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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
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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
mockiri: umbrellaville.com (Bird-eye Fjord!)

[personal profile] mockiri 2020-02-20 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
[He gets a curious little headtilt and a chirp for that one. Dogs? What dogs?]
ichininyaanshi: (to pull out the thorn in my side)

[personal profile] ichininyaanshi 2020-02-20 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
[It's okay to be like you.]

W-wait, that's not what I'm...

[You're not bad.]

You've got it wrong.

[Your heart isn't bad.]

I...

[It's okay.]


[Ichimatsu sobs. It's an ugly sound, with pearls of sap and tears rolling down his face, catching against the thorns dotted through his skin. This is - it isn't okay. He's always known himself as useless, unburnable trash. No will to live at all. All he's ever wanted was for her to be as little like him as possible, but she keeps doing this, elevating him into some kind of person, and what's he supposed to do with that? How can he bring himself to be any crueler than this?]

[He's capable of it. He feels the threat of it settled in his bones like nettles, always. Something he can draw out and draw blood with and then push people away. He does it all the goddamn time, and he could do it right now; break his own promise and reject her. Save himself from this threat of being treated like a person.]

[But he can't. Not to Ren. Not the one person he can help instead of hurt - if he tries.]

[He's got to be better.]


... n-no. Ren-chan is right.

[He releases her and lifts a hand to scrub at his tears, wincing at the feeling of flowers tearing off his temples like bits of wet mulch. He doesn't know how to begin responding to a voice about love and reassurance if it isn't by harshly rejecting it. It's not okay. He can't do that to her. Ren, who used to be like him, until Seto. With all her ghosts and her hospital gown. Who has good and sad memories, and who can tell that even someone like Ichimatsu loves a lot of things too.]

[He tries to compose himself. She's spoken out loud everything Ichimatsu is too weak to. Not only is she stronger than he hoped for - she's stronger than he ever gave her credit for.]

[But something is missing.]


If Ren-chan can say all of those things... I'm glad. You should keep thinking like that, okay? Not everybody can do that. That thing I told you, about feeling alone - e-everyone's the same way. Everyone's scared shitless of it, whether they'll admit it or not. Even my brothers...

[His voice is unsteady, rambling, but that's mainly because he's trying to rush into a point. Once he gets there, his tone lowers a bit; dulls into chips at the edges, and Ichimatsu's wet eyes soften, his fingers moving to brush against one of the flowers in her hair.]

... so... that's why I know... even though she's brave enough to say all that, Ren-chan is still hiding something she's scared of talking about.
tenthstreetbred: (Scowl)

[personal profile] tenthstreetbred 2020-02-20 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Shepard scowls a bit, worrying her lip in her teeth.]

Because you needed help. And I could help. So I did.

[That wasn't the whole truth and she knows it, the flowers curling in her chest as their roots spread. She coughs, louder this time, and shakes with the tremors.]

...Because you could be helped. And I am well beyond it myself.

[A small breath of clean air makes it into her lungs and she feels her shoulders droop a bit.]

Are you here to save your own hide, or is this more altruistic in nature?

[Might as well turn the tide on him before he digs too deep into what she just said. Which defeats the purpose of what she was saying but at the end of the day... she still hasn't decided if she wants to live.]
yakyuuman: (048 homeruns)

[personal profile] yakyuuman 2020-02-20 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
Sharks have to live, like... in the water to survive, right?

[ Uninvited, he just steps into the house, taking a better look at the water puddle he saw the shark leaping back in. ]

Maybe it's less about teleporting and more about water existing and letting sharks come around! [ He smiles widely at Legion. ] Have you got some rags? Tissues?
yakyuuman: (276 homeruns)

[personal profile] yakyuuman 2020-02-20 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
Nah, it's fine! Mom is stronger than a God and dad is, uh... [ If there was a messily scribbled note on his hand, he would have looked at it right now. ] ... dad!

[ He laughs. ]

Thanks for your concern, though! My [ dysfunctional ] family is fine as it is!
lesbeau: (« [Serious] okay.jpg)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-20 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
[She listens in the same way she always does, with an intense expression and piercing, watching eyes. As much as Beau is usually a chatter, she stays quiet and lets him speak, nodding along when he starts to stutter or lapse into quiet. Alright, she can work with this, even if she has to remind herself not to be mean about it-- or at least not sound mean about it when she replies.]

Of course it hurts. Like... why wouldn't it hurt? You miss somebody. Somebody that matters to you. That's gonna feel like shit no matter what, whether you're in another world or somebody's dead or something.

[Ah damn, she's verging on sounding like a dick again. She breathes, tries to recenter herself.]

Look, just-- you can be sad. It's cool. It doesn't feel cool, but sometimes you just have to or... y'know, all this happens.
lesbeau: (« [What] alright im lost af)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-20 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
Where would you even put a thousand teeth?

[She's already moving on to looking at their feet though, completely disregarding the concept of that question as she nods.]

Damn, alright. Can you grip with those? Looks like you've got all the uhhh, all the pieces to really wrap them on stuff. Would be really useful.

[Wait, they asked her a question, uh--]

Oh, uh. Never met one, so I dunno. Or never met one that I knew was one.
yakyuuman: (264 homeruns)

[personal profile] yakyuuman 2020-02-20 11:55 am (UTC)(link)
Huh? Does it hurt?

[ Oh, he's worried. For all the insensitive talk he's capable of, Jyushimatsu is legit concerned right now. He covers his mouth with a sleeve. ]

Sorry bud, don't know what to do about that unless you tell me something!
onegreeneye: ([troll]not okay)

[personal profile] onegreeneye 2020-02-20 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe it's harder than Jyushimatsu expects, but Ginko is still pretty damn surprised that he can move him as effectively as he does, especially when Ginko can provide so little help himself.

Being dropped against the tree almost knocks out what breath Ginko's got in him, but it's a small price to pay for the immediate wash of cool relief that the shade provides. He can't move around much yet, but it's still a vast improvement, and he takes a moment to close his eye and catch his breath now that he's got any chance of actually managing it.

"It happens. Something about... about this place." That's more than he could talk at a time before, anyway. "Thanks."
thermalwind: (We’re a static we’ll make it)

[personal profile] thermalwind 2020-02-20 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Gets better. I usually pilot a giant psychic robotic lion. [His eyes spark with good humor then he says lightly,]

I'm not joking. Space is a really weird place in my reality.
vagabone: (the last moment)

[personal profile] vagabone 2020-02-20 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Tell you som--I'm telling you right now I don't want to be eaten!

[A little too forceful. Burning through energy he doesn't have. He groans, half from his general condition and half... because he doesn't want his delicious crunchy bones to be munched on????]
Edited (this is terrible and I love it) 2020-02-20 23:57 (UTC)
suspecteverything: (oh yeah?)

[personal profile] suspecteverything 2020-02-21 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
I have no idea what you're trying to get at, but good for you I guess?
lesbeau: (« [Shock] hahaha Oh No)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-21 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Typically, the warm feeling of Yasha's healing hands meeting her would cure anything she's got, but all it does is ease a bit of whatever she tore open in her throat with that cough. Not to mention that somehow looking at Yasha makes it worse, her hand clenching as she feels the wet of the blood and plant pulp of the petals crushed in her vice grip.]

What do you mean different? Sometimes you just fall, it's--

[Her lies are stopped basically immediately by a sudden feeling of her throat being blocked, and she stumbles forward again as her hands fly to her mouth to cover a deep, wet cough. It almost looks like she's retching, chest expanding and flattening as the fit swells and subsides. Her fingers are kept over her mouth, but behind it and over her lips is now a bloody mess of stringy flower stamen and delicate petal, which she hasn't moved away to reveal out of hesitation that it's exactly what she'll find.]
lesbeau: (« [Punch] get FUCKED)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-21 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
[She's gonna ask the question of how any place gets along with just one god, but it's shark time and therefore We Are In It. Beau's fist connects in an uppercut with the thing's nose, forcing the teeth and jaw up and away from the two of them. Still plenty of real estate for Bucky to hit the underside though, actually propel the thing back after Beau halted it's movement forward.]

Fuck off, fish breath!
lesbeau: (« [What] alright im lost af)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-21 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
Dude.

[This guy's gonna kill himself right in front of her and she's more surprised he didn't know that than anything else. Sure.]

Stop shaking yourself and sit down before you lose all your blood.

[But she will busy herself with taking some wide steps around the shark, scowling as she tries to surge in and grab its tail. The shark writhes around, just barely missing chomping her hands as she hastily removes them.]

Shit! Stay still!
deathfindsaway: (« [Watch] the death police)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-21 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
... Ah. That is quite complicated.

[Hhhhh time loops, why is it always time loops, ugh. Cancel the whole thing right out, it's never good. He doesn't look judgmentally at her, but his face is serious in considering those implications.]

My apologies for that situation. I mean, it-- I understood that what was happening at the Bureau was very important, but I've also become acutely aware of how dangerous it is. I can't say this world is conclusively better, but... there is more we can do here, I believe. More we can control and shape.
yakyuuman: (263 homeruns)

[personal profile] yakyuuman 2020-02-21 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Her question would sound so weird if Jyushimatsu wasn't weird by default. He'd seen things here that nobody in the real world would conjure in their wildest dreams as real and tangible. That's a pretty legit question to him right now.

His ear is still glued to the door, but he shifts his eyes on Ren. ]


I think they totally could! If people die and come back to life here then it'd make sense to have dead sharks turned into ghosts as well!
thermalwind: (here for the raid)

[personal profile] thermalwind 2020-02-21 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[Keith laughs as he leans back and pulls his shirt off. He drops it to the side as he says,] You didn’t meet me before when I was just the best friend and second of the team.

And noted. Galra heal fast too and too fast if we get fed a bunch of life energy. Just don’t tell anyone that part either. [His body is covered in scars. The simple scratches of blades or claws. Bite marks and burns. Across his side is a patterning or burns as if the flame that caused it splashed against his side.

His throat has the scar of a monster’s teeth on it. Over the scars is a pattern. Holes at his joints, lines and markings like as if he were a machine. Across his chest the blood has formed a v based on the pattern of holes. Over his back it looks like he should have wings.]


These are all the lights and vents of the Black Lion. You pilot Black, you lead the team. [His right arm looks like a machine from how the flowers follow it down from the middle of his bicep down. He puts his hand over it.] Shiro’s prosthetic used to connect to his body like this.
deathfindsaway: (« [Concern] there's no connection)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-21 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Kravitz has never been comfortable not knowing shit fuck about anything, much less a system that's defined his existence for longer than any mortal has been alive. But there are so many problems with that and-- well, the Overgrowth provides a lot of problems on it's own, but right now it's less problems than the concept of death. It's hard to say. But one will lead to the other if he doesn't focus, so he nods, trying to get his head back on straight.

"Right, I-- right. I don't exactly know what's caused this, but we do theoretically know how to fix it before it consumes us." He shifts his weight, trying to keep himself flexible against the roots he knows are clogging his body. "I was at least slightly hoping that speaking of my reservations about the death system would do something, but it seems that isn't enough. Do you... have any ideas? Anything you need to speak about?"
deathfindsaway: (« [Quiet] a gentle cuddle for once)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-21 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Kravitz only nods as Keith speaks, feeling those emotions like an old wound. He used to think about that often, a grinding of his own trauma. It simply wasn't something he could surmount, but he's had far longer than Keith to handle that. When he seems to reach a breaking point, Kravitz does only what comes naturally.

Which now, is just to pull him into a hug.]


Every society has done wrong. We are not meant to carry the blame for other's choices. There will always be fear of things that do not deserve that fear, but... we can change it individually. We can make a difference between people. And that matters.
deathfindsaway: (« [Bored] thousands of years dead)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-21 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[He just sighs.]

Fine. Alright. I suppose that's the best I'm getting here.

[He lets his shoulders sit low, trying not to worry about it as much as he can.]

I won't... push, further than this. I just truly wish for you to take care of yourself. Know that someone cares about you.
deathfindsaway: (« [Confused] no im very competent really)

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2020-02-21 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
W-- What?

[Wait, no, that's not what he meant. Kravitz blinks as he tries to get a handle on this conversation again.]

No, I-- no, truly, I don't want something to happen to you. If, if I was threatening you, I think you would know. Usually there's some yelling involved. And uhm, weapons.
lesbeau: (« [Gentle] (kh voice) HOOOOLD ME)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-21 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Beau isn't one for wide toothed, excited smiles, but there is something at the corner of her mouth that she can't lie and say it isn't some kind of smile. It's nice. It's nice, and she feels surprisingly better even as she can't see the way the flowers begin to drop from her shoulders.]

Yeah. Y'know, just... beat the shit out of everyone in the way. Our time to take whatever the hell we want now.

[Beau isn't a crier either, but she is wiping away a couple of tears at her face, quiet but not trying to muffle the sound. Trusting people feels weird, but he reminds her of Fjord in a lot of ways. It's grounding. She's thankful.]

You good now?
lesbeau: (« [Bored] say it to my face not online)

[personal profile] lesbeau 2020-02-21 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[If he can read her thoughts, then he'll know her tone and meaning is as sarcastic as his, though not quite as bitter or biting. Everyone she knows that's never gotten into a fight is too rich to be hurt, to above everyone else to really be living in the world. People need to experience what life has to offer, in her opinion, and you can't do that being pristine and untouchable at the top.]

Yeah. Mostly teaches you that people are assholes.

[She's watching his expression though, the tone in his voice, wondering if she's stumbled on something.]

Lots of ways to learn that though. As long as it doesn't kill you.
eudaimonikos: (Default)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-02-21 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I know.

[He seems a little surprised at Kravitz's reaction, honestly.]

But a human would probably take it that way. They take a lot of things as threats. [well, that problem's really more on his end]