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

[postictal]

No. It was a...body switch, kind of. Like a few months ago, but actually way worse.

[Because those were body switches that required you to adjust to challenges specifically made for your body and you had to coach whoever was in it how to do those challenges and if you sucked at it, everyone suffered for it.]

...I dunno yet. What do you want it to be?

[lesbeau]

[Oh, huh. She kind of had an idea that other trials were different, but she didn't know the specifics of any besides the ones the other Nein were in. That didn't sound like any of them she knew, but it's enough to assume he doesn't want to do it again or anything.]

Sounds annoying. Mine involved a lot of standing still while you almost died.

[But hey, let's talk about wood instead, huh? Fuck that death pit.]

What kind of stuff can you make? Just statues or functional things?

[postictal]

That sounds fun for everybody.

[And also par for the course for the way Maati seemed to work. Everyone got something different, even within the group he was with, and it was specifically geared to...suck for them specifically, he supposes. Something along those lines.]

I can make some stuff. I'm not real good at it yet, but I've made boxes and combs and things like that before.

[lesbeau]

[Oh, it certainly was. She has no doubt Tim could've done her challenge easily, seeing as it just involved sitting still for one goddamn second. But that's gone now, and Beau can just hope that it doesn't happen again.]

Uhhh... I dunno, then. Can't think of anything I need made of wood or whatever.

[Maybe someone else would like this? She thinks for a second, and then speaks again.]

Could you do like... a cool storm cloud, with a lightning bolt coming out of it? That's how it can stand up.

[postictal]

[Tim frowns, trying to visualize it.]

I could give it a shot, sure.

[He's never made something like that before. Most of what he does has a pretty clear purpose, and designs usually spiral from the purpose out of second nature. Something purely ornamental is harder.]

Like a statue?

[lesbeau]

Yeah. Just like, a thing. If you have the wood and stuff.

[It could be a gift, maybe. Yasha doesn't keep a lot of personal items, but she might like that. Before she thinks of it, she speaks up again, looking at Tim's hands as she talks without thinking.]

You're good at stuff like that, yknow. Just making stuff out of nothing. It's cool.

[postictal]

It's mostly self-taught.

[He's probably got terrible technique, or something. An actual carpenter or someone who's good at crafting shit could probably critique him to hell and back, but the point is that there's not a lot of other people who can do it, so...]

[The compliment takes him off guard, for some reason. Usually he's self-effacing to the point where it doesn't catch him so much, but for some reason that's not the case now.]

...thanks, though.

[lesbeau]

[She sure as shit doesn't know anything about woodcarving technique. She has a lot of talents that sound weird without knowing any context of her, but frankly she just likes that people can make things. Never been much good at that, in the end. Just breaking them down and down again.]

Who's gonna care? Nobody else can. If it works it doesn't matter.

[Function over form, buddy, function over form.]

It's just cool that you do so much here. Like, making a job and everything. Kinda feel like it was more than just you getting bored after a while.

[postictal]

[He hesitates, because the praise doesn't feel earned. There was a reason behind it, behind all of it. He learned to carve wood because he needed a mask. He built up Denny because he needed a way to access information accrued by everyday chatter in a way that wouldn't be suspicious.]

[Shrugging it off feels disingenuous, though.]

...thanks, I guess. I...didn't really think of it that way.

[lesbeau]

[Even if his intentions were selfish, they still helped. Stepping in, doing something because he needed the security, still did something for others. It's easy to forget stuff like that can benefit more than it's original intent.]

Yeah, well uh, think about it. For sure.

[She is... still not the best at giving compliments, and what she's doing is slowly creeping up to her.]

I mean, uh, not in a weird way. Just like a... thing. Yeah.

[postictal]

Are you feeling okay?

[This seems...out of left field for her. Not that she's not nice, but - well, she's not really "nice" is the point. She's loud and abrasive and he doesn't mind that exactly, but this kind of unfiltered compliment is not the sort of behavior he's come to expect of her.]

[The troubling part comes from the bit where she looks a little like she didn't expect it either.]

[lesbeau]

I have no fuckin' idea, what the hell is going on.

[She says it a little quickly, like she's also feeling how weird this is now and Isn't Enjoying It. Her eyes narrow a bit towards him, and then around the area.]

What is this, force Beau to compliment people, what? What kind of purpose is that gonna solve??

[postictal]

I mean it's...did you not, uh...

[He quickly stops pursuing that topic. Does it matter if she meant it or not? No. Doesn't matter. Probably didn't, and he wouldn't blame her for that, because there's not a lot about Tim worth complimenting. He knows it. It's fine.]

I won't, uh, hold it against you?

[lesbeau]

[Beau just shakes her head once.]

No, it's like-- yeah, that was true, I just don't say that.

[Don't go thinking of her as a person who's nice or anything, that's just... shhhh. Sh.]

Do you feel anything weird? Like... too nice or something?

[postictal]

I...

[Well, now he's gotta concentrate on it, and while he's always generally appreciative of people, and generally willing enough to express that gratitude, it seems more forthright now. It's not really a compulsion he's actively thinking about. But he does feel...more inclined to voice it?]

I guess. I dunno. I don't feel all that different, but I guess I wouldn't.

[lesbeau]

Why wouldn't you? You don't seem like the type to hand out compliments.

[Not as a slight to him, he's just... not that guy. It's one of the things Beau likes, that he isn't totally headass about people in the Denny. It's chill. At least she's aware enough not to say that, though.]

[postictal]

I mean...not really.

[Not that he hasn't, but. He frowns.]

I just mean I don't feel - I mean, there's not really a lotta people I hate. I don't think there's anyone here I hate, really. [Save for himself, of course.] Just people I kinda avoid, you know?

[lesbeau]

Uh. No?

[Hate is one of the easier emotions for Beau, but that's just because her trauma became anger and really never stopped doing that.]

You can hate people. I mean, there aren't a lot here right now. But some people are fuckin' bastards and they should choke on a spike, y'know? Real end the world for their own gain dicks, the kidnapping and mind control type that do it cuz they love it.

[Haha she doesn't have such a ready example for any reason, of COURSE not,,,,]

[postictal]

[Tim shrugs, tiredly.]

It takes too much work.

[He only really has the energy to hate one thing in pretty much all of existence, and It's not even here. He thinks. He thinks, because he can't know, though It could always be here through him. He doesn't know. He's not thinking about that right now.]

[It's easier to not think about it than it usually is.]

Do I look like someone who has that kinda energy?

[lesbeau]

[Huh. Well, that's one way to think about it. She squints at him, the confusion mostly pointing towards her figuring it out over judging him for it.]

Guess not. Just doesn't feel like energy. Maybe it's just easier to be pissed off.

[But that required knowing her life was unfair, knowing there was something out there having the will to keep going. She recognizes that now, in every time Caleb goes silent when he's hurt, in a gentle hand on her shoulder when a battle is not worth fighting.

Maybe he's the same way.]

Kinda weird to hear you don't hate me at least a little though.

[postictal]

...should I?

[He frowns at her, genuinely confused. Trying to...piece together any reasonable impetus behind why he would hate her. She hasn't been disagreeable to an extent that he would. Sure, she's rough, but so are a lotta people here.]

[Then again, his standards are low. People have tried to kill him, and he's waved it off. That's just the kind of person he is.]

[lesbeau]

[She just shrugs.]

Didn't think I'd have to explain why. I'm a rancorous asshole? I spend most of my time starting fights in your bar and yelling at people, sometimes you, when they gotta shape up. Dunno what about that's friendly to anyone.

[Which is... overstating it, frankly. Mostly she drinks and talks, and only starts fights when she really wants to. It just feels like failure if she's seen as too nice, too approachable. It's too much to try and think people might actually like her.]

[postictal]

Yeah, and?

[He continues to look at her as though this wouldn't be an issue to him. She's an asshole? He knows plenty of assholes. He is an asshole. She yells at people? So do a lot of others here. Tim himself has been one of them.]

A lotta people here act shitty sometimes. That doesn't make 'em bad people.

[lesbeau]

Kinda thought I'd crossed the sometimes mark when it's my always.

[Or that's what she goes for, anyway. She can always make people mad at her. Making them love her, well-- that's hard. Harder. Impossible.]

Guess I'll have to try harder to start shit around you. So I stand out.

[postictal]

[Tim snorts quietly and glances away.]

Look, it's...fine. Whatever you think you did. People've tried to kill me before, have actually killed me, and that's really not even the worst thing that a lot of them have done, and that hasn't stopped me from giving a damn.

[Just accept it, Beau. Tim has no standards. Acting like an asshole just kind of makes you the sort of person he historically gets along best with. Birds of a feather. Etcetera.]