Editing Innocence (section)

== Drawbacks of Innocence ==
Innocents are blind from a number of supernatural phenomena. They can't see people who are falling through the cracks,<ref>The blast was deafening in the relative quiet.  She wondered if her lack of presence in the world would keep people from paying attention, or if they’d catch the shotgun blast all the same, but find themselves unable to place it.<br><br>They were ignorant and innocent, whatever the case. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/07/24 Excerpt] from [[Signature 8.7]]</ref> hear [[familiar]]s talk,<ref name=":6">“I came back, kind of!”  Evan said.<br><br>“The bird mo- ''he'' came back,” Green Eyes translated from ‘can’t be heard by innocents’. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/10/16 excerpt] from [[Duress 12.4]]</ref> see creatures in the [[mirror world]], etc.

Much of this is a result of not being [[Awakening|Awakened]] and so applies even once a person is [[Aware|informed the supernatural exists]].<ref name=":6" />

Innocents also have a tendency to rationalize and forget supernatural occurrences.<ref name=":5" /> If they fall deep enough into this pattern they may become a [[Skeptic]].<ref>''There are many ways a Skeptic can come about, but these ways can include indoctrination or acclimatization.''<br>[...]<br>''When Innocents find themselves faced with the practice or with Others, they will instinctively reach for ways to soften the blow.  If there is room for doubt, they often capitalize on that room, then build on that capital.  Excuses are clung to, they question their own memories or accounting of events, and may liberally revise these memories and accountings, until they return to comfortable reality.  With enough repetition, they can form a comfortable bubble around themselves, where anything extraordinary is dismissed.''<br><br>''Skeptics are ignorant and ignorance is dangerous.  Practice struggles to find traction on a Skeptic, and Others suffer a heavy cost to their karma and Selves simply for stepping into the light when the Skeptic is present, even though the Skeptic is often so insulated that the appearance of a god in its full bearing could be dismissed one way or another.'' - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/09/17 4.8 Bonus Material: Dossiers]</ref>

Letting innocents see wounds on themselves and others, especially if those would are seen or "validated" by medical professionals, makes such damage difficult to [[heal]].<ref>''Taking Lucy to the hospital was a good instinct as a mom and a caring parent, but it also ties our hands a bit.  Any bumps, scrapes, or soreness are validated by Innocents now.  Which makes healing harder.'' - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/05/17 Excerpt] from [[Wild Abandom 18.10]]</ref>