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

[forwearemany]

Not even to flee?

(They chatter.)

Drifter, the longer we linger, the more both of us are at risk.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(They are glad that he is here.

At the mention of Kravitz they begin to chatter.)

We have not.

(Not recently, at least.)

[hyperlit]

ALREADY AT RISK

[Their conversation abruptly halts when Judgement surges for them, a swarm of black tendrils arcing for them. They shoot back, their sword up, slashing at the dark, clawlike drips of shadow reaching for them. They immediately dissipate on contact, but they can't keep this up forever.]

GO

[The implication is probably clear: go, and they'll hold it back.]

[forwearemany]

We are not abandoning you!

(They back up a bit, to avoid being accidentally hit by Drifter's sword, then move to the side, to avoid getting to close to their own manifestation.

But they don't move beyond that.)

[hyperlit]

WANT TO LEAVE
THEN LEAVE

[They seem intent on telling the Drifter to desert this fight, but the Drifter knows what this is - knows it to be Judgment, believes it to be Judgment, and just because it appears only to them does not make it any less real. If there is even the smallest chance that it is real, that it is not some mere hallucination - then they must destroy it.]

[forwearemany]

Our current desire is to prevent you from suffering a needless, preventable death.

(This will end badly, they know.

Drifter's actions suggest it is attacking. Perhaps ...

They can't see judgement, but they try to move in its way. Perhaps, if an attack connects with them and they are unharmed, the Drifter will be convinced.)

We will not leave until you do.

[motherfucking_ghost]

From people treating you less like backstabby crap? Yeah, I can get that. I dunno, sometimes the honesty thing can backfire, like, truth bombs detonating early and leaving everything all confused. But I can totally see in general being treated nicer as a whole.

[hyperlit]

THEN STAY

[They leave it at that. There's no time for anything else. Judgment is shifting, issuing a hail of tiny projectiles that fan out in the Drifter's direction. Their focus on the battle is absolute, in spite of the way their sickness threatens to double them over. Inconsequential. Their sword connects with several of the bullets, winging them back at the hulking mass.]

[It doesn't relent. Its eye peers at them with unparalleled malice.]

[eudaimonikos]

From me treating people less like that, too. It's all sort of bundled together, I guess. So really, I won't even bring anything people tell me up with them again, if they don't want to.

I

[salutosinedelectat]

[ A couple of months in and Aziraphale has mostly accepted that this is his life now. Complete lack of consistence except for the fact that anything can happen at any time, any place, with anything. Whether it is creatures he’s never even imagined, or islands popping into existence, or people acting strange. It’s fine. It’s absolutely fine. So fine.

At least this day seems to be fairly....calm. Mostly. He’s really just going about the islet, stretching his legs, having a walk and a think.

Until he spots Michael sat by the base of the tree. He hasn’t really seen the demon in a while now, usually just spotting him here and there around Enso. The angel glances at him a few times before he actually stops, wondering if it’s his impression or if there’s something a bit... off.

He decides to step over. ]

Well, good morning, Michael.

B. They’re neighbors!

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Aziraphale’s getting ready to leave for Enso when it happens. There’s nothing but the sounds of birds chirping away outside, and then, suddenly, the sound of a doorloudly slamming open and then shut across the way.

It peaks his attention enough to go over to the window and look outside, spotting Legion in what seems to be a state of alarm.

The angel steps outside to check, preemptively expecting some sort of strange happening. Is it mind altering plants again? The lorbies?]

Are you alright? [ He calls out across the way. It’s becoming somewhat of an almost daily habit, saying that.]

[eudaimonikos]

[...

.....

Oh, he's being addressed. Michael's not interested in a conversation - even the thought of replying seems sort of exhausting - but Aziraphale probably won't just leave if he doesn't. Not that he wants the angel to leave, exactly? He really doesn't care.]

Hey.

[forwearemany]

Then we will both die, because you are controlled by your fear.

(They'd prefer not to get in the Drifter's way, because it seems like a good way to get stabbed. But it seems as though, if they want to prove anything, they have little choice.

They watch for a moment, follow the Drifter's gaze, estimate the path of an imaginary line from them to their invisible foe.

And then, without hesitation, they move to stand in it, putting themseves in the path of oncoming attacks from either side.)

[hyperlit]

IT IS REAL

[Just because Legion cannot see it does not mean that it is not real. That's how the Cell functions. Not all see it. Those stricken with illness, those who fall to pieces when the plague starts to ravage them inside out, they have no difficulty glimpsing it. The Drifter certainly has no difficult glimpsing it.]

[It is not fear that guides them - it can't be. What sort of fear has them standing against the thing that has killed them and will kill them and has almost killed their entire world, and fighting anyway?]

[Legion gets in the way. The Drifter glowers at them, but they don't have time for admonitions. Instead they dart around instead, narrowing their dash into a bladed tip that slams through the Judgment's black mass and spews shadow out onto the other side.]

[thermalwind]

They lost a lot of people lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s off somewhere by himself. [And he is in no condition to go find him. But that hasn’t ever stopped Keith before.]

...Who do you need to check on? [He asks, turning his head to look at Legion again. He’ll add to the list of people to track down.]

[forwearemany]

It is a temporary construction of the magic inherent to Monsun and it will cease to exist once you leave! The same occurs with desires on the opposite side!

(They continue getting in the way, faster now, and attempt to move closer to ... whatever this invisible menace is.)

[hyperlit]

THEN LEAVE

[No one comes between the Drifter and their target. Those that do only do so to die, and Legion is proving - difficult. They don't want to simply bowl them over, but they cannot continue to fight a battle on two fronts. They sling one of their bombs from their cloak, duck, and let it detonate. Legion, as a friendly, should remain unscathed, but in the Drifter's perspective, they can see the impact blowing a hole in Judgment's side. The damage immediately begins to coalesce over regardless.]

[forwearemany]

We will not leave without you.

(They are, in fact, unscathed! They are also undeterred from continuing to be a nusiance.

They know enough to know the Drifter won't harm them without a threat first.

Admittedly, at this point even if the Drifter hurt them, there are worse things to fear than death.)

If it is real, then why has it not harmed us?

[forwearemany]

His collective is absent.

(They chatter.)

Uncertain. Though we encounter Faust-Doctor regularly, we are uncertain of the status of the Drifter, Washington-Agent, or Zidane.

Others?

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(It is his choice.)

Yes. Possible effects include blindness and loss of voice. They are temporary, typically lasting one week to one month.

b- jan 7th

[reflash]

There are flowers pushing through his skin, through his lungs, probably through the walls of other organs if the nausea and how he keeps throwing up clumps of petals means anything.

But he isn't dead yet.

Faust might not let him in the clinic anymore, but Yukio does still have a store of herbs in his treehouse and he's been trying to figure things out, but he doesn't know enough, isn't good enough yet. And he knows the cure. He just...

He's looking for Ginko today. It's going to take all day, he's reaches his limit physically just getting out of his house, almost falls down the ladder. But he has to keep going, so he does.

"Ginko-san?" He says, while standing at the door of a cottage. He thinks it's the right place, but it's hard to tell. He's dizzy, exhausted from just walking over here, too hot, and he can't smell anything but blood and vomit.

[thermalwind]

[Wash. He hasn’t seen him in a while. In all fairness, he has been a mess of a man for a while. Keith swallows and folds in on himself as another coughing fit hits him. It lasts a few minutes and leaves him feeling a little weaker when it’s over.]

Beau? Shepard? ...Tim?

[He can’t remember if Tim chose to die last time. He barely knows him. So many people are gone and he wrecks his brain for names.] There’s a teammate of Washington’s I don’t know the name of. She’s a woman, really kinda intense? Church?

[forwearemany]

Uncertain. Contact with Shepard-Commander is ... minimal.

(She's not their Shepard, but they still fear her.

They chatter.)

Washington-Agent has multiple female teammates. (They're not sure who is gone and who is still here.) Status of Church: unknown.

Hi neighbor!

[forwearemany]

(They stand there for a bit, chattering to themselves, before finally looking back at the house.

That's just about the time when several loud thumps come from inside, as the shark flops around.

They look at Aziraphale.)

All systems functional.

There is a shark.

budding!

[lesbeau]

[Beau just narrowly missed the last plague, when she arrived. She did get to explore Umui before it disappeared, but without the threat of looming death. Over the time she's been here, she's read as much as she can get her hands on, seen visions and descriptions of this disease.

Maybe that's why it's ironic when she coughs up a soft, blue petal, she knows exactly what it is not from all that research but from an almost-forgotten dream.

Beau is out and about, bandages on her upper arm and her typical robes loosely covering open skin. That isn't stopping brilliant love-in-a-mist flowers from crawling out of her shoulder blades, her teeth gritted as she goes. Fuck this. Fuck this whole goddamn thing. She just needs to make it back to the islets, then she can talk to Yasha and Molly and just get this damn thing over with.

But, she sees him first. And unfortunately, she's become too good of a person to not just leave him there. Beau steadies herself towards him, using her staff as a partial walking stick to get close enough where she can yell.]

Hey! Hey, say something or you're gonna be a fuckin' bush before long, huh?