World building

[changeyourself]

Moon Gaze

The Moon Gaze is the factor that separates the setting from the ordinary world. The Moon's stone shell opens once a month, every month, to reveal a massive blue eye. Wherever it turns its gaze, reality alters. The changes are unpredictable and do not change absolutely everything in the perimeter of the gaze. Instead, some things will change, and some will not. Many have a loose theme, such as changes focused on a particular phenomenon.

When the eye closes, the effects remain, though most changes affect things within an area, not the area itself. This forces the world to deal with the remnants, such as bizarre creatures, transformed humans, or persistent supernatural events.

Humans who are changed but do not lose their minds are called Moonlit. Other lifeforms, be they animated objects, mutated animals or transformed humans, are called Warped.

The nature of the Moon and how and why its gaze causes such chaos are unknown but have persisted throughout history.

The results of Moon Gazes are not necessarily malevolent, and some are even beneficial, but almost all are dangerous.

There are few countries and the world is instead separated into territories with Lawless Lands between then, unclaimed areas without government. Settlements exist in Lawless Lands, as do nomadic societies, but territories are equivalent to city-states. By living this way, humans hope to limit direct hits from Moon Gazes.

Moonlit

Moonlit are humans who have been transformed by a Moon Gaze. Generally, they gain at least some kind of ability, though it more often than not comes with some type of change to their physical form, too. Very few are lucky enough to simply gain a superpower. Moonlit operate under different rules from the rest of the universe, allowing them to do things that should be impossible.

Human minds are not well suited to comprehend being Moonlit. People often apply subconscious limitations to their abilities, trying to make sense of them. Moonlit powers do not change, but a greater understanding can allow users to improve their use and come closer to comprehending their true potential.

Moonlit cannot be further affected by a Moon Gaze, making them the best option to send into active Moon Gaze incidents.

Moonlit who use their powers for crime are known as Lunatics.

Some examples of Moonlit characters are below:

• Mimi Tanaka - Mimi transformed into a sentient mass of blood. She uses her fine control to puppet her old body, which is effectively alive but brain-dead. Mimi's ability to control her blood's shape, hardness, and speed makes her a dangerous opponent, and by using her puppet body, she can pretend to be a human with blood-control powers instead.


• Hanz - Hanz's legs and head were replaced by arms, making him a starfish-shaped man of hands. Hanz has incredible strength and can use his unique arrangement of limbs to move in strange manners. Each finger per hand has a single human sense, but he can only communicate through gestures.


• Kira - Kira can generate and control bubbles. These bubbles can vary in size and density, and she can manipulate them to carry objects, form barriers, or even explode with varying intensity. She secretes the fluid as well, then needs to inflate them somehow.


• Lara - Lara is a technopath who can interface with and control technology. To do this, wires sprout from her palms.


• Dante - Dante can store phenomena, such as heat, impact or light, that come into contact with him. They transform into tattoos on his skin that he can release or transfer to other surfaces, to be released.


• All Wight - Real name unknown, All Wight's flesh melted and he became an undead skeleton. He can reanimate the dead, and by adding the bones of other Moonlit to his body, he can use their powers, too.


• Hana - Hana can multiply the qualities or energy of whatever she wishes up to 1000 times in total. So she can double 500 things, or multiply 10 things by 100 times, etc. She favours multiplying her bio-electricity or body heat or the kinetic energy of her blows.


As mentioned, many Moonlit place subconscious limits on their powers because human minds are not well equipped to deal with the deeply illogical nature of being Moonlit. Occasionally, triggered by different things to each person, they can enter a state called Limitless, where they temporarily lift this self-imposed restriction. Complex powers, like Yamada's, may have more than one Limitless. Using Limitless comes with immense emotions to the point of delirium, and usually, a crash where the user is drained when it ends. It also comes with the benefit of altering the user's subconscious so that the limit can be more easily overcome, on a smaller scale, without entering Limitless again.

The Defence Force

The Defence Force is the world's most significant fighting force dedicated to protecting the world from Moon Gazes and their aftereffects. Approximately 10,000 strong, with roughly 1/10 of those Moonlit, they have the most extensive collection of Moonlit fighters in the world.

They are beholden to no territory but respond to requests for aid from anyone. They charge for their services, and more prosperous territories/individuals are given special treatment to garner their favour. This is seen as a necessary evil to subsidize the protection of those who cannot pay.

The Defence Force has both Moonlit and ordinary human fighters, who are referred to as combatants and soldiers, respectively. Soldiers only deal with the aftermaths of Moon Gazes, as they cannot enter an active event without risking transforming themselves. Defence Force soldiers are usually equipped with advanced technology, up to and including mechanical suits. The Defence Force's technology is generally more advanced than that of other fighting forces.

Combatants are given both a rank and a combat score (1-50), with the two having nothing to do with one another. It's not uncommon for a captain to have a squad of individuals that can defeat them. The combat scores are used to determine who should be sent on a particular mission- a mission will have a danger rating (1-100), and Combatants with a score equal to or exceeding the danger rating will be allowed. e.g. a danger rating of 5 could be dealt with by 5 combat-rated 1 Combatants or a single combat-rated 5 Combatant.

Outside of responding to active Moon Gazes, the Defence Force also deals with both Warped and Lunatics, escorts nomads through dangerous areas, undertakes rescue missions, and otherwise makes themselves useful. They also undertake extensive research projects, employ detectives and work to uncover the mysteries of the Moon.

Aliens

Aliens have been visiting the planet for untold aeons in small numbers. They were generally short stop-offs, not full settlements, and aliens were not known to the public at large. Their influence on humanity was minimal, and aliens rarely stayed longer than it took to witness a Moon Gaze.

They became public knowledge about 80 years ago when an enormous armada of spaceships approached Earth. This war party had every intention of invading the planet, but in one of the most shocking events in history, the moon turned around for the first time and unleashed an off-schedule Moon Gaze. The majority of the armada was destroyed in the unleashed chaos, with a handful of refugees surviving to crash on Earth. Most of these extraterrestrials have long since left the planet, and throughout the galactic community Earth is forbidden to visit, a cosmic haunted house that defies all logic. The Moon Gazes are unique, in all the known universe.

Aliens are usually themed on 1950s-60s sci-fi, with incredible and odd technology, with some possessing powers that rival the strongest of Earthlings, but none are a match for the moon.