- Location
- Central Standard Time
Y'know, sometimes I forget we're complete and utter bullshit, and most of this was accidental/unintentional: I don't think anyone expected this as a side effect of our character choices.
-
Going forward, links to content from Twitter (now X) will no longer be embedded. Pre-existing links should not be affected.
Fragmentation (Original Superhero Setting)
- Thread starter Alivaril
- Start date
- Original
DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
things the voters did on accident
- Make themselves an eldritch being from an alternate plane of the universe
- Almost plunge the world into ruin by corrupting and making the AI manager of powers go rampant
- Save the world from 2 by making the AI manager into your sister
- Find out that magical girls are part of a huge evil plan to conquer the world for love and justice
joe6168
Just a humble lurker
- Location
- Michigan, The lower left glove
That or Dad had WORDS with her.
Nixeu
Lord of Madness, Harbinger of Llamas
- Location
- Your nightmares.
..."Close enough" implies I missed something, and indeed I did. The data Upgrade sent Simulator indicates that all of the objects require continuous, mental effort to function, as well as being activated by intent. I don't know if that's actually true, or if Upgrade is feeding Simulator false data, but that's why our minds being absent means that Representative can't see anything useful.
Also, upon re-reading the chaper, it seems possible that this Beyond is named "Application", based on this:
But that could also refer to the specifics of how a particular Beyond has their power configured.
Certainly something to keep in mind for the future. Also something to consider is that SCIENCE! probably functions similarly to Simulator/Application, in that she asks for, and must be granted, data on the creation of any Beyond and its partner. Hence why Skye can replicate just about anything made with powers so easily.
It also occurs to me that Authority might also have this sort of "give me data" priviliege in some form. Hell, maybe Celes can learn how to boss other powers around, if Authority has any power over other Beyond. As with every look we get into the world of Beyond, this interlude has definitely raised some interesting questions and given us some fascinating insights into the nature of Powers.
- Location
- Somewhere.
Honestly, I'm still wheezing at just how much trolling/!!SHENANIGANS!! we've pulled off in...has it even been a week?
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
All that's left to do is basically prank some villains!
- Location
- Somewhere.
Yes. Yes. All shall know us and despair.
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
So we're... carefully distributing our items over the floor and corners of the room...
...after wrapping them in carefully-understated temporary housings.
I have questions.
Why do the cow grenades need housings? I thought those were completely kosher.
For that matter, apparently we've been doing that kind of thing with all of our builds. Why do those need temporary housings too?
So clearly the part that matters here is the housing, not the grenade. What do those housings really do, other than roll nicely?
And we've been distributing them all over the room. Why do the housings need to be spread around like that?
Most importantly... are we actually going to manage to steal the entire workshop?
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The best way to hide which items needs detailed study is to mask ALL of them.
I can almost hear Xellos....
I can almost hear Xellos....
DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
.... I just realized we all missed a chance to make jokes when the internet personified that blackhole.
I mean Eve and co are planets...
Dad: *sees pictures*... close, she tends to keep her hair short though.
Eve: Makes senese .... no wait WHAT?!?
I mean Eve and co are planets...
Dad: *sees pictures*... close, she tends to keep her hair short though.
Eve: Makes senese .... no wait WHAT?!?
Alivaril
On a magically-deficient journey of self-discovery
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I have dental surgery (tooth implant) and a midterm tomorrow, but I think I'll have the last part of this update ready on Friday.
You plan on using a good bit of your gear in other identities. In order to make that work, you wanted to ensure that CBCC didn't know any given gadget was yours. You'll decide how to distribute the items later.
(The items being scattered also need to vaguely qualify as "junk" and/or "stuff" for your diabolical plot to succeed, but we'll get to that in the coming update.)
There also seems to have been a bit of a misconception here. SCIENCE doesn't let Skye understand an object just by viewing the exterior and/or result. Skye's access rights for Science's guides are contingent on her own knowledge. Her learning speed is enhanced, sure, but it's not so nonsensical as to let her pull knowledge from only outputs. However, her previous experiences as Sentinel and her recent workshop time with Mother have given her an acceptably extensive knowledge base to work from. She doesn't yet know how to implement what she knows, but Upgrade and Science are more than happy to help with that.
You plan on using a good bit of your gear in other identities. In order to make that work, you wanted to ensure that CBCC didn't know any given gadget was yours. You'll decide how to distribute the items later.
(The items being scattered also need to vaguely qualify as "junk" and/or "stuff" for your diabolical plot to succeed, but we'll get to that in the coming update.)
There also seems to have been a bit of a misconception here. SCIENCE doesn't let Skye understand an object just by viewing the exterior and/or result. Skye's access rights for Science's guides are contingent on her own knowledge. Her learning speed is enhanced, sure, but it's not so nonsensical as to let her pull knowledge from only outputs. However, her previous experiences as Sentinel and her recent workshop time with Mother have given her an acceptably extensive knowledge base to work from. She doesn't yet know how to implement what she knows, but Upgrade and Science are more than happy to help with that.
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Nixeu
Lord of Madness, Harbinger of Llamas
- Location
- Your nightmares.
That's...not necessarily exclusive with SCIENCE! itself being able to get the designs for various creations from the Beyond that made them. Admittedly, it seems possible that SCIENCE! is simply good at reverse engineering, but being able to replicate anything made any Builder-type Beyond, given enough time to study it, seems most easily explained by SCIENCE! recieving the designs from the creator, then, as you say, letting Skye access that data when she understands the subject well enough.
I don't think I ever stated Skye could just pull data out of thin air by observing outputs, so maybe that wasn't directed at me, but I was one of the most recent people to bring up SCIENCE!, so...
DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
... all this talk of SCIENCE made this pop into my head -
Eve: [Looks at object]... So Skye... what are you going to do
Skye: ... I believe... that I will do science to it
Eve: Shall we find some minions?
Skye: No, they just keep running away.... FOOLS THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND
Eve: ...
Upgrade: >__>
Skye: ... I am fine.
Eve: [Looks at object]... So Skye... what are you going to do
Skye: ... I believe... that I will do science to it
Eve: Shall we find some minions?
Skye: No, they just keep running away.... FOOLS THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND
Eve: ...
Upgrade: >__>
Skye: ... I am fine.
Script Mak3r
(Verified Sun God) (Verified Feathers)
- Location
- Hell of Blazing Fires
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Skye: Or, rather, I will be, once I have shown them, shown them all.
DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
>Four hours later<
Eve: ... Skye... thats a coffee machine
Skye: Yes.... would you like to try some?
Eve: ... sure... *sips coffee*
*Becomes aware of the perfection of the coffee, even as she becomes perfectly aware of her true self, hovering in the void, of the wisps of stellar hydrogen floating by like the swirls of liquid in the cup... the cup with made of the lattice work of porcelain laid out...*
Eve: *snaps out of it* ... .... Skye... I think this coffee is TOO good. ... this is like conceptual coffee.
All of this, of course, said in an emotionless monotone.
Celes: *gets out notepad* "Coffee maker: huge success"
So, I just reread the 'Doing SCIENCE on Powers' part of the Quest, and now I'm wondering what some of the stuff we did or saw there relates to what we now know about the entities behind the powers. Were the anomalously strong high-mass powers an effect of some property of the relevant Beyond did? Did our blowing up several powers have any effects on their originators?
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
and most importantly was Upgrade threatening and bribing the other sentient powers/beyond for first dibs?
- Location
- Central Standard Time
*Heterodyne memes intensify*
I believe it was just a representation, so I'm guessing nothing but a bruised ego.
4.8.1: Upgrade Complete (Resume)
Alivaril
On a magically-deficient journey of self-discovery
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] [Experiment] What is a Builder-made item if not a use of a cape's powers? Try to use Analysis on the materials in the room, starting with Cherub's crystals.
You squint speculatively at Cherub's crystals, then shift your gaze to a faintly glowing stick of amber wood. It sounds as though that will logic will work for Enchanted items: objects that only have effects because a superpower is actively making them behave that way. When an object is created by an Emissary, or a Builder who merely utilizes the physics of another universe, you will instead be able to recognize when two different items are using rules from different universes.
You squint speculatively at Cherub's crystals, then shift your gaze to a faintly glowing stick of amber wood. It sounds as though that will logic will work for Enchanted items: objects that only have effects because a superpower is actively making them behave that way. When an object is created by an Emissary, or a Builder who merely utilizes the physics of another universe, you will instead be able to recognize when two different items are using rules from different universes.
QM's Note: Items that would be confiscated by the CBCC if explained properly will be marked with a red trio of stars (***). Items that would get this treatment if they weren't already disguised — usually inside other items — are marked with yellow ones instead (so don't volunteer info on them).
@Vebyast's version of the explanation:
***: Item would be confiscated if the CBCC knew its real function but is disguised well enough that they won't. Just don't volunteer any information about it.
***: Item will be confiscated if explained properly.
Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, and my eight other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic pair of "Thank you"s to @Torgamous and @fictionfan for their patronage as well.
...You really have been helpful. I had a brief spat of crippling self-doubt recently before remembering that you guys enjoy my writing enough to help support its author. Those episodes would usually stop me for a few weeks instead of just an hour. ^__^
...You really have been helpful. I had a brief spat of crippling self-doubt recently before remembering that you guys enjoy my writing enough to help support its author. Those episodes would usually stop me for a few weeks instead of just an hour. ^__^
Thoughts dart through your brain like excitable kittens intent on exploring a new area. It's hard to think about anything when your mind is stuck considering everything. There's an overarching objective, you dimly remember, but you don't need to consider it. You made your plan; all that remains is to follow it, and if you want to do so as effectively as possible? Other thoughts will be nothing more than distractions.
Of course, you're used to being distracted by your own thoughts, of fine-tuning plans on the fly, and you're increasingly uncomfortable with the change. Unfortunately, the more you struggle, the less your struggles seem to matter. Reality uncomfortably leans away from your distressed squirming, but it seems as though that was part of the plan. Since Reality is refusing to look in your direction, it's easier for you to implement ideas and substitute solutions. Reality occasionally notices what you're doing and opens her mouth to object, but quiets down and avoids eye contact whenever you glare at her for long enough.
This is exactly why budgets normally grow gradually. Don't push so hard.
(◕︿◕✿)
(ó﹏ò｡)
(◕︿◕✿)
(ó﹏ò｡)
You blink and take a deep breath as the thought-tunnel expands to something approaching your normal level of freedom. It's still making sure you're going in a given direction, but now that you can think about where you're going, you're much more comfortable following its lead. You're not quite sure why you were personifying the universe, though. That was just a little weird.
At any rate, now that you can remember what you're supposed to be doing, you no longer feel the need to do so. Your plan is a simple one. Since there are items you don't want CBCC to look at, it logically follows that you should have items they can cut their teeth on. Sacrificial junk, basically. Your workshop-hijacking plan simply takes advantage of that necessity to establish yet another logic trail.
I'm a teenager. Teenagers are notoriously bad at keeping their rooms clean. I've scattered my belongings and junk all around the room. I wouldn't have done this if it belonged to someone else; that would be both illegal littering and just plain rude. Therefore, this workshop is my room.
You let your secondary thoughts drift into something akin to slumber while the rest of you is busy building.
Ultimately, the Beyond apparently coerced Upgrade, Science, and Authority into making a couple items that wouldn't be immediately useful to you. However, between that compromise and all the puns you were throwing around, your audience was willing to wait until the end of the session to patch out Skye's exploits.
- x1 Memory Reformatter: Will apparently reformat Mother's memories so that she won't lose any upon her first death. Currently looks like an unnaturally white pea-sized gemstone.
*** - x1 "Reality Bully Thingie:"
- x3Unholy Heroic Dagger
- x1 Damaged Spider Minion
- x5 Telepathic Agent Earpiece (Black)
- x1 "Electrician's Helper Tablet" (Smart Tablet)
- x1 Alarm Watch (Red watch)
- x1 "Especially Roomy Inventory" (Chameleon-capable bag)
- x1 Family Body Backup (External Hard Drive with Thumb Reader)
- Freezeframe (Smartphone): It might not work as a smartphone anymore, but it's still undeniably useful.
- x3 Armored Silver Unitards
As long as you wear your telepathic earpiece, all functions of your armor will be linked to your thoughts. As an added bonus, nobody else (except maybe Dad) can operate your costumes.
-- Improved Protection: Duh.
-- Ablative Armor Scales: One-use forcefields that will block a single strong attack, then break. You can use Reverse or Repair to fix them afterward.
-- Chameleon Functionality: Can change shape, size, and coloration of your armor to one of 11 saved outfits (per armor suit) a probably-limitless number of times per day. Since adding or deleting a saved form just takes a couple minutes of tweaking, you're pretty sure you'll never have to go cosplay shopping ever again. The default form of your armor (how it looks right now) cannot be overriden.
-- Noncombat Stealth: As long as you're conscious, you can hide from all senses and sensors indefinitely. If the armor is jostled by a living creature, part of your invisibility will be replaced by a shimmer for about 3 seconds. If you're successfully hit by a significant attack, the invisibility will drop entirely and won't come back until after you exit combat (this can include breaking line-of-sight for a few seconds).
-- Starry Sights: Makes your costume act as a window for whatever star(s) would be blocked by your body, solid objects, light pollution, etc., along the line-of-sight of anyone looking at you. In other words, if you're somewhere people can actually see the stars, their view of the night sky would probably improve while you stood in the way.
-- Shimmering: You can make your costume sparkle more than a dress covered with tiny glass gems. As an added bonus, you won't be reliant on outside light to make your armor shine.
-- Energy Siphon: Your costumes will charge whenever powers are used nearby. This will slowly raise the cap for how much light the costumes could produce (if toggled on) until this charge is "spent" via a flash of light.
-- Stutter Drive: Can stop time for 0.9 seconds on a 10-second cooldown.
-- Wall-walking: You can redirect gravity for yourself in order to walk up walls. This function works regardless of what shoes (if any) you're wearing.
-- Wrist-fired Retractable Grappling Hooks: You're actually a bit worried about breaking your arms while using these things; you'll have to be careful to hold the cord with both hands.
-- Specific to your armor: Overdrive Suite.
--- When Overdrive it used on it, you'll be granted extra strength, speed, dexterity, and improved object tracking, with bonus anti-remote-observation, triple-jumping, and something to make you "slightly out of phase." Apparently, that last part will make it easier for you to "tear holes in reality," which Upgrade apparently considers a form of playing with it.
*** Bubble Bomb: You're 99% sure this will be confiscated. It's dangerous enough that you're OK with that.
*** - x1 "Reality Bully Thingie:"
- x3
- x1 Damaged Spider Minion
- x5 Telepathic Agent Earpiece (Black)
Each earpiece will also ensure that the hair of its wearer remains "perfect," where your whims define what qualifies as "perfect." This can lead to such shenanigans as your hair blowing in a nonexistent breeze or not moving despite heavy winds.
- x1 "Electrician's Helper Tablet" (Smart Tablet)
- x1 Alarm Watch (Red watch)
- x1 "Especially Roomy Inventory" (Chameleon-capable bag)
- x1 Family Body Backup (External Hard Drive with Thumb Reader)
- Freezeframe (Smartphone): It might not work as a smartphone anymore, but it's still undeniably useful.
- x3 Armored Silver Unitards
As long as you wear your telepathic earpiece, all functions of your armor will be linked to your thoughts. As an added bonus, nobody else (except maybe Dad) can operate your costumes.
-- Improved Protection: Duh.
-- Ablative Armor Scales: One-use forcefields that will block a single strong attack, then break. You can use Reverse or Repair to fix them afterward.
-- Chameleon Functionality: Can change shape, size, and coloration of your armor to one of 11 saved outfits (per armor suit) a probably-limitless number of times per day. Since adding or deleting a saved form just takes a couple minutes of tweaking, you're pretty sure you'll never have to go cosplay shopping ever again. The default form of your armor (how it looks right now) cannot be overriden.
-- Noncombat Stealth: As long as you're conscious, you can hide from all senses and sensors indefinitely. If the armor is jostled by a living creature, part of your invisibility will be replaced by a shimmer for about 3 seconds. If you're successfully hit by a significant attack, the invisibility will drop entirely and won't come back until after you exit combat (this can include breaking line-of-sight for a few seconds).
-- Starry Sights: Makes your costume act as a window for whatever star(s) would be blocked by your body, solid objects, light pollution, etc., along the line-of-sight of anyone looking at you. In other words, if you're somewhere people can actually see the stars, their view of the night sky would probably improve while you stood in the way.
-- Shimmering: You can make your costume sparkle more than a dress covered with tiny glass gems. As an added bonus, you won't be reliant on outside light to make your armor shine.
-- Energy Siphon: Your costumes will charge whenever powers are used nearby. This will slowly raise the cap for how much light the costumes could produce (if toggled on) until this charge is "spent" via a flash of light.
-- Stutter Drive: Can stop time for 0.9 seconds on a 10-second cooldown.
-- Wall-walking: You can redirect gravity for yourself in order to walk up walls. This function works regardless of what shoes (if any) you're wearing.
-- Wrist-fired Retractable Grappling Hooks: You're actually a bit worried about breaking your arms while using these things; you'll have to be careful to hold the cord with both hands.
-- Specific to your armor: Overdrive Suite.
--- When Overdrive it used on it, you'll be granted extra strength, speed, dexterity, and improved object tracking, with bonus anti-remote-observation, triple-jumping, and something to make you "slightly out of phase." Apparently, that last part will make it easier for you to "tear holes in reality," which Upgrade apparently considers a form of playing with it.
*** Bubble Bomb: You're 99% sure this will be confiscated. It's dangerous enough that you're OK with that.
*** Nature's Hatred
Or: Instant Lair, Just Add { }
A compressed black box of something that translates to, approximately, "habitat." When it's presented with a near-lightless vacuum, Nature's Hatred will rapidly expand to fill the provided space with fortified living quarters. Fortunaely, Celes can easily order air to move out of a suitable location once you've found one. Nature's Hatred will continue to expand every time it's provided access to another vacuum.
Beyond Beyond
Mom would probably appreciate it if you stopped adopting people.
A compressed object that no longer exists in your universe, but when used, will let Upgrade turn into an Other and your technically-biological sibling. It's up to Upgrade to decide whether or not she wants to use it; so far, she hasn't. You're glad she's not rushing into it.
x3 Schrodinger's Laptop
Laptops that will always perform just as well as the best laptop on your homeworld (exempting themselves and each other). However, if their internal components are ever seen, that particular Schrodinger's Laptop will explode. You could use Repair to fix it afterward, of course, but it's still something to avoid.
Ruler
Or: Adventure Sphere
A floating, spherical silver and black camera slightly larger than your head, the Ruler will follow you, record your adventures, and… and why did you name it that? Or was it Celes? The memories are a bit garbled. Either way, Ruler is the closest thing to indestructible unless you start trying to use it as something other than a silent observer or scout, whereupon it will become vulnerable.
*** Unfocusing Array
An object that's probably sphere-shaped when unveiled, but it's a little hard to tell; if someone mashed together around two hundred mirrors while still somehow making them reflect every nearby image, this riot of colors would probably be what you get. Regardless, the Unfocusing Array has been incorporated into your costume's pseudo-backpack. As for functionality: the Unfocusing Array will negate the ability of other observers and their memories to determine the shape and structure of reality. Or, in other words, it'll make it easier for you to bend reality to your whims.
Performance-Enhancing Bugs
Another object that's no longer in the same universe as your avatar, the Performance-Enhancing (nanotech) Bugs have been incorporated into the planetoid bodies of yourself and your siblings. They don't do anything aside from making it somewhat easier for you to incorporate matter into yourself, a boon that probably won't pay dividends until several decades have passed. Still an improvement over what it was.
Bug Spray
A dark grey squirtbottle filled with liquified rock ants. When used, the rock ants will solidify and try to bite whatever they're sprayed on. Rock ants can't harm the vast majority of matter, but they can easily chew through most rocks and soil.
Fame Generator
An energy generator that — for whatever reason — has the size, shape, and appearance of a meter-tall wooden keg with four three-prong electrical outlets along its sides. Rather than generating fame, the Fame Generator will produce energy scaling with how famous you and your siblings are.
***Pineapple Grenade x6
You're going to blame your sister for these.
Six seconds after a user pulls its green pin and throws it at a solid surface, Pineapple Grenades will launch 14 solid pellets in a sphere centered on the PG. Half a second after they hit a solid surface, these pellets will turn into ripe pineapples. Each Pineapple Grenade can be used once before they need to be recharged.
Stopwatch (Upgrade)
An additional module for your anti-observation watch. The Stopwatch will reroute energy from Reverse in order to pause a nonliving target for 10-25 seconds or a living target for 3-7 seconds. Living targets will be aware, if indestructible, and their minds will continue to process input from their senses — including, unfortunately, pain.
*** Grand Theft Automaton
A copper-red spider droid little larger than most driving wheels. After activation, the Grand Theft Automaton will don a pair of Groucho glasses, steal the most expensive unoccupied vehicle within 100 meters, and (while obeying most traffic laws) drive it to the closest used car dealership. After that, it will abandon ship and skitter to the spot it was activated from at a rate of about 5 kilometers per hour. Somewhat fragile; it would lose a head-on collision with a bicycle. The GTA sequence can be halted at any time by stealing its ingenious disguise, whereupon it will go dormant.
Impenetrable Disguises x4
At this point, you're not even sure you aren't an Enchanter.
Advanced devices that nonetheless look like ordinary Groucho glasses. When combined with even part of a Cape costume, those who look upon an Impenetrable Disguise will immediately recognize your alias, but will be completely incapable of going deeper. In other words, they could recognize Fornax, but wouldn't be able to link her to Evelyn. Yes, this means you can wear nothing but a costume hairband and the glasses and still be OK.
GTG
Or: Grand Theft Garage
Turns out that the room you're in is partitioned from the rest of the CBCC structure. This only made it easier for you to play with it. It isn't a giant robot, but it could phase through intervening walls in order to fly freely through the air atop four person-sized boosters — at least, until someone shot it down. You don't think that would take very long.
Excalibur
Why.
A steel-blue magitech greatsword with a runic gold inscription, Excalibur can only be wielded by the undisputed ruler of an entire planet or planetoid. Since you are a planetoid, that apparently counts. Once per hour, Excalibur can completely absorb any one attack — including bombs and other AOE weaponry — and either feed the resulting energy to your costume or manifest a golden hardlight blade around Excalibur's sharp edges.
Or: Instant Lair, Just Add { }
A compressed black box of something that translates to, approximately, "habitat." When it's presented with a near-lightless vacuum, Nature's Hatred will rapidly expand to fill the provided space with fortified living quarters. Fortunaely, Celes can easily order air to move out of a suitable location once you've found one. Nature's Hatred will continue to expand every time it's provided access to another vacuum.
Beyond Beyond
Mom would probably appreciate it if you stopped adopting people.
A compressed object that no longer exists in your universe, but when used, will let Upgrade turn into an Other and your technically-biological sibling. It's up to Upgrade to decide whether or not she wants to use it; so far, she hasn't. You're glad she's not rushing into it.
x3 Schrodinger's Laptop
Laptops that will always perform just as well as the best laptop on your homeworld (exempting themselves and each other). However, if their internal components are ever seen, that particular Schrodinger's Laptop will explode. You could use Repair to fix it afterward, of course, but it's still something to avoid.
Ruler
Or: Adventure Sphere
A floating, spherical silver and black camera slightly larger than your head, the Ruler will follow you, record your adventures, and… and why did you name it that? Or was it Celes? The memories are a bit garbled. Either way, Ruler is the closest thing to indestructible unless you start trying to use it as something other than a silent observer or scout, whereupon it will become vulnerable.
*** Unfocusing Array
An object that's probably sphere-shaped when unveiled, but it's a little hard to tell; if someone mashed together around two hundred mirrors while still somehow making them reflect every nearby image, this riot of colors would probably be what you get. Regardless, the Unfocusing Array has been incorporated into your costume's pseudo-backpack. As for functionality: the Unfocusing Array will negate the ability of other observers and their memories to determine the shape and structure of reality. Or, in other words, it'll make it easier for you to bend reality to your whims.
Performance-Enhancing Bugs
Another object that's no longer in the same universe as your avatar, the Performance-Enhancing (nanotech) Bugs have been incorporated into the planetoid bodies of yourself and your siblings. They don't do anything aside from making it somewhat easier for you to incorporate matter into yourself, a boon that probably won't pay dividends until several decades have passed. Still an improvement over what it was.
Bug Spray
A dark grey squirtbottle filled with liquified rock ants. When used, the rock ants will solidify and try to bite whatever they're sprayed on. Rock ants can't harm the vast majority of matter, but they can easily chew through most rocks and soil.
Fame Generator
An energy generator that — for whatever reason — has the size, shape, and appearance of a meter-tall wooden keg with four three-prong electrical outlets along its sides. Rather than generating fame, the Fame Generator will produce energy scaling with how famous you and your siblings are.
***Pineapple Grenade x6
You're going to blame your sister for these.
Six seconds after a user pulls its green pin and throws it at a solid surface, Pineapple Grenades will launch 14 solid pellets in a sphere centered on the PG. Half a second after they hit a solid surface, these pellets will turn into ripe pineapples. Each Pineapple Grenade can be used once before they need to be recharged.
Stopwatch (Upgrade)
An additional module for your anti-observation watch. The Stopwatch will reroute energy from Reverse in order to pause a nonliving target for 10-25 seconds or a living target for 3-7 seconds. Living targets will be aware, if indestructible, and their minds will continue to process input from their senses — including, unfortunately, pain.
*** Grand Theft Automaton
A copper-red spider droid little larger than most driving wheels. After activation, the Grand Theft Automaton will don a pair of Groucho glasses, steal the most expensive unoccupied vehicle within 100 meters, and (while obeying most traffic laws) drive it to the closest used car dealership. After that, it will abandon ship and skitter to the spot it was activated from at a rate of about 5 kilometers per hour. Somewhat fragile; it would lose a head-on collision with a bicycle. The GTA sequence can be halted at any time by stealing its ingenious disguise, whereupon it will go dormant.
Impenetrable Disguises x4
At this point, you're not even sure you aren't an Enchanter.
Advanced devices that nonetheless look like ordinary Groucho glasses. When combined with even part of a Cape costume, those who look upon an Impenetrable Disguise will immediately recognize your alias, but will be completely incapable of going deeper. In other words, they could recognize Fornax, but wouldn't be able to link her to Evelyn. Yes, this means you can wear nothing but a costume hairband and the glasses and still be OK.
GTG
Or: Grand Theft Garage
Turns out that the room you're in is partitioned from the rest of the CBCC structure. This only made it easier for you to play with it. It isn't a giant robot, but it could phase through intervening walls in order to fly freely through the air atop four person-sized boosters — at least, until someone shot it down. You don't think that would take very long.
Excalibur
Why.
A steel-blue magitech greatsword with a runic gold inscription, Excalibur can only be wielded by the undisputed ruler of an entire planet or planetoid. Since you are a planetoid, that apparently counts. Once per hour, Excalibur can completely absorb any one attack — including bombs and other AOE weaponry — and either feed the resulting energy to your costume or manifest a golden hardlight blade around Excalibur's sharp edges.
***Housecall (Upgrade)
An application on Celes's new tablet. When activated, Housecall will hijack a number of advertising phone-bots and have them simultaneously call every phone in a single building at the same time. If the building has a PDA system, the bots will begin speaking through that as well.
***Stop Sine (Upgrade)
Another app on Celes's tablet, the Stop Sine will emit a strange noise that will set the velocity and acceleration of nearby objects to zero. Does not affect gases.
***All Your Base (Upgrade)
A metal bar that fused with Celes's tablet and significantly improved its ability to conduct cyberwarfare against large installations.
Grey Goo
For external use only.
A liquid with the color of mercury and the viscosity ofyour sister honey, the Grey Goo will consume and replace electronic hardware it contacts. Celes will subsequently be able to control and program suborned items as though they were computers she had full administrative access to. Stored inside a metal soda can.
Family Tree
Celes wanted it to be a living tree, but you think you've given Mom enough grief for the time being.
A robotic, nonsapient and nonsentient tree that will nonetheless obey commands issued by your immediate family. Celes can also control it from her tablet.
Life Moon
A teacup-sized irregular sphere made from massed roots, the Life Moon will slowly orbit the user's head. Although the Life Moon will move to maintain the same distance from your head, it will not rotate as you turn and/or change direction. When its single line of fire lines up with a wounded ally, the vines will pull back to reveal a coal-black eye; this eye will subsequently fire a red healing beam at the wounded individual(s), forcibly restoring them to normal health and purging most diseases from their body. Unfortunately, the Life Moon takes between 1 and 3 hours to recharge in addition to its slow rotation speed.
****** Super-Celes's Go-Ballistic Exponential-Doses
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious.
An ammunition foundry disguised as a bright pink backpack, this item will infuse single-use projectiles (e.g. bullets) with the ability to double their speed after initial velocity is established. Such projectiles will gain one "stack" for every 48 hours they are left inside the backpack. Multi-use projectiles, such as baseballs, will instead require 8 days per charge. Objects can be accelerated to up to 10% of the speed of light, which... seems a bit high to you? You think Upgrade might've told the other Beyond something like "I'll nerf it down to 10% of what I had planned, OK?"
x3 Bouncing Bessy
Reusable "mines" that will turn into an armored spherical cow balloon, blocking any passageways behind whatever poor sod triggered it; a great way to forcefully split parties.
Tire Iron
A black iron frying pan that enforces a specific narrative convention — specifically, the one where hitting someone over the head (from behind) can knock them unconscious for several hours with nothing more harmful than a temporary headache upon waking up.
Disinfectants
Several hundred solar-powered robotic ants that passively disintegrate bacteria on surfaces they climb over.
*** Steal Wool
Celes wants to glue googly eyes on it.
An innocent-looking, baseball-sized ball of white fluff capable of devouring items it engulfs and teleporting them to your extradimensional storage bag. "Sleeps" inside a small leather pouch; when removed, it will seek out and engulf the most valuable items smaller than itself.
Flash Mob
A 20th-century camera with a blinding white flash, the Flash Mob will summon a 10 to 20 ten-centimeter toy mobsters to attack the ankles of your enemies. Will need to be fed new batteries after each use.
Australian Drop Beads
A bag of small marbles that will refill each day at sunrise. After being stepped on, a Drop Bead will transform into a tiny, almost-indestructible (unliving, unfeeling, unthinking) imitation of a koala bear. This bear will subsequently seek to eat the soles and socks of your enemies while producing quiet "rawr" sounds.
Shades
Glasses that dim areas within your line-of-sight instead of dimming your own perception of the surrounding area. You added little mirrored sections to let you dim the entire surrounding area, but effectively lost your peripheral vision in exchange.
Pocket Medic
You're blaming Upgrade for this one.
A fairy of healing that would've been operated by an AI if you hadn't vetoed making life without thinking it through first. As it currently stands, you could either sell the empty frame to CBCC or (eventually) let Upgrade use it as a local avatar.
Cat-a-pult
A handheld catapult. Projectiles launched by the Cata-a-pult become imitations of very angry cats in midair, reverting a minute after impact. Successfully hitting an opponent with one cat will give the other cats homing capabilities. "Killed" cats will immediately vanish.
Moment of Inertia
A stopwatch which negates the effects of gravity and friction on the user for up to 10-15 seconds at a time. This also negates fluid drag, since that can be considered a kind of friction. Collisions with solid objects stop you as normal. Best used after jumping.
Sword of Damocles
A flying greatsword that, when activated, will float above your enemies and thwack them whenever they try to hit you. These impacts will be harmless (aside from possible damage from knockback) and sound like a squeaky toy. This sword will go inert when its hilt is successfully grasped.
x3 Gram
A trio of high-quality swords, each of which weigh precisely one gram regardless of local gravity. You're honestly amazed you snuck this one past watching Beyond.
Gun-gnir
A long rifle that fires homing spears at your targets. You should probably save this for nonliving targets and/or threats to your life.
Joyeuse
Instead of cutting, this blade of light induces feelings of joy in the target, proportional to the size the wound would be if it had a cutting blade. Changes color every 48 minutes.
The Pig Flier
You swear he's not your pet.
A miniature flying pig that enforces narrative causality on those who observe it - as in, it forces non-magical girls to experience the narrative rules that magical girls do. The longer it's observed for, the longer the effects last. Can be bribed with apples and carrots. Is attracted to people using the phrase "when pigs fly." Is sentient (feeling) and will wander around of his own accord; although he does like you and your siblings, he'll probably be more of a neighborhood stray than a pet belonging to you. He's also invulnerable and immune to disease.
The Wrong Tree
A bonsai planter that will continuously murmur falsehoods. These lies nonetheless sound important to anyone listening, but due to their volume, will require one to silence all other noise and move close in order to actually hear them. Significantly less effective to those who have been exposed to The Wrong Tree in the past.
Auto-sorter
Glorified storage drawers, these would group any item(s) dropped into the feeder with similar items. It'd be relatively inexpensive to make at home, so it's mostly just be a gift to help Skye with her current and future projects.
Combination Fabricator
An object that consumed the substance-combining not-microwave. Really, it's not a major mechanical improvement — it'd just double the number of items it could work on at once, and it was already quick enough — but this would actually let you take it home. Yours is an evil laugh.
x3 Sidelong V2 (Upgrade)
Improvements to your costume pseudo-backpacks. After Sidelong is activated, whenever its wearer quickly changes direction, the Sidelong will create a fake image continuing along their original path. This image appears real to everyone who sees it, including you, but will vanish after two seconds. When combined with the Stutter Drives (short periods of timestop) Upgrade added to your costumes, your opponents are probably going to end up rubbing their eyes an awful lot. You and your siblings will only see the ghostly outlines of Sidelong images instead of having them block your lines of sight.
x3 Escape Pods
A trio of pea pods that will rot within the next twelve hours. When the pods are broken, they will transport all nearby (5 meters) item(s) belonging to you, but not worn by you, to a seldom-used forest park a few kilometers from your home. You will not be transported with them; the Beyond didn't want you weaseling out of what they believed to be an entertaining explanation to CBCC.
(+ Wings)
An application on Celes's new tablet. When activated, Housecall will hijack a number of advertising phone-bots and have them simultaneously call every phone in a single building at the same time. If the building has a PDA system, the bots will begin speaking through that as well.
***Stop Sine (Upgrade)
Another app on Celes's tablet, the Stop Sine will emit a strange noise that will set the velocity and acceleration of nearby objects to zero. Does not affect gases.
***All Your Base (Upgrade)
A metal bar that fused with Celes's tablet and significantly improved its ability to conduct cyberwarfare against large installations.
Grey Goo
For external use only.
A liquid with the color of mercury and the viscosity of
Family Tree
Celes wanted it to be a living tree, but you think you've given Mom enough grief for the time being.
A robotic, nonsapient and nonsentient tree that will nonetheless obey commands issued by your immediate family. Celes can also control it from her tablet.
Life Moon
A teacup-sized irregular sphere made from massed roots, the Life Moon will slowly orbit the user's head. Although the Life Moon will move to maintain the same distance from your head, it will not rotate as you turn and/or change direction. When its single line of fire lines up with a wounded ally, the vines will pull back to reveal a coal-black eye; this eye will subsequently fire a red healing beam at the wounded individual(s), forcibly restoring them to normal health and purging most diseases from their body. Unfortunately, the Life Moon takes between 1 and 3 hours to recharge in addition to its slow rotation speed.
****** Super-Celes's Go-Ballistic Exponential-Doses
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious.
An ammunition foundry disguised as a bright pink backpack, this item will infuse single-use projectiles (e.g. bullets) with the ability to double their speed after initial velocity is established. Such projectiles will gain one "stack" for every 48 hours they are left inside the backpack. Multi-use projectiles, such as baseballs, will instead require 8 days per charge. Objects can be accelerated to up to 10% of the speed of light, which... seems a bit high to you? You think Upgrade might've told the other Beyond something like "I'll nerf it down to 10% of what I had planned, OK?"
x3 Bouncing Bessy
Reusable "mines" that will turn into an armored spherical cow balloon, blocking any passageways behind whatever poor sod triggered it; a great way to forcefully split parties.
Tire Iron
A black iron frying pan that enforces a specific narrative convention — specifically, the one where hitting someone over the head (from behind) can knock them unconscious for several hours with nothing more harmful than a temporary headache upon waking up.
Disinfectants
Several hundred solar-powered robotic ants that passively disintegrate bacteria on surfaces they climb over.
*** Steal Wool
Celes wants to glue googly eyes on it.
An innocent-looking, baseball-sized ball of white fluff capable of devouring items it engulfs and teleporting them to your extradimensional storage bag. "Sleeps" inside a small leather pouch; when removed, it will seek out and engulf the most valuable items smaller than itself.
Flash Mob
A 20th-century camera with a blinding white flash, the Flash Mob will summon a 10 to 20 ten-centimeter toy mobsters to attack the ankles of your enemies. Will need to be fed new batteries after each use.
Australian Drop Beads
A bag of small marbles that will refill each day at sunrise. After being stepped on, a Drop Bead will transform into a tiny, almost-indestructible (unliving, unfeeling, unthinking) imitation of a koala bear. This bear will subsequently seek to eat the soles and socks of your enemies while producing quiet "rawr" sounds.
Shades
Glasses that dim areas within your line-of-sight instead of dimming your own perception of the surrounding area. You added little mirrored sections to let you dim the entire surrounding area, but effectively lost your peripheral vision in exchange.
Pocket Medic
You're blaming Upgrade for this one.
A fairy of healing that would've been operated by an AI if you hadn't vetoed making life without thinking it through first. As it currently stands, you could either sell the empty frame to CBCC or (eventually) let Upgrade use it as a local avatar.
Cat-a-pult
A handheld catapult. Projectiles launched by the Cata-a-pult become imitations of very angry cats in midair, reverting a minute after impact. Successfully hitting an opponent with one cat will give the other cats homing capabilities. "Killed" cats will immediately vanish.
Moment of Inertia
A stopwatch which negates the effects of gravity and friction on the user for up to 10-15 seconds at a time. This also negates fluid drag, since that can be considered a kind of friction. Collisions with solid objects stop you as normal. Best used after jumping.
Sword of Damocles
A flying greatsword that, when activated, will float above your enemies and thwack them whenever they try to hit you. These impacts will be harmless (aside from possible damage from knockback) and sound like a squeaky toy. This sword will go inert when its hilt is successfully grasped.
x3 Gram
A trio of high-quality swords, each of which weigh precisely one gram regardless of local gravity. You're honestly amazed you snuck this one past watching Beyond.
Gun-gnir
A long rifle that fires homing spears at your targets. You should probably save this for nonliving targets and/or threats to your life.
Joyeuse
Instead of cutting, this blade of light induces feelings of joy in the target, proportional to the size the wound would be if it had a cutting blade. Changes color every 48 minutes.
The Pig Flier
You swear he's not your pet.
A miniature flying pig that enforces narrative causality on those who observe it - as in, it forces non-magical girls to experience the narrative rules that magical girls do. The longer it's observed for, the longer the effects last. Can be bribed with apples and carrots. Is attracted to people using the phrase "when pigs fly." Is sentient (feeling) and will wander around of his own accord; although he does like you and your siblings, he'll probably be more of a neighborhood stray than a pet belonging to you. He's also invulnerable and immune to disease.
The Wrong Tree
A bonsai planter that will continuously murmur falsehoods. These lies nonetheless sound important to anyone listening, but due to their volume, will require one to silence all other noise and move close in order to actually hear them. Significantly less effective to those who have been exposed to The Wrong Tree in the past.
Auto-sorter
Glorified storage drawers, these would group any item(s) dropped into the feeder with similar items. It'd be relatively inexpensive to make at home, so it's mostly just be a gift to help Skye with her current and future projects.
Combination Fabricator
An object that consumed the substance-combining not-microwave. Really, it's not a major mechanical improvement — it'd just double the number of items it could work on at once, and it was already quick enough — but this would actually let you take it home. Yours is an evil laugh.
x3 Sidelong V2 (Upgrade)
Improvements to your costume pseudo-backpacks. After Sidelong is activated, whenever its wearer quickly changes direction, the Sidelong will create a fake image continuing along their original path. This image appears real to everyone who sees it, including you, but will vanish after two seconds. When combined with the Stutter Drives (short periods of timestop) Upgrade added to your costumes, your opponents are probably going to end up rubbing their eyes an awful lot. You and your siblings will only see the ghostly outlines of Sidelong images instead of having them block your lines of sight.
x3 Escape Pods
A trio of pea pods that will rot within the next twelve hours. When the pods are broken, they will transport all nearby (5 meters) item(s) belonging to you, but not worn by you, to a seldom-used forest park a few kilometers from your home. You will not be transported with them; the Beyond didn't want you weaseling out of what they believed to be an entertaining explanation to CBCC.
(+ Wings)
It was hard for you to decide what you should make your wings out of. They were going to be quite distinctive no matter what you did; when they didn't serve a practical purpose, wings are even more impractical in combat than cloth capes are. In other words, you'll only be able to use them for one identity.
Eventually, you settled on forging them from...
(Use preference voting: 1, 2, etc.)
[] Rainbow Crystals
[1] Starfields
[] Solidified Light
[] Light-absorbing metal shards
[] Water
...But now that you've built your pile of loot and are almost all out of both time and power? You should probably start thinking about how you'll explain this whole mess to the CBCC. Skye is almost certainly going to get an S-class ranking — there's no talking your way out of that one — but you should really come up with a good excuse for your other actions. Like, say, why you're planning on teleporting away the more incriminating items instead of letting the CBCC inspect them. Or at least, you were planning on doing that. Maybe you can just sell most of your items to CBCC and only keep a few genuinely useful ones? You don't think you need most of this stuff.
You also want to go to sleep, but you're pretty sure you won't be allowed to do so until after you've given CBCC an explanation.
[] Hand over your more dangerous items, but refuse to explain the others.
[] Lie about the functionality of your various items.
[] Teleport away your incriminating items.
-[] Actually, just teleport everything you built save for the room itself. They're already going to S-class Skye, so it's not as if they really need to know more than that.
[] Write-in
I am so glad that's over with, gah. Anyway, apparently we were using memetic XCOM odds when I said certain things would "probably" be picked; when I actually went through the build times for everything, you didn't have enough time for even all of the good ones. Still a good haul.
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- Location
- Somewhere.
I want to make a Pineapple Grenade Tree now. (Also, are they really that risky? They make pineapples! Non-explosive pineapples! Once!)
Can we turn the Life Moon?
Are we actually getting all these things?
Can we turn the Life Moon?
Are we actually getting all these things?
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DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
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Alivaril
On a magically-deficient journey of self-discovery
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
1: The CBCC doesn't like AOE stuff in general.
2: To be fair, it is one set of upgrades away from being a cluster grenade.
It will rotate slowly of its own accord, but is highly resistant to external influence. So, no, you can't.
If you can avoid some of it being confiscated, yep.
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