Iris comes in through a wall and crashes out exhausted in the hideout, groaning loudly.
Of all the times to lose her saves! Of ALL the times!
The Breakdown:
Even after relaxing reset thresholds, this one incident has proven a frequent cause of reloading...again, and again, and again.
Hopefully, Conquest won't be forced into taking down Brilliance again...the schism that created was enough by itself to ensure a bad end state, to say nothing of the amount of people who lost their shadows.
They couldn't afford everything to tear itself apart again.
The problem is simple - the Erohin's party simply to things too far. In the confrontation with Phil, their party members use the scenario to try and get away with more than they usually could without Conquest stepping in - and after a few harsh wounds, things tend to play out differently depending on whether Conquest notices or not.
When he doesn't, the situation turns deadly as Phil starts responding in kind, turning the situation into a full on bloodbath. Nobody realises the situation has become real until far too late, and everything spills out of control.
It's perhaps worse when Conquest picks up on it, though. Everything grinds to a halt, and a massive argument ensues as Brilliance is denied a much needed release. It turns out that they were far closer to their breaking point than anyone realised, and well...any memory of the fallout fades out into painful static at that point.
Rampant displays of power are inevitable, and Brilliance is at a tipping point. The goals are simply to stay alive, keep Brilliance on an even keel, and try to avoid things going badly enough that other Erohin are forced to come in to resolve the situation - and in doing so, deal a heavy blow to the standing of Conquest and Brilliance that will only make things worse later.
If any Erohin fall, it's done. Same for if other council members are forced to step in. Painful as it is, the best result so far involves hiding a deadly brawl.
"I think I heard from the same sources, Nobody..." Iris rolls over on the beanbag, staring up to the ceiling. "Brilliance needs to let off some steam. Pretty sure they're going to try and mess with...the manticore, as well, and I do not want to see that play out." She glances over to Nobody. "I need to find that manticore some support for that scene, fast. Things are going to go bad if they don't think anyone has their back, let alone if nobody actually has their back. Get some cult reinforcements to show up dramatically as the party makes their grand confrontation. Know a few Yokai you could get to go along with it?"
Got to make sure the reinforcements don't get tied up in the tavern this time...
I was wondering who Phil was for a moment there.
Then I checked back on the Ao's update...and then on my own reply to the obligation prompt.
I have inadvertently invited horror unto that poor manticore.
In any case, I find myself a little lost as I curse my loss of save data - mainly as to the basic overview of the mission that keeps going awry. I feel like I should know well enough, but I'm struggling to gather a solid enough image in my head that I have enough internal context to elaborate on my prompts.
Could I have a little help here?
Sorry about the radio silence, by the way. My sleep schedule's been a little screwed up, and it's done a number on when and how long I'm awake.
It's not like I'm enjoying this or anything:2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3
It would be almost funny that the physical gods that govern them were such gigantic nerds if it wasn't so exhausting. Never mind the centaur's fitting or the fact it wanted its robes in a completely different style every five minutes - the two Erohin were insistent on as much authenticity as possible, and that meant running around like a headless chicken (Note to Self: Find the cockatrice handler, the young ones are getting overexcited again) trying to meet their demands as they arose without stepping on too many toes. He remembered what it was like the first time he had to deal with this, and it was one of a few memories he tried his hardest to suppress.
Oh, and Avis was declaring his profound distaste for that manticore again, something made more infuriating by the fact he knew it was utterly innocent. Still, Avis made a point of denouncing it at every opportunity between - and sometimes during - interrogations.
He'd tried to find out the story behind their irrational hatred a couple of times, but at this point he just assumed that they stepped on Avis at some point and the yokai never got over it.
The thought of the yokai that made a habit of shooting out of nowhere to surprise people getting caught off guard was his sole solace in the moment, sometimes.
Crayons. Why crayons? They'd always insisted on them, but he'd never known why they'd taken to them so quickly.
...or rather, which of the Erohin had ended up demanding them. Funnily enough, he didn't think it was Frivolity. He wouldn't be surprised if it was Brilliance. Sh...they...always seemed to be trying to play with even the other Erohin. It was never certain what sh- THEY were thinking, but they always had something from what he's managed to learn of them.
Dodging the pronouns was still hard. Neither he, or she, had gotten used to it yet. It was something the two of them had to be careful of with the Erohin.
In some ways, failure hadn't turned out too badly for Junpei. He'd lost weight. His uniform was made from fabrics he could only have dreamed of getting his hands on before. And for all the problems that had come with this shift, Chusuke had gotten lucky with his assigned role and Erohin. It was honestly a little relieving to know he'd managed to get through this well in the end.
But failure was failure, and it was still crushing. He'd lost so many of the things he'd loved, the second identity he'd found as he'd become a magical girl originally couldn't come to the forefront in the same way it had in those couple of days...not that it mattered anyway, since even if he could switch between those bodies as before, these damnable outfits would conceal their differences.
Even after so long, and having had it so briefly, they still missed that.
As Junpei finishes setting the table, and steps back to avoid the building argument between Erohin, all he can do is sigh sadly as the nekomata assigned to attend Sora decides to make sure that he can't get anywhere.
...Sora. There was someone who really had suffered from all this. Seeing her state hurt him more than anything else.
Junpei's form had gotten fitter over the years...not that the details of that can really be seen, since the military-esque outfit he's been given to wear manages to be simultaneously form-fitting and concealing of his shape, smoothing over the features that distinguish his body type. His hair is cut short, and without his old dye and contacts, he's back to being black haired and brown eyed. The brightness and cheer has faded from his demeanour from what it used to be, leaving a certain sense of fractured resignation in its place. Standing at his same old 5'7", he simply remained quite and waited for it all to pass.
...what he wouldn't give to have his old wardrobe back. He regretted not at least trying on that old outfit he'd made for the rave when he'd...or at the time, she'd had the chance.
Hello there! You were before my time, but it's good to have you nonetheless!
I'm going to say I think I've switched tracks as far as Youkai go. I remembered the original debacle where I first encountered my Erohin in the first place, and decided to pick something according to that.
So now I'm being followed by a Jaculus, otherwise known as the Javelin Snake.
The serpent association was too good to pass up. Now I just have to sort out the specifics of my obligation.
I think I'll be waiting on everyone else to put up their characters to pick a Fated Person. Even if we don't stick to the original requirement for them to be a PC, I feel like it does actually work better that way.
I'm assuming the "You might be two people" thing refers to the Harmony playbook.
Guess what's going on there?
The playbook are here if you'd like to take a look, by the way. Might be getting ahead of things, but it's good to know where to find them.
The Erohim have many, many people to attend their every need. And many have pets, mounts, or holy creatures for which they require attendants as well.
Through a certain turn of events, the mystic knight has found themselves attending the stables of Iskandar...
Which would be all well and good, but there isn't a single creature there that doesn't seem to have an irrational hatred for them. And an uncooperative Erohin beast is a nightmare you would not wish on your worst enemy, let alone that of a conqueror.
Youkai, I'm less certain about... possibly a Spartae, though I'm definitely looking for more interesting ideas.
...ohhhh, I see a certain playbook I'm interested in...
Muhahaha.
Book me down for Loyal Knight/Fledgeling Mystic for now. For what I'm plotting, I think the latter is definitely what I'm most likely to stick to.
As for how it feels to Transcend, I'd like to go with...exposing. Not freeing, specifically, but exposing. A sort of feeling of nakedness or bareness, with all your concealing layers stripped away.
I feel like that's fitting, all things considered.
I'm assuming these are separate plot/setting setups - the first three being things that can slot into the latter.
That said...
Probably unsurprisingly, my preferences for the setups go
Refugees --> Swinging Scales --> Eggshell
And
Neo Jimazan --> //Jericho.edu --> Toride
I have to agree that...well, while I can't say I inherently dislike it, Toride is my least favourite. It's bitter and bleak in a way I'm not particularly fond of, and just seems outright corporate, which I can't say I'm looking for.
Apart from that...
Jimazan is an interesting example. The changes were instituted not just to get the cogs going, but outright to the benefit of the people subject to it, eliminate many of the evils and petty things they strived to get rid of...but at that one cost that makes it seem just not worth it. Unlike the others, even if everyone knows it sucks, there's a serious matter of if you even should go against it. Chasing your own expression comes with the threat of bringing back every terrible thing you were trying to get rid of in the first place, and that's going to be staring you down one way or another.
There's just a lot of interesting facets to the place to play with...I wonder what the contraband of such a place might be.
Jericho is a simple false paradise scenario. Apart from a few little things that can really be overlooked generally, everything is just about perfect, except for the fact it's not real and deceptively constraining besides. You immerse yourself in all of it...and don't even want to consider that it might not be.
There's plenty to play with here, and it is admittedly a very close second, but Jimazan intrigues me just that bit more.
I'm not sure how Refugees would play out, but I'm very interested in how it might. Things have all gone wrong, people are being desperately cast across time and space through means that may well just lead to more problems, and overall hope has been given up on saving the situation over saving themselves, leaving our upcoming cast to face consequences old and new themselves.
It's...it just feels like something with a far more human focus than the other plots, and as I found in the last game, I'm kind of a sucker for that. Apart from that, I really wonder how this would contrast with the others, with enveloping of reality and grant cult of the others. Really, with this, I'd be looking for (Cataclysm aside) a subtler hand in how this all plays out, the same grand changes but lurking just out of sight. There's definitely the potential.
I...may have to get back to you on the other two. They're great, but I'm having a seriously hard time articulating my thoughts there.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
There's a look of surprise on Michael's face as SolMichael walks in to find Quen...no, Ricardo present.
She shouldn't have gotten confused like that. She knew the situation...she'd created it, even...
...she wanted to have her body back. This brain didn't feel right, and the body moved wro-
SolMichael stumbles.
She would not miss losing her balance over thinking about basic bodily functions.
For a moment, her gaze lingers on Quentin's body, a somewhat hurt look in Michael's eyes, before looking away to address the body that actually had Quentin in it. "We should see aid from Mirror...either they shall enlist Gryphalcon to correct this, or personally direct Michael in doing so if that is not an option."
With nobody watching who was unaware of the situation, any pretence of appearing to be Michael drops, leaving her to act withdrawn and uncomfortable. She wraps her arms around herself, just to then remove them from herself and look at them as she remembers they weren't actually hers. She turns over Michael's hands as she looks them, before letting his arms fall, looking more uncomfortable than ever.
"...I just want this to be over."
This really was fun, and I enjoyed it. Just the amount of stuff going on was fascinating, even if I wasn't part of it.
Which...I guess that's why it was kind of draining when people dropped out. When you hinge a lot on someone, their absence costs a bit of the life that they once contributed. Really, it's not surprising that the constant influx of everybody doing all sorts wasn't going to last forever, but it was really one of the bits I loved. Just all these slices of life, and when a player went, so did the window they provided.
After that...I guess the shift in scenario just came at a bad time.
I'd be happy if we got a season two on this. To continue in the world, and take the chance to reacquaint ourselves with it and build up something that will hopefully work better for everyone. Just...re-establish, I guess.
Seriously though, I loved this. Sorry my involvement fell off.
You been keeping up with Girl by Moonlight? I remember that coming up before. Would that still be in consideration for a future game?
Didn't mean to worry anyone. Not the intention at all.
Bunch of stuff distracting me. I've been able to keep track of happenings, but kind of forgot to...well...get back to this myself.
I've every intention to keep going here. Same with the other game.
I just didn't mean to vanish on anyone. Sorry about that.
I'll try and get on this without poofing again. Might be a little bit - hopefully not, but it might be.
I'll be back eventually, one way or another.
Besides, aside from the obvious factor of you guys all being great, I enjoy my characters here way too much to just drop them like that. I'm looking forward to whatever form of madness I get up to with them.
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
It's easy to argue interpretations. But one thing that we can be fairly sure of no matter what is that this is one hell of a mess.
I have to admit, I did not expect something like this right out of the door. This promises to be interesting.
Assuming Paizo gets its act together...I swear, the shenanigans with the site right now are seriously getting on my nerves.
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
Of course.
"SWAT doesn't have access to the literal stuff of myth and legend. Not really a fair comparison."
Manifest looks over to the fire escape. "Yeah...that...that could do with fixing up. Question is what could...hmm?" He looks over to his side. "What are you...a tiger? Why - oh. Yeah, that might do it. Just hope it listens...now which way is west...?"
Turning about a little until he's happy with his facing, he makes a few gestures and focuses as a blue glow comes from his sleeves, concentrating intensely trying to maintain what he's calling forth. Large, translucent white paws start to come into vision, padding towards him and gaining solidity with each step.
Unleash:2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 4) + 1 = 11
By the time it stops before Manifest, it's fully formed - a white tiger with black stripes and piercing blue eyes, larger than any of its kin and radiating a sense of virtue and nobility.
It looks over to the fire escape, with an expression that says it deems the task it's presented beneath it. Nonetheless, the grating returns back to its place and knits back together, the ladder rotates and smooths itself out where it had melted and twisted, and the whole thing moves back into place until it's like it was never damaged in the first place. Showing no sign having ever made any effort, the tiger gives a huff and vanishes, favour done, and the glow from the mage's sleeves fades.
Manifest looks over to Shawn, suddenly breathing heavily and rubbing at his back. "F*+#, that burns...sorry. I hadn't realised how much it'd take to get it to listen, let alone get any of its power through...can you test the fire escape? Should be fine, prideful thing probably wouldn't accept any less than a perfect job, but better to be safe."
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
A mentor? But...
@Michael{Solmira}: And...who is this mentor? It would not be any good if I told the wrong person because I didn't know who I was supposed to tell.
_/_/_/_/_/_/
I'm managing proper pace, I'm on the right path...
I am not looking forward to this.
By some miracle, SolMichael managed sleep. That was about the best of her luck.
This body felt wrong. Absolutely nothing about the way it was built and shaped was right, everything she used flight for was out of reach, she felt clumsy, her steps were far too heavy wh-
*THUD*
SolMichael picks herself back up, desperately ignoring the gazes of everyone who saw her basically trip on the air. It didn't feel right. They looked right at her, but she herself was invisible. They didn't see her. They couldn't.
And then there was her own body, outside of her command again, only this time she had no idea what was it was doing, what had happened to it, what it looked like, what it was saying, if her people had found it, whether they'd even realise she wasn't in it, oh god what if Michael-
No, no, that's nonsense. They'd know it wasn't me in there, right...? Right?
...her stomach churns as she thinks about what would happen if they only saw her brain, and not its inhabitant. Like before.
She comes to a stop as she realises she's at the destination Michael gave...5 minutes late. S%&$. How bad is that? She didn't know.
She goes to the side door. 5723...wait, no, 5273!
The door opens, and SolMichael finds herself shaking involuntarily.
...in I go.
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
So, I at least recognise them. How much do I know about them?
I TRY DAMMIT! I TRY! I CAN'T HELP EVERYONE!
Tiredness and anguish fray at Manifest's nerves, and he finds it a little harder to hold his tongue and be civil. "Freaks? Really? That's rich. I saw those sparks between your fingers, so I'm pretty sure I'm not the only freak here. Or did you mean something else? People come up with a lot of ways to be dicks to each other, so what did you mean?"
"No, no, I'm sure you don't care. Back on point - I was patrolling, just as I was today. Doing what I could to help people out. And yes, those people weren't you or your friends, because I didn't know that it was happening, or where it was happening, when it happened - because my powers don't let me know about every single fight that happens, or be in every place."
The red glow from his sleeve darkens and intensifies as the trio's shadows grow longer, taking on monstrous shapes with piercing eyes as he half-summons shades in each one to hold them up if they try something. "But this isn't about me? This is about you, throwing blame about for what happened regardless of if it's deserved. You, not giving a s~+& about anyone but yourselves. You, going out to threaten, and probably beat the s&*& out of someone just because you think they're friends with someone else you have a grudge against, instead of taking the time to look after those friends of yours who already took a beating. I'm sure you're doing them a lot of good."
Judging eyes surrounded by metal stare the three down, shades itching to be formed and let loose from their shadows. "You figure Jake's lonely in the hospital? Or are you not worried about that, because he's unconscious and none of you cared to stick about in case he woke up? Is he out, wondering why nobody's there for him?...nah, that can't be right, can it? I can't be thinking straight. He's your friend, just like everyone else who got attacked that day. I'm sure you care about them all, and made sure you know how they're doing right now and that they don't need your help, right?" "I mean, what kind of prick would ditch them, go off to satisfy themselves as they're suffering, and pretend they were doing it for them?"
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
Manifest takes a deep breath as he sees the situation unfold. Come on, come on, you can do this. No need for a fight.
Amir Ahmed wrote:
"I imagine with powers like yours it's hard to keep things under control. You must worry about causing too much damage... Or accidentally hurting someone."
...not this time. Not this time. Not this time.
A few gestures signal the mage linking up to the spaces outside this realm. A slight blue glow makes itself known from his left sleeve, as does similar red one from his right, as a connection is made through him.
Burn:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 4) + 3 = 13 3 Burn.
Tracing a shape through the air, the glow from Manifest's sleeves briefly shifts to green as a great stone wall appears in the space between the two parties, separating them from each other and expanding as the youths try to go around it. Moat. 2 Burn left. Manifest steps toward the youths, trying to project a calm he isn't feeling. "But he himself didn't do that. So why attack him?"
"Why do this at all? You might feel better for a bit, but it won't get your friend out of the hospital. It might get more of them put into a hospital if his friend hears you did something to him. Then what?" Tired eyes peer through his mask as Manifest tries to gauge the group, their leader in particular. There's no need for a fight. No need for a fight.
Pierce the Mask:2d6 - 1 ⇒ (6, 2) - 1 = 7 How could I get your character to stop harassing that man?
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
What is Amir doing, why am I being manhandled, NO I SEE THAT HAND BY HIS FOOT NOT NOW URAMIDT
Manifest pointedly focuses on making sure the waiting demon knows that no, Amir does not need his foot torn off. He looks down at the water bottle in hand, and overall, finds himself close to his threshold.
And then Amir starts talking.
Yep. This is beyond what he can cope with right now.
The words just tumble out of his mouth, one after another, eyes wild and tone panicked. "Look, Amir, no idea what this is about, but this is a bad time and I have places to be, I get enough people going on about how powerful I am and all the problems with that and how awful it must be to deal with and seriously this is not what I need I hear it too much YOUR'RE FREAKING ME THE F@*+ OUT AMIR SERIOUSLY WHAT THE F&$* sorry sorry so sorry AMIR but I REALLY NEED TO GET ON BUSINESS RIGHT NOW."
Marking Afraid. He's seriously out of his comfort zone.
Rapidly, he gestures in the air and tries to focus, pulling on everything he has to GET HIM OUT OF THIS F!#*ING CONVERSATION.
It only gets worse as he thinks about what he's about to do, what's happened already, and URAMIDT I SAID DON'T MAIM HIM
Just a little more, just a little- oh thank god he's here now why did he take so long "Ariel! Patrol start! NOW!"
Feathery wings envelop Manifest after his unnecessarily loud shout as what is blatantly an angel materialises behind him, followed by them both disappearing in a whirl of feathers to the start of his standard patrol route, leaving Amir alone and covered in a scattering of fading feathers.
That was Move, the 2 Burn version. Easy escape from awkward conversations.
4 conditions and a flubbed roll already. At least I'll have cleared Afraid by next scene?
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
Provoke me to talk? The way I write, the problem is shutting up.
Manifest blinks, and seems to relax more as the chatter fades and Siphon gives him that precious bit of needed space. He hadn't even realised the noise was bothering him. "That...that works. Didn't realise that was an option." It's a moment before he realises he hasn't answered, and he visibly jolts at the realisation. "ACK! Yes, yes that's better. Aghhh...sorry. Just...distracted." Please don't ask what by.
He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and drops his hood. The dark brown strands of his hair run down into his robes, a little past the point where you could see their ends. Habit has him reaching for his mask, but he stops that short when he remembers the presence of everyone else. He looks back at Siphon, and tries to push all earlier thoughts out of his head.
"You're dealing with a lot of stuff right now, right? New life, new problems, old problems, things I can't even imagine right now. Whatever's bothering you at the moment, it's bad, and it doesn't seem like it's getting better."
"I'm not trying to get you to talk about all of that. -Not that I wouldn't want to listen to you! It'd just be...draining for both of us right now." He has a quiet little chuckle at that, before face(mask?)-palming. "I can't believe I said that...not the point. You seemed uncomfortable, I just wanted to ask if there's anything I could do right now, anything you want to get off your chest immediately - nobody listening who might get hurt feelings, and especially no Twitch using this as a stunt for views."
His head tilts away a little, his eyes flicking about before settling back on Siphon. "Do you want to leave? You really did seem uncomfortable with everyone. I mean...you wouldn't be the only one, but I doubt it's for the same reason." He pauses. "Somewhere you want to go? Just want some time alone? There's more than enough books about if you feel like reading in your room...do you like reading?...Have you ever...? -s~!&, what am I saying? Shouldn't ask that. I never talk this much."
He shakes his head. "Don't mind my assumptions and rambling. I'm just trying to extend a hand, and doing a poor job of it. Felt like I should at least try to be considerate towards you, even if I'm pretty sure I'm making a mess of it right now."
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
Manifest's eyes lift from his writing to give Shawn a pointed look, before he stashes the black book away again and slowly turns his gaze to Moxie and Siphon. "There's no point playing the blame game though that's rich from me - what happened, happened. People were injured, things were lost, lives were affected. It happened, and assigning blame doesn't change that. Now we deal with it."
His gaze shifts slightly to focus on Siphon. She's been blatantly nervous the whole time, and it seemed like it was only getting worse.
Maybe I shouldn't wait.
He looks away for a moment. This...felt awkward. "...Siphon? Mind if I, ah...talk to you alone for a moment?" The words don't come out, and he trails off, shifting awkwardly. "...Nevermind. It's nothing."I'd probably just make the problem worse if I asked that.
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
I know I have Influence to hand out, I'm just not sure who to.
Best idea I have now is Moxie - Siegfried being constantly mindful of just how she's adjusting to the world around her, in this case - also because her behaviour consistently baffles him and bypasses his psychological defences, but that'd happen anyway regardless of influence.
If I can pitch in on the Multiply Moxie Mystery...I'm not sure it's the best idea. Interesting in concept, yes, but it brings with it all sorts of potential issues to be addressed - particularly, just the way it fits in with the issues of Moxie's playbook. I mean...she's already trying to avoid becoming a different version of herself she hates. Introducing more Moxies just complicates that even further, without necessarily adding anything. And that's just assuming we don't have to start culling Moxies. (All things considered, "Hit with enough energy" feel like it's really not unlikely in a world full of supers and magic. It might be worked around, but it's difficult to do without it being liable to feel contrived.)
Not my place to make any decisions - that's for Moxie to decide (and possibly Elsine on a "Do I really want to deal with this" level) - but I just wanted to voice that it's not something that I, personally really see being fun to deal with, on a player or GM level. Not in Masks, anyway - maybe a system with a different focus.
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
Pretty sure Henry isn't a super. He was just a PI that specialised in cases involving them.
Odds are, only reason Henry would be on Twitch's radar was because of his now demolished restaurant - at least, that's the guess from the perspective of not-Twitch.
Male Nova | Danger 1 | Freak 3 | Saviour 1 | Superior 0 | Mundane -2 | Angry, Afraid, Guilty, Insecure | Burn: 0 | Two Worlds: 0 | ○●Potential●○ --- ●●●●○ | 1 Advancement
Excellent.
When our team first came together...
We destroyed our surroundings in the fight. Where was it? What did we destroy?
When a supervillian is out to kill someone, it isn't always easy for them to find their potential victim.
But if said victim owns a restaurant that they've named after themself? It makes things a lot easier.
Salvo's Sliders, while not one of the biggest restaurants in Panurgic, was damn well one of the best. (According to Siegfried, at least. The androgynous boy probably ate there a tad more frequently than he ought to.) The food was good, and better yet, it was actually reasonably priced. It was many people's go-to establishment for solid eating, and while the place was never really packed, it was never quite empty either. As such, when Mad Moxie broke down the wall and just about everything remotely attached to it, it caused a bit of a panic.
The Maniacal Mime was powerful. Seriously powerful. For most young supers, matching her alone was out of the question, and even in Manifest's case trying to fight her straight out would be either suicidal or genocidal at his skill level.
That Professor f&*@ing Proton was there as well was just icing on the cake.
Thankfully, it wasn't a solo fight. Between all of us working together and support of the Agency, we were able to avert a major tragedy, but in true super-fight fashion stopping Moxie and Proton had brought with it heavy collateral. Salvo's Sliders was dust, and Henry's car was totalled along with it.
A lot of people lost out that day. Everyone who used to eat there had to find a new place to replace it. Henry was out a business, a ride, and a pension, and now worked a job in which he was far more miserable. And Miss Moxie's life got a whole lot harder, now her best shot at learning what happened now had a grudge against her past and future self.
=========================
Questions? Suggestions? Adjustments?
I know I have one. How was Proton supposed to know if the BF-GOGGI had worked? What would have shielded them from their memories being overwritten to fit the changes the device made, and what else can be done with whatever's responsible for that?
Now, I was going to comment that you wrote "When the he" in the first paragraph as I was first checking out what you'd written, and probably comment on the rewrite to your backstory overall.
If I'm not Time-Warped, how will I have a Future Self running about in the same city as me? The Joined sets background precedents for pairs. There's the Outsider pair example of course, but following through on that, Bull pairs would have their backgrounds in experimentation (odds are, the same program), and Transformed pairs would have been changed by the same or a very similar nature of thing. Even my look options derive off yours - same costume stylings, and at most two distinctions as far as looks went.
In the case of the Innocent, that means I'm a time traveller. When you apply the nature of the Joined, there's the implication that while they may not get on at all, both our future selves are causing chaos together. They're probably feuding as much as they're cooperating, if not more. No matter what, they're worse together than alone.
I agree that we ought to be the same age in the present, though. The mentor idea is great too. I figure it might work best if I'm just a few years forward in your timeline. A few years later (for you) I get taken under your wing by an older, pre-madness you, one not far from your time-displaced self in character. Some time later, we start to develop a proper partnership - after you impart onto me your values and dress sense, naturally. It's great.
Until I get ditched and thrown to the wolves on Moxie's path to Madness.
Not too long after I'm cut up and left in the dust, temporal shenanigans call me forward to present day, where it turns out Moxie and my future self are raising hell...and the younger version of my Mentor and partner is running around too.
There's another me that isn't me. I see an older version of Moxie, who knows who I am and isn't who I know. And I see a younger version of Moxie, who's more like who I know but doesn't know who I am.
However it works out...my Moxie is gone, irrevocably. And I have to deal with that.
The setup is meant to enable the features of the Innocent, to create the bonds and links of the Joined, to prevent me having too much forward knowledge on Moxie by placing me at the start of her path to darkness, and to really just screw with my character's head. If it works out that way, it's a setup that could come into a game after it's started as well.
I'd start with one experience struck out, and perhaps, no steps circled yet.
I know our powers don't need to be identical. I'm wondering how to differ, so as to contrast and complement. I'm noticing just how subtle Moxie's powers can be, the potential to set up all sorts of things that are hard to pick up on (invisible protections, concealing allies, just making a small barrier that they're sure to trip on), but also that without access to full on constructs, it's harder to exert pressure, nor to set up some of the more devastating applications.
I'm wondering on alternate applications of energy projection to be the obvious pressure to work with your subtler setups, harassing and manipulating the opposition to create devasting and/or inescapable setups. I just don't know what that looks like.
I like Twitch. I really like Twitch. I want to see that.
Honestly, I just like concocting characters, and figuring out how they work. The Joined is a particularly fun exercise, as now I have to play around someone else.
Ultimately though, I want the best play experience. And to that end, I suspect I'll be going forward with Manifest. I've become enamoured with his concept, and it feels like he'd have better integration with the entirety of the cast.
That, and...I think I've managed to strain my mind thinking out the dynamics of the Joined. It's enjoyable, but...I think I'm pushing myself a bit much. It feels like I would have been better off I was had been working with someone from the ground up, and that's it's harder to get the full mileage out of the playbook if you try to hook it up to another later on in the character development process.
I might change my mind, but for now...put me down as a Nova. I think I'll be going with that.
Mean time...I'm going to try and avoid thinking to much. My head feels weird, and I never know how to undo that when it happens.
Me? Moxie's the Timey Whimey one. I'm just...
I'll get back to you once I've actually made something.
I think the big issue is that your concept too heavily focused on dealing with threats and thwarting evil, and doesn't account for the close interpersonal nature of the game. The power level was pretty crazy, and any relationships you had with other people would end up being incredibly one-sided.
You're going to be dealing a lot with the people around you, and especially in your team. You've also got baggage, the general nature of which is dictated by the playbook you pick.
Really, you want to think more about the issues you'd like to explore, than the powerset you'll come to wield. At least, it's the way I've approached character creation, since the playbooks say so much about you.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Huh. I started writing out this big ooc thing to KQ, and then Sorrel posts and starts poking the just the right buttons for me to act on what I wanted to do.
Solmira starts to relax, and then cringes harshly once Tox mentions agency.
And then, as Sorrel starts talking, his words hammer away at her in the sore spots exposed by the words of everyone before. Each word building her image up was something she would have lapped up normally. But now?
It was painful. It really was. And that cold, empty laugh sounds again as she finishes processing the centaur's words.
"I am not perfect, Ricardo. Perfect isn't completely reliant on this institution for shelter, nor for the money required to acquire most things on this planet. Perfect doesn't struggle immensely with the written word, despite spending great amounts of time attempting to comprehend it. Perfect does not exhaust itself on a long, reckless, and ill-planned flight before falling unconscious during atmospheric entry and awakening several days later in an unknown location, in the care of a medical practitioner present to treat issues that could have very easily been avoided." Her expression falls, and her eyes dim. "The first thing I do for myself, and I mess it up."
A few seconds pass, and her eyes widen. Her gaze passes over everyone present for what she said, and she freezes. Any pretence is stripped away, and in its place is blatant fear and a look like the world has crashed down around her. She tries to school her expression into something distant and composed, but the facade just looks fragile and dishonest. "W-why I agreed to travel with those incompetent fools i-is beyond me."
In case you're interested, what I was writing is below. Also, take Influence on me if you don't have it already.
What I was writing:
At this point, it's less haughtiness, and more keeping up appearances. Solmira's got issues, and one of them is conflating image with identity. The secrecy and a~%~%%$ry was because that b*~%@y presentation gives her something she can assume is her, and she doesn't have a clue what's there without it, if anything at all. She refuses to let that facade be broken down, and that means not outing anything that would shatter it to ANYONE.
...it needs breaking down though, naturally. It's unhealthy, and the way she clings to it after managing to tell home where she was so she could feel like she still had something to show for coming here proved an unexpected obstacle to development as I let her play out.
There we go. As for the question of 'what it would take' I was going to answer, the hope was completely and utterly stripping away Solmira's facade. With it gone, the reason for her crazy behaviour and the main motivator for secrecy goes, and the opening to really start to delve into what I was interested in doing with Lios is created.
Probably starting with my second team move, when an appropriate moment came.
So, yeah. Sorrel gave me an opening to get started on tearing it down without making a massive, overdramatic mess, and I took it. Now I just want to get this out of the way so we can get moving again, albeit while attempting to display what was underneath all that. That'll probably involve pushing her a little more at this point.
I'd be admittedly, rather enthusiastic to talk about what I'm trying to do with Solmira so everyone has a better idea of what I'm doing (or to talk with you all about your character ideas/questions/whatever for that matter), but for now, sleep. Dear god, sleepy-time is NOT a good time for a bout of acute indigestion. It's the reason I'm up and rambling now.
A necromantic box. Well, that's perfectly natural after finding out about that strange oil...
Come to think of it, perhaps that wasn't really oil.
That's a problem for another time though. For now, the field needed to be dealt with. "Well, I've seen things like this a few times, but if I was going to say what I think the best idea is right now..."
Spout Lore:2d6 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3 Well, can't say I don't need the XP.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
...forgot I had things to respond to.
Solmira gives Annette a flat look. "I'm hardly interested in speculating on their reasoning. At the moment, my main focus is-" Solmira chokes mid-sentence as Sorrel's distress comes flooding in. "...addressing the unbridled chaos that likes to make itself known whilst I am speaking. Excuse me." Looking thoroughly unimpressed, Solmira walks away and makes a point of looking like she's on comms, saying mundane things in her native tongue in case someone attempts to eavesdrop on her act. Internally though, she's freaking out, and even with her guarded distance signs of it make it out to the others.
Why are those two not responding to this?! Are they making no effort at all?! Solmira's mind becomes a little more withdrawn. ...why are they doing nothing? If they do not, then... A feeling of apprehension manages to trickle out. I have to.
Solmira starts to send to Sorrel specifically. She was probably going to end up sending things she'd rather keep to herself in this exchange.
Sorrel:
There's a brief sensation of hesitance and uncertainty from Solmira before the words stream to your mind.
Ricardo...if they even consider doing you ill, then regardless of who they are I will ensure they regret it.
You were manipulated. Events were controlled to provoke your reaction, and ensure it had the outcome desired. And if it had not been you, it would be all too easy to do the same to another. Your issues would not have enabled the event. Likely, they just provided a convenient means to avoid suspicion whilst achieving their goals.
You are not responsible for what happened to the people caught up in this plot. You cannot reasonably be blamed for the events that occurred. You will not be treated as something to be contained, as one that deserves to be punished, as an individual that cannot be trusted.
You are none of those things, and have never been in the time I have known you. That is not something that will change.
A slight sense of affection pervades the words, woven into them rather than being found in the feelings that indicate her emotional state, as if it came from somewhere deeper in her mind.
Comfort or Support:2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 2) + 2 = 8
She stops the fake comm chatter, and walks up to Tox. "It appears that I am not the only one with business with that insufferable man. We may as well get this out of the way." She glances to Lucy as she stares at the blood covering Tox, and there's a slight, deliberate pause before her head turns to look at her. "He was providing first aid at an incident site, if he has not already told you. I'm sure he can tell you later once he is done with...Maximus. She crams as much disdain as possible into his name as she says it.
With me, Tox. It is time we provided our proper distraction.
Be ready to handle Michael, Quentin.
With a little mental nudge to Tox, Solmira starts walking out to meet Maximus, making sure Tox is not far behind as she does.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
The short version is I wrote a note and left her to sleep. The long version is this.
When Solmira reaches her room:
As she enters her room with Snowflake, Lios is left with little to do but stew in her own thoughts. Normally, it's nice having her head to herself, but...all she's able to really think about are the things that went wrong today. The ways she screwed up. Girl in her arms included.
Autonomy came with issues she'd never had to deal with before.
As she moves toward the bed, her balance and her consciousness starts to fail her, and there's a brief wave of panic as she tries desperately not to drop Snowflake. Lios lightens the girl's body as quickly as possible, and practically throws her onto the bed as she hits the floor.
For a while, she's stuck collapsed on the floor, feeling worthless and upset.
There's a knock at the door. "Are you alright? It seemed like-" "I'm fine!" It's out before she can even remember Snowflake is still on her bed, and a pang of guilt hits her for potentially disturbing her. "I'm...I'm fine. Just give me a minute." "...alright. I'll leave you be." There's a sound of footsteps, going away from the door. Lios reaches out with what she can muster of her mental faculties, and sure enough, there's nobody there anymore. Just her and Snowflake, now.
She grasps about until her hands find the bedframe, and drags herself up to her knees. She looks at where Snowflake is sprawled on the bed, somehow not yet awake, and breathes a sigh of relief.
Slowly, she brings herself to her feet, not letting go of the bed until she's somewhat steady. Then, trying not to disturb her, she does her best to make Snowflake comfortable in her bed.
When she's satisfied, she rummages around for something to write with. While she'd done little with her room, she was sure she hadn't neglected to at least get a pen and some paper...there. She doubted she could get away with waiting here til she woke up, let alone that that was smart to in the first place, but...at least she could leave something for Snowflake.
After a lot of hasty writing, scribbling things out, and general frustration with the still unfamiliar written word, Lios places the note down. She walks to the door, takes look back at Snowflake's sleeping form...and leaves.
When Snowflake wakes:
Lios's room is distinctly plain. For the most part, it's as it was before she moved into it. Snowflake's sceptre is propped up against a corner, all alone. In the closet, there's a few outfits, and a small selection of rolled up posters. All of them are relatively new, seemingly bought all at once, a few of each catering to drastically differing tastes and images. There's marks on all of them, wear from being repeatedly put up and taken back down.
On the desks are a few books, written for teenagers and older children. Near them is a folded note on the desk with Snowflake's name on it, written in a sloppy, childlike hand.
I wish toMy apologies I'm sorry for earlier.
Today has been aI have had to
I screwed up, today. People I never wanted to know where I was are coming, so I can be brought back with them. And I don't know when.
They don't even understand I don't want to be with them. I doubt I c0u could make them. Not that this matters to you, I guess.
Still, that and the things that led up to it made me emociimotioemosyo ...upset. Very angry, and very upset.
I tried to take it out on you, and I have no clue why I thought that was at all a good idea.
Again, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that.
Right now, you're in my room - if you haven't left it, that is. I haven't told anyone you're there, as of when I wrote this. I hope you weren't too uncomfortable when you woke. Feel free to rest there as you need to.
I'd like to talk to you? If you'll let me? About what that person did?
I agree with why you were doing as you were, but...not how you did it? it wouldn't help the people that were hurt because of them. It wouldn't help others like them. You could have hurt p6 people yourself you didn't mean to. Things could have even gotten worse if it all went to plan.
You were upset, weren't you? A little like I was. But...well...I hurt you badly because I was upset. I only felt worse for it. So what about you? What would happen to you?
I'm trusting you. I don't expect you to trust me so easily, but I will trust you. Michle has faith in you, after all. I think that means something.
You can do this better. I want you to. Because then, things can get better.
I should be back, sooner or later. Hopefully you're doing better by then. I hope nothing happens to you.
If you're going to leave, try not to get caught. And if not, try to relax. One of us has to.
L
S o l m i r a Comfort or Support:2d6 - 1 ⇒ (5, 3) - 1 = 7
The note and a roll is in the second spoiler. I ended up writing more than I expected, overall.
Solmira's eyes flick between her three teammates as she comes into the lobby, and seeing the state of them, a few words return to her that she had been very wilfully ignoring up until this point.
"Multiple injured...most by me..."
As Ricardo's words return to her, her eyes linger on the blood covering Tox and Quentin, unbelieving of the implications of just how bad it really was - and more to the point, just what Ricardo had actually done. She's shocked.
And then, when Quentin says that Ricardo's been used as a puppet, something snaps. Her anger rises and does not stop rising, hammering down on all present as her face becomes a blazing beacon of light. "What..." She's shaking with rage as she walks up to the group. "What...did you...just say? Quentin? What did you say just happened?"
Her mind rapidly latches onto Sorrel's. Ricardo...is what Quentin saying true, here? Do you know who did it? Where they are?
Funnily enough, it hadn't registered mentally just how long it had been. As it was, to a certain degree, I was trying to decipher Airi's scenario, in addition to just figuring out Airi in general.
Junpei' scenario? Less so. I recognise it. IIIIII see what you did there.
In any case, this helps. I think I've got a better idea on this.
Side note...looking again, it's interesting to see the differences in description for how our Past Selves are able to perceive us. I have to wonder if the differences are actually indicative of anything, and if so, just which pieces of the spectrum of possibilities apply.
As it is, I have to wonder about the possible nuances in the interactions overall. There's so many differences in the introductions, some little, some large. It's very, very interesting.
The moment she sees that Achievement, Airi knows something's wrong. The fact she's seeing through a UI solidifies that there's something up.
Oh, and Benji screaming. That...she probably did that.
Wait...did that mean all this magic came from Benji?
...he did say some odd stuff earlier. He was on about scenes, runs...Sora called him the Dream Prophet, but it sounds more like he's seen all this stuff before several times. Hell, when he said I usually get on well with Aratani when I take out the trash. Usually, like not always. Prophetic stuff tends to sound more...certain. I'd think so, anyway. We should stop thinking about this. Stop thinking about it NOW. Better to talk to Benji later, before we freak out again and get an achievement for getting everyone killed too! Just forget about it. NOW. Alright! Geez.
...when did I start arguing with myself?
Not important. Love to check on Benji, but with everyone here, he should hopefully be fine. Bad idea to talk about this in front of Tiresias anyway. Just have to hope the whisper spell works like this. And since it's probably a bad time to talk...Tomoyo. Gotta help Tomoyo. Don't know where she is now, but hopefully I'll be guided to her.
<Help Emi find Tomoyo>
Iris(determined): I'll help you find her. I told her I'd keep her safe, and I'm not going back on that.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
In that case? I think it's Provocation time. Can't hog all the XP to myself. Provoke Someone:2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 5) + 1 = 12 And now I can roll.
Secret Character? Section 004's existence in general? I'm honoured.
Seriously though, I knew that interlude was gonna be good the moment I saw the ASCII art. I could happily devour a full write up of what we saw in that interlude.
...I can and will contribute to an expansion of that interlude if it means more goodies for everyone.
Before taking off to cover the hotel, Kappa slips a watertight container to Retzack. In hushed tones, he informs him it holds:
- A single stoppered vial (marked with a date from a few years ago) from a small box labeled "Invis."
- A handful of thunderstones.
- A piece of paper with a few addresses written on it in a slightly shaky hand.
"They had this in a box with a "Security" label someone had painted over, hidden with some uniforms and such. Make of that what you will." "Do exercise proper discretion with these, would you? As ever, some things should not reach certain circles." Or Burke in general, for that matter.
Alright, potentially important/useful items transferred, continue as you will.
To everyone else - sorry, but I've been having a hard time giving this game the investment it deserves. I end up doing a lot of thinking where this game is concerned, but I haven't been able to actually devote the necessary time to pulling everything together. And considering what comes next after the door is open, I do not want to half-ass this.
This week and the next, I'm going to be trying to get things cleared up so that I've got less to worry about, and empty out my head of some of the crap that's in it now. Hopefully, it won't take much longer than that to sort myself out.
Until then, when I'm better equipped to run this game, updating will be on hold. You might see me about elsewhere, but I'm trying to avoid anything too mentally taxing right now. I hope you understand.
As he transforms, Junpei's form begins to shed, flesh and fabric coming away as if merely a cloth placed over him to form a plain white shell around him. As soon as it is formed, the shell shatters and bursts, leaving behind a featureless female form in the same pale white.
As she stretches out her limbs, the white begins to flake away into the air, leaving behind colour and definition in their wake. A pair of purple gloves reveal themselves, followed by loose sleeves in a magenta hue. Thin purple lines divide the sleeves, giving them the appearance of being made up of large segments. The segmentation halts at the shoulders, where a final five segments appear on each - a dark green diamond of colour, bordered by the four other segments.
From there, the dress continues to form, plain magenta covering her torso before running down to her waist. A purple band forms around the waist, and from there flowing fabric seems to burst out as the white flakes away, forming a skirt in the same colour and segmented fashion as the sleeves, running down to the ankles and ending in a dark green trim. As the white on her feet flakes away, a pair of purple boots accented with green reveals itself.
Finally, the white around the neck begins to flake off as well, bringing her face fully into feature as a cascade of white runs off from her head until her long, flowing mint green hair is back in all its glory.
She holds out her right arm, and a small, pointed shape begins to run along the outside of it. The shape grows into the head of a serpent, and behind it, thick, serpentine coils grow out and wrap around her arm, continuing to coil around it until the serpent's head rests by her hand. She holds out her other arm, and the familiar holographic duel disk forms upon it, the band that projects it forming seamlessly around her wrist.
Iris takes a moment to look over herself, partaking in a minor indulgence as she takes in the details of her new outfit.
I could do without all the plotting, murder, and blatant disregard for others' lives, but at the very least, this is something I'll never get tired of.
With the knowledge the little smile on her face probably wouldn't stay long, Iris returns to the situation at hand, looking at her duel disk for anything from Tiresias or Okami-sama that she couldn't afford to ignore.
Things just kept on getting more complicated. Junpei just hoped there wouldn't be any more people dying. Again.
Soooo-
White - or rather, Tiresias - had showed up. Only...Benji wasn't expecting them. Whatever his deal was, this was new to him. Not only that, but Tiresias had a plan that needed us at the gardens. Not to mention, they knew his name. They even had a name for Benji. How?
Even Pele was confused by them asking where we were going too. And he'd been with Tiresias before.
Something was off there. Hopefully, Okami-sama hadn't messed with them.
Lys had arrived. He was probably going to be fighting Aratani any moment now.
Tomoyo was still in danger, and with the mental reminder Junpei only pedalled harder. But there was what she said too. Who was who, though...Onee-chan had a link to a boy with long pink hai- that was the girl he'd first seen yesterday, wasn't it? The one he'd seen on the bus earlier, and who'd been with Juno before that. So...that would mean Juno was probably Onee-chan, and was covering for Tomoyo. That helps. But it also meant that girl was in danger, which definitely didn't. If she was Onee-chan now and not Momma, that probably meant he wasn't Daddy anymore. It'd also mean that the Momma and Daddy she was talking about were probably her actual parents. And there was a 'Mother' in the mix too, laying claim to her Momma.
This just kept -
Gotta keep on track.
He needed to ask Benji about the Tiresias situation, but he wouldn't be on the network. Probably. Same time, he had to keep in contact with Tomoyo. Should find out who 'Mother' was too. He was prepared for anything to be relevant after finding out about Okami-sama. He also needed to get that mirror.
Perhaps he should upgrade his transportation too, if everyone could run as fast as he could pedal.
「Nearly there, Tomoyo. I'll do my best to keep you safe. Though - who do you mean when you say Mother?」
They were close. He could probably switch. He waits a little for Tomoyo to reply, and latches onto Benji.
「So, already guessed you weren't expecting Tiresias. But...so, I have a spell. Gives me subtext on things. Anyway - when Tiresias asked where we were going, it told me 'All according to plan.' Tiresias wants all of us at the gardens for some reason. As it is, they know my name, and I'm pretty sure they shouldn't know that. Do you have any info that might be relevant here?」
...he might as well ask Tiresias how they knew too. Paranoia aside, no reason not to.
@Tiresias: Been a while - or well, feels like it. Just - how did you know my name? The one I used to transform. I only found it out earlier today.
Sometimes, it's hard to keep track of what you've said, been told, how, etc. Dread to think what it's like for you, Bastian.
My massive posts probably don't help.
Mostly, I'm concerned about formatting and interconnectedness. For one, here it's quite easy to reach out and fire off info at everyone else - on TK, typical play seems to be set up so that we'd need to be a little more conscientious about keeping track of what everyone's sending to everyone else. There's just more separation in general.
Have to learn the new text formatting. Don't see a way to make spoilers - not a simple one, at least. Among other things, lacking those would be unhelpful if you wanted to continue to keep everyone's perception of the same things separate and distinct the way that it has been here. Some of that would just be addressed by people being in separate scenes, but if we're in the same place? That might be a problem.
Oh, and posts take up more screen space, since less of the horizontal space is used for text and the spacing between lines there is greater than over here. A three line paragraph here would take up five lines over there.
Don't get me wrong, though. There's plenty I like about Tavern Keeper from some poking around, and I'm not going to complain about going over if Paizo continues to be a pain like this, but there are some aspects of play here I'm rather fond of that I'm uncertain about how would they'd translate over to Tavern Keeper.
Mainly all the stuff spoilers are used for.
I guess it's kinda nitpicky, but I just like some of these little details and I want them to stay.
I will object to the lack of search functions, though. They just do not exist. There's no place where all of a character's posts are collected together either.
Finding things is going to be a lot more painful on there, I'm pretty sure of it.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Solmira nods to Tox. "Very well."
She looks over to Sorrel. He was...uncomfortable. That much seemed clear.
Really, she needed to get back. She'd offered to Tox on the basis of having more urgent obligations, but he didn't have anything like that to worry about. She could leave him.
But...she didn't want to leave him like that? And this could be an opportunity to spend some time with him. Do some research.
It'd be fine if she was a little later back, right? She'd been willing to take extra time for Tox. This wasn't that much different.
Solmira bites her lip. Why am I trying to excuse this to myself? This isn't a big deal. It's a polite offer to travel together, and that's all that would happen if he accepted. He'd have some companionship, and I could study him some. It's little more than a small time investment before I get to my checkup. And should he refuse, it would not mean anything about myself.
It wouldn't mean anything either way.
She looks over to Sorrel, giving him a smile subtly tinged with nervousness as she tries to maintain her daily facade. "And you, Sorrel? If you wish to head back, would you care to return with me? -it would be no trouble."
Inwardly, she curses the hurried delivery of her last statement. Of course she would fumble like this. Someone was going to try and force open that crack, weren't they?
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Paizo to stop freaking out?
Personally, I'm waiting on Tox's reply. I'm not staying either way, but it's a whether I'll be taking Tox elsewhere or going straight to the Institute to get my health checkup finished without interruption.
I don't have all the playbooks, and they're not all finished, so there's only so much judgement I can make. But in any case, I understand what you mean. It's way too easy to get wrapped up in trying to recreate something overly specific. I'd say it's fine to take your basic idea from a character, but you need to be able to churn about multiple permutations on that idea.
Say, the Fusion. Garnet's the listed inspiration, and you said about the Wonder Twins. I remember seeing DC's Firestorm as another possible example for the idea. Even with the similarities, they're all quite different indeed.
They seem to be going for a certain tone here, along with their genre and setting stuff. That in mind, the playbooks/classes need to support that - so, I'd figure as a result of that need, things should be between copies and Pathfinder classes, though I'm edging just a little toward copies. It's baking in tone and flavour for it so that it is definitely a certain thing, but also making sure there's plenty of finer details to hammer out that resulting in notably varying characters.
Honestly, the playbooks reminds me of Monsterhearts, if you're familiar with it. Seriously. Darkness in particular reminds me of Darkest Self.
BastianQuinn wrote:
Our Fusion would probably be Paresh and Chrysanth.
Unless I'm missing something, they can't separate, though I can't say whether they're truly combined or just cohabiting. I suppose the more united nature could come with time, but still, they'll need to achieve a certain one-ness.
Right now, they hit the mark in some ways, but not others.
BastianQuinn wrote:
The playbooks I've seen are the Stranger, the Guardian, the Fusion, and the Unlikely Hero.
You can also spot the Enigma and the Outsider on that stream you linked. There's also the Time Traveler, who...well, that's only meant to be one person. Starlit Kingdom shows up as well, which seems to be a sort of group thing.
Again, Unlikely Hero in full is 46:59, VERY briefly. (I don't know if it's just move titling, but for a "Hero"? I'm not fond of "Save me!" Idea's one thing, but it's too damselly for my taste the way it's being set up right now.) Enigma is 47:01. (Move 4 in particular seems like it's trying too hard to copy something. I feel like I have an idea, but I don't intend make myself feel melancholy trying to make sure.) Guardian at 47:03. (Needs some filling out.) Outsider shows up at 1:40:26 (All about your Rival!...it is REALLY focused on your chosen Rival among the PCs as it is. There's still more moves to be done, but still - I'm not sure where the link to "Outsider" is. This thing seriously confuses me. Maybe needs a new name, or a rework? Or am I just missing something obvious? I know I'm missing something that they think is obvious.) Stranger appears at 1:40:39. (This seems interesting. I really like the moves.) Time Traveller shows at 1:41:45. (There's some nice moves here, but as long as you have Fated Person there, as that one move you have to have that many other moves work off of...you're playing Homura. You're always playing Homura. Which is nice if you want to play Homura. Not so much otherwise. I think it could be a lot better if it was just stripped down to the Dark Fate part of that move - you could still do Homura then by having your Dark Fate be something happening to someone specific, but it doesn't enforce that sort of thing. It feels like it'd work smoother. Of course, you could move the Fated Person thing into the optionals.) Starlit Kingdom shows up a couple of times, but you can see all of it at 1:42:00. (I don't really have much commentary for this right now? I'm done commentating at this point.)
As you rush over to the mech, you find Terestria’s managed to pull herself together a bit, using her good arm to pull herself up on the opening on the mech left when its arm was torn off. ”You alright, Fizz? In a little rough shape, but I think I can bear it.” She has a little laugh to herself at the joke before taking a look around.
Looking up at the mech, it’s still mostly intact. Grommy would probably able to do something with it, if he was here. If you move around to where the arm was torn off, you can see inside a little. There’s some cables, various pieces of metal with strange patterns, and...oooh, that’s shiny. You can’t see most of it, but you spot the sides of some sort of silver hexagon with some of those cables running into it. It’s a decent way in there, though. You’d have to climb in to get it or something, and that’d be a tight squeeze.
Further down, Terestria’s checking out the arm that came off for anything useful. A little ways further than that, the pew that you conjured is nearly finished dissipating.
--------------------------
Herald, as your magic takes hold, four cards come out, and show you their faces.
The two of gears (a little blunt, perhaps), the numen of eyes, and...the card of Winter, upright. Like this, a symbol of unspeakable tragedy to uneducated fools. To those who know better, it may be a removal of obstruction and the opportunities that follow, or a sudden reveal of that which lies beneath the obscuring layer. The cards having shown their values, they rearrange themselves.
The 2 of gears positions itself before the Winter card, the numen of eyes hidden behind the Winter with its face turned away. A tether coalesces between the backs of the numen and the Winter, a link seemingly directed into the Winter. The gears approach the Winter, seeking to cover it - and then, it’s violently repulsed, further manifestations like the tethers lash out from the Winter in violent and uncontrolled spasms.
The cards make to return, but they screech to a halt, compelled by more magic than your own. The setup starts like the first time, but this time, the backs of the numen and the Winter approach each other as well, and meet. Where before the gears are sent flying, here they merely jolt back as the Winter whirls around to reveal the face of the numen of eyes.
The scene stops there, courtesy done as all but the numen of eyes returns to the deck. It is that one card that remains to now look at you, taking the sight of you into its flat gaze and then tilting as if in a polite nod before returning to the deck. You can feel whatever it was that intervened release its grip on your cards.
--------------------------
(No need to roll any dice here. No miss - but no XP either.) Yizid, as you wrack your mind trying to figure out if you’ve seen them, you come to the conclusion that you’ve never met the man, and would, in fact, have remembered it if you’d met someone that looked just like you.
The voice that is now suddenly part of your life returns, and...starts tutting in your ear?
That’s...how are you supposed to feel about that? This whole thing is weird.
--------------------------
Stranger, as you follow the paladin and the elf, you suddenly recognise the elf - though admittedly, she’s not the one you know. Yours made a habit of waylaying you at every turn, disrupting your functions, killing everyone who you so much as said a word to, and generally being an aggravating little ball of spite. A dangerous one at that. Her name was Nora.
All versions you know of fit a pattern. They have a foul temperament, have something they’re incredibly devoted to, and are willing and able to cross just about every line for it when pushed.
It usually doesn’t take much pushing.
As you exit the realm of memory, you realise that only your retinue has come with you, and that the rest are far enough away that meaningful direction is impossible. You can remember the path back to everyone else, but if you keep following Nora and the paladin, that won’t be the case much longer. It’s a matter of whether to leave them behind, or abandon your pursuit.
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Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Gotta agree with KQ - this is about imposing views, after all. Though I'd argue to reduce Freak rather than Mundane - he's being told to be Quickman v2 right now, and Freak's about being unique and powerful (plus the other stuff). Imposing his father onto him, especially when he can't do what he does, undermines that.
That, and this doesn't have to do with how normal he is.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Solmira just gives a deadpan look to Turnabout. "Yes, Turnabout. I would very much mind retrieving Tox after offering to do so prior to your request. Your request and its delivery is deeply insulting to me, and makes me ponder how you think you could have convinced me to do anything."
Not all of that was sarcasm. Solmira just counted herself lucky she wouldn't have to be in the van whilst the others complained about it.
Shaking her head, Solmira takes off to grab her teammate. "I'm on my way, Tox. And do be aware - it seems Turnabout is unable to listen to his comms."
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
As far as I'm aware, Relationships have no written mechanical effect. I'd imagine they help inform when someone gains Influence over you - though that's still at the discretion of the player giving Influence a lot of the time.
Story looks good, anyway.
Sorrel wrote:
First rule of C-team: nobody hears from us what we did to Pestilence. It was an accident, okay, and it was nobody's fault.
Female Outsider | Danger 0 | Freak 0 | Saviour 2 | Superior 0 | Mundane 1 | Afraid, Guilty | ○●Potential●○ --- ●○○○○ | 2 Advancements | Current Advice: Trust and depend on others, and let them know about me
Michael Crofton:
Rebound? Turnabout? Feedback? Backlash? Backfire?
You've got Power Mimicry, Impossible Fighting Skills, and a fiery temper. That screams to me that you deserve a name all about returning punishment tenfold.
I would have suggested Secret Identities, as a way to reflect what people expect to see and allow you to gather info, set things up and get where you need to be under the radar, but I feel like Mirror's pretty obvious when they're on the scene.
Surveillance equipment seems like the way to go. For a cautious, defensive hero, having surveillance equipment would allow for gathering information under the radar from a safe locale, from which you could then formulate plans and strategies or determine what your target is planning. A hero that prefers a more careful approach would probably value information significantly, I'd think.
Jae-Lin Park/Bane:
If you want to play up the way the media targets you, Vermin control, Impossible Mobility and Substance Mimicry all work well.
Vermin control allows for proxies and will have the media in a frenzy whenever they spot a bug or a rodent about, depending on which of the two you picked.
Substance mimicry means you could be anywhere, hiding in plain sight, and have them picking apart every glitch in the footage or oddly shaped object.
Impossible mobility covers the same ground as Substance Mimicry in a different manner - many entrances other people would never be able to consider are open to you, and you can get away just as easily, making you brutally effective with hit and run tactics, and making it nigh impossible to catch you.
Who, besides the team and staff, is nice to you?:
The only one she could name is Terawing, the hero that brought her to the Institute. He's a notorious softy, and she gets the impression he's still worried about her.
Otherwise...not many people. Between playing up her alien heritage and acting like she was actually someone important at home in an attempted to be seen as distinct, and actually believing she knows better than most of her peers due to coming from a vastly more advanced planet, she can be pretty insufferable. Her insecurities, her background, and even her old name are locked down to anyone not already aware behind a storm of condescension, arrogance and misdirection that just serves to make her seem inhuman and push people away.
We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?:
Well, let's see what I can think of for reasons.
Solmira acts way too full of herself for someone who randomly falls unconscious. Probably seen as a really annoying liability.
Bane's the media punching bag, well known as that one guy who poisons people. It's only natural he'd be looked at funny.
Sorrel's the hallucinogenic plant centaur that elicits screaming and violence from the average passerby. Elaborating would only compound the issue.
Best I can guess for Kid Quickman is mainly us focusing on all the ways he's not the beloved Quickman. It makes him seem...disappointing.
Michael's not easy either, but I'm thinking an aggressive hothead who just throws back anything you chuck at him is someone you'd want to steer clear of.
I'm thinking along the lines of 'trial by fire' for how we came to trust each other, but I'm having a hard time with the scenario. A little help?
Relationships:
I’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with Jae-Lin.
Honestly, Jae-Lin's one of the few people that impress Lios. Maintaining multiple identities, his commitment to learning to handle his toxins, and just how assured and secure he seems - Bane seems to practically embody Lios's goals, and she makes a point of spending time with him to learn as much as possible all at once.
I have a crush on Sorrel, but I keep it under wraps.
As far as Lios is concerned, Sorrel's probably one of the most unique people on Earth, and a nice person to be around besides. It just infuriates her that he can't just own what he is, because she'd kill to be so distinct in people's minds as he is.
We do have quite the interesting team, don't we?
Kid Quickman wrote:
I mean I don't know if I'd say laughing stock...
Doesn't matter whether you say it, it matters whether everyone else says it.
