lifeaftr | 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

[yeah there's not a whole lot of parallels there or anything]

No. I am quite certain they do not.

[Asgore folds his paws together, looking away. Were Chara still here, he would not have admitted even that much, for fear of it somehow getting back to them. Now - well, again, it matters less. He should be at least a little more direct. That was how he grew so close with the people back in Beacon, after all.

...yet, it's too much to admit to all at once. No one wants to hear about all of that.

Ignis being Ignis, it's probably quite plain when Asgore continues that he is not telling the full truth.]

I was...brought to another world prior to this one. I came directly from there. Time may hold still for us here, but I do not believe that has been the case for me this entire time. I have been away from my kingdom for quite a while now. Doubtless, they have grown accustomed to their new Queen.

[Far, far too many.

Ignis can't help but frown as he listens to Asgore. As much as it bothers him to know there are other worlds out there like this one, the idea that time may not stop at home in all of them is even more unsettling. That is, unless he is understanding what Asgore is saying incorrectly. It's obvious he is picking only certain bits to explain, but that makes sense for something that is emotional and carries such weight.]

How do you know this? Is it because another from your world told you? Did you go home for a while at some point before coming here and find things not as you expected?

[He has a million questions, but he bites back on most not wanting to overwhelm Asgore when he is already struggling to speak of things.]

No, we were still working on leaving that world when I was brought here.

[Which isn't the same as "I was going home". Asgore knows he couldn't sell such a direct falsehood. What he's said is true anyway; until they wrapped things up with the Risen, none of them were going to leave.]

But Alex - the girl who brought us there - she was of the belief that time had not stopped while we were in Beacon.

[Ignis winces at that. It would be one thing if it was just another person like Asgore who thought that, but the one responsible for bringing them there? If anyone would know, it would be her.]

I will hope for both you and your people she is somehow incorrect. I'm not sure what I would do if my world continued on without me. Of course, I'm not so certain there is any place for me as I am in that particular world anymore. I've changed so much since I arrived here.

[Asgore's just quiet, at that.]

Do you plan to return?

[Initially, Asgore's question is only met with silence, a kind of heavy, contemplative silence. When he answers, it's obvious this is something the advisor has thought about and still is thinking about.]

Eventually? Yes, but I want it to only be once I have a way of making things better for everyone. I don't want to go back just to forget everything I have learned here and then be made to play a part of the greatest tragedy my world will ever know. I can't believe that all that has happened here has no meaning.

Many of my companions in Beacon had plans like that. There were so many problems that we could not solve individually, but so much more is possible with a group of people from other worlds, with new abilities and perspectives.

[...]

And, of course, it seemed that half of us had already died in our worlds.

I have met many here who are in the same boat, dead or very nearly so.

[Ignis expression saddens.]

Ardyn has only a very short few moments of madness and pain left when he returns. He has grown so much here. I want more for him than that ending. No one should be able to give chances to become better to people, living or dead, and then just take it back away from them.

[That seems to surprise Asgore, actually! He was accustomed to the way things worked in Beacon - the dead were simply alive again, their worlds had moved on without them, and they could do with that whatever they pleased.]

Do you think people will be returned directly to death from here?

I think it's possible.

[And even 'possible' is too much in his book.]

When I was sent home, I was placed right back in the very moment I left. Had 'death' been the moment I left, I have no doubt that leaving here again would place me right back there.

[It wasn't, of course, but not everyone here is so lucky.]

Oh, I see.

[Well, his own situation is somewhat different. That's probably why it hadn't occurred to him that others might be in more danger.]

When I left here, I did not go anywhere. Not that I recall, at least.

I dearly hope you just can't remember.

[Because the alternative is wrong on so many levels.]

That would be nice. I was not dead when I came here, at least...

[A little distinct from saying he was never dead at any point, because he can't say that. But as far as he can tell, that death is already over and done with. It shouldn't be a problem anymore, right?]

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