EVENT PLOTTING: THE COST OF INNOCENCE

[aionmods]

The Cost of Innocence

As the Innocent's Moon reaches its peak, a shift will begin to be noticed across Horos. At first it appears in individual cases that could be explained by regular ennui or poor mental health, but as the zenith arrives, the clear supernaturality of the trend will become clear. Horosians, first in handfuls and then en masse, are succumbing to a strange malady characterized by a complete and utter indifference to the world around them.

This manifests most grievously with its victims losing all sense of self preservation, sometimes falling in combat or at the claws of wild beasts with a look of serenity on their faces. Others allow their hands to be burned in the fire as they cook, or are struck by falling objects that they may have otherwise avoided. There is no specific will to die; no, instead there is simply the absence of a will to fight or struggle, whether it be for their lives or anything else.

On the tenth day of Inoseri the cases may only be one in a thousand, but will gradually become more common as the full moon approaches, eventually settling at around one in fifty. Curiously, however, these ratios are not uniform; Venera, a city under the Regent's rule in the grasslands of the south, has an infection rate straying closer to one in ten. It is not entirely clear why, but something about Venera is causing the ailment to run rampant, and without intervention the results could become catastrophic to the citizen's way of life.

On the side of the Kenoma, to investigate will be an order. After all, Venera is the breadbasket of the Regent's empire, and without their abundant farmland being worked by its people, there will be food shortages continent wide. Even more important will be the Regent's implication that there is another force behind this infection... one that they will allege is the fault of the Pleroma.

The Pleroma themselves will have fewer immediate clues, but in the days leading up to the moon's zenith will experience dreams of depthless white. Word will spread to Godsblood soon enough, telling of the terrible phenomenon sweeping through Venera. Though they won't have a way of knowing why exactly, the Pleroma that hear of or witness the malady will have a feeling that they will find its source there.

❖ INCLUDED EVENT PROMPTS

◆ VENERA: Once a city embodying culture, passion, and romance, Venera has fallen on hard times since the loss of its patron Aion nearly a century ago. While still prized for their handicrafts, particularly their elaborate weaves and diverse artistic masterworks, they are scorned continent wide for their cowardice and desperate supplications to the Regent. Venerans are a people focused almost entirely inward, happy to ignore even the most grievous of wrongs if it meant continuing their way of life, and this was true even before the mysterious ailment took hold. Now it's unclear if they will even have the strength to go on.

◆ INNOCENT LEGACY: Those from the Legacy of the Innocent will continue to feel a sense of presence with them as the full moon arrives, with that presence only getting stronger as the month goes on. They may even hear a voice whispering in their ear, though they cannot make out the words.

◆ INNOCENCE CONTAGION: While at first the malady spreading across the continent will not seem to affect the Aions, once they arrive in Venera that will no longer be the case. Instead of repelling the effects, they will instead begin leeching it from the inflicted civilians they encounter, its power drawn into them like a sponge. As a result, they will end up taking on the malady's symptoms but enhanced and gone wild with their spiritual potency. Brand new side effects will be cultivated within them.

Along with the risk of a trance-like indifference to life, they may encounter any of the following: daydreams so deep they become subjectively real, a loss of sense of self, excessive malleability, or a loss of short term memory. They may also be several physical symptoms, including: a body-wide loss of pigment (partial or total), flesh that becomes stiff or porcelain-like that hinders movement and cracks (or breaks off entirely) when forced, the emergence of white feathers or wings from anywhere on the body, halos of light, or singular horns growing from the forehead. Advanced cases may result in becoming completely petrified, their very presence becoming a beacon for the power causing this. Physical and mental side effects may happen together or independently.

These side effects may be additionally enhanced for characters from the following Legacies:

Innocent, Lover, Celebrant: As the Legacies most craving of comfort and the most welcoming of stagnation, Aions from these Legacies will not just more readily accept the contagion, but feel the urge to actively spread it to others. It will feel like doing them a kindness, as if simply removing the trouble associated with desire, action, and choice. Those that succumb to these temptations will be able to cause or speed their effects in other Aions with a touch. This feeling can be resisted, but is nagging. The arrival of the contagion will feel peaceful and right, as if they are communing with a higher force that deems it a necessity.

Visionary, Firebrand, Artisan: As the Legacies most attuned to feelings of unrest, obsession, change, innovation, and passion, these Aions will experience a violent clash between the energies of the Innocence Contagion and the energies of their own spirits. The same physical effects will manifests, but far more aggressively, with the Innocence warring against their natural essence. Their stone-like skin may crack and shatter painfully, the wings and feathers emerging with blood and violence instead of peace. Their predisposition towards resistance seems to only make the contagion attack them more doggedly, as if particularly determined to extinguish the threat they represent.

◆ THE CURE: In the face of this contagion, a solution will eventually become clear. The excess of Innocence can be banished by causing its opposite. This means, the cure to the infection is to inflict upset in whatever way possible: by dragging up their worst memories, getting a rise out of them, causing them pain, destroying their inner paradises with communion. Empathic connections during this event will be intensified, allowing characters to delve into each other's mindscapes. Ironically, causing your allies misery and torment may be the key to their salvation... but do you have the heart to inflict it?


MOD NOTE: All characters who go to Venera and participate in the event log will be awarded 1 Token, so please make sure to mark that on your AC. You will not receive the token if you don't claim it.

Comments

Hayame | JINBA | Firebrand

[warmare]

◆ VENERA

The physical location of Venera seems like a chance to finally meet some Kenoma people! Bonus points... if you're a hardcore believer or violent meanie, anyone who might help push Hayame into the Pleroma vs. Kenoma dynamic.

◆ INNOCENCE CONTAGION (MENTAL):

I won't be leaning into the straight indifference angle since Hayame is already having issues with that, so mental effect-wise I'm thinking of doing more daydreams so deep they become subjectively real-- This could get very, very dark with scenarios that include themes like forced amputation and enslavement/breeding, and could be violent if she daydreams so deep she mistakes characters for people attempting to enforce that. Alternatively, we could go in a slightly softer direction, if she mistakes characters for her brother or her love interest.

◆ INNOCENCE CONTAGION (PHYSICAL):

I'm thinking to make her an innocent unicorn lol, with the loss of pigment making her a white centaur and the single horn on the forehead for more unicorn vibe. As her Firebrand legacy kicks in, there will be more bloody white feather growth in the fetlocks and along her back and rump.

◆ THE CURE:

... It is hilarious easy to upset or anger Hayame, so. Honestly you probably won't even have to try...

◆ GENERAL:

For the sake of getting Hayame more willingly involved in the game, I'd love to find some way to get Hayame more personally invested in the faction rivalry, the world in general, or the people. You'd be my hero if your character can somehow convince her there's hope her world might be intact and that there might be some way she could get back to it. And just in general.................... I really want her to get in some knock-down drag-out physical altercations plz and thx, you know you wanna fight a super aggro, physically intimidating centaur.

[aquaveiled]

I can definitely offer some attempts to try and convince her that there's hope left! Himeka and her team fought the literal manifestation of despair after seeing it, like, destroy worlds and nearly destroy their own so she has some very specific insight to it. But I'd just like her to meet an angee centaur in general.

[warmare]

Right now Hayame is refusing to believe her world is dead on the basis of “wtf out there could even kill a whole world I REFUSE TO BELIEVE” but hope is a way more powerful force than just denial, so if there was any way to sow some seeds for her to maybe eventually have hope… that would be great!

And also, ya know, just meeting! Right now she’s met mostly men and Men Suck so ladies plz gals

[aquaveiled]

HONESTLY she is valid. Himeka also refuses to believe it until she sees it for herself so she would definitely support that mindset and encourage it!

And she's also right, girls are much better. There are a lot of men in this game so they need to stick together. Hayame can kick them with her hooves and Himeka can whack them with her alligator tail.

[warmare]

What other bonding do girls need???

Now that the event log is out, do you have any preference on where they meet? I’m thinking of having open prompts suitable for chats for traveling to Venera, and then I guess in the emptyish city? But also open to writing a custom starter.

[regretsor]

Hello, first of all, thank you for your patience. I just finished up my work crunch so I'll be getting back to backtags and I apologize for the slowness.

Second of all, I am interested in helping Hayame possibly gain hope her world is intact. Joonghyuk is basically refusing to believe his world is gone and that it definitely exists, so I think that if they can get into the conversation of it; I think they can have a very good conversation about it.

I think the contagion wreaking havoc on them mentally could do really well to make that first stepping stone.

[warmare]

Thanks for the heads up, and otsukare on your work crunch! It happens!

Refusing to believe out of sheer denial (because if her world is gone why doesn’t she just die 😬) is the current mood in Camp Hayame, so! As the contagion makes her more unstable she might get more angry or rage brain, but… she might just seek him out like as her “recruiter” in a weak moment to try and be chill and ask an actual question……

[regretsor]

Hayame and Joonghyuk handshaking being in denial because he would fall apart that his world is gone after all his suffering, but the man is also SOMEHOW an optimist/idealist...

But, yes that works fine for me! I saw you already have a TL up, so I can tag that later today/tomorrow unless you want to figure out a closed prompt/starter between them!

[coerthantorment]

I don't know if Hayame cares enough at this juncture for it to matter to her, but I have plans for Estinien getting killed by one of the Kenoma while he's in a state of near petrification, so if she would have any kind of reaction to that I'm happy to try to spin it in a way that would be helpful to you!

[warmare]

I wish she cared that much!!! (And hopefully will over time!) but even though she doesn’t care… she considers herself to be in his debt, which means she will be upset if she sees or finds out someone killed him, especially if it’s in a very “unfair” way like taking advantage of petrification. Is the killing gonna be public or… ?

[coerthantorment]

Yes! It's happening out in the open and several people are going to witness it so it's definitely possible for her to become aware that way. He's also going to be leaving a smashed up, petrified body behind while some friends run off with his shard so one could see that also.

[lachtara]

/reaches

I don't have a particular prompt that sticks out to me but I would just like CR with this neat individual 😔 Emet is hardcore into accomplishing something and could try and nudge her into Kenoma if you want.

I could help with the daydream prompts probably if you want to do that and have a difficult time finding someone, too. I'd need to know the exact topic you'd want to delve into tho.

Yeah lots of possibles ig

[warmare]

Oh hello gangly FF villain person… Sorry I remain very canonblind but I know a few things… !

Hayame’s faction future is very up in the air because of her tendencies toward despair, so I'm always open to any attempted swaying that could come home to roost one day.

With the daydreams, the main possibilities to choose between from would be… okay on the neg. side it would expose Very Quickly the root of her issues being fear of being forced to become a broodmare or having her arms cut off in a slavery system… on the positive side they could be used to expose her current regrets and turmoil, if she mistook him for someone she would break down and apologize to for not believing in the possibility of freedom, for being a traitor/failure, for not being honest, etc etc. Any of them could enable her to potentially be easily manipulated or appealed to in the future using those nuggets, I guess it’s just which nuggets interest you? 🤔 any of them could be useful for me, but do any of those themes resonate with Emet?

[lachtara]

Gangly FF villain lmao :D

Hmmm. I think Regrets and turmoil would be more relatable and give them more to potentially talk about later on! More useful for relating her to the Kenoma.

[lifespanned]

hello there!! i can offer one (1) kenoma who is a hardcore believer and very open about it, if hayame is interested in hearing more about kenoma motivations...! and despite being relatively weak misa can also be stupidly confrontational so they could most definitely get into some kind of altercation if an argument arose, or something like that?? soft day dreams would be cute too tho... i am just here because i want cr with the cool centaur lady!! 🤠

[warmare]

Hello hello! Hayame would definitely be… super thrown off by her being a Kenoma lmfao, just staring at her like “but ur weak???”, she really for the impression these kenoma were stronger…

Thankfully???? we don’t even have to plan for an argument… sob, Hayame will (most) always find an argument…

Sadly even the soft daydreams would be just trauma and angst neocmrktn but maybe they should meet unaffected by that so Hayame can learn the other faction is uh… varied???

[lifespanned]

yesss i would be down for meeting unaffected and getting to learn about each others' factions!! expanding each others' horizons... breaking kenoma and pleroma stereotypes... they are going to learn so much

i will def keep an eye out for you on the log!! or if you are not tling i would be happy to write a closed starter or smth for them :~)

[subsist]

since we technically played around with sad memories in slums, maybe we can do smth soft... she could mistake kaeya for someone important. if it's her brother, kaeya would play the part well since he was a lil brother and all, so it could open up the door for complicated cr later down the line.

[warmare]

That’s true!!!!!!!

Yeah the “positive” daydreams would probably mean she mistakes him for her brother, which means a lot of apologizing for not being a better sister and for being a traitor (yikes), or mistakes him for would-be-love-interest which means she gets to yell at him for daring to make her hope for a better future just in time for it to get snatched away from her (yikes)… uhhhhh do you have a preference between the two?

Either way, fun complications!!!

[subsist]

the brother route sounds good with me esp. 'cause she's gonna call herself a traitor, which kaeya can relate to!! considering... he is also possibly one in the future, who knows. so we should go with that and maybe kaeya can try to nudge her into joining kenoma— i mean what.

[epiprocta]

rizu i swear will find a way to get CR with you god help me

If you're looking for violent Kenomies and a physical alteration, I think I can volunteer Gen for that role, although probably later on in the event when they're both infected and thus in a much weaker state or else she'd absolutely destroy him with one kick ...... 😔 As long as they're both debuffed, he can probably cause some damage with the use of his magic before they split ways? I know I mentioned the murder-suicide angle before, but I don't know how that fits into the other daydream subjects you mentioned, so I'm also up for her hallucinating him as being one of the slaver humans from her world!

[warmare]

We are gonna do it… it’s happening…

Now that the event log is up and I’ve read it… ! What kind of magic does the boy got? Hayame still doesn’t have a good weapon so she’ll be handicapped that way, but yeah we could also do Innocence weakened too. I’ll have an open prompt up for vague innocence infection, but I could also do a starter if we have a more clear choice on location, etc?

[lockedon]

so uh, sweats.........you wanna fight

I figure since they're both Firebrands they're both losing their minds and extra touchy already, having a verbal fight escalate into a physical one would be a reasonable progression. Mostly I'd have to think about how the actual fight would play out since she's like twice his size??? I guess he'll have his guns and some daggers to throw at her, though what's a dagger gonna do to an angry jinba lol....

Alternatively we could do something more lowkey/positive but since they're both already kind of :/ at each other and you have more offers for uplifting threads, this might be more interesting.

[warmare]

Now that I’ve read the thing…

I am down to fight if you aren’t drowning in fight offers already. At the very least, it would be a verbal fight, surely, if she finds out he’s a Kenoma cause BIRCH U SAID U DIDNT SERVE ANYONE u liar…

Hayame still doesn’t have a proper weapon, at least, which handicaps her… and could do Innocence weakness? Guns would be most effective against her tbh just put a bullet or two in a leg and she’d have to seriously considering continuing that fight or not. Stupid leg weakness.

[lockedon]

I have exactly zero fight threads SO YOU GOOD it's time to fight!!!!

LSMDFLJS man I didn't want to suggest shooting her because I wasn't sure what level of injury you wanted to deal with (though I am absolutely on board with whatever horrible negative CR consequences this leads to down the road) but we can absolutely go that route too if we need to get them both out without absolutely crippling them.

I do need someone to knock his ears off after they get petrified because........heavy sighing..........I promised Miru I would lop them off so Gen can laugh at Eustace later. So if you wanna have Hayame aim a few kicks at him that would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I'm pretty flexible with any injury save for like, death, though I guess I could always grab someone to patch him up afterwards if things do go super south.

Either way, I am happy to hash something out that works for whatever you wanna get out of this thread!!