Phantom Pastorale Diona Mindtype

[Colfer]

From the person who made the "Observant Orchestra" mindtype on the discord, I bring you my next newest idea for a diona mindtype

Lore Impact (Small/Medium/Large): Medium

Species: Diona

Short Description: Phantom Pastorale are diona nymphs that are mutated/malformed/afflicted when born incorrectly, but through careful medical attention, are nursed back to health until they can survive, their body may reform, but their mind remains altered and deformed, leading to peculiar behavior

How will this be reflected on-station?: Phantom Pastorale is a Mindtype for nymphs, a full Pastorale diona will not be on station due to being unstable. But more stable mindcasts can take Pastorale nymphs to broaden their experiences, leading to more diverse diona behaviors

Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?: Yes, it adds a new diona mindtype that is unique to the other ones.

Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team?: Yep

Long Description:

The Phantom Pastorale is a very rare abnormality in malformed nymphs grown in incorrect conditions that manage to survive where they otherwise would not. "Pastorale nymphs" as they are called will reform physically, but will remain emotionally, psychologically, or mentally altered. Pastorale Nymphs do not behave like regular nymphs and are afflicted with different kinds of abnormalities, but commonly these abnormalities are in the forms of hallucinatory stimulus, not all of them share this though, with some having similar mental ailments as humans may.

- A diona gestalt utilizing a Pastorale nymph may occasionally see figments of their imagination, remember things that they cant recall seeing before, or hearing things such as their name when it was never said as the Pastorale nymph recieves and adds memories of things that it could not have seen, they may be afflicted with other mental disorders up to the players choice, or randomly lurch from uncontrolled electrical activity in the Pastorale. Pastorale nymphs are often uncoordinated in their speech and speak gibberish intermixed with coherent sentences and words, and make terrible social nymphs

- A diona gestalt entirely made of Pastorale nymphs is a schitzophrenic and may often blabber about things that do not make sense, if it can even be understood at all, a formation of multiple pastorale nymphs is an extremely rare event if it lasts for more than a minute or more, as Pastorale nymphs are not great at communicating with eachother, but can communicate with more stable mindtypes better, effectively stabilizing them, while multiple pastorale nymphs will destabilize eachother, worsening their symptoms and afflictions.

- Diona gestalts are not permitted to carry more than 2 Pastorale nymphs as part of their gestalt, and must pass a mental health checkup before being admitted to work if they absorb a pastorale nymph into their collective due to the sometimes broad nature of Pastorale mental alterations.

- Pastorale nymphs do not connect well with other diona, diona sometimes describe the feeling like connecting with a hidden, or "Phantom nymph" within their collective, that they can send information to, and receive it from. This isn't to say that its hard to connect to them, its just a far different experience than is comfortable for some gestalts, akin to one of your legs becoming invisible, but still being able to feel it and touch it.

+ Some diona gestalts voluntarily allow Pastorale nymphs into their collective, either out of pity, for religious purposes, or simply for the experience of what it is like to have one due to their strange properties. Pastorale nymphs are usually triggered by blood or stimulus running through their nervous system, and can induce vivid, short hallucinatory feedback as the memories gained by the blood are distorted and altered by the Pastorale nymph.

+ Diona gestalts that take single pastorale nymphs are generally fine, with hallucinations being equivilent, to slightly above what humans would consider a "Trick of the mind" such as hearing someone say your name, seeing something briefly that isnt there or remembering something incorrectly. 

Pastorale nymphs can often times randomly involk feelings within their gestalt that don't make sense based on the stimulus they are receiving, often times however, these feelings are that of "Dejavu" leading to speculations that these nymphs can see the future, when in actuality they are incorrectly communicating to the gestalt they are within. Diona with Pastorale nymphs may randomly feel happy or laugh at things that arent funny, or sad randomly, depending on how the Pastorale feels in the moment

Rumors and Speculation:
"Pastorale Diona can catch glimpses of the future"
"Full pastorale diona gestalts are real and commune with forces outside of this realm."

Antagonists:
Phantom Pastorale diona could be a good mindtype for "Unstable Psychic" "Technomancer"  "Cult" diona antagonists, Phantom Pastorale could randomly laugh and cry in dismay at the smallest changes of emotion, with some nymphs independantly lashing out and trying to attack something that frustrates them, or even attacking other members of the collective for invading their mind space, as each member will only "See" itself within the collective due to their unique presence when gestalted
Phantom Pastorale is an antagonist only mindtype, as they are so rarely able to communicate together in a coherent manner to stay in one cohesive gestalt for longer than a few seconds. its important to distinguish, that one or two nymphs does not have these aggressive, discombobulated characteristics. Pastorale diona become worse the more Pastorale nymphs are within them. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Colfer

[whitewolftamer]

An Idea I had for how different mindtypes may respond to Pastorale Nymphs. Feel free to disregard or assimilate this

Singular Sound

Most similar to human mental disorder, one could interpret it as having a single part of their "brain" malfunctional but still technically working. For example, a Singular Sound who's Pastorale Nymph is "Depressive" (Ie; leeches emotion, leading to a state of apathy, or abulia) would likely express this as a mild depressive disorder, with symptoms getting worse the more "Depressive" Pastorale Nymphs there are.

Competence Choir

A Pastorale nymph in this mindtype would likely happen due to growing alongside the nymph, rather than acquiring it later in life.

In the case of acquiring a Pastorale nymph later in life, it would likely be similar to gaining a new skill, or ability, with the trade-off of whatever issues the Pastorale nymph has. In some cases, there may be no benefit to the acquisition of a Pastorale Nymph, with the acquiring gestalt only recieving the negative attributes of the nymph

In the case of growing with a Pastorale nymph, it would likely be similar to simply having a congenital deformation. The gestalt would likely be more than content with having the nymph be a part of their collective, and view it as little more than an inconvenience if anything else. Of course, views may vary, depending on the gestalt themself.

Tyrannical Tune

There would likely be extremely few Tyrannical Tunes with Pastorale nymphs, with the few exceptions being 

A. Tyrannical Tunes where-in the Pastorale Nymph is in charge
In this case the malfeasant traits of the Pastorale Nymph would be front and center, as they run the show. In this case the Pastorale nymph likely operates as the primary sensory input for the gestalt, and by contorting the gestalts view of reality into the distorted realm of the Pastorale nymph, it can convince the others to obey its commands to navigate what is to the other nymphs an incomprehensible jumble of sensory inputs

B. Tyrant Nymphs who personally want the experience of a Pastorale Nymph
In this case the Tyrant of the Gestalt wants to experience a Pastorale nymph, and simply decides to accrue one, whether the rest of the gestalt wants to or not. In this case I can see the Tyrant quickly growing tired of and disposing the pastorale. The Tyrant may view the Pastorale as a hallucinogen, or a tool to enjoy psychedelic experiences

C. The rare case of a Tyrannical Tune growing with a Pastorale Nymph instead of simply discarding it
In this case the Gestalt likely has become used to the jumbled output of the Pastorale, and depending on the beliefs of the Tyrant, may view it as divine messages, or foresight, and act accordingly, with this mix being attributed to religious zealots

Chaotic Cacophony

They're already arguing, now with the added bonus of mental illness. This mindtype retains the individuality of each nymph, and as such having a Pastorale nymph would likely have little effect on the internal and external machinations of the gestalt, with only the occasional twitch or outburst from the Pastorale

Tumultuous Tacet 

Entirely dependent on original mindtype

Seasoned Song

In Seasoned Songs that acquire a Pastorale nymph later in life, symptoms are likely similar to a second-hand experience, likely acquiring the Pastorale nymph for personal, or belief-based purposes, the Elder nymph would likely act as a mentor, or guide to the Pastorale nymph, attempting to help it grow and learn to live with its condition.

In Seasoned Songs where-in the Elder nymph is the Pastorale nymph, it's likely similar to example A. for tyrannical tune. Where-in the Elder nymph acts as the primary sensory nymph, and disorients the rest of the gestalt with the strange sensory information, and, due to their seniority, are trusted to be giving an accurate representation of the outside world, thus unintentionally trapping the other nymphs in the gestalt to the Elder, as they do not trust themself to navigate the disorienting and confusing world that the Elder/Pastorale shows them.

(eg; a Depressive Elder/Pastorale would lead the rest of the gestalt to believe that a depressive train of thinking is normal/optimal, potentially leading to other nymphs in the gestalt acquiring depressive viewpoints)

Learning Lyrics

A Learning Lyric with a Pastorale Nymph likely acts similarly to a family or friend group attempting to help someone learn to live with a mental condition. For example, a Pastorale nymph that is "Schizotypal" will suffer from delusions or hallucinations, and the greater gestalt would act to help the Pastorale establish reality checks to help differentiate reality from delusion. Another example would be a Pastorale nymph that is "Paranoid" would be comforted by the greater gestalt, and would likely be shown the world through the lens of a gestalt that is comfortable with the world and trusting of those around them, so as to establish a comfortable environment with which to help the "Paranoid" Nymph adapt to everyday life

Emphatic Echo

An Emphatic Echo would likely not grow alongside a Pastorale nymph, and more likely acquire one later in life. In these instances the gestalt may acquire "tics" where-in the gestalt as a whole remains mostly unchanged, outside of twitches, phrases, words, or other tics caused either by specific stimuli, or simply misfires from the Pastorale nymph, further symptoms would be dependent on the disorder of the Pastorale nymph itself

Scholarly Song

In regards to Scholarly Songs who have grown alongside a Pastorale nymph, symptoms and how the symptoms are expressed would likely be dependent on the original mindtype of the Gestalt
(ie; the original mindtype determines symptom expression, not being a Scholarly Song [eg; Tyrannical Tune -> Scholarly Song expresses symptoms like a Tyrannical Tune])

In regards to accruing a Pastorale nymph later in life, many Scholarly Songs may do so simply to acquire the knowledge and experience that comes with it.

 

[Caelphon]

This is being brought before the Dionae Lore Team now for discussion. 

[Caelphon]

Sorry for taking so long. We've decided to deny this. Regardless, thank you for your contribution.