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EVENT ∞ PLOT POST — May 2026
Event ∞ Plot Post
The Mnesic Loop
Summary
What's going on?
It's memory share time! Following an intense flood from the Yawning Sea, characters will begin to experience each other's memories.
When is this taking place IC/in-game?
May 9 - 11. OOC, the Event Log will be going up at the start of the month.
What should I know?
- For the very first time, the core component of this event (memory share) will affect only the Player Characters. The NPC population of fluxdrifts will not be involved in the memory share effect. Instead, NPCs will receive the typical effects of confusion and temporary memory loss, effects that in turn will not afflict PCs.
- The reason for the above will be revealed over time. IC, characters may notice this peculiarity if they're data-driven. At the very least, if they speak to enough people, they'll realize that unlike past storms, the memory-share aspect seems to have affected an extremely limited portion of the population.
What does my character know?
- Rumors say that those who come in contact with the Yawning Sea frequently experience memory loss or lose track of who and where they are. Those who have come in contact with the Sea itself can confirm this.
- The Yawning Sea has continued to display the rainbow sheen it gained during the Meteorfall event.
- The flood from the Yawning Sea will not damage or drown anything. Its unique effect will be described below.
Event Details
The event will begin with a torrential downpour. Peculiarly, the "rain" will be thick and mercury-like, and contain the same shimmery rainbow hue as the Yawning Sea. The water level across the planet will rise, flooding to roughly chest-height for a period of 12 hours overnight. As some might know, the Yawning Sea can interfere with memories, causing fugue states, temporary or permanent memory loss, and induce confusion.
Fortunately, there will be no water damage in the morning, after the water drains. In fact, nothing the "water" touches becomes wet at all. Instead, the liquid seems to roll right off all surfaces. When it drains, everything will be perfectly dry.
Fortunately, there will be no water damage in the morning, after the water drains. In fact, nothing the "water" touches becomes wet at all. Instead, the liquid seems to roll right off all surfaces. When it drains, everything will be perfectly dry.
During the Flood
During the flood, there will be no memory effects yet. Instead, characters will struggle to leave their home or work, pets might need rescuing, and stores are temporarily closed. Luckily, the worst of the flood is overnight, so the disruption won't be as terrible as the blackout.
The flood itself is not the main portion of the event, but we'll have a few prompts for those who'd like to do something outside of the memory share!
After the Flood
The flood will recede abruptly come morning, leaving behind no trace it was ever there, except for two major signs:
- For Player Characters: Following the flood, all player characters will simultaneously fall into a deep coma-like sleep. The coma will turn into an extended "memory loop" or "mnesic loop" whereupon one or more others can join the loop. While trapped in these mnesic loops, characters will glimpse a bizarre, twisted silhouette that stalks them through the shadows and crevices of each memory. See Event Mechanics for how the memory share mechanic will work.
- For NPCs: For the regular NPC population, they will experience some confusion and memory loss due to coming in contact with the water. They may not remember the flood occurred at all, might be confused as to how they got from point A to B, or briefly forget their name or some other important memory. These memories will likely return, but in rare cases, they might be gone forever. All in all, however, as far as storms go, this is not the most disruptive one for the general NPC citizen. These details are mostly for player reference, and will not play a major part in the event itself.
After the Mnesic Loop
Characters will wake up after 24 hours. They can be in any situation upon waking: in the same place they collapsed, a strange dark basement, somewhere in the Fringes with the diffusion zone completely different than where they stopped, in a helpful neighbor's home, or a hospital or clinic. We'll provide some prompts, but players are welcome to approach it how they like. Characters will experience some confusion as to how they ended up where they did, but their memories will be intact.
Unfortunately, waking up will not be a pleasant experience, for something has burrowed deep inside their brain and seized it. Afflicted characters will experience physical symptoms as they expel this entity. Details will be available on the Event Log and further information about the lasting impact of this event will be described in the Aftermath
Unfortunately, waking up will not be a pleasant experience, for something has burrowed deep inside their brain and seized it. Afflicted characters will experience physical symptoms as they expel this entity. Details will be available on the Event Log and further information about the lasting impact of this event will be described in the Aftermath
Event Mechanics
For clarity, we'll refer to characters who join someone else's memory as visitors.
The memory share mechanic for this event will function as a Groundhog Day loop. In other words, characters will witness the same set of memories over and over again until they fulfill a condition that frees them from the loop. While trapped in this loop, they will meet a variety of visitors who can join them in the loop. OOC, this means multiple characters can join yours for the same memory as many times as you want.
- Each character's mnesic loop can consist of multiple memories. How you approach this is up to you: they can experience one memory several times before moving onto the next, or the memories may play out one after the other in a reel before the entire loop cycles back to the beginning. They can also occur entirely out of order, or a mix-and-match of any of the above.
- A character will remain in the loop until they break free by fulfilling at least one (or more) of the conditions listed below. They will not, of course, be told of this directly. It will inherently occur as they go through their development during this event. OOC, you can decide which direction you want your character to go in and choose the condition.
While In the Loop
Memory owners and visitors alike will "walk" through the memory as if they are really in it, but as third-party figures. They will smell the grass, feel the heat of a fire, and can "injure" themselves if they trip or get hit by a stray bullet. How solid and interactable the "mnesic figures" are depends on how directly your character and a visitor intervenes. If a character knocks a gun out of their past self's hand, that might register as an intrusion. If they walk carefully around the environment and avoid disturbing anything, they might not be noticed.
Inside the specific loop, a character's full experience will be different based on what role they've taken.
Inside the specific loop, a character's full experience will be different based on what role they've taken.
- Owner: The more a memory owner goes through their loop, the more likely they will begin to absorb the experiences of their past self. Emotions from years ago feel fresh, they may bleed from the same wounds or experience pain in an old scar, and they may even regress into older habits or personality traits.
- Visitor: Visitors can interact and influence with the memory. This means they can physically alter the outcome, encourage the memory owner to make a different decision or see things from a different perspective, or alternatively, ensure that the memory owner makes the same choice and the same outcome. These actions can either contribute to or impede the memory owner's ability to eventually breaking the loop at the end. Visitors can disappear from a memory at any point, to be replaced by another. Their presence in a memory is unstable, meaning a memory owner can receive multiple visitors per cycle.
- Bonus Level: If a visitor happens to be a canonmate who was also present in the owner's memory, the visitor can experience the same "absorbance" effect from their past self. For example, if the memory owner witnessed a canonmate visitor's future descent into darkness, then that visitor could potentially feel the same dark urges or emotions in parallel with the memory.
Taking A Role
Visitor Only: If a character is strictly a visitor (i.e. you've decided not to have them share any of their own memories with others), they can be "sucked into" as many mnesic loops as you want. They will escape the cycle of being dragged into others' mnesic loops by helping enough memory owners reach any of the above conditions.
Owner Only: If a character is strictly a memory owner (i.e. you've decided not to have them visit others' mnesic loops), then they will be trapped in their mnesic loop until they fulfil at least one of the conditions above.
Alternating Roles: If a character is occupying both roles, you can do it one of two ways. If you'd like a more orderly process, then they can complete all threads related to one role before moving on to the opposite role. If you prefer things chaotic, they can switch between roles throughout the entire event, wherein they will be constantly snatched out of their own mnesic loop and dumped into another's with no rhyme or reason. Choose whatever works best for your planning style!
Owner Only: If a character is strictly a memory owner (i.e. you've decided not to have them visit others' mnesic loops), then they will be trapped in their mnesic loop until they fulfil at least one of the conditions above.
Alternating Roles: If a character is occupying both roles, you can do it one of two ways. If you'd like a more orderly process, then they can complete all threads related to one role before moving on to the opposite role. If you prefer things chaotic, they can switch between roles throughout the entire event, wherein they will be constantly snatched out of their own mnesic loop and dumped into another's with no rhyme or reason. Choose whatever works best for your planning style!
Breaking the Loop
Depending on what you'd like your character to learn or discover from their past, breaking the loop can result from one or more of the conditions below. Your approach is entirely dependent on the memory and the nature of your character.
For example, if a character is prone to stubbornly trying to change a tragedy that you believe they need to accept to move on, then their mnesic loop will only end when they stop trying to prevent the tragedy and allow it to play out. On the other hand, if you feel that your character can begin to forgive themselves only if they can prevent a tragedy they previously could not, then the loop will end when they succeed in stopping the event.
OOC, the loop can break as soon as one condition is fulfilled with one memory, or they might have to fulfill a condition for each memory inside the loop. The flexibility is so you can decide which portion of the event you want to play out and how much. Essentially, the point is that your character has learned a lesson of some type and was able to concretely enact that lesson within the mnesic loop before they escape. The specifics beyond that are up to your preference.
For example, if a character is prone to stubbornly trying to change a tragedy that you believe they need to accept to move on, then their mnesic loop will only end when they stop trying to prevent the tragedy and allow it to play out. On the other hand, if you feel that your character can begin to forgive themselves only if they can prevent a tragedy they previously could not, then the loop will end when they succeed in stopping the event.
OOC, the loop can break as soon as one condition is fulfilled with one memory, or they might have to fulfill a condition for each memory inside the loop. The flexibility is so you can decide which portion of the event you want to play out and how much. Essentially, the point is that your character has learned a lesson of some type and was able to concretely enact that lesson within the mnesic loop before they escape. The specifics beyond that are up to your preference.
Conditions
Taking Responsibility: For characters who struggle with acknowledging their role in a tragedy or other events resulting from their poor actions, they must eventually accept that they had a heavy hand in what happened.
Forgiveness: For characters who struggle with self-blame or whose resentment and blame of another has caused them much grief, they must eventually forgive themselves or the person in question for actions taken in the memory.
Acceptance: For characters who have a tough time letting go, they must realize that they can't change the past and need to accept it for what it is, no matter how difficult.
Example: Verbally apologizing to someone they hurt or physically stopping their past self from causing harm (diffusing a bomb they'd planted; physically fighting the past version of themselves).
Forgiveness: For characters who struggle with self-blame or whose resentment and blame of another has caused them much grief, they must eventually forgive themselves or the person in question for actions taken in the memory.
Example: Acknowledging they were not to blame with a visitor, accepting comfort where they previously did not feel they deserved it, or taking action to change an outcome they couldn't before (such as encouraging their childhood self to stand up to a parent).
Acceptance: For characters who have a tough time letting go, they must realize that they can't change the past and need to accept it for what it is, no matter how difficult.
Example: Finally allowing a death to happen without taking drastic action to stop it.
∞ Plot Form ∞
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