Remove ads

Empathy and Ink (a DC OC Quest)

Created
Status
Ongoing
Watchers
91
Recent readers
0
Threadmarks
6
Empathy and Ink (a DC OC Quest)



I'm still struggling to grasp the sheer enormity of the...
Threadmarks Informational
Reader mode
Remove ads
1. A Workplace Accident
  • Threadmarks
    • Z488411

    Z488411

    Scatterbrained
    Location
    Europa
    Empathy and Ink (a DC OC Quest) ​



    I'm still struggling to grasp the sheer enormity of the DC setting, so any help would be appreciated. That said this will be relatively heavily based on the DCAU, with some differences, OCs, etc. I like making OCs very much, so expect them, but I will try to stay true to the characters and tone of the setting as best as I can. And also include canon characters of course, even if we're not starting out meeting Batman. Writing is hard and RL is unhelpful.
    I am also not dead and will get back to Wyrm and possibly Masks if I ever find the time. This is just a project to get myself motivated and back into writing, but I'm aiming for daily updates.
    Any critiques are also appreciated.




    1. A Workplace Accident.​


    One you should probably have been able to predict. Too little sleep, too much work, and too much excitement are just not a good combination unless you don't mind the occasional accident.

    Unfortunately, intern as you may be, accidents at the Gotham Museum of Antiquities apparently had consequences. Especially since the whole thing had been started by a donation of potentially magical artifacts. That had been this morning. A private collection, willed to the Museum and entirely unlabelled. Even without those, the curator and various other people working at the museum needed very little time to get excited though.

    And from that point you had been looking over their shoulders, making notes and moving things around to temporary and more permanent holding places. You had been making notes, updating files and handles things you wished you could have a closer look at, even just five or ten minutes more, but seeing as you were the intern, and thus the gofer, you were also the first person to be sent off to do something mundane. Like making coffee.

    You had no idea how much coffee you had made or drunk by the time it got dark, just that you had been there since morning and they were still too fascinated to even think about going home.

    In actual fact, everyone had probably been in the same state of having lost track of time just to look at what you just got, then the next item and the next... it didn't matter that most weren't completely intact, there was still so much information to be gleaned.

    That was probably also why you didn't notice your papercut until far too late, tripped over your own feet when one of the Ph.D. students almost ran into you and then bled on a stone shard carved with all sorts of images interspersed with characters you didn't understand but, from the headache forming just by looking at them, had to be magical.

    All things considered, waking up with everyone standing around you, curled around your arm, with a paramedic on site and a splitting headache and corresponding bump was far from the worst thing that could have happened.

    They even let you go home and gave you a day off after making sure you were lucid enough.

    At least everyone else left with you and before something worse could happen.

    You thought one of the Ph.D. students drove you home too, but you couldn't be sure. Everything was a blur and by the time you woke up in the morning, you only had very vague memories left over.


    When you woke up, you almost thought everything was back to normal. That it had all just been a dream, if not for the slight pain at the side of your head, that odd feeling at the back of your brain, and an odd urge to look at your hand.

    There was something moving on your skin.

    It looked like... no, it was:



    [ ] - The Bird
    A bird in flight, beating its wings in two dimensions, looking around, as if to explore every crevice.
    You supposed you weren't particularly surprised. You had always been curious, fixating on things even if your attention span wasn't the best. You couldn't stop looking at it or anything else. Flight or even just running or walking around a new place, with no particular target had an allure all of its own.

    [X] - The Serpent
    A Serpent winding itself around your fingers, watching you with still eyes, tongue flicking occasionally. Most people would probably not be thrilled with this, but you didn't mind snakes, the smooth movements, able to go from languid to a near instantaneous strike. It seemed right somehow. You liked to think first and act later if you had the option, with some preference for calm and quiet places and of course digging into any and all information you could find.

    [ ] - The Four legged animal
    A four legged creature prancing over your hand. You could see the power, confidence, and playfulness in its movements, even if you could never be quite sure whether it was a cat, a dog or something else entirely. Its tail moved, its pointed ears twitched and you couldn't help but smile to yourself. This was amazing, incredible and you had to resist the urge to do the same thing it was doing before running off to tell your roommate. You had never been the shy type.

    [ ] - The Larva
    A... Larva? It wiggled. Curling its fat, segmented body, with the two eyes and mandibles. It was actually kind of cute. But what did that say about you? You still didn't know what you were going to do, but college seemed like a good idea. You wanted, needed to be something, but decisions are harder than they sound and how can you pick just one? It always felt like you were dreaming and waiting for something.

    [ ] - Write in - You may only choose a normal living thing, for example: The sprout, the fish, the rat, the hare, the fungus, the vine, the cephalopod or the pangolin. Mythological creatures can be obtained by growth (for example obtaining the ability to grow your bird into a phoenix or your Serpent into a dragon), as is or by fusing existing Marks (for example fusing your bird and serpent into a dragon). Inanimate objects or personal archetypes can only be obtained during the story as is. A write in may only specify the live thing itself, I will take any personality traits written in a suggestion and may disregard them entirely if I decide I have no interest in writing that sort of character.



    Progressing the story and gaining more experiences and interactions will allow your to obtain growth for your marks and yourself. New Marks can be gained during the story as well, through specific actions depending on the Mark and any of these starter Marks can be obtained later as well, although the starter Mark has a significant influence on your character's personality and to a lesser extent life until this point. A Mark represents a significant effort and part of your personality and as such you will not be getting new marks all the time.
    Mark independent abilities can be obtained as well.



    Omakes, Art and general help with this thing can earn bonuses in certain tasks, growth points for marks or even for the main character and mark development options.


    If you're confused, feel free to ask.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Remove ads
    Character info and abilities
  • Informational
    • Our Main Character:
    Name: Charissa Elliot



    Gender: Female
    Age: 20
    Occupation: 4-5th Semester Anthropology student at Gotham University

    Originally from her small town a state away out in the country, she moved to Gotham to go to college, despite a somewhat unconvinced father and is attending Gotham University, aiming for a bachelor's degree in Anthropology, on a partial scholarship. It might not be enough to pay for everything, but enough to allow her family to afford it without borrowing too much money and sharing a small flat with four other people.
    She has a reasonably good relationship with her family, but wanted to strike out on her own and lives too far away from anyone but her brother not to make visiting a major effort. She took the internship at the Museum as a result of grades she has to keep up to keep her scholarship either way and the time to decide which field to specialize in is approaching fast.

    Abilities:
    Full transformation:
    The ability to turn herself fully into one of her Marks.

    Marks may start small, but gain abilities as you gain understanding. Some abilities may unlock access to other ones or make them significantly easier to find. They are a part of you and a part of your mind.

    The Serpent

    A dark outline of a serpent, easily able to fit into her palm, winding itself across her body.
    Gained from yourself. You choose to think of the positive associations rather than the negative ones.

    Abilities:
    ?
    Growth Points: 8

    Metamorphoses available:

    Size increase - locked
    Empowers the Mark's current abilities, increases the size of the Mark, allows for unlocking more abilities, increases the GP cost of some (most) abilities.
    Comparable to a rank up
    Cost: 10 GP

    Heat vision -
    Allows her snake form to sense heat. Less accurate (blurrier) than her normal vision but fully functional
    Unlocks the ability to find some life force related abilities
    Cost: 5GP

    Parietal Eye -
    Allows her to perceive magic, vague type of magic by colour and very vague direction in snake form. Also allows her to sense lighting conditions on top of your head.
    Unlocks the ability to find more magical abilities
    Cost: 15 GP

    burner phone
    holy steel bottle filled with holy water
    laptop
    smartphone



    Other Characters you know well (subject to expansion as I find the time)
    Name: Malaya Santiago
    Gender: Female
    Age: 20
    Occupation: College student

    Your Roommate for the last two years. Studied Marketing and Business in some fashion, has changed courses quite a bit. Where you are quiet and like to think over your options. Malaya jumps in with both feet, approaches people as best as she can and gets wrapped up in entirely too many relationships. She is still one of your best friends and more than willing to help if need be, even if she has dragged you into helping some other people she knows in return too. Probably too nice for her own good, a serious caffeine addict definitely needs to sleep more and can be a force of nature if she wants to be. You suspect she would take the whole magic tattoo thing quite well, but might somehow find you a spandex suit to go with it.

    Name: Colleen Richter
    Gender: Female
    Age: 19
    Occupation: Engineering student

    One of your other roommates, currently away on an internship of her own, Voted most likely to chop off her own limbs and replace them with cybernetics. Scarily dedicated and disturbingly intelligent, at least in anything related to engineering and whatever science interests her. Socially, you have learned to be very blunt to make things easier and to take what she says at face value. Loves watching tv shows late at night and produces cooking anywhere between absolutely incredible and charcoal. Drinks no coffee at all, is perfectly aware at 6am but regularly falls asleep around noon. She is still a fairly reliable friend and fascinating to talk to, who would probably take your current predicament quite well. You're just faintly afraid what she might do with any access to magic.

    Name: Gerard Zima
    Gender: Male
    Age: 20
    Occupation: Anthropology Student

    A classmate of yours, even if he is not a Roommate. Will probably be back in Gotham soon, one of your best friends, even if he is not as serious about academics as you are. Relaxed, but surprisingly insightful, he likes to say he has the most boring family. Middle class, a few siblings, nothing interesting going on. You're still not sure you believe him, and he has admitted to also having moved far enough away to make visiting impractical. Still, he respects your interest in your grades, is great to talk to especially when you need someone quiet and surprisingly good at plotting when he puts in the effort.
     
    Last edited:
  • Informational
    • reserved for other things I may need


    The thread is open.
     
    Last edited:
    [X] - The Serpent
    A Serpent winding itself around your fingers, watching you with still eyes, tongue flicking occasionally. Most people would probably not be thrilled with this, but you didn't mind snakes, the smooth movements, able to go from languid to a near instantaneous strike. It seemed right somehow. You liked to think first and act later if you had the option, with some preference for calm and quiet places and of course digging into any and all information you could find.

    Snek best animal.
     
    New
    [X] - The Serpent
    A Serpent winding itself around your fingers, watching you with still eyes, tongue flicking occasionally. Most people would probably not be thrilled with this, but you didn't mind snakes, the smooth movements, able to go from languid to a near instantaneous strike. It seemed right somehow. You liked to think first and act later if you had the option, with some preference for calm and quiet places and of course digging into any and all information you could find.


    Im thinking Rogue Not a hero but not Screwing people over just us exploring the powers​
     
    Last edited:
    Well this is supposed to be more about character interactions anyway, but I have absolutely no problem with a rogue.

    That said, snek does not make her evil. Nor do any of the others make her good.

    I do genuinely love snakes though.
     
    [X] - The Serpent
    A Serpent winding itself around your fingers, watching you with still eyes, tongue flicking occasionally. Most people would probably not be thrilled with this, but you didn't mind snakes, the smooth movements, able to go from languid to a near instantaneous strike. It seemed right somehow. You liked to think first and act later if you had the option, with some preference for calm and quiet places and of course digging into any and all information you could find.
     
    [X] - The Serpent
    A Serpent winding itself around your fingers, watching you with still eyes, tongue flicking occasionally. Most people would probably not be thrilled with this, but you didn't mind snakes, the smooth movements, able to go from languid to a near instantaneous strike. It seemed right somehow. You liked to think first and act later if you had the option, with some preference for calm and quiet places and of course digging into any and all information you could find
     
    I would recommend picking for personality now and then trying to pick up a Mark for a specific ability later.
    This is the Mark you obtain from yourself so represents you.
    The others will be obtained from people or situations or even objects when you have reached enough understanding.

    That said they do in fact give powers. Just almost none to start with before growth sets in.
    (you can also get flight with the serpent, it's just not as easy and you definitely won't start out doing a superman impression with the bird either)
    Adhoc vote count started by Z488411 on Sep 16, 2018 at 6:01 AM, finished with 23 posts and 14 votes.
    Click to expand...
     
    [X]-the starfish
    will definitely end up with regeneration also could grow into some cool things.
     
    [X] - The Larva
    Its growth it potential we are new and we dont know who we will become but thats life we can be the butterfly or any other thing the power of potential and why even bug we can become a snake
     
    Last edited:
    I'll give this two or three more hours, then post the tally here. Glad to have so many people interested :)
    Adhoc vote count started by Z488411 on Sep 16, 2018 at 10:06 AM, finished with 27 posts and 17 votes.
    Click to expand...
     
    Last edited:
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top