Thanks for the clarification;
isn't one of the gib things about heros that, sometimes, they can avoid their fate? You already gave us two hints, with the 'literal' approach and the 'fighting Nemesis can be done, but it's hard'.
Or is that a misinterpretation on my part?
Fighting Nemesis doesn't actually cancel your Fate but is still a good way to resolve the problem. If you lose, your Thread unravels and the Fates try again with another, effectively recycling your Destiny. If you win, well, you're a god. Gods are still subject to Fate, but as a god such things are much easier to achieve and they don't need Legend either way. They have almost limitless power and most are close to being outright sociopaths.
Fates can never be outright prevented, but they can be twisted to come about differently. "Kill your father" can mean kill your biological father, kill your step-father, kill your father-in-law, or even kill your Catholic priest. So long as you have enough of a bond with this man that the universe agrees he is 'your father', your Destiny will be satisfied. Of course, guess wrong and not only will Destiny not be satisfied but you'll have just killed an innocent man for no reason. As mentioned, Fate doesn't like it when people try to yank it around.
Exactly how you plan to fool Fate is up to you to decide. There are lots of ways to do it, but completing your Destiny will end the Quest (or at least retire that character) so don't expect it to be simple.
This is definitely possible to do, provided you can find a way to do it and don't mind handing the other person both your Legend and your Divine Power. Your Destiny is tied directly to those abilities: you can't pass along one without also giving up the other.
This is definitely possible to do, provided you can find a way to do it and don't mind handing the other person both your Legend and your Divine Power. Your Destiny is tied directly to those abilities: you can't pass along one without also giving up the other.
I'd want an A.I. we programmed well enough to stay loyal to us instead of our replacement as part of that stash, to give some recompense for losing our supernatural inventing ability, but otherwise? I agree with that.
I'd want an A.I. we programmed well enough to stay loyal to us instead of our replacement as part of that stash, to give some recompense for losing our supernatural inventing ability, but otherwise? I agree with that.
You are better off finding a product, improving it and then selling solution to company producing thing in question. It's both low-key and it gets you some nice dosh.
You are better off finding a product, improving it and then selling solution to company producing thing in question. It's both low-key and it gets you some nice dosh.
Meanwhile we should take care to keep our Legend low - upgrading products for cash and then using that money to finance coming with actually revolutionary shit we will anonymously send to other people so we don't get rep.
I'd want an A.I. we programmed well enough to stay loyal to us instead of our replacement as part of that stash, to give some recompense for losing our supernatural inventing ability, but otherwise? I agree with that.
Once she gives up her abilities the Quest will end and Alexandria will spend the rest of her days going through life as just another mortal. All of her really useful creations rely on her Divine nature or Legendary abilities to function. Anything but the most simple and mundane of devices would either reject her, fail to activate at all, or suffer a fatal malfunction within a year. No AI, no Robots, no Ray Guns, no Jet Packs, no Flying Cars. The best she might be able to save are some gadgets that are several years ahead of the tech curve but that she no longer knows how to repair or even fully utilize. And yes, likely a bit of money made from selling the stuff she didn't need to be a literal genius to be able to use.
Meanwhile we should take care to keep our Legend low - upgrading products for cash and then using that money to finance coming with actually revolutionary shit we will anonymously send to other people so we don't get rep.
Totally agreed - if you take another look at my plan you'll see that the invent part comes after 'set up everything to flip one to fate'.
So:
1) survive
2) learn rules
3) find a way to check out our destiny
3a) if possible, get a status indication IC
[X] Serious. Aloof and cool in both senses of the word. You have a low tolerance for bullshit and will not hesitate to say so, earning you a reputation as a bit of a jackass.
[X] The Big Sister.
-[X] Your family lives in the same state.
"Not that it's particularly any of your business, but I do have family!" you reply firmly. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't get us killed by driving like a maniac!"
"Pay attention! I already told you: dying isn't in the cards for us! Wait a few weeks, then see how scared you are of a measly scooter crash!"
"Fine! In that case, slow the hell down so I don't have to shout at you! I'm getting sick of it!"
Lucy says nothing, but obediently lets up on the throttle. Now that the wind has lessened, the two of you are able to converse at a more reasonable volume. After about a minute of silence, your driver finally speaks up.
"I'm still waiting for my answer, you know."
"Keep waiting," you answer with cool finality. Just because your divine deadbeat of a 'dad' had appointed this woman as your teacher didn't give her the right to pry into your life.
Now that the adrenaline and rush of elation your elevated abilities had produced were wearing off, you felt yourself sinking back into your usual somber mood. It was something of a relief. Looking back on the way you had been acting, you almost felt embarrassed. One-liners? 'Kill stealing?' You were like a caffeine-addicted brat playing a video game. Never. Again.
"Cute. And people say I have an attitude problem," Lucy says sarcastically after a moment of pause, but you ignore her hostility. You're used to people not liking you, and you could care less. "I'm not asking out of curiosity. There's a point to this."
"Then maybe you should just say it instead of trying to Yoda me."
"And maybe you would like to walk the rest of the way home?"
"She'd be better off," the end of your scarf snaps, the loose cloth looking for a few moments like the rounded head of a small dragon. "Your bike is a piece of shit."
"That's why I bought it," Lucy confirms before glancing back to glare at you. "I get that you don't like me. That's fine. I'm not crazy about you either. But the last thing I need is your dad coming for my head because you got yourself killed, and whether you admit it or not, you owe me. Unless you had some other way of finding out all that stuff I just told you?"
You consider correcting her: you don't actually dislike her, you're like this with everyone...but eventually decide not to bother. She could think whatever she wanted. Unfortunately, she did have a point: you might not have needed a rescue, but the information gave you really had been valuable. While your dragon was obviously loyal and useful, you suspected he had too much bias to be particularly useful as a source of information. You still had questions, and it seemed that if you wanted answers you were going to have to jump through her stupid hoops.
"After my mom got taken away, I was sent to live with her brother and his wife," you say with a heavy sigh. "They were basically my parents: they've been raising me ever since I was four. I have two younger sisters, cousins if you want to be technical. The oldest is twenty, the youngest is eighteen. They're both insufferable brats."
You leave out the part where you'd move mountains for them without a second thought, but something in your tone seems to indicate this to Lucy anyway, and she smiles. You scowl, causing her to smile more broadly.
"You still haven't said what you do for a living," she reminds you, though her voice is friendly rather than mocking.
"I'm a student. I should be getting my Masters in Engineering by the end of the year."
"Masters? Not bad-" she starts, then cuts herself off. "Quick question. What's the base electrical resistance of orichalcum?"
"Zero," you say instantly, before your brain kicks in to remind you that there is no such material.
"Uh huh. Thermal conductivity of Hihi'irokane?"
"About 900 watts per meter Kelvin, depending on the forging process," you state without thinking, before realizing that again you've listed off the property of a substance that does not exist. You put two and two together at about the same time as your new mentor, who groans.
"Damn it, you've got Engineering, don't you?"
"Huh?"
"Every Hero has a Legendary Talent, something they're the best in the world at. You know, unbeatable swordsmen, singers who can charm gods, people who can outrun the wind, rogues who can talk their way out of literally anything, that kind of stuff. You're an inventor...who wants to be an engineer. Oh, may gods have mercy on you, because Fate sure didn't."
"Make. Sense," you growl angrily, though truth be told you couldn't muster up much annoyance. Your mind was already racing at the possibilities her questions had opened. If the things she had been talking about really existed and your intuitive knowledge had been correct, you could actually get your hands on room-temperature superconductors. Not only that, but heat exchangers twice as efficient as the most thermally conductive metals on the planet. Why, with even one of those you could-
"This! This is why! I can see that blasted out expression on your face. You've had your abilities for an hour and you're already trying to find ways to tie physics in knots! Look, it's like I told you: Fate wants you to be great. It needs you to. If you want to live past your first decade, you need to be ordinary, as ordinary as possible. You aren't going to do that by building a freaking space elevator in your backyard!"
"So I don't take credit for what I do," you answer with a shrug. "I'll find a proxy who can get all the glory."
Lucy frowns.
"That...might work, but I wouldn't recommend it. It'd probably be a temporary stopgap at best."
"Why?" You were getting tired of constantly having to ask questions.
"Because you're freaking Daedalus, that's why!" She scowls when she sees the reference has gone over your head. "There was a hero called Daedalus who pissed off the wrong people and went on the run. The king searching for him devised a puzzle so complex only he could solve it, correctly deducing that Daedalus wouldn't be able to resist the challenge."
"Then he was a moron with no self-control. What's the point?"
"My point is that your plan will fall apart the moment someone realizes your front man isn't half as smart as he's supposed to be, and Fate is probably going to make sure that happens," she explains darkly. "Trust me. Your thing might be machines, but mine is knowledge, and I know that mythology is full of humble heroes who perform great deeds and let others take the credit. Every time they eventually get exposed and their true glory is recognized."
You scowl. Like hell you were going to just sit in your basement building devices that could change the world but that no one could ever actually use. But on the other hand, you liked living. Going out in a blaze of glory wasn't exactly appealing to you either. You open your mouth to ask another question...
---
[ ] "There has to be another way around this 'Destiny' thing. Can I pass it along to someone else or something?"
[ ] "Why did you need to know about my family? What do they have to do with anything?"
[ ] "I'm hearing a lot of things I can't do or shouldn't do. Exactly what can I do?"
[ ] Write In.
Just so people don't get discouraged, doing cool things is not in fact as horrible as Lucy believes it is. It's not exactly healthy, but compared to most of the crap you're likely to get up to it's actually pretty low risk.
[X] Write in
"You said Fate needs me - and I guess you mean heroes - to do something. Do you mean 'need' like in 'the world ends if a hero doesn't do stuff' or 'need' as in 'Fate wants to have fun and doesn't get satellite TV'? Why are there heroes?"
Edit
Reasoning:
Either Heros are there for Fate's amusement. This means we can plan to get one over Fate and keep the shinies (and our life) any way we see fit.
Or there's a reason for heroes, like 'strengthens the tapestry of Fate (which keeps existence existing). In this case we have to keep that in mind when planning - it wouldn't do to avert our Fate to just be sucked into a spontaneous Chaos intrusion.
[X] Write in
"You said Fate needs me - and I guess you mean heroes - to do something. Do you mean 'need' like in 'the world ends if a hero doesn't do stuff' or 'need' as in 'Fate wants to have fun and doesn't get satellite TV'? Why are there heroes?"
[X] Write in
"You said Fate needs me - and I guess you mean heroes - to do something. Do you mean 'need' like in 'the world ends if a hero doesn't do stuff' or 'need' as in 'Fate wants to have fun and doesn't get satellite TV'? Why are there heroes?"
[X] Write in
"You said Fate needs me - and I guess you mean heroes - to do something. Do you mean 'need' like in 'the world ends if a hero doesn't do stuff' or 'need' as in 'Fate wants to have fun and doesn't get satellite TV'? Why are there heroes?"
[X] Write in
"You said Fate needs me - and I guess you mean heroes - to do something. Do you mean 'need' like in 'the world ends if a hero doesn't do stuff' or 'need' as in 'Fate wants to have fun and doesn't get satellite TV'? Why are there heroes?"
