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

[baldrshand]

Well, this one isn't decorative. I'm from a family of knights, and I train daily.

[And indeed, even while having this conversation Ethlyn's eyes haven't stopped moving--watching for anything, or anyone, that might be creeping up on them while they're talking. (At least that double of hers is more annoying than malicious, and didn't put up much resistance to being shoved into a cupboard with a bottle of wine.)]

I'm a battlefield healer. [A clarification.] Sometimes I need to defend my patients from the people who injured... or myself, from enemy soldiers that don't want me to work on people they're trying to kill.

[elfsplaining]

[She looks amused more than apologetic about any offense Ethlyn might've taken to her words, simply shrugging]

Seems useless, to me. If they fall in battle, they fall. No one goes to war expecting to live through it.

[Her expression grows faintly distant at that, remembering something, before she shakes her head] Do you know magic, then? Or is it simply medicine?

[baldrshand]

[...Ethlyn isn't sure how to respond to that. In her experience, young soldiers have an upsetting tendency to assume they were going to live through it, especially when the war first begins. Her brother certainly did... and so did Ethlyn and her husband. People died in war, but somehow they thought it would be other people.

They had been wrong.]

That hasn't been my experience. So, I'm going to keep doing it.

It's magic, but I've also had the time to study a good amount of advanced medical knowledge since my arrival here. [She's not sure what sort of place Morrigan is from, but from her dress, Ethlyn suspects it might be one of those places that gets termed as "medieval" by others.] In a pinch, I can patch someone up or treat their illness without the aid of my staff.

[elfsplaining]

[Morrigan looks thoughtful]

Useful.

[Is all she says at first, casting a glance around the area to keep a vague lookout for any other monsters] It seems this place can offer me much to learn, loathe as I am to be stuck here and away from--

[She cuts herself off with a clearing of her throat] I suppose I will lend my power to protecting it for a little while longer.

I am called Morrigan. If you are in trouble again, simply call out for me. I will find you.

[baldrshand]

[Away from...? That could trail off into many words. Ethlyn feels herself soften a little. For as hard as Morrigan's words are, it seems there is still something--someone--she cares about enough to miss.]

I am Ethlyn. I run the Willow Clinic--it seems to be safe from the monsters, somehow. [Ethlyn catches sight of another monster approaching, a dog-sized, feathered raptor with smoke curling from its nostrils.] Thank you for your help... truly. How good is your stamina for shapeshifting?

[She has to think that such a drastic transformation must come with a great cost... actually there are a lot of things she wants to ask about such a seemingly-outlandish ability but practical questions are the most important right now...]

[elfsplaining]

[Morrigan follows Ethlyn's eyesight, tilting her head. Even without shapeshifting she could fight, but she rolls her shoulders and straightens, taking a mental count of her mana reserves.]

I can continue.

[She glows for a moment and shifts--not into a giant spider this time, but into a sleek white wolf. She can't speak like this, but she stands and tilts her head back to howl at the sky to announce herself and issue challenge to the approaching monsters. Ethyln's said she can protect herself, so Morrigan won't focus overly much on protecting her or anything, but Morrigan won't abandon her to be surrounded either.]

[baldrshand]

[Ethlyn can't help but let off a small gasp when Morrigan transforms again. She had been steeling herself to see the giant spider make its reappearance--the wolf is an even greater surprise. More pleasant, of course. There is a reason that wolves, in spite of their danger, are so admired by so many.

Appropriate, too, as wolves fight in packs. The raptor-creature launches itself at its new foe, and Ethlyn turns to guard Morrigan's flank, because it isn't the only one.]

Let's take them down quickly!

[Maybe they can clear the streets a bit, make Ethlyn's job easier by lowering the number of creatures that will be out there mauling people.]