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

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Aziraphale has millennia of having to jump through hoops to speak with the Creator, and they've never really hosted office parties, so he's really not used to such casual encounters with gods. ]

Hum, yes. Well, I've been meaning to ask you a few questions, you see...

[ But he trails off. These rituals, the mourning. His exchange with Osoru.

Ah. ]

Are you sure this is a good time? [ He almost kicks himself for asking. But he's polite. ]

[story_teller]

I am not sure there are "good" times, these days. Ask what you will.

[Certainly the invitation to speak is more present there than it has been in the past.]

[salutosinedelectat]

Right, of course.

[ You'd think he would have gotten the hang of it by now. Where to start, what to ask. But, no, every time it's just as difficult. ]

I suppose you may expect some of the things I'll be asking. About this place. About yourself and your part in it.

[story_teller]

And I expect that you understand that my answers may not be the ones you're looking for.

[That's...the bottom line, isn't it. But an awful lot of people, these days, don't seem to be getting much in the way of what they might be looking for.]

[salutosinedelectat]

Yes, that does seem to be the case for most of your kin I've met so far.

[ Although the sentiment is direct, there isn't that much of a bite to the words. Just perhaps a hint of exhaustion. ]

If I may ask, then...what is your part in all of this? In keeping this place?

[story_teller]

It is my home.

[A simple response, and perhaps vague to a fault.]

And it is everything to me. It is all I have left.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ It's not just due to the answer's he's been getting from the gods of these islands, but he's certainly getting a little bit sick of vague answers; which is saying something, as he's gone eons on grand, vague concepts alone. ]

I...see.

What about the other gods? The ones that are still alive.

[story_teller]

The Water?

[A bitterness enters their tone.]

I...don't know anymore. We were never friends. We disagreed upon most things - we disagree still now. But we are family, so...I cannot say I know where that leaves us.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ He almost says something, but stops himself. He doesn't know what might happen if he says the wrong thing. ]

But you both influence these islands?

[story_teller]

I influence my home, which is Ensō. They are...the Water. They are far older, and their reach is farther than mine.

[If they sound a little disgruntled at that, rest assured that it's not your imagination. This appears to be a sore point.]

[salutosinedelectat]

[ He's sure it is, by what he's understood. But it might be a little bit more sore for those who have to deal with the fallout of their bickering. ]

So, do you mean...the ocean?

[story_teller]

Yes. The ocean, the water...all of it. It is their domain. My expertise lies only in the realm of stories.

[salutosinedelectat]

Stories? What kind of stories?

[story_teller]

All stories. Every story. The stories people tell, the stories I tell.

I am the Storyteller, after all.

[salutosinedelectat]

Ah, yes. Right.

[ Aziraphale clears his throat, thinking of what else he could say, and how to put it. ]

May I ask, then, what is your part in us being here? Those not of this world.

[story_teller]

I don't know anymore.

[The confession is flat, and without much emotion.]

At first I thought it was to guide you. Then to...observe you. Now, it feels more and more like my sole purpose is to antagonize you. To be the obstacle you must surmount to reach the story's climax.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ That's... Actually a lot more frank of an answer than he was expecting, lack of emotion notwithstanding. It does actually catch him by surprise.

He hesitates before his next words.]

I see, but- well... Why?

Do forgive me if I'm speaking out of place [ Manners that don't actually reflect how he feels, considering he's stuck here, suffering through the things like everyone else. But he's cautious.] , but what is making you take such a part?

[story_teller]

It is my nature. I can no sooner ignore what I am than a human could force themself to stop breathing.

[It is not the most exact analogue imaginable, but it is the closest to it that the Storyteller can get.]

[salutosinedelectat]

[ That's...well, it hits close to home in a rather awkward way. Enough that, for a second, he doesn't know what else to say. ]

Are you...quite sure there isn't something else you could be doing?

[ The angel really doesn't want to say much more. He doesn't quite trust the...'god', and there's no easy way to say what he's actually thinking. ]

What would happen if you did stop?

[story_teller]

I'm not sure I'd like to find out, unless you'd care to see what happens when the active maintenance I do in keeping this land in order is stripped away.

[salutosinedelectat]

Er.

[ That does sound, well, bad, even if he doesn't entirely know what it really implicates. ]

I...suppose not.

But- why should that imply our, well...torment?

[story_teller]

It is my constant monitoring and interference that keeps Mu from becoming too...capricious, as it were. On the occasions in which I had to seek out new lands and could no longer keep an eye on things, it went poorly.

I'm sure some could tell you a tale or two about then.

[salutosinedelectat]

You seek them out? The islands.

Are you the one that's been bringing them around then?

[story_teller]

I did. These latest ones...those were not my doing. The Water has been rather forceful in dredging up lands without my involvement.

But they are Water. I can hardly stop them. They are so much larger than me...and older.

[salutosinedelectat]

Why do you seek out new lands? [ Because most of them are are not exactly riddled with resources those stuck in this world can use. That spells a bigger goal, as far as he can tell.]