lifeaftr | 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

[ Aziraphale has barely had time to settle in, and even he would agree. He answers with an awkward, uncomfortable smile. ]

Well, I...assume there could be worse places than this.

[ He doesn't entirely believe in that assumption, but, you know, might not be incorrect. At least in this personal experience. ]

Oh, certainly! There have only very rarely been murders.

[Which says some things about the last world he visited, probably]

Murders?

[ Within such a small population? He knows that's something humans are capable of, unfortunately, but, having to face the concept of mortality now applying to him, the words hit different. ]

We were...pressured to kill one another in Beacon.

[It's easier to talk about so long after the event, when no one ended up dead anyway.]

It did not end with anyone truly dead, because it was in a computer, but...we did not know that while it was happening. And that was not their intent.

I...see.

[ Part of him is relieved to know that this was somewhere else and not in the islands they are on now. Not that location really changes the aspects of murder.

Also, he doesn't really know how computers come into the mix. His idea of them is fairly rudimentary. ]

I'm quite sorry to hear you've been through all of that, my good fellow. I can't really say if this is an improvement or not, but I do hope it is.

I suppose it is.

[He sounds a lot less enthusiastic than you'd think, given how that was just. A murder dungeon.]

Thank you.

[ It’s understandable. It’s never quite the same as home. Plus this place has its own particular set of dangers.]

Well, hum.

[ He looks at the plants Asgore was in the process of planting in their...yard? It’s a garden now, he guesses. Crowley had had his own bout of obsession and altered states.]

May I ask what you were doing? In the--well, our garden, I suppose you might call it now.

Oh, I was only planting some bluescythes.

[He says, happily and easily, like this is totally normal.]

They are very useful flowers! You can make a tea out of them!

[ It seems to be a far more pleasant subject to delve into, even with the strangeness of someone just seemingly randomly rehoming plants around their cottage. But no harm done, he supposes...also he rather likes tea.]

Oh? That is quite— generous of you.

It is no trouble! I enjoy gardening.

[He is, obviously, kinda understating this right now.]

I can see that.

[ He figures there’s nothing wrong with that. Perhaps the—man? Really did simply mean to provide whoever resided in the cottage with a new, tea-leaf bearing plant. Out of all the things that have happened, this seems to be one of the most harmless.]

I don’t know much about plants, I’m afraid, but perhaps you could have a chat with- [ With...his friend? Companion? House? Housemate. He’ll go with that.] my housemate about it.

He’s responsible for all of these. [ He vaguely gestures to all the other plants around them.]

Oh, yes? They're quite lovely!

[Although, now that you've brought it up...Asgore frowns, sitting back on his heels. Crowley and Aziraphale were friends from home, yes? They still know one another now?]

Is...are you still living with Crowley?

[ Aziraphale falters for just a second, just mildly surprised. But he supposes it makes sense. They are...quite inseparable, after all. And another certain demon had made him aware that different versions of them had been here before. ]

Oh--yes, aha. Yes, he's just away in Enso for the moment.

I, hum... [ He purses his lips for a second. ] I assume you've met him--us-before-- the other us?

...oh! Is this a different Crowley, as well?

[He's actually a bit more disappointed by that one...but, well. There's nothing to be done about it.]

[ Aziraphale hesitates to answer at first, mostly because having to put things in these terms is a bit confusing still. ]

Er, yes, I believe so. We arrived together.

I'm sure you could bring it up with him, if you'd like. I understand that it might be a bit, hum...awkward, but I suppose it's strange for all of us.

Ah...yes. That is unusual. I have not come across anything quite like that before.

[Even that whole thing with Rin...well, Rin wasn't actually here herself in any capacity.]

[ Aziraphale smiles about as awkwardly as might be expected. There's not really much he can do about this whole thing, and he's just recently arrived, so he's...having to deal with the whole concept whether he wants to or not. ]

Neither have I, I'm afraid.

[ Ahem. ]

But I'm sure we can look past it...somehow.

December Undercurrent: Opposing Viewpoints

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