Editing Questions/Question 461

{{Question
	|QuestionFaqPage=FAQ/Main FAQ
    |Link=https://alogos.dreamwidth.org/1341.html?thread=819261#cmt819261
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    |AskedBy=wondrously
	|DateAsked=2025-10-31
	|QuestionText=I roll back in with a follow-up question related to <a href="https://kelesis.dreamwidth.org/6083.html?thread=8944067#cmt8944067">Brickston's particular brand of losing his mind via Katalyth</a> .... specifically his delusion that he's Imprinted with the rock...<br><br>1) If the boys hooked up Bricks to the energy reading device, would it give similar results to someone giving off energy from imprint? Would it be a big fat ZERO? Could results be inconclusive? Kat is fine with any outcome, we just wanted to check with you guys if these options are okay!<br><br>2) oh no science again (I'm so sorry).... as far as the specific (sub)type of energy coming off of imprints, is there any descriptors you prefer? Is it simply MAGIC energy, or is there a chemical element (this is where Jayce would start because he assumes PHEROMONES). This is all for flavor because I'd like to give him something to noodle over while working on this, I am always happy to make some nonsense stuff up I just don't want to overstep. Thank you!
    |DateAnswered=2025-11-03
    |AnswerText=1. Some good sciencing happening here, making the most of Brickston's good decisions. When hooking him up to the device... Brickston's connection to this piece of Katalyth does, in fact give off a similar register to the energy between people. There <i>is</i> a connection between him and this concentrated magic. It wouldn't be wrong to describe it as an imprint.<br><br>It's not an <i>identical</i> reaction to a normal imprint, however, as it is additionally far more volatile. Depending on Brickston's own emotional state (and to a lesser extent, that of everyone in the vicinity), it would fluctuate in response. Sometimes, it could register as a fresh imprint might, a delicate tether- and at other points, carry all the intensity of a pair bond. <br><br>The connection between two people is comparatively stable, with increases in imprint depth taking time to develop. Even if the characters' emotional state is in turmoil during the test, their <i>connection</i> is unlikely to fluctuate (unless something is happening that would threaten the survival of their imprint). The Brickston/Katalyth imprint is wildly in flux, as though incapable of settling on how it 'feels' about this. Considering that one half of the pairing could be described as emotion itself, knitted so closely into being that it becomes something tangible... that may not be all that surprising. <br><br>But Brickston is definitely connected to it, with all the problems that come with that. Hopefully he's keeping that shard safe; the loss of an imprint is a painful thing.<br><br>(Bonus: while Brickston is the only one of science cabin absolutely tied to this thing, were the other members of the team who have been working closely with this specific piece of Katalyth to test themselves, there would also be a response. It's a wisp of connection by comparison, and similarly unstable, but it's there. Were a completely unrelated person to be tested with this shard, there would be no connection.<br><br>Katalyth <i>itself</i> is always sort of... giving off bursts of this energy. Without an answer to it (such as what Brickston has done), it dissolves around itself as arcane radiation, inflicting misery, hallucinations, or death, depending on one's susceptibility. Imprinting as a mechanic is more complicated than what Katalyth is doing, <i>but</i> what it is doing is potent and wild enough to make up for what it's lacking, and can create a connection through brute emotional impact, when it's left with someone for a long enough amount of time.)<br><br>2. Oh, it can be described however you prefer, it's energy at the end of it. For more description though, it's a sort of... natural energy. A chemical element is be involved, but it's more of a side-effect, or symptom. It's not a requirement to imprint (so characters who come in as machines, or just <i>don't</i> give off anything pheromone-esque can imprint from the start just as fully as anyone else), but more of a <i>facet</i>.<br><br>When testing an imprinted pair, a part of that connection could be measured as chemical. There would be something like pheromones produced in reaction to one another, that they would each be susceptible to. But what causes the imprint to form in the first place is emotion, and what causes it to deepen is also emotion. But if no sort of attraction/attachment/comfort existed beforehand, both parties are likely to produce chemicals to foster those sorts of feelings, and encourage the bond to deepen. If the character shouldn't be capable of producing something like that, it still happens, as a sort of soul-residue. (It's the same thing as what organic pairs produce, but the latter also comes with a material component.)<br><br>The energy produced is primarily magical in nature, colored by the souls that touch it. It's very close to the emotional energy of Katalyth- and given that emotions are a core part of how an imprint forms, that's probably to be expected. But it's inherently far more stable. A Katalyth-imprint is senseless and purely emotional, and lacks this soul-imprinting, or chemical residue, even if the other party is organic. It is inherently unstable, because Katalyth itself is unstable, the concept of emotion itself. It's... genuine in its way, but it's not alive in any traditional sense, yet it's entirely possible to bond with it through excessive contact, as Bricks has done. <br><br>Bonus: Can an imprint be suppressed through chemical means: yes and no. Ultimately no, but the symptoms (those feelings of closeness and comfort) can be muffled, covered up by developing drugs/magic that inhibits the production of these 'pheromones', or deadens a person's ability to receive them.
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