Alva the wanderer/wayfarer/seeker, he's a guy from dark souls 2. His armor is the set the bearer of the curse is depicted in.
He had a lover, fell in love, may have had a child together but one day she disappeared, he went mad searching for her so he didn't even recognize her when he finally found her.
He is implied to have a connection to the curved dragon great sword(which is what I keep imagining her using) and the set it's found with(which I thiiink covers one of your eyes).
So I know she's not related to him or dark souls but I keep thinking she is.
More seriously though, I'm not... horrifically keen on tackling romance yet. Partially due to... lacking any experience to draw on, and partially due to the fact that I am very well aware how heated that kind of discussion can get, and I'm not sure I want to arm that minefield here.
Alva the wanderer/wayfarer/seeker, he's a guy from dark souls 2. His armor is the set the bearer of the curse is depicted in.
He had a lover, fell in love, may have had a child together but one day she disappeared, he went mad searching for her so he didn't even recognize her when he finally found her.
He is implied to have a connection to the curved dragon great sword(which is what I keep imagining her using) and the set it's found with(which I thiiink covers one of your eyes).
So I know she's not related to him or dark souls but I keep thinking she is.
Ahh. I never got around to playing Dark Souls 2, honestly, which is probably why I haven't heard of him.
Her sword is nowhere near that size, though- it's more like a machete than anything else. Relatively, yes, it's around that size, but in reality, it's a perfectly normal blade, Ada just barely scrapes 4'6 and 90 pounds soaking wet.
Well, I'm glad somebody approves of my decision. If there's ever going to be romance, it's going to be either from an outsider's perspective or an interlude with Salem and Theodosia at some point.
Just because it's not going to be relevant to this quest doesn't mean I can't get some practice in.
If I'm absolutely 100% fair with my DC thresholds, he is going to steamroll you. The only way he's going to fail a roll if he keeps this up is if I jack up the overall DC of rolls to an absolutely unfair amount, which will screw you over just as badly, if not worse, or if I just cheat, which just defeats the whole point of rolling.
But no, he's not going to replicate your Function, don't worry.
If I'm absolutely 100% fair with my DC thresholds, he is going to steamroll you. The only way he's going to fail a roll if he keeps this up is if I jack up the overall DC of rolls to an absolutely unfair amount, which will screw you over just as badly, if not worse, or if I just cheat, which just defeats the whole point of rolling.
I don't actually own a physical d20, is part of the problem. The closest thing I own is a pack of tarot cards I could use if I remove The Fool and The World.
Eh. I wouldn't worry too much about it, honestly- I genuinely doubt this streak is going to last to when it really matters, and if it does, I'm not above implementing a more... final solution to the problem.
EDIT: I asked a friend to do it for me, and he got a 12. Either this curse is purely mine, and purely digital, or it's finally over.
I don't actually own a physical d20, is part of the problem. The closest thing I own is a pack of tarot cards I could use if I remove The Fool and The World.
Eh. I wouldn't worry too much about it, honestly- I genuinely doubt this streak is going to last to when it really matters, and if it does, I'm not above implementing a more... final solution to the problem.
EDIT: I asked a friend to do it for me, and he got a 12. Either this curse is purely mine, and purely digital, or it's finally over.
You could try using a different d20 program. Getting exactly 17 so many times sounds so improbable that it might be a memory bug, or some glitch of that nature.
Well, I meant the thing about using Tarot cards as dice rather than the quest in an of itself, since I am managing a Persona Quest and I thought "hey, what if I do that in a very specific situation".
Buuut I kind of got in a slump and stopped the quest to rewrite the earlier parts and the situation would happen in the distant future, sooo...
Go nuts, man, I doubt we're the first people to think of it.
If nothing else, it avoids this bollocks.
Fun fact: I actually use them as a basis for the minor characters who aren't just the result of my being a moron. Tarot's actually a surprisingly effective way to create one, arc included if you go for a proper reading. It works surprisingly well if you need something quick and dirty to flesh out somebody.
Among what's left of Otopan society, there is something of a hierarchy of power between those who have used the Mask and those who haven't- those who have are to those who haven't as those who haven't are to humans and Faunus.
Don't, don't think too hard about that sentence. On a more meta level, Pillar society whole was given a huge power up- they're all on at least the level of Santana by default, edging into what Esidisi did without his Mode form, hence the horns- if humans and Faunus developed Aura and Semblances due to dust, the Otopan developed into, well... Pillar People. It's just how each race evolved to combat Grimm.
I'll be honest, I am beyond tempted to just turn the Pillar Jaune thing into its own fic, if I wasn't so hilariously bogged down with this and two other things.
So curious about something, are the vampire masks a thing? Remember you mention them as a possibility but not sure if you went with them. If so do they make a person become more 'nutritiona'? How would becoming a vampire affect an aura user? Finally did Pillar Man!Jaune use the mask?
Cripes man, keep this up and I'll mail you a d20. (is it still happening?)
And yeah, the tarot are like the ultimate "significance generator" since they're purely symbolic symbols to begin with. You could probably use a five spread to procedurally generate an entire campaign. Shuffle the Major Arcana and do a 22-spread and there's your worldbuilding done.
And now I'm considering it. Huh.
(Actually, what's really fun is offering players a tarot reading from a Deck of Many Things )
So curious about something, are the vampire masks a thing? Remember you mention them as a possibility but not sure if you went with them. If so do they make a person become more 'nutritiona'? How would becoming a vampire affect an aura user? Finally did Pillar Man!Jaune use the mask?
I genuinely feel like I shouldn't be talking about this if I'm serious about turning it into an actual fic, but fuck it, if I don't write it down here, I'm not going to write it down at all. In order- technically yes and no, yes, chunky salsa, and haha oh god no.
In Otopan culture, the Stone Masks are... god, I don't know if there's an IRL equivalent, really- like cancer-curing Crown Jewels, essentially. Very valuable, very rare, because the creator, 「Bai Seekal,」 was a genius even by their standards, and he's dead now. So dead. Stupid levels of deadness are what this sumbitch is suffering from. They found his teeth in the crater.
So, they're kept very much out of sight, very well guarded, and only used on those who've impressed very powerful people, or otherwise got hold of one. One being broken starts wars, ones that they usually can't afford.
The Masks don't turn Aura-users into vampires because even if Aura didn't block the spikes, there is a spiritual complication. What the Otopan have in sheer, physical strength and durability, they somewhat lack in spiritual terms. In JoJo, a vampire is essentially a Pillar Man rip off. So, assuming it has the same problems on a spiritual level...
Pop. Just, salsa. Everywhere. They're just not built for it, metaphysically.
For people without Aura, it happens, and they are like catnip for Otopan- the most fulfilling meal they could ever hope for, really. In short, between Hunters, both normal and geared towards hunting down vampires, and the Otopan themselves, vampires really do get the short end of the stick here.
And finally? Jaune, by Otopan standards, is barely halfway through puberty. His mother has fully integrated with human society, to the point where, aside from a few lapses into arrogance, she's essentially a model citizen for the few others who advocate going native, so to speak, on top of having a 'half-breed' with a human. The quotes are there because when Otopan are involved ancestral genetics are more a polite suggestion than a hard rule.
Don't, don't think too hard about the implications there.
Jaune, on top of not even being fully grown yet, that was the first time he used his horns, is the last possible person to get to use a Mask. And he's still capable of, well, everything I haven't shown off yet.
And that's not even the baseline. Granted, he's got a small advantage of actually being trained, but not specifically in the way he needs.
I just- GAH. GAH. WHY CAN I NOT HAVE INFINITE WRITING TIME. OR BE FASTER AT TYPING.
Actually? No! Salem's been much more reasonable, thankfully!
Either my friend broke the curse, or the fucker's waiting.
I genuinely feel like I shouldn't be talking about this if I'm serious about turning it into an actual fic, but fuck it, if I don't write it down here, I'm not going to write it down at all. In order- technically yes and no, yes, chunky salsa, and haha oh god no.
In Otopan culture, the Stone Masks are... god, I don't know if there's an IRL equivalent, really- like cancer-curing Crown Jewels, essentially. Very valuable, very rare, because the creator, 「Bai Seekal,」 was a genius even by their standards, and he's dead now. So dead. Stupid levels of deadness are what this sumbitch is suffering from. They found his teeth in the crater.
So, they're kept very much out of sight, very well guarded, and only used on those who've impressed very powerful people, or otherwise got hold of one. One being broken starts wars, ones that they usually can't afford.
The Masks don't turn Aura-users into vampires because even if Aura didn't block the spikes, there is a spiritual complication. What the Otopan have in sheer, physical strength and durability, they somewhat lack in spiritual terms. In JoJo, a vampire is essentially a Pillar Man rip off. So, assuming it has the same problems on a spiritual level...
Pop. Just, salsa. Everywhere. They're just not built for it, metaphysically.
For people without Aura, it happens, and they are like catnip for Otopan- the most fulfilling meal they could ever hope for, really. In short, between Hunters, both normal and geared towards hunting down vampires, and the Otopan themselves, vampires really do get the short end of the stick here.
And finally? Jaune, by Otopan standards, is barely halfway through puberty. His mother has fully integrated with human society, to the point where, aside from a few lapses into arrogance, she's essentially a model citizen for the few others who advocate going native, so to speak, on top of having a 'half-breed' with a human. The quotes are there because when Otopan are involved ancestral genetics are more a polite suggestion than a hard rule.
Don't, don't think too hard about the implications there.
Jaune, on top of not even being fully grown yet, that was the first time he used his horns, is the last possible person to get to use a Mask. And he's still capable of, well, everything I haven't shown off yet.
And that's not even the baseline. Granted, he's got a small advantage of actually being trained, but not specifically in the way he needs.
I just- GAH. GAH. WHY CAN I NOT HAVE INFINITE WRITING TIME. OR BE FASTER AT TYPING.
Interesting, but wait didn't you mention there being a way to bring people back with vampire masks? How would that have worked? Also are the Pillar Men known to at least government officials? Finally what would be the resposnse if government officials learned about an Otopan that used a mask is walking around in their kingdom? Like not really doing anything menacing but seemingly just hanging around. What with Jaune being a 'half-breed' who is only half-way through puberty being able to easily threaten Beacon students and this is without a mask I'm wondering how they would react to an Otopan that used a mask.
Interesting, but wait didn't you mention there being a way to bring people back with vampire masks? Also are the Pillar Men known to at least government officials? Finally what would be the resposnse if government officials learned about an Otopan that used a mask is walking around in their kingdom? Like not really doing anything menacing but seemingly just hanging around. What with Jaune being a 'half-breed' who is only half-way through puberty being able to easily threaten Beacon students and this is without a mask I'm wondering how they would react to an Otopan that used a mask.
The Otopan are known to higher ups, Ozpin's lot and the councils, at least, and the general consensus is... it really depends on who they are. As a rule of thumb, they're the 400-pound gorilla. If they're known to be, at least cordial about it, the council might try and open some kind of dialogue with them to find out what they want and if they can help so they get out of the kingdom as fast as possible.
At worst... the Grimm take out villages all the time.
In all honesty, Masked Otopan on the level I'm describing really aren't all that interested in messing with the Kingdoms- they have people to do that for them, and the last time anything like that happened would have been during the Great War, where Grimm taking out the village would be probable more than possible. Anyone higher on the totem pole than that, though, then either the former option happens or they try and drive them off. The most likely reason they'd be in the Kingdoms, to begin with, would be to kidnap people to turn into vampires, which is obviously going to be a point of contention between each race. Not to say all Otopan are human-kidnapping monsters, but... it's one of the more likely reasons.
Then you get those like Jaune's mother, who's just gone native. Fell in love with a human, had eight kids, decided to make Jaune an Otopan, just to prove they can be raised among humans without much problem...
In the end, the Kingdoms, both human and Otopan, tolerate one another, because a war would cripple them all bad enough that the Grimm would have a field day. So, they choose to keep the Otopan hidden away from the public, as a legend, and formally choose to, for the most part, ignore each other.
Once again, blame Clever for the music, while I blame myself for not making Saff a bird Faunus, because dammit that perch joke would have been so much funnier.
||| "You didn't mean to do that, but dammit that was awesome enough that you're going to act like you did." DC 13, Roll: 17. Success!
Before your rage wanes, you send your sword to the centre of the maze, jamming it into the block that Saff is standing on by sheer luck. Not fazed by your luck, the outer lights brighten on a mental command, revealing the buck Faunus to those still able to shoot at him. Needless to say, people begin shooting at him. You try not to find his sudden suffering funny and fail miserably.
{Ok, one, why, two, why, and three, what's the plan?}
Unbidden, your Aura flares, bolstered by the sheer... mindless fucking rage you feel towards him right now. Hidden depths you didn't know were there, hence, hidden, break open, empowering you with an energy you've never quite felt before.
And with it, an idea. This maze... needs to go. Not just enough to let you get out, no, the whole damn thing. Everything must be put back as it was.
Process requires more memory than is available. Shut down running tasks?
א0:\user\JauneArc> Y
Closing tasks... Function: Spiral() will be ended in order to free up processing power. Execute systemwide Reboot?
א0:\user\JauneArc> Y
"System Restore." You hiss under your breath.
The eye of your sword flares, the entire maze covered in a wireframe mesh for just a moment, before you remember to close your eyes as the sun explodes in your eyes.
When you open them again, the light is almost blinding anyway. Your eyes have been in a low light for so long that you're still blinking away spots.
"SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT-"
Thud.
... Welp, you knocked Saff off his perch.
{SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT-}
You snap a hand out, stopping the Transistor in its tracks an inch above Saff's face.
... You let it drop the last inch and savour the sounds of him eating sand before bringing it back.
"SON OF A BITCH THAT FUCKING HURTS-" Ada screams, her tiny frame somehow producing the kind of volume you associate with a jetplane taking off, or a concert.
... Or a jetplane taking off at a concert.
"Agh, my eyes! Why didn't you say something?!" Creme yells at you, covering her eyes as she gets used to the post-10,000 flashbangs to the face world.
Medical scan underway.
... Ah. You... probably should have told them to close their eyes.
"... Sorry. Slipped my mind."
"Slipped your mind?! SLIPPED YOUR MIND?! 'OH HEY YEAH THIS COULD BLIND YOU' SLIPPED YOUR FUCKING MIND?!"
"You're fine, just keep blinking!"
She stares angrily at the space directly to the left of your head but starts blinking rapidly anyway.
Med-scan complete: no damage detected- rapid heart rate and phasic shift detected in Ada- assume a combination of pain and Semblance effect. Low priority, but worth noting.
Hrm.
You look around and see the two injured persons and another taken by Professor Moss. Nobody seems to be interested in fighting at the moment, trying to rub the blind spots out of their eyes like you just told Creme to instead.
{Hrm. I wonder if we could incorporate some kind of automatic eye protection? Maybe try and shift the energy out of the visible spectrum?}
And what, dose everyone with ultraviolet light? No thanks, you'd rather not give your class skin cancer, you think as it reaches your grasp again. Besides, this is good. Sitting ducks are sitting ducks.
Lumen makes a slight gurgling noise, and you find him... standing perfectly still, sweating bullets.
"... Dude, you ok?" Ada, surprisingly, asks first.
"Move away." He manages to grind out after a moment, forcing the words as much as he can.
For some reason, none of you move, instead standing there like a bunch of morons.
"Move away! Now!"
The desperation in his voice cuts through your collective confusion, and you all swiftly get away from him just in time to watch as he explodes in a wave of... what'd he call it- luxin? The odd substance sloughs off him, a thousand shades blowing from his fingernails, his eyes, his mouth, nose, ears, covering his entire body in a forest's worth of green and an ocean's worth of blue. It layers over itself again and again until he's about twice his size, at least 12 feet tall. His new armour is featureless, almost blob like in shape, the head a perfect sphere with a small divot to see from.
He marches off in Saff's direction, hands forming spiked bludgeons. You note that one of them is his sword.
Saff notices this, and soon he's on his feet, staff at the ready.
... You could interfere...
[] ... But Lumen's got this. You can go pick on the stragglers while they're still half-blind. And while half your team is half and three quarters-blind themselves. It'll be fun to watch them try, at least.
-[] How?
[]... But Moss is still out there. You should probably go deal with him.
-[] How?
[]... But nothing. Let the humiliation conga begin!
-[] What beat are you running this conga to?
[]... But you're not Jaune Arc. Jaune Arc's wearing his big boy pants. (Character Switches are only in place for as long as someone else doesn't win one)
-[] You're Creme Daylaw, and you're definitely interested in helping him.
-[] you're ada doyle, and you don't really feel like yourself right now.
-[] You are Lumen Tessaro. Really, how the hell do you help yourself here?
Adhoc vote count started by Prok on Sep 3, 2017 at 3:51 PM, finished with 801 posts and 22 votes.
[X] ... But Lumen's got this. You can go pick on the stragglers while they're still half-blind. And while half your team is half and three quarters-blind themselves. It'll be fun to watch them try, at least. -[X] Find those with the weakest aura and start picking them off with your team while they are still recovering. You will personally start the attack by attacking the person with the weakest aura and the most isolated from everyone(to lower the chance of people interfering) else until their aura gets low enough to disqualify them then repeat the process while Creme and Ada will pick a target near you so that you can help if need or the reverse if you end up needing help. Attacks will consist of Jaunt, crash and Breach.
[X]... But you're not Jaune Arc. Jaune Arc's wearing his big boy pants. (Character Switches are only in place for as long as someone else doesn't win one) -[X] You are Lumen Tessaro. Really, how the hell do you help yourself here?
[X]... But nothing. Let the humiliation conga begin! -[X] Jaunt on over there and use Turn() to surprise Saff. Break his guard so Lumen can knock him out fast. If he's still up, whack him with the Transistor. It can just man up and take it.
[X]... But you're not Jaune Arc. Jaune Arc's wearing his big boy pants. (Character Switches are only in place for as long as someone else doesn't win one) -[X] You're Creme Daylaw, and you're definitely interested in helping him.
[X]... But you're not Jaune Arc. Jaune Arc's wearing his big boy pants. (Character Switches are only in place for as long as someone else doesn't win one)
-[X] you're ada doyle, and you don't really feel like you're here right now
[X]... But you're not Jaune Arc. Jaune Arc's wearing his big boy pants. (Character Switches are only in place for as long as someone else doesn't win one)
-[X] You are Lumen Tessaro. Really, how the hell do you help yourself here?
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