aionlogs | EVENT #3: THE COST OF INNOCENCE

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EVENT #3: THE COST OF INNOCENCE

The Cost of Innocence

INVESTIGATION

As the Aions arrive in Venera, they will find the natural beauty of the city in sharp contrast to its uncomfortable aura. Though the sun still shines and flowers still bloom in a place filled with physical vibrancy and life, the air itself is impossibly still, as if wind no longer blows. You can taste the stagnancy of it when you breathe, and the pleasant sights only make that feeling of absence more haunting. The streets are mostly empty, with most of the city's residents hiding away in their homes, fearing the touch of whatever illness has caused this. That is, all the citizens besides those most affected, who wander the streets in a lifeless and painless daze.

Normally, Venera would be occupied by both Hylician and Achamite soldiers, but it quickly becomes apparent that both have abandoned the city, only guarding its furthest outskirts. Their reasons vary: the Achamite soldiers seem to take religious objection to the feeling of the city, believing it to be some trickery of the Innocent, while the Hylicians simply see it as a plague they have no interest in catching or spreading. Because of this, it will be easy for Aions of both sects to explore with little pushback from any form of law enforcement. The Kenoma will be directed into the city with warnings about the potential physical and spiritual danger while Pleroma will be able to sneak in mostly unbothered. After all, no one is eager to follow you.

Most shops and businesses are currently closed, though some uninfected individuals still nervously keep watch over their workplaces, fearing potential looting. It's difficult, but not impossible, to find people to talk to, and while the most plentiful wanderers are the infected, the reactions from those with their minds still intact will vary. Some will be eager to speak to anyone who looks like they're trying to do something about their situation, desperate for any source of outside help. If revealed you are an Aion, this may either entice them even further or cause them to retreat, as if fearing that you are somehow to blame for their plight. For those that are enticed, it will become clear that they hold onto faith that Aions are in Horos to save them, and will tell these new arrivals whatever they can without discriminating between sects.

The base level information that can be found is thus: the infection began at the same levels it has been in the rest of Horos, only for the numbers of the afflicted to rapidly accelerate upon the coming of the Innocent's Moon. Some see it as a form of divine punishment for their cooperation with the Regent, while the less cooperative citizens see it as a malady brought about by the Aions themselves, their only hope being that they will be able to clean up the mess they made. Some citizen have managed to corral their inflicted loves ones into their rooms and will be willing to introduce you; most of these individuals are past the point of conversation, and seem fully lost to whatever fantasy world they are experiencing. They are disinterested in eating or drinking and it seems like, without help, they are destined for a slow death of starvation and atrophy. That is, if their apathetic state doesn't result in a severe accident, as it has in many cases already.

Any other clues will take more dogged investigation. It will be a day or so after the majority of Aions have arrived in the city that the first signs of their own infections become clear.

HEAVENLY BODIES

The first to feel its effects will be the Innocents, Lovers, and Celebrants; like a voice has fully awakening to them, whispering of how their touch can be the cure to the others' pain. It bids them to take their fellow Aions into their loving embrace, to share this gift, as only suffering lies ahead. It expresses without words that it will be a shield for their Aion kindred, and that those that accept will become their outstretched hands to a cosmos that craves peace. Any form of physical contact with those three Legacies will either introduce or rapidly accelerate the infections experienced by the others, this effect only becoming more intense if the wielder intentionally forces the power of this strange entity into their victims.

Even without that accelerating touch, however, other Aions are not necessarily safe; the infection will still seep in, albeit more slowly. All Aions may experience a growing feeling of connection to the infected Venerans, as if the energy within them is being drawn into their their own bodies. As the Aion's symptoms worsen, the the ones suffered by the Venerans will gradually lessen, though not go away entirely. It seems that the Aions soaking up this strange power is enough to take the edge off of what is happening to the citizens: but at what cost?

Various symptoms will manifest in afflicted Aions with outcomes far more diverse and devastating than what the Veneran civilians have experienced. Visionaries, Firebrands, and Artisans will suffer the most catastrophic symptoms, the clash between their spiritual natures and that of the Innocence being the most extreme. This malady is characterized by its innate desire to quell its victims of their resistance, smothering them in artificial peace, even if it has to deprive them of their bodies and minds to do so.

It is not without treatment, however. It will gradually become apparent that feelings of intense suffering or upset are capable of purging the infection, that clash with painful reality seeming to wake them up from their trance and reduce or eliminate physical symptoms. The more intense the distress, the more effective it will be. Fortunately, this heightening of Aion spiritual energy has the added consequence of making empathic communion connections far more acute. Instead of just transmitting and receiving emotions and thoughts, Aions will find themselves more easily able to enter the delusions and memories of their kindred, drawing them out and manipulating them for this purpose. The catch is that they will only be able to access what is on the surface of the other Aion's mind.

When an infection is reduced or expelled this way, the energy causing it seems to be dispelled from the city, lowering the intensity of its ambient effects. While similar can be done to Veneran citizens to help treat them, the energy will not leave, and will either go into the Aion casting it out or return to the nebulous source of Innocence and eventually infect someone else. Something about going through the Aions specifically seems to act as a filter, as unpleasant of a way as it is to help.

IN THE SILENCE

For those unlucky enough to develop complete, or near complete, infections (IE. a full Innocence petrification) a presence will awaken within them regardless of their Legacy. It will urge them to join with it, to embrace the peace it offers, and to become the extensions of their will in this ravaged world. With an infection of this intensity, there will be little they can do but to hear its call. What exactly this would ultimately entail is unclear, but there is the sense that his entity is looking to join with you on a spiritual level. If your character becomes infected to this degree please let us know under the Committed Actions toplevel below along with the context of that transformation and whether or not they are being cured from it. You may receive some additional information in return!

QUESTIONS

What is the best way for Aions to travel to Venera?
The quickest travel paths are for Kenoma to take a boat from Achamoth, which will take about a day, and for Pleroma to teleport to the Celebrant's shrine and take either a carriage or river boat to the city (there are offshoot rivers not marked on the setting map). The riverboats would be the faster option option of the two, and would also take about a day. The carriages/delivery carts would be slower and take a couple days, but have relay access to horses and therefore could keep going overnight. Characters with flight are also able to use that, though flying right into the city might cause a bit of spectacle. Then again, none of the local law enforcement is eager to chase you at the moment.

Are Veneran civilians experiencing the same symptoms as the Aions?
Veneran civilians are only experiencing apathy/loss of self/daydreaming and maybe the loss of pigments/color for advanced cases. The more body horror orientated effects are Aion only and are being caused by their body's spiritual makeup.

Can 'cured' Aions be reinfected?
Yes! Even if cured or treated, symptoms can return or worsen again. This will keep happening until the build up of Innocence energy in Venera is entirely expunged, at which point the illness will fade away across the continent. Whether or not the Aions mere presence will be enough to trigger that is yet unknown, but it does seem to be helping lessen the effects suffered by the civilians, at least.

How long does the infection period last in Aions?
Chronologically, we are considering the infection period of the plot to last 2-3 days.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. THE TRIP TO VENERA

[ getting to the portal was one thing - and, fortunately, Johnny's not too put off by portal-based transportation, considering how Tusk works - but getting from the shrine to Venera is an entirely different story. See, Johnny spent the vast majority of the jools he'd managed to rustle up buying himself a (cheap-ass) wheelchair, and the rest has been going to keeping himself alive. This means that he arrived at the shrine of the Celebrant with a very light wallet and a very heavy pair of legs, neither of which being particularly conducive to getting from point A to point B. He's not particularly enthusiastic about going to visit a supposedly plague-ridden city, either, which means that he'd ideally like to be in and out as fast as possible?

The solution? Well, he doesn't have to pay for travel if people don't even know he's there.

Other Aions travelling on one of the larger riverboats may witness some peculiar behavior if they pay close enough attention. Glance up at just the right time, and one might see a disembodied hand reaching up out of the floorboards themselves to nick a piece of bread or fruit from an unsuspecting seafarer. The other Aions might even be one of those unsuspecting seafarers: set down your drink for a moment, and - provided you're the type who can see the supernatural - you might look back to see a small pink ghost-thing doing its best to pick it up and take it away.

Other Pleroma who Johnny actually knows will be exempt from any pickpocketing; however, when they pass by some of the cargo being transported on the ship, they'll hear a hey! hissed at them quietly from between crates, where Mr. Joestar has wedged himself unceremoniously, and underneath a tarp, for good measure. The position doesn't look particularly comfortable, but he doesn't look particularly bothered, either. ]

Hey. Can you grab me some water - quietly?

II. INVESTIGATING

[ Imagine some heavy quotations around that header. Detective work is not his forte, at least not without a clear reward, and the danger is plain to see in every empty booth and dazed stare, too. Johnny's not exactly a people person. Johnny's also not a doctor. Where does he start? He's not even entirely sure how regular diseases spread, let alone one of the spiritual variety, and, for the hundredth time since his arrival, he wishes Gyro was here, because he'd know what to do. Johnny only knows about racing and making camp and how to win at cards or dine with proper etiquette at a fancy party. Johnny doesn't know anything about helping people - not like this. When he meets a man struggling to keep his little cafe business afloat, the most he can do is offer a few jools in return for a drink, then watch the poor merchant shuffle his blank-eyed son upstairs when he almost walks into the fireplace. ]

... What are we even supposed to do about this?

[ his chair is parked at one of the small tables outside the cafe - and, seeing as it's almost entirely deserted, he doesn't have much choice in conversation partners here. ]

III. SICKNESS

Fuck - fuck!

[ he had the sense to try and get himself out of the way of everyone else - the sense, or the instinct, like a wounded animal. If he's alone and ill out in the open, he just has the feeling that someone or something will descend upon him, take advantage of his vulnerability, and at this point, he doesn't know if it's paranoia or well-earned suspicion from life on the road. His wheelchair is empty, sitting beside a stone wall fencing off someone's private property. Smooth and made of stone, it certainly doesn't look like something he'd be able to climb over. If it weren't for his occasional cries from beyond the wall - and the blood spattered on the chair's arm - one would think the chair was deserted like so many other objects in town. How did he even get in?

Regardless, Johnny is indeed on the other side; he managed to get into a little garden walled off from the main street, belonging to a Veneran who has either abandoned their home in the face of the plague or is so far gone that they don't even see the stranger lying in it. Anyone who manages to get in - either by scaling the wall or breaking into the house proper and navigating to the garden - will find him on his back, skin pockmarked with clumps of feathers that appear to have violently burst through the surface, judging by the blood pooling at their base. In spite of his screaming a moment ago, he's now completely serene, staring vacantly into the sky, even as he continues to breathe heavily from the exertion.

Textbook infection. ]

IV. WILDCARD

[ ooc: my plotting comment is here! Also, for prompt 3, let me know if you want a delusion/memory - since he's a Firebrand, he'll be having some pretty serious ones! ]

[ Gray was just ambling along with her bow slung over her shoulder when she overheard a pair of voices and decided to drift on by in case any good information was being exchanged. (There was no good information exchanged.) But she ends up lingering and listening anyway, mostly driven by curiosity about the man in the wheelchair. He's one of the Pleroma Aions, if she isn't mistaken...

She half-expects him to treat her with hostility, and it shows in the low, timid dip of her hood. It's nerve-wracking, but she decides to speak up anyway, her soft voice reaching him mostly by virtue of the rest of the area being so silent. ]

Um... there are a few different ways to try to tackle an investigation like this. I could tell you more about it, i-if you're interested.

[ Though she wouldn't blame him if he shooed her off. Why should he listen to a random girl with nary a whiff of detective aura... ]

[ the hostility she's waiting for doesn't come; he simply regards her with measured suspicion and nothing more. The only time he saw two people from opposite teams interact, they seemed very much about to fight each other. Johnny, for his part, isn't really interested in starting a fight over a cause he barely understands. He very easily could have gone the other way, to her side, instead. Unless she gives him a reason to stop, he'll come in peace.

Seeing as she's just a kid, he doesn't imagine that'll be changing soon. If there is something beyond that measured suspicion, it's concern. ]

Uh, sure?

[ he wasn't expecting such an authoritative answer. Whether or not he believes she knows what she's talking about is another question, but he'll at least hear her out. ]

Edited 2022-05-23 02:45 (UTC)

[ He sounds a little skeptical, but she understands why he might feel that way. She shuffles closer, to a more natural conversational distance. ]

If you're not sure where to start, you can focus on a few key concepts: the howdunit, whodunit, and whydunit. In this case, that would translate to... how the disease is spread, whom it originated from, and why it exists in the first place.

[ Though she hasn't really said much yet, the longer she speaks, the more self-conscious she becomes of the other Aion's attention. Her eyes drift to the ground and aside, her voice growing fainter. ]

If you narrow your focus to just one of those... it might guide you to other questions you should be asking.

[ She hopes that's actually helpful....... ]

[ she's not the kind of person he would expect to be supporting an evil dictator - a shy teenage girl doesn't really seem like soldier material - which, perhaps, mean she's exactly the type of person that would be supporting an evil dictator. Perhaps she was easy to convince, whatever "convincing" might entail.

Or, alternatively, she's a very good actor. But for all his pessimism, when it comes to other people, he rarely assumes the worst. Johnny takes her at face value. ]

... Disease comes from germs, normally, right? I don't think they've got a "reason for existing." [ a beat. ] If that's one of your criteria, you must think something else is causing it.

[ a Stand, maybe. That's all he can think of. ]

[ She nods slowly. ]

Rather than a natural disease, it seems more like a curse or spell to me. That could mean that there's a symbolic reason why Venera is suffering these effects so much more than other places... or a set of rules guiding the spread of the disease that we don't know about.

[ She isn't used to speculating so much without someone else chiming in to correct her... Her fingers join in front of her self-consciously. ]

B-But it's hard for me to compare what Venera is like to the other cities... I don't know if the way of living here makes them a special case.

[ in spite of his bad personality, Johnny actually likes kids - plus, he doesn't hear anything to correct. There's a centaur and a lizard woman in this place. A smart kid isn't exactly hard to believe. ]

Yeah, I think you're probably right. This illness isn't "normal," no matter how you look at it. [ a beat. ] Maybe we should be asking them about their way of life, then. If something changed recently, that might be the reason.

[ he's imagining a new mayor recently elected, or maybe a group of mysterious people moving into the city... other than the Pleroma and Kenoma, obviously. ]

Your boss doesn't know what's going on?

[ Gray looks at him with surprise at mention of "her boss." He isn't wrong on a technical level, but it sounds awfully close and casual when Gray has never even met the Regent in person. ]

The Regent... thinks the Pleroma are responsible for what's happening, actually. [ She dips her head lightly in apology for the distant accusation. ] Seeing you all here makes me think otherwise, though.

[ Y'all look clueless as hell, just like her and her fellow Kenoma. In any case, she takes a breath to steel herself for what she's about to say, though her nerves drop her gaze at the last moment. ]

Um! If it wouldn't make trouble for you, would you like to investigate with me? I can't promise any results, but I think we each know things the other doesn't... so we might be able to account for some of each other's blind spots.

[ Johnny doesn't know that much about the Kenoma, okay... he's kind of under the impression they're all under the Regent's direct command. After all, their kind ("Aions," or whatever) are apparently held in quite high regard by many of the natives here; it would make sense if the head honcho had his own private task force of interdimensional god-beings.

Her suggestion has him cock his head, although more in dubious surprise than rejection. ]

... You sure you want my help? [ not that he's about to admit it, but he's not doing so hot on this whole investigation thing - plus, there's the elephant in the room that is his condition. Mobility aside, most people aren't that comfortable talking to him, in his Victorian-era experience. Johnny is much too proud to mention that, though; he goes for the other obvious issue: their opposing alliances. ] I don't mind, but you might get in trouble.

johnny joestar / firebrand / pleroma + OTA!

iinvestigating!

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iii / wildcard

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iii

i'm laughing at him looking out for a dokja jumpscare

dokja is EVERYWHERE!!! gotta keep his eyes (and ears) open...

sfrees

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