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Post by The Dreamwalker on May 9, 2012 8:21:02 GMT -6
Open Season has been declared on the Dreamwalker, now calling himself Madness Nightmare. But what brought on his sudden change, and could it spread?
Given Madness Nightmare's new ability to physically manifest things in the Zaratan-Dream, the 'Madness Bug' parasite that drove him nuts may find a way to appear on Silverion. This parasite causes insanity and alters a character's powers - for example, Madness Nightmare has a physical presence on Silverion now and can physically manifest things, but he's lost the ability to hop into others' dreams entirely.
The Madness Bug lays dormant for anywhere from a few days to several months, and strikes quite suddenly. Outward symptoms of an afflicted person don't show up until the day or two before the parasite takes full effect. Such symptoms often include a slight discharge from the mouth, uncontrollable 'tics', such as laughter or constant twitching, and of course, people going a little nuts.
The proposal is that Madness Nightmare has been creating parasites on Silverion, and anyone who feels like adding a touch of crazy is welcome to say they've been infected.
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Post by Radical Ace on May 9, 2012 9:03:45 GMT -6
Oh shoot, and Sakura was all over that.
WILL ANYONE NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE?
(Probably not) (Actually maybe.) (It's a mystery!)
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Post by The Dreamwalker on May 14, 2012 11:30:25 GMT -6
Alright, so since there seems to be some confuzzling about what the Madness Bug actually is:
The Madness Bug is a microscopic protozoan-like parasite, transferred primarily through contact with infected bodily fluids, most typically saliva. Once infected, a host will generally show no outward symptoms for some time (a few days to several months, it varies wildly based on immune system and biochemistry, with humans typically presenting most quickly). Once the parasite completes its dormancy/incubation stage, it targets the portions of the brain responsible for rational thought, interfering with a person's ability to control impulses. It also causes biochemical changes that can (and in the case of people from DW's home realm, nearly always do) screw with powers a person may have. The parasite isn't intelligent by any measure, but it will encourage people to spread it, usually meaning victims will have a tendency to drool and try to contact as many people as possible. Strong anti-parasitics can kill it if it's caught early enough, and there have been documented cases of victims 'curing' themselves with massive doses of alcohol. Unfortunately, 'massive doses' refers to a level where most would experience alcohol poisoning. As the infection progresses, the victim becomes progressively more unstable. There are a few possible outcomes for full-course infection: - The parasite eventually eats/burns out enough brain cells to cause brain death. - The parasite eventually dies off, leaving the victim severely brain-damaged, but alive. - The victim will commit suicide or do something to get themselves killed accidentally. - In very rare cases where extreme regenerative factors were present in a host, the parasites can continue feeding indefinitely, and the victim eventually becomes a gibbering, foaming, animal.
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Post by The Dreamwalker on May 23, 2012 19:26:41 GMT -6
Well, thanks to the efforts of Kaisarios and Bimme, Dreamwalker's physical body has been brought to Silverion Island and treated to kill the Madness Bug parasite. His physical body, a scrawny little otter guy, lies in the hospital in a brain-damage induced coma.
However, it may not be entirely over. The Madness Bug has a long and wildly varied incubation period, engineered specifically so it would be difficult or impossible to tell when an outbreak had been contained.
This one is still open to anyone who wants to claim dormant infection.
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Post by The Dreamwalker on Jul 14, 2012 23:38:40 GMT -6
The Madness has changed, and Dreamwalker, the original source and most knowledgable on the parasite, is dead.
Llewelyn Ethan contracted a mutant version of the Madness Bug, with altered behavioral characteristics. He's been subdued and cured, but how many did he infect with his contaminated arrows?
Koishe, fed up with Dreamwalker's antics, finally grabbed the vegetative physical body of the dream-hopper, and after some cruel toying, killed and ate the otter. Not that DW didn't want to die, as a release from his catatonic waking state, but now any further knowledge of the Madness he had is gone.
The New Madness seems to have developed rudimentary intellect, and a strategy. Hosts will employ more subtle methods for infection, with less obvious outward symptoms. Without proper quarantine, there may be no stopping the spread of this bug, as the mutated form can circumvent immunity granted from prior infection.
Have fun, kiddies.
(OOC NOTE: As Dreamwalker is now dead, I will be lurking only from now on.)
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Post by electronflux on Jul 15, 2012 19:05:21 GMT -6
Well, this just got interesting....
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Post by The Legion on Jul 16, 2012 12:46:04 GMT -6
We're doomed....
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