find this very fair.

[He's gotten better at expressing both emotions and vulnerability, he thinks. But it's not very fun to feel forced.]

ii!

[vytal]

[ yang's wandered her way into the denny and takes a seat near michael. her arms are placed on the counter and she leans over just before he speaks. yang turns towards him, a single crystal on her bracelet already and laughs. ]

Hey, it could be worse!

[ she grins. ] Not really good at handing out compliments?

[eudaimonikos]

I don't see the point. Not if it's coerced.

[And - yeah, maybe, he's not that sure if it's good at it or not. He's never really had to do it, outside of his little group of established friends.]

i. noodle noodle noodle; enso

[shatteredlenses]

Having problems, Micheal?

[Normally, Ignis would be more amused by this situation than he is, but for someone who has to rely on sound as their main sense, it's been a rough few days. Fortunately, the creatures--young and old--don't seem all that fond of felines. Between Leo's presence and Ardyn's efforts, they've managed to keep most of them away from the cottage.

Unfortunately, sound carries and loud sounds carry far.]

Do you need a hand?

[eudaimonikos]

I don't know that all of these are his.

[Which is not a question Ignis asked, but Michael still feels a little weirdly defensive.]

There's like five - oh, no, there's six. What am I supposed to do with them?

[shatteredlenses]

[Michael, being defensive isn't helping your case here.]

I'm not certain. Make soup maybe?

[Oh, come on Ignis. They may look like noodles, but they are not, in fact, noodles.]

Do they return if you take them out a fair distance into the jungle? As you've mentioned their progenitor was once a wild animal. They have not been around humans very long so their instincts should still be intact.

[There, finally a real suggestion.]

[eudaimonikos]

Would that be okay?

[Like, is it immoral? They're babies and all...?]

[shatteredlenses]

Their cries are already loud enough to hurt our ears. I imagine it will be the same or worse for any predator that may try to attack them. Even more so if they are in a group.

[So leave them all in one spot, perhaps?]

ii

[vagabone]

[He never needed much encouragement. He can't tell the difference in himself. It's not going to bother him in the slightest once he does realize. It's a good thing for a change!

Hence his confusion.]

What? Free necklaces for everyone, sounds fair to me. [Only a skeleton would call it a 'necklace'...]

[eudaimonikos]

You don't think it's even a little suspicious that we can't leave them behind if we want?

[Of course, Michael had tried that even before he figured out what they were all about. He's just not a jewelry guy.]

[vagabone]

Or maybe it is a bad sign and we're all in for it any second now. But that's nothing new and we never can stop the terrible stuff happening. So, whatever. Free necklace.

[Laugh, cry, or scream. He chooses to laugh. Har har.]

[eudaimonikos]

That's very fatalistic.

[But, he guesses, Hector is dead.]

I'm really not a jewelry guy. Don't think I'd go for leather, either... [He extends the arm he's put the band on, turning it over.] Doesn't go with my outfit at all.

[vagabone]

I'm not even one of the people who have been here the longest. I think it's been like three years for a few of us?

[Three. Four. Whatever. Point taken. He takes out his own leather band, curious if they look identical...]

It's not much. I wonder if there's something we're missing.

ii

[deathfindsaway]

[Oh, that's an entire mood. Kravitz is a little beyond getting angry at the way places make him feel after so much experience here, but if he ever stops complaining he's likely been replaced. Hence why it's not unnatural for him to seek someone else out just to complain about things in a... fun sort of way. Sure. He's sitting just nearby, legs crossed on a stool and nodding in agreement.]

Oh, it certainly isn't. But out of all types of manipulation, I suppose at least this is more innocuous than making us kill each other.

[eudaimonikos]

That's a low bar.

[Not that he disagrees.]

Though I guess I didn't get your weird war disease, either.

[deathfindsaway]

And yet, we continually struggle to pass it.

[Case in point, the murder island. He at least has the decency to look a little sheepish on that one.]

Yes, I-- sorry about that, by the by. I'm glad I didn't hurt you or anything like that, it was... quite the ordeal for me as well.

[eudaimonikos]

Don't worry about it. At the worst, you might have destroyed my skinsuit, and that...

[Well. For one, he doesn't know if that's strictly true. His body's worked differently in general ever since he got here, after all. And even if that were the case, it would be far from...pleasant...]

...it wouldn't have been ideal. But I'm sure I could manage. [...] You came out of it okay, though?

i

[semistableman]

[But nearly laughs when he hears Michael shout after the lorby, looking at the animals, and then to Michael with a raised brow.]

You named your own snake Florida?

[Okay, maybe he is laughing.]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael grins.]

Of course I did! Have you seen them? Only Florida has that much chaos concentrated in a single place.

[semistableman]

[Bucky laughs again.]

I'll have to take your word for it, I never heard much about Florida growing up.

[eudaimonikos]

I don't know if "Florida Man" was a thing back then. It all sort of blurs together after a while. If it helps, Jason's my friend who threw a Molotov cocktail at a group of demons coming to kill us, while yelling the name of his favorite quarterback.

ii

[forwearemany]

(They remember interacting briefly with him: while he is not precisely an ally, they still approach to offer him cake.

...At least until they hear his words. Then they stop and tilt their head, before letting out a short burst of chatter.

They do not understand. What is unfair?)

[eudaimonikos]

Is that cake?

[Where...where did they get cake. He kinda wants cake. It's a pretty good distraction from his annoyance about the bracelet, although he does pick up on their confusion after another second.]

This whole...magical manipulation jewelry. You should be able to ditch it if you want.

[forwearemany]

Affirmative. Do you desire it?

(They were, after all, intending to offer him the cake.)

We were not aware of these impulses being the result of jewelry.

[eudaimonikos]

Sure. Where'd it come from?

[Not that he seems legitimately suspicious, he's reaching out to accept it anyway.]

Seems like it must be, right? There's no way it's just a coincidence - and I do not normally feel this much need to thank people. [which makes him sound like a dick, in retrospect? it's more to do with the level of sincerity...well, whatever]