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

[postictal]

[A choking, faint sound peels out from his throat - almost like a laugh, until it becomes apparent that it isn't anything of the sort. It's more akin to a sob, hitching and garbled.]

Can't lie to me. Or - guess y'can. 'M a liar.

Always have been.

[Even to himself, it seems. He keeps trying to convince himself that there's someone left, anyone, that still gives a damn. And he knows that there shouldn't be. He made himself important by virtue of where he placed himself, what he did - not for who he is. What he is.]

[And it shouldn't be for that, anyway. Not for him.]

[catpiper]

[It hasn't been a lie-their time together, the ways he's tried to make her happy, the fact he always tries, even as he denies doing anything of the sort over and over again.

It sounds like he's crying and she wants to pull some blankets over his body to tuck him in, to make it feel like a hug. Maybe wrap her arms around him too because there's a deep sort of hurt fueling him and-

She fiddles with her fingers, trying to keep that numbing sensation at bay for a few more minutes.]

We should go somewhere-we can go back to camp. It's only-

It's just me and Uncle Kravitz now. It's very quiet. You can lay there and I'll take care of you. It's okay.

[postictal]

I don't think Kravitz wants to deal with me like this.

[He's fucked with Kravitz enough for the time being, he's pretty sure. They can only barely have civil discussions these days. He's pretty sure that's his fault.]

'Sides. Figure the flowers could use a little help. 'S what they wanted - me to take care of 'em.

[They. Chara.]

[Someone has to take care of these flowers.]

[catpiper]

[Kravitz wouldn't mind-she knows that. He's by far one of the kindest people one the island and he respects death enough to ensure Tim's comfort while she tries to cure him.

While she makes every effort to cure him.

But she's not strong enough to move someone against their will nor does she want to. He seems adamant about remaining here, at his house, and she-

Gets it.]

You can't take care of them if you don't get better.

cw: emetophobia, blood

[postictal]

Make great fertilizer, though, right?

[Shouldn't be making shitty jokes like this. But morbid humor is really the only kind he's got to his name. He wets his lips, taste sap and copper. That's enough to set off his gag reflex all over again, and he has to curl over on his side to retch sluices of blood and petals into the dirt.]

What're you doing here, kid? You went home. Or...somewhere.

[catpiper]

No.

[Jokes fly over her head at the best of times and the morbid way he refers to himself as fertilizer over and over is-

Painful. She doesn't know any magic words to make him see how wrong that is. All she has are her feelings and knowing that she's going to lose him, that Chara might lose their family before they return, that there's always a chance Tim might not come back from death and all she wants is for him to understand-

She wants to cry. Tries hard to stop the tears from welling her eyes because it won't help. It's not going to save him or change anything. She just has to keep trying.]

This is home. I didn't-I wasn't anywhere and then I came back here and everyone was-

[Gone. Sick. Dying.]

Don't leave too.

[postictal]

[Is he even talking to a hallucination?]

[Some part of him twinges vaguely at the possibility that he isn't, that she's really here, and it twitches like a poked nerve. But so much of him is raw and scraped bare at this point - he can barely muster the ability to respond, let alone process what that might mean.]

Wasn't anywhere...

[He swallows, even though it hurts.]

Sounds nice.

[catpiper]

[Nice isn't how she would describe the experience in any sense of the word. Losing that time and not knowing what transpired, what happened, missing out on her last opportunities to see people-

There was nothing nice about it.

She hates it. The fact it happened and there's nothing she can do to stop it from occurring again.]

I think it was very lonely. It feels that way now.

[She can only hope her lost family and friends aren't trapped in that same, bizarre void.]

I don't want you to feel that way.

[postictal]

'M always that way.

[Now more than ever. Kids're gone. All he's got left is the expectation that he keep things as they left them. Maybe forever. Maybe this is his purgatory - to always gain and then lose people. To get close but always see it snatched away.]

[Or maybe not. Maybe that's just him. His own inability to allow himself to connect. Not that he should. No. He shouldn't.]

[catpiper]

[Maybe this is for the best. This might be the best way to get him to talk and to keep the flowers from spreading over him. Despite his wishes, she can't let him become fertilizer. It hurts too much to think about.

And hearing he's lonely-

Reminds her of something Murasaki-chan once said to her, so long ago. Back when he gave her ESP Kitty.]

It's okay to feel lonely. That kind of thing-it's very hard to not feel that way.

[But she wishes he didn't. Wishes she could find a way to stop it, no matter how impossible it is.]

Do you want to hold hands?

[postictal]

I'm always alone.

[Why am I the only one that's still here? I don't wanna be by myself again.]

[But that's how it is, with him. That's how it was at home. That's how it is here, now. There's no escaping from it. He's accepted it, even though he'd thought - he'd let himself believe for a moment that he could. He'd befriended impossible children, children who had broken the rules of pretty much everything.]

[But that wasn't enough.]

[He can't even be upset about it. They're better off without him. Most people are. If they're lucky, they ended up somewhere...better than this.]

[He licks the blood from the corner of his mouth, spits.]

Sure. Let's hold hands with a hallucination. You're pretty much the nicest one I've ever had. Thanks for that.

[catpiper]

[There's a strong urge to immediately deny that she's a hallucination again, even if he doesn't believe her. Won't believe her. That sickness does more to people than make them feel ill and it's impossible to prove that it's her.

So she places her palm against the top of his hand, squeezing it tight and-

Again, reaches for his hair, gently petting it back down. He seemed to like it before.]

You don't have to say 'thank you'-you're very nice to me, so I won't leave you. I'll stay right here, even-

[If that lonely ache in his heart never leaves, like he said. He might always feel alone, but she'll keep trying and trying to reach him.]

I'll get you food and water and a very warm blanket to sleep in.

[postictal]

Really are the nicest. Even my mom quit doin' that for me after a while.

[She wasn't there to. Gave up on him. Like most people do. His eyes list shut again. It feels kinda nice, to be lying here, even if he's dying and everything about just hurts more or less nonstop. He's died like this before, though, so it doesn't matter a whole lot. He can die like this again.]

[Lonelier, this time. All he has are the ghosts in his head to keep him company.]

[catpiper]

[He's mentioned his mother before-it only seems to happen during these moments, when reality is difficult to decipher. She's not family though-not from the sound of it.

She tries to ignore the flowers bursting out of his skin and-

There's no way to replace a mother-she wouldn't want to. Absolutely couldn't, but-]

I'm not very good at it, but I can be your 'aunt' right now and that's what 'aunts' do-they take care of you.

[Saying the word aloud is something she hasn't done recently and her fingers momentarily pause against his head. She has to shake it off. She can't think about that right now, even-

If it makes her nauseous to force back down.]

I won't quit. It's okay-I won't leave.

cw: suicide ideation

[postictal]

You kids never quit. Never quit when you're ahead.

[Determination, and so on.]

[He's fading a bit, he thinks. Falling asleep. Maybe, if he's lucky, he won't wake up for a few days.]

[He's lucky there's no one really here...right? He can just wither away and no one will have to worry about him. The tigerlily is here...somewhere. Maybe in the house. It's not important.]

[catpiper]

[His happiness is her priority. A feeling he's admitted to being unable to have over and over and over again, but-

She wants to keep trying. If she can't get him to talk, then she can sit here and take care of him and hope those small, comforting gestures are enough to convince him to speak. To live.

She won't ever give up on him.

That kindness and care he's shown her over the years means something. The efforts he puts towards making people happy and comfortable on the island mean something. The suffering and pain he went through in his life-it means something and-

She doesn't say anything else-just strokes his hair and tries to remember how the elves used to make hot soup. It's going to be hard to cook on her own, but she'll try gathering enough ingredients to make something easy on his stomach. Try to keep glasses of water cold enough to help his fever without magic and-

She can't save him-not if he doesn't want it, but she can take care of him. Make sure nothing hurts him. Try to keep him from being in more pain than necessary, so-

If he wants to sleep, she'll let him, and she'll be there whenever he wakes up, whether it's a few hours or a few days.]