Gifted Downsides

The downside to having a Gifted power

There is no way to avoid it. It varies from Gifted to Gifted, but it always causes mental destabilization and extreme damage. Only this is known: it is far more dangerous than any disease, for it is not even a disease.

— exerpt from A History of All Gifteds

Downsides are the major side effects that come with having a Gifted power.

Transmission & Vectors

Gifted downsides are transmitted genetically through bloodlines. A child is likely to inherit their parent's downside if they have the same power. If the child does not have their parent's power, they will have the downside of their own power, but strengthened or weakened according to their parent's abilities.

Causes

The downside illnesses are caused by the power level of the Gifted's ability and are believed to be a way to counter the strength of the Gifted's power, effectively giving them a deadly weakness.

Symptoms

There are many ways that Downsides manifest. The most common mental or emotional symptoms are multiple personality disorder, extreme mood swings, emotion detachment, hallucinations, depression, eating disorders, and amnesia. Physical symptoms are headaches, stomachaches, diarrhea, retching, uncontrollable coughing, nose or ear bleeding, and other physical illnesses.
Mood swings are the most common Downside symptom, manifesting in all Gifteds but Animers, Frosters, Icers, Illusionists, Lie Detectors, Morphers, and Supers. It is followed by headaches, nausea, and hallucinations, then uncontrollable bleeding, multiple personality disorder, and hacking coughs. Less common Downside symptoms manifest in fewer Gifted types. Emotional detachment in Animers, Empaths, Frosters, Imaginers, Necromancers, Stormers, Telekinetics, and Torturors is one such Downside, while stomachaches with Agilitors, Aqualings, Lie Detectors, Morphers, Shieldlings, and Supers experiencing them is another.

Treatment

While no complete cure exists for the Downsides, numerous attempts have been made to conceal or move past them. Rich nobles are known to pay for ways to restrain, imprison, and drug their powerful children, while others bribe victims of their Downside to hide how out of control they or their children can be. Imprisonment or drugging is nowhere close to a good way to treat Downsides and it usually backfires. Shutting out emotionally fragile people whose power is affected by their emotions, as several families have discovered.

Father hired a "teacher" for Marcella last week. I hate him. He gave me a creepy look when he arrived. I know that he's just to keep Mella in check so that she doesn't lose her temper again, but I have a bad feeling about him.

— An excerpt from the early journals of Lady Constantia Jefrenchi

Others believe that training with one's power allows one to be less affected by their Downside since they are less likely to accidentally release their power if they know how to control it. This is one of the most common treatments among the working class and common people. Gifteds with useful powers are also trained in different professions. So far, this seems to prevent Downsides from disrupting daily work, but Downside attacks still occur regularly during free hours.

Prognosis

Although the Downside itself does not cause death, suicide is common among heavily affected Gifteds who are either attempting to escape the effects of their Downside or trying to keep themselves from killing or injuring loved ones.

Hosts & Carriers

Gifteds are the only people who are susceptible to downsides. They carry it from birth to death.

It's only us. It's only us. We are the only ones affected. It's not fair.

— An unknown Gifted

Prevention

Earthlings, Healers, Memoriers, Plantlings, and Sensors are not affected by Downsides, along with Non-Gifteds. If a person is a Gifted but not one of those five, there is no way to prevent themselves from being affected by a Downside.
Although it has not been proven true or false, it is believed that certain Uniques are also immune. However, there is no evidence to support this belief aside from the possibility of Lord Joachim Parthises's absent Downside.

History

Downsides have been around since the emergence of the Gifted powers. They were recognized and named circa 102 BEA during the reign of Empress Aurelia Roscio. Ever since then, Gifteds have studied and experimented to try and find out what they are exactly, and how they can be avoided and overcome. At this point, all attempts have failed.

Notes

For more information on which Downsides affect which Gifteds, see each power's individual description. Extinct and Unique Gifteds are not listed here, although they too were affected by Downsides. Information on what Downsides affected which extinct Gifteds can be found under the power's description.

by Lilliana Casper

Type

Supernatural

Origin

Magical

Rarity

Common

Coincidence, or Downside?

A well-known fact about Imaginers is that they are severely affected by Downsides. Imaginers can be horrifyingly powerful and can quickly turn psychotic and tyrannical. Although the most recent and common Imaginers are either killed young or weak enough to do only simple things, examples of crazy powerful Imaginers are found all over history. These Imaginers, although affected by Downsides, often became vicious and cunning, enslaving entire cultures and ruling as absolute dictators.
However, history also notes that these empires collapsed before the world could suffer any more. The first recorded Imaginer never left her empire and rarely came in contact with other countries, leaving little knowledge behind. The terrible empire of Emperor Lito Vanellius got far, but the Imaginer at its head became obsessed with immortality and ignored his people after conquering a powerful city, allowing the empire to fall into ruin at his death. Imaginer Viramia Hervat made a significant impact on the people of Jerde, but her cruelty eventually got the best of her when she sought to control another Imaginer, Liahara, and was destroyed by her.
This has led to a rather bemusing question: does this occurrence qualify as a Downside to counter powerful Imaginers, or is it just a coincidence that somehow happens to every tyrannical Imaginer? Indeed, every Imaginer that begins to cause irreparable damage always falls before that damage becomes irreparable. A widely accepted theory is that the world has ways of countering tyrannical Imaginers, but not other Gifteds or Imaginers that are causing no widespread harm. Some label this karma, others label it a natural restriction.
Debate on the status of this phenomenon continues to this day and is discussed in both formal and informal settings as a popular topic of interest.

The visions are getting worse. I'll die before I hurt them, though.

— The diary of a Torturor