March Undercurrent: Lost Connections

[lifeaftr_mods]

MARCH UNDERCURRENT

Who: Everyone!
What: We remember those lost, and connect with one another
When: March 3rd to March 19th
Where: Everywhere!
Warnings: Please mark anything as it comes up!

From Stardust to God

Those months since the Water's introduction to you all have been...tumultuous, haven't they? These two gods have more or less been trying to consistently undermine each other, and you all have been caught in the middle of it - whether or not you wanted to be! Kind of a miserable state of being to be stuck in, right?

All that is going to change.

For the duration of this particular month, both the Storyteller and the Water will be operating under a tentative ceasefire as they commit their efforts to one singular, joint goal:

They wish to remember those who have been lost. Those who have left the archipelago, those who have died, those who have come and gone, those who you lost in your homes...and these gods will be, also, commemorating those who they have lost. This commemoration will be facilitated with the use of memorials and offerings to those long past.

The Storyteller will provide you with materials to craft paper lanterns that can be illuminated and sent sailing into the ocean waters. They can be decorated with colorful paper, cut designs, and so forth. The Water will guide the currents to allow the lanterns to drift to...wherever it is they need to go. You can send as many lanterns as you like, and as many nights as you like. The skies will always be clear, and the water will always guide them to the horizon, where they eventually fade from view...

Both the Storyteller and the Water will be available for discussion for the duration of this event.

The Highs We Trade for the Lows

This month isn't only about remembering what's been past. To conjure Ai'tuoh back to the archipelago, it will also entail that all of you do some reflecting on what has been lost in your lives, and sharing in that pain together. This may be a somber month for some of you, or it may be an introspective one.

At any point during this event, your character may wake to discover that one or more thin threads of colorful light appears to be emanating from their chest and trailing through the empty air. These threads cannot be removed or influenced in any fashion; attempting to grab at them will simply cause one's hands to phase uselessly through them, as though they are ethereal constructs of some sort.

The purpose of these strands of light might not immediately be apparent, but if you spend enough time observing your fellow islanders, it might get a bit clearer. Each tether connects you to someone else - someone who has a pain similar to your own. Should you follow your tether to whoever it has linked you to, you may find yourself compelled to comfort or relate to the other party. This compulsion can honestly vary, from a gentle nudge to a sudden impulse and anything in between. There may or may not be a subtle pressure on your thoughts that may help you discern what you might have in common with this other person, whoever they might be. This facet of this event is completely opt-in, naturally, and we encourage you to interpret this however you like. What counts as shared pain? It can be as literal or as figurative as you like. Whether characters underwent the same events in this game or another, or whether there are certain parallels you wish to explore within certain canons or across multiple ones...or if you just want your character to have a nice sit down and talk about their problems for once, the choice is yours. Your character can be connected to as many others as you like - there is no limit to how many characters you can share any related trauma with!

Should you choose to reflect on that which you have endured, and the shared pain of others, what follows is fairly intuitive. The tether binding you together will fade, though hopefully a stronger bond will be forged, and ideally you'll all feel better afterward...but that's not necessarily a given, now, is it?

This is No Place Like Home

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 February'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 Monthly Rundown post!

March Timeline

[ ♆ ] March 1st: "The Return of Your Special Lifting Friend" begins and lasts until March 10th
[ ♆ ] March 3rd: "Lost Connections" begins and lasts until March 19th
[ ♆ ] March 12th: "Spring Forth" begins and lasts until March 21st
[ ♆ ] March 20th: Ai'tuoh returns to the archipelago
[ ♆ ] March 22nd: "The Happy Hang Glider Vacation Society" begins and lasts until March 31st

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

A

[littlemhigan]

[Castor spends a lot of time on the beach and doubly so these days now that there's something of a spectacle to watch. Legion and their...well...legion of lanterns does not escape her notice]

A lot of folk worth rememberin', huh?

[forwearemany]

(They finish sending off the lantern they're 3orking on, then look at her.)

We are the last.

(Said as calmly as ever.)

[littlemhigan]

Last of... your family? Posse? [Despite everything that's happened and everything she's learned, 'genocide' is still not a thought that comes easily or comfortably to Castor.]

[forwearemany]

Our people are gone.

(They get back to work setting off another lantern.)

It is the same with all machine life in our universe of origin: they have been destroyed.

(It's genocide, but it's beyond genocide: the extinction of not just a race of people but an entire category of lifeform.)

[littlemhigan]

[If she squints, Castor can almost see sleepy golden eyes glaring balefully at her, framed by hellfire and the screams of the dead and dying.

Almost.]

Oh.

[It's a small word, but there's a lot behind it, not that Castor could ever properly vocalize it all. Hell, she could'nt even name half the feelings that begin to swirl in her gut as she stands on the precipice of actually comprehending the enormity of what Legion has said.]

'M sorry.

[forwearemany]

(Organics, they know, do not do well with large numbers: visual identification of numbers is in the single digits for most Humans, only marginally higher in some other species. Counting allows for understanding of amounts considerably higher, though it is slow and inefficient. Eventually, numbers become to high to easily count, but some understanding remains. As amounts increase, that understanding grows increasingly abstract. A billion, to an organic is not distinct, it is simply "many".

The billions of Geth slaughtered are a statistic, not concrete reality.

For Legion, who could list the numerical designation of each program, it is staggeringly personal.)

Acknowledged.

(They set off another lantern.)

I'M SO SORRY oh my god.

[littlemhigan]

[There isn't much she can say to that, as she watches the next lantern drift away. Instead she kneels to pick up the next one and hands it to Legion gently. She can't even conceive of 'billions,' her small experiences in her small worlds limit her to the "Hundred Thousand" tier of statistics, if that.

But she knows now what the end of a civilizaton looks like. She knows the look of an endling, and has some concept of their pain.

She doesn't know if Legion can 'feel', but what is any of this but an expression of grief?

She stands and tentatively puts a hand on their shoulder.]

It's fine

[forwearemany]

(They take the lantern and silently set it free.

They do not pull away at the touch. It's probably an odd sensation: their shoulder is where the hard polymer of their armor meets their synthetic muscle. It's warm, shockingly alive with the gentle rush of their circulatory fluids and the movements of their internal components.)

Thank-you.

(They recognize the gesture: it is an attempt at comfort.)

[littlemhigan]

[Her fingers don't quite startle away at the odd feeling, and surprise and curiosity alike wander across Castor's face at the sensations before melting away to her usual easygoing smile, drawn with sadness as it is.

When she speaks, her voice is soft; not quite a whisper.]

I jes' wish there was more I could do for ye.

[forwearemany]

Our people cannot be restored.

(Perhaps they are alive in another timeline. But in Legion's, they are gone forever.)

However, we are not alone.

(She, and the other allies they have made in this location have done more for them than they can possibly know.)

[littlemhigan]

Ain't that a lesson for the ages.

[Cryptic? Maybe a bit. Does it matter? Not really. She squeezes the hand on their shoulder a bit tighter and reaches down to bring up another lantern for them]

I think we could all do with hearin' it now and again.

[forwearemany]

Yes.

(They take the lantern.)

Thank-you.