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

beau | ota | standard cw for blood and body horror throughout

[lesbeau]

i. [sharks] call the neighbor kids, the trash can lids / with buckets on their heads

[Most people, when they hear 'there are sharks that can come out of any bit of water and will eat you', might think that they'll stay away from water. And to Beau's credit, she does take the time to establish that these are the only facts she'll need for this scenario. They do appear to just be sharks- they can be hit, and it's just inconvenient that they come from any water source.

To that end, she's going to go fight them.

So Beau can be found down on the beach with her staff, shifting her weight on her feet and looking out to the ocean. Everything seems still and peaceful, just for a moment...

And then a shark leaps out of the water, and Beau slams it in the nose with her fist before smacking it back into the water with her staff. It's like baseball, if baseball was shark-based. She certainly seems to be enjoying it, if the loud laughter is anything to go by.]

That's right, fuckers! Come at me! Try it again, I dare you!

ii. [overgrowth] find some cover / kill the lights / and nail the back door shut

[Beau's read a lot about the process of the Overgrowth, what it means and how it manifests. Despite the amount of time she's spent researching it, she just figures she's gotten a cold when it's come around; she tries to sleep, tries to eat well, tries to work it out of her.

It doesn't work.

In fact, she realizes that it doesn't work when she's out in the morning close to the Denny, pushing herself through her daily workout despite the dizziness in her head and the clogging in what feels like every joint. But in the middle of a high kick, the knee holding her up gives out and she falls, coughing until she feels blood and something else lodge out of her lungs.

At first they don't look like flowers; it's simply stringy bits, as if she's swallowed pine needles. But when the first few petals begin to emerge, she stays on her knees, looking at them while her mind whirls and she mutters to herself.]

... Well, shit.

iii. [wildcard] i'd much rather choke and die than sit alone and fall without a fight

[Have something else you want to do or want to discuss another prompt? Hit me up via PM or at cancerously and we can plot!]

glass shaaaaaaark

[demonpuppy]

[Chip had been staying well away from water ever since finding out about the sharks--at least not without Erika around. But Beau's ruckus is enough to catch their attention and they creep over to her section of the beach, stopping among the foliage just short of where soil properly gives way to sand. They watch her fighting with wide eyes, caught somewhere between confusion and awe over the whole scene.]

[But watching Beau go to town on these sharks, they get an idea of how to help. Chip carefully pulls together a tangled little weave of magical power, concentrating hard to be sure their intent is properly made real, and pushes it into Beau when they're sure it's ready.]

[Assuming Beau doesn't resist it, the effect is...not entirely unlike Haste, overall. A burst of physical energy and speed, but accompanied by a vague and undirected rise of aggression that might take someone off-guard. Chip only put a small amount of power into it, but it's still potent.]

[lesbeau]

[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.]

[demonpuppy]

[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--]

[lesbeau]

[Welcome to being a monk with anger issues. You get stronger, faster, and it comes with a side effect of Angry? There she go! Chip's reveal does make her eyebrow arch up, that manic sort of look still on her face as she takes some steps away from the water to (hopefully) stop triggering sharks to throw themselves onto land. And if they do, she plans to find out if you can use Deflect Missiles on an entire shark.]

You did that, huh? 'Ss that magic? You some kinda kid prodigy or something?

[She's pretty sure that was a haste spell. Is it? They're only supposed to last like a minute, but that could also just be the adrenaline pumping through her instead.]

[demonpuppy]

[They start to nod, then quickly shake their head. Oh jeez, no, don't accuse them of being smart or anything!!]

N-no, I mean it's just--I'm just...nephilim? [Of all the things to say 'just' about.] I'm not...good or anything.

ii

[thermalwind]

[Keith happens to come out of Denny in time to see her fall. He approaches slowly and almost backs up at the sight of petals set in the blood. He closes his eyes.

Everyone is getting it. He walks over and sighs.] Looks like everyone is getting it again. [He rolls up his right sleeve and exposes the red flowers that have broken free of the scarring in the middle of his bicep all the way down to his clawed fingers.]

I’m further along. How much do you know about this?

[lesbeau]

[As soon as Keith speaks, she clenches her fist as if to hide the petals, but it ends up not mattering in the end. He shows her his blooms, and she lets out a little 'tch', opening her hand again and rocking back on her heels so she can wipe the bloody petals from her palm before standing.]

It's the Overgrowth, right? That disease from plague island. How the hell did it come back if that place isn't around and nobody's gotten sick here in over a year, did someone fuck up and unfreeze an iceberg or something?

[thermalwind]

I don’t know. [He lets his sleeve fall back in place and jerks the left side of his shirt up. More flowers following the scars that had been there last time. A series of lines and dots that could mean something. He lets his shirt fall back down.]

This is advancing way faster than the original did. It took days before I was looking like a flower pot. But, we’re probably about to see the island’s return. That can be the only thing this means.

[He shifts from foot to foot like a fighter about to walk launch themselves into the fray. He pats his right leg and grimaces.] Way faster.

We got a big problem. A lot of people chose to die last time.

[lesbeau]

So what, we're in range of... flower spores from it or something? That sucks. How are you supposed to kill a plague that comes from any living thing?

[She can't spend a lot of time worrying about that now though, not when she knows she's infected. Cure for her has to come first before she can hit the big picture.]

You-- wait, choose to die? I thought a lot of people didn't know what the cure was. They just died rather than talk?

[Oh no, that's kind of relatable.]

[thermalwind]

They knew. [He looks away and closes his eyes. All he has to do is say that much but keeping quiet will make him sicker faster.

He scrubs at his face.]

We figured it out and some people just couldn’t talk. My second couldn’t. I had to. I couldn’t leave my team, [It had been the first time he understood what he was to the team. He was meant to be their rock in a storm. He was meant to bleed and bleed and endure. Breaking wasn’t an option. Death wasn’t an option. He had to stand.

To be seen standing. For them.] I know other people did or just didn’t know what to say. I don’t know what causes it. Maybe the lies we tell ourselves.

[He rubs his hand against the side of his neck and sighs.] But if you want to talk, I’ll listen. I’ll share too so you don’t have to do it alone. Because this sickness sucks.

i

[suspecteverything]

[Jules spends a lot of his free time down on the beach. It's quite and usually well away from people, which means less noise and intrusive thoughts in his head. One person, however, isn't too bad. This one is actually rather entertaining. He has no idea what she's fighting, but hey, it's still fun to watch. He'll just keep lounging back on his elbows for the time being.]

I'd say one bloody nose is enough, but I've met a lot of beings that are thick skulled enough to come back after a lot more than one.

[lesbeau]

[She turns her attention only slightly at the voice, staying poised for the next one to jump out of the water. They just keep coming, so she figures it might be a proximity thing-- or maybe she'll eventually hit them all. Who knows!]

If you go down after one hit, you're pretty cheap. Or at least you don't go running right at the--

[And just like that, a ghostly form of teeth and shark emerges right out of the water like a beached whale. Beau wastes no time sprinting right at it, digging her left heel into the sand, and using he right foot to sock it right in the nose with her foot. Regular people can't hit ghosts, but monks sure can.]

Get back in there! Come on! Fuck off!

[suspecteverything]

[Well, she has a bit of a point there. Jules certainly isn't one to go down after one hit either. He is, however, one who will make his first hit good enough to make a very distinctive point. If hit one is good enough, there doesn't need to be a hit two.]

Do enough damage the first time and you won't need a second. It'll spread the word too. They won't come back again unless the incentive is good enough.

[Which is the reason why Jules is never left alone, but whatever.]

[lesbeau]

[She just snorts in amusement as she turns back to advance up the beach again.]

That sounds like wizard stuff. Why use a sword when you have a huge ball of fire or something. But if you can hit everything with one slam, you're not fighting anything interesting.

[Beau crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow at him.]

Who are you, anyway?

[suspecteverything]

Pretty sure I have a huge minsid sword strapped to my back.

[Granted he also has the big ball of fire thing, but he tends to keep that hidden except on special occasions.]

You consider a big fish thing with sharp teeth interesting? I think you need to reconsider your sparring partners if that's the case.

[Jules may not know what a shark is, but it doesn't look like anything major to him.]

Dagger.

i

[semistableman]

[Maybe Bucky should be the person telling Beau not to punch the sharks, but he's not. Instead, he's already winding the servos up on his arm, creaking loudly as he steps up beside her.]

You need some backup?

[lesbeau]

[Good Bucky, you've learned not to hurt yourself trying to stop Beau from doing something. All it'll do is give you a headache. But she does arch an eyebrow at him as he approaches, keeping her stance in the sand.]

You sure you can hit 'em?

[For all her posturing, for once that doesn't actually mean "are you strong enough", but more the literal "can you hit ghosts", and her expression shows it as her eyes flick between him and the waters.]

Or are they only called ghosts and not actually like, ghosty?

[semistableman]

Good question.

[He's more than willing to find out, because those things look dangerous.]

I was raised Catholic; I guess I could see if saying a fancy prayer'll banish them, like the Sisters always claimed they could.

[lesbeau]

What god is Catholic?

[Whoops, the trappings of a multi-god society. She technically has a god, but... well, it's not really her thing. That's everybody else's thing.]

Probably better off with magic. But maybe I can figure it out. If you can't hit 'em you can just call it.

[Right on cue, the water shakes at the surface and a big shark leaps out towards them both. Beau moves to swing for it's face, assuming Bucky is doing the same to test their theory.]

[semistableman]

It only has the one. Boring, I know.

[It's not like he's Catholic now, being forced to be an assassin for decades will do that to you.]

We'll see if I can hit 'em. If I can't, I'll be your cheerleader.

[Oh, he'll get ready to punch the ghosts. This is probably going to be stupid.]

overgrowth

[barberian]

(Maybe Beau doesn't realise this about her quite yet but Yasha notices a lot of things. She's pretty quiet, sure, but that doesn't mean she isn't listening, or watching. Paying attention, especially to certain people. So for example: when Beau's morning routine starts to chug a little in the lead up to her becoming sick, Yasha notices that too. She can tell Beau isn't feeling well because the way she moves is stiffer. She's sluggish when she talks, which isn't much. That's odd too.

Yasha doesn't mean to come across her the morning she collapses because she is genuinely going in the same direction, and spotting Beau in the distance going through her paces makes her stop, and watch. Just in case.

And sure enough–

Yasha lurches forward on the spot when Beau's leg comes out from underneath of her, a sudden jerky movement as if she could some how catch her before she hits the ground. She's too far away for something that dramatic, but she does still get to Beau in time to see her up on her knees again, staring at something wet in her palm. She slows, then stops a few paces away from her.)

Beau?

[lesbeau]

[Beau's smart and careful, but not incredibly perceptive. When she's on her full beat, she can track things around her and tell if she's being followed with relative ease. Now though, with her head feeling cloudy and heavy, with the heat of sickness clogging at her neck, it's harder to keep that kind of grip especially as she's trying to keep with her normal routine. Meaning she misses Yasha entirely as she tumbles, immediately clenching her hand over the blood and petals in an attempt to hide it when she hears someone approaching.

It makes it better that it's Yasha, but Beau looks up, and bits of blood are still dotted onto her lips.]

Why is it you only showed up when I ate shit? Figures that's my luck.

[She wipes her forearm across her mouth, clearing off remaining traces of anything out of the ordinary as she begins to hoist herself up.]

It's good, it's-- it's fine. I'm fine.

[barberian]

Did you bite your tongue?

(Yasha hates it when that happens. She noticed the blood on Beau's mouth, dark red where her lips meet. Finds that looking at it gives her a little thrill, a hot rush of– well. Beau's wiped her mouth off on her arm, so she's not going to think about it any more.

She's still standing awkwardly as Beau pulls herself to her feet, one hand clenched on the ground in a fist as she pushes up from the ground. She's upright again only moments before Yasha's fingertips, lit by a soft blue glow around their edges, find her shoulder, and heal her for ten hitpoints.)

Now you're fine. (But she isn't truly convinced.) What's happening? You're... different. It feels like something is wrong.

[lesbeau]

[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.]