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

You know, if you weren't insistent on staying somewhere secluded, we may not need to 'keep watch'.

[He leads them onto another islet, more huts, there's yet another islet entirely in the distance if they keep going.]

I did not insist-oh!

[ The angel scoffs again, pinching between his eyes, then gesturing in frustrated motions.]

I'm not going to argue with you.

You already are.

[He starts peeking at huts, looking to see if any are vacant.]

[ Crowley isn’t even looking at him to actually see how much the angel frowning at him, so he simply huffs.

A look around, and he notices not as many huts and shacks seem to should any signs of anyone living there.

He considers just not saying anything. To just keep quiet and not fight anymore. Not dignify anything with more responses. ]

...did you find out anything else?

[Crowley peeks into the window of a cottage that doesn't look occupied, there's no furniture that he can see or any belongings scattered about.]

Think I found one.

[He finally turns to face Aziraphale, cued by his huffing.]

Yeah, that everything here is out to kill us, nothing can be trusted, and we should have some sort of code word with each other so as to make sure it's really us.

[ That last one certainly peaks his attention. Mostly because he very much dislikes the sound of it. ]

Someone's might try to pass off as one of us?

That's what I'm told.

[Crowley looks for the front door of the house.]

Is this secluded enough for you, angel?

[ He frowns slightly, although not quite as angrily as before, and sighs.]

It will do.

It doesn't have to be permanent, angel. [He sighs as he says this, feeling rather defeated.]

C'mon.

[ He doesn't quite seem angry at all anymore. He may still fuss, but he mostly looks tired, and somewhat defeated as well.

He takes a deep breath. Has had a lot of those lately. ]

I know.

[ He looks at the door, then idly gesturing toward it. ]

Lets have a look, then.

[Crowley enters the building and does a quick inspection to make sure it's actually vacant. As soon as he notes the rooms are clear he drops his bag.]

We're good.

[He moves to the floor, taking a seat, leaning on his arms for support.]

[ Aziraphale follows him in, taking a look around. The lack of furniture and...well, anything else, feels very...jarring.

He doesn't remark on it. He clearly isn't too keen on the place, but he wouldn't be keen on any place. Truth be told, it's not the shack that's the issue, of course - but there's nothing to be done about that.

Eventually, he goes over beside Crowley and sets his bag down. ]

Well. [ He sighs out. ] At least we won't get rained on.

[ That's something, right? ]

[Crowley's deliriously tired, and chuckles softly at the angel's comment.]

No reason for you to shelter me under your wing?

[He smiles. He's feeling oddly sentimental suddenly... Crowley couldn't determine why.]

[ Aziraphale looks down at him, not at all expecting the comment.

He pauses, then smiles faintly. Shifting on his feet, he carefully moves to sit down on the floor as well, taking care move the back of his coat so that he doesn't sit on it.]

I guess not.

[ He settles with a huff, posture as correct as ever.

He gives the room another look around.]

It could use some decorating.

I don't suppose theses much we could actually get our hands on here.

[Crowley's a bit of a minimalist, so he doesn't mind. Somefurniture would be nice, of course.]

Not without asking these gods.

[ Aziraphale, on the other hand, is a creature of comfortable, familiar clutter. Lots of collectibles, lots of... things. He already misses his bookshop a whole lot.

He folds his hands neatly on his lap.]

There's some rather more important questions to ask them, really.

[ A beat, and he looks at Crowley.]

Do you think they're really...well, gods?

[Crowley sputters, leaning back lower in his elbows. He's trying to relax, now that they're in a seemingly safe space. And alone. Perhaps that's what's contributing to the weird headspace he's found himself in.]

They're something. Could be. I don't know. The others here, you know, like us, they all think they are.

[A beat, Crowley can't stop thinking about it... he's got to get it off his mind.]

Say, angel?

Hm.

[ The angel looks on, meaning to ask himself what he really believes about the creature whose presence he felt at the temple, that Storyteller-

But he looks over at Crowley again.]

Yes?

[Crowley's not good at this sort of thing. You know, feelings. But there's something poking at him and urging him to speak, and it almost feels like he doesn't have control over it.]

For what it's worth, I'm glad we're here together.

[ The angel blinks, once again not expecting the sort of comment right then. He stares for a moment, but his face is quickly overcome by a fond smile.

Oh course. After everything they've been through, after they lost all they had and all they wanted, after they came out the other side...they can handle this, as long as they're together. ]

...Of course.

I'm very glad we are, too.

[He couldn't bare to lose Aziraphale again, but that part he struggles to put into words. This place is making him delirious, not to mention exhausted. That has to be what's brought this on, right?]

You've always been much more brave than me.

[He winces as it slips out of him.]

Augh... what am I doing?!

[ Aziraphale is confused, but no less flattered for it. But this time it doesn't quite make him smile, as much as it leaves him a bit...well, he's not sure how he feels. ]

Oh, I... [ He's had that look before. When there's too much to feel about something.

He looks at his hands instead.]

I don't know about that. But--thank you.

[ ...and that's dramatic, even for him.

He fidgets his hands slightly, in that way he often does, thinking for a second or two. ]

Well...I've always thought you were quite brave. Certainly a lot more bold.

Always found it quite admirable. [ Even when he thought it reckless at the same time. ]

[Crowley rubs at his own temples, irritated by his lack of barrier in this moment. But Aziraphale says something sentimental back, and his hand drops from his face to look back at the angel.]

You really think that?

Yes.

[ "Too fast" didn't necessarily have to be just criticism. ]

You've always...[ The words fail him and he purses his lips for a moment, trying to look for the real ones. ] Found solutions. No matter what happened, you were very quick on your feet.

[ The angel finally looks at him again. ]

You really are quite cunning. We may have not been--ah, capable in our tasks, but you always thought ahead.

[Crowley scoffs at this. In front of anyone but Aziraphale, he might have boasted a bit more, but in front of Aziraphale it felt so fake. If anything, he felt his ears get hot.]

You'd of probably been much more capable without me mucking it up. You're terribly clever.

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