lifeaftr_mods: (Default)
The Mods of LifeAftr ([personal profile] lifeaftr_mods) wrote in [community profile] lifeaftr2020-01-02 08:51 pm

January Undercurrent: Growing Pains

JANUARY UNDERCURRENT
Who: Everyone!
What: Hey bud, how's it growing?
When: January 3rd to January 20th
Where: Everywhere!
Warnings: This event has a potential for body horror and character death; please mark anything as it comes up!

A Notion Growing Inside Me

Those of you who weren't with us the last time Umui entered the archipelago didn't have to contend with the lethal illness known as the Overgrowth personally, but anyone who remembers it probably doesn't remember it fondly. Fortunately, this isn't quite the same strain of the illness that you had to contend with the last time. It's not unrelentingly and uncompromisingly fatal, for one! That's always nice.

For those that need a primer on the Overgrowth, it is best described as a sickness that overcomes you with floral growth both inside and outside your body that can only be cured by expressions of emotional honesty. Expressions of truths, affections, and admissions of things that you have hidden from yourselves or from others were critical in dispensing of the illness. These could be as simple as admissions of past sins or the revealing of secrets, or as grandiose and overt as confessions of guilt or love. That general idea will remain more or less the key means of curing this strain as well, though the stakes fortunately aren't as high this go around! Which is to say, if you fail to have any grand emotional epiphanies by the time this event ends, you aren't doomed to suffer a character death; symptoms will simply dissipate come January 20th.

So what's this sickness going to be like in this particular instance, then? We're so glad you asked!
You can go the standard route, of course. Adventurers' first brush with the illness saw the following afflicted upon them:
[ ♆ ] Stage One: Germination. Initial symptoms involve fever, coughing fits, numbness to nerves and extremities, and general joint stiffness. Difficulty breathing or performing other basic functions will often occur. Fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and intense weakness or dizzy spells are also liable to occur as the flowers begin to harvest nutrients from the body. This will also generate extreme thirst and periods of intense nausea. Tremors and the sensation of something "itching" from inside are also common. The end of Stage One is usually marked by the act of vomiting or coughing up flower petals or spores, along with a not-insignificant amount of blood.

[ ♆ ] Stage Two: Budding. The floral growths spread more completely inside the body, and begin to grow on the skin or exterior. Difficulty performing basic functions will increase as, for example, airways become obstructed and flowers grow around joints and pinch them still. The site of affliction also yields rashes, blisters, and blood sores as the flowers sprout from the skin. The rate of vomiting or coughing up floral growths will increase dramatically. Flowers often bloom quickly, and very painfully. Numbness in affected areas will increase, oftentimes rendering parts of the body completely inert - a pair of legs claimed completely by blooms, for example, will no longer work.
This was followed by Stage Three: Bloom, which resulted in character death. However, this strain will not advance to this style of Stage Three. All symptoms will disperse by the time Umui resurfaces.

This strain is also rather more erratic, which can make emotional repression more of an inconvenience than a horrifying circumstance. For those who would rather not play around with intense sickness (or who have already endured this once before), you have the option to go that route if you like! With this variant of the Overgrowth, one can become, for example, so embarrassed that they hiccup up a flower. A vicious denial of their feelings may cause them to spontaneously erupt into a rash of dandelion puffballs, seemingly immediately. You might end up walking around with a bouquet for an arm for a few hours. Perhaps mortifying, but certainly not fatal! Isn't that nice?

Unless, of course, you want it to be...

I Can't Fight It Much Longer

Now, while the Bloom Stage isn't present in this strain, it has mutated its progression into a rather nasty end stage. Those of you who succumb a little too readily to this illness, who don't fight off the emotional repression quickly, who don't admit those difficult truths to yourself or confess to whatever you're bottling up, you'll be faced with a potentially horrifying transformation. Potentially, because it is your choice whether or not you see fit to commit your character to that fate - as stated above, this option might simply skip over your character entirely, and the worst they'll have to deal with are cartoonishly over-the-top effects that disperse in due time.

But maybe not all of you will be so lucky. Some of you might discover for yourselves how this particular variant of the Overgrowth has mutated.

We call this mutation Stage Three: Outbreak.
In this final Stage, those beautiful blooms wither and harden into a fungus-like carapace as the illness grows into the victim's brain and shuts down virtually all higher functions. This can sometimes render them almost wholly recognizable, but not always - oftentimes, it's very obvious who this person once was. The victim is reduced to a carrier of the virus, which causes them to act the way you'd expect most viruses to act: becoming intent on spreading. Advanced brain functions such as speech, rational thought, and so on tend to shut off and become wholly inaccessible.

Now that the victim's body is no longer fighting the Overgrowth, the illness lends them increased speed, strength, and durability, making them dangerous foes indeed. They will usually seek to infect others by whatever means necessary - usually via biting or exuding breathable spores - but in some cases, they will simply reduce to base instincts, and just outright attempt to attack and kill whoever is closest.

Unfortunately, at this point, there is no hope of a cure; it's hard to make someone be emotionally honest when they're capable of little more than blunt, animal instinct. At this point, you can either wait for the Stage Three symptoms to disperse come Umui's return, or take manners into your own hands. You can probably guess what that might entail.

If you decide to put your Overgrown friends out of their misery, this will count as a character death. If it comes to that, be sure to let us know on the Deaths page! Death penalties, however, will not be reduced for this event.

Try to Get Through It

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 January's Undercurrent Event, as well as any of the other minor events listed on our Monthly Rundown post. And, of course, 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 Rundown post!
January Timeline
[ ♆ ] January 1st: "This Sucks" begins and lasts until January 10th
[ ♆ ] January 3rd: "Growing Pains" begins and lasts until January 20th
[ ♆ ] January 11th: "No Water is Safe" begins and lasts until January 19th
[ ♆ ] January 20th: Umui returns to the archipelago
[ ♆ ] January 21st: "Impawsible Geometries" begins and lasts until January 31st
LOGSOOCSTORIESMAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
counterblows: (} gotta kill themselves nine times)

[personal profile] counterblows 2020-01-15 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. It was last time, too. The yellow ones're new, though.

[He's not sure why the rosemary, but hell if he's ever gonna be able to eat anything with rosemary again. The yellow...he doesn't know the name of it, but he knows who they belonged to.]

You met York. [He sounds...well, he's not sure how to feel about that, really.] You two getting along already?
motherfucking_ghost: (hrmmmmm)

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghost 2020-01-15 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Well. He seems pretty chill, for a Freelancer. Talked to him a bit. I don't...know...what he thinks about me? I mean I told him who I was. Name-wise. Which.

[Leonard Church isn't exactly a name easy for a Freelancer to just pass over. Not sure how to take that! Maybe he just was a little overwhelmed and didn't want to get into it first thing?

He shrugs a still functional shoulder rather than trying to complete the thought in words.]


He's not homicidal, maniacal, or righteously angry. He doesn't seem super fucked up or deeply traumatized on sight. So, 's a pretty good start. And what with him being Carolina's partner, and she's all right, as far as Freelancers go.
salutosinedelectat: Sitting, Crowley, hands (Hold hands)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-01-15 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ Aziraphale can't tell what he's doing wrong. Or, maybe he does. He's heard how they're supposed to fight this, some sort of strange poetic justice that he doesn't quite understand, but he's tried. What secrets are there left to tell? What honesty is left? Granted saying he's fine is a blatant lie, but that comes out as more of an attempt to try and assuage Crowley's worries, with a hint of frustration at the entire situation.

This doesn't happen. This shouldn't happen to them. But, then again, neither should anything that's happened lately. Being here, for one.

He rubs his face with one of his hands, fighting the urge to scratch at the spot on his temple, with fear that he might not stop if he does. He gives Crowley's hand a languishing look, seemingly considering on insisting that he's fine - but ultimately deciding against it, and taking the offer, quite clearly struggling as he stands. ]


This is utterly- [ He grunts, legs feeling particularly stiff and sore. ] nightmarish.
salutosinedelectat: Talking, nervous, scared (This is not going to work)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-01-15 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
Oh- [ He starts, feeling a little bit sorry that he caused her to hit her head.

Her response confuses him at first, as he had mostly spent the last couple of weeks dealing with, er...a more personal experience with the disease that had unfortunately apparently overcome others in unexpected ways. He looks towards the door, and, in a couple of seconds, gets the idea, looking at her again. ]


Oh, you don't need to worry about that. You're perfectly safe here. [ He hopes, anyway. ]
salutosinedelectat: Shock, surprised, scared, nervous (Gay worry)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-01-15 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! [ The angel lurches forward a bit, now rather concerned.

He goes over to Michael, crouching by his side, unsure of what to do. ]


My word, Michael, what on Earth is the matter?
salutosinedelectat: Nervous, upset, scared (MISERY)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-01-15 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ The angel looks at the reaper, and back to the flowers in his hand, his free hand pressed on his chest. He doesn't know what he finds more disconcerting, the flowers themselves or the blood (He doesn't bleed. Why would he bleed? Did he really change that much?), and the look in his eyes is one of utter confusion and alarm.]

H-hum.

[ He had simply thought he had been somehow exerting himself in ways he wasn't aware of. Navigating a semi-mortal corporation had made him feel trapped, confused, and there was still much he was figuring out. But as much as he may be lacking in knowledge about biology, he's pretty sure bleeding is bad, and that you're not supposed to spew up flowers. ]

I--yes. Yes, I...erm, I don't- know how that happened.
salutosinedelectat: Surprised, shocked, confused (Oh lord no.)

have you met Aziraphale? no apology needed

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-01-15 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ Now that he's actually stopped to look at the child in question, it hits him: the whiff of demonic nature, and the principality can't help but to stare back. He doesn't mean to - he's simply surprised, as he's never quite seen anything demonic that looked like a young child, with the exception of a very specific child whose nature he hadn't been able to sense in the first place. 

He doesn't mean to look threatened or threatening, as Chip is not the first demonic creature he's met on this island. But old habits and such, even when discarded, and he watches them for a few moments, before speaking up somewhat awkwardly.]


Er. Are you alright? 
eudaimonikos: (supervenience)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-15 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
I'm fine.

[He also seems like he's totally fine with just lying there for the foreseeable future.]
catpiper: (villain detective mystic o)

[personal profile] catpiper 2020-01-15 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
[The reaction is on par with what she expected-what she feared. He hunches down and maybe he doesn't hear her. She could pretend that's what happening, but she's not foolish enough to think his slight reaction, the way he hunches over, is anything but him trying to hide from-

Her, maybe.

And it stings, for the briefest moment. A cloud of fear and anxiety covers her and there's hesitation in her steps that didn't exist seconds ago. Her feet feel heavier and-

And then he finally looks at her.

He really looks at her and that anxious clamp around her heart starts to loosen.

The little buds that frame his face when they fall don't go unnoticed. Not by a long shot. Not for a second because she knows what that means, knows there's something hurting him again, that she has to stop that from going too far-that she has a to chance to do that and-

The fishing line might be dropping to the ground, but she's ready to take its place as she bolts towards him, quickly closing the distance and wrapping her rapidly numbing arms around his neck before it gets too difficult to move them.

Pulling away won't be hard, despite her near chokehold around his body. She doesn't want to let go-not because of this ridiculous disease. He vanished once, because she did. Because, maybe, she didn't pay close enough attention and it was easy for whatever being wanders this place to siphon him home. Maybe if she had held him like this, it would've changed something, but-
]

My heart couldn't reach you for a long time. I kept trying and it never worked.

[She's not trying to confess anything. It all tumbles out of her mouth without a second thought because he's comfortable and calm and-]

I couldn't find Pachinko without you. I tried and-

[She's sorry for that, most of all. For not taking care of that little cat-a creature that meant so much to him. The cat was too good at hiding in the forest and impossible to track.]

I missed you.
catpiper: (i said stand but Starland is better)

[personal profile] catpiper 2020-01-15 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[It's painful to watch him react like this. It always is. The weird, strangled noise that comes out of his mouth and words that make it seem like he's not really here.

She needs to get him back inside, somewhere safe, before she gets too exhausted and numb to help. It's only a matter of time before that happens. Those buttercups are tightening around her arm already.
]

I won't hurt you. I'm not scary.

[Reaching for his arm is out of the question. She can't grab or pull him to the shack, so she inches her fingers forward to tap at the back of his hand instead.]

It's okay. You'll be okay this time.
lesbeau: (« [Skeptical] uh huh yeah sure gr8)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-01-15 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
I mean yeah, you'd uhhh, you'd be a puddle.

[Not that she hasn't ever wondered about that. Logically it's just feel like burning, but dang it looks smooth. All of that's far beyond the point for now, though.]

Can you like, feel it? Last I checked that trash can didn't really do a good job with touch n' stuff. I mean, don't really see how it could root into your electricity brain or whatever anyway, but again, magic bullshit.
lesbeau: (« [Smirk] im ready to gooooo)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-01-15 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
[To be fair, Beau's had a lot of spells cast on her to deliver a massive pummeling- sometimes she's suddenly enlarged, sometimes hasted, sometimes just straight given sparkle fists and told "punch the shit out of that". So she feels it and hesitates for only a half second before her mind recognizes magic, and takes the power in to swing the staff harder, start giving flourish to her moves. Chip's gonna get a real treat as she slams her staff into the ground so she can raise herself up on it and kick a shark right in the face, laughing the whole while.

When she has a free second though she'll be taking glances over her shoulder, that wild grin still on her face, something burning behind her eyes.]


Alright, alright, who did this! Appreciate the freebie, but what's the occasion??

[Oh, she feels so alive like this, god damn.]
deathfindsaway: (« [Annoyed] just shut-- just shut UP oka)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-01-15 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[It's somehow exactly the answer he's expecting and not one at all. But he thinks. Ruminates on what he knows.]

You're a strong swimmer. And-- you have a boat. I recall you're the one that told me those facts.

[Really good job there, Kravitz, that's how you convince someone to you know them super well. He just sighs, trying not to get caught up on this technicality.]

Not everything about a person needs to be explicitly taught to be understood. Otherwise, you certainly wouldn't refer to me as Cabbages, as I certainly have never described myself as a "cop".

[Look, Connor even gets the two fingered air quotes on that one to prove he's trying to stay hip. Or something.]
deathfindsaway: (« [Sigh] no taako you "listen")

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-01-15 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
It's not always strictly about secrets, in the traditional sense.

[Lies were certainly not his death knell before; it was about the lies he told himself, the parts of him he didn't know how to clarify, the identity and self reflection that he'd trained out of himself not to feel so alone.]

You also must know yourself. The truths of your identity to your selfhood. Lies we tell to ourselves to keep us going. There is... little margin for error.
deathfindsaway: (« [Huh] please give me a normal answer)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-01-15 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[He sighs, as if he was expecting a response like that.]

I could say the same for you, as well. Very few of our number made it through last time, and many for lack of trying.

[Kravitz eyes Tim, giving him a look partially of understanding and partially of hope that he's more in his own senses this time.]

I am trying to do my part.
mockiri: artist unknown, searching for source (i miss you!)

[personal profile] mockiri 2020-01-15 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
[She glances warily back towards the door, still hesitant, but it's true that it's started to quiet down lately. Finally she nods her head and scoots out from under the desk to stand in front of him, her books clutched to her chest with feathery arms.]

All right.
catpiper: (blowing coffee into eyes like a maniac)

[personal profile] catpiper 2020-01-15 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[The possibility of running into them was high and she knew that. Maybe depended on it-that they would be around. They always were. They managed to be a quiet protector in the midst of these jungles and now-

They're coughing and she's on her feet because even though she left and they may not want to see her, she can't help to walk towards them. Take a couple steps before she stops.

They're not okay, so she doesn't ask if they are, but-

She does hold out her hand to them, to see if they want to take it. It's unlikely, but she won't stop trying.
]

Drifter?
forwearemany: (other side)

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-01-15 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
You are not the only one constructed for such a purpose.

(Legion knows, at least, where they want to start.)
eudaimonikos: (the republic)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-15 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
[..........]

What the hell does that mean?

[On one hand, demons are really not ones for emotional intelligence. On the other...he doesn't want to think about that.]
demonpuppy: especially if you try not to learn anything (life is full of mysteries)

[personal profile] demonpuppy 2020-01-15 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, they are in a good mood, that part isn't wrong. Chip shakes their head and starts to open their mouth when one of the bees happens to bumble on past their face and they snap it shut befote any unfortunate accidents can happen. Instead they opt to put two enthusiastic thumbs up and nod vigorously, then run over so they can speak safely.]

I'm doing fine! There's two of the...uh, the rack things that can be scraped off. I dunno if I should do that part alone, though.
forwearemany: (innocent)

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-01-15 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Is this a typical occurrence?

(Consensus: they doubt it.)
demonpuppy: guess that's why i don't know so much (you don't know until you try)

FAIR

[personal profile] demonpuppy 2020-01-15 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Chip startles, which causes several of the wobbledogs to jump in response, which makes them yelp and scramble to get up properly, and honestly this would be very cute if Chip didn't assume their life was currently in danger. By the time they're on their feet they have somehow wound up with a puppy wiggling in their arms that they cling to like a teddy bear. (Don't worry, it's not being hurt.)]

I--um--yes? I--I'm sorr--I didn't do anything!
Edited 2020-01-15 04:13 (UTC)
postictal: (so for those of you)

[personal profile] postictal 2020-01-15 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Feels real. But sometimes things do, when you're on the edge like this. Tim makes a faint, wet sound in the back of his throat, almost like a cough. Almost, though not quite. He doesn't have the energy for that just now.]

Nah, 's...you're fine. Just wish you were real.

[His eyes close.]

Wish any of you kids were real.
postictal: (i have too many "tim is sad" caps tbh)

[personal profile] postictal 2020-01-15 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Bold of him to assume Tim won't be going the same route as before.]

That makes one of us. [He doesn't even pretend that he doesn't expect to fail. He's accepted this, though. What choice does he have? The only other choice isn't really a choice at all.]

Anything you wanna get off your chest?
demonpuppy: guess that's why i don't know so much (you don't know until you try)

[personal profile] demonpuppy 2020-01-15 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, she's--she's really taking to that, isn't she. Wow. The staff-launch-kick move earns a surprised 'Oh!' out of them, and when Beau calls out they start to hide before stopping themself and, very hesitantly, stepping out into the open.]

I, um...I thought I could help?

[Even though she totally had that handled and she didn't ask for them to use their magic on her and it's probably really selfish to have even wanted to in the first place and--]