Sirrocco
Pedantic
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I believe that's more or less it, with "expect to spend 1, but potentially change your mind if we roll *really* well. (or particularly poorly?)"
Panopticon: A Game of Posthumans, Perniciousness, Paranoia, Politics, and Plasmaguns
THREAT NULL IS BEST AT SELF SABOTAGE
So difficulty is reduced to base...
How terrible. Reality Deviants shouldn't be allowed to succeed.
So difficulty is reduced to base...
How terrible. Reality Deviants shouldn't be allowed to succeed.
People should vote for heist part 2 and 3, and suggest Tyrant involvement.
Just as a note, I did name them after the Illuminati special ops team which killed a bunch of Sarif's employees and goes around committing terrorism for a reason and that should make you consider the ramifications of running into them carefully.
Just as a note, I did name them after the Illuminati special ops team which killed a bunch of Sarif's employees and goes around committing terrorism for a reason and that should make you consider the ramifications of running into them carefully.
NonSequtur
a body
A Heist! Part 1:
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in
Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] Disguise, then sneak about
For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Special Delivery
Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probably got a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
*looks back to Jason and friends during Act 3*
Sooo... just our kind of people, then?
Last edited:
- Location
- England
A Heist! Part 1:
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in. Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probably got a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
Sounds like a plan!
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in. Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probably got a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
Sounds like a plan!
Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
A Heist! Part 1:
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in. Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
-[x] Naturally, while Rose might not have Matter to blend her regular clothes into the bat form (and using PU to mark it as hers might leave unfortunate ties that a Reality Deviant could exploit), she can extrude the equivalent of vatgrown leather from her skin to make up her 'catsuit'. Even the Masses can grow leather synthetically, and a sexy vampiress wearing tight leather is Coincidental pretty much everywhere, but especially in Hollywood.
Donald may be our first casualty to extreme blood loss on this mission. Friendly fire is a terrible thing.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probably got a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
This all seems like a solid, basic plan for pulling this off. Clearly they vetoed most of Donald's ideas.
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in. Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
-[x] Naturally, while Rose might not have Matter to blend her regular clothes into the bat form (and using PU to mark it as hers might leave unfortunate ties that a Reality Deviant could exploit), she can extrude the equivalent of vatgrown leather from her skin to make up her 'catsuit'. Even the Masses can grow leather synthetically, and a sexy vampiress wearing tight leather is Coincidental pretty much everywhere, but especially in Hollywood.
Donald may be our first casualty to extreme blood loss on this mission. Friendly fire is a terrible thing.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probably got a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
This all seems like a solid, basic plan for pulling this off. Clearly they vetoed most of Donald's ideas.
Rose sashays around the corner. Yes. Sashay is certainly the word. Her black-clad feet squeak on the floor. Her new garment is still damp. She's just getting Henriette's opinion on it. Yes. That's all. Even Thorn agrees that it would be good to get another woman's opinion on it, before she shows it to anyone else.
Admittedly, Thorn grins with far too much fang when she says that. But it's the thought that counts, right?
"Oh, Henriette?" Rose asks.
The other woman is hunched over a desk, doing something with some kind of Iterator-y tool. It looks a bit like a wrench. Actually, it might be a wrench. Rose doesn't really knows much about that sort of thing. "What?" is all the response she gets. Not even a look.
"I've run into a problem. I'll be making use of built-in shape-shifting functionality, but that means I can't carry anything with me and so given I need to get some tools inside..."
Henriette doesn't look up. "Supply drop. Got it. Provide me with the coordinates and I'll have a Masses-tech drone convey it. There's a six kilo limit per drone - try to keep under it." Her hands move with the kind of precision that Rose herself is capable of as she builds an add-on module for Wufan's varigun.
"Have you been eating?" Rose asks her.
"Yes. I've got it scheduled on my to-do list. I had a bagel one hour and sixteen minutes ago." She pauses. "I put some of the leftover Chinese in it. I'm fine."
Henriette is taking the fun out of it by not looking. She should be admiring her new figure-hugging outfit. "Just tell me if you get the headache again."
"I will. I'm fine. Now, you're standing in the way of the light. Please go, Rose, I have a lot of work to do and almost no time to do it in if I want to schedule some sleep on top of getting everything ready. I've added equipment conveyance to my TODO list. It should be ready, but it won't get done if you try to distract me."
Thorn sighs loudly as Rose slinks out. "I see that two-faced bitch didn't take the bait," she says dryly. "I wanted to see the look on her face when she saw you looking like that. Think of helping her get over her ex and the split. Which is to say, her ex got split."
"Two-faced?" Rose whispers, slightly confused. "I... haven't seen that from her. She's just a bit mean all the time."
"Well, yes. That's because you've only seen one of her two faces. Well, almost. You saw a glimpse of her other face in the reports on Moscow."
Rose nods. "The side when she's less mean and she's more of a hero."
Thorn sighs patronisingly. "Yes. Sure. You can believe that if you want. You wouldn't even get the joke if I called her Janal-retentive."
"... do you mean anal-retentive?"
"Case in point."
***
Henriette has no idea what Rose was wearing. It looked skin-tight, black, and wet. She hopes it wasn't some kind of horrific insectoid carapace. She can really do without Rose turning into a bug-lady. But she clearly wanted attention, and Henriette wasn't about to give it to her.
Especially if she's decided something stupid like 'let's turn into a spider-woman so I can crawl on walls'. Henriette is entirely willing to go her lifetime without seeing half-spider, half-human monsters, thank you very much. Werewolves are bad enough. If she starts having to deal with werespiders, she may well scream. And then break out the flamethrowers.
Deep inside, Henriette shudders. She never used to be scared of spiders. Not before Autochthonia. There are memories deep down there, repressed - and she knows she's repressing them and it's her doing it, not what the Void Engineers did to her. Iteration X used to like spider imagery. They liked their access to the old-style 'Digital Web'. She remembers things out there which were... well, they had the same resemblance to a spider as a de-skinned HITMark has to a human being.
That'll go on the long-term TODO list. 'Resolve fear of spiders by reminding self that normal spiders are not crystal-and-silicon monsters larger than a mecha'. Great.
God, she's so fucked up. And she's not the only one.
She adds a medium-term TODO. 'Explain to Rose that it's not nice to flaunt one's looks, no matter what the Progenitors say.'. If she's going to have to be a big sister to Mari, she might as well re-purpose some of that for Rose. She's acting erratic, trying to pretend that everything is all right. She can't lie to Henriette. Not about that, when Henriette has experience with bad mental places. She spent a long time trying to pretend that everything was all right after Autochthonia, and now in hindsight of course she was lying. She wasn't all right. No one is all right after seeing what she saw and having their brain mucked up and being crippled.
Rose is lying too. Even most HITMarks would be glitching after a month of solid combat engagements. Humans? That's burn-out waiting to happen.
She sighs. She... she wants Serafina back too. It's nice to have someone warm and comforting and soft around. Sure, she's just as manipulative as Director Belltower, but she makes it feel softer and less obvious. Which... might be a sign that she's better at it. But between the two of them they helped Henriette pull herself back together and... and Serafina is Rose's mother and Henriette spent most of her life working and trying to be good enough to get her mother back. So Rose is probably feeling the same, too.
If they can just find Serafina from the records, then she can help Rose and... and Henriette won't have lost yet another... another... person. Yes.
She realises that her workflow is empty. She's been lost in working meditation - a little something she invented by hybridising some of the things Director Aristide taught her with her own natural Iterator superiority to an old NWO quack. And her short-term TODO list has reached "TODO: Sleep".
Exhausted, Henriette just about manages to crawl into the bed not three metres from her workbench and is asleep before she can even vocalise the command to turn the lights off. They turn out, though, as her ADEI sends the signal. And when she dreams, the machine that's been in her brain since before she was decanted dreams too.
- Location
- Spain
A Heist! Part 1:
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in. Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
-[x] Naturally, while Rose might not have Matter to blend her regular clothes into the bat form (and using PU to mark it as hers might leave unfortunate ties that a Reality Deviant could exploit), she can extrude the equivalent of vatgrown leather from her skin to make up her 'catsuit'. Even the Masses can grow leather synthetically, and a sexy vampiress wearing tight leather is Coincidental pretty much everywhere, but especially in Hollywood.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probablygot a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
Your plan to avoid LAPD attention is to:
[x] Fly in. Rose can use the more morphic parts of haemophage biology to fly in, storing excess body-mass in near-dimensional space much like a werewolf. Wufan will zipline in under cover of a brief power outage along with most of the equipment, and they will meet in the attic. When the shifts change in the early morning, and any vampires have gone to rest, they can pretend to be part of the new shift.
-[x] Naturally, while Rose might not have Matter to blend her regular clothes into the bat form (and using PU to mark it as hers might leave unfortunate ties that a Reality Deviant could exploit), she can extrude the equivalent of vatgrown leather from her skin to make up her 'catsuit'. Even the Masses can grow leather synthetically, and a sexy vampiress wearing tight leather is Coincidental pretty much everywhere, but especially in Hollywood.
A Heist! Part 2:
And how are you going to deal with the guards?
[x] For casing the property, disguises will suffice. Both Rose and Wufan are very adept at seeming like they belong, and mundane guard uniforms should conceal the catsuits perfectly well. This is when they'll slip USB sticks, dose the guards' coffee, and generally do subtle sabotage of the security systems (thanks Henriette). Once they're satisfied, sneaking about the drugged guards should be easy enough. Save violence for if something goes wrong.
A Heist! Part 3:
And finally, how are you making your getaway?
[x] Henriette can take over the delivery truck easily enough. Feigned mechanical problems - and Wufan's equally feigned 'expertise' at solving them - are an excellent excuse for hanging around the vehicle for a bit while loading any physical goods, and themselves, on it. Once far away from prying eyes, Wufan and Rose can get out with their ill-gotten goods without the driver noticing, or simply render the driver temporarily unconscious and have Henriette drive it to a pick up spot. Wufan's probablygot a neuralyzer if they see anything untoward.
cB557
voOOP
NonSequtur
a body
Honestly I don't get the joke here.
***
"Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?" Thorn asks from inside the full-length mirror. She's changed outfits once more, and the catsuit she's wearing now is most certainly not field issue. Too much cleavage, for one.
Rose frowns. The zipper of her own suit has gotten caught. Again. "Generally psychiatrists try to avoid using that term these days."
Thorn tuts at her. "You can't deflect me that easy - I'm in your head. It'll take more than an argument about how the Technocracy loses control of its own words to put me off."
"Is it when you talk to yourself, and yourself answers back?" The zipper finally slides down, and Rose pulls on the millimetre thick suit. It slides oddly over her skin, far too heavy for something as thin as it is.
Thorn grins. It's not particularly nice. "Interesting thought, but no. You need to work on your put-downs." She sighs, slumping over the edge of the bed. "Are you really going to try this again?"
Rose doesn't bother answering. Haemophage biology is highly morphic. Unusually so, given how it's basically dead. Her flesh can reshape itself in all sorts of ways, most of them unstable and rather gross. A rare few of them are useful and easy to handle.
The softsuit collapses, the matter that had been holding it up vanishing into near-dimensional space. Inside something small struggles for a moment, before escaping through the neck. It's a bat. A vampire bat.
Unfortunately they are also very stereotypical.
In the mirror, Thorn pulls on an elaborate red-lined black cape. She smirks at the bat.
Thorn, Rose decides, is still a bitch. Some things never change. The air twists, and excess matter is pulled back into real-space. The combat construct stands up, scowling at her hallucination. The softsuit remains crumpled accusingly on the floor behind her. A moment passes. Thorn gives her a suggestive leer. Waggles her eyebrows.
"Not. One. Word." As far as hisses go, it's a good hiss. She has some snake genes in her fang structure, after all.
Thorn's leer simply gets more lascivious. "Oh Mr. Guo is that a stick up your ass or are you just happy to see me?"
Rose sighs. Nudity might not be much of a taboo among the Progenitors, but Serafina had at least tried to give her daughter some modesty.
"Fine. We'll try your plan."
***
Donald's fingers tap a beat on the side of his laptop. His human ones, at least. The sound of his other fingers drumming is something he'd rather avoid.
It's midday, but with all the blinds drawn the room certainly doesn't look like it. Henriette's still working away, he thinks, and Wufan's been doing... something with his varigun. Rose's spent the past hour or so in her room. All of them should be getting some sleep sometime this afternoon. They'd need their focus for tonight's operation.
Donald, on the other hand, doesn't have much of anything to do. He cycles through the security cameras. Maybe he'll order in something nice for... breakfast? Dinner? Ugh. Night jobs. Still, they'd perform better if they had a good meal. It's not much of a contribution, but it's something.
"Henriette doesn't like Indian food." The voice is right next to his ear.
Donald jumps. A bit. He certainly doesn't flail, and Rose does not end up having to catch his chair. And his laptop. No sir.
"Feeling stressed?" she laughs.
He hadn't even heard her enter. It wasn't surprising she could, but generally she was a bit more accommodating of people who weren't loaded with sensory packages stolen from across the animal kingdom. "Not really, just- Rose."
"Yes?" she replies, all innocence.
Donald swallows. "What are you wearing?" It's black. And glistening. Tight in ways that make a mockery of innocent intentions.
Rose frowns. "My personal shape-shifting capabilities don't extend to things as inorganic as Iteration X armour. So I made my own." She shrugs, setting off interesting shifts in the dark material. "It's not like making leather is hard - even the Masses can do it."
She's teasing him. He... isn't sure how to respond to that.
Better move to safer ground. "So, you're good for the infiltration?"
"Henriette's delivering the rest by drone. I'll be fine."
Donald quirks an eyebrow at her. "More drones? She needs to get some sleep."
"You've been pulling the same hours she has with less excuse." Ouch. "Is something bothering you?"
Quite a lot of things are bothering Donald. Half of them involve Rose or the Spy's Demise, and are thus off-limits. But it would be hypocritical to brush her off entirely and then worry about how she pretends everything's fine. So - he sighs - honesty time.
"I'm not a jet-setting super-spy with a magical dick." Okay that's quite a bit more flippant than what he'd been aiming for.
Rose chuckles. "Very specific."
"Ugh, that came out wrong. It's just... this sort of field work. I'm not very good at it. Without my assets, my contacts... how am I supposed to tell you or Mr. Tight-ass how to run an infiltration? Or Henriette how to get into their systems?" His hand, his metal hand, balls into a fist strong enough to bend steel.
"You feel like you can't do anything?" she asks. He nods slowly. There's a statement that could be taken in many ways. "Donald. How do you think I feel when you and Director Belltower are trying to figure out who you can trust in the Union?"
He's not really sure how she feels. That's part of the problem. "You're not bad at it yourself. You held them together in the Demise."
She flashes him a smile. "In a fight, maybe. The kind of favour trading you get up to? Even if I wasn't a construct, I'd be hard pressed to keep up."
He frowns. The glass ceiling isn't generally spoken about so frankly. "You learn fast enough. Basic hypereconomics in a week, wasn't it?"
"And you seem to have forgotten comparative advantage." Rose leans forward and looks him dead in the eye. If Donald weren't as intent on the conversation as he is, he might have been flustered. Instead he's flustered because of the conversation. "You gave us a target. We'll get you your assets. Trust me."
She sashays out. The door closes with a quiet click. Donald stares after her for a moment, and then rubs his eyes.
"Damn it." She'd managed to avoid her own issues. Again.
"Janal" is to ????? as "anal" is to anus.
Okay. So. Let's talk about the Tyrants. Do we want to get them involved in this? What are the pluses and minuses?
Because, hmm. If we're looking for a hook, @Cavalier pointed out that from things established about LaCroix, he's the sort of person who's likely to get involved with the SPD. He's sure he's smart enough to avoid the obvious Infernalists of Pentex, but the SPD as the new dogs are the sort of people (as a nouveau riche sort himself) he might back to overthrow the old order for his own advantage. So if he's involved with them, that ties into Donald's own involvement with the SPD - and also means LaCroix can genuinely hide from the Tyrants, at least for a little bit, if they're trying to track him down to ask him painful questions about his seeming involvement with an assassination attempt on Jamelia. And likewise, given it's implied that the SPD is working for the Residents, that gives LaCroix some manner of defence against the Anathema (at least until he becomes a liability).
Now, there are several ways to use this. Maybe the party has... um, ruined one of the Tyrants' monitoring ops of LaCroix's pawns. Maybe they've stolen evidence the Tyrants want to get their hands on. On the other hand, maybe Henriette's use of VA code for her false flag distraction attacks has convinced the Tyrants that there are some anti-Pentex Adepts who they might be able to use as cannon fodder or proxies for their own attempts to find LaCroix.
Hmm. More thought needed.
Because, hmm. If we're looking for a hook, @Cavalier pointed out that from things established about LaCroix, he's the sort of person who's likely to get involved with the SPD. He's sure he's smart enough to avoid the obvious Infernalists of Pentex, but the SPD as the new dogs are the sort of people (as a nouveau riche sort himself) he might back to overthrow the old order for his own advantage. So if he's involved with them, that ties into Donald's own involvement with the SPD - and also means LaCroix can genuinely hide from the Tyrants, at least for a little bit, if they're trying to track him down to ask him painful questions about his seeming involvement with an assassination attempt on Jamelia. And likewise, given it's implied that the SPD is working for the Residents, that gives LaCroix some manner of defence against the Anathema (at least until he becomes a liability).
Now, there are several ways to use this. Maybe the party has... um, ruined one of the Tyrants' monitoring ops of LaCroix's pawns. Maybe they've stolen evidence the Tyrants want to get their hands on. On the other hand, maybe Henriette's use of VA code for her false flag distraction attacks has convinced the Tyrants that there are some anti-Pentex Adepts who they might be able to use as cannon fodder or proxies for their own attempts to find LaCroix.
Hmm. More thought needed.
I like that. The Tyrants have linked up with our interns. By which I mean Jamelia's interns - they weren't with her long but maybe her preferred strategy of using Traditions proxies without screwing them over too badly has rubbed off.
It gives us a fairly cooperative contact from the beginning because they want us doing stuff that we want to do. At the same time it gives us a chance to work out IC that they're not pawns of Clock or the Anathema before they work out who we really are. Also it's a chance for Wufan to get treated as a Reality Deviant which might finally crack that flat facade.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So, the Tyrants were monitoring this guy, maybe had some assets on-site, we blow through as an unexpected third party, and they try to find out as much as they can about us in order to hopefully use us later?
Worth remembering that our grand and glorious QM *likes* it when we give ourselves complications, so maybe we crank it up a notch. Whoever they had infiltrating has some actual ability - but they're infiltrating as someone who doesn't. We knock out the guards, toss them in a bedroom - and one of them gets back up again and starts tracking us. Possibly tries to thwart us if we do something that would have wrecked some of their long-term plans, possibly tries to get information on us that we're not comfortable letting out, possibly tries to do something to grab advantage over us with an eye to later negotiations. Possibly even calls in the rest of the team and tries to delay with an eye to capture-and-turn.
Worth remembering that our grand and glorious QM *likes* it when we give ourselves complications, so maybe we crank it up a notch. Whoever they had infiltrating has some actual ability - but they're infiltrating as someone who doesn't. We knock out the guards, toss them in a bedroom - and one of them gets back up again and starts tracking us. Possibly tries to thwart us if we do something that would have wrecked some of their long-term plans, possibly tries to get information on us that we're not comfortable letting out, possibly tries to do something to grab advantage over us with an eye to later negotiations. Possibly even calls in the rest of the team and tries to delay with an eye to capture-and-turn.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
The Tyrants going after the SPD to track down LaCroix makes sense. Finding and using the party as proxies is one of the less complicated and dangerous ways to get in touch with them.
Using the SPD as a primary antagonist also makes this more about Donald. There's a chance here to expand on his past and use his renewed confrontation with the rogue Syndicate Nephandi to push more character development. He'll need to come to terms with what he's become and can become by facing demons from his past. It may be a great opportunity to cement him as a real leader.
And if he loses an eye, gets a stun attachment for his cyberarm, grows out his hair and adopts a closely shaved beard while calling himself "Punished Donald," before a finale involving assaulting an oil rig filled with PMCs (who happen to be possessed by demons) well, so much the better.
Using the SPD as a primary antagonist also makes this more about Donald. There's a chance here to expand on his past and use his renewed confrontation with the rogue Syndicate Nephandi to push more character development. He'll need to come to terms with what he's become and can become by facing demons from his past. It may be a great opportunity to cement him as a real leader.
And if he loses an eye, gets a stun attachment for his cyberarm, grows out his hair and adopts a closely shaved beard while calling himself "Punished Donald," before a finale involving assaulting an oil rig filled with PMCs (who happen to be possessed by demons) well, so much the better.
"I'm already a demon."
- A fomori, stating the obvious
Ha ha ha the idea that the interns can teach the Tyrants anything. Jaron is an ex-Mossad superspy who's basically Jamelia's equal and is certainly her peer.
... I think you're rather underestimating the Tyrants there.
They are Public Section Security 9, without Togusa to let the team down by being a meatbag [1]. They are a hardcore team of badasses, who aren't as durable as an Iterator shock team but who are better at applying that force to places where it really hurts.
There is a good chance that they might decide to tag and bag the rogue combat construct, and if they were serious Rose would probably lose. And then everything would go to shit because we are trying to remain below the radar here and we know there's a Special Agent out there.
[1] This makes Professor Bastion into Aramaki, I guess.
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NonSequtur
a body
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Not in the way you think. All of this is just my interpretation, and others may vary.
For Rose's part, she's discovered that she enjoys teasing Henriette. It's not a question of attraction - it's that Rose gets to have some power by winding people up gently. And she's in denial that she likes being mildly not-nice to people and that catty comments are... well, sort of fun. It's not full on Thorn bitchiness, but poking fun at people and then pretending to be innocent is... well, something a lot of six year olds do. And Henriette is the easiest person around to wind up, and also is prone to things like loudly declaring that Rose has won this round and that she will have her vengeance, or other things of that ilk. Anyway, Rose knows Henriette likes having things to criticise.
For Henriette's part, it's just a consequence of Rose's Echoes (Vampire), which means that she projects a field of "sexy female vampire". Which means that people end up attracted to her, regardless of their normal inclinations or whether they want to be. Henriette is a bit jealous of how Rose looks - because, yes, Rose is drop-dead gorgeous and looks like a supermodel even when she's just rolled out of bed - and the Echoes mean that the little bit of jealousy also has a bit of attraction in it. It's not some all consuming obsession, but it means Henriette sometimes finds herself having idle thoughts she wouldn't normally have when she's close to Rose. Which are a real pain and she really wishes they'd go away. Stupid unfairly hot Progenitors.
To put it another way, while she has no interest in a relationship with Rose, there's a little bit of her which wants to open the windows at night to cool off only for a fiend of the night to creep in through the window and latch onto her neck and be a living metaphor for fears of aggressive female sexuality at least until the sun rises and the monster is banished and she gets to retreat from the fears of the night, etc etc. Because it has to be noted, Echoes is a Flaw, and that tendency for attraction to creep into Rose's interactions with others gets in the way of forming normal relationships. It's just a note with Henriette and since Henriette has decided that she's going to ignore it and in no way act on it, it's just a nudge that sometimes makes moments awkward, but it certainly didn't help with the sexual harassment reports that Sera and Cross had to file on her behalf.
To put it third way, dammit Rose, how did you manage to get "So beautiful it's a curse" on your character sheet. Oh, and you're a supersoldier superhuman. And also half vampire. And your eyes can change colour. And you're a shapeshifter as well. Goddamn Mary Sues.
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- Location
- England
It's funny because on this team
actually
everyone
on the original team + extras (Jamelia, Kessler, Serafina, Rose, Donald, Henriette)
has some kind of Mary Sue like traits, I'm pretty sure.
Except Henriette, actually.
(Isn't it sad Henriette?)
Which just goes to show how little that actually means.
(I may have no idea what I'm on about and be rambling because 10:00 at night lawl.)
actually
everyone
on the original team + extras (Jamelia, Kessler, Serafina, Rose, Donald, Henriette)
has some kind of Mary Sue like traits, I'm pretty sure.
Except Henriette, actually.
(Isn't it sad Henriette?)
Which just goes to show how little that actually means.
(I may have no idea what I'm on about and be rambling because 10:00 at night lawl.)
- Location
- Spain
You are kidding, right? Henriette is a legendary pilot with a tragic past. Who is also kinda a princess.
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- Location
- England
Oh yeah right.
I just made the nge connection and my mind immediately went to "opposite of mary sue", but yeah that just confirms my theorem even more!
I just made the nge connection and my mind immediately went to "opposite of mary sue", but yeah that just confirms my theorem even more!
AKuz
Been Better
- Location
- A Rising Tide of Horrors
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Not in the way you think. All of this is just my interpretation, and others may vary.
For Rose's part, she's discovered that she enjoys teasing Henriette. It's not a question of attraction - it's that Rose gets to have some power by winding people up gently. And she's in denial that she likes being mildly not-nice to people and that catty comments are... well, sort of fun. It's not full on Thorn bitchiness, but poking fun at people and then pretending to be innocent is... well, something a lot of six year olds do. And Henriette is the easiest person around to wind up, and also is prone to things like loudly declaring that Rose has won this round and that she will have her vengeance, or other things of that ilk. Anyway, Rose knows Henriette likes having things to criticise.
For Henriette's part, it's just a consequence of Rose's Echoes (Vampire), which means that she projects a field of "sexy female vampire". Which means that people end up attracted to her, regardless of their normal inclinations or whether they want to be. Henriette is a bit jealous of how Rose looks - because, yes, Rose is drop-dead gorgeous and looks like a supermodel even when she's just rolled out of bed - and the Echoes mean that the little bit of jealousy also has a bit of attraction in it. It's not some all consuming obsession, but it means Henriette sometimes finds herself having idle thoughts she wouldn't normally have when she's close to Rose. Which are a real pain and she really wishes they'd go away. Stupid unfairly hot Progenitors.
To put it another way, while she has no interest in a relationship with Rose, there's a little bit of her which wants to open the windows at night to cool off only for a fiend of the night to creep in through the window and latch onto her neck and be a living metaphor for fears of aggressive female sexuality at least until the sun rises and the monster is banished and she gets to retreat from the fears of the night, etc etc. Because it has to be noted, Echoes is a Flaw, and that tendency for attraction to creep into Rose's interactions with others gets in the way of forming normal relationships. It's just a note with Henriette and since Henriette has decided that she's going to ignore it and in no way act on it, it's just a nudge that sometimes makes moments awkward, but it certainly didn't help with the sexual harassment reports that Sera and Cross had to file on her behalf.
To put it third way, dammit Rose, how did you manage to get "So beautiful it's a curse" on your character sheet. Oh, and you're a supersoldier superhuman. And also half vampire. And your eyes can change colour. And you're a shapeshifter as well. Goddamn Mary Sues.
[Yuri goggles]I still ship it![/Yuri goggles permanently fused to face after terrible shipping accident]
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cB557
voOOP
Who is also now a burgeoning psychic.