Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

Could someone help me find a perk, please? I'm trying to figure out which perk early on gave Joe his enhanced fitness/sculpted physique. So far I've been having no luck finding it, I can't remember which chapter(s) or the name. Any help would be appreciated!
 
I know most people don't have this same issue, so I'm not expecting much agreement, but I'm not super interested in arguing about it either. Just please remember I'm not saying anything extremely dumb like 'manipulative family doesn't exist' or 'Joe shouldn't be annoyed at his family'. I'm just saying that Joe's constant commentary on everything that comes from his family makes me less sympathetic towards him and it's frankly the weakest part of an otherwise really enjoyable fic.

I think you have some good points. Look at it from the point of view of even a good family: He dropped out of school, and he's depressed enough that he needs medication and therapy for it. When he talks to his family, he gets evasive about a "friend" and he tells minor lies thinking that surely people who have known him all his life can't possibly be able to tell when he's lying. And he dismisses concerns about danger that don't look so unreasonable to someone who doesn't know that he's Apeiron. Many families would conclude that he's in trouble and needs help whether they're dysfunctional or not.
 
Could someone help me find a perk, please? I'm trying to figure out which perk early on gave Joe his enhanced fitness/sculpted physique. So far I've been having no luck finding it, I can't remember which chapter(s) or the name. Any help would be appreciated!
He has three relevant powers. Life fiber training from Life Fiber Spool gave him the first ripped physique in chapter 15, then Divine Child gave him blacksmith muscles, then Master's Body has been making slow further improvements since chapter 41.
 
I'd kind of been hoping Regent calls first.
The entire reason that Alec is planning to call Joe is because he recognises that Lisa's need to be in control and manipulate people is probably going to screw them over, and he's going to need to run damage-control against whatever Lisa has already told Joe in her call first.

Slightly pointless for him to call Joe before Lisa does, since he won't know what he needs to fix/clarify/explain yet…
 
Could someone help me find a perk, please? I'm trying to figure out which perk early on gave Joe his enhanced fitness/sculpted physique. So far I've been having no luck finding it, I can't remember which chapter(s) or the name. Any help would be appreciated!
Which one's? Honestly enough, his first physique enhancement came from Tetra the Life Fibers. Which got help from his Demigod Parent perk.

And again with the Blessing: Aphrodite and possibly Martial Arts Master Perk. Further on was his Hindu Cyborg Godbody perk and I cannot forget his Bloody Roar Perk.

But truth fully it all started by having Tetra wrap herself around him.
 
Alright so I was just checking Simurgh's wiki and found something pretty interesting:

"Eidolon built the Simurgh with a fundamental desire to go to war against him. However, because he unknowingly built her from greater structures intended to salvage a situation where the host species eliminated itself, she also has a drive to collect, consolidate, and sort information produced by parahumans and humanity in a world of conflict. The Simurgh describes these drives to her as being just as fundamental to her as water and food are to humans"

In this regard she's pretty similar to Survey except not humane, has to fight Eidolon and focused on data gathered from conflict as opposed to just any data. This has given me an idea: either A. Salvaging her and using her to upgrade or make a tool for Survey or B. Somehow figuring out how to alter her so she's no longer so focused on conflict and fighting Eidolon, and taking her out of the Shard system and High Priests control

Dragon/Apeiron, supposedly...

Though I never saw a basis for this.
I'm pretty sure it is (or originated as) a joke based on Dragons fixation with Apeiron, how she moved to Brockton Bay and IIRC called him a scoundrel or something similar (Which I'm pretty sure she did on purpose because as we know she actually wants his help getting free from Saint, so calling him less serious insults would certainly help as well as not damage his reputation as much as if she said something like "unscrupulous bastard")
 
Though I never saw a basis for this.

Dragon made a public announcement that she's moving to BB to 'pursue' Apeiron, right after their first meeting.
She was unusually excited for the transfer. (I think Piggot noticed this?)
She refered to him as a 'scoundrel' multiple times. I'm pretty sure Narwhal thought Dragon is having her first crush or something...

She intentionally implied that she was interested in him so that her focus on him wouldn't look suspicious.

And the shippers went crazy!
 
called him a scoundrel or something similar (Which I'm pretty sure she did on purpose because as we know she actually wants his help getting free from Saint, so calling him less serious insults would certainly help as well as not damage his reputation as much as if she said something like "unscrupulous bastard")
She soo specifically used 'scoundrel' because she couldn't use criminal or villain or something along those lines, since those are terms with legal precedent that Apeiron didn't technically fit, legally.
 
She soo specifically used 'scoundrel' because she couldn't use criminal or villain or something along those lines, since those are terms with legal precedent that Apeiron didn't technically fit, legally.

IIRC she was also compelled by legal authority (PRT) to not antagonize Apeiron, and she was secretly glad that her rules conflict was preventing her from going all out to destroy him.
 
It still had the feel of a small town or large school library, not the kind of behemoths you say at universities or in major cities. At least not yet.
you saw?
The split between their work and the rest of the library was clear, as the shelves shifted from conventionally book to the kind of leather-bound tomes that you only saw in law firms and period pieces.
conventional books?
"Don't worry. No plans to expand movie night beyond its scheduled time." I paused as I noted the hour. "Actually, are you okay to stay this late? You're dad's not worried?"
Your dad's?
"We'll stay focused on the city for the moment." I said cautiously." A lot of the local peace is based around the idea that I'm not causing more trouble than necessary, so no publicly visible excursions to other states. I'm expecting a call from Tattletale later tonight, which should hash out the plan for the situation with Coil. If we can close out that and Bakuda then we can start hitting other threats without worrying about the aftermath. The Dragonslayers, the Teeth, really anything else." I shrugged. "But until we're ready to go all out we need to keep things quiet."
misplaced space
 
@ExploerTM Nice omak, thanks.

But it needs some fixes:
I just helping my friend with recover.
I'm just helping my friend with a recovery.
Or 'to recover'

Did you asked your friend
Did you ask

pointing at helmet in Jozef's hands
at the helmet

odd jobs as mechanic
as a mechanic

surprised how high demand for a good mechanic in Brocton Bay.
mechanic is in Brocton Bay

You don't look like you on drugs
like you are on drugs

I just a mechanic who got lucky with few jobs
I am just a mechanic who got lucky with a few jobs

noises assaulted poor woman
noises assaulted the poor woman

instantly made my psionic
me into a psionic
 
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@ExploerTM Nice omak, thanks.

But it needs some fixes:
I'm just helping my friend with a recovery.
Or 'to recover'


Did you ask


at the helmet


as a mechanic


mechanic is in Brocton Bay


like you are on drugs


I am just a mechanic who got lucky with a few jobs


noises assaulted the poor woman


me into a psionic

All fixed, thanks. Surprised there were so few
 
Dragon/Apeiron, supposedly...

Though I never saw a basis for this.
I think it has to do with a few off-hand remarks from Dragon calling Aprion a 'scoundrel' or her being over dramatic and not really calling him a villain.
She soo specifically used 'scoundrel' because she couldn't use criminal or villain or something along those lines, since those are terms with legal precedent that Apeiron didn't technically fit, legally.
Yes, that.
Plus he was trying to bribe her with non-tinkter-tech cold fusion I believe and he constantly was assuring her believing she was mastered and it would be alright which I am going to convert to flirting. So you can reframe that as a 'bad boy' getting a 'nice girl' something pleasant and bolting away to do 'bad boy' things and her trying to catch him while he constantly flirts with her. That is like the plot of a dozen romcoms and the sub-plot of numerous romance stories.


While I don't think that Dragon actually has romantic leanings for Aperion I can see how people can frame that far easier than I can see the whole Taylor/Joe stuff and that was brought up in the actual story. I always got an older cousin keeping an eye on a younger cousin from their dynamic, or sibling at most. Everything joe gave her was very useful and protective but didn't seem romantic.
 
Yeah , it rang something similar to me as well. Albeit with a bunch of " you bit back? You're not supposed to be able to do that!". Not something that will actually hold a person who is accimatised to power over another from their behavior patterns long though.
...
My own experience suggests it is almost always done under the guise of "helping you". That oh so mild gas-lighting that helps absolve them of the need to consider guilt, whilst drilling their poison in deep enough for your own brain to join in the beat down of you.
Alena is the most sympathetic of the family, and she is also a product of a toxic environment, even if she does try to be a good person she is trapped by the negative patterns that she learned.

I really HATE most of ST ship design. Defiant is passable but only just.
It would be better to upgrade that Gladius with some ST tech, and install Folding Drive from Macross, as it's far superior to what ST has, and insanely superior to what Halo humanity uses. As for the doors, it'll more likely just teleport/warp/wormhole out of the hangar, like the Gundam does.
a Starfleet Engineer *cough*Miracleworker*cough* so that tech tree has a lot of power options that are stable as well.

Well Joe could always use a pseudo-Black Hole as an energy source... that is a GENIUS powersource...

Sounds like a good idea.

Maybe he can claim to be a music and athstetics thinker, and reveal it was HIM doing Garment's music and helping Aperion's presentation.

Doesn't sound like anything combat relevant, so not really of interest to any gangs, including the PRT and implies high level connections that should reduce chances at attempts of forced recruitment.
But he should specify that he has Ms. Mertens on retainer, so that the government doesn't get any funny ideas trying to label him a master or something, like it happened to some other parahuman musician (who I believe Survey is also helping...) .

Okay then. So the idea of Joe and/or Aisha opening a door to find a room of Kerbals planning multiple assassinations does work. Although for some reason I have them cosplaying as fictional assassins as well as revolutionary's.
I can see a Kerbal with black glasses, a barcode painted on his neck and a three pieces black suit....

She was unusually excited for the transfer. (I think Piggot noticed this?)
That was Narwhal, she is her "closest" friend.
 
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Alena is the most sympathetic of the family, and she is also a product of a toxic environment, even if she does try to be a good person she is trapped by the negative patterns that she learned.
Oh absolutely, it doesn't however make an abusive pattern less abusive. If anything it highlights one of the more insidious traps with abuse.
You see, it becomes normalized, and then it takes effort *not* to repeat those behaviors onto others. After all, it's how thing yo, and it works,.. right up until it doesn't.
Abuse kills your ability to connect with others, but it also kills your ability to connect with aspects of yourself as well. Morality often gets very twisted
 
I'm not sure how the Alec call will go at this point. Mainly it'll be Alec just flat out asking a few questions as blunt as he can. Being straightup chill and asking is his best shot of getting answers. I wouldn't want him joining the CF, but I would love for him to be given a tour of Willy Wonka's Wonderland Cough Joe's Workshop Cough.
His whole idea behind calling Joe is to have an honest and straightforward conversation. A conversation where you just tell Joe upfront what's going on, and just ask him direct questions about the stuff you're wondering about. A conversation that's about communicating rather than social manipulation.

If I'm getting this right, Joe can now host the Butcher with little to no consequences.
He has no reason to though. He already considered it, and he decided that there wasn't really anything interesting in the power collection compared to what he's already received from the Forge.

Earth Bet has the protector it needs now. And this time, Taylor won't have to sacrifice her existence and happiness to end a God.

Because a God of the Forge will be there to share the load.
I don't think Joe would be sharing the load with Taylor. I think that he would be standing there after the final battle wondering how the hell bug control was supposed to have even played a role in that.
 
Nah, with understanding of Shard mechanics and capabilities should come with intuitive understanding that QA gave Taylor a bare fraction of its capabilities, as all Shards do, but hers was optimized for organizing and deploying powers through intermediaries / delegate hosts.

It would be a stretch for other OP MCs to figure out how the hell Taylor was supposed to even help against Scion, but for Joe identifying Scion as a threat comes from learning meat and bones of what Entities are in the first place.

So the mental exercise of figuring out what powers are useful in a multi-dumensional battle leads to extrapolating what a Shard could allow a Parahuman to do if it wasn't restricting itself.
 
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