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

"Sounds like Red Skull," he says thoughtfully. "He stole this... thing. This object that had tremendous power, and was trying to destroy the world with it. I think he was, anyway." Maybe he was just trying to take it over, Bucky never did learn much about the guy; Steve was the one who knew more.

"It always seems to be that way with people like that, huh? Try and understand the people who wish to do harm, and maybe you'll end up in a situation worse than where you started." He shakes his head, obvious in his tone before he continues on. "At least these little guys are easy to understand. When they're feeling clam, they're all right."

"Red Skull. What a descriptive name." There is part of Ignis that wants to know how descriptive, but at the same time, he also doesn't want to know. These guys are generally not that creative when it comes to naming themselves, "I suspect we should be glad they will never have a chance to meet because whether their aim is destruction or simply taking over, ruin is always the end result."

Ignis starts to gently coax the little guy that has attached himself to his arm back into the nest as he continues, "There are those of great insight and will who could do it and perhaps not lose their way, but once you start justifying things, it can be hard to stop."

"I have to admit, I may be starting to understand a little why people keep them as pets. If only the whole world was so easy to understand."

"It's a literal one, to boot. Guy sure liked to make him sound like a comic book character. Got his 'look' because he was given a serum that enhances strength and magnifies personality. Guy looked seriously creepy." At least he can rest with the knowledge that Red Skull is long gone, and not someone who is going to be causing problems ever again. "That does seem to be the way these things go, for whatever reason."

The strange critters are fairly benign, so long as they're not upset. Bucky likes them, to be honest. They're pretty cute, even if he thinks they look unsettling. "I can agree with that. It'd be nice if everything was so simple. Like these guys, as long as you're calm around 'em, they're perfectly happy."

"Wonderful." So it was as bad as he had feared. At least Ignis won't ever have to see it for himself. He can't help but feel sorry for those like Bucky who had to, though, "And I am certain he is one who could have done very well without having his personality magnified."

Astrals, it's terrible to imagine what something like that would do to Ardyn. Everything else aside, the redhead's personality already fills rooms with its power. What would be next? Cities?

"All right. I think they are all back and settled. Would you take a look just to make sure I'm not missing anything that may upset them once I jump down?"

"Definitely not," Bucky agrees with a bit of a scowl. Ignis might not be able to see it, but he probably hears it. "He's been gone a long time, thankfully, and I know he hasn't shown up here, least not when I've been around."

Small miracles, that.

But, at least the weird critters are safe now. "They all look okay to me, right now. Happy family, by the looks of it."

"I arrived in the first group that came to the island and I don't recall anyone like that ever having been here. I'm sure he would have made his presence well-known to everyone. It appears we have dodged that particular bullet, thankfully," Ignis slips quietly from the tree and as soon as he has taken a few steps away, Leo returns to his side.

"All right, mission complete. I think we've both earned a drink at Denny. Shall we?"

November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

\o/

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject