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

[postictal]

It...flew away.

[He's still eyeing Aziraphale uncertainly, because he's not entirely sure that the guy's being honest about how much the effort's hit him. That, or he's plain not aware of how much that might've taken outta him.]

It's this flying elevator. Showed up something like...I dunno, a year ago. Thought it was gone.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Possibly a bit of both. But he'll be fine, really - nothing a nap won't fix. Probably. He's learned to enjoy naps. ]

An elevator- [ But he stops himself from questioning the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Magic, probably. That's fine. This is perfectly fine. ]

Can no one stop it?

[postictal]

Not that I know of, especially since the guy who made it isn't here anymore.

[Neither is Lup. Or Taako. Kravitz still is, and he's the one who at least knows it exists, probably, and knows the most about it, but he's pretty sure Kravitz doesn't wanna deal with Tim anymore, and who could blame him? Tim doesn't want to deal with Tim anymore.]

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Aziraphale doesn't yet know where it comes from, or he would ask Kravitz. The two are friends, and often are together in the library. ]

Oh, Lord.

There must be some way.

[postictal]

Short of blowing it up?

[He considers that for a second, almost thoughtfully, then shakes his head with a sigh.]

Actually, I'm not even sure that'd work. Maybe we could just lead it to the black hole or something, see if that does anything.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Aziraphale does a double-take at the man, and most certainly stares. ]

I'm sorry- the black hole?

[postictal]

[Goddamnit, he keeps forgetting how that sounds. Tim waves wearily at the woods surrounding them.]

Yeah, there's this...mini-black hole somewhere in the jungle. You'll usually hear it before you see it, so as long as you don't go running straight into it, you should be fine.

I know it doesn't make sense, but it's been there for years at this point.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Aziraphale stares, and falters, and ultimately gives up on questioning the unfortunately believable nonsense, as it is bound to lead nowhere.]

Of course. [ Is what he settles on.]

[postictal]

Welcome to LifeAftr. We've got black holes, we've got fusterclucks, and all we can do is just kinda deal with 'em 'cause no one knows how to get rid of 'em.

[It's a testament to how fucking tired of this shit that there's barely any deviation from his resigned tone.]

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Aziraphale's confusion and stress has been such that he's pretty sure he's transcended to some higher plane of existence at this point. He's also found out that stress messes with you physically as well, so that has been fun to deal with. ]

Right. Lovely. [ Pure British sarcasm. ] Perhaps one day they'll all meet and keep each other entertained, rather than making our lives increasingly miserable.

[ That might be the most honest he's been to anyone that isn't Crowley. ]

[postictal]

That's the hope. I mean, 'long as you stay outta their way they don't really bother you, but it helps to know where they are.

[Tim's got a vague idea, and mostly he just steers clears of those parts of the island. That's about all he can do in terms of avoidance. His only real tactic is to set shit on fire when it starts bothering him, and he doesn't wanna set a fustercluck on fire only to have a burning fustercluck on their hands.]

[salutosinedelectat]

Would you say that applies to your terrifying magical mechanical friend?

[ Who he sure hopes not to meet personally, ever. ]

[postictal]

My - [Oh. Upsy. Right.]

Uh, it did? I honestly thought it'd disappeared by now, but I, uh, guess not, 'cause it's still around. It stayed outta everyone's way for a long time but when it flies around, it kinda...does whatever it wants. I guess until it disappears again, anyway.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Just like that. Of course. Things just happen. Until they don't. Or they do.]

Well, that's just perfect. [ He just. He can't, anymore.]

I guess we can only hope it stays away from the islets and the buildings.

[postictal]

'Long as you stay inside you should be good. I don't...think it can get indoors?

[He doesn't think, 'cause he doesn't know for sure. If it can, they're gonna have a lotta goddamn problems. Including repairs. Ugh.]

[salutosinedelectat]

I should hope so. [ Please spare them from the traumatizing nightmare that would be that horrid nightmare crashing through the ceiling as someone's just enjoying their afternoon tea. ]

[postictal]

You can stay in Denny if you want. I just wanted to get more supplies, but...yeah. Wasn't the best idea in the world, I guess.

[salutosinedelectat]

I was heading to the library myself. [ He's not so subtly checking the sky and their surroundings as he speaks.]

Perhaps we should warn others that that thing is around.

[postictal]

Probably, yeah. [He just sounds tired. No surprise that Aziraphale's heading to the library. He just gives off that kind of vibe.]

I'll let people know, I guess.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ He did, in fact, offer his help to Kravitz and is now a daily staple among the books. While he would much prefer to be home tending to his own positively ancient and ridiculously massive collection of tomes, this was the closest thing he could find in this place. So Tim isn't wrong.]

Very well. I best be off then. Pass on the message.

Will you be alright?

[postictal]

I'm fine. Had worse.

[Which is probably not the most reassuring thing he could be saying, but you know. Details.]

Don't overextend yourself, all right?

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Well, considering the nature of this place, that doesn't even strike him as odd. ]

Oh, not to worry. You just focus on keeping yourself safe.

[postictal]

[Not terribly easy around here. Unfortunately.]

...sure. Sure, yeah.

I'll, uh...see you later, probably.

[salutosinedelectat]

[ Oh, he knows. Menacing living elevator robots notwithstanding.

Aziraphale nods and straightens up, thinking it may be a good time for a rest.]

Yes. Cheerio.

[ Don't ask.

And off he goes. ]