KEY CONCEPTS: The Second Wish and Recognition Inhibition
"Never again shall wonders mar the innocent."
The second of the Silver Queen's three great wishes, which hardened the hearts of the people and of the world alike. It is by this wish that Serenity blinded humanity to its own potential, and to the sights of wonder. In short, this wish clouded the eyes of the uninitiated, and prevented them from seeing the truth: That magic was all around them, and that miracles are real. In the ages hence, this phenomenon has come to be known as Recognition Inhibition.
Recognition Inhibition, at its broadest definition, is basically self-explanatory: It inhibits the recognition of wonder. Recognition inhibition is, therefore, a subtle nudge by the universe itself to forget, ignore and avoid the fantastic. The mundane traffic of an area about to see battle trickles to nothing, as people subconsciously find reasons not to be in the area. By the same token, people who get attacked by monsters pass it off as a dream, and when they do not or /can/ not, they never take it quite as seriously as you'd think 'aliens are turning people into monsters' would merit. The story just never seems to make the news; often simply not reported, and when it is, quickly dismissed by editors. Amateur photographers take a picture of a magical girl battle and take it not to the Asahi Shimbun or New York Times but to their school paper, where students gossip about if the pictures are real - or just don't even think about it, marveling at the photo quality without anyone saying word one about MONSTERS ARE REAL, ISN'T THAT WEIRD??
Recognition Inhibition is a powerful force, but not an omnipotent one. It can be pierced, by those dogged enough to hunt down every lead; there certainly are normals who see magic and recognize it as a strange, fantastical thing. And massive, repeated exposure can penetrate the fog of inhibition, as well - a full-scale magical war held in broad daylight would quickly make even the most helplessly blinded person begin to wonder just what it is they are seeing, even where regular battles with singular monsters never quite moves the bar far enough.
Recognition Inhibition is also responsible for the ability of magical warriors to mask their identities. People see Sailor Moon, and even Usagi Tsukino's best friends might not even notice that they even look similar, let alone that they are the same person. This effect is actually a spell, wound up in the transformation process; and like many spells, the strength can vary from user to user. Nagisa Misumi can't be recognized as Cure Black even by people who see them both every day, but Asuna Kagurazaka in her pactio outfit might well be identified by her friends as soon as they spot her the first time. In the end, this one is down to OOC preference; Your identity is only as obvious as you wish it to be. As a matter of courtesy, therefore, unless you are given express OOC permission, you should not recognize someone who has transformed.
As noted above, it is possible to dull someone's recognition with a spell. Powerful wizards can make this far more powerful than simply dulling someone's ability to recognize your face. Some are so adept at it that it might be months of being their best friend before you ever notice you don't remember when you first met, and without prompting, you might never notice you don't know anything about them...or their name. That's a rather extreme example, but the generals of darkness often use such powers as part of a disguise to slip in among humanity and carry out some scheme to steal energy or hearts - he may change his clothes and put on sunglasses, but it's his Recognition Inhibition spell that truly prevents you from noticing that your personal trainer is Jadeite.
At the most extreme ends, this can obscure entire phenomena from view. Some supernatural creatures, such as Guardian Characters or Beast Knights, are quite physical, but imperceptible to those who do not pass certain restrictions. Despite many attempts to suss out the mysterious fate of certain arctic explorers, satellites and search teams just can't find the Dark Kingdom's sanctuary at D Point. The planet-smashing Biscuit Hammer looms overhead both day and night, and the HiME Star glimmers balefully in the sky next to the moon, and yet only those who fit the criteria can see them at all. All of these are Recognition Inhibition - the results of Serenity's wish for humanity to live in peace.
The second of the Silver Queen's three great wishes, which hardened the hearts of the people and of the world alike. It is by this wish that Serenity blinded humanity to its own potential, and to the sights of wonder. In short, this wish clouded the eyes of the uninitiated, and prevented them from seeing the truth: That magic was all around them, and that miracles are real. In the ages hence, this phenomenon has come to be known as Recognition Inhibition.
Recognition Inhibition, at its broadest definition, is basically self-explanatory: It inhibits the recognition of wonder. Recognition inhibition is, therefore, a subtle nudge by the universe itself to forget, ignore and avoid the fantastic. The mundane traffic of an area about to see battle trickles to nothing, as people subconsciously find reasons not to be in the area. By the same token, people who get attacked by monsters pass it off as a dream, and when they do not or /can/ not, they never take it quite as seriously as you'd think 'aliens are turning people into monsters' would merit. The story just never seems to make the news; often simply not reported, and when it is, quickly dismissed by editors. Amateur photographers take a picture of a magical girl battle and take it not to the Asahi Shimbun or New York Times but to their school paper, where students gossip about if the pictures are real - or just don't even think about it, marveling at the photo quality without anyone saying word one about MONSTERS ARE REAL, ISN'T THAT WEIRD??
Recognition Inhibition is a powerful force, but not an omnipotent one. It can be pierced, by those dogged enough to hunt down every lead; there certainly are normals who see magic and recognize it as a strange, fantastical thing. And massive, repeated exposure can penetrate the fog of inhibition, as well - a full-scale magical war held in broad daylight would quickly make even the most helplessly blinded person begin to wonder just what it is they are seeing, even where regular battles with singular monsters never quite moves the bar far enough.
Recognition Inhibition is also responsible for the ability of magical warriors to mask their identities. People see Sailor Moon, and even Usagi Tsukino's best friends might not even notice that they even look similar, let alone that they are the same person. This effect is actually a spell, wound up in the transformation process; and like many spells, the strength can vary from user to user. Nagisa Misumi can't be recognized as Cure Black even by people who see them both every day, but Asuna Kagurazaka in her pactio outfit might well be identified by her friends as soon as they spot her the first time. In the end, this one is down to OOC preference; Your identity is only as obvious as you wish it to be. As a matter of courtesy, therefore, unless you are given express OOC permission, you should not recognize someone who has transformed.
As noted above, it is possible to dull someone's recognition with a spell. Powerful wizards can make this far more powerful than simply dulling someone's ability to recognize your face. Some are so adept at it that it might be months of being their best friend before you ever notice you don't remember when you first met, and without prompting, you might never notice you don't know anything about them...or their name. That's a rather extreme example, but the generals of darkness often use such powers as part of a disguise to slip in among humanity and carry out some scheme to steal energy or hearts - he may change his clothes and put on sunglasses, but it's his Recognition Inhibition spell that truly prevents you from noticing that your personal trainer is Jadeite.
At the most extreme ends, this can obscure entire phenomena from view. Some supernatural creatures, such as Guardian Characters or Beast Knights, are quite physical, but imperceptible to those who do not pass certain restrictions. Despite many attempts to suss out the mysterious fate of certain arctic explorers, satellites and search teams just can't find the Dark Kingdom's sanctuary at D Point. The planet-smashing Biscuit Hammer looms overhead both day and night, and the HiME Star glimmers balefully in the sky next to the moon, and yet only those who fit the criteria can see them at all. All of these are Recognition Inhibition - the results of Serenity's wish for humanity to live in peace.