EVENT | ZUGZWANG, PART 1 & 2 | SEPTEMBER 21-28

[ironwood]

/German ˈtsuːktsvaŋ/ "compulsion to move"; noun.
1. a situation that occurs in chess and other games of strategy where a player is forced play instead of pass the turn
2. to make a choice between two moves, both of which which will knowingly damage your position
This is the first part of a two-part event, starting on September 21st and going through until September 27th. The second part of this event will be revealed on September 28th.

As some Foreigners continue to be affected by the cultists' poison, the symptoms of which might even be steadily growing worse, other characters are going to be experiencing something very different, and it has nothing to do with the electrical blackouts which accompanied the heat wave.

Abilities Go Haywire For Everyone - September 21-25

Starting on Sept 21st and continuing through the 25th, the Foreigners' magical abilities will be unstable and unpredictable to the point of being dangerous. Earlier in the week, this instability will be less severe, more of a nuisance than actively detrimental. As the week goes on, however, the instability will grow. Fluctuations in power level might allow some characters to feel normal one minute, overly powerful the next, and barely functioning only a minute later, ultimately leaving them feeling mentally or physically exhausted and weak; other characters might try to use their powers and achieve results very different from what they expect. The fluctuation cycles could repeat themselves anywhere from once to dozens of times during the week, or only cycle once at all, whereas unintended side effects of spells or magic can last the entirety of the five days.

The effects will vary as widely as the characters' abilities do, but one thing is clear – any Foreigner who possesses magical ability will suddenly have a very, very hard time controlling or harnessing that ability. Even those Foreigners without magical ability are getting a taste of this, as minor forms of unpredictable abilities are transferring temporarily over to them. Are they jealous of a friend's magic? Congratulations, they now have a little of it!... with frankly disastrous effects. We want every player to enjoy this event, so be creative with how your character is affected, from fully life ruining to only minorly worrisome!

Please note that Asti's boons, given to the hatchlings' foster parents during the midsummer festival in exchange for looking after the baby turtles, will not be affected during the duration of this event; they will function as normal.

Abilities Are Nullified - September 26-27

Characters may or may not discover ways to live with the fluctuations and may even have grown accustomed to them. However, from September 25-27, all the Foreigners' magical abilities will be completely dead. Characters will be utterly unable to use them; they will feel cut off from their source, not have the energy or mental focus for them, etc. Any Foreigner ability fueled by or involving magic will be affected by this – only powers which characters absolutely need in order to survive will still work. Think of it as being caught in Evandau's nullification field except expanded to include the entire turtle. After the events of the last five days, some characters might even consider this a blessing.

As mentioned above, Asti's Boons will not be affected during the duration of this event.

ZUGZWANG, PART 2 - September 28

Full OOC post located here

Remember that this is the first part of a two-part event, and effects won't begin until September 21st! The second part of the event will be announced on September 28th, so check back to this post for that section to be updated! (A reminder will go up in the OOC comm ad on plurk tushan once that part of the plot is revealed.)

If you have questions, please post them to the QUESTIONS section of the comments. Otherwise, feel free to use this post to plot what your character(s) may be up to during the event!

Comments

[michaeljangelo]

Mike was given the gift of emotional amplification.
ie, if you're around him you feel what he feels.
During the event this "around him" level is going to expand. Normally it's within a room-sized sphere. I think for the duration of the event it's going to be quite larger than that, for people who wish to participate.

Mike's been rather depressed, bordering on angry lately...what with the loss of his cousins. So...keep that in mind.

Aang is going to be taking a page from Tonraq and Zuko, and have his bending increased ten fold. Which, should prove interesting.

[akito]

Aaaang

just don't ruin the skates he made you :c

[royalguard_style]

We've already discussed this partially over Plurk, but how specific are these emotions, especially since they're going to be strengthened? Could someone who's in very close proximity feel something as specific as "I miss my family"?

[michaeljangelo]

It's been pointed out to me, because apparently reading is NOT fundamental to me, that Asti's Boons aren't affected during this plot. So the only time Mike's likely to broadcast is when they're in the same place.

That...is still something.
His emotional state will fluctuate between depression, loneliness, and anger. There's should really be no doubt that Raph's just up and gone though. I mean, for one thing the house is quieter. Oh and Mike's been cooking a whole lot more.

[royalguard_style]

Dante would have figured out by now that Raph is gone, and will assume that the fact that he gets moody every time he enters the apartment is just because it's moody and depressing. He's handling the situation by hiding out in his room or out altogether like someone with the maturity of someone half his age would do.