[X] Write-in. Subject to QM veto. : They talk about possible other cluster mates and their feelings on them cause you know you want to kill Charles, But what do you feel about the unknown Cluster mates?
[X] They go back to Astrid's place to attempt some Tinkering.
Adhoc vote count started by Oshha on Oct 3, 2023 at 11:44 AM, finished with 11 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Write-in. Subject to QM veto. : They talk about possible other cluster mates and their feelings on them cause you know you want to kill Charles, But what do you feel about the unknown Cluster mates?
[X] Write-in. Subject to QM veto. : They talk about possible other cluster mates and their feelings on them cause you know you want to kill Charles, But what do you feel about the unknown Cluster mates?
[X] They go back to Astrid's place to attempt some Tinkering.
[X] Write-in. Subject to QM veto. : They talk about possible other cluster mates and their feelings on them cause you know you want to kill Charles, But what do you feel about the unknown Cluster mates?
[X] They go back to Astrid's place to attempt some Tinkering.
The two of you don't go straight back to Astrid's place. Instead the blonde girl insists on stopping by a shop to pick up various electronic devices and some other items to use as materials for your tinkering. Something she can apparently afford to do because her parents are so rich, Astrid's weekly pocket money is more than what Mum and Dad make in a month put together.
Life is so unfair, but it is what you have to work with. And you can't really complain about unfairness when you are lucky enough to have gotten superpowers. Even if you did have the misfortune to have a crappy trigger rather than a golden trigger.
Astrid also ends up buying you a burner phone when you awkwardly admit that you can't afford a phone when she tries to exchange numbers with you. Things get more awkward for you when she offers to get you a more permanent one at the weekend because your classmate is able to afford a mobile phone for you when your own parents are unable to muster up the cash.
In the end, not only does Astrid pay for everything, but the other girl also carries the majority of it. While you are unfit and overweight, Astrid is in perfect health thanks to her powers and is easily able to carry all of it. She could have carried everything, but you didn't want to feel useless so you put your new burner phone in your pocket and you carried some of the lightest items that Astrid brought.
Astrid's home is posh and rich. Surrounded by trees and tall bushes to stop gawkers, it is a large detached house with a long driveway that can fit multiple cars even before the garage is taken into consideration.
"This is the family home," says Astrid as she puts a couple of bags down to unlock the front door, "One of them anyway. Mother and Father have a second home out by Winchester because both of my sisters live out there and while they are supposed to live here with me, they often travel out there."
"You have sisters?" you inquire as you follow Astrid in, feeling distinctly out of place.
"Two of them, both older than me," confirms Astrid, "Sigrid is in college in Winchester and Ingrid is, well, have you heard of the Solicitor?"
"That's the cape lawyer in Winchester," you reply, not quite getting-The Solicitor is a rogue who operates in Winchester as a lawyer of sorts thanks to her powers. Her powers are to make a contract that all involved parties must do their best to uphold with a cost for failure to do so. She has a public identity and her name is Ingrid Norgard, the oldest sister of your lover Astrid.
"Oh, my power just gave me the explanation," you admit sheepishly, "So your sister is a cape?"
"In a manner of speaking," replies Astrid as the two of you start to pick your things down in a workshop of some kind, "She is a parahuman and sometimes works with superheroes and the occasional supervillain, but there is some debate as to whether or not rogues count as capes. I personally think of her as being cape adjacent as she is involved, just not directly. For her part, Ingrid just makes contracts between willing parties who are willing to pay extra for the insurance of her power, forcing a good faith effort on all parts. She is a in a weird position because the law wasn't written with her power in mind, but the general consensus is that so long as all terms in the contract are reasonable and all parties are consensually signing it, she can freely use her power."
"So is Ingrid how you know about all that parahuman stuff?" you inquire.
"Partially," answers Astrid, "Ingrid knows some stuff from her legal work, but most of my knowledge comes from Sigrid. She is studying parahumans at college and wants to be a researcher in the field."
"Huh, I bet you having powers would help her with that," you note.
"Yes, it will," agrees Astrid, but something is off about her response though you can't tell just what, "But enough about my sisters, we are here to tinker. You have your tinker power and I have my tinker power and I can copy yours on top of my own. So what do you want to get started with?"
What do you end up making with Astrid's help? Pick one.
[ ] Smartphone.
[ ] Costume
[ ] Goggles.
[ ] Gauntlets
[ ] Sword.
[ ] Mace.
[ ] Write-in. Subject to QM veto.
You are a sixteen year old girl of Irish descent and a working class background. You aren't a genius, but your smarts and work ethic have made up the difference to do well in class until your final year of secondary school. You had a mental breakdown on the first day back at school following the Christmas holidays, resulting in triggering and becoming a hero.
Your current goals in life are to get into a college, preferably a good one, and to kill that racist monster Charles Rainbridge.
You are an attractive if chubby redhead young lady who has a natural talent for getting along with others. You have also allowed your fitness to get away with you thanks to your overfocus on academics, resulting in an overweight and physical unimpressive body.
Your mother is Brigid Blaney, a retail worker, and your father is Fergus Blaney, a janitor. Your little sister by two years is Nessa Blaney, who shares your good looks, but lacks your smarts. You are close to all three of them and love them all dearly.
Primary Power (Thinker): Thinker ability to have an eureka moment where you have a moment of clarity or breakthrough towards trying to figure something out. Except it isn't a real eureka moment because your power only grants you the final result and nothing on how you came to that conclusion, giving you an answer without understanding. You cannot pull an answer out of thin air, but so long as it is technically possible, you can do it. The more relevant information that you have, the easier it is to get an answer while working on minimal information is an instant Thinker headache. Minor Power (Tinker): You feel the urge to make things, but you have no idea what sort of things. Minor Power (Thinker): You gain instant mastery of any tool you are wielding so long as you are holding the item in question. Like your main power, the mastery is instinctive without understanding and lasts as long as you are using the item. Minor Power (Stranger): You go unnoticed with people either not realising you are there or if that isn't possible, they assume that you are allowed to be present. If you draw undue attention to yourself, then the effect breaks. Minor Power (Changer): You can physically transform to fit a role. This grants only a physical transformation with no knowledge, skill or memories nor any ability to convince people of your chosen role. Transformation is limited to being a human female and only diverges from your regular self when necessary for the role. Minor Power (Striker): You can make close-ranged attacks in rapid succession, faster than what is humanly possible.
***
And here we get to do some tinkering. I would give you more options, but as a Mastermind Tinker, Finn doesn't know what her speciality is and has to figure it out by trial and error. Also, you get more insight into Astrid's family, including that one of her sisters is a cape.
By the way, that is something you could have found out prior to meeting Astrid if Finn had decided to learn more about the local cape scene over experimenting with her powers. Which isn't criticism, just something I thought you might be interested in hearing.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Finn might get some confidence and self respect if she contributes to the 'purchase' of her smartphone instead of Astrid just buying her one.
Plus we might be able to give Finn's now obsolete burner to Nessa (finns sister).
Better to have a line of communication if one of the kill cluster goes after family.
As you reach for your Tinker power, your eye is drawn towards the burner phone. It is a very basic one, a cheap Nokia that costs a trivial amount of money for Astrid, but is an unthinkable luxury for you. A luxury that you now own thanks to the generosity of a girl whom you only met today.
It is basic, but it has room for improvement. A lot of room for improvement Astrid brought a whole assortment of electronic devices, but none of them match the upgrade potential of the mobile phone. After all, mobile phones have been rapidly increasing in capability as despite having no chance of owning one, you have kept up with the latest smartphone advances.
You start by taking apart the Nokia. Once you have everything you need, you can put it back together with the upgrades that you'll be making to it. Then you start to take apart the other electronics, starting with the MP3 player before moving onto both cameras then the chunky headphones followed by the electric whisk before finishing with the blender.
With Astrid at your side, the two of you work hand in hand as you add parts from the disassembled electronic devices to the components of the mobile phone. An upgraded motherboard, enhanced memory, an improved CPU, a supercharged battery and even a secret camera. At some point, you begin to focus on the software side of things as you code up a unique operating system for your new phone while you leave Astrid to work on the hardware with painstaking precision.
After little over an hour of joint work, you are left with a basic Nokia turned Tinkertech smartphone and a pile of unused parts from your disassembled electronics. Well, Astrid's disassembled electronics as she paid for them all and this is her house.
"Well, that was exciting," says Astrid as you open up your smartphone, the technology inside it instantly recognising your touch and unlocking for you.
Astrid begins to say something else, but you are too distracted by your first Tinkertech creation. The screen is a little on the small size so you push the right button to trigger the holographic display, instinctively knowing which one it was thanks to your powers. From there, you begin to flick through the various.
This is really awesome. You mean, you won't be able to use it in public for obvious reasons, but you basically got a mini-computer in the palm of your hands. Not to mention that this is Tinkertech that you made. Which is really, really cool.
"Hey, Finn," says Astrid, making you yelp as she startles you by placing a hand on your shoulder, "Are you staying for dinner? Mum and Dad should be back from visiting Ingrid shortly and they'll be happy to let you join us."
"Ah, no, I should get back home, they'll be expecting me," you reply, involuntarily blushing at the offer and then you glance at the time, causing your red face to be replaced with a pale one, "Oh crap, I need to get home. Nessa will be wondering where I am."
"Need any help getting home?" offers Astrid and I shake my head.
"Not unless you can drive or something," you mutter in response as you quickly put your coat back on.
Just as you are about to stuff your new Tinkertech phone in your pocket, Astrid stops you as she catches your arm mid-motion.
"Wait," says the blonde girl, "Your phone has a scanner function right? How about you scan me? It will let you improve your Tinker abilities by letting your power take inspiration from my powers."
Wait, is that how Tinkers work? You thought that they, well, you just build stuff. But it does make a certain amount of sense and you think that you might have heard something along those lines before.
Opening up your phone again, you quickly find what Astrid mentioned, an application on your unique operating system called Scanner App. You open it up and find that it needs to make use of the secret camera so you push a button to real the camera. You aim the camera at Astrid, who stands tall, proud and absolutely beautifully, and beams of red light shoot out from your phone. They harmless rake up, down and across Astrid's body and you see a loading bar that slowly fills over the course of two minutes.
"I assume it worked?" inquires Astrid once the progress bar is filled and the red lights disappear.
"Yeah, it worked," you reply distractedly, idly noting that using your Scanner App has completely drained your phone of power even as new ideas flow into your head and fill your imagination.
No plan voting.
What does Finn get from her scan of Astrid? Pick up to six.
[ ] Augment: Power Detection
[ ] Lens: Power Identification
[ ] Pattern: Power Replication
[ ] Gauntlet: Power Copier
[ ] Pattern: Tinkertech Integration
[ ] Pattern: Efficient Maintenance
[ ] Costume: Peak Physique
[ ] Pattern: Boost Body
[ ] Costume: Undetected Powers
[ ] Augment: Hidden Tinkertech
[ ] Gloves: Skill Boost
[ ] Lens: Skill Identification
[ ] Pattern: Steal Healing
[ ] Augment: Block Healing
[ ] Write-in. Subject to QM veto.
What do Finn and Astrid do to prepare for their superheroism? Pick one.
[ ] They travel to Winchester to meet up with Astrid's cape sisters for advice.
[ ] They work on more Tinkertech for them to use.
[ ] Finn joins Astrid in sorting out their costumes.
[ ] They research the local supervillain in Southampton
[ ] They reach out to the local hero groups in Southampton.
[ ] Write-in. Subject to QM veto.
You are a sixteen year old girl of Irish descent and a working class background. You aren't a genius, but your smarts and work ethic have made up the difference to do well in class until your final year of secondary school. You had a mental breakdown on the first day back at school following the Christmas holidays, resulting in triggering and becoming a hero.
Your current goals in life are to get into a college, preferably a good one, and to kill that racist monster Charles Rainbridge.
You are an attractive if chubby redhead young lady who has a natural talent for getting along with others. You have also allowed your fitness to get away with you thanks to your overfocus on academics, resulting in an overweight and physical unimpressive body.
Your mother is Brigid Blaney, a retail worker, and your father is Fergus Blaney, a janitor. Your little sister by two years is Nessa Blaney, who shares your good looks, but lacks your smarts. You are close to all three of them and love them all dearly.
You have teamed up with Astrid Norgard to be superheroes together.
Primary Power (Thinker): Thinker ability to have an eureka moment where you have a moment of clarity or breakthrough towards trying to figure something out. Except it isn't a real eureka moment because your power only grants you the final result and nothing on how you came to that conclusion, giving you an answer without understanding. You cannot pull an answer out of thin air, but so long as it is technically possible, you can do it. The more relevant information that you have, the easier it is to get an answer while working on minimal information is an instant Thinker headache. Minor Power (Tinker): You feel the urge to make things, but you have no idea what sort of things. Minor Power (Thinker): You gain instant mastery of any tool you are wielding so long as you are holding the item in question. Like your main power, the mastery is instinctive without understanding and lasts as long as you are using the item. This appears to apply to Tinkertech or at least Tinkertech of your own creation. Minor Power (Stranger): You go unnoticed with people either not realising you are there or if that isn't possible, they assume that you are allowed to be present. If you draw undue attention to yourself, then the effect breaks. Minor Power (Changer): You can physically transform to fit a role. This grants only a physical transformation with no knowledge, skill or memories nor any ability to convince people of your chosen role. Transformation is limited to being a human female and only diverges from your regular self when necessary for the role. Minor Power (Striker): You can make close-ranged attacks in rapid succession, faster than what is humanly possible.
Tinkertech
-A List = Main/General Builds
–Utility: Enhanced Smartphone (Empty/Whisper OS/Empty) = Your Nokia burner phone has been upgraded to be a fully functional smartphone via Tinkertech capabilities. Despite the improved capabilities of the device, it still looks like a regular Nokia. It also acts as a scanner for your Tinker power thanks to you having the Scanner App installed, letting you take inspiration from other parahumans.
It can have one Pattern & two? Augments. It currently has one Augment installed, Whisper OS.
-B List = Patterns & Augments
–Augment: Whisper OS = The Whisper OS is a Tinkertech operating system made by your power. It is fairly basic now, but you just know that it has vast potential for improvement if you can get the time and inspiration to further your work with it. You are also confident in your ability to install in any device that you get your hands on.
-C List = Utility/Misc
–Trinket: Scanner App = A piece of software that can be uploaded to something with a camera to scan a parahuman to draw inspiration from their powers. Each use of this app will completely drain the battery of the device using it.
***
Given the somewhat slow pace of the quest so far, I'm going to skip ahead to the superhero stuff. Not right away, but I plan to let you pick three prep options before Finn and Astrid go on their first adventure. So while you only pick one prep option now, you will be able to pick two more in the upcoming updates.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
In hindsight, I should clarify that a Tinkertech item only gets a single Pattern and cannot take any others. So you might want to limit how many Patterns you take because you only have limited ability to make use of them.
[X] Pattern: Efficient Maintenance
[X] Lens: Power Identification
[X] Augment: Power Detection
[X] Augment: Hidden Tinkertech
[X] Pattern: Tinkertech Integration
[X] Pattern: Power Replication
[X] They work on more Tinkertech for them to use.
More Patterns is good imo, gives us a broader range of possibilities to work with. Tinkers usually are rated based on the breadth and depth of their specialty so allowing Finn to effectively broaden her Tinkertech specialty is definitely worth it!
