January Undercurrent: Growing Pains

[lifeaftr_mods]

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

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[lesbeau]

[What you don't want to say. Huh. Is there anything Beau has ever wanted to say? Is there a point to the vulnerability of any of it, where to even start when her whole life has been a lockdown of distrust? At least he starts talking first, giving her a lead line to jump in on.]

Being a leader sucks. I was pretty piss poor at it too. There were a lot of arguments in the early days about who was the actual leader of the Nein, but... nobody really came out on top.

[She sighs, the flowers on her shoulders drifting gently in the breeze as if they weren't the world, as if they didn't broadcast her weight from Atlas out to the world.]

Ended up better that way. We're just all in it together now. Nobody has to be the guy in charge who takes a fall.

[lesbeau]

[Now that makes her snicker, a little curve to her mouth.]

I have a lotta friends with horns. Also, pretty sure you got more range with the sword.

[But she doesn't dwell on that as he offers up much more of himself readily, and Beau listens, attentive. Any information she can glean on anyone here is interesting and worthy of note, even if she quietly understands that feeling behind parents. Fuck that, end story. Simple enough.]

Primarily their mom? Jeez. Don't tell me there's some kind of other demon for having daddy issues.

[It's mostly a joke. Mostly.]

Guess we're some weird weapon squad, huh. Not that mine's spelled the same. But I pretty much just go by Beau, so it's whatever.

[Pronounced as "Bow", matching the bo staff on her back. Irony, right there.]

[lesbeau]

[She squints, looking them over as the mania fades from her. It's not judgemental as much as it's confused, and she reaches forward to poke at the top of their head.]

Huh. Never seen a tiefling without horns and stuff. Molly n' Jess are purple and blue anyway, so I wouldn't've guessed.

[Hmmm, maybe that's a little racist? She's gonna sidestep that one just a bit, shhshh. Beau will check for reactions though, watching to see if they look offended.]

[postictal]

A little.

[That's downplaying it. But he doesn't want to make it sound like they were best friends, like he knew her really well. Just...well enough. Maybe. Vaguely.]

Not super well, though. Just recognized you is all.

[hyperlit]

[The strikes manages to stun it, though it doesn't stay down for long. It's mostly the shock of being physically jarred and jostled about. It doesn't have nearly enough cognizance to be affected much more than that. If it has a complaint at its treatment, it doesn't voice it. Mostly it just tries to writhe up to its feet and get at her, fruitlessly. It barely acknowledges the fact that it's being dragged over the ground. Bits of fungal growth snap off as it's rustled over the leaves, leaving trails of dark pink stained against the rocks and greenery.]

[It lacks enough intelligence to try and get free of its bindings. It just wants to spread.]

[onegreeneye]

"Definitely not." They can't be expected to be capable of it, and it wouldn't be healthy. He's sure of that.

"We may have to be ready for this to be a consistent nuisance, if nothing else." He scratches idly at a cluster of flowers by his neck before catching himself and shoving his hand into his pocket. This. He guesses that, if treated properly, it's not much worse than some mushi infections.

Too bad the treatment is what it is. For all he knows, some may still choose to let the flowers take them over - in fact, he would be surprised if nobody did, even if he would rather they didn't.

[onegreeneye]

This is a nightmare. This is every oblivious pain-in-the-ass client he's struggled with combined, except now he's the one who's sick and this guy is just.... Ginko doesn't know what he's doing. Trying to figure it out might make him pass out right now.

For much the same reason he doesn't try too hard to understand this grown man's sun-staring decisions, Ginko does not say all that. Instead he growls under his breath - barely a growl so much as a low, rumbling sigh, like a big tired dog who happens to be gargling rocks. "Troll problem. Could-- you help?"

He is, admittedly, not hopeful at this point, but he figures he's got a better chance if he asks directly.

[agathokakological]

[This prompts a chuckle.]

Our hells have that in common, at least.

[forwearemany]

(And shortly after she deposits them next to the mana pool, the lights inside their body start to flicker on.

A recharge, apparently, is exactly what they needed.

Not that they wake up though. That will, unfortunately, take some time. The tubefoxes tore nearly every shred of power from their system, and it's going to be a while before they reach the point where they can operate more than the lowest level functions.

Hope you enjoy the sound of machine internals operating, Shepard, because that's all you'll get from them for a nearly an hour.

Eventually, though, they will start to stir.)

[eudaimonikos]

I bet I still would have tried to get an Earth posting eventually, if that was a thing we had. Sounds a lot more fun.

[Tempting them to Hell is pretty ehhhh, at this point, but being among humans! All the time!]

[forwearemany]

(And, because it is Church's turn to speak and his survival depends on it, they listen.

As they do so, their body language shifts to something less withdrawn.)

Acknowledged. Your reactions are reasonable, given the situation.

(They are familiar with not wishing to discuss trauma, and also with such a desire causing strife with allies: they have done this themselves.)

[suspecteverything]

[A smile flashes across Jules' face as well.]

That's a good thing. And yeah, I do have more range with the sword.

[Though again, the fireballs and other mental abilities take the cake on range.]

No. Andaria is a matriarchal culture. To disrespect or cause harm to any female is viewed as the worst crime. To do that to your own mother is easily punishable by disowning or death.

[demonpuppy]

[Chip gets a little tense when Beau pokes them, but the spell fading out of her helps relax them again. (They were worried the spell would get sticky or something, knowing their luck.) So far as her comment, they really just look confused.]

...why would demons have horns?

[deathfindsaway]

[What he wants? Well that's... something to consider, if that is the topic. He goes to respond but falls short, taking a breath before he finds he has nothing to carry it on.]

I... I really don't know. When I had only the gods, all I wanted was to be above mortal stations, become something greater. But now, I cannot imagine giving it all up to go. I... don't know if I fit truly as either, in the end.

[He sighs, trying to get his thoughts in check.]

I suppose I just did not want to feel alone again. But that is... selfish, to demand someone share my fate. I couldn't demand it.

[demonpuppy]

Oh.

[They don't really...get it, entirely, but it's not like they can argue with an angel about how he should look. They look down at the wiggling wobbledog in their arms (the rest of the pack has started a tumbling in-fight over the stick) and sets it back down before answering.]

I'm...my name's Chip.

[deathfindsaway]

That won't help.

[Yes, he will whine about it, actually. Kravitz sighs, a tired exhale as he tries to bring himself down from this being a screaming match. That's not what he came for, but he still intends to tell the truth as it stands, because his aim is still to cure as much as he's able.]

Someone simply disappearing into nothingness does not help. It never does. I am not here to challenge your personal feelings or worth, but-- they are going to bring you back. As much as I think death should be a personal thing, there is no getting out of it here, and continuing to flagellate yourself only hurts you.

[deathfindsaway]

["Meeting" Jyushimatsu sure was a word for what happened, if a common first meeting is stopping the man from swinging an axe accidentally into his kneecaps. At least he introduces himself so Kravitz can get some of his bearings, steadying on the facts in front of him.]

Yes, I-- I was one of them. Kravitz. Charmed.

[They're a little too far away for a proper handshake, so he just nods in acknowledgement. Proper greeting established.]

Am... Am I to take it from your previous statement that you have yet more brothers waiting for you back home?

[postictal]

Don't see why that matters to you. I'm fine with it, personally.

[He deserves it. He knows he does. So why's Kravitz gonna get all up in arms about it, huh? He can bitch and moan that it's wrong or whatever, for Tim to hate himself the way he does, but that's not about to change it. He knows what he is. He knows what he's capable of.]

[There's no digging his way out of this one, and he's accepted that.]

[deathfindsaway]

... Right, this is uhm, this must be a shock.

[WHAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT, KRAVITZ,

He takes a steadying breath, disliking the way his lungs seem to protest that, and tries again.]

On a previous island we visited by the name of Umui, we discovered it was a plague colony for a specific, insidious disease. Many of us contracted it there, and... well, it was bad. But we found the cure and I had thought solved the issue.

[Kravitz looks worriedly down at the flowers still in Aziraphale's hand, suddenly aware of the twisting in his gut.]

This is... why I meant to warn you about being more mortal here. We are not immune to things like this.

[deathfindsaway]

Ruin is... subjective.

[It's not the kind of coddling most people look for when they're in a crisis, but all the same, Kravitz knows Connor will appreciate the truth. And maybe he just can't give up on a lost soul, after all this time.]

You change things by being alive or dead. Shift the paradigm just by existing. The difference is if you have a choice what happens. The living get to select their impact, decide their purpose, rebel against fate. The dead only watch.

[His focus centers back on Connor, raising an eyebrow.]

You do not strike me as someone so passive. Not from the actions you've taken here.

[lesbeau]

[Well, he's talking, that's-- sure, let's go with that. She's not sure what she's seeing exactly, but maybe he's just like this. Could be magic. Hard to say.]

What the hell is up with your face??

[A very subtle way to ask, also. Beau takes a few steps back from the shark, pointing to it on the ground.]

It's busy right now! Kind of!

[Oh they are a great pair.]

[agathokakological]

A breeze. Humans do all the work for you. Barely have to lift a finger.

[eudaimonikos]

I actually spent a year on Earth, once, kinda doing the opposite thing. It was a lot of work. Lots of air travel.

[Though apparently, getting them into Heaven was impossible anyway.]

[ichininyaanshi]

[Ichimatsu nods back, displaying the barest minimum of manners. He's mostly grateful that Cravat - or Kravitz, apparently - isn't the friendly sort of person to get up in someone's face while doing introductions. This distance is just fine, thanks.]

[As for the question:]

Mm. There's five of us. And we all have this face. [Sextuplets, if you do the math from there.] We all have shitty personalities, too, but Jyushimatsu's not so bad. You're lucky you met him first.

[he might not be saying that if he knew about the axe thing... but also, his bar is pretty low.]

[deathfindsaway]

[Kravitz makes a little face with the words, like the physical representation of a !!! as he catches his bearings. Well, this is significantly less morose than he was expecting from this conversation, or at least thus far, and he's happy to oblige the questioning.]

Uhm-- well, it's. Yes, I can lift things with my mind, I have a body mostly because I'm stuck here, but could manifest one like this before that, and, I don't think I can teach it, these powers were a gift from my Lady. Was... was that everything?