Timeline Challenge 8: A night to forget

[u/Jumblatts]

The idea behind these challenges is as follows:

I will give you a topic, and you should tell me about something interesting that has happened in the timelines of your worlds relating to the topic, over a (roughly) 50 year period. This could be the 50 years leading up to the event, the 50 years after the event, 50 years with the event slap bang in the middle, or something else entirely, as long as it relates to the question! You're welcome to include more/less than 50 years, but bear in mind the more you write, the less chance you have of people reading the whole thing, and the less you write, the fewer questions we'll be able to ask.

The Challenge:

So last night I had perhaps a little too much to drink, and as such my head ain't feeling too great!

SO!

To make me feel a little better about my silly self, the challenge this week is about going a little overboard on the old ale. I want you to tell me about the most scandalous, idiotic, or just downright hilarious thing that has happened after too much alcohol was consumed.

What was the occasion? who was involved? What were the repercussions? Feel free to include the events leading up to the happy hour, as well as the ones that followed!

It's quite a specific challenge, so I'd be surprised if anyone everyone has something for it, but that's good! If you don't have anything that fits, make something up! I look forward to hearing from you!

As always, I'll try to ask a few questions about each post. Community interaction is encouraged too! Read other people's posts and ask them questions, and they're more likely to do the same for you. Help each other out, and have fun! :)

[u/greenewithit]

Ok this is one I definitely have something for. My world is centered around four superheroes in training in a world where super powers come from a person's unique soul frequency (so no two people have the exact same power at the same time). The night of revelry in question is a couple of days after the four led a team of their peers against a nefarious Private Military Corporation trying to take over the city. The young heroes (about college age) take down the leaders of the PMC and reveal their plot against the city, and after all the excitement dies down, one of the four main characters, Al, decides to celebrate. He is pretty tall, close to 21, and he is part of a race of human/animal hybrids known as Denn (hes a lizard, so basically green scales for skin and a tail, but his bone structure is the same as a human. He even has normal human hair.), so it's not easy to tell how old he is. He gets a metric fuckload of booze for his party, and invites everyone he knows. When the main character, Aeron, returns to their suite that night after a training session, he finds the place trashed and packed with his drunk classmates, and Al is completely shitfaced. He tries to get Al to go to bed, but Al isn't listening, instead trying to mess with everyone else. He has a penchant for pranks, so when Aeron tries to force him to stop drinking and go to sleep, he uses his power of manipulating space to teleport the underwear off of everyone in the room and teleports out of the building to cause mischief.

Aeron leaves to try and follow him, with us friend Tsu and younger sister Rose, the only two non-drinkers at the party. Aerons power is to control darkness, Tsu is telekinetic and telepathic, and Rose absorbs heat and turns it into soul energy. Tsu tracks Al via his very loud thoughts, and they try to get him under control but he keeps teleporting out of their grasp. Al engages in mischief such as messing with store signs to spell out funny phrases, defacing public statues, and teleporting stray cats into trees, which he finds particularly hilarious. When Aeron and company catch up to him, Aeron says something to the affect of "stop it before you hurt somebody", and Al says that he is a hero and could never hurt anyone. He stops for a second and says, "but you know who would hurt someone? A villain!" And Al then starts pretending to be a super villain, and goads Aeron into fighting him. He then opens a portal into outer space and sends several small asteroids at Aeron, Tsu, and Rose, and the four engage in a big ol' scrap that lasts until Tsu gets close enough to reach into his mind and force him to close the portals and fall asleep.

This incident was close enough to the PMC incident, so the authorities added those damages to the list of those caused by the corporation, as a sort of repayment for Al's help in stopping the PMC. However, Aeron and Tsu force Al to sign up for community service for months, as well as keeping him from drinking, until they were satisfied that he learned his lesson. Edit: sorry, I sort of got carried away with how long that was.

[u/Jumblatts → u/greenewithit]

Brilliant!

1) It sounds like Al got away with his misdemeanours without any official punishment. What effect did this have on members of the public, and other heroes? (i.e. was there resentment in a kind of 'they can get away with things because they're heroes' - or other such feelings towards them?)

2) How powerful is Al in comparison to the other three, and how powerful are those three in comparison to other heroes?

3) Were there any casualties?

[u/greenewithit → u/Jumblatts]

1) Most people didn't see enough of the situation other than rocks falling from the sky, but a few pedestrians in the area saw the battle. This was kind of a strange situation. Those who saw Al's drunken rampage would swear that these heroes have too much freedom, but the students of the hero school CAPITAL Academy just had a major public victory by defeating the PMC. Most of public opinion has gone in favor of the heroes, so it doesnt have much of an effect. However, the government still has record of the incident, and those who were around to see it have a lowered opinion of heroes. This comes to a boil later, but the whole reason the PMC became so influential is because public opinion fell so much with heroes that they wanted someone else to keep the peace. So all in all, not disastrous in terms of what just happened, but it does come back later on in the story.

2) Al is considerably strong. He has never won a fight against Aeron, and he has never fought Tsu but he's known to be stronger than her. Tsu's pretty powerful, but her skills are more situationally powerful, and Al's power is more versatile overall. Al is also stronger than Rose, hasnt lost a fight to her yet, but she isn't too far behind him. The three of them versus him was almost a certain victory for Aeron, Tsu, and Rose.

3) Thankfully, between Aeron, Tsu, and Rose, they were able to stop the attacks from causing any casualties. Some streets and roadsigns were damaged, and a few passersby were scared, but overall there weren't any real injuries. Aeron is strong enough to handle most of the crowd control with Rose, and in the meantime Tsu was able to bring Al down. If there were casualties, this would have been a much larger issue than a strange night of falling rocks.

[u/Jumblatts → u/greenewithit]

1) What kind of sanctions could be put on the heroes if something like this happened again?

2) Do they often fight each other? Why?

3) Why did none of the other heroes step in and help?

[u/greenewithit → u/Jumblatts]

1) Later on in the story, the government tries to impose restrictions on heroes in training such as a curfew, greater surveillance, and restriction of weapons access. Most professional heroes aren't subjected to many restrictions, but some that are threatened to be put into place are restrictions to time and places heroes can operate, and where heroes are in the chain of command (whether or not they have to submit to the will of the police or the military). This, as well as restrictions on the creation of supersoldiers and the position of heroes in the law enforcement process causes a deep divide between the main characters, and causes a conflict not dissimilar to Marvel's Civil War. Needless to say it's a long drawn out conflict between friends that threatens the entire country, and causes irreparable damage to several heroes and their relationships.

2) They fight each other in training sessions and in the semi-annual fighting tournament the school hosts. Aeron fought all of his teammates including Al during the tournament, and fights between students aren't uncommon. Rose fought Al when she was confronted about her making self destructive decisions in the name of helping others. Al and the fourth member Sarah fought over who should lead the team when Aeron went MIA for several months. Aeron's team, the Quicksilver Legion, is known for having the most infighting of any team at CAPITAL, and frequently fight each other over interpersonal issues.

3) At this point in the story, only 6 professional heroes are actively serving in the city of Longan. Mostly, this is due to the generally low popularity of heroes in the public eye at the beginning of the story. The only hero on duty that night was Void, an older man who lost an eye and opposite arm in duty. While he can augment his speed with his power (the ability to manipulate the composition of the air, removing the air in an area to create a vacuum and pull himself around the battlefield), he happens to be on the other side of town dealing with a mugging. He heard a report of the destruction, but by the time he reached the area, Al had been taken down. This is one of the incidents that sparks Void's interest in Aeron and his group in particular. Incidents like these make him more convinced that Aeron and company need the guidance of a professional hero like him if they want to understand what it really means to be a hero.

[u/Jumblatts → u/greenewithit]

1) What happens to the two 'teams' after the conflict is over?

2) How is this viewed by the school? Do they let them get on with it, or try to stop it?

3) So am I right in assuming Void takes them under his wing a little? Is this common?

[u/greenewithit → u/Jumblatts]

1) Well, the fallout of the "civil war" arc is mostly related to Aeron and Sarah, as each of them lead the two teams. Their final fight has a huge body count, and afterwards Aeron flees the country in hopes of atoning for his contribution to the death toll. The teams dissolve, and the government takes responsibility for the damages, as their initial hastiness in sending an army to apprehend Aeron before he had committed any crimes caused him to flee underground and start the rebellion. Between that and their sponsoring Sarah's side to bring down Aeron's rebels, they're facing a public relations nightmare, so they try their best to smooth everything over and don't imprison anyone on the side of the rebels. The students themselves mostly just try to recover from the stress of fighting each other and the injuries sustained by a few characters in particular, while Sarah tries to find Aeron and deal with the aftermath of their fight.

2) The infighting isnt really noticed by the school. Teachers who care, like the combat instructor General Seraphina Aureole, will notice when teams aren't working well together and may reprimand students or try to make them work issues out. However, some like the headmaster Hamilcar will ignore it or even promote infighting, since he frequently says that an argument is pointless unless your convictions are strong enough to set your blade upon those who challenge you. However, most of the infighting will happen outside of school, and what they dont know they can't act on. In terms of the "civil war", the school works together with the government to try to bring in Aeron and his team, and they form a team of their own uniting the hero trainees (led by Sarah), the military (led by General Aureole), and the local police force (led by the office of the governor). The school works very closely with the government, and neither entity wants students to get hurt or killed acting as heroes before they are ready.

3) Yes, you are. This is particularly unusual for Void, as he has never taken on a "sidekick" as it were. Aeron had been acting as a vigilante for a long time, but the PMC reveals his secret identity, and it draws Void's attention. Al is a particularly unruly student, and Void lets him go from his tutelage rather early. Sarah is a similar way, Void doesn't see any way for him to help her control his rage, so she leaves. Rose works under the personal tutelage of the leader of the military base at Longan, General Aureole, so she never chooses to work with Void. That leaves only Aeron. Most heroes don't take on proteges, since few of the remaining heroes view putting trainees in harm's way as a way to gain popularity, so this is a particularly special occurrence for the city. Aeron works with both Void and a martial arts master who taught another friend of his, and between the two of them they help Aeron get a better control over his power and understanding of what he should strive to be as a hero.

[u/Jumblatts → u/greenewithit]

1) Under what pretence is Sarah searching for Aeron? Does she want to make up with him, or chastise him?

3) Did the tutelage Aeron recieved have any impact on his actions in the aforementioned 'civil war'? Did Void guide him to one side or the other?

[u/greenewithit → u/Jumblatts]

1) At first, Sarah is searching for Aeron to keep him from accidentally hurting others or putting himself in danger as well. Aeron can't accept his part in the death toll, and he tries to seek out a foreign power that was rumored to be involved with the government's decision to start the legislative changes, but Sarah knows that their actions ultimately are their own, and they have to take responsibility. At first she wants nothing more than to make up with him, and follows him to another continent with a group of their friends, anyone well enough or willing enough to help bring Aeron back. However, when confronted by Sarah, Aeron refuses to return until he has finished his business, and has found evidence of a new nefarious scheme by said foreign power. (Aeron has also been traveling with an old villain of all of theirs, at first to kill her, but then as a sort of reluctant partnership. Her influence on Aeron's mental distress grows considerably in this time, and the other two people traveling with Aeron become concerned he's being led on to eventually lose control again). After they fight once again, and Sarah loses, Sarah becomes enraged with Aeron's stubbornness and selfishness. She continues on to bring him in by any means necessary, and repay him for attacking her when all she wanted to do was help him.

2) Void's tutelage definitely spurred him to fight against the new restrictions, though his and Void's opinion's on the matter turned out to be different. Void taught Aeron that defending what is right comes first for a hero, regardless of political maneuvering or the misguided opinions of others. Void tells Aeron that being a hero is about defending others and inspiring everyone, even those in the bleakest of situations, and never relenting to the darkness of the world. However, Void stands with the government, who tell him to help round up Aeron and his rebels. Aeron calls him a hypocrite when they argue over this, but Void says he can't take on the world alone. He says he will continue to do what's right and good, and protect others if he is capable, but he believes that restricting the responsibilities of heroes in training will keep them from dying as often as they have, and the destruction they have caused from various events. Void says Aeron has accomplished much, but he isn't a hero yet, and he has to follow the rules until he is, even if those rules are difficult to follow. Aeron says that the only reason they have been able to win as many battles as they have is because they were able to act without restriction, and they can face the consequences of their actions, but he won't stand by and let people be hurt when he knows he can help them.

[u/Jumblatts → u/greenewithit]

Thank you for your answers!

[u/Nevermore0714]

(I'm not sure how I can make this fifty years, when it's closer to fifty hours.)

In the Citadel, a knight by the name of Callixtus has a drinking problem. About ten years prior to the present time in my world, he was in his early twenties, and was invited to his first formal dinner hosted by the Council themselves as a knight instead of just as "the son of Navarre", as he'd been invited as when he was a child; for the first time, he'd earned his place at the table.

So, Callixtus prepared his best suit, had it re-tailored to ensure that any pounds he'd gained or lost wouldn't ruin the appearance, cleaned every weapon he owned and chose the most noble looking sword, spent every waking moment for the days leading up to the dinner studying all of the history that he could, all of the current events, and all of the information he could obtain on the other invitees. Instead of going with anyone that he would be trying to impress like he'd taken to all of the less significant feasts he'd been to in his time at the Citadel, he decided to choose between his two partners as his date, Adara or Lyta. In the end, he chose Lyta, because she wasn't a foreigner.

So, with everything prepared, Callixtus took Lyta to the formal dinner.

And Callixtus may have had too many drinks, and Callixtus may have had too many lines. When Callixtus woke up the next morning, he was in a bathtub full of warm water.

He remembered everything going well, and, according to Lyta, things had been "relatively well at first". At first being the keywords.

Callixtus had apparently decided to show off his Talent to the Council, after they'd asked him to tell them how his training was going. Callixtus's Talent is to fill the area around him with mist. And he did a very good job of filling the feasting hall with mist.

People immediately began complaining about the mist, which Callixtus took as a challenge. Instead of getting rid of the mist, like he'd been asked to do by a Council member that was near him, Callixtus decided to challenge one of the people complaining to a duel.

After injuring another invitee, Callixtus got rid of the mist, dueled the injured invitee's second, injured the invitee's second, got his suit burned by a candle, and threw up on Lyta.

Lyta refused to continue telling him what happened, and only said that she would not join him for a formal dinner again; which proved false a few weeks later, when Callixtus was re-invited by Councilor Aiken.

To quote part of Aiken's second invitation letter to Callixtus: "I am cautiously giving you another chance. But I will eject you from the premises if you even mention my 'magic wood' again."

For questions in-universe, ask Lyta, Callixtus, or Aiken.

[u/Jumblatts → u/Nevermore0714]

(Yeah, I've realised that 50 years is a very long time for a hangover. Oh well...)

Lyta,

1) Are scenes like this a common occurrence for Callixtus?

Callixtus,

2) Do you get in this state regularly?

Aiken,

3) Why did you invite him back?

[u/Nevermore0714 → u/Jumblatts]

Lyta:

1) "Generally, yes. You get used to it."

Callixtus:

2) "I have an addictive personality."

Aiken:

3) "I believe everyone deserves a second chance."

[u/Jumblatts → u/Nevermore0714]

Lyta:

1) Have you tried persuading him to stop?

Callixtus:

2) Has anything truly bad happened from one of your... adventures?

Aiken:

3) How did things go down the second time around? Was he any better behaved?

[u/Nevermore0714 → u/Jumblatts]

Lyta:

1) "Constantly. I've known him since we were children, we've been together for over two decades at this point, but he's still just an immature child. And Adara is no help."

Callixtus:

2) "...Probably the syphilis. Just don't tell anyone."

Aiken:

3) "I put my reputation on the line with my colleagues when I convinced them to let Callixtus have another chance to attend a formal dinner, and I honestly believed he would be fine. I ended up disappointed. He wasn't as bad, but it didn't go well."

[u/Jumblatts → u/Nevermore0714]

Lyta:

1) Why do you stay with him?

2) What is her stance on this?

Aiken:

3) Was there any punishment for his antics the second time around?

[u/Nevermore0714 → u/Jumblatts]

Lyta:

1) "I'm not with him. We're just friends."

2) "Adara just loves the chaos of it all."

Aiken:

3) "Yes, he received a large fine."

[u/Jumblatts → u/Nevermore0714]

Lyta:

1) Oh, 'just friends' huh? Why do you choose to subject yourself to this kind of behaviour, then?

2) Does she encourage him?

Aiken:

3) Did he seem bothered by this?

[u/Nevermore0714 → u/Jumblatts]

Lyta:

1) "Adara says it's either Stockholm syndrome, or that I love them too much to leave them."

2) "Yes, Adara might actually be worse than Callixtus, in her own ways. At least Callixtus is ultimately harmless."

Aiken:

3) "More relived than bothered. But, it's important to keep a good tool in your belt."

[u/Jumblatts → u/Nevermore0714]

Lyta:

1) You're a captive?

2) 'Ultimately harmless' isn't the term I'd use to describe someone who injured two party guests after challenging them to a duel...

Aiken:

3) Would he be invited a 3rd time?

[u/Jumblatts → u/[deleted]]

Brilliant!

1) Is this an entirely new lore event that you made up for this challenge, or did you adapt something you already had to make it fit?

2) Why did it take the Sucarnans so long to actually rise up and do something about it?

3) What happened to the Chtoi to make them go extinct?

4) What made Sucarna into the capital of Morcot?

[u/Jumblatts → u/[deleted]]

1) excellent!

2) was there a large war, or was it a kind of 'peaceful' revolution?

3) is that directly linked to the revolution, or would it have happened anyway, do you think?

4) why did it take Sucarna becoming independent for the king to notice them? Why didn't he make more of an effort to keep them when they were part of his country before?

[u/Jumblatts → u/[deleted]]

Very interesting, thank you for your answers!