lifeaftr | March Undercurrent: Lost Connections

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March Undercurrent: Lost Connections

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 )

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[Oh! Light strings! Yes, that's good. She gives his arm an affirmative pat.]

I’m so proud of you!

[Ignis chuckles. It's always so strange to hear his own voice coming back at him, and yet, he's come to quite enjoy it.]

So we have something in common. Finding out what may prove a fair bit of a challenge considering our communication barriers. Do you have any suggestions?

[Any suggestions... well, that in itself is a difficult task, considering her limits in saying anything unprompted. She fusses for a moment, trilling and hopping from foot to foot, then fishes her journal out of her bag, holding it out to Leo with the first page open. Cat! Can you read!?

Perhaps a stupid thought, but it's no less ridiculous than trying to give it to Ignis, surely.]

[Ignis tilts his head when he hears the page turning. Leo, of course, is of no help to her, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost.]

Is that a notebook you have?

[Because, if so, and if she can write, they may be onto something.]

[Hah? She turns to look at him, puzzled, and scoots over to press it into his hands. It is indeed a notebook- her name is written across the front in a clumsy, childish scrawl, and inside he'll find a handful of phrases or words across the pages, scattered fragments of conversations, like "thank you" or "kenku" or "don't know".]

[Ignis takes the notebook, a smile crossing his face as he confirms that is what it is. He sets it open to the first page on his knee, then pushes back his sleeve to reveal a wide bracelet with a large gem in the middle.]

This lets me translate written word. It scans it.

[He holds the bracelet so the gem is over the page, and just a few seconds later--if she is watching close enough--a series of small bumps appear scrolling on the surface of it. Ignis presses his fingers against the edge so he can feel the bumps as they move over the gem's face.]

Are you familiar with what braille is?

[Kiri stares down at the shifting letters, eyes wide, setting free a soft and surprised coo.]

Oh no.

[Braille is the bumps on the page?? She doesn't know that language, but she reaches in to try and touch it herself, feathered fingers brushing up against his hand.]

It's simple enough to understand once it's explained. Since I can't see letters anymore, these bumps form letters instead. They don't look like the letters we are familiar with, but that is because the language has some shortcuts and abbreviations, indicated by certain formations, that make them different. In the end, though, it is like learning any other language, only you learn it with your fingers instead of your eyes.

[He uses the bracelet to translate another word just so she can see the process again.]

I dabbled a little in learning it before I was blinded as I never knew if I might need it when acting as Noctis' advisor. I've learned how it works much more thoroughly now.

[That... sort of makes sense? Ish? There are a lot of words in there that are pretty big for a 4-year-old. She gets the gist of it though, flipping through her book to a new page and writing out a message which she presses into his hands.]

why light strings?

Light strings? Ones connecting us?

[After reading the words, he lowers a hand to his chest as if he might be able to feel what he can't see. He can't of course. No more than he could when Ardyn has his, but at least he knows what their purpose is now.]

I believe it means we've both lost something similar. I'm just not sure where we would start trying to find out what.

[Lost something... like a book or a toy or...?

She makes a puzzled noise, drawing out a pencil and carefully scrawling a reply, in as neat writing as she can manage so his device can read it.]

what kind of something?

Anything, from what I have experienced.

[Though he suspects from Ardyn and Jules' confession session, it's probably looking for something more than a lost toy.]

For example, shortly before I came here, I lost my home and several dear family members and friends. I would hope none of those loses apply to you.

[Oh... oh, dear. She trills sadly, giving his sleeve a tug and echoing back his words,]

I lost my home and several dear family members.

[There isn't much point in dancing around it, considering he'd handed her the means to communicate it.]

Oh dear...

[Ignis can't help but reach out to offer her a hug. On one hand, he is relieved they have been able to find the answer they were looking for, but it's also the worst possible answer he can think of.]

Was it through betrayal or some other kind of attack?

[She trills sadly, hugging him for a long moment, then tugs back to fetch her journal and sit down to write down a response.]

traveling through swamp to hide
i wasn't careful and fell in the bog
family couldn't pull me free
so kept going without
don't know what happened after
there were monsters

[She offers the book back to him once she's finished, leaning quietly against his leg while he reads.]

[Ignis takes the journal, carefully positioning it so he can keep one arm around Kiri while he scans it for translation. It's obvious when he finishes because his arm tightens around her once more.]

I wasn't at home when Insomnia fell. I was with Noctis seeing him to what was suppose to be his wedding. King Regis asked us to see him safely there.

[There's a waver in his voice when he speaks of Noctis' father. It's obvious that he considered the king family as well.]

I was the first to find the newspapers reporting the attack and later we learned that a man who had been a trusted member of the king's inner circle for as long as I can remember, betrayed him and cut him down in cold blood. I grew up with my uncle and he was one of the king's advisors. It's a position many in our family have held over the years. There is no doubt he fell defending the king as so many other of his advisors and councilors did.

[Not that he will ever know for sure. Still, he can't imagine with how loyal his uncle was, that there was any way he survived that day. Even if he hadn't been in a position to fight, the Scientia name would likely have been enough to ensure his death.]

Does it bother you? Not knowing what happened to them for sure?

[She thinks quietly for a moment, on his words and his question, then jots out her reply.]

sometimes
but if they are alive they will not be wondering about me
so don't think about it much
our paths are different now

[His situation sounds far more complicated than hers; she knows nothing of kings or councils, no betrayals or weddings. They were running away, she was careless, and as a result she was abandoned. Nothing more than that. She wishes she had better advice to offer him, advice that would be easier to follow. Saying "don't think about it" isn't as easy for her as she'd like, so she can hardly expect an adult with a much more complex situation to just forget.]

[Their losses are similar and yet, still so very different. Ignis finds himself shaking his head, giving her another squeeze unconsciously.]

I don't understand how they could just leave you like that. If I had been in the city when it fell, my uncle would have done all he could to make sure I got out safely. He would never have just abandoned me, not even if I begged him to.

[Amusingly enough, even though she thinks her advise is not very good, part of it does strike a cord with him.]

Our paths are different now. That's true, isn't it? And mine has diverged even farther for having been brought here.

[He gives her a warm smile.]

You're very clever. Their loss is my gain. I am very glad your path met up with mine.

[She nods agreeably, her beak curving into a subtle smile even if he can't see it; it's sad, but she doesn't hate them for it. She scrawls next:]

my fault for being careless
would not want them to die for me
am sure uncle and king felt the same for you
happy to be alive, yes?

[Ignis is quiet for several moments and then nods in agreement. He still doesn't think it was right that they left her behind, but at the same time, he would not want his family's blood on his hands either and if they had died for him were he in her place, that is exactly how he would have felt.]

Yes, and I am glad that I was able to live here as well instead of just staying on my home world. I've learned so much and I know they would be proud of how I have grown.

[Even if, perhaps, they would not agree with quite the direction he has grown in.]

You've not been here as long as I have been, but do you feel like you've learned anything from being here?

[She considers the query for a moment, and he should hear her scribbling on the page for a bit.]

learned to trust or not trust, how to know the difference
how to be brave when seen by people
learned to say many new things
like bloody hell

[And once he's finished scanning over the words, she grins cheekily, saying it aloud (in his voice of course),]

Bloody hell.

[Ignis can't help but laugh--the sound full and unrestrained--as she finishes, and then sweeps her into another big hug.]

If I teach you nothing else, I will be happy with that. It's a delightfully useful phrase.

[Once he releases her, he places a hand on his chest near where he imagines the string to be.]

Did that do it?

[If not their shared loss than perhaps their love of that phrase will be enough to have caused the string to dissipate?]

[She peeps happily at the hug, holding him back until she's released, and then she pats her chest. Ooh! Just like that, it's gone. That's rather more magical than she's used to, at least when it comes to her.]

I’m so proud of you!

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March Undercurrent: Lost Connections

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