empatheias_ooc | Event Overview: Mixed Messages

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Event Overview: Mixed Messages

— MIXED MESSAGES: OVERVIEW & PLOTTING —

Use of the crystal amulets as a telepathic network has always been reliable, but starting on the 22nd of the month, that will no longer be so. Thoughts that your character may have intended to direct to one person could reach another entirely, or perhaps thoughts that you meant to be private are suddenly being broadcast to countless strangers— communication through the amulets has suddenly become a complete gamble. It’s bad enough that it’s near impossible to reliably contact a specific recipient, but the amulets are also starting to pick up on thoughts that aren’t meant to be shared. You could always take your amulet off for a bit of a reprieve, but given how vital they are to Otherworlders’ survival in this world, it’s not recommended. In addition to the crystal network going haywire, the compass that’s been in Chief Ledwika’s care since the excursion to Lavieti is reportedly spinning out of control, and some people will start experiencing visions that appear to be glimpses of Empatheias’ history, all with one common thread— Simpathis.

These are problems better off solved than ignored, and fortunately, there will be an opportunity to do exactly that. The first order of business will be stabilizing the network, and whatever has caused the compass to start moving is clearly trying to communicate something.

» EVENT DETAILS

Hello everyone! Here are the event details for this month's event: Mixed Messages.

Timeframe: February 22nd* - 28th. Because this event will be taking place during the last week of the month, threads from this log can be used for either February or March’s AC period. As usual, threads started during the last three days of the month cannot be used for the current month’s AC.
*Note: The event was previously marked as starting on the 21st on the calendar, but has been moved to the 22nd so that the log portion of the event will fall within the last seven days of the month to eliminate any confusion about what counts for activity.

Opt-In: As always, though this event will affect the entire crystal network, participation is optional.

Mechanics: Since this event will also make use of the telepathic network, here are some reminders on how telepathy works in the game and how this event will tweak some of these mechanics. Event-only mechanics are in red.

One-on one conversations. Telepathic messages are always one-on-one unless otherwise specified (as in the case of open/broadcast posts)—therefore, if you send a message to Bob and Bob alone, then John won't be able to hear it.
Pings. Before the beginning of every telepathic conversation, the person on the receiving end will normally hear a mental ping to signal that there is a telepathic message being sent to them. Should they choose to accept it, the telepathic conversation will begin. For the duration of the event, all misfires will start without any "pings". They will instantly be heard by the unintended party (or parties) whether the other character allowed a message through or not. This will also serve to make this part of the event more accessible to characters who would not normally feel comfortable making use of the telepathic network.
No voicemail. In addition to "pings", all telepathic conversations happen in real-time. Therefore, no one is able to leave any messages or voicemail. Characters are unable to rewind or go back to any missed messages.
Hanging Up. In usual telepathic conversations, either party may choose to "hang up" or end the mental link. Due to the crystal's malfunctioning, characters involved will not be able to end the mental link until after five minutes has passed.
Dreams. Sleeping characters don't normally send telepathic messages, but for the event, there may be a greater chance of their dreams slipping through the cracks and either getting broadcast to the network or to other people if they are still awake at the time. On rare occasions, a character's dream may mix with another's, resulting in both characters sharing the same dream.
Accidental Broadcasts. As use of the crystals usually requires conscious effort, these are few and far between. While they can happen very rarely if someone is thinking deeply or excessively about a certain topic, there will be many more opportunities for it while the crystals are malfunctioning. Paranoia or too much focus on what you don’t want people to overhear may, in fact, lead to those very thoughts being broadcast without your permission.

Event Inbox Directory: For those who would like to make their personal inboxes available for misfires, please feel free to post a link to your character’s inbox here!

Visions: Visions that characters will be able to experience will be provided in the log itself, and characters will have the option of having the nature of the emotion drops in their own crystals affect the kind of vision they will see. Characters who are in a more positive state of mind will experience certain visions, while those who are feeling more balanced or negative will have their own experiences. All of these visions will include key information that will assist in not only stabilizing the network, but what will come after.

Vision Quest: This malfunction is not without method— something is being communicated, and characters experiencing visions will feel a pull towards something. If they allow themselves to be guided, will end up on a quest through the visionary world to gather clues, where they can meet others experiencing the same vision. Their paths will eventually converge to a final vision… but in order to get there, they may need some outside help to make sure they don't fall into a ditch. Yep, everyone's sleepwalking.

Mountain Venturing: Those who aren't busy with visions will be given the opportunity to gather special materials that Verens engineers believe will help stabilize the crystals' energy. Unfortunately, the mountainside they can be found on is too awkward for airship travel, and characters will have to move through the forest and fight a few dangerous creatures on the way there. Once they get up the mountain, though, the materials they find may not be what they expect…

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That's it for now! If you have any questions, feel free to ask here. You are free to use this post for plotting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I was thinking of doing a catchall post for some shared dreams! Because the dreams are an event-only thing, would that post be usable for next month's AC? Or is it only threads made in the proper event post that can count for March AC?

(no subject)

simpathis - 2019-02-23 00:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

justpastdawn - 2019-02-23 01:27 (UTC) - Expand

Hi mods! I was looking at prompt C-2 on the log, and was thinking of having Blue's Exeggutor try talking to the cranky tree. If he asked about what's going on with the crystals, would the tree know anything plot-wise or about why they're drawn to the area, or is he just cranky and uninvolved?

(no subject)

simpathis - 2019-02-23 21:01 (UTC) - Expand

Just to make sure, are the characters' movements in their visions perfectly aligned with their sleepwalking movements in the real world? Like if a character spins a sleepwalker around, their vision self will spin around as well?

(no subject)

simpathis - 2019-02-27 23:49 (UTC) - Expand

Asking much later than intended due to rl madness, but: with the different visions, there's a lot of play space in the positive and negative since they're fairly open-ended, but the neutral vision throws the seer back to the present at the end before much happens. What's the frame of our play space for that one? Wandering modern-day Verens within the vision?