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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 )
hyperlit: +sprite (MY STRONGEST POTIONS)

[personal profile] hyperlit 2020-02-03 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
yes

[They can hardly walk very quickly right now, anyway.]
thermalwind: (no srsly i get a rash and everything)

[personal profile] thermalwind 2020-02-03 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
I am. It's all over due stuff so I won't die again. [He settles himself a little more comfortably, resting one hand behind him. There's a lot that needs said that doesn't relate to his own personal feelings.]

Tech did develop here. We recovered spheres they used to store copies of memories. On some of the islands there's old mechanisms and machines. ...it looks more like this world had a planet wide event that did some serious damage. [Keith pauses, then says,] Or a war.

There just hasn't been enough information to tell. It's like something is preventing us from learning anything.
catpiper: (what if my soul leaves my body)

[personal profile] catpiper 2020-02-03 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
[The pact is sealed and-

She's glad. To get time to avoid her problems and walk with the Drifter-they rarely do that nowadays and more than ever-

She's realizing how quickly this can all end. These quiet moments with her friends, so-

She's happy to be beside them right now and there's a little smile on her face as they walk back to camp. Maybe she can convince them to stay for dinner, if her family isn't upset with her.
]
thermalwind: (I have your back)

[personal profile] thermalwind 2020-02-03 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
If it is at all possible, I'm willing to do it. If she has to find me favorable or whatever, just know that.

[It's something.] I know that won't fix the feeling. ...I still feel it sometimes. I think to some degree I always will just like I won't really leave the war behind. Feels a bit like I got pieces of glass I have to take out.

You know? We can try to figure out something. Even if it's just talking about things and getting it into the open air.
thermalwind: (Lessons learned)

[personal profile] thermalwind 2020-02-03 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
[He nods once, closing his eyes to will the guilt back down for now. His sins and feelings are not important here. He says,]

Before you said I seemed to belong more than you did. Anything you think you're not saying there? [Oh he has a feeling some of what she needs to say is right there. But he can't make that choice for her.]
vagabone: (the boot)

[personal profile] vagabone 2020-02-03 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
[That name is one heck of a mouthful. He'll probably just call the goofball Jyu, why not. He raises his head feebly, boggling despite the condition he's in...]

Dragon? Dragons are real and you... ate one?

[Dear god why.]
forwearemany: (Default)

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-02-03 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
Affirmative.

(It's almost certainly a magic shark, they think.)
deathfindsaway: (« [Sigh] no taako you "listen")

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-03 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[This is all of Kravitz' issues, right here. Sometimes when things are hard, he steamrolls right into them until that thing is Fixed or at least otherwise Handled. This situation is serious, and that's why he's giving it severity-- but not exactly the gentle touch of reassurance.]

Yes, there is. You have to be entirely honest about your emotions. These flowers feed on... feelings, truly, and the more you keep them locked in your mind and body the more sustenance they will gain. It is... confession, in its purest form. But that isn't as easy as it sounds, as I'm sure you can imagine.
deathfindsaway: (« [Ugh] whatever OFFICER)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-03 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah.

[He didn't peek, despite being deeply, deeply curious- partially because he knew it just wouldn't be worth it to put himself in that situation with a friend, and partially because he suspected that was going to be the case.]

In that case... I would suggest you think about handling this in a much more mortal way. Or rather, assume that you are not just stuck in there, but... rather very, very affixed for the duration of your time on these islands.
deathfindsaway: (« [Tired] oh must you)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-03 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, it sounds like you're much better at this than the rest of us.

[Either that, or he's a much, much better liar. Kravitz isn't sure, but he knows he thought he was being perfectly honest last time when it still wasn't enough. It's just hard not to carry a lot of it on his shoulders when that's what's familiar.]

I did not intend for it to get to this point either. I simply don't know what it... wants, in terms of confession. I believe I've worked out the issue it fed on the first time it came around, but it's difficult to... have that type of self awareness, I suppose. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself.
deathfindsaway: (« [Disgust] oh god cooties)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-03 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
It doesn't bother me for you personal development if you're supposed to be dead or not. It bothers me the strain that puts on you as a person and the universe. Bodies know when they aren't supposed to be running anymore, and this isn't that.

[He knows it's pointless to keep trying on this, keep hammering, but there's always that nagging part of him that swears he can convince anyone if he just keeps talking.]

You have been kind to me and... and many, many more. I am trying to repay the favor as a person, not simply as my station.
deathfindsaway: (« [Huh] please give me a normal answer)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-03 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
['Get rid of her', as if somehow he isn't going to flip whenever she's not directly in his line of sight. Sure. In the meantime, he's just going to hold her tight and breathe, bring himself down from the fear and uncertainty of it all into the real. She is real, she has to be-- if she isn't, these islands have never been quite so cruel.]

You're... yes, of course. I can't be shaken that easily, it seems. Even if others were given the chance to go home.

[He knows she must recognize that Lup and Taako aren't here. He doesn't need to spell it out. Now, he can just focus on her and making sure everything is okay to move forward.]

Are you-- hurt, or tired, or-- do you need to eat something? I can get up.
postictal: (what the fuck boy)

[personal profile] postictal 2020-02-03 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
If you wanna repay me, stop deciding over what you think I need, 'cause right now? This isn't it.

[Kind, he says. When has Tim ever been kind? He's been - an asshole. He's been a consistent asshole from day one. What the fuck - where does he get off saying that Tim's been kind?]

Since when have I been anything but an asshole to you, anyway?
agathokakological: Popcorn.gif ([180])

[personal profile] agathokakological 2020-02-03 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
There's your problem.

[Crowley snaps his fingers.]

I think about myself constantly. What I am. Why I am. Who I want to be, who I want others to think I am...
salutosinedelectat: Confused, sad, upset, nervous, neutral (This also sucks)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
To hear Crowley apologize just adds onto the guilt, really, as the angel is well aware of Crowley's worry and frustration. He doesn’t actually blame him. Whether he actually weighs how important he is to Crowley in any accurate manner may be debatable, but they’re both here, they have each other, and something threatening that again comes as a very justifiable concern.

Aziraphale shakes his head. “It’s alright. You were trying to help.” He knows he was, knew it then, too, but nerves got the better of him.

Looking up again, he notices the offered arm, hesitating for just a moment. But honesty is the name of the game, isn’t it? In that hour he was alone, he went through the things he was told right before and as he got sick. The ideas of honesty, the cure - 'confessions', as Kravitz called them; 'you don't want to confess', as Tim put it, even more specifically. He doesn’t want to be alone, and shouldn’t keep on acting like he doesn’t need help. It’s a bad lie, anyway. So he takes that offer.

Before any answer, there’s a sigh, gentle, defeated and tired. “Ghastly.” Which should come as no surprise. “No more flowers since earlier. But they’re...” He trails off, half raising a hand toward his chest, but he soon sets it back down.

“What about you?”
Edited 2020-02-03 22:09 (UTC)
salutosinedelectat: Confused, curious, nervous, scared, sad (I hate this)

Aziraphale | Good Omens (show)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, Hell.

The angel looks entirely puzzled.]


There has to be some way to capture it. I'm sure it can't stay in there forever, right? 

[ Wouldn't it suffocate? Or starve?? Does it just live there now???]
salutosinedelectat: Crowley, overwhelmed, curious (L o v e)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Pardon him, little bird friend, he has zero experience with this particular kind of condition! The change in voice is still rather startling, too.

He looks at the shelves and back down at her.]


Oh, er, yes, of course.

[ Right. Yes. Books! He can do that. He’s still getting accustomed to the incredibly limited catalogue, but there should be something suitable. He looks through the books.]

What would you like to read? I’m afraid there's not that much. 

Perhaps...something about the creatures found in the islands?
salutosinedelectat: Confused, curious (Huh)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ What is even unusual anymore? They’re a person shaped demon and angel, that’s normal. In magic islands in an alternate or pocket dimension. That’s normal too.]

A fox?

[ Living in Britain for so long, he knows foxes, but he doesn’t think they’re natural to magic tropical islands.]

A...normal one?
salutosinedelectat: Confused (What the hell)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Is he supposed to dispute such a solid strategy? Because he really wants to, honestly. But he’d be somewhat of an hypocrite if he did.

He hesitates.]


Er. Right.

[ Shifting onto a proper crouch, he tries to inconspicuously see through the leaves, checking if the shark is still there.]

It just— appeared. Out of my cup? [ That doesn’t SOUND right, but he saw it with his own two eyes.]
salutosinedelectat: Talking, serious (Oh...)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This sounds familiar. In fact, it sounds exactly like what time told him a week back, something about petals and about unpleasant honest confessions. The angel quite hates the sound of it, though part of his mind is trying to convince him that he will be just fine. He's an angel, honesty should be easy, right?

...right?

Oh, lord.

He...gently discards the flowers of his hands, onto the empty bowl that previously kept his meal. It's strange, looking at them; beyond the...blood, they look like perfectly normal flowers. He clears his throat. ]


Right. It sounds very...difficult. And rather specific.
agathokakological: ([272])

[personal profile] agathokakological 2020-02-03 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
The demon's arm snakes around Aziraphale to hold him up, keeping him supported against Crowley's side. It brings a flutter to his chest to be this close to the angel, but it's truly meant to be helpful, or bring comfort, nothing more. He takes a deep breath of his own, removes his glasses, tossing them to the side, and offers Aziraphale a sympathetic look. He felt helpless himself, but knew that if he didn't act strong for the angel they'd never get through this. He wondered if that would count against him in any way, cause him to cough up a garden of his own, and decided to get out ahead of it.

"I'm... worried. I think. Scared, maybe. That there's nothing I can do to help. All I want to do is help." he admits, biting back a grimace at how weak he's sure that makes him sound. It doesn't matter anymore, really.

Crowley blows a puff of air out, lips sputtering slightly in irritation. "I imagine you have more reason to be scared than I do, but..." he shrugs, not sure how to end that sentence.
salutosinedelectat: Serious, listening, upset, sad (Hold me.)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-03 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Aziraphale feels like there he should feel a flutter to his own chest, he thinks it's there, but it's hard to tell when there seems to be something else in there that doesn't belong. But being this close - as novel and as...something as it might be, does bring him comfort. It's not...a sort of gesture he's really used to. This sort of closeness.

He looks up at Crowley as he demon confesses, several steps ahead in this race of honest confessions and forced vulnerability. They'd barely started being more honest, back then, back on Earth, when they found themselves free to do so. But ever since they've gotten here, it's been pushed out of them in the most unnatural means. He doesn't really know how to feel about that. He's never been quite good at going fast, but he hasn't really been given the choice here. Neither of them have.

He's quiet for a few seconds after Crowley trails off. He wants to be comforting, but he knows that there's only one way to fix this, as far as they know. And it's to push past any banalities and politeness and whatever else may keep him from being completely and utterly honest about how he feels. He's known this since the beginning. Maybe it's about time to actually do something about it.

" Aha..." It's almost a laugh, but not really. It lacks in any positive feeling behind it. So he settles back into a tired frown. "I'm...rather terrified, myself." He doesn't like saying it, but it doesn't hurt as much as he thought. "It's still rather difficult to believe it's happening. Flowers, of all things."

agathokakological: pass me the bottle ([275])

[personal profile] agathokakological 2020-02-04 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
Crowley nods, trying to listen more than talk, but understands that maybe his own honesty may spark some from Aziraphale in return. He doesn't like the idea of the angel being terrified or hurt, but what can he really do outside of hopefully persuade him to open up.

"To some, our existence is difficult to believe." he replies, cautiously. "But there's no point contemplating how realistic it is, it's happening. Terrifying or not.
salutosinedelectat: Uncomfortable, serious, sad (Softly awkward)

[personal profile] salutosinedelectat 2020-02-04 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
"You're right. It is." Is the quiet answer, no fussing or fighting over it. Crowley is also right to think that it's easier for the angel to follow along than to start. It's always been something similar to this, hasn't it? The angel rarely having to voice what he wants or even what he needs, not directly anyway. The demon providing those things, one way or another. Like a whole different way of communicating, one born of how long they've known each other. Probably something to do with demonic temptation, too, and the natural perception that comes with it.

"I really didn't think it'd be so hard, being honest. Funny how that goes. It sounds so simple, when you put it like that." Even though they've both spent their lives deceiving, one way or the other.
agathokakological: probably some judgemental statement ([115])

[personal profile] agathokakological 2020-02-04 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
Crowley gives the angel a glance, curious at his response. 

"You know..." he starts, picking his words very carefully, "There's nothing you could say that would make me think less of you." he continues, looking away.

He isn't sure that's what the angel is concerned about, but feels it's necessary to put that out there.