lifeaftr | November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Uhhhhhh.....heheheheheheheheheheh.

[Today's been so embarrassing and absurd that he can't help but laugh. But he does manage to speak after laughing awkwardly.]

Not like this. I dunno if you realise something funny is going on.

We did not.

(They headtilt slight, but...)

If you do not wish to speak further, we will leave, though we would prefer to stay.

[They would prefer to stay. And it is pretty obvious why. Maybe earlier he might have said another time. But after his talk with Héctor, he finds himself saying...] All right. Come inside.

(Their headflaps lift a bit.)

Acknowledged. Thank you.

(And come inside they will.)

[Come inside Zidane's cottage. He's a messy kid with clothes and equipment over the floor and chairs but at least it's not food and drink cans everywhere. After all, he was trying to pack his rucksack. He takes a deep breath. He was planning to talk to Legion about this but he'd rather have done it of his own will. MUCH rather.]

It looks like the island is doing stuff again. For some reason I have the urge to tell everyone exactly how I feel about them. Which is why I uh....blurted that stuff out.

(Legion does not mind mess. Geth themselves aren't amazingly clean creatures, as long as it isn't impeding functionality, dirt is allowed to collect where it will.)

...We were not aware of this.

(They consider their desire to gift others with cake. Their willingness to express that which cannot be adequately expressed.

Is this why?)

You weren't? [Either they aren't affected and haven't seen anyone. Or they are affected too but don't realise. They seem pretty casual about this. Well, Legion casual anyway. That said, when Zidane finished talking to Héctor, he did find...

Wait, he'll deal with that in a second. There was a reason he let Legion in here, didn't he? And while he'd rather do it under different circumstances, he would have invited his friend in for nothing if he didn't say something.

Besides, since it's Legion, and knowing what they are like, it probably won't be so bad.] Never mind. We'll talk about that in a second. You're here for uh......what I said earlier. About me being similar to Vivi.

Yes.

(They chatter.)

You also stated you were similar.

[Well, he was going to end up telling someone anyway, with or without the confessions coming out. And he feels it’s going to be less awkward than the confession earlier. Still, with everything that is going on….

He leans against the table, sighing.] Man, this is gonna be a long day. I can tell.
[But at least he doesn’t feel the urge to confess everything now. Not in front of Legion. He can at least tell them freely.]

I’m not really from Gaia. There’s another world in my universe…..well, was. It’s probably gone now….. [Since Kuja destroyed most of it when he went on a rampage and who knows what happened to it afterwards when the Iifa Tree reacted. Not that Zidane cares much about his birthplace being destroyed. It was a miserable place and he managed to save all the inhabitants by taking them to Gaia.]…..But whatever. [Said dismissively. Again, he gives no fucks that it’s gone.]

Anyway, that world was called Terra and it was dying…..I heard there used to be a civilization there but they all went to sleep…..well, died, I guess…..but the Genomes….that’s my race. They were made to be vessels for the old people of Terra when they woke up from their long nap….

Well, most of ‘em anyway….I was born for a different reason. [And his expression turns sour on this.]

(Creating life for no purpose other than to be used by other life. It is always ...dismaying to learn of it, but this case is particularly distressing. Presumably, those Genomes were capable of developing their own personalities, much like Zidane. If so, why create them for such a purpose? Would it not be better to simply design vessels that were incapable of developing their own minds?

Was it an unintended accident that they weren't? Or was it intentional? Did the creators of these beings find it enjoyable to destroy the autonomy of others?)

Query: Is this reason unsavory from your perspective?

(Legion has enough experience to see where this is probably going.)

[Well, for a bunch of complex reasons, most of the Genomes were not a lively bunch when Zidane first met them.]

I’m not sure if you can sum up causing chaos and helping kill everyone on Gaia as ‘unsavory’. Sounds like too nice a word.

Edited 2019-11-30 10:26 (UTC)

You and your ally are not the only ones who are designed for war or destruction.

(They look away, and let out an unhappy string of chatter.

...They weren't supposed to say that.)

Request change of topic.

Edited 2019-12-01 01:09 (UTC)

Uhhh?!

[Wait, that was odd. Maybe he shouldn't have let out that part about the fact he's supposed to be a warmonger and murderer? Did Legion get the wrong idea?

Actually, that doesn't make sense. Legion wouldn't have said that other part beforehand if it was a problem. So it must have been what they said. Are they talking about themself? Or maybe someone else? Zidane doesn't know but but it looks like something Legion doesn't want to talk about so he'll do as they say.]

S-sure. [This is a wee bit awkward.] Uh....anyway. I'm gonna be going out for a few days. That's why I'm packing stuff. [And why his house is a bit of a mess.]

(No it's more that they just came dangerously close to blurting out a secret that wasn't theirs.)

Acknowledged. You seek to avoid the effects of the previously mentioned influence?

[And there's an awkward smile] That's the gist of it, yeah. I kinda get the feeling it's probably not gonna work though.

Acknowledged. Would you prefer for this unit to leave?

(In order to avoid further admittance of things neither of them wish to disclose.)

[Hmmm...now that he thinks about it, that urge is gone. The urge to tell Legion exactly how he feels. Maybe because he's already done it. But then come to think about it, does Legion have the urge to confess too? It's possible they don't want that.]

Well, I guess it's up to you. I've already fessed up but there's no way I'm gonna make you stay to do the same.

(They chatter.)

Alert: "fessing up" carries risk of revealing the secrets of allies in addition to our own.

(So ...maybe later.)

[Wait, is this about the 'designed for war or destruction' stuff? Is there someone else like that on the islands? And who wants to keep this a secret?]

Ah...gotcha. I guess that means I catch you later then. [Wait, he has an idea. If Legion suddenly blurts things out that Zidane should not hear before leaving...

The thief covers his ears, giving them an assuring grin. It'll all be ok soon.]

Affirmative. Thank you.

(And they leave. Perhaps later, they will contact him to discuss sensitive information that does not belong to their allies.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject