lifeaftr | December Undercurrent: Opposing Viewpoints

December Undercurrent: Opposing Viewpoints

DECEMBER UNDERCURRENT

Who: Everyone!
What: Oh, inverted world...
When: December 3rd to December 20th
Where: Everywhere!
Warnings: Nothing of note; please mark if anything comes up!

I Wish You Could See the Wicked Truth

The island of Monsun is known for the split down its middle, and how it tends to bring out people's best and worst sides, depending on which side you're on. Some might remember it from previous appearances, but if you've never been, you can read up on the island's details on our Locations page and get yourself caught up to speed! Just like with the previous month, the Water is taking it upon themself to summon the island to the archipelago. And just like with the previous month, this will entail some effects upon the local populace: you.

Given that Monsun hosts the avatar of Balance, don't be surprised if things start to get a little inverted, a little out of balance, a little flipped, a little turned upside down. What do we mean by that, exactly? Well, it can mean all sorts of things. And you get to pick how many of these inversions if any, are going to be affecting you and yours for the duration of the month, at least until Monsun surfaces...and how much each one affects you.

Starting on December 3rd, adventurers may find themselves influenced by any of the effects listed below. You are free to vary the intensity and level of each, as well as how many end up being relevant to you. They can start as a slow build and ramp up gradually through the month, or emerge at full force right out the gate. You can be affected by multiple at once, or one every few days, and so on. The only limit is what you're willing to do!

[ ♆ ] Friendflipped: Do you have someone that you love in your life? Perhaps a best friend, a significant other, a member of your family? They might even be on the island with you. That just makes what's about to happen even more unfortunate, if that's the case, because all of a sudden, you're going to learn that you can't stand the sight of them. That's right: your best friends become your most hated foes. You'll find yourself positively despising those you would ordinarily get along with, all with a vicious, unchecked enthusiasm. Perhaps even more unfortunately, that goes the other way, too: your worst enemies are now your best friends.

[ ♆ ] Casual Obsession: One of the critical aspects of having any sort of hobby or preference is balance. It's always good to not go overboard! Which is why you might find yourself losing all inhibition. Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, desires, and so on will become utterly stripped of any balance the might have had. Do you have a mild sweet tooth? Well, now it's a full on sugar obsession. Do you dislike golf as a sport? Now you hate it with a fiery passion - and all those jerks who play golf, they can go to hell too!

[ ♆ ] One or Nothing: Most people will agree that emotional balance is something we should all strive for. That's about to get a lot more difficult. You might find yourself experiencing only one emotion for an extended amount of time, with only varying degrees of intensity to indicate any actual shift. Alternatively, you find yourself experiencing no emotions at all: a complete, deadened shutoff of any emotional instincts you have.

[ ♆ ] Skill Swap: Hobbies are one thing. But what about your personal skill-sets? Well, those are about to get some serious remodeling. Are you a talented musician? Now you can't read music, much less play it. Are you good in a fight? Not anymore, you're not! Now you can barely throw a punch without bowling yourself over. You'll find that your abilities have become seriously scrambled, to the point where you've lost any natural or trained skill you might have in certain areas. This can extend to magical knowledge, technological know-how, or even basic proclivities like stealth or how light you might be on your feet. The flip side of this is that you might find yourself preternaturally skilled in other areas that you've never so much as touched before. Maybe now you're a pro at climbing, or intensely good with social charisma and persuasion. In general, these swaps will work with a one-to-one ratio; one skill will suffer and another will be boosted as if in compensation, but you're welcome to experiment! Maybe you just want to make your character a completely useless loser for a few weeks. You're certainly free to do just that!

[ ♆ ] Interface Screw: In case it wasn't opposite day enough, you've also got the chance to have your personal orientation of the world completely reversed. By which we mean: left is right, right is left, up is down, down is up, and so on. This might manifest in varying ways. Maybe the sky looks like the sea, and the ground is so far above your head...and you feel like you're walking on thin air, even if to everyone else, the world appears more or less normal. Maybe this isn't even a purely perceptual thing as opposed to a literal one, and to everyone else, you're actually walking upside down. How this manifests is ultimately up to you, but you can interpret it as you like.

These effects will all die down by the time December 20th rolls around. Again, you can choose the rate at which this occurs, and whether it's a slow and steady decrease or a complete shut-off all at once. Either way, by the 20th, you'll all have been restored to whatever passes for your mental and emotional equilibriums, and Monsun will resurface on the archipelago!

But I Settle For a Ghost

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 December's Undercurrent Event, as well as any of the other minor events listed on our Monthly Rundown post. You are very, very free to let your dreams about magical mistletoe and snowgoons 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 the Questions header on our Monthly Rundown post!

December Timeline

[ ♆ ] December 1st: "Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snowgoons" begins and lasts until December 31st
[ ♆ ] December 3rd: "Opposing Viewpoints" begins and lasts until December 20th
[ ♆ ] December 10th: "Mistledon't" begins and lasts until December 22nd
[ ♆ ] December 20th: Monsun returns to the archipelago
[ ♆ ] December 21st: "Breath of Cold Air" begins and lasts until December 31st

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wash is here?

[ From what York's intel had told him, that's... possibly not all that surprising, but he's still operating on the assumption that everyone here is like him: dead. Who knows, maybe Church was killed in a Freelancer exercise, surprising that he'd live with them in that case but. Surprising that he'd be one with that name. ]

Bullshit like what, that alters your personality?

[ He absolutely hates the sound of that. ]

Bullshit like gives you an alternate set of memories and makes you try to kill other people. Or bullshit that makes you act in ways you normally wouldn't. Makes you nicer? It's not always bad, just...messes with you.

And, uh, yeah, Wash is here. He's--okay, can I just ask, what was he like when you knew him? Was Freelancer always full of freaks?

[ That sounds horrible? And really fucking weird, for sure. York doesn't really know what to make of it but to get more opinions, so is going to just let it go for now. He's walking and talking, however bizarre this place winds up being, so isn't going to punch a gift horse in the mouth just yet.

Church's question is very rude -- good thing York's so easy going. ]

Freaks? Hey, I thought we were getting along just fine, man. Uh... he was kind of a dork, honestly. Friendly, fun to tease, sometimes he'd jab back but I think he knew we never meant anything by it. Worst fighter we had, kinda green, but he was really resilient.

Why?

[Church stops dead, and York's been around people in armor long enough to get the sense of bewildered stare from the reflective helmet.]

Uh. We're sure we're talking about Wash? Agent Washington? David only we're not supposed to call him that ever? The one who got assigned Epsilon?

We're talking about the same Wash?

Because 'resilient' is about the only thing you said that sounds even remotely like him.

........How big a dork are we talking?

Yeah, that's... who I'm talking about.

[ Of course, York knows that Epsilon went wrong. That they pulled it, held Wash, and when he'd looked into going back for his fellow agent... he'd been certified and was being kept in lockdown. Yes, something went very wrong, but that's not his story to tell if it did change Wash somehow. Not to Church, who he's only just met.

His brow furrows with worry. What had happened, exactly? ]

I've got a question first. What's he like now?

Broody. Super serious. Uh, about as good a soldier as Tex is good at beating the shit out of people with her bare hands. Not friendly, jabs back but like either literally or with something designed to torpedo your feelings.

...you're right, that doesn't sound like the same person at all.

[ York's frowning, visibly worried. It must have been Epsilon. Right? Or. Maybe just the fall of Freelancer? Maybe he should have gone back for Wash after all. ]

I mean, he had the potential to be that good a fighter, but if it came at the expense of a personality change...

He's...he definitely makes an impression when all you're used to is blazing incompetence, anyway?

You'll, uh, you'll see.

Do uh...do you wanna know who else is here? Besides not Wyoming. I'll say that Maine was here, but he's not anymore.

Yeah... I might as well know what I'm walking into, right? And if they're different from when I last knew them.

So it's me, Wash. Tex annnnnd [oof, he kinda doesn't even want to say it] Carolina.

[ Well he's on great terms with Tex so that shouldn't be--

...

Carolina?

York's heart does a weird stop and shudder thing in his chest as he tries to process that. ]

...Carolina's here?

Yyyyyyep.

That--is that gonna be a problem? You were partners and shit, right, so that should--this should turn out great, right?

[ It's not going to be a problem on his end -- for years, York's wished to be able to see Carolina again. To have another chance. But he doesn't know where she stands on things, doesn't know if she's still ready to fight him or.... he breathes out. ]

Partners? Did she tell you that? 'Cuz I... really don't know, but I'll hope for great and maybe then it'll happen that way. Positive thinking.

Tex told me that. After you bit it. Sorry, man.

It's okay, it's done.

[ It's not okay, but it is done. York's just trying to cope but seriously, if Wyoming ever shows up here... ]

Did she also happen to tell you what happened to D? My AI, Delta. Did she save him?

Wait, Delta? Fuck yeah, I liked that little guy! Only guy I ever met who talked sense about anything. He told me a bit about the sort of fucked up shenanigans that went on in Freelancer. Like the brother and sister who were a social experiment? Pff, no wonder you guys imploded so hard.

That little guy was my best friend for years. [ York's voice is fond but sad -- he's glad Delta was okay, he must have been if Church knew him, but hell if he knew what to do without the AI's presence in his head. ] I miss him already, my head feels... wrong.

[ He hates admitting that, but someone should know. It's not just grief, he feels like his brain has been scrambled. ]

The twins, yeah. I don't know what happened to them either, in the end. They were on the run too, I know they were fighting but reports said together.

...Oh. Were they. That's, uh. That sure is interesting.

...

......So was South always a backstabbing bitch or was that just after that she tried to screw everyone over, her brother included?

...she was always a bitch but I wouldn't have counted on her screwing North over too until after the Invention crashed.

[ York has a distinct sense of dread now. ]

What happened?

Set up her brother to die. Tried to barter Delta for freedom. Got shot. A couple times. Then blown up.

I had no direct part on either the shooting or the blowing up, I would just like to point that out.

She--

[ It's hard to really piss York off, and in this instance he's feeling as much grief as rage. That goddamn monster, and she was awful before the experiment so he can't blame it all on Freelancer. But fuck them too. And goddamnit, North, why couldn't you... no. That was one of the things York had always loved about him, he never gave up on anyone. ]

I didn't get to say goodbye. Fuck her.

Look...listen, man, you don't wanna hear all this from me. What I know about most Freelancers is secondhand at best. I mean. Kind of. But Wash'll be able to tell you whatever you want to know.

Yeah. Okay.

[ York goes quiet for a moment, gritting his teeth and struggling to refocus. To stop imagining how betrayed his friend must have been, after everything he'd done for his twin. He wonders if North regretted it, regretted any of it at all even siding with him and Tex. It was the right thing to do and he always did it, but.

Goddamnit, they should have been together. ]

Are they doing okay here? The others. You?

[ It's something else to talk about, but he also cares. ]

...Yeah? I think so? I mean. When the weird shit isn't happening. Or when people aren't dying and then coming back weird. It--I mean, a lot of my conversations with Wash end in arguing, I don't know Carolina well at all and at this rate probably never will, and Tex is--

Tex is Tex.

So they're okay for a given Freelancer-y amount of okay that isn't usually okay?

Tex is also human, now, so that's something she's dealing with.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

December Undercurrent: Opposing Viewpoints

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