lifeaftr | January Undercurrent: Growing Pains

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

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He sighs, as if he was expecting a response like that.]

I could say the same for you, as well. Very few of our number made it through last time, and many for lack of trying.

[Kravitz eyes Tim, giving him a look partially of understanding and partially of hope that he's more in his own senses this time.]

I am trying to do my part.

[Bold of him to assume Tim won't be going the same route as before.]

That makes one of us. [He doesn't even pretend that he doesn't expect to fail. He's accepted this, though. What choice does he have? The only other choice isn't really a choice at all.]

Anything you wanna get off your chest?

[Yeah well maybe that's why he's HERE, TIm, gosh. They were just talking about the Overgrowth, about what needed to be said to move on. He's not going to be okay and not try to save the people who got him there.]

I believe I should be asking that of you. I expected you to be quite resigned to all this, but... I needed to try. Despite previous attempts.

[Because Kravitz has a lingering fear that every time he intercedes he simply makes it worse, but that's why he's being up front about it. He's going to try, and maybe this is the time they figure it out.]

I was hoping we could both talk. Encourage each other, so we may both walk away from this.

I'm not gonna walk away from this.

[He says it shortly, matter-of-fact. It doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Why should it? He's accepted this. He accepted it the first time, and he's accepting it now.]

Look, if you wanna talk, you can. I won't tell anyone whatever you need to say, or whatever. [But considering how badly he freaked out over the possibility of talking about the secrets that sit in his head, not even flowers can force those lies out of him.]

[He sighs, his shoulders falling just slightly as he tries to ignore the pain that knots through them. Much of his flowers last time came on his back and his arms; this time, they seem to be settling like a mantle up the back of his neck, like a brace to force his head to bow.]

You have options. You needn't confess to me, it-- the cure we found on the island was simply someone talking to themselves. It's just important you know you. I think-- I think you can try that.

[Not that Kravitz will know if he does it unless he spies on Tim while he does it, but there's some line about trust in there he's just kind of assuming.]

I already know this shit.

[He knows. He knows what he is. He's had it burned into his fucking soul enough times to get the picture, thanks. The fucking source. The problem that wormed its way into everyone else's lives. The reason that It bled into everyone else's hearts and minds and ate them alive.]

[Admitting that to anyone else would just make them a carrier. Like him.]

I'm not risking that.

[Well, that's about what he expected. Still, another option occurs to him, even if it's likely something Tim has heard. He's abandoned the notion that anything he has with him is new, and yet he tries anyway.]

What about the Storyteller? Surely they already know of your home, your story. Could they not be a safer option?

I'm not about to turn a god into my therapist. They've got enough going on already, and even if - even if they didn't, I'm not risking that either.

[He's got no idea how powerful that thing is. Maybe a god could topple It. But if they can't?]

[That's on him.]

There's a difference between a reliable therapist and someone needing to know something to save your life. You'll only add to their workload if you die, regardless, because they will have to bring you back. It's really not as simple as it sounds.

[Frankly, he doesn't think it sounds simple at all, but everyone else seems to for whatever reason. So much for not making this some kind of argument.]

Well, maybe they shouldn't bother this time, all right?

[He snaps it out before he can really consider how wise it is to say this, but - hey, this is the fucking death cop here. This is the fucking grim reaper. He can voice all his suicidal proclivities if he wants to. What's Kravitz gonna do about it, huh? Whine about it?]

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.

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.]

Because others care about you, for starters. Because the world does care every time someone dies. And, frankly, because I see a value in your life that makes me remiss to let you just die, even if you don't have that type of foresight.

[Wow, that was a lot of words to mean "I don't think we're friends exactly but you reached out to me when I was in a very terrible place so I'm here to do the same'.]

This is not meant to be a screaming match, or-- or an argument. I just believe you should know these things. That it's important you do.

Yeah, well, they're not here anymore.

[The people who gave a shit about him, who he could almost believe that they meant it when they wanted to say that they gave a shit about him - they're gone. And there's no guarantee that they'll ever come back.]

Thanks for explaining it to me like I'm twelve, jackass. Yeah. I know these things.

I just don't care.

I'm not saying it to you because you don't know. I'm saying it because it deserves to be said, because even if you know it you don't just-- yes, perhaps I want you to care. Obviously, I must care if I'm here having this discussion with you.

[Is this helping him? Well, maybe, at this rate. He is trying to be more honest as he fumbles his way through this.]

I just hate to see this happen to anyone. And yes, I do mean to you.

[Tim snorts, short and derisive.]

Sure. Good luck with that. I'm supposed to be dead anyway, right? If it bothers you so much, maybe you should just fucking do me in and get it over with. Wouldn't have to deal with me anymore then, yeah?

[And, hey, it'd be a damn sight quicker than the way he's gonna go out anyway. It'd be doing him a favor, if you think about it.]

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.

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?

You have gone out of your way to speak to me when I have been in bad situations. Somehow, despite certainly having enough clout on these islands to do so, you haven't banned me from talking to you despite once being set on fire. Kindness is not always going out of your way to be nice- it is also the choice not to be cruel.

[At least he's confident in this assessment, if nothing else. Tim may not believe it, but this Kravitz knows- it is always easier to do violence, when you are able. He knows Tim is able.]

You may have your own views of your own actions. I, in turn, have mine.

That just means I've got low standards. I'm pals with people who've killed me.

[That probably shouldn't be an arguing point, but fuck it. If they're doing this, then they're doing this. Tim just plain doesn't have the energy for grudges most of the time, all right? That's the only reason he can be misconstrued as some kinda actual decent person.]

[He's not, though. He knows he's not.]

The first time I met Taako he ripped off a piece of my hip and ate it. We've been dating for nearly three years.

[He left off the sex tentacles part. That's just... personal.]

As I previously mentioned, standards are not part of this conversation. It is just what I have observed.

All that proves to me is that you have low standards for people being nice to you.

[No wonder he interprets Tim's general bullshittery and his...his inability to be anything but a grade-A asshole as some kind of fucked-up compassion.]

It informs my decision, I suppose. That does not make it wrong. That said... I can see I'm not getting anywhere.

[He sighs, a bit disappointed, but mostly just frustrated that he can't explain himself. Kravitz has sort of stopped being concerned if this helps his flowers as well, though it is still important to him to say his piece.]

Look. I simply think it's vital you know. Especially in times like these. Alright?

Fine. Consider me...warned, or alerted, or whatever.

[Not that Tim doesn't get having low standards. He has pretty bitingly low standards himself. But that's not the fucking point here. He's trying not to make this about himself, as much as possible. He's not the one who expects to walk out of here cured.]

[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.

January Undercurrent: Growing Pains

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cw: suicide ideation

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