Era: Winter of Discontent
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pre Pre-History
pre Pre-Changes
1 EraDragonInTheStreets (12/96)
2 EraTheShockSettlesIn (12/96)
3 EraNationOnTheBrink (1/97)
4 EraSchismAndStalemate (1/97)
5 EraFromCausesToCrusades (2-8/97)
6 Winter Of Discontent (8-12/97)
7 EraANewWorldOrder (1998+)
8 EraOverTheHorizon (2007+)
pre Pre-Changes
1 EraDragonInTheStreets (12/96)
2 EraTheShockSettlesIn (12/96)
3 EraNationOnTheBrink (1/97)
4 EraSchismAndStalemate (1/97)
5 EraFromCausesToCrusades (2-8/97)
6 Winter Of Discontent (8-12/97)
7 EraANewWorldOrder (1998+)
8 EraOverTheHorizon (2007+)
Starts with: EventGoldMurders
Ends with: First anniversary of EventTheFirstSighting
Era Summary
As seasons turn and days grow shorter, the shadows cast upon TTU lengthen. This is a time of dissolution and a time of division; a time of plots set in motion, and others unraveled.
... Not that most of the world cares, or even notices.
In this era, TheChanges' instant heroes are starting to fade from memory. Day-to-day life has become more predictable, and the world is more fully adjusting to magic. The conflicts (ideological and otherwise) that boiled through half a year of history are cooling to a lengthy simmer.
Those conflicts, of course, are far from over. The EventGoldMurders are proof enough of that: One of the country's most strident anti-theri voices assassinated, along with his whole family and several others who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Yet the public reaction was muted. Despite the outrage, the event taking over the news, and the national obsession, there were no mass protests or political backlashes. Nothing on the scale of EventTheExecutiveOrder emerged to galvanize anyone. As fundamentalists shouted about theris, theris shouted about fundamentalists, and pundits shouted about everybody, people contented themselves with watching the fighting on TV.
The fallout of the Gold Murders would ultimately break apart the fragile coalitions on both sides. Redwing, in particular, suffered a significant loss of prestige among theris; he was attacked for being so conciliatory after a bitter opponent's death, and even more so for getting swept up in the Gold murders and ignoring what many saw as the more important EventValdineVerdict. But his approach resonated with many humans; as such, fundamentalists' outcry and the renewed calls for war from the most radical preachers failed to find a wider foothold. The result was that both theris and right-wingers acrimoniously split into extremist and moderate wings, almost as bitter at their former allies as at their enemies.
Is it any wonder that the prevailing mood of this era is a sort of casual cynicism? Allies are becoming disillusioned with each other, and the public is becoming weary of each new development turning into a crisis. If the apocalypse was going to start over seven deaths, it would have come after EventTheFlyby; if hot rhetoric could lead to war, EventTheMeeting's aftermath was the place to start it.
Major Events
The following 16 page(s) belong to EraWinterOfDiscontent| CategoryEras [Eras of TTU] |
| CharacterDennisRedwing [Characters: Dennis Redwing] |
| CulturaliaOverTheHorizon [Culturalia: Over The Horizon] |
| CulturaliaTheDeathOfTeleportation [Culturalia: The Death Of Teleportation] |
| EraANewWorldOrder [Era: A New World Order] |
| EraDragonInTheStreets [Era: Dragon In The Streets] |
| EraFromCausesToCrusades [Era: From Causes To Crusades] |
| EraNationOnTheBrink [Era: Nation On The Brink] |
| EraOverTheHorizon [Era: Over The Horizon] |
| EraPreChanges [Era: Pre-Changes] |
| EraPreHistory [Era: Pre-History] |
| EraSchismAndStalemate [Era: Schism And Stalemate] |
| EraTheShockSettlesIn [Era: The Shock Settles In] |
| StoryHauntedHouse [Stories: Haunted House] |
| StoryTracks [Stories: Tracks] |
| TemplateEraBox [Eras of TTU] |
Writing Tips
This is an era of outrage fatigue. While the media still obsessively covers therianthropes, magic, and theri/mage issues good and bad, the public is increasingly refusing to accept as a given that theris are noteworthy just for existing or that any given provocation could lead to the war Redwing once threatened. (Redwing's moderation certainly didn't hurt that opinion shift.)
In this era, at last, the news story du jour isn't the first thing on everyone's mind. Your characters should be starting to find their own interests, explore their own destinies, rather than struggling against the tide of events. They should also be finding that people who they have considered allies for months may not be chasing those same goals. The urgency of maintaining a solid front with others of "your kind" is fading; last era's causes and crusades are starting to build individual prominence, and even close-knit groups may find themselves fragmenting as their members pull in those different directions.
Notes
The Winter of Discontent era is also one where forces are beginning to move behind the scenes -- subtle forces that patiently rode out the chaos of TheChanges. With alliances realigning and leaders struggling to control infighting, history finds itself painted in the small prods of invisible hands rather than the great sweeps of big names.
"Now is the winter of our discontent" is the first line of Shakespeare's "Richard III." The play opens with that winter "made glorious summer by this sun of York"; but in TTU, that thawing doesn't happen until much later.
Stories Set In This Era
The following 16 page(s) belong to EraWinterOfDiscontent| CategoryEras [Eras of TTU] | CharacterDennisRedwing [Characters: Dennis Redwing] | CulturaliaOverTheHorizon [Culturalia: Over The Horizon] | CulturaliaTheDeathOfTeleportation [Culturalia: The Death Of Teleportation] |
| EraANewWorldOrder [Era: A New World Order] | EraDragonInTheStreets [Era: Dragon In The Streets] | EraFromCausesToCrusades [Era: From Causes To Crusades] | EraNationOnTheBrink [Era: Nation On The Brink] |
| EraOverTheHorizon [Era: Over The Horizon] | EraPreChanges [Era: Pre-Changes] | EraPreHistory [Era: Pre-History] | EraSchismAndStalemate [Era: Schism And Stalemate] |
| EraTheShockSettlesIn [Era: The Shock Settles In] | StoryHauntedHouse [Stories: Haunted House] | StoryTracks [Stories: Tracks] | TemplateEraBox [Eras of TTU] |
Other Associated Pages
The following 16 page(s) belong to EraWinterOfDiscontent| CategoryEras [Eras of TTU] |
| CharacterDennisRedwing [Characters: Dennis Redwing] |
| CulturaliaOverTheHorizon [Culturalia: Over The Horizon] |
| CulturaliaTheDeathOfTeleportation [Culturalia: The Death Of Teleportation] |
| EraANewWorldOrder [Era: A New World Order] |
| EraDragonInTheStreets [Era: Dragon In The Streets] |
| EraFromCausesToCrusades [Era: From Causes To Crusades] |
| EraNationOnTheBrink [Era: Nation On The Brink] |
| EraOverTheHorizon [Era: Over The Horizon] |
| EraPreChanges [Era: Pre-Changes] |
| EraPreHistory [Era: Pre-History] |
| EraSchismAndStalemate [Era: Schism And Stalemate] |
| EraTheShockSettlesIn [Era: The Shock Settles In] |
| StoryHauntedHouse [Stories: Haunted House] |
| StoryTracks [Stories: Tracks] |
| TemplateEraBox [Eras of TTU] |
CategoryEras
