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

[ There's a soft fussy groan when he's called. He hears it very, very distantly, just barely, and not quite real. His face scrunches up a bit again, as he slowly starts to notice the light from behind his eyelids.

Oh, lord, he feels it now. Well before he opens his eyes, he notices how his entire body is still sore. Perhaps even worse. He notices how uncomfortable he is. And there's an urge to just will that all away as well as just snap back into consciousness, but nothing seems to happen. Why isn't anything happening?

...oh. Right.

His eyes flutter open and he squints. He lingers, then brings his hands up to rub his face, feeling rather disoriented.

He hasn't noticed Crowley yet. ]

[Crowley's a bit frozen, himself. Partially too tired and sore to move, partially frozen in fear that the angel might throw him out of the window and off of the island entirely. For a second, he almost wonders if he should pretend to be asleep. That feels too dishonest, of course.

He groans slightly and then clears his throat, preparing himself to sit up and get moving.]

[ He moves his hands away from his face when he hears the demon, squinting down at him. It still takes him a couple of seconds, and then he suddenly looks very much awake. ]

Oh--

[ He moves to push himself into a sitting position but winces and hisses between his teeth, as a sorely--well, sore back makes itself known. ]

Oh, goodness.

[Crowley had already been working his way to upright, but hearing those pained noises from Aziraphale gets him sitting up fast.]

You alright?

[The thing is, Crowley really doesn't mind sleeping on flat surfaces. The angel really should have taken his offer to begin with.]

[ Maybe he should have. But that felt too forward and he wasn't even sure it had been a serious offer.

While he does not exactly feel well rested, he feels a lot better than he did before. At least his head doesn't hurt, just his back. Guess he's going to have to deal with that now. ]

Ah, yes. I'm quite alright. [ Even if he looks like hell.

He rubs a hand on his face again and huff, then taking a lot at Crowley. ]

And you?

[Crowley doesn't understand what the big deal is, this isn't forward, it's survival.]

M'fine.

[He stands, watching Aziraphale come to.]

How are you feeling?

[ Crowley’s also known the angel for six thousand years, so his ideas of manners and his awkward ways should hardly come as a surprise.

The angel sighs through his nose and straightens his back. ]

Better, I suppose. Even if sleeping on the floor isn’t quite ideal.

[ He’s still feeling sluggish, from just having woken up. Which, frankly, sucks.]

What time is it?

Er-- don't know, my watch hasn't worked since we took a swim.

[He already hates what he's about to say. It sounds like settling in, which to Crowley means giving up on ever getting out of this hell.]

If you want we can find something to makeshift a mattress with.

[ It would be a lie to say that doesn't cross Aziraphale's mind, too, but he tries not to focus too much on that. Which is to say he will definitely think about it but maybe not say it right now. ]

I suppose we should. I don't rather look forward to sleeping on the floor again.

[ He starts adjusting and fussing with his clothes, doing a double take at Crowley's watch. He ponders, for a moment, before deciding to say something. ]

Have you...tried to fix it? Your watch.

[ He may have been avoiding exploring the limitations his own powers may have. ]

Not since the trousers incident.

[He says this making a face, still upset over the incident.]

Been millennia since I've had to craft my own place to sleep.

[ He eyes the watch as he adjusts his bow, hesitating on saying what's coming to his mind. Mostly because if this doesn't pan out, it's just confirmation of his own state. ]

Perhaps I could...try.

[ Although he already assumes he's similarly limited. ]

Yeah?

[Crowley unbuckles it from his wrist and walks it over to Aziraphale, handing it over.]

Be my guest.

[ He delicately takes the watch and, for a moment, simply looks at it, unsure. ]

Right. [ Ahem.

How much preparation does he need to do something that's always come naturally? Depends on how much one may need when they are afraid they just can't, and the implications of such.

But- he focuses on the watch. Doesn't catch himself holding his breath as he snaps his fingers on one hand.

Something clicks back to place. Perhaps doesn't exactly fix the water damage, but it does...something. ]

[He heard the click, and for a moment he feels excited to see they're not completely out of luck. But it does give him another idea.]

Might not be a terrible idea to test our limits here... just to see what we're working with.

[He winces however, his stomach making a loud sound.]

Oi, what was that...

[ He turns the watch over a couple of times, trying to check for any visible changes. But there was a sound, so he’s capable of doing something.

His thoughts are Interrupted by Crowley’s stomach. Which is not something he ever considered might happen.]

Er.

[ A pause. ]

I believe you may be feeling hungry.

Is that what this dull ache is?

[He rubs at his stomach awkwardly, then bends to snatch his bag off of the floor.]

All I have to eat is this candy...

[While he digs for it, he looks at the watch in Aziraphale's hand, which doesn't seem to be much changed, but surely someone around this place could tinker with it.]

Ah-- [He fishes out a pack of petal pops, showing them to Aziraphale.] Want one?

[ He's giving the watch a bit of a stare in confused disappointment. It's not quite a confirmation of his worst fears vis-a-vis their powers at this time and in this place, but it's not quite the normal way of things, either. Something has clearly changed quite drastically, for the both of them. Well--as far as the miracles anyway. One more thing on top of everything else.

But he's brought back to focus when Crowley offers him the petal pop.]

Oh, hum. Sure. Thank you.

[ It's not quite food but he figures they'll have to go looking for that.

He hands Crowley back his watch.]

I really don't know what to make of it. No one should have enough power to... Change things like this.

[Crowley's already had his share of existential crises in reference to his own powers. He isn't exactly over it, but he is tired.

He takes his watch back and pockets it for now (He'll put it back on when his hands aren't full), then rips the pack of candy open and grabs two. One pop is tossed to the angel and the other he sticks in his own mouth.]

Doesn't matter if they should, does it? They did.

[ He catches the pop clumsily. It'll have to do for now, but he figures there might be something in that mess hall they've seen in...well, not town, but in that little gathering of rustic buildings. ]

Well, it's still entirely unnatural. [ Even from a supernatural/ethereal/celestial standpoint. ] You'd think we would have heard about some other-- whatever this place happens to be. And gods?

[ The existencial crisis is gonna drag on for a good long while. They just do, as far as Aziraphale's concerned, and he's usually very good at denial. ]

[It doesn't really matter to Crowley that they'd never heard of such things. He had in film, at least. It was enough to understand the concept.

He tucked the remaining lollipops into his bag and plucked the one from his lips, pointing it to Aziraphale.]

Better get used to it, angel. We're here until we find a way out.

[ It's less about understanding it, and more about accepting it. The information given had been fairly cut and dry - something brought people here, not the rabbit god creature, but something, and there was not much to do about that, as far as anyone knew.

He's having a hard time grasping the concept. ]

Hm. [ He frowns a bit in thought, then eyes the pop. Might as well try it, he supposes.

...it's not so bad. ]

I rather not have to get used to it. Much rather focus on getting back home.

Then let's not dwell.

[Crowley sticks the lollipop back in his mouth and slings his knapsack over his shoulders.]

Let's find something to eat and keep looking for a means to get home.

[ Easier said than done. The angel sighs, balancing himself against the wall as he stands, and getting his own knapsack.

He looks at Crowley, then taking his own pop out of his mouth and giving it a look. ]

Where did you find these, anyway?

[Crowley shrugs, circling the room a bit, then motions to his knapsack.]

They were in this bag when we got here.

[ He gives Crowley a bit of a brow raise, quite immediately questioning the safety of the candy, mostly due to his suspicion of most things in this place. But he waves it off easily enough. Perhaps it's how hungry he is, or how innocuous it looks.

Letting his knapsack hang off his arm, Aziraphale takes a moment to adjust his clothes. Forced island "vacation" and sleeping on the floor are no excuse to have himself look entirely disheveled.]

Well, I do hope there's nothing wrong with them. [ He adjusts his bow tie. ] Shall we go, then?

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject