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

[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?

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.

Could be a distraction.

[The sword, she means. Not the shark. But the name has her tilting her head back, as if somehow he's finally piqued something actually worth knowing.]

Seriously? Dagger? Spelled like the knife? Is this some kind of joke about my name or something, or did your parents also just suck?

You think the sword is more of a distraction than the eyes and claws?

[Because glowing red eyes are usually more of a distraction than a big ass sword.]

Yeah, spelled like the knife. And yeah, my parents sucked royally enough that I would hesitate to say they fit any description of the word parents other than in a genetic donor sense. Despite all that, my name is about the only thing they didn't screw me over with.

[It's also not his real name, but a name he chose as his call sign and has since adopted with pretty much everyone but those he really trusts.]

The Dagger Ixur are legendary creatures where I'm from. They're job is to hunt down children who have disappointed their parents, primarily their mothers.

[Now that makes her snicker, a little curve to her mouth.]

I have a lotta friends with horns. Also, pretty sure you got more range with the sword.

[But she doesn't dwell on that as he offers up much more of himself readily, and Beau listens, attentive. Any information she can glean on anyone here is interesting and worthy of note, even if she quietly understands that feeling behind parents. Fuck that, end story. Simple enough.]

Primarily their mom? Jeez. Don't tell me there's some kind of other demon for having daddy issues.

[It's mostly a joke. Mostly.]

Guess we're some weird weapon squad, huh. Not that mine's spelled the same. But I pretty much just go by Beau, so it's whatever.

[Pronounced as "Bow", matching the bo staff on her back. Irony, right there.]

[A smile flashes across Jules' face as well.]

That's a good thing. And yeah, I do have more range with the sword.

[Though again, the fireballs and other mental abilities take the cake on range.]

No. Andaria is a matriarchal culture. To disrespect or cause harm to any female is viewed as the worst crime. To do that to your own mother is easily punishable by disowning or death.

[If she finds out you're also magic and sword boy, she's gonna complain. What are ya buddy, some kind of paladin?? Still, she listens, arms crossed as if she's only half paying attention.]

Oh. Sick. Guess it's not all women, like, all the time, because that would be even cooler.

[Beau no. At least she's not just gonna leave that as her last line.]

That's where you're from? Andaria?

[Just a screwed up Andarion and human hybrid. And his abilities aren't really magic. Just the benefit of said screwed up genes.]

No. That's more the Qill schtik. They're pretty aggressively anti-male. No Qill takes orders from a male ever. They aren't any more same sex relationship than any other race though.

Yeah. Grew up there. It's the race I primarily claim too.

Well that just sounds like a mess. I mean, kickin' down dudes, don't get me wrong, but... 'ss discrimination if anyone's getting oppressed.

[Mostly she's imagining getting to beat down her dad, but that's largely neither here nor there. Beau shifts her weight between her feet, giving him another once over.]

So what, were you beaten down as a kid? I'm not gonna hit you, if that's what you're worried about.

Don't really know enough about Qill culture to know if they are or aren't, but gut feeling is it's not going that far. Chayden functions too well to have been oppressed, though that's... not saying much given I'm talking about Chayden.

[The other Tavali definitely fits his call sign of Pyscho Bunny. He's going to pointedly ignore that first question. There's really no good way to answer it other than to say he was heavily indoctrinated in the eton Anatole way, which would only invite more questions that he has no desire to answer.]

Well you could certainly try. Would be very Andarion for you to try actually. Doubt you'd be able to pull it off though.

Really?

[Well that's a challenge. Her face shifts subtly, a little quirk of interest among the other questions that proves she wasn't interested in the others.]

What makes you say that? Pretty sure I've proven I'm good at hitting shit. Unless you're just one of those cocky guys who doesn't believe anyone can hit 'em.

Minsid hell, no. Thraix and Trajen could both kick my ass across the entire space station. Trajen without even breaking a sweat. They both kick my ass on a regular basis, though perhaps not as far as the whole space station.

Not saying others haven't tried and succeeded, but not usually in a one on one situation. I have too many tricks up my sleeves at this point for one on ones to be very successful.

Too many, huh? Sounds like me.

[As long as there aren't weapons involved. Not that Beau doesn't put up a fight with weapons, but in a one to one, fists only match? There's simply no contest.]

Sounds like you had a lotta fun back home. Everybody needs a few good stories of getting the shit kicked out of them, though. Builds character.

Not quite.

[And he's rather confident of that since he can hear Beau's thoughts. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve with weapons of all sorts, both those physical and those... not.

Jules' expression doesn't change much, but there's definitely a darker look in his eyes at the mention of getting the shit kicked out of them to build character. His stories are not fun and have left more than their fair share of mental scars on top of the physical ones.]

Gotta love clawing your way back from death's door. Definitely teaches you a thing or two.

[Is the sarcasm there a little bit bitter? Maybe.]

[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.

[Sadly money and status don't exempt one from being the target of a fight where he's from. Take that from a former Tahrs or crown prince.]

You seriously needed a fight to figure that one out? Everyone is an asshole, and I'm not just talking about people. There are plenty of other species that fit that qualification too. Haven't actually met a species that didn't have it's fair share of assholes. Some more than others.

[She certainly didn't grow up poor either, but it only made her hate the elite further for hiding behind bodyguards and gilded cages. She'll take the blood and dirt of the ring any day.]

Eh, you never know. Most are dumb as hell, but some of 'em will watch your back.

[Beau's under no pretenses that the Nein are necessarily Good People, but it's... more comfortable that way to travel with them. Knowing they're all fucked up in some respect so she doesn't need to be some perfect goody-goody to earn her keep.]

Still assholes though. Better that they are. Rather have real anger than fake happiness.

A few yeah, if you find the right ones.

[It took Jules a long time, but he can finally say he does actually have people who would watch his back.]

[She snorts, a little mirthful.]

Damn right. Most of 'em are just junk.

[And with that lovely sentiment, she's got nothing else to say on that topic. So.]

So you gonna do something about these sharks or what?

Need I do something about them?

[He's really pretty content, and they haven't tried to attack him yet. Normally he doesn't start fights, just finish them.]

I mean, you don't have to. Unless you're chicken. Let a girl do all the work while you laze around.

[She points a smug sort of look towards him, even if that wasn't a... super good insult, considering everything he's told her about his society. But mostly she's just trying to goad him into seeing what he can do, case him a bit in case she ever needs to fight with him- or against him.]

[He words wouldn't make Jules even consider getting off his butt. He's used to letting really good insults slide right off his back without a reaction, so a pathetic one would normally do nothing.

Her thoughts are what make him drag himself to his feet. His hand drops over his back to grab the hilt of the giant warsword strapped there. The moment his hand touches it the gem in the hilt blazes red.]

If you just wanted to see what I could do, you should have just asked.

[She just laughs as soon as he starts rousing himself, pleased that she's getting what she wants either way.]

You saw a shot of mine. I'd say it's only fair if I see a shot of yours. Doesn't have to be everything. Just make it cool, huh?

[She's not going to remotely get what she wants there since Jules is going with nothing but the most basic, boring method of fighting. No fire. No telepathy. Just a good old blade.

He moves close to the water, blade swinging lightly in his hand. When he gets close enough the shark will come on its own, and it does. Jules doesn't go to it, but waits for the thing to come hurtling at him. In a rather lazy move he lifts his sword horizontal, braces his feet, and lets the shark's own momentum do most of the work. Might as well use his Andarian weight to his advantage.]

[Look, she's a monk. Hitting shit and not using magic to do it is what she does. So she looks lazily at his moves, handling the shark without much movement at all.]

Mmmm, just gonna hold it off, huh? You think that's dealing with it?

[With an idea in her head,Beau moves down to the shoreline nearby, but out of arm's length for both their sakes. The next shark that tries to jump her she sidesteps and grabs the base of its tail, spinning with the momentum of its lunge a couple of times before she hocks the thing right back out into the water.]

January Undercurrent: Growing Pains

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