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EVENT PLOTTING: THE COST OF INNOCENCE
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
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:
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.
◆ 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?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.
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.
Zenos viator Galvus - Visionary | Kenoma
I have to offer one Giant Dumpsterfire whose would very literally rather die than not feel the transcendent joy of struggle, and who mostly relates to people (hi, Himeka) by antagonising them into fighting him. Even without all the additional Legacy-centric weirdness, he is going to have a Very Bad No-Good Time with all of this (I, on the other hand, am rubbing my hands together gleefully) and be actively motivated to struggle against and/or solve the problem.
More coherent thoughts to follow probably but basically, grabby hands for all the things please help me torment this very large boy with Literally His Worst Nightmare.
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(But seriously! This all builds so very well on their interaction thus far, I am psyched)
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THIS GON'BE SO GOOD
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More coherent thoughts here, as promised
- Kenoma murderbuddies who have also been straining at the leash, wanting to get outside the city, and anyone else who wants to head out in the first wave or so (it would also be very useful to have people who can, you know, do the social thing)
- Cross-faction interaction: the obvious angle is, of course, Glorious Combat, but this is also a very good time for rare non-hostile interaction because oh hey here is suddenly a common threat the boy actually very deeply cares about. Also, you know, heckin concern for Best Friend Greatest Enemy
- Infection vectors: I have Howl and Meteion both down for this
- Cure. He is going to be having A Time Of It (I've not nailed down the specifics yet, but expect it to be Incredibly Obvious) and left to his own devices will absolutely turn into a pile of marble fragments. I am 100% fine with the stance here being "Oh, Zenos is going to destroy himself? Good" (though I would very much prefer not to be perma-dead!) but if people do want to stop that it's going to be a very interesting thing for him to try and process
- "Ironically, causing your allies misery and torment may be the key to their salvation... but do you have the heart to inflict it?" Yes please give me all the opportunities to Do The Thing. This is a Thing he is very good at.
- Basically any opportunity to poke at the very good angles of "other people are afraid of the same thing I am" (because 'nobody sees the world the same way I do' is a huuuge cornerstone of this boy's worldview, and this whole plot challenges that in the best way possible) and "the things I am good at have value right now".
ALSO I have a plurk now, I am Coggirl over there, poke me there if it is easier for there (and laugh at the old old woman trying to learn hip new social media)
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Of these bullet points, I'm intrigued by investigation team-ups and Zenos being cruel
to be kindmaybe not to be kind. I have some additional ideas/backstory details over on my own plotting comment, but something that strikes me as potentially fun is like ....... since they're both Visionaries, maybe some shared dreams that would position Zenos to have ammo against Matt when it comes time?Let me know your thoughts!
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She's definitely going to be heading there right away, she got sort of scolded for being lazy and just sort of sucking up all the great stuff she was being given, so she wants to prove she can be of worth. Of course she'll eventually be having her own bad time but there is plenty of time before that happens for the giant and the midget to hang out. Maybe she might even try to help him a little if he gets worse before she does. Terrible people need to stick together, after all. And if she can help by being terrible, at least its fun for her!
(also sorry if you got multiple notifications about this, I may have accidentally deleted the first one thinking I responded to the main thread instead of your thread. Maybe. Possibly.)
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I've been looking forwards to these two crossing paths, given a certain bird appears to have decided they're both Ongoing Projects who need to learn that Friendship is Magic, and doing so at a point where Being Terrible is actively helpful sounds *perfect*.
(All good!)
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do you want fellow visionary going through a bad time too
or do you want a villainess who could have interesting magic and fight implications later
this is a choose your own adventure
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Insert bothisgood.gif here but I feel like Option 2 is the one we're going to have less opportunities to poke at outside of this event? And I am still Incredibly Psyched to see Akua anywhere Practical Guide is so good yo
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Would you mind if I tagged into your second OTA prompt, maybe with something like "Hayame, not realizing the place has become a Kenoma base", pokes her head into the building"? Or, I'm also open to other meeting scenarios for Tol v. Tol!
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I was also (hah! Great minds think alike, right?) just about to ask you whether you'd be cool with him jumping on your 3rd prompt, in a "Monstrous!Zenos is out looking for Worthy Prey and oh look this thing has Promise if it'll just stop lying around" kind of way? Does not need to be a specific daydream (but can be if you've a fitting one), will likely involve some bleed-in from FF events on his end.
But yes, we definitely need to get Tall and Tall together at some point during all this!
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Do you think it would be more fun for them to meet Under the Influence first or meet more sane first???
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Under The Influence might be the safer option 😂 (I kid, I think; I've deliberately set up a scenario that doesn't immediately need to escalate to conflict) but it'd be good to interact as Themselves as well, I reckon.
... I appreciate this is not a helpful answer. Bascially, good with whatever leads to fun for you!
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