EVENT #11: ADVERSITY 4590683

[expiationmods]

EVENT #11: REMEMBER YOU ARE MORTAL

This event takes place in conjunction with a player plot that is open for participation! Participation in that plot is not needed to experience the world effects outlined in this log. You can find the log for the player event here!

THE STORY SO FAR (click to expand)

-Over time, characters have discovered that the world of Expiation is actually a large, elaborate simulation run by an AI that seems to be intent on helping them atone for their crimes. This news is well-known by the Chosen, enough so that any new character who wishes to handwave this knowledge is able to do so.

-In September 2024, that AI needed to be reset as a consequence of some catastrophic systems failures. So far, there has been no downside to this reset–but the AI has also been strangely absent since then.

-Things have been quiet in Aldrip since September, aside from the routine arrival of new Chosen. The locals seem less than happy with the Chosen, though, as if they have already branded them all criminals. As if they no longer trust them…

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11

The moon looms large and full over the buildings of Aldrip this morning.

… Wait. The moon?

It’s true: Aldrip seems to have settled into an eerie perpetual twilight, lit by the full moon and little else. The ambient lighting is dim, but not dark, still light enough to see by. Which is good, because nothing else seems to be serving as a source of light. No sun, no street lamps–nothing. How odd is that?

In fact, it seems that no electronics are working during this strange week. Tablets don’t turn on, computers won’t work, even the lights inside the houses are unresponsive. STEM club’s dark web devices remain capable of some rudimentary communication, however.

The Dark Hour permeates Aldrip entirely. Well. Almost entirely–more on that in a minute. But first: monsters of all kinds will be more prominent during this time. If you would like to add new monsters to the bestiary, you can do so here! Monsters will be more aggressive and enterprising, freely roaming the streets of the city and attacking more boldly than they otherwise would.

Now, all is not lost, here. Because some Chosen-owned spaces remain immune to its effects. Notably: the Inn, the Willow Clinic, and some other player-run businesses can serve as safe houses, as well as some storehouses that were constructed long ago. The lights will still go on in these locations, though the network restrictions above still remain in effect.

For the most part, monsters and other event happenings will avoid safe houses, though if you’d like to play around with that, we see no reason why you shouldn’t. Just remember that characters and players who choose to limit their participation in the event are making use of these spaces, and be respectful of that.

As for outside of the city…who knows? A thick, impenetrable mist surrounds Aldrip, keeping all characters within the city for the duration of the event. Anyone who may have been outside of Aldrip before the event began will mysteriously find themselves inside the city as the Dark Hour takes hold. Better make your way to a safe house…and good luck out there.

MY OWN WORST ENEMY

Who is the monster and who is the man?

It seems that monsters aren’t the only obstacle roaming the city. The Chosen may find themselves facing doppelgangers, of themselves or of fellow Chosen. In terms of appearance, they may be identical to the Chosen they reflect, to the point of being difficult to tell apart. Some may have minor changes–different eye color, different clothing, things like that. But in many cases, it may be impossible to tell which is real and which is not based on looks alone.

These doubles reveal a dark reflection of the characters they look like: their deepest fears and regrets, repressed desires they refuse to admit, feelings and experiences they’ve never told anyone about…all of these things and more will come to the surface with them. These doubles desperately want to see a character’s accused crime confronted, and they will do anything to make that happen, even resorting to violence if they must. The doubles have all the original powers and abilities of their real counterparts, making them extremely difficult (but not impossible!) to fight one-on-one.

Some characters may find themselves inexplicably drawn to their doppelgangers, as if called by some force. They may feel compelled to seek them out, as if they’re unable to rest so long as their double roams free. This is an optional effect, but should you be looking for an excuse to get your character out and about–please feel free to utilize it.

Doubles can be injured and incapacitated, but not killed; the only way to eliminate them is through acceptance and recognition. Characters do not have to do this alone; in fact, having some moral support or coaching may prove useful. Confronting the double and accepting or seriously reflecting upon the crime they’re charged with will make the doppelgangers first turn docile, and then disappear, leaving the original character feeling lighter and more sure of themselves.

A MINOR TECHNICALITY

What happens to a simulation when the electronics stop working?

Good question.

Occasionally, you may see what looks like a strange, thin line, just from the corner of your vision. Early in the week, trying to look at this line straight on reveals…nothing. It seems to vanish.

As the week continues, this strange happening seems to intensify, bit by bit. By midweek, Wednesday or so, you’re able to look at this line head-on. It seems to be a small crack, little more than a hairline fracture, outlined in light. As the weekend creeps closer, this crack seems to grow, bit by bit, becoming more pronounced, the gaps between it getting larger.

By the weekend, it’s wide enough that you can see through it.

What you see is difficult to describe. You seem to be looking into a large metallic structure, so large that the end seems to curve off into the horizon. How far does this go on? There’s a ceiling overhead, so high up that you can’t make out details. Much of this structure seems to be empty within, but you see a floor at foot level, made of metal.

The gap is wide enough that you can stick your hand right through it. When you do so, you begin to feel a strange tingling, starting at the tips of your fingers and extending to the part of your arm that goes into the crack. Nothing about your hand changes, really, but when the tingling subsides, you get the strange sensation that you’ve been unable to feel anything with that hand, up til now. Something about the air against your skin feels more real, here. As if your senses were muted before…

The crack never widens more than this. It is sometimes visible to just one person, and sometimes it can be visible to a group. This crack can appear in any surface, in any location, but it always looks the same and always reveals the same structure within.

Interesting…

ENDING

In conjunction with the conclusion of the player plot, the Dark Hour comes to an end one week later, on November 18. Monsters vacate the city, the sun reappears…this happens slowly, over the course of the day. By Tuesday, the network and electronic usage is restored. By Wednesday, the crack in the world seems to be gone for good. By the weekend after the event, all doppelgangers seem to have vanished.

This is fine, we always say. And it is! Everything is back to normal!

…

Or is it…?

WILDCARD

Make your own fun! Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Have at it! Go crazy! Try not to break anything (too much)!

♡

Comments

[nightwild]

I did that.

[She sounds... meek. Defeated.]

I tried to hurt a lot of people. I told myself it was okay, because I was trying to do good... or that it was okay, because everyone hurt me first... But I still tried to do it. I wanted to destroy the world.

[cactusy]

[It's at this moment that a second Shaw charges up seemingly out of nowhere, whipping out of a side street to join the first. Unlike the casual jeans-and-a-fitted-tee look of the one who's been talking to Fauna, this one is dressed in a hospital gown, her feet bare and her hair loose.]

So have I.

[She breaks in, before the first Shaw even has a chance to open her mouth.]

For the, uh-- the first reason, I mean. You know that saying, can't make an omelette without cracking a few--

[The first Shaw shoves her doppelgänger, hard.]

Dude, read the room.

[nightwild]

[Probably, the biggest sign that something is weird about this Fauna is how unsurprised she is by the interruption of this doppelganger. She seems to just regard this as... expected.]

That's what I thought. A just world would be worth it. But is a just world possible?

[cactusy]

[The two Shaws start to speak at the same time: the one in the hospital gown saying I don't know, but I wouldn't be too quick to rule it out at the same time as the one in regular clothes says to Fauna Wait, are you one of them too?

They both stop. The second Shaw glares at the first, then asks Fauna:]

Are you scared of guns?

[nightwild]

[Her ears flick at the simultaneous questions...]

Guns can't hurt me. But I'm afraid of people who are willing to use guns.

[cactusy]

I am.

[Pipes up the fake Shaw, while the real Shaw sighs irritably, saying:]

Whatever. I'm not gonna shoot you, but I'd love to shoot her--

[This said with a gesture at her double.]

-- before we go find your real self.

[nightwild]

I don't think you should do that.

[She looks between the two Shaws, clearly worried about them now.]

Even if you shoot yourself, you won't feel better.

[cactusy]

I want to shoot her. That.

[Shaw repeats the gesture, impatiently. Her double says nothing - she just stands there with her arms folded across her chest, her silence damning.]

[nightwild]

Yes. Yourself.

[She continues to stare, unblinking.]

It won't make you feel better.

cw: suicide mention

[cactusy]

Not like we've never done that before.

[The double points out, and Shaw weighs the possibility of just fucking shooting her in the head now, the potential emotional cost to the witness be damned. It's so, so tempting.

But if she wants to get this other person's weird little fake self back to her real self to let her decide what to do with her, then she has to let the temptation go.]

Where do you live? The real you, I mean.

[She asks Fauna, turning away from her other self - and noticing, out of the corner of her eye, the way her other self takes the opportunity to move in closer.]

[nightwild]

I'm real, too. I'm the real me. The me I'm too afraid to show.

Isn't that what she is, too?

[She's evading the question, instead just looking at her with a piercing gaze.]

[cactusy]

I'm not afraid of that much.

[They both say at the same time - and the real Shaw looks even more irritated by this than she had been by them talking at cross purposes.]

Tell me where the scaredy-cat you lives, then. We're gonna go find her.

[nightwild]

It's okay. I'll be here soon.

[The meek Fauna says, but then...

There's a loud crash, and a cloud of dust. Fauna- The real one?- drops from above, making a three-point landing, having apparently jumped from a nearby roof. And unlike the other one, this one's dressed in a leather jacket, fishnets, the total punk look.]

The hell's this shit... Is a mirror monster running loose?

[The newly-arrived Fauna stands up and cracks her knuckles.]

It's always too damn annoying to have to fight enemies with my face.

[cactusy]

[At least the fact that the two Faunas are polar opposites will make it easier to differentiate between them, Shaw thinks - she doesn't relish the idea of people running into her other self, who mostly talks and acts just like her.]

I'm real.

[She says to the newcomer, before her double can get a word in edgewise.]

And I know you're real, too. But these things don't die; I've tried.

[nightwild]

Yeah, of course not.

[Fauna looks between them, and-

After a second, she lashes out at the fake Shaw. Her fingers- No, for a split second, they're gray claws- to leave a cut across the fake's face. To make it easier to tell them apart.]

Copies from mirror monsters usually don't go away until you beat the monster.

[cactusy]

[The fake Shaw growls and wicks the blood off her face with her fingers - a very Shaw-like move. Unlike the real Shaw generally would, though, she doesn't attack in kind - instead, she circles them, stalking like a panther.]

And how are you gonna do that?

[The double snaps - a genuine question, not a taunt.]

Hey Shaw--

[Other Shaw, real Shaw.]

Why don't we just knock off both of these two. They're annoying, it'll definitively neutralize the threat, and the real one will probably bounce back just fine.

[nightwild]

Huh?

[Fauna's Shadow steps back, but the real one steps forward. One of them scared, one of them itching for a fight.]

Because you aren't strong enough. And even if you were, why wouldn't the real deal just team up with me to crush you?

[The Shadow is quivering in fear. A fight is starting.... But what should she do? While the real Fauna lifts up her sleeve to show a strange device on her wrist...]

[cactusy]

[Real Shaw doesn't hesitate: she steps up next to the real Fauna, shoulder to shoulder. The fact that they're strangers doesn't matter - and the fact that they're both real does.]

She sure would.

[Impostor Shaw, meanwhile, cuts her gaze to Fauna's wrist and narrows her eyes.]

The hell is that?

[nightwild]

[Fauna grins. And the other Fauna, knowing the fight coming is unavoidable now, lifts her sleeve to show her own brace.

Fauna lifts a hand to her choker, pulling the magatama off it, before crushing it in her hand to split it in two.]

Wild Change!

[Both Faunas speak in unison, taking a wide pose as they slot the split magatama into their bracers, rotating it... And both Faunas are shrouded in darkness, until red eyes pierce... and then claws shred the darkness apart. In the end, both Faunas are replaced with an armored figure in a fox mask.]

I'll skip the intro. No need to introduce myself to someone wearing my face.

[The Shadow Fauna, distinguished by its suit having yellow eyes, remains silent.

hope shaw is ready for this level of nonsense!]

[cactusy]

[To Real Shaw's inevitable consternation, they both have an identical and simultaneous reaction. They stand stock still, look at the Faunas with absolutely baffled expressions on their faces, and say:]

What the hell.

[nightwild]

[The real Fauna glances at Shaw.]

... What, never seen a monster before?

[The Shadow, on the other hand, looks down...]

I'm still too scared to call myself a 'hero'.

[... the real one growls at that, though. And both Faunas fling a fireball at each other at the same time, the fireballs meeting in the center to explode.]

[cactusy]

[Also to Real Shaw's consternation, both Shaw's casually lift their hands to shield their faces. Fire, nbd. Real Shaw frowns, then asks:]

Do you do heroic stuff?

trying to distinguish who's talking... fake one has colored text

[nightwild]

We just beat down the monsters-

[The real one leaps forward with those words to spinning kick to the fake Fauna... who catches it.]

I made monsters out of people for so long. I don't deserve to be a hero.

[The fake Fauna takes a swing, sending the real one flying backwards...]

good plan

[cactusy]

I killed people for a living.

[Real Shaw says, crossing her arms over her chest; Fake Shaw nods.]

Still do sometimes. I killed an innocent scientist because--

[Real Shaw stamps on her foot, hard.]

The way I see it, whatever you did in the past, it's what you do now that matters most. You can always make the choice to reinvent yourself.

[nightwild]

[Killed...? An innocent-

No, that's not important right now. Fauna dives forward at the impostor, raising her arm to swing a hook, but the Shadow raises a barrier between them.]

We can't just overlook a killer...

Like we know any better! Like we are any better!

All I ever wanted was justice. A just world... where kids like me wouldn't be discarded anymore. Justice can't let a killer go.

[As the Shadow speaks, the real Fauna leaps into the air, flying forward into a mighty kick at the barrier...]