[X] To one of the malls and shopping centers her host knows about where she might ask around tomorrow. She might be able to sell a believable story while searching for the Slayer, but really this presents a better way to scope out the town and its goings on.
Well now this is a treat! I was not expecting to see a reboot of this quest, and I'm already liking how it's started.
[X] To the club that ends with -ze tonight. Her host recognizes the sign and interior as part of the Bronze. The Slayer is young, perhaps she is there. It also seems like a place vampires would like and there might be some there to help.
Let's see where things go this time around, shall we?
[X] To one of the malls and shopping centers her host knows about where she might ask around tomorrow. She might be able to sell a believable story while searching for the Slayer, but really this presents a better way to scope out the town and its goings on.
oof, relation between Anne and Idol was probably my favourite part of origin quest. It pains me to see it in such state. Also weakness of Idol compared to human soul irks me but I understand its purpose in narrative.
Overall I am happy this idea is back, I am sucker for demon/dark/bloodborne/sekiro content
[X] To one of the malls and shopping centers her host knows about where she might ask around tomorrow. She might be able to sell a believable story while searching for the Slayer, but really this presents a better way to scope out the town and its goings on.
Man I had such a blast reading the first iteration of this quest.
I am sure this will be just as fun!
we gain power by eating the various criminals, corrupt cops, minor demons, and vampires(they have magic?) of Sunnydale, allly/befriend Buffy and friends make sure they know how to fight, get them weapons they need and then we go after our targets.
In the case of criminals and corrupt people, the Idol has no ready method of identifying them from the crowd. On the other hand, Anne was a vulnerable homeless person, so if there's any shitbags people like her know to avoid, that might be a place to start.
For example, there's a frat house/murder cult who semi-regularly kidnap teenage girls (and probably others), keep them in their torture-basement, then feed them to their Dark Patron, a snake demon who grants them good fortune and wealth.
If the Idol learned about them, I'm sure Anne would be totally fine with us eating them.
I don't know whether it's inherited as part of the Slayer's power, but Buffy cheerfully kills demons (like us) that don't toe the line whereas killing humans currently is a no go to her, no matter how evil.
Over the course of the series, their group did kill more then a few humans, but it tended to be a "the heat of battle" kind of thing. Like, if they're dealing with some evil psycho and innocent lives are on the line ... meh, shit happens in combat.
But actively setting out to kill humans, or killing them in cold blood once the fighting is over ... No. Buffy would absolutely turn on the Idol if she learned of her doing that.
Over the course of the series, their group did kill more then a few humans, but it tended to be a "the heat of battle" kind of thing. Like, if they're dealing with some evil psycho and innocent lives are on the line ... meh, shit happens in combat.
But actively setting out to kill humans, or killing them in cold blood once the fighting is over ... No. Buffy would absolutely turn on the Idol if she learned of her doing that.
Still sounds like an interesting way to go. Looking at the situations where the expectation of humans being the good guys and demons being bad is inverted or otherwise skewed sounds fun, especially with a character like Doll/Annie being the protagonist instead of someone like Buffy. Kinda the difference between reading a Spider-Man comic and one of the comics where Venom was a "hero".
[X] To the school to scope it out in daylight tomorrow, after looking it over tonight. Maybe see if the Slayer has any friends that she needs to be separated from and how well liked she is. How much she might be missed.
Still sounds like an interesting way to go. Looking at the situations where the expectation of humans being the good guys and demons being bad is inverted or otherwise skewed sounds fun, especially with a character like Doll/Annie being the protagonist instead of someone like Buffy. Kinda the difference between reading a Spider-Man comic and one of the comics where Venom was a "hero".
Yep, not a bad plan at all. In fact, until and unless the Idol figures out some alternatives, it's our only option going forward.
The Idol is currently weak and her powers diminished, which we need to fix. We fix this by nomming souls and magic.
Given that Anne effectively has veto power over our meals right now, that means we need to find targets she'll find acceptable. Probably meaning suitably evil people who won't rustle her morality.
But we need to be smart and subtle about it, because the Slayer isn't the only one around who could kill the Idol in her weakened state.
Sunnydale has an absurd number of magic or cursed objects hidden in various places. But we probably cant find enough easily, and anyone who has significant such likely also has power or defenses we dont want to tangle with like this.
After some serious consideration of how my work and life schedule works, I've decided that I'm going to be posting updates in sections as I finish them. What this means for you folks is there may be updates without votes and the updates will be shorter and easier for me to work in around my work schedule.
Progress on the update continues apace at the moment and I'm adjusting the first snippet before I post it.
[X] To one of the malls and shopping centers her host knows about where she might ask around tomorrow. She might be able to sell a believable story while searching for the Slayer, but really this presents a better way to scope out the town and its goings on.
Her host sighs in the back of her head as the Idol stares at a small clothing store, examining it from the shadows of an alley. She's been looking at the store front for at least ten minutes now. The 3 AM air nips at her fingers where they're shoved into her denim jacket's pockets.
What's the hold up? Her host asks her impatiently. You asked me all those questions so what are you doing?
"I'm thinking." She responds bluntly.
Her host gives another huff. Night ain't getting any younger, and its freaking cold out here.
The Idol rolls a shoulder and gently touches her forehead. The wound is closed over now and only the slight ridge of a fading scar the size of her pinkie nail remains. It will disappear before the sun rises in a few hours. She prods her host, directing her attention inward. Human, how long would it take the local constabulary to arrive?
Her host grumbles. I don't know, just like I don't know what kind of security or alarms they have just from looking at it. Maybe five, ten minutes? This is a pretty nice neighborhood tucked out of the way.
Five minutes I can work with. The Idol tells her host. She retreats into the alley, pulling up the hood of her jacket and walks around the corner into a service road behind a row of stores. Walking down the road she makes another turn and crosses the street at a dead silent intersection then turns down the service road behind the row of stores where her target lies and pauses at the back corner of a small boutique. Something hidden twists and her perspective lurches as she reaches out to the wall and begins to climb up it like an oversized spider, floating over the surface with her hands and feet lightly tapping over the brick. What…?
She ignores her host, musing over how humans rarely ever guard their rooftops in their ignorance of the things which soar above them and wish to consume their soft flesh.
Her host lingers in confused silence in the back of their shared skull until she grips the roof edge and levers herself up and onto the roof. She stands on the roof and navigates around the various fans and ductwork until she reaches the far edge. The confusion and surprise from her host turns into a yelp as the Idol eyes the gap between the store roofs and sprints forward, leaping across the gap! Oh god what!? Her host exclaims as the Idol glides through the air buoyed by invisible currents across the gap and lands with a thump on the next roof.
Her sprint doesn't stop and she leaps over the next gap. She hops along until she reaches the final roof and lands in a crouch. Her body is breathing hard, a spike of irritation going through her at the fatigue weighting her limbs and the heart pounding in her ribs. Hissing quietly she straightens and looks around the roof. The wind whips at her red hair as she notes the barren expanse of the roof, a small handful of air ducts snaking their way around the roof. She turns and walks to the edge overlooking the service road.
Huh. That was some demon bullshit there alright… I wonder what else you can do… Her host muses, a spike of hatred and the anticipation of vengeance blotting out everything else her host is feeling. It washes away the Idol's irritation as she looks down into the alley.
There in the middle of the back wall is a camera and a door with a small white light above it. A small wire goes up one side of the doorway. Before she can ask her host speaks up. I don't know what that is.
It does not matter. The Idol declares. Her remnants of power surge and a crackling fog forms between her fingers as she prepares one of her most used spells, Soul Arrow. Zhew! A bolt of white and grey light then lances forward and smashes the camera from its stand with a bang. Parts go flying into the alley and the Idol wastes no time dropping off the roof and landing with a light tap in front of the door.
She grabs the door and pulls viciously. The door creaks and the frame cracks with a sharp snap but it doesn't give. Frowning in annoyance she rests a hand against the doorframe over the lock bar and another Soul Arrow blows apart the lock. The door flies open with a puff of smoke. Would the alarm be silent? She asks her host.
She gets the equivalent of a shrug. Probably? Her host responds. She rushes into the back room of the store, eyes scanning over the boxes and finding mostly cleaning supplies and a few crates labeled as shirts and pants. Not what she needs right now. She pushes open the door into the shop floor and peeks out. A quick check shows no cameras in this part of the store and she looks over the interior.
In front of her is the shop counter and the shop floor itself is laid out with clothing racks and shelves in four rows that rise to just below head height. To her right in the corner are a bunch of shelves built into the walls holding shoes and boots and she vaults over the counter in that direction, pulling her hood down as she goes.
Her host sighs. If you really want new shoes my shoe size is a seven. The Idol trots over to the shoe section and starts grabbing leather boots which say 'seven' off the shelves. Her hands snatch up several pairs, then she doubles back and hops back over the counter. A glance at the wall clock mounted on the wall behind the counter shows she's already spent three minutes getting in and grabbing her haul.
Reaching out to the teller's station she melts a hole through the lock and yanks open the station, ignoring her host's cry of outrage as she reaches in and takes out several dozen high denomination bills.
Stuffing the money in a pocket she rushes out the door and into the back room. Pulling off her tennis shoes she pulls on first one pair of lace up calf boots in black, then tosses them aside when they pinch her ankle. Pulling on another pair of ankle boots she finds them too loose and tosses them aside as well.
Her second to last option is a pair of boots that went to mid calf in soft matte black leather with a buckle to secure them around her calf over the front and a little loop of leather to pull them up. They sit comfortably and when she taps her toes on the linoleum they seem to have a respectable amount of cushioning. Spinning she kicks one of the metal poles holding up the shelving back here and the bar dent slightly with a clang. The impact and pain in her foot was minimized by the sole nicely.
Good. The Idol is satisfied. These would do quite well. The pain fades quickly as she trots out of the back door and into the alley.
The sound of sirens in the distance reaches her over the wind and she returns to the roofs in a flash of movement and clatter of her new boots on brick. She was curious about the constables in this town.
What are you doing? Her host asks her, then snorts before the Idol can answer. They're cops, they aren't that interesting. Unless you get on their bad side.
The Idol settles onto a roof behind a large boxy unit and peers out as a car with a flashing light bar and a siren blaring pulls up in front of the store. Two men in blue uniforms adorned with a variety of devices exit the vehicle. The Idol's gaze zeros in on the holstered weapons on their hips. It takes her a moment to identify them as guns given the unusual shape.
Do all police walk around armed like that? The Idol murmurs to her host as she backs up, hiding herself fully behind the air unit.
"Davis check the back, I'll take the front." She hears one speak.
Mall cops and some security guards don't but yeah. You bulletproof? She asks archly?
The Idol sneers. I could be. Regardless, how do they communicate? Whistles?
… Whistles? We're not exactly in the Victorian here. They use radios. Her host answers. With the word a flow of context frames in her mind what a radio can do.
She hisses in disgust. Wonderful. Hunger gnaws at the pit in her stomach, deeper and deeper as she turns away. She grumbles quietly as she retreats from the scene, considering how she might use such an organization to her own advantage.
But first she needs to find somewhere where she can get the lay of the town. She still has that picture, sequestered away in a pocket.
