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

[mockiri]

[Kiri chirps a greeting, sitting up a bit with a cheery smile.]

She walks around.

[And then she waves at Golisopod, perfectly mimicking the noise he made. Hello! She does not know what a Pokemon is, but you're pretty cool-looking and you're not trying to eat her, so she likes it.]

[yallstupid]

[And Golisopod, surprised and delighted by this, leans more toward the curious creature, nearly unbalancing his trainer as he presses himself forward and down over Guzma's shoulder.]

Oof...jeez--! Let me move first if y'wanna say hullo! [He shoves the big bug off, then shuffles away.] Don't worry, kiddo he's big, but he's a pushover. Y'all can pet him if y'want, he'd appreciate it more'n you know.

[Golispod is...large. He practically has to double over on himself just to be even moderately close to Kiri with his face. But, he does wriggle the feelers on his mouth curiously at her, antennae twitching again to get a good read of her scent and presence. He makes another rumbling sound, then clicks his claws together in a gentle greeting.]

[mockiri]

[Golispod is large, and much larger than the tiny bird girl he's now looming over, so she can't quite help scooting over and hiding behind Guzma's legs now that he's come up close. After a long moment of hiding she peers around him, curious but cautious, and her voice - or Guzma's, rather - is hushed when she speaks up again.]

We cool?

[yallstupid]

[Guzma snickers quietly, allowing this obvious child to hide behind him. It's always bizarre to him that people would: 1.) be afraid of his Golisopod, though he's extremely biased, and 2.) go to someone like himself for protection. He never saw himself really as anything or anyone a small kid would go to for comfort, but, well...he's the only other person here.

Golisopod, the calm and quiet creature he is, makes his movements slow and gently, bowing his head low to be more on eye-level to the child, and reaching out with one of his longer, thinner legs toward her curiously. That is, before his trainer's voice comes from her little beak, and he rears back, confused, jolting to look at Guzma, who immediately bursts out laughing, shaking his head, and pointing down at Kiri.

Delighted now, Golisopod beams, making a pleased gurgling sort of noise as it claps those two big, meaty claws together. Again, again!! 8D]

[mockiri]

[The sudden movement startles her all over again, but the laughter helps, as does the clapping and slow movement that follows. After a long moment, she edges out from behind Guzma, looking the creature up and down. So big... a big bug. Who... claps?]

He's a pushover.

[There you go, she did it again.]

[yallstupid]

[Yeah, this is pretty on point for how people view the large insect at first. They're always a little fearful at first. His size and appearance are definitely something to behold, but the species itself are relatively quiet, gentle creatures. They have a calm disposition and would rather soak peacefully by the edge of the water or meditate. Scary looking, but not all bad deep down.

Sort of like Guzma himself.

He puts a hand on the top of Kiri's head and snickers down to her.]

Lookit that, Chatot, y'made friends with my partner, yeah? Nice job. Now give 'im a pat, the big joker's dying for a little TLC. Don't sweat it, kiddo, if he acts up, I'll clock 'im right in the mouth for you.

[Golisopod bellows again at the mimicry, looking again from its trainer to the small, bird-like creature (a Pokemon?) and seems tickled by the whole spectacle. He bends down, before opting instead to just sit and lean forward toward Kiri, twitching his antennae and giving her a sniff. How does she do that?]

[mockiri]

[Hmm, okay. Satisfied for the moment about the lack of danger, she walks out from behind Guzma and reaches her up to rub her feathered fingers over the top of his head, trying to find the right spots to pet and scratch. He feels funny, not at all like the cats or other fuzzy creatures she's been allowed to pat before. The new sensation is not unwelcome, though, and she trills approvingly at the offer, teasing back in Beau's voice.]

You want a whole bunch of fist!