[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.

I dont know the buffy universe too well, are the two witches relevant characters to the story? Also, is asking for buffy spoilers allowed or should i not do it here?
 
[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.
 
[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.

I dont know the buffy universe too well, are the two witches relevant characters to the story? Also, is asking for buffy spoilers allowed or should i not do it here?
Buffy is old enough and the wiki's extensive enough that I don't particularly care about spoilers myself. If you care about spoilers and want to keep spoilers contained, just put your question in a spoiler box.

As to the witches, yes they are relevant, specifically in the first season.
 
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This lightning glove looks interesting. Hopefully it leads to Sunlight Spears and all the goodness therein.
Well, I mean, it's been buried on the Hellmouth for centuries, or long enough for a corpse to get dusty anyway, study it and then melt the remains, bathe said remains in holy water, and then disintegrate it for good measure. It might be enough.

Seriously though, I feel like saying Sunlight Spears are lightning is like saying Bonfires are fire.

I mean, yeah, sure. But you're like... missing a lot there as well by just calling them that.
 
[x] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.

Sunnydale is such a provincial town. No table manners at all, everyone is playing with their food.
Well, when in Rome...
 
Nor "lightning" that the glove shoots really behaves like lightning either, tbh. It is a pretty potent magical boomstick by standards of the setting.

We'll see if it is actually something Idol can use herself, or something to figure out the workings of and destroy when we invest an action into it.

Canonical material indicated that it has no nasty surprises beyond the obvious, but not putting on stuff that bites onto you and then refuses to let go without investigating it throughly is a matter of principle.
 
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[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.
 
[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.

If this keeps happening we should get a standard routine and script for our acting. A sorta "Oh vampires have mistaken me for a defenceless young woman again, standard response No.3 should do"

:)
 
standard response No.3 should do"
"Scream like a defenseless maiden and then shoot them in the foot, then shoot them in the head." -The Idol, at some point.
Adhoc vote count started by BungieONI on May 28, 2018 at 6:34 AM, finished with 289 posts and 15 votes.
 
[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.

Inventory:
-Your dress and mantle
-Your record scroll
-Your spell book
-Your hair ornaments
I feel like the Glove should be added to this list. Granted, we've only had it in our possession for less then a minute so far, but it's not like the Idol is going to give it up now that it's in her possession.
 
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[X] Deceive them by playing along with their little game, then drop the seeming and shoot them.

I feel like the Glove should be added to this list. Granted, we've only had it in our possession for less then a minute so far, but it's not like the Idol is going to give it up now that it's in her possession.
Yeah I thought that too, I'm going to put it in when I lock the vote.


E: I'm also terribly terribly amused you guys have caught onto that possessiveness. *claps in glee*
 
@BungieONI, if it's not too spoiler-y, I have a question about the Glove of Zap Zap. Or rather, your take on it.

I'm of two thoughts on the power of the Glove. One option, the Glove effectively required the permanent sacrifice of a limb, meaning it's probably really powerful. Maybe not Awesome Cosmic Power, but powerful enough to make Gwendolyn Post willing to make the sacrifice to use it. Like, Storm from X-Men levels of power.

Option two, the Glove actually retracts, like the Witchblade. Meaning she's not actually sacrificing a hand to use it, thus, it wouldn't need to be that powerful to tempt her. It's power level is more of a street-level superpower.
 
@BungieONI, if it's not too spoiler-y, I have a question about the Glove of Zap Zap. Or rather, your take on it.

I'm of two thoughts on the power of the Glove. One option, the Glove effectively required the permanent sacrifice of a limb, meaning it's probably really powerful. Maybe not Awesome Cosmic Power, but powerful enough to make Gwendolyn Post willing to make the sacrifice to use it. Like, Storm from X-Men levels of power.

Option two, the Glove actually retracts, like the Witchblade. Meaning she's not actually sacrificing a hand to use it, thus, it wouldn't need to be that powerful to tempt her. It's power level is more of a street-level superpower.
It is not too spoilery. Or at least part of it isn't. My current take on it is that it is actually pretty powerful, not Storm levels of power but enough to be a threat to say... Moloch's Robot body or Adam, though probably not Glory, when using its lighting. It's a boomstick and it works well at that job. The more important thing about it though is its utility, particularly in the hands of the Idol. There are multiple indications in the canon information about it that we didn't see its full breadth of power.

For Post I'm thus ruling a couple of things. One, Post wanted the full power of the glove, but had to become bonded with it in order to unlock that potential over time and it was that potential she was actually "purchasing" with the permanent loss of a human looking limb. Two, she was absolutely confident she could unlock it given time, and was power hungry/deluded enough to think she might be able to remove it at that point. Three, the lighting power it possessed was enough of a finger on the cost benefit scale for her to put it on in the first place when combined with the previous two points.

Update is aaaaallllllmost done, just going through my final edits.
 
Episode 3, Part 5 “Thunder and Lightning, Very Very Frightening”
Episode 3, Part 5
"Thunder and Lightning, Very Very Frightening"

"I dunno Herb, isn't your style sooo out of fashion?" You try to channel some of Buffy's flippant personality with that. Unfortunately it doesn't really seem to take, as they just laugh at you more. Hmm, I need to gather more information… you muse as the female speaks.

"Oh you're just, adorable. My style is great!" The girl sashays closer, leaning in conspiratorially. "I mean, girl, you don't even have shoes. And don't get me started on your dress." She sighs sadly. You just raise an eyebrow, looking quickly between her and the male who is looking increasingly bored, as she continues.

"I mean damn, I'm pretty sure you can steal a decent pair of shoes like that," she snaps her fingers, "But that's okay, cuz its not your problem anymore." She instantly lunges, the man following, both faces twisting into their demonic forms. You lurch back and imitate a frightened squeal as they attack.

You let the female get a grip on your left arm before you abruptly drop the seeming. Your arms unfold gracefully as you rise to your full height above her. Their faces flip quickly between disbelief, shock and then fear. Said fear gains a particularly personal note for the male when you raise your upper right arm and blast him in the head from a foot away.

He instantly dusts, the female watching on in horror, grip on you forgotten. Reaching up with your other left hand you slap her in the head and then push as you blow out her right knee with a Soul Arrow from your right hand. Rotating on one foot you send her careening into the crypt to fall face first to the stone with a squishy smack.

"Ow! Eee! Ooh!" The cries of the vampire are soothing to your annoyance. Stepping into the tomb you approach slowly. The vampire flips over, looking rather terrified. Propping herself up she looks at you and then her blasted leg, face flipping to outrage as she yells. "Goddamn it you bitch, that was my favorite pair of shoes!" Looking at you again she tries to lurch up and attack you.

You casually blast her back down with a much weaker shot to the torso. "Sit." You are annoyed again. What a pitiful specimen… Walking up to the gasping and groaning vampire you gracefully stamp your foot onto her chest. You look down at her, expression contemplative as your mantle flutters around you, gauntlet in your lower right arm as your left points at her head.

"My style is perfectly acceptable." Pause. Zhew. The Soul Arrow obliterates her head in a burst of white light. She dusts instantly. Straightening, you carefully check the cloth wrapped gauntlet. After a moment, you verify that it is fine.

Nodding at this, a thought occurs to you. Perhaps I could use this as a secondary lair… you hum in thought as you look around, noting how you could put powerful wards on this structure. Later, after I can harness the spirits to my purpose, you decide. Satisfied with your examinations you turn and leave the tomb, annoyance fading.

The cemetery is quiet, the scents of the two vampires you killed fading quickly. Abnormally so actually, likely as a consequence of their monstrous natures. Gauntlet in hand, you head out of the cemetery, heading for your home, seeming back in place. You need to secure it in a safe space, to study as needed.

The trip home is quiet. You briefly sense the second vampire disturbance who followed Darla, but nothing else. No Angel, no Warrior, and none of her companions. Just the buzz of insects and the distant thundering of cars as you cradle your quiescent gauntlet.

Arriving, you head inside, securing the gate and front door behind you. Breathing in the scents of your lair as you drop your seeming, you verify that you are alone inside it. Walking gracefully up the stairs you arrive in your workroom, sanctum wards sealing behind you. Carefully unwrapping the gauntlet you prepare a place of honor for it with the cloth.

Setting it gently down on the shelf you listen to the magic of it rumble and spark harmlessly along your wards. It will do nicely… You will have to study it quite intensely in order to divine its inner workings. For now you are absolutely certain its magic revolves around the attraction, storage, and release of energy found in the environment.

Settling into the cushioned chair in your workroom with a slight poof of dust, you relax into a meditative state of contemplation. You now have a magical tool that you can use as a focus for larger workings, once you figure out how it works and thus how its mystical nature can be manipulated. You could derive many useful things from it, you are absolutely certain of that. The other items you have sensed are also still out there, you will have to watch to make certain they do not slip out of your grasp while you study the gauntlet.

Now secure in the heart of your power with that task completed, for the moment, your mind turns to the other pressing tasks you have. Your first attempt at twisting a Soul into a sympathetic channel for the energy of the Hellmouth failed. However, you have now learned important pieces about its nature, in particular its name.

From those pieces alone, your chances of success are better. The bigger issue, though, is your methodology for hunting. It was heavily flawed in your first attempt. Normally speaking the night is a much better time to hunt humans, but in this case the town is infested with another group of night hunters who have a habit of interfering. You are getting better at sensing the weaker ones before they sneak up on you, but its still not perfect.

An option is thus to hunt the humans during the day, when the vampires are hiding from the burning sun. The risk here is that instead of getting interrupted or attacked by vampires, you may be discovered by human authorities. Or one of the Warrior's companions. One of those is far more catastrophic than the other.

In both cases the almost willful obliviousness of humans in this town gives you an advantage. A single person going missing is unlikely to be noticed by anyone if you actually succeed in taking them. One odd thing is that you have sensed extremely few vagrants or beggars in your travels. Perhaps you could try to find them in the parks and green areas of the towns, you haven't really frequented those.

While usually such Souls would not be very useful to you, except in the most extreme of circumstances of beggar heroes, the Souls here are all connected to the Hellmouth. And this is really the only criteria you need. Perhaps… your head tilts right as a very strange thought flits through it. Perhaps a patient in a hospice could be useful?

You consider that possibility carefully, like you did all the others. Such a Soul would have a weak body, and thus be unlikely to survive the strain of the channel forming without dying in the middle and ruining it. They are also more likely to be watched. The upside however is that if you can sneak in and get a somewhat willing participant that would make the process significantly easier.

There is a much higher risk of discovery from the humans, but very little chance of activity from the vampires. Thinking it over more, you discard that path. Perhaps later, when I have more ability. Satisfied with that, you move on, to an evaluation of what forces threaten you. The vampires are not individually a threat in the here and now. You are too powerful for singular or even pairs of the usual vampires to fight you and actually injure you.

However their organization is an actual threat, and there are some individuals who could be a threat. Like Darla or the Master. With their organization, if they manage to track you down, a group of vampires could conceivably overwhelm you, especially if led by Darla or that other disturbance you sensed with her. The issue you are faced with is that they are too well hidden even to your senses. Tracing them by scent is unreliable with the sheer mass of smells this town provides and your magical senses cannot sense the lair, and likely prison, of the Master.

You do have options to make a next step in tracking them down. You could go to the meeting place below that crypt Giles showed you, but you may not find anything, or be ambushed by a group of vampires. It is a riskier path, though likely one to succeed, at least to some degree. Another option is to hunt a lone vampire and interrogate them for information, make them lead you to a place of importance or give you some special piece of information.

Both methods become easier and less risky if you are more powerful. Though… the Warrior's scholar was the one who initially gave you your lead to the crypt. They too are a threat. However, you have begun to weave a web of deception amongst them, turning them away from hunting you before they even know what you are. Humming your hymn under your breath you consider another approach. If you use that web, perhaps you could seek them out and garner their aid. They already gave you your first lead.

They obviously have some means of tracking down vampires, and a very useful repository of lore which is useful for many of your current tasks. You also suspect that Giles hid some pieces of information from you. While he was somewhat relaxed in your presence, the information he gave you on the Master specifically was more limited than you would expect with the information sources he obviously has available. This is understandable, for you are a foreign entity and trust must be built slowly.

With them helping you, you can also act with less risk, more quickly. You could thus go to the meeting place and hunt more vampires. Ingratiating yourself like this will also protect you from them, so long as you hide your nature. Perhaps you should seek out the Warrior, watch her and determine a good moment to more directly introduce yourself.

These are your two greatest concerns. The third, far more minor one, is the witches you sensed. They could sense you, or harm you with preparation. Particularly the older and likely much more skilled one. It also occurs to you that they could, and likely have, made use of items from the Magic Box, perhaps stolen or purchased clandestinely.

All the more reason to examine its defenses and take the more useful items for yourself. Doing that will deny their use to the witches, though it may make them somewhat wary of another magic user. Tilting your head left, you consider how to obfuscate the purpose of your theft. A few moments of thought later, you determine that the best method would be to take what money or coins exist there, and to take some items completely at random along with what you actually desire.

Carefully balancing the many plots you are weaving, you decide on the next course of action as dawn peeks above the horizon…


Today, the world is kinda your oyster! Lots of options to do in the daylight.

[] Go out in the day, walk around town and hunt down a beggar for their Soul. Conduct your sympathetic channel experiment at your lair.
[] Go to the crypt Giles mentioned and sneak into the tunnels below, to seek the meeting place. During the day the vampires may be sleeping and thus easier to infiltrate.
[] Try to find Buffy or Giles and discuss them helping you, by first checking the school, and then other places. You've searched enough of the town that it shouldn't be too hard to find them.
[] Study the Magic Gauntlet you have found. Try to determine what it does via your senses and ritual analysis.

Night stuff will come after this vote and the next update.



For some reason I was really tired today and this mucked with the update.

Vote lock is at the normal time of 6:00 pm UTC May 29th.
 
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[X] Go out in the day, walk around town and hunt down a beggar for their Soul. Conduct your sympathetic channel experiment at your lair.

I just realized we probably should have gone to the Magic Box first to see if we could get any items for making our Wards batter now that we have something we actually want to keep hidden and safe in our place.
 
[X] Go out in the day, walk around town and hunt down a beggar for their Soul. Conduct your sympathetic channel experiment at your lair.
-[X] Make sure to verify that the Warrior is occupied at school first. Their school's hours are perfect for keeping them out of the way.
 
[X] Go out in the day, walk around town and hunt down a beggar for their Soul. Conduct your sympathetic channel experiment at your lair.
-[X] Make sure to verify that the Warrior is occupied at school first. Their school's hours are perfect for keeping them out of the way.
Sorry that write in is not valid ;) , mostly because its not going to be necessary. Idol's smart enough to do this carefully.

E: Rest of the vote is fine.
 
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[X] Go out in the day, walk around town and hunt down a beggar for their Soul. Conduct your sympathetic channel experiment at your lair.

Yes let's devour a soul, they are yummy.
 
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