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

iii

[entreats]

[ Ange frowns as she stares at the other.

First she couldn't tell what was giving her a weird feeling, even though she had already spotted Silco sitting there and watching people. There shouldn't be anything that weird about the man's presence, but it's only now he's approaching and speaking up that the girl is slowly realizing what gave her the strange feeling in the first place. It's the scar - it's wrong. It's on the other side, isn't it? She's spoken to Silco face to face enough to feel like it's supposed to be on the other side. And scarring doesn't just move like that.

It leaves her staring at the other after he speaks, her eyes still squinting, before she speaks up with something that's not an answer to his question at all.

Instead it's another question. ]

Who are you?

[conflictresolution]

[The reaction was not particularly interesting, and he was smart enough to understand that someone might actually be able to mistake him as a shadow of the other. That didn't matter because the question of crimes and punishment would remain the same, so the conversation remained relevant to him anyway.

He waved a hand in the air as if to dismiss the question as unimportant, and he made no effort to hide his differences. Scars were scars no matter which side of the body that they appeared on. Some just happened to be more perceptive than others.]

You know who I am, or rather, you know who I look like. We're one and the same.

[He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her.]

Of course, unless you aren't interested in casual conversation about the crimes and punishment of this place?

[entreats]

Let's say I'm more curious as to your intentions. [ The girl immediately replies.

She's still pretty confused about what's going on here, but she tries to raise her guard - just in case. Things spawned by this place often tend to not be all that great, if not outright dangerous. And if this Silco is anything like the one she knows, then she knows to not underestimate him in case this does go bad. ]

Why do you even want people to talk to you about that?

[conflictresolution]

Curiosity is healthy. Until it isn't.

[It wasn't a threat, of course. For him, it was little more than an observation that he would take advantage of if provided the opportunity to. She might just be one of the few with enough curiosity to unearth his intentions and purpose, and for that, he was intrigued by her potential. It wouldn't matter of course; Ange wasn't his target exactly, but she knew his mirror enough to understand what he might have to say on a deeper level than most.]

The crime and punishment system is broken, too lax, to arbitrary. Do you honestly believe that what we all have done in the past is captured in a single crime?

[entreats]

[ Ange clicks her tongue. ]

Of course not. That'd be way too simple.

[ It's not even really her talking about Silco's crimes. She doesn't really know what he might have done or not have done where he comes from, and she hasn't bothered to ask either. But even if she's taking herself as an example.. Well, Ange knows that the crime she's been 'charged' with here certainly is not the only bad thing she has ever done in her life. ]

But do you believe it actually means anything here in the first place? That whoever put us here actually wants to punish us? [ She's interested in this different Silco's opinion, specifically. Maybe it'll tell her more about who he is. Is he some sort of Silco created by this place, one that actually believes in the bullshit they're fed? Like some propaganda version of him? ]

the holidays ate me! sorry for the delay!

[conflictresolution]

It doesn't matter if they want to punish us. We are here on the guise of justice and punishment, so if this place is unwilling to provide, shouldn't it be up to us to hold one another to account?

[His existence was to laid bare the crimes - and oh they were numerous - of his true self yes, but he didn't doubt that none of it would be denied. The long list was something to take pride in after all, something worth celebrating as it was a show of his ongoing and continued resistance to Piltover.

No, no, it was to let everyone else understand how much and how well he could hide. To be held accountable by ones peers rather than by their overlords. He deserved to be alone.]

Do you believe that crimes deserve punishment while we stay here?

it's okay, it happens! i don't mind at all! c:

[entreats]

[ The girl shrugs.

It looks genuine enough - kind of seeming like Ange doesn't have particularly strong feelings about the fact either way. As long as people don't annoy her and don't hurt her friends - or make things worse for them as a collective - then she doesn't really care what they're doing to each other outside of her view.

She doesn't elaborate on that answer outside of said shrug. Instead she just asks: ]

Have you been that many crimes being committed in this place?

[conflictresolution]

[Typical of Ange from what he knew of her. She did always hold many of her cards close to her chest, and that was expected. There was no fighting it, no impassioned speeches to convince her. It needed to be reasonable, logical and believable.

It was his turn to shrug.]

I'm aware of more than a few. This place is not particularly policing us. As long as one isn't brazen about it or even if they don't commit one here, the punishment system seems... arbitrary at best.

[entreats]

That's what I mean. This place doesn't care. So unless a crime is committed specifically against you personally, why should you care?

[ This is the easier way to live, Silco. Ange is pretty sure that if you care about every single bad thing happening out there in the world, you practically end up having no life.

There's just too much injustice. And it's not like a single person can combat it by themselves. So why bother? ]

No one has tried to do anything worse to me so far than dragging me to dumb parties. [ Granted, someone totally made an attempt on her life.

But apparently that's somehow less bad to Ange than.. being forced to socialize.. ]

I've never taken you to be the kind of guy who particularly cares about injustice. Sure, you'd probably be pissed if someone committed a crime against you, but has anyone done that in this place? [ Even if this obviously is not the real Silco, he does seem to share some stuff with the actual man.

So maybe his memories too, Ange figures. ]

[conflictresolution]

Perhaps that is what's wrong with this place? No one cares. Even actual crimes warrant such apathy that it is a waste of time. Everyone here is busy living a pathetically routine life.

[And no, Silco didn't care. He wouldn't care. However, his purpose was to expose the crimes that were going on right under everyone's noses while there was a relatively pleasant face. And if people didn't care, well, the apathy was going to be their ruination.]

And what do you actually know about me, hmm? Don't think I'm capable of a ruse? [He inclined his head and offered a soft t'sk at Ange. This was why they were here; his alternate self had managed to pull most into being hoodwinked.] Oh, I don't let slights against me pass without returning the favour, but it's picking the time and the place.

[entreats]

[ ...

Hm. ]

Do you think there's something about you I should know?

[ Ange doesn't think Silco would be very open with secrets. This double, though-- There's something strange about him, the way he's saying all those things. She wonders what exactly it's getting at. It feels like there's more he wants to do than just talk about crime and punishment in purely abstract or philosophic terms.

So she might as well see what he has to say when she asks something like this. ]